on the broadcast tonight, shots fired at the white house, prompting an urgent manhunt for the gunman now under arrest amid questions about his motive. the star witness in the penn state scandal now claiming he did talk to police about what he saw going on. the insider. newt gingrich under scrutiny for the money he's made versus the words he's spoken about a big player in the mortgage mess. and the pickup artist. the young guys on a road trip that turned into a mission making america beautiful. that turned into a mission making america beautiful. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. tonight a homeless man from idaho is in custody.

he's accused of firing shots at the white house. investigators say at least two rounds hit the building from a shooting incident last week. while the white house is often called the people's house, the most important people in it are the president and the first family, going back to the early days of the republic. and while a modern city has grown up around it, and while every precaution is taken to keep the structure and its inhabitants safe, in this case it was apparently vulnerable to one man with a weapon, even though the president was not home at the time. we begin tonight with our justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: investigators were carefully checking the white house today looking for other possible rifle rounds like the one that hit a window. it's on the truman balcony, third floor. inside is the oval living room near the family living quarters. it damaged the historic glass, but stopped by a bullet resistant layer, a security feature on white house windows.

on the south lawn below agents with metal detectors looked for more rounds. only two have been confirmed. agents want to know if pock parks they are discovered could mean other rounds hit. investigators are virtually certain shots were fired last friday night about 9:00 p.m., from a car speeding along a nearby street. the shots came from here on constitution avenue, about a half mile south of the white house. they were fired from a car moving in that direction, apparently by the driver firing across the passenger seat and out the window. that distance equal to nearly eight football fields is the limit for the useful range of the assault rifle thought to have been used. the car was found abandoned a few blocks away with the rifle left inside. it was traced to a homeless man from idaho, oscar ramiro ortega hernandez. authorities say he has a long record of minor crimes in three states and may have mental problems. he was arrested shortly after noon today in indiana,

pennsylvania, by state police. federal agents have told staff at a local motel, he had stayed there earlier. >> and alerted them to the fact that this subject had been there in the past and may come back in the future, and that if he did appear, they were to notify local law enforcement and the secret service. >> reporter: the white house has been a target before. a colorado man against gun control, francisco durand, fired more than two dozen rounds from the pennsylvania avenue sidewalk in 1994. no one was hurt, he got 40 years in prison. as for this latest shooting, authorities are considering serious charges, possibly attempted assassination. pete williams, nbc news, washington. >> for his part the president is in australia tonight, his third try to get there. he cancelled once during the health care debate, again after the bp oil spill. both nations have announced the u.s. marine corps will move an entire task force to australia. eventually numbering 2,500 marines. it's been a dangerous day of weather in this country across the southeast.

a giant storm system and a gigantic front along with it, still spooling out to the north and east tonight. earlier produced several suspected tornadoes. there are reports of tornadoes in louisiana, mississippi, alabama, georgia and florida. at least one person was killed when a tree crushed a vehicle. at one point downtown atlanta was included in the warning zone. suburbs told to take cover. throughout the region, more than a dozen people were injured. thousands of people are without power after a lot of trees and power lines came down. now to the latest in the awful scandal at penn state. there is new scrutiny tonight on the assistant coach who is also the star witness here because of what he saw. tonight there are new questions, new e-mails emerging about whether he did or didn't go to the police to report wrongdoing. nbc's peter alexander live on campus tonight, state college, p.a. peter, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. tonight penn state tells nbc news that jerry sandusky has been barred from university

facilities. this is one of the details in the shocking sexual abuse case. he's supposed to be the prosecution's star witness, but there are new questions tonight about whether mike mcqueary alerted authorities after allegedly witnessing former assistant coach jerry sandusky sexually assaulting a boy in the shower in 2002. the grand jury report says mcqueary was never questioned by university police. but in an e-mail obtained by the associated press, mcqueary told a friend last week, i did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police. tonight the university tells nbc news, we have no record of any police report filed by mike mcqueary. this is the first we have heard of it. on tuesday, mcqueary described his emotions to cbs news. >> all over the place, just kind of shaken. >> crazy? >> crazy. >> you said what, like -- >> a snow globe. >> like a snow globe? >> yes, sir. >> this evening, a lawyer for one of sandusky's alleged victims tells nbc news his

client is digging in his heels. and is even more motivated to testify against sandusky after hearing his interview with bob costas. >> it's fair to say that my client was revictimized as he watched mr. sandusky make his statement. >> reporter: nbc news has also learned that at least five children from the new york city-based charity, the fresh air fund, may have stayed at the sandusky home in the 1970s in addition to at least one child in the 1990s. the fund has alerted new york and pennsylvania authorities who are now investigating. also revealed, the district court judge who set sandusky's bail well below what prosecutors asked for, received $1,000 in campaign contributions in 2007 from the chairman of sandusky's children's charity, the second mile. late today a new judge was assigned for sandusky's preliminary hearing next month. and tonight penn state has announced the hiring of a new athletic director. as the university tells us that its former president graham

spanier who was removed from office last week, brian, can still teach here at penn state. >> peter alexander on campus for us tonight. thanks. now, to presidential politics, and in the demolition derby that's been the republican primary campaign so far, newt gingrich is the latest candidate to be enjoying a surge in the polls. at the same time, he's facing head winds now over what he did for the bailed out mortgage giant freddie mac. our report tonight from andrea mitchell. >> reporter: in iowa today, newt gingrich rising in the polls was using his debating skills to parry charges he's part of the washington money game. >> we just tried four years of ignorance and it didn't work very well. having somebody who actually knows washington might be a really good thing. >> reporter: at each stop he was trying to explain his status. his firm made between 1.6 and $1.8 million from mortgage giant freddie mac. widely blamed along with fannie mae for contributing to the housing debacle. payments that started only months after gingrich's own

party forced him out of congress. >> we have many clients who asked for strategic advice and we provided strategic advice. we did no lobbying of any kind, period. >> reporter: when pressed in last week's cnbc debate, he said he offered advice as a historian. >> were you not trying to help freddie mac fend off the effort by the bush administration to curb freddie mac. >> no, no -- >> to curb freddie mac? >> reporter: some say gingrich did a lot more. >> it's a way for a former member of congress to back door lobby. they call themselves a consultant, they don't meet any definitions of a lobbyist, but they're still influencing policy. >> reporter: while gingrich was privately taking freddie mac's checks he was publicly railing against other politicians including barack obama for accepting campaign contributions from the mortgage giants. >> what you have is the rich on wall street and the powerful at fannie mae and freddie mac, had so many politicians beholden to them, that in fact nobody was

going to check them. there is something profoundly wrong about the current system. >> reporter: gingrich's campaign has already overcome criticism of his lifestyle, tiffany purchases and a vacation cruise. now the charge that he's just another washington politician. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. now, at the same time, congress is looking into huge bonuses that fannie mae and freddie mac are paying their executives. and kelly o'donnell is here with us in our studios tonight with more on this. kelly? >> good evening, brian. so here's what set off the latest round of outrage. $13 million in bonuses for executives for the two mortgage giants that had to be bailed out by taxpayers. these bonuses come after fannie mae and freddie mac actually lost $4 billion last quarter. what stood out during a grilling on capitol hill is how these ceos, michael williams and charles halderman, answered questions about their own income. >> what year did you first have compensation, including a bonus that put you over $1 million? >> congressman, i'm not sure what year that was. >> so money's not that important

to you? >> no, money is important to all of us who are here today, sir. >> you did come out of the private sector, hopefully you remember -- what did you make the last year you were at putnam? >> i don't recall. >> did you make more than a million dollars? >> yes, i did. >> i must tell you, mr. halderman and mr. williams, you all come from a different world than the one i come from. if i had made a million dollars, i sure would know when i made it, that's for sure. >> the executives say the high salaries are needed to compete for the best talent. one more note, brian. freddie mac has now asked the federal government for another $6 billion. >> it got hot in that room on capitol hill today. kelly o'donnell, thanks. the protesters of the occupy wall street movement are regrouping after being removed from their camp sites in several cities. in seattle last night, a march turned into a confrontation between police and occupy protesters. pepper spray came out. dozens of people were sprayed, including several clergy members.

one person seen here on seattlepi.com ended up with a face full. protester identified as dorli rainey who is 84 years old. and a protest overseas making news tonight in the philippines, a crowd attacked secretary of state hillary clinton's motorcade. they threw eggs, rocks and balloons full of red paint. the car she was traveling in was not hit, the lead vehicle was. protesters are against a military treaty between the two nations. now we turn to syria. a nation very much on the brink, increasing violence, defections from the regime. and as we've been reporting, president assad's neighbors including turkey, turning against him. the question is, is yet another authoritarian ruler in that region about to go? our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in istanbul for us tonight. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. this has been going on in syria for eight months now.

3,500 people killed. but this week, something changed. the uprising in syria became a revolution. since monday, government forces have killed dozens of activists. but now, syrian troops are being killed by the dozens as well. the uprising in syria has changed because of men like these, among the hundreds if not thousands of defectors from the syrian military. they call themselves the free syrian army, and now they've mobilized. on monday they attacked government troops and destroyed tanks with rocket propelled grenades. overnight, they struck a government air force intelligence headquarters on the outskirts of damascus itself. one of their commanders hiding in syria said attacks will continue as long as the regime targets civilians. the attacks will escalate, he said. syria is also under pressure diplomatically as never before.

including from its own neighbors. jordan's king abdullah on monday. >> if it was me, i would step down and make sure whoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo that we're seeing. >> reporter: turkey has even threatened to cut electricity it supplies to part of syria. the prime minister said the future cannot be built on the blood of the oppressed. even a leading saudi royal is now predicting president bashar al assad's downfall. >> i think it's inevitable he will have to step down in one form or another. >> reporter: today in morocco, an emergency meeting of the arab league to condemn syria. syria's seat was empty. its membership suspended. the arab league has given syria three days to stop the violence, allow in international monitors or face new sanctions. brian? >> richard engel from the region tonight. richard, thanks. still ahead for us here this

evening, the grandmother paying the price for the big money fight going on in the nba. and the question, how did it come to this? and later on, two guys on a road trip across our country. and they're cleaning the place up as they go.

this year's nba season hanging now by a thread. the talks have taken on a certain "wake us when they're over" quality. across this country it means sports arenas are sitting there empty on nights when they would have been packed with paying customers. as the wealthy players and owners fight over profits, a lot of others who make a lot less are caught in the middle of this. nbc's george lewis has our report from los angeles. >> reporter: it's moving day for laura plumber of hayward,

california. she's been forced to find a smaller apartment and file for unemployment because her paychecks from the oracle arena in nearby oakland have stopped. >> if there's no game, we don't work. >> reporter: plumber was making $17.79 an hour carrying for the uniforms worn by personnel at the arena. when she heard the nba players rejected the owner's latest offer, she said she was devastated. >> i cried. and then i just decided that i would just keep doing what i've been doing and hang in there like everybody else. >> reporter: the projected economic loss to nba cities across the country is huge. oklahoma city estimates the thunder pumps $60 million a year into the economy. in san antonio, the number is $95 million a year for the spurs and in memphis, the grizzlies add an estimated $223 million a year. in los angeles it's a double

whammy. staples center is home to two nba teams -- the lakers and the clippers. with both of them out of action, businesses around here are feeling the pinch. at big wang's restaurant and sports bar, receipts are way down and tips for the serving staff have all but disappeared. >> i'm worried what the numbers are going to look like come january. >> in nba markets, you're going to hear these stories -- these human interest stories about these people and what they're going through. and they'll juxtapose that against the nba players and the owners who will come across as even less sympathetic. >> reporter: back in hayward, we asked laura plumber what she would say to those nba owners and players. >> i wish they would think about the other people. >> reporter: people like laura who now face the grim prospect of a lean holiday season without paychecks. george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. up here next tonight, a new honor for some brave americans who boldly went where no man had gone before.

let the word go forth across this land, congress has done something right. they presented the congressional gold medal today to the crew of apollo 11. three of the bravest men of our time. at great risk and with no guarantee of coming home, really, they went to the moon back in 1969. michael collins up there in the orbiter, buzz aldrin, neil armstrong on the moon. armstrong was the first. he's remained a quiet hero, a private man who never once capitalized on his role in history. for good measure, by the way, john glenn also received a medal today as the first american to orbit the earth. it's a good thing nobody asked him about this. dan burbank, thanks to a ride from the russians, because the u.s. has no way to get him up there. he has arrived at the international space station as part of a crew of three scheduled to be up there until march.

karl slover has died. he was among the last surviving munchkins from the movie made in 1939 that's always amazed us, scared us a little bit and stayed with us all these years, "the wizard of oz." karl played the first trumpeter, he was a soldier. he sang one of the "follow the yellow brick road" verses. he was born in slovakia. his parents sought out every doctor to try to make him grow. he only reached 4'5". he later joined a traveling show, moved to the u.s., became an actor. karl slover was 93 years old. up next here tonight, the story of two pickup artists in a good way.

finally here tonight, it's green week here at nbc. and tonight we have a story about some young people who don't just look the other way when they see a water bottle or fast food wrapper on the side of the road. instead they pick it up. and, in fact, picking it up is why they are on a cross-country trip, why they call themselves the pickup artists. their story tonight from nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: think cross-country

road trip and stunning american vistas come to mind. but on their trip, they're finding an ugly side of the scenery. >> big heaping mounds of trash and furniture and everything on the side of the road. >> reporter: they call themselves pick-up artists and started pick-up america. a trek from coast to coast targeting trash. >> i had never picked up trash for eight hours in my life. now we've multiplied that by a year and a half. >> reporter: they began in maryland in march 2010 and have traveled more than halfway across the country. >> look at all this waste. it's ridiculous. >> reporter: walking more than 2,000 miles, picking up almost everything imaginable. >> the way i like to sum it up, you find people's dirty habits on the side of the road. >> reporter: more than 140,000 pounds of litter. >> you guys ready to pick up some trash today? [ cheers ] >> reporter: they also pick up local volunteers. 17-year-old haley batenburg joined in kansas. >> i didn't even realize it was this dirty. i drive on this road every day. i always kind of -- never noticed.

>> reporter: they plan to end their journey about a year from now, here in the san francisco bay area, home to spectacular scenery and a lot of disgusting litter. but while pickup america plans to clean this up, their ultimate goal is to make sure the trash doesn't come back. >> we can pick up, and literally a week later there will be more litter on the ground unless people stop buying things and using them once and throwing them on the ground. >> reporter: as important as picking up is leaving behind lessons. >> when are we going to transition away from putting poisons in our environment every single day? >> reporter: they travel in an old bus that runs on recycled vegetable oil. >> we are young people, and we have to take ahold of our future. >> reporter: not your typical road trip. but for them, doing anything else right now would be a waste. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, san francisco. that is our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

developing news now at six. the occupy movement heats up in san francisco as protesters take over a major bank. good evening, everyone. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj. >> dozens proef testers stormed the bank. let's bring in gene ely who joins us now by phone.