i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, goodnight.

i'm lester holt reporting from new york

i'm lester holt. brian williams bill we back here on monday.e you tomorrow morning on "today." have a great weekend. good night, everyone. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com [ woman ] this icelandic mud was working wonders on my skin. but if it was going to do the same for my spa, i had to figure out a way to get it back to the states. so i called my citibank small business expert. he got me a line of credit to make it happen and even improved my cash flow. now, my spa has more business than ever.

i'm lester holt, in tonight for brian. the massive wildfire that has now driven thousands from their homes in arizona is threatening parts of new mexico tonight, and even more of the country is beginning to feel its effects. now the second largest fire in arizona history, it's already burned close to 500 square miles. 2,500 firefighters from as far away as new york are trying to contain it. but there is no containing the smoke that has triggered air quality alerts and spread a thick haze as far away as iowa. here now live, the dramatic backdrop from springerville, arizona, where nbc's george lewis is, to bring us the very latest. george, good evening. >>> lester, that plume of smoke is bearing down on springerville and eagar. the order will go out for springerville if the flames get too close to here. the fire has been roaring aggressively through the mountains on the arizona-new mexico border, threatening towns in its way. >> the smoke covering that entire community. >> reporter: this morning the wind died down long enoug

i'm lester holt in for brian tonight. we want to begin with breaking news from the nevada desert where a semi truck slammed into a moving am track train today, more than 200 people were aboard the california zefer which left from chicago bound for san francisco. a sudden impact and a huge fireball. >> reporter: fire and smoke billowed from the amtrak train after the impact. at least two people were killed, many more injured after a tractor trailer slammed into the side of the train in northern nevada. some 200 passengers and more than a dozen crewmembers were aboard. the collision followed by a fiery explosion and panic say survivors. jim bickly says he's lucky to be alive. >> my wife and i walked up to the observation car. sat down. not two minutes later, there was a big ball of flames all around the observation car we were in, with a bunch of smoke and everybody started yelling. some people started opening up windows and jumping out of them. we opened a window, looked out and saw the train on fire. >> reporter: the west

i'm lester holt in tonight for brian. the massive wildfire that has now driven thousands from their homes in arizona is threatening parts of new mexico tonight, and even more of the country is starting to feel its effects. now the second largest fire in arizona history, it's already burned close to 500 square miles. 2,500 firefighters from as far away as new york are trying to contain it. but there is no containing the smoke that has triggered air quality alerts and spread a thick haze as far away as iowa. from springerville, arizona tonight nbc's george lewis is standi standing by to bring us the latest. george? >> reporter: yeah, lester, we've been keeping a close eye on this wall of smoke interspersed by gusts of flame as it bears down on the city of eagar, arizona. the south part of eagar under an evacuation order tonight. the rest of eagar and springerville may have to be evacuated if the flames get too close. the fire has been roaring aggressively through the mountains on the arizona-new mexico border, threatening t

i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. and if these-to-don't have the best prom ever after everything they've been through, then maybe it wasn't even -- >> we recorded every moment. the father told our crew to have her back home at 11:00 and him as well. we'll tell you more about their -- cute couple, aren't they? >> i had a hard enough time putting hair and makeup on. imagine having cameras follow you the whole time. >>> a lot of news to get to. a big development in the fight against breast cancer. there's a new study out this morning that is providing hope for millions of women in the high-risk, post menopausal time in life. it's about a drug that prevents breast cancer apparently without the serious side effects of previous drugs. we'll tell you more about that just ahead. >>> plus, it's been about a month since they got married. and while they've been out of the spotlight on their honeymoon and settling into married life, newlyweds prince william and princess catherine are slowly stepping back into the public eye, gett

i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. and it's so great to see another big step for gabby giffords. >> a week after we get the picture, we learn that she is on her way home. she made her first trip home since the shooting in january. giffords was released from a rehabilitation center in houston on wednesday. going back to tucson was one of her top priorities, obviously. what's expected during her trip back there? we'll get a live report. >> and then it may be the biggest murder trial since o.j. simpson. we're talking, of course, about casey anthony. more than four weeks after opening statements the defense is now putting its case to the jury. casey returns to the courthouse today for more explosive testimony. and it comes as spectators, look at this, waiting in line start fighting with each other. it's all beginning to resemble a soap opera. we're going to have a live update from the courthouse coming up. >> they're really managing folks there. i heard in one case, if you fall asleep in the courtroom, they yank you so som

along with lester holt.till to come this case against casey anthony. >> the last couple days' testimony very dramatic. today is day 28 of the trial and it follows perhaps the most dramatic day yet. casey anthony's mom cindy took the stand, using photographs to try and suggest that caylee died accidentally in the family swimming pool. or at least laying the case that it could have happened. also lee anthony said he didn't even know his sister was breg nantz until just days before the birth. the beginning, perhaps, of more family secrets the defense hopes to bring on testimony. explosive sessions to the jury. what's going to happen today? we'll get a live report from orlando coming up. >> and take a look at this incredible video, it's from the helmet camera of a man who's lucky to be alive this morning. he and his friends were whitewater rafting in colorado when all of a sudden things took a terrifying turn. he and his two friends were stloen into the raging river. they barely escaped. we're going to hear from

i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> good evening. we're learning more tonight about that deadly train acct

i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. i'm one of those people who do not like to go too far out into the ocean, i'm afraid of sharks. people laugh at me. laugh at me. maybe i don't need to be laughed at any more. >> it looks like the shark is the one running for its life. it is probably yelling to the other sharks, humans! >> i will tell you, if that was me, that would be the last time i would be in the water. >> certainly end my surfing career. >> the career, how deep into the career are you? >> no, not very far. but we'll get that surfer's story later on. >>> we'll talk about the latest in the casey anthony murder trial. very, very surprising day yesterday. a move by the judge that has everyone asking, what is going on. >> for unknown reasons the judge ended saturday's session. we know the prosecution and defense were fighting over testimony from a surprise witness, but is that what led to the delay? we'll find out more about that. >>> plus, a high profile murder case that we were covering. the appeal that amanda knox i

i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, goodnight. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com i'm diane dwyer. we begin with the deadly train accident. federal investigators wrapped up a news conference moments ago. speed may have been a factor in the crash. semitruck traveled faster than the speed limit we're told. we're told there are still 28 people who purchased tickets for that train and as of now are still unaccounted for. it's also possible they were not on the train at the time of the accident. officials are concerned that at least some of them may have died. six people are confirmed dead. one of the dead is the driver of the truck. we're told he worked for john daly's trucking in nevada, a company with seven safety violations but not involving the same truck. authorities also say the train was traveling at 78 miles an hour before the crash. the speed limit in that area of nevada for the train is 80 miles an hour. >> the motor carrier operations team has been reviewing records on the compa

i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolf. it's so great, how refreshing it is, to wake up to breaking news that's actually really good news for a change. >> these pictures post odd her facebook page by staffers. they were apparently taken mau 17th. this is the day after her husband, mark kelly, went up on the shuttle. it's the first time we've seen her face since she was shot back in january. we've seen a couple of others photos from the hospital room. she looks great. >> she looks fantastic. it's hard to think it was five months ago already since that happened. it's been a long road of recovery for her. you wonder how much of it she remembers and how much of the last five months she remembers. she looks really happy here. i remember being there in tucson hours after the shooting and covering it, and six people died, and then we heard the grave wound she received and the vigils outside the hospital. it didn't look good for a long time, but she's making remarkable progress. staffers say she's still having difficulty communicat

captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> i'm lester holt. in tonight for brian. remarkably, that stubborn wildfire in arizona we have been telling you about for days now is still burning completely uncontained. covering now over 600 square miles and blanketing several more with layers of smoke. tonight, firefighters are making a stand around the threatened hamle hamlett, greer, it's threatened by fire which is one of the last communities to get out. >> reporter: good evening, lester. it started with sparks from an unattended camp fire. it's now burning a big chunk of arizona as firefighters try to save a people and trees behind me. the biggest concern right now is the mountain retreat of greer. firefighters are setting backfires and trying to construct barriers to save the community. six structures were burned. firefighters got a break from the wind today as the heavy gusts died down. dick and mary watched coverage of their town from a friend's house 40 miles away. they were relieved when they saw their part of town survived. >> when we got the news last night th

nbc-universal television >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening. the spring of our discontent which has already brought us the worst tornado season in recent memory is now adding fire, heat and still more flooding to the mix. in arizona, a wildfire already the state's third biggest ever has burned over 200 square miles and continues to grow. in the upper midwest it's water that has ten of thousands of people on the move. a flood emergency affecting more than a half dozen states tonight. and then there is the record heat. 90s, even triple digit temperatures baking spring flowers and breaking records in at least 25 cities today. we've got it all covered tonight. we begin with nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: a major wildfire in arizona. fueled by high temperatures and gusty winds is sending smoke as far as new mexico and southern colorado. some 1,300 firefighters from across the country are battling the blaze, which has ravaged more than 140,000 acres. >> the column that's up in the air the last few days has been in excess of 30,0

i'm ann curry and lester holt who is in for matt., on his record-breaking lend a hand tour. we check in with him coming up. >> he's had a heck of a week. >> he has. >> the charities have had a heck of a week. >> he's been so excited behind the scenes about it. what else is coming up? >>> we're going to talk about the changing face of cheating. the anthony weiner scandal has renewed that conversation. he admitted to inappropriate contact with at least six women online. straight ahead, exclusive live interview with one of those women. she's going to open up for the first time about their relationship, how it began and the contact they had after the scandal broke. >>> all right. but let's get a check of the top stories. and in fortunately this morning we have savannah guthrie. what's up? >> in the news this morning, u.s. park police have one suspect in custody this morning after he was caught with suspicious items in his backpack. his car was parked near the pentagon but officials said no explosives were found. >>> former congressman an

i'm amy robach along with lester holt.rthday. >> this is quite some party. i didn't see a dance floor or a dj, but the trooping of the color. pretty impressive display of pageantry to celebrate the queen's official birthday. it's been a tradition that's been going on, obviously, for centuries. this year to the queen's surprise, her grandson, prince william, will make his first appearance in the ceremony. we'll have a live report from london coming up. >> all right. >>> then it's a match made in animal heaven. we have a very cute couple with us. look at that. a cheetah cub and a labrador puppy, they're best of friends at bush gardens in tampa bay. this puppy is playing -- the one you'll see soon, is playing a very important role in the cheetah's life. i thought that was a puppy. the puppy is in there. i promise. >> we'll tell you how that relationship ensued in just a minute. >>> then i think a lot of us will experience back pain. my aching back. you know that it's the most common reason for people to see a doctor. it can b

. >> i'm lester holt. matt is on assignment this morning. estimated 100,000 american troops currently serving in afghanistan. the president will talk to the country tonight, expecting to announce a major drawdown. perhaps as many as 30,000. >> the question with that number is the pentagon on board, both timing and numbers have been contentious issues. we'll get details. >>> meantime, there is yet another new face running for the republican presidential nomination. form you are utah governor and u.s. ambassador to china, jon huntsman. some political watchers are calling him the republican's wild card candidate. are his political views too moderate? we'll chat with him in a moment. >>> plus the arrival of summer comes with it a lot of time outdoors. that can mean a number of hazards to your family. including fireworks and a new safety concern has emerged. we'll talk about that and also demonstrate the dangers coming up live. >> we send that message and still things happen. it's important that people understand the danger. >>> we want to begin

i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac

i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. to all the 70 million dads out there, including you. >> and happy father's day to my dad. and you are like a daughter. you didn't think i would say that. >> i appreciate it. i don't know what the policy is on wishing happy father's day to everyone. cover all bases. >> we hope all the dads out there have a great day. we have a lot to get to, including the afternoon on the links. this is a big game in a lot of ways. the two were together saturday for a golf summit. they have clashed in washington, famously, but did their powerplay bring them any closer? we'll talk about it. >>> summer begins on tuesday, but another heat wave is headed our way this afternoon. huge parts of the country could see record-breaking temperatures in the triple digits along with powerful and, yet dangerous storms. we'll have the latest on the extreme weather and what you can expect just ahead. >>> what is an old dress worth? if it is the one that marilyn monroe wore in this classic scene, a lot. we told you abou