there is also room for the children to write a letter to santa. obviously some trains there. the fairmont guaranteej a speedy delivery to the north pole for those letters. the gingerbread house will be in the hotel lobby through the holidays to enjoy. ws at 5:00.watching nbc bay a a. we'll see you at 6:00. good night. pakistan lashes out, closing a major supply route for troops in afghanistan after a deadly nato strike on the border. and liftoff. mission to mars. tonight's nasa's high hopes for a trip in search of life on the red planet. making the grade. facing new rules that could cost them millions, hospitals race to make patients happier. and making a difference. for military families, capturing cherished memories to hold onto when they're serving far from cherished memories to hold onto when they're serving far from home.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. the already strained relationship between the u.s. and its wartime ally, pakistan, has been further stretched toward the breaking point after a nato air an attack killed 24 pakistani soldiers. it happened this morning in a pair of border outposts. the circumstances surrounding the attack remain murky and notably washington has not directly accepted blame. tonight pakistani officials are calling the incident a grave infringement of the country's sovereignty and have moved to cut off critical support to the neighboring war effort in neighboring afghanistan. let's go to kabul with the latest. >> reporter: good evening, lester. today's attack was not only a tremendous loss for pakistan's military, it was perhaps the most damaging incident for u.s.-pakistani relations in years. pakistan responded quickly

today, closing its two border crossings into afghanistan, cutting off the main supply routes for u.s. and nato forces within hours of the nato attack. nato aircrafts were apparently responding to enemy fire from a volatile and sometimes undefined border. >> support was called in in the development of a tactical situation. it is what highly likely caused pakistani casualties. >> reporter: at least two dozen pakistani troops were killed in a military post at the border. pakistan's government called the attack, unprovoked, indiscriminate and intolerable >> translator: today at 2:00 in the morning there was an attack on pakistan. an attack on pakistan's solidarity and independence. >> reporter: in addition to closing the border crossings, the government ordered the united states to vacate an air base in northern pakistan that reportedly uses to launch cia drone operations. even before today's attack, there were deep strains in

u.s.-pakistani relations. in may, when u.s. forces crossed into pakistan and killed osama bin laden, the government was furious because it had not been told of the operation. last year, pakistan closed one of its border crossings for about ten days. when u.s. helicopters accidentally killed two pakistani soldiers, the u.s. then apologized. today's incident comes just one day after marine general john allen, the commander of nato forces in afghanistan, met with the head of pakistan's army to improve coordination among u.s.-afghan and pakistani forces. >> we look at it from a strategic standpoint. why can't we identify pakistanis across the border and not bomb them? but for the guy on the ground if somebody's trying to kill you, you're going to try to kill him back. >> reporter: and recent months afghan officials have also asked for better coordination among the forces along the border because of pakistani rockets being fired into afghanistan killing civilians. pakistan claims that they were

fired at insurgents and not civilians. lester? >> thank you. and with its relationship with pakistan already on the rocks, the white house is choosing its words about this carefully. kristen welker is on the north lawn. kristen, what's the administration saying? >> reporter: good evening, lester. the white house is being quite measured in its response, in part because white house officials don't have all of the facts right now. and also because the u.s. relationship with pakistan is so incredibly complicated. here's what white house officials had to say earlier today in a statement that we have saying "senior u.s. we civilian and military officials have been in touch with their pakistani counterparts from islamabad, kabul and washington to express our condolences, our desire to work together to determine what took place, and our commitment to the u.s.-pakistan partnership". now still some analysts say that this whole incident might put is back to square one, back to the days right after osama bin laden was killed. now, secretary of state hillary clinton visited pakistan last

month and urged top officials there to get tough on militants. some analysts believe this latest incident could undo any gains that were made during that visit. now, analysts watching this quite closely in fact one telling me that this could be a "catastrophic blow to the u.s. relationship with pakistan" although another expert warns it is still very early and might be too early to know what the full impact of this will be. lester? >> kristen, thank you. another hot spot overseas remains egypt where today violent clashes continued as military rulers try to negotiate an end to an increasingly deadly standoff. for the latest we turn to nbc's ayman mohyeldin in cairo. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. it was the prime minister's first day on the job and one that began with tragedy. outside the cabinet office where he was going to assume his responsibilities there was a protest there physically trying to prevent him from entering the building. in the ensuing confrontation, a protester was shot by a security

vehicle and he was killed instantly. now, the general prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into the incident, vowing to hold accountable anyone responsible. but the protesters felt the attack was deliberate. they've seen these types of attacks on the protesters in the past. it gives you really a sense of the tension between the two sides. now all of this coming against very intense political negotiations taking place between the military and key protest figures. they've demanding the military step down from power and hand over control to a civilian government. but the civilian government has not been successful in receiving power. they say it may be several months away before power is ready to be handed over to the people. >> thank you. one more note overseas tonight in the wake of this year's arab spring, ahead of a predicted islamist victory in egyptian elections, an islamist

party is poised to take power in more morocco. it becomes a second country shoppers and retailers alike welcome some beautiful weather over much of the nation today as the opening weekend of the holiday shopping season continued. new figures out tonight indicate a strong start. sales up more than 6% over last year. buyers spent $11.4 billi on black friday. that's up nearly $1 billion from a year ago. we get more now from nbc's john yang. >> reporter: across the country, the weekend shopping spree continues full force. at a washington bookstore, the first family got into the act. early numbers show shopping's been particularly strong online. according to idm core metrics, black friday internet buying

jumped nearly 25% over last year, and a whopping 39% on thanksgiving day. >> it's getting bigger and bigger and bigger every year. about $60 billion is actually going to be transacted online this year. >> reporter: analysts say it's driven by the search for the best possible deals. >> i'm going to be spending less because we just don't know what the future holds. >> once i reach my limit, that's it. so everything's on a budget. >> reporter: but not everyone's feeling the pinch. analysts say the affluent are looking for the highest quality possible and the latest most innovative products. >> we've we're seeing higher tickets being sold. they may not buy as much but they're buying the items that are the most expensive. at the low end it is all about the price. the deals that are out there, they're extensive and they're coming at all different times. >> i wish you guys had layaway. >> reporter: layaway is one way retailers like walmart are trying to appeal to budget-conscious shoppers. it allows them to make small payment over time before getting the product. this woman is trying its for the first time.

>> it was a good deal. if we could pay for it slowly why not? >> reporter: financial experts say it could help consumers with bad credit but urge them to read the fine print because it can end up being more expensive than using a credit card. and there are other potential pitfalls, too. >> there are some retailers that if you make three or four payments and decide you don't want the product you won't be able to get a refund and you're out the moin money and not get the products. >> reporter: it's a risk some are willing to taken to sure a merry christmas even amid a gloomy economy. john yang, nbc news, new york. new york senator chuck schumer and americans for tax reform david norcrist will be the guests tomorrow on "meet the press". now to the announcement of a handshake deal to end the nearly 5-month-old nba lockout and put players back on the court by christmas. more now from nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: once again, it appears to be game on.

after a lockout, lawsuits and bitter negotiations, the wee morning hours brought news of a tentative deal pending ratification by nba players and owners. >> we're optimistic that that will all come to pass and that nba season will begin on december 25th, christmas day, with a triple header. >> reporter: if as expected the agreement is approved and those three games are played, the nba will have averted a major disaster. >> i think both sides realized that this was the 12th hour. it wasn't the 11th hour. this was the time that they had to do a deal. and if they didn't do a deal, they would lose the season. >> reporter: this year's season will be shortened from the traditional 82 games to 66. but fans are thrilled the game has been saved. >> i was so excited that we finally got to watch basketball again. >> i love this game. like that's my favorite thing to watch. >> reporter: among them the

nation's first fan, president obama. under the proposed ten-year agreement, players reportedly gave back several billion dollars in game revenues to team owners. >> i think the players are agreeing to it because they're missing paychecks. they just missed their first paycheck on november 15th. >> reporter: here in miami where it's high dollar players and many hotels, restaurants and businesses fearing huge losses if games aren't played, there was a big sigh of relief now. on his twitter feed, miami heat star lebron james said "i feel like my kids on christmas day. so juiced. excited for the fans that stayed patient with us". nba owners and players hope that by finally coming to terms now they'll keep those fans filling the stands. mark potter, nbc news, miami. the folks at nasa are calling it the monster truck of mars. and tonight the world's biggest extraterrestrial explorer is on its way to the red planet. for nasa this new mission in search of life carries high hopes and high risks. nbc's tom costello has our report.

>> 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. >> reporter: with the saturn five liftoff at the kennedy space center, nasa has launched its most sophisticated and ambition mission to mars yet. just traveling the 154 million miles to the red planet will take more than eight months. then next august a high-risk landing as a supersonic parachute slows the science lab's descent to mars, 60 feet above the planet a sky crane will gently lower the rover named curiosity onto the martian surface, leaving the rover on its own to look for signs of life, past or present. >> do we anticipate that we'll learn a whole lot about mars? absolutely. do we know what specifically that will be? no clue. >> reporter: curiosity is a six-wheeled rover standing more than six feet tall, able to drive long distances under an martian sun, analyzing rock and soil samples and sending the

results back to earth. nasa has carefully selected the landing zone on mars in the gael crater where a huge mountain rises right out of the crater floor. scientists believe they see layers of sedimentary deposit here that they hope will help them understand more about mars' history but also what happened to the lakes and rivers. he's a mars expert at the university of colorado. the evidence this scientist says now seems clear that mars once had a very warm environment. >> perhaps even today. >> reporter: that possibility poses a big problem. nasa has gone to great lengths to ensure curiosity doesn't carry any earth germs that could contaminate life on mars. high resolution cameras have already detected what appear to be large ice sheets buried under the martian surface. curiosity's mission to determine whether life is or ever was buried there, too.

tom costello, nbc news, washington. when nightly news continues, grading your own hospital care and making your hospital pay when you're not happy. and later, capturing cherished family moments for troops serving far from home. il

back now with some big changes quietly being implemented in hospitals across the country. doctors and nurses are brushing up on techniques and administrators are adding a slew of new features to keep patients

as comfortable as possible. it's all because of some new rules that have hospitals racing to make the grade. we get the details from our chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: hospitals are well-known for bland food, long waits and often lousy bedside manner. generally patients' biggest gripes. now thousands of hospitals are trying to polish that image. >> so how's it going? >> reporter: that's because under new federal rules, hospitals that discharge disgruntled patients stand to lose big money. patients already receive this survey after a hospitalization asking things like how often were you treated with courtesy and respect and how well did the staff manage your pain. but as part of president obama's healthcare overhaul, soon low patient scores on this will mean fewer medicare dollars to hospitals. at the renowned cleveland clinic there's already a la carte food on demand. a nurse or doctor checking in every 15 minutes. even a massage.

>> they just make you feel at home. and like they help you through it and they interact with you and get up you up moving and doing something instead of staying focused on the reason you're here. >> reporter: hospitals are going to be judged beyond patient comfort, on cutting wait times, preventing deadly hospital infections, and mistakes that cost 100,000 lives a year. hospitals across the country are getting the message, even hiring professional coaches to teach techniques to improve patient care. but some hospitals believe the new medicare rules are not fair. >> those hospitals that serve the sickest patients oftentimes look worse on this survey strictly because their patients tend to give lower scores when they're not feeling well. we'd like to seat survey adjusted for that. >> reporter: for anyone facing hospitalization in the future, the hope is that these changes will lead to added comfort and improve the quality of healthcare for everyone.

dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, san francisco. when we come back, the new boom among women boomers. golden girls for a whole new generation.

news from germany tonight where some 20,000 police officers are clashing are groups of protests unhappy about a train shipment of nuclear waste from france. hundreds of protesters threw bricks and stones last night

following a clash last night after a police fight where police used water cannons and batons to keep them in check. golden girls was a huge tv hit in the 80s. now it's a big trend among a growing number of women boomers looking to save money. we've got that story tonight from nbc's thanh trung. >> meet gail, sherry, lori and marion. they're all baby boomers, divorced and up until recently total strangers. >> this is my space. i got lucky. i got the master bedroom. >> reporter: for the past eight months they've shared this four bedroom house in ashville, north carolina, a living arrangement that allows them to maintain, even elevate their quality of life in retirement. it's a scene reminiscent of that iconic 1980s sitcom "the golden girls". >> i'd like to be blanch. >> i'm the old mama but i'm not quite as goofy as she was. maybe i am.

>> you are. >> reporter: each has their own private space. rent ranges from 550 to $900 a month, far less than they'd be paying on their own. >> i couldn't afford to live in this neighborhood if i was living on my own. >> reporter: nearly half a million single baby boomer women now share a home with a female non-relative. with millions approaching retirement, that number is expected to grow. and matching services have popped up nation-wide. >> in the economy now there's a lot of people who aren't quite where they thought they would be in their retirement. and so boomer women are looking at alternative housing choices. >> reporter: money is important, but lori says the companionship is priceless. >> among the laughter and sharing, i've got a shoulder to cry on and someone to laugh with. >> reporter: she lives here with her husband ron, a second marriage for both. >> sometimes it would be nice to have another man in the house. there definitely would be a balance of hormones.

>> reporter: on tv, the golden girls stuck together through thick and thin. these ladies are working on a real-life adaptation of their own. thanh trung, nbc news, ashville, north carolina. up next, intimate portraits for families kept far apart. it's our making a difference report.

finally tonight, as families spend this holiday weekend together it can be especially tough for military families far apart.

to make things just a little bit easier, some professional photographers are volunteering to capture happy memories. and they're making a difference this holiday season. here's nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: while tens of thousands of troops are scheduled to be home for the holidays, denny rindle won't be one of them. he'll not only miss christmas with his wife shannon and son dawson but the birth of his second son due in march. >> it's difficult, knowing that i got a little guy coming and i won't get to see him until he's a couple months old. >> reporter: so on a beautiful fall day in an oklahoma city park, they made time stand still, if only for a few hours. >> this makes it a little easier and gives you something to look forward to. >> reporter: the photo shoot is courtesy of operation love reunited, a group of professional photographers who volunteer to help troops have something to carry them through. >> it helps you hold a piece of home in your hand and helps the days go by quicker.

>> reporter: the photographers take pictures before or during deployments and capture the joy when a loved one comes home. tony lawrence, a photographer whose own husband served overseas, started up love to help military families cope. >> this is a very small thing we can do to help them for what they do for everybody. >> reporter: since it first started in 2006, operation love reunited has grown. there are now more than 800 photographers around the world, giving thousands of military families memories like this. but through their lenses they have also seen the harsh reality, photos that can sometimes be the last. >> some of these guys and girls, they won't come home. >> reporter: angela wilkes uses her skills to inspire a few extra smiles during a difficult time. >> a lot of people don't stop and think about having portraits done or pictures before they deploy. and so it's nice that we get to do that for them.

>> reporter: a simple gift that for awhile will be a little boy's link to his dad. >> dad loves him and dad's coming home soon. >> reporter: kristen dahlgren, nbc news, oklahoma city. >> that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. lester holt from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" then right back here tomorrow evening. "today" then right back here tomorrow evening. have a good night, everyone. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good saturday evening. i'm diane dwyer. we have been t