strongholds of our enemies will be turned to a sea of flames. more likely the ocean will be the target. u.s. officials say pyongyang has two musudan-type, intermediate-range missiles likely unarmed loaded on mobile launchers near the borderer, filled with liquid fuel more than 36 hours ago. the u.s. and japan have defense systems ready should the missiles pose a threat. >> the united states will take all necessary steps to protect its people and to meet our obligations under our alliances in the region. >> reporter: showing force here is everything. along the tense militarized dmz where north and south korean soldiers stand just yards apart, the two armies post their tallest, biggest men. appearances matter, as they did when kim jong un came to power a year ago today. we were there for his first speech, the parades, the military roll outs. a little show biz and plenty of

goose stepping. since then kim has proven more reckless than his father. u.s. officials say he has more to prove to his generals. >> i think first and foremost it's to show that he is firmly in control in north korea. >> reporter: there is another way to look at this crisis. unlike south korea which has a modern economy, north korea barely exports anything except missile and nuclear technology. experts here say the missile test is also something of a product demonstration for rogue states that want to buy. that includes iran. u.s. military officials believe pyongyang and tehran may collaborate on their nuclear programs. leaked diplomatic cables say north korea sold missiles to iran. north korea shows off its weapons, at least in part it seems, for cash. richard engel, nbc news, seoul. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has also just arrived in seoul tonight.

that's because secretary of state john kerry is due to arrive just hours from now. andrea, with things so hot, it seems almost quaint, a throwback to ask if there could be diplomatic talks, a diplomatic solution to this. >> reporter: i think the key to everything is china. we don't know really what kim jong un really wants. but the view is that maybe this is just, as richard has been reporting, trying to show off his military strength and possibly leading to economic reform. china is the only country that can pressure him. secretary kerry was in london meeting with all the foreign ministers, even the russians getting on board on this. and, brian, they are all saying he's got to come here to seoul. they hope he can try to reinforce the commitment to the south koreans so they will not do anything precipitous. if there is an attack they won't retaliate. that's the hope. then on to china in the next couple of days to persuade the

chinese to be much more forceful with their client state, north korea. they are the only ones with leverage. >> andrea mitchell who is in position to cover the timely and delicate visit of our secretary of state john kerry. andrea, thanks. >> reporter: now we turn to the emotional topic of gun control. just a few days ago, you will recall, a lot of folks in washington thought gun control legislation would not happen this year even after what we saw happen in newtown. tonight, thanks in part to the newtown victims, a big step in the other direction. nbc's kelly o'donnell with us from capitol hill where she's been covering all day. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. what we are talking about is a swing from politically undoable to the surprising number of republicans who signed on with democrats to say it's time to start working on the guns issue even though they deeply disagree. how did that happen? many here say the newtown families made the difference. snapshots of fallen children and teachers of newtown inside the

senate. outside the capitol, a 23-hour vigil reading gun victims' names. >> jamie stafford at the age of 31. >> reporter: crosses to remember them on the national mall, and family members here to witness the vote. >> we are standing here because her sister and my mom can't be. their voices need to be heard. >> reporter: under that emotion-fuelled pressure, expectations shifted. >> literally the political landscape of america on gun safety is changing before our eyes. >> the motion is agreed to. >> reporter: today, senators took one small but significant step opening what will likely be weeks of heated debate over gun laws and violence in our culture. 16 republicans voted to begin that contentious negotiation. >> it goes way beyond guns. that's why we need to have the debate. >> reporter: two red state democrats up for re-election next year including alaska's

mark begich voted against taking up a guns bill. >> i vote what's important for alaska. it's not a party decision. it's not conservative versus liberal. >> reporter: in today's nbc news wall street journal poll overall 55% of those surveyed want tighter rules on gun sales. down six points since january in the immediate wake of newtown. the biggest divide on guns is along party lines. 82% of democrats favor stricter gun laws while just 27% of republicans do. >> i am not interested in congress voting on a measure that would have no impact on the horrific violence we have seen in recent months. >> reporter: after victims' families left the senate chamber, some described another set of emotions. >> the tears we had were tears of joy. tears of remembering this is happening and we are here because of what happened to us. >> reporter: we reached out to the national rifle association

to get their reaction on today's vote, but got no response. the group has already said it is against any kind of new gun restrictions and will closely watch what the lawmakers do. it gets going early next week with the start on background checks. brian? >> kelly o'donnell on the hill again tonight. kelly, thanks. weather making news again tonight. a strong line of storms that cuts the eastern half of the country like a knife from north to south. there have been very severe storms spinning off this system. tornadoes on the ground now for the second straight day and night with twisters in arkansas, mississippi and alabama. while it's all moving to the east it's punishing some of the places in its path. that includes birmingham, alabama, where we get our report from nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> it's coming toward us. >> reporter: a massive tornado barrelled across mississippi this afternoon, killing at least one person and injuring several others. dozens of homes and businesses in kemper county destroyed. preliminary reports say the tornado was on the ground for 56

miles. >> on radar we saw extremely violent signature with this. we saw tornado debris signatures with this. we have seen video of the big wedge or big cone-shaped tornado. >> we have seen houses split in half. >> reporter: at daybreak in missouri and arkansas today, the first look at damage caused by tornadoes and high winds. trees tossed like matchsticks. sonny martin's family barely made it out alive. >> i basically told her to run and get the baby. >> reporter: gusts up to 100 miles per hour reported in some areas in northern arkansas. >> it's breathtaking what a storm like this can do. these are pieces of people's lives that are just scattered across the area. >> reporter: tractor-trailers flipped over along highway 65. >> i just started spinning out of control for a long time. then all of the sudden it just stopped.

>> reporter: the severe line continues to push east as night falls. >> we have quite a line of thunderstorms that is going to slowly move east. there could be storms ahead of that as well. >> reporter: arkansas's governor just declared 15 counties disaster areas as the severe system moves east, warnings are still posted in florida, georgia, tennessee, and here in alabama, brian. >> gabe gutierrez in birmingham, alabama, tonight. thanks. at the white house today president obama awarded the medal of honor to a genuine american hero. a u.s. army chaplain who risked his life to save and care for hundreds of others in a p.o.w. compound during the korean war before he himself died in captivity more than 60 years ago. he was 35 years old. speaking today about army chaplain emil kapaun, president obama said to friends and family members, i can't imagine a better example for all of us whether in uniform or not in uniform. a better example to follow. we get his extraordinary story tonight from our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. >> reporter: it was one of the bloodiest phases of the korean

war. the chinese had just entered the fight. through it all walked a one-man miracle. father emil kapaun. an army chaplain on the front lines. kapaun, with no regard for his own safety often rode a bicycle into combat. that's him on the right carrying a wounded soldier from battle. army veteran bob wood says the father was fearless under fire. >> we both dove into that ditch alongside the trail. i looked back and they had shot the pipe out of his mouth. all he had was the stem of the pipe still clenched in his teeth. >> reporter: mike and father kapaun were eventually captured and thrown into a chinese prisoner of war camp where hundreds of americans died from the cold, starvation and worse. >> there were a lot of people who were tortured and killed as prisoners. >> reporter: kapaun remained defiant, often risking his own life to feed and care for his fellow prisoners. >> he was a great thief.

he'd sneak off and steal food to feed the wounded with, and medicine. >> reporter: dow credits the father with saving hundreds of lives through his own self-sacrifice and undaunting spirit and faith. >> a good number of those that survived really owe their lives to father kapaun. >> reporter: ultimately with his health failing the chinese guards ordered him to what the prisoners called the death house. >> he said, don't cry for me. i'm going where i have always wanted to go. >> i think he's the finest man i ever knew. i get all choked up just thinking about him. >> reporter: even today, more than 60 years later, he's never left their side. >> if he was here today, what would you tell him? >> what's your menu for tonight, father? >> reporter: he is here today, isn't he? >> yep.

>> reporter: jim miklaszewski, nbc news, the pentagon. >> a great american remembered today in washington. still ahead for us tonight, what happened today in texas. why it's raising a lot of questions about the way millions of americans travel each year. and later, a young man in an old place. the 14-year-old now on course to make history.

two people were killed. dozens hospitalized after a charter bus packed with seniors heading for a casino crashed outside dallas, texas, this morning. it's the latest in a string of fatal tour bus accidents. safety officials seem almost powerless to prevent them. our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: the call in irving, texas, was for all available ambulances. trapped inside and under an overturned motor coach, dozens of senior citizens screaming for

help. >> bodies stacked on top of each other. blood everywhere. >> yeah. >> just moaning, crying. >> reporter: ernie johns survived with bad cuts and bruises. >> people were piled everywhere, you know. thrown everywhere. >> reporter: it happened on highway 161 not far from dfw airport. police say the bus hit a rubber barrier, then ricocheted across two lanes of traffic and into a grassy median before straddling a concrete divider and rolling over. at least two dead. more than 40 injured. >> you can have severe internal bleeding. so we are watching carefully. one patient is in surgery because of internal bleeding. >> reporter: the bus was operated by cardinal coach line taking seniors to a casino in oklahoma. federal records indicate the company has a good reputation. no crashes or serious violations. but it's the latest in a recent series of terrible motor coach accidents. two dead in pennsylvania, one in new york, eight killed in los angeles, nine in oregon. in a letter just last week the d.o.t. warned the nation's bus companies there have been far too many crashes and enforcement strike teams are taking unsafe operators off the road.

>> we are trying to raise the culture of safety within the motor coach industry so it's right there with the airline industry. >> reporter: in 2007 government crash tests determined lap and shoulder seat belts would improve bus safety but the government still doesn't require them. >> three-point belts have been demonstrated to provide better occupant protection. certainly in side impact and roll over crashes they perform better. >> reporter: millions of americans ride motor coaches every single day. 700 million passenger trips each year. each of them covered under the same safety regulations. but federal investigators say many bus operators need to truly make safety a top priority. tom costello, nbc news, washington. four different japanese car manufacturers ordered a massive recall of nearly 3.5 million vehicles today because of an air bag problem. toyota, nissan, honda, mazda all use the same manufacturer for their air bags. they all have the same defect.

the passenger air bag doesn't inflate properly. that can lead to metal fragments shooting out of the air bag compartment, essentially spraying the interior of the vehicle with shrapnel. we put the list of vehicles affected on our website tonight. we're back in a moment with something from a dark time in american history that we have not seen until just now.

a new exhibit in washington at the newseum on the mall, part of the slow rollout of commemoration as we get ready to mark the 50th anniversary of president john f. kennedy's assassination this coming november. among the items on display, the shirt lee harvey oswald was wearing at the time of his arrest, the contents of his wallet that day. and the camera owned by abraham zapruder the bell & howell relic that shot what is now the

archival record of the shooting of kennedy. it's known universally as the zapruder film. of all the names of all the hurricanes we have had, can you guess the name they retired today? the national weather service says sandy will never come back -- at least not that name. the october storm killed dozens of people, caused billions in damage and redrew the map of the eastern seaboard to this day in some places. in sports they raise the jerseys to the rafters and retire the number. that's for the best athletes. in the storm business, only the very worst get retired. that's why sandy won't be back. and something new from the world of medicine. what's being called a kind of tiny magnetic bracelet implanted at the base of the throat. it is shown to greatly help patients with acid reflux. the magnets help to make weak muscles close, cutting off the reverse flow of stomach acid. some patients say the surgery has been a panacea for them. a rare moment on capitol hill today. a photo was tweeted out showing the entire senate at a luncheon

-- all 100 of them -- apparently able to come together on one thing -- respect for the five and a half years john mccain spent in captivity as a p.o.w. in hanoi. the group was marking the recent 40th anniversary of his release. as a combat pilot, he was shot down, landed in a lake in the central part of the city. he suffered grievous injuries, was tortured on top of that. his fellow senators today gave him their full attention. when we come back here tonight the 8th grader taking the sports world by storm. history in the making tonight at the masters.

the masters golf tournament is under way at augusta national. no matter what the outcome they are about to add a new name to the record books. the youngest competitor to tee off at what is decidedly an old school event. his story tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: the sports world loves a prodigy. never mind the youngest player ever to compete in one of most's most prestigious events. guan tianlang is 14 years, five months old. he's from a city in china most people in this country have never heard of.

today the teenager teed off in augusta, georgia, the masters. >> i think that's the dream of any golfer. >> reporter: tiger woods was 19 when he first played augusta national. his first win came before tianlang was born. woods first met the chinese star in 2010 at a pro-am. >> to see him hit the ball at 12 -- well, we knew he was going to be good. we didn't think he was going to be at the masters in two years. >> reporter: the two played a practice round this week. last year tianlang teed off at the asia-pacific amateur championship ranked 490th in the world. tianlang never lost the lead, his place at the masters secured. the 14-year-old practices for two hours every day after school, not unlike the young stars in the u.s. but china is not exactly a hot bed for pro golfers. very few people in that country play at all. the game has increased in popularity some, but it is still

viewed as a western, rich man's sport. the young chinese kids who do play have a new hero. i'm proud of him, he says. became a champion at a young age. tianlang has studied every role at augusta national. he knows how the champions play each one. there is a green jacket at stake. >> i think i can win the masters. >> reporter: the next best thing to experience? a little teenage determination. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. by the way, he ended the first round two strokes ahead of the defending champion, bubba watson, tied for 46th. but still. that's our broadcast on a thursday night. thanks for being with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

live in san jose with more, monte? >> reporter: well, jessica, good evening, the three boys are all 16 years old and are being held here at juvenile hall. officers arrested two of the boys this morning on the campus of saratoga high school. and a third boy was taken into custody in gilroy. friends of 15-year-old audrey pott remember her as a girl with a wonderful personality. the family's attorney says she want to prevent the same thing from happening to another girl.

>> the message is through her story we want to make society safer and better so these things don't happen. >> reporter: the attorney said that audrey was a at a house party, and had been drinking when a group of boys sexuallily assaulted her. >> based on what we know, audrey was unconscious, there were multiple boys in the room with her. she did unimaginable things to her while she was unconscious. making it much worse is the fact that afterwards, apparently a photo or multiple photographs were taken of the assault as it was taking place. >> reporter: he says those photos were posted on line and were seen by several students at the high school. in the days that followed, audrey wrote on her facebook page "the whole school knows, my life is ruined now" eight days after the assault, audrey pott took her own life. the family's attorney says that

two of the students are at the high school, a third attends high school in gilroy. all three are held in juvenile hall into a meeting next week. >> we can tell you two of the charges are felonies. one is a misdemeanor. and they're sexual assaults, battery related charges. >> reporter: audrey's parents, who didn't find out about the attack until after her death, want the three treated as adults. >> what the three did is beyond unconscienceable, and they should be held to the highest standard of the law making sure this never, ever happens again. >> reporter: and the three boys have not yet been charged. the attorney for the victim's family says he expects them to face charges of disseminating charges, because they posted the photos on line, the attorney says the lack of comment may indicate that the