his newborn son. nightly news begins right now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is nbc neat nightly news with lester holt. good evening to our viewers in the west. it seems hardly a week goes by without another viral video reminding us what a pressure cooker airplane cabins have become. this shocking video making the rounds on the same day that u.s. airline executives were hauled before congress to explain the behavior of their employees as well as airline practices that generate a lot of passenger resentment. nbc's tom costello has details. >> reporter: it was an all-out brawl as passengers boarded an l.a.-bound flight in tokyo. >> this guy's crazy! >> reporter: the man in red exchanging punches with another passenger. the suspect described as an american, allegedly intoxicated was arrested and charged with assault before the flight ever took over. >> i said this is crazy, you know, and that triggered him. he said this is crazy? the government is crazy. the government ruined my life. >> reporter: ana airlines apologized saying the passenger was vie tloenolent to other passengers. today members of congress told a panel of airline execs, much of the country is fed up. >> to you, they may be customers. to us, they're constituents. >> reporter: both united and american airlines promising significant changes. >> we will do better. >> reporter: consumer advocates say, among the problems, more fliers and less competition. over the last 12 years, megamergers have dramatically cut the number of big carriers from eight to just four. meanwhile, it is the flight attendants who are very often left to keep the peace. >> that's what we are doing every day, de-escalating issues between passengers so we don't have a real big problem in the air. >> reporter: and we're sitting closer together. >> we're sitting closer, packed in like never before. >> reporter: if the airlines don't improve customer service, congress could impose new tough laws. >> seize this opportunity, because, if you don't, we're going to come, and you're not going to like it. >> reporter: a not-so-veiled warning there. most members of congress said before the airlines fix this on their own before capitol him involvement. but patience is wearing thin. in south carolina, former north charleston police officer who was videotaped in the shooting death of an unarmed fleeing man entered a surprise guilty plea today. michael slager whose trial ended without a verdict, except for a plea deal, meaning less prison time. gabe gutierrez has that story. >> reporter: two years after the dramatic cell phone video shocked the nation, today former north charleston police officer, michael slager pleaded guilty to a federal charge of using excessive force. >> michael slager admitted what he did. >> reporter: the family of walter scott cried as the plea was read in court. the defendant use the deadly force even though it was object testifily unreasonable under the circumstances. shot was shot five teams in the back as he ran from a traffic stop. in a written statement, slager's defense team said we hope that michael's acceptance of responsibility will help the scott family as they continue to grieve their loss. slager's federal trial had been scheduled to start in a few days. he faced civil rights charges, lying to investigators, using a firearm in a violent crime. even with this plea, he still faces life in prison but could get much less. >> the victory was in him admitting what he did wrong. >> reporter: he told the court he was in total fear for his life when scott grabbed his stun gun during a struggle. >> in my mind, at that time, people don't run from them. >> reporter: jurors could not reach a verdict, and prosecutors vowed to retry the case. but they've agreed to drop those state charges as part of today's plea agreement. >> i think most of us believe if they tried it again, the best they could hope for was a hung jury. >> reporter: but some are frustrated that he won't face a new murder trial. for the scott family, the biggest victory was the admission they had waited for. michael slager was led from the room in hand cuffs right in front of the scott family. sentencing is now expected within the next few months, and then it will be up to a judge to decide how much time slager will spend in prison. >> gabe gutierrez, thank you. there's late news tonight about a fatal police shooting captured on camera that sparked outrage in baton rouge. the death of alton sterling, there's new concern amid word that the justice department has decided not to charge the officers involved. our justice correspondent, pete williams is in our washington newsroom. >> reporter: several sources say that the career justice department prosecutors have determined there isn't enough evidence to bring federal civil rights charges. it was caught on video and touched off days of protestle. the police said they were responding to a complaint that a man with a gun was threatening people outside a convenience store. video show alton sterling on his back. the police officers say they thought he was reaching for an abo gun. they found one in his back possibility. the officers have been on leave. bringing federal charges in a case like this is notoriously difficult because the law requires proving intentional wrongdoing. for example, the justice department conclude it couldn't bring charges in the 2014 shooting in ferguson, missouri of an unarmed man. to politics now, and president trump lash being out after the bipartisan spending agreement was forged, avoiding a government shutdown. with both the white house and democrats claiming victory, the president suggested a shutdown may be exactly what washington needs. also today, republicans are facing new obstacles in the push to replace obamacare. peter alex ander has more. >> reporter: president trump today venting frustration on twitter, arguing the government needs a good shutdown in september to fix washington's mess. the president upset at the perception democrats got the better end of a compromise that avoids a government shutdown. >> after years of partisan bickering and gridlock, this bill is a clear win for the american people. >> reporter: mr. trump tried to recover a political victory from that spending agreement. >> and we didn't do any touting like the democrats did, by the way. >> reporter: but taking heat for suggesting the solution is a shutdown. >> how does the president define a good shutdown? >> if you wanted to imagine what a good shutdown was, it would be one that fixes this town. >> in the last shutdown, 800,000 federal employees were indefinitely furloughed. another 1.3 million were required to work without knowing when they'd get paid. >> every single one of those folks got paid, right? >> reporter: with confer testi conservative critics also attacking the bill. more money for defense and border security. >> we are building this, okay? we are taking their taxpayer money to build this. >> reporter: the bitter back and forth as house republicans appear on the verge of another failure for their health care plan. missouri congressman billy long backs trump but not the bill. >> just because preexisting conditions would be covered doesn't mean they should price you out of the market. >> reporter: in arizona, breast cancer survivor tony bannister worries her preexisting condition will impact her family's coverage. >> it's not just me, it's my entire family. it's my sons. it's my future grandchildren. it's all of that. >> reporter: and tonight, word of a possible russian rendezvous. the white house confirms they will try to schedule the first face-to-face meeting in july in germany. back in the spotlight today, hillary clinton, opening up about her election defeat and the former candidate blaming her loss on both the fbi and russia, and if the election were held two weeks earlier she'd be in the oval office now. we get more from andrea mitchell. >> reporter: tonight hillary clinton not holding back. >> i'm now back to being an act vest citizen. >> reporter: blaming vladimir putin and wikileaks. >> every day that goes by we learn more about some of the unprecedented interference, including from a foreign power whose leader is not a member of my fan club. >> reporter: she says it was not a perfect campaign, but no mention of her failure to go to wisconsin, to campaign earlier in michigan, connect with rust belt voters in pennsylvania. all blue states that went for donald trump. or why the first female nominee could not win a majority of white, college-educated women. >> i was on the way to winning, until the combination of jim comey's letter on october 28th and russian wikileaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off. >> reporter: clinton's explanation that wikileaks dump of her campaign manager's e-mails planned to distract from the "access hollywood" tape. >> within an hour or two of the hollywood access tape being made public, the russian theft of john podesta's e-mails hit wikileaks. what a coincidence. >> reporter: what about her responsibility for failing to have a better mess snaage? >> did i make mistakes, oh, my gosh, yes. >> reporter: even some of her former aides say she's not really confronting her own political failings for what they acknowledge was a devastating loss from which she has not fully recovered. >> andrea mitchell, thank you. now to fears of a flood emergency in missouri. residents being evacuated in a race to keep the water from rushing into towns with more rough weather and rain on the way. blake mccoy takes us inside the flood zone tonight. >> reporter: with swelling rivers outside st. louis tonight, nearing record flood levels, hundreds of volunteers are filling sandbags. a fran tech effort to protect homes and businesses, like jim umbarker's bakery. >> it's a little overwhelming. i'm actually speechless. >> reporter: high schoolers in eureka, missouri, joined the effort. classes canceled. the campus only accessible by boat. further up the merrimack river, mandatory evacuations. >> you don't know if you're going to come home to a home or not. >> reporter: for now the levee is holding. but more rain is on the way. >> it lasts in the midwest until early afternoon on thursday. we'll see a wide spread one to four inches of rain with isolated amounts of five inches or more. >> reporter: communities in arkansas and missouri are bracing for agonizing days ahead. blake mccoy, nbc news. in boston tonight, an investigation is under way into an alleged incident at the famous fenway park, where a player on the visiting baltimore yo baltimore orioles say of fans hurled racial slurs at him. >> in the air, left side field, another great catch! >> reporter: baltimore orioles' adam jones says he was hearing it from the rid sox fans all night. here he is outside the dugout. jones jawing with the crowd. somebody had thrown a peanut bag at him and he'd been called the n-word several times. >> it caught my attention. >> reporter: jones says he's heard racist taunts in boston before but called last night's abuse the worst in his 12-year career. two fans ejected, all in all 34 fans told to leave. sam kennedy apologized. >> if adam jones felt unsafe at any point during last night's fam game, it's our job to step up and take measures to correct that. >> reporter: the commissioner blasting the inexcusable behavior. with the number of african-american players in the single digits. and the anniversary of jackie robinson breaking the color-barrier, there's sensitivity about race. >> at a tetime when they want their game to be more welcoming to more young african-american kids. >> reporter: a cre criminal investigation has been launched and some suggesting a ban for life for the suggested fans. there's important new information you should know before choosing replacement surgery. also the surprise revelation from late-night host jimmy kimmel, opening up about the terrifying health scare involving his newborn son. we're back now with some surprising medical news about one of the most popular surgeries in america. the number of knee replacements sky rocketed in the last decade. now more than 640,000 every year. but new research is raising questions about whether too many people are having this expensive procedure when other treatments could relieve their knee pain. here's nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: staying active is how frances francesca stays healthy. >> i went for a run, and i came home and it started swelling up. >> reporter: where's the pain? >> on the front on the right. >> reporter: where the cartilage wears away. for many, the solution is knee replacement surgery, but new research says these surgeries have little effectiveness and can be economically unjustifiable when they're done on patients with less severe symptoms. >> i see patients who are young and say let's replace the knee. that's not a ochlgn option. in a 20 or 30 year old, we're not considering that. >> reporter: this surgeon takes the conservative approach at new york's hospital for special surgery. >> total knee replacement is the last option. >> reporter: knee replacements may only last 15 to 20 years and could require second or third surgeries. instead, she tries other techniques to relieve the pain. physical therapy, injections and braces to reduce the pain and inflammation. a partial replacement may be in francesca's future, but physical therapy and injections are helping now. >> clearly i'm walking, and i can do a lot more things. >> reporter: able to keep up with her son, luka, doing the work first instead of going under the knife. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. up next, a new twist on roadside rescues. while you no longer have to be driving to call aaa. take a look at this. a corny mess all over the highway in minnesota. it happened southwest of minneapolis when a pickup truck tried to make a u turn in front of a semi that was carrying all that corn, causing it to overturn, spilling 80,000 pounds of corn. the drive of the semi suffered minor injuries. the pickup driver was cited by police. triple a is expanding roadside services to extend to bicycles. for many cyclists, a flat tire or broken chain often means a long walk for help. but with more people riding bikes, aaa has decided to offer more emergency help to cyclests. new numbers show sales of e-books were down last year while sales of good old-fashioned paper backs increased. there's no clear explanation of what's behind the shift. more people may be limiting their screen time after so many hours spent using all those glowing devices. up next, the late night host who put the jokes aside to share a personal story about his newborn son's health struggle. an attack outside an elementary school. ===take vo=== what investigators say led a mother to stab another woman. and the reason she won )t face any charges. ===jess/take vo=== plus: a wake up call for millennials. how many of them could lose their jobs to robots.. ===next close=== the news is next. ==jess/take vo== finally tonight, he's in the business of making people laugh, but last night, gem jimmy kimmel moved many to tears with a revelation about the medical crisis that forced his newborn son to undergo open heart surgery and his plea about health care in america. >> from hollywood, it's jimmy kimmel live. >> reporter: instead of a standard monologue, he had a personal story. >> i have a story, i'm sorry, i try not to get emotional, but it was a scary story. >> reporter: mixing a comedian's whit with a dad's love, he talked about the birth of his son billy and how a nurse detected a heart murmur in purple skin. >> it's a terrifying thing. you know my wife is back in the recovery room. she has no idea what's going on. >> reporter: it was called tetralogy of f fallot. >> i will never be able to thank him for -- so i won't even try. >> reporter: today billy is doing well but will need more surgeries down the road. and social media, kimmel's monologue was praised by celebrities and political figures, including former president obama. he made a plea to politicians on both sides, noting his newborn son already lives with a preexisting condition. >> no parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child's life. it just shouldn't happen. >> reporter: after sharing his story, kimmel welcomed snowboarder, shawn white who was born with the same condition. >> oh, no, my son's going to be a snowboarder. it makes me believe that my son, too, is going to be an olympic gold medallist for the united states of america. >> reporter: a grateful father, already bragging about his resilient son. joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles. that's going to do it for us on a tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and goodnight. years of waiting. months of testimony. all coming down to this. closing arguments in the sierra right now at 6:00 years of waiting, months of testimony all coming down to this. closing arguments and the sierra lamar murder trial. the news at 6:00 starts right now everyone. good evening and thanks for joining us jessica aguirre. >> her parents never find her bfrd but they might find justice. the high protile case is coming to an end today. the prosecution delivered closing arguments. garcia torres faces the death fenlt if convicted of murdering the morgan hill teenager in 2012. she was on her way to high school the morning she disappeared. nbc bay area marianne favro covering in story five years joins from us the hall of justice. what happened inside the courtroom today? >> reporter: raj, today the lead prosecutor told jurors that garcia torres was unaccounted for for five hours the day sierra disappeared. he said that was plenty of time to hide the body. today in court prosecutors played an emotional recording of the 911 sierra lamar's mother made when her daughter vanished. now garcia torres could face the death penalty if he is convicted. during closing arguments this around prosecutor david boyd reminded jurors about sierra's hair found on a rope in the carve garcia torres. >> and it's very hard to come up with an innocent explanation as to why her hair is found on rope in mr. garcia's car. >>