sales plunging as mortgage rates rise. what it means for buyers and sellers. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt good evening, everyone as the heat tightens its scorching grip, in some places, it s one eye on the thermometer and the other on the electricity meter. texas in particular seeing nearly unprecedented power usage as triple-digit temperatures continue to drive people indoors, testing the power grid nationwide electric bills are already expected to climb 20% over last year, to a average of $540. roughly a third of americans right now under heat alert yesterday saw a dozen record highs broken. more expected today. parts of the desert southwest could see a dangerous 115 degrees. and th heat now pumping into the east and south washington, d.c., bracing for a possible high of 100 by sunday. philadelphia under a heat advisory through the weekend. ou team in place tonight with the very latest and we begin with sam brock reporter: the blistering heat
northeast, and in texas, more wildfires racing as power use in the state reaches an all-time high. testing the grid, will it hold up? all while summer electric bills soar, going up 20% for most americans. how long will this heat wave last plus severe weather in the forecast tonight. growing outrage over the missing secret service text messages, our exclusive reporting on what the secret service was told before those texts were deleted will a bipartisan push on same-sex marriage survive in the senate with growing concerns of supreme court reversal russia s new warning to ukraine as we speak exclusively with ukraine s first lady her new appeal to americans to not forget about the war and her fears for ukraine s children our exclusive report new concerns about dirty bombs, how easy it is to get hold of the radioactive material that makes them. hit in the housing market