on the broadcast tonight, off the air after the shocking reports of air traffic controllers asleep on the job. their boss takes the fall. a big head has rolled. crude treatment. the folks from the gulf coast who went all the way to london to be heard by bp and what happened when they got there. the search for answers in the family tragedy in the hudson river. tonight, what we know from the only child who managed to escape. after all these years, he's still finding ways to reinvent music. our conversation with the legend, paul simon. and daytime drama.

a shocker for loyal fans of two american tv classics. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> good evening, we have now told you about five instances of air traffic controllers falling asleep on the job during their shift in the tower over the past few weeks alone. in some cases while aircraft circled, waiting to land, and then landed anyway. tonight, the consequences. a big head has rolled, and more changes are coming. the faa has already ordered that no tower should have just one controller anymore, and now they're sending more out into the field. and just today, the head of the faa's air traffic control operations is out of a job. tonight, we begin with tom costello at reagan national airport in washington where one of the controllers was found sleeping just three weeks ago. good evening.

>> reporter: good evening to you. sources say the head of the faa air traffic control operations had lost the confidence of senior government leaders. alt least six individuals are accused by the faa of sleeping on the job, behavior the faa says must end immediately. after three weeks of reports of controllers allegedly sleeping on the job, the man who ran the air traffic control operation, hank krakowski, today lost his job. >> what happened in the control towers with controllers sleeping is outrageous. it's the kind of behavior we will not tolerate at the faa. >> reporter: it all started last month when two passenger planes had to land on their own at washington's reagan national airport as a controller slept. >> air chief randy babbit was furious. >> as a former pilot, i'm outraged at what happened there.

>> since then, more cases, in knoxville, in lubbock, outside of seattle, and yesterday's case of a medevac plane unable to wake a sleeping controller in reno. >> we have a sick patient. we may just have to land. if we have clearance or not. >> reporter: after circling for 16 minutes, he did land on his own. safety an ls and veteran controllers insist their constantly changing schedules cause fatigue on the job. some report working eight hours, then off eight, then back for eight. hardly enough time to decompress and sleep. >> now the f ark a and the union say it may be time to change. >> we're going to work together collaborately to look at schedules to mitigate fatigue. >> this comes as investigators look at the 737 that made an emergency landing this month with a hole in its roof and a giant a-380 that sideswept a regional jet at jfk. but today, they assure us the skies are safe. >> i believe we have the safest aviation system in the world,

but we can always make improvements. >> reporter: 9 million takeoffs and landings each year, and the last deadly accident involving a commercial airliner was more than two years ago. beginning monday, faa chief and union president will be going to control towers around the country re-enforcing the message of what is expected in the tower. >> tom, thanks. now to london where it was anything but a typical annual shareholders meeting for executives of bp. some of the shareholders who are still so angry at bp flew from their homes in the gulf of mexico, across the atlantic to london and showed up ready for a fight at that meeting. our correspondent, anne thompson covering for us tonight. >> reporter: outside today's bp shareholders meading, a circus-like atmosphere as protestered tried to make an

indelible point about the oil spill. it's been almost a year 6 the well exploezploded in the gulf of mexico, killing 11 men on the deep water horizon rig. some of those still dealing with its impact traveled 5,000 miles from the gulf coast to london. >> the majority of people -- >> reporter: tracy coons came all the way from louisiana. >> i have a grandson, 8-year-old grandson whose asthma has been out of control since may when it oil came into the community, into our basin. >> reporter: inside, shareholders heard a different story as bp's chairman praised the company's response and its $20 billion claims fund. >> the trust fund was a way to give confidence to the american people that we would not cut and run. >> reporter: but the head of the louisiana oystermen's association says the claims process is slow, inefficient, and stingy. >> we have fishermen receiving checks for six months' payments for $5,000.

how do you support a family? that's below poverty. >> some protesters got in the meeting and were forcibly removed. >> whoever are here today, supporter or skeptic, i can promise you one thing. bp is changing. they wim act with honor, integrity, and respect. >> reporter: a promise some spectators today say has yet to be delivered. these fishermen just want to be made whole as brk p and the government promised. they're so angry that some actually bought shares in bparve the oil spill just to go to the meeting to make the point at the economic impact of the oil spill is far from over. >> thank said for that. anne thompson who i should add is on assignment in detroit, and we'll next see you in the gulf when we report life from there, covering what is already the first anniversary of the bp disaster. to washington now, on

capitol hill today, no drama like last friday night when the possible government shutdown was looming, hanging over everyone's head. today, just a vote to pass the budget. now we transition nicely into the next fight, even bigger, over the national debt. kelly o'donnell has the story from the hill tonight. good evening. >> hi, there, brian. late today, the house and senate finally wrote the check to keep the government going this year, but john boehner had to sell hard to try to keep conservative s who want bigger cuts on board. >> the house will be in order. >> reporter: defending the budget deal that kept the government open. speaker boehner knew thousands of republicans would bolt, and some democrats did. >> is it perfect? no. i would be the first to admit it's flawed. welcome to divided government. >> most democrats rejected to plan over cuts to social plans. without enough republicans to pass it, democrat support made the difference.

>> the yeas are 260. the nays are 267. >> it eliminates over $230 billion in the next six months, knut that includes money that wouldn't have been spent anyway, budgeting for things like canceled earmark projects. >> that's a charge boehner took on himself. >> every time in this bill that is cut is a dime that washington will spend if we leave it on the table. >> reporter: the budget deal came with strings. congress had agreed to take separate votes on two hot-button issues that republicans demanded. defunding both the president's health care law and the group planged parenthood because it provides some abortions. >> cutting off funding for planned parenthood would have a devastating impact on wi78en's health across the kuncountry. >> an even bigger fight is going on ovhere on raising the

country's borrowing limit and how to get control of the $14 trillion deficit. >> the debate ahead of us is about more than spending levels. it's about the role of government itself. >> reporter: and looking inside the house vote, some unusual agreement from two end of the political spectrum. democrat nancy pelosi and tea party republican michele bachmann both voted no on the budget deal, suggesting both parties got some and gave some to keep the government running. >> and so it goes on the hill. kelly, thanks. now we go overseas to libya. there was another bizarre public appearance from moammar gadhafi. meanwhile, in berlin, nato members are meeting there to resolve their differences over how to wage the air campaign in libya. while they talk and bicker at times, the rebels and civilians inside libya, particularly inside the town of misratah are taking a beating from gadhafi's forces. more from stephanie gosk in benghazi.

>> reporter: in misratah, the civil war moves street to street, building to building. rebel fighters are under constant threat of attack. >> you have to cross this tunnel fast because there's a sniper from the upper building. >> reporter: gadhafi's tanks and artillery bombard the western city daily. civilians are trapped in the middle, unable to leave because government forces had misratah surrounded. at the hospital, evidence of what is quickly becoming a humanitarian disaster. children caught in the cross fire, suffering shrapnel and gunshot wounds. is nato doing enough to protect the civilians here? two of their partners, france and britain, say no. nato said they need more low-flying attack planes. when the u.s. was in control of the mission, that plane flew regular missions, but now it's on stand by.

the u.s. insists it will toib in a support role, and in a nato meeting today in berlin, hillary kwlinten made a point of showing a united front. >> we're also sharing the same goal, which is to see the end of the gadhafi regime in libya. >> reporter: there were signs today that nato isn't lifting up. air strikes pounded tripoli. they claimed they hit civilian targets and took cameramen to see the damage. >> we're told this is one of the remnants of the missiles fired over tripoli. we're told this is arential area. >> with the bombings, state tv broadcast these images, gadhafi hanging out his sun roof sending a clear message to everyone, i'm still here. a spokesman for the rebel forces

sells us there will be more advanced heavy weaponry on thefront line in the next few days. he wouldn't tell us which country provided the weapons or the training needed to use them. >> stefagy, thanks for your work today. when we come back, trying to understand why a mother plunged her minivan into the water with her children in the vehicle. we'll hear from the woman who rescued the 10-year-old boy, the lone survivor who escaped. later, paul simon still going after all these years, and now he's out with something new.

there are new details in the awful story of the mother who drove her van into the hudson river, killing lerself and three of her four children. there's a vigil tonight in newburgh, new york, right at the edge of where the tragedy unfolded. and there's a new report that the distraught mother posted a

message on facebook before taking the drive. quote, i'm so sorry. everyone please forgive me for what i'm going to do. >> reporter: after losing so much, the family of lashaunda armstrong is trying to make sense of the senseless. and figure out why a 25 yoerld mother would kill herself and three of her young children. >> my sister was a great mother. >> reporter: though armstrong, a student and working single mother of four was overwhelmed add times, her siblings say she wads generally happy and cheerful, but in the last few weeks, she seemed upset about something. >> i can't really put a pinpoint, what it was, but it was just different, and everybody noticed the. >> police say tuesday even, she loaded all four of her children in the minivan before driving down a boat ramp into the hudson river killing three kids. their bodies discovered in the

fan under eight feet 06 water, but the oldest child, 10-year-old lashaun armstrong, surviechbed, climbing out the window, swimming to the edge in 40 degree water, and flagging down a moetdrist. >> he said, please help me, please help me. >> earlier that evage, pleaolic got a call from armstrong's family, police say they have a history of domestic problems. but when they arrived, no one was there. >> he said, she said if i'm going to die, you're going to come up to me. >> he said she may have changed her mind. >> he said he heard her say, i made a mistake, i made a mistake. when we come back tonight, a big change coming in the afternoons of millions of

americans.

when you hear people say the googles or internets, that's from george bug, but we

sometimes add the face books. >> stephen breyer talksunts the social media at a hearing today, and he talked about facebook and followers hungry for his every development on social media. >> i wouldn't want to have followers on the tweeter or people going to the facebook page but for my children, and i get in touch with snem. >> the facebook and the tweeters. we have a new contestant, stephen breyer, who gets credit for being on the social network in the first place. now the news that rocked the media row today. put it this way, if you went to college at any time in the past few decades, how many of you scheduled classes around "all my children" or know someone who did? we learned today "all my children kwaetsz is going away. abc canceled it along with "one life to live." the news send off a howl of

grief around the internet, even on the webs. for fans, it means life will change, as time life magazine's critic noted today. >> because they last so long, because you bond with them so early in your life, it's kind of like a part of you is dying. you're mourning the show and you're also mourning whatever time it was you started watching the show. >> by the way, a sampling of the online reaction. here is what some people wrote to abc. my life is over. here is another one, why don't you just kick some kittens and puppies while you're at it? final quote, i'm super depressed and will remain in my cocoon until further notice. our condolences to all those affected. up next, on the record with paul simon on music, what he won't put in his songs, and what it's like pushing 70.

finally tonight, when you ask paul simon what he's listening to moatsly these days, he's likely to answer major league baseball on satellite radio. he's known to the kids in his town as coach simon, the third

base coach on the team. four kids at home, where he lives with his wife, edie brickell. he's promoting his new album, his 24th in all, called so beautiful or so what. a few days uz go, we had a chance to sit down with coach simon. paul simon is amongst the most treasured and best recording artists in the kruntry. and for the record, home is where the heart is. today, he lives life in connecticut, and these days, just south of sfentd years of age, he wouldn't have it any other way. >> i never thought i would leave new york. the pleasure of recording in your own space here, really, i think it has an affect on the quality of the recording. it's a great luxury. >> we sat in the same room where

he recorded the new album in a small sparse cottage on his property, and to paraphrase most of the reviews. he's done it again. the man who keeps rewriting our music has done it again. >> melody is first. words always come, they always come later. ♪ hello darkness my old friend ♪ i've come to talk with you again ♪ >> we first knew him at half of simon and garfunkel. ♪ i met my old lover on the street last night ♪ >> we have seen his comedic side beginning on the second episode of "snl" stlix years ago. later in the capable hands of woody allen. he's been seen by millionsering heard by billions, a two-time

rock and roll hall of fame inductee over a 50-year career. >> at this point in time, it's getting harder to write. >> why? >> well, for one thing, the bar has been set pretty high. >> you set it. >> well, that's good. that's good. ♪ the problem is all inside your head she said to me ♪ >> his voice is virtually unchanged and his mellow image fights the fact that he gets angry a lot at politics and the like, but choose to leave that out of his music. >> there are subjects that i really don't feel like dealing with in a song. like i won't write an entire song ability politics. i just feel like everybody is so divided. ♪ when you're down and out when you're on the street ♪ >> and we found he's not wild about dying, eerlth. >> i'm not crazy about dying. >> i don't know a big fan.

>> no, not too many. i'm trying to -- i'm trying to not be pissed off about that, but -- >> it worked out. it kind of worked out, didn't it? >> yeah, it did. i have to give a lot of thanks to my wife. if it weren't for edie, i don't think it would be this easy and this kind of life. and as far as the work goes, i'm grateful for that, too. ♪ i'm going to make the chicken come home ♪ >> we were always told that your capacity for thinking sort of diminishes as you get older, but now that i'm 69 years old, i don't -- i think the opposite. i feel like it's better. so i look forward to seeing what, you know, what more time will reveal.

>> paul simon, who doesn't want to die. for the record, we hope to reinterview him when he's 100 in that very cottage, and the interview lives on, great stuff from our conversation, all on our website. that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.