dr. nancy snyderman joins us now with details, nancy, good evening. >> good evening, lester. the cdc decided today to announce there is a third case, the first case of transmission within the united states and that is significant because they have been watching this very closely. this virus, the middle east respiratory syndrome virus has been well-known in the middle east and globally for the past few years affecting more than 572 people but knowing to have caused at least 173 deaths. and it's the death count that almost 30% death rate that concerned people. so for the two index cases in the united states, that's why the cdc has been working 24/7 to follow every one, those two people, one in florida, one in the state of illinois have come into contact with. this is a business associate. they tested family members and everybody that's been on an airplane. a reminder right now, the cdc is not recommending people change travel plans but if anyone has fever, cough, chest pain and the symptoms of influenza, this is not flu season, report it to your doctor and get tested for the me

dr. nancy snyderman tonight with what you need to know. >>> stranded. the growing catastrophe is the worst flooding in a century, triggers landslides, kills dozens, and forces tens of thousands from their homes. >>> texts to 911. in case of an emergency, the new way to alert you're in trouble. tonight who can use it and how it works. >>> and play of the night. but it turns out there was more than the eye could see when a boy at the game did such a seemingly nice thing. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news with lester holt." >>> good evening. the level of concern here in the united states over the deadly mers virus has been raised a notch with word late yesterday that the disease has for the first time in this country been passed from one person to another. there have been hundreds of confirmed cases of mers overseas since 2012, with almost a third of the cases proving fatal. but it showed up here just three weeks ago when a person who had arrived by air from the middle east. now health officials say that

dr. nancy snyderman tonight with what you need to know. >>> stranded.ng catastrophe is the worst flooding in a century, triggers landslides, kills dozens, and forces tens of thousands from their homes. >>> texts to 911. in case of an emergency, the new way to alert you're in trouble. tonight who can use it and how it works. >>> and play of the night. but it turns out there was more than the eye could see when a boy at the game did such a seemingly nice thing. >> announcer: from nbc news world

dr. nancy snyderman, cdc headquarters in atlanta tonight. thanks for your reporting. >>> we're learning a lot more about a growing scandal involving patient waiting lists. the secretary of veterans affairs, eric shinseki, is expected to testify about it tomorrow in congress. we get our report tonight from kelly o'donnell in phoenix. >> reporter: a marathon four-hour gathering of veterans. >> we don't trust the va, we're scared. >> reporter: stretched late into tuesday night. >> you can't do veterans like this. you can't treat veterans like this. >> reporter: just the second day on the job for new boss at the phoenix va medical center steven young who faced deep anger over the patient waiting list scandal. is this fixable? >> i think everything is fixable. it's just going to take energy, it's going to take focus, and i think that's exactly what we want to do. >> reporter: in a new development, nbc news reviewed a 2010 internal memo where va officials ordered immediate action to stop staffers from falsifying appointment dates to make patient w

dr. nancy snyderman for us tonight, thank you. >>> we're learning more about a story tonight that was just breaking as we came on the air last night. what was a plot to bomb a school and shoot students as they tried to escape. authorities say without a tip from a woman who saw something that just didn't seem right, they might not have been able to prevent it. we get more tonight from our justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: chelsea shellhaas of waseca, minnesota, said she was washing the dishes tuesday night when she saw a young man walk through the back yard and enter one of the storage units nearby. thinking it looked suspicious, she called 911. >> the fact he was sitting here struggling for ten minutes trying to open the storage unit, something didn't feel right about it. >> reporter: police say the 17-year-old they found inside, john david ladue, was in the final stages of planning a deadly attack on his own school. >> he intended to set off numerous bombs during the lunch hour, kill the school resource officer as he responded to help, set fires, and shoot students and sta

dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: christi and bubba were college sweethearts who married and dreamed of having a big family. but after their daughter lauren was born, christi was diagnosed with breast cancer. >> there was no option for me to do anything but to figure out how to beat this and beat this the best that i could. >> reporter: chemotherapy can lead to menopause and infertility so she joined a trial at md anderson cancer center, testing a drug called zoladex. >> the main goal of the study was to see if an intervention could reduce the risk of developing ovarian failure of receiving chemotherapy for early stage breast cancer. >> reporter: researchers studied over 200 women of childbearing age with early stage breast cancer. the kind that's hormone receptor negative. all got chemotherapy and half got zoladex. the results were striking. the zoladex had better ovary function and more successful pregnancies. three years after christi's chemotherapy ended, she got pregnant. they had a boy alexander. then everett, then lucas. cancer specialists expect this research to help family planning pa

dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, new york. >> we posted more information on this study on our web site go. to nbcby aanbcbayarea.com. >> still to come, a woman's mission for kittens. >> most don't take neonates in, most were killed and they still are in most shelters. >> how she's saving thousands of tiny little lives in tonight's bay area proud. and then cover the papi. announcer: the moment babies are born, their brains are forming the connections that determine how they learn...think...and grow. in the sky. [ babbles ] talk and read to your children from day one. this is tomato soup. announcer: their brains are actually developing with your every word. it's free, easy, and something you can do anytime. talk. read. sing. your words have the power to shape their world. learn more at first5california.com/parents >>> san francisco is famous for many things, including a love of animals. shelters in the city have some of the lowest euthanasia rates of any major city thanks in part to the woman you'll meet in tonight's bay area proud. nbc bay area's garvin thomas explains. >> reporter: there i

dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: the white house today responding to concerns about the deadly virus now showing up in the united states. >> and the president has been briefed on this development. the cdc is taking the current situation very seriously and is work income close coordination with local health authorities. >> reporter: so far, two cases have been confirmed. a patient in indiana was hospitalized for 12 days and released last week. the second, a saudi resident who was visiting family tonight remains hospitalized in orlando, florida in good condition and now 20 health care workers at two hospitals in orlando are being tested for mers. health officials on the front lines of previous global outbreaks, like bird flu, swine flu and sars are concerned. a doctor resently returned from the arabian peninsula where he has been studying the ca sars o. >> it is similar to other illnesses from other respiratory pathogens. you might think it's an influenza. >> reporter: that's why the tsa has begun to alert travelers. these signs are being posted at major airports across the country, about

dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: the cdc said this second case of mers is unwelcomed but not unexpected. this patient, a 44-year-old male health care worker who lives and works in saudi arabia flew on may 1 to london when he began feeling ill. from london, he continued to boston, then atlanta, and from atlanta to orlando. after developing a fever, chills and a slight cough, the patient was admitted to dr. p. phillips hospital in orlando on may 9. he is now isolated and doing well. as investigators attempt to track down all the people who might have been exposed. >> we are contacting more than 500 people who were on the same flight as this individual. however, we think the risk is extremely low. >> there are 538 con virmed cases of mers worldwide with 145 deaths. the majority of cases remain in saudi arabia. this virus is more fatal than influenza but not as contagious. there is no specific treatment or vaccination for this emerging illness. u.s. health officials are taking these two cases very seriously and they want emergency room personnel to be on guard and to respond has quickly as t

dr nancy snyderman will have the latest. >>> rising star, the surprise news about a leading young democratfor a new role in the obama administration and perhaps beyond. >>> and how equal? six decades after a landmark civil rights ruling, the disturbing trend in america's public schools.

dr. nancy snyderman explains. >> reporter: school shootings, a huge problem in this country. mental illness often to blame. but a new study released this morning shows that bullying can be just as big an issue. >> when children are bullied, they often develop tremendous amounts of anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. they feel helpless and at some point they need to look around for help, or they want to do it themselves. i think it's at that point that they start to bring arms to school. >> reporter: researchers at the cohen children's medical center of new york found that an estimated 200,000 high school students who have been bullied bring weapons to school. and those who have been victimized in multiple ways are up to 31 times more likely to carry a knife or gun on the campus than those who have not been bullied at all. >> so it is not a safe environment if students know they have to protect themselves. who's protecting them? >> reporter: a sobering warning about the wide ranging effects of bullying, which endanger all our children. for "today," dr. nancy snyderman, nb

dr. nancy snyderman. >> in a nanosecond your life is changed, period. it's just -- there is no going back. >> reporter: 53-year-old kris noah assumed when she made it through treatment for breast cancer and survived, her life would get back on track but she was wrong. >> i never expected to be on disability. i never expected to not go back to work. >> reporter: that's what happens to a surprising number of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer according to a recent study. researchers followed more than 1,000 women under the age of 65 and found of those working when they were diagnosed, almost 1/3rd were unemployed four years later. >> i would not necessarily have thought to mention an impact on employment when talking about the pros and cons of receiving a particular treatment, such as chemotherapy. and so i think as physicians, we can really learn from this. >> reporter: those with chemotherapy were more likely to be unemployed, suggesting they should be more selective about who gets it for early-stage breast cancer when there are other option

dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: kim's daughter was 25 and pregnant when she went into the hospital for routine gallbladder surgery. >> we were reassured that many of these procedures had been done on pregnant women and it was really nothing to worry about. >> reporter: but dianna picked up an infection called mer sa, resistant to antibiotics, and died a few days after she gave birth. >> that night i went back up to the hospital to hold her baby. i didn't know what else to do with myself. >> reporter: mrsa kills about 19,000 americans a year. that's more than aids. a report today by the u.n.'s world health organization says super bugs like mrsa have become so serious, they threaten the achievements of modern medicine, pushing us towards a post-antibiotics era. drug resistant tuberculosis is found in 92 countries around the world. it's an international call to action taken seriously by u.s. health officials. >> it now spreads around the world with the speed of jet travel. if there is a resistant bacteria there, it's here tomorrow. >> reporter: doctors warn that we need to be smarter abou

dr. nancy snyderman has more. >> reporter: it's called mers. it has been deadly for one out of every three people who get it, 93 deaths in the last two years. it was first identified in saudi arabia and five other middle eastern nations in 2012. as for the new case, the first confirmed here in the united states. health officials say the infected person left saudi arabia a week ago on april 24th, stopping in london before flying to chicago and then taking a bus to indiana. by then the traveler was in an emergency room with shortness of breath, cough, and fever. friday officials confirmed it is mers. while they say the general population is not in danger, they are working to track down anyone who may have crossed paths with the infected person. >> there has not been a clear case of person to person transmission outside of the health care setting yet. i think we need to keep this in perspective. >> reporter: the symptoms are similar to the flu and it is passed through close personal contact. doctors say there is no specific treatment, cure, or vac

dr. nancy snyderman. >>> while getting paid is one thing, is it ever possible for working parents to finding me from washington, d.c. is bridget, staff writer at the "washington post," and author of "overwhelmed." i'm thinking, you must have been somewhat overwhelmed putting this book together, right? >> well, yes, indeed. i did get a leave from the "washington post," they were very generous, so i was only able to -- so i was able to focus on just reporting and writing this book. so that helped enormously. >> i should think. i have to say that i laughed out loud putting the research together for this, when it said that a researcher had found all american women have 30 hours of leisure time each week. i'm like, who are those women? how did you react to that? >> well, that's sort of how i felt. i felt like i sort of described it like someone took a frying pan and bonged me on the head, and like in the cartoons the tweety birds were flying around my head, what planet do you live on? that's what i said to this researcher. you're crazy, i don't have 30 hours of leisure of the he said, yes, you

dr. nancy snyderman in a few minutes. and the va admits 23 people have died because of delayed care. new information points, though, to a far deeper problem. an ohio paper says delayed treatment is a factor in more than 100 deaths. we'll be looking into that. and it was a packed house for friday's first know your value conference which donny missed in hartford. hundreds of women took part in a wide ranging issues. we're going to show you some of the highlights coming up. >> mea culpa, i was privileged to be invited to judge -- >> yep. celebrity judge. >> with yourself and mr. scarborough. and i got plans. >> i got big footed because of you. >> exactly. >> i was big footed because of you and i sat home friday night. >> it's always about the children. i got plans to come up to hartford and i was taking "morning joe" chopper 5 up there, and i have to be home at 4:00 on fridays when my kids get home from school. this is a true story. so it's children first. that's what happens. and once again the scarborough chopper 5 did not work. by the way, 500 women -- >> you know what i said when yo

dr. nancy snyderman has done a lot of reporting on how healthy baby and healthy births are increasingly linkedlve until this is part of a benefits package that a women can negotiate. these are very expensive procedures, ivf and egg freezing. these are not available to anyone but the top earners. >> so joanna, your magazine readers are the younger generation, the 20 somethings, women. >> well, we've been writing about this for the last five, ten years. as emma said, what's happened is that the treatment is no longer considered experimental. so suddenly it's on the open market in a much, much bigger way and one of the other issues is that now women and doctors are saying to women if you want to do this procedure and you want it to be effective, you need to freeze your eggs when you're 21, not when you're in last chance saloon at 35 or 40 and the omelet may not taste so good. i literally think this is clearly in terms of medical advance, as important as ivf, and i think increasingly this will be the enough graduation present where parents say to kid, we want you to have a fantastic career, freeze

dr. nancy snyderman has the story. nancy, good morning. >> good morning, savannah.cia stillman wants to bring to everyone's attention is a series one. bacterial meningitis which often strikes college students. in this case, it's a rare strain that is difficult to diagnose and can strike suddenly and can be fatal. after high school graduation, emily stillman dreamed of making it big in comedy. >> she probably would have made it on "saturday night live," but my husband and i said well you have to have a plan b just in case. >> reporter: late last january, emily, a 19-year-old college sophomore, phoned her mother complaining of a terrible head ache. >> i said gosh, em, you're tired. take a couple motrin and go to bed and we'll talk in the morning. >> reporter: but the next morning, the call came from emily's college dean. emily was in the hospital with bacterial meningitis. >> i just kept telling myself, she's been vaccinated. this is a misdiagnosis. >> reporter: emily died two days later. she had received the meningitis vaccine and booster, but they did not protect he

dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor.alling it a global threat. >> imagine a child in aleppo who's hurt, goes to the local emergency room and that child has an infection that can't be treated with the most basic antibiotics. we tend to think this is a first world problem, a western world problem. it is now global. but in this country alone, last stats were 2 million people were infected with antibiotic resistant microbes. 23,000 people died. >> is this simply because we are overusing antibiotics and doctors are prescribing them too often? >> antibiotics are in our food supply so we ingest them. we take them for reasons we shouldn't. we take them improperly. i think we always have sort of assumed if we go to the doctor we'll get something in return. that's usually antibiotics. and we have become germophobes in all the wrong ways. we wipe down gerls on everything as if they are bad for us. some germs keep us healthy and we are doing a good job destroying that. >> why should we take antibiotics, why should we not? >> take an

dr. nancy snyderman with more. nancy, good morning. >> savannah, good morning. there are over 20 people in orlando, florida, tested for mers because they have now been exposed to the second confirmed case. two are physicians. while experts say that the risk to the general public is still very low, experts are not taking any chances, and health officials want people to know that globally, everyone is on alert. the tsa is putting travelers on high alert this morning. signs like these going up at more than 20 airports across the country after a second case of middle east respiratory syndrome, or mers, has been confirmed in the united states. >> all we need are a couple of these people who transmit to a large number of people to end up in new york, toronto, hong kong, or tokyo and i guarantee you the world will have a very different view of what's happening right now in the middle east. >> reporter: now, 20 health care workers at two orlando hospitals are being tested for possible exposure, after the second confirmed case of mers in the u.s. was admitted to the hosp