At the Supreme Court. At the Supreme Court. The fate of millions now hanging in the balance. What happens if theres a tie . And sudden impact, a drone slams into an airliner trying to land at an airport. A major new alarm about a growing danger in the sky. Nightly news begins right now. Announcer this is nbc nbc nightly news with lester holt reporting tonight from the middle east. Good evening from the air base in the united arab emirates. We returned just a few hours ago from a day in baghdad where secretary of defense, ash carter, who said americans will be deployed to iraq and additional firepower will likely join the fight in addition to these fighter jets based here that are part of the ongoing campaign. The breaking news from iraq and exclusive interview with the secretary in just a moment. But first, to the breaking news bk home. A record flood emergency in houston. Homes across the city, pulled from cars swallowed by flash flood. At least two are dead. Nbcs Janet Shamlian starts us off from houston and the major rescue operation there tonight. Reporter a flood for the ages. The nations fourth largest city at a standstill, submerged by as many as 16 inches of rain. I was not expecting that. Reporter major highways under water, Public Transit shut down, schools closed for 1 million students. Im a lit bit nervous. Test day, people urged not to make a run for please stay at home. Stay off the streets. Reporter a big rig driver nearly swept away. He disappears under water before being pulled to safety. Leave the car. Swim. Reporter a rescue rescues another driver, captured live. Dozens of houston neighborhoods tonight look just like this one. They are filled with many people in them cant get out. Already more than 1,200 highwater rescues, as authorities struggle to keep up. It was scary. What if you fall in . Reporter this couple walked to safety through high water with their newborn daughter. And Tommy Woodward borrowed a boat to save his disabled and elderly parents. Im not doing good. Reporter amid the rescue, a boatload of fami pets and as many as 70 horses moved to higher ground. More than 1,000 homes flooded. Built around bayous that often overflow their banks, houston is flat and flood prone, leaving nowhere for all that water to go. Tonight this is not over. There are scattered storms in the forecast through wednesday. Even a small one could trigger more of this. Flooding on hundreds of houston streets. Roads turned into rivers, making them both dangerous and impassable. Lester . All right, janet tonight, thanks. Now to the climbing death toll in the powerful earthquake that rocked ecuador over the weekend. One american has been confirmed dead, over 400 people in all killed, with many others still believed to be trapped under the rubble. Nbcs Miguel Almaguer has more on the desperate race to rescue them. Reporter nearly 48 hours after ecuadors largest earthquake in decades, magnitude 7. 8, survivors are being pulled from beneath piles of concrete, brick and debris. They yelled, careful, careful. Many are children. Home with their families when roofs and walls came crashing down. Ive lost my family home, she says. They are asking for quiet to hear the calls for help from beneath the rubble. The cries are fading with every hour. Heart break is hospitals are full, cemeteries are filling up. Luis sanchez lost five members of his family. The powerful jolt rocked ecuador saturday night. Bridges and buildings close to the epicenter have collapsed. Buckled roads are slowing relief. Ecuadors quake comes on the heels of two major tremors in japan. The countries part of the socalled ring of fire. The quakes are not related, say experts, but are a warning to be prepared. In california, we also have the faults capable of the 7. 8. So when that earthquake happens here, and it will, were going to have more intense shaking than whats received in ecuador. Reporter tonight in ecuador, there have been more than 200 aftershocks, each jolt hampering the rescue effort and shaking any sign of hope. Here where the ground continues to occasionally shift, many are living in fear. They are sleeping outside under tents, worried their roofs will collapse on them. Its believed up to 500 people in this area alone may have been killed. The u. S. State Department Confirms one american is dead, and we know two canadians were also killed in this massive quake. Lester . An awful scene there tonight. Miguel, thank you. Now back to the major story that takes us here to the middle east. Defense secretary, ash carter, he revealed hundreds more americans will be deploying to support the war against isis in iraq. They will join an estimated 5,000 other americans, mostly advisers, already in the country. I accompanied the sestetary to baghdad today where in an exclusive interview he told me the troops and new firepower do not signal a change in u. S. Strategy. 1,000 feet over baghdad on his third visit here in just over a year, defense secretary ash carter said the u. S. Is increasing its role in in iraq. Once on the ground he met with iraqi Prime Minister abadi, formalizing a new plan that will bring in 200 additional troops as advisers. And authorizes advthance u. S. Army mobile rocket launchers, and apache gunships to help iraqis retake the city of mosul from isis. These are capabilities that will continue the process of accelerating the defeat of isil. How do you respond to those who say the incremental approach just doesnt get the job done . Well, we are going to accelerate this campaign every time we find an opportunity to do so. Im very comfortable that our operational approach is the right one. Reporter tonight just released gun camera footage of u. S. Air strikes underscores the pace of the ongoing americanled air campaign. But despite todays announcement of more fighting equipment, carter is adamant the u. S. Will not fight a ground war. In the end, iraqi forces have to do the defeating, sustain the defeat. We can help them, we cant substitute for were not looking to. Reporter the distinction between combat and support roles has been blurred over the last six nths with the battlefield death of two americans. Lewis cardon killed last month at a fire base near the front lines by an isis rocket attack. And Army Master Sergeant josh wheeler, a member of delta force, killed in october during a Hostage Rescue Mission that was officially being led by kurdish troops. He leaves behind a wife and four children, includi a new baby. He was a very humble person. Very proud of his country. But still very humble. As you add additional personnel, and they are advising lower down the chain, doesnt it put more americans at higher americans are at risk today. Every single day here. As secretary of defense, i take that more seriously than anything else. Reporter the pentagon says isis territory has already been shrunk by 40 . In part, thanks to u. S. Bombing. Zeke, his call sign, flies those missions in an f22. What were doing hereplbsolutely matters. And is going to matter to this region, it matters to the united states, and to all the nations in this coalition. Is this making us any safer, san bernardino, brussels, paris, you name it, what happens on the battlefield here make the rest of the world safer . It does. It is necessary to destroy isil in its parent tumor of this cancer, which is here in iraq and syria. Thats where this thing arose in the first place. And we need to destroy it there. Physically, but also we need to destroy the a state based upon this evil ideology. Secretary carter said the iraqis have momentum against isis and the u. S. Will continue to look for opportunities to accelerate the campaign, but short of deploying americans in Ground Combat roles. Amid this ongoing battle, nbc news has gotten rare insight into the inner workings of isis. This valuable intelligence comes from purported secret files stolen by a man claiming to be an isis defector. As nbc news chief Foreign CorrespondentRichard Engel shows who isis is targeting for recruitment. Reporter just over a month ago, in southern turkey, we met a man who called himself abu muhammad, claiming to be a former isis fighter who stole thousands of topsecret isis personnel files. Why exactly did you steal it . So one day i could expose isis, he said, and the documents did. They are registration forms of more than from 71 countries who arrived in syria in 2013 and 14. Tracking details like real names, countries visited, even Emergency Contact numbers. With thousands of documents to read through, we needed help from experts. Broken down by the country of residence as a fighter. Reporter we brought all these files here to west point, the u. S. Armys premier academy in new york, also home to the combating terrorism center. Do you think theyre real . Absolutely. The largest cache of documents of their type weve seen in certainly the publicf domain. Reporter a team of an ysts and translators worked around the clock to create a profile. Many of the fighters were, as expected, young, educated, underemployed, and frustrated arab men. But there were also doctors and lawyers, flight attendants, even a former starbucks employee. Everywhere from teenagers up until men so isis has had a very wide appeal. Any indication why . Certainly, i think it ties back to what theyre selling. Theyre trying to establish a pure islamic state. And theyre sending a message of winning. Reporter saudi arabia, tunisia, and morocco were the top suppliers of fighters. 14 came from the u. S. But when taking population into consideration, the u. S. Dropped to near the bottom. New arrivals were asked to choose fighter, suicide bomber, or suicide fighter. Only 12 of recruits chose to die in suicide attacks. The rest wanted to live under the black flag of the socalled islamic state. Many of these individuals are buying into that message and theyre going there to live, not die. 30 of the fighters were married, many brought children. Its a very different profile from al qaeda. Lester . Richard engel, thank you. Terror in a bus exploded into a massive fireball. Wounding at least 21 people, including two onboard that bus, and others at a bus nearby. Authorities say there is no doubt it was a terrorist attack, though they say its too early to know who the attacker was. The Supreme Court today took up one of the biggest cases of the term, one thats been a hotly contested issue in the 2016 race. A fight over president obamas immigration policy that could shield more than 4 Million People from deportation. Nbcs Pete Williams has more on the battle inside and outside the court. Reporter hundreds of demonstrators came from around the country, jamming the sidewalks, dramatizing whats at stake. The courts decision will affect the future for people here illegally nationwide, including peter and marlene of maryland, who came to the u. S. Two decades ago from chile. Hes a construction worker, shes a nanny. Their visas expired long ago, but theyre hoping they can stay to support their children. My daughrs can go to college. I can go to college maybe one day. Reporter he wants to let millions of adults like them stay if their children are american citizens. With 11 Million People in the u. S. Illegally, the administration said its focusing on deporting criminals and letting others come out of the shadows, get work permits, and pay taxes. 26 mostly republicanrun states led by texas sued and blocked the plan in thee ower courts saying president obama went too far. One person doesnt have the unilateral authority to change the law or make new law. Reporter today the administration did not seem to have the vote. Justice antonin kennedy said its upside down. Chief Justice John Roberts suggested the states have the right to sue because it will cost millions to issue drivers licenses to the adults who would be allowed to stay. If the court ends up tied 44, that would be a feat for president obama, it would leave a Lower Court Ruling in place enforcing the plan. Lester . All right, Pete Williams, thank you. Tonight were just hours from the polls opening in a critical new york pr ary. Donald trump hoping for a resounding win in his home state, trying to get back on track in a path to locking up the nomination before the convention. All of it, as the fight between clinton and sanders just took another nasty turn. Over big money. Nbcs Peter Alexander with details. Reporter donald trump today looking to tie a bow around tomorrows potential home state sweep. Rival ted cruz already looking beyond new york. Maryland is going to have an outside voice. Reporter still, the loudest voice tonight, the american voters, unimpressed by all the leading candidates. Our new poll showing nearly 70 couldnt see themselves supporting trump. 61 opposed to cruz. Hillary clinton nearly as unpopular. Cruz today insisting at a contested convention. Donald cannot win. Reporter on the road to 1,237, new yorks just the star ng point. In a crucial twoweek stretch winding its way through the midatlantic and northeast before wrapping up in indiana, that could reshuffle the delegate race. As trump protests his new nickname for his presumed democratic rival its crooked hillary. Shes as crooked as they come. Reporter our poll shows clinton would beat trump. Late today is the Sanders Campaign lashing out, accusing the dnc of fundraising malpractice, arguing the serious apparent violation should cease immediately. Tonight the Clinton Campaign is firing back, blasting the sanders attack as baseless and misleading. This democratic protest reignited yorkers vote. Peter alexander, thank you. Still ahead, scary moments in the sky. A passenger plane struck while coming in for a landing. The midair danger pilots encounter at least th good news. Youre down with crestor. Alright now theres a way you can get crestor for 3. Adding crestor, along with diet, lowers bad cholesterol. Crestor is not for people with liver disease, or women who are nursing,pregnant, or may become pregnant. Tell your doctor all medicines you take. 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M. , final approach into london heathrow, when the crew of flight 727, an airbus a320 arriving from geneva with 137 people onboard reported it had been hit by an unmanned drone. The plane landed safely. In the u. S. , 2. 5 million commercial and hobby drones are expected to crowd the skies by the end of the year. If operators fail to steer clear of airports and planes, aviation experts warn theres a potentially serious threat to passenger planes. There is obviously a core of people breaking the law. They dont know theyre risking a prison sentence or they dont care. Radiocontrolled helicopter things went right over the top of us at 4,000. Over the top of you at 4,000 . Roger that. Reporter the faa reported more than three close calls each drones. 1,400 for the year. Researchers at Virginia Tech have created a computer simulation of an 8pound drone striking a jet engine. The result . The total loss of the engine and potential crash. If they impact an airliner or other airplane, theyll do more damage or more than birds. Reporter a double bird strike that forced the miracle on the hudson River Landing seven years ago. The threat posed by drones is so serious, some experts want to require software t t keeps them away from airports and other sensitive locations. Tom costello, nbc news, washington. A young woman who rose from tragedy to accomplish something amazing to there are two billion people who don t have access to basic banking, but that is changing. R at temenos, with the microsoft cloud, we can enable a banker to travel to the most remote locations with nothing but a phone and a tablet. P everywhere where there s a phone, you have a bank. Now a person is able to start a business, and employ somebody for the first time. Us to bring banking to ten Million People in just two years. Its transforming our world. Don t let dust and allergies get between you and life s beautiful moments. 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