secrets revealed. hundreds of thousands of confidential, even embarrassing government documents leaked and making headlines around the world. tonight the fallout. show of force. american warships in the waters off south korea, and all eyes are on the north. bomb plot. what we're learning tonight about the young man accused of plotting to kill americans at a christmas celebration. and making a difference. nfl stars with a worthy goal off the field helping children in need. this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt, substituting tonight, natalie morales.

good evening. we begin with a developing story at this hour as we are getting our first look at some of the details being revealed in hundreds of thousands of classified and secret documents from the state department obtained by the online wikileaks. it was set to release those documents this afternoon defying u.s. government demands when wikileaks said it experienced a cyber attack. news organizations around the world, including "the new york times" are publishing the leaked diplomatic cables. meanwhile at the state department it's been a long weekend of damage control with secretary of state hillary clinton working the phone lines to warn foreign governments of the potentially damaging and mostly embarrassing documents. we begin tonight at our washington bureau where jim has been pouring through the documents. let's begin with what's in the cables that's most damaging. >> reporter: quite frankly, natal natalie, you can take your pick. there's so much embarrassing information contained in these

hundreds of thousands of cables that it seems no one person or issue comes out of this unscathed. some of the america's most confidential communiques are found in thiz diplomatic cables, more than 250,000 obtained by the website wikileaks. 24,000 are marked secret or too sensitive to share with a foreign government. the cables provided in advance to several media outlets tear the cover off some u.s. secret operations and offer up embarrassing critiques of world leaders. one cable involves efforts by the u.s. in yemen to cover up american involvement many missile strikes against al qaeda targets. in a january meeting yemen's president told general david petraeus we'll continue saying the bombs are ours, not yours, admitting that he had just lied to his own parliament. another reveals a secret u.s. effort to get pakistan to hand over enriched uranium from the nuclear reactor seen here for

fear it could be used in a rogue nuclear weapon. last may patterson wrote home saying the effort failed because pakistani officials said it will portray the united states taking their weapons. u.s. officials fear such leaks could jeptize future operations in the critical war against terrorists. >> this could shake the government and end programs and seriously imperil u.s. foreign policy. >> the leak spare no one. they revul the saudi king urged the u.s. to attack and destroy irans nuclear program and german chancellor merkel is rarely creative. >> you're going to see the unvarnished truth that our ambassadors and senior officials have overseas are counterparts. it's not pretty in many cases. it's going fob honest and harsh, too. >> reporter: one of the most

embarrassing revelations may involve the u.s. state department. cables that show secretary of state hillary clinton and condoleezza rice before her ordered u.s. intelligent services to gather private information on u.n. leaders and diplomats, including computer passwords and dna and fingerprints. the white house condemned the release of documents. in a white house statement robert gibbs warns such disclosures put at risk our diplomats and intelligence professionals and people around the world. admiral mike mullen said it threatens the lives of americans abroad. >> i think it's a very, very dangerous precedent. >> reporter: the prime suspect in these massive leaks remains 23-year-old army intelligence analyst pfc bradley manning who remains in military custody tonight. the intriguing issue tonight is wikileaks claims they can't post them themselves because somebody hacked into their website. a senior defense official tells

us tonight if that's true, we don't know anything about if, natalie. >> is this just the beginning of the leaks from the state department? >> reporter: well, i think it's important to point out here that many of those 250,000 cables have multiple pages, which state department officials say could run into the millions. this tonight may be just the tip of the iceberg. >> thank you, jim. andrea mitchell joins us now. the state department worked feverishly to stop leaks including secretary of state hillary clinton. what is the reaction there tonight? >> reporter: which is a nightmare for diplomats, what the german magazine calms it a political meltdown for u.s. foreign policy. hillary clinton speed dialed counterparts in germany, canada, saudi arabia, france and afghanistan just to name a few trying to limit the damage. if you've had a friend learn

that you've said unflattering things about them behind their back, you can imagine the reaction, especially when you talk about foreign policy like u.s. concerns over pakistan's nuclear arsenal or saudi king abdullah's desire for the u.s. to attack iron or clinton's suspicions about putin dealings with the italian prime minister. they have changed the state department computer system to better protect the system. officials point out that the pentagon is the suspect for the original source of this leak, and i'm told that this will cause a government-wide re-examination of those post-9/11 reemps requiring agencies to share their intelligence with each other. natalie. >> the real question is in this age of war and terror, what's the potential fallout? could this be a game changer for u.s. foreign relations? >> reporter: i think it is. the potential fallout is

unlimited now. they won't trust us because they know hillary clinton and condoleezza rice ordered intelligence gathering and spying on foreign officials. this crosses a very important line, because while everybody knows spying does take place, diplomats have a special legal immunity, and if they're now accused of spying, this could expose them to grave dangers and bad timing for secretary clinton. she's leaving tomorrow on a previously scheduled trip to four countries starting with a european security summit, and she has to face officials from the same countries that the u.s. has criticized most harshly in these secret cables. natalie. >> that's going fob very uncomfortable for her. thanks so much, andrea mitchell in washington as well while all of that was unfolding together, the administration was dealing with the ongoing crisis in korea. now u.s. forces have begun military exercises with south

korea. ian williams is in seoul with the latest. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, natalie. it's now monday morning here in seoul, south korea, and we're now 24 hours into the military drills. north korea warning of what it calls a merciless military counterattack if its territory is violated. preparing for landing exercises, the start of four days of live fire war games, mostly at sea, 70 miles south of the disputed maritime border. north korea has responded with its own drilling, shelling heard sunday within its territory, close to yeonpyeong, the island attacked. they have moved in additional missile systems. with tensions soaring, china sent an envoy to seoul and called for a summit on the crisis, icrisis that shook the prosperous south korea cam tal where people are indifferent to

the tantrums of the dictator next door. no more. >> i'm scared, because they bombed yeonpyeong. >> reporter: drive north of seoul, you quickly realize why, the modern highway has wired and watch towers and beyond the distant hills of north korea. seoul is just 30 miles from the dmz dividing the two koreas. it's within easy striking distance that the north's missile and artilleries, one of the heaviest concentrations of weapons on the planet. south koreans have always had an incredible ability to shrug off the threats and the rhetoric from the other side of this, the world's most fortified border. there's been a lot of hope here, but that's been badly shaken by events of the last week. it's images like these, civilians in the firing line that makes a threat from north far more real. >> that kind of shook the koreans up and made them think

what they would have to do if there was an attack in the city. >> reporter: a peace park sits beside the dmz as a symbol of hope and a popular day for day trippers from seoul. today the mood was somber, looking warily into no-man's-land, a wall of ribbons call for reunification and peace. suddenly a more distant hope. it's a tragedy for the korean people this man told me. officials here in seoul have welcomed the fact that china is finally getting involved diplomatically, but they say the first thing beijing should do is rein in her north korean ally. >> thank you, ian. the young man accused of plotting to set off a bomb in portland will appear in federal court tomorrow. jim forman of king-tv has the latest from portland. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, natalie. federal prosecutors say they have diffused the tree lighting

terror plot. now local muslim leaders want to diffuse tension as we learn more about the plan to blow up a bomb mere in downtown portland. authorities in corvallis, oregon are investigating a fire at a local islamic center as a possible hate crime. it's home to the mosque where alleged bomb plott mohamud worshipped. he was going to use a van rigged with explosives to attack a christmas tree lighting. what he didn't know was he was working with undercover agents and the bomb was a dud. leaders in the muslim community feared his arrest would trigger a backlash. >> this is a mosque that's been here 40 years. it's more american than the majority of the population and the majority of infrastructure of the united states. we're deeply grieved. >> reporter: members of the

mosque say he had never expressed radical views. >> he was an idiot. there was a number of stopping places where he could have said this is not islam. he was an angry kid. i don't know what was going on. >> the fbi says he told them he wanted to bomb the tree lighting ceremony, frustrated he couldn't get overseas to join in jihad. they asked him, you know there's going fob a lot of children there, and he answered yes, that's what i'm looking for. >> he was highly motivated. he expressed his desire, his motivation to commit violent jihad. >> reporter: before the tree lighting ceremony the fbi says he helped them assemble the bomb inside a van. it was inert material and what looked like blasting caps and detonating cord. they were all fake. mohamud was often seen here at his parents portland area apartments. >> i wish we would have known what kind of boy he was.

it scares the kids to think what would have happened if it all went through. >> reporter: today his mother emerged from seclusion but had nothing to say to reporters. again, authorities today were quick to point out that they are confident mohamud was acting alone and there are no other terror plots at work out there. natalie. >> jim forman in portland, oregon. thank you. when "nightly news" continues this sunday night, health insurance, yes, but you wouldn't believe the deductible. what more and more americans are facing. for some stars of the nfl it's what they do at the field that's making a real difference. . this is norma. who's inundated with all the information coming at her concerning the medicare part d changes this year. so she went to her walgreens pharmacist for guidance and a free personalized report that looks at her prescriptions and highlights easy ways for her to save. because norma prefers her painting to paperwork. see how much you can save. get your free report today.

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that can break free and go straight to your brain where it can cause a serious stroke. having atrial fibrillation gives you a 5 times greater risk of stroke than if you didn't have it. strokes that are twice as likely to be deadly or severely disabling as other types of strokes. if you, or someone you care for, have atrial fibrillation, even if you're already taking medication, there are still important things you'll want to know. for a free interactive book call 1-877-afib-stroke, or log onto afibstroke.com. learn more about the connection between atrial fibrillation and strokes, and get advice on how to live with afib. and with this valuable information in your hand, talk to your doctor. call 1-877-afib-stroke today. this is the time of year where millions of americans are asked to make their annual

choices for health insurance. with the cost of health care skyrocketing, more are forced to accept deductibles so high they end up paying most of the medical bills themselves. tom costello has more tonight. >> reporter: like moms across america, barbie keeps an eagle eye on homework, groeceries and the family budget. this year things have changed. the family''s health insurance went from 400 dom doll a month premiums to no premiums but a 7,000 deductible. everything seven-day outlook of pock pocket including the surgery she needs to repair the torn tendon on her right hand. >> we don't have $7,000 for something. it's not emergent. i won't die if i don't have it fixed but it can be painful. >> reporter: to contain costs companying are only offering health care plans with sky high

deductibles. this year 18 million americans are enrolled in high deductible plans compared with 13 million last year. yet, insured americans are going to the doctor less, getting fewer tests and filling fewer prescriptions than a year ago. health analysts say you can blame those high deductibles. americans who never thought twice about going to the doctor are delaying those visits and choosing to go without procedures and prescriptions. >> every time i hear one of my colleagues in exam rooms saying i can't believe you came in for this, i hear a doctor in the next space says, why did you wait so long. >> reporter: in chicago dr. leslie ramirez decided to aktd after her own mother decided a needed mammogram was too expensive. she started a website called leslieslist where they can compareson shop for prescriptions and procedures. >> patients need to learn they can shop around. they can find cheaper alternatives to the $4,000 mri.

>> reporter: back in iowa -- >> there's a lot of times we just sit at home and tough it out. >> reporter: barbie's hand surgery has to wait. tom costello, nbc news, washington. up next on the road and up in the air, how is it out there for millions of americans heading home after the long holiday weekend? (announcer) no matter what life throws at you, you can take the heat. 'til it turns into heartburn, you've got what it takes: zantac. it's strong, fast lasting relief.

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or log onto afibstroke.com. learn more about the connection between atrial fibrillation and strokes, and get advice on how to live with afib. and with this valuable information in your hand, talk to your doctor. call 1-877-afib-stroke today. millions of americans spent the day heading home after a long thanksgiving day weekend. it could have been worse. mike joins us from new york's laguardia airport. how is it out there? >> reporter: very quiet, natalie. by the numbers and the pre-thanksgiving headlines about the impact of the new airport security measures, this might have been a difficult coming home day, but good weather, good luck and good sense made air travel a breeze for most. at many american airports there were surprises that lasted deep into sunday.

a chicago super busy o'hare airport, for example, and here at laguardia with an estimated holiday travels, arrival boards will fimed with flights on time or early. no measurable delays. >> it's been great. we up haven't had any problems although all. >> a breeze. >> reporter: tsa security up lines were short and fast-moving and nobody was complaining about the full body scanners or enhanced patdowns that are the options at many airports for secondary screening. >> i think they make everybody safer. i'm not bothered by them at all. >> reporter: since threatened mass protests failed to materialize at all, anxious travelers never encountered the headaches so many thought were inevitable. >> i think overall that the situation was a little bit overblown. >> we were traveling with three children, which has been pleasantly surprisingly easy. >> reporter: with many overbooked flights later in the day, only minor delays of 15 to

30 minutes have been reported at a handful of airports across the country. natalie. >> thank you. there is still cyber monday, but so far it is looking like a good start to the holiday shopping season. a survey by the national retail federation estimates that 212 million shoppers visited stores websites. that up from 195 million last year and the average shopper spent more than 6% over last year. from britain tonight, an update on the man who will be king. prince william has made it clear he has no desire to jump ahead of his father and become king, quote, before his time. as a senior royal aide told london's daily telegraph, even though polls suggest most people there like that idea. coming up next, how some nfl stars in tonight's big game are fostering home and making a difference.

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so let them turn up the heat. you can stop that heartburn cold: (sssssssss!!!) zantac. it's "sunday night football" with the san diego chargers daying on the indianapolis colts. it's what players are doing oft field deserves our attention as well, especially in in season of giving. lee cowan shows us how they're making a difference. >> good throw.

>> reporter: for chargers quarterback philip rivers getting ready for tonight's big game started with a different kind of practice. his pint-sized receivers are two of his biggest fans. both are foster kids. bounced around from home to home so much, they feel like a fumbled football. >> long, yes. >> reporter: how many different places have you been, how many different homes? >> i've been in like seven. >> i've been in more, like way more. >> reporter: together their goal for christmas is painfully simple. >> to be with a family that's nice and kind. >> reporter: you haven't had that before? >> i haven't had that before. >> we got you. >> reporter: for rivers a father of five himself, unadopted kids is a stat he wants sacked. >> we have a platform as nfl players, the window doesn't last forever to spread the word and help. >> reporter: he's donated his time and name to the rivers of

hope foundation, a charity for foster kids he runs with his wife, tiffany. and he's not the only charger to do it. >> you want to grab and do some? >> reporter: quarterback quinton jammer has a soft touch with foster kids, these from the academy, the first of its kind high school for teens still looking for a permanent parent. >> it's nice to know there's someone out there that cares enough to do stuff like this. i would never think i would be out here doing something like this with the chargers. >> never thought of if. thankful that i am. >> jammer and his wife have paid out of their own pocket for christmas gifts, dinners, too, and he's always just a phone call away. >> kids ask will you adopt me? that's pretty -- that's pretty emotional. >> reporter: you've had that happen? >> i've had it happen on occasions, yeah. it just tugs at your heart a little bit. >> reporter: together they're

teaming up to build the school it's own football field and for jammer, he wants to take his passion for foster kids into his own home. >> i want to adopt a little girl. we have three boys. you have tom s have some sanity that household, right? >> reporter: who chargers leads the charge for kids who need some help themselves. that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. "football night in america" is coming up next, followed by "sunday night football." the chargers take on the colts. brian ywilliams will be here tomorrow. from all of us here at nbc news, tomorrow. from all of us here at nbc news, have a good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com