on the broadcast tonight, deadly tornados caught on camera as they roar through the plains and the south and the threat continues into tonight. secrets from the tower. what's behind all the incidents of sleeping air traffic controllers? tonight, we'll ask a veteran. and nbc news investigation went health insurance companies say "no" to tests that patients desperately need and a case where it almost cost this father his life. and making a difference. one young reader at a time. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. we're in the middle, still. of an urgent, violent and explosive weather situation that's thundered from the midwest through the american south. 11 tornados, reported in four hours' time starting in kansas, then oklahoma, and then the numbers started to increase. there have been dozens and before tonight is over, we could see 50 of them in the united states. at least nine people are dead due to weather in just two of those states and while it's early yet in 2011, there have been nearly 250 tornados confirmed already this year. we have it all covered for you. jim cantore is standing by and we begin our coverage with meteorologist eric fisher of the weather channel. he's in oklahoma. eric, good evening. >> good evening, brian. here in southeastern oklahoma, we saw some violent storms from

thursday evening one coming through thch community. it's a small town, about 350 residents that live here. when a tornado of this magnitude comes through it affects everyone in the community and those storms continue to rumble tonight. >> a large tornado crossing the highway in front of us. >> storm chaser footage shows one of nearly a dozen tornados that ripped through overnight. this twister killed two elderly sisters. high school students huddled into a storm shelter as it tore through the building and picking up school buses and flipping them on their sides. >> it looks like somebody came and stepped on it. >> all the students survives, but seniors, three weeks from graduation, wonder where they'll stand. >> i don't see the possibility of having schools in these buildings again. >> reporter: at one point, the system dropped three tornados side-by-side. >> we got go, three -- >> reporter: in western arkansas, no tornados but violent winds had tragic

consequences. a father and 18-month-old daughter were sleeping into their trailer when winds blew and killed them both. the child's mother survive. in little recognize an 8-year-old boy and his mother were killed after the mother climbed into the bed to comfort sni . >> the 2-year-old is fine. >> further east, a double wide mobile home was tossed 70 feet, killing a 64-year-old woman and critically injuring her husband. late this morning in mississippi, swirling winds creates this water spout that appeared over coastline reservoir. and storm chasers capture doppler radar may tick footage of a staij storm near jack some it peeled the roof off this bank. the police managed to recover all the money and then the tornado crossed over interstate 20. >> we have two cars flipped upside down. >> we're out side the only school here. it is a total loss.

it stood for nearly 100 years. over my shoulder a bizarre scene. a bookcase and what was once a classroom, the books still standing like a storm didn't roll through. another bizarre sign that continues to bring severe weather tonight in places like missouri and illinois and on the backsi backside, blizzard. >> eric, thanks. jim cantore with us from tuscaloosa, alabama. a state still in the thick of it. jim, what is it about this system? such. compact energy. a single cell surviving hundreds of miles still very, very strong? >> that same storm that eric showed us in his package in clinton, mississippi, is the same storm that affected news tuscaloosa in the last hour and within five miles of the campus of university of alabama we've had structural damage and damage to homes. those are the situations that

set up for that. this has been an amazing day. a fifth of the year's tornado so far have occurred in this day alone and we're not done. we saw the long night ahead of us including 45,000 people at talladega speedway in tents and no way to get away. a dangerous situation and a long night ahead of us. >> we'll keep an eye on it. jim, thanks, as always. to politics now in washington. prescribe's re-election campaign got under way last night with three separate fundraisers in his hometown of chicago during one of those events, a microphone he assumed was off was, instead, left on and it revealed some combative remarks about the budget fight. savannah guthrie on the job on this friday night has that story. savannah, good evening. >> the president's spokesman said the president is not embarrassed. there's nothing on the recordings he wouldn't say publicly but for a that want so

carefully measures his words, provided some revealing moments. the candidate president back from a triple-header of campaign fundraisers last night in chicago. >> that's what this campaign is about. >> reporter: taking questions at a private fundraiser, the president was caught on a microphone he didn't know was recording talking about last week's budget negotiations with republicans. >> i said, you want to repeal health care? go at it. we'll have that debate. you're not going to be able to do that by nickel and diming me in the budget. you think we're stupid. >> reporter: the president aimed fire at congressman paul ryan whose 2012's budget the president ripped on wednesday. >> this the guy that voted for two wars that were unpaid for, the bush tax cuts that were unpaid for. >> on capitol hill, ryan's budget plan was passed cutting $6 trillion from the budget over the next decade in part by raising the eligibility age of future medicare recipients. it won't likely pat the senate

but the republicans said they're taking a stand. >> we have a president that's unwilling to lead. we have too many politicians worried about the next election and not worried about the next generation. >> republicans are drawing battlelines over a vote to raise how much the u.s. can borrow. >> there will be no debt-limit increase unless it's accompanied by budget reforms. >> in an interview, the president warned failure to raise the limit will state the economy. >> he's right that won't happen without spending cuts. i'm confident we'll raise the debt limit. we always have. >> reporter: the white house said they would prefer congress to raise the debt limit without putting conditions on the vote. the fear is even the threat of a default on u.s. obligations would have severe consequences for the economy, brian. >> savannah guthrie at the white house, thanks. later on we'll have something else the president said that he didn't know was being recorded.

we turn however, overseas to libya, where our own stephanie gosk today managed to push further towards the front line of fighting between the pro and anti-gadhafi forces and she discovered a side of the anti-gadhafi rebel fighters we haven't seen. her report from the front line of the fighting on the road to brega. >> reporter: west, the road stretches for miles, with only the occasional reminder that the war has moved back and forth here for weeks. rebel forces have advanced with help from nato air strikes. halfway to the oil town of brega they group outside an abandoned gas station. these are not just rag-tag revolutionaries. these are units of professional soldier who is defected from gadhafi 's army when the uprising began. they have new more advanced weaponry will be in their hands within days. we're at the last staging area before the front line and we haven't seen any of the new

heavy weapons but what we've seen are these new land cruiser pickup trucks. they say they've come from qatar. they supplied new boots and uniforms and commanders say the rebels are finally communicating better with nato. today they knew not to push forward any firpter and knew air strikes were expected up the road. the general said professional soldiers have started to control some of the less predictable volunteers. the rebels are still excitable but we are united with them, he says. we're all the army. during our interview, a new attack. and then this -- gadhafi forces firing artillery. in the last few minutes they've come under attack and we're seeing something we haven't seen before. they're not running. with help from the front line

the rocket's position and fire. there even appears to be battlefield strategy. commanders up front are sending orders to the launchers in the back. spotters on rooftops look for government forces. incoming shells keep dropping but the line doesn't move. it is by no means a match for what they face up the road but it looks like this rebel army is doing better with what they have. stephanie gosk, nbc news. in this country returning now to the story having people talking and frequent flyers concerned, this rash of air traffic controllers asleep in the tower. aircraft trying to raise them at night and in some cases, landing anyway. there have been five such reported incidents just recently. now some controllers are pushing back saying this shows exactly that they need more rest due to their hours and their stresses on the job. we're joined tonight by a tower veteran, bob richards was from boston. a 25-year veteran controller and

22 of those, by the way, at shake o'hare and a wrote the book "secrets of the tower." bob, why now? why are we just hearing about this? is this something new? were the towers better staffed in the past? >> it's interesting that back in the '80s i could have told you tower stories that would put you in shock. i have show writers from hollywood to asking me about these stories but this story is not new. it's been around for probably 20 and 30 years. first of all, any air traffic controller falling asleep is indefensible. but let's put this in perspective to get people more assured here. we're the safest period of commercial aviation we've ever had. 71,000 flights a day being worked by 10 thig,000 air controllers. we have from february of 2009 to the crash, 3 million flights.

1.5 billion people unscathed and an almost near-perfect record. at m.i.t. they said it's safer to get on an airplane than an escalator. the sky is not falling but we have to address this. >> a quick question. couldn't you make the maytag repairman case. sometimes one is enough unless on a rare emergency? >> i don't think anybody flying any airplane at any time of night wants to know there's one person working the emergency. making that position two days ago putting people -- that was thefestest i've ever seen the government move. it puts one person in the tower and puts the public at ease but more importantly in an emergency, we need two people. one person can't do it all. he can't work the emergency and call the emergency equipment and that's the most important. >> i think most of the flying public sitting at home saying it

certainly couldn't hurt having more help in the tower. bob thank you very much for being with us from boston. we'll take a break and when we come back, an nbc news investigation. when an insurance company decision to deny a test becomes a matter of life and death. and later, pitching in to help kids struggling with reading and making a big difference in their lives in the process.

back with a nbc news investigation about your money and your life. to hold the line on soaring health ksts and unnecessary expensive medical tests, many health insurance companies require pre-approval as you know for some tests. a new senate report out today underscores what a lot of us already know. some americans have been wrongly denied test they urgently need. it has almost cost at least one father his life. here with the story our senior investigative correspondent, lisa myers. >> ready. >> reporter: a little over a

year ago, 46-year-old mike fields went to the doctor complaining of pressure in his chest, extreme fatigue, shortness of breath. >> i had a real bad feeling there was something wrong, something bad. >> reporter: his doctor sent him to get a nuclear cardiac stress test. radioactive material is injected into the heart to assess blood flow. but fields insurance company, blue cross blue shield of delaware denied approval of the test three times. >> what were you told? >> i was told -- the letter state they had didn't deem it necessary. >> reporter: recorded calls shows the field's doctor's staff pleaded for approval. >> i'm at a total loss. this guy needs a stress test or he's going to drop dead. >> reporter: finally the doctors sent him to a hospital where the doctor found a key blood vessel almost clear out completely blocked. >> how serious is this? >> this is as serious as you

get. if this closes, you're gone. >> reporter: the next day he had a quadruple bypass. >> the decision was made by med solutions. the company works for insurers nationwide and boasts it can cost costs 25 to 30%. today, a senate investigation of med solutions cases in delaware found some denials wore wanted. but that a significant number of medicalally-necessary nuclear stress tests were denied inappropriately. about 10 to 15% of all tests. senator jay rockefeller says it's an industry strategy. >> the more they say "no" the more money they make. >> reporter: in fact, delaware's insurance commissioner reported today that you know der the contract, med solutions fees were to be cut if it didn't save

blue cross 20% or more. med solutions disputes the senate's findings and argues that cardiologists year eyes these tests often because they have a financial interest. the company says that its guidelines insure patients receive the right test at the right time. at no point ever is any criteria considered that doesn't put quality and safety patient care first. both med solutions and blue cross say they can't comment on the fields' case because of privacy laws. blue cross says it has since changed procedures and no longer requires pre-approval of nuclear stress tests. machines for these tests are made by phillips, and general electric, a part owner of nbc universal. fields has not gotten over the desperation he felt last year. >> i knew something was wrong with me. i knew it. i didn't know what to do. >> but he considers himself lucky to be alive and treasures ti

time with his son even more. when we come back, a big mistake coming soon a post office near you.

one more note from the open mic last night. clear he's become the latest white house occupant to be surprised by the low technology of the place. the house itself and much of the support structure surrounding the president is nothing like the hollywood version. harrison ford has it all over barack obama who was heard complaining last night, quote, we can't get our phones to work. i always thought i was going to have like really cool phones and stuff. he said the white house is 30 years behind when it comes to technology and he called his people in and said, come on, guys. i'm the president of the united states, where's the fancy buttons and stuff and the big screen comes up.

it doesn't happen. and that sometimes, by the way, extends to the president's aircraft. jetblue had live tv on its planes before air force one did. for 125 years from her iconic spot in noirk harbor, the statue of liberty has welcomed millions of huddled masses looking to breathe free so it's easy to understand why the postal service used image for a stamp but it's not her it's based on a statue outside the casino in vegas, the new york new york casino. the stamp collector caught terror but the postal service said they are selecting her because they would have picked her anyway. a romance with words. "making a difference" for those that struggle without help.

we wanted to show you the sky lit up last night in california at vandenberg air force base. all we're allowed to know is a satellite mission atop an atlas v rocket. the details of the satellite's purpose, final orbit, all classified. we only know it's a military thing and we're probably not even supposed to look at these pictures directly. time for our friday night "making a difference" report. this is a great one tonight, pitching in to help kids struggling to learn how to read. thanks to some generous people

in chicago, schoolchildren are getting the extra help they need, which is making a big difference in their lives. our report from nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: hopping off the bus for a unique field trip that, believe it or not, puts these fourth graders back in a classroom, and they like it. >> i wrote about dancing. >> i wrote about our championship game. >> reporter: they read and write together. >> volleyball is thick and thin. >> reporter: and get to wear the pencil costume when they volunteer to read outloud. >> making baskets more than ever. >> it makes me feel proud. >> reporter: the class is conducted by open books, a literacy program in chicago, that provides tutoring and online mentoring for students. nationwide, studies show that only 33% of fourth graders are proficient or better at reading. 22% of adults can barely read at all. numbers like these motivated stacy ratner, a former dot-com

businesswoman to found open books four years ago, with a dedicated army of 3,000 volunteers. the program has helped more than 2300 students. >> if you can't read the bus schedule, how are you going to get to work? if your kids don't know how to read, how are they going to grow up to have the kind of lives they want to have? >> reporter: a fully stocked store of donated books serves as the heart of the operation. the store holds about 50,000 secondhand books from children's titles to rare books. sales bring in half the money needed to support the literacy program. >> you know it for sure. >> reporter: open books also sends volunteers to about a dozen schools for weekly tutoring sessions. students in the program at bronzeville lighthouse charter school have boosted their average reading scores from 20 to 62 words a minute. joan riley works with 12-year-old xavier maclin. >> i think he's much better at sounding out words. >> reporter: promoting literacy by nurturing young readers, one book at a time. rehema ellis, nbc news, chicago.

>> great story from rehema ellis who covers education for us. for us, that's our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we hope to see you right back here on monday night. in the meantime, have a good weekend. good night. right now at 6, abandoned homes filled with trash. the growing crisis filling one bay area community. >> state and local, it's a crisis. >> more than just a federal budget problem.