on the broadcast tonight, the tough choice on how to reroute the mississippi river water. who gets flooded and who gets spared? we'll talk live with the mayor of new orleans trying to protect his city. was it revenge for the killing of bin laden? horrible attacks today in pakistan. meanwhile, something else they found in the bin laden house. does the punishment fit the crime? the young man who is banned from the prom and the global crusade on his behalf that fired up on the internet. and making a difference, the big difference our viewers made when they saw the story we aired about good people rescuing good dogs from the streets of detroit. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening, the mississippi river reached an all-time record today. a massive amount of water heading south after doing so much damage already. now, all eyes between baton rouge, louisiana, and new orleans, are on a big spillway, and if it's opened tomorrow, as it looks like it will be, that relieves the pressure on the city of new orleans where, by the way, mayor mitch landrieu is standing by to talk to us tonight. but that decision will also flood out other folks in other places which are right now bustling and prosperous communities and homes and businesses. a million people are now in the path of the water. it's already roared through seven states. our coverage begins with anne thompson. she's in the port of baton rouge tonight. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. here at the port of baton rouge and throughout southern

louisiana, everyone is working so hard because there is no time left to lose with the mississippi river rising and the imminent opening of the morganza spillway, which could send water rushing into an area at a rate of 2 million gallons per second. these are desperate hours in this parish. residents wait in long lines for supplies to defend their homes from the mississippi river water that will flood their neighborhood when the morganza spillway is opened to save baton rouge and new orleans. cold comfortable to leroy, trying to protect his house. >> we're poor people. i'm not agreeable to opening the gate up. no, i'm not in agreement with that. >> reporter: upriver, in vicksburg, mississippi, highway 61, a main thoroughfare is closed so crews can build a levee to keep the water at bay.

this farmer is doing the same. using dirt from his corn field to construct a 19-foot wall of mud around his house. >> i don't have flood insurance, so i have to try to save it. >> reporter: in baton rouge, neon colored tiger dams are rolled out to protect louisiana's capital city, but 10% of the state's onshore oil production is in the flood zone. more than 2,200 wells that produce 19,000 barrels of oil a day. a drop in the bucket compared to the 19 million barrels america consumes each day, but enough to unsettle a jittery oil market. >> there's a lot of tension in the oil markets. any disruption, no matter how small, has the potential to affect pricing without question. >> reporter: as more dirty water heads south, there are growing concerns about the hidden toxins in the debris. health threats that won't become known for years. yet, among all the dire prediction, among the resilient louisianians like randy, you can still hear the sound of optimism.

>> we are completely surrounded by levees, we have pumping stations. i have to feel good that the parish itself can handle all this. >> reporter: there are some 125 gates in the morganza spillway and the army corps of engineers said it only plans to open half opof them, and louisiana's governor said the corps will do so slowly. even so, governor jindal is urging people who live in the spillway area to activate their evacuation plans now. brian. >> all i know is that water behind you is moving really fast. anne thompson starting us off in baton rouge, thanks. now to the situation in new orleans down river from baton rouge. one of our viewers in that city where they have been through so much e-mailed us today, quote, very few of us give any credence to the promises that the city will remain unscathed. though mayor mitch landrieu said there won't be water in new orleans, he's been kind enough to join us from his beloved city

of new orleans tonight. mr. mayor, we should point out nobody wants a drop of water in that city, and we wish we could wish you sunny skies and no potholes for the next 100 years, buwhat makes you so sure? >> we have been working with the corps of engineers. the levees that protect the mississippi are some of the strongest levees we have. the corps has been out every day almost every second of the day monitoring the levees. the morganza spillway was an important component for us. it's going to relieve a tremendous amount of pressure in the city of new orleans. based on what the corps has told us, we believe the city of new orleans is going to be safe. this is a very tragic situation, really for everybody in america and of course the people who live along the atchafalaya basin and in morgan city, and our hearts go out to them, but we have every reason to believe based upon the information the corpses has given us and the inspections that have been done, that new orleans is going to be

safe. >> reporter: so many new orleans when you say it was a natural disaster, they stop you and say it was man made. there's a lot of anger toward the corps. further, is it tough to square the fact that others will suffer to spare new orleans, really? >> well, those are two separate questions. let me answer. first, the levees in question are not the ones that were breached by katrina. the levees in question now are the ones that have been buttressed for 50, 60, 70 years on the mississippi river, the are much, much stronger and the corps has much more confidence in. so they're two separate levee systems. secondly, no, it doesn't make us feel good that protecting new orleans, other people are going to be hurt. we understand that better than anybody, being under water for 14 days. our heart goes out to them. i reached out to the mayor of mogen city, to the president of the parish, and the governor saying let us know what we can do so we can be in the fight with you. >> we may come down and see you there before this is all over. thank you for your time tonight. >> love to see you. >> thank you, mr. mayor. it's not just people who are suffering in this flood.

wild animals are finding themselves homeless as well. pushed into places you wouldn't ever normally find them. thanh truong has that report from mississippi. >> reporter: the worst flood in more than half a century has already swallowed millions of acres of land, sending thousands of residents to seek higher ground, while countless animals struggle to do the same. this coyote in mississippi swims to save its life. >> animals are like humans, they want to live. >> reporter: natural habitats for many species are underwater. >> all they're looking for like any other animal is dry ground. they just want to be dry. >> reporter: leaving many stranded, like this raccoon on top of a pole, and a wild hog in the water. deer accustomed to roaming freely racing to whatever dry land they can find. >> for the wildlife, it's such a stressful situation. these animals are running. that's why we're seeing deer/vehicle collisions. >> reporter: on one lake in mississippi, alligators are closer to neighborhoods than

ever before. as we traveled into water flooded communities, water moccasins swing swimming along what used to be streets are a common site. the homes are located next to some of the prime hunting grounds in the state of mississippi. the flooding is pushing animals away from the areas and towards civilization. as animals are flushed out, unlikely encounters are taking place. neighbors here say a gator claimed a dog. >> they say the gator got the other dog. >> they have more room to roam. if people see them, stay away from them. they're not going to bother you if you don't bother them. >> wildlife officers say the impact on the animals and their future generations is unclear. for now, it's simply about staying above water. >> unbelievable situation. we turn to news overseas tonight. this morning, we all woke up to news of a huge attack today in pakistan on a u.s.-backed military training center that may have been in retaliation for bin laden's death.

peter alexander following all of it from islamabad again tonight. peter, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you, again. this was just a gruesome attack. at least 80 people killed and 140 injured in the attack. and tonight, the pakistani people are bracing for more. it's the kind of violence al qaeda warned would follow the death of their leader, osama bin laden. back-to-back attacks shortly after dawn. two suicide bombers, both riding motorcycles, police say, targeted newly trained cadets in this center in northwestern pakistan as the recruits were leaving for a break with their family. it was the americans who killed osama, this man says, and the blood of our people is being spilt. why? why is this happening to us? to maximize the death toll, police say, the bombers' explosive vests were packed with ball bearings and nails. claiming responsibility, the pakistani taliban.

close allies of al qaeda. planning to bring down the pakistani government. and to oppose their own islamist rule. but u.s. officials are spectacle these are reprisals and warn militants will use bin laden's death as an excuse for more violence in an already volatile region. pakistani officials say today's attacks illustrate the sacrifice their nation has made in the war on terror with tens of thousands killed here. as scrutiny and suspicion of pakistan intensify following the intelligence failure that allowed bin laden to hide here for years. u.s. military officials tell nbc news american interrogators interviewed bin laden's three widows shortly after their detention. the women offered no new information, and according to u.s. officials, their answers sounded rehearsed. but a pakistani official told nbc news in a briefing, the intelligence chief revealed in more than five years, bin laden never left his abbottabad compound, living upstairs in two rooms. the same wife told interrogators she only left the hideout when

she was sick to visit a doctor, and only then, only did so accompanied by one of bin laden's trusted couriers. and tonight, another detail from inside osama bin laden's compound has been leaked. u.s. intelligence officials confirmed to nbc news that the navy s.e.a.l.s found pornographic videos. tonight, it's unclear whether they belong to bid laden or somebody else. >> peter, thanks for your reporting. here at home, the timing couldn't be worse. just as president obama prepared a middle east policy address for next week and plans to meet with israel's prime minister, his chief representative to the middle east, former senator george mitchell, said today he's quitting the job. mitchell, you'll recall, managed to broker peace in northern ireland. he investigated the steroids scandal in baseball, but a lasting peace between israelis and palestinians? after two years of trying, he's decided it's time to move on. there is news tonight about

a problem destroying lives and getting worse in this country, and various states across the country are trying to figure out how to get it under control. the problem is meth labs. while some say it didn't go far enough, the state with the worst problem, tennessee, has agreed on a compromise they're willing to try at least for now and hope it helps. our report from mark potter. >> reporter: at a mobile home near a high school in tennessee, investigators say they have uncovered two methamphetamine labs. >> they can smoke it, eat it, inject it. >> reporter: down the road, they also clean up the remnants of a third lab. >> you have got to have sudafed rn to make meth. >> reporter: authorities find more meth labs in tennessee than any other state. more than 2,000 last year alone. >> to say we're in crisis is an understatement. there's lives being damaged and lost every day because of the scourge of methamphetamine. >> reporter: it's a highly addictive stimulant usually produced in homemade labs.

a key ingredient is pseudoephedrine, found in common cold immedia cold medicines. some of the people making meth have 30 to 40 people working for them, called smurfers. their job, to buy cold medicine with pseudoephedrine. one box at a time. to control them, this sheriff believes a prescription should be required for pseudoephedrine products, already the law in mississippi and oregon. >> you take away pseudoephedrine, you take away meth. it's the one product that has got to be in the mix to make methamphetamine. >> but at this drugstore, a pharmacist argues a prescription law makes it hard for real patients to get fast relief. >> you're punishing law-abiding citizens that have legitimate needs. we need to punish the criminals and leave the other guys alone. >> reporter: the tennessee legislature agrees and has approved a computer monitoring system to record and track the

names of pseudoephedrine buyers, saying if that doesn't save lives, it could then consider prescriptions. mark potter, nbc news, tennessee. some other news when we come back. a romantic prom invitation backfires and now people are rallying to help a guy out. and later, the difference our viewers made for friends of ours when a "making a difference" report aired on our broadcast. wait until you see the follow-up tonight.

if you're a guy, you know asking a girl to the prom is tough. always has been. this week, when a connecticut teenager decided to make a big splash with his invitation, it backfired big time. some found it romantic, the school did not. now the web is on fire with this story. he has supporters all over the globe, and the principal says rules is rules. our report now.

>> reporter: it all started with the writing on the wall. late last week in the dead of night, shelton high school senior james tate and two friends dragged a ladder and 12-inch cardboard letters to campus, taping this message onto a school wall "sonali rodriguez will you go to prom with me?" >> i figured i would do something special, and it was a mistake. >> reporter: rodrigues, a class mate and friend, said yes, but officials said no, suspending him and his friends for tres passing and banning him from the june 4th prom. as news spread, so did the outrage. >> i think it's kind of ridiculous. >> reporter: and it went viral. supporters gathers online, enchanted by the romance of it all. thousands tweeting words of encouragement. the "let james go to the prom" facebook page has nearly 180,000 fans. the town's mayor said he's been inundated with e-mails from far beyond connecticut. >> china, japan, australia. >> reporter: every last one

supporting tate. >> it doesn't make sense. there has to be some common sense. >> reporter: but not everyone has been swayed. thursday, the head master made one thing clear, rules are rules. >> students receiving an in-school or out-of-school suspension after april 1st for any reason would not be allowed to attend the prom. >> reporter: so while tate is sorry for his message on this wall -- >> i'm sorry, it won't happen again from me, and i would like to go to prom very much with her. >> reporter: online supporters vow to keep up the fight on this one. there's good news to report tonight about the great mary tyler moore who today underwent four hours of brain surgery to remove what has been called a benign tumor. her representative says doctors have tracked this situation for years, they got it all, no additional treatment is necessary. mary, who is 74, is recovering nicely with her husband at her bedside.

up next, marking the anniversary of a place built to handle just about any situation.

a couple items about presidents. the first is about a guy who wants the job. texas republican congressman ron paul made it official today. he's running again. he's run twice before. told supporters at a rally in new hampshire americans have come to understand that government cannot, in his words, take care of us from the cradle to the grave and police the world. former president george w. bush spoke publicly on the death of osama bin laden for the first time last night in las vegas. he was speaking in a meeting of hedge fund managers. he said he was eating souffle at a restaurant with his wife laura and two friends on that sunday night when president obama called him with that news.

mr. bush called bin laden's death, quote, a great victory on the war on terror, and told the president, apparently, good call. the situation room turned 50 years old today. it long ago became an enormously important landmark. actually, i don't know how this wound up in our control room. we mean, of course, the other situation room, yes, that one, the one beyond ground level in the west wing of the white house. they had a birthday celebration for what may be the most low-profile landmark in the country. president obama invited caroline kennedy today and named the room after her father. in the original kennedy administration memos, they first named it the cold war control center. the modern day "sit room," as it's called in the trade, is sound proof and full of telecommunications, immortalized recently as the control center in the bin laden raid. then for photo shop versions of the famous photo, including one showing "the situation" in the situation room. our apologies to our friend

wolf. when we come back here, desperate strays turned into lucky dogs thanks to hard work and great people making a difference.

we're wrapping up a week of "making a difference" reports here tonight with an update on a story we brought you earlier this week. it's about folks helping to cope with the epidemic of stray dogs in detroit. a lot of good people were touched by that story when they saw it on "nightly news." now their generosity is making a difference. our update from kevin tibbles. >> pull the cage up here. >> reporter: responding to a morning call, volunteers rescue a dog with a broken leg. >> he's going to have to get to the vet. >> reporter: it's been quite a week for the detroit dog rescue, dedicated to saving the 50,000 strays that live amongst the ruins of downtown detroit. >> jumped in, huh? >> reporter: its cofounder, a local rap artist who goes by the name of hush. >> man's best friend shouldn't have to pay the price for all this. >> no, no. >> reporter: on tuesday, they were down to their last $43 when it was featured on "making a difference."

>> we spent every dime we had, and we honestly didn't know how we would have gotten going the next week. >> reporter: the response overwhelmed their website. donations poured in from across the country and from as far away as australia. more than $87,000 so far. >> an 8-year-old kid sees the story and gets his allowance and says, mom, i want to give this. that tears me apart. >> i have never been so proud of anything that i have done, and i have never been so proud of people in general. >> reporter: rescue members say they want to fund a no-kill shelter in a city where traditional shelters are full and 80% of dogs are euthanized. >> for all the donations, all the contributions, we thank you, we thank you, we thank you, we thank you. >> reporter: but this afternoon, no time for resting on laurels. this dog has a gunshot wound and needs to see a vet. kevin tibbles, nbc news, detroit.

we thank you, too, for your generosity. that's our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you back here on monday night. in the meantime, have a good weekend. good night. right now, new insight into the scandal involving east bay cops. the new report detailing drugs, arrest and prostitution. 16 years after allegedly gunning down two people, a suspect turns himself in. coming up, how family members of the victim are reacting. also, a big change in the weather for our weekend. how it could affect your plans for the next several days. the news at 6:00 starts right now.