blue shield. on the broadcast tonight, emergency in mid-air. and tonight, dramatic pictures of what happened after an engine on the largest passenger plane in the world exploded. early detection. news of a better way to find a cancer killer and save lives. which patients could benefit and who will pay. the gathering storm. the latest from haiti as a serious storm bears down on a place with few safe havens. "making a difference." what kind of business would give away all its money and not make a profit? that would be paul newman's kind of business. and tonight, they're celebrating a new milestone. also tonight, remembering an american legend named sparky.

"nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. it's been the most talked about passenger jet of recent years because it's just so big, so enormous and carries so many people. the airbus a-380 is a super jumbo, so large a lot of airports can't handle it. it's got two floors of passenger space, carries hundreds of passengers. it's a long-haul jet powered by four massive engines. and last night, the first major incident in the life of the 380. one of those engines exploded in what could have been a catastrophic flight. we begin here tonight with nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: home video of the world's biggest commercial plane trailing heavy smoke and making an emergency landing in

singapore. and thicker smoke once it comes to a complete stop. qantas flight 32 had taken off from singapore on its way to sidney, australia. when just six minutes into flight, the number two engine exploded. a short time later the pilot told passengers the other three engines were fine. >> we have dealt with the situation. the aircraft is secure at this stage. we are going to have to hold for some time while we lighten our load by dropping fuel and a number of checklists we have to perform. >> reporter: on the ground below, pieces of the engine rained down on an indonesian island, hitting a shopping center, cars, even a school, though no one was injured. once back at the airport, passengers said the explosion sounded like a loud bomb. >> another bang and that was it. >> what kind of bang? >> you know, a bang, a bang. >> the pilot did a great job, in terms of keeping everybody calm.

>> reporter: the airbus, a-380 is only three years old, able to seat as many as 850 passengers. 37 are in service worldwide flown by five international carriers. qantas owns six and they announced it was temporarily grounding its a-380s. >> we will suspend those a-380 services until we are completely confident that qantas safe requirements have been met. >> reporter: investigators say the explosion could have proved fatal had the debris cut into the cabin. >> because there is a fuel tank, there are multiple fuel lines in that area as well as hydraulic lines. >> reporter: uncontained ek failures are extremely rare. the europeans issued an air worthiness directive earlier this year on that rolls-royce engine, warning that unusual wear could cause the engine to shut down in flight. tonight, rolls-royce is investigating and recommends airlines do precautionary checks on those a-380s. that use that engine.

brian? >> tom costello starting us off in washington tonight. tom, thanks. we turn quickly now to some important health news about the number one cancer killer in this country, men and women -- lung cancer. new research out shows a certain kind of scan, when done as a routine test, can cut the death rate and the numbers are significant. our report tonight from nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: for the first time, researchers have clear evidence that a type of screening x-ray called a low-dose spiral ct scan can actually help reduce the death rate from lung cancer. the test has been a huge medical controversy for years, but researchers resolved it with a study of 53,000 current and former heavy smokers 55 to 74 years old. >> we will be able to pick up early cancer and if it's picked up there is a chance you will survive. >> reporter: the participants

smoked a pack a day for 30 years. all were followed for up to another five years. there were 20% fewer deaths from lung cancer among those who got the ct scan. ge, the parent company of nbc universal, is one of several companies that manufactures the scanners. doctors emphasize the study did not include non-smokers, who make up 15% of lung cancer victims. and there are some concerns about risks of cumulative radiation exposure from the ct screening test. plus, the test also produced a 25% false positive rate. >> but those abnormalities need to be followed up. >> reporter: and that could involve unnecessary biopsy or surgery. recommendations about who should get ct screening for lung cancer could be released within a few months.

doctors say that might influence insurance companies and medicare to change the policies and cover the scans, which cost $300 to $400. while doctors say the ct scan is a breakthrough in lung cancer detection, they caution it's not a license to smoke. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. now we return to politics. no putting it off any longer. just two days after the election that ushered in sweeping change in washington. tonight, the senate's top republican made it clear to president obama just where he stands. our chief white house correspondent chuck todd with us tonight with that story. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: well, good evening, brian. that's right, that post election detente lasted all of about 24 hours. today, the senate republican leader, mitch mcconnell, made it clear to the white house his focus is on 2012. president obama used his first post midterm election cabinet meeting to talk about lessons from his party's tuesday

drumming. >> they want a change here in washington where the two parties are coming together and focusing on the people's business as opposed to sworn political points. >> reporter: he said he's serious about developing a "better working relationship with the republican congressional leadership." but two hours later, across town, at the conservative think tank heritage foundation, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell spoke of a different mandate. >> if our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill, to end the bailouts, cut spending and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all of those things is to put someone in the white house who won't veto any of these things. >> reporter: the two messages couldn't have been more different. >> if the administration wants cooperation, it will have to begin to move in our direction. >> we need to make sure everybody is pulling together, democrats and republicans, and independents. >> reporter: mcconnell used his speech to shore up standings with tea party conservatives.

like south carolina senator jim demint. the two senators were on opposite sides in quite a few republican primaries during the campaign, including in mcconnell's home state of kentucky, where the tea party pick rand paul defeated mcconnell's candidate. demint said, any leadership changes would be a year or two down the road, i suspect. we just need to change our focus from the appropriations process to one of creating national policy. >> the leaders in the house and the senate, the incoming leaders in the house and the senate, the republican leaders, everything they do they have to do while looking over their right shoulder at the tea party movement. >> reporter: now, the president officially invited the speaker to be john boehner. mitch mcconnell, plus the democratic leadership over to the white house for more than just a photo-op. he said he's hoping to have dinner with them after he comes back from asia. and quickly, brian, a little election news, overtime that is in the state of illinois, the president's home state, he went 1 for 2.

pat quinn, the appointed governor who got it, he won a full term on his own over republican bill brady narrowly, but he won a little feather in the cap for the president after what has been a tough election week. >> and we still wait for two big senate races. chuck todd at the white house tonight. chuck, thanks. it was apparent on wall street today, investors were giddy over the federal reserve's new $600 billion bond buying program, which ben bernanke said was meant in part to raise stock prices. and rise they did. the dow up nearly 220 points, its highest level before the collapse of lehman brothers going back to '08. now to a big story we've been watching, tropical storm tomas approaching haiti over the next 24 hours. as we've been reporting, this could have a devastating impact, even if the center of the storm as predicted passes to the side of haiti. they're in for 24 to 26 hours of torrential rainfall in a place

where millions are still without shelter. our coverage begins with meteorologist jim cantore from the weather channel on the track and strength of this storm. jim, did we get those numbers about right? >> yeah, i think so, brian. this is a beautiful tropical island that's been stripped of its trees on the hills. so once you put one, two inches on these hills, especially at a fast rate, that means we have a recipe for disaster here. let me show you the satellite picture. what you mentioned, the storm again, the center about 100 miles from port-au-prince, but it's lopsided. all those reds and oranges is where we find the heavy thunderstorms and potential from 5 to up to 15 inches of rain. so in 24 to 36 hours, brian, we're going to find out if haiti will be dealing with yet another catastrophe, something they do not need. >> jim cantore in port-au-prince, haiti tonight. as this storm bears down, we have two other correspondents

on the ground reporting on the fight to hold back haiti's cholera epidemic and the need to get as many people as possible to the safety. that's not easy. we begin with nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: with the storm bearing down, a haitian government plan to evacuate a massive tent camp met with loud resistance today. when u.n. officials tried to take women, children, the disabled as elderly to an abandoned hospital for safety, the crowd stopped them. >> they think maybe they're being evacuated to somewhere they can't return here. which isn't the case. >> reporter: the camp for the earthquake victims sits at the pace of a mountain, vulnerable to wind and rain. officials are concerned about the delay in getting people out. hours later, though, tempers cooled and the evacuation began. with a long line of tent residents being loaded onto trucks, headed for she woulder. they are among the relative few being evacuated from tent camps, which now house more than a million haitians.

mark potter, nbc news, port-au-prince. this is robert bazell. at a camp near the ocean, residents are doing what they can to baton down. while leaders of the organization running the camp, a haitian clinic, are terrified. a huge fear in this area is that the ocean is there, and mountains are there, and the water in the hurricane could rise up from the oceans, come down from the mountains and completely swamp this land. that would force water from this nearby sewage infested creek into tents, and into the shanty homes of this slum next door. since the cholera outbreak that's killed more than 400 in haiti, the clinic has been on high alert for cases. so far, not a single case in port-au-prince. though the clinic director is far from complaisant. >> now the timing that we don't know. >> reporter: no one doubts tomas could push the timing faster. robert bazell, nbc news, port-au-prince.

when our broadcast continues in just a moment, we'll show you why one of those chilean miners is here in new york tonight, as if he hasn't had challenge enough. plus, the death of a baseball legend who was the spark behind the big red machine. among others. and later, a man we all knew. a face we all see. "making a difference" by continuing to give. [ susan ] i hate that the reason we're always stopping is because i have to go to the bathroom. and when we're sitting in traffic, i worry i'll have an accident. be right back. so today i'm finally going to talk to my doctor about overactive bladder. [ female announcer ] if you're suffering, today is the day to talk to your doctor and ask about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents all day and all night. and toviaz comes with a simple, 12-week plan

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was rescued from chile's mine, today edison pena arrived in new york to a hero's welcome. after a record 69 days trapped half a mile underground, he's here for another test of endurance, the new york city marathon. though he's an amateur runner who has never completed a course like this, pena is determined to cross this finish line and says being here at all is a dream come true. "i had to go through all of that to be here today," he says. nicknamed "the runner" by his fellow miners, pena jogged as much as six miles each day underground, cutting his steel tipped work boots to ankle height, running in 85 degree heat in pitch darkness, guided only by the light of his helmet and the sounds of elvis, music he never thought he would hear again. ♪ return to sender >> reporter: pena says his

underground runs kept him strong, physically and emotionally, giving him the will to fight. "i thought of changing destiny," he says, "telling the mine, i am going to beat you." on sunday, pena won't be racing against anyone, but rather he'll be joined by 45,000 supporters running alongside him. >> i think every runner in the race is going to think how much pain can i be in? i can get through this race if this guy can get through all those days in darkness, in a mine with real fear for his life. >> reporter: the man who ran simply to survive now does it to celebrate life. an inspiration to so many. nbc news, new york. and a reminder, nbc sports will have coverage of the marathon this sunday 2:00 p.m. eastern time. we have news tonight from deep space. stunning images of a comet called hartley ii, that's hurtling along on if fringes of our solar system.

a nasa spacecraft got close, at least in space terms, to the comet and started sending back images within an hour of this fly-by. the spacecraft was launched back in 2005. it takes a while. it's traveled 1.7 billion miles in its way to this encounter. when we come back here tonight, remembering a baseball legend, the man they called sparky. the man they called sparky. that's going to go right in your glove. ohhh. oh. see that? great job. ok, now let's get ready for the ball... here it comes... here you go. good catch. perfect! alright now for the best part. let's see your pour. ohhh...let's get those in the bowl. these are way too good to waste, right? oh, yea. let's go for it... around the bowl and... [ male announcer ] share what you love... with who you love. mmmmm. kellogg's frosted flakes... they're g-r-r-reat! good catch, dad. [ laughs ]

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have ordered her to cancel all concerts and personal appearances between now and may. she has done that, including some big dates in detroit, and here in new york at radio city music hall. our detroit television station, wdiv, is quoting her publicist and reporting tonight that she is seriously ill. franklin is just 68 years old, just this past saturday she was released from a hospital in detroit, where she has spent several days for a condition that has not been disclosed. an icon of baseball is gone, and you didn't have to follow the sport to know his name. sparky andersen was the first man to manage winning world series teams in both the american and national leagues. he died today at the age of 76 in thousand oaks, california. our own george lewis has a look back at sparky's career. >> reporter: in baseball, where there's no shortage of colorful

characters, sparky anderson was in a league of his own. hard charging, funny and smart. anderson agreed. >> there was somebody like me that i was a genius. i got good players, staid out of their way, let them win a lot and just hung around for 26 years. >> reporter: his habit of chewing out umpires earned anderson his nickname when a radio announcer said "the sparks are flying tonight." but when things were going well, anderson was all sunshine. he managed the cincinnati reds to world series victories in 1975 and '76. did the same thing with the detroit tigers in 1984. he was elected to the baseball hall of fame ten years ago after winning 2,194 games. >> detroit loved him. detroit adored him. >> reporter: earlier this year, when sports caster ernie harwell, the long-time voice of the tigers did, anderson was all

choked up. >> he was so unique because he loved everybody. he had nobody that he didn't like. you know, it's such a shame when a man who cares that much for people has to leave us. >> reporter: tonight, they're saying the same kinds of things about sparky andersen, who proved that in baseball, nice guys don't always finish last. george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. and up next when we continue, a great man, a huge star with a big heart. a good idea and a major milestone to report tonight in our "making a difference" segment. eport tonight in our "making a difference" segment. the new healthcare law gives us powerful new tools to fight it.... to investigate it... prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card.

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he gave us a lot of joy and fine performances in life. while he's gone now, it's what he's still giving away that's still making news. and making a difference. >> how long can a corporation last when it gives everything away? i mean, i don't know. it's going to be an interesting experiment. >> reporter: of course, it rno h successful experiment. americans have been buying up everything with paul newman's picture on it for years, and newman's own, the company he founded, has now surpassed $300 million in charitable giving. that money has made a difference for thousands of charities, focusing on kids, education and nutrition for close to 30 years. it all started in paul newman's kitchen. he used to make his own salad dressing because he thought store bought had no taste. and he used to give away a few bottles to friends at christmastime.

that idea exploded. so did the eventual list of products. and among his favorite charities, a landmark he founded, the hole in the wall camps for kids with serious medical conditions. >> what could be better than to hold your hand out to people who are less fortunate than you are? this is simply the way i look at it. >> reporter: they started with just 300 campers back in 1988. hole in the wall has now helped over 200,000 children and families. just by giving them a safe place to be kids and get away from their illnesses for a while. ♪ paul newman, such a gorgeous human ♪ >> reporter: last night, his widow was joined by a number of celebrities and friends, gathering to celebrate this $300 million milestone. paul newman was a husband and father and friend. a better than average looking racecar driver and he was a

great actor, who wanted to be remembered as a man who made a difference. that much is assured. >> $300 million to charity. that's all you need to know. that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. you right back you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. here tomorrow evening. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com -- www.vitac.com the mehserle sentencing. peace or protest? people in the east bay don't want