Painful secret at homes across america. Millions getting hooked on pilots prescribed by their doctctors. The cdc warning of a surge in deadly overdoses. Nightly news begins right now. Announcer from nbc news World Headquarters in new york, this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening. Both the statetes and the stakekes are a lot bigger on this tuesday primary night whehere the frontrunners could draw closer to sealing the deal or wind up in a long and contestedd slog to the convention. Florida, illinois, ohio, missouri and North Carolina are in play. For republblicans, 358 delegates up for grgrabs. 6911 for democrats, and both parties are very sharply focused on ohio tonight where Governor John Kasich is best positioned to block a run of the table for donald trump and where Bernie Sanders hopes to follow up his recent michigan victory with an upset of Hillary Clinton. Our Election Team is in position to cover let get started with peteter alexander in ohio tonight. Hi, peter. Reporter john kasichs aides are extraordinarily confident tonight. This is the most decisive day in a Republican Campaign thats now officially lasted almost an entire year and the race tonight could be whittled down to two or could be extended for another four months until the Republican Convention right back here in ohio. Donald trump looking for a knockout in ohio. Zeroing in on working class voters and taking aim at their popular governor. Youve got to beat kasich. Hes not going to be a great president. Hes not going to be strong. Reporter for john kasich, its win or stay home casting his ballot but ignoring trump. Youre not going to ruin myself after i voted myself to president. I have nothing to say to him. Reporter r tonight crossover voting, reports of a surge of multiple democrats casting republican ballots. My father would go craze en. He would roll over in voted for a republican. Reporter trump once again shaking up the race, alreaeady casting himself as the inevitable nominee. The biggest people in the party are calling. They want to sit down. Repeporter a sweep totonight would give trump a clear path to winning a majority of delegates needed to clinch the nomination, about you if trump loloses ohio, hell have to win nearly 60 of the remaining delegates or face a contested convention. Inin florida, marco rubios fighting to stay alive. My campaign has never been builtlt on winning in one particular state. Obviously, you know, were moving forward. Reporter vowing to stay in the race, win or lose. His wife jeannette today on msnbc. We just take it one day at a time. Well get through tonight and make the desnigs why would rubio keep runing . People have already voted in many states and it would be rubios option to stay in the race to hang on to his delegates until the convention in cleveland. Reporter that could help deny trump the nomination. Hoping for a twoman race with crump, ted cruz trying to lure away kasich and rubio supporters and hearing from his own protesters. Thank you, sir, very charming of you. U. One difference between this and a donald trump rally is im not asking anyone to punch you in the face. Reporter again today president barack obama denounced the vicious atmosphere in the 2016 campaign. It is a cycle that is not an accurate reflection of america, and it has to stop. Reporter reacting to trumps raucous rallies, Mitch Mcconnell told trump to tone it down. I thought it would be a good idea for him, no matter who starts these violent episodes to condedemn it and discourage it. Reporter over the last 48 hours john kasich has repeatedly told us goioing forward he wants to draw sharper distinctions between himself and donald trump over tone and temperament. Well find out very that opportunity. Lestster. Peter, youre looking at potential makeorbreak time for some republicans. On the democratic side theres a fair amount of drama as well. Teteam clinton trying to avoid another surprise on the attack there today against Bernie Sanders. Sanders fired back over Hillary Clintons record and her allies. Nbcs Andrea Mitchell has more on all that. Hi. Reporter Hillary Clinton in florida, a state she feels confident about winning. Unlike her home state of illinois where Bernie Sanders was campaigning today. Well, i think that if theres a large voter turnout, were going to do just great. Reporter clinton far ahead in delegates, but the midwest, illinois and ohio, are critical for her momentum tonight. After her surprising loss in michigan. Would it hurt your momentum if youou lose your home state to Bernie Sanders. Look, this is about getting delegate, and i think well have a very good night getting delegates. Reporter clinton sending her chief surrogate and husband to chicago today going after sanders, labeling him the candidate of blame. This should be a race for president , and theres a blame candidate and a responsibility candidate in this race, and im betting the responsibility candidate will wiwin. Immediately rejected by sanders top strategist. We heard heard the attacks from president clinton but Bernie Sanders is not making personal attacks. Reporter but both sides are escalating. Sandnders strategy, trying to win illinois by tying clinton to chicagos mayor rahm emanuel, unpopular with s some africacanamericans after a controverersial police shooting. Emanuel, a former top whitite house aide to bill clinton has enendorsed hillary. Rahm emanuel right now is radioactive. Sanders in illinois is exploiting the same disenchantment with anything deeeemed vaguely establishment. Reporter perhaps tonights biggest prize, ohio. Sanders hammering clinton for her longtime support for free trade deals. I proudly stood with the workers secretary clinton stood with the big money interests. Reporter clinton respond. Was nafta a mistake . You know, i think that youll have to ask the experts who some people were hurt. Reporter and even if clinton were to lose the midwest to sanders, she would still be far ahead of him in delegates, but he would get a huge boost in momentum and in online contributions as he vows to keep this race goining all the way to the convention. Lester . Andrea mitchell tonight, andrea, thanks very much. Want to bring in our political director hand moderator of meet the press chuck todd. Chuck, for weeks now youve been talking about this date as an impoportant milestone in the race foror the white house. What should we be watching tonight . Look, ive been calling it separation tuesday. Can Hillary Clinton and donald trump truly separate as frontrunners and become presumptive nominees . Ohio is going to settle it perhaps in both contests tonight. That will tell us whether this race goes on or it doesnt. But i want to go into a little bit into the exit polls because this is also about whetheher donald trump is ready to unite the Republican Party and ready to be the presumptive nominee if he does well tonight, and whats interesting in collectivive exit polls when you ask repupublican primary be satisfied with trump versuss clinton in november, only 57 call themselves sasatisfied. 37 said they would consider a third party. Now, when you just isolate donald trump among Republican Voters and say will you definitelely vote for him or will you probably vote for him if hes a republican nominee, collectively the defininitely and probably is 71 , but look at the not vote for. 27 , so, lester, that 27 to 37 number, take both exit polls there, theres a group of Republican Voters that donald trump has to start speaking to at some point if hes insurgent populist that has had a rock rib support of under 45 to a nominee that can win a general election. So far he hasnt spoken to those 25 to 35 of the voters, but well see if he starts doing that tonight. Chuck todd, chuck, thanks very much. Lets turn to the breaking news from the nations c capital, the announcement of a shutdown of one of the the country, the d. C. Metro over recent concerns over underground fires. It will havin a impapact across the country hand millions bracing for chaos. Nbcs Pete Williams with late details. Reporter at midnight tonight every train on the washington, d. C. Metro will stop running, and the entire system will be shut down for 29 hours. It will impact the region. It. Without metro its going too have a lot of congestion. Decision, the first in the systems 40year history, follows a fifire at a subway tunnel monday that forced the clolosing of parts of three subway lines. The cause was said to be faulty cables that provide electricity to the rails. That same problem wasas found to be the cause of a fire in a metro tunnel last year, checking smoke sickened several passengers and one died of rhett pir try failures. Metros recently appointed manager ordered a shutdown to inspect all cables in the entire system. While the risk to cannot rule out a potential lifesafety issue here, and this is why we must take this action immediatelely. Reporter d. C. Metro is the nations second largest by ridership, used by more than 700,000 passengers a day. Tonight the federal governrnment says it will be open tomororrow but hoping to avoid a traffic nightmare itts encouraging employees toto telework from home, take unpaid leave or use a vacation day and parents will have to figure out how to get their subwayriding children to school. Lester. All right. Pepete, thanks. Now to the disaster still unfolding in the south where floodwaters contntinue to rise even after the torrential rain has stopped. Emergency levee ofs are holding foror now in louisiana where somee 5,000 homes are damaged, but in one texas town we fine our miguel almaguer, its too late to save a community that has lost everything. Reporter this is now the road into deweyville. Highway 12 under water. Roadway, one of many overcome by the flooding. The damage has gone from serious to catastrophic. 100 ordered to evacuate. These families racing away from rising floodwaters. Brandon berry refuses to leave. Figured if something was going to come here and take my home out i wanted to see it. Im not scared of the water. Im scared for my belongings. Reporter this water is unstoppable fueled by the swollen sabine river. The Community Health clinic swamped under five feet of water. This church will have to be gutted to be rebuilt. Schools, even the police station, hit hard by the deluge. The rising water today hasnt spared any home. Since yesterday in this neighborhood, some of these properties were dry. Today thats no longer the case. This whole community is devastated. They have lost everything they have worked their whole lives for. Reporter from the air, we could see the damage spared nothing. Hard. All thats visible, the very top of tombstones. The water is set to crest tonight, but the damage here is already done, lives forever changed. The water isnt expected to recede from this neighborhood for several days, if not a week. Thats when neighbors will be able to return home or at least whats left of them. Lester . Miguel, an entire town. Thankk you. There is stunning news from the nfl which for the first time has admitted a connection between playing football and brain damage, and it could have major consequences from the pro level all the way down to the pop warner field. We get more from nbcs blake mccoy. Reporter offer the movie concussion. I found a disease that no one has ever seen. Reporter and years of reports questioning footballs safety, now for the first time publicly the nfl admitted on caphill a link between football and the degenerative mr. Miller, do you think there is a link between football and degenerative Brain Disorders like ct sneh. Well, certainly dr. Mchughs Research Shows a number of retired nfl players are diagnosed with cte so the answer too that question is certainly yes but theres also a numberer of questions that come with that. Reporter the admission backs up what families of players like junior seau and Frank Gifford already know. The nfl finally admits. Reporter t talk radio is now abuzz. Theres never been that clarity or decisive admission of the connection between football and cte. Reporter implications could be big. Already, lawyers appealing 1 billion class abslawsuit with thousands of former players, saying the nfls admission means the settlement isnt enenough. Researchers think this could be a turning point. Acknowledging and embracing the potential Health Consequences of football and concussions and head impact is the thing thats going to save the game. Reporter pittsburgharea High School StudentJohn Costello isnt taking any chances, turning down three football scholarships. I was worried about my health and i said, you know what. I cant play football and cant put myself at risk. Reporter some friends have called him soft. Costello is accepting a College Basketball scholarship instead. Blake mccoy, nbc news, chicago. And still ahead here tonight, a growing epidemic that kills dozens every day. The unprecedented action the cdc is taking to combat a dangerer that americans too often find themselves spiraling into. Also, heads of state. Fascinating story behind this surreal gath i know how it is. Youre all set to book a flight using your Airline Credit card miles. And surprise those seats sometimes cost a ridiculous number of miles, making it really hard to book the flight you want. 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Reporter these painkillers are very addictive. They are opiod medications and have the same Chemical Properties in it as heroin. Reporter in jacksonville, sarah willons, a motheher of four was taking up to 35 hydrocodone pills a a day. I was taking painkillers to get out of bed in the morning, to be able to function on any level. Reporter it started when her doctor prescribed the opiates after she suffered serious injurieses in a car accident. For years opiates were the drug of choice for treating serious pain, especially after surgery or injury. Now the cdc says they should no l longer be the first choice. Telling doctors to use ice, tylenol or ibuprofen first and avoid opiates if the patient is already on certrtain antiangst it meds. If prescribing opiates start with a low dose. Three days should be its terrible. You know, people are dying. Were losing 76 people a day to opiods and 36 of them are prescription opiods. Repororter desperate for health sarah wilson joined a trial and an injection in her arm stopped her opiod craving. I dont think i would be alive if not for the medication. Reporter as the nation works to stop a growing addiction to painkillers. News. And were back in a moment with actor Harrison Ford every insurance policy has a number. But not every Insurance Company understands the life behind it. For those whove served and the families that we offerer our best service in return. Usaa. Get an insurance quote and see why 92 of our members plan to stay for life. The roles you play in life are part of what make you, you. And you re not going to let anything keep you sidelined. That s why you drink ensure with nutritious calories, 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. Come on, g grandma giving you the strength and energy to get back to doing what you love. From the 1 doctor recommended brand. Ensure. Always stay you. 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Rask your rheumatologist t about xeljanz. Finally on this nice so crucial to choosing our next president , theres a remote place where all George Washington to george w. Bush have gathered together. Nbcs Kevin Tibbles explains how giant tributes to our president s ended up where you would least expect. Reporter its an unlikely Meeting Place for these heads of state, a muddy virginia field. For sale, y you want it. Reporter the president s of the United States made of plaster and metal, from their life like eyes to their ties, weathered and worn. Im glad i could save them. Reporter once a tourist attraction outside williamsburg where few ever game. Hankins. When the contractor was asked to cart the commanders in chief away and crush them he just couldnt do it. People are losing track of the sacrifices that these guys make. Ill let them sit here forever like this before i smash them. They do. While he plans a new park. He already has a mockup for a larger obama statue. Reporter he says history is in his blood. Howards family has been h here since before the revolutionary war. Before there were president s were were hehere. Reporter now hes surrounded by washington who appears to be crying. He probabably is crying about the situation in thee country right now. Reporter and lincoln who was accidentally dropped in the move. Do you ever come out here and quiet . Its kind of ear . I do. I come out here all the time. I come check on the guys. Reporter just look at all these politicians assembled together in one place and yet its completetely silent. But it is also monumental and brbreathtaking. Its likee their home now. Im going to take care of them. Reporter and what would they say about the present state of affairs. Reporter Kevin Tibbles, nbc news, coker, virginia. And that will do it for us on a tuesday night. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news. Thank you for watching its a pivotal night in the president ial race. Coming up, 8 on your side covers todays big matchups. We are live with the campaigns hoping to celebrate tonight as the results start to roll n. Its 7 00 and the station