place where it all started. opening up to matt lauer about the accident, his health, and wanting to make people laugh again. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news." reporting tonight, lester holt. >> good evening. we begin with an alarming lapse involving those charged with protecting the planes we fly on. for anyone whose had their luggage searched over a bottle of water, a draft from the homeland security inspector general today may come as a shock. that tsa checkpoint screeners failed miserably at detecting concealed explosives and weapons. tonight the agency is under orders to immediately plug security holes after undercover testers exposed shocking gaps at dozens of airports. nbc's tom costello reports. >> reporter: the tests were conducted by homeland security red teams charged with probing tsa checkpoints nationwide. nbc news has confirmed tsa screening officers failed to detect smuggled weapons in 67 out of 70 attempts. a 95% failure rate. in one case an alarm sounded on a magnetometer, but during a patdown, the screening officer failed to find a fake plastic explosive taped to a person's back. they call the red teams super terrorists because they know the tsa's weaknesses going in. >> they can construct the devices in a lab. they're not out in the desert some place in syria or some place like that. >> reporter: upon learning of the results, homeland secretary johnson ordered the tsa to take immediate steps to address the security lapses. today homeland security said the numbers in these reports never look good out of context, but they are a critical element in the continual evolution of our aviation security. >> frankly, i'm glad they found this today because i would rather have the good guys find this than have the bad guys figure it out. >> reporter: red teams have been testing tsa checkpoints for 13 years. including on john pistole's watch. but the threat, he insists is very real. >> there's a continuing drum beat of interest by terrorist groups to try to bring down a western especially u.s. bound aircraft. >> reporter: the tsa also stresses it has a layered approach to security. from the moment you buy your ticket and your name is compared to the terror watch list to the curb to the airport where you have police k-9 to air marshals on board. they call it a curb to cockpit approach. >> all right. tom costello tonight, thank you. now to the battle over collecting your phone records and other surveillance programs that the government can no longer use for the first time since right after 9/11. those powers went away at the stroke of midnight when senate infighting allowed the patriot act to expire. is national secure more important? and did the programs work in the first place? here's nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: the boston marathon bombing or last month's attack in garland, texas, by two men allegedly inspired by isis. neither was prevented by the nsa's mass collection of phone records which they call an invasion of privacy. exposed by edward snowden who said last week, in not a single case had mass surveillance produced information that made a concrete difference in any terrorism investigation. president obama and many in congress proposed a scaled back program. the telephone companies, not the government, would hold the phone records. >> heaven forbid we've got a problem where we could of prevented a terrorist attack but we didn't do so simply because of inaction in the senate. >> reporter: but senator rand paul running for president killed the surveillance programs last night. >> get a warrant! >> reporter: for now. including two that the government say are potentially far more important than sweeping up everyone b's phone records. the fbi's ability to track lone wolf terror suspects although it's never been used. and authority to conduct roving wiretaps on suspects who use multiple cell phones. and senator paul also launched a provocative attack against fellow senators. >> some of them, i think, secretly want there to be an attack on the united states ame it on me. >> reporter: today another republican, the ninth, lindsey graham announced he is running for president on a tough foreign policy platform. >> i've got one simple message. i have more experience with our national security than any other candidate in this race. >> reporter: senators in both parties say that rand paul is grand standing to help his presidential campaign. still, the nsa has other ways to track suspected terrorists until congress can agree on a compromise most likely later this week. lester? >> all right. thanks very much. a major decision from the supreme court tonight. a first of its kind ruling that affects every american that uses social media. the issue is when do threats posted online go too far and actually amount to a crime? we get the breakdown from our justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: in a decision applying to the 200 million americans who use social media, the court said that just because a message causes genuine fear, that doesn't make it illegal. the court overturned the conviction of anthony elonis, an amusement park worker who posted threats on facebook after his wife left him and took their two children. he said put it in your pocket. is it thick enough to stop a bullet? two years before the mass killing at sandy hook he wrote, enough element schools in a ten-mile radius to initiate the most heinous school shooting imaginable. the obama justice department argued messages like his are illegal if a reasonable person would consider them threatening as his wife did. but today eight supreme court justices said that's wrong. they said what matters is what the sender intended. users of social media can still be convicted, the ruling said, if they mean to threaten or realize their messages will be seen that way. only justice clarence thomas would let the conviction stand based on the fear of the recipient. civil liberties groups applauded the decision as fair to people charged with crimes, but said threats when proven are still against the law. >> this decision is not a licensed threat. threats are still illegal as long as the government properly proves them. >> reporter: but advocates for domestic abuse victims say threats cause real harm. >> regardless of what the sender's intent is, it absolutely has a phenomenally horrible impact on victims. >> reporter: as for anthony elonis, he's back in jail arrested last week charged with throwing a cooking pot at the mother of his current girlfriend. pete williams, nbc news at the supreme court. john kerry is on his way home from switzerland after breaking his leg in a bike accident. he was in geneva for talks with iran. he has previously undergone hip and knee surgeries. his surgeon on back on the flight with him. former house speaker dennis hastert is now scheduled to make his first court appearance in chicago on thursday to be arraigned on federal charges alleging he illegally covered up hush money payments to a still unidentified person. a federal law enforcement official tells nbc news that hastert was paying off a man to hide misconduct of a sexual nature when that man was a student at the high school where hastert once worked as a coach. tonight vice president biden is with his family in delaware dealing with a kind of loss no parent ever expects to. and since his son beau biden's death from brain cancer on saturday, many of the tributes pouring in are focusing on all that he accomplished in his 46 years. and his particular impact on children. our senior white house correspondent chris jansing has this report. >> reporter: family photos tell a story of a doting father. beau biden who lost his own mother in a car accident when he was not quite 4 always said his priority would be his own family. >> it was sort of a picture perfect, you know, that they were complete when they were together. >> reporter: so while the political world was shocked when beau biden decided not to run for u.s. senate, friends weren't surprised when he stayed on as attorney general in delaware so he could prosecute the worst pedophile in u.s. history. 1,400 patients accused dr. earl bradley of sexual abuse average age 3. nancy berg's daughter was 7. >> i wanted to leave. i didn't want to live here. >> reporter: for ten years no one would listen to her. finally beau biden decides to do something. >> he really felt strongly about child advocacy and being the voice for those who don't have a voice. >> reporter: now 22, olivia berg has never spoken publicly about this before, but tonight wanted his family to know how grateful she is to beau biden for putting dr. bradley behind bars for life. >> i want them to know he definitely helped a lot of people get justice. >> reporter: beau biden established a child predator task force, fought against bullying, and at home tucked in his kids every night. >> if i'm half as good a dad to my kids as my dad's been to me, my kids will be in great shape. >> reporter: his dad wasn't shy about showing his pride. >> big headline after the 2012 election. biden most popular man in delaware. beau. >> reporter: his son was hospitalized for the last time after that speech. but he leaves a legacy of compassion and conviction for his own children and others. chris jansing, nbc news, washington. overseas now. it was a cry heard around the world. bring back our girls. the social media campaign that went viral after the kidnapping of more than 200 nigerian school girls by boko haram militants. now more than a year later, most of those girls and hundreds of others are still missing while more than a million people have been forced to flee from boko haram's wave of terror. nbc's keir simmons traveled to the region and has an exclusive look at a remote haven for thousands of desperate refugees. it's a place unseen to the outside world until now. >> reporter: riding motorized canoes in 110-degree heat we cross lake chad where boko haram fighters have launched recent attacks reaching this island. thousands of refugees have built simple homes here after escaping with their lives from militants who believe education is sinful. and who kidnap women and girls. jennifer, who was a student, and her friends all say they fled from boko haram. women captured by the militants are sexually exploited. >> they kill them. >> reporter: later we saw this woman who saw boko haram militants cut her son's throat. his children now fatherless. including this 12-year-old and this one, just 3. further on another gathering. are you sick? more families begging for help. he's not well. not well. when medicine arrives the scale of the need shows. mothers holding up their babies clamoring for supplies included water purification tablets. the aid workers are overwhelmed and they just got here. people are terrified. now they're desperate. more than a hundred malnourished children are treated. this is the first aid they've had? >> yes, first aid they have had since they came. >> reporter: in just 24 hours here, unicef delivers aid to thousands. a fraction of the estimated 1.5 million people displaced in the region. including jennifer who must now look after her 4-year-old. she remains hopeful. when boko haram are gone -- >> i go back to college. >> reporter: you'll go back to college. but no one here knows when boko haram will be gone. still fighting. while on this remote island, the innocent fend for themselves. keir simmons, nbc news, lake chad. a lot more still ahead tonight including the photos that exploded on the internet today. our first look at caitlyn jenner, the woman formerly known as bruce jenner makes her debut opening up about surgery and what pushed her close to suicide. tonight after weeks of speculation over what her name would be and what she would look like, caitlyn jenner, the woman formerly known as bruce jenner made her debut in a big way on the cover of "vanity fair" opening up about some tough times to get to this point. nbc's stephanie gosk has our report. >> as soon as the "vanity fair" cover comes out, i'm free. >> reporter: once bruce jenner, now caitlyn jenner described to "vanity fair" the relief she would feel today in this behind the scenes video. >> bruce always had to tell a lie. he was always living that lie. >> reporter: there is no lie anymore. in the article jenner says if i was lying on my death bed and had kept this secret and never did anything about it, i would be lying there saying you just blew your entire life. today caitlyn jenner tweeted for the first time. i'm so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. welcome to the world, caitlyn. can't wait for you to get to know her/me. within hours jenner had a million followers, breaking a twitter record. >> i worked out a lot, ate a lot of wheaties. >> reporter: more than a few on social media suggested wheaties should put the gold medal winning decathlete back on the box. >> while we see this increased media interest in transgender people which is exciting, we still have a long way in terms of making the world safe for those people. >> reporter: the article describes jenner's doubt after facial reconstruction surgery. asking herself, what did i just do. but the feeling passed. jenner says she was close to suicidal after tmz reported on possible adam's apple surgery in 2013. forced to tell the family before she was ready. son brandon responded at the time, i've never been more proud of you than i am at this moment. 65-year-old jenner's family life has been public for years in "keeping up with the kardashians." only just recently discussing her transition. >> do we have any more questions? >> when do we start referring to you as her? >> you will see me and you will know. >> reporter: now there is a far more personal reality show set to air this summer. >> caitlyn doesn't have any secrets. >> reporter: and she has quite a story to tell. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. up next tonight, a shocking attack. how did a lion get inside an suv killing an american woman on safari? in texas tonight six people remain missing in wimberley, one of the hardest hit by the rainfall. while to the east outside houston, cowboys rushed to rescue about 600 cattle from the swollen trinity river yesterday. despite their efforts they lost about half the herd. now a different system is soaking the east coast. heavy downpours flooding roads in new jersey and elsewhere forcing stranded drivers to be rescued. the worst-case scenario became a terrible reality today at a wildlife park in south africa. an american woman was killed and her driver injured when a lion attacked through the open window of their suv. she hasn't been identified yet, but police say she was 22 and died before authorities arrived. witnesses confirm the suv did have its windows down, something the park specifically warns visitors not to do. the hunt is on in northern california tonight to find a mystery woman who donated an old computer to a shop that recycles old electronics not realizing it was an apple 1 computer. that's the first computer steve jobs and steve wozniack created in their garage. only about 200 remain and the remaining ones are valued at $200,000. the shop wants to thank her and give her a major payday. when we come back, tracy morgan's exclusive interview with matt lauer nearly one year after an accident nearly claimed his life. what he tells matt about whether he'll return to performing. the world nearly lost comedian tracy morgan last year in a traffic accident that claimed the life of his dear friend. now after nearly a year of difficult recovery, tracy is speaking out for the first time in an exclusive interview with matt lauer. he, his lawyer, and fiance sat down with matt in the "saturday night live" studio. morgan's first time back since the crash. >> you walk in this room, what do you think of? >> home. it's being home. a lot of good memories. >> i'm brian fellows. >> how are you feeling? >> i have my good days and my bad days. sometimes i don't feel well. sometimes emotionally i don't feel well. i'm really focused on my memory coming back to me, my walking getting better, my balance is still off. so i have to really focus on those things. >> this is a terrible accident. the car flipped. it's on its side. >> what's the last thing you remember from that night? >> saying a joke looking at jimmy mac. then wanting to get back to my wife. >> you two were actually talking -- >> on the phone. >> -- as the impact occurred. >> yeah. we were on facetime, actually. but i didn't know that he was in an accident. i just thought reception dropped. once i found out the time of the accident, i realized i haven't heard from tracy since that point. >> tracy, you mentioned a second ago jimmy mac, james mcnair, who died in this crash. you didn't get to see him after the impact, did you? >> no. >> when did you learn he had passed away? >> a week after i came out of the coma, my lady leaned over to my bed and said we buried jimmy about a week ago. i didn't know how to take it. >> for a long time, we would discuss how guilty he was feeling because of all the people who were there and especially jimmy mac wasn't even performing, just was there for him. >> emotionally speaking, do you experience depression? how are you getting through that? >> i love comedy. i wonder how i'm going to be funny again, remembering my identity. what do i do? and the fans have let me know we can't wait for you to come back. we can't wait for you to come back and i can't wait to make them laugh again. i want to say thank you to the people. thank you very much for saving my life. thank you. thank you. thank you from me and my family. >> you know what would be a nice way to thank them? one day walking down those stairs again on "saturday night live." >> i promise you. i promise you. one day when i'm 100%, i'm going to grab that mic and i ain't never going to let it go. never. i'm going to be the funniest i could be because i ain't never going to take life for granted no more. >> matt lauer with tracy morgan today. we wish him a speedy and full recovery. that's going to do it for us on this monday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. it's pretty bold for someone to do what they're doing. >> right now at 6:00 a crime ring busted. thieves accused of stealing while their victims were working up a sweat. how gym employees caught the suspects in the act. good evening and thanks for being with us on this monday. i'm raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. it is the ultimate workout of your wallet. your car is stolen while you're on the treadmill. police say south bay gyms are being targeted by an auto theft ring. tonight three people have been arrested, but police say more car thieves could be out scoping gym parking lots. michelle roberts joins us from the south valley ymca in san jose with more on how the thieves are managing to pull it off. michelle. >> reporter: thieves know most people don't work out with their keys in their pockets so they're either sneaking in like they did here at the ymca and going into the locker room or in some cases they're actually buying a day pass just to get into the locker room. they're looking for things left out like a bag and of course those keys. police describe this man, colby worsham, as the ring leader for an elaborate operation. the target san jose fitness centers. >> it's pretty bold for someone to do what they're doing. >> police sergeant ken davis says in the last month seven cars have been stolen for five different gyms mostly in san jose. >> chances are if they try it here they'll try it somewhere else. >> reporter: carol with the south valley ymca say pol