on the broadcast tonight, the accused. tonight, the identity of the american soldier held in that deadly rampage in afghanistan. and new information, including his family story. hit hard. the incredible news that tornados had hit in michigan, tearing up one town especially bad, including entire neighborhoods. guilty. a verdict tonight in the college dorm webcam spying case that stunned a lot of people. will the punishment fit the crime? star power. a full week for george clooney, visits congress, the white house and d.c. jail today. he was placed under arrest. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. tonight we know the identity and family story of the u.s. army staff sergeant arrested and held following the massacre of 16 civilians in afghanistan. he's 38, an 11-year veteran. like so many in uniform this past decade, he saw a lot of action, two different wars, multiple deployments. what he's accused of goes way beyond him and continues to unfold, as a big international incident. it has the power to change the course of the war in afghanistan. we begin with the new details tonight. nbc's miguel almaguer is in ft. lewis. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. the soldier is a career military man. he spent all his time at this base since he enlisted. tonight, we are learning much more about him. u.s. officials confirm the shooting suspect is 38-year-old robert bales, shown here

training at a california military facility. deployed to afghanistan in december, the staff sergeant is accused of killing 16 afghan civilians, many children and women. today at joint base lewis-mcchord, general david rodriguez. >> it's a tragedy. everybody knows that doesn't reflect our standards and values, nor does it reflect the majority of leaders and soldiers who curve here every day as well as overseas. >> reporter: bales is a member of the third stryker brigade second infantry division with a clean record of conduct. his civil attorney spoke to his client last night. >> he felt it was his calling to stand up to the united states after 9/11 and then decided to make his career the military. >> reporter: a soldier for more than a decade, he's been deployed three times to iraq, where officials say he suffered a traumatic head injury in a crash and lost part of his foot in a separate incident.

in afghanistan, he's said to have seen a friend lose a leg. >> there was an incident right before these allegations where one of his fellow soldiers was mortally wounded a few days before this incident. >> reporter: his attorney says he may be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and never expected a fourth deployment. >> overnight he was told he was going back. he told his family and told me that he did what he was ordered to do because he's a soldier. >> reporter: bales was born in ohio. his attorney insists he is a happily married father of two stationed at lewis-mcchord his military career. the staff sergeant is said to live a kuwait, unassuming life not far off base. there are unconfirmed reports he may have been drinking the night of the murders. tonight his wife and children are on base for their own protection. the suspect's family has deep roots here in washington state.

his wife is said to be a highly-placed executive for a very well-known company in seattle. as for the suspect himself, he is headed to ft. leavenworth in kansas. >> miguel almaguer in washington state, thanks. we are learning more about some of the plots osama bin laden had been working on inside his compound in pakistan in his final days, including targeting president obama and general david petraeus. nbc news confirmed a report in "the washington post" that bin laden wanted vice president biden to become president because he believed biden was incompetent and would lead the united states into a crisis of some sort. he was also apparently so worried about the public image of al qaeda that he considered changing the name of the organization. in this country, it has been a record-setting week for weather, as we've been reporting here, but last night when word arrived of tornados as far north as michigan in the month of march it went from weird to dangerous in a hurry. weather channel meteorologist mike seidel with us tonight from dexter, michigan.

mike, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. in situations like this, post tornado, we often see debris everywhere. we often notice the oddities. take a look at this second floor bedroom closet and there are clothes and shirts still on the hangers. in a matter of seconds yesterday, this neighborhood was transformed by the twister. >> you hear the siren. >> reporter: the tornados came quickly. sweeping across southeast lower michigan. >> it looks like it's coming right at us. >> reporter: this was caught on camera as it approached dexter shortly after 5:30 p.m. >> looked like it was going to clear up. all of a sudden it came down. >> reporter: houses destroyed, businesses flattened. all in an instant. >> i don't think it was 40

seconds and it was over. >> reporter: many left homeless. some wandered the neighborhood trying to figure out what to do next. >> find a place to sleep. get a new house at some point. do whatever you've got to do. >> reporter: severe thunderstorms hit the area. accompanied by large hail and driving rain. today, people have begun to count the cost. more than 100 homes damaged. some taken right down to their foundations, but amazingly, no one was killed or injured. warning sirens likely made all the difference. >> wedding album. >> reporter: wendy martin ran inside with her children soon as she heard the alert. she looked out into the yard where the swingset once stood. >> when i saw it go by, i hunkered down with my kids. i covered them up. they were screaming. >> reporter: john missed the storm by 15 minutes. his security camera caught the moment of impact. as cleanup continues, folks here are grateful that this destructive storm didn't cause more harm. >> amazing that over 100 houses damaged and there is no death toll.

not even an injury count. >> reporter: the storm was rated an ef-3 on the fujita scale with winds as high as 145 miles per hour. this is the earliest the entire state of michigan has seen a tornado this strong on record going back to 1950. one of the reasons is you have to have warm moist air. usually we don't see that air this far north in march, but we did yesterday. temperatures in the upper 70s in nearby detroit. take a look at the jet stream. this is why it's been so warm for the past week. in fact, over the past week we set 1,800 new record highs. a big ridge involves the eastern 2/3 of the country. we've never seen anything like this last so long, records across all the states. again today more records. chicago, notable third day in a row they broke 80. for the first time an astronomical winter. winter continues until tuesday. bismark broke 80 degrees. we don't see any end in sight right now.

until the middle of next week, we can call these the dog days of march. >> unbelievable situation. so thankful no loss of life or serious injuries. mike seidel in michigan tonight. there is a verdict in the college dorm webcam spying case that called national attention to the problem of bullying after a freshman at rutgers university used a webcam to humiliate his gay roommate, who soon afterwards jumped off the george washington bridge. rehema ellis has more on the crime, the punishment and the jury's decision. >> reporter: dharun ravi shook his head lightly after the verdicts were read. the 20-year-old former rutgers university student was found guilty of the most serious of 15 charges. they include bias intimidation, a hate crime, and invasion of privacy for using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate tyler clementi, then texting others to watch. ravi's attorney argued he set up the webcam to keep an eye on his

belongings and was caught off guard by what he saw. >> the facts in the law and the evidence showed tyler was targeted because of his sexuality. >> reporter: clementi, an 18-year-old freshman was an honors student and talented musician. he killed himself in 2010, just days after the video of him kissing another man was streamed over the internet. clementi's parents called it a painful trial. >> we wanted to be here for our son and because we believe this trial was important because it dealt with important issues for our society and young people today. >> reporter: one juror called it a tough decision. >> you don't necessarily go in there thinking you want to ruin someone's life. at the same time, you've got to think of all the facts and the testimony. >> reporter: ravi said nothing as he left court. the verdict continues to draw attention to the issue of bullying, and some legal experts say it sends a message. >> i don't think it's excusable as a prank. people need to take actions seriously and understand consequences. 18-year-olds under the law are

expected to understand their behavior has consequences. >> reporter: ravi faces up to ten years in prison when sentenced in may. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. to the news out of the brutal drug war raging in mexico. we learned this week the number of children being used as cross-border drug mules has grown ten-fold since '08. there is a big debate how much drug violence is spilling over to our side of the border. nbc's mark potter has his latest report in our series, mexico, the war next door. >> reporter: in southern arizona, tammy says she and her family want to move because of all the drug and immigrant smugglers from mexico crossing their ranch at night. >> we are being forced off our land because it's not safe out here. >> there is a trail we call it the illegal trail. >> reporter: these ranchers say

their property is miles from the border are overrun by mexican traffickers. >> they're stealing my property. they're stealing my rights. i'm not happy. >> reporter: despite widespread reports of smugglers crossing the border, federal authorities say the american side is safe, and the extreme violence of the mexican drug war has not spilled over thanks to increased u.s. law enforcement. >> everything we are seeing along our nation's southwest border points to a much safer border today than it has been in over the last 20 years. >> maybe they'll need a moat. maybe they want alligators in the moat. >> there was a total mockery and insult of our situation here. >> reporter: arizona's sheriff larry dever disagrees with the administration and says mexican traffickers are increasingly aggressive.

>> right up front, i'd say the border is more dangerous than it's been. >> reporter: steve mccraw, director of the texas department of public safety says with a porous border, cartel violence is spreading. >> we identified 25 murders cartel related. we identified 124 kidnappings, extortion cartel-related. we know of 61 instances which they shot at police officers. >> reporter: making things difficult is the fact federal and state officials cannot agree how to define spillover violence and other crimes linked to mexican traffickers operating in the united states. the federal definition includes cartel attacks on u.s. citizens and police, but does not include attacks on other cartel members. that would mean a wild shootout here in dallas would not count because this alleged mexican hitman was convicted of killing another cartel member. state officials say the federal statistics do not include many

cartel crimes. professor howard campbell of the university of texas in el paso says the issue is inflamed by election-year politics. >> democrats claiming everything is peaceful, quiet, no problem. republicans arguing that the situation on the border is out of control with spillover violence. >> reporter: campbell suggests the best way to get a straight answer on the border is to ask the people who live there. mark potter, nbc news, tucson, arizona. still ahead as we continue for a friday night, george clooney under arrest. carted off to jail, capping off an eventful week. a lot of it focused attention overseas. later, "the hunger games."

as we mentioned, george clooney had a full week. wednesday he testified before congress, then attended a state dinner at the white house. thursday he met with the president again. today he got arrested at the embassy of sudan during a planned protest against the conflict in darfur. nbc's andrea mitchell covered the protest and has never really believed in covering a story at arm's distance. today she got a whole lot closer than that. as she reports tonight, it's all an effort to do exactly what it did, focus attention on atrocities taking place overseas. >> reporter: he is using his celebrity to sound the alarm, trying to arouse the world to stop atrocities by the leader of sudan.

>> we are not talking about military intervention. not talking about money. we are talking about political wills. work on the sanctions, freeze this man's money so he can't buy weapons. >> reporter: time is short. in weeks the rains will start. urgently needed aid won't get to a half million starving people. desperate times call for desperate measures. today the actor and his father nick clooney, along with civil rights leaders and four members of congress, deliberately stepped on to the walkway in front of sudan's embassy and were immediately arrested. >> andrea, it's actually a humiliating thing to be arrested, but i'm proud to be standing with my father. >> very odd place to be for a newsman. now i'm an advocate. >> what my father and his team experienced. >> reporter: clooney is best known in the world of red carpets and paparazzi, but equally at home in darfur. first bringing his father in 2006. traveling with ann curry two

years ago. hoping to dramatize a crisis a world away from hollywood. as he told brian williams on "rock center." >> i'd like indicted war criminals to enjoy the same level of celebrity as me. that seems fair. >> reporter: using his access to the powerful to stop a murderous regime from the white house to the halls of congress. >> these are war crimes. >> reporter: george clooney arrived in washington by train with a police escort and ended in handcuffs. >> not allowed to hang out at the sudanese embassy. >> i didn't know that, did you? >> reporter: a man with a light touch and serious purpose. >> it's worth a criminal record. it is. >> reporter: tonight, sudan's government said clooney put on a show that could earn him another golden globe. the actor did what he set out to do. got us talking about the horrors of sudan. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. up next tonight, a legend who lost his job last week may have landed a big new one today.

at 8:00 a.m. local time this morning, apple's new ipad went on sale at stores around the world. lines to get in were extreme. the lines are in addition to a lot of preorders online. apple is on track to sell a total of a million plus new ipads right out of the gate. proving there is no place like home in a bad economy, a new pew research poll shows one in three adult children moved back home and are living with the parents. that's the highest number since the 1950s. they apparently really like the food and access to a washer and dryer. 78% of them say living at home is just fine with them. austrian skydiver felix baumgartner is getting ready for the big one. today he jumped from a

specially-made capsule at 71,581 feet followed by a three minute 43 second freefall, saw him hurtling through the air at more than 360 miles per hour toward earth before deploying his parachute. luckily landing safely near roswell, new mexico. this was a warm-up for the big jump from 120,000 feet in a pressurized suit. that happens this summer. peyton manning's speculation hit a fever pitch today. he's been looking for a future football home. various squads have been taking a look, working him out. tonight "denver post" is reporting broncos offered him a $90 million multi-year deal contingent on his health and ability to play. this throws tim tebow into a defensive crouch. his future with the team would have to be called uncertain. a notable brit in the news. j.k. rowling has been dropped from the "forbes" billionaire's list in large part because she

has given away so much of her royalty money to charity. up next on a friday night, the movie already sold out at hundreds of theaters. it's opening next weekend.

tickets are selling out quickly for what will likely be the next big movie, "the hunger games" based on the series of best-selling novels. the hype is starting even though the film opens not this weekend, but as we said, next friday night. nbc's stephanie gosk has our report tonight from los angeles. >> reporter: "the hunger games" hysteria is officially unleashed. in los angeles, they camped out for two days hoping for a sneak peek at the premiere. >> this is going to be the movie of the year. >> reporter: around the country, thousands showed up when the young stars went on tour. the story is not for the faint of heart. set in a future where the annual game is a reality tv fight to the death. the contestants are teenagers. the main character is a strong,

cunning 16-year-old girl who quickly parlays hunting skills into assassin skills to stay alive. >> she's a futuristic joan of arc. it's amazing. >> reporter: "the hunger games" spent more than 100 consecutive weeks on "the new york times" bestseller list. it was written for teenagers, but the gripping, dark novel has appeal across generations. >> kids, teenagers, adults, women, men. everybody understands the book. >> reporter: the nationwide release is set for next friday. industry insiders suspect it may gross as much as $150 million on its first weekend. this regal cinema in downtown l.a. is going to be showing "the hunger games" on every single one of its 14 screens, that's something like 4,000 tickets. they are confident it's going to be a sellout. another mega million movie franchise is born. stephanie gosk, nbc news, los angeles.

>> that's our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we hope to see you right back here on monday evening. have a good weekend. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good evening. tonight, wet weather may have played a part in a deadly crash. a car and suv collided head on at laurel road in the santa cruz mountains.