tonight, blown away. a tornado outbreak strikes new orleans in areas devastated by katrina. a major emergency as a violent storm system demolishes homes. travel ban cliff hanger. we're awaiting a ruling on president trump's immigration order right now. tie breaker. an all night drama, a history making vote and what it could mean for e future of america's schools. child flu deaths. alarming new numbers show the virus taking a more lethal toll than last year. an alert for every parent tonight. hacking your home through your refrigerator, your thermostat even the tv you're watching right now. how thieves can gain access to your most private information. a chef on a mission overcoming tragedy in

"nightly news" begins right now. good evening. a dangerous and fast moving storm is on the march tonight in the deep south. at least 20 people have been injured. many have been left homeless as the twisters, high wind and hail heavily damage homes and businesses, some in areas that were flooded during hurricane katrina. it threatens millions as it moves east ward. first to new orleans where gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> reporter: tonight the south is bracing for more severe weather. >> another one coming. >> got another one coming. >> reporter: after powerful storms ripped through louisiana. >> oh, my god. look at this.

this is a real tornado. >> reporter: three tornadoes touching down in and around new orleans. >> total devastation. >> reporter: tearing home, ripping trucks and tearing this gas station apart. witnesses say the sky went dark in seconds. >> get on their knees so we won't get hurt. it was scary. >> reporter: kelly donaldson was looking out her front window as the tornado barrelled toward her neighborhood blowing away the home across the street. >> wind just came out of nowhere and just blew it. blew it down. >> reporter: louisiana's governor declaring a state of emergency. thousands of people left without power. >> we've had our fair share of tragedies. the people of new orleans are as tough as they come. our first responders are the best. we'll get through this. >> reporter: among the worst hit areas, new orleans history. some of the areas ravaged by hurricane katrina more than a decade ago. >> i thought i was

[000:02:58;00] strong, it swept his pet away. >> it knocked me down. it took my dog away. it took my dog away. >> reporter: the twister is part of a powerful system that tore through several states dumping hail and pounding the region with relentless winds. parts of the big easy are hit hard. >> a lot of stuff was lost. picture, money, the stuff you'll never get back. >> reporter: neighbors are helping neighbors in a city that's seen heartbreak before. around two dozen people were injured but remarkably no deaths have been reported. the national weather service says the tornado that hit new orleans was an ef-2 packing winds up to 135 miles an hour. the national guard will be on hand in this neighborhood tonight. lester. >> all right. gabe, thanks. al roker is here. you're watching a storm brewing in the northeast as well. >> that's right. could be looking at a big snowstorm, but in the meantime we have the radar showing the

strong storms pushing from new orleans, tallahassee. seven million people at risk, but it will die down later tonight. we are watching this system. this nor'easter gets together, makes its march up i-95. we have snow from washington up to new york city. wind gusts increasing to 30 miles an hour. the roads will be a mess. the airports from d.c. to boston a mess. by 12:00 noon it will be a mess. the snow will be falling at rates one to three inches per hour. boston's commute will be a mess. here is what we are looking at totalwise. washington the low end of things, philly four to six. new york city could see six to eight inches of snow. that might be low and boston the big winner or loser depending on how you look at this, 8 to 12 inches. thank you.

tonight president appeals court. three judges are considering arguments made by lawyers on both sides whether to keep a hold on the order. a decision could come at any time. we get the latest from our justice correspondent pete williams in our washington news room. >> at this moment a panel of the west coast appeals court is holding an emergency hearing. those three judges will decide whether the trump order stays on hold or can be enforced again. as the trump travel restriction remained on hold for a fourth day, immigrants rushed to get here. >> my family is here with us safe. >> reporter: concerned it could be enforced once again. in a telephone conference call in san francisco, lawyers for the justice department made the case that the stay should be lifted after it was imposed by a judge in seattle on friday stopping enforcement of the executive order.

>> the executive order at issue puts a individuals from countries that congress and the last president determined posed special risks. >> reporter: a lawyer for the state says the law violates. >> that judicial role has never been more important in recent memory than it is today. the president is asking the court to reject that role. >> reporter: president trump said the law and logic are on his side. >> reporter: the new secretary of homeland security told congress today that he regrets not telling congress earlier about the executive order though he thinks it went

smoothly. >> i should ha members of congress. particularly the leadership of committees like this to prepare them for what was coming. >> reporter: he said the seven countries named in the executive order were chosen not because they're muslim but because like iran they have been declared state sponsors of terrorism or libya, lack of functioning government and are incapable of providing accurate background information on people who want to come here especially refugees. >> they're failed states. we have no -- they don't have reliable systems by which we can right now depend on their information to us. >> the argument still going on. the judges did seem skeptical of the government's argument. the states lawyer on deck now. once tonight's oral argument is done, the court will announce the decision maybe tonight, perhaps tomorrow and could still wind up before supreme court. lester. thank you. now to the dramatic senate show down culminating in a dramatic vote by mike pence to push through trump's pick to lead the nation in schools. nbc capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt has late details. >> reporter: president trump's secretary of education sworn in after half the senate opposed her. betsy devos became first cabinet nominee to require the vice

president to break a tie. equally divide, the vice president votes in the affirmative and the nomination is confirmed. >> reporter: she spent millions advocating vouchers and charter schools but became a lightning rod. democrats pounced at her lack of experience with public schools. >> you never attended a public school? >> correct. >> and your children did not? >> correct. >> and you never taught at a k-12 public school? >> i have not but i mentored in one. >> reporter: this answer went viral. >> probably there's a gun to protect the school from grizzlies. >> reporter: mocked on snl. >> and gun for potential grizzly. >> thank you. that's enough for now. >> reporter: her nomination sparking protests on social media and at rallies from philadelphia. >> we will hold you accountable. >> reporter: to kansas city. >> this is my first

protest ever. >> reporter: and on along your concerns. >> reporter: senate officers flooded with one and a half million calls day. >> good morning. >> reporter: at least one pizza delivery with a note. >> i think that what is driving it is people watched the hearings and thought this is somebody who is now in charge of my children's education. >> reporter: devos' confirmation good news to charter advocates like the principal at the hope of detroit academy. >> students and parents should be able to go where they want to go for their education. >> reporter: the president never waivered in his support for devos. she was democrats best chance to pick off a nominee. the white house accusing democrats of blanket obstruction and tonight democrats will be here late into the night speaking out against attorney general nominee jeff sessions. lester. >> kasie hunt, thank you. the standing rock sioux tribe is promising to fight in court after the army said today it's cleared the way for the completion of the dakota access pipeline which has been the source of numerous protests.

it will allow the under a missouri river reservoir. now to important news for parents about this deadly flu season. a new cdc report shows the number of states with widespread outbreaks of flu has risen to 40. there's growing concern that it's hitting children particularly hard this year with several more months still to go. let's get more from nbc ann thompson. >> reporter: 17-year-old kayla, a three sport athlete, a stir and a life just lost to the flu. >> at least perfectly healthy. it took her life. >> reporter: so far it's been a deadly flu season for kids. there are 15 flu associated deaths among children under the age of 18. a 67% increase compared to the same time last year and the season has at least three more months to

go. four children have died in new york state [000:10:58;00] nose or mouth. >> fever, cough, chills, muscle ache, irritability in young child. >> reporter: officials are taking no chances closing schools in rhea county after more than 700 students and teachers called in sick. >> so many teachers were sick, we were running out of substitutes. it's hit our community pretty hard. >> reporter: flu could temper the patriots celebration. researchers report cities of super bowl teams see an 18% spike if flu deaths for those over 65. masks are a sign of the times at new york's mt. sinai hospital. >> is it too late to get the vaccine? >> i would say still get it but next year get it in october. >> reporter: this year

a high school senior doesn't get vaccinated, something her family is urging everyone to do. >> get it. tragically it has. ann thompson, nbc news, new york. there's late word an urgent man hunt has come to a deadly end. authorities say they found the couple holed in a motel. the suspects wanted in connection with a multi-state killing spree that's claimed three lives and kept communities on edge. we have the latest. >> reporter: two suspects, three murders. >> what we're experiencing is a running nightmare quite honestly. >> reporter: billy boyette on the hand for eight days and mary rice wanted for accessory to murder after the fact. late tuesday his one time girlfriend was gunned down in milton, florida along with her friend. >> i woke up and found his 52-year-old wife

in the yard. >> reporter: three days later, 27 miles away, peggy shot and killed in her ew yesterday a home invasion, shot and critically injured kayla crocker, her 2-year-old son in another run untouched. another car stolen. neighbors anxious. >> i was just very scared. turned on a lot of lights. i had a 12 gauge shotgun. i loaded my shotgun. >> reporter: the two suspects were spotted on surveillance video casually eating at this hardy's after yesterday's attack. deputies believe rice was working with him but she was not a willing participant. >> she's only trying to survive at this point. >> you need to be afraid. you need to be scared. >> reporter: as the posting reveals, it

says the hunt is indeed now over. both suspects were found hiding in a roadside motel, 256 miles from here in la grange, georgia. billy boyette junior committed suicide. his accomplice surrendered and is now in custody. >> thank you. still ahead, home hackers. how cyber thieves can target you where you live through everything from your tv to refrigerator and some tricks of your own to fight back. also, how would you like to send your kids to college for free? the big city that made a historic move in higher education. and even though their dentures look clean, in reality they're not. if a denture were to be put under a microscope, we can see all the bacteria that still exists on the denture, and that bacteria multiplies very rapidly. that's why dentists recommend cleaning with polident everyday. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria.

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aleve. live whole. not part. we're back with a warning now for anyone who has connected their in home appliances to their wi-fi system. not just tvs and stereos but refrigerators, ovens, thermostats and even sprinkler systems are connected to the web. three quarters of in home networks could be vulnerable to hackers, snooping or stealing your private information. here is nbc tom costello. >> reporter: to visit the johnson home in san francisco. >> i tap the red circle, it unlocks and i walk inside. >> reporter: is to walk into a living app controlled smart home. >> the lights come on and the heat turns on as well. >> reporter: amazon's alexa help connect the thermostat, lights, music, door bell.

all together 50 connects. the more connected, the greater the risk. >> we are opening ourselves up to risks. >> reporter: a wi-fi network that comes with a weak default password. to show me how easily it can be compromised, i was sent to a colleague's home near boston. by the time i press the doorbell, he already hacked in watching my every move on the in-home security cameras and cracking the alarm system. >> why would anybody want to hack my doorbell, refrigerator or my thermostat? >> it's more they could use those devices as a means to access more interesting sources of information. >> reporter: financial information. he hacked my online shopping, e-mails and bank accounts. >> we can see anything you type anywhere on your computer. >> reporter: create separate wi-fi networks. one for your computers, another for your appliances. use complicated long passwords and use two-step verification log ins.

amazon and goggle home insist they are secure. >> it's a le realize everything is talking, communicating. the truth is it's all under my control. >> reporter: he invented the door app on his phone and vigilant about keeping it hack proof. we'll take a short break. when we come back we'll have the life after the white house of president obama. (burke) at farmers, we've seen almost everything, so we know how to cover almost anything. even a "truck-cicle." [second man] how you doing? [ice cracking] [second man] ah,ah, ah. oh no! [first man] saves us some drilling. [burke] and we covered it, february fourteenth, twenty-fifteen. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because

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at half a million dollars. in san francisco a historic move. it's the first major residents. about 30,000 students are expected to benefit beginning this fall. the city will pay for it with tax on multi-million property sales. to qualify you have to live in the city for a year and day. what a lot of people are calling richard and barack's excellent adventure. enjoying his vacation is this video of the former president kite surfing. branson said it was mr. obama who came out on top in their head to head kite surfing contest. an update on a celebrity chef who has

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don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. xeljanz can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate, and is also available in a once-daily pill. ask about xeljanz xr. finally, tonight we have an update on a chef whose story touched so many of you. for years chef bruno

what has cooked up something special to keep needs from going hungry. after tragedy struck he is still helping. >> reporter: he can attest to the unlikely healing power of pasta. we saw that on display two years ago when we first met him at his anaheim white house restaurant. here he cooked up massive italian fests for neighborhood kids through his charity named after his late mother. >> they were like from one to ten, i'm rating you a ten because your pasta is good. >> reporter: the non-profit serves food in several cities nourishing 1800 children a night. over the weekend what his restaurant was feeding was a fire.

flames quickly destroyed his beloved white house, yet they could not melt his spirit. >> it was a fire. it more beautiful. >> reporter: just two days after the fire he's already serving spaghetti to kids from the local boys and girls club. >> he's a good man. >> so happy to be with you guys. >> reporter: to make it happen a nearby events center opened its doors and businesses. >> he's got the biggest heart in orange county and he has a passion for the kids. >> i knew you speak italian. >> reporter: the chef knows his restaurant will be rebuilt so he's focusing on the kids and his staff. >> things that happen in life, you stand up. never give up. >> reporter: it's like therapy powered by pasta and plenty of love. nbc news, anaheim, california. 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 good night. [ alarm weather.eping ] ♪ [ laughter ] cartoons. wait for it. [ cat screech ] [ laughter ] ♪ [ screaming ] [ laughter ] make everyday awesome with the power of xfinity x1... hi grandma! and the fastest internet. [ girl screaming ] [ laughter ] they're both just loving it. i think it was very special for my mom. >> wow. >> i can get very emotional about this. two daughters with their swimsuit icon mom.