on the broadcast tonight, the threat. ten years after 9/11, a new warning, a massive police presence and the kind of anxiety that takes some americans right back to that time. hard sell. the president hits the road to sell his new jobs plan with two questions looming, can he pass it and will it work? > and lights out. one man's mistake causes a huge blackout and 6 million people in the dark. and in her own words, jackie kennedy. how she really felt about some of the greatest figures of our time. of the greatest figures of our time. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. this is the kind of thing americans hear and then they wonder what they're supposed to think and how they're supposed to act. last night just as the president was preparing to speak to the joint session of congress, just as we're preparing for the tenth anniversary of the worst day in modern american history, we learned of another terrorist threat and as only the people in government and law enforcement can put it, we were told it was, quote, specific and credible but unconfirmed. well, we have learned more since, but whatever it is, it caused the streets of new york and washington to be flooded with police and vehicles, some cops with visible automatic weapons, and that feeling in the population centers of being on edge is back. but of course it never really went away over this past decade. pete williams, our justice correspondent is at the department of homeland security tonight. pete, good evening. >> reporter: brian, police and

federal agents here in washington and in new york were able to ramp up quickly in response to this intelligence because they were already planning more robust security around the 9/11 anniversary. in new york, police were out in force, checking trucks and vans, and posting extra security at bridges and tunnels, clogging the morning and afternoon commutes. >> if there's any problems, as long as we keep the people safe. >> reporter: similar scenes in washington as both cities jumped to respond to an unconfirmed report from an intelligence source in pakistan who heard that three men, no full names given, flew to the u.s. to set off car or truck bombs in new york or washington this weekend. something that stood out in the flow of intelligence because the source had been reliable in the past. >> this is the first, first credible piece of information we have gotten. we cannot confirm it. we are doing everything within our power, all hands are on deck. >> reporter: new york's mayor

michael bloomberg and mayor vince gray in washington issued nearly identical pleas. >> if you see something, say something. >> if you see something suspicious, call 9/11. >> if you see something that's potentially dangerous, call 9/11. >> reporter: while police made a visible show of support and checked packages on subways, the fbi and border officials scrambled to search travel records going back weeks looking for any sign that might confirm three such men did in fact fly to the u.s. from the middle east. police and federal agents also checked dealers who sell chemicals that can be used to make car bombs, expanding an effort already underway because of the 9/11 anniversary. the intelligence source at this plot originated with al qaeda's current leader ayman al zawahri but some in law enforcement are skeptical and wonder if the u.s.

will ever know whether the plot was real or not. brian? >> pete williams starting us off in d.c. with all of this. and with this added tension, we did not need something that happened to us late today. i want to read you a statement from our company, it reads, quote, the nbc news twitter account was hacked late this afternoon. and as a result, false reports of a plane attack on ground zero were sent to followers. we are working with twitter to correct the situation, we sincerely apologize for the scare that could have been caused by such a reckless and irresponsible act. now also, at about the time of the president's speech last night, a big part of the american west was plunged into darkness and when you hear what caused the lights to go out along with everything else, you might think our power grid sounds a bit vulnerable. our report on this sudden and widespread blackout from nbc's george lewis. >> reporter: it brought san diego, the country's eighth largest city to a halt. with no signal lights, traffic

was gridlocked. there were long lines at the few service stations that could pump gas. >> it was a total nightmare, i mean everything was stopped. >> reporter: the airport shut down, stranding thousands of travelers and fire crews had to rescue scores of people trapped in elevators. >> we had an outage that became cascaded into a larger outage and we need to make sure that we can prevent that from happening in the future. >> reporter: the nuclear power station shut down automatically as a safety precaution and remains offline tonight. the blackout began when a utility worker in yuma, arizona was replacing some faulty equipment, something he did shorted out a 500,000 volt line carrying power to san diego. that in turn caused a chain reaction, tripping circuit breakers all over the system and switching off the nuclear plant. the incident raises a couple of troubling questions, first how delicate are america's power grids.

and second, if a worker can accidentally cut power to 6 million people, what could a terrorist group do? california governor jerry brown in a radio interview today. >> we are vulnerable and people should never forget it. >> reporter: the american society of civil engineers says this blackout is another symptom of america's crumbling infrastructure. >> people make mistakes all the time. our system should not be so stressed that one mistake causes the whole system to go down. >> reporter: the lights came back on after 12 hours, but people here now wonder what are the chances it will happen again, either by accident or on purpose? george lewis, nbc news, san diego. now to the latest natural disaster we have been covering. in the northeast, entire towns are still submerged after the double jeopardy of flooding from hurricane irene and now tropical storm lee. the susquehanna river is moving massive amounts of water tonight.

new york, virginia and maryland are experiencing major flooding and the river reached record levels in pennsylvania where nbc's anne thompson has been covering it all. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the path of destruction here in the wilkes-barre area was determined by the leave vies and even though some are under extreme stress tonight, they are holding. but here in west pittston, many homes and many lives have been devastated. it was a day of unnerving discovery. >> that's my sister's house and we're katty corner to her. >> reporter: but water made it impossible for katy callaghan to get to what she's lost. >> it's disgust. disgust. it's your home. >> reporter: whole neighborhoods in west pittston swallowed up by the susquehanna river. >> that's where the river bank is. >> carl rosencrantz jr. made the

muddy trek to his parents' house, their backyard swimming pool sunk by more than two feet of water. >> the swimming pool is under there. they got water on the first floor. >> reporter: inside the tv room and basement, all damaged by the flooding. in some spots a boat was the only way to get around. floating fire crews rescued those who didn't evacuate. but even in this mess, some still refused to leave. >> we're staying, we're good. we got food and water. >> good luck. >> we just want to get them out. >> reporter: west pittston is not protected by levees. a choice locals say was influenced years ago by people living along the river. >> they wanted a view of the river, now they got their view of the river and it's all in their homes. >> reporter: the susquehanna crested at a record 42.7 feet, surpassing the mark set during hurricane agnes in 1972 by more than a foot and a half. officials say this flood damaged some 350 homes, a quarter of the houses in this borough. tonight the evacuation order here in lucern county remains in

effect for some 60,000 people, though the water has receded some, officials say it hasn't receded enough yet to allow people back into their homes. the day after the president's big speech on jobs, leaning hard on congress last night to pass it, today we got on the road to take his case to the american people. our chief white house correspondent chuck todd with us with more tonight. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. well in that fiery speech last night the president admonished congress not to play politics with the jobs issue. today we went in politics for the jobs bill he unveiled last night.e went in politics for the jobs bill he unveiled last nighhe went in politics for the jobs bill he unveiled last night.e went in politics for the jobs bill he unveiled last nighhe went in politics for the jobs bill he unveiled last night. >> hello, richmond! >> reporter: president obama took his message to the swing state of virginia. >> i know you folks are as frustrated as i am about the economy. pass this bill. >> reporter: sounding like candidate obama, he urged the richmond audience to pressure members of congress. >> i want you to call, i want

you to e-mail, i want you to tweet, i want you to fax. i want you to visit, i want you to facebook, send a carrier pigeon. >> reporter: while the white house tried to play down any political significance in today's venue, republican house member eric cantor's district, his speech last night was peppered with more geographic coincidence. >> there's a bridge that needs repair between ohio and kentucky, on one of the busiest trucking routes in north america. the public transit project in houston that will help clear up one of the worst areas of traffic in the country. >> reporter: ohio is the home of speaker john boehner, kentucky the home of senate republican leader mitch mcconnell and texas the home of republican presidential front-runner rick perry. the pr blitz included flooding inboxes with more than 40 e-mails of support. as well as dispatching vice

president biden to both national tv and local radio in ohio and pennsylvania to sell the plan. as for the republicans, the campaign arms of the party spent most of the day trying to brand the president's plan with the s-word, stimulus, a word the president avoided thursday night. but the elected republican leaders struck a more conciliatory tone. >> i have already said there are plenty of areas that have room for agreement. but i object to the all or not message that the president is delivering. >> reporter: now the white house said it will send the $450 billion jobs package officially to congress next week and it will also include the president's ideas on how to pay for it, and, brian, that's when the real fireworks are going to start. >> chuck todd from the white house, we'll be down there this weekend. in fact a program note, i'll have an exclusive interview with president obama on this jobs situation and the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that will air sunday and monday evenings here on nbc nightly news. when come back here, tom brokaw on that day ten years ago and how it changed all of us

over a decade. and later, former first lady jackie kennedy as you have never heard her before. her thoughts and feelings on audiotapes kept secret until now.

this was the scene hundreds of workers at world trade center pausing for a moment of silence this morning as a giant flag was unfurled on the new one world trade center tower that is under construction there, rising above lower manhattan. tom brokaw spent over 100 hours at the anchor desk after the 9/11 attacks and two weeks after that day, he wrote a piece for the "new york times" that turned into a kind of a prediction. prediction, quote, this new war on terrorism will be fought less conventionally and it could lead us into a deep recession. and he asked, quote, will the surge of bipartisan spirit endure, washing away the pettiness that devalues public life and alienates voters?

we have got our answer to that, that was back on september 28, 2001. here we are september 9, 2011. tom is back with us. and tom, the question i want answered is this. the only thing comparable in american life is pearl harbor, did this change our generation and our people more than that attack changed the american people back then? >> i don't think so, because then it was all in, it was world war ii, the entire world was at stake, and one of the big differences between then and now of course is that nothing much was asked of the rest of us after 9/11, we stayed at home. those who went into uniform and fought the wars in iraq and afghanistan, less than 1% of the population, took 100% of the bullets for us, so that is a significant difference. world war ii, everybody was involved. they joined up and at home they gave up things, they stopped manufacturing consumer goods so they could build war materials, a newer kind of airplane. everybody every night was

conscious of what was going on in the war. so we have not done that. >> of course we'll all pause on sunday, you and i will be down there together and you write about our cancerous divisive politics and we see what happened ten years later. >> i think one of the opportunities that this anniversary may give us, because we're going to start hearing the stories tonight on "dateline" of the survivors and the family members who lost someone, in every case, man, woman and child, they said it was an emotional blow that i will never recover from, but i decided to have a better life, more focused and more meaningful. if they can do that given their dimension of their loss, it ought to be a signal to the rest of the country and especially to washington, both sides, about how we can go forward from here. this is a time, that's what memorials are about, and anniversaries, of reflection. what do we reflect on? how do we take stock of who we are and the best reflections are those who went through the

worst, brian. >> i'll see you sunday morning, you mentioned the "dateline" special. we wanted to let you know, tom is hosting a special edition of "dateline" tonight called " 9/11 america remembers." that's at 9:00, 8:00 central. see you on sunday. >> okay, see you then. when we come back here tonight, jackie kennedy, her deepest thoughts in her own voice, kept private until now.

tonight we get to hear the voice of former first lady jacqueline kennedy recorded in 1964, kept secret until now. her comments tape recorded by the late historian arthur slessinger jr. are in a new book and compilation audio cd. with a forward by her only surviving child, caroline kennedy slaussberg. the interviews run seven hours and are candid and down right bracing at times. both her children can be heard in the background, but it's her comments on the figures of our time that are sometimes most striking. like this one about the reverend dr. martin luther king jr., mrs. kennedy harshly judged his personal life and was told that the civil rights icon had misbehaved poorly at jfk's funeral. as a result, this is how she felt about him and quotes her husband as having felt about him. >> i mean martin luther king is really a tricky person, but i wouldn't know, he never said

anything against martin luther king to me. so i don't know if bobby would would be the one to find out what he really thought of him. but bobby told me later, i just can't see a picture of martin luther king without thinking, you know that man 's terrible. >> there are also harsh judgments about linden johnson, her husband's vice president and later of course president after jfk was assassinated. >> bobby told me this later and i know jack said it to me sometime, he said, oh, god, can you ever imagine what would happen to the country if linden was president? the only times he would say it if there was ever a problem. >> it is at times harsh and provocative and tough stuff. the book was already on sale in new york today. we'll be hearing more from and about the book in the coming days. when we come back here tonight, remains of the day, no

matter where you are, chances are you're somewhere near a piece of ground zero.

five years ago on the fifth anniversary of 9/11, we visited

a somber and chilling hangar at jfk airport here in new york. it was filled with debris from ground zero, the steel wreckage of the world trade center as well as crushed fire engines and other vehicles. now that hangar is empty and that steel has now been distributed all across the country. which means no matter where you live, a piece of 9/11 is nearby. tonight we hear about how it's all happened, from those working to preserve the memories of that day in their own words. >> all of it is evidence of a crime. they were brought out here to hangar 17, an old airline hangar here at jfk airport. physical remains of the day will be preserved and honored in a dignified way for generations. >> that's good right there. >> i'm bill baroney and i'm one of the people helping to bring pieces of steel to 9/11 memorials across the country and around the world. >> left at 2:00 a.m. this morning. >> in my life, it was the worst

day ever. i'm chief jim grout. we're a very small farming community in michigan. >> the best beans you can get. >> we're not as big as new york, but we're still just as proud to be part of the fire service. being here today, put a lot of perspective on their job as well as ours. it's gut wrenching. speechless. >> i was 6 years old and a teacher came in to talk to our teacher and she told her to turn on the television. and i remember seeing smoke coming up and it just didn't seem real. it seemed like a video game or something. >> i'm cecilia warren beavers. it's an honor to have it here, it reflects who we are and what we live for, truly. the freedom that we have, and how we have to keep fighting for it.

i'm jasmine ortiz. to have a part of what happened in history that will always be remembered is important to us. >> it's history. i'm captain at the fremont fire department. we deployed 11 days after the incident. >> that at the time was 4-year-old chocolate lab, the hardest part for me was the families asking us to look for their loved ones. stuffing pictures of their loved ones in our gear. as we are walk along. i wear this faithfully since i got back from new york. >> inthis is a very big day for lynbrook. >> lynbrook is one of those places where people really step up in a time of need. a lot of people because of the railroad worked in new york city

and unfortunately that also led to a lot of loss on 9/11. >> my name is jennifer muller, i live in lynbrook new york and my brother was michael hanan. i like to believe he never knew what hit him. >> i lost my uncle and godfather that day. he was really fun, i remember that. he would hold us upside down because we were little enough and he would have been a lot of fun today too. i'm part of boy scouts troop 336. this is my eagle project to plant a little garden here. >> i think that michael would look at hanney and say good for you. >> it happened in new york, but it was felt across the country, so i think all those little pieces can help hold us together and remember what actually happened.

>> still so tough after ten years, that is our broadcast for this friday night and for this week, thank you for being here with us and a reminder, our special three-hour long broadcast, "america remembers" begins 8:00 a.m. eastern sunday morning from ground zero. as we look at it tonight, i'm brian williams for all of us here, good night. ten years later. >> won't lie to you. it's been hard. >> in the bay area, the people of san bruno continue today's theme of remembrance and recovery marking one year since the deadly expsi