steve patterson, nbc news, los angeles. >>> here in new york, a funeral was held today for elie wiesel, the author, nobel peace prize winner, holocaust survivor and conscience of the world, as president obama described him. wiesel died yesterday at age 87. morgan radford has more tonight. >> reporter: a community of mourners lifting elie wiesel's casket as they greet his death and celebrate his life. >> he inspired us and gave us a sense of responsibility. >> reporter: pictured here at age 16 in the bunk of a nazi concentration camp just days after it was liberated by u.s. troops. wiesel survived the holocaust, documenting its horrors in his critically acclaimed novel "night." later becoming an activist and noble peace prize laureate, citing injustice on the world stage. his own scars from cruelty never forgotten. >> hatred is degrading and vengeance demeaning. they are diseases. their history is dominated by death. >> reporter: today the world remembers his call for inclusion. president obama saying he raised his voice not just against anti-semitism but against hatred, bigotry and int

nbc's steve patterson reports tonight on the remarkable change. [ sirens ] >> reporter: this was what anyone heard about richmond, california. an industrial city known for gangs, drugs and, most of all, murder. >> it's always been homicides in richmond. >> reporter: but five years ago a radical new idea to save lives. >> what we're doing is very comprehensive. >> reporter: community activist mission to bring down the murder rate. identify young men in richmond who run the risk of being involved in violent crime and offer an alternative. the program, partially funded by tax dollars offering mentoring, employment help, even trips outside the city. >> most of these young men are waiting for us to show up. are waiting for a responsive, credible, legitimate opportunity. >> reporter: 68 men have participated, 64 are still alive. and the number of murders has been dropping from 47 in 2007 to 21 in 2015. boegen and his team keep their fellows anonymous even to the police, but it's almost as controversial as it is effective bus what the program doesn't do is ask anyone to put down their guns.

steve patterson explains. being in an atmosphere where it's crowded and the music is blaring, we make it what we want. >>> harry smith takes us to one of america's most beautiful places where there is a fight between preserving nature and creating good jobs. boundary waters watershed from copper mining. >>> we have a great group assembled around the table, first, the faa is investigating a deadly balloon crash in texas. 16 people were on board when the balloon went down. janet is in lockhart, texas with the latest. janet, what happened here. >> reporter: willie, good accident in u.s. history. it burst and crashed into this corn field saturday morning. the balloon appeared to be flying unusually low in the moments before the crash, and there is speculation that it may have hit the high power lines about four stories tall that run through the field. friends of the pilot say he's 49-year-old skip nichols that owns a balloon company. none of the other victims have been identified. the ntsb will provide an update f

steve patterson, nbc news, richmond, california. >>> let's keep tracking that weather. >> i tell yout. >> you are the person of the day. >> all eyes on you. >> it's a tough forecast. i got to tell you. i think any meteorologist will tell you that's working this week, this is a tough one to nail down. >> changeable. >> we tweaked the forecast. amelia is coming on later on tonight and she will tweak what i have. let's go ahead. if chuck decides to come back from the beach, he will tweak the forecast on monday. >> we may have an isolated shower or two. if you want to go out and play golf and even barbecue later on. we could get some breaks from sunshine. let's look at the camera. we're trying to break out some sun. it might be turn out to be an all right pool day. cloudy with fog. later on this evening. i'm going to cheap a chance of -- keep a chance of isolated showers in. it's a slim chance. we're going to top out in the 70s today but it is chilly out there right now. most of the heavy rain off to the eastern shore. we'll seeing a few down in central virginia. mostly isolated stuff as

steve patterson, nbc news, los angeles. >>> in vallejo, firefighters put out a grass fire that threatened structures. the flames broke out just north of the bridge. there was no one injured or structured damaged. >>> no arrest in the stabbing of a teenager in mountainview. the attack happened just before 10:00 at a park in mountain view. when the police got to the scene no suspects in the area. the suspect is in the hospital. >>> a search is on tonight for a suspect who police say raped and kidnapped a person in oakland on edes avenue. investigators know who the suspect is but they haven't found him yet. they say the victim didn't receive medical treatment. >>> a man left dead in reno. it started at 1:30 this afternoon when police tried to stop the driver of a minivan near downtown. he didn't stop and tried to get past a barricade at a festival and swerved toward an officer who was on foot. the man fired at the driver and the suspect died later at the hospital. no one else was hurt. >>> teenagers led police on a high speed chase this morning in the east bay. it started shortly before 4:00

. >> steve patterson is following all the late frst from san dieg.d we learn in the press conference? >> we're on the other end of that investigation. we have seen tactical gear engaged in this area. a lot of police activity in that home behind me. that is the focus of this investigation. police do believe there is a second suspect involved in last night's shooting. from what we have gathered, this was a gang unit. a teen that was meant to go in and suppress gang activity in the area. those two officers were there a the a routine stop. that's when gunfire was exchanged. two of the officers, both of those officers took gunfire we're hearing the suspect was shot and taken into custody. police are focusing on a second suspect that they believe in the row of homes behind me. they have had the homes surro d surrounded for hours as the investigation continues. >> has there been any comment about the motivation of these shooters? i don't know if we mised that in the press conference. these guys are used to dealing with delicate and dangerous situations. in

the massive flames are nbc's steve patterson is following it all and has the latest. >> reporter: it'schain of monster blazes tearing through the west. tonight conditions from california's five-year drought are turning trees into match sticks. about 100 homes threatened by the deer fire in central california. it has consumed up to 1800 acres. the captain is worried about the resources. his crews barely recovered from another massive fire that started last week in the same area. >> we're hoping to have these fires contained, stabilized soon so we can get our firefighters some rest. >> another area, the fire is near 4,000 acres. l.a. county fire is stressing safety with fireworks. >> if you are in a wildfire start any vegetation on fire, even the vegetation on your backyard you may think is safe. >> a nine-acre fire in san bernardino charred two homes and destroyed two more with police investigating possible arson. this man says he barely escaped the flames after he heard his dog barking. >> the dog was freaking out. we ran out. the dog ran out and we can't find her. >> firefighters alre

and bringing it to a neighborhood near you. >> steve patterson reporting. boundary waters of minnesota in the middle of a dispute between unspoiled nature and a mining company promising good jobs. that's after this break and your >> radar tracking state house, generally fairly heavy in western mass and vermont. showers taper further east. never know, you get one heavier shower that makes it to the shore. lighter further east. tapers off every where as expecting a cloudy afternoon. temperaturewise hold steady in the 70s through most of the day today and the chance for spot showers continues along with cloudy skies and along with cloudy skies and the steeth yellow? ...have you tried the tissue test? the what? ... tissue test! hold this up to your teeth... ...ugh yellow... i don't get it. i use whitening toothpaste. what do you use? crest whitestrips you should try them! whitening toothpaste only works on the surface. but crest whitestrips safely work below the enamel surface i passed the tissue test. oh yeah. would you pass the tissue test? see for yourself w

steve patterson is there and has our report tonight. >> reporter: police in full pursuit, acting on a tip the suspect in a terrifying triple killing was fleeing by car. >> southbound i-5 mile post 80 behind a suspect in a triple homicide. >> reporter: officers arrested the suspect allen ivanov, reportedly 19 years old. all at a house party filled with teens and young adults. >> it was a gathering. 15 to 20 subjects. >> reporter: eyewitnesses at the party say the gunman shot two of the victims at a fire pit in back of the property and then moved to the roof where more people were gathered. >> when you hear shooters are on the run still, you instantly lock up your doors and everything. >> reporter: she says her granddaughter was there. and hid in a closet, listen to go agony as her friends were shot. >> my granddaughter called us about 20 minutes after midnight and said she was hiding, that there'd been a shooting and two of her friends was shot and she was shot at. >> reporter: she said the suspect knew the people at the party and may have broken up last week with one of the victims. >

steve patterson, nbc news. >>> a toxic emergency has put a serious damper on holiday celebrations in florida. authorities are trying to deal with a massive algae bloom. some say is growing into an environmental disaster. florida isn't alone. as nbc's gabe gutierrez tells us others in this community have been battling this problem for years. >> reporter: at bathtub reef beach, this 4th of july is different. >> it's heart breaking. >> reporter: allison green has lived in martin county all her life, but this year, the shore shut down, toxic blue-green algae threatens parts of florida, four countries under a state of emergency. >> it's hard for us, our whole family, we're a family that loves to swim. >> reporter: typically algae blooms feed off nitrogen from the water that feeds off pollution from homes industry and fossil fuels. the debate is raging over what's to blame for this latest growth, but scientists cite many factors including population growth and climate change. >> basically, we're fertilizing all of our waters to death. >> reporter: this doctor from florida university says i

nbc's steve patterson is in staying. san diego. what do we know?nformation from our investigative unit. sources telling nbc news that the suspect or suspects in this case likely part of a local san diego gang, and not in any way at this point preliminary reporting that they targeted or were ambushing these officers. so to speak, this was not a dallas or a baton rouge situation. so at least at this point in our reporting, that link is not being made. that does not take anything away from this tragedy, though, overnight. two officers responding to a traffic stop, about 11:00. the southwest part of town. very near downtown. the distress call came almost immediately. those two officers radioing for backup. but by the time their partners got there, they had already been shot in the chest. one officer shot and killed. the other officer shot, taken to the hospital, severely wounded. but earlier this morning, the police chief tweeting out that that officer would survive. so some good news in this case. right now, though, things still tense in this southwes

nbc's steve patterson is there. steve, what can you tell us? >> reporter: matt, first thing, this still remains a very active scene. police patrol units still on the ground and helicopters in the sky searching for any additional possible suspects as the information as we have it one survive. this morning one police officer is dead, the other in the hospital following a shooting in downtown san diego. police say the officers were making a routine stop when a gunman opened fire. >> we have two officers down. >> use caution into the area. we do not know where the shots are coming from. >> almost immediately they called for emergency cover. other officers were in the area. they arrived shortly on scene and found suffering from gunshot wounds. >> reporter: authorities not releasing the names of the officers say one was shot multiple times in the torso and died of those injuries. the other is still in the hospital surrounded by family, friends and colleagues fighting for his life. >> extremely difficult. you can imagine early in the morning when a ch

steve patterson, nbc news, richmond, california. >>> time right now 7:19 on this sunday morning.men rain droops outside. >> it is. it's chilly out there. >> quite a change. >> and yesterday was so beautiful and then today, quite a difference as molette was going to make it out of the 70s if we keep this cloud cover around. let's show you what's going on. we have some showers going on right now. i believe we're going to see to continue showers. it will be more isolated by this afternoon. everything we see is going to be light. especially this afternoon. we could some sunshine midday. temperatures still chilly. low to mid 60s across the board. here's a look at the radar. you can see some heavier spots coming down through southern maryland and annapolis and the eastern shore. other than that, we're looking at clearing skies just to the north and west of our region. back it up a little bit which is what we're looking at coming our way for monday. let's time it out for you. this is 5:00 tonight. more isolated this afternoon and throughout this evening. we're going to keep the cloud co

steve patterson, nbc news, sonoma, california. >>> all right. still to come, a look back at the week's biggest talkers including this moment. did you see it when matt damon went all jason bourne on some unsuspecting people. >>> the top wedding songs that are a must have at any wedding this year. can you guess what they are? don't do it now. >> i'm going to think about it. >> think on it. >>> first this is "today" on nbc. ♪ >>> still to come on "today," what's it like to drive nearly 200 miles per hour with one of nascar's biggest stars? we'll take you along for the ride at daytona speedway. >>> plus, two champs at the nathan's hot dog eating contest are chowing down on the plaza ahead of their big fourth of july event. who will win our mini hot dog eating contest? >> ours is a mini hot dog eat ing contest. love those. the parents behind this wardrobe malfunction. their fame since this went vi l viral. >> are they mini hot dogs or a smaller version -- >> we'll find out. stop talking about the hot dogs. >> it's all coming up. you don't want to mis

steve patterson, nbc news, sonoma, california. >>> all right. still to come, a look back at the week's biggest talkers including this moment. did you see it when matt damon went all jason bourne on some unsuspecting people. >>> the top wedding songs that are a must have at any wedding this year. can you guess what they are? don't do it now. >> i'm going to think about it. >> think on it. >>> first this is "today" on nbc. ♪ they go ooh ooh. ♪ hey! ♪ they go oh-ooh-ooooh. ♪ sitting, watching, waiting, wishing. ♪ ♪ i tell you one thing, you never knew it. ♪ ♪ at the back of the bus ♪ there is so much to give, so dream big. ♪ ♪ yeah. ♪ and when they screaming get out, get out. ♪ ♪ all i wanna hear is get down, get down... ♪ get full on summer at target. get a $10 target giftcard when you spend $50 on groceries. through july fourth. restrictions apply. details at target.com. ♪ >>> still to come

steve? they drive from farther. we have people here who drive from polices like topeka. >> patterson.as having lunch with kevin and kevin. you could point and go on 24. now you have to change lanes. right, dave? >> right. >> all right. thank, sal. let's get to it. clear skies except for a little bit of fog. san jose had a teeny bit. that's already burning off and there is some on parts of the coast. generally, it's clear. jake says back from the gray skies of terrace, northern bc. british columbia. 54 bright and sunny in rotor park. beautiful shot there. doug says staying cool in the east bay. today is 7-eleven free slurpee day. who knew? i doubt there will be a line or anything. warmer forecast for just about everybody except parts of the coast where there is just, i mean, the colder water temps make just a tremendous difference. last year couldn't get below 60 degrees on the lows. this year upper 40s for some. warm to hot. especially wednesday, thursday, friday, they look to be the three warmest day. the fog is there. it's more parallel to the coast than making much of a push inland