get past the seven-day forecast. >> thanks. nbc nightly news is next. we'll have more local news on the bay area at 6:00. we'll see you then. good night. on this sunday night, what they saw. tonight for the first time what witnesses are saying about the shooting death of trayvon martin. nbc news exclusive, an american soldier accused of slaughtering 17 afghan civilians. tonight his wife speaks out for the first time to matt lauer. showdown. they're camped out at the supreme court on the eve of a case some are calling the biggest in a generation. tonight the high stakes over health care. hiring our heroes. nbc news joining forces to help more than a million unemployed veterans get back to work. and back to the future as a tv favorite finally returns.

how life is imitating art for tv favorite finally returns. how life is imitating art for today's mad men and women. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. almost one month after an unarmed florida teenager was shot to death by a neighborhood watch volunteer, the demands for an arrest in the case only seem to be growing louder. calls for justice echoed across several american cities today, even as new witness accounts raise more questions about just what happened when young trayvon martin and that volunteer, george zimmerman, came face to face on a darkened pathway. zimmerman's defenders are stepping forward, shedding new light on his version of events. we'll speak with his attorney here in just a moment. but first, ron allen with the latest from sanford, florida. ron, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, lester. today george zimmerman's

supporters have been making the most detailed case for why they think he's an innocent man. at the same time witnesses have come forward to explain why they think he's guilty. that as protesters keep up the national cry for justice. ♪ massive support continues to spread across the country, from atlanta, to new york and chicago, thousands donned hoodies in church in solidarity with trayvon martin and his family. >> stop the violence. save the children. >> reporter: here in florida, the message thundered from the pulpit. while a friend of george zimmerman, joe oliver, stepped up the pushback in an interview with "dateline." >> i think one of the things that really caused this to snowball even faster was the -- george being described as a white man. george is latino. >> reporter: he insists trayvon martin initiated the confrontation, knocking zimmerman to the ground, a scuffle that he says left his

friend with a gash in the back of his head, a broken nose and grass-stained clothing. and he said the fact that police told zimmerman to back off in that 911 call was not the issue. >> are you following him? >> yeah. >> okay. we don't need you to do that. >> if what george claims is true, none of this would have happened if trayvon had just said, i'm staying with my parents. >> reporter: and the screams he hears on those tapes, he says were his friend zimmerman. >> it sounded young. it didn't sound like a grown man, is my point. >> reporter: martin was killed on the walkway right outside mary kutcher's open window. she believes the screams were martin just before the gunshot. >> when the gunshot went off, the crying stopped. if it was zimmerman who was crying or whining or whatever because he was hurt or, i think it would have continued. >> reporter: that's why she's told police this was not a case of self-defense. late today martins family

attorneys said zimmerman supporters are just blaming the victim adding that trayvon martin would be alive today if zimmerman didn't get out of his car and start acting like a police officer. >> ron allen in florida for us tonight. thanks. we're joined now in the studio by craig sauder, george zimmerman's attorney. a lot has been said, as you can see this is very emotional right now. what don't we know in this case, and at the end of the day how do you think this will all play out? >> you know, from the beginning there was some type of conflict and at the end trayvon martin ended up dead. i think there's a lot of information in between those point that has not been disclosed. and i think the investigation that's going on the will disclose that. >> you think it will show mr. zimmerman acted in self-defense. do you base that on this stand your own ground law? >> mr. zimmerman was acting in self-defense. and i think under the statute, i think he was doing it in a rightful way. >> did police do their job? >> i believe they have.

i believe that they've taken time. there's been a concern, well, why wasn't he arrested that night, the police aren't doing their job. well, they're doing a thorough investigation. >> we appreciate you being here today. we'll hear from you, as well as witnesses in the case and the martin family as we take a closer look at this story on "dateline." 7 o:00, 6:00 central here on nbc. more fallout from the killing spree in afghanistan. an american soldier accused of slaughtering afghan civilians. tonight we're learning about compensation payments from the u.s. government to the families of those killed. also tonight, army staff sergeant robert bale's wife is speaking out for the first time, exclusively to matt lauer. nbc's john yang has the report. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with "today's" matt lauer, robert bale's wife said she can't believe her husband would kill nine afghan children and wound two others. >> when i asked what kind of dad he was, you said he was so involved with his children. he loves children.

>> he loves children. he's like a big kid himself. >> and he is accused of killing nine children. >> right. >> innocent children. >> it's unbelievable to me. i have no idea what happened. but he would not -- he loves children. and he would not do that. >> reporter: in afghanistan, u.s. military officials tell nbc news they paid about $50,000 each to the families of the dead and $11,000 to the wounded. substantial sums in a country where the average household makes only around $300 a year. >> i think more than anything, it's to assuage our own guilt that this has happened. >> reporter: to some victims' relatives, it's not about the money. this man lost 11 family members. "money will not satisfy us" he

said. "we want these people to go on trial." the attorney said military prosecutors feel the rampage was carried out in two waves, alleging he returned to base after the first attack and then slipped out again to continue the killing. >> here's the clearest evidence there was premeditation. when he went off and came back on again. >> reporter: the case is now scheduled to go to trial or go to future proceedings at his home base near seattle, which is also closer to his wife and two small children. military officials say there are no plans to move him there anytime soon. lester? >> john yang, thanks. you can see matt's full interview with karilyn bales tomorrow morning on "today." tomorrow the supreme court takes up one of the most important cases in decades. the obama administration's sweeping health care law. a major issue in the presidential campaign. now the justices will decide whether it's constitutional. our justice correspondent pete williams has the details.

>> health care now, health care now! >> reporter: it touched off tea party protests in the streets. >> throw out this bill! >> reporter: brought condemnation from republicans running for president. >> i will stop obama-care in its tracks and get it repealed. >> reporter: and made a huge change in federal law, a landmark in the obama presidency signed two years ago. >> everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care. >> reporter: but 26 states and a national business group are challenging the law's central requirement that all americans get health insurance. here's the key question. how much authority does the constitution give congress in the power, quote, to regulate commerce? the challengers say congress has no power to regulate people who are not involved in a commercial transaction. that means, they say, that congress cannot force people to buy something, in this case, health insurance. >> and the one thing that congress has never tried to do before is essentially to force somebody to engage in commerce

so that the congress could then regulate their commerce. >> reporter: if congress could make people buy insurance, one federal judge said, it could order people to buy and eat broccoli to become healthier. but the obama administration says the law doesn't regulate insurance, it regulates the entire health care market, which everyone is involved with voluntarily or not. a former top obama administration lawyer says that is regulating commerce. >> frankly, everyone is in the health care market, even the person who doesn't have health insurance is in the market. they could get hit by a bus tomorrow, they could get struck by cancer today and show up in the emergency room. >> reporter: and it's commerce the administration says when the cost of treating uninsured people gets transferred to those who do have insurance, raising a family's costs by an average of $1,000 a year. tomorrow's arguments begin with this question -- can the challengers bring the case now or do they have to wait until 2014 when the insurance mandate kicks in?

>> i doubt the justices are going to say they can't decide this case. there's too much at stake. billions and billions of dollars. i think they realize the nation really needs an answer to this question. >> reporter: the court turned down a request to televise this week's courtroom drama or allow live radio broadcasting. so getting in is the hottest ticket in town. about 40 people are already camping out in line, and some have been here since friday night. >> pete williams at the supreme court, thanks. now to the news that took a lot of people by surprise last night. former vice president dick cheney in intensive care after a heart transplant. mr. cheney had a history of heart problems, suffering five heart attacks, and he had been on the transplant waiting list for 20 months. i'm joined by our chief medical reporter dr. nancy snyderman. >> we think of 70 as being the cutoff. but if the tissue matches right

and he waited a pretty long period of time, then, you know, there are just times that it gets matched up. he had run out of options. >> in terms of his overall health, it is good? >> this is where the ethical issue comes up. because there are younger people also on transplant lists. when you have heart failure over this prolonged period of time, lungs and kidneys take a hit. that will be the question as he moves forward. he'll be on immuno suppressive drugs for the rest of his life. >> thanks. >> you bet. the president visited the border region between north and south korea. >> reporter: making his first trip to the demilitarized zone, which separates the two koreas, president obama peered intently

at the isolated north. >> it's like you're looking across 50 years into a country that has missed 40 years or 50 years of progress. >> reporter: but now north korea plans to test launch another long range rocket, threatening to derail a deal with the u.s. for food and ice o o late itself even further. at a news conference with the south korean president, mr. obama said he would urge china's president to restrain it communist neighbor when they meet later today. >> what are they doing to help guide or encourage north korea to take a more constructive approach. >> reporter: during his visit to the dmz, mr. obama thanked american troops for their service. >> you guys are freedom's frontier. >> reporter: mr. obama's visit comes during a moment of heightened tensions with north korea. administration officials insist this trip is aimed at reaffirming ties with the south and not at provoking the north. the president is here officially to discuss ways to control the

spread of nuclear weapons. at a meeting that has attracted leaders from more than 50 countries and protesters from all over the world. but north korean nukes are still a dominant topic of conversation in the summit corridors here. kristen welker, seoul. we're getting late word of an earthquake in chile. the magnitude 7.7 quake struck 60 miles north-northwest in the city of talca in southwest chile. everyone there at a casino there felt it. but there are no reports of damage or injuries. still ahead, as "nightly news" continues, hiring our heroes as they return from war. helping women have it rans get back to work.

tonight we're proud to announce our nbc news network-wide initiative in partnership with the chamber of commerce to help 1 million unemployed veterans get back into the workforce. tonight we're focusing on unemployed women veterans, and the mentors helping them realize their full potential. we begin our series, hiring our heroes. >> reporter: women now account for more than 7% or 1.8 million of the nation's veterans. according to the department of veteran affairs, more than 135,000 are unemployed. and there's a growing demand for programs to help women vets work their way into civilian labor force. 35-year-old dawn smith is used to action. as a single mom of four and an

air force veteran, she spent eight years as a logistics specialist moving people and equipment in and out of iraq and afghanistan. but that experience didn't help when she returned to north carolina. >> i have two masters degrees and unable to find a job that fits my qualifications. >> reporter: she found work as a secretary making just over $30,000 a year. but she wanted work in her field, accounting. for help, she turned to the business and professional women's foundation. mandy smith, a career counselor, is dawn's mentor as she adjusts to civilian life. >> one thing that they talk about in the air force is transition, but they don't give you the tools necessary to transition to the civilian sector. >> reporter: mandy gives dawn those tools. how to write a resume, interview skills and negotiating a salary. >> sometimes i'm a coach, sometimes i'm an advocate, sometimes i'm just helping them explore options and

possibilities. >> let's go. >> reporter: caroline allen found out mandy does even more. the 40-year-old mother who served 20 years in the army landed a job on her own in kentucky but turned to sandy for something else. >> i don't want to just know how to get a job. i want to know how to keep a job. >> reporter: in the civilian workplace, she says, the strict regulations of the military world no longer apply. >> they tell you how to dress, and that's the way you would dress. you have no choice. but to know that you have choices in the way you present yourself and your appearance in the civilian world, as simple as it sounds, i was not prepared for that. >> reporter: now it's sandy's mission, getting caroline, dawn and others prepared. >> she told me she would be there until i find a job that i need, and she's proving it every day. >> reporter: you believe her. >> yes, i definitely believe her. >> reporter: programs like the business and professional women's foundation has helped tremendously in lowering the

unemployment rate among female veterans, but the need will continue as the war in afghanistan winds down, lester. >> glad we can shine a spotlight on it. rehema, thank you. pope benedict.

hundreds of thousands came from across mexico today for an open-air papal mass. the 72-foot christ the king monument towering above them on pope benedict's final day in mexico. the pope toured the crowd in his popemobile before the service, wearing a black and white sombrero, to the delight of the crowd. tomorrow the pope leaves mexico for cuba, and when he arrives, he'll be visiting a much different country than when pope john paul ii last visited 14 years ago. mark potter joins us now from havana. good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, lester. the pope is expected to see huge crowds here, too, and to meet with both raul and fidel castro during his three-day cuban visit. many here hope the trip will

help strengthen the cuban catholic church which has been struggling to raise its profile after decades of being ostracized after the cuban revolution. in the last two years cardinal jaime ortega negotiated the release of prisoners and the church now provides much needed social services as cuba tries to reshape its troubled economy. still tengs remain over issues of religious and personal freedoms. last weekend members of the dissident group lady in white were detained after a protest march. pope benedict is urging cuba to find alternatives to markism. >> mark potter in cuba for us. an update on this weekend's republican primary in louisiana. rick santorum was the winner by a wide margin over mitt romney. he plans to continue his campaign and fight on even though he trails romney in delegates by a margin of more than 2-1. as expected "the hunger games" swallowed the competition at the box office taking in a

whopping $15 million. that's the third highest u.s. opening of all time and the highest ever for a nonsequel. the only movies that earned more the opening weekends, harry pot arer finale and the batman sequel "dark knight". a big win for tiger woods in old orlando. he won the arn ald palmer invitational, his first victory on the pga tour in 2 1/2 years and the seventh time woods has won this tournament. when we come back here tonight, mad men and women, then and now.

♪ finally tonight, that music you hear is sheer joy to millions of "man men" fans. the award winning show about a madison avenue ad agency in the '60s returns tonight after 17 months off the air. the show is so popular it's a source of inspiration at ad agencies today, which don draper and company would hardly recognize. here's nbc's michelle franzen. >> reporter: on amc's "mad men" advertising executive don draper is in the business of selling ideas. >> advertising is based on one thing. happiness. >> reporter: fans are

anticipating the return of the series, centered around a 1960's madison avenue ad agency. >> lipstick, mark your man. >> reporter: the series is so popular, it's caught the attention of today's advertising world. here at hill holiday in boston, advertising executives have helped create a campaign taking a nostalgic look back. hill holiday collaborated on a special throwback issue, in which the ads and life seemed simpler. >> we look back on it, it was a time when we were really coming into our own, i think, as a country, you know, in a fresh way. and it's nice to feel that way. >> reporter: it was also a decade when unbridled creativity ran parallel to seismic societal shifts, when women were working their way up in a man's world. >> you know, i just saved this company. >> reporter: but when sexism in the office and in ads was still the norm. >> women were very subservient.

we accepted the sexist status quo as that's the way things were. >> reporter: jane moss has been called the real life peggy olson and wrote a book "mad women" about her experience as a copyrighter back then. >> it's only today as i look back i realize how downtrodden we were and what jawbreaking sexism was truly going on. >> reporter: though times have changed, top ad executives like karen kaplan, hill holiday's president, can still relate to the show. >> i started at hill holiday as a receptionist. we've come 180 degrees today. >> i think i identify not in the lifestyle perspective, but i would think with don draper. it's a tough, tough business. >> reporter: "mad men" and women, past, then present. michelle franzen, nbc news, boston. that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. we hope you join us tonight for "dateline." with more on the trayvon martin case. brian williams will be here