democratic president is having dinner with republican senators. suddenly it's a town where a senator who abjects to something on the senate floor but instead does a inner jimmy stewart and mr. smith filibuster. is washington changing the way we do business or are we in for more of the same? close to 1:00 a.m., it was still going on. >> we all agree, if someone is outside the capitol with a rocket launcher, grenade launcher, lethal force can be used against them. >> reporter: it started 13 hours earlier. >> i rise today to begin to filibuster john brennan's nomination for the cia. i will speak until i can no longer speak. >> reporter: paul wanted a straight answer from the president on the use of drones. >> the answer should be so easy. i can't imagine that he will not expressly come forward and say no. i will not kill americans on american soil. >> reporter: and it kept going. >> cafe in seattle. africa has great resources.

on a kill list -- >> reporter: after a while, he got some help. >> i will read a series of tweets. so proud of rand paul standing up for what's right. stand with rand. >> that takes me back to another modern-day poet by the name of jay-z. >> reporter: even democrats chimed in. >> he's raising an important issue and i think it's a legitimate question. >> reporter: paul couldn't leave the floor or even sit under senate rules. in the end, it was nature's calling that stopped the filibuster. >> thank you very much for the forbearance and i yield the floor. >> reporter: but today, success. the attorney general sent a terse but clear response this time to paul's original question about whether the administration would use drones against americans on u.s. soil. the answer to that question is no. but while paul became a folk hero to some republicans, new high-profile colleagues took him to task. >> i find the question offensive. this president is not going to use a drone against a noncombatant sitting in a cafe anywhere in the united states. >> reporter: senator's lindsey

graham and john mccain also happened to be among the dozen republican senators who broke bread with mr. obama last night. >> how did the meeting go? >> just fine. >> reporter: the reviews by other senators also went very well. by the way, the president today had lunch with another republican, paul ryan. and john brennan, he has been confirmed. he is now the cia director, brian. >> chuck todd, white house lawn tonight. chalk, thanks. also today, the president signed a reauthorization of the violence against women act, first passed back in 1994. but recently held up because of budget fighting, of all things. the law makes it easier to prosecute domestic violence crimes in federal court, provides funding for services, including battered women's shelters and hotlines. during today's ceremony, the president said, quote, all women have the right to live free from fear. this ongoing debate over abortion is making news again tonight. the effort by some states to reduce access to abortion has

just reached a new level with arkansas passing what is now the nation's toughest law, restricting access to abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. nbc's pete williams reports tonight on this latest strategy by abortion opponents. >> reporter: abortion rights groups say they're already preparing their legal challenge to the new arkansas law, now by far the strictest in the nation. >> this law is reflective of what the people in arkansas believe. and that's what we're here for. >> reporter: enacted over the veto of the state's democratic governor, mike beebe, it restricts access after 12 weeks of pregnancy when roughly 12% of the state's abortions are performed. the sponsor of the law says 12 weeks is when a fetus has a measurable heartbeat, the sign of life. >> and my hope is, is that the conscience of america will awaken to this issue and that we will figure out a way to have more balance. and that's what the heartbeat bill is about. >> reporter: abortion opponents in other states say recent

research shows that long before a fetus is viable, it can feel pain, though many medical experts say that's not the case. eight states now have so-called fetal pain laws in effect, barring abortions after 20 weeks in all but exceptional cases, such as a danger to the mother's life. similar laws in three other states, arizona, georgia and idaho, have been blocked by the courts. abortion opponents are scoring other victories too, putting new restrictions on clinics, requiring more parental consent and imposing waiting periods. >> anti choice politicians have been chipping away at access to abortion services for years. what arkansas has done with this ban on abortion within the first trimester is not just chipping away. it's taking a sledgehammer to the guaranteed rights of roe vs. wade. >> reporter: after failing to get much traction in the courts, opponents of abortion are now finding success in state legislatures, still hoping to find the right case and the right time to get roe v. wade overturned. pete williams, nbc news, at the supreme court. tonight, u.s. officials say

osama bin laden's son-in-law, an accused plotter in the 9/11 terrorist attacks has been captured in the middle east, is now in u.s. custody here in new york. officials tell nbc news he's been a prisoner in iran for most of the past decade. he is scheduled to appear in federal court tomorrow on charges of conspiracy to kill americans. not everyone is happy about that. the republican chairman of the house intelligence committee says bringing him to stand trial in the u.s. is a mistake, because he's an enemy combatant and should instead be sent to guantanamo. now to north korea. a nation that has nuclear weapons and is tonight threatening to use them against the united states, vowing to attack washington and engulf the nation's capital, quote, in a sea of flames. as you can imagine, this outburst has prompted a strong response from the white house. our chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell, monitoring developments from our

d.c. newsroom. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. tonight the white house says the united states can defend itself against the north korean missile attack, even as pyongyang ratchets up its threats against the u.s. it was north korea's toughest threat yet, announced on state tv. >> translator: since the united states is about to ignite a nuclear war, we will be exercising our right to preemptive nuclear attack. >> reporter: a recent government video shows a north korean missile blowing up manhattan. pyongyang defied the world with a nuclear test last month and a missile test in december, but experts say the regime has not proved it can put a nuclear warhead on a missile that could reach the u.s. and all this may be backfiring. today china, north korea's closest ally, voted with the u.s. for the toughest economic sanctions yet, hitting kim jong-un and his generals where it hurts. luxury products like yachts, racing cars and jewelry. >> one of the important provisions of this resolution

today was to make clear that a wide range of luxury goods, including some very specific luxury goods, aren't going to be able to be imported for the leadership of north korea, which is living large while starving its people. >> reporter: kim's love of western products and sports was proved again only last week by his bizarre embrace of dennis rodman. despite pyongyang's newest threat, today the u.s. and south korea continued scheduled training exercises in south korea. while officials say the u.s. is well-defended against missile attacks, south korea and japan are increasingly worried about their belligerent neighbor. >> this 28-year-old leader is either trying to embolden himself with the military that run the operations of north korea, or the other way around. the military is exerting force over this young 28-year-old leader, and the saber rattling is serious and we should take it seriously. >> reporter: u.s. officials don't deny that the white house sent secret envoys last year to test whether the new leader wanted a better relationship

with washington. now they have their answer and it is not good. brian. >> andrea mitchell in washington for us tonight, thanks. here in the northeast tonight the winter storm made its way across the country much of this week is now churning along the coast, exactly what the coast doesn't need and can't tolerate, because coastline defenses are down, so much remains battered and torn apart by hurricane sandy. we get our report tonight from nbc's ron allen on the jersey shore. >> reporter: this morning in mantoloking, one of the towns hit hardest by sandy, the main road was closed again. the sand dune meant to protect this small community where residents were only allowed to return last month failed in at least three places. through the day, workers raced to plug the dike before the next high tide. >> we're exposed now, we have built the dune in the last several weeks. we have a pretty high dune, the length of mantoloking, all gone

as a result of this nor'easter. >> reporter: up and down the new jersey shore, at least five towns have voluntary evacuation orders. it's another anxious night with flood warnings in place until friday. further north in new england, the coastal communities also are bracing for street flooding and possible evacuations. in scituate, south of boston, about a dozen streets were closed this morning, swamped by high tide. you ever get used to this stuff? >> well, the older you get, the less you get used to it. >> reporter: back in new jersey, a busy day for firefighters here in sea bright, dealing with fires in buildings damaged by sandy, now exposed to this new storm. and this afternoon, as the winds eased a bit, roofers were in high demand, as homeowners raced to repair the damage yet again. >> the wind came in from that direction, and just ripped off totally, like, half the roof. >> ron allen's report tonight from sea bright, the northern tip of the jersey shore.

still ahead for us tonight, it looks like a war zone ravaged for years by crime and drugs and neglect. but it's surrounded by some of the great wealth in america. our visit with the man leading the charge to fight back and the young man who is inspiring his cause.

tonight we begin an ongoing series of reports which will air occasionally over the next year on a single topic. we'll be covering poverty in america, an effort supported by the ford foundation. tonight we begin with the poorest city in the nation and the most dangerous city all in the same place. it's camden, new jersey, right across from philly. camden is a city of 77,000, a place most people avoid or take pains to drive by. a place i first covered 25 years ago, and as we found upon our return there, the story of camden cannot be avoided anymore. the skyline of philadelphia is almost painful to look at from

here, because it's so close. such a glittering symbol of wealth and prosperity, compared to here. they say camden is the city that hope forgot. they didn't always say that. walt whitman was from here, and his words are on city hall. in a dream, i saw a city invincible. sadly, most people see something else. >> i always think of camden as the best visual aid in america. to see what has gone wrong and what is going wrong. >> well, it's staggering poverty surrounded by staggering wealth. >> correct. >> father michael doyle has served this community for more than 40 years. as a newly arrived irishman, he was there the night bobby kennedy came to town, and he campaigned against poverty. >> i don't think that's acceptable in this country and i don't think it should be tolerated. >> many people blame the poor. we have to get over that and realize that american citizens are dying in inner city america and dying in camden at levels

never seen. >> last year, there was a shooting here on average every 33 hours. per capita, it's the highest crime rate in the country, the highest murder rate in the country in the poorest city in the country. >> last summer we had three people shot two blocks that way, a person shot one block that way. just last week at this time of the day we had a person shot right in front of this store. >> we spent the day riding along with camden's chief of police, scott thompson, whose own roots are here in this city. >> this 50 years ago was the shopping center mecca of south jersey. >> look at this. chief thompson's grandmother worked at rca when manufacturing was king in camden. campbell's soup started here, the booming ship yard built the great vessels kitty hawk and indianapolis for the war effort overseas. if i landed from mars, how do you describe camden to people. >> i guess the one word is challenged. extreme poverty, extreme crime.

>> thompson and his police force have to improvise. the department was cut in half two years ago, the criminals and drug dealers know that. and they operate brazenly and in the open. >> i got somebody i want you to meet. >> and it was that summer nearly two years ago when the chief met 9-year-old jorge cartagena in the hospital. he is the lifeless boy shown on surveillance video after getting caught in the crossfire in broad daylight on his way to the store, and the bullet to the head left him blind. >> when i open my mouth, it goes in. >> no kidding. look at that. did you hear gunshots first or see it? >> when he started shooting, i looked at the other guy that was running and the other guy said duck down and go to the corner. >> what's the last thing you remember? >> that my eyes were burning. >> how do you not lose hope? >> what keeps me going is the connection i have with the people that live here. >> in fact, chief thompson has

remained a presence in the boy's life. after the shooting, he was named jorge's godfather. a local charity called heart of camden, a part of father doyle's church, helped jorge's family move into a nice row house on a safer block. what's the difference between here and where you used to live? >> in my old house i was scared to come out and here i'm not. >> jorge is an optimistic 10-year-old who hopes that some day science will at least give him partial eyesight. >> my doctor said they might be able to put a microchip inside your head and you'll be able to see black and white and all that. >> for the chief, who on any given day has an absentee rate among his stressed-out officers of 30%, relief is about a month away. the city department will become part of a new county force that will add roughly 200 officers to the ranks. >> it may take us longer to get there. but at no point in time can we ever quit. failure is not an option.

>> this is just one part of our reporting on camden. we have another airing as part of an all-new "rock center" tomorrow night, 10:00 p.m., eastern time. we're back in a moment here tonight with what's lurking right off the coast, just in time for spring break. sharks and spring break are

sharks and spring break are a bad combination. for that matter, sharks versus human encounters rarely end well. this is the scene just off palm beach in florida. they estimate the swarm at tens of thousands of sharks. while it's not uncommon to see a shark in florida, this is a big herd. perhaps, they say, because of an early migration. another big name is leaving the senate. carl levin, first elected in 1978, will not run for re-election in 2014. he's the longest-serving senator in michigan's history. chairman of armed services, he ranks fifth on the overall seniority list. carl levin is 78 years old. the white house is trying to

defend the announcement that it will suspend white house tours due to budget cuts from that sequester. breaking down the numbers, the u.s. secret service says it has 37 officers on staff for tours at a weekly cost of $74,000. the white house is getting slammed for this, because it's such a public and visible cut, while other forms of government keep right on going, as if they're trying to prove a point. while other expenditures continue, house speaker john boehner has called cancelling the white house tours silly. two items regarding weight making news tonight. a new study shows paying people is an incentive to work off a few pounds. a chance to win or lose 20 bucks a month was enough to convince some dieters in a year-long study to drop an average of nine pounds. we also learned today, more than 20% of adults in this country are obese in every single state of the union except one, colorado. west virginia had the worst

single obesity rate. we're back in a moment with a vehicle like no other.

finally here tonight, our correspondent covering the vatican has frankly had some

downtime while waiting for the conclave to start. in rome, a city of vespas and fiats. she has noticed people getting around on something new, very small, not for someone faint of heart, however. the story tonight from nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: if there is one thing that's eternal, it's traffic. with congested roads, narrow, ancient streets and even narrower parking spaces, a small car or scooter is the way to go. now drivers need no longer choose one or the other with the head-turning twizy. our guide, mateo, an italian journalist, who covers the auto industry. four feet wide and under eight feet long, plug-in car has four wheels and not much else. there's no rear-view mirror. >> yes, no. you have to use the side mirrors for that. >> reporter: even the doors are unique. >> go like this. >> reporter: it goes up? >> yes. >> reporter: and you can see through the bottom. and windows are optional. making for a unique ride.

>> ciao, mateo! there's no room for my purse, and barely room for me. in the seat behind mateo. >> oh, my gosh! okay, did it. amazing. >> reporter: but the real fun comes when behind the wheel of this zero emissions vehicle. [ honking ] >> reporter: ooh, sorry. not making friends. if you know where you're going. best part is, i have no clue where i am. with top speeds of 31 or 50 miles per hour, depending on the model, the twizy is not highway-ready. but for under $12,000, it does make a flashy green statement. finito. who in italy buys this car? >> well, you know how italians are. we like to be fashionable and to look good. >> reporter: is this ever going to compete with a ferrari or lamborghini? >> i think not. >> reporter: the twizy, adding some zip to a roman holiday. anne thompson, nbc news, rome. >> we heard from anne, she is

okay. that's our broadcast on this thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you back here tomorrow night. good evening. she was a breath of fresh air. in the lives of so many. >> he taught me more things than i can count, and i know that i'm not the only one here who can say that. ♪ >> an audience of thousands came out to say a final good-bye to the two officers who served and died in the line of duty. a stunning blow to a department that had not lost one officer in its 150-year history. >> good evening, and thank you for joining us.

i'm jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. we want to begin was breaking fuss in san jose. police are investigating a homicide at a senior center, but there's a twist here. this man has been missing for a few weeks till now. the man was found stabbed to death at the hilton manor senior apartments on ironwood drive near the church on the hill near highway 87. george kitayama is on scene. what are investigators is telling you at this hour? >> reporter: the man's name is stanley jacobson. he was reported missing back in mid-february. here's a picture. apparently his family found him inside his apartment this morning, san jose police officers have arrest aid suspect. at this point they are not saying who this suspect is and what their connection may be. back in mid-february, police were looking for a woman named regina butler. slae not saying whether she's the suspect.

we did talk to his neighbor and friend just a short time ago. >> totally shocked. we've been looking everywhere for him for the last three to four weeks. and he wasn't at lunch because we always you know, meet together at lunch every day. and he does his little magician tricks or us, and that's how i first met him four months ago. >> here's a live look at the scene right now. officers came out to the hilltop apartments around 11:30 this morning. a homicide investigators have been out here for a few hours talking to people who live here as well as gathering evidence inside jacobson's apartment. that's the latest here. we're live in san jose, george kitayama, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, george. remember further dedication to the job and to the love they shared with their families is, sergeant loran "butch" baker and elizabeth butler where is honored by the people and respected most, their colleagues, their friends and their children.