on the broadcast tonight, asleep at the switch. more cases of air traffic controllers asleep on the job. tonight, we'll hear what happened when a medevac pilot had to land. lines in the sand on health care and taxes for wealthy americans. the president's blue print for the nation's fiscal future. family tragedy. a 10-year-old boy escapes as his mother in a minivan dooms herself and three children. and the teen brain tonight in the series, unraveling the mystery of teenagers and sleep. also breaking news in the barry bonds trial. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. it has happened again. an air traffic controller on the night shift has fallen asleep on the job. not every job has life and death consequences, but the people who fly us around and the people who route them from the ground certain do. and recently, there have been a number of incidents of pilots unable to raise a controller in ail to land. the most recent incident this morning before dawn in reno, nevada. listen in to the pilot of a medevac flight who has to land knauz he has a sick patient on board. >> we've got a pretty sick patient, we just have to land. >> he got on ground, all was fine, but trouble is just starting for the controller, and we're learning of more of these incidents. we want to start off with tom costello in washington.

tom, good evening. >> reporter: boy, brian. a busy day. this most recent case involving a medevac came bringing a male from california to reno, nevada. about 2:00 this morning, the pilot forced to circle as the controller slept. it was early morning in reno. >> reno tower? >> reporter: the pilot of this medevac plane with a seriously ill patient on board trying to land. >> reno tower trying. >> no answer from the tower, but radar controllers in northern california were listening. >> okay, we're going to call them on the phone lines. >> all right, we'll circle more. >> reporter: despite phone calls to the reno tower, still no answer. finally, the medevac pilot told california controllers he could not wait any longer. >> we have a pretty sick patient. we may have to land. >> roger, and landing will be at your own risk. last reported wind was calm.

>> reporter: today the faa said the lone controller on the duty, two years on the job, admitted he fell asleep. the faa admitted they had tried to save money by keeping traffic low at airports at night. despite the warnings. >> you do not put money over safety, you don't do that. the public understands that and they're willing to pay for it. >> this is just the most recent case of controllers sleeping on the job. on march 23rd, two commercial flights had to land on their own at washington's reagan national airport. the controller was suspended for sleeping. february 19th, the faa says a knoxville controller willfully slept as seven planes landed over a five-hour peerious without his help, and today, we have learned of two other cases, march 29thth, controllers suspended for not answering calls, and on april 11th, a

boeing controller from washington state suspended for sleeping on the job. >> this is ridiculous and i'm not going to let it happen, not on my watch. >> today, secretary lahood ordered that immediately that 27 airports with lone controllers over night will now have at least two controllers on duty at time. >> these are big cities. they'll no longer have just one controller on duty. meanwhile, we're told that medevac patient in reno is okay tonight. >> unbelievable string of events. thanks. now to politics also in washington where today president obama took on the exploding national debt and the explosive politics surrounding it. it's mind boggling when you stand back and look at how much debt we piled up. in 1980, the total was $907 billion. by the end of last year, it soared to $13.5 trillion. as of yesterday, it was up to $14.272 trillion and change.

savannah guthrie with us on how the president plans on chipping away at it. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, make no mistake, this was a policy speech, but one with sharp political tones. he spent nearly as much time ripping the republican's leading plan as he did talking about his own. but on one thing the parties did agree, the nation's debt is out of control. the president laid out his proposal to get the fiscal house in order. >> any serious plan to tackle the deficit will require us to put everything on the table and take on excess spending wherever it exists in the budget. >> the president set a goal of reducing the nation's $14.2 trillion debt by $4 trillion over the next 12 years less than his fiscal commission had recommended. three quarters of the savings would come from spending cuts, the rest from tax revenues and

raising taxes on wealthier americans and reforming the tax codes to close popular loopholes. he called for a $770 billion reduction in discretionary spending over 12 years. $400 billion in defense spending and another $480 billion from medicare and medicaid. where exactly the savings would come from is not yet identified. the president invited the architect of the leading gop plan, paul ryan, to the speech, and then ripped republicans by trying to slash the deficit by sharply limiting medicare and medicaid, health care for the elderly and poor. >> i don't think there's anything courageous from asking for support from those who can least afford it. that's not an american i know. >> this is not even a plan, this was a speech. >> republicans were quick to return fire, saying the president was short on specifics. >> we're getting into the partisan attacks and rhetoric with one concrete proposal on the tail, which is raising

taxes. >> the president now wants the vice president to preside over negotiations with 16 democratic and republican members of congress where the hard work of specifics and common ground will have to be worked out. >> savannah, thanks. overseas, hosni mubarak and his two sons are getting hauled into court in egypt. mubarak was in court yesterday, you'll recall he was taken away for treatment of heart problems, but it's clear now the new guard in egypt may extract they revenge on the new guard. our chief correspond richard is on home leave and in the studios. when you and i were there at the height of the uprising, it seems like mubarak, the whole family had a chance to leave. what happens to them? >> they made a big mistake. they should have left when they could. the two sons are now in jail, and they all under investigation, and there are many people enegypt who don't

want to see them ever leave jail. corrupt, allegations, allegations they were involved in deaths and crackdowns. they could face the death penalty. mubarak facing similar charges. he's still in the hospital. he had the heart palpitations when he found out his sons and wife are under investigation. he's trying to stay in the hospital as long as he can, but if he can't and his doctors say he's well enough, he'll go to jail as well. now to the last front where we saw you and the story we know you'll be back to cover in short order, libya. americans are watching this on television, wondering why the rebels don't have the air cover they need. the rebels have been asking much the same thing. >> every day, and they're getting frustrated. they had a feeling that the west was with them, that nato was going to deliver them victory, and they discovered that wasn't in the cards. they didn't get the man they were hoping for. a lot of them felt they were giving false ecpicitations. once the kruse pulled back their

support, the nato air support hasn't been there, and the rebels haven't had enough support to win. >> the question i have seen most people ask you, where does this mess end? >> this whole movement in the middle east, and i'm worried about it because while people in the region deserve more rights and they want more rights and they're embracing more of the will of the arab street, well, the will of the arab streets is also ferociously anti-israel against israel, and there's many people who believe that if you empower the arab streets and the arab streets wants to see a war or wants to see more justice for the palestinians, then down the road three to five years, this could lead to a major war with israel. it could also force a negotiated settlement. but i think over time, this thing ends in jerusalem. >> richard engle who again home briefly on home leave and we'll see you either here or over there next. thanks for spending time with us tooncht. a glimmer of hopeful news

from japan tonight at long last. the first passenger plane since the march 11th earthquake and tsunami landed today at sendai airport. this is a big deal because it's the same airport we watched a month ago during this. the water rushing across the tarmac at high speed, the facility suffered major damage, and mind you, it will be another six weeks or so before it's all back open and up to speed. barry bonds holds a lot of titles. seven-time mvp, all-time home run leader in major league baseball, and as of tonight, he's also a convicted felon. late today, he was found guilty of obstruction of justice in the investigation of steroid use. but the jury deadlocked on the perjury charges. miguel has more from the los angeles bureau. good evening. >> the jury found barry bonds guilty of giving evasive and misleading answers to a grand jury in 2003, but on the more

serious perjury charges, they were deadlocked. still, the baseball great could face prison time. barry bonds walked out of federal court today saying he wouldn't celebrate, but he did sign autographs. >> barry bonds stands alone. >> reporter: the trial against baseball's home run king -- >> number 776. >> was as dramatic to his chase to the record books. key testimony in the case came from bonds' personal assistant. cathy hoskins claims she saw bonds being injected from his trainer, greg anderson, an admitted steroid dealer. during the three-week trial, they also heard from kimberly bell, bonds' former mistress. she said bonds told her he used steroids as early as 1999. the government then called in an all-star lineup of baseball players to testify. jason and jeremy giambi admitted they bought steroids from anderson, but the defense hammered back arguing the

government had no proof bonds knowingly took steroids. a case they say built on theory, not evidence. as a player, he had a dramatic physician transformation. his rookie year. >> i like that pitch. >> bonds was lean, 185 pounds. but over 21 years, baseball's cov coverboy packed on 21 pounds, evidence, said prosecutors, of steroid use. tonight's verdict does make barry bonds a convicted felon. no sentencing date has been set. the maximum sentence called for ten years in prison, but legal guidelines show he'll likely face 18 months in prison. brian. >> thanks, miguel. our los angeles bureau on tonight's breaking news. when we come back, a 10-year-old boy's dramatic escape from a heartbreaking family tragedy. and later, our look at the teenage brain. a work in progress on what most

parents wish they could give their kids, somehow, someway.

here in the new york city area, we woke up to awful news this morning. a mother had deliberately, it turns out, desperately, driven her minivan with four young children inside into the hudson river. by the time first responders arrived, it was too late for all but one of the children inside. this happened in newburgh, new york, about 60 miles from our studios in manhattan. we have the report.

>> reporter: on the banks of the hudson river, a memorial and a prayer for three young children who lost their lives in this murky water. distraught relatives leaving toys for children who will never play again. police say tuesday evening, 25-year-old lashandra armstrong loaded all four of her children into a minivan before driving down a boat ramp and into the river, killing herself, her 5-year-old landon, 2-year-old lance, and 11-month-old lainaina. their bodies discovered in the van under 8 feet of water. >> i don't think to the degree in which we're dealing with the situation today, could it be more tragic. >> reporter: but the oldest child lashaun, survived. the 10-year-old boy was in the van as it started to sink but managed a frantic escape, lowering the power window and fleeing before the van submerged. he then swam to shore in 40

degree temperatures, climbed the banks and flagged a passing motorist. >> he was obviously shaken up, having a difficult time trying to explain what happened. he was soaking wet. >> earlier that night, police got a call from armstrong's family, concerned she was, quote, tussling with the father of hr three youngest kids. when officers arrived, no one was home. those who know her said she was juggling work, school, and four kids. but she seemed to be managing it all. >> she had issues, but i never thought it would have led to something like this. >> police say if the 10-year-old hadn't escaped they may never have found the van or the family, but so far, they have no concrete answers as to why a mother would do the unthinkable. >> a case we'll always wonder about. what an awful story. thanks for your report. up next here tonight, some fascinating new numbers on who on earth works the hardest, shops the most, even spends the

most teime in the kitchen.

we had ourselves a good old fashioned midwest thunderstorm

in midtown manhattan, the kind of storm you don't see that often in the big city, and nothing shows the dominance of mother nature like the smackdown the empire state building received from the heavens above last night. between three and four lightning strikes, most of the action captured by an enterprising single photographer and condensed onto youtube. she called the imagery the holy grail. and over 2 million people have watched this on youtube. it's appropriately titled "president of czech republic steals pen." czech tv added the helpful graphics. you see him in a press conference with the president of chile. he opens the pen box, admires it, and does the classic look-away while depositing it in his pocket. he defended the five-finger discount saying it's customary in signing ceremonies, but back home, they have launched a face book campaign to send him

thousands of pens. most aides will tell you the problem with joe biden -- getting him to relax, which he did today. at the televised budget speech. video of the vice president and his heavy eyes also getting heavy rotation on the web. the talks of debts and deficits and entitlement programs proved too much. happens to the best of us. the new numbers are out on work. the organization for economic cooperation and development tells us regularly who in the world works the most and least. mexicans work the most in terms of paid and unpaid work. the average is ten hours a day in mexico. the belgians have the shortest work day at closer to seven. everywhere they surveyed, women do more unpaid work than men. the biggest shoppers are the french, 32 minutes a day on average. turks spend the most time cooking, 74 minutes, compared to a half-hour on average for americans, we spend the least

time cooking of any nation on earth, blame the microwave, though we seem to have no fewer than 500 cooking shows. when we come back tonight, what science is teaching all of us about a subject that baffles just about every parent. teenagers and how to get them enough sleep.

not too early to let you know about something here tomorrow night, something special, our conversation with paul simon. at home, in fact in the room where he recorded his new album, another hit for the american music icon. we'll have the interview for you tomorrow night. time now for the second part of the investigation, the teenage brain. the average teenager sleeps just 7 1/2 hours a night. that's about two hours less than recommended and still most of us think that 7 1/2 number is too optimistic. our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman tells us what all this sleep deprivation does to the teen brain, what we're calling a work in progress. >> reporter: early morning in chicago, and it isn't easy for 15-year-old malik to wake up, or

for his younger brother. >> it's a struggle every morning. their energy every morning, there's nothing coming at me. >> reporter: that begs the question, what affect does sleep or the lack of it have on the teen brain? this sleep scientist has been studying teens for decades. >> there is this mythology that the older you get, the less sleep you need. >> starting at 12, children's internal body clocks keep them up later even though they need nine hours and 15 minutes of sleep. and now research is finding that old fr adolescence might need more than that because their brains have a harder time recovering at night. >> in the older teenage years where really important circuitry is linking up, that this need for sleep could be even a little longer than for the younger teens. >> neuroscientist said during the late teen years, the frontal lobe of the brain starts to mature. the area responsible for reasoning.

>> all the things that the frontal lobe of the brain do help us control impulses, make long-term decisions, sort out competing priorities, get worse with sleep deprivation. >> teen brains are going through a critical time. in recent studies, they have found a link between sleep deprivation in teens and adhd, obesity, and depression. >> this school in chicago has integrated lessons on sleep into the required curriculum. these kids learn how to sleep better and high they need sleep at all. >> they're getting it and they're excited about getting it. sometimes they'll come in and say, guess what, i got ten hours of sleep. >> changing how teens look at sleep and the effects that last well past their teenage years. that nine or ten-hour figure may be ideal, but at least aim for 8 1/2 and make sure, get the

computers out of the room, turn off the electronics and get the caffeine out of their lives, and a firm bedtime. >> and can i stick up for the kids, the homework they're fo e forced to do. more on the web on the entire series of reports. for us, that's our entire broadcast for this wednesday night. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. good night. right now at 6:00, years of prosecution end in one conviction for the home run king. barry bonds. team coverage of why he has team is happy with his ruling. and a look at what the jury declare a mistrial on all the other charges. decades of terror lead to a north bay courtroom. tonight, we learn more chilling details in the case that spread across the country. plus, thousands of students rally across the