on the broadcast tonight, show of force across this country. protesters, police and a big confrontation where the entire movement began. the motive. what we're learning tonight about the man the fbi says tried to kill the president. trapped. an airline pilot tries to take a break, gets trapped in the bathroom triggering a comedy of errors that was all caught on pe. and out to lunch. does pizza really look like a vegetable to anybody? the better question may be what does congress have against healthier lunches for kids? does congress have against healthier lunches for kids? "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. tonight from new york west to chicago and st. louis and beyond, members of the protest movement that started under the banner occupy wall street are on the move. this is the two-month anniversary of the birth of the movement. this was billed as a day of action. it started in new york with thousands on the move and police right behind them. we begin with this still unfolding story tonight. nbc's mike taibbi in lower manhattan. hey, mike. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the occupy wall street movement had promised huge crowds for its day of action and that prediction finally looked realistic a short time ago. now some 5,000 protesters, union members are gathered in foley square. that's near city hall and federal buildings. before that, much smaller crowds and the police in complete control even when tempers flared. there were confrontations that resulted in scores of injuries and scores of arrests in lower

manhattan. the police from daybreak on keeping protesters on the sidewalks, out of the streets and away from announced or expected targets like the new york stock exchange. [ chanting ] >> reporter: protest spokesmen said at least they would disrupt or delay the opening bell. >> we're frustrated. we're angry and they can't go about business as usual. [ bell ringing ] >> reporter: but the bell did ring on time and as usual. in the streets outside it was clear even some supporters were losing patience with the drawn out occupy phenomenon and its impact on the neighborhood. >> i was supposed to be at work at 8:30. it's taken me over an hour. >> reporter: others aimed signs at the protesters or shouted. >> go out and get a job. >> reporter: overnight, occupy movement tent cities were dismantled in dallas and berkeley. >> every time we set up the

police are going to trample on our first amendment rights. we're going to come back and say we're not going to have our rights abridged. >> reporter: by day, the protests and sporadic arrests did continue. in portland, oregon -- >> we need good jobs, not cuts. >> reporter: in los angeles, albany and las vegas. >> we're going to send a message to the 1% that the 99% aren't going to take it anymore. >> revolution! >> reporter: they have been saying the same thing for two months. without a list of demands or a concrete plan how much support does the movement have now? >> we want to stimulate the economy. we want people out of the parks and our city. the fight is in the wrong place. >> reporter: so far there have been about 200 arrests and there will be more if the protesters who amassed outside the bridge on the manhattan side try to cross the bridge and disrupt rush hour. so far that hasn't happened. brian? >> mike taibbi in a wild night in lower manhattan. mike, thanks. tonight for the first time in close to two decades, a man has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the united states. it's a case that underscores the risk we face every day in a

democratic society. he's a homeless man from idaho now formally charged with the attempted assassination for firing rifle shots from a car at the white house. at least two rounds actually struck the building. and while the president was not in residence at the time, the full force of the law has now come down on this suspect. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has more on the charges and the suspect. >> reporter: appearing today in a federal courthouse in pennsylvania not far from the motel where he was arrested, oscar ortega hernandez was formally charged with attempting to assassinate president obama. in newly filed court documents the fbi said friends of his from idaho describe him as increasingly agitated, convinced the federal government is conspiring against him. he considered president obama, quote, the anti-christ. ortega said he needed to kill him, the fbi says. in idaho, his father told telemundo, nbc's spanish language network, that ortega was obsessed with november 11,

the date 11/11/11. that's the day the shooting happened. ortega said the world would end that day, his father said. investigators said he fired nine rounds from a semi-automatic rifle like this one, a knockoff of the ak-47 purchased more than a year ago in idaho. the fbi says agents have confirmed several bullet impact points on the white house, declining to give a specific number. investigators now say ortega pulled over and stopped the car on constitution avenue last friday night, firing from the passenger window. a former secret service agent says even though president obama was in california the night of the shooting a charge of attempted assassination is still justified. >> all that matters is what's in the mind of the criminal, not if the president was there or not. he very well may have thought the president was home. in that case, he, in fact, committed a crime. whether he was home or not is

irrelevant. >> reporter: attempted assassination of a president carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. the last man convicted for it, of shooting at the white house during the clinton administration got 40 years. pete williams, nbc news at the justice department. now to the latest on the awful child sex abuse scandal at penn state university. signs tonight that more victims may be willing to come forward. nbc's peter alexander reports tonight from the penn state campus. >> reporter: with the penn state child sexual abuse scandal growing, several lawyers tell nbc news more potential victims of jerry sandusky are now coming forward and beginning to share stories of abuse, some reportedly dating back to the 1970s. >> there is comfort in numbers. i think that they now understand that we're not alone. >> reporter: ben andreozzi represents at least two alleged victims. one not in the report. andreozzi said he was told by authorities he is victim number 11. >> my client was sexually assaulted by mr. sandusky in the early '90s. he was sexually assaulted on the

grounds of penn state university. >> reporter: also today the new york times reports officials at the second mile, sandusky's children's charity, discovered several years of documents missing. according to the times, investigators are concerned the missing files may limit their ability to determine whether sandusky used charity funds to recruit new victims or even buy their silence. just weeks after then graduate assistant mike mcqueary witnessed sandusky allegedly sexually assaulting a boy in the locker room shower in 2002 mcqueary joined sandusky at an easter seals charity flag football game. three months later, mcqueary showed up to support sandusky's annual charity golf tournament benefitting the second mile. >> everything relative to the second mile has been past my wildest dreams. >> reporter: mcqueary spoke briefly with nbc news today. >> i'm not going to go into detail about anything. i think it's obvious i tried to do the right thing. >> reporter: penn state students and alumni say they are trying

to do the right thing as well, launching a fund-raising effort to support victims of abuse. so far having raised more than $400,000. also tonight the top democrat on the house education committee is calling for a hearing on the child sexual abuse scandal here at penn state, brian. >> peter alexander for us tonight in state college, pennsylvania. peter, thanks. it was on the move last night when we were on the air. a violent weather system that swept across the south has left six people dead including a 3-year-old girl. tornadoes were reported in four states -- louisiana, alabama, mississippi and south carolina. severe thunderstorms hit several more. dozens of people were injured. property damage is severe from this. by the way, these tornado-related deaths bring the year's total to 553. that makes this the deadliest year in this country since 1925. on capitol hill today, a hearing on failed solar energy company solyndra which got half a billion dollars in government

loan guarantees, then went bankrupt. energy secretary steven chu who was in charge of the loan program defended his agency's handling of the situation under aggressive questioning from skeptical republicans who allege big campaign donors had too much influence over this loan program. >> the final decisions on solyndra were mine. i made them with the best interests of the taxpayer in mind. >> i don't see a chain of e-mails looking out for taxpayer money. i see a whole lot of e-mails in the administration that are concerned about the politics. that's what stinks the most about this. >> solyndra was based in fremont, california. president obama himself visited the company last year. its failure cost all 1,100 workers their jobs. back in the days of the reagan administration there was a big flap over the government's efforts to classify ketchup as a vegetable for the purposes of this nation's school lunch program. it didn't work then. now there is a fight over pizza

and what constitutes healthy food for our kids in school. our report tonight from nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: look at this picture. what do you see? in this week's washington test congress sees a vegetable. >> a pizza alone, particularly pizza with no vegetables on it, just tomato paste, it's common sense. it's not a vegetable. what's next? are twinkies going to be considered a vegetable? >> reporter: congress says pizza qualifies as a vegetable because it has two tablespoons of tomato paste and it will remain a vegetable. congress rejected the department of agriculture's attempts to make school lunches healthier. >> congress has put the interest of the pizza and french fry industries before the interests of our children and before our children's health. >> reporter: the agriculture department wanted to cut back on french fries, reduce sodium,

increase fruits and vegetables and require a half cup of tomato paste for a pizza slice to get a vegetable credit but the food industry balked and argued kids would, too. >> for many of the kids served by the federal school program this is their primary source of nutrients through the day. so we need to ensure that we are providing them foods that they will eat. >> reporter: parents in chicago also want foods that are good for kids. >> junk. i don't think it belongs in school lunches to be honest. >> i don't want the kids to be my size, you know. >> reporter: in the last 30 years childhood obesity rates in the u.s. have more than tripled. first lady michelle obama is on a mission to change that urging america's kids to exercise and encouraging healthy eating. mcdonald's got the message reducing french fries and adding fruit to happy meals. red lobster and olive garden are making their children's menus healthier, too. but congress isn't budging. it says pizza is a vegetable. >> vegetables are vegetables. they are grown out of the ground. >> reporter: giving america new food for thought. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. when we continue here tonight, a sudden scare in midair.

a pilot takes a bathroom break and almost causes an emergency landing. then later, making a difference tonight. helping young people find the job of their dreams.

back now with a story about a pilot on a delta flight who needed to use the lavatory. nothing wrong with that. he didn't know the lock would jam and didn't know that would lead to a huge misunderstanding in midair and eventually lead to a situation just shy of an emergency landing because air traffic controllers here in new york city feared there might be a hijacking or worse in progress. nbc's tom costello picks up the story. >> reporter: it was nighttime in new york air space when it happened. chautauqua flight 6132 flying as delta connection from asheville, north carolina, to laguardia was at 10,000 feet when the copilot radioed controllers of a potential problem. >> the captain has disappeared in the back. i have someone with a thick foreign access trying to access

the cockpit right now. i have to deal with this situation. >> reporter: the pilot had gone to the rear of the jet to use the lavatory. but while inside the door jammed. a passenger tried to help free the pilot, then went to the cockpit to tell a suspicious copilot what was happening. >> what i'm being told is he's stuck in the lav. someone with a thick foreign accent is giving me a password to access the cockpit. i'm not about to let him in. >> reporter: meanwhile, air traffic controllers put fighter jets on standby. listening in, another pilot offered a piece of advice. >> you guys ought to declare an emergency and get on the ground. >> reporter: nbc news aviation expert former captain john cox says it was reasonable for the first officer to fear a hijacker may be trying to talk his way into the cockpit. >> since 9/11 the doors are hardened, the locks are hardened. it would be virtually impossible for somebody to just, using their body, to get into the flight deck. it was designed that way specifically to prevent that. >> reporter: finally the flight

attendant who was in the cockpit as a security procedure when the pilot was out left the cockpit and freed the pilot. the pilot radioed controllers. >> i had to fight my way out of it with my body to get the door open. there is no issue. >> okay. >> reporter: once on the ground police and fbi quickly determined it was all an embarrassing misunderstanding. tom costello, nbc news, washington. and you know how the airlines are charging for every conceivable thing these days? imagine being asked in mid flight to pay for fuel. the passengers on a charter flight from india to the uk were asked for $205 apiece, a total of $31,000 when the plane made a refuelling stop in vienna. they came up with the money though some had to get off the plane and hit the atm in the terminal to do it. apparently the travel agents who took their money didn't pass it along to the airline. up next as we continue, what members of the u.s. senate have decided to do to try to get along better.

♪ johnny angel ♪ how i love him ♪ he's got something that i can't resist ♪ "johnny angel" was cowritten by lee pockriss. he has died at the age of 87. we also have him to thank for the classic "itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini" and "catch a falling star," the perry como classic. lee pockriss was born in brooklyn. he served in the pacific in world war ii. he also wrote for broadway and for "sesame street." we continue to learn so much about ourselves from the new census. the latest stats tell us a few things. first of all, we're older. census bureau reports the number of americans aged 90 and older nearly tripled in the last three decades. we are also fewer. the birthrate has been dropping steadily since it peaked in 2007. the decline has been linked to

the economy. the one group having more children, the birthrate among women over 40 is up to its highest level since 1967. and we are also getting bigger. according to new stats on weight and health, if americans stay on the current path, 83% of men, 72% of women will be overweight or obese by the year 2020. so there's that. well, it was one thing when that freak prehalloween snowstorm hit connecticut and sent 800,000 customers into the dark. it was another thing when the outages went on for some folks for 11 and 12 days. it has proven too much for the boss to hold onto his job. jeffrey butler, president and chief operating officer of connecticut light & power, resigned today under fire. a search is on for his successor. maybe this will heal the partisan divide in washington. washington post reports six lawmakers have organized the senate's first ever secret santa

gift exchange. how cute is that? so far, more dems than republicans have signed up. minnesota democrat al franken was a primary backer of the effort which the paper said is meant to inspire collegiality. they placed a $10 limit on gifts. in a tangentially related item, the national debt clock cranked past $15 trillion this week, and still no agreement on budget cutting in washington. up next here tonight, our making a difference report. dreaming big to keep kids in school.

it's a disturbing number. more than 25% of this nation's high school students now don't graduate. there are a lot of ways to try to reverse the number. one of them to help kids make the connection between school and the rest of their lives. our chief education correspondent rehema ellis reports tonight on an organization helping to reach young kids with a simple question -- what's your dream job? by doing so, they're making a difference. >> reporter: divantre brown loves to play video games. now he's learning to design them.

>> i would love this job. >> reporter: by 8th grade he showed all the signs of a kid heading for trouble -- low test scores and little interest in his subjects. but that's all changed. he's one of several hundred middle schoolers involved in spark, a mentoring program that aims to reduce dropout rates through one on one apprenticeships. after deciding on their dream job, students are paired up with professionals. painters, photographers, even firefighters. >> for so many kids they don't see the connection between school and the real world. for a lot of kids that relevance gap is the difference between staying in school or dropping out. >> reporter: kids like javier modrano, who through his apprenticeship with an architectural firm saw blueprints -- >> now you can see the good stuff. >> reporter: -- turn into buildings. >> it's made me more passionate about the work i do seeing his interest in what we do. >> reporter: in seven years

spark placed more than 1,000 teens in apprenticeships with impressive results. nationwide, the high school graduation rate is 72%. for kids in spark, it's 98%. sonia chadre apprenticed with a social worker in 2006. now she's a full scholarship student at stanford, on track to graduate in 2013 with a degree in social work. >> it was definitely really helpful. i felt like i knew the direction i wanted to go to. i just needed to explore the different opportunities within that. >> reporter: sparking new dreams. >> think about the cameras on all three sides. >> reporter: by turning the workplace -- >> d equals -- >> reporter: -- into a classroom. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. >> that's our broadcast for this thursday 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

thanks for joining us here at 6:00. we begin with developing news. a vallejo police officer has been shot and killed. an intense manhunt is under way po sucespects.li police responded to a bank robbery just before 2:00 this afternoon. >> that robbery taking place at bank of america on spring road. he was chased to janice street whe