Nightly news begins right now. Announcer this is nbc nightly news with lester holt reporting tonight from washington. Good evening. All the warnings and fears of a hot dry summer are coming to pass in the drought stricken west where dangerous wildfires are ranging in no fewer than three straits from Northern California where residents are fleeing threatened neighborhoods east of the napa valley to montana. With still months to go, the western fire season has already far outpaced last years. Leaving a lot of americans on edge. Hallie jackson is covering it for us tonight from winters, california. Reporter in California Wine country, nine square miles torched, flames and smoke so thick they blocked out the sun. We got it involved, the wind shifted. Reporter what started as a brush fire exploded fast, wind whipping it across steep rugged hills destroying a trailer and barn. Its fire season. You never know what will happen. Reporter 200 homes under threat. Two neighborhoods evacuated inclu
And yesterday, a likely fragment of one washed ashore on a tiny remote island. Is it a piece of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 . What is the latest this morning . Well malaysian investigators say theyre almost certain this piece of debris came from a bowing 777, and they sudden be able to determine whether or not this is from the missing flight mh 370 over the next couple of days. The piece was find on the island of reunion, about six to eight feet long. Its called a flaperon, its part of the wing. Investigators have found a number on the fragment which could be a maintenance number and may help them identify it more quickly. Mh 370 disappeared in march of 2014, not a trace of it has been seen since. Its believed to have gone down in the southern indian ocean and computer model predicted debris would begin to wash up in this same area, around this time. One oceanographer said if this is from mh 370 you can expect more debris to wash up in the coming days and weeks. Australia is leading t
Still burning. This is a city in shock, but also, a city in fear of the potential toxic threat from this smoke. Ian williams in china, thank you. In this country, warnings tonight of a onetwo punch from nature that could devastate parts of the west already in the midst of a historic drought emergency. Today fire officials raised the threat level to the highest fire danger possible, and that move comes as forecasters warned of whats being called a godzilla el nino event this winter that could trigger storms we havent seen in decades. Reporter this is what they call level five. The highest fire danger rating in the nation triggered today. Signals tinderbox. This year of extremes feeding on each other, fired by crippling drought compasser baited by a heat wave and the forecast calls for a monster el nino this winter, storms capable of triggering floods, mudslides and more. We had late spring rains and conditions firefighters have never seen. Reporter for now, the biggest threat on the fir
Was a good and descent man and in politics these days, we dont so often get good and descent men running for politics. Reporter the former peanut farmer grounded as ever in blue jeans, shared his news as he lead life with humor. First time called me in a long time. [ laughter ] reporter with discipline. Ill do what the doctors recommend for me to extend my life as much as possible. Reporter and with faith. What message do you have to other cancer patient whose are watching you go through this now . Hope for the best and accept what comes. You know, weve, i think i have been as blessed as any human being in the world. So im thankful and hopeful. Reporter after that extraordinary news conference, many in the chapel here stood and applauded president carter as he walked out. So whats next for him . He still hopes to travel to nepal to build houses, a trip thats been in the works, but said today it will depend on his treatment schedule. Lester . Hallie jackson in atlanta, thank you. It cam
Thats correct, dara. From the Roanoke Community and the Journalism Community at large. New details about the troubling mindset of the shooter are emerging. A man claiming to be him faxed a 23page document in which he described himself as a human powder keg waiting to go boom. Colleagues describe Allison Parker and adam ward as special people. The kind who were up before sunrise to put in long hours reporting the news. Their offcamera lives were just as busy. Parker had recently moved in with her boyfriend and ward was engaged to be married. If i walked in the morning, the first person i saw was either adam or allison. I got a smile on my face because they were always that way. They were interviewing a local official live when Authorities Say 41yearold vester flanagan, a former colleague, opened fire, killing parker and ward. He also filmed the shooting. Posted it to social media later. As he was pursued by police before he turned the gun on himself. Its obvious there was this gentleman