on our broadcast here tonight, what's the deal? the truth about this economy and the new numbers that came out today. the release. two sisters released from prison. they are free tonight, but their future is uncertain. water worry. now the government says there's too much fluoride in our drinking water, and that it's affecting our children. and "making a difference." mo on a story that touched so many of our viewers about the power of generosity to change lives. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. and the headline tonight seems

to be this -- good news just not enough of it. unemployment is down to 9.4% from 9.8%. just over 100,000 jobs were added in december, and we learned today just over a million jobs were added last year. but here's the problem, the head of the fed says we need years of that job growth, and many are worried that some jobs aren't coming back regardless of whether or not there are people who want to fill them. so a whole lot of americans are going to hear reports like this. hear people like us saying it's better out there. only they're not going to see the evidence, not yet. as reflected in our report tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles in chicago. >> reporter: it's the biggest one-month drop in unemployment since april, 1998. on the surface, good news. but where are the jobs? the unemployment numbers reveal 14.5 million americans remain out of work. 6.4 million of them for more than six months. >> we're now 18 months into the

recovery, and everybody is waiting for when will we see a big job creation number that suggests the job creation engine has turned on? >> reporter: december job creation simply did not materialize at the predicted pace. so the falling unemployment rate indicates many people have simply stopped looking. the president today acknowledged the listless recovery while visiting a small window manufacturing plant in landover, maryland. >> you still got a whole bunch of folks who are out there looking, still struggling. we've got a big hole we're digging ourselves out of. >> reporter: for some, that hole is deeper than others. among african-americans, the unemployment rate is 15.8% and for hispanics, it is 13%. but in bloomington, minnesota, finally after a year and a half, chrissy clocker is working again. >> initially when i first got unemployed, it was tragic. >> reporter: after waitressing part time, the 25-year-old engineer found her dream job working on filtration systems for donaldson company.

donaldson laid off 2,800 workers in the recession. its ceo says an uptick in orders now means he's hiring. >> we're expecting our sales to be back to our record levels prerecession, and we expect our employment to be pretty close, as well. >> reporter: accounting firm mcgladrey says it's looking to fill 1,100 new jobs in the coming year. >> we see more confidence in our clients, which gives us confidence. >> reporter: still, john challenger says the recession hit so hard, it will make many businesses time to have confidence in any positive numbers. >> coming out of a deep recession, nobody believes the recovery is for real or we're out of the woods. >> reporter: testifying before the senate budget committee today, ben bernanke said he too is concerned about the job numbers and said it could take four to five years for the job market to fully recovery. brian? >> kevin, thanks. kevin tibbles starting us off on a cold night in chicago tonight. president obama put a

positive spin on these jobs numbers today at an event in maryland. he toured a window factory where he named gene spurling as the new head of the national economic council. spurling held the exact same job in the clinton administration. he's been working as an adviser to treasury secretary geithner and spurling replaces larry somers who has gone back to work at harvard. we're just back from washington, of course, where we interviewed the new republican speaker of the house, john boehner. the newly gop controlled house, but remember, the democrats still control the senate. in an interview for sunday's "meet the press," the senate majority leader, harry reid, having just survived re-election narrowly in nevada against a tea party candidate, told david gregory the tea party contingent swept into power this last election may indeed have a short shelf life. >> the tea party was born because of the economy. the economy is probably the worst it's ever been except for

maybe the great depression. the tea party will disappear as soon as the economy gets better and the economy is getting better all the time. >> bold prediction by the majority leader. you can see more of the interview with senator reid sunday morning on "meet the press." and overseas, the british government has warned aviation officials in that country that al qaeda is considering an attack on an airport or some other transportation related target. the threat level there stands at severe. and now brits have the same problem a lot of americans have had on and off since 9/11. it's not like you can act that differently during day-to-day life. our own stephanie gosk is outside scotland yard tonight in london. stephanie, how has this affected life there? >> reporter: well, not much so far. it's interesting, brian, an internal government memo that was leaked to the british media said that the threat level at airports and train stations had been increased to severe.

but it's confusing, because the overall threat level has been at severe now for the past year. both u.s. and british officials say there's no new threat here. they've been hearing for months that al qaeda is planning attacks in europe. but without giving any specifics, no locations, no times, and no methods. so they stopped short of saying an attack is imminent. still, people that live in this country or are traveling to this country are asked to be vigilant. does that affect daily life? not really. you have an increase in tourism and traffic in and out of airports and train stations has not gone down. so it might give people pause, but daily life hasn't changed. brian? >> stephanie gosk with what a severe threat level looks like heading into the weekend in london. stephanie, thanks. here at home, a package addressed to homeland security secretary janet napolitano ignited at a postal facility in washington today. no one was injured in this incident. officials said this one initially appears related to the

multiple parcels we reported on yesterday but none appears to be the work of outside terrorists. in mexico just across the border from arizona, a wake today for a young man shot to death this week along the border. his family says he was killed by u.s. border patrol agents and the incident has brought into focus once again the contentious issue of illegal immigration. our own miguel almaguer has this for us tonight. >> reporter: tonight, behind a fortified fence that divides the u.s.-mexico border, a small memorial. a tribute to a teenager who died while scaling this wall. just across the border in mexico, his family cries for justice. they claim the 17-year-old was shot in the chest by the u.s. border patrol as he tried to illegally enter arizona. his sobbing mother says -- "it's a crime what they did.

they're just giving us excuses." the teen's grieving family has no answers. just a bullet torn jacket worn by their son. the fbi, who is handling this investigation, wouldn't talk to us on camera, but they tell nbc news border patrol agents were in this area wednesday morning trying to apprehend a drug smuggler. that's when they say a group of teenagers began throwing rocks and an agent fired his gun. the incident game along a stretch of border where tensions run high. in december, border patrol agent brian terry was killed in a shootout with bandits. he was 40 years old. this cell phone video captures another fatal shooting near el paso, texas. the border patrol says a 15-year-old was throwing rocks at agents. he was shot in the head. >> when you pick up a rock and throw it at a police officer, you should expect to have deadly force directed back toward you. >> reporter: many americans who live in border cities used to

feel safe, but no more. violence from last year's $10 billion drug trade claimed hundreds of lives in cities by the fence. rancher tom mitchell says illegal crossings are a way of life here, and so is a sense of fear. >> i'm very worried about the violence that is so rampant in mexico spreading to america. >> reporter: growing tension on both sides of this border. as tonight one family prepares to bury their son. miguel almaguer, nbc news, along the u.s.-mexico border. now we go to mississippi, and a story tonight about a new beginning. we've been reporting in recent days about the case of two sisters being released from life prison sentences in an unusual medical bargain. well, today they walked free, but their future is still uncertain. their story tonight from nbc's thanh truong. >> reporter: locked up for 16 years -- >> we're free! >> reporter: sisters gladys and jamie scott were released from

prison this morning. one of the first stops, a surprise visit to gloria's kitchen. >> i'm feeling good, i'm feeling great. >> reporter: the restaurant and its patrons, long-time supporters of the sisters who they say were unfairly punished. >> i love macaroni. 16 years! free at last, free at last, thank god i'm free at last. >> reporter: sentenced to life in prison for their role in a 1993 armed robbery that yielded only a handful of cash, they were released on the condition that gladys donate a kidney to jamie, who is suffering from kidney failure. >> i never thought this day would come when i would be on the outside of the wall. >> it's been a long, hard road. but we made it. it was times we wanted to give up, but i told my sister, i said we going to make it. we coming up out of here. we're not going to die. >> reporter: from mississippi, they will travel to pensacola, florida, where they will reunite with loved ones, including a

mother who has been praying for this day. >> well, right now, my mind is -- i'm just happy my daughters are being released. >> going to do dialysis in the morning at 7:15 in pensacola, florida. >> reporter: the scotts face a surgery they still have no means to pay for, and will spend the rest of their lives on probation. but it will be a life outside prison walls, and literally on their own terms. thanh truong, nbc news, jackson, mississippi. here in new york, officials went out of their way to declare how ready they were for more snow today after that blizzard that crippled new york about two weeks ago and still left uncollected trash on some of the city streets. and man, were they ready. snowplows with chains on the tires were out, and lots of them. in the end, the city got about an inch. most of the snow ended up falling on the suburbs. but to repeat, boy, was the city ready. meanwhile, another big storm is headed for the south and southeast this weekend. weather channel meteorologist chris warren back with us from headquarters tonight.

chris, tell us about the next one. >> well, brian, it looks like we have the ingredients in place for potentially nasty situation in the south. let's take a look at these ingredients. first, a big dip in the jet stream means cold air all the way down almost to the gulf. and then we have this system, this is going to be the instigator, this system moving in from the west, picking up a lot of moisture from the gulf. these two coming together, we're going to see several inches of snow. and potentially ice. that is why the track is so important of this low. because where we get the snow, yes, that will be a big deal. getting several inches of snow in the south, that's a big deal. but south of the snow, we will have ice, and that is an extremely dangerous situation when you get freezing rain. we're looking at significant snow and ice. could have some power outages. especially where we do get that ice. this is going to mean dangerous travel on the roads and through the air. and the big question is, what happens after this into tuesday, wednesday?

this storm could be heading to the northeast. >> all right, chris warren at the weather channel. where it's going to be a busy weekend. chris, thanks as always. when we continue here tonight, fluoride in our drinking water once again back in the news. once again it relates to our children. and later, a "making a difference" report that got a huge response. updated tonight to reflect even more generosity.

in health news tonight, the debate over fluoride in our drinking water is back. decades ago the debate was over putting it into the water. now it turns out the experts think we're getting too much of it. our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman with us tonight. take it away. explain this one.

here's what we should remember. the fluoride has dramatically cut the number of cavities in the united states, but the hhs, health and human services is saying to the environmental protection agency that we have looked at the science and recommending some changes, perhaps too much fluoride is now initiating a little bit of a problem, a cosmetic problem in some children. the concern is that some young children might be getting too much fluoride. there's been an unexpected rise in the cosmetic condition called dental flourosis. that's when there's too much fluoride consumption during birth to the age of 8 when young teeth are being made. so if you look at the normal teeth on the left, you can see normal coloration. but that streaking and splotching on the moderate side, that's a mild case of flourosis, and that's what has people concerned. we've seen an increase of that since the '60s. now, two out of five have the problem. in 2004, our most recent data,

it's up to 41% of teenagers having the problem, up from 23% in the late '80s and that's the concern right now. >> what are the other factors at work here? because it isn't just as simple as tap water. >> it isn't just water, only 64% of the country has fluoride in the water. it has to do with everything else we put in our kid's mouths. it has to do with those rinses, the toothpaste and all those treatments that the dentist can give. so the culprit really is about the extra fluoride that seems to be everywhere. that's raising the question, is too much of a good thing in fact now causing a problem? not to back away yet until we have all this data, but a reminder that all it takes is a pea size of toothpaste for a kid and stand there and make sure they really brush. >> wow, has this debate gone full circle in our lifetime. nancy, thank you. men have long contended that women wield a powerful weapon when they cry. now there is actual research to bear that out.

it turns out that when women cry, they aren't just conveying sadness but having a powerful effect on men who are near them. reach reported in the journal "science" found that men exposed to women's tears experienced lower levels of testosterone, dampening their sexual desire. scientists say the magnetic north pole is moving towards russia. we'll tell you what that could possibly have to do with an airport in florida when we come right back.

just when you thought there couldn't be more change going on in the world, magnet it north is moving. aviators have always known it moved but not like this. it's just skipping along, on the move about 40 miles a year now along the polar cap toward

russia. it's a natural, unstoppable occurrence, but because of it, some airport runways calibrated by compass are now three or four degrees off. at tampa international in florida, they're going to repaint the numbers on the runway and redesignate them because the dead center top of the world magnetic north on the compass is on the move in a big way. off the coast of the cayman islands tonight, the "uss kitti wps dig," a 1945 rescue ship, has a new mission, was scuttled. serving as an artificial reef. it was decommissioned back in '94 and will it now serve as a home for fish and divers and snorkelers. some of the vets who served on board war there to witness the sinking today. when was the last time you saw baby bats wrapped up in tiny blankets? there's always a first time, so we wanted to show you these because they were rescued by bat rescuers apparently from the recent flooding in australia. as difficult as it is to find

good bat blankets, they're doing well, we're happy to report. and this photo played big on our website today. we'll take a break. up next, a "making a difference" update tonight that proves all over again the startling power of generosity.

we're back and finally it's time now for our "making a difference" report. tonight, we have an update to a story we told you about last month to a huge viewer response. a woman with a simple idea after a trip overseas, make dresses out of pillow cases for girls who can't afford them. what started as six women in a church basement has now turned into a national movement, and a lot of dresses for little girls who need them. here's nbc's chris jansing with our "making a difference" report. >> reporter: it's a bitterly cold morning in suburban detroit. but there's a warmth, a generosity in these volunteers, loading boxes filled with dresses bound for little girls in far away places. we first saw these children through the eyes of rachel o'neil, who was so moved by the extreme poverty she witnessed in africa, she knew she had to

help. >> i just thought i want to give these little girls something, and little girls need to feel pretty. >> reporter: three years ago, rachel founded little dresses for africa. far beyond her imagination, word of her idea spread and 100,000 dresses, all made by hand, came in from all 50 states. we told her story here in early december. and the response has been overwhelming. >> here's one from cartsville, tennessee. >> reporter: thousands of e-mails, donations tucked into handwritten letters. notes inside boxes of little dresses. >> my dear friend janice, a most kind and caring person, purchased the fabric. unfortunately, cancer took her before she was able to sew the dresses. with janice in my heart, i completed them. >> reporter: one company is donating warehouse space. two women in indiana paid for a moving van and a huge shipping container. today, at least 24,000 dress also be going to maui, others to

ghana, to guatemala, mexico and haiti. and here in the u.s., to appalachia and the dakotas. and more importantly, sewing machines, which means they can repair their own dresses, and they can start a business. for many of these little girls, this will be the first and possibly only new thing they will ever own. >> it goes from them maybe having something tattered to something that they can be proud of. >> reporter: a simple idea that's become so much more. >> i have been dumbfounded and amazed at the generosity of people. it's unbelievable. >> reporter: and you can see in the faces of the children that they think rachel is pretty unbelievable, too. chris jansing, nbc news, woodhaven, michigan. >> great story. you can find out more about little dresses for africa, you can see the original story chris jansing did that we aired. we put it all on our website, nightly.msnbc.com. it's not too early to tell you that on monday night here,

we're going to look at a mystery so many americans were talking about this past week. what's killing all these birds? that's right here on monday night. for us, for now, that's our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we'll look for you right back here monday night. in the meantime, have a good weekend. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . >> reporter: it happened right along the calaveras fault as you've been talking about.