the worst of those conditions. i will have more on that at 6 p.m. >> thanks for joining us at 5:00. nightly news is next. see you again at 6:00. >> good night, folks. on our broadcast tonight, life in captivity. a chilling picture is coming into focus tonight as the man accused of holding three young women as his prisoners for a decade appears in court for the first time. the heist that may be the first massive bank robbery of the new era. tonight, how cyber thieves made off with tens of millions in a matter of hours without ever setting foot in a bank. losing weight. the discovery some say could be a game-changer. what they're calling the couch potato gene, and it may explain a lot. and making a difference. two little boys, best friends, and the remarkable way one is helping his buddy get better. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. the prosecutor of the case in cleveland, ohio, today called the suspect, "a child kidnapper who operated a torture chamber and private prison in the heart of our city." today we got our first look at the suspect, ariel castro, as he made his first appearance in court. and we got a better idea of what charges may be on the way and how vast this case might be. we begin again tonight with nbc's ron allen in cleveland. ron, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, brian. yes, it was another very powerful day here with more revelations about the physical and psychological abuse the three women and child endured in that house back there. that as prosecutors said that they would charge ariel castro with everything they possibly can for every crime he allegedly committed. as castro made his first appearance in court. >> ariel castro. >> reporter: for the first time since his arrest the public saw 52-year-old ariel castro. the former school bus driver accused of an unimaginable crime. >> to ensure that justice is served.

>> reporter: he stared at the floor, said nothing, hands cuffed, as prosecutors explained how he imprisoned three women and a child for nearly a decade in terrifying and brutal conditions. >> today the situation is turns, your honor. mr. castro stands before you a captive. >> reporter: the formal charges, three counts of rape. the victims, amanda berry, now 27, gina dejesus, 22, and michelle knight, 32. and four counts of kidnapping, the three women and berry's 6-year-old daughter born and held in captivity. the judge set bail at $8 million. today in cleveland, castro's mother reacted. >> translator: i asked that those mothers forgive me and that the girls forgive me for all the pain they suffered. >> reporter: castro's brothers pedro and onil, arrested along with him, also appeared in court on unrelated misdemeanor charges and were released. >> the other two brothers have not been charged with anything in connection with this case. >> reporter: late today nbc

affiliate wkyc's tom meyer reported that police told him that castro confessed to the kidnappings. >> ariel castro told police that he's cold-blooded, that he's a sex addict that he can't control himself. that the crimes were crimes of opportunity. he's blaming this on the girls. he said, if the girls didn't get in the car with him, none of this would have happened. >> this might be for real. >> reporter: police released dispatch recordings of officers as they arrived at the castro house following the 911 calls. [ crying ] >> we found 'em. we found 'em. >> reporter: meanwhile, we're learning more about what it was like inside the house where the women were found. ricky sanchez, a friend, says he has been there many times before. >> the front door is like, there was five or six locks. the inside the house, when you walked inside the house, it's a mess. >> reporter: though michelle knight remains in the hospital, today two of the rescued women -- berry and dejesus -- e with family and friends behind closed doors decorated with banners, balloons and gifts. >> you could tell there was a

lot of suffering. it's going to be a long process. she's going to be okay. now just trying to get her to move on with her life and start thinking about happy times. >> reporter: also this evening, another community vigil is planned to support the women. and a fund has been set up. the cleveland courage fund to help them and their families. brian? >> ron allen starting us off again tonight from cleveland. we turn from cleveland to the investigation into the boston marathon bombings. today it moved to washington where we got to see a man we got to know first back when the story was breaking, boston's police chief. he took questions from a congressional homeland security panel about the sharing of information on the alleged bombers. our justice correspondent, pete williams, has more tonight from our washington newsroom. pete, good evening. >> brian, good evening. this is the first congressional hearing on the boston bombings and many questions remain

unanswered, but there was an agreement that federal government should get local police more involved in assessing possible terrorism risks. >> four days ago my city was ruthlessly attacked. >> reporter: boston police commissioner ed davis said he was never told before the bombings that the fbi spent weeks assessing whether tamerlan tsarnaev was a terrorist threat after getting a request two years ago from russian authorities who said he was becoming a strong believer in radical islam. >> it's fair to say that your police officers assigned to the joint terrorism task force did not know this information. >> that's correct. >> would you have liked to have known that information? >> in hindsight, certainly. >> if you had had this information before the bombing, would you have done -- your police force and you -- would you have done anything differently? >> i can't say that i would have come to a different conclusion, based upon the information that was known at that particular time. >> reporter: but former senator joe lieberman, past chairman of the senate's homeland security committee, says leaving the police out of it was a big mistake.

>> why didn't they involve the local law enforcers who could have stayed on this case and picked up signals from some of the students who interacted with them? >> reporter: also today a reminder of the agony caused by the bombings from one family especially hard hit. 8-year-old martin richard was killed at the finish line cheering on runners. his mother, denise, has lost sight in one eye. his father, bill, suffered burns and shrapnel wounds. and in a statement, the family said today 7-year-old jane has undergone surgery number 11 to prepare her for a prosthesis after she lost her leg left below the knee. family members say they were unable to communicate with jane for the first two weeks she was in the hospital. alluding to the death of her brother, they say "she woke up with difficult questions that needed to be answered." given jane's progress in surgery the family says she could be ready for rehabilitation in a few weeks. one long-running problem has now been solved. the body of tamerlan tsarnaev

has been moved from the funeral home in worcester, where it's been for more than a week. authorities are not saying where the burial site is, but it is apparently outside massachusetts, brian. >> awful aftermath continues from the boston bombings. pete williams from our d.c. bureau tonight, thanks. a big bank robbery in the news this evening. brazen, sophisticated, but very different. this time, a ring of thieves made off with tens of millions of dollars in a matter of hours without ever setting foot inside a bank. our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: investigators say it was a highly sophisticated global bank heist that used computers and the internet in place of guns and masks. in the end, the u.s. attorney says a global criminal conspiracy got away with $45 million in a coordinated attack on atms worldwide. >> moving literally at the speed of the internet, the organization made its way from the computer systems of international corporations to the streets of new york as well as major cities around the

world. >> reporter: how did they do it? investigators believe the suspects hacked into global financial institutions, then stole prepaid debit card numbers and eliminated the maximum withdrawal limits. that stolen data was then transmitted around the world where an army of suspects in more than two dozen countries encoded the data on to magnetic strips, then began withdrawing money from atms. >> they become a virtual criminal flash mob, going from machine to machine, drawing as much money as they can before these accounts are shut down. >> reporter: on december 21st, they hit 4,500 atms, stealing $5 million. then on february 19th, they struck again, 36,000 transactions, $40 million stolen. in new york city alone, a team of eight made 2,900 withdrawals, stealing $2.4 million. investigators say this suspect withdrew $30,000 all over new

york city in just six hours. >> our financial systems are so interconnected that you can literally commit a crime halfway around the world and get away with the money before anyone can even dial 911. >> reporter: the man investigators believe was the new york ringleader was murdered in the dominican republic. seven u.s. suspects have been arrested, many more are thought to be on the loose worldwide. tom costello, nbc news, washington. now to an nbc exclusive tonight. after weeks of debate, growing concern about the alleged use of chemical weapons by the assad regime in syria. tonight one of the most important figures in the region says chemical weapons were, in fact, used. he says he has proof of it. and the world, including the u.s., he says, isn't paying nearly enough attention. nbc's ann curry is with us now live from istanbul in turkey with details. ann, good evening. >> reporter: brian, that's right. turkish prime minister erdogan, a longtime u.s. ally, told us syria's government has crossed president obama's red line on

chemical weapons, and he challenged the u.s. and the world to end the war just across his border. >> translator: it's clear that the regime has used chemical weapons and missiles. they used about 200 missiles according to our intelligence. and it can be even more, but not less. >> reporter: what evidence do you have? >> we have the remainders of these missiles. there are pictures and there are intelligence reports. and there are patients who are brought to our hospitals who are wounded by these chemical weapons. >> reporter: so, has president assad crossed president obama's red line? >> translator: a long time ago. it's not now. it has been passed a long time ago. >> reporter: the prime minister did not show us his evidence or say what kinds of chemical weapons were used but said he will share it with president

obama when he meets with him next week in washington. >> translator: mr. obama and myself, of course, we are aware of our responsibilities, but we want the united states to assume more responsibility and take further steps. >> reporter: many people in the united states are weary of war, and some are asking why do we have any obligation at all to get involved in syria? what is your answer to that? >> translator: no one should defend war, but how can you remain silent? a strong country like the united states, a country like russia, they should not remain silent. >> reporter: he says the world is standing by while people are dying. >> these children, women, young and old, they are going to be killed and we just sit here and wait and watch. >> reporter: prime minister erdogan said president assad should leave syria immediately

or he could end up like libya's moammar gadhafi, killed by his own people. meantime, the white house reacted to the prime minister's interview with us today, saying it does not yet have the evidence to say for certain whether a red line on chemical weapons has been crossed and that the president looks forward to meeting with erdogan next week. brian? >> ann curry with the exclusive interview tonight live from istanbul. ann, thanks. house speaker john boehner called on the white house to release an e-mail sent by a state department official about the attack on the u.s. consulate in ben zazi benghazi, libya, that left four people dead, including our u.s. ambassador, chris stevens. the e-mail which came up in a dramatic hearing again yesterday said libya told the u.s. the attack was the work of islamic militants. secretary of state kerry said today anyone guilty of wrongdoing in connection with the attack will be dealt with. something of a frenzy late today in the u.s. capitol rotunda as senator john mccain walked in. but this was more about his

guest for today, prince harry, kicking off his week-long u.s. visit. he met with officials from a charity that deals with land mines, a cause that was close to his mother's heart. he later stopped by the white house for afternoon tea with the first lady and dr. jill biden at a ceremony honoring military moms and wives. tomorrow he visits arlington. next week he will survey hurricane sandy damage on the new jersey shore. still ahead for us tonight, something that might explain exactly why weight loss is such a struggle for millions of americans. and later, as the world turns, our first look at some stunning views from above. the dramatic changes we have watched happen to our planet.

with two-thirds of americans either officially overweight or obese, weight loss with a big issue, a major struggle for millions. now it turns out there may be a genetic reason for that, what some are lightly calling the couch potato gene.

our chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman, has our report. >> reporter: ariella jackson has a love-hate relationship with exercise. >> i don't want to get up. i don't want to exercise. >> reporter: but when she stopped training, she gained weight. the 21-year-old blames herself, but a new study indicates that could be another culprit, the gene fto, already linked to obesity risk, is now linked to something else, the will to exercise. >> so, the robot is pulling dna from this plate. >> reporter: for a decade geneticist dr. molly bray has isolated millions of dna samples from thousands of subjects. >> when people tell you, exercise is hard, it hurts for me, they're not lazy. they're reporting to you exactly what they are feeling. >> reporter: in their dna she found the person with this fto sequence is more likely to keep exercising. with this sequence, more likely to drop out. >> good job. >> reporter: during final trials at the university of alabama at

birmingham, subjects are asked to train for 15 weeks and are measured, tested and interviewed. >> the hardest part was just actually deciding to do it. >> reporter: dr. bray says that is fto talking. so, do you think physicians are going to embrace the idea of genetics and obesity? >> well, certainly for early onset severe obesity genetics will be very helpful for the physicians, will help the physicians be more understanding and less biased towards their obese patients. >> reporter: the study also found -- >> it's incredibly empowering. they no longer feel i'm weak. they say, i do have a challenge. so i'm going to do something about it. >> reporter: it worked for shane day. >> i couldn't run a solid mile. couldn't run a solid quarter mile. now i can run six miles. >> reporter: proof you can fight and conquer your genes. dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, birmingham, alabama. and we're back in a moment with a trip around the world and some jaw-dropping images from above.

the tesla model s electric car has received a score as high as any given out to any car in the history of consumer reports. it scored 99 out of 100. that is virtually unheard of. the tesla is fast, sleek, quiet, uses no gas, but it's way too pricey for the average car-buyer. the model tested, just under $90,000. new numbers on memory loss raising concerns of a full-blown alzheimer's crisis for the generation now entering middle age. one in eight americans over 60 now report increasing memory loss. this raises concerns that a crisis may be coming. it is the first ever self-reported measurement by the cdc. almost half of the memory loss group says it's interfering now with life or work. tonight we have a special and highly unusual view of our own planet. it's from a team of scientists

specializing in imaging who, along with some journalists, have given us a first-of-its-kind view of how we have changed over the years. we get our preview tonight from nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: as the world turns and time passes, the changes to our planet are dramatic, from melting glaciers to vanishing rain forests to nonstop urban sprawl, all visible through millions of satellite images collected by nasa and the u.s. geological survey. google and time magazine partnered to put the time-lapse images online. we have seen satellite images of earth before. what makes this project so extraordinary? >> we are looking at 29 years of images, from 1984 to 2012. the clarity is absolutely breathtaking. >> reporter: they include the rain forest of brazil, the green seen disappearing over time. >> one area in the amazonian rain forest used to be about the size of nebraska. it has now lost 25,000 square

miles or like losing west virginia. >> reporter: in dubai in the middle east the population has grown from 300,000 in 1984 to more than 2 million today, not just building up the desert, but building out into the sea. and these mushrooming polka dots are actually irrigation systems, turning saudi arabia into a bread basket. in alaska, the columbian glacier once rose over 10,000 feet above sea level. now only a small part of it is left. while there is much more of las vegas than there used to be the lake contracts. our world in stunning images over time as it's never been seen before. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. and we're back in a moment with an inspiring story of friendship and how one friend specifically is helping another.

our "making a difference" report tonight is about two young friends, one of whom is facing a big challenge, but working together, they have accomplished something that would be an impressive achievement for any grown-up, never mind a 6-year-old. and so, our "making a

difference" report tonight comes from nbc's chelsea clinton in los angeles. >> reporter: this is a story about best friends. jonah has a rare genetic disease. dylan segal is his good friend. >> really, really good friends. >> no, we're not really, really good friends. we are really, really, really good friends. >> reporter: jonah has gsd. glycogen storage disease type 1-b. >> the liver is basically missing an enzyme, so it doesn't absorb sugars. >> if the weather's hot, their blood sugar drops. if the weather is cold, his blood sugar drops. if they play too much, his blood sugar drops. >> reporter: ten times a day he has his blood sugar checked. his only treatment -- >> just corn starch that you buy at a regular supermarket. this literally keeps my son alive. >> reporter: every three hours jonah is fed corn starch through a tube. gsd has no cure. so best buddy dylan wrote a book to help find one. >> that is -- >> so chocolate bar! >> reporter: "chocolate bar,"

the boys' code words for the coolest, the best, the most awesome. they first sold the book at the local school fair. then "chocolate bar" went national. >> lo and behold, we had to do a second printing. they wanted some more of the books. people wanted to be a part of the magic it's creating. >> they think the friendship is amazing. they are rooting for jonah. >> we have this amazing child who has taught us a lot about life. i mean, there is a reason he's here. i think he's my hero. >> reporter: "chocolate bar" raised $200,000, all for research. >> when i entered the field in 1998, there was very little hope for these children. with this help, we're going to make the next step and we're going to find a cure. >> reporter: and that's dylan's goal, $1 million to find a cure. >> how unbelievable would that be if a 6-year-old could help cure a rare disease? >> i like to help my friend. that is the biggest chocolate bar. >> reporter: chelsea clinton, nbc news, los angeles.

>> if you want to join in this effort, go to our website tonight. that is our broadcast for this thursday evening. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we, of course, hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . nbc bay area news begins with breaking news. well, we obviously had a tragic day today on the bay. >> a brief and somber statement from the ceo of the swedish racing team. the artemis team is calling it shocking. >> high speed, high risk, and tonight tragedy. 36-year-old andrew simpson killed after the 72-foot sail boat capsized in the bay between

alcatr alcatraz. >> you learn what it is like going in the bay at over 40 miles an hour, we learned the conditions at the time of the accident. let's begin with bay area stephanie trong who joins us on the scene with what was an attempt to revive the sailor. >> reporter: yes, we actually walked over here, very tense moments, i saw the paramedics working on andrew simpson, performing on him. we watched after 20 minutes, and then they stopped. from a bird's eye view, you can see the artemis racing boat capsized in the bay. the first responders were called. >> we were called by the racing boat to notify us that another racing vessel, the artemis, had capsized near the ferry. >> reporter: a day turning