housekeeper of 9 years was undocumented. her tv ads have been condemned as false and misleading. and even her hometown newspaper said meg whitman has demonstrated "a loose relationship with the truth" on the broadcast tonight, out of the blue in a stunning telephone call, supreme court justice clarence thomas' wife asks for an apology from the woman who accused him of sexual harassment almost 20 years ago. austerity. what happens when an entire country decides to really cut back on welfare services, the military? wee about to find out. family tragedy. a boy loses his life but was his death preventable? it's a cnbc investigation. and making a difference. going to great lengths and great heights to bring health care to those who really need it. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. this country had never seen anything like it. millions watched on television live, absolutely transfixed. a woman had come forward and accused a nominee for the supreme court of sexual harassment. it was graphic, it was shocking and explosive. her name, anita hill. his name, now justice clarence thomas. he went on to become confirmed for the court. she returned to private life and teaching law. well, she finds herself back in the news because she got a phone call from justice thomas' wife, saying she should apologize for what she said back then, which she says was the whole truth. we begin with this turn of events tonight. nbc's andrea mitchell in our washington newsroom. hey, andrea, good evening. >> reporter: it was a classic case of he said, she said, bearing historic wounds over sex and race.

the question is, why after nearly two decades, would clarence thomas' wife reopen one of the most emotional confirmation battles in supreme court history? she's been living in relative obscurity for years. a professor, until she was yanked back into the spot light by a voice mail from the past. >> i am on my way to teach my class and i don't have any comment at this point. >> reporter: the caller, virginia thomas. conservative political activist, and wife of the supreme court justice whom anita hill accused of sexual harassment 19 years ago. >> do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? >> i do. >> reporter: now in a voice mail, thomas' wife was asking her to take it all back, saying i would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. so give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. hill, who called the request inappropriate, later said she

won't apologize for telling the truth. she called campus security. they called in the fbi. >> i think professor hill thought it was -- unsure what it was and thought it may have been a prank. >> it was the furthest thing of either of our minds that she would call and ask for an apology. in light of what happened to anita hill in 1991. it made no sense at all. >> members of the committee, my name is anita f. hill. >> reporter: it was a searing weekend of charge and countercharge. she volunteered to take a lie detector test and passed. in the end, it all turned on his impassioned denial. >> it is a high tech lynching for up etty blacks. >> reporter: virginia thomas has emerged as a tea party activist. and skilled fund-raiser. >> america is at risk and i didn't know how far president obama and the leadership was going to take us. >> reporter: an unusually partisan role for a supreme court spouse.

as "the new york times" wrote on the 19th anniversary of the hearings, the same morning mrs. thomas called anita hill. >> i don't know whether the story, you know, had anything to do with provoking her to call, but it's an interesting coincidence. >> reporter: once mrs. thomas acknowledged she did make the call, the fbi said the issue was closed since obviously no crime had been committed. neither woman wanted to be interviewed today. nor would mrs. thomas' friends talk publicly about what she had done. anita hill's students, some said they had no idea who she was until today. brian? >> andrea mitchell starting us off from washington tonight. andrea, thanks. we turn now to a big story in england tonight that relates, in a way, to some of the candidates here running for office this year, who believe that washington and just maybe our country is broken. and we can't keep paying for everything and everyone. but what would happen if the government just announced sweeping cutbacks and welfare benefits, services, the military?

great britain is about to find out. the cutbacks announced there today will change life as they know it. the cuts are drastic, designed to reverse a massive deficit. tonight, stephanie gosk is in london. stephanie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. these are the deepest, most painful cuts the country has seen in decades. britons are calling it ax wednesday because nobody is going to escape the pain. this morning, the finance minister outlined the drastic plan. >> today is the day when britain steps back from the brink. >> reporter: it's prime minister david cameron's campaign promise. cut early, cut deeply or this country risks going bankrupt. >> we are not doing this because we want to. there is no idealogical zeal in this. we are doing this because we have to. >> reporter: 490,000 public sector workers will be laid off. welfare benefits are being

slashed, including money for low income housing. university students will have to pay more to go to school. it's a sudden and unprecedented redefinition of the role of government itself. even the queen will take a hit. the royal household will lose 14% of its budget. the staff christmas party this year is canceled. then there's her majesty's armed forces. defense will be cut by 8%. 17,000 troops will lose their jobs. an entire fleet of fighter jets will be grounded. and an aircraft carrier under construction will never be used. when it's all done, the military will no longer be able to fight long-term major conflicts, like the wars in iraq and afghanistan. >> the danger is our influence has been diminished. we are managing to climb. >> reporter: cameron, in office just five months, is feeling the heat. [ inaudible ] >> first of all, can i thank you for everything you've done for our country. we do have to make decisions for

the future. >> reporter: the uk is not alone. the global economic crisis and mountains of debt are forcing all of europe and the u.s. to make painful choices. leading in some cases to unrest. in france this week, clashes broke out over a proposed two-year increase in the retirement age. violent strikes erupted in greece after the government announced higher taxes and pension reforms. but what britain announced today is more drastic by far. >> no country has ever taken this much out of its budget deficit this much quickly. >> reporter: so far protests like this one have been mild. but the newly elected government knows today's bold move is both an economic and a political gamble. >> it is a hard road but it leads to a better future. we are going to bring the years of ever-rising borrowing to an end. >> reporter: with the stroke of a pen, the finance minister can do it. unlike the u.s., there's no wrangling in congress. the government in power

determines the budget without ever having to put it up for a vote. and as we saw today, that tends to speed up the process. >> what a day in london. stephanie gosk covering the story for us. stephanie, thanks. back here at home, now that we're under two weeks to go until the midterm elections, the story line inevitably starts to change a bit. some close races are becoming blowouts. some blowouts begin to tighten up. president obama back on the road tonight trying to help push things the democrat's way. in some states where he won the '08 election by big margins, playing defense in other states with his signature accomplishment, health care. the story from our chief white house correspondent chuck todd. >> reporter: with the clock ticking down toward election day, the president hopped on air force one for a four-day western swing. the goal? keep democratic states blue. a pacific firewall strategy for the senate.

as a president campaigns for embattled democrats. in california, washington, and of course, nevada. home of senate majority leader harry reid where the vice president headlined a rally today. >> the reports of the death of the democratic party are exaggerated. >> reporter: the white house is grateful to reid, who found the 60 votes president obama needed to pass health care. an accomplishment still not being well received by the public. in a new poll, 46% call it a bad idea. just 36% believe it's a good idea. health care remains a political lightning rod. coming up in several debates just last night. in south carolina, they debated its effects on family farmers. >> they don't need mandated health care that's going to make them unable to function. >> reporter: the georgia governor, even the democratic nominee criticized it. >> i do think this bill has to be completely rewritten. >> reporter: most republicans on the trail promise to repeal the law. today in florida -- >> i'm the only one running in

the u.s. senate that wants to replace and repeal health care. >> reporter: but repealing it is more unpopular than the law itself. in our new poll, a majority, 52%, believe the law should be given a chance to work. just 45% want to repeal it. the public's mixed feelings were reflected last night in florida. >> let me tell you what's wrong with the health care bill that's passed. it's broken every promise they made. >> the real issue is that it's health care. when it comes down to it, we have people right now that have rights they did not have before the passage of that health care plan. >> i think obama health care was off the charts, was wrong. >> reporter: while health care is the most heated debate topic, it's still the economy viewed as the top issue. but on health care, the rhetoric may be clear, but the public's view is very nuanced. and nuanced is something politicians don't do well 13 days before an election. >> especially under two weeks to go. chuck todd in washington. chuck, thanks. it was six months ago today the deep water horizon oil rig

blew up in the gulf of mexico and it started one of the saddest summers in memory. while, our chief environmental correspondent anne thompson spent five months in louisiana covering that story. she's here with us tonight with a progress report. anne, i was listening to local radio down there today and they are still hurting. >> they are still hurting. the good news is most of the gulf of mexico, the federal waters is open to fishing. only 7% remains closed but oil is still coming ashore. the federal government says 560 miles of coastline have oil on them in louisiana, mississippi, alabama and florida. the hardest hit area remains louisiana's plaquemines perish. mississippi, alabama and florida mainly has tar balls. plaquemines perish, particularly bay jimmy, has that thick, gooey

oil. just last week, they collected about 18,000 gallons of oil and water mix. can you imagine? that's six months after this happened. the seafood industry has been devastated. one of the backbones of louisiana's economy, shrimping, down some 52%. the shrimp catch, the first six months of this year compared to the first six months of last year. then you have the whole issue with the claims that $20 billion fund that's supposed to help everybody out. more than 220,000 claims have been filed, but only 76,000 have been approved and paid for a grand total of $1.5 billion. the majority of those claims have not been acted on and the people who have gotten checks say they haven't gotten nearly what they need to survive. still very difficult. >> the rest of the country goes on, we're talking about an election, this is life every day down there. >> and it's still happening. it may not be on the front page, but it's still going on. >> anne thompson, thanks for that. when our broadcast continues tonight, the world's most popular hunting rifle.

a deadly accident. and now questions about whether a boy's death could have been prevented. later, they live in a place so remote, getting medical care was almost impossible until one doctor came along. our "making a difference" nominee tonight. our "making a difference" nominee tonight. i bring art to the people. and i want to do this until the wheels fall off. so i have to start taking care of my heart... and i'm starting with cheerios. [ male announcer ] to keep doing what you love, take care of your heart with cheerios. the whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. love your heart so you can do what you love.

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whoo! awesome! yes! we've got to get you out of the office more often. ♪ my turn to drive. ♪ tonight, we have an investigation into one of the most popular firearms ever sold. the remington 700, a rifle famous for its accuracy, used by hunters, law enforcement, and the military. but one father's persistence has helped uncover some disturbing information on problems with this rifle that date back decades. other report tonight from cnbc's scott cohn. >> reporter: in portland, maine, police snipers were having so much trouble with their rifles malfunctioning, they videotaped it. >> go ahead. >> reporter: members of the u.s. border patrol recorded one of

their guns firing when the agent turns off the safety with his finger off the trigger. the gun is the remington 700, the most popular rifle of its kind in the world. but jack belk, hired as an expert witness in lawsuits against remington, says it's unsafe. >> a gun should not fire without the trigger being pulled. >> reporter: we found thousands of customer complaints and lawsuits linked more than a dozen deaths to the gun. >> we found him laying right here wadded up in a little ball. >> reporter: in 2000, barbara and rich barber's 9-year-old son, gus, was killed on a family hunting trip in montana when the remington 700 rifle barber was unloading went off. she says her finger was not on the trigger. within days, rich barber began hearing about similar incidents with the same model gun. >> i went to the funeral home and looked gus right square in the eye and i said son, it ends here now. >> reporter: barber would spend the next ten years searching for

information, finding internal memos showing safety concerns as far back as 1948 when the gun was first produced. and other memos showing as recently as 1994 executives considered a nationwide recall. but time and again, remington decided against a recall. it turns out that decision is remington's. and remington's alone. federal law bars the government from setting safety standards for guns. remington insists its gun is safe. the company blames accidents on poor maintenance and unsafe handling. millions of gun owners swear by the remington 700. but ten years after his son's death, rich barber says he's still looking for answers. scott cohn, cnbc, new york. >> you can see more of the investigation, "remington under fire" premiering tonight on cnbc at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. when we come back here tonight, a rare appearance by a

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in chile, the celebrations for those 33 miners have not stopped. last night in fact, at a party thrown in their honor by a millionaire businessman, and note how everybody got dolled up for the occasion. one of the miners got down on both knees and proposed marriage right then and there to his long-time girlfriend. by the way, a total of five have decided to marry since that underground ordeal. and the woman in question here said yes. while we haven't heard much

from him lately, we're about to hear a lot more from former president george w. bush who will soon begin publicizing his new book about decisions he made while in office. last night, he took some of his talking points on a test drive before a sympathetic college audience in tyler, texas. and while cameras were only allowed inside the event for a few minutes, we got to hear 43 talk about adjusting to the harsh reality of life outside the white house. >> so i get back from washington, d.c., and i'm lying on the couch. and laura walks in. i said, "free at last, baby." and she said, "you are now free to do the dishes." i said, "you're talking to a former president of the united states."

she said, "well, consider it your new domestic policy agenda." >> the former president openly admitted he miss the pampering that comes with being president, including flying around the country on air force one. when we come back, a man who saw a way to make a difference and save lives and now there's been an unexpected turn of events. been an unexpected turn of events. do you really want to cut corners by using a broth with msg? swanson chicken broth has no msg. so for a perfect holiday meal, the secret is swanson, 100% natural chicken broth. stuffing. the side dish that makes people take sides. take a stand at greatstuffingdebate.com. aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food.

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weer back. our "making a difference" report tonight is bittersweet. it's about a man who saw a need and helped save more than a few lives along the way. now this extraordinary doctor in virginia is facing a new challenge, one that's very personal. the story tonight from nbc's ron mott. >> reporter: the way locals see it, tangier has it all, a tiny island in the chesapeake bay. population just 500. where women stroll, kids frolic and men, it seems, are happily never far from work. but until dr. david nichols landed here three decades ago, tangier was not a place to get sick.

a rundown equipment, relics for medical equipment. no resident physician. >> they never complained. they were so grateful dr. nichols was there to take care of them. >> reporter: and tangier needed his help. a place as thick with diabetes and heart disease as unique as its thick accent. >> there was a real need. there couldn't be more of a need than on this island. i just felt like it was a gap that needed to be filled. >> reporter: a pilot, dr. nichols flew over on his day off. >> you are looking pretty, girl. >> you're looking handsome. >> reporter: house falls for those too fragile to get to him. >> he's saved so many lives here. >> reporter: for 31 years, dr. nichols spent about every thursday near, thanksgiving was usually the exception. his long-time dream was to replace this building one day and this past summer that finally happened. in august, nearly the entire

island crammed together to unveil the david b. nichols health center. >> it turned out to be everything we wanted it to be. >> reporter: what he didn't deserve is for his cancer to return. >> a scan showed melanoma to the liver. >> he's like an angel that comes here and takes care of us. >> my prognosis, i was told, is anywhere from four to six months. >> reporter: now forced into retirement, he's not only making the rounds to say goodbye, he's giving thanks, too. >> thank you, tangier for letting me into your lives. please know while i may leave you in body, i'll never leave you in spirit. is that good? >> reporter: no, doc, islanders say, like everything you've done here, that's better than good. ron mott, nbc news, tangier, virginia. >> that's our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we do hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . i don't have any regrets in terms of decisions we've made. san jose's police chief gets ready to bid his department farewell, but for some it's good riddance. >> good evening. we begin with an nbc bay area tv exclusive. with one week left in his tenure, san jose's police chief says he has