tonight, the extreme weather, a life-threatening blizzard slamming the west and a deadly wildfire still raging in texas first that powerful winter storm pounding the mountains of california and nevada. dangerous whiteout conditions, up to 12 feet of snow. yosemite and ski resorts in lake tahoe shut down. we're in the storm zone. also, the death toll growing from the largest wildfire in texas history. our images from the air as at least 400 buildings are destroyed, and more hot, dry conditions on the way. the truck crashing on a kentucky bridge the driver left dangling 70 feet over the water. what the hero firefighter who saved her life is saying. president biden announcing the u.s will air drop food into gaza after the deadly chaos surrounding aid trucks two pivotal hearings that could determine the future of former president trump's criminal cases in georgia and florida. d.a. fani willis back in court for

final arguments over whether she should be disqualified. thousands defying vladimir putin to pay final respects to opposition leader alexei navalny the major announcement from cvs and walgreens on the abortion pill. the verdict in the trial of michelle troconis, the woman charged with helping her boyfriend cover up the murder of connecticut mom jennifer dulos and before she goes pro, caitlin clark taking another shot at history this weekend. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening as we join you tonight, we are monitoring an exceptionally powerful blizzard rolling into the mountains of northern california and nevada bringing conditions likely to make travel impossible perhaps for days and potentially stranding people who have not heeded urgent warnings five to ten feet of snow forecasted to fall across the sierra nevada mountains over the next few days driven by 50 to

100-mile-per-hour wind gusts. snowfall rates up to four inches an hour. the national weather service tonight warning whiteout conditions are expected making travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening, and in this volatile season of extremes, 1,400 miles away in texas, a jarring contrast tonight wildfires taking their own brutal toll, but let's start with that monster winter blast in the west. steve patterson is there for us steve, what are you seeing >> reporter: lester, this is it the storm is here, and we are in it authorities say the window to travel is now over it is now very much time to hunker down as these blizzard-like conditions are expected to last like this or far worse for days tonight, relentless waves of wind-whipped snow pounding the california sierras the national weather service issuing a rare blizzard warning for the region with life-threatening blankets of blinding whiteouts on the roads.

major interstates already shutting down after accidents like this big rig flipped near truckee. >> if you don't have to travel, do not. skiing, snowboarding, sledding is not that important. your lives are way more important, and we want you to be safe on the road. >> reporter: areas from yosemite to lake tahoe can see anywhere from five to ten feet of snow with more than 12 feet of snow gusting at over 100 miles per hour in the mountains. >> just going to be the storm of the winter so far, so we are just going to hunker down. >> it's no fun for anybody. you can't sleigh ride. you can't skate. >> reporter: several ski resorts now shutting down lifts. yosemite national park closed until at least sunday local residents preparing to be snowed in for days. >> ice melt, generators, lanterns, flashlights, batteries, anything that you can think of that somebody would need for a power outage or a severe storm, and they are coming in for it. >> reporter: at its worst, officials warn of two to four inches of snow every hour for days >> this one is a

96-hour cycle, so it's really going to affect us in the next 24 to 48 hours. >> reporter: tonight, an entire region bracing for impact steve patterson, nbc news, truckee, california >> reporter: i'm morgan chesky in a scorched texas panhandle where heartbreak stretches beyond the burn scars. >> we had to watch from three miles away as our neighborhood burned it was pretty awful. >> reporter: for a closer look, we joined rancher jason abraham flying over hard-hit canadian >> i know the people that live there, and i knew the people that lived there before these people lived there. >> reporter: the town of 2,000 now facing a recovery that could take years >> there's nothing you can do with a fire like this. >> i can't believe we didn't kill a whole bunch of people. >> reporter: authorities say the fires are responsible for two deaths and destroyed at least 400 buildings. >> that we face enormous potential fire dangers as we head into this weekend. no one can let down,

let down their guard. >> reporter: as tuesday's inferno moved in, steve raider captured this video determined to save his home today he returned to a total loss >> what finally made you decide to get out of here? >> i was going to di if i didn't walk away. >> you believe that? >> yeah, oh, yeah, yeah it's a very deadly situation. >> reporter: tonight with fires far from contained, crews on the texas prairie fighting on. morgan chesky, nbc news it was an amazing scene that played out on a bridge today in louisville, kentucky, where a semi truck crashed and then dangled over the ohio river. a daring fire department rescuer was suspended in midair to save the driver. here's jesse kirsch. >> reporter: a stunning scene unfolding on a louisville bridge. a firefighter urgently rappelling down to reach a driver stranded inside this semi tractor trailer as the truck's cab dangles above the water. first responders

worried it could fall at any moment. >> this is very much a worst case scenario, kind of a crazy thing that you don't expect to actually have to do until you show up. >> reporter: officials say around 12:00 p.m., the truck and three other vehicles were involved in a collision. the truck careening off the roadway with its female driver still in the cab the fire department says she was shaken but still talking with the rescue team. >> we were very concerned with the stabilization there to make sure that our people are safe, obviously we are willing to risk a lot to save a lot, and so, yes, we will absolutely take that risk to get her out. >> reporter: firefighter bryce carden went over the edge to make the rescue >> she was just praying. she was praying a lot, so -- and i prayed with her she was super calm, collected, and helped me do what i needed to do to get her to safety essentially, and it all worked out for the best, and we'll go back to quarters and get ready to do it again if we have to. >> reporter: about 40 minutes after the daring rescue began, the driver was out of harm's way, was alert, and was taken to the hospital with what police believe are

nonlife-threatening injuries authorities say tw people from one of the other vehicles involved do have injuries that appear to be life-threatening tonight, police still have not said what led to the collision, which started this incident, but we are learning more about the semi truck involved it features the logo of food service company, cisco, which says its trucks do not transport hazardous material. lester >> incredible heroism there. jesse, thank you. also this evening, the u.s. about to become more directly involved in the relief effort in gaza with american air drops of food about to begin. we get the latest from chief white house correspondent peter alexander. >> reporter: facing pressure to ease the growing humanitarian crisis in gaza, president biden tonight announced a dramatic new step. within days the u.s. will start providing palestinians desperately needed aid from the air >> we're going to join with our friends in jordan and others in providing air drops of additional food and

supplies into ukraine. >> reporter: the white house later said the president misspoke and was referring to gaza. his announcement, an acknowledgement that aid trucks are not getting into gaza quickly enough, though efforts to expedite those convoys remain ongoing. the first air drop, aides say, will be ready-made meals and that israel is supportive of the american efforts the president tonight also said, the u.s. is exploring how to deliver aid by sea earlier this week, top u.n. officials warned a quarter of gaza's population, more than 500,000 people, are near famine. tonight's move means u.s. aircraft will soon be flying above a war zone >> this is a tough military mission to do, because so many parameters have to be exactly right. >> reporter: it comes just 24 hours after palestinian witnesses in gaza say israeli troops opened fire on civilians gathering to receive aid off trucks, but the israeli military says many were trampled in a stampede, and others were shot when they threatened israeli

soldiers >> innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families, and you saw the response when they tried to get aid in, and we need to do more, and the united states will do more. >> and, peter, the demand is so great there. these air drops could only make just a dent. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, lester the white house acknowledges that air drops themselves are not the most efficient or cost effective way to get food and medical supplies in. trucks obviously a much better way to do this, but white house officials, lester, say it is worth it to get that additional aid in faster >> all right, peter alexander with us, thank you. just in this evening, the debris from another possible large balloon found off the coast of alaska the fbi says it was found by a commercial fishing vessel and that it's working with its partners to recover it a federal law enforcement source says, there are no early indications that it was a spy balloon like the one from china that crossed into the u.s. last year in moscow, heartbreak and defiance today as thousands gathered for the funeral of alexei navalny, the

opposition leader who died in russian custody two weeks ago. keir simmons has that story. >> reporter: in an open casket, the body of alexei navalny, president putin's most famous opponent. his family had struggled to find a church willing to hold the service, but outside on the streets of moscow, thousands of his supporters threw flowers as the cortege passed by, each one risking their freedom to be there. they chanted his name, openly calling putin a murderer and cried, "we will not forgive you," despite the heavy presence of russian riot police and dozens of arrests across the country russian prison authorities say navalny collapsed while taking a walk. his wife, yulia, says he was poisoned. she didn't attend the funeral over safety concerns instead, she posted a social media message, "thank you for 26 years of absolute

happiness. i will try to make you proud of me up there." as navalny's mother left the church, people kissed her and told her, thank you for your son, and at the cemetery she kissed him one last time, helping cover his head, a moment of closure, but as dark fell, navalny's mother was still there and so were many thousands of ordinary russians. "look how united we are," this woman says. if the kremlin hoped navalny's death would silence his message, tonight his supporters have replied with one voice. meanwhile, president putin's spokesman today told journalists he had nothing to say to the navalny family. lester. >> all right, keir simmons, thank you. here at home, republican front-runner donald trump was back in a federal courtroom for a hearing that will determine when the trial over his handling of classified documents will begin meanwhile, his last remaining republican

primary opponent is speaking out "meet the press" moderator kristen welker joins me. kristen, nikki haley had some pretty sharp words for mr. trump. >> reporter: lester, that's right this is all happening as there are new developments in those legal battles surrounding the former president. the key question is how many potential criminal trials could he face before the election nikki haley told me she thinks they should all begin before november, and today i asked her about what she thinks mr. trump might do if he's re-elected >> do you think donald trump would follow the constitution if he were elected to a second term? >> i don't know. i don't know i mean, you always want to think someone will, but i don't know you know, when you go in and you talk about revenge, when you go and you talk about, you know, vindication, when you go and talk about what does that mean, like, i don't know what that means, and only he can answer for that

>> reporter: now, the former president was back in a florida courtroom today with the special counsel in the classified documents case is asking for that trial to begin in july, the week before the republican convention. mr. trump's lawyers are arguing for it to begin after the election or in august, and we just learned today a judge in atlanta will rule in two weeks over the misconduct allegations against the fulton county d.a. who is also pursuing an election interference case against mr. trump. lester. >> all right kristen, thank you let me remind our viewers that more of kirsten's interview can be seen sunday on "meet the press. in 60 seconds, the mother of five who vanished in connecticut and the dramatic verdict in court today right after this

it's a case that made national headlines, jennifer dulos, the connecticut mom of five who vanished in 2019 today the woman accused of helping dulos' estranged husband cover up her murder learned her fate here's "dateline's" dennis murphy. >> reporter: tonight more than four years

after jennifer dulos went missing, her family says there is finally accountability >> guilty. >> reporter: her estranged husband's girlfriend, michelle troconis, overcome with emotion after a connecticut jury found her guilty on multiple charges including conspiring to murder dulos. troconis' family calling the outcome, a tremendous injustice >> my sister did nothing. this is wrong. this wasn't a fair trial from day one. >> reporter: jennifer dulos went missing back in may of 2019 after dropping her kids off at school her body was never found. police quickly honed in on her estranged husband, fotis the couple was going through a bitter divorce and custody battle over their five children authorities say this video shows fotis dulos dumping trash bags containing items belonging to jennifer as troconis sits in the truck. i spoke with dulos in 2019 >> did you have anything to do with jennifer's disappearance? >> i did not, but i'd like to leave it at that >> reporter: in 2020 he was charged with

murder and kidnapping. weeks later he died by suicide continuing to proclaim his innocence and troconis' in a note he left behind. in the seven-week trial, prosecutors arguing michelle was involved from start to finish >> look at what michelle troconis did, her acts and behavior before and after the murder >> reporter: the defense said she had nothing to do with dulos' death. >> michelle is not the remaining half of a scheming plot. >> reporter: as the jury deliberated, i sat down with some of jennifer's closest friends. >> without being prying, but i think everybody would like to know how the children are doing in general. >> they're very impressive young people, and they are going to do amazing things >> reporter: tonight jennifer dulos' family thanking the jury and saying, her grace, goodness, and light live on through her children dennis murphy, nbc news, stamford, connecticut. >> you can see much more on the case tonight in a two-hour "dateline" here on nbc starting at 9:00 eastern. ahead, the nation's biggest pharmacies making a

major announcement about access to the abortion pill. plus, why applying to college and financial aid has become such a headache to so many families.

what do i see in peter dixon? i see my husband... the father of our girls. i see a public servant. a man who served under secretary clinton in the state department... where he took on the epidemic of violence against women in the congo. i see a fighter, a tenacious problem-solver... who will go to congress and protect abortion rights and our democracy. because he sees a better future for all of us. i'm peter dixon and i approved this message. the country's two biggest drugstore chains announced today they're certified to dispense abortion pills. cvs and walgreens said they'll be providing mifepristone in the coming weeks in states where abortion pills are legal. it will require a prescription medication abortions

account for more than half of all abortions in the u.s. now to our series, "kids under pressure." with spring fast approaching, millions of high school seniors will soon be making decisions about college, but for many glitches with the key financial aid form are causing chaos. rehema ellis reports >> reporter: tory bishop is focusing on her future and going to college, and she's got several offers, but this massachusetts high school senior hasn't decided yet, because a critical piece of the admissions package is missing, the financial aid offer. >> it stresses me out a little. >> reporter: it's stressing her mom out too. >> we're middle class hard-working people, and we do our best to try to provide for our kids, but college is expensive, so we do need help with that. >> reporter: financial aid packages are based on a term form, the free application for federal student aid, commonly known as fafsa. last year the government revised the

complex form to make it easier to fill out, dramatically slashing the number of questions from 103 down to about 20 and expanding fafsa eligibility. >> what they were trying to do was very much appreciated. >> reporter: but unexpected technical glitches and form errors had a crippling effect, preventing some students from accessing the form and delaying when colleges received fafsa information. that means some schools may not get their financial aid offers to students until mid-april, just two weeks before the standard may 1 decision deadline. >> how would you describe this impact >> i think it's catastrophic most students around the country this year haven't submitted a fafsa form yet. >> reporter: education secretary miguel cardona says his office is spending $50 million to help fix the problems >> what would you say to those students who are feeling frustrated by the process? >> i would say to them, we hear you. we're working around the clock to make it better for you.

>> reporter: many colleges are pushing back their decision deadline beyond may 1st giving students more time to consider their options, but for tory, that just means more uncertainty >> i can't make a decision about what school i'm going to until we figure out the money. >> reporter: and when that happens is out of their control. rehema ellis, nbc news, wakefield, massachusetts. when we come back, caitlin clark has already made history now she's poised to do it again and change basketball forever in the process.

finally tonight, she has one more regular season game before turning pro, and when caitlin clark takes the court this weekend, she'll be just 18 points away from history here's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: iowa hawkeye caitlin clark is scooping up basketball records this season like she sinks three-pointers >> clark for the win. >> reporter: she's the ncaa women's all-time scorer besting kelsey plum >> how will she go for history? >> reporter: the all-time women's collegiate scorer ousting lynette woodard. now the college senior is on the brink of breaking the ncaa scoring record for men or women pistol pete maravich set that one more than 50 years ago. >> yeah, i think it shows how amazing women's basketball is across the board. >> reporter: clark is only 18 points away. averaging more than 30 a game, the record is probably hers on sunday against ohio state. a courtside seat is selling for thousands of dollars >> it's just amazing historical stuff.

>> caitlin clark has her sights on history. >> reporter: adora stevenson is a announcer for nbc sports >> does the excitement expand well beyond women's basketball >> you have patrick mahomes talking about the impact of caitlin clark. athletes all over and people that don't necessarily watch sports are now in tune to caitlin clark. >> reporter: clark will play in the wnba next year. it's no mystery who is going first in the draft, and she will bring along a legion of new fans. >> i love her threes, and it inspired me to make threes. >> reporter: on sunday, her last regular season game as a hawkeye, clark will likely break another record, but in her time at iowa, she's transformed the game stephanie gosk, nbc news >> and that's "nightly news" for this friday. you can catch a new episode of "nightly news: kids edition" tomorrow morning on nbc. i'll see you there thanks for watching. i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night

i'm roger matthai, next on nbc bay area news tonight, the rain is moving in, this time with a chance of thunder and lightning. jeff has our updated timeline as we head into the weekend. also stranded by the blizzard in the sierra, we'll take you to lake tahoe. plus a wave of new lawsuits hitting the catholic church, including against priests who are still working today. we investigate. and who is going to be our next senator? republican steve garvey is pulling ahead in the latest polls. late news from the