richard engel with a rare look inside a hospital under ground in aleppo to escape the bombs, treating syria's children who fill bed after bed. >>> and unstoppable. usain bolt strikes again as simone biles are they the greatest of all-time? "nightly news" from rio begins right now. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news with lester holt" reporting tonight from the olympic summer games in rio. >>> good evening, from the olympics. full coverage of the headlines from here ahead, but our top story is back home where the death toll and the misery index is rising because of louisiana. at least switch deaths reported, 12,000 others are living in shelters. the number of rescues has reached 20,000 after a staggering amount of rain, as much as 2 1/2 feet inside 72 hours in some places. from overhead, baton rouge this evening, we're looking at a watery scene that is in some ways reminiscent of the aftermath of katrina. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in louisiana with the latest. massive, wide swathes of louisiana under water, now a federal disaster area. what are we looking at right here? >> once a sho

richard engel on the new intense battles in syria as insurgents try to liberate hundreds of thousands in a city cut off by government forces. >>> fearing zika. the growing threat of the virus and its consequences now prompting couples in florida to put off plans in having children. >>> the comeback. the american athlete who made it to rio after winning the biggest battle of her life. for her, victory here will be a bonus. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt, reporting tonight from the olympic summer games in rio. >>> good evening from copacabana beach on day one of the olympic games. the lights of the beach volleyball stadium blazing right behind me where the u.s. women compete later this evening. coming off a lavish opening ceremony celebrating the athletes and brazil, team usa was off to a great start today as a rookie from virginia took the first gold medal of the olympic games. but here tonight on the beach and in the pool is where some of america's best look to shine. let's go about an hour from here to baja where we find nbc's miguel almaguer with the lates

richard engel with a report inside aleppo, treating syria's children who fill bed usain bolt wins again, and simone biles wins another gold. are they the best athletes of all-time? "nightly news" from rio begins right now. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news with lester holt" reporting from the olympic summer games in rio. >>> from the olympics, first the headlines. at least seven deaths have now been reported in louisiana. the number of rescues has reached 20,000 after a staggering amount of rain, as much as 2 1/2 feet inside 72 hours in some places. from overhead, baton rouge this evening, we're looking at a watery scene that is in some ways reminiscent of the ga ga gabe. >> reporter: now a federal disaster area. >> what are we looking at right here? >> a shopping center, clearly a major retail area. >> reporter: today a break from the downpours, but not from the heart break. many rivers receding, but still at levels. more than 7,000 people have been rescued in louisiana in the past few days, more than 12,000 or so have spent time in emergency shelters. life after the historic flo

our richard engel with the whistle-blowers in hiding who fear the russian government is trying to kill them. >>> second chance. as a tornado destroyed their gym, they huddled in the basement. a year later, we're there as the young gymnasts get the surprise of a lifetime. "nightly news" begins now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with jose diaz balart. >>> good evening. it started out routinely a. southwest airlines jet with 104 people on board on a flight from new orleans to orlando when suddenly the sound of an explosion, ang engine problem on the plane was forced to make an emergency landing. 99 terrified passengers are okay tonight and are describing what it was like when something went very wrong. jolene kent has the details. >> reporter: a terrifying moment in the sky. >> we were kind of just zoned out and then all of a sudden it was that huge, loud noise. >> reporter: what sounded like an explosion on a southwest florida from new orleans to orlando. the plane took off shortly after 9:00 a.m. a short time later, the pilot dive

richard engel on the new intense battles in syria as insurgents try to liberate hundreds of thousands in a city cut off by government forces. >>> fearing couples in florida now putting off plans to have children. >>> the comeback. the american athlete who made it to rio after winning the biggest bonus. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: this is nbc news "nightly news" with lester holt, re tonight from the summer olympic games in rio. >>> welcome to copacabana beach, the lights of the beach volleyball stadium blazing right behind me where the u.s. women compete later this evening. coming off aav athletes in brazil, team usa was off to a great star as the rookie from virginia took the first gold medal of the olympic games. but here in the pool are where some of america's look to shine. let's go about an hour from here to baja where we find nbc's miguel almaguer with the latest on the competition. olympic park is open today. thousands are still pouring in to the venue. there are gold medal events later on tonts. it is a nightcap to an incredible day. today against this stunni

richard engel, nbc news. people in phoenix remain on edge this evening as authorities hunt for a serial shooter now linked to nine attacks, most of them deadly. now new concern that he is expanding his target zone. >> reporter: when the sun goes down in phoenix these days, fear comes out. the serial killer still at large, believed to have shot nine people, seven fatally, since march. >> it is certainly frightening for anyone. >> reporter: according to occurred under the cover of nature in the maryvale neighborhood, and now appears to be moving into central phoenix. while many are staying off the threats, many are still unaware of these threats. >> you know about this guy? >> no. first time seen he seeing it. >> reporter: that's why this guardian angel walks a central phoenix neighborhood where the most recent shooting happened on july 11th. >> he doesn't care who he's shooting at. he doesn't care if there is a child in the car. >> first serial shooting for are phoenix with its highways making it easy to escap

>> richard engel gave a terrific overview. during my visits in and out of californkabul, i have not been campus. i think the big issue, though, there's no question is the war in afghanistan is intensifying. the country is coming apart. the national leadership is fractured between abdullah and ghani and we have to remind ourselves we have only 10,000 nato forces there now. they are way out on a limb. handful of special ops, intelligence advisers. i might remind our viewers, i was wounded twice as an adviser. so i'm always sensitive to the notion that our forces there aren't in combat because they are advising. so the place is a mess. hard to imagine a federal government bringing together this warring nation and essentially ethnic and religious internal civil war. >> special forces are inside the university. they are engaged with the gunmen. a car bomb was detonated at the main gate of the university. and a number of gunmen had entered the compound. standby. we just had press secretary josh earnest discussing the situation and t

also, richard engel on the intense fighting and air strikes in syria as break a government siege which has trapped hundreds of thousands. >>> and the american woman who battled back from the biggest challenge of her life and made it here to rio when we see you in a few minutes for "nbc nightly news." for now, back to you in new york. >> thank you, lester. >>> we're going to go over to chris cimino for the weather. >> it's calming down but it was something had to give and as a cold front pushed in, a sunny sunday is heading oh you are way. the big difference about tomorrow, much less humid and more comfortable. it gets stormy again by the end of next week. temperatures back in the low and middle 80s. rain-cooled 79. a lot of 80s, lower 80s through northwest new jersey and showers as in the park and the temperature can go up a few degrees in t n hours and then start to slide back down later tonight. a couple of thunderstorms. nothing severe. you notice behind this, a wedge of clearer skies. drier air that gradually filters in. you're not going to get that sudden drop in humidity this eve

richard engel has the report. >> reporter: a russian runner and her family are on the run. they believe they're being hunted by the russian government. >> translator: if it is not accidental. >> if you suddenly end up murdered, is that what you're talking about? >> translator: yes, yes. this is exactly what we have in mind. >> reporter: two years ago, she and her husband, a former anti-doping officer, exposed the widespread use of banned substances in russian sports on the german tv channel ard. dozens of russian athletes were excluded from international competitions. president vladimir putin called her a judas. >> translator: it's not right. >> i personally do believe we are trying to do the right thing for sports, for clean athletes. >> reporter: we met the couple and their 3-year-old son for a rare interview. they're hiding here in the u.s., but their secret location has just been exposed. her online account at the world anti-doping agency, wada, which keeps track of her there's no proof of who broke in but one main suspect because at the same time other wada members wer

richard engel now with exactly what we know tonight. richard, good evening. >> reporter: he's not a household name in the united states, but for isis supporters, he is a major player. both the group's chief spokesmen, also its second in command. significantly, it was al-adnani throughout the world to carry out lone wolf attacks throughout the month of ramadan. analysts say it was that call that was linked to a spike in the orlando massacre. al adnani has long been linked to anti-american violence. he spent six years in u.s. custody in iraq until he was released. there remains an outstanding$5 million bounty on his head. what's important at this stage it's only isis that is claiming he was killed and u.s. u.s. officials have confirmed to nbc news that there was an air strike in syria earlier today that adnani was targeted, that a car was struck, but u.s. adnani was actually in the vehicle. there were still other reports that he died from wounds that he sustained a week or two weeks ago. u.s. officials are still investigating, no confirmat

richard engel on the new intense battles in syria as insurgents try to liberate hundreds of thousands in a city cut off by government forces. >>> fearing zika. couples in florida now putting off plans to have children. >>> the comeback. the american athlete who made it to rio after winning the biggest battle of her

and as our richard engel reports, he's brought new attention to a war many accuse the world of ignoring. >> reporter: his name is omran daqneesh, just 5 years old, and his feet barely hung over the edge of a seat in an ambulance. dazed, he didn't cry, as hd building that collapsed around him in an air strike. his silence somehow reminded the world today of its silence in the face of the atrocities in aleppo. omran was pulled out alive wednesday. five other children died when the building they were in was hit during the relentless syrian/russian offensive on rebel-held areas in aleppo. the image of omran's face spread like wildfire on the representative of the syrian people. >> stop killing syrian innocent people, civilians. our children need to live in peace. >> reporter: the doctor who treated omran said today there were many more severe cases no one is paying attention to. >> we need to protect our hospital, our doctors, our medical workers from airstrike. >> reporter: omran is recovering. his family now wants to escape. the sa made a year ago, aylan kurdi, whose body washed up on a b

richard engel, nbc news. >>> back in the u.s., many people in phoenix remain on edge to nine attacks, most of them deadly. now new concern that he is expanding his target zone. jo ling kent has the latest. >> reporter: when the sun goes down in phoenix these days, fear comes out. the serial killer still at large, believed to have shot nine people, seven fatally, since march. >> it is certainly frightening for anyone. >> reporter: according to police, most of his attacks occurred under the cover of night in the maryvale neighborhood, and now appears while some residents are staying off the streets, many are still unaware of threats. >> you know about this guy? >> no. first time i've seen it. >> reporter: that's why this guardian angel walks a central phoenix neighborhood where the most recent shooting happened on july 11th. >> he doesn't care who he's shooting at. he doesn't care if there is a child in the car. >> reporter: this is not the first serial shooting for phoenix with its highways making shootings last year, and a decade ago a shooter murdered eight people along baseline road

nbc's richard engel is there and is sorting things out for us this afternoon. >> reporter: he's one of the world's most wanted terrorists. with many titles. abu mohammad al add nani. but he is best known for his calls for lone wolf attacks in the west. an appeal many analysts say is directly link to the spike in isis inspired terrorist attacks earlier this summer in turkey, across europe, even the orlando night club massacre. in a statement the pentagon called him the principal architect of isil's external operations. battlefield would mark another significant blow to isil. but is he dead? isis's media arm says he is. that he was killed while supervising military operations against aleno. u.s. officials confirm he with a $5 million bounlty on him was targeted yesterday. but u.s. officials are not confirming he was killed. isis could replace him. the public voice of the group, would be a setback at the very least. richard engel, nbc news, istanbul. >> michelle: republican presidential candidate donald trump in mexico as we speak meeting with the country's president. meeting comings ahea

our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is here.could have been worse. >> you hate to say it because it was a terrible incident, but every time there's one of these mass shootings in the u.s. or other kocountries the next day sometimes even the same day you learn about the details and how it went down. in this case, as we have been speaking to survivors, you hear it could have been a lot worse because there were three attackers. the first one died in a suicide car bombing that allowed the breach of the facility. the other two gunmen stormed in and started firing. then they tried to get into the classrooms and it was one room in particular with 40 students inside and they had piled their chairs, their decks up in front of the door and people inside could hear the gunmen shaking at the door and they couldn't get in. within the first hour of the assault, one of the gunmen was killed. they didn't manage to get into any of the classrooms where about 150 students, staff and faculty were holed up. then the second gunmen after he was left o

our own richard engel, thanks, richard. >>> coming up, donald trump, he is doubling down this hour on attacks on hillary clinton. and her meetings with the clinton foundation donors while she was at the state department. he's about to take the stage for a rally in florida, we're going to take you there live. hillary clinton: i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. vo: in times of crisis america depends on steady leadership. donald trump: "knock the crap out of them, would you? seriously..."vo: clear thinking... donald trump: "i know more about isis than the generals do, believe me." vo: and calm judgment. donald trump: "and you can tell them to go fu_k themselves." vo: because all it takes is one wrong move. donald trump audio only: "i would bomb the sh_t out of them." vo: just one. amazing sleep stays with you all day and all night. sleep number beds with sleepiq technology give you the knowledge to adjust for the best sleep ever. the time is now for the biggest sale of the year, where all beds are on sale! save 50% on the labor day limited edition bed. know better sleep. onl

negotiators, according to our colleague richard engel who are skeptical this is going to happen.lp but think about that video that's been all over the internet. those two syrian brothers we've been talking about a bit during the show. devastated. learning that their brother had just been killed. walk us through what's happening here. it's heartbreaking to watch. >> this is aleppo. what you're seeing are two brothers who just found out -- the barrel bomb attack. and they are screaming out there. where is our brother? as you said, this deal that's just been struck between lavrov and kerry, a lot of people are going to be skeptical for good reason. part of that is there's a post framework agreement about what happens after assad. none of which is going to work for bashar al assad. and that's really the key to this is getting the syrians on board. one thing to have the russians and americans on board. certainly russia is playing that key puppet master role in syria. but how the syrians react, how bashar al assad reacts to this is key. when you look at the conditions of this deal, thi

richard engel reports. he's one of the world's most wanted terrorists. with many titles: an isis recruiter. spokesman. second in command: syrian-born abu mohammed al-adnani.but he's best known for his calls for lone wolf attacks in the west, an appeal many analysts say is directly linked to the spe in isis- inspired terrorist attacks turkey, across europe -- even orlando nightclub massacre.in a statement the pentagon called al-adnani "the principle architect of isil's external operations." adding that his "removal from the battlefield would mark another significant blow to isil."but his dead? isis's media arm says he is, that he was killed while "supervising operations against aleppo." us military officials confirm al-officials five-million american dollar bounty on him - was targeted in an airstrike near aleppo yesterday. but us officials are not confirming killed.isis could certainly replace al- adnani, it has a fairly deep bench.but losing such a key figure, the public voice of the group, would be a set-back at the very least.richard engel, nbc news,

richard engel with a rare look inside a hospital under ground in aleppo to escape the bombs, treating syria's children who fill bed after bed. >>> and unstoppable. usain bolt strikes

richard engel on the new intense battles in syria as insurgents try to liberate hundreds of thousands in a city cut off by government forces. >>> fearing zika. couples in florida now putting off plans to have children. >>> the comeback. the american athlete who made it

richard engel with a report inside aleppo, treating syria's children who fill bed after bed.

here's nbc's richard engel. >> reporter: it's long been a target, symbolling-symbol of american values and education. the coed american university in kabul. hard, first an explosion and then gunmen rushed in. trapped inside, american faculty and mostly afghan students. >> my wife called me from can dan and i just told her probably i may die here. >> reporter: afghan special forces stormed the campus and american troops also deployed to help. just two weeks ago an american professor at the university and an australian were kidnapped. >> it's outlandish to american university with american professors in downtown kabul. >> reporter: the white house praised the work of afghan security force. >> this underscores a significant challenge but we continue to see skill and professionalism of afghan security force improve. >> reporter: if things were going so well the president last month wouldn't have canceled a planned withdrawal of more than 4,000 u.s. troops. over the past several months, the u.s. military has

richard engel with a report inside aleppo, treating syria's children who fill bed after bed.

richard engel with a report inside aleppo, treating syria's children who fill bed after bed.

richard engel on the new intense battles in syria as insurgents try to liberate hundreds of thousands in a city cut off by government forces. >>> fearing couples in florida now putting off plans to have children. >>> the comeback. the american athlete who made it to rio after winning the biggest

here's nbc's richard engel. >> reporter: it's long been a target, symbol symbolling-symbol of american values and education. the coed american university in kabul. today, it was hit hard, first an explosion and then gunmen rushed in. trapped inside, american faculty and mostly afghan students. >> my wife called me from can dan and i just told her probably i may die here. >> reporter: afghan special forces stormed the campus and american troops also deployed to help. just two weeks ago an american professor at the university and an australian were ki kidnapped. >> it's outlandish to have something named american university kabul. >> reporter: the white house praised the work of afghan security force. >> this underscores a significant challenge but we continue to see skill and professionalism of afghan security force improve. >> reporter: if things were going so well the president last month wouldn't have canceled a planned withdrawal of more than 4,000 u.s. troops. over the past several months, the u.s. military has dramatically increased oper just yesterday the pentagon announced the d

our richard engel with the whistle-blowers in hiding. >>> second chance. as a tornado destroyed their gym, they huddled in the basement.

for more, let's hear from our chief foreign correspondent richard engel.hat do we know about the attackers, and what do we know about the security of this university going forward and what kind of security was there? >> so just first on the latest information you just reported. 30-plus students and staff being evacuated. they've been cleared from two minor buildings on the campus that include the library and cafeteria and some administrative offices. that's a good sign. the bad sign is there is still this ongoing situation at the main building. the main campus building a three-story building where it is believed, according to a senior afghan official who we're talking to from the scene that at least one gunman is still inside, and students and staff and other people who may have been on campus are barricading themselves inside classrooms, inside any place where they can find shelter. we spoke -- nbc news spoke with two students in two different locations who have barricaded themselves inside classrooms. and as of about 45 minutes ago, they were still heari