on our broadcast tonight, school attack. it has happened again. a student pulls a gun in the cafeteria and opens fire. tonight, the very latest, including the toll of dead and wounded. containing the virus. with the first confirmed ebola case in new york, the race is on to get a lid on it. and now there are new rules about who should be quarantined. police now say it was an act of terrorism when a man armed with a hatchet attacked uniformed police officers in a new york city street. and your stories. tonight the nominations are in from our viewers, and we'll meet some extraordinary people who are making a difference. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams.

good evening. and while we are covering developing news on several fronts on this friday night, most urgently this evening, there has been another school shooting in this country. this time at a high school north of seattle in marysville, washington, where a student started shooting in a school cafeteria. we want to begin with the very latest. nbc's hallie jackson is covering for us tonight. >> a possible shooting in the cafeteria. >> reporter: moments before students sprinted out of marysville-pilchuck high school, just after 10:30 this morning, austin taylor was in the cafeteria with a classmate. >> all of a sudden i see him stand up, pull something out of his pocket. at first i thought it was just someone making a really loud noise with like a bag, like a big loud pop, until i heard four more after that. and i saw three kids just fall from the table like they were falling to the ground dead. >> reporter: from inside the school, tweets from students. don't go towards the cafeteria,

school in lockdown, shots fired. i'm so scared. three dozen teens huddled in a room with their math teacher. >> the principal came on and said, this is not a fire drill. we are in lockdown. >> reporter: as police raced, marysville guns drawn, ambulances took the injured to a nearby hospital where 25 doctors responded to the shooting, some triaging patients in the parking lot. >> all three are young people who are in very critical condition. it's just an awful time for us. >> reporter: another person is hospitalized with less serious injuries. >> we have one known suspect. >> reporter: high level law enforcement sources identified the suspected gunman as jaylen fryberg who shot himself after killing one other person, a female student. fryberg is described as a popular freshman football player who reportedly had a fight recently involving a girl. >> i just saw a bunch of other kids running the same way i was. a lot of them were crying and freaking out. >> reporter: frantic parents reunited with their children at a nearby church after what was an orderly evacuation process,

one the school had rehearsed. >> we haven't heard anything yet. nothing. everybody's calling. we just don't know. >> reporter: this is the worst school shooting in washington state since one person was killed and two others hurt at seattle pacific university this summer. community leaders say their priority right now is supporting the families whose lives are now forever changed. a vigil is planned tonight at a local church as marysville begins what will be a long and difficult grieving process. brian? >> nbc's hallie jackson starting us off tonight. thanks. now to our other major story tonight, the ebola virus. which as you, no doubt, know by now, has arrived in new york city. the nation's largest single population center. a doctor just back from volunteering to treat ebola patients in west africa is now himself in isolation at a new york city hospital as officials now try to keep 8 million people calm, along with visitors from the world over. and complicating that effort, this patient crisscrossed the city of new york right before

his symptoms appeared. our report on all of it from nbc's katy tur. >> reporter: as 33-year-old dr. craig spencer finished his first full day in treatment at bellevue hospital, officials were tracing his every move around new york city. beginning tuesday at 7:00 a.m. when he started to feel tired, to around noon thursday when he reported a 100.3 degree fever. and this afternoon they went to the brooklyn bowling alley he visited the night before he got sick. >> we came here to see if there was any reason to be concerned. if there were any exposures. there aren't any. >> reporter: still the venerable "new york times" asked, can you get ebola from a bowling ball? experts say the simple answer is no. >> ebola is an extremely hard disease to contract. it's transmitted only through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of another individual. >> reporter: disease detectives are looking for anyone who may

have had contact with doctor spencer, with help from the nypd's missing persons unit. authorities know in addition to bowling he went to restaurants, a public park, rode a cab and took the subways. millions of people ride the new york city subway system every single day. and experts want to emphasize that the risk of becoming infected by sitting next to somebody on the train is next to zero because this is not an airborne disease. it's something that new yorkers we spoke with seem to understand. >> the chancingss of catching it are probably less than winning the lotly and getting hit by lightning at the same time. >> reporter: dr. spencer had been home for about a week from guinea where he was treating ebola patients for doctors without borders. photos from his facebook page show the humanitarian's lighter side. spencer grew up in michigan and went to gross point north high. >> had a maturity beyond his years that we could see here even in high school in his ability to connect with diverse groups of people.

and i think that we could see early on that he had a heart for others. >> reporter: dr. spencer's fiancee and two friends are right now in quarantine. officials say so far they have not shown any signs or symptoms of ebola. brian, we are just learning tonight that another health care worker who landed in new jersey today, from west africa, was quarantined as a precaution and has developed a fever. right now they're doing testings on her to see if she could be the second case of ebola in the tristate area. brian? >> katy tur in bellevue hospital in manhattan tonight. katy, thanks. this doctor's movements around new york city have raised some questions about whether or not he should have been quarantined immediately upon his return from volunteer work with patients in africa. meantime, we did get some good news on the ebola fight today about one of the nurses from dallas. our national correspondent, peter alexander, has our report.

>> reporter: walking out of the national institutes of health today, nurse nina pham said she felt fortunate to be free from ebola and eager to go home to dallas. >> and try to get back to a normal life and reunite with my dog bentley. >> reporter: but first a stop at the oval office and a hug to -- from president obama to send the message that someone cured of ebola is not contagious. medical experts have also stressed that the disease can't be spread before someone has symptoms. still, dr. spencer's case raises new concerns. late today new york and new jersey's governors announced from now on anyone who had contact with an ebola patient in west africa will be automatically quarantined for 21 days. >> we've agreed quarantine is the right way to go. >> this is not the time to take chances. >> reporter: federal officials say they're considering a similar move. should americans or others returning from the ebola zone be forced into a more strict or mandatory quarantine? >> that is something that is right now under very active discussion.

>> reporter: however, dr. rick sacra warned confining health care workers could discourage them from risking their lives to help. >> if you see other doctors returning and facing a lot of criticism or stigma, it's going to have an impact on thinking about going somewhere like that to help out. >> reporter: as for dr. spencer, sacra says he's a model of what you'd want any doctor to do. peter alexander, nbc news, washington. one more item on a point we just brought out there. there is another side to this new quarantine policy. already tonight some medical professionals have been on television saying the governors of new york and new jersey might have just made the fight against ebola more difficult in west africa by disincentivizing american doctors who would normally want to travel there to volunteer to help, but don't want to then lose three weeks of their lives upon their return to the u.s. well, just before our air time here last night we reported on a grievous attack on two uniformed nypd officers by a man wielding a hatchet.

he was later killed. and in light of the attack in canada this week, new york police worried he was a so-called lone wolf with terrorist intent. well, today they seemed to confirm those fears. we get our report tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: a lone attacker charging across a new york city sidewalk hatchet in hand. new york city police commissioner bill bratton is calling it a terror attack. >> this was a terrorist attack, certainly. >> reporter: two injured officers, 25-year-old kenneth healey was struck in the head and remains in the hospital. police say the suspect, 32-year-old zale thompson, was self-radicalized and inspired by terror groups online including isis. >> visiting websites that are focused on designated terrorist groups -- al qaeda, isis, al shabab, as well as looking at different acts of violence, including beheadings. >> reporter: allegedly leading to this attack on a street

corner in queens. the target of the attack, four rookie police officers standing about here. the man with the axe injured two of them, the other two had the wherewithal to draw their weapons and defend themselves. you can see the bullet holes in this building. police say thompson converted to islam two years ago. this is believed to be his facebook page with verses of the koran and a black and white photo of an armed fighter. skpktly the kind of thing that has law enforcement officers concerned. >> protecting against those who are radicalized is extremely difficult for police and intelligence officials. trying to find that person who is both radicalized and is going to take action when they're operating on their own is near impossible. >> reporter: law enforcement around the country are on alert trying to identify those just talking about attacks and those ready to commit them. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. and to our north in canada today at times it felt like the entire country had come forward to pay tribute to the military

reservist nathan cirillo, who was gunned down this week while standing post at canada's war memorial. people gathered along the highway for hundreds of miles as a hearse brought him back to his hometown. our report tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles in ottawa. >> reporter: today, corporal nathan cirillo began his final journey home. >> i never knew him. i never knew anyone that knew him. but he's us. he's canadian, he belongs to us. >> reporter: the 24-year-old canadian soldier was gunned down wednesday as he stood guard at the national war memorial. his killer, 32-year-old michael zehaf-bibeau, was later killed in a shootout inside the canadian parliament. security video shows him running with a rifle as bystanders ran for cover. as corporal cirillo's casket traveled the 325 miles, people gathered on bridges to pay their respects. it has become a tradition in canada that, as a fallen soldier makes the final trip home,

people line the route out of respect and to say goodbye. it's emotional? >> it's deeply emotional. as a human being, as a canadian, as somebody who cares. >> reporter: while corporal cirillo lay bleeding, passersby, complete strangers, tried to save his life. >> i wasn't thinking of a whole lot. just wanted to help. >> i told him that his family loved him so much. and i just kept repeating that. >> we're not heroes. we were just able to help in the ways that we could. >> reporter: in his hometown cirillo's friends remembered him this way. >> he was just such a caring guy. he rescued animals and he loved his son so much. >> reporter: at home the corporal's dogs were still waiting for him. a new honor guard now posted at the memorial where corporal cirillo last stood, a crowd gathered to sing "o canada" in tribute. kevin tibbles, nbc news, ottawa.

in this country, we are headed for what could be an election cliffhanger, a little over a week from now, control of the u.s. senate hangs in the balance. and tonight the moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd, is out on the road. chuck, you have been to diners and truck stops and universities and town squares in iowa. and tonight i believe is madison, wisconsin. what is your report from the political front? >> reporter: well, brian, as you know, polls have been saying voters are unhappy. they think the country's headed in the wrong direction. i came out here to try to get the why. why do they think this. well, it's a pretty simple explanation whether it was veterans in kansas, students in iowa, or political activists here in madison. and that is, it's gridlock is the problem and polarization. now, the problem these folks all express is, they don't have faith that if they vote change again, whatever "change" is defined as in their state, that

anything is going to actually change. they're desperate to do something. they're desperate to express this frustration. but they really don't know where to turn. and, brian, that's the wild card of this election. and that's why all these polls are tied right now. they don't know where to go. >> all right. chuck teeing up the conversation from madison tonight. we'll look for more of your reporting from the road sunday morning on "meet the press." chuck, thanks. and we're back with more on this friday night from new york right after this.

tonight, the obama administration is looking into

the way the national highway traffic safety administration has handled a series of recalls this year, including this growing airbag recall. we get our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: congressional investigators say there could be 30 million vehicles nationwide with potentially defective airbags that can explode showering the driver and passengers with metal shrapnel. car dealers have been swamped with calls from owners who want their cars fixed. at duval honda in jacksonville, they have boxes of replacement parts, handling 40 to 50 recalls a day. >> this is the biggest that i've been involved in being with honda. really we haven't had anything of this scale. and so it's huge. >> reporter: car owners in florida are a priority because heat and humidity are thought to be a factor in the explosions. but outside chicago, joyce coe, with two kids, wants her car fixed asap. >> my kids are the most important things -- the most important people in my life right now and i want to really make sure that they're safe.

>> reporter: to find out if your car's on any recall list, write down the vin number, then type it into the online database of safercar.gov. one in five vehicles on the road now has a safety defect. >> this is a lethal defect. and this is a government agency that's totally botched this investigation and recall. >> reporter: a serious recall growing bigger by the day. tom costello, nbc news, washington. we are back in a moment with the case of the queen, the ipad, and what exactly it was we witnessed today.

frank mankiewicz has died. and of all the things he did in his rich life on earth, he would have given anything not to be associated with the moment when he was watched on television by the entire country. >> senator robert francis kennedy died at 1:44 a.m. today, june 6, 1968.

he was 42 years old. >> frank was his press secretary and with him the night of his assassination. the low point of a life in politics and news and public service. he was born into what became a hollywood royal family. his father wrote citizen kane, his uncle directed all about eve. and the mankiewicz dinner table featured guests from gar bow to grourcho. he was a world war ii combat veteran and a peace corps veteran, a lawyer, author, columnist, commentator and genuine washington power broker. he ran npr for years, before that the mcgovern campaign. mostly around here we know him as the father of ben mankiewicz of turner classic movies, and our colleague, josh mankiewicz. their dad, he was 90 years old. twitter gained a prominent new user today. she will be known officially as elizabeth r. the r. stands for regina, latin for queen, that would be queen elizabeth ii of england.

with much ceremony she issued her first tweet today, removing her glove to hit send. problem was while buckingham palace insisted it was personally sent, it appeared to be pre-typed and appeared to come from an iphone while her majesty was using an ipad. however, at the age of 88 she's on twitter, so there's that. when we come back on this friday night, all week we've shared stories about people making a difference. tonight, it gets to be your turn.

"making a difference" brought to you by farmers insurance. don't get caught with a coverage gap. learn more at farmers.com/gaps. all this week here we've been revisiting our "making a difference" reports. the stories that sent our viewers into action to help. and all this week we've been asking you to tell us about the people and organizations who are making a difference where you live. well, we're happy to report we've been overwhelmed by the response. and as promised we wanted to share some of them with you tonight. barbara and jamie, two mothers from new york wrote to tell us about some great work

being spearheaded by a couple of college kids at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. zachary and brian, no strangers to super hero costumes, founded a non-profit with an unusual name. >> love your melon means embracing everything you have. >> reporter: for every hat they sell, they give another to a child battling cancer. >> bringing a colorful, bright hat, it brights up the room. >> reporter: but more important might be what they got a whole lot of people across six states to do this week, including our two moms from new york. to spend the day as superheroes with some superhero kids who are going through a tough time. this week we also heard from melody, who e-mailed us from arkansas about a teacher named charity west. charity is a high school english teacher from stillwater, oklahoma, who got the surprise of her life when about a hundred of her students and dozens of colleagues decided to raise money to remodel her home.

>> so many people had come together for someone who is no more deserving than anybody else. i was just so overwhelmed. >> reporter: miss west as she's known to her students has been struggling this past year with chronic health problems that affect her nerves. her students wanted to lift her spirits and make things a little bit easier for their beloved teacher and friend. >> she's done so much for us. she's just really inspires us. >> reporter: and finally, some of the good that's going on in detroit. robert from michigan wanted us to know about the detroit mower gang, a group of people who volunteer their time and equipment cleaning up the city's overgrown playgrounds and parks. >> helping out the kids, that's number one. >> good deeds going on all over the place. and we will continue to share their stories. that is our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we, of course, hope to see you right back here on monday night. in the meantime, have a good weekend.

goodnight. breaking news, an intense manhunt is now over. but two deputies are dead. another deputy is hospitalized. at this hour this are many unanswered questions after a shooting spree across two counties. good evening and thanks for being with us. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. chaos in sacramento county, a sheriff's deputy shot in the head ar few hours later in auburn two placer county deputies were shot. one of them now also dead. and a motorist who was carjacked was shot multiple types during that carnage. tonight a man and a woman are in custody. we are waiting for a news

conference with new details any minute. we begin with nbc bay area's scott budman who's been following our story. >> reporter: both suspects, a man and a woman, were said to be heavily armed. they are in custody tonight after allegedly shooting and killing two sheriff's deputies. one from sacramento county, one from placer county. they're also accused of shooting a third deputy and a sillian before leading officers on a multi-county chase. the sacramento deputy has been identified as 47-year-old danny oliver, a 15-year veteran of the force, shot and killed while investigating a report of a suspicious vehicle outside a sacramento motel 6. investigators say the suspects fled, carjacked another vehicle, and headed for placer county where they shot and killed one placer county deputy and injured another deputy along with a civilian. as the search went on, police also evacuated nearby placer high school as a precaution. >> to the men and women in the sheriff's department, we l