pacific. >> there are too many convicti coincidences here. we don't have enough time or resources. >> next month, congress will hold a public hearing to determine if some of these accidents are related and whether or not they stem from budget cuts. hans nichols, nbc news, washington. >>> in lon todon, police are trying to determine whether an attack outside of buckingham palace ways carried out by a terrorist. it happened last night and kristin dahlgren is in london and has details. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. tonight, people here in london are being urged to be alert yet not alarmed as police investigate an act of terror. metropolitan police say on friday night a man drove a car directly at a police van. when officers confronted him, they say he reached for a four-foot sword, repeatedly shouting allah akbar. no members of the royal family were in the palace at the time and many tourists gathered outside were not injured. the attack came the same night a soldier was attacked in brussels. isis has claimed responsibility for that attack, lester. >> kristin dahlgren, tha

pacific. ten american sailors missing. >>> war plan. president trump addresses the nation on america's mission in afghanistan. are more troops headed into harm's way? >>> courthouse ambush. a gunman opens fire on a judge. the judge firing back and survives. tonight the suspect's connection to a case that made national headlines. >>> and under pressure. doctors sound the alarm about a silent condition hitting a growing number of kids. >>> "nightly news" begins right now. >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening, everyone. thanks for being with us. things were looking up all across america today as the united states found itself in a celestial sweet spot, a front row seat for a total solar eclipse that swept its shadow from oregon to south carolina in just 90 minutes. there were cheerts and some tears of joy as day turned to twilight in its exact path and eclipsed pilgrims who traveled to see it from just the right places even in the sky aboard a special eclipse flight were rewarded for their efforts. our te

pacific. but the system cannot be counted on to be 100% accurate. while this is just one intelligence assessment, fear is north korea is on track to solve the technical challenges sooner rather than later. >> the north koreans, if they proceed on their nuclear program, will figure out how to miniaturize the nuclear device. >> reporter: tonight north korea threatened guam while some lawmakers are slamming the president's comments. dianne feinstein recommending diplomacy. republican john mccain said he can't think of any other president who would have used that kind of rhetoric. >> whether president trump is prepared to back up his vow to meet with fire and fury, the statement reflects the narrow and risky options the united states has to try and halt north korea's nuclear advances. our national correspondent peter alexander takes a closer look. >> reporter: locked in an escalating standoff in a regime and its erratic dictator. tonight president trump is facing the first foreign policy showdown of his young administration. >> i think the united states has to be very careful in describin

, baltimore. >>> it is scorching in the pacific northwest. third straight day of triple digit temperatures, highs there reaching 20 to 30 degrees above average. not helping matters, smoke from fires in british columbia polluting the air over washington state and oregon. even animals at the oregon zoo are struggling to beat the heat. 14 million people are under heat advisories or excessive heat warnings through tomorrow. >>> tonight officials in minneapolis say they found a second body in the rubble after a natural gas explosion ripped through a historic academy during summer school. two employees, a receptionist and a janitor, were killed, several others were injured. authorities are still working to pinpoint what triggered the blast. >>> tonight there's news that every parent or grandparent of a teenaged girl will need to hear. word of an alarming rise in girls taking their own lives, suffering from depression and often not seeking the help they need. federal health officials are now shining a light on the warning signs you should be on the lookout for. we get details from nb