will you can really find a lot of gems here. i always walk away with amazing records and things are really affordable, too. or if you're looking to sports, now you can spend $600 on an original mako record. >> if you have 200 bucks. the fair has been around for 40 years. the money raised goes to usf student radio and rob, for cassettes, >> used to have an eight track. in my mustang. >> man, that is so cool. >> he is right, i don't know. we are back at 6:00. tonight, the watershed moment for women's sports. the championship game that had the nation on the edge of its seat. south carolina winning it all over iowa, and caitlin clark, their fans erupting. clark's final college game, but her legacy

unmatched. the tournament setting new records and inspiring the next generation of athletes. millions of americans on the movie for the solar eclipse, airport traffic, even outages. the excitement, unstoppable. >> it's a once in a lifetime kind of experience. >> we have the important forecast with just hours to go. terrifying moments in the air. the cover blown off this flight. >> a piece the cowling is hanging off. >> why did it happen? parts of kansas city overrun by an illegal takeover. this police car swarmed. another hit by a speeding car. why chaotic scenes like these seem to be happening more often. is this university building causing cancer? the investigation finding more than 160 people who spent significant time there diagnosed with the disease. and as the country comes together to watch the eclipse, the emotional reunion

nearly 50 years in the making. . >> announcer: this is n"nbc nightly news" with hallie jackson. good news on a couple of fronts. millions of moments of unity. with millions getting ready for the solar eclipse hours away. we'll have more on 245 in a second. but it's a different star front and center tonight. that's caitlin clark, and what feels like a game-changing moment, not just for her, but for women's sports period. south carolina beating clark's iowa in a college championship game for the ages, with the drama capping a record-setting ncaa women's play-off, delivering monster ratings. just one fine four game friday night saw more viewers than any of last year's world series games, more viewers than the most recent nba play-offs, more viewers than the last decades' worth of daytona 500s. all of it proving these women are undeniably unmatched. our jesse kirsch has a

front row seat. >> perfection with a touch of sweet rede redemption. >> reporter: tonight south carolina women's basketball is perfection. >> they made history. they etched their names in the history books when this is the unlikeliest group to do it. >> reporter: the gamecocks winning today's national championship, capping off an undefeated season, 38 wins and zero losses. >> unstoppable! >> congratulations! >> reporter: the win south carolina's third women's tournament title and redemption after losing to iowa in last year's final four. >> i'm just so proud of our team. and it feels great. it hasn't sunk in yet. >> reporter: for iowa, back-to-back championship losses for a women's program that has never won the tournament. >> to be back in this position and come out here and battle, i mean, south carolina is just so good. there is only so much you can do. >> put up a three

here. >> reporter: for caitlin clark, the finale would have been legacy of a career filled with crowning achievements. she is division i's all-time leading scorer for women and men, helping women's college basketball explode in popularity. on monday, iowa's elite matchup became the most watched women's college basketball game ever. then the team's final four win shattered the record again. >> she has made such an impact on everything's lives. >> reporter: today's championship expected to reach even more people thanks to clark's stardom and her formidable opponents. tonight collin clark going oath home without a storybook ending. but when you look in the stands, it's clear she didn't need a trophy to change the game. >> caitlin clark, if you're out there, you are one of the g.o.a.t.s of our games, and we appreciate you. >> jesse kirsch is joining us live from cleveland. she is a g.o.a.t., even if this is not the night caitlin

clark wanted to have, but this is really just the begin for her, right? >> far from the finish, hallie. he has declared for the wnba travel draft. the indiana fever have the first pick. and no surprise, caitlin clark is expected to be drafted number one. she says she expects women's basketball to keep on growing. hallie? >> the courtside seat for you, jesse. thank you. they're in cleveland, which we should point out is right in the path of totality for tomorrow's eclipse. you see the path with millions of people flooding into all these cities and towns right along it tonight. it's set to be a moment of unity, one that makes history. but it could come with big headaches on the roads and in the airports. we've got all the angles covered tonight. let's start with priscilla thompson in one of the first place 245s will see the eclipse tomorrow, dallas. >> reporter: tonight a last-minute crush of travelers are flooding into the path of totality hoping for a chance to see history. >> it gives you tingles up your spine, you know, for it to happen. >> for our family it's a once-in-a-lifetime

kind of experience to see. that's why we decide toad travel. >> reporter: as more than 44,000 take to the skies today alone, the faa is warning about delays at airports in little rock chicago, burlington and more. cities along the roughly 100-mile swath from texas to maine will go completely dark on monday afternoon as the moon passes between the sun and the earth. >> and we are literally over the moon to welcome over one million people to our state. the millions of tourists are adding to the more than 31 million already living along the path, prompting concerns about supply shortages, cellular outages and traffic chaos. here in dallas exits like this one off of major highways that lead into downtown will be closed at certain times during the big event. nbc's maura barrett is in bloomington, indiana. >> reporter: this small college town normally has a population of 80,000 people, but it's expected to balloon to hundreds of thousands all for the eclipse, which will be

seen just above this stage in this football stadium, all while william shatner, captain kirk himself narrates the moment of totality. that excitement is spreading nationwide. schools in buffalo, cleveland and indianapolis canceled for eclipse fever. >> it's called the eclipse bourbon. texas restaurants are serving up specialty cocktails and black-out burgers. >> in maine, eclipse-themed tattoos. plus, researchers are eager to study how animals will react. the big event is cause for other celebrations, too. in ohio, jenny harris and bart lombardi are getting married when the sun meets the moon at a huge service for 150 couples. >> definitely the only time it will happen in our lifetime to experience something like this. it's pretty crazy, but just so much fun. >> and priscilla, it is crunch time for all of these places with less than 24 hours to go. >> reporter: hallie, that's right. crews here at the perot museum of nature and science are still hard at work as are crews across the city putting the final

touches on events ahead of tomorrow's big day. hallie? >> priscilla thompson, thank you. meteorologist bill karins is here. all right, bill, the hopes of tens of millions of eclipse watchers are hang young ever word tonight. no pressure. >> so many people are making last-minute decisions to watch the totality. already watching the clouds in texas. that has been locked in the forecast. san antonio to austin it looks mostly cloudy. dallas, flip of a coin. some areas will be all right. some areas will be in the cloud. little rock forecast has been getting better and better and same for southern illinois and indiana. it looks like northern ohio should be okay. cleveland, we're hoping the clouds clear out just in time for you and western new york still looks very cloudy and the best spot by far still looks maine. that's the totality. everybody still sees the eclipse, but a lot of clouds offerly from new york to washington, d.c. down into the carolinas. >> bill, thank you. to some breaking news tonight about a scary emergency today when part of a southwest airlines engine cover

ripped apart during takeoff. steve paterson has the latest. >> reporter: it is the very last thing anyone wants to see looking out of the window of their plane. passengers onboard southwest flight 3695 stunned, treated to a white-knuckle watch party witnessing part of their own plane ripping off in real time. >> there it goes. the rest of it. >> reporter: the boeing 737 scheduled to fly from denver to houston this morning when part of the engine's cowling, or the protective cover that houses the engine, appears to peel back. >> let's go ahead and declare an emergency. we've got a piece of engine cowling hanging off, apparently. >> reporter: the faa issuing a statement, saying in part the pilot reported the engine cowling fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap. the boeing 737-800 was towed to the gate. the faa will investigate. >> it's typically due to a failure of maintenance personnel to properly secure the engine. >> reporter: while the plane is manufactured by boeing, the engine

is not. right now it is unclear what the source of the malfunction is, but southwest has recently had a series of runway scares including a possible engine fire on thursday that grounded a vegas-bound flight in lubbock. >> these small incidents occur, but they're rarely catastrophic. >> reporter: passengers on board reportedly okay, but stunned by an in-flight moment they won't soon forget. steve paterson, nbc news. overseas now, today marks six months since hamas launched the deadly attacks on israel. the families of those still held hostage gathering today to show their outrage and renew their push to bring them back home. >> reporter: tonight anger and anguish on display in jerusalem as thousands mark six mo months since the start

of the attacks and the start of the war. the families of the remaining 133 hostages in gaza gather to remember them. a powerful moment as they assembled on stage and screamed in frustration and grief. lishay's husband amri is still being held. she tells him that she loves him. and then screams "enough." on saturday night, protesters demanded an end to the war. according to the palestinian health ministry more than 33,000 have been killed in gaza. meanwhile, significant developments on the battlefield. tanks on the move as the israeli military announced that it will withdraw its ground forces from southern gaza. the remaining idf troop presence is tasked withholding the northern half of the strip. for palestinians now returning to their homes there is shock at the extent of the destruction like here in khan younis.

"there is bombing everywhere," this mother in rafah wails. mother in rafah wails. her daughter bursting into tears on her lap. >> hala joins us now in tel aviv. hala, six months in, tell us more about this new round of peace talks in cairo. >> reporter: hamas has sent a team to negotiate, but israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has repeated his demand there will be no deal unless all hostages are released. hallie? >> hala, thank you. still ahead tonight another violent street takeover with even police cars attacked. why it appears to be happening in more cities.

tonight, another violent street takeover caught on camera. this one in virginia. the mob so bold they went after police. all of it appears to be part of a troubling trend we are seeing coast to coast. marissa parra reports. >> reporter: new video showing mayhem on the streets of northern virginia. cars doing doughnuts, surrounded by a mob at this street takeover. some seen hanging out the car window waving their guns. >> we have a huge crowd. they're hitting my car. >> fairfax county police just releasing this dashcam video, swarming the police cruiser, the officer trapped inside. >> i believe they fully intended to drag her out of the car.

>> reporter: one driver hitting a different officer with his car before speeding off. >> i just got hit by a [ bleep ] car! >> reporter: the officer survived and fairfax police arrested the person they say did it, among others. >> there's nothing neighborly about what they do. they do doughnuts. they drive at high rates of speed. >> reporter: it's happening across the country in states like florida, california, illinois. reckless driving is on the rise and continues to take lives. >> he loved me unconditionally. >> reporter: 28-year-old jaden johnson was killed in 2021 when two street racers flew through a red light and into the car he was inside of. his family now paying the price. >> a part of me died. i'll never be the same person. >> reporter: in states like tennessee,

florida and maryland have proposed legislation that cracks down on street racing with harsher penalties and steeper fines. >> fairfax police have made several arrests vowing there will be more. >> it is a civil distress unit because that's exactly what this is. a nationwide problem with no straightforward nationwide solution, marissa parra, nbc news. one of the biggest jackpots in powerball history has a new winner tonight with the lucky ticket sold in portland, oregon. the prize? more than $1.3 billion. of course, after taxes, not so much, but it is still a lot. the cash value more than $600 million. it's the biggest jackpot anybody has ever won in oregon. we're back in a moment with cancer concerns on campus. could this college building be linked to more than 160 cases? the women now revealing their stories. plus, an out-of-this-world eclipse reunion nearly 50 years in the making.

we're back with new reporting tonight on the stunning number of cancer cases, now more than 160 potentially linked to one building on the campus of north carolina state university. keely arthur from our raleigh affiliate wral has been leading coverage on this story. >> i was hoping to survive. >> you can't even imagine what it's like. >> reporter: these eight women are united by a common diagnosis. >> thyroid cancer my junior year. >> ovarian cancer. >> i was diagnosed at the age of 34. >> i finished chemo at the end of november. >> reporter: and a common belief. >> we are talking about this one building. >> reporter: that this building at north carolina state university called poe hall caused their cancer. >> we were all students working there. >> reporter: and they are far from alone. in the fall, the

university found pcbs, a cancer-causing chemical in building material inside poe hall. they closed the building soon after and that's when wral began its investigation. >> we've had dozens of people speak us to. >> reporter: and the more we reported it out, the more potential cases we found. >> more than 50 cases of cancer are now confirmed. >> 99 reports of cancer. >> reporter: we counted the cases here on this wall and now the list of cancer patients who spent significant time at poe hall has reached 164. >> we literally got engaged right in front of this fountain right here. >> reporter: robbie glaad's wife sarah earned her bachelor and master's degree from nc state. >> the five-year plan was to start building our family. we wanted two kids. her and a friend of hers who both spent their masters program in poe hall within months of each other had been diagnosed of cancer. >> reporter: sarah died of breast cancer in january, but not before delivering a

health think baby boy. >> i don't care about money. i don't care about compensation. i do care about being able to help other people. >> reporter: are you worried about the reputation of this university? >> i am not worried about the reputation of this university because i know we're doing the right thing. >> reporter: the university's chancellor randy woodson says more testing is being done. the school says they are deploying every resource available to get answers. >> in order to be able to fully engage with people about health implications, we have to have questions answered about the environment within the building. >> reporter: preliminary testing by outside consultants hired by the university found pcbs in poe hall. the building was built in 1971 before the chemicals were banned. in a statement the university says that no state or federal agency has completed the work to determine if there are health impacts related to poe hall. and experts warn it's difficult to link cases to chemicals found in buildings, but not unheard of. >> i do think that the information that's in

the record about the pcbs in the building really suggests that there's a possible signal there that needs to be followed up on. >> when you think people will get answers. >> we're working on it as quickly as we can. >> reporter: answers that for these women cannot come fast enough. >> the lull there where they didn't do anything for a while for the people who were in that building is unforgivable. >> reporter: for nbc news, keely arthur, raleigh. when we come back, there's good news tonight. an emotional eclipse reunion for a science teacher and generations of his students.

there's good news tonight about a reunion 46 years in the making, one that's only possible thanks to a once in a generation eclipse and a once-in-a-lifetime teacher. >> so good to see you. >> reporter: they're all grown up now. >> how are you? >> i am so happy to see you. >> reporter: but to his former students -- >> fritz killian. >> mr. moriarty. >> you animal. >> how are you? >> pat moriarty will always be mr. moriarty their former earth science teacher at spry junior high in rochester. that's where in his first year teaching in 1978 he flagged his students about an eclipse way down the road in 2024 inviting them all back to watch together. >> i said hey, why don't you circle this april 8, 2024 eclipse and you know what? we're going to get together then. >> you said that in 1978? >> '78, and my kids looked at me like i was crazy. >> he did the same thing every year for the next 16 years, every class, then some

four decades later, posted a reminder online. >> good to see you too. >> rick, class of '79. >> chuck o'brien, class of 1982. >> andrea malafeew, class of 1988. >> reporter: one by one they showed up. >> rick, how are you doing, buddy? >> you look different. >> yeah! >> reporter: dozens just for the pre-party. >> how many of you haven't seen mr. moriarty, pat, since you left high school? wow. you came back just for this. >> reporter: tomorrow more than a hundred of moriarty's former students are expected to join him at his house from rochester and beyond, way beyond, some flying in from boston, austin and detroit. did your surgeon think you were crazy for postponing this knee surgery for this party? >> yes. yes, he did. he tried to convince me that my knee was more important, but he doesn't know mr. moriarty.

>> reporter: the excitement building, and so are the emotions. >> it says right here, take care of chuck. he needs your guidance. >> reporter: you're thinking about your house today when you met a bunch of your students. what does that mean to you? >> when i had these kids they were ninth graders. i have a lot of gratitude now that this eclipse is supporting the fact that there's reunions happening, there are people sharing stories and reconnecting with each other. it's beautiful. >> i thank you guys so much for being here -- >> ahh! >> don't cry! [ applause ] >> such a special moment for him and a special moment here, too, for a different reason. tonight's broadcast, my first official one for "sunday nightly" stepping into some very big shoes and a very long legacy. it is a privilege, an honor and a responsibility i take seriously. i'm looking forward to getting our weeks started together every sunday. i know there are a lot of ways to watch a lot of stuff these days and we are grateful you're choosing us.

thank you. for now, for all of us here at nbc, that's "nightly news" for this sunday. i'm hallie jackson and i'll see you right back here next week.

right now at 6:00, the bay bridge taken over by a legal sideshow. how the drivers were able to block traffic. passed by the congress city council, how renters are fighting back after the city is stopped