the deadliest of his weapons, a bushmaster semi-automatic rifle and three 30-round magazines. it was just a small part of lanza's arsenal, reports nbc's investigative correspondent michael isikoff. >> when police raided lanza's home they found a vast array of weaponry. two rifles, a pistol. more than a thousand rounds of ammunition. three samurai swords and a spear. in his car a loaded shotgun. an fbi witness described lanza as an avid video gamer who rarely left his house. there is nothing in this evidence that sheds any light on what could havtriggered lanza's rage. >> that pain is not going away. >> reporter: the new details only bring more hurt for nicole hockley who lost her son. >> every piece of new information is painful. it brings us back to december 14th. there is nothing that is going to bring back my son. >> reporter: across the country today, gun control advocates say they organized 140 events in dozens of states to demand tougher laws. universal background checks and

a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines. for his part president obama met with victims of gun violence and law enforcement officials and urged the country not to forget newtown. >> the entire country was shocked. the entire country pledged we would do something about it and this time would be different. shame on us if we have forgotten. >> we dropped jesse off in the morning -- >> reporter: the group mayors against illegal guns led by new york mayor michael bloomberg released their own reminder -- a public service announcement. >> i got a 911 call that there was a shooting. >> reporter: four family members of sandy hook victims. >> i want to prevent any other family from having to go through what we are going through. >> reporter: preventing another sandy hook is a goal both sides of the gun debate agree on. what they don't agree on is how to do it. the owner of this gun shop says proposed gun show legislation is not the answer. >> if any of these bills were a

crime bill, the entire gun industry would back you to the wall. but this is not a crime bill. none of them are. what they are is confiscation. >> reporter: in newtown, christmas decorations hung on the lanza home, untouched. not far away, a planned rally against the nra triggered a counter demonstration by gun supporters. >> you can't make legislation based on emotion. you need to do it by facts. >> reporter: the issue of gun control is divisive, even in newtown. a poll released this week shows the numbers have dropped in support for gun control. 57%, brian, in the days right after the shooting. it is now 47%. congress returns from their easter/passover recess. the priority for the senate, they say, is to vote on this in april. >> stephanie gosk starting us off tonight. thanks. the word from overseas was ominous. it was scary. it got our attention. nelson mandela hospitalized again. the current south african leader

referring to mandela by his nickname said, quote, we appeal to the people of south africa and the world to pray for our beloved madiba. later came updates it was a lung infection that has him down this time and the 94-year-old is said to be responding favorably to treatment. nbc's rohit kachroo is in johannesberg for us. rohit, good evening. >> ever since nelson mandela contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison he's been susceptible to lung infections. when an infection was detected last night, doctors took no chances. >> nelson mandela is said to be responding to treatment. >> nelson mandela's health. >> pray for mandela. >> reporter: the news quickly spread around the world. nelson mandela rushed to the hospital just before midnight.

the third hospitalization in four months. this time officials weren't calling it scheduled or routine. >> former president nelson mandela is responding positively to the treatment he's receiving for a recurring lung infection. >> reporter: photographed with his great grandson last month, mandela looked healthy. he's 94 now, increasingly frail and rarely seen in public. south africa's current president jacob zuma spoke about the man known as madiba saying we appeal to the people of south africa and the world to pray for our beloved madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts. tonight, many did pray. seen here some of the bloodiest moments in the struggle against white minority rule. the system of apartheid mandela spent 27 years in prison for resisting before he prevailed. >> asking god to let him live longer. >> i wish him a speedy recovery. we love him so much. >> reporter: president obama meeting with african leaders at

the white house today expressed concern for mandela's health. >> he's a hero, i think, to all of us. i'm sure i speak for the other leaders here. we will be keeping him in our thoughts and prayers and his entire family. >> reporter: south africa is a young country and most people here have no memory of mandela's years in captivity. the so-called born free generation. he remains an iconic, towering figure. it's 24 hours now since mandela was rushed to the hospital. officials are saying he's responding positively to treatment. his progress is being watched closely in south africa where his health is a matter of national concern. brian? >> rohit kachroo, our correspondent in johannesberg tonight. rohit, thanks. also overseas tonight, now to the tensions that have been building on the korean peninsula in recent days. as north korea under this untested 28-year-old leader has been stirring things up with the

u.s. and neighboring south korea. today the u.s. answered with a symbolic show of force that really represented quite a dramatic effort and late tonight north korea volleyed back by saying they are putting rocket units on stand-by to fire at u.s. military bases. nbc's ian williams reports from the south korean capital, seoul. >> reporter: the two stealth bombers dropped munitions on a range, part of joint military drills scheduled to run through april. they were deployed from missouri, a distance of more than 6,000 miles. a show of force coming at a time of escalating tensions on the korean peninsula. >> we will unequivocally defend and we are unequivocally committed to that alliance with south korea as well as our other allies in that region of the world. >> reporter: angered by the military drills, north korea's young and untested leader kim

jong un has issued almost daily threats including the threat of nuclear strikes on the u.s. and seoul. the north threatened u.s. bases in the pacific following tough u.s.-led sanctions imposed after pyongyang's third nuclear test. pyongyang severed one of the last remaining hotlines to the south, put its troops on what it calls combat readiness and warned that, quote, war may break out at any time. it has already renounced the armistice that ended the korean war 60 years ago. it's all put south koreans on edge. >> translator: if north korea makes a misjudgment, south korea should deliver a strong punishment. >> reporter: so far north korea has not moved beyond rhetoric, despite its recent nuclear and rocket tests analysts doubt the north has yet mastered the technology to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile. kim jong un may be playing to a domestic audience, using the

hysteria to rally his people. security officials warn he may be more reckless even than his father, the late kim jong il leading to fears of more conflict on the korean peninsula. >> security officials are bracing for a fresh volley of violent rhetoric. brian? >> ian williams, seoul, south korea, for us tonight. ian, thanks. another dangerous hot spot the u.s. has to keep a close eye on is syria where at least a dozen students were killed today when damascus university came under fire right in the heart of the capital. mortar strikes have increased in and around damascus in recent days as rebels fighting president assad's forces try to enter that city again. as the holiest days of the catholic church calendar year are upon us, pope francis took part in a holy thursday ritual, a show of humility mirroring christ washing the feet of his disciples prior to his crucifixion. he went to a juvenile detention center in rome today, washed and kissed the feet of 12 young inmates held there.

the banks were open in cyprus again today for the first time in almost two weeks after political leaders there accepted a financial bailout from the euro zone partners that will hit a lot of people's bank accounts. imagine your atm suddenly working after being idle and empty for days. michelle caruso cabrera of cnbc is there for us tonight. >> reporter: brian, this is a line outside one of the banks in cyprus, the country's largest bank. these people are desperate for cash because the banking system has been shut down for nearly two weeks. authorities expected runs like this, so they put in control measures to stem people taking out too much money. 300 euros per day is the limit. that's nearly $400. you can come back day after day and do that if you want. just because the banks are re-opening the country has a tough road ahead of it. in order to get the bailout

agreement they needed from lenders, this country has to agree to shut down one of the major banks here. that will lead to large job losses and a deep recession. hard times are still coming for the island of cyprus. brian? >> that's what it looks like when the atms spring to life. michelle caruso-cabrera reporting from there for us. that calm scene relatively in cyprus helped set the mood for a record high on wall street today. the s&p 500 broke its all-time closing record today. up day all around, in fact. dow was up 52. nasdaq up 11. s&p's six-point gain was enough to set the best point high from october of '07. still ahead tonight the powerful force of nature that ripped a neighborhood into the water. it's just the latest dangerous landslide this year. tonight we'll look at what's behind it. later this evening, making a difference for wounded warriors back on their feet on the path finally to healing.

we check back in tonight on

an unstoppable facet of nature. the slow and unstoppable loss of land, falling into the water along a newly formed line of cliffs. it's happening on whidbey island in washington state about 30 miles north of seattle. homes that once looked over the water are now gone. the view is moving inland toward the next set of homes behind them. there is nothing anyone can do about it. we get our report tonight from nbc's miguel almaguer. miguel, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. tonight they are still assessing the damage. there is some good news. the soil here seems relatively stable, but the threat is far from over. today a new look. washington state's puget sound coastline forever changed. a massive landslide.

900 feet wide, 1500 feet deep. this is what the area used to look like then and now. >> it looks like the end of the earth right there. >> it does, doesn't it? >> reporter: delia curt awoke to the rumble of trees snapping. half her backyard slid into the ocean. her home could be next. >> you're done? >> i'm done. i'm done. i had six wonderful years here. wonderful. raised my animals, had great parties. but, no. i don't trust it. >> reporter: experts say years of wet weather likely played a role in this slide. they say global warming is not to blame. >> when you get storms year after year, tens of years, hundreds, thousands of years, this can happen. >> reporter: with one home destroyed and 18 others threatened the soil is still shifting. all day yesterday chunks of this cliff were falling hundreds of feet below. today, the land looks more stable. but geologists say this hill could go at any time. rescue teams say it's a miracle no one was hurt here. just last month in florida, a sink hole swallowed one man alive. in illinois, a golfer was nearly

killed when the ground gave way. outside of l.a., homes teetered on the brink after a landslide in the pacific palisades. back in washington state this winter, a landslide plowed through a moving train. tonight in the puget sound many are literally living on the edge. linda beller lost her husband last year. she's worried she could lose their dream home next. >> i'm shocked and overwhelmed. i don't know what to think. >> reporter: with some evacuation orders lifted 25 residents have been told they have to stay out of their homes over the next several days. geologists will be testing this land for its stability. brian? >> miguel almaguer, whidbey island, washington state. miguel, thanks. we are back in a moment with the end of an era in american politics and a surprising look at who admits to texting behind the wheel.

the end of an era in boston. mayor tom menino will not run

again. this is big news in boston where he's the only mayor a generation of bostonians have ever known. menino took office in '93. he has had a recent run of bad health including two months in the hospital, a broken bone in his back, a diabetes diagnosis. boston tends to hang on to its mayors. they have had only five in 63 years. in his five terms he's been an urban mechanic getting into everything from pothole filling to street lights to architecture. new stats out tonight on texting and e-mailing while driving. a new at&t study shows adults do it more than young drivers, though it is possible they are more willing to admit it in a survey. the cdc says it kills nine americans a day. your chances of causing an accident are a full 23 times higher if you're using a device while driving because when you think about it, it occupies your

eyes, your hands and your mind, the very same things you need to drive. the people at the center for science and the public interest are telling us what most parents already know full well. most kids' meals at most chain restaurants have too many calories, too much salt, too much fat, not enough healthy ingredients, though they have gotten better. full disclosure. this is the same group that ruined buttered popcorn and chinese food for a lot of us. maybe they haven't had a cranky 6-year-old in the back seat lately. there is no disputing some of the nutrition stats or the room for improvement. google street view sent its camera vehicle into a place where people need to be suited up to enter. the so-called exclusion zone in fukushima, japan. the no man's land following the meltdown at the nuclear plant where predictably it looks desolate and frozen in time when everything just stopped just over two years ago. up next for us tonight, making a difference for some

genuine american heroes getting back to doing what they love.

>> announcer: making a difference. brought to you by pfizer. we are back with our making a difference report.

it's been more than ten years since members of our military who volunteered for duty were sent to afghanistan and iraq to fight. many of them have come back badly injured, having left a part of themselves on the battlefield, and needing to find a new way to live their lives back here. as nbc's kevin tibbles reports, some generous people are making a difference by helping some of those wounded warriors reach new heights. >> reporter: on a postcard perfect day colonel gregory gadson shreds the slopes. this is his fourth trip to vail since losing both legs in baghdad in 2007. >> once i'm up there on the mountain i'm on equal footing with everybody else. >> reporter: and finding their footing is what the organizers of the vail veterans program are

doing for hundreds of servicemen and women. >> when we first started this, i thought it was just about the skiing and snowboarding. there is a lot more healing that takes place here -- off and on the mountain. >> reporter: for ten years veterans have been invited to vail resorts to learn a sport they may have thought was now out of reach. petty officer taylor moore lost parts of all four limbs in afghanistan last may. >> it's a great feeling to be able to go out and snowboard on your own. >> reporter: retired captain melissa stockwell was injured in baghdad in 2004. she's now a veteran of the veterans program. >> i was pretty wobbly at first. by the end of the week, i was up and flying down. i never really felt so free. >> reporter: when nbc met the vail vets nine years ago. 80 service members had returned from war as amputees. today the number is 1,585. one was lieutenant colonel david rosell. >> they get in the program and find their new normal. >> reporter: he lost part of his leg in iraq in 2003 but refused to give up one of his favorite sports.

>> i can really see you have come a long way. >> i'm sorry. i can't say the same for you, man. >> reporter: the long journey through recovery and therapy has striking similarities for all the men and women. >> it's a special band of brothers to be a part of. >> reporter: a trip to the top that is opening these veterans' eyes to a world of possibilities. kevin tibbles, nbc news, vail, colorado. >> terrific story to end on our thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we, of course, hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

it just made it tough knowing that -- when i see her again. >> police are looking for this man, 25-year-old juan ramirez, her family says she dated him for a few months before breaking it off. for the last few years, her family says that sandy told her family he was stalking her. >> i go to work, he is there, i go home, she is there, my phone is blowing up all the time. >> sandy had just returned from court last friday, renewing her restraining order against ramirez, police say that is when he attacked her for the last time. >> she feared for her life so much she went to kick boxing and was asking my brother-in-law and sister-in-law to help her buy a gun. >> the family now questions the power of restraining orders. >> it don't work, it is just a piece of paper, you are not

going to throw a piece of paper at a guy who comes at you with a knife, it wouldn't stop him. >> when the restraining order is developed, we also do a safety plan and a risk assessment. >> this lady runs the next door solutions. she says that sandy registered with next door two years ago but filed a restraining order somewhere else. >> they can be a wonderful tool, in decreasing risk and enhancing the safety. but there are many variables. they have to all work together in order for the restraining order to be effective. >> now, a grieving family wonders how they will provide for sandy's son to give him what his mother no longer can. damion trujillo, nbc bay area news. and new at 6, police revealed the