on our broadcast tonight, air scare. the airline captain who, earlier today, had to be restrained by passengers. the plane forced to land in an incident that will get the attention of all of those who fly. the main event. inside the showdown at the supreme court. why it didn't look like a good day for the president. and now hiring, the campaign we're making even larger to help america's military men and women find good jobs here. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. most people do the same thing when boarding an aircraft. you glance to the left quickly

to see the folks who are going to be doing the flying. once we're assured they look like pilots, we make our way to our seats where our lives are then in their hands. but today, right on the heels of the story about the screaming flight attendant who was apparently off her meds, comes this. a captain on a jet blue flight from new york to las vegas who had something of a meltdown during the flight. and again, passengers took to the aisles and went into action, as the flight was then forced to make an unscheduled landing. it's where we begin tonight. tom costello covers aviation for us. he's at national airport in d.c. tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. this captain is now in fbi custody, and we're told getting medical care. his behavior is described as incredibly erratic. at one point, talking about the possibility a bomb on board. when flight attendants asked for help, asked for other passengers to subdue him, they jumped into action and in fact they wrestled

him down to the floor. on the ramp in amarillo today, police and medics removed from a jet blue passenger plane the captain restrained in a wheelchair. home video posted on youtube captures the event mid flight. the captain is heard screaming while behind detained by passengers. tony was one of those passengers. >> visually you could tell that he was agitated and acting peculiar. very rapid head movements and hand movements. cotton mouth, a little bit of foaming at the mouth, drinking lots and lots of water. >> reporter: jet blue flight 191 was flying from new york to las vegas, when the captain started erratically pushing buttons and steering the plane. the co-pilot became so concerned he persuaded him to go to the restroom. when an offduty captain entered the cockpit and locked the door, witnesses say the original captain seemed to lose control. >> out of his mind, screaming and saying to the passengers -- say your prayers. say your prayers.

>> it appeared he was attempting to open the side door, i wasn't going to let that happen. >> reporter: passengers quickly restrained him with seat belts holding him to the floor, as the cockpit declared an in flight emergency. >> jet blue 191 emergency. we're going to need authorities and medical to meet us at the airport. >> reporter: the restrained captain was talking about israel, iraq and iran. >> you know, they're going to take us down, they're going to take us down. and then he said, everybody say the lord's prayer, just say the lord's prayer, they're going to take us down. >> reporter: nbc news aviation consultant captain john cox. >> this pilot was treated as any other passenger who's disruptive and who may need to be restrained. the flight attendant was quick to call for help, which was appropriate. >> reporter: in a statement to nbc news, jet blue will only say that flight 191 was diverted to amarillo for a medical situation involving the captain. brian? >> unbelievable story.

and again, in this post-9/11 era, it fell to passengers to help subdue the situation. tom costello starting us off tonight. tom, thanks. now to the big debate underway at the supreme court, over president obama's massive health care reform law. today was the main event of the three-day event. historic arguments over whether the requirement that americans buy health insurance is constitutional at all. a lot of the experts have been predicting that the law would probably stand. but after today, all bets are off. our justice correspondent pete williams with us from the court tonight. pete good, evening. >> reporter: brian, it's impossible to predict, based on today's argument, what the court will do weeks from now once the decision is finally written. but it does seem the majority of the justices are skeptical that congress has the power to pass such a sweeping law. [ chanting ] >> reporter: with demonstrations outside the court more organized today, for and against the health care law --

[ chanting ] >> reporter: -- the justices inside wrestled with the key question, does congress have the power to require every american to buy something on the private market, specifically, health insurance? just as anthony kennedy, potentially the key vote, showed he had his doubts. >> when you are changing the relation of the individual to the government in this -- what we can stipulate is, i think, a unique way, do you not have a heavy burden of justification to show authorization under the constitution? >> reporter: the court's conservatives asked, if congress can make everyone buy insurance, is there any end to what else it could do? >> so can the government require you to buy a cell phone because that would facilitate responding when you need emergency services? >> everybody has to buy food sooner or later. so you define the market as food. therefore, everybody's in the market, therefore you can make people buy broccoli. >> reporter: the court's liberals said the same arguments

were made against social security. >> there was a big fuss about that in the beginning. a lot of people said, maybe some people still do today, i could do much better if the government left me alone. >> reporter: and several liberal justices said the health care market is unique. >> it's different because of the nature of the health care service. that you are entitled to health care when you go to an emergency room, when you go to a doctor, even if you can't pay for it. >> reporter: that brought justice kennedy back to one of the government's key points. that the cost of treating people without insurance has shifted to those who do. it suggested his vote may be in play. >> the young person who's uninsured, is uniquely, proximately very close to affecting the rates of insurance and the cost of providing medical care, in a way that is not true in other industries. that's my concern in the case. >> reporter: so no clear victory for either side tonight. tomorrow the justices consider this question, if the insurance

requirement is unconstitutional, can the rest of the massive health care law survive? brian? >> another momentous day at the court. pete williams there for us tonight. pete, thanks. time for some analysis, our legal correspondent savannah guj guthrie here with us again in the studio. so last night you and i talked about whether the conversation and the votes are going to come down along party lines. today the questions sure seem to. and a lot of people say, this court doesn't ask devil's advocate questions. it may be an indicator. >> i'll be the devil's advocate on that. oral arguments are not always an indicator of where the court will come out. i mean, actually, if you look at the lower court that considered the health care in the d.c. circuit, conservative judges grilled the government's lawyers. and ultimately those conservative judges were in the majority upholding the health care law. there was a voting rights act case a couple years ago, where they grilled the government lawyer and ultimately upheld the law 8-1. that said, you cannot sugar coat this for the government.

this is a really tough day for the government. even the justices who seemed gettable, who because of their past writings seemed more open to an expansive view of federal power, seemed consumed by one question. if you can force people to go out and buy health insurance, are there any limits at all to what the federal government can do? none of the justices seemed to look at this as an easy application of the federal government's ability to regulate commerce. that's a problem for the government. i know we talked about it last night, may well be, if these oral arguments are an indicator, if we do see a court sharply divided along ideological lines. >> and again, we get to find out in june. but one more day on this case tomorrow. savannah, as always, thank you. to our south now, a history making day in cuba. pope benedict is in havana. the first time a pope has visited the cuban capital since john paul ii 14 years ago. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell is there tonight as well. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: brian, tonight the pope is meeting with president

raul castro, possibly also his brother fidel later. the pontiff has been urging political reform here, but gently, as he did today at a shrine that is sacred to many cubans. but there is already push back from the regime. cuba's economic czar and vice president said while cuba is shaking up their economy, there will not be political reform. still, the church has a lot more religious freedom than it did 14 years ago when pope john paul ii visited. in fact, just this afternoon, in the cathedral behind me, the archbishop of miami, thomas wenski, held a massive reconciliation for cuban americans and the people of havana. that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. many of the hundreds who came here today from miami refused to come for the last papal visit, even holding protests for those who did. tomorrow the pope holds a giant mass here in revolution square. brian? >> andrea mitchell in havana again tonight. andrea, thanks. and among those traveling to cuba to see the pope are several hundred of the catholic faithful

from miami. for a lot of people it will be a very emotional homecoming, a long time in the making. nbc's mark potter reports also from havana tonight. ♪ >> reporter: an historic cathedral in old town havana, cuba, a mass is being celebrated by miami's archbishop thomas wenski. many on the pilgrimage with him are cuban exiles, who decades ago fled the cuban revolution led by fidel castro, never to return. but with pope benedict visiting cuba, wenski sees an opportunity to finally reunite countrymen separated by the cold war. >> i think people are recognizing the need to reconcile. not necessarily with a regime or with a government, but reconcile with their brothers and sisters. >> reporter: miami businessman carlos saladrigas and his wife olga are among those making the trip. packing extra supplies for the cuban people in need. >> for the kids, i'm taking

milk, oatmeal. >> reporter: carlos, a cuban exile, once fiercely opposed any contact with communist cuba and supported the u.s. trade embargo. but after seeing the enthusiastic response to pope john paul's visit 14 years ago, now sees it differently. >> after i gave a lot of thought to that policy, it became very clear that it is far more important to help the people than it is to hurt the regime. >> reporter: andy gomez from the university of miami also is making the trip, but argues with some of his family and friends who think it's a bad idea. >> i would like to go to my homeland and see where i was born. i would. but i would never ever step there with communism there. >> we need to build bridges with the cuban people, not just the cuban-american community, the international community. >> reporter: a pilgrimage of reconciliation among the cuban family. ♪ >> reporter: mark potter, nbc news, havana, cuba.

still ahead for us tonight, flames burning out of control. a dry and dangerous start to fire season already. and later, helping this nation's military veterans with a critical mission on the home front, getting a job once they're back home.

in the mountains outside denver, colorado, a fire that was intentionally started as part of a controlled burn, as they call it, got out of hand. and now, thousands of people have been ordered out of their

homes and there have been deaths. nbc's miguel almaguer has our report tonight. >> reporter: 20,000 people may be forced to evacuate, as a fast moving wind-driven fire could close in on 6,500 homes. houses have already been destroyed. and it appears the fire has claimed at least two lives, an elderly couple, while a third person is reported missing. firefighters discovered the bodies among the charred debris. 900 homes faced mandatory evacuations yesterday. >> and they were loading cats, dogs and people onto their engines and into their vehicles just to move them out of the way. >> reporter: this fire began as a prescribed burn last week, but flared out of control in the rugged mountain community of conifer yesterday. this time lapse captured the plume of billowing smoke that could be seen as far away as denver 35 miles out. >> the plume of smoke was huge. i mean, it looked like a bomb went off or something. >> reporter: the blaze charred at least four and a half square miles. communities are still in danger. >> you leave, and you have no

idea if your house is going to be there when you come back, or if you'll ever come back. >> reporter: dry brush and 40 mile an hour gusts fuelled the fire, this afternoon winds calmed long enough for airdrops as crews arrived from three states trying to beat back the flames. a fire originally started as a way to protect neighbors has tonight turned against them. firefighters say at least 23 homes are a complete loss. zero percent of this fire is contained. there is one piece of good news, wind speeds are expected to die down overnight. brian? >> miguel almaguer near the fire line in colorado tonight. miguel, thanks. there's been another accident involving offshore drilling. this time a leak from the gas drilling platform in the north sea. 150 miles off the coast of scotland. the drilling rig owned by the french oil and gas company total -- pronounced total overseas -- was attempting to

close off a well when the accident happened. the company said today it could take as long as six months to drill a relief well to stop the leak. remember that phrase. the scottish government has declared an exclusion zone for all air and sea vessels around the rig, because of the risk that the leaking gas could explode. up next for us tonight, what may be the best news ever about chocolate for a lot of people. and what could be a game changer for folks who live in hurricane zones. what we're being told not to do.

well, here's a big change. the storm experts are telling us people should no longer tape up their windows when a hurricane is on the way. this came out of the national hurricane conference which is underway right now in orlando. they say taping the windows leads to a false sense of security. they say it's best to use hurricane shutters and impact resistant windows. and let's be honest about

something here, hearing this will be completely meaningless to the true old salts out there who are hurricane veterans from galveston to key west to nags head. they'll go on taping their windows because of the time honored belief that it reduces the number of shards of glass flying through the air during the storm. great news. while they aren't calling it the chocolate diet yet, researchers have found that people who are generally healthy and eat chocolate on a regular basis tend to weigh less than people who don't eat chocolate so often. experts say the reason might be this, even though chocolate is high in calories, it's also high in anti-oxidants which can actually help control blood pressure, lower blood sugar. at least that's the story we're going with. it's another great time to look at the night sky, if you can where you live. the london daily mail has pictures of the same show that's visible at night all over the world. it's called a conjunction, two planets shining very brightly

nearby. venus and jupiter. because venus is closer, it's the brightest in the sky. nasa says it's one of the best views of two planets for years to come. and thought it is very visible with the naked eye at night, it looks even better through just a small telescope. we may be in the midst of march madness, and good luck to any of the final four players who want to try to top this. austin worthen showing clock management skills well beyond his years as a third grader. here it comes. he tosses one up half court at the buzzer. it's good. his team wins the game by a score of 25-4. might have been a little one-sided, came in second in the league tournament. up next here tonight, getting america's fighting men and women back to work here at home.

it was one of those emotional days in norfolk, but then again, they are used to saying good-bye to war ships full of men and women in uniform headed to far away places. today was a little different because that is the "uss new york" her bough contains tons of steel melted it down from the world trade center. this is the war ships first

overseas deployment. part of a group enroute to the persian gulf and the strait of hormuz. and that brings us to our final report tonight. help for u.s. military veterans. when you think about it, their job while in uniform is to get the job done. now ask yourself, if you're an employer, don't you want someone like that on your payroll? that's the gist of our companywide campaign called hiring our heroes. a joint commitment by nbc universal and the chamber of commerce, which in the past year has held more than 100 job fairs for vets and their spouses. thousands of people have been hired. nbc's chris jansing has the story of two of those vets who got the help they needed. >> reporter: after five deployments in iraq and afghanistan, marine sergeant xavier reese wasn't expecting a struggle like this. 18 months of bouncing from one temporary job to another. >> i had stored up all my money, because i got to prepare for the

fact that i may not get a job when i get home. >> reporter: frustrated he packed his 2005 mazda and drove 40 hours straight, from california, through phoenix and albuquerque, memphis to birmingham, and finally atlanta, where he heard about a job fair at the georgia dome and off he went. without sleep. >> i got to work, you know? a man who don't work don't eat. >> reporter: sergeant reese's struggle is devastatingly common. the unemployment rate for post 9/11 veterans is 12%. 29% for vets under 25. that harsh reality was not the welcome home joshua raffi hoped for after a tour in iraq working convoy security. >> applying for all these jobs but getting nowhere, it was very difficult. >> reporter: experts say military experience and skills easily translate to jobs in the private sector. >> about 81% of the jobs we have in the military have a direct or very close civilian equivalent. >> reporter: that's the message at hiring our heroes job fairs around the country. in portland, oregon, the red cross interviewed raffi and

hired him, as a lab technician. 5,000 employers have hied 8,400 veterans, including sergeant reese who got a management job with gamestop. >> yeah, i was pretty excited on the inside, but like i said, you got to maintain your cool. you have to. you have to. >> reporter: mark qualls hired reese because of his military experience. >> so much to offer, from leadership ability to great communication. typically they've got exceptional work ethic, reliability, accountability. >> for sergeant reese, real life battles fought and won from fallujah to atlanta. successes at war and now at home. chris jansing, nbc news, atlanta. >> now, this movement, hiring our heroes, is expanding to sponsor 400 job fairs in the next year, starting tomorrow morning in new york aboard the aircraft carrier and floating museum "the intrepid." "the today show" will be

broadcasting live from there. there are also fairs tomorrow in chicago, ft. hood, texas and stuttgart, germany. all the information is on our website, nbcnightlynews.com. that is our broadcast for a tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening, good night. good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. there are new revelations tonight about fbi investigation of bay area muslims. recently a document showed what were billed as community events may have been fact-finding missions. we have reaction tonight from the muslim community with joe rosato