on our broadcast tonight, a family's grief. a marine is killed in iraq, then protestors show up at his funeral saying his death was god's punishment. is there any way that constitutes free speech? . worse case scenario. did the government hide information on how bad that gulf oil spill was? a new report critical of how the obama white house handled it. stuck at home. divorced couples who are still forced to live together. good jobs being turned down because people can't move in this economy. and making a difference. american volunteers returning to a grateful nation. one of the neediest places on earth and we go along. also tonight, a message from the boss. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. the u.s. supreme court sometimes deals in esoteric legal questions but not today. here's the case, a young marine is killed in iraq. at his funeral back home, with his family and friends at the height of their grief, protestors show up, saying "thank god for dead soldiers." and worse. can you imagine being that marine's parents and imagine how that would make you feel? today, the court got this case. they're not being asked to decide if it was a terrible thing to do, it was. they have to decide if it was free speech on the part of the protestors. it's where we begin tonight with our justice correspondent pete williams. pete, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. this case has aroused strong passions, partly because of the setting, a military funeral, and

partly because of the hateful message and several of the justices seem to be offended by it, too. when a dream of serving in the u.s. marines ended in iraq's al anbar province for lance corporal matthew snyder, his family gathered for his funeral at this maryland church. but they had some unwanted company, protestors with signs that said "thank god for dead soldiers." and "god hates you." fred phelps of the tiny westboro baptist church shows up at military funerals to claim that because the nation tolerates gay rights, u.s. war deaths are god's punishment. >> i pray for them, dear lord, to please kill more of them guys. they don't seem to have gotten the message. these idiots are still talking about patriotism. >> reporter: their message at the funeral outraged corporal snyder's father, albert, who sued for emotional distress over the protest and a diatribe phelps put on line saying snyder raised his son for the devil. >> speaking as a father, the phelps' conduct was so extreme,

it went beyond all possible bounds of basic human decency. >> reporter: but phelps' daughter, who is also his lawyer told the supreme court today that funerals are public events, open to protests. >> the mere fact that you call yourself having your feelings hurt over words is not enough to shut up the speech. >> reporter: but if she was expecting a ringing endorsement from the court, she didn't get it. justice ginsburg called it a case about exploiting a private family's grief. why should the first amendment tolerate that she asked when there are so many other places to spread an anti-war message, like public buildings or parks? the phelps insist they keep their distance at funerals, but justice scalia says that doesn't mean you can have a protest that defames the corpse. and justice alito suggested that words can wound. he asked, suppose someone walks up to a woman that has just been to the grave of her grandson killed in combat and says, i'm so happy that it happened, is that protected by the first amendment?

the lawyer for corporal snyder's father said that's more or less what happened in this case. >> you have one and only one opportunity to bury your child. in a civilized society, we shouldn't be forced to be exposed to that behavior or skip the funeral. >> reporter: but free speech advocates say without the idea to express ideas even offensive, the national discussion would suffer. >> the public discourse could necessarily dry up and it would become bland and there would be no meaningful exchange of ideas. >> reporter: the court has recognized limits on free speech before like fighting words or shouting fire in a crowded theater. and judging from today's argument, the court seemed at least willing to consider it again this time. brian? >> pete williams starting us off at the court tonight in washington. pete, thank you. at the white house today, a green beret, just 24 years old when he was killed in afghanistan, was honored for exceptional valor on the battlefield. staff sergeant robert j. miller

was on his second tour in afghanistan when he was killed protecting his comrades in a ferocious taliban ambush and firefight in '08. today, the president presented his parents with the medal of honor, the nation's highest military award. >> they could hear his weapon still firing as he provided cover for his men. and then over the radio, they heard his voice. he had been hit. but still he kept calling out enemy positions. still he kept firing. still he kept throwing his grenades. and then they heard it, rob's weapon fell silent. >> along with his parents, miller's seven brothers and sisters were at the ceremony in the east room today. one of his younger brothers is now training to be a green beret himself. the united states tonight apologizing to pakistan for that recent helicopter attack that killed two of its soldiers near

the border with afghanistan. but the apology may be too little too late. the u.s. and its nato allies came under new attack today. our chief foreign correspondent andrea mitchell in washington tonight with more on this escalading situation. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. indeed, relations between the united states and pakistan are close to veering out of control tonight. as gunmen attack two more convoys trying to reach u.s. and nato troops in afghanistan. as many as 40 nato supply trucks were set ablaze in today's attacks, with no sign pakistan is doing anything to protect the convoy. just look what happened to this bbc correspondent as he tried to file a report. the toll is relentless. ever since pakistan closed the vital border crossing to protest the death of the two pakistani soldiers in that u.s. helicopter attack last week. nbc's ian williams is in islamabad.

>> today's destruction of dozens of fuel tankers brings to seven the number of attacks on nato bound convoys since pakistan closed the main afghan border crossing. hundreds more tankers remain stranded without security. like sitting ducks. >> reporter: pakistan's refusal to let the convoys through is frustrating the nato allies. >> i think the first thing is to get them moving. when they're static, they're obviously much easier targets. so let's get them moving. >> reporter: the white house is also losing patience. in a report to congress, president obama sharply criticized pakistan for not shutting down training camps from which attacks on u.s. troops in afghanistan and plots against europe are launched. the report obtained by nbc news says, the pakistan military continued to avoid military engagements that would put it in direct conflict with afghan taliban or al qaeda forces in north waziristan. the white house assessment was even more damning about pakistan's president who stayed in europe while his country was drowning in floods. >> the problem with pakistan as

an ally is pakistan is only committed to part of the fight, and it is also collaborating with militias that are attacking and killing american soldiers. >> reporter: the u.s. is not waiting for pakistan. tonight, cia drones again hit targets in the tribal areas. even as france issued a new warning telling french travelers the risk of a terror attack in great britain is quote very likely. brian? >> andrea mitchell in our washington newsroom tonight. andrea, thanks. now to the bp oil disaster and an investigation ordered by the white house of the government's handling of that catastrophe. turns out the panel is coming down hard on the obama administration. our white house correspondent savannah guthrie with us with the story tonight. savannah, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. this is an early report, not the final word on the response. but it does fault the obama administration for essentially a lack of candor and competence on the issue of how much oil was leaking.

for months, tens of thousands of barrels of crude oil gushed into the gulf, disrupting wildlife and a way of life. but now a draft report from a commission appointed by president obama is sharply critical of this administration for underestimating how much oil was spilling into the gulf and overestimating how quickly the oil disappeared once the leak was stopped. by doing so, the report concludes the federal government created the impression that it was either not fully competent to handle the spill or not fully candid with the american people about the scope of the problem. among the findings, the government took initial estimates about the rate of the oil leak on bp's word alone, without supporting documentation. and used crude methodology to determine how much oil was leaking and was overly casual about the numbers. while estimates at the same time from private scientists were significantly higher, and used more clear and rigorous analysis. >> there's no doubt in my mind the original numbers were significantly lower than the

flow was. from what i've seen, i don't see that the government was intentionally trying to low ball the oil spill estimates. >> reporter: the report says when some government scientists sought to publicize their long-term worst case figures, they were blocked by the white house office of management and budgets. but the white house says worst case data was available then and points to examples of top officials in early may being quite candid about how bad it could be. >> the worst case scenario is we could have 100,000 barrels of oil coming out. >> reporter: the report also chides the administration for proclaiming the vast majority of the oil had disappeared by early august. >> our scientists have done an initial assessment and more than three quarters of the oil is gone, the vast majority of the oil is gone. >> reporter: but the report says the administration misused the data to come to an overly sweeping conclusion. again, this is just a staff report, not the final word. it doesn't answer that ultimate

question, whether all this confusion about the flow rate of the oil into the gulf affected the government's response or cleanup. the white house has always insisted it based its response on the worst case scenario of more than 100,000 barrels a day going into the gulf and ultimately those figures, about 62,000 is what was concluded was flowing into the gulf, was less than that. brian? >> savannah guthrie with some serious questions for this white house. savannah, thanks. overseas, there's an effort to stop the toxic sludge in hungary from reaching the danube river. and affecting half a dozen other nations. as we reported here last night, this disaster happened when a containment reservoir at an aluminum plant burst open. still not clear what went wrong and authorities say the reservoir passed inspection two weeks ago. in arizona today, something the folks there almost never see, tornadoes. violent storms spawned funnel clouds, at least three confirmed. the hardest hit area, west of

flagstaff, where 30 mobile homes, 15 homes were destroyed. trains were blown off their tracks, tractor trailers were blown off the road. in all, 28 separate tornado warnings were issued for that area. despite all of that, no deaths or serious injuries reported. when our broadcast continues in just a moment, the fallout from the housing mess in this country. what happens when divorced couples are stuck under the same roof because of it? later, americans in the place that was too dangerous even for the peace corps. now they're back and making a difference.

it's one of many economic stats you don't want to see rising, but food stamps are being printed at record levels in this country. 41.8 million americans received government food assistance in the month of july. that's another all-time record and up a staggering 17.5% from the year before. the real estate market is

another part of the economy still struggling badly, and tonight as a result, a lot of americans are living in circumstances they never imagined. our own kevin tibbles has our report. >> reporter: the ray family built this house in cedar hill outside st. louis 13 years ago. but cathy ray never imagined she would be so eager to sell and get out. >> we are stuck here. and we're stuck here until we can sell the home. >> reporter: not one offer since march, and that's a problem, because after 29 years of marriage, cathy and her husband divorced. months later, they're still living under the same roof. >> i can't afford to buy him out, he can't afford to buy me out. so we are here until we sell the home. >> reporter: her ex-husband declined to speak with us. they sleep in separate rooms and at times communicate at home by texting. it's tough on everyone, including 19-year-old son alex. >> somebody, yeah, come on, just sell it, buy it, something.

>> reporter: unemployment in st. louis is hovering around 10%, which means there are fewer people looking for a new place to live. it's uphill for sellers like cathy. but this troubled market isn't just affecting divorced couples, for others it's affecting their entire retirement plan. seth alcorn in maine is in double trouble. laid off from his executive job in 2009, he can't find another. so he needs to move. >> the house has been on the market for 12 months and not one person has come to see it. >> reporter: they realize it may be years before both the job and housing markets recover. he now thinks he'll be forced to retire years before they're financially ready. >> it wasn't in the plans to be living this way. i'm worried about growing old with dignity. >> reporter: worried that an unsold house simply compound. kevin tibbles, cedar hill, missouri.

we have a breaking news story. for that we go to our l.a. bureau for the latest details. >> i'm lee cowan. roy halladay just threw the first postseason no-hitter since don larson in the 1956 world series. it's his second no-hitter of the season, putting him in an exclusive club. only four other pitchers have done that in the history of major league baseball. now back to brian williams in new york. when we come back, rock 'n' roll's long-time voice of the working man on the trouble he sees for working americans these days.

people who work in a noisy workplace have twice the risk of heart disease as those who don't. the national health and nutrition examination survey says those who put up with the most noise have the most chest pains, heart attacks and the highest blood pressure. the occupations that carry the greatest risk are mining, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and no one who wants to stay healthy should visit our newsroom from mid to late afternoon.

earlier today, a couple of jersey boys sat down in jersey. nbc news has been granted the only television interview with bruce springsteen in conjunction with the airing of tomorrow night's hbo documentary on the making of his ground breaking album "darkness on the edge of town" as a 27-year-old jersey shore kid. today, strumming his guitar and hitting in his beautiful new home recording studio, i asked him to talk about his country, the economic conditions in the usa that he sees these days. >> i think that -- that -- that when the economy moved away from serving the everyday guy that's out there working at his job, your small businessman and turned into really a gambling house, that it spelled doom. you know, it spelled doom. i think it spelled doom for a lot of people's expectations and a lot of people's hopes to get

whatever small piece of the american dream they could get. that's got to be fundamentally altered. that's got to turn around somehow. it's a very, very difficult climate to do that in. >> after that, we got around to talking about music and the interview will air tomorrow morning on "today." and we'll have more tomorrow night on our broadcast as well. when we come back, carrying the torch of president kennedy's dream. back to a place that could use a spark right about now.

finally tonight, a story of a long-awaited return to a place where generations of americans have a rich history of making a difference. back in the '60s, president kennedy challenged america's young people to travel the world, help people in need, promote good will along the way. that challenge became the peace corps and tonight our story comes from sierra leone. a poor african nation where a brutal civil war forced the peace corps to pull out over a decade ago. tonight, our own ron allen has the story of the first u.s. volunteers to venture back in. >> reporter: jessica now does without so many things she took

for grant it back in new hampshire. she draws well water for a morning bucket shower. breakfast is fried chicken and pineapple, made by the family she's staying with in this rural african village. >> it's hard being away from home. it's hard waking up and thinking i want a starbucks ice coffey. you know you're not going to get that for two years. >> reporter: she's among 37 u.s. peace corps volunteers just assigned to sierra leone. a desperately poor nation, devastated by civil war and so dangerous, even the peace corps pulled out. 15 years later, the first american trainees are back. learning the local language, preparing to be teachers in schools so ravaged students often don't even have books or pencils. scott sawyer was a firefighter in northern california. >> when things are hard, they're good. and that's kind of what the peace corps is about. >> reporter: the most important step is learning to live like the people they're here to serve. >> i wanted to be in a situation

where i could lend my skills to people who need it. there's no better place than here. >> reporter: no running water or electricity, just a few comforts of home. >> this is very basic, yeah. bare minimum, that's right. >> reporter: they first came together in washington this summer. recruits to a program of civilian ambassadors launched by president kennedy in the 1960s. the government here pushed hard to convince and encourage the peace corps to return. a process that took several years. leaders here home the arrival of the americans sends a clear signal to the rest of the world that this country is peaceful, save and moving forward. over the years, volunteers have left a lasting impression. this is an accountant here with fond memories of an american teacher from 40 years ago.

if you saw her, what would you say to her? >> i would say hi to her. >> reporter: it's those stories and the warm welcome they believe will help them through tough days ahead. including the drudgery of laundry. show me your knuckles. >> my war wounds. >> reporter: their goals are realistic. >> we're not going to turn the country around, like develop it. if we can at least teach kids about what we know, that's something to us. >> reporter: they're carrying on what's been a tradition and adventure for young americans lending a hand in far-flung corners of the world. ron allen, nbc news, sierra leone. >> because they are carrying on a great tradition in the almost 50 years since the peace corps started, more than 200,000 americans have served, after all, in 139 countries. we've asked our viewers to submit photos from their peace corps experiences. you can see a gallery of the images. submit your own, that's

nightly.msnbc.com. we're calling it an electronic reunion. that's our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we sure hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . to them, they're just cutting a budget but to us these are children in front of our faces every day that have needs. >> a day more than a year in the making. an agreement over state budget finally in the hands of lawmakers but it will not be enough for millions of california school kids. the good evening, everyone. i'm jessica aguirre. >> i'm tom sinkovitz. three months later. california lawmakers have ve