breaking news tonight. iran seizes a british oil tanker and stops another ship in the persian gulf. a serious new provocation. one day after the u.s. destroys an iranian drone. president trump saying iran is nothing but trouble. growing concern tonight in a volatile region. heat ergency. it's dangerously hot and humid in two-thirds of the couny. 190 million ople now facing scorching heat. major events put on hold and for some the worst is yet to come. al roker will have a look at your weekend. the surprising increase in marijuana use by pregnant women. relieving symptoms like morning sickness, migraines, and stress. >> i decided to anconsume cannabis, within 30 minutes, i did feel better. >> but is it safe? n and back othe team. why the nfl decided

not to suspend rising nfl star tyreek hill after accusations of child abusraising new questions about the league's policies. plus, outrage over lunch shaming after parents get a letter ilwarning their chdren could be placed in foster care if they don't pay their school lunch bills. why is the district going to such extremes? >> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening. there's breaking news tonight from the persian gulf region where things are becoming more confusing and unstable by the day. iranian forces have seized a british shipistered tanke and its crew in the strait of hormuz claiming it broke the law. they also stopped another ship. it comes as iran disputes president trump's claim that theu. destroyed an iranian drone that threatened an american warship. the president issuing a new warning tonight. r hallie jackson has the latest. >> reporter: another serious provocation tonight in the strait of hormuz after iran seized a british tanker with 23 crew members onboard.

>> this only goes to show what i'm saying about iran. burouble. nothintrouble. >> reporter: the u.s. calling iran's move esculatory violence. tehran had pledged retaliation after the brits seized one o s ships earlier this month. >> we will respond in a way that is considerate but robust. >> reporter: it's the latest flashpoint in this already volatile region. a fifth of the world's oil flows through the strait of hormuz. u.s. drowned an iranian drone yesterday. iran now predictably denying it happened and mocking the u.s. by suggesting maybe the navy tookut one of its own unmanned planes. a month ago iran shot down a u.s. drone bringing the white house to the brink of a military strike before president trump pulled back. tahe appears relucnt to sink into deeper conflict but today is warning aga further escalation. >> we have the t greatensst shit ps, mst deadly ships.

we don't want to have to use them. >> rorter: former national security adviser susan rice. >> each of these incidents in isolation ngre not especially alarmi in the aggregate, they are. >> reporter: iran's looking for leverage and for relief from severe economic sanctions put in place nt after presiderump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal. nbc's ali arouzi is in iran. >> iran growing more defiant. more confrontational. sanctions and the nuclear deal slips awayas ar as the iranian people are concerned, well, th just want to see this standoff resolved. >> reporter: for now, a region on edge remains alert. >> and hallie joining us now. is the u.s. doing anything differently? >> we have learned tonight, lester, the pu u.s. is now ing patrol aircraft above u.s. ships in that critical strait of hormuz in order to according to a spokespersonnsure their safety. we're also now learning the u.s. will be pting troops essentially in saudi arabia. this is a significant step in what's being a mi controversial litary relationship. lot of developments. >> all right, hallie, thank you. more breaking news tonight. an american citizen accused of going

overseas to join isis is back in the u.s. facing terrorism charges in a new york courtroom. our justice correspondent pete williams has late details on how he was caught. >> reporter: investigators say he went to syria to join isis in 2013 and help train isis fighters. court documents todentify him as ruslan maravich asainov, age 42, born in kazakhstan. a naturalized u.s. citizen who lived in this brooklyn neighborhood for five years before joining isis. he appeared in federal court today. prosecutors say an undercover operative working for new york lycity police actual met with him overseas and kept in touch with him afterwards. asainov is accused of helping isis set up training c, rising through the ranks to become a top sniper instructor. terrorism experts say it's re an isis fighter from the u.s. is brought back to fa charges. >> challenge to identify them and grab them and gain custody of them on theround in iraq and syria. this is obviously a

tremendous achievement in terms of law enforcement and intelligence. >> reporter: his v lawyer says asaino would not answer the judge's questions in court today becau he doesn't recognize the judge's authority. he could face 20 years in prison if convicted. lester? p >>ete, thank you. dangerous heat is hesweeping much of country tonight. 190 million people are at risk for extreme teeratures. and in some places the scorching heat and humidity are going to get worse. blayne alexander is in chicago for this report. >> reporter: in madison, wisconsin, this morning, a mechanical fire at this power plant. >> transformer and active fire. >> reporter: knocked out power downtown n the hottest day of the year. with the summer heatwave sweeping the country, today in feels s city, i like 110. in omaha and des moines, 114.at hehat's already proving deadly. foer new york giants player mitch petrus st ju 32 years old has died of apparent heatstroke in arkansas after working outside yesterday. riin chicago, the lue

children's hospital is showing just how fast a hot car can kill. the air inside jumping s from 80 degr 130 in less than an hour. >> dehydration and the kidneys shutting down can happen pretty arly dly partic at 120 degrees. >> reporter: just within what, like, five, ten, minutes? 15 minutes? >> we stto see the effects within 10 to 15 minutes. >> reporter: around the city salvation army cooling cente are ready. can centers like this ultimately sa lly save a life? >> i think so. i think so. >> reporter: special instructions at this peewee practice in ironton, ohio. ar >> if you stt to feel not good, stop. >> drink all kin of >> reporter: today new york city is under a heatga emergenmecy as these dangerous temperatures head east. and lester, here in chicago tot, it feels like 103 degrees but this weekend, all of this warm air blows east. new york city, they canceled the city's l triathlon and centra

park's aussiefest. and askingeople to conserve energy to prevent power outages. lester? ak>> nothing to te lightly. all right, blayne, thank you. let's turn to al roker. al, when does this fever break? >> lester, no relief for 190 million of thiseekend. 34 states from the southwest to canada under some sort of heat advisory or heat warning. tomorrow, heat indexes of 109 in d.c. 107 in cincinnati. chicago it will feel like 110. sunday, 111 in new york city. 101 pittsburgh. charleston, 105. the good news is we see some relief by monday for milwaukee, pittsburgh and nghamto binghamton. elow average temperatures. in the meantime, the heat continues tough the weekend. lester? >> something to look forward to, al. thank you. tonight the nfl t says it won'spend one of its rising stars over child abuse accusations. but the decision is raising some new questions about the league's personal conduct poli

here's morgan chesky. >> mvp, best player of the year. >> reporter: tonight the nfl cleared one of its rising stars. chiefs wide receiver tyreek hill won't be suspended or fined after beinaccused of breaking his son's arm. today the league saying, "based on the evidence presently available, the nfl cannot conclude that . hill violated the personal conduct policy." hill and former fiancee crystal espinal had been investigated earlier this year for child abuse, but prosecutors sitopped short of pres charges. >> we believe at a ime has occurred, however, the evidence in this case does not conclusively establish who committethis crime. >> reporter: in an o aucording, espinal accused hill of child abuse. [ bleep ] of you.d >> you need to be terrified of me, too. [ bleep ]. >> reporter: espinal even saying he'll puncthe boy. >> kept saying daddy punches me, which you do, when he starts crying, what do you do? n you make him ope his arms and you punch him in the chest. >> reporter: hill has denied all accusations of child abuse. meanwhile, the kansas

department for children and families say their investigation into the case is ongoing. and the nfl's decision could reignite criticism of how it s.andles domestic abuse case tonight hill says he respects and accepts the league's decision adding, "to my children, i promise you all i will strive to t be the best father, the best friend, the best role model, and the best mentor i can ." when training camp starts next week, hill's expected to be back on the field and ay he's efs welcome. morg chesky, nbc news. > >>pennsylvania school district is feeling the heat tonight for sending a letter to parents threatening to put eir children in foster care for failing to pay their school lunch debt. which some critics call lunch shaming. miguel almaguer has the story. >> reporter: the threatening letter was sent to parents at the wyoming valley west ol scistrict in pennsylvania. trying to collect $22,000 owed by roughly a thousand students, the district wrote parents, "if you are taken to dependency court, the

besult may be your chilng removed from your home and placed in foster care." >> t's bordering on criminal, if you ask me. for them to pull that on families. >> reporter: sparking outrage, critics call the letter lunch shaming, but the cash-strapped district says it needs the money. >> it might be a bit too heavy for some peop . no one wants to take their kids away from them or to advocate that, buwe were not getting a response. >> reporter: with the national school lunch program serving 30 ll min children, 20 million kids qualify for free lunches. 2 million more for reduced pricing. growing number of states have passed or are considering legislation banning lunch shaming. federal lawmakers are working on their own anti-shaming bill. >> messed up. it puts a lot of pressure on the kids and the parents. ig>> reporter: tonht, school administrators in pennsylvania are sending out letters of apology, b last thing some parents want here is more mail from the district. miguel almaguer, nbc news. now an nbc news

investigation on an o issue of concern millions of american families. nursing homes. tonight, we look at one man accused of taking over more than 100 homes in 2 years and then running them into the ground leading to some painful consequences for patients. stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: nurse grace williamson was working at this massachusetts nursing home in 2016 when a multimillionaire named joseph schwartz took over the business. >> once they started cutting down staff and everything, conditions became very difficult to maintain. >> reporter: then in may, janine pettiford said she got a call from her cousin, john. >> he was quit panicked. he said, i need help, i'm getting kicked out. >> reporter: and so were hundreds of others, all forced to leave five massachusetts homes when schwartz stopped payingmployees according to state officials. >> this didn't happen only in this state. this was the final state that he wreaked havoc through. a> reporter: from this officeve a pizzeria, schwartz's business grew rapidly

from running 11 nursing homes to over 100 in just 2 years. >> joseph schwartz -- >> reporter: but in a io 2017 depositfor a malpractice case against schwartz's company that was later settled, he wouldn't disclose the size of his busiss. >> you don't know how many homes you own now? >> no. >> reporter: to operate the homes, experts estimate state and federal governments paid schwartz's company hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. >> you just never think in terms of your children having to go through anhing like this. >> reporter: betty mcfadden's son was in a schwartz-run nursing fthome in arkansas a stroke left him unable to move. sanitary conditions re so poor in 2017 that inspectors documented maggots on her son's catheter. the state later issued fines for neglect. do you think the people in the nursing d home just ignoat was blatantly negligent care? >> yes, i do. >> reporter: by the

middle of 2018, most of the chain was collapsing. state officials forced to take control. shutting down some homes and displacing hundredsore residents. in that malpractice lawsuit, schwartz says took good care of the residents and denies there was anything improper about millions in cash withdrawals. >> he would take out draws, cash draws, from the facilities, right? >> yes. g > when you're tak out draws, that does take away from some of the cash on hand at the faci to operate. >> i don't think so. >> we need to have very strict rules about who's eligible to operate aacility, what the standards are for them, what the financial backgrounds are. >> reporter: she says what regulations ty ok against schwartz, handsful of state fines and canceled federal contracts, came too late. the federal government orays they have limited authity and each individual nursing home is separately certified and held accountable. we wanted to talk to joseph schwartz. we visited his office nin new jersey, his

home i new york, and this address in brooklyn, and we got no response. advocates are concerned under the trump administration le fines for probtic nursing homes went down by 34% last year. >> facilities know if they're cited with a deficiency, with a problem, there probably won't be any consequence. >> reporter: nurse williamson from massachusetts has a message for nursing home owners like schwartz. >> shame on you. i hope one day that you're not in a rs nuing home, and if you are, may god be with you. .>> all rig so where do things stand with mr. schwartz? >> the federal government tells us that schwartz still has a partial ownership stake in 50 last year a spokesperson for schwartz says he doesn't actuly own the buildings but he does manage the prerties, lester. all right, stephanie, thank you. still ahead tonight, why more women are using marijuana while pregnant despite evidencehat it's not safe. also, dramatic scenes from a ilding

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o we're back now t tell you about the sharp rise of the number of pregnant women smoking pot. oua large new study t today finding pregnant women turning to marijuana to ease everythi from morning sickness to migraines despite no 'sevidence that it safe. here's morgan radford. >> good job, angelo. >> reporter: it's a typical day for mom, vicki. playing blocks with her son and smoking a joint. she is among the growing number of moms who use marijuana during and after pregnancy. for her, it's helped relieve debilitating migraines and stress. o >> i can't g work. i'm throwing up. i can't ea that can't be good for the baby. >> reporter: she didn't want the morphine drip that usoctors prescribed becae she was afraid her baby would become addicted to the opiate. >> i decided to consume cannabis and did feel better. i >> reporter: tonight,

a study of almost 300,000 pregnant women in northern california where weed is legal found that the use of cannabis has nearly doubled. >> cannabis use in pregnancy is associated with having a baby who weighle . and there's also growing evidence that there may be an association with neuro msevelopmental prob >> reporter: women are using it tdeal with morning sickness, gr miaines, and depression, which is why vicki joined mothers mary, a group based in canada where marijuana is legal nationwide. >> cannabis saved my life. if i hadn't gone the way of medical cannabis, i don't think i'd be here today. >> reporter: but researchers say they erdon't know wheth cannabis is more effective than other anti-nausea treatments, let alone safe. is it worth the sk? >> i've seen my children, they hit every milestone. they're developing oreautifully. >> rr: a risk these mothers are willing to take. morgan radford, nbc news, mo. >> we will take a break.

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we're back now with the daring skyscraper climb to safety that has an entire city talking. here's ron allen. >> reporter: as heavy smoke filled this 19-story apartment building in philadelphia, a n deppeared clinging to the si of the building. alled a ing real-life spider-man. news choppers capturing the death-defyinmoment. the man using balcony fencing and rails to inch his way down. >> very dangerous. as he was climbing, i mean, that's got to be hard on your hands and your fingers and just got to hope that it holds out as you climb all the way down 200 feet from the top of the building. >> reporter: fire had erupted in a trash receptacle. dozens of residents evacuated using the stairs. the man says cameras didn't capture him climbing up the building to rescue hisng aiother on the 15th floor. then seeing she was safe, he went back down. some three agonizing fi minutes untilly reaching rescuers on the ground. safe, uninjured, a with quite a story to tell. ron allen, nbc news.

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so as we were preparing this wees coverage of the moon landing anniversary, i rediscovered a childhood scrapbook i kept about the "apollo" missions and rekindled memories of the moment throu thees o10r- nd mf i eyre s of those reflections. two, one. we have a liftoff. >> it was just this h pectacular sight to watce saturn 5 engines start to ni ig and the rocket ship make its way up.

it was an amazing thing to watch. a 10-year-old kid living on an air force base in alaska. it was a place i lo looked up a lot. you could see the northern lights in nter. airplanes coming and going on the base. i was always enamored by all things aviation. >>e choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other thing, not because they are easy t bubecause they are hard. >> at that moment in time getting to the moon was a priority. you could argue it was based in this race against the russians. mapresident kennedy that speech and less eno t m toothan eaat and on the moon. in on that day 969, we gathered around our first new colored tv and watched it all unfold. the landing, the word that they were down, that they were safe. the eagle had landed. i do remember those words. >> the eagle has landed. >> remember that was a moment of -- i'm getting emotional. i remember just the family all sitting and just this, wow, they're down. they're on the surface of the moon. but we would just, as

a family, jaws dropped. watching this happen. i think i started this scrapbook, you kw, s ust because of the giddin "apollo 11" then i drilled down a ltle bit more on the subsequent missions thinking that, knowing, understanding, that this was history. he planted a flag, just cemented that moment of enormous national pride. that, look what america just did. look what we did. with these guys there. i think i took it as lejust this remarkabhi acement. as a 10-year-old boy, it was just this sense of awe. i also remember thinking next up, mars. w.we're rolling no man, we're going to -- you know, we're going to visit these vast worlds and new planets and reach for the stars and this was the beginning of something bigger and bigger and bigger. and to all the other 10-yr-old space junkies out there, keep dreaming big. we'll get there. that's "nightly news" for this friday. i'm lester holt. for all of uat nbc news, thank you for watching. good night. have a great weekend.

lights, camera, access. >> eddie murphy. >> >>yeah. i told you that's my biggest regret. >> he's one of the greats. >> i still have it in me to go there. >>s eddie