>> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening. urgent help is on the way for travelers at one of the nation's busiest airports tonight after hundreds missed their flights on sunday, because of understaffed tsa checkpoints and very long lines. today the head of the tsa apologized to passengers affected by the bottleneck at chicago's o'hare airport, and dispatched a crisis team to get things moving. increasingly long waits at security checkpoints across the country have caused tens of thousands to miss flights this year, and the fact that we're already seeing meltdowns on a scale of what happened sunday in chicago, ahead of the busy travel season is deepening concerns. we have new developments in this unfolding crisis. >> reporter: long lines again this morning at chicago's o'hare. passengers missing flights. this, after many were forced to sleep on cots sunday. >> the entire airport, for the entire domestic flights. it's like crazy. >> reporter: today the head of the tsa rushed a team to chicago to get to the bottom of it. >> we had a significant challenge in chicago yesterday. i don't know what that was. we're fixing that. that's a great concern to me. i always tell people i won't apologize for doing our job well, but i do apologize to the people who found themselves stranded in chicago yesterday. >> reporter: chicago has consistently seen the worst lines in the country with passengers today told to arrive three hours before their flight. >> it's crazy. >> we just wanted to get here early. >> it's ridiculous and unnecessary. >> reporter: but nationwide, in cities like portland, los angeles, and atlanta, people continue to tweet photos of long lines with the #ihatethewait. tsa said the number of passengers flying is up significantly. as the summer travel season approaches, tsa is promising more overtime to keep checkpoints open, more bomb-sniffing dogs, and the hiring of additional workers, according to this job posting, as soon as possible. illinois senator dick durbin today called on airlines to do more also. >> i'm calling on the major airlines to waive their checked baggage fees during the peak summer travel months. they can help solve this problem. >> reporter: a problem seeking solutions that can't come soon enough. after that emergency tsa team was rushed to chicago today, we did notice more workers and shorter lines. right now, every checkpoint is open. they said if wait lines do not improve by memorial day, the tsa should hire more. disturbing new details on the news we first told you about here last night, a little more than a year since that deadly amtrak disaster outside of philadelphia, the ntsb issued a final judgment on the cause. much like distractions on the road, investigators say the train's engineer was also distracted by radio traffic, and the automatic braking technology that could have prevented the accident is still not in place on 80% of the nation's passenger tracks. here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it was the biggest mass casualty emergency involving amtrak in decades. >> we have people on the tracks, and a couple of cars overturned. >> reporter: eight dead, 200 injured. today the ntsb concluded engineer brandon bostion had been distracted by radio traffic and failed to slow down as he approached a sharp curve. >> he went in a matter of seconds from distraction to disaster. >> reporter: that radio traffic came from a nearby regional train that reported being hit by a rock. just as amtrak 188 was pulling out of north philly. for six minutes, say investigators, bostion was so focused on the radio traffic, he lost track of his own speed and location, going into the curve at 106 miles per hour, double the posted speed limit. what a new automated braking system called positive train control, had not yet been installed on that stretch of heavily traveled track. 2,200 trains go up and down the northeast corridor every day. 750,000 people rely on it. 40,000 of those are amtrak customers. today amtrak says ptc is now in place along the entire northeast corridor. >> this kind of accident would be prevented, would be the backstop for amtrak or any railroad with positive train control. >> reporter: but nationwide, ptc is only installed on 21% of passenger tracks. railroads have at least two and a half years to complete the job. meanwhile, engineer bostion remains on unpaid leave with prosecutors still considering criminal charges. tom costello, nbc news, washington. let's turn to the 2016 race. hillary clinton's lead in the general election slipping in our nbc news survey monkey poll to just three points over donald trump since last week. but there's much drama over clinton's other opponent tonight. bernie sanders, after nevada's democratic convention erupted in chaos over the weekend. as our andrea mitchell explains, his supporters are accused of violent outbursts, and now death threats. >> reporter: chaos in vegas. angry bernie sanders supporters at the democratic state convention where delegates are awarded. >> please take your seats. >> reporter: the sanders forces demanding a recount saturday. the pro-clinton chairwoman shutting them down, ending sanders' hope of picking up more delegates after he lost nevada to clinton back in february. >> is this a great night or what! >> reporter: tonight the chairwoman releasing voice threats she said she's been getting from sanders supporters. >> people like you should be hung from a public execution to show this world that we won't stand for this sort of corruption. >> i've got threats to my family, to my grandson, to my husband. >> reporter: when the state party accused the sanders campaign of a, quote, penchant for actual violence, sanders at first not responding. >>o you have any reaction to that? >> reporter: then firing back in a statement, that is nonsense. i condemn any and all forms of violence. including the personal harassment of individuals. it's imperative that all state parties treat our campaign supporters with fairness and the respect they have earned. could that be a not so subtle warning about july's national convention? >> the convention itself could be a problem for hillary clinton. it's what happens afterwards if they don't have real unity that people buy into. that's the problem for her in the general election. >> reporter: meanwhile, a hillary clinton super pac targeting her bigger challenge, donald trump. in new ads today, aimed at women. >> i view a person as flat chested is hard to be a 10. >> reporter: trump retaliating against bill clinton, tweeting, amazing that crooked hillary can do a hit ad on me when her husband was the worst abuser of women in u.s. political history. the former president asked to respond. >> no. i won't. i think people are smart enough to figure this out. >> reporter: but hillary clinton still has to worry about tonight. hoping to stop bernie sanders' recent winning streak by at least defeating him in kentucky, to avoid stumbling across the finish line as she has toward a likely nomination. lester? >> andrea mitchell, thank you. a potentially violent night of weather for millions. a funnel cloud was spotted in vero beach, florida, this evening, as storms dropped more than 9 inches of rain triggering flash flooding. powerful storms will hammer texas into the night, with more flooding, hail and tornadoes possible. now to a new olympic bombshell. word of yet another alleged doping scandal. this time, the suspected cheats come from 12 different countries. the international olympic committee accusing at least 31 athletes. the ioc said the positive test results come from retesting samples from the beijing games. the question tonight, could some of the athletes preparing for rio be banned from those games. our national correspondent, miguel almaguer, has details. >> reporter: tonight in a major doping crackdown stretching back eight years to the summer games in beijing, 31 athletes are now accused of cheating their way across the olympic finish line. today the president of the international olympic committee called the action a powerful strike against the cheats. retesting 454 samples from beijing with the latest technology, exposing dopers from 12 countries in 6 sports. the unidentified athletes planning to compete in rio now face a possible ban. >> this is for sure the tip of the iceberg. what's at issue in the doping context is an eternal cat-and-mouse game. and frankly, it's human nature to cheat. >> reporter: with samples stored for ten years, the ioc says it's now focusing on medal winners in beijing, while they continue to retest samples from the london games. the probe comes after accusations of widespread doping by russia in sochi. today the department of justice ordered its own investigation. some athletes have denied wrongdoing. the russian track team already facing a possible ban in rio. allison fee lex gets her gold. >> reporter: allison felix, an american gold medalist, just wants a fair race. >> i think that's the reality of the situation right now, that for sure there's going to be athletes who are doping in rio. >> reporter: with the rio olympics now just 80 days away, tonight the race to clean up the games is full speed ahead. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. there's big news tonight for everyone concerned about what's in our food, especially genetically modified foods, known as gmos, a lot of what americans eat, though you may not even know it. a brand-new study seeks to put minds at ease over gmos, declaring them safe to have on our plates and in our environment. nbc's rehema ellis has more. >> reporter: food with genetically modified ingredients is in almost every aisle of the grocery store, from cereal to soups to breads. but since the day gmos hit the market, there's been controversy about whether they're safe, concerns that they might be linked to cancer, obesity and allergies. a new comprehensive report out today from the national academy of sciences says they are safe. finding gmos pose no health risks, and don't harm the environment. >> there were really no evidence that there is any more health risk to genetically engineered foods than there are from foods from the conventional counterpart. >> reporter: more than 90% of corn, soybeans and sugar beets grown in the u.s. are genetically modified to make them heartier, more resistant to drought, disease and insects. today's report calls for more transparency, in the way foods with gmos is marketed, with some calling for labels on all products with gmos. >> this is really about the consumer's right to know, to decide for themselves what they want to feed their families. >> reporter: while as many as 30 states have introduced initiatives to require labeling, it's only passed in three. some food giants, including general mills, campbell's, and mars, have responded to consumer demand, and started labeling their products with gmos. today a step toward settling a debate that's been growing for decades. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. a california grand jury has indicted an oil pipeline company and one of its employees in connection with a pipeline break that spilled more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil along the santa barbara coast last year, closing beaches, and killing over 100 animals. they said the indictment contains 46 charges of state law violations. the company says it was an accident and there was no criminal behavior. a series of isis bombings has made this one of the most violent days of the year so far in iraq's capital. at least 76 people were killed in three separate bombings across baghdad. it comes as american troops get closer than ever to the front lines against isis in iraq. we get more from nbc's bill neely. >> reporter: bloodshed in baghdad. a wave of isis bombers striking outdoor markets and a restaurant, soft targets. scored kills. concrete blast walls didn't protect the shoppers from the female suicide bomber in their midst. isis targeting shia muslim areas, trying perhaps to reignite sectarian war here. killing almost 200 in baghdad in a week, bombing the main gas plant inside the capital. >> the string of attacks by isil is the latest reminder of the danger this group poses to all iraqis. >> reporter: u.s.-led air strikes have hit isis hard. 250 more u.s. troops are promised to help fight the group. but the death of u.s. navy s.e.a.l. charles keating in a battle with isis shows it's aiming to take american lives. u.s. officials say additional troops aren't needed yet. but in baghdad, they're protesting, storming the protected green zone and parliament last month, tearing down walls. furious and fearful of isis and of more blood on the streets. bill neely, nbc news, london. there's a lot more ahead for us here tonight. don't get burned this summer by your sunscreen. a surprising number may not protect as advertised. we'll tell you which ones have come under question. how to protect yourself and your family. also, caught on camera, what is that lighting up the night sky? the american academy of dermatology says that sunscreen with an spf of 30 blocks 90% of the sun's rays protecting you from cancer, if you apply it correctly, and often enough. but tonight "consumer reports" says they found that many of the sunscreens on the market aren't doing the job as well as they claim. so how do you know which labels you can trust as we head into summer? here's nbc's morgan radford. >> reporter: in california today, rebecca bryant and her two kids are relying on sunscreen to have a little fun in the sun. >> they'll fry out here. >> reporter: in a new study released today, "consumer reports" tested 65 water-resistant sunscreens claiming an spf of at least 30. and found that 43% of them didn't measure up. for example, the report says banana boat kids and cvs kids showed an spf of 8, even though they were listed at 50. >> the fda doesn't regularly test sunscreens themselves. also, they don't require that the manufacturers send their test results to the fda. >> reporter: participants soaked in water for the time the sunscreen claimed to be water resistant, and their skin was exposed to uv light and examined the next day. dr. jessica krantz is a dermatologist on the "consumer reports" medical advisory board but was not involved in this study. how much do i apply? >> you'll apply a golf ball sized or shot glass size amount of sunscreen every two hours. >> reporter: doctors say sunscreen with at least spf 30 is most effective at blocking the sun's rays. >> it's important to remember sunscreen is not magic. avoid midday sun, wear a hat, wear sunglasses. >> reporter: the company's questioned "consumer reports" methodology, standing behind their spf label. makers of banana boat said all its products under go testing and are appropriately labeled for spf. cvs said it did sentence of rye testing of its sunscreen and met all product specifications. today "consumer reports" published its list of recommended sunscreens. >> i hope they can figure it out and sell the correct products so i can make sure i'm buying the right products for my kids. morgan radford, nbc news, new york. we're back in a moment with history being made in the military. a lot of stunned people across the northeast late last night wondering what in the world that was streaking across the sky. hundreds of sightings of a fireball from new jersey all the way to canada. the portland police department joked, and i'm quoting here, the meteor or alien spaceship was caught on camera at approximately 0050 hours. let's hope the visitors are friendly, they said. for the record, it was a meteor. disturbing story tonight from italy involving a paramedic who rushed soprano star gandolfini to the hospital to the day he died of a massive heart attack. at a hearing today, prosecutors accused the paramedic of stealing his rolex watch either from his hotel room or right off his wrist. as he lay dying three years ago. the judge delayed the start of the trial until november. history has been made with the confirmation of the first openly gay leader of a u.s. military service. the senate today confirmed eric fanning as army secretary. he was nominated eight months ago but was held up in dispute over closing the u.s. prison at guantanamo bay. up next here tonight, what happens to tributes left behind for fallen heroes? we go inside a vault of memories. next at 6: an east bay city sees a huge jump in crime. ===raj/take vo=== what police say is the key to reducing the crime rate -- that's doubled in just one month. ===jess/take vo=== plus, a new lesson for teachers. the local schools joining a nationwide effort to make students feel more welcome and more successful. ===next close=== next. finally tonight, a rare look inside a place where memories of fallen american heroes live on. every day, tributes are placed at the vietnam veterans memorial in our nation's capital. while they are left behind, they are not lost. they end up in a vault for safekeeping and our kevin tibbles takes us inside. >> reporter: the things we carry to the vietnam veterans memorial, respect, honor, heavy hearts. but many who visit this solemn black wall with its 58,000 names often leave something behind, a memento. >> they're families of all of us. >> reporter: reminding us, these names belong to someone. >> it's not just a statue, it's actual people. >> reporter: each evening all are solemnly collected and delivered to a national park service warehouse. janet is charged with curating these personal powerful pieces of who we are. >> this is a sweater. >> reporter: the baby sweater of a boy who grew up to perish in vietnam. left by his mother. >> she's saying she couldn't bear to part with his teddy bear so she decided to leave his sweater at the wall. >> reporter: a beloved lassie. >> built and painted by a 12-year-old boy who died at 21. >> reporter: a token of love. >> the letter says even though she's moved on, he will always be her first love. >> reporter: some leave their medals. one left the bullet that killed his friend. a toast with champagne, or a simple can of beer for a buddy. >> i always hope that what i'm doing would be acceptable to the people who leave things at the wall. >> reporter: row upon row, hundreds of thousands of keepsakes, all treated with respect. at the memorial, peter watches them come. >> some days it's very emotional. you realize how important it is. >> reporter: because it is part of the healing. >> didn't get to grow up, didn't get to have children, grandchildren. >> reporter: a collection of who they were to hold on to forever. kevin tibbles, nbc news, washington. and that's going to do it for us on a tuesday night. i'm lester holt. thank you for watching, and good night.a nail trimming and come not alive." outcue: not alive trt:05 i don't understand how you can go in for a nail trimming and come out not alive. >> right now at 6:00, more anger and questions after a dog dies at the groomer. tonight, another dog owner, sharing her story about what happened at that same petsmart store. good evening, thanks for being with us. i'm reggie meth yeah. new developments tonight in the death of the 1-year-old daschund named henry. another dog owner has come forward to talk to nbc bay area an tells us about taking her dog to the very same petsmart store. robert honda spoke exclusively with that owner and says she had an issue and had to call police. >> reporter: that's right. that's what she said. in this recent case reignited that anger and what happened to henry at this petsmart store is strange enough and according to henry's usual groomer it was a twist of fate that the dog ended up at the store for the fatal encounter. >> according to a woman who was henry's usual greerm, a fact confirmed by the dog's owner, henry was taken to that petsmart by chance and the opener said she usually took care of the 1-year-old daschund and there was a scheduling conflict and described herself as close to the owner and martinez was stunned over the death because she says henry was always calm during grooming. >> he was always su

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