Daughters courage to come forward. Nightly news begins right now. Good evening. The american footprint in the war against isis is about to get bigger. And whether you call it boots on ground or advisors as the white house is calling it, for the first time Ground Troops are inside of syria. The americans, all from special operations, are fewer than 50. The mission said the white house, to assist local fighters. It is a major policy shift that has many wondering whether the door has cracked open do an even deeper american ground rule. Richard engel has the story tonight. Reporter after thousands of airstrikes against isis in iraq and syria and 3000 troops back to iraq, today the white house announced a new step. The decision that the president has made is to send fewer than 50 special Operations Forces to syria. Reporter in other words, american boots on the ground in syria. Something the president said would never happen. I wont commit our troops to fighting another ground war in iraq or in syria. Reporter but tonight the white house announced nothing has changed. The troops will stick to an advisory role. They are not in a combat mission. That is not the mission but they could find themselves in a combat situation. There is no denying the amount of risk they are taking on here and they are equipped to defend themself if necessary. Reporter that left some military experts skeptical and angry. This is domestic politics. There is an element of alice and wonderland to this press announcement. I think it has been rare in American Military history to have seen micro management of military operations on the level of this white house. Reporter the announcement came on the same day that talks on syria began in vienna. The u. S. , russia, turkey and iran. But the change in military policy has been in the works a long time. The decision to spend u. S. Special forces into syria is a recognition that simply what we were doing wasnt working. The situation on the ground was was continuing to deteriorate. Reporter a u. S. Official tells nbc news the new plan is a threepronged approach. In northern syria, dozens of American SpecialOperations Forces will deploy alongside kurdish and arab fighters to battle isis. In northern iraq, the u. S. Plans to have a Rapid Reaction force to back up troops and allies. And in turkey, more airstrikes by the base by more aircraft. Including f15 bombers and lowflying a10 warthogs for close air support. Although the white house was at pains to admit it, the u. S. Is stepping deeper into the war in iraq and syria, even though it insists nothing has changed and no promises were broken. Lester. Richard, thank you. We want you to know ill sit down with president obama with a twopart interview, including what he still wants to accomplish as the final year in office approaches. That is monday night here on nightly news. Were following a major storm emergency happening in texas. One person is confirmed dead as massive flooding overwhelms a huge part of the state. Evacuations and roads turning into rivers. Look at this. A school in san marcos completely surrounded. There have been three reports of tornados and one county has declared a state of disaster. With this system not expected to let up any time soon. Janet shamlian is in the storm zone for us. Reporter violent storms battering South Central texas. Record rain, reports of tornados, flooding and widespread damage. Evacuations from san antonio to austin. There is one of the vehicles that got washed away. Reporter near the town of wimberley, kathleen and her friends were trapped in a bed and breakfast until rescued by the national guard. We didnt know where we were going and the water was rising so fast and we didnt know where we were going. Reporter sirens warned as the danger as the Cypress River spilled over and raced toward homes and businesses. On halloween eve the roads were filled with pumpkins carried away by the storm. In austin, a mess. Amid the rising water, this woman helped by passers by. I quickly rolled down the window and pulled myself up. Reporter a possible tornado left this in its wake. A tractortrailer like a broken toy on top of a hotel. Power lines down everywhere. The roof ripped from a high school. In south texas, a Lightning Strike knocked out radar at the National Weather service in brownsville. Rain soaked the state. Closing the Austin Airport which was battered by almost 14 inches in six hours, more than the city received the entire month of may, which was already the second wettest on record. The swollen blanco river cresting more than 13. 5 feet over flood stage. I watched it come up. Reporter the evacuations along the river bank reminiscence of may when storms claimed 31 lives, including eight people in a home swept down the river. It went from nothing to up my driveway. Reporter this woman was pregnant then. Late today, she was rescued with her 10dayold baby. Second time. This is the second time this has happened to us. It is almost unbelievable. Reporter all eyes are on the blanco river here tonight. While it has receded from the height of the storm today it is still high. And there is another system out there expected to bring more heavy rain in the next couple of hours. Back to you. Thank you. Al roker is here. He is monitoring the system. We all sat up straight when you said this will drop amounts akin to a hurricane. That is right. This one has done 13 inches and there is more on the way. Tornado watches in effect for evening and tonight, damaging winds and tornados. Two inch hail possible tomorrow. That system moves to the east and now in louisiana, in the gun sights. Heavy downpours. One inch hail possible. To give you a sense. Were talking upwards of another 56 inches locally, could be 57 inches of rain in a square mile, you get an inch of rain. That is the equivalent of 17 million gallons of water. Well let me put it to you this way, we have flash flood watches and warnings that cover 75,000 square miles and you put that into perspective. Lester, that is 1. 27 trillion gallons of water, enough to fill 192,000 olympic swimming pools. Al, thanks very much. Turning to the race for 2016. We have a brand new nbc news online poll conducted by survey monkey. The first since wednesdays Republican Debate showing ben carson in a dead heat with donald trump for the lead. But as for who actually won the debate, the polls show ted cruz on top followed by marco rubio and then trump and carson. Over all jeb bush fared worst in the debate. Hallie jackson is on the campaign trail in iowa. Reporter for a couple of candidates, a kind of victory lap planned in iowa but it is colorado the focus today after wednesdays debate. Multiple campaigns planning to huddle to compare campaigns. Just a minute. Let me finish. Reporter now the Republican Party is suspending februarys nbc news telemundo debate, the only debate to be aired on Spanish Language tv, writing the moderators in engaged in a series of gotcha questions and petty and mean spirit the in tone and designed to embarrass the candidates. Nbc news said people who want to be president of the United States should be able to answer tough questions. Nbc news owned by the same Parent Company as cnbc called it a Disappointing Development but promises to work in good faith to resolve this matter with the Republican Party. More fallout after a debate giving new momentum to ted cruz and rubio, who lended a counterpunch against jeb bush. The super pac supporting rubio previewing the first ad is also highlighting cruz, trump and carson as his biggest competitors. Not mentioned, his former mentor, jeb bush. That is even as a leaked memo shows the Campaign Plan to go after rubio, painting him as a risky bet. Someone decides they want to do the democrats job for them and make it easier for the democrats to defeat a republican, that is the choice they make in their campaign. But i cant let it change my campaign and i wont. Tonight signs for a shake up for bush. His chief operating officer leaving the campaign as bush promises to get better as a candidate explaining how to casey hunt. We have eight more debates and im going to have to do what candidates do which is rudely interrupt and not answer the questions that are asked and hopefully the debate moderators will ask more substantive questions as well. It is going fine. Are you having any fun . Oh, yeah. You saw it. I had a lot of fun. Reporter expect to see a sharper jeb bush on the trail next week in florida. As we looks to boosts had standing to compete with donald trump and ben carson. Still the frontrunners on the online poll. Thank you. Now a Quick Program note. Chuck todd will have an interview with jeb bush on sunday morning on meet the press. Federal investigators have begun to examine the charred sections of the jet that caught fire on the runway in florida with over 100 people on board. Two remain hospitalized and we are learning about the history of the plane as the ntsb tries to figure out what happened. Nbcs Kerry Sanders has the latest. Reporter aviation sources tell nbc news the boeing 767 had been in storage for two to three years and recently had its left engine replaced. The ntsb investigation starts with an eyewitness from yesterday. Dynamic out of the left engine it looks like it is leaking a lot of i dont know if it is fuel. It is fluid lacking out of the left engine. The fire burned about 50 gallons of jet fuel before it was put out. On board, more than 24,000 gallons for a flight to venezuela. There is a fire. Do i know what sparked the flame and the answer at this point is no. Dynamic International Airways is a Charter Airline with only five planes. But like all that operate in the United States they are subject to faa regulations and the same maintenance requirements. The faa tonight has no record of maintenance problems with dynamic. The flames that could have spread to the cabin were extinguished within one minute by the broward sheriff fire department. This is an aircraft engine fire. Aircraft engine fire per the battalion. Reporter it worked like the text book. It worked better than text book. Reporter tonight some of the passengers boarded a flight to car acus. Im not worried. I just want dont want to think about it. The ntsb said a report on the cause could be more than a year away. Kerry sanders. Nbc news, ft. Lauderdale. Now to a classroom emergency, two High School Students from Northern Virginia are in a burn unit after a serious fire broke out in their Chemistry Lab as the teacher was demonstrating various types of chemical fires. And as tom costello reports it is the latest example of how Dangerous School labs can be if things dont go right. Reporter it happened at one of the top high schools in the country. Wt woodson high. Fairfax county fire rescue dispatched just after 9 40 this morning. Building fire at 9525 main street, woodson high school, report of a fire in a room, kilo 105. K105, the chemistry classroom. Result is an ethanol fire. We do have fire in the room. Reporter a teacher and five students burned, all taken to area hospitals. Two airlifted to d. C. Burn units, one in Critical Condition and rushed to surgery. Investigators say it happens during a routine demonstration. It was a demonstration on fire and the different colors of fire. The school was quickly evacuated with many students concerned about the injured. It is kind of scary knowing this could happen to anybody in chemistry class. Although they are rare, when they occur the results can be tragic. This boy suffered Second Degree burns. Four years ago. I was right front row and fire shot right at me. Reporter in denver last month four students were burned during a demonstration. The instructor who didnt have a teachers license has been criminally charged. And with many high schools now ramping up math and science requirements, and now the risk say experts may also increase. Tom costello, nbc news, washington. Still ahead tonight, the case that dominated the headlines, a former prep School Student convicted in a case that exposed an alleged culture of sex at one of the nations top prep schools. Now in an nbc exclusive the victims mother breaks her silence. 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It was at midnight and she called me crying unconsolably and she said something awful had happened. Reporter prosecutors say he lured the girl to a roof where they had sex. They say it was part of a ritual called senior salute. Which involved graduating senior boys wooing younger girls. The case went to trial this summer. He was acquitted of felony rape charges but found guilty of a lesser felony. Using a computer to lure his underage accuser and found guilty of misdemeanor Sexual Assault. The victim testified against him. A brutal experience, according to her mom. It has been excruciating for her. But being a pretty pure soul, she just wanted to do what was right. Reporter yesterday, a judge sentenced labry to a year in jail and he is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. The victim spoke emotionally in a video played during sentencing. Without just and right punishment, i really dont know how ill put one foot in front of the other. I dont want to feel imprisoned for the rest of my life. Reporter labrie once planned to study theology at harvard. He is a kind, loving soul that is a genuine person and to his core hes an incredible person to be around. For now he is free while an appeal is pending. Natalie morales, nbc news, concord, new hampshire. There will be more of the reporting on the case tonight on the dateline at 10 00, 9 00 central. Were back in a moment with an amazing sight. One of the driest places on earth suddenly in bloom. Of the drie placeseasuddenly in bloom. This bale of hay cannot be controlled. When a wildfire raged through elkhorn ranch, the sudden loss of pasture became a serious problem for a family business. Faced with horses that needed feeding and a texas drought that sent hay prices soaring, the owners had to act fast. Thankfully, mary miller banks with chase for business. 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