we will followt(c this confrontation, sophia peacefulj on-site. >> full report tonight at 6:00. hope to see you then. tonight, paying the price. late word of a settlement between united airlines and that passenger violently dragged off a plane as we sit down exclusively with united's ceo. what he says is to blame and what changes are on the way. cop killer stand-off. a state trooper gunned down and a 20-hour drama. the swat team blows the door open as he comes out shooting. american special ops soldiers killed in a raid on isis in afghanistan. two dead, another wounded. what happened? tv controversy, a new series about a fictional teenage girl and the 13 reasons why she took her own life. some schools sounding the alarm accusing the series of glamorizing suicide. and what's the story? an inspiring young man. why so many kids are

clambering to join his club. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening to our viewers in the west. possibly no recent story has generated the level of universal outrage quite like the video of a bloodied man being dragged from his airplane seat. now there is late word a settlement has been reached between united airlines and that passenger, kentucky doctor david dao, who was injured after being forcibly removed from his seat, to give his seat to a traveling united airline crew member. the sum was announced on the same day united released an internal report on the april 9th incident and announced a series of changes to prevent it from happening again. in an exclusive interview, united's

ceo oscar munoz described to me the failures that failed dr. dao. >> i don't wish any lower point than this on anyone in the world. >> reporter: oscar munoz hoping this low point will also be united's turning point with what it calls an amicable resolution of an unfortunate incident, the airline settling with dr. david dao as it confronts mistakes and promises change releasing an internal report listing its failures that day, calling law enforcement despite the fact there was no security threat. booking an offduty flight crew at the last minute aboard an already sold plane. and not offering enough compensation to entice passengers to give up their seats. you needed to get that crew on that airplane to cover another flight. looking back, was there another way? could you have hired cars? were there solutions that would have avoided -- >> absolutely.

that's the common sense process that i have failed our company to provide. we should have done that immediately. it just wasn't embedded in the policies and procedures. >> procedures the airlines says will change. more training for difficult situations. new teams focused on providing agents with creative solutions. fewer overbooked flights, and raising compensation for those willing to take a later flight up to $10,000. could more compensation have avoided this in this case? >> you know, it's hard to say. i think the combination of financial plus how do i get to where i want to go? that's the thing that something -- we'll put the customer at the center of everything we do. >> isn't customer service putting the customer first, isn't that a given? >> it is. we make sure half a million people every single day get to somewhere safely. when you have a complicated process like that, the operational mindset becomes sort of front and center and you forget sometimes the people you're carrying are human and have interests and have desires. >> munoz blames the episode on what he calls a system failure, however, as a

result, he will no longer gain the title of chairman next year as planned. his decision, he says. >> i don't think it's the right time, a. and b, i need to provide, as i say, sorry, there has to be actions, proof that i am indeed sorry. >> that was your call? >> yes. >> since the united incident, a series of airline passenger horror stories have grabbed the headlines. you looked on tv and saw the american airlines incident with the stroller and the flight attendant. what did you think? >> the industry is getting a black eye. and i think what -- and again, i'm not defending any issues whatsoever, other than a lot of great things happen in all the airline industry across the world. you've caught us, all of us at a bad moment so i felt sorry. i know them well. i know their views on life. >> but it's forcing a new culture at united munoz is committed to starting with dr. dao. >> we breached public trust and a serious breach and we're

profoundly sorry for that. >> dr. dao's lawyer tonight applauding the moves and calling the client an unintended champion and the adoption of the changes. in delaware, flags are at half staff for a state trooper gunned down by a suspect that held police in a 20-hour standoff. s.w.a.t. teams used explosives to blow up the suspect's house before he finally came out shooting this morning. tonight, with the state in mourning, investigators still don't have a motive. here is nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: in a quiet delaware suburb, a violent night of gunfire and explosives after a standoff with a cop-killer. it started less than 24 hours earlier at a convenience store when state trooper steven ballard approached a suspicious vehicle. police say that's when the passenger, a 26-year-old jumped out, pulled a gun and began shooting. as the trooper lay wounded on the ground, seally approached and executed him.

>> cpr in progress. >> reporter: sealy then fled barricading himself in his family's home, overnight swat teams using explosives to blow off the windows and doors trying to coax him out. >> it was like five shots of succession, like five shots, a break and five more shots. >> reporter: at 9:17 this morning, sealy came out shooting and was shot and killed himself. neighbors say sealy and his family kept to themselves. >> they stuck to themselves, we never saw them outside or anything. >> reporter: the family, you never saw the family? >> no. >> reporter: outside, state police troop two, the flags are at half staff. black bunting over his patrol car, an eight-year veteran he was married with a stepdaughter. >> the acts of steven yesterday exemplified the dedication. >> reporter: today fellow officers and the governor choked back tears. >> he leaves behind his lovely wife louise, a daughter and a loving family and scores of friends. >> reporter: investigators say they don't know why trooper

ballard stopped the car but sealy had a record of drugs and weapons arrest. tonight at the convenience store, police tape and flowers for a fallen officer. tonight trooper ballard's cruiser remains parked in front of the barracks here, and bunting remains. people have been coming all day bringing food and flowers, even money for his family. he is the first trooper in delaware to die in the line of duty since 2004. nationwide, this year, the 13th officer shot and killed in the line of duty. lester? >> tom costello in delaware tonight, thank you. back in the headlines, president trump's former national security advisor michael flynn, the pentagon's top watchdog has now launched an investigation into flynn, who was already the subject of fbi and congressional probes into his ties to russia. flynn was fired 23 days into the job for misleading vice president mike pence about his conversations with russia's ambassador. nbc's andrea mitchell has new details. >> reporter: tonight the firestorm growing

over ousted national security advisor michael flynn. now being investigated by the pentagon's inspector general for accepting foreign payments without prior approval. congressional democrats unleashing their sharpest words yet at the white house, for refusing to turn over all documents on michael flynn to them. >> i honestly did not understand why the white house is covering up for michael flynn. i don't get it. after the president fired him. >> reporter: so the democrats released pentagon documents showing the defense intelligence agency warned flynn when he retired. he needed permission to take money from foreign governments. at issue, flynn receiving $45,000 for his speech plus expenses with putin in russia in 2015 and $500,000 lobbying for turkey in 2016. >> we have no evidence, zilch he obtained permission from the secretary of the army and secretary of state to accept any foreign of the payments.

>> reporter: the white house saying the pentagon was in charge of vetting flynn. >> if they think there is wrongdoing, the department's inspector general should look into that. >> reporter: nbc news learned from sources close to the investigation, trump transitioned and the white house did its own background check on flynn and hired him anyway. >> working on behalf of foreign governments, getting paid may not be unlawful but if you don't disclose it, investigators want to know why are you hiding this information? perhaps you've been compromised. >> reporter: republican oversight chairman jason chaffetz asking the army to weigh in on whether flynn broke the law. flynn's lawyer saying flynn notified the pentagon of his trip to russia. but investigators say they never told him he was being paid. lester? >> andrea mitchell, thanks. turning overseas, a tragic day for american forces fighting isis. two u.s. special operations troops were killed in a battle against isis fighters in the same area where the u.s. dropped a massive bomb earlier this month. nbc news pentagon correspondent hans nichols has details. >> reporter: u.s.

special operations forces joined by the afghan army attacking isis insurgents, killing around 40. but in the battle, two u.s. special operators were wounded. medivaced out alive but later died. a third was grazed by a bullet staying on the battle field. all happening on the same isis stronghold in eastern afghanistan where the u.s. dropped a 21,000-pound explosive two weeks ago collapsing terrorist tunnels and caves. afghan officials say roughly 100 isis combatants were killed by the bomb. but defense secretary jim mattis claiming not to care about numbers. >> frankly, digging into tunnels to count dead bodies is probably not a good use of our troop's time. >> reporter: tonight, more than 20 extremist organizations in the region according to u.s. officials including isis and the taliban. >> i don't see how afghanistan doesn't devolve further into

endless civil war. >> reporter: the top commander in afghanistan wants to add a few thousand more troops to the already 8400 in country. but neither secretary mattis nor president trump has publicly indicated if they agree. lester? >> hans nichols at the pentagon. thanks. there are a flood of new questions tonight about president trump's new tax plan to be specific, what's in it? and how will it effected millions of american families. the trump administration provided an outline but not many details so far. nbc's peter alexander has more on that. >> reporter: the president's plan to overhaul 70,000 pages of federal tax laws so far boiling down to barely 200 words. critics say it's a p.r. pitch, not a proposal. >> it is a plan to lower president trump's taxes. the taxes of his cabinet. and people as wealthy as they are. >> reporter: the biggest winner according to most tax analyst, the rich, their tax rate dropping nearly 5% and the white house

pushing to abolish the tax. the death tax and slash the capital gains tax on investments all benefiting the wealthy. low income americans could pay no tax at least for their first $24,000 of income with the doubling of the standard deduction for couples but today treasury secretary steve mnuchin is refusing to guarantee middle class families won't pay more. >> i can't make any guarantees but i can tell you that's the number one objective. >> reporter: and defecting questions how the blueprint would balloon the deficit. president trump hasn't given details how his three tax brackets, 10, 25 and 35% would apply to different income levels. he said tax benefits for saving and 401(k) plans would be untouched. and he would eliminate all deductions except charitable contributions and mortgage interest. but if you are renting

like 35% of the u.s. households, that tax break doesn't save you a dime. >> the argument in favor of this proposal is that it will spur consumer and business activity. it will cause people to spend more money. it will cause businesses to employ more people but the reality is that doesn't seem to be plausible. >> reporter: tonight the president also says on trade announcing that he'll renegotiate n.a.f.t.a. president trump insisting he was just days away from withdrawing all together before receiving calls from mexico and canada who urged him not to tear it up. lester? >> all right. peter alexander at the white house tonight, thank you. to berkeley, california where new protests are breaking out tonight, a day after conservative pundit ann coulter's plan to speak at u.c. berkeley was abruptly cancelled. the university said it feared another round of violent protests, with coulter saying she may go to the campus anyway. miguel almaguer is there. >> reporter: today in berkeley, protests spilling into the

streets. but tonight, many fear violence will erupt. the extreme left and right squaring off in bloody demonstrations in recent weeks, the kind of confrontation u.c. berkeley was hoping to avoid, cancelling the speech scheduled for today by conservative fire brand ann coulter. >> her is not showing up sets a dangerous precedence that violence works. >> reporter: with coulter speaking in modesto tomorrow, the university is worried the campus will be turned into a battlefield. in february, there were fires and fights after milo yiannopoulos had his speech cancelled. >> we have two intentions right now. one is to the first amendment and the other is the safety of our students. >> reporter: many of the protesters aren't students. both sides critical, coulter was silenced. >> i'm tired of people showing up and stifle free speech. >> reporter: police have been told some of the extremists arriving could be carrying weapons, clubs, bags of rocks, even hammers. arrests have already been made.

tonight on the streets of berkeley, unrest over the silence of free speech. the question now, at what cost? miguel almaguer, nbc news, berkeley. there is more to tell you about tonight. still ahead, the controversial new netflix show that has schools sending warnings home to parents.

we're back now with the controversy over a new netflix series that deals with the reasons a young fictional character commits suicide. it has many kids talking, and has prompted a warning from many schools to parents. nbc's blake mccoy has details. >> i'm about to tell you the story of my life. more specifically why my life ended. >> reporter: 13 reasons why the controversial new netflix series chronicles 13 reasons from body shaming to sexual assault, a fictional teenaged girl decides to kill herself. >> everybody is talking about it is crazy. >> schools across the country sounding the alarm with letters home to parents warning the notion of suicide is glamorized and may be difficult for the teenage mind to watch and process the appropriate way. >> it's hitting way too close to home. >> reporter: alexa

curtis worries how she would have interpreted the show herself a few years ago. herself a victim of bullying. >> my biggest concern is that young adults are going to watch the show and immediately think that it's the easy way out. but the kids aren't realizing they're going to be gone. their life is over. >> why didn't you say this to me when i was alive. >> reporter: suicide is the second leading cause of death for teenagers in america. over 5,000 kids attempt it every day, precisely why the series creator brian yorkie thinks we must tackle the subject honestly. >> we felt things like sexual assault and suicide should be difficult to watch. we shouldn't make them easy for the viewer, because they're not easy for the people who go through them. >> reporter: tonight experts say the takeaway for parents, be aware. >> talk to your kids about this. if they are watching it, see if they have any questions, offer to watch it with them. >> reporter: a show aiming to start a conversation about teen suicide seems to have done just that. blake mccoy. nbc news, chicago. up next here tonight, the airline

ending something passengers are increasingly fed up with.

yet another airline is taking heat for kicking a passenger off a plane. this time delta. this confrontation caught on camera has delta employees removing a man after he took an urgent trip to the bathroom after he was warngd not to. the plane was on the tarmac for 30 minutes awaiting takeoff. all passengers were forced to get off the plane and reboard and the passengers compile with crew instructions especially during takeoff and landing. and one more note from up in the air weeks after the united airlines incident, southwest airlines said today it plans to stop over booking flights all together. southwest says it's been looking at ending over booking for some time. jetblue already bans the practice. why in the world would you take a piano and throw it off the roof? apparently because it's a tradition and

looks like a whole lot of fun. the annual event at m.i.t. dates back to the 1970s after a gap year in 20016, the roof drop is back and from the looks of it, it was a smashing success it the two sides are shouting each

other down right now... but what kept today )s stand- off from getting violent? ===take vo=== and the niners make a controversial choice on their top pick to start rebuilding the

team. finally tonight, a story about the love of reading. a fifth grade boy with a passion for books noticed something missing from the page, characters who look like him so he formed his own book club and others couldn't wait to join. nbc's rehema ellis explains. >> reporter: when 11-year-old sydney keys and his mother winnie walked into the bookstore outside of st. louis, simple curiosity turned into sheer joy. >> yeah. it just makes me feel better about myself. >> reporter: that the because sydney never seen a bookstore devoted to african american literature written by african americans. >> i couldn't get my hands off of this book i was laying down reading on the carpet in the bookstore. >> reporter: the book was "danny dollar millionaire extraordinaire". soon sydney had his

own idea extraordinaire. >> i was like i want to make a book club. >> when other guys hear you started a book club for boys, what's the reaction? >> i know all my friends want to be in it so they are trying to sign up online. >> reporter: he calls it books and bros and mom couldn't be prouder. >> before sydney started school he had a speech impediment, he stuttered a lot. >> reporter: but now. >> hello, everyone. my name is sydney keys and i'm the founder of books and bros. >> reporter: he leads the club meetings once a month at the neighborhood mall. >> we. >> we. >> are brothers. >> are brothers. >> who love. >> who love. >> to read. >> to read. >> reporter: the boys pay $20 for their books, goody bags and a study guide from his mom. >> who is shadow? >> have any girls come and asked about hey, sydney, what about the girls? >> i mean, they could always make a book club, as well. >> reporter: this club is a chance for boys to lose themselves in books as they find themselves, too. rehema ellis, nbc news, university city,

missouri. that's going to do it for us on a thursday night. i'm lester holt, for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. battles for ber win the war for berkeley runs=06 ==jess/take vo== right now at 6: free speech exercised -- without any violence. a day full of protests -- that continue into the night. ==jess/2-shot== the news at 6 starts now. thanks for joining us. i )m jessica aguirre. ==raj/2-shot== and i )m raj mathai. this is usually when the trouble begins...and that )s why the police presence -- remains in full force. raj/live our sky ranger has been overhead throhgout the day. this is right above civic center park -- across the street from berkeley high school. so far -- peaceful protests. conservatives -- and liberals -- separated by police officers --

in riot gear. the question now...will this turn violent? and will these protestors -- march toward the cal campus jess/boxes we have multiple reports for you tonight. let )s begin with nbc bay area s thom jensen -- live at civic