tonight, an extraordinary warning in the white house, the top national security and ff intelligenceials in america joining together to sound the alarm that russia is coming aga. >> our demracy itself is in the cross hairs. >> a strikingly different scene than ent trump siding with vladimir putin. u.s. officials warning the threat is real and the u.s. could strike back in secret ways. in the meantime, ivanka trump breaking with her father a very public way. a star football coach under fire now sidelined. explosive allegations he knew about alleged domestic abuse and turned a blind eye. a growing disaster in some of the most popular beaches in the country, deserted at why tourists are er. staying away and businesses are suffering. a suen fire on a packed plane, as a battery bursts to

flames. passengers scrambling to g out. a frightening new reminder of the dang posed by the kind of ytatteries in everng from cell phones to laptops. and a major milestone from apple, started in a garage by steve jobs, the visionary whose ipho changed the world now the first u.s. public company to be valued a trillion dollars. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening and thanks for being here. the country's national security chief stood ershoulder to shou today promising to defend against interference in the fall election by ssia or any other potential players. in a surprise appearance at the white house briefing room, those top officials are in the same mind russia is the prime threat atarning russians are stilt. the officials today expressing the threat in terms for more certain and urgent than anything we have heard to date from president himself. revealing almost parallel universes at within adminisn. our peter alexander

was at today's briefing. peter, we don't see briefings much like this one. >> reporter: that's tl exright. the best way to describe this, a show of force, a lineup we ven't seen since president trump took office. a white house advisor telling me the president instructed the officials to tell th american people what they are doing to defend u.s. elections but raising the question why he hasn't t aid all this himself. toniom america's top national security and intelligence officials, a united front vowing to protect u.s. elections against a round of a threats from rus and adversaries adversaries.or. >> we acknowledge the that. it is real and continuing and we're doing erything we can to have a legitimate election that the american people can have trust in. >> repter: three months ahead of the midterms, officials detailing a russian campaign to try to weaken and divide the u.s. >> make no mistake the scope of this foreign influence threat is both broad and deep.

>> reporte our democracy itself is in the cross hairs. >> reporter: the officials note russia's efforts are 6,not as robust as 2 the response under president trump they say will be stronger. >> we have subsequently made thte ination to make this a topity that doesn't happen again and we're throwing everything at it. >> reporter: noticeably absent, the commander in chief who two weeks ago was casting doubt on russia meddling. >> is russia still targeting the u.s., mr. president? >> thank you. >> reporter: standing th vladimir putin seeming to reject the conclusions russia interfered in 2016. >> i will tell you president putin was extremelstrong and powerful in his denial today. >> reporter: the head of the fbi asked how americans should square today's intel warning with the president who has d repeatedly attacke his agency. >> you can assure the

american people the men and women of the fbi starrom the director down will follow our oaths and do our jobs. >> reporter: they signalled a stw tegy to conduct secret cyber operations against adversaries trying to interfere in u.s. elecons. >> i won't discuss specifics but to state our forces are well-trained, ready and very capable. >> reporter: >> peter, what can you tell us about the letter kim jong-un apparently sent to the president? >> reporter: the president thanking kim jong-un. se the presiden a response. all of this coming after a moving ceremony overnht. e remains of u.s. soldiers that died during the korean war finally home. edheir caskets as you see drn american flags arriving in hawaii. there to receive them. it will likely take months or perhaps years to identify them. lester? >> peter alexander at the white house, thank you. in the meantime, across washington the president's dahter and senior advisor ivanka trump was making waves of her own today publicly breaking with her father's policy of separating families at the border calling it a low point. she also said she

disagreed with her father's inflammatory charge the media is the enemy of the people. our chief white house correspondent hallie jackson has details on a rare public family divide. >> reporter: from a family focused first daughter, a red line on family separations at the borde >> that was a low point for me, as well and i am very against family separation. and the separation of parents and children. >> reporter: it was the policy of ivanka trump's flat t trump's flat therather that triggered more separations in tfi

t place but she never pushed back publicly until that had been reversed. now she's making her view clear on thatonnd omething else. >> sorry? >> is the enemy the people? >> no, i do not. i have some nd sensitivity arhy people have concerns and -- but no, i do not feel the media is the enemy of the people. >> reporter: late today backup from her boss with thes ent tweeting she correctly said no. it is the fake news a large percent of the media that's the enemy of the people. >> i call the fake news the enemy of the people andare. >> reporter: his press secretary pressed on whether the media is the enemy repeatedly dged. >> repeatedly the media resorts to personal attacks without any content other to insight ani'r. the first press secretary in the united states that required secret service protection. did not say in the course of those remarks that you just made that the press is not the enemy of the people. ak>> i'm here to s on behalf of the president. he's made his comments clear. >> reporter: as for what is happening the policy front. this administration always focused on ending obama era regulations with another example today, e epa is rolling out the plan to rollback certain fuel economy st dards, consistent with the pattern we've seen from president trump. undoing what his

predecessor did, lester, a e kept. >> hallie jackson, e hank you. the biggest names in college football, ohio state star coach urban meyer is on paid leave as investigators look into allegations he a knut but did not report accusations of domestic ase against a former assistant coach. meyer denies that but the alleged victim of the abuse is stepping forward and says there is no way he didn't know. r miguel almaguer has all the details. >> reporter: the face of ohio state football legendarcoach urban meyer out of the game placed on administrative leave, the university huddling with investigators. did he know of abuse allegations against zech smith involving courtney smith.

>> i do believe he knew and instead, he chose to help the abuser. >> reporter: speaking to watch stadium.com, smith filed multiple police reports including this one. the defendant grbed the victim by her rew hirt, picked her up and thher into the bedroom wall. the victim is pregnant with the defendant's child. smith says she also shared these photos with meyers wife nbc news has not messages. >> she said she would haalk to urban. i saids fine. you should tell him. >> reporter: meyer who fired smith last week. >> i wasever told about anything. >> reporter: says in a statement i agree that being on leave during this inquiry will facility its completion. ch smith's attorney says he wants to be as transparent and honest as possible. smith has not been charged with a crime. under meyer's $7.6 million a year ra co, he's

required to report any violation of ohio state sexual misconduct policy. failure to do so could cost him his job. facing a blitz of pressure, ohio state's neootball coach side miguel almaguer, nbc news. let's turn to the st mie for apple, the company started by a pair of steves in a california garage. it went on to change the way we live, perhaps the way you're hing our broadcast right now on an iphone or macbook. it's valued at a trillion with a t and if you bought at the ou bottom, it wld be worth an eye-popping amount now. >> reporter: it's the company that promised to change e world. today, it's iphones and other products the center of life on the go. apple makes history as first trillion dollar company. >> it just fortifies the fact they have been hitting on all cylinders for a long time and continues to do so. >> reporter: it's ma able turn around from 22 years ago when they were on the brink of bankruptcy. he turned to fix the company.

>> the question is where is apple relevant? >> reporter: it paid off. a $1,000 investment back then worth $450,000 today. apple isow led by ceo tim cook that talked to lester in november. be >> you may soo head of a trillion dollar company. when you think about that, what goes through your mind? >> the truth is i don't think about it to be really honest. what i view a stock price to be a result of doing other things well. >> reporter: potential tariffs on china where most of apple's products are mad could give apple and cook a significant challenge. >> jo ling kent, anks. in a major about face, pope francis is the church teaching's on the death penalty

calling for it to be abolished before the world. they accepted capital punishment as a last resort but theope ys it's wrong no matter the crime. the mysterious disappearance of mollie tibbetts. >>eporter: a mother's emotional plea to bring her daughter home. >> we believe mollie is alive and if someone has abducted her, we're pleading with you to release her. >> reporter: the of mollie tibbetts coming together at a press conference announcing the award for her safe return is t up$172,000. the university of iowa student has been missing for more than two weeks, last se on her nightly run in brooklyn, iowa, a small town of 15 surrounded by corn fields. molly was dog tting for her boyfriend

dolton jack. >> if something were to happen, she would put up a fight. >> reporter: dolton was the last to hear from molly in a snapchat message. he was working a construction job 100 mileaway and has been ruled out as a suspect. >> it gets harder day by day because she's ill not here. you miss her. >> reporter: possible sightings including one at this missouri truck stop have been investigated and dismissed by officials releasing very few details. molly's family isn't giving up. >> we wake up every day at 2:00, 3:00 in e morning to fight. everybody in this erommunity is fighting to getack. >> reporter: with searches here so far uc prg no sign of ll , tonight, hope that money will. lester? >> blake mccoy in iowa, thank you. turning oversewh e isis is claiming responsibility for a vicious attack that killed a young american couple. they were tourists who quit their jobs to go on a journey around the world. heartbroken friends are speaking out matt bradley has their story.

>> reporter: americans were 29 and on the trip of a lifetime. biking around the d, jay describing why. >> the more you see in the world, the more you wa to put that back into the world. >> reporter: but it was in the 25th country where the trip turned into a nightmare. this video showing the attack, the pair with two other cyclists when a car swerves into them and stabbing isis claiming responsibility. >> i was completely broken hearted. >> reporter: the couple quit their jobs in washington d.c. chronicing their journey. aing their jouy.ling their journey. ling their journey. >> they believed in the beauty and good in it's, you know, le

heartbreaking that that is something so y terrible was how t met their end. >> reporter: in each place, lauren and jay marvelled at the beauty, the sigh ey saw and people they met. badness exists sure, but even that's quite rare. by in large humansre nd they wrote in their blog. no greater revelation has come, a journey of innocence cut short mattradley, nbc news. there is more to tell y about as we continue including the toxic invasion of some of your top vacati spots ruining summer wior tourists and killinldlife. caught on camera, terrifying moments when flames erupt inside an airplane. stay with us. gher risk of stroe due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin, i'm up for that. eliquis. eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. so what's next? seeing these guys. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve

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>> unfortunately, the vast majority of what we're doing right now is carcass recovery. we're pickg up a lot of dead animals. >> reporter: hundreds of sea turtles, ousands of fish and dozens of manties died washing up on shore, poisoned by a toxic algae bloom called red. ti >> our turtles are getting it through their food, what they are investing and acts like a neuro toxin. they will get really disoriented in the water. r > reporter: it's harmfuhumans, causing breathing problems and skin irritation and make shellfish dangerous to eat, tooil it happens in salt water on florida's west coast almost annually, this is the longest outbreak in over a decade and the mirky reddish brown water has a foul stench. >> lots of dd fish and smelly water. >> look at this this is disheartening. this is a lot of fish here. >> reporr: a blow to tourists. >> we can actually smell it up here in the air. >> reporter: and

business owners like joe ferrell. wn>> we're probably 20% in the last few days. >> reporter: scientists say heat, lots of rain and a recent release of nutrient-rich water from the lake may be esriggers for the aggrve bloom. >> time is of the essence dealing with the animals on the . >> reporter: clinging to life in the wild th wio end in sight. catie beck, nbc news. coming up after a short break, passengers evacuated from a plane after a battery burst into flames, all of it caught on camera. and the staple at cohopping malls around the untry about to vanish. back now with the finish the job because they don't relieve nasal congestion. flonase sensimist is ifferent. it relieves all your worst symptoms, including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. it's more complete allergy relief. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. flonase sensimist helps block six key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. and six is greater than one. flonase sensimist.

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>>it back nowthe big scare caught on camera on board a packed plane. back now with the big scare caught on camera on board a a battery suddenly bursting into flames, as you can imagine, panic and chaos and it's a reminder of the danger with lithium ion batteries. as tom costello when they catch fire

or explode, they pose y a potentialllethal opisk to a plane and the pe on board. nt> reporter: anxious momefor passengers on board a flight in barcelona as a portable battery pack charging a cell phdde enly caught fire, thankfully the plane ill at the gate, within seconds passengers were evacuating sliding down emergency chutes under the jet bridge. it's involving lithium ion batteries. the most serious, a ups cargo plane with n 80,000 batteries board crashed near dubai, both pilots killed. last year a passenger suffered serious burns to her face, hair and skin after her headphones suddenly caught fire. >>t's one of the very few increasing risks that we have in

aviation and we need to deal with it now. >> reporter: the fba ed lithium icon batteries in checked luggage, the fear a run away fire in the cargo hold >> the fire could actually burn hot enough to compromise the structural integrity. it could burn through the skin and structure of the aircraft. >> reporter: fortunately in spain, a safe ending with a plane still on the ground. m costello, nbc news, washington. a sign of the times tonight as the nations struggling malls, another big r name filing bankruptcy, it is brooke stone. you know the store, the massage chairs or played with a gadget you might not need but why not? they are fun. the company is closing ahe 101 stores located in mal focussing on the airport locations and online sales. up next here tonight, peace, love and rock 'n' roll and the hot new music festival busting on the scene and how it just might change. company is gonna raise your rate after the other car got a scratch so small you coulda fixed it with a pen. maybe you should take that pen and use it to sign up with a different insurance company.

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if it's if immer, you know it has to be music festival season and we have a ticket to one of the fastest growing celebrations where the power of music is breaking down barriers. joe fryer has the story in tonight's spotlight. >> reporter: utah was filled with music, a day-long concert created by dan reynolds and the popular ck band imagine dragons. >> the mission is to ignite conversation and communities of faith about what it means to love accept, and understand our lgbtq youth. >> reporter: some of the youth don't feel welcome in the mormon church. >> being told being gay was a negative thing or encouraged when you're growing up really messes with your brain. >> reporter: experts say guy and lesbian youth are four times more likely to attempt th suicide their heterosexual peers.

>> it's a crisis. i don't use it lightly. >> reporter: tyler glen who grew up mormon before coming out. >> if there s an event like love loud when you were younger, what would that ha meant for you? >> it would have changed my life adearing big pop pacts on the and successful that have nothing to do with this cause telling these kids today that they are okay. it's huge. >> reporter: it's already making a difference for system. >> love loud is actually one of the main reasons i felt like i could come out. ♪ >> reporter: for reynolds, the issue is bigger than one religion. he hopes the conversation is just getting started. joe fryer, nbc news, salt lake city. festival raised more than $1 million that willo to lgbtq organizations across the country. we appreciate you spending part of your evening with us. that is "nightly new

for this thursday night. i'm lester holt, for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. z2x54z z16fz y2x54y y16fy

lights, camera, "access." >> ask me anything. >> a new feud erupts as kim k and tyson beckford go at it. whose sidle you be on? ♪ n' >> it w just the fall. carrie