on this thursday night, on this thursday night, breaking news. word of what could be the biggest hack attack in american history. the u.s. government targeted and nbc news has learned china is the prime suspect. is a serial sniper on the loose? growing fear in colorado after a series of unsolved shootings are. people being targeted? the latest cut down on a residential street. the little pink pill that some call the female viagra given a major victory tonight. will it soon be available? and the cost of cancer. children suffering, their desperate parents turning to strangers for lifesaving help. "nightly news" begins right now. ♪

good evening, details of our top story are still breaking. word coming down late this afternoon of what sources are telling us is a massive chinese hack of u.s. government computers. perhaps on a scale never seen in this country before. the target -- agency that handles government employee records. putting at risk the personnel files of millions of current and former federal employees. nbc's andrea mitchell has late details. >> reporter: officials say this could be the biggest cyberattack in american history. the culprit they say, china. as many as four million current and former government employees have been told their personal information, including names, social security numbers and birthdays, could have been hacked from the office of personnel management. the agency that screens and hires federal workers and does security clearances for 90% of the federal government. tonight the obama administration is scrambling to assess the

damage and warning millions of government employee that they should monitor their bank accounts and will get government help with credit report and identity theft insurance. officials also tell nbc news the data breach involved a never-before-seen cyber indicator and could potentially effect every federal agency. the fbi is investigating but in the past cyberattacks from china have come from this chinese army building in shanghai. this comes after last year's suspected north korean attack on sony and report that russia had hacked the white house, state department, and irs, including president obama's e-mail. today before this cyberattack was disclosed intelligence committee member senator ron wyden told nbc news -- >> i continue to feel that it is very important that we ramp up our efforts to go after foreign hackers and foreign threats. >> reporter: u.s. officials say that this breach is serious, but it could not be the worst case scenario they hope. that would involve the disclosure of the identities of the cia's covert agents.

so far at least, they do not think that the cia covers have been blown. so far, the chinese embassy has not responded to our calls about the hacking. lester? >> all right. andrea mitchell. thanks. a major victory late this afternoon for that little pink pill that have come calling the female viagra. what would be the first drug of its kind on the market specifically designed for women. nbc has details. >> reporter: this is the medication promising to restore sexual desire to women who have lost it. the little pink pill. tonight one step closer to fda approval after experts said it should be made available to women. but the advisory panel did so amid what it called serious safety concerns. nausea and unexpected fainting. it said benefits of the drug were modest. >> suddenly i felt the flutter, and i always say it was not a flutter in my heart. it was like whoa. what is that? welcome back. >> reporter: amanda parish took the pill every night as parts of a clinical trial of flibanserin in pre-menopausal women which

twice in the past six years failed to get approval. it is not as it's been called the female viagra. >> viagra increases blood flow and it's approved for use only in men. this drug flibanserin, works in the brain on a woman's desire. >> reporter: while experts say distressing low sexual desire is a real medical condition impacting 16 million u.s. women, critics argue the little pink pill isn't the solution. >> if there were a very effective drug for increasing libido in women that didn't have any side effects and therapy had already been tried, that might be useful. this instant drug. >> reporter: the fda generally follows the recommendation of its panel. a final decision is expected this summer. nbc news new york. we turn now to a story developing in northern colorado where there is growing concern that a serial sniper may be on the loose.

three people shot since april. one on a bike other another in a car, and the latest last night. the 65-year-old man gunned down on a residential street in loveland colorado. 50 miles north of denver. nbc's jacob rascon has late details. >> reporter: the most recent colorado shooting victim was apparently just out for a walk. the 65-year-old man gunned down late wednesday night. >> there is an opportunity to feel fear because we don't know if this is related to the other shootings. >> reporter: two weeks ago, john jacoby of shot dead while riding his bike. in late april, cory ramiro of shot in the neck while driving on the interstate. the attacks happened 90 minutes north of denver only miles from each other. investigators say the first two shootings are connected, and they're looking into the third. and into about a dozen reports of random blown-out car windows in the area. >> the public needs to be vigilant. they need to be observant. and if they see any suspicious

activity report it to your local law enforcement so we can investigate. >> reporter: tips from the public have been critical in solving past serial shootings. in 2002 when snipers killed ten people in washington, d.c., and virginia in 2005 and '06 when shooters in arizona killed at least six and injured 19 and last year when a man in kansas city shot at 12 cars injuring three people. the fbi is offering a $10,000 reward in the first two incidents. two dead and one injured in northern colorado. the search for a possible serial shooter now more desperate. a task force investigating the shootings just wrapped up the press conference. they say there are similarities between all the cases. they're tackling this with unprecedented manpower they say, and resources and want to reiterate the fbi is offering a $10,000 reward for information from the public. lester? >> thank you. we've gotten our first look at the arsenal of weapons a man had inside his car when he jumped over the white house fence last fall and made it deep

inside the building before he was finally taken down. our senior white house correspondent, chris jansing, has more. >> reporter: these are the weapons white house fence-jumper omar gonzalez brought to washington the day he scaled the fence. a machete, tomahawks, numerous knives and a huge amount of ammunition. the cache found in his ford bronco is described in chilling detail in a 25-page sentencing report. >> the secret service had to categorize the threat, this is kind of like a def con 5. a serious situation. >> everybody out! >> reporter: as juan gonzalez got inside the white house, he was carrying this knife with a 3.5-inch serrated blade. this could have really hurt somebody. >> yeah absolutely. and body armor's not -- not designed to protect against these weapons. >> reporter: this is where the car and weapons were found. 15 minutes that direction was the white house. this was not his first run-in with police or the secret

service. an even more threatening arsenal was found when virginia state police pulled him over last july. high-powered rifles a sawed off shotgun, handguns and a map with the white house highlighted. he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. that sentence was suspended. >> the mitigating factors would be that the defendant did not have enough of a criminal record and, frankly, no one was injured during this incident. >> reporter: this time prosecutors are recommending 21 months in prison and three years supervised release. at the white house, temporary metal spikes have been clamped on to the existing barricade. nine months later, still no permanent fix for a fence that's proved tempting time and again. 21 months is the maximum under sentencing guidelines. the report says gonzalez has shown remorse and acknowledges the army veteran suffers from post traumatic stress. tonight, the white house says it has confidence in the secret service and the reforms put in place since the fence-jumping. >> chris jansing at the white house, thank you. the thwarted home-grown terror attack on police officers in boston is having a ripple

effect nationwide as police departments grapple with fears overar reach of social media. radicalizing people already here to target police officers. our justice correspondent, pete williams, has that story. >> reporter: the fbi's claim that it disrupted a boston plot to attack police officers is the main hallway talk in a meeting today of big city police chiefs in phoenix. officials say last fall's hatchet attack on a new york city police officer and this week's plot to attack police in massachusetts were both inspired by calls on isis social media to go after people in uniform including police. >> it's a continually growing threat to this country. >> it's a very big wild card. and law enforcement has to constantly look for new strategies to try to combat this. >> reporter: the fbi says that after ordering three knives on line last week usaamah rahim of boston ad first planned to behead someone in new york pamela geller who organized last month's "draw muhammad"

contest in texas. >> i think it was more along the lines of wishful thinking. you know we had 24/7 surveillance on him. and we were monitoring all potential targets. >> reporter: the fbi says rahim abruptly changed his mind tuesday morning and told a friend he would begin attacking police that very day. law enforcement officials say he called his father that morning to say "you're not going to see me again after today." in boston today his brother and lawyers for the family said he was killed before police even had legal authority to arrest him. >> the family hopes to work productively and cooperatively with federal and local authority in a joint effort to search for truth. >> reporter: investigators are questioning a rhode island man after searching his house for two days. officials say he knew about some of rahim's plans. he's has not been charged. pete williams, nbc news boston. there was an enormous outpouring of grief today at delaware's state capitol where the casket of beau biden, the

eldest son of vice president joe biden, was laid in honor. the biden family received the flag-draped casket outside, and hundreds of people lined up to pay their respects inside. beau biden, who served as delaware's attorney general for two terms, died saturday after battling brain cancer. president obama will give the eulogy at biden's funeral on saturday. the already very crowded republican field got another player today. former texas governor rick perry announced he's jumping into the race for president. perry also ran in 2012 but dropped out when his campaign failed to spark much heat. it was, however, scorching inside the hangar where perry made today's announcement. this makes ten in the gop race for the white house with more expected like jeb bush, who is now set to announce his campaign -- his candidacy on june 15th. now to one of the most talked about stories of the day -- the duggars. the parents that have come under so much criticism after it was revealed their son while he was a teenager sexually assaulted

five underage girls including members of his own family. a lot of questions about what the parents knew and when they went to authorities. the duggars are now speaking out and defending themselves. here's nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: their son admitted sexually boozing five minors as a teenager -- abusing five minors as a teenager. four of them his sister one only 5 years old. the duggars waited a year to get help even longer to tell police. >> this was not rape or anything like that. this was like touching somebody over their clothes. there were a couple incidents where he touched them under their clothes. but it was like a few seconds. >> josh has done some very bad things. and he -- he's very sorry. >> reporter: their defense on fox news triggered an immediate and passionate response. >> the worst thing a parent can do is deny or minimize childhood sexual abuse in a family. when a family finds out about

childhood sexual abuse, the help should come immediately. >> reporter: in a police report uncovered by "in touch" magazine the duggars say josh first told them about the abuse in march, 2002. then again that july and a third time in 2003 when they sent him away to a christian program for four months of treatment. >> it was after that third time he came to us where really felt like you know what, we have done everything we can as parents to handle this in house. we need to get help. >> reporter: 36% of sexual abusers of children known to police are children themselves. 25% of their victims are family members. the numbers can be misleading because so many cases go unreported. only 18 states require parent to report their children to authorities. the duggars' home state of arkansas is not one of them. >> it's true that parents are not necessarily mandated reporters, but they have a legal obligation not to allow child

sexual abuse to go on in their own home. >> reporter: tlc pulled the duggars' show "19 kids and counting." but the family's reality is still very much in the spotlight. stephanie gosk nbc news, new york. still ahead tonight, the cost of cancer. when it strikes young children more and more desperate parents are turning for help in paying for lifesaving treatments. also new evacuations tonight as floods millions evacuate under the threat of tornadoes again. my constipation and belly pain have my stomach feeling all knotted up. i've tried laxatives... but my symptoms keep returning. my constipation feels like a pile of bricks... that keeps coming back. linzess can help. once-daily linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. linzess helps you proactively manage your symptoms. do not give linzess to children under 6 and it should not be given to children 6 to 17.

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we are back with another in our special series of reports that we're calling "the cost of cancer." when insurance can't or doesn't cover the full cost of sky-high medical bills, more and more patients and families are having to turn to the internet and rely on the kindness of strangers. nbc's anne thompson has their story. >> reporter: 32-year-old megan morgan is fiercely independent. how hard is to ask for help? >> i can't do it. >> reporter: but this single mom has no choice. her 13-month-old son henry, has inoperable neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer. >> i have like just started using the "c" word. it's hard to -- your little guy his cancer. >> reporter: megan, who runs a dog-walking business has been here for two weeks. the bill for the room alone is already $40,000. she says one of an estimated 45 million americans with a high deductible insurance plan. $5,000 that must be paid first. can you cover that $5,000?

>> oh goodness no. i mean it is just henry and i. so we are -- a precarious financial situation like in a good month. >> reporter: megan's cousin, christy is scared too and wants to help. >> it's hard because i can't fix it. just like she can't fix henry. >> reporter: so she's crowdfunding raising money on the internet. the pack family is doing it too. 9-year-old wes has the same kind of cancer as henry. he relapsed and has to travel from virginia to new york every month to see specialists. expenses not covered by insurance. so how much do you owe? >> $97,000. >> reporter: can you pay any of that? >> no. i don't think we can even get close. >> reporter: the family started a page too, and they are far from alone. in 2011 there were just over 8,000 medical campaigns on gofundme the biggest crowdfunding website. by 2014 there were more than 600,000, raising almost $200

million. but crowdfunding can't help most americans, and we all need to be prepared. >> we can no longer assume that if you have health insurance you're all set. you may not be. you really need to think about what kind of deductible do you have and do you have the savings that you need to get you through an illness. >> reporter: megan and henry are still in the hospital. how's he doing today? >> he's having an awesome day. this morning he had toast grapes and it's more than he's eaten in three weeks. >> reporter: their page is more than halfway to its $20,000 goal. >> i am so grateful because i know that i'm going to need help whether i like it or not. >> reporter: learning to rely on others so her son can live. anne thompson, nbc news, portland, maine. and we're back in a moment with a surprise broadway show in the unlikeliest of places. in the unlikeliest of places. ♪ super poligrip seals out more food particles. so your food won't get stuck

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the seemtingly unending stretch of danger us on weather is continue -- dangerous weather is continuing in kansas, colorado nebraska, and wyoming. flash flood watches and tornado watches already issued tonight. near kansas city flash flooding prompted evacuations. police having to go door to door to alert residents. in the tropics, we continue to monitor hurricane blanca as it bears down on baja weakening slightly but still a powerful storm as cabo braces for a hit on sunday. and moisture from the storm could push into the american southwest next week. if only this could happen the next time your flight is delayed. take a look. ♪ viral today. stranded passengers treated to an impromptu performance by casts of both "the lion king" and "aladdin" musicals. they were stuck when bad weather

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destinies will collide tonight in california where game one of the nba finals tips off. golden state hasn't gotten this far in 40 years. but the city of cleveland hasn't seen a championship in any major51 years. whose fans want it more? here's nbc's craig melvin. [ cheers ] >> reporter: for the fifth straight time lebron james is getting ready to play for the nba championship. this time it's different. when lebron broke up with cleveland -- >> going to take my talents to south beach. >> reporter: -- betrayed fans spilled into the streets to trash his flame and torch his jersey. dominic franklin's son held out hope commissioning this mural for a south cleveland barber shop. >> he wanted him to come back and play here and finish his career here. >> reporter: lebron listened to fans and returned to a rustbelt city on the cusp of its own comeback. republicans announced they'd hold their 2016 national convention here. boarded up blight and rampant poverty slowly being replaced by signs of progress. still, not a major sports team

has won a title here in 51 years. >> we haven't had a champion here in -- who knows how long. >> reporter: sure, they're starving in cleveland, but they're pretty hungry here, as well. that's because golden state has not hoisted a championship trophy in 40 years. gary liss was here the last time of he's been a season ticket holder for 54 years. >> we had a couple really bad ones yes, but i still came. >> this is home for me. this is -- i got warrior blood. >> reporter: their team boasts the league's best record, most valuable player stephen curry. fans cannot get enough of his 2-year-old daughter riley. >> that's too loud, daddy. >> i know. hold on one second. >> reporter: golden state is favored to win, but don't tell franklin. he lost his son last year a few months before lebron came home. dad finished the mural. >> my son is sitting up there, he's saying, "i told you, you, i told you." >> reporter: two fathers, sons and cities anxious for a long

overdue championship. craig melvin, nbc news, oakland. that will do it for us on this thursday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news thank you for watching, and good night.

lights camera access. >> this was not rape or anything like that. >> victimized more in these last couple weeks. >> they can't do this to us. >> than they were 12 years