5:00. we have more local news at 6:00. on our broadcast tonight, damage control. flashes of anger from the president as two scandals grow, one involving the irs. and in the other, he hits back at his critics over benghazi. disaster zone. a slow-moving emergency taking shape in northern california as a neighborhood is sinking into the earth, while half a nation away an unbelievable sight in minnesota -- a wave of ice comes crashing on shore. at what cost? the american quest to stay in fashion and what people should now know about where it is made. why some big companies are acting the way they are after a tragedy that claimed more than a thousand lives. and the royal touch. prince harry, the combat veteran, mixing it up with american combat veterans over their shared bond. american combat veterans over their shared bond. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. in plain english the irs isn't popular to begin with. they go after our money and collect our taxes. when it looks like they are going after certain people, when the irs is used as a political tool because of the politics of groups or individuals, that isn't fair or legal. and that's the issue currently enveloping the irs. the president today talked about the allegation that certain groups, especially those tied to the tea party might have received special scrutiny because of their politics. it's just one front the white house is dealing with. it's where we begin here tonight with nbc's lisa myers in our d.c. newsroom. lisa, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. a draft report obtained by nbc news shows the targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny began earlier than the

irs has admitted and suggested a senior irs official was told what was going on almost two years ago. today the president joined the chorus of bipartisan outrage. >> i've got no patience with it. i will not tolerate it. we'll make sure we find out exactly what happened on this. >> reporter: a timeline in the draft report by an inspector general reveals that in march 2010 career employees at an irs unit based here in cincinnati that oversees tax-exempt groups began scrutinizing applications with the words tea party and patriots. june 2011, an irs review revealed that targeting had also included groups concerned about government spending, debt and those who criticized how the country is being run. that august a senior irs official, the chief counsel, is briefed so everyone would have the latest information. as the presidential campaign heated up in january 2012, the criteria was revised to cover all groups involved in limiting or expanding government or

educating on the constitution. about then tea party groups complained publically about being treated unfairly by the irs. and the irs stopped letters requesting more information. in march, the irs commissioner assured congress the complaints were unfounded. >> there is absolutely no targeting. this is the kind of back and forth that happens when people apply for 501(c)(4) status. >> reporter: not until last week did the irs admit certain groups were targeted. in all 300 applications were singled out for further scrutiny. how could this happen? a former irs official. >> safeguards were removed that would have greatly reduced the possibility of this sort of situation. >> reporter: republicans say congress must do its own investigation. >> it's hard for me to believe that this is an idea that was hatched by just a couple of career employees of the irs.

>> reporter: now the irs still isn't saying whether anyone has been fired or why it waited so long to come clean. a senior republican says the agency was, at best, far from forthcoming and, at worst, deliberately dishonest with congress. brian? >> lisa, thanks. lisa myers starting us off in d.c. tonight. as we mentioned this is just one of two growing scandals that got the president visibly energized today. the other includes criticism of the administration's handling of the attacks in benghazi. on that front, the president took the opportunity to hit back hard over accusations of some sort of a cover-up saying that defies logic. our political director chief white house correspondent chuck todd with us from the front lawn tonight. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. it was quite a turn. the president, a scathing critique of the irs. then he got defensive over the

criticisms of his administration on those benghazi attacks and what happened in the hours and days after the attack. the president was defiant at times and even called the republican-led investigation into his administration a political circus. a defiant president today responding after a weekend of criticism from republicans over his administration's handling of benghazi. >> the whole issue of talking points, frankly, throughout this process has been a sideshow. >> reporter: he was dismissive of republican critiques of how the white house, state department and cia edited talking points noting congress looked at key white house e-mails months ago. >> they reviewed them several months ago, concluded that, in fact, there was nothing afoul in terms of the process we had used and suddenly three days ago this gets spun up as if there is something new to the story. there's no there there. >> reporter: the president mocked the cover-up charge noting that a few days after u.s. ambassador susan rice went on the sunday talk shows and

placed the blame on the attack primarily on an inflammatory youtube film, another member of the administration briefed congress a few days later and called it terrorism. >> who executes a cover-up or effort to tamp things down for three days? so the whole thing defies logic. >> reporter: many republicans didn't find the president's explanation satisfactory. today congressman darryl issa who chaired last week's hearing said he doesn't accept the notion that during the seven-hour attack a military response was impossible. >> quite frankly, you can take off from washington, d.c. on a commercial flight and practically be in benghazi by the end of seven hours. >> reporter: former defense secretary robert gates disagreed. >> to send some small number of special forces or other troops in without knowing what the environment is, without knowing

what the threat is, i would not have approved that. we just don't -- it's a cartoonish impression of military capabilities and military forces. >> reporter: and while the white house isn't dismissive of what capitol hill is doing, congressional republicans are moving on with the investigation. later this week they will hear from ambassador tom pickering and former joint chiefs chairman mike mullen. these are the men that led the internal review at the state department. the main question congress has, brian, why didn't these gentlemen interview secretary of state hillary clinton. and we go on. >> chuck todd with the second front at the white house today. chuck, thanks. now to another developing story that broke in washington late today. word that the justice department secretly obtained two months worth of phone record of several reporters and editors and offices at the associated press. the a.p. is calling this a massive and unprecedented intrusion into their constitutional right to report the news.

nbc's tom costello is standing by in our d.c. bureau with more on this. tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. this is, in fact, a late-breaking story with the associated press moving this throughout the afternoon. it talks about the fact that this is an unprecedented breach and that it impacts the activities of the a.p., the primary news wire for the united states. this centers around an investigation into who leaked information to the a.p. in may of 2012 about a cia operative in yemen who helped prevent an al qaeda plot to bring down a u.s.-bound airliner with a bomb. the obama administration was furious about that leak, claiming it jeopardized national security. to find out who might have been the leaker, the a.p. claims the justice department obtained lists of incoming and outgoing phone calls from a.p. editors and reporters as well as reporters' personal phone numbers over a two-month period. normally justice department rules require that to be personally approved by the attorney general. in a letter to attorney general holder today the president and ceo of the a.p. writes there can be no possible justification for such an overboard collection of the telephone communications of the a.p. and its reporters.

we regard this action as a serious interference with a.p.'s constitutional rights to gather and report the news. while we evaluate our options we urgently request that you return to the a.p. the telephone toll records that the department subpoenaed and destroy all copies. the white house is referring all questions about this matter to the justice department. moments ago, as i'm sitting here i got an e-mail from the u.s. attorney who says we must notify the media in advance when we do subpoenas unless doing so would pose a threat to the integrity of the investigation. brian? >> we'll hear more about this story. tom costello with the still breaking story in washington. thanks. a heads-up on this next story for those who may have young ones present because of the grisly subject matter. after six weeks of testimony and ten days of jury deliberations a philadelphia doctor who

performed illegal abortions has been found guilty of murder in a closely watched case that involves truly disturbing accusations. rehema ellis in our studios in new york with the late details. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. you're right. it was more than ten days of deliberating in a trial that began nearly two months ago. the jurors announced this morning they were deadlocked on two of the hundreds of counts against dr. gosnell, but this afternoon they came back quickly with a verdict. the 72-year-old was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder. they say he performs illegal late term abortions and killed the babies who were born alive. the philadelphia doctor was acquitted in the death of a fourth baby. gosnell was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 41-year-old patient who was given an overdose of drugs. the prosecution described the women's clinic where the abortions occurred as filthy and horrendous with untrained staff performing medical procedures. gosnell's lawyer never called

any witnesses. the doctor maintained his innocence but never took the stand in his own defense. prosecutors now say they will seek the death penalty when that phase of the trial begins next week. brian? >> rehema ellis with us in knock -- new york tonight. thanks. we turn now to news of our natural world. we learned an estimated 32 million people were forced to leave their homes and the world last year for weather-related reasons. tonight it appears to be happening again in northern california where some people in a neighborhood that's been there for 30 years are looking for a new place to live because the ground, the environment underneath their houses is sinking. nbc's ayman mohyeldin is with us this evening. good evening. >> reporter: nestled above the hills of wine country in northern california are beautiful homes and idyllic resorts. but there is a mystery here causing homes like this one behind me to crumble and it has

local officials and residents here puzzled. >> this is about as far as we should probably go. >> reporter: it started with a few cracks in the walls. within weeks scott spivey's dream home began slipping away >> the doors wouldn't shut. the front door wouldn't close. i couldn't lock it. everything started getting out of synch and the house stated moving. >> reporter: his house along with the homes of his neighbors in this subdivision a hundred miles from san francisco are sinking. it's caught everyone here by surprise. >> 11 years of living here. we had to get out in 48 hours. it was stressful. >> reporter: so far seven homes abandoned and six more being evacuated. local officials are baffled as to the cause. >> at this time we don't know what the source of the flight is. that's making it difficult to be able to institute any sort of permanent recovery or some sort of conclusion to getting the slide to stop. >> reporter: two leaks in the county water system were found

and plugged and sewer lines are being redirected. even mail delivery is suspended. the area is just too unstable. while officials try to figure out what's causing the slide, the homes and dreams of residents are slowly slipping away. for this retiree it means the loss of much-needed rental income. >> i spent $70,000 a year and a half ago to remodel my house. it's really sad. >> reporter: local officials and residents want the state to declare this area an emergency. that brings in experts to determine the cause and more importantly gives the local residents funds to help them get back on their feet. right now they are not too optimistic. brian? >> thanks for that report. and so we go from that to this.

>> on video mother nature can produce. east of brainerd in mid minnesota this is what an ice shove or ice surge looks like. it was a wall of half melted ice shards driven by wind, gusts up to 55 miles an hour. it happened along ten miles of shoreline. 30 feet of ice in some spots entered and destroyed some homes. happened in the north in canada as well. not a good start for the walleye fishing season in minnesota. we got word late today dr. joyce brothers has died. more than one american generation will remember her as the first of them all, the trailblazer, the first psychologist of the television era. she was called upon for her opinions and guidance for 50 years. as a talk show regular she dispensed help to the troubled. she cajoled, counciled, took on topics from the taboo to the mundane ranging from marriage to menopause. she was a columnist. did a slew of tv cameo appearances. and a ubiquitous media presence. while always maintaining that measured exterior. a public arbitor of moderation and good sense for the modern age.

dr. joyce brothers, a ph.d. in psychology from columbia university, a proud native of rockaway, queens, was 85 years old. still ahead for us tonight, shock waves hit some of the largest clothing retailers in the world. what some big brand names are now doing after one of the worst industrial disasters ever.

some big clothing makers are signing on tonight to a legally binding plan to improve safety conditions in bangladesh in the wake of the horrifying factory collapse there. that disaster serving as a wake-up call for big business and people here in the u.s. who love cheap clothing and lots of it, and don't always think of the conditions where it's made. our report tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: for nearly three

weeks the death toll from the clothing factory in bangladesh has been rising. now the search for bodies is over. more than 1,100 workers have died. there will be no more miracle rescues. a tragedy so large in scope it is already changing a global industry. today retailers including zara and h & m signed an agreement drafted by labor rights groups to pay for fire and safety renovations in any bangladesh facility that makes their clothes. neither zara nor h & m did business with the factory that collapsed. but each has been linked to separate deadly factory fires. >> i think companies look at the current landscape and understand that the cost of their reputation of not signing this agreement is far greater than the financial cost of participating in the agreement. >> reporter: bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world. today workers told nbc news they just want to be able to work in a safe environment. 4 million people, most of them women, work in roughly 5,000 factories for about $37 a month. 60% of what is made ends up in

europe and the u.s. at popular stores like the gap, walmart and jc penney. americans buy twice as many items of clothing a year as they did 20 years ago. rapidly shifting styles at increasingly lower prices. like fast food we now shop for fast fashion. >> reporter: insatiable demand for a product made halfway around the world in conditions most aren't aware of. journalist elizabeth klein posed as a clothing buyer in bangladesh for her book "overdressed." >> do we need all this clothing and do we want to take responsibility for the costs associated with the cheap fashion habit? >> reporter: with the rubble being cleared, customers and companies are taking a new look at the real cost of cheap clothes. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. when we continue here tonight the big announcement today from a television legend.

♪ ground control to major tom >> when they write the history of astronauts, chris hadfield of canada, the commander of the international space station has been in his own way as much a trailblazer as gagarin, shepherd, glenn and armstrong. he's been the first truly accessible astronaut of the electronic era.

this david bowie remake is a song he recorded in space. his youtube videos are instant classics on all aspects of life in space from eating to washing to waste management to toothbrushing. does a lot of work for kids. on earth he's a fearless test pilot who's flown 70 different types of aircrafts. in space he made history. tonight at 10:30 p.m. eastern time he lands back on earth, returns to canada a hero after a spectacular five-month shift as commander. now to mundane earth news. we got our first glimpse of o.j. simpson in months. his physical appearance has changed during his four and a half years behind bars. in a nevada prison where he's asking for a new trial. there is television industry news tonight. barbara walters says she's going to hang up her cleats after more than 50 years in the business. she's saying her final farewell will be the summer of 2014. but those of us who know her respectfully will believe it when we see it. great news for our friend seth myers. the snl head writer and anchor of "weekend update" is getting "late night" when jimmy fallon moves up to take over for jay leno. seth will stay with "snl" into

next fall's new season. when we come back here tonight what so many people have noticed about prince harry's visit to the u.s.

finally tonight, prince harry is about halfway through his trip to the u.s.

those who watched him with combat veterans this weekend saw something special. a fellow veteran with a natural affinity for those who served and sacrificed on the battlefield. our report tonight from mike taibbi in colorado springs. >> reporter: he was a prince at play here in a city volleyball match with wounded vets like marine corporal georgie salazar seeing him the way he sees himself, as just one of the guys. >> he was into it. he really was. kind of pushed me at the end. >> reporter: did you say anything to him? >> i pushed him back! >> reporter: it wasn't just a weekend of games for the 28-year-old prince. for as captain harry wales, a combat helicopter pilot with two hard tours in afghanistan on his resumé, he's embraced the cause of the men and women who have gone to battle. and when the battle has all but taken them down have fought in these ways to reclaim their lives. >> courage is clear and obvious

from the moment of injury through countless hours of intense rehab. >> reporter: so he was here, the last man in the torch relay, the host at the finish line handing out medals and even some kisses. and a determined cheerleader in the fourth year of these games. seven paralympic-style sports for some 260 athletes from all five u.s. service branches and this year a team from the uk. for scott palomino who lost a foot to an ied, as the chance to make his point. >> i'm still out there doing what i love to do. >> reporter: for salazar, it's about the look his 2-year-old son gave him when he first left his wheelchair for his two prosthetic legs. >> i got up on my legs and he turned and goes like this and just starts screaming with excitement. >> reporter: a weekend about soldiers including captain harry wales, all of them still in the fight. mike taibbi, nbc news, colorado springs. and that's our broadcast on a monday night as we start off a new week.

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 good evening. thanks for being with us on this monday evening. a dramatic change of emotions, once supportive and sympathetic, some neighbors of lila fowler's family, the 8-year-old that was shot to death in a calaveras home. her 12-year-old brother is now in a juvenile detention center.

>> and just do whatever we can for them to help them deal with the grief that they have been dealing with with the loss of layla and now also the shock and sadness coming from the alleged assail lampbt being one of their classmates. >> reporter: after spending two weeks fearing a random killer was on the loose, children are dealing with a new twist in the stabbing death of 8-year-old layla fowler. now her 12-year-old brother is under arrest. >> it does put a real sad and tragic twist on what already is a sad story in helping the kids to get their heads around it and make some sense of it. we're all having a hard time making sense of it. >> it hurts. you got a 12-year-old kid that his life is ruined, plain and simple, over this. what made him snap? get into his head and find out. what happened. br neighbors say they're heart