gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> reporter: the outage was massive, stretching across the country from washington to miami to chicago. >> inside of the worldwide delta was shut down. i was like, whoa, i think i'm going to be kind of late. >> reporter: and around the world, delta passengers forced to deplane in london, the ground stop dragging on for six hours. more than 450 flights cancelled, thousands of passengers delayed. with customer service lines swamped, travelers took to social media to get information. delta's ceo tweeting out an apology. >> it's an all hands on deck effort. >> reporter: the airline says a power outage in atlanta around 2:30 this morning knocked its computer system offline. but georgia power blames delta saying the airline's computer system failed and caused the outage. andrea mohammed desperately trying to get to new york. >> panic. of airline mergers, the failure could be due to decades old technology or human error. today no comment from delta on why it's backup systems didn't work. >> there's no doubt that a fortune 500 company should have backup systems f

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, baker, louisiana. >>> tense moments met within visual range by a pair of u.s. fighter jets according to a senior u.s. defense official. the syrians did not respond when the u.s. attempted to contact them and then the syrian planes left. it happened in the same area where the pentagon says syrian planes dropped bombs yesterday, the closest u.s. forces on the ground have come to being hit by the syrian government. >>> still ahead tonight, triple threat, the olympic triathlete who left her desk job to chase her dream of becoming the first american to bring home gold in her >>> and the joy and the tears. emotional moments that touched hearts around the world at the rio >>> back now with some olympic inspiration for anybody who's ever thought about leaving behind the daily grind to pursue a dream. kevin tibbles has one of rio's great untold stories. >> reporter: when jorgensen is as good at crunching the numbers as she is at competition. the triathlete was working as a full-time tax accountant just five years ago. >> you have to read the tax law and figure out diff

we get the latest from gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: tonight river. blayne grew up in this home and now he hopes sandbags can save it. >> my jaw dropped and said, wow, i've never seen anything like this before. the river is not finished climbing yet. >> reporter: among the latest communities slammed by the powerful surge of water. louisiana's record rainfall started friday, further north near baton rouge. for five days that water has flowed south towards the gulf of mexico and lake pontchartrain carving a path of destruction. million people in texas are under flashflood watches. while in denim springs, louisiana, the water is finally gone. for neil mccleary and his son, the pain is not. >> it's hard to see them because that's what they've done. my dad. >> reporter: down stream, an agonizing wait until the river crests tomorrow. gabe gutierrez, nbc about the fastest rising cancer diagnosis in the nation, thyroid cancer cases have tripled in the last three decades, but a surprising new report claims most cases don't need to be treated right away because

we get more from nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: the images are horrifying. a ferris wheel basket overturned at tennessee's greene county fair. >> we have had a major incident at the ferris wheel. there's been at least three fall out. >> reporter: three children plunging more than 35 feet. >> there was some rocking, i didn't think it was such a big deal. most people rock it yw follows the death of a 10-year-old boy at a water park in kansas. the national consumer products safety commission estimates 7,000 people went to emergency rooms last year for ride related injuries. there are no federal regulations for amusement rides and specifics vary widely across the country. 24 states have comprehensive government inspection and accident investigation programs. 11 states, including tennessee, have minimal requirements and leave oversight to the private sector. nine states have states have no regulations. >> we need consistent regulations, consistent standards across the board. we need these protocols and we need them now. >> reporter: the international association

nbc's gabe gutierrez has more. >> reporter: tonight investigators in durant, mississippi, are rushing to find out who killed two catholic nuns in their homes. both nurse practitioners who help the poor. sister paula merrill from kentucky and sister margaret held from wisconsin seen the local archdiocese. >> margaret and i have worked together for many years. we just see patients and do what needs to be done. >> reporter: an officer found them this morning when they didn't report to work as usual at the local archdiocese tells nbc news there were signs of a break-in. they were stabbed and their car is missing. it's not clear if their religious work has anything to do with the killing. >> we make a difference in people's lives, and we never >> reporter: a priest who knew them saying these were the two sweetest sisters you could imagine. it's so senseless. tonight a community is on edge and asking for prayers as police search for a killer or killers. gabe gutierrez, nbc news. >>> drastic measures are being taken in montana tonight to stop a deadly invader that's killing thousands of fish

gabe gutierrez wh skiesnepe rirs swelled. night there is still high waternd more rain in sorento, louisiana. new figures out today estimate the flood damage is at least $20 billion, more than 95,000 people have applied for federal aid. >> this is a family bible, it's soaking wet. it is over, what am i going to do now? it's definitely not over andain't over for a long time. volueers scrambled res toe her. >> i have never seen nothing le this in my whole life. >> reporter: since then, she's stayed with retives, sleeping on an air mattress, four feet of water tore her home apart. >> i hav lost it several times. it's hard. it is. >> reporter: she is just one of the thousands without flood insurance, not asking for much, just not to be rgotten. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, baker, overseas today when two syrian jets were met within visual range by a pair of u.s. fighter jets according to a senior u.s. defense official. the syrians did not respond when the u.s. attempted to contact them and then the syrian planes left. it hpened in the

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, louisiana. >>> there is breaking news tonight from the clinton foundation, the charity that bears the names of bill and hillary clinton. the foundation tells nbc news should hillary clinton be elected president, it will no longer accept foreign and corporate source of scrutiny during this campaign. also nbc news has learned exclusively that bill clinton has not given a paid speech since last november and will not if his wife is elected. meantime tonight the clinton campaign is hitting back hard on conspiracy theories being stirred up about hillary clinton's health. we get details from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: tonight hillary clinton's campaign firing back at what aides call ra health. critics claiming this is not just the candidate joking with reporters but something worse. >> it almost seems seizuresque to me. >> reporter: a conservative website questioning whether she needs pillows to prop her up. and here's donald trump's new campaign ceo last week. >> i'm not saying that, you know, she's had a stroke or anything like that, but this is not the

nbc's gabe gutierrez leads our coverage for us again tonight. gabe, good evening. >> reporter: lester, another eight parishes have been added to the federal disaster declaration and we have seen rescue boats hurrying in and out of this neighborhood all afternoon, this as more communities downstream are preparing for the worst. today in ascension parish, a frantic scramble, residents rushing to get out with whatever they could. >> went from no water, it was where you could still see grass at 5:00 this morning and now you see it, three foot right up there by the house. >> reporter: more louisiana communities battling new flooding, donna richardson hoisted to safety from the neighborhood she grew up in. she had just undergone cancer treatment, now this. >> this was my life. i grew up here. >> reporter: the toll is rising and so are the river, powerful, before and after images of neighborhoods are emer emerging. more than 4 trillion gallons of torrential rain. all this water has nowhere else to go, so it's flowing south, down these rivers and bayous

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, new orleans. >>> still ahead here tonight, two words. simone biles. frf astounding performance. a look at how she pulls off those gravity-defying moves. >>> also speaking of defying gravity, big trouble for the young man caught scaling the >>> we're back now from rio with what you might call the science of simone biles. how exactly does she do what she does? she makes it look easy, but for most of us, it's just not humanly possible. here's nbc's stephanie gosk. >> i would describe my style of gymnastics very powerful and i guess you could say everyone except the gymnasts who have to compete against her. gold medalists nastia liukin and tim daggett say simone biles leaves them speechless. >> she is, by far, the best gymnast that i've ever seen. >> reporter: do you run out of superlatives? >> i've said that many times. there aren't enough adjectives. >> reporter: most gymnasts have one specialty. biles has three. vault, beam and floor. >> she's lightning quick. she's strong. she has amazing air thing, and it all comes together. >> reporter: the best exa

gabe gutierrez starts us off tonight in north carolina storm zone. >> reporter: tonight the view from the international space globe. hurricane madeline in the pacific, threatening hawaii, it's followed by hurricane lester. churning in the atlantic, hurricane gaston, not expected to affect the u.s. now, the carolina and florida coast are bracing for separate tropical systems. >> this storm is an uncertainty, but we are preparing for it. >> reporter: in florida, tropical depression number 9 is forecast to turn toward the gulfcoast. heavy rain and isolated tornadoes during the next few days. >> everybody has to be careful. we don't want anybody to be injured and we don't want any loss of life. >> reporter: another system, tropical depression number 8 is grazing north carolina's outer banks, where a tropical storm warning is in effect. the concern here, rip currents, fast moving water that moves away from shore and swimmers are pulled out to sea, in panic, trying to swim back to the beach. >> rip currents are dangerous, they have taken three lives here in the outer banks just this past su

as nbc's gabe gutierrez reports, the study says these happen in an instant. highway cargo breaking free turning into missiles. >> there it goes. boom. >> reporter: this mattress on a new jersey highway forcing drivers to swerve. a truck tipping over bursting into flames. >> i feel like it could have been so easily like prevented. >> reporter: holden amore was almost killed in florida when a heavy piece of sheet metal smashed through his windshield. >> i was driving on the interstate when a torpedo essentially went through the windshield and hit me in the face. there's really no reason why i should be here. >> reporter: a new aaa study finds between 2011 and 2014 dangerous debris played a key role in at least 200,000 crashes, causing more and 500 deaths. two-thirds of those wrecks involved objects falling out of a vehicle, most in the middle of the day on freeways. joe starks, a road ranger for the florida department of transportation, says he's seen it all. >> the weirdest thing i found was barbecue grills, couches, >> reporter: in 16 states drivers of unsecu

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, miami. >>> coming up, we go to a critical swing state, iowa. the key question for i thought my bladder leakage meant my social life was over. it scared me and caused a lot of disappointment and how i feel about myself. wearing depend underwear has helped me feel more connected to the people around me. i know that i'm protected, i'm not thinking about bladder leakage and i'm meeting people. i feel really grateful just to be absolutely free. unlike the bargain brand, new depend fit-flex underwear is now more flexible to move with you. reconnect with the life you've been missing. (wolves howling) when heartburn comes creeping up on you. fight back with relief so smooth and fast. tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. tum-tum-tum-tum-tums smoothies, only from tums. perfect driving record. perfect. no tickets, no accidents... that is until one of you clips a food truck ruining your perfect record. yeah. now you would think your insurance company would cut you some slack, right

here's nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> in the sleepy florida keys, there's brewing. a fight over government, science and now sooe ka. >> i would absolutely feel like a gi any pig. >> the local mosquito control district is looking into a plan to be the first testing ground for e genetically modified mosquitos to stop the spread of diseases. the insects would be released in key haven. they call ed it ju ras sick science. >> what's being objected to is the safety for the be injected with a specific jegene. when they mate with e females, their offspring die more quickly reduce iing the mosquito population. a scientist with a british company behind the project. >> we have done trials in brazil where in every single case we have shown over 90% of the control of the mosquito population within six to nine months. >> reporter: the debate has intensified amid-moupting fears o officials issued travel warnings for pregnant women and parts of miami-dade county. but with no cases of home grown zika in the keys, the risks outweigh the benefits. >> these cannot be recalled. once the

let me bring in nbc's gabe gutierrez. what have you learned about what the president is seeing and what he'll be doing going forward? >> reporter: good afternoon. as the president mentioned, fema has received high marks and praise from local officials for its response, but what the president is calling on is volunteers and donations. that, even though it has picked up in t lagged behind as to what is needed. the red cross says it raised about $8 million so far. that means its response will cost $30 million. the baton rouge area foundation raised about $900,000. at this point following hurricane katrina, it raised $10 million. there is an incredible amount of need here. the 60,000 homes have been damaged and as the president mentioned, more than 100,000 people have already applied for federal aid. in any other stops on this trip. >> reporter: yes, he's expected before he leaves town this is an area that dealt with so much heart break over the last weeks and months. he's expected to meet with the families of some of the sla

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, miami. >>> coming up, we go to a critical swing state, iowa. the key question for politics, the state of iowa could help determine who wins the white house and the number one concern for voters there is jobs. it's an issue that's taken on fresh urgency days after hundreds of positions were cut at one large company. jacob soboroff talked to voters there. >> these two buildings are part of the original part of john deere manufacturing. they are over here in the new facilities here. we're down to maybe 3,000 employees. factory worker at john deere until he became one of many on the assembly line let go. >> 100 people losing their jobs. >> the company says that workers like robbie get laid off due to the ups and downs of the market. since then they have shed more than 1,000 jobs. hanson's dairy farm is just outside waterloo. blair hanson is the sixth generation to tend to these fields. >> how old is this tractor? >> i heard they have been laying people off. >> corn prices are low. farmers can't afford to buy new tractors. the plants slow down and t

gabe gutierrez tonight has the latest for us. >> reporter: tonight a desperate rescue effort for a growing catastrop catastrophe. more than 7,000 people in louisiana rushed to dry land. >> it really is scary. we've never seen it before. >> reporter: at least three people are dead. the coast guard plucking panicked residents from rooftops. the dramatic scene from air and water. this stunning video from baton rouge station wafb shows a submerged car. >> hold on. >> i'm drowning. i'm drowning. >> we're coming. we're coming. i'm going to break this window. we're breaking the window. >> reporter: remarkably, rescuers find a woman trapped inside. >> i need help. >> reporter: they reach her and her dog just in time. today the national guard hoisting more people to safety. state police flying supplies to drivers stranded on the interstate. the rivers are relentless, spewing into neighborhoods, choking off communities within hours. in towns like watson, where more than 2 1/2 feet of rain fell, those trapped and their families taking to social media, begging for help. throughout the state, good sama

we get details from nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: with homes in shambles and thousands still in shelters, today, president obama toured the devastation. >> i'm asking every american to do what you can to help get families and local businesses back on their feet. >> reporter: mr. obama coming four days after donald trump and michael pens visited the flood zone and they tweet eed president obama was too little too late. >> reporter: has the federal response been adequate? >> there's been i believe unprecedented cooperation and collaboration. and we're getting what we're asking for. >> reporter: lleyton rigs is the president of livingston parish, where 400 homes took on water, including his own. >> like so many others we didn't have flood insurance. >> reporter: joanne eagan moved here after the flooding from hurricane katrina. tonight she's trying to salvage any memories from her late husband. >> i lost everything we saved and what little things i had left. >> reporter: there are more than 100,000 people like her applying for federal aid. it has been a summer of heart break for th

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, louisiana. >>> important news now about the fastest rising cancer diagnosis in the nation, thyroid cancer cases have tripled in the last three decades, but a surpriing new report claims most cases don't need to be treated right away because they are not life-threatening. nbc's dr. john torres explains, tens of thousands could be spared painful surgery and treatment. >> reporter: megan was told two years ago she had thyroid cancer. it may seem hard to believe, even risky, but she and her doctor decided not to treat it for now. >> because it's so slow growing, i figured it can't hurt to do the watchful observation and see what happens. >> reporter: that's the approach a report in today's new england journal of medicine suggests may be best. researchers found doctors overdiagnosed thyroid cancer about technology is picking up small growths that are slow growing and unlikely to cause symptoms or death. what happens to these lesions if nothing is done? >> the vast majority of patients don't need treatment for these small thyroid cancers. >> reporter: most often di

gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: tonight, what was once tropical depression number 9 has strengthened into tropical storm hermine, slogging towards florida's gulfcoast. >> the risk we have right now is we know we will have it's anticipated to be 3 to 5 feet, however we have the risk of up to nine feet of storm surge. >> reporter: the system threatening to dump up to 15 inches of rain in parts of the sunshine state. 42 counties now under a state of emergency and some places travel already treacherous, a driver rescued after this car was swept off the road. nearly 11 years since florida's last hurricane. fred metzler is already pumping water out h tide. >> trying to keep it where it's not a swimming pool. >> reporter: hermine expected to continue to threaten the east coast with dangerous rip currents through the holiday weekend. half a world away, hawaii is bracing for hurricane madeline. windows boarded up, fema flying supplies to the big island and hurricane lester not far behind also churning in the pacific. tonight, noaa partnering with nasa to fly a global hawk drone, the same capturing

nbc's gabe gutierrez has the incredible images and the warnings that people should heed. international space station is stunning. massive hurricanes swirling across the globe. hurricane madeline in the pacific threatening hawaii, followed by hurricane lester churning in the atlantic, hurricane gaston, not expecting to affect the u.s., but now the carolina and florida coasts are bracing for separate tropical systems. >> this storm is an uncertainty, but we are preparing for it. >> reporter: in florida, tropical depression number nine is forecast to turn towards the gulf coast, bringing heavy rain and even isolated tornadoes over the next few days. we don't want anybody to be injured. we don't want any loss of life. >> reporter: another system, tropical depression number eight, is grazing north carolina's outer banks. the concern here, rip currents, fast-moving water that moves away from shore. swimmers are pulled out to sea and panicked trying to swim against the current back to the beach. >> that was gabe gutierrez reporting. bill karins is tracking these tropical systems

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, miami. >>> coming up, we go to a critical swing state, iowa. the key question for voters there, which back jobs. which which i thought my bladder leakage meant my social life was over. it scared me and caused a lot of disappointment and how i feel about myself. wearing depend underwear has helped me feel more connected to the people around me. i know that i'm protected, i'm not thinking about bladder leakage and i'm meeting people. i feel really grateful just to be absolutely free. unlike the bargain brand, new depend fit-flex underwear is now more flexible to move with you. reconnect with the life you've been missing. (wolves howling) when heartburn comes creeping up on you. fight back with relief so smooth and fast. tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. tum-tum-tum-tum-tums om tums. you both have a perfect driving record. perfect. no tickets, no accidents... that is until one of you clips a food truck ruining your perfect record. yeah. now you would think your insuranc

thousands were rescued in louisiana where the governor says the flood emergency is far gabe gutierrez tonight has the latest for us. >> tonight, a desperate rescue effort for a growing disaster. now more than 7,000 people in louisiana rushed to dry land. >> it really is scary.y. we have never seen it before. >> reporter: at least three people are dead, the coast guard plucking panicked residents from rooftops. this stunning video from baton rouge station wafb shows a submerged car. >> we're coming. this window.. >> remarkably rescuers find a woman trapped inside. they reach her and her dog just in time. today the national guard hoisting more people to safety. state police flying supplies to drivers stranded on the interstate. the rivers are in relentless spewing in the neighborhoods, chokg hours. in towns like watson, where two feet of rain fell, those trapped and families taking to social media begging for help. throughout the state, good samaritans racing in. >> within an hour they had six feet of water in their houses. so they didn't really have time to evacuate. >> ann had taken i

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, new orleans. >>> still ahead here tonight, two words. simone biles. fresh off her all-around gold medal win with yet another astounding performance. a look at how she pulls off those gravity-defying moves. >>> big trouble for gravity-defying moves. >>> big trouble for the young man cr lower back pain sufferers, the search for relief often leads to places like... this... this... or this. today, there's a new option. introducing drug-free aleve direct therapy. a tens device with high intensity power that uses technology once only available in doctors' offices. its wireless remote lets you control the intensity, and helps you get back to things like... this... this... or this. and back to being yourself. my belly pain and constipation? i've heard it all. eat more fiber. flax seeds. yogurt. get moving. keep moving. i know! try laxatives. been there, done that. my chronic constipation keeps coming back. i know. tell me something i don't know. vo: linzess works differently from laxatives. linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation more frequent and co