the weekend looks good. >> thanks for joining us. >> nightly news is next. breaking news tonight, the plane crash with a nascar legend on board dale earnhardt, jr., his wife, and 1-year-old daughter surviving after their private plane skids off the runway the dramatic images coming in tonight, the plane in flames on the ground, thick smoke rising to the air we'll have late details. the new mystery in accused sex trafficker jeffrey epstein, the autopsy finding awe bone broken in epstein's neck why that's raising new questions about how he died. inside the stand off, new surveillance video, gunfire erupting as police enter this home one officer moments later falling out the door, the gunman firing over 100 rounds >> shots still ringing out

we need s.w.a.t atap, long guns asap >> six officers injured, two held hostage, how the nearly 8-hour stand off came to a dramatic end the fire storm erupting tonight, the two muslim congresswomen banned from israel after a tweet by president trump, how they're firing back the fugitive missing over three years found in a hidden bunker what authorities discovered inside and what led to his capture. and the girl with game taking the little league world series by storm. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt good evening there is breaking news as we come on the air involving one of nascar's most famous names a plane carrying dale earnhardt jr. along with his wife and daughter ran off the runway and caught fire in a small airport in east tennessee today. the small private jet was destroyed, but earnhardt, part of a racing dynasty, along with his family and the pilot survived the crash gabe gutierrez has late details.

>> reporter: tonight the faa says the five people aboard survived with no injuries, incredible considering the fiery wreckage after the small private plane rolled off a runway in tennessee. >> you could hear the commotion. it just was a bunch of metal and screeching like it was sliding maybe. >> reporter: among the survivors, racing super star dale earnhardt jr., his wife amy, and their 1-year-old daughter >> when i got close to the airplane, the first person i came in contact was mr. earnhardt. he was laying on his back totally conscious and alert. >> reporter: the three passengers and crew members had just landed at elizabethton municipal airport. the safety board is now investigating what caused the crash that left smoke billowing into the air >> luckily we dodged a bullet today. everyone got away unharmed >> reporter: 18 years ago, earnhardt jr.'s father died in a violent crash at the daytona 500. he was just 49

>> nonracing fans know who earnhardt jr. is, and that's not just because of his success as a driver it's also because he's the son of dale earnhardt, the late 7-time champion, one of the most famous drivers in history. >> reporter: tonight the family is recovering in a local hospital after a close call. we have another remarkable story of survival tonight, this one in russia where a pilot is being called a hero for safely crash landing a packed jet liner after the engines were hit by birds. bill neely has details >> reporter: it's the miracle over moscow. passengers terrified but alive, their russian plane in a cornfield. just seconds after take off, one passenger filmed gulls clearly visible and large and the sound of the impact as the birds were sucked into an engine. the plane shook. the left engine failed then flashes came from the dying secondin toward a field

silence in the cabin before a hard landing no wheels. the plane was skidding to a halt the crew directing passengers to escape through the cornfield 226 did. everyone survived. only a few injured the landing was good, she says the crew applauding the pilot, russian media hailing him as a hero echos there of new york's miracle on the hudson ten years ago. and tonight the kremlin is promising that pilot a national honor. lester >> amazing bill neely thank you. breaking news tonight in the jeffrey epstein case five days after his death by apparent suicide, an autopsy revealing a specific bone in his neck was broken.

also tonight his alleged accomplice accused of helping him recruit underaged girls has reportedly been seen in public for the first time in years. here's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: tonight an answer to the question where is ghislaine maxwell, the picture reportedly snapped monday at in&out burger. jeffrey epstein's long time associate and alleged recruiter of underage girls right out in public nbc news has not been able to authenticate this photo. maxwell has not responded to repeated requests for comment. in the past she's denied allegations against her. meanwhile, speculation still swirling over how jeffrey epstein died in federal custody. the 66-year-old's body was claimed from the medical examiner's office by one of epstein's associates according to a source close to the case. but there is still no official cause of death multiple law enforcement sources have called it an apparent suicide while a person familiar with the matter tells nbc news the autopsy revealed the hyoid bone in epstein's neck was broken

the hyoid is u-shaped and in older men can fracture more g, bnt trauma, and in cases of manual strangulation but medical experts say it is not on its own a conclusive way to determine cause of death. >> with strangulation, the hyoid bone fractures about 1/3 of the time with hanging, about 25% of the time >> reporter: the medical examiner writing in a statement today all information must be synthesized. no single finding can be evaluated in a vacuum. there is more legal fall out from epstein's estate. an unidentified woman who says she was abused as awe teenager is suing the corporation that owns the financiers new york mansion. the suit alleges the defendant knew or should have known of jeffrey epstein's propensity for sexually abusing minor children including regularly on the premises today on the caribbean estate, large u.s. flags are at half staff, rememb caurae

of death >> we're not sure, lester. earlier in the week, the medical examiner said she needed more information. this news out today putting more public pressure on her to come out with something soon. it's a miracle officers weren't killed or seriously wounded in an 8-hour long stand off in a fire fight with a heavily armed gunman ron allen has dramatic new video of that confrontation. >> reporter: captured on camera, the first violent moments the police tried to serve a narcotics warrant at a home in philadelphia you can hear the suspect open fire seconds later an officer crawls to safety. >> officers returned fire, many of whom had to escape through windows and doors. >> we have shots fired, shots fired inside >> reporter: six officers were shot and wounded, two more trapped inside with three

civilians held hostage hours later rescued by a shot team >> still ringing out we need s.w.a.t asap, long guns asap >> reporter: the stand off ending around midnight after nearly 8 hours with coaxing from his attorney and a blast of tear gas, the suspect surrenders. >> there's a palpable energy out here i need you to come to me >> reporter: 36-year-old maurice hill emerging police revealed with a hand gun still in his pocket they say he also had an assault rifle and fired more than 100 rounds hill is a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal record, drugs and weapons charged. today police were praised for their heroism. philadelphia's mayor furious any civilian had so much fire power. >> the guy should have been locked up. he should have never had access to an ak-47 or ar-15 or anything else like that >> reporter: tonight the community remains on edge, haunted by scenes like 80 children being led to safety after being forced to shelter in

place at their daycare >> thank god no kids, nobody got hurt >> reporter: prosecutors say the suspect will face a long list of charges including at least six counts of attempted murder they say they'll try to make sure he spends the rest of his life in prison lester >> ron allen in philadelphia thank you. hours after a tweet from president trump, israel today barred two u.s. congresswomen from entering that country. they're the first muslim women elected to congress. they were first targeted by the president last month peter alexander reports. >> reporter: tonight president trump insisting he had nothing to do with israel's decision to bar two democratic congresswomen from entering the country. >> i don't encourage or discourage the things that they've said, omar, tlaib, what they've said is disgraceful so, i can't imagine why israel would let them in. >> reporter: the israeli announcement just hours after receiving unusual pressure from

an american president tweeting that allowing a visit from ilhan omar and rashida tlaib would show great weakness. they hate israel and all jewish people, attacks both women have rejected last month the ambassador said the women would be allowed to travel but now the government says they were denied under israeli law. because they support a controversial boycott of israel. tonight omar calling the decision an affront that israeli prime minister netanyahu under pressure from president trump would deny entry to representatives of the u.s. government tlaib, the daughter of palestinian immigrants posting a picture of her grandmother in the west bank calling israel's action a sign of weakness. a top republican saying the pair should go. >> anyone that comes with open ears, open eyes, and an open mind will walk away and have an understanding. i think all should come. >> reporter: it's the latest showdown between the president and those democrats who along with two other freshman congresswomen have been frequent trump targets. the presidre

bipartisan rebuke for his racist remarks calling for them to go back where they came from. >> he's launching a blatantly racist attack. >> reporter: but omar has also faced criticism including from some democrats for comments they've called anti-semitic. the president is likely to bring it up in his campaign rally in new hampshire tonight. meanwhile, nancy pelosi is calling on israel to reverse its decision and slamming the president's statements as a sign of ignorance and disrespect. lester >> peter alexander in new hampshire. >> thank you next tonight the shocking discovery authorities in wisconsin say a fugitive missing for three years was living in a hidden bunker. nbc's steve patterson on what they found inside and how they finally caught him >> there we go there's the front door >> reporter: this is the solar powered bunker in rural wisconsin where sheriff's deputies say a fugitive spent three years cut off from the world. >> the bunker itself from completely lined from floor to ceiling with everything,

everything you can imagine >> reporter: in 2016 jeremiah button vanished three weeks before his trial on child sex abuse charges. investigators say he built a remarkable hide out, stock piling items he'd found in a land fill. button set up solar panels on the bunker's roof to power led and even a television. there was a pedal powered generator for cloudy days. >> he had several mechanical engineering books inside >> reporter: months ago a hunter spotted a log door on an embankment and last friday curiosity got the best of him. >> then i come around the corner a little bit and there he is laying in his bed. i was shaken when i went in. >> reporter: he called police. button was arrested after a 20w. it was pretty intenscalling him out. >> reporter: button's attorneys have nots f the grid steve patterson, nbc news.

tonight police in new york are mourning the loss of another of their own, the 9th officer to die by apparent suicide just this year, and the second this week the nypd searching for ways to stop what the commissioner has called a mental health crisis, is now considering adding more psychologists and urging officers who were struggling to reach out for help and if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts call the national suicide prevention lifeline at 1-8 hundred-273-8255 in new jersey's largest city tonight anger is boiling over. residents in newark outraged days after tests showed filters meant to remove lead in drinking water may not be effective and some say the city isn't doing enough to provide them safe bottled water nbc's cathy park is there. >> reporter: tonight the frustration. >> it makes me feel unsafe >> reporter: and the lines are

growing in newark, new jersey as residents demand answers over unsafe lead levels in their drinking water >> take those pipes out and put something decent in the ground that could save children >> reporter: this man came here to pick up bottled water only to leave confused and empty handed. >> i've got to go to the store to spend money to buy water. we've got six bottles of water left from two days ago it's 90 degrees. >> reporter: recent tests raised concerns about the quality of the water and effectiveness of filters distributed by the city prompting officials to urge residents to drink bottled water for now. >> we do not have enough information one way or another to determine whether the filters are working or not >> reporter: earlier this week there were concerns that the water being handed out was expired but according to the fda there is no limit to the shelf life of bottled water as long as its properly produced and unopened the water crisis taking center stage at a thursday hearing. residents and an advocacy group suing the city >> what we've asked for now two years is to fix this lead problem. the city was very slow in

addressing it. it's gotten out of hand. >> reporter: today fresh shipments are pouring in but not fast enough for the warner family. >> kids outside running, playing, enjoying themselves they need water every day. kathy park, nbc news, newark, new jersey much more ahead tonight including the camping trip that became a terrifying ordeal for one family as a wolf attacked while they were sleeping we'll look at how they survived. shocking medical bills, why more patients are facing big charges for care they thought was in network >> the inspiring young woman playing at the little league world series we hope you'll stay with us.

next tonight the new jersey family back home this evening after surviving a terrifying attack while camping in canada park officials say they were asleep when a wolf tore through their tent nearly dragging the father into the woods. here's miguel almaguer

>> reporter: the attack happened in canada's vast national park, not far from where the rocky mountains meet ice cold waters the rispoli family from new jersey was sleeping in their tent with a 78-pound wolf suddenly attacked. >> when i arrived the tent collapsed and there was the back half of the wolf sticking out. >> reporter: camper russ fee ran over to help, instinct leading him to kick the wolf >> the wolf popped out a little curious, i think i wasn't too sure if it was going to come at me or not >> reporter: already attacking matthew rispoli, the animal was trying to drag him away. elisa rispoli writes it was like something out of a horror movie. matt threw his body in front of me and the boys and fought the wolfwas ghting it and trying to save us. >> i was able to pick up a rock and sort of lob rocks at it for

a while. >> reporter: after scaring the animal away, rispoli was treated and released by doctors. the wolf tracked and killed. a rare attack and now a harrowing story of survival. miguel almaguer, nbc news. we'll take a break coming up medical bills they never saw coming the questions you need to ask. it seemed like a sweet shared victory at the finish line until they were both disqualified we'll tell you why for a moment today it looked

for a moment today it looked like two british triathletes were the winners of a qualifying event in tokyo for next year's olympics that is until jessica learmonth and georgia taylor-brown were disqualified for holding hands across the finish line so, the third place finisher, flora duffy was elevated to first place. now to the shock a growing number of people are feeling when they get medical bills. it's for treatments they thought

would be in network and covered by their insurance companies until the bill arrives here's katie beck. >> reporter: liz cannon needed spinal surgery for chronic pain. but after that procedure a surprise medical bill would inflict a different kind >> it's appalling. >> reporter: cannon who had insurance and even verified her hospital and doctors were in network was on the hook for nearly $94,000 >> i realized after digging around enough that it was for neuro monitoring >> reporter: neuro monitoring, a service she had never heard of and didn't know she was receiving provided by an outside company and out of net and out of network according to a new study in "the journal of the american medical association" out of network billing for privately insured patients is becoming more common and more than 40% of insured patients getting emergency treatment are also getting a surprise medical bill for out of network care causing the average amount owed to skyrocket nearly

200% >> the odds of seeing an out of network doctor are shockingly high and overwhelmingly patients don't want to pay medical roulette >> reporter: experts say patients facing emergencies aren't able to ask coverage questions before being treated he's pushing for new laws to regulate costs and transparency. >> the patients play by the rules and the system doesn't play by the rules, it's outrageous >> it feels unfair >> reporter: a warning that paying for coverage doesn't always protect you from being blindsided by a bill katie beck, nbc news up next tonight, "inspiring america," she's taking the little league world series by storm.

finally this evening the

little league star making big headlines, the first girl to play in the world series in five years. here's joe fryer >> reporter: the league might be little, but the fanfare is huge as williamsport, pennsylvania welcomes another world series, 16 teams, and this year, one girl >> hi, my name is maddy, and everybody calls me mad dog >> reporter: maddy freking is starting for her team. her coach lichens her defensive skills to a vacuum >> line to freking, trying to double up the runner they do. what a play by maddie freking. >> reporter: that double play from the regional final even made the highlight reel on espn sports center. she's only the 19th girl to play in the little league world series telling "the star tribune" it's cool there are only a few other girls in the little league and i'm one of them monet davis was the last to play here five years ago. she pitched a shut out, paving the way for girls like maddie who's ready to play ball joe fryer, nbc news.

>> what a great opportunity. we wish maddie and all the players lots of luck that is "nightly news" for this thursday i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. chasing them as to something we can do concrete. >> only on nbc bay area, calling out the mayor. the san jose councilwoman whose cousin was killed in the gilroy shooting takes issue with his new plan to tackle gun violence. what it means as deliberations continue in the ghost shiprehou but first, flames forced evacuations in the south bay. the crash that led to this close call for one neighborhood. the news at 6:00 starts right now. thank you so much for joining us. i'm garvin thomas in for raj

mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. we begin with a microclimate weather alert. we're talking about unbearable heat, but relief is apparently now in sight. let's take you outside for a live look across the bay area. scorching heat blanketing the area at this hour. >> chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is tracking the temperatures, including some records, jeff? >> yes, we have records. official daytime highs have come in and records are up just a bit from the last hour. 101 in santa rosa is setting a new record. concord 105, another record. and we also hit a record here in san jose, reaching 99. but it was even hotter than this in a few other locations, as we look at the numbers. you can see pittsburg 105, pleasanton also 105, danville 105, south san jose stanford at 102. things are starting to drop off a little bit. i know that means a little to you if you do not have air conditioning. your house is just holding onto all of that heat. 102 in