hook parents for calling the massacre a hoax. also tonight, four current and former officers now facing federal civil rights charges for the raid that killed breonna taylor. what the justice department alleges they did. the biden administration declaring monkeypox a public health emergency. what it means for the federal response. the record-shattering heat. nearly 80 million on alert. al roker is standing by. the new twist in a nearly 40-year-old cold case. he spent decades in prison for a murder he didn t commit. who authorities have now charged. and the nfl preseason kicking off on nbc. why tonight s game head coaches. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening, everyone, from las vegas, where i m attending a gathering of black and hispanic journalists. we start tonight in moscow, where american pro basketball star brittney griner was sentenced today to nine years in a russian prison. the sentence coming right after the court pronounc