captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. when a woman on a flight from paris to charlotte, north carolina, today claimed to have a device surgically implanted in her body, her claim was taken seriously, because it's exactly the type of thing security officials have been worried about and warning about in our post 9/11 era. fighter jets were scrambled, the woman was isolated and examined in flight, and the captain decided to put down in bangor, maine. trying to avoid panicking the passengers, the pilot announced that due to extraordinary headwinds on the way back from europe, they were going to have

to stop for fuel. but instead, when the jet rolled to a stop, a security team boarded to get the passenger off. that's where we begin tonight as our justice correspondent pete williams picks up this story from washington this evening. >> reporter: usairways flight 787 took off this morning from paris with 188 people on board, on a scheduled flight to charlotte, north carolina. but shortly before noon, it was diverted to bangor, maine. the passengers thought they were landing because of a fuel issue, and only then found out what really happened. several hours into the flight, a woman on board passed a note to the flight attendant, written in french, that said she had some kind of device surgically implanted in her body. >> the airline acted appropriately. given the security environment we're in, some of the aviation threats we've seen recently, they did exactly the right thing. >> reporter: several u.s. officials say she did not specifically claim to have any explosives or weapons, but the phrasing of her note aroused

enough concern that she was removed from her seat, 30f, near the back of the plane, and taken to a private area on board. the pilot asked if any doctors were flying and three responded. they examined her, found no scars, and determined she seemed to be mentally disturbed. even so, as a precaution, two f-15s were scrambled at 11:40 this morning to accompany the plane on into bangor. >> 787 heavy, verify cockpit secure? >> affirmative, cockpit secure. >> reporter: in contrast to incidents earlier this year in which crew members were unruly or obviously disturbed, the woman today did not act out. and there were no obvious signs of a threat. passengers say they had no indication of the flight crew's concern. officials say the woman who set all this in motion is 41 years old and was planning a 10-day visit to the u.s. they say they're satisfied tonight she presented no threat. she is in custody and may face criminal charges. >> all part of this post 9/11

era that continues to evolve. pete williams starting us off from our washington newsroom tonight. pete, thanks. and we turn now to politics and the race for president. tonight we're with debuting our new nbc news/wall street journal poll. our chief white house correspondent, political director chuck todd with us with that from washington tonight. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. well, you know, since our last poll, many things have changed. increased economic uncertainty here and abroad. president obama's gay marriage decision. the battle over bain capital, the official drawdown in afghanistan. how did voters digest it all? the partisans appear to be dig in. it's the latest piece of evidence that the obama/romney battle is shaping up to be one very close election. while mitt romney claimed victory once and for all in the republican primary, and president obama officially kicked off his bid for a second term, our new poll shows a very close race with president obama's lead narrowing from last

month from 47 to 43. the president's numbers are boosted by large leads among hispanics and women. and a small lead among voters in the 12 nbc battleground states. romney has important leads with men, suburban voters and those folks paying the closest attention to the campaign. the president's lead over romney almost mirrors his job approval rating of 48%. and that's almost identical to former president bush's job approval rating at this same point in 2004. mr. obama continues to rate higher on foreign policy than the economy. he gets positive marks for his handling of both iraq and the war in afghanistan. >> this debt is america's nightmare mortgage. >> reporter: there's a reason romney is focused on issues like the debt. mr. obama received a negative rate on not just the deficit but also health care and the rise of political partisanship. and there's a growing pessimism about the economic future. 63% say they do not feel confident their children's generation will have it better than they do. it's an anxiety that this new

republican super pac ad is trying to capitalize on. >> they can't find jobs to get their careers started. >> reporter: romney's big strength? his business background, which voters view as a potential advantage for improving the economy and reducing the debt. >> when you're president, as opposed to the head of a private equity firm, your job is not simply to maximize profits. >> reporter: the public's views of bain capital may continue to sour. already just 9% view mitt romney's former company positively, 19% negatively. the rest haven't expressed a view. as for gay marriage, for a large majority of voters, 62%, neither obama's pro-gay marriage stance nor romney's anti-gay marriage stance makes a difference. a majority, 54%, would be supportive if their state legalized same sex marriage. >> interesting new numbers tonight. chuck todd from our washington bureau. hard to believe this anniversary is upon us, but it was a year ago today an f-5

tornado tore up the city of joplin, missouri. and as we saw upon our arrival there, as our cameras were able to record, the immediate aftermath was hard to forget, and the destruction from 200 plus mile an hour winds was epic. it's also important to remember the toll. 161 people were killed, the damage added up to a whopping $2.5 billion. nbc's ron mott was part of our team on the ground in joplin the day it happened. he has gone back there for us tonight. ron, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. this battered hospital behind me is a daily reminder of what joplin lost, and just how far it has to go to fully bounce back. there has been progress here, make no mistake about that, but it's progress measured bit by small bit. ♪ >> reporter: an uplifting beginning on this first anniversary of joplin's d-day. america's costliest tornado since 1950. a disaster so profound it's still shaking the city's

collective faith in the future. >> smile. >> reporter: the class of 2012, whose flattened high school was renamed this year, got a presidential sendoff monday night. >> no matter how tough times get, you'll always be tougher. >> reporter: the sheer scope of the destruction so clear a year ago, is still starkly visible today, even from space. the latest groundbreaking was celebrated. a new $100 million high school is on the way. >> the celebration of -- of we're moving on, but it's also a remembrance of what we've all been through. >> reporter: for the dunns, a home lost. >> this path is pretty much gone, but there's new housing going up, new buildings opening. >> reporter: they moved, put up a tornado shelter just weeks ago. mercy hospital was a victim to the storm as well. this doctor treats his patient in temporary quarters. >> every church, every school had families that were lost. there's a big hole in the middle of the community.

>> it's amazing -- >> reporter: for mark norton, his son will, just hours after getting his diploma that terrible afternoon, was among the 161 killed. >> he really left a legacy. many people live their whole lives and don't leave that. >> it's very uplifting. >> reporter: a walk of unity for a town almost literally split apart, now bound in its effort to recover. >> we are one. we're with one country, one city, we're one for the growth and rebuilding of joplin. >> reporter: that regrowth and rebuilding of joplin will go on for years. as big institutions like the hospital and the high school come back, the hope is that those shattered neighborhoods won't be far behind. brian? >> thanks for going back for us. when we were is there last year, we met a woman who had a survivor's story to tell. she and her husband had all kinds of plans for the future, but all that changed in that one instant. we went back to see how bethany was doing a year after the tornado that bore down on their

home. >> this used to be home. >> and this was the day a year ago, when bethany's life was changed forever. >> this is where the garage was. my bedroom would have been right over here. >> joplin and its survivors were in shock when we first arrived there after the tornados a year ago. and one of the stories we encountered was that of a young couple, bethany and don lansaw, married six years, planning a family. then a massive storm came out of the western sky. >> i mean, the house was ripping apart. i honestly -- it happened so fast. >> when the funnel was upon them, bethany instinctively took cover in the bathtub. don, who had been a high school football star, threw his body over hers to protect her. he covered you? >> he just has so much love in

his heart. and, you know, people keep saying he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. but if i could have taken twice as much damage just to have him alive, i would have. he got on top of me to take the brunt of most of it and -- he's my hero. he's -- >> while shielding her body, don was hit by debris and died of a puncture wound to the back. >> i try to remember his smile and the way his eyes lit up when i would walk into the room. he's always in my heart. >> by now, lots of people in joplin know the story of don and bethany. it's become part of the collective memory of the disaster. >> when that tornado hit, it was -- life started over. do i have my down moments? of course.

i think anybody would. >> bethany has gone back to work, back to school and gotten involved in joplin's community theater. ♪ >> and when she needed a place to stay, her best friend insisted that bethany and her dog whisper move in permanently. these days she has more good days than bad, and finds comfort in the fact that even on the worst day of her life, she was loved and protected. >> if he got to pick a way to go, i don't think he would have chosen another way, because he was just that type of person. even though he died a hero like that, he was always a hero to me. >> bethany was happy to share the news with us, that she will earn her master's degree this summer, opening up yet another chapter in her life. we have big health news tonight about a common sleeping disorder, called sleep apnea. some 28 million americans have some form of it, and new research shows that many of

these people may have a higher risk than others of cancer. our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman is with us with more on this link. and what people can do, really, nancy, to manage the risk. >> i think this is a link that caught everyone by surprise. because we know, as you said, so many people have this. and sleep apnea has been linked to everything from automobile accidents, heart attacks and strokes. this is the first time sleep apnea has been linked to cancer. researchers in spain followed 5,200 cancer free patients with sleep apnea for seven years. and while slept, they monitored how much their oxygen levels dropped. here's the shocking finding, people with severe sleep apnea, had a 68% increased risk of developing any kind of cancer. that is an eye opening statistic. we all know there are some common factors for cancer, including the ones that -- tobacco, alcohol obesity, heredity. now, we may be looking at yet

another independent risk factor for cancer, which means if you awaken and are not rested, if you are falling asleep at the wheel or are snoring, you must be seen at an accredited sleep lab. we all talk about sleep deprivation. this is something again. we see our cancer rates still climbing in this country, yet an independent variable. >> that's why the story got the attention of so many today. >> yes. >> nancy, as always, thank you. still ahead as we continue along the way tonight, attention all those flying to summer vacation this year as a family. especially those who were hoping to sit together. you may have to pay for it. and later -- team player. he's no ordinary high school athlete. tonight, an inspiring story that gives everybody something to cheer about.

to paraphrase an old saying, it's always rush hour somewhere. and you're looking at it in a number of places across our country tonight as we have news about traffic jams as we look

live at a number of cities. turns out traffic jams weren't all that bad last year. according to new data from the u.s. traffic scorecard, congestion dropped 30% last year. cities with the worst traffic remain honolulu followed by l.a., san francisco and new york. the reason for the traffic break won't strike everyone as positive, of course. high gas prices and the stop and go economic recovery were cited in this study. well, here we are in the era of airline fees. the era of paying for any and every extra that the airlines can get out of us. this next story affects all those families hoping to fly off on summer vacation this year, and perhaps sit together on the plane. there's a good chance that will cost you as well. our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: if you haven't bought your summer airline tickets yet, $320 is the average fare, according to

farecompare.com. but sitting together as a family may cost you even more, with many airlines charging more for the aisle and window seats, in some cases $25 each way. >> really, it's very difficult for a family of four or five to actually sit together any more because of this new fee concept. >> reporter: just one example, we looked at a major carrier's flight from june 25th from atlanta to lax. in economy all of the available aisle and window seats were reserved for elite passengers or those willing to pay, until row 48. only at row 50 were four or more seats available together. today in chicago, the hodge family was starting a 20-hour flight to thailand, the kids separated. >> when they're younger, they need to be by you. you know, it just feels better to be near mom or dad. >> reporter: frontier airlines says they move passengers every day to keep passengers together. >> there's nothing more powerful than the face of a mom and dad and their little child that need to sit together.

and the appeal on board the aircraft is our last resort, but that one always works. >> reporter: the airlines insist the extra fees are necessary because the revenue from airfare alone does not cover airline operating costs. what should you do? first, experts recommend booking early and reserving a seat, if you can. or try selecting seats five days before departure. that's when elite flyers start getting upgraded. try again 24 hours before a flight when seats for the disabled are freed up. finally, the day you're flying, appeal to the gate agent for help. and don't forget other ways of saving money, like checking fewer bags and bringing your own snacks so you don't have to bring food on board. tom costello, nbc news, washington. up next here tonight, talk about watching what you eat, it turns out someone really is watching what you eat.

today will forever mark the start of the outsourcing of space travel, with the launch

this morning of the space x spacecraft. first ever launch by a private company of a spacecraft headed for the international space station. with the space shuttle retired, nasa's counting on the private sector to take over the job like this one of flying cargo, and then eventually astronauts to the space station. for now, the russians are our only ride into space. and how's this for a memorable wedding photo? caleb and kendra pence had just finished their ceremony at a farmhouse in rural, southern kansas. harper, kansas, to be exact. some bad weather started moving in. as they say in kansas, they had a little wind that night. the two tornados were about eight miles away and headed in the opposite direction, which allowed for an unforgettable photo op. as the groom's mother said, this is kansas. wheat fields, cowboys and tornados, it's who we are. a new app can show us what we are eating, though we have no

idea how they're looking into our homes. it's from the folks at massive health, and it uses color coding to show our eating habits based on time of day. you see us there in north america. mostly green equals good. then it turns 10:00 p.m. eastern time, yellow means caution. then at 1:00 a.m., all bets are off, deeply embedded red spots in there, you know who you are. graphic evidence of your potato chips, mallow mars, your haagen-dazs. they can see us somehow. we've with linked to the interactive version on our website, nbcnightlynews.com. the odds of catching a home run baseball in the stands at a major league baseball game aren't great. how about the odds of the same guy catching two back to back home run baseballs in the same game? it happened to a 20-year-old college student in cincinnati last night, and he got to see the home team reds beat the braves 4-1.

not bad. when we come back, a high school pitcher who's giving us all something to cheer about.

finally tonight, let's stay with our baseball theme. we have an inspirational story from the mound for anyone

working to succeed. nbc's ron allen has the story from oakland, new jersey. >> strike! >> reporter: some of what makes austin solecitto an ace pitcher for the braves is obvious. he has a 90 mile an hour fastball, and he throws a mean curveball too. but there's something unique about this 17-year-old strikeout artist. >> i think it probably is his focus and determination. >> to me, it's no big deal. like i just feel like any other person out there. >> reporter: but he's not. he was born with profound hearing loss, had two operations during childhood, surgically implanting a device that now allows him to hear, but he takes that off when he takes the mound. >> i actually think it gives me an advantage too. when i don't hear anybody, the other team or the parents, i can focus that much easier. >> reporter: he's considered to be one of the top high school pitchers in the state of new jersey, dominating opponents. undefeated in his first four games.

in fact, he started the season off by pitching a no-hitter. >> how will that impact you? >> reporter: he's also a star student with a 3.7 gpa and has a scholarship to boston college this fall. but solecitto's set his sights even higher, major league baseball. pro scouts attend every one of his games. >> the other team could be yelling, people could be yelling, i could be yelling, and he doesn't hear you. >> reporter: but coach george hill says communication isn't a problem, because baseball is a game full of signs. in fact, some historians credit a deaf player with creating signs for calls like strike more than 100 years ago. solecitto's coach says, the sky's the limit. >> he's a special, special young man. we'll be watching him and supporting him every step of the way. >> reporter: you don't hear the cheering either? >> don't need to. >> reporter: you just kind of go into your zone and -- >> yeah. i'm cheering for myself.

>> reporter: a teenaged phenom who sees himself like all the other players, blowing away the competition one pitch at a time. ron allen, nbc news, oakland, new jersey. >> great story to end on tonight, thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. we look for you right back here tomorrow evening, good nig we have adequate facts, strong facts to believe she has been murdered. >> right now 6:00, more than two months after the disappearance of sierra lamar, stunning news for the teenager's family. >> i'm not giving up hope. they are body hasn't been found. >> police say it was a random crime and dna evidence led them to a suspect. what we're learning about his past and why his family says investigators have the wrong man. good evening.