congratulations.ing date. >> nightly news is next. and we now know americans e among e dead. cholestel drugs, a big story in the world of medicine tonight. doctors are rethinking whoeeds cholestel drugs and who doesn't. anhow they are prescrid. a big change in e air. two giants get the go-ahead to merge, creating the rld's largest airlin and tonight, what this means for all ofhose who fly. and a tale of two cies and two skyscrapers, vying for the title of who is the tallest. highrama on who came outn top. "nightly news" begins now.

gooevening. as you're about to hear, u. mane general said tod the people of the plippines don't have a week to wait. some don't even have days to spare. it underscores t monumental effort derway tonig to get help there despite huge obstacles and widespread devastation. take just the one areae have been focusing on f the last 24 hours, tacloban, a city of 200,000 people. this is what is left of the airport, the tower is out of commission. the is no radar, or aistairs to pull up to the planes. and air strips are too short to e accommodate jets, and that limits the numbe of flits in and out. and this is what is left of the city, water the key to surviv and the search for it is desrate. a second weaer system has come along and again drehed the area with heavy rains. the feared death toll has been downgraded, but of course ther is no wato know for sure. it's whe we begin our porting tonight before we hear

from dr. nancy snydermann the medical effort, we begin with gus walker itacloban. >> reporter: the true extent of the devastation is n becoming clear. island aftersland, village after coastal llage torn apart. this city of tacloban is in ruins. at the airport, they're fighting for a chance to escape cries ofesperation fill the air. we need help, we need food, need water. r the children. >> reporr: overwhelmed and traumatized, their only option now is to get out. the typhoohas taken everything from them. >> everything is gone, our uses, everything. there's nothin to ea there's nothing drink. >> reporter: in the rus, the wnpour today. the survivors tacloban are now trying to rebuild their lives, but the misery goes on. [ speaking in foign language ] >> reporter: what's happening to my country?

we have no food. help is nocoming, she says. peopleere have become scavengers, desperate fofood and water. even the youngt are snatching what they can. 's called bliss, the ne of a housing prect for peopleho had lost their homes in past typhoons. thisime it was no safe haven. bliss is made up of a maze of narrow alleyways, and when the typhoon struck, filled with water within seconds to above roof heights. and yet most survived, quickly imbing high enough to escape. somelearly happy just to be alive. but living is hard. long lines for empty shelves, dicines are rationed. as t evening approaches, barricades are manned, with e military. the people of tacloban fend for themselves as many strgle to get out. some do find space on departinplane and make it to

manila, hundreds of mis and a world away while at that sa manila airport, cargo planes a loaded with supplies. >> tre are people suffering tonight as it rainon them with a second tropical storm and we need to mobilize tonight. >> reporter: the need is getting greater bthe hour. angus walkeror nbc news in tacloban, the philippines. >> reporter: this is dr. nancy snydman. wateand wind, devastating this country. now, there is anher threat. water-borne infectus disease. 61-yeaold edgar arabella is livingn a shack, drinking dirty water. he has lost everytng. >> i am just tir. supposed to be drinking sea water and dirty waters. trng to survive. >> reporter: we're now dealing with a new heah emergency, and that is lack of good wer.

wh the storm surge swaed cloban, the already fragile water system was one of the casuales. cleawater is now very hard to find and people are now drinking fromnd bathing inhe same water that is filledith sewage, corpses, and debris. that has hlth officials worried. what are the risk factors to ople? babies, middle aged pele, and elderly when they ce into contact with bad water? >> the risks are -- e risks to their health, they could get diarrhea, and phoid fever, it could gravate the situation. >> reporte these are illnesses that the doctor is beginning to see. have you seen caseof diarrhea yet? >> mostly childr. we have cases of severely dehydrated children i dysente

dyntery. >> reporter:he there arfew places to turn for help. bottledater when i can be found is oy a stopgap. lank tanks are needed, but there is no flown tacloban. >> the only soce they have right now with the power lines down are wells, en wells. and th're saying it is not even fresh water. it quite salty. >>eporter: water, so nessary to life and now also a threat for life water-borne illnesses can ravage a town thatas no infrastructure. just giving heal officials here onhe ground one more ason forconcern. brian? >> dr. nancy snyderman reporting from mana for us tonight. for our viewers who wish to help in this, all that iormation remas onur website tonight. nbcnightlyws.com. now back in this country, and we're forced to say in light of our lead story, we're

country bssed with so much. we turn tohe medical news tonight. it's about statins. the cholesterol-loring drugs taken by millions americans. e in four over the age of 40. today the first new guidelines a decade about how they should be pscribed and the news could be aame cnger and could result in many more americans taking these drugs. we start off our reporting tonight with nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: ithe united ates, someone has a heart attack ery 34 second every four minutes, someone dies from a stro. cardiovaular diseaseorsens as plaque buildsp in the arteries. up untilow cholesterol levels have larly dictated whetr or not a patient is prescribed statins. but now the guidelines change that. doctors will now tailor

treatment to iividual patients. taking intoonsideration ltiple factors. it's a more personazed approach. >> i think doctors will naturally findhese guidelines easy to us cause the focus is not on the number. it is on the right intensity of therapy. >> rorter: the recommendatns incle moderate or intensive statin therapy for those with cardiovascular disease. those with ld numbers hier, anpeople with elevated risk of rdiovascular disease determined by a newly developed ri calculator. some experts worry about relying too heavily on statins. >> even though the evidence shows us in many situatis there's ing to be short-term benefit to taking statin therapy, tt in the long haul it might aually inhibit us

from adopting and embracing a heart heal yes lifestyle. >> rorter: stayhealthy. don'smoke and watch what you eahasn't changed. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. so ls of questions tonigh wi us annternistnd our chief medical officer at nbc universal. all right, doc. is story came out at 4:00 eastern today. means starting when you lea he tonight and go into tomorrow, ople are going to ask you. what do you say about people who haven't en on these and tse who have been? >> the guidelines are aren't going to change patterns overnit. for e last ten years, th doctors had the olideas in our head. it will take timto change, some will meet the new guidelines, some won't. the bottom line when you go to the doctort will be a different environment. before they would pick your ldl, match thato your ris factors, pick a mag number and take

medications to go after that number. that's the par that's going to change. if you go to the doctor and meet one of those four groups that stephanie just mentioned, theyl just go right ahead and start you on a hher dose of statin thanbefore. and you won't get it checked all e time. yoll still need your blood checke to make se you're tolerating , but you won't have that mic goalumber to strive for. >> so the change comg for the next doctor's visit next time around for a lot of folks. doctor, thank you as alws for visiting us tonight. and on psident obama's new alth care law, a former president o likes and supports it h nonetheless now joined the chor of people pushing the president to keep his promise for all of tse americans who like their health insurancwho wanto keep it. get more on this toc tonight from n's peter alexander at the white house. >> reporter: the white house has uted him as t explainer in chief. but during a recent interview, president inton urged president oba to make goodn

his promise and let anyone who wants to keep their current insurance plan. >> i personally believe even if it tes a change in the law, the president should hor the coitment to federal gornment made to the peop and let them keep what they he. >> reporter: this afternoon, the white house said that president obama agrees with clinton. >> the president has tasked his team wh looking at a rangef options. >> reporte according to jay carney, the go is to make sure those who got cancellation lettercan afford a better plan. it's no ey task, according to jonathan gruber. an architectf both romney care, massachuses health care reform law, and oba care. the key goal of thilaw is to allow everyone to buy insurancat one common price. if you all some people to jump out of the system ankeep their older policies at a cheaper price, i puts it at risk. >> reporter: garking enrolled in obama care, signing up for a new policy thawill cost him $70 more each month. >>nd i find that havinto pay money for verage that is not

reallyood for me is pretty disappointing. but as f as getting the insurance under the california exchange iwas easy enough once you figured out how to do it. >> reporter: b king is the ception. early reports show in the first six weeks since enrollment opened,nly 110,000 americans signed up. 60,0 through most of the state exchanges. fewer than 50,0 more in a federal mart place according to "wall street journ." for tober, 500,000, and well off the pace to meet the government's projection of 7 million by the end omarch. administration officials say they won't confirm enrollment numbers until ter this week, but insist they've always expected the first round would be low. toght administration officials sa the website is getting better eh week so mh so, brian, tha beginning today they'rectually sending out 275,00 e-mails in wes encouraginpeople who had problems with the website to try again. >> peter alexander at the wte

houseor us tonig. pete thanks. we leaed today two americans kidnappefrom a u.s. agged oil vessel in geria. it has almost been three weeks ago now, have been released. the u.s. mitary tonight says it didn't take part i any kind of a rescue mission. expert say releases typically ppen in that part of the wor after a ranso is paid. and as we reported, the waters off nigea are among the most dangerous in the world. roline kennedy is no ambassador kennedy. th daughter of jfk sworn in today asmbassador of japan. johnerry adminisated the oath at a priva ceremony with family esent. stl ahead for us tonight, two big airline names have now been cleared to become one. american and u.s. air and now the questions begin abo how this changes flying. > and later, high drama over which skyscraper is the tallest in all the land.

for years american aiines' marketing slogan was something special in theair. as of toda it's somethi much more massive inhe air. the fedsoday aroved its merger with u.s. airways ming the largest single carrier on earth. tomostello is live at miami internationatonight for us withhat this means for all thoseho sit in those seats hind the pilot. to good evening. >> hi, brian. and to get this merger proval, these two airlines had to apove to give off critical takeoff andanding slots a some key airports. when the deal is complete in december, the $17 billion merger between u.s. airways and erican will create therld's biest airlin 6,700aily flights to 336 cities in 56 countries. million passengers a ar. but it also means fewer airlis competing for our business at american's hub in miami toda travelers were skeptical.

>> i think the concern i that with less competition, usually that means it may drive flight rates up. >> i just have afeeling,t ways happens, every time the's aerger there's a rate increase. >> reporter: since 2005, 25 regional and mainline airlines have merge cutting b at least 10% the total nber of airli seat among th biggest deal, ameri westnd u.s. airws. delta and northwest. united and contental. southwest and air tr. the american merger had concerned w cost carriers would be crowded o drivingp rfares. >> the concern for most folks out there isn't bigger cities. it's small cities. the small cities are likel to take the brunt of airfare hikes over the next fourr five years. >>eporter: to get approval, the government provided they surrender slotso other airles at rean national airport in washington and new york laguardia. >> the government believes at requiring the new american to givep some flights at big

airportso low cost airnes like jetblue and sthwest will lead to more competition and cheaper fares. >> reporte today ceo dg parkeraid the new american will have the greatest network in the world which is great for our customerand our employees. theirlines have agreed to keep their existing hubs for at least three years and the frequent flierrogramsill entually merge which means u.s. airways frequent flierarticipants will joinhe one world. >> tom costello apparently just off th runwaythere. thank you. up next for us tonight, why campers inside t grand canyon had better move their stf if th haven't already.

if you know the name trevor bayne, either you're a nasr fan o you heard his ne after he became the youngestver winner of the daytona 500 back in 2011 at the age of 20. was back in the news today

because he's been diagnosed with ms. he went for a battery of tests at the mayo clinic after some unexplaid numbness in his arm. bayne, who h a sister with ms says he will continue to race and his racing team will fully support him, they say. visitors to the grand canyon get to s something very special but just for the next few days. the folks at the u.s. bureau of reclamation ar flooding the terway that runs through the caon in order to move the sedime around. tons of it has stled at various spots at the bottom. and they decided to mixt . itill create neweaches on the banks of the canyon and sand ba in the middle. olice officers in weste sweden were called to a private homeo investigate a domestic disturbance. neighbors reported hearing banging and screaming coming from inse the residence. but it turns out it was all perfectlyexplnable. they were just putting together ikea furniture.

you know the deal. instructions written in s nscript and that bagf parts th one allen wrench and one leftoverscrew. apparently the assemblyot a little heated for our couple in sweden. and it woke u the baby which added to the screaming fm inside the house. so the next time you sit down t put together -- rememberlease to keep itdown. wll take another break here tonight. when weome back, a tall tale on a sky high bate finally settd.

finally tonigh though it ris from a place of great tragedy, the new world trade center looming over lower manhattan has givenew yorkers something to look up to and be proud of. just today it s officially s nad tallest in the nation, beating out the massive sears tower in chicago new yorkay not be the city o big shouers but it is all too happy to grab this tallest building title. even thoh chicago isn't going quietly. and that is reected in our final reportere tonight as new york based kattur a chicago-basekevin tibbles apparently believes there is

unfinished business between these two cities. >> reporter: 12 years the mang, 100 stories of steel glass d hope. 1 world trades not just a building, it's a monument to new york's resolve after/11. the spire topping out at 1,776 feet may as well be a huge pot. >> reporter: yes, it is true today, aommittee of architects in chicago ruled that our beloved willisower, formerly known as the sears tower, a graciously taking secon place. >> reporter:ppropriate for a city known a the secon city. >> reporter: han on a minu. while new york city won day, it's no contest which city takes the cake when it comes to, well, justbout everything else. >> reporter: speakin of cake, that gooey dougy mess you chicagoans call deep sh, lks and tastes more lik cake than pizza. this is what you call a slice. t of a coal oven. this right her isizza.

, and do you like my hat? i won't en get into the yankees and our won, two, three -- oh, yeah. 27 championships >> go sox, go bears. and blackhawks. >> reporter: okay. so t cubs haven't won the world series inver a hundred years, bute do have the stanley cup cmpion blackhawks. oh, and seone else who just happens to live in the white house. >> hellochicago! >> reporter:ut we have central park, the brooklyn bridge, wal street. i mean, have you er seen a moreorgeous skyline? >> forget about it. >> reporter: if we're comparing views now at t wlis tower. you can actually hd up to the 103rd floor andeek ou >> it's the windy ci. althe good stu here. >> reporr: kevi we ve brdway. broadway! one of our longe rning plays is -- well, "chicago." >> reporter: "chicago" the show? trusme. the real thing's even better.

>>eporter: katy tur -- >> reporter: kevin tibbles,bc news. th does it for our breaking news in the east bay, our nbc chopper is in richmond, where a wan is critally hurt and a suspects on the loose at this hour after good evening.ended in a crash. thanks for joining us. i'm raj maai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. moreinformation,he crash site is at the intersection of sixth and mcdonnell. chase gone bad. it started around 3:30 this when an undercover officer spotted a suspt with a felony the suspects trieso get away and while they were getting away, theylammed into a car that had a mother a daughter inside. we understandhe daughters about 20 years old. at this point, we don't know if

it is the mother the daughter that is critically injured. police did catch up to two out of thehree suspects. a k-9 police dog bit the suspect with a felony warrt. one suect, though, is still a-wol at thisoint. we'll bring you more details as soon as w get more informatio exclusive.nbc bay area toxic chemicals in mountain view later tonight, the epa will tell residents of a specific mountain view neighborhood wh they found. we havthe information that stems from atory we bke nearly two years ago. investigative reporter steven stoc joins us with the new information. steven, as you know,his isn't someural area. toxichemicals in the middle of >> reporter: that' exactly right, raj. as w first reported back in february, the epa discovered thesnew hotspots of the chemical tce, located here in mountain view, outside t original boundaries of t m.e.w. superfund site