on the broadcast tonight, turmoil and bloodshed. now it's syria under the gun again. more turmoil there as troops kill protesters while john mccain arrives in libya to give the rebels a boost. who's watching? apple and google now both under pressure to explain why your phone is tracking every move you make. holiday on hold. a lot of americans skipping this weekend's trips because of soaring gas prices. shocking secret. a teenager stuns her high school classmates, announcing she's pregnant, but that's not the real stunner in this story. plus, an actor we all know well with a mission that might surprise you, making a difference. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. these uprisings, the citizen revolutions we have been covering from the middle east to north africa have been popping up like thunderstorms. usually it's a slow build then an explosion of violence and then a real test of the government versus the newly empowered citizens. now it's syria. it's bubbled up there before just recently, and now it's happening again. and the government policy seems to be crack down at all costs. today, troops there fired on protesters, killing dozens of them. syria's ruler, assad took power from his father and doesn't intend to give it up without a fight. we want to begin with this story tonight. andrea mitchell here with us in our new york studios. the story continues to change. >> it does. it's erupting as we speak.

tonight, syria exploded. today, all day, with the government firing at protesters and tens of thousands taking to the streets. as many as 75 people or more are reported dead, but there's no way to verify that toll because syria is blocking access to most western journalists. it was the deadliest day since the protests erupted a month ago. crowds chanted "overthrow the regime" in the face of a brutal crackdown by a government still refusing to make good on a promise to perform. one of the horrifying images, a young boy apparently shot in the head. emboldened protesters demolished a statue of the regime's founder. assad, the father of the current president. >> the security forces are shooting randomly. >> al jazeera, one of the few

journalists reporting from syria, said the demonstrators didn't provoke the attacks. >> they tell us there were very peaceful protests and there was no reason for the government to use this much deadly power. >> the protesters are relying on social networks to reach each other and the rest of the world. a facebook page, a twitter page, and tweets crying for help. >> it's like the people of syria are learning how not to be afraid. if this keeps mushrooming, he could be pushed from office. >> tonight, president obama issued a statement condemning in the strongest possible terms the use of force by syria's government and said that the outrageous violence must end now. but the u.s. is not going to intervene. unlike libya's moammar gadhafi, syria's dictator still has the support of his arab neighbors. that's a big difference. >> as you said, always tough for us to get in there and cover stories, but it looks like here we go again. andrea mitchell here in new york, thanks. senator john mccain showed up in libya today. he went to the rebel

headquarters city of benghazi as a show of support for the rebels fighting gadhafi. our chief foreign correspondent richard engle with us tonight from benghazi. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. i think showed up is a good way to describe it. this was an unannounced and unexpected visit. we had heard rumors that senator mccain would be coming here, but we couldn't confirm it until we went downstairs in the lobby of the hotel and saw senator mccain standing there. >> senator, welcome to benghazi. >> even the people of benghazi seemed surprised to see senator mccain in town. >> how are you? >> reporter: he arrives unannounced with only a tiny entourage and almost no security. he toured downtown benghazi and looked at photographs of rebels killed fighting gadhafi, men the senator calls his heroes. the message quickly won over the people here. as word spread of mccain's arrival, american flags were brought out along with signs

praising the united states. but speaking to nbc news, he was critical of president obama and the nato mission here. calling it contradictory. >> the policy is that gadhafi must go, but the president said it would be a mistake to use force. i believe that gadhafi should go, and i believe that a stalemate would lead to serious consequences, including the possibility of the rise of the influence of radical extremists in whatever happens. >> reporter: mccain also said the united states should immediately recognize the opposition government in benghazi and release some of gadhafi's frozen assets to the rebels and help them obtain heavy weapons. but in baghdad today, the u.s. military's top commander was equally blunt about that. >> the united states' position with respect to arming the rebels is very clear, and we're not -- there's been no decision to do that, so right now, that's not going to happen.

>> reporter: mccain's message was extremely popular here in benghazi, but it remains unclear if nato allies or the obama administration are as willing to embrace the rebels as closely as the senator would like. the white house said it is not willing to recognize the opposition government here in benghazi. a white house spokesman said it's up to the libyan people to determine their own political future. >> richard engle in benghazi, libya, covering the fight and the visiting american there. thanks. here in the u.s., heading into easter weekend, gas prices ticked up another cent to an average of $3.85 a gallon for unleaded regular. that's nationwide. and as we're painfully aware, the latest move up in a relentless rise since late last year, and it's having the affect of keeping a lot of folks home this weekend. kristen welker is in l.a. tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. while we were setting up for the live shot, the price of gas

increased by two cents at this california station. it's now more than $5 for a gallon of mid-grade. the national average has been increasing steadily over the past 12 weeks. a lot of people saying they're staying home this weekend. >> say cheese. >> craig and mary jo from charlotte, north carolina, usually drive to sarasota, florida, to see grandma on easter, but not this year. >> gas is over $4 a gallon. we decided not to travel an eight-hour or ten-hour trip to see family. >> they're not alone. fewer people are visiting popular spring time attractions including mt. rainier, mt. rushmore, yellowstone, and the everglades. >> we can't afford to be driving all over with the price of gas like this. >> the northern california branch of aaa says they have seen a 26% increase in drivers calling them for help after they've run out of gas. >> as the prices go up, people may not have as much money in

their budget for gas as they use to, so they may be trying to stretch it out. >> reporter: in fact, gas sales have been down for seven straight weeks. >> i'm just the delivery guy. >> reporter: today, he delivers 9,000 gallons to this shell station. the owner says she may not need it all this weekend. >> we're losing money because the people doesn't buy gas as much as before. >> reporter: but it could be worse. canadians are actually traveling to the u.s. because our gas is less expensive. a global problem that is hitting close to home on a holiday weekend. now, gas in canada is about a dollar more expensive than it is at this station, but it seems we're catching up quickly. brian. >> kristen welker on the rising prices there. thanks. now to the new disclosures about cell phones and privacy raising new concerns about how much our personal electronics reveal about us, and it turns out it's not just the iphone and ipad that are reporting your

location, but cell phones using google software as well, and now members of congress are asking what's going on here and why we're all being tracked so closely. our report on all of it tonight from pete williams. >> reporter: it's not just apple's mobile devices that store and send out data on where they are. so it turns out do phones operating with google's android software. a convicted computer hacker turned consultant said he discovered android phones report their locations to google several times an hour. >> people don't know that when they have this phone in their pocket, it's constantly sending their information, their coordinates and information about all the wireless networks around them. >> that news and this week's disclosure that the iphone and ipad store a year'woh ea of data on where users have been have some consumer groups wondering if apple can still claim to be the anti-big brother it did in this iconic 1984 tv ad.

>> it's definitely weird that something could track me and my location at all times. >> when i heard they could be following our every move, the first thing i did was shut off the satellite tracking on the phone. >> reporter: and members of congress have questions about potential misuse. >> i'm concerned an iphone becomes an itracker, and that could turn into an itragedy for children and families across the country. >> google said android users are clearly told about the location information. when they start up their phones, they can turn off a feature that says quote allow google's location service to collect anonymous location data. collection will occur even when no applications are running. computer experts say that information enables the use of map functions, getting directions, and finding nearby businesses. google insists the information the androids phones transmit can't identify a specific user. this has been a week when phone users discovered features they never knew they had. pete williams, nbc news, washington. when we come back here,

continuing our series of reports on america's volunteer citizen heroes in afghanistan. tonight, a father figure to his troops, a real family at home, and taking care of all of them at the same time. and later, you know him as an actor. now meet ted danson the activist with a big project on his hands.

we're back, and as promised, time for an installment on the series of reports on the genuine american heroes that way too often don't get the credit they deserve -- the men and women a the u.s. military, a long way from home, on the job in afghanistan. they're not getting much coverage, so jim maceda has chosen to spend time with some of them so we can check in on their lives and the fight. tonight, a father who is a father figure doing a tough job under even tougher circumstances far from home. . . . .

but unlike most battalion commanders, the 42-year-old starts his day with a twinkie, just one, and it goes a long way. >> hey, how you doing? ready for another day? any problems? >> negative, sir. >> how you doing, superman? >> how you doing, linebacker? >> he prides himself on knowing each of his 800-plus men. >> extremely compassionate guy. he cares a lot about the soldiers. he cares a lot about the mission. >> reporter: the taliban ruled this part of the kandahar province when davis' battalion reached their defenses last fall and pushed the taliban back. >> we came in and cleared. now we're going to hold this ground. >> reporter: but the unit has taken at least 140 casualties. >> they're my heroes. >> reporter: so davis built a gallery of heroes for some of the soldiers killed in action. he comes here often but still chokes up when he tells the story of private first class benjamin parks' final moments after he survived an initial ied blast.

>> and a team leader said to park, park, i need you to pull security. and he moved about ten meters, and he hit a secondary ied. >> reporter: how does this big-hearted commander cope with such loss? >> is that you? >> yeah. >> are we going to wrestle in the kitchen again? >> we love you, daddy. >> reporter: by phoning most nights his very large family back in clarksville, tennessee, the davises, code name "household six," for wife stacy and their five daughters from 19-year-old whitney now at west point down to 3-year-old rachel, the youngest and most challenging. the latest fire back home, the flip camera has gone missing. >> the mission today is a missing camera. >> there is a lot going on right now, huh? >> this loving father, a native

of milwaukee, is also a war-hardened paratrooper who leads from the front. wounded himself, and he still carries shrapnel in his leg from an ied attack. five others were injured, two seriously. >> jeffrey -- >> and no matter how late at night, davis finds the time to cheer up many of his own wounded soldiers in hospitals in the states. >> you'll start to get feelings in your hands and legs. >> reporter: and then, but only if he's earned it, davis has the other twinkie. >> simple pleasures. >> reporter: before winding down until the next one. jim aceda, nbc news, kandahar. >> life in the u.s. army thousands of miles from home. we've had a tremendous response to jim maceda's reporting this week. because of that, he's live on the facebook page tonight, taking comments, answering questions from all of you about the people he met on the front lines in afghanistan. up next here tonight, a high school student announces to her classmates she's pregnant, but

that's not the stunner in her story. ji

big story out of washington state in the news tonight. it's about teenage pregnancy, and as we have reported here, teenage pregnancy has gone down a bit in recent years, but the birth rate for hispanic teenagers ages 15-17 is still nearly four times as high as the rate for white teenagers. that gave high school honor student gabby rodriguez a big idea for her senior project. her project has now exploded into a nation news story. our report from kate snow. >> reporter: it was last fall 17-year-old gabby rodriguez first surprised her teachers and

classmates at her high school in washington with news she was expecting, due july 27th. for six months, she came to school sporting a baby bump, but her mother, boyfriend, and principal knew the truth. that bump was nothing more than some stuffing bundled together with wire. she was trying to make a point. >> teens now live in the shadows of stereotypes and rumors. and i want to break that and kind of just set them free. >> reporter: this wednesday, gabby came clean at a school assembly. she told everyone her pregnancy was a fake, an elaborate experience to see what life is really like for a pregnant teen. she kept notes on things people said about her. >> it was bound to happen. that i was irresponsible. that i wasn't going to continue in school. >> i think what this young woman did was actually very courageous. >> reporter: this psychologist said reality shows like "16 and pregnant", movies like "juno,"

glossy magazines, can almost make teen pregnancy look glamorous. >> it seems to almost be glorified it's okay to be a teen, to be pregnant, to be single, and there are a lot of adventures that go along with it. >> reporter: gabby's experiment may be more realistic, which is why her principal allowed it in the first place. >> i don't know if one presentation will change the way people think long-term, but it certainly gets the ball rolling. >> and her experiment has gone well beyond her high school. she's been contacted by book agents, filmmakers, college recruiters, and offered scholarship money. she does plan to attend college in the fall. she was relieved to be free of her secret on wednesday. today, she was able to make the senior trip to the shakespeare festival, and she didn't have to have the pillow. >> that's one courageous high school senior. kate snow, thanks. up next here tonight, everybody knows his name, but now you'll know ted danson for another reason, an important cause dear to him.

finally tonight here, our conversation with ted danson. it's been a long while since we first saw his face and heard his name, and while he's enjoyed a durable tv career going back do

the first season of "cheers" here on nbc, these days he has a much larger cause in his life. he's been an environmental activist now for 25 years. and he's co-authored a new book called "oceana" about what we're doing to our oceans and how to save them. it's a field he studied and a cause he comes to honestly. an area where he's decided to make a difference. and his passion was evident when he stopped by the studio recently. >> the urgency comes because we are at a tipping point. we're at a point where we are conceivably capable of fishing out our oceans, literally. or we can deal with the problem and turn it around. we will know in our children's lifetime whether we succeeded in saving the oceans. >> are you optimistic? is the glass half-full? >> yes. >> why? >> for several reasons, fish populations do rebound when given the chance, and people are becoming more and more aware, but the problem is literally,

more and more boats are going out and coming back with fewer and fewer fish. 9 out of 10 big fish like the blue-fin tuna that were around when you and i were -- when i was growing up in the '50s, sorry, are gone. 90% of the sharks gone. they get $100,000 for a fish, a blue-fin tuna, a big one, granted, but nevertheless, $100,000, where it used to be pennies 20, 30 years ago, per pound. then you add the bp spill in the gulf, which is one of the mediterranean blue-fin tuna's breeding grounds, it could get worse. >> the images are striking from the japanese fishing fleet in harbor at the dock to the tuna frozen in japan, beautiful creatures. this is what they're used for. someone is going to eat them, but at the same time, it can be a depressing slaughter. >> yes.

and i love to eat fish. i think the point is that we want to be able to continue fishing and eating fish -- there are some people, some environmentalists who say let's be vegetarians, let's not do this, not wipe out entire species. this is more about enabling fishermen to keep fishing and letting our grandchildren to keep eating healthy fish. it's about being responsible. how do you harvest it in such a way that you can keep doing that? >> there is a scared straight aspect to the book. >> you do need to catch people's attention. you need to say there's a real serious problem, but you need also to say there's hope, there's time. it isn't doom and gloom. and my wife mary said the thing you should be telling people to do is go to the beach, go to the ocean. look at a sunset over the water. go have a great fish dinner some place. hopefully from a sustainable fishery, but go enjoy the ocean

so you're in touch with your love and your passion for the ocean. because if you don't come from that place, things won't get done. you'll just kind of go, oh, too big. too overwhelming. come from joy and do something about it. >> our conversation with ted danson who is setting out to make a big difference. that's our broadcast for this friday night. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you back here on monday. in the meantime, have a good weekend. happy easter. also ahead, a wild ride on muni caught on camera again. the new investigation. #. and a change in the forecast for your easter weekend. when we could be dealing with some showers. #