. on this sunday night, historic flooding relentless rain and tornados. mother nature is making it a brutal holiday weekend for some. we'll tell you what's in store this memorial day. the iraq military has no will to fight isis. strong words from the u.s. mility blaming. a beautiful mind. the sudden death of john nash the genius who inspired the oscar winning film. nbc news exclusive. one of the first students to file a lawsuit over concussions from high school football. why he hopes no other player winds up in his shoes. and honoring the fallen veteran. their families and

supporters set out to remind all of us about the true meaning of memorial day. >> this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. substituting tonight, kate snow. >> good evening. on this memorial day weekend in the middle of this country rain has not only wrecked holiday plans but threatening lives. two people dead and several missing after flood waters swept through towns in oklahoma and texas. in haze county texas residents were warned if they go to their roof tops bring something white to flag rescuers. a series after storms has saturated the area. oklahoma has issued 70 flash flood warnings this year. we begin tonight with nbc on the ground in texas.

>> reporter: good evening. the water rose here more quickly than anything this town has seen. behind me was a road but it's been washed away. some sunshine is here this afternoon. more rain is expected. the raging waters are being historic and catastrophic. the river 27 feet above flood stage destroying homes along its banks and closing roads. hundreds of homes are under water in haze county texas where rescues are under way. there's been one death. >> if you are forced to go to the roof of your home take something white so you can flag and let us know you're there. >> this suv was swept away. >> we haven't seen water this deep come up this fast ever. >> in houston an ef1 tornado ripped the roof off this apartment complex sending two people to the hospital. another twister confirmed near dallas damaging traffic lights and garages. >> signs bent down to

the ground. >> reporter: farther north in oklahoma 20-year veteran firefighter john farly was killed overnight swept away by high waters. >> he was not just a goodman for this community and his department he was a goodman for firefighters across the nation. >> reporter: severe weather ripped through the wright family's home. the water came up to here? >> yeah. >> reporter: yeah, that's about five feet. liz and her husband barely escaped the waters. tonight she and her neighbors are bracing for more rain. >> we are anticipating additional rain in the next 48 hours. certainly as it was mentioned a while ago you do not need to be out of your homes. if you have an opportunity to get to a relative's home or friend's home please stay there.

the waters why they are beginning to reseed it's still dangerous. >> reporter: all this damage will take a while to clean up. across the river there was a small resort built with memorial day gas and there will be a night time cook in effect. >> all eyes now on whether or not the storms will clear by tomorrow's holiday. weather channel meteorologist mike seidel is in dallas tonight. mike what can you tell us? >> reporter: good evening, kate. tornado watches are up from missouri to indiana. some of the same areas impacted by the horrible flash flooding. as the rain gauges fill up the records are falling. more than a foot of rain in oklahoma city. the wettest may on record. some spots picked up two inches of rain. some of this has fallen in four weeks. more of this on

memorial day and with the ground super saturated it won't take much for flash flooding to kick back in. there's a threat for severe storms in texas with a chance of a few tornados. holiday weather on the east coast and west coast. the weather, spots that have already had 15 inches of rain in may could see another 3-5 inches and because of the clouds and rain so far in dallas-fort worth, they have yet to hit 90 degrees. this is five weeks later than average. another impact expect a bumper of month quitos quitos -- mosquitos. >> thanks so much. tonight cleveland, ohio on edge after the court acquitted a police officer in the shooting death of two african americans. kevin is there with more. kevin. >> reporter: protest over yesterday's

verdict for the most part has been peaceful. there remains a large police presence on the streets and violence will not be tolerated. more than 70 arrest on the streets of cleveland overnight as police in riot gear confronted protesters. but for the most part demonstrations were peaceful. in the wake of saturday's court decision that found officer michael not guilty in the 2012 shooting of two unarmed african american motorist. >> we would not allow people to commit acts of violence either against property or persons. >> timothy russell and melissa williams died in gun fire during a high speed chase that involved 100 officers that saw 137 bullets fired in their car. today timothy

russell's sister remains outraged. >> i don't care what any judge or police officers say, they cannot justify what happened that night. >> further demonstrations today for many calling for further investigation. >> i really hate the injustices that are done to african americans in this city. >> i have grand children. i have great grand children. i do not want to see them laying on the street dead. >> reporter: others agreed with officer's acquit acquittal. the verdict came as cleveland saw demonstrations on the six month anniversary of the shooting death of a 12-year-old killed while playing with a plastic pellet gun. that family searching for answers too. >> i'm looking for justice for my son and change in the nation. >> reporter: the verdict arrived on a

busy weekend here as the cleveland cavalier cavaliers host the atlanta hawks. cavs star lebron james appealed for comp. >> i think sports is one of the biggest healers. >> reporter: tip off for tonight's game is less than two hours away. there's a large police presence on the streets here to insure the game goes off without incident inside or outside the arena. >> kevin is in cleveland thank you. the u.s. military coalition launched 27 air strikes in syria this weekend. the strikes followed big gains for isis and seized two key cities in the past week. today defense secretary lays the blame on iraqi forces. chris is at the white house tonight. >> reporter: this is unusual. his first comment fell

to isis. carter claimed the american and coalition air strike has been effected but very concerned iraqi forces cut and run when they came up against isis. >> new questions about the obama administration strategy in iraq. they blamed iraq forces. >> they showed no will to fight. they were not outnumbered. they vastly outnumbered the opposing course. they failed to fight and withdrew from the site. >> carter's comments are both during republican critics who question the strategy who relies heavily on training the iraqi military. >> there's a large number of americans who believe we should have more american troops on the ground. >> there's strong disagreement about that on capitol hill and among military

experts. >> if we were going to solve it with combat power we would put a couple thousand troops on the ground and fight it out and try to occupy the region. not a good solution. >> the white house says supplying equipment is working. just last week the president side i don't think we're losing and called it a tactical set back. it's a testament. >> clearly isis has gained momentum. >> secretary carter is getting strong push back from iraqis who in a statement says the iraqi army generals do have the will to fight isis. >> the iraq government and army and large sections of people will feel insulted. >> tonight reports iraq forces are headed back to regain lost ground. so far, the white house has resisted calls to learn more of

the isis opposition. carter says if the time comes the u.s. needs to change the support to iraq it will but gave no indication the time has come. kate. >> at princeton university and far beyond people are -- john nash and his wife were killed in a car crash in new jersey. they were returning home to their princeton home from norway. his career was interrupted for decades after schizophrenia took over his mind. stephanie has more. >> in 1994 john nash was awarded the nobel prize not only for the work he did but the personal challenges he overcame to make it to that stage. >> we don't get in each other's way and

don't insult the other girls. >> in 2001 his struggle with mental illness became an oscar award-winning movie, a beautiful mind. the couple set down with nbc news the day after the awards. >> we have a feeling of regret. >> crow did not get the oscar that year. today the actor tweeted stunned. my heart goes out to john and alisha and family. on saturday afternoon he and his wife were killed in an accident on the new jersey turnpike. he was 86 and his wife 82. police believe the couple may not have had their seat belt on. they were on their way home to princeton where as a young doctoral student he

wrote a thesis that made him famous. the study why people and businesses make decisions they do. math professor joseph was a friend and colleague for years. >> he was one of the most fantastic people certainly over time. >> she just finished studying nash's work. >> every time he walked around campus people wanted to take pictures with him. >> after overcoming the challenges of his disease, nash became something of a spokesman for mental health and had a message for those who suffer. >> i would suggest don't give up hope too easily. >> most of us will never be able to think the way he did but everyone can learn something from the life he led. >> the movie a beautiful mind was very much a love story. alisha nash stayed with her husband after their divorce in the

60s and they had an incredible partnership that last lasted years. >> word tonight comedian anne meara has died. tonight the stiller family says her memory lives on in the hearts of her family and the millions she entertained and meara was 85-years-old. the teenager trying to change high school football after his concussions changed him and on this memorial day weekend, how some veterans are going the extra hello! this little beauty here is top-of-the-line. see, you just pull like this to go left. and like so to go right. where are the brakes? uh, just grab ahold of both and pull straight back. and the "whoa!" is optional.

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. back now with an nbc news exclusive. an interview with one of the first students to file a lawsuit at the high school level over concussions he sustained while playing football. he's trying to change how head injuries are dealt with for 30,000 young football players in illinois high schools. >> the last thing alex recalls about high school football practice was being hot and tired as he got in his defensive stance and waited for the snap. >> i was a little late coming up. it was a head on collision and after that i can't remember. >> he stayed in for a few more plays and collapsed. >> but you don't remember? >> i don't remember. >> they said you were air lifted off the field. >> i don't remember that either. >> what he does remember is waking up in the hospital with a severe concussion. some symptoms persist more than two years

later. alex now 19 and in college is part of a class action lawsuit with with. physicians say teens are especially vulnerable to concussions because their brains are still developing. >> trauma to the brain can disrupt that very fragile, already fragile foundation that is just starting to be formed. >> a new study found that the concussion rate among high school players is 11% higher than for college players. at both levels 58% of concussions are in practice. they have medical personnel on call for practices. for its part the athletic group says its sports have never been safer. >> we've provided a

concussion education course for 27,000 coaches over the past years and modified football practices. what we've done is studied all of our rules in all our sports. >> they say the lawsuit would make football too expensive and the rules should be made by school boards not courts. alex says it's not his aim to hurt the game he loves. >> i want to make it safer and want people to be safe. i know it's a violent sport but you can take precautions. >> so that no other player has to go through the same or dale. nbc news (vo) if you have type 2 diabetes you may know what it's like to deal with high... and low blood sugar. januvia (sitagliptin) is a once-daily pill that, along with diet and exercise helps lower blood sugar. januvia works when your blood sugar is high and works less when your blood sugar is low, because it works by enhancing your body's own ability to lower blood sugar. plus januvia, by itself, is not likely to cause weight gain

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people are calling an elphie. jeraline was born in 1899. president obama sent her a letter to wish her happy birthday. her god son says her number one rule is to treat people the way you want to be treated. and our own lester holt can add honorary doctorate to his honorary document. here's what he told grad garage graduates about making success. >> you ask yourself what is the top? one of the things i've discovered sometimes we're so busy climbing that ladder of success we forget to pause on the rung that we're on and look around to enjoy the view.

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on this memorial day weekend we pay tribute to every serviceman and woman who made the ultimate sacrifice but for the veterans who return home their sacrifices left them with something else the weight of war. today a 2,000 mile tribute wrapped up its tour. it's called carry the load. a congressional medal of honor recipient tells us who they're carrying. >> it's a day to honor all those who made the ultimate sacrifice. >> it's not what everybody else thinks. parties are fine and getting together with friends are fine but i think every day when i think of memorial day and that's all the people i left behind. >> i think our greatest fear when we're fighting is no one will know when we fall. we'll be forgotten. >> bruce's mission is to change all that.

>> when i came home after losing a lot of friends i wasn't okay with it. i started walking on memorial day a few years ago an older gentleman who i know was a world war ii veteran came up to me and said hey son, who are you carrying? >> bruce launched carry the load to remind americans of the true meaning of memorial day. >> carry yourthe load is a day for people to ask who you're carrying. >> i'm carrying the load of my grandpa who served in the war. >> i'm carrying the load of my wife. >> i'm carrying the load for my dad, uncle, great uncle. >> the national relay began last month. >> i'm doing it for friends and family and people who have died for the country. >> people of all ages walking miles at a time. >> i'm walking for my

conrads. >> i'm carrying 75 pounds. >>. >> even the water in anap lis didn't stand in their way. memorial may, the nonstop relay on 2,000 miles passing through 200 cities and towns and wrapped up in dallas today. more than 15,000 people participated. >> it's an opportunity to reconcile a nation and an opportunity to walk alongside you and say what you did mattered. >> carry the load reminds us of lincoln get gettysburg that it is for us the living to be dedicated to the unfinished work of the fallen. nbc news west point, new york. >> that is nbc nightly news for this sunday night. i'm kate snow reporting from new york. we'll see you right back here tomorrow. from all of us at nbc news, good night.

a strange feeling that i'm not going to live much longer. she predicted her own death. >> he heard a gunshot and saw the mustang rolling backwards. >> one man seemed to know more than he should. >> a gunshot in the chest looked like the first shot that was fired. >> how do you know that? >> an innocent guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time. >> so who was the real killer? >> the real killer is out there someplace. >> as long as there's breath in my lungs, we're not going to