sandcastles that collapse. the 76-year-old inherits a church dogged by scandal and infighting. cardinal timothy dolan of new york said francis was chosen in part because the cardinals believe he can overhaul the vatican bureaucracy, called the curiae, accused of being corrupt and ineffective. >> he's known for his honesty, candor, sincerity, simplicity and running a pretty well oiled machine in one of the most complex, largest archdioceses of the world. i think he can do it. >> reporter: in rome there is a sense a new era is under way. like saint francis of assisi whose name he took, the pope's first acts were signs of humility. choosing to ride the bus with the other cardinals instead of the papal limousine. keeping the iron cross he wore in argentina. returning to this religious guest house today to pick up his bags and pay his bill. small gestures that may signal bigger changes ahead. >> he can make the changes needed because he knows from his

own experience in buenos aires what has been missing here in rome. >> reporter: today, francis focused on winning the hearts of romans. going to a basilica dedicated to christ's mother, the virgin mary, considered to be a protector of rome. this souvenir shop near the vatican quickly switched allegiances, quickly selling out of 6,000 photos of the new pope. embracing a more humble image in this regal setting. anne thompson, nbc news, the vatican. i'm miguel almaguer in buenos aires. at an afternoon mass inside the city's main cathedral, the faithful pray for the man who once led their church and will now lead the catholic world. when he was cardinal here, pope francis often sat in the back pews, accessible to anyone seeking his help. his sister said today he never wanted the papacy. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> reporter: when i met john

paul ii, i looked up and saw his gaze of infinite loneliness. my brother's gaze reflects love, but i didn't want it to reflect loneliness. in the slums of buenos aires, the celebration continues. here the man who became pope ate with and cooked for the poor. he was their advocate, holding mass in their neighborhood church. in the streets they honored the man who was a daily fixture among them. he always wanted to be together with the people of the streets, says this man. the pope hasn't escaped controversy. critics say three decades ago as a church leader he did little to protest argentina's church supporter dictatorship under which some 30,000 people disappeared. it is still remembered here as the dirty war. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> reporter: the pope could have done more during the war. the church could have done more, too. but most welcome the first latin american pope. in mexico city, bells rang out.

in cuba, the devout gathered. in the u.s. -- [ cheers ] >> reporter: -- the faithful poured into the streets of denver and filled the pews in miami. >> i think the fact that the conclave chose a man who has such a reputation of being both very bright and also very simple and austere sends a message to the whole world. >> reporter: though the pope has been selected the drama isn't over. many in this region are wondering when will the pope return to latin america and more specifically argentina to what is sure to be a raucus home coming. brian? >> that will be an event. miguel almaguer, buenos aires. anne thompson at the vatican starting us off before that. thanks to you both. back in this country, the tsa is taking a lot of heat for those new and relaxed rule s tht

would allow knives and things like golf clubs and hockey sticks back on airplaneses. that would be a post 9/11 first. a lot of people have come out against it including flight attendants, pilots, air marshalls and some tsa screeners. the boss of the tsa was called to capitol hill today to answer for it. tom costello covers aviation for us. he's with us tonight from reagan national and one of the tsa checkpoints. tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. good evening. the tsa says it confiscates 2,000 small pocket knives like this every single day. it says it delays checkpoints, takes up time. it says they should be more stridently, more intently looking for explosives. many people say there shouldn't be a trade-off. on capitol hill today unions representing air marshalls, airline employees and flight attendants demanded the tsa drop its plan to allow small knives on board commercial flights. >> a knife like this is a weapon and it doesn't belong on an airplane. >> reporter: the unions claim to represent 90,000 flight attendants but the tsa chief conceded to lawmakers he never

consulted with any flight attendants before changing the knife rule. >> i could have done a better job of bringing them in earlier. >> reporter: the backlash of the knife policy has grown to include nearly every player in aviation safety. three major airlines, u.s. airways, american and delta, oppose allowing small knives on board. so does the union representing the tsa's own screening officers. >> i just don't believe that there is a place for knives or weapons of any kind on airplanes. >> reporter: but the agency insists since cockpit doors are now reinforced small knives do not pose a serious threat to an aircraft while explosives remain a threat. tsa chief pistole showed a video to make his point. >> this is the type of device i want our security officers looking for. >> reporter: in a twist the obama administration's tsa is getting support for its new list

of what's allowed from some republican lawmakers. >> i want to commend you on this list you have come out with. i would like for it to be a little longer, but you have made a good start. >> reporter: while some democrats are threatening legislation to block the new rules. >> this tsa knife policy will not fly with the american people. we will not rest until america's flight attendants, pilots, air marshalls, and passengers are protected. >> reporter: but tonight, despite the uproar, the tsa says it's sticking with its new knife policy. mr. pistole said he consulted internally with air marshalls and screeners but they are now opposed to the plan and so are a lot of pilots. brian? >> tom costello at reagan national airport for us tonight. tom, thanks. in other transportation news this time the ship is the carnival "dream" and it is the second time recently a carnival

cruise liner hasn't lived up to its name. while docked in st. maarten a generator problem led to power outages and overflowing toilets. this is one month after the carnival "triumph" lost power in the gulf of mexico famously. this isn't as bad as that one but carnival is making plans to fly the 5,400 passengers and crew members back home on chartered flights. president obama continued his outreach efforts on capitol hill today trying to build support for his agenda by meeting with senate republicans following the meeting with house republicans yesterday. no breakthroughs reported by folks in the room, though the president did say as he was leaving the conversations were productive but ultimately it is a matter of everyone being willing to compromise. elsewhere on capitol hill today as the senate judiciary committee debated a proposed ban on assault weapons there was a particularly fiery exchange between freshman republican senator ted cruz of texas and democratic senator dianne feinstein of california that started when senator cruz attempted to instruct senator

feinstein of the finer points of the constitution. >> the second amendment in the bill of rights provides that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. the term "the right of the people" also found in the fourth amendment, the right of the people to be free from unreasonable search and seizure would she think the fourth amendment against searches and seizures could properly apply only to the following specified individuals and not to the individuals that congress has deemed outside the protection of the bill of rights. >> would senator yield for a question? >> i'm not a 6th grader. senator, i have been on this committee for 20 years. i was a mayor for nine years. i walked in. i saw people shot. i have looked at bodies that have been shot with these weapons. you used the word "prohibit." it exempts 2,271 weapons. isn't that enough for the people in the united states? >> mr. chairman -- >> do they need a bazooka?

>> senator feinstein later apologized for her response saying that senator cruz had made her angry. the committee later approved the assault weapons ban though it is unlikely to get the votes needed to pass in the full senate. elsewhere in the united states senate john mccain today marked the 40th anniversary of his release from a prison in vietnam where he had spent five and a half years as a p.o.w. in a place they called the hanoi hilton. mccain and 107 others were released march 14 of 1973. the former republican presidential nominee was tortured repeatedly after being shot down as a naval aviator captured by the north vietnamese in october of '67. on the senator floor today his colleague mitch mcconnell paid tribute to the former naval aviator and thanked him for his continued service. you may have heard the headline from a new study on breast cancer making the rounds today. the news from it was scary. radiation therapy to treat cancer may lead to an increased

risk in heart disease. but the fine print is crucial here. tonight, our chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman has an update, having looked at all the data. >> good evening, brian. women undergoing breast cancer treatment today need to know that the technology has evolved significantly since this study started back in 1958. doctors say it's not just the doses of radiation that are different now, but more important, how precise they are. radiation oncologists now have pinpoint accurate techniques that minimize or almost completely avoid the heart, reducing the chance for damage while still irradiating the breast tumor. we have come a long way in breast cancer radiation treatments and women should be reassured. but today's take home is that cancer patients have to take care of the rest of their health as well and pay attention to their heart health during treatment.

brian? >> nancy snyderman in our newsroom. michigan governor rick snyder today named a prominent bankruptcy lawyer to take over detroit's finances on an emergency basis. kevin orr is a d.c.-based lawyer who worked on the chrysler bankruptcy in '09. detroit has been struggling with budget deficits for years. it has $14 billion in long-term debt. orr said today he wouldn't rule out bankruptcy for the city but said he expects to be able to turn things around there without one. on wall street here in new york today, stocks up again. the dow jones now on its longest consecutive winning streak since 1996. this is ten up sessions in a row. blue chips gaining nearly 84 points to another all-time high. nasdaq was up almost 14. s&p came within two points of its all-time closing high. up 8 by the end of trading. still ahead for us tonight, rapid changes for men and women at home and at the office. a new look at the struggle to strike a balance between work and family. and later making a

difference by giving folks who have trouble expressing themselves a bold way to do precisely that.

we mentioned this right before the break. a big new survey on parenthood is out tonight. it's painting a picture of economic stress. moms and dads who feel there is simply not enough time in the day to juggle all various responsibilities. our report on this tonight from nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: striking a balance between work and family is a work in progress for julie lastro. >> i have to actually go and pick up my kids. >> reporter: juggling her full-time job, the mother of two sometimes wishes she could spend more time at home with her young children. >> how was school? >> reporter: julie says for her and her husband david, financially it's just not doable in washington, d.c. >> the cost of living everywhere seems to be going up.

people's salaries are not necessarily coinciding with that rise. so it's driving more people into the workforce. >> reporter: the family is part of a growing trend. a new pugh research poll found rapid changes in the last few years. in 2007, 21% of working mothers wanted to work full time. now it's jumped to 37%. researchers say due in large part to the recession and financial insecurity. >> women who were the most likely to say they wanted to work full time were some of the most economically vulnerable. >> reporter: the survey found workplace priorities are different for men and women. men valued a high paying job while a flexible schedule ranked higher for women. but finding that flexible schedule may be more difficult. as workers at one top corporation are learning. >> there are a lot of great people there, great ideas. >> reporter: last month yahoo!'s ceo and new mom, marissa myer, made headlines when the company announced it was ordering all telecommuting workers back to the office. >> in the age of blackberrys and laptops we should be able to

have more flexibility. >> reporter: also striking from the study, working dads are finding the work-family balance just as challenging as working moms. while the demands of work and family life often collide, the good news may be that more than ever those stresses are shared. as traditional family roles keep shifting. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. we're back in a moment with confirmation of a huge discovery. something folks have spent years and millions trying to find.

ed asner is out of the hospital. we reported here last night he was taken from the stage during his one-man show in gary, indiana, transported by ambulance, hospitalized for exhaustion. the 83-year-old was released today. major news in the world of science that is near impossible to explain or understand for most of us, but monumental nonetheless. scientists using a particle accelerator believe they have found the subatomic particle

known as the higgs-boson known as the god particle because it gives mass to all other particles in the universe. there you have it. another kind of discovery from the most recent census data. a record one in three u.s. counties are dying, hit by aging populations and a bad economy. that hurts the employment base. the downward trend stretches from the once industrial ohio valley through the plains to parts of california. city of new york reported an all-time population peak of 8.3 million people. for the first time in 60 years, more people moved into new york than moved out. more numbers from the cdc. most americans now admit to talking on their cell phones while driving. a third of us admit to texting or e-mailing while at the wheel. mostly young drivers they say, but the rates of usage here are much higher than in europe. the chinese government asked the people of china to try to stop using disposable chopsticks.

they go through 80 billion pair of them every year in china. it's a burden for the nation's forests supplying all the wood. in an unrelated story, the world economic forum is out with the list of unfriendliest nations for world travellers. the top three, bolivia, venezuela, and russia. we posted the entire list including where china ranks on our website tonight. we are back with our making a difference report. doctors said he had little chance to ever make a living. now his work hangs alongside some of the all-time greats.

finally tonight for people with disabilities of all kinds being able to express yourself, at least in conventional ways, can be tough. thanks to the efforts of a caring community we have a nice story tonight about some adults who are dealing with developmental and physical challenges who are finding new and beautiful ways to interact with the world. together they are all making a difference. their story tonight from nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: dan miller creates the type of art you could stare at for hours. layers of words in mesmerizing patterns. his pieces sell for thousands and are in the collections of

the world's great museums like new york's museum of modern art. but miller doesn't talk about his art. he can't. the 52-year-old is severely autistic. kara miller is dan's sister. >> you and i are able to express ourselves. for someone with autism, especially at the level he has, that's not an option for him. here he can do that. >> reporter: here is oakland's creative growth, a nonprofit art center for the disabled -- a free program for people with all levels of talent given a chance to express themselves in a world where that isn't always easy. >> they have been seen as being outside of society. so if you bring them into a context and say, tell me your life, tell me your story and they do it through art it's amazing what opens up. >> these are my paintings. >> reporter: william scott's work is also in the collections of top museums. >> i taught myself how to paint. i taught myself. >> he has a beautiful soul. he wants to change the world. >> reporter: in many ways his art has changed his reality.

a man with autism who, doctors said, had little chance to ever make a living. how much would this sell for? >> this would be probably a $4,000 painting. >> reporter: artists here are offered half the sale price. the rest goes back into the brushes, fabric and paint they use. but many like dan and kara miller choose to have all proceeds go to creative growth. >> this is a godsend. this place is, i think, very important to him and his happiness. i'm just so happy that he's here. >> i think what would it be like for him if he didn't come to creative growth? he would be probably somewhere watching tv or sitting in a room by himself. what a lost life that would be. what a missed opportunity. >> reporter: not just for dan miller, but for all of us. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, oakland. >> that's our broadcast on a thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. of course we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

selling prescriptions at gunpoint, a family-owned pharmacy in fremont has become the latest victim of what appears to be a growing trend, armed gunmen on the hunt for prescription painkillers. watch as the two-hooded gunmen storm the store, looking for oxycodone. it is the second time the pharmacy has been targeted for the drug in the last three months. more on the growing and dangerous trend. >> reporter: for 55 years, the folks here at the pharmacy have been filling prescriptions for their loyal customers.

but in all that time, they have never experienced something like that. hostile armed robberies by gunmen after meds, not money. >> it is so scary, you know, people coming in with the gun -- you know, in your face, you know, or as a pharmacist, all we're trying to do is serve the public. >> reporter: take a look at the armed men who came into ho klers pharmacy, demanding drugs, and this is what they were after, oxycodone, a highly addictive pain killer, stronger than heroin. >> if you pick up a bottle of a 100, you're talking about $5,000, and you know, sometimes they can get four or six bottles. and it may take them two or six

minutes to get it. >> reporter: similar looking gunmen hit the same pharmacy in december, making off with the same stash of meds. but howlers's is not alone, two more men were doing the same thing in san francisco, robbing the place on january 14th, taking meds labelled oxy on the label. and later, the police arrested this man who they say stole thousands of pills, including from the palo alto foundation. >> it is alarming, sounds like something bigger is going on. these drugs are highly addictive. the street value is high, you know, so we know there is a market for it. we have to try to do whatever we can to try to put an end to it. >> reporter: back in fremont, howler hired a security guard, and they are no longer stocking