A321 that crashed over egypt Sinai Peninsula broke apart in the air. The plane disintegrated at a high altitude. How that metro jet plane fell from the sky killing all 224 people on board. It was a plane filled with tourists, families flying home from vacation at red sea resorts. Now their loved ones, many of them in russia are mourning and there are more questions than swers. Bibi neally starts us off tonight from cairo. Reporter it fell out of the sky and no one knows why but there were more clues today. The debris is so scattered, the planes tail three miles from the cockpit that russian investigators say it broke up in midair. Search teams are exaning suitcases, human remains, the tangled wreckage for signs of explosion, fire, or mechanical failure. Tragic reminders of the 224 the planes two black boxes have now been recovered and soon the voices and data from the cockpit will be analyzed. Investigators still have no idea why the plane suddenly lost altitude and speed at 31,000 feet. Why the pilot made no distress call or exactly why thelane broke up in midair. Theyre going to be looking at the flight controls. Theyll be looking at the fuel system and then theyll also be looking at maintenance issues that may have induced some sort of technical failure. One of the things thatt you cant rule out at this time is whether or not there was an explosive device of some sort on the aircraft. Reporter theyre searching where the bodies of dozens of passengers were examined by a russian forensic team. Most off the dead have now been brought here to be identified. Many of them only through dna samples. It is grim work. 25 of the dead were children. Some photographed near the ane. Waiting to go home. Metrojet said its aircrafts are technically safe. Russia isnt so sure groununng the a321 fleet. Some airlines are now refusing to fly over the area until the cause of the crash is known. In russia, it was a day of mourning, prayers, and tearar aation in shock. And tonight the bodies of dozens of the russian tourists are being flown from here back to st. Petersburg, the city the lefto go on vacation. No one is ruling out a a possible cause of the crash that killed them. Not even terrorism. Because no one knows for sure yet whether this was mass murder or a tragic accident. Kate. Bill reporting from egypt. Thank you. There are new developments in the mystery of a cargo ship that disappeared a month ago with 33 people on board. 28 of them americics. It sailed off into Hurricane Joaquin and vanished on october 1st. But now, its final resting place may hve been found. Reporte in the waters near where it was last seen, finally a sign of what is believed to be the massive ship, 15,000 feet below the surface. According to the ntsb, images captured by the orion scanning sonar show the 790 foot cargo ship on the bottom resting upright and in one piece. Sub marines will dive almost three miles down in an attempt to recoverrhe ships data recorder. 33 crew members went down with the el faro. Michael holland was among those lost. My head wants answers but my art wants hope. So its struggling to find that balance. Its just a nightmare. Reporter the el faro took off from Jacksonville Florida on a routine run to puerto rico. Joaquin was a tropical storm. The ship lost propulsion and was taking on water and leaning to the side. It was the last communication. By then joaquins winds were 120 Miles Per Hour with waves as tall as buildings. Days later the body of one crew member was found. No others just debris. Like a lifeing and lifeboat. Severallamilies have filed lawsuits claiming the ship had a history of problems. While the ships owner has not commented on the lawsuit, today the company said this, we have fully supported thihi search and the investigigion. We continue to keep the crew and their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers. Now answers to what did happen could be closer than ever. But for some filies i will never get overr it. There is nothihi worse than losing a child. Reporter closure may be much harder to find. Nbc news. Isis claims yet another victory in syria today in and now new criticism is erupting in this country over the u. S. Change in strategy in syria as nbc whiteouse correspondent Kristen Welker explains the 2016 gop candidates are pouncing on the president s plan to put a small number of u. S. Troops on the ground. After thousands of u. S. Lead a a strikes today isis militants are moving closer to capturing a key western city in syria. The turmoil underscoring the broader crisis that prompted a new ptep. Th white house announcing some 50 special opss troops will now be sent to syria. Their mission to train, advise, and assist but not engage in combat. How is that not a change in strategy . Because our strategy all along has been focused on building the capacity of local forces to fight these fights against isil for themselves in their own country. Reporter its a reversal for a president that vowed to wind down the wars in the middl east. Now with more troops h hded to o crisis on to the next commander and chief. How are you all . Reporter for democrats a measured response. Secretary clintonn saying she sees merit in the plan. Bernie sanders more skeptical. My nightmare is that the United States once again gets caught up in a something thaha never ends. Reporter republicans have accused the president of being weak on Foreign Policy. I applaud him for engagement with the special operators. But there should be a real strategy to take out isis andnd to take outut assad. Its an admission. Its a reflection that when you dont make a decision, things get worse, not better. We have seen for 6. 5 years leading from behind. Reporter candidates also called for a no fly zone including dr. Ben carson today. I think we should establish a no fly zone there and we should enforce it. Reporter but for w w weary voters its a thorny issue in 2016. Republicans can and will criticize the president s being weak on Foreign Policy and defense, particularly in the middle east. But they have to be careful. The American Public does not want tens of thousands of boots on the ground in the middle east. Reporter the other issue, debate with candidates for calling for more questions about syria after that cnbc debate. Several campaign reps are meeting tonight to discuss possible changes. Thanks so much. Theres late word tonight of a video claiming to show two activists beheaded by isis. They were found dead on friday. Nbc news will not show that video. Instead were airing an interview that our chief Foreign Correspondent did with one of the victims before his murder and an exclusive with his brother who received a terrifying threat during our Emergency Services s swed up at an Apartment Building in the turkish city this weekend all they could do was carry out the body of two young syrian men. Both were members of a group of activists whoho risked their lives to tell the world what is going on in their hometown, the isis capitol in syria. Both men were beheaded. We knew one of the victims. We interviewed him in turkey about a year ago and asked him about the threats on his life. He didnt flinch. Of course there is danger but were the sons of our country. If we dont show the crimes of isis to the world, who will . He was proud of his work. They secretlyy filmm and smuggle out videos designed to embarrass isis like this one showing bread lines contrary to isiss claim is prosperous and thriving. We askedim if he was afraid . They put a ransom on my head he told us, for anyone that kills me. We told him we hopes he stays safe. Im taking precautions, h h told us. I rarely leave my apartment. How did isis manage to reach and brutally murder him, stabbing him nearly 50 times . Todayor the first time we learn the answer from his brother who says it started about six weeks ago when an old family friend rented an apartment next door. He came in a smart way. He was a good guy. Welcoming. So he knew he could geto him. This is that man who he said unexpectedly moved in next door. Claiming to be an isis defector, he befriended him and the other murdered acacvists. Here they are together. His apartment. A Turkish Police source says he slipped back into syria to rejoin i is but he hasnt kept quite. As we were filming he received a text message on his phone. The message he just sent me said we killed ibrahim to break your heart, he said. He said i did it and were coming for you. He said just wait, your turn is coming in a matter of days, he said. He showed me the window to the rented apartmeme across the alley. He says he covered the windows with cardboard and blankets right before the murders and invited over two suspected accomplices. If they think this will stop me, they are wrong. Just the opposite. Im more determined. We will keep going until we are finished with isis. This is a promise for all the victims, he says. Richard engle, nbc news, turkey. And a programming note, lester holt will be sitting down with president obama for an what he still wants to accomplish at his final year in office approaches. Thats starting tomorrow right here on nbc nightly news. Still ahead tonight, a crisis facing our veterans. Some wait months for care because the va hospitals that are supposed t t help t tm dont have enough help themselves. Tens of thousands of va i use whats already inside me to reach my goals. So i liked whenmy doctor told me i may reach my blood sugar and a1c goals by activating whats within me. With onceweekly trulicity. Trulicity is not insulin. It helps activate my body to do what its supposed to do release its own insulin. Trulicity responds when my blood sugar rises. I take it once a week, and it works 24 7. It comes in an easytouue pen and i may even lose a litttt weight. Trulicity is a onceweekly injectable prescription medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. It should be used along with diet and exercise. Trulicity is not recommended as the first medicine to treat diabetes and should not be used by people with severe stomach or intestinal problems, or people with type i diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Trulicity is not insulin and has not been studied with longacting insulin. Do not take trululity if you or anyone in your family has had medullary Thyroid Cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2 or if you are allergic to trulicity or its ingredients. Stop using trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of an allergic reaction, such as itching, rash, or difficulty breathing; if you have signs of pancreatitis such as severe stomach pain that will not go away and may move to your back, with or without vomiting; or if you have symptoms of Thyroid Cancer, which may include a lump or swelling in your neck, hoarseness, trouble swallowing, or shortness of breath. Medicines like trulicity may cause stomach problems, which could be severe. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and any medicines you take. Taking t tlicity with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase your risk for low blood sugar. Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney failure. With trulicity, i click to activate whats within me. If you want help improving your a1c and blood sugar numbers with a noninsulin option, ask your doctor about onceweekly trulicity. And click to activate your within. N. Some cash back cards love to overcomplicate things. Like limiting where you earn bonus cash back. Why put up with that . But the quicksilver card from capital one likes to keep it simple. Real simple. Im talking easy likea walkinthepark, nothingtoworryabout, manthatfeelsgood simple. Quicksilver earns you unlimited 1. 5 cash back on every purchche, everywhere. Its a simple question. Whats in your wallet . Were back now with our on going nbc news investigation into failures at hospitals for veterans. According to a recent usa today analysis one in six jobs within the va system were still vacant as of midsummer. While there is a nationwide shortage of primary care doctors for all of us, patients at some va facility versus to wait a month or two just to be seen. As tom costello explains. Reporter fayetteville, North Carolina. Home to the 82 airborne. Ititan take weeks or months for vets to get seen at the local va hospital here and fayetteville in the country. Aggressive cancer. Reporter two years agogo vietnam vet rick leslie says a doctor diagnosed his Prostate Cancer but he had to travel to durham for radiation, surgery, andd treatment. They dont have availability of the resources to do the prost Prostate Cancer or urologist available to do it. Reporter its a problem nationwide. Usa today crunched the numbers. 41,000 full and part time jobs unfilled. In fayetteville, 59 of 187 position jobs vacant. Among the highest rates, psychologist. 21 of those positions nationwide, open. In fayetteville the va had only half the psychologists it needed as of mid july. I hoped they could help me get my life back on track. Reporter scott served two combat tours in afghanistan and last year came home with ptsd but only had two psychiatric appointments in 18 months. I sesemedicate more often than i should because im not receiving the care that i need. Reporter former va manager says that va records prove patients are going without care. Theres 1200 patients that dont have a doctor assigned over there. Because that doctor is gone. Reporter he was chief of logistics at the va in fayetteville. Whats the problem here . Why are a third of the positions unfilled . The hours are too long. The number of patients. The patient load is way too high. Theay is inadequate. Reporter and the number of vets needing care is exploding as vets retire. But its a big allenge. The challenging with hiring the staff are the location of ruralness. Lack of having a medical school nearby, and some of the salary caps for specialties that are hard to recruit for. Reporter some Unfilled Positions are for facilities that havent yet opened and its been aggressively recruiting at medical schools but in october the vas Inspector General issued a troubling findingng about the Medical Center in phoenix where allegations about patient appointment delays came to light extreme shortages starting in 2014 in the Urology Department potentially impacted thousands of patients and contributed to clinically significant delays in urology care and unnecessary risk for some patients. One phoenix va patient whose Prostate Cancer spread while he waited for care died. They have added staff and improved waiting times since then. Meanwhile in North Carolina rick leslies cancer now w read to his bladder. The va will now pay for his cancer care outside the va system. Tom costello, nbc news, fayetteville, North Carolina. Theres late word tonight that fred thompson, the former senate and character actor has died. His family released a statement. He served as counsel tthe Watergate Committee and senator from 1994 to 20000 and ran for president in 2008 and many will remember him from his other career acting in movies and tv including aong running stint on nbcs law and order. Fred thompson w this balalof hay cannot be controlled. When a wildfire raged through elkhorn ranch, the sudden loss of pasture became a serious problem for a family business. Faced with horses that needed feeding and a texas drought thth sent hay prices sosoing, the owners had to act fast. Thankfully, mary miller banks with chase for business. And with greater financial clarity and a relationship built for the unexpected, she could cocorol her cash flow, and keep the ranch running. Chase for business. So you can own it. Feel secure in your dentures. Feel free to be yourself all day. Just switch from denture paste to seabond denture adhesive seals. Holds stronger than the leading paste all day. Without the ooze. Feel secure. Be yourself. 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Theyre down three games to one but o of the most popular fixtures in the stands is there rooting for the team. Reporter 52 years of new york mets memories. Lou has seen it all. As a mets usher since the stadium opened inn 1964. One game is more exciting than the other as years go on. One year i made 81 games. Reporter he loves the game and the fans love him. Openingay of this year, i had around 9 to 11 people around me. And my boss comes up to me and says hey, luke, any problem here . I said no, mr. R. Ken, theres no problem. These are all my fans. They all come over to say hello to me. Reporter with a purple heart and bronze star pinned to his ununorm at 91 he has quite a life story to share. In 1944 i was in the battle of the bulge and i waswounded and here i am working for the new york metet organization for 52 years. Who ever would figure that one out. Reporter this year, he hopes the mets win the world series. It would be great, you know . Three times. As long as i stay healthy ill make it agai reporter win or lose he has advice for his beloved team and the rest of us. Enjoy life every day. Every day. And have a smile on your face. Thats the main thing. Everody will love you with a smile on your face. Reporter advice that keeee him coming back to the ballpark. Nbc news, new york. Maybe hell bring them some good luck tonight. When we come back, a rescue tm fighting for the life of one sometimes the present looked bright. Sometimes romantic. There were tears in my eyes. And tears in my eyes. Were really the biggest things. Through i