Announcer from nbc news World Headquarters in new york, this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening. They are just 14, but also experienced at sea. And that is giving hope to the families of two florida boys who are the object of a massive ocean search under way right now off the coast of florida. The boys went missing on friday after setting out alone on a fishing trip believed to be to the bahamas. Their 19foot boat was found capsized and adrift in a strong current yesterday, but there have been no signs of the boys. Late this afternoon the coast guard provided an update on the expanding search. Our Kerry Sanders reports now from jupiter, florida. Just confirmed nobody is on board. Reporter in the desperate search for two missing teens, a discovery both grim and hopeful. Their capsized boat. But no sign of 14yearold perry cohen and his best friend, austin stephanos. Its terrifying to know that your child is out there without you and if they need help that you cant reach out your hand and give them the help that they need. Reporter the teens set out friday from jupiter, florida on a 19foot singleengine boat with 25 gallons of fuel believed to be headed to the bahamas, only 44 miles away. But this squall captured on another boaters cell phone on friday may have caught the young mariners off guard. I call him my macgyver. He can make something out of anything. He is so strongwilled. Reporter the capsized boat was found 67 miles offshore and 170 miles north of where they departed. It was caught in the gulf stream, a constant current that flows four to six Miles Per Hour this time of year. And when a person is in the water, youre basically looking for a chest up. So its a relatively small object. Reporter the boys mothers say its unlikely they were wearing their life vests when they capsized unless they knew they were in trouble. Thats because most boaters in florida, while they have the safety gear on the boat, they rarely wear it because its so uncomfortable in the florida heat. The boys families and friends walked the beach here today, urging folks in north florida and georgia to do the same. Among those helping, neighbor and football great joe namath, whos offered 100,000 reward for information. We just keep on looking until we get an answer. Tonight, caught in the gulf stream, the boys could now be off the coast of georgia. One up side working on their behalf, the water temperatures here are in the mid80s. Lester . Kerry sanders off the coast of florida tonight. Thank you. Another big story were following here, one of the worlds biggest carmakers, Fiat Chrysler, is being ordered to make an offer to hundreds of thousands of customers to buy back their vehicles because of the dangers they pose on the road. Nbcs tom costello reports. Reporter crash test video of a deadly defect. A jeep libertys rearmounted fuel tank rupturing on impact. But on the right no rupture after a jeep is fitted with a trailer hitch to protect the tank. Consumer advocates estimate as many as 270 people died in fiery jeep crashes including a 4yearold who died in this crash. Today the government said Fiat Chrysler had acted far too slowly in ordering 23 recalls and fixing 11 million defective vehicles including the liberty and other models. Have people been put at risk because of Fiat Chryslers actions . We think so. We think this is a classic case where there is in some cases a remedy available that consumers dont know about. Reporter chrysler today hit with a record fine of up to 105 million and ordered to buy back half a million vehicles, including certain 2008 through 12 dodge suvs and the topselling dodge ram pickup, and provide cash to customers trading in or fixing those jeep grand cherokees and jeep liberty models. For many years manufacturers could get away with these kinds of things. We saw it with all manufacturers. Chryslers the next one on the block and theyre paying the price for it now. Reporter the price could be high. Hundreds of millions of dollars. In a statement the company says it agrees with the governments order and we also accept the resulting consequences with renewed resolve, to improve our handling of recalls and reestablish the trust our customers place in us. Its also agreeing to four years of independent oversight into how it handles recalls. If you own an affected vehicle chrysler is supposed to reach out to you directly. You can also contact your dealer, but they may not have the details right away. The complete list of affected vehicles on our website at nbcnews. Com. Lester . All right, tom, thanks. Meantime, nbc news is Digging Deeper tonight into the largest auto recall in u. S. History. Youll recall those defective takata airbags in over 34 million vehicles linked to at least eight deaths and over 100 injuries. Well, as drivers rush to have them replaced, nbc news has found cars that could have these dangerous airbags driven right off the rental car lot. As our National Investigative correspondent jeff rossen explains. Reporter when some recalled airbags go off, this could happen. A violent explosion. Shrapnel sent flying. So are there rental cars out there right now with that defect . Imagine driving with your family right now and having no idea about this open recall. Scary. Reporter were scanning the most popular companies. Here we go. Heres another one. Reporter our nbc producers checking the vehicle identification numbers, or v. I. N. S, against a government database. Looks like we found one. We get a hit on this ford mustang. But they rent it to us anyway. At avis we spot another mustang with an airbag recall. We got keys to another one. Reporter we drive off, no questions asked. The key is inside. Reporter and watch what happens at this hertz location. We find two muss tamgs s mustangs with the recall ready to rent. All the cars are safe right . Reporter jeff rossen from nbc news. When we return the car at dollar, i alert the manager. It has the takata airbag defect, the potentially deadly one. Im not quite sure about that but ill certainly refer it to headquarters and check on it, but again, i apologize. Reporter so you wont rent this to anybody else until its fixed . Absolutely correct. Reporter avis makes the same promise. Well sideline the car. Reporter and at hertz . We found both of these cars have an airbag recall and you rented them to us. Can you please turn the camera off first . Reporter they end up taking the cars out of service to be inspected. The companies later telling nbc news they ground and remove cars when they get the official safety recall notice, and they had not received them. But documents obtained by nbc news show the manufacturer, in this case ford, sent out not one but two unofficial advance recall notices over a month ago. Hertz and dollar acknowledging they received that notice but they didnt pull the cars because as policy, they wait for the official notices. Dont, as a result of our investigation, hertz, dollar, avis and budget all telling nbc news they are now removing the affected cars with open recalls nationwide. They say safety is paramount. By the way experts say you should check the v. I. N. Number of every rental car even the car you own, before you buy it. We have an easy link on our website right now, lester. Nbcnightlynews. Com. Jeff, thanks very much. Thousands of structures, many of them homes, in the west as more than 20 large wildfires burn out of control in five states. Just this year 5. 5 million acres have burned, about the size of new jersey and were still early into this fire season. Nbc News National correspondent Miguel Almaguer has more on the desperate struggle to stop the flames. Reporter tonight in california the golden state is seeing red. During the last week, 270 new wildfires here. 5,000 firefighters are on the front lines. The biggest threat they face in northern california. The socalled lowell and rag fires torching nearly 9,000 acres, threatening homes like michael martinos. I have to just commend all the firefighters and people who are doing a great job to save as much as they can. Reporter feeding on tinderbox conditions, exploding without warning, four firefighters were caught in the flames. One suffering serious burns. Weve seen very, very aggressive fire. Conditions are dry. Fires are burning much quicker than they normally do. Reporter in bend, oregon crews are trying to stay ahead, burning what they can now. Almost as a prevention technique. But yeah, were using fire to fight fire. Reporter eliminating dead trees and shrubs. The perfect fuel for fire. After years of drought this forest is ready to burn. Its drier than ever. Officials say even a controlled burn like this one can be dangerous. While more land is burning, homes are not. Many have been saved in a series of close calls. But this fire season is still young. Crews know, one small spark can instantly blow a fire out of control. Miguel almaguer, nbc news, bend, oregon. Lets turn to politics now. With just ten days to go until the very first republican president ial debate, donald trump is now leading the race in New Hampshire with second place jeb bush trailing him by seven points. And in iowa trump is running a close second behind scott walker. And with 16 candidates competing for a spot on the debate stage, the war of words is escalating. Nbcs Peter Alexander has the details. That sense of stability reporter jeb bush today winced at the latest republican attack line. I think we need to tone down the rhetoric for sure. Reporter reacting to Mike Huckabee, who over the weekend asserted that president obamas Iran Nuclear Deal could lead to another holocaust. He would take the israelis and basically march them to the door of the oven. Reporter late today huckabee refused to back down. I have stood at that oven door. I know exactly what it looks like. I will not apologize and i will not recant because the word holocaust was invoked by the iranian government. Reporter among those offended, president obama. Would be considered ridiculous if it werent so sad. Reporter competing for attention, republican rivals are trying to outtrump trump. And then i watch this idiot Lindsey Graham hes a war hero because he was captured. I like people who werent captured. Theyre rapists. And some i assume are good people. Reporter even before huckabee several candidates resorted to political stunts. Rand paul torching the tax code. Lindsey graham smashing his cell phone after trump gave out his number. The horse race is on, but the track is muddy. Trying to keep the peace, Republican Party chairman reince priebus, speaking this morning exclusively on today, going out of his way not to criticize trump. Hes speaking out to people who are really frustrated with washington. The pressure on these candidates is to ratchet up the rhetoric, be confrontational. What doesnt work . I think what doesnt work is being thoughtful, serious, dispassionate, and president ial. With all the infighting 6 in 10 americans now say they have an unfavorable view of the Republican Party. Lester . Peter alexander. And this program note. President ial hopeful governor Mike Huckabee will be live tomorrow morning on today here on nbc. Turning overseas where sources tell nbc news that turkey is getting into the fight against isis, teaming up with the u. S. In a plan to eradicate isis fighters near turkeys border with syria. There are no u. S. Service members in the ground war, but there are americans who have left everything behind to join the fight against isis. Our keir simmons was just in syria, where he met one of them on the front line. Reporter escorted by a pickup truck mounted with a machine gun, we reach a front line in the fight against isis in syria. The city of hasakah. We see remnants of battle and repeated isis suicide attacks. Like the biggest bomb i ever seen. It was just over there. Like you know, about 200 meters in the air, a big fireball. And we were getting attacked. It was a suicide bomber. Reporter rose, 25, an american from the south bronx, shows me where the isis positions are. He volunteered for this fight, joining kurdish militia, the ypg, the only force successfully beating back isis. Theres an explosion right there. Yeah. Reporter he says hes hated terrorists ever since 9 11. Fighting for my country as well. Fighting for america. Yeah. Against isis. Yes. Before they attack us. Reporter on the other side, this man, amir, an isis fighter who surrendered during a u. S. Airstrike. Now a prisoner of the kurds. He asked that his face not be shown. Amir tells me he dropped out of college to join isis, a group that cuts off peoples heads, throws people from buildings, rapes women. How can you join a group like that . They told us when we behead people we instill fear and the women we kill are adulterers, he says. Its the ideology robert came here to fight. But his unit has only old outdated weapons. 1971. Thats got 1971. He shows me a picture of his 8yearold son jonathan now living with roberts parents. They went to a yankees game before he left. Amir talks about home too. Ive been a bad son, he says. Then something unexpected happens. This isis fighter starts to cry. Well, it is rare to interview an isis fighter, never mind see one break down in front of you. Isis can be beaten, the kurds told me. But today two suicide bombers hit a town where we were filming just days ago. Isis will not give up easily. Lester . Keir simmons in iraq tonight for us. Thank you. Still ahead tonight, shocking secrets and lies after a deadly wreck caught on tape. What one father did to shield his son from the law. It may have you asking how far would you go to protect your child. Also the latest in the death of Whitney Houstons daughter Bobbi Kristina. The autopsy results now released. A milwaukee father is set to be released from prison after he was put away for a crime he didnt commit. Thats because Authorities Say his son is the real person responsible for a deadly hitandrun. A dark family secret exposed that has a lot of people talking about how far a parent would go to protect their child. Nbcs Kevin Tibbles has the story. Reporter juan silva chose to do the time for what he says was his sons crime. Two years served for a hitandrun outside this milwaukee tavern that killed a father of three and injured a woman. Ive never seen anything like it before. Very unusual. Reporter but today that conviction was thrown out. The 2013 accident was picked up by security video. It may be disturbing as it shows the impact and a white van leaving the scene. The father turned himself in, saying he was behind the wheel. He was sentenced to five years in prison, trying to keep his 21yearold son juan silva jr. Out of jail. Today silvas lawyer says the father turned on his son, who is getting into trouble while he sat in jail. He was very disappointed that his son wasnt using this opportunity to clean up his act. Reporter at the silva home today a man who would not appear on camera but identified himself as juan silva sr. s elder brother said he was only doing what he thought was best for his family. In response to an inquiry by nbc news today the woman who survived the accident lashed out at silva. A parent, especially a father, is supposed to teach his child right from wrong, not encourage lies and deception. Juan silva sr. Today had his conviction vacated. Juan silva jr. Will appear in Court Next Week facing three felonies. He will also have to face his father. Kevin tibbles, nbc news, milwaukee. We are back in a moment with a remarkable image today as dozens of women came together to proclaim they are no longer afraid. Initial autopsy results are in for Bobbi Kristina brown, but they do not shed any light in the cause of her death yesterday. The only child of bobby brown and the late Whitney Houston was in a coma after she was found unresponsive in a bathtub six months ago. The circumstances remain under investigation. She was 22 years old. Its a magazine cover so many people are talking about today. The front of this weeks new york magazine. It shows 35 women who accuse bill cosby of sexual misconduct. The story inside collects their accounts of what the comedian allegedly did to them. The cover also has an empty chair for those who didnt share their stories with the magazine or have yet to come forward. Cosby has not been charged with a crime, and he has denied allegations in the past. And after a much heralded bid to host the 2024 summer olympics, tonight boston is out of the running. The city and the u. S. Olympic committee cutting ties over concerns from the mayor about cost overruns and low public support. When we come back, one last bow for a soap opera legend and the character he played for almost the last 40 years. Santa cruz girl, and the place where search dogs lost her scent. Raj take vo plus the Us Olympic Committee rejected the bay area bid for the 2024 games. Why it may want to reconsider. Next close the news is next. Finally tonight, a dramatic exit for a television legend. Anthony geary, general hospitals leading man and one half of luke and laura, the soap opera couple whose 1981 wedding was the most watched moment in daytime tv history. Tonight as geary says goodbye to luke spencer for good, we get a look back from our own soap opera fan, nbcs jenna wolfe. Strange place to do business. I dont tell you how to run your life. So dont tell me how to run mine. Okay . Reporter the character of luke spencer was never supposed to be a leading man. I did it reporter yet four decades later hes leaving as one of the biggest heartthrobs in soap opera history. I dont regret our life together. Not for an instant. Reporter his onoffonoff relationship with a much younger laura kept generations glued to their tvs wondering what could possibly happen next. I pronounce that they are husband and wife. If i said to you luke and . Laura. Luke and . Laura. Luke and laura. Reporter their wedding drew some 30 million viewers, solidifying its place in tv history. By comparison, Prince William and kates wedding had just 23 million. The wedding of luke and laura was certainly the biggest event in soap opera history. Elizabeth taylor was such a fan of this couple that she requested to be a guest at the wedding. Reporter but now after a record eight best actor emmys and quite a few different hairstyles actor tony geary is walking