until then, brian williams joins us next. on our broadcast tonight, breaking news on the fight in arizona. tonight the governor weighs in. war games, a show of force from putin, dispatching the russian army on the border with ukraine as the u.s. sends a strong message in respon. the age factor, the medical news out today about older fathers and the potential risks of having children near middle age. and high times in colorado where it is all perfect legal and the people lighting up and chowing down may surprise you. tonight a look at the epicenter of a sweeping change. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world

headquarters in new york this is nbc nightly news with brian williams. a special good evening to viewers in the west, much of our news originating from the western u.s. from the weather to the late development in arizona where republican governor jan brewer has spoken. she has been under extraordinary pressure to veto a bill that could allow businesses on the owners' religious grounds to refuse business to gays and lesbians or anyone for that matter. >> reporter: the loudest voices the governor have been hearing are all cutting one way, human rights advocates. the corporate and political voices kept piling on until late this afternoon, the governor took a pen and signed her name to a veto and then explained

why. >> senate bill 1062 does not address a specific or present concern related to religious liberty in arizona. i have not heard one example in arizona where business owners religious liberty has been violated. the bill is broadly worded and can result in unintended and negative consequences. >> reporter: some showed up and started distributing pre-printed high quality posters saying thank you governor brewer, arizona is open for business for everyone. >> thanks. now to vital interest to our viewers in california bay area to the southland, the weathert that is on its way, the rains coming to california over the next several days. as we have been reporting on steadily, the state is in the grips of a record drought.

farming has taken a huge hit. prices are already rising. california needs rain but they don't need what is about to happen in some places. >> reporter: good evening. this l.a. suburb is under what they call an orange alert, voluntary evacuations are underway as the area prepares for a series of storms. as you can see they are filling sand bags here at a rapid pace. the big concern is, of course, mudslides. this is where the fire broke out in january. that turned the soil here hard as rock and water resistant. we could see localized flooding and powerful winds. at san francisco international airport high winds caused three hours of delays today. now in the next two days alone we could have four inches with this storm. the biggest punch may come saturday. that will be just hours before the oscars.

not to worry, though, they will find a way to keep the stars dry. as you mentioned we are in the middle of an extreme drought. we need the rain but we need 15 inches of rain. this storm will just be a drop in the bucket. >> thanks. looking at news from overseas, the olympic games are over so let the war games begin. tonight, russian president vladimir putin has dispatched more than 150,000 army troops to western russia, the area that borders with ukraine. officially these are military exercises but no one is missing the larger point. and just a few days since the fall of kiev, more and more people are saying it is starting to feel like old times, the times that brought us partitions and walls and east versus west and standoffs between super powers. with the now former president of ukraine missing and his government having fallen, tonight the u.s. has sent a warning to russia about how to

proceed here after a provocative move. we get our report from richard engel who remains in kiev. >> reporter: good evening, brian, russian media described this as the biggest war game since the soviet era, it is being personally overseen by vladimir putin. the question tonight is this just saber-rattling or cover for military action? there were clashes today in crimea, between those who support last week's revolution and want closer ties to europe, and others who want crimea bound to mother russia. it is the southeastern-most part of ukraine, reaching out to the black sea just off the russian coast. crimea was part of russia until the 1950s and is still home to russia's black sea fleet. russia has no plans to give it up. vladimir putin announced surprise military exercises near ukraine's border. 150,000 russian combat troops

and heavy weapons involved in war games. also, unspecified measures to reinforce the black sea fleet. the defense minister said according to orders from the president as of 2:00 p.m., we are on high alert. russia has reason to worry that ukraine may be slipping away. in a rural town that is called -- named after lenin, it is taken down. the ukrainians have taken down the statue. the village plans to change the name, too. the staffue here will soon go into the fields to become a scarecrow. they are carving a new bust of a ukrainian poet to take its place at city hall. he says that ukraine should be a part of europe. >> we have to stand here to protect europe. it is true. >> reporter: tonight, in kiev,

independence square, they are still mourning those who died to bring ukraine to this historic crossroad, and there is not a russian flag in sight. protesters in this square, brian, overturned their pro-russian government. it is not clear now how much independence russia will tolerate. brian? >> richard engel who remains in kiev for us tonight, thank you, this is no ordinary time and all of this presents a very difficult balancing act for the u.s., getting involved in what russia again considers its own domestic affairs. tonight, the u.s. secretary of state, john kerry is issuing a strong message to putin, nonetheless. and nbc's andrea mitchell has more at the state department on that end of the story. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, vladimir putin's war games so close to ukraine prompted this stern warning from secretary of state john kerry in his interview with us.

also a not so friendly caution from kerry to putin about how quickly these kinds of uprisings can catch fire. >> i think the rapidity with which it has moved should frankly be a message to russia. and mr. putin should listen carefully to ukrainians who have voiced their desire for change. so we're hoping that russian -- russia will not see this as sort of a continuation of the cold war, we don't see it that way. we do not believe this should be an east/west, russia/united states. this is not rocky iv, believe me. >> the russian prime minister today said that the opposition and the rebellion in ukraine are extremists. >> we are not looking for confrontation. but we are making it clear that every country should respect the territorial integrity here, the sovereignty of ukraine, russia has said it will do that and we

think it's important that russia keeps its word. >> and then there is this, kerry has told me that now russia has increased its weapons to assad's regime in syria, despite the horrific images we've seen day after day of the regime bombing and starving its own people. this is another source of friction between the united states and vladimir putin. >> andrea mitchell at the state department, tonight as we said no ordinary time. thank you, andrea mitchell. and as we mentioned there is medical news out to anybody who may be concerned to any couples, especially fathers, who are thinking of having a child near middle age or later. new research shows that children born to fathers who are age 45 or older are at an increased risk for a variety of disorders. nbc's tom costello starts our reporting. >> reporter: like most new fathers, brian greg never imagined how dramatically his life would change and waiting until he was 45 to have kids brought some unique concerns. >> you wonder about your energy

level, whether or not you can go the whole night waking up and doing all of those feeds and then showing up for work the next day. >> reporter: and there is something else he should know. while previous studies have compared children of older fathers to children of younger dads, a new study in sweden that tracked the children born to the same father is raising new concerns. it found that children conceived when their fathers were over 35 were 13 times more likely to have adhd than a sibling born when their fathers were in their early 20s. two and a half times more likely to have autism, and two and a half more times to struggle with substance abuse and two and a half more times likely to attempt suicide. >> there is a correlation between the bearing of psychiatric problems. this does not prove that advancing age causes the problems. >> reporter: older dads are much more common, steve martin, jack nicholson, clint eastwood, have all fathered children later in life. but while men produce sperm

their entire life, the evidence suggests men have their own biological clocks. as they age the quality of sperm declines with more frequent genetic errors. fertility experts say men and women waiting to have babies, the more likely the complications. >> try to have a baby before 30 years old instead of after 30 years old, and certainly with a partner of a similar age. >> for brian greg and his wife? >> it took me a while to get there but it was a very good and positive decision. >> reporter: the wait was worth every minute, tom costello, nbc news, washington. we know a lot of couples are going to have questions and concerns about this new study, this new data. our chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman joins us, so we heard the one physician at the end of the piece. nancy, what is the advice? how would you advise a male say

over 45, should they now think twice about becoming fathers? >> i think you have to start with the cautionary note that not every father just because he is older will have a child with psychiatric issues. but it does raise an increasing belief that science has been able to push the limits. perhaps there is a real biological window for men and for women. and real sort of optimum time in one's life to pro create. i think it is an important time to remember that if you're going to plan to have a family to talk about that window for career, lifestyle, children and certainly, the biologic age of mom and dad. because the biologic age of eggs and sperm now, we know scientifically do play their individual roles. >> all right, dr. nancy snyderman, with answers to questions out of this, as always, thank you. there was a revolution that may say a lot about the state of thasa and space program and the

equipment troastronauts. his equipment failed him. in fact, they say it was his calm demeanor that probably saved his life after his helmet filled with water. the investigation found the same thing had happened a week earlier. it revealed the current space suit design is 35 years old and the once mighty nasa is down to only 12 space suits in its inventory. still ahead for us this evening, rocky mountain high. behavior is changing in surprising ways in the state of colorado. later feeling no shame, what researchers are saying tonight about the dogs we love and some long-held believes.

you are about to witness a violation of federal law, what

some people view as ad horrent behavior perfectly legal in the state of colorado two months into the legalization of recreational marijuana. reports tonight on how life there has changed. >> reporter: at a private artal gallery in denver the cocktail crowd shelled out over $100 each for fine wine and locally cultivated bud. free from the confines of basements and back rooms, pot is becoming a fixture of polite society. >> everyone brought different samples and trying them kind of like a wine tasting. >> reporter: jane west is the orchestrater of this swoiree. she is a 37-year-old married

mother of two and makes no apologies. >> it is important to say i use marijuana and that is okay. >> i think there is an assumption that there must be this giant stoner class in colorado. can i just say one thing? you don't look like that. >> i don't. >> reporter: her company, edible events, catkatcaters to people particular about what they inhale and digest. more comfortable breaking bed than breaking bad her career choices come with its own set of risks. >> are you the evil mom who lives down the street with marijuana coming out of the wood work. >> if they are judging me they are not doing it to my face yet. i think we will start changing some perceptions. >> reporter: here is one mom she has convinced, her own. >> guilt free pleasure. at 67, what could be nicer? >> reporter: wendy bruner says her first experience with pot

was back in the 70s. >> i was handed a joint and choked to death and said i will never do this again, this is gross. >> reporter: now she is eating those words in the form of a pot infused granola bar. >> it made this crazy mind to just go whatever. >> reporter: a different kind of senior moment to be sure. one edible, one joint, one vapor puff at a time, pot is moving towards the mainstream. harry smith, nbc news, denver. >> there is, of course, another side to all of this. harry smith will have all of it in his hour-long documentary tonight on cnbc at 10:00 eastern time. we are back with a change in the air that caught a lot of frequent flyers offguard.

well, this is exactly what

target feared after the huge data breach during the christmas shopping season, personal payment information was compromised for as many as 110 million people. today target reported their profits were down 46% in the all-important fourth quarter of last year compared with the same period a year earlier. target said it could not estimate the future cost of the data breach including lawsuits and fraud claims against the company. delta is making a critical change to its sky miles frequent flyer program. other airlines will watch this one to see if it goes over well. it doesn't so much reward f frequent fly miles. it rewards business travelers especially and a trend coming to the airline industry for some time. after a growing back lash from a number of celebrity parents against entertainment websites and magazines, "people"

magazine announced it will no longer publish unauthorized paparazzi photos of celebrity's childrens. they caution there may be rare exceptions. celebrities from halle berry to jennifer garner have fought the grounds. for a while the family couldn't go anywhere without pictures being taken of their children. "people" says the aim is to cover celebrities as magazines do with respect and compassion. it is not known if other weekly magazines will follow suit. when we come back the surprise about dogs and all of those looks they give us.

finally here tonight, if you have ever loved a dog you will have your own opinions about this story. the story out today from the associated press that rattled around the country. it said dogs feel no shame. those knowing looks they give us or worse yet when they can't even look at us because of what they have done. those looks are not shame-based, it says, even though some dog owners say they know otherwise. our report from katy tur. >> reporter: good dogs gone bad,

i ate the trampoline, their heads are down, they won't look you in the eye, in some cases their shame is around their necks, with 58 million page views, dogshaming.com is one of the most popular places on the internet. but no matter how guilty you think they look, experts say they feel no shame for eating those band aides, they just don't have that ability. >> while they may not have the ability to feel shame they can read your moods. for instance, if you're happy or sad, maybe they will lick your face to make you feel better. how did you know i was having a junky day? how did you know? in fact, scientists did mris on 11 pooches, found just as in humans dogs have a little patch of neurones that respond to

emotional sounds, hence, when your dog is being scolded for doing something wrong, well, it is your temper, some say, not that are guilt that is making them cower. but not everyone agrees. >> when they do something wrong they know, they go straight to the cage. they know their punishment right away. >> even before you react? >> even before you react. >> reporter: animal behaviorist experts don't buy it either. >> there is no doubt in my mind they are embarrassed, the way they look away. they turn their head and look away, it is am almost like they don't want to make the contact with you because in fact they really are ashamed of what they did. >> reporter: so what does it all mean for cats? nothing, they still don't care what you're saying. katy tur, nbc, new york. >> that is our broadcast on a wednesday night, thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

right now at 6:00, as advertised, rainy and gusty. the storm is picking up strength. our live radar now very active. you see a lot of shots of green and yellow. bands of heavy rain throughout the bay area. good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. big rain drenching us. >> this is just the beginning. another storm is picking up strength in the pacific and will

arrive shortly. plenty of delays and damage, something we might be seeing for the next 48 hours. marianne favro begins our coverage on highway 17. marianne? >> reporter: raj, right now the rain is coming down very hard. the roads are slick, and the visibility is low, but despite all of those problems, most people we talked to today embraced the rain. four-year-old sarah welcomed the rain with a splash. she and her mom were happy to finally use their umbrella. >> pretty excited for the rain. we have been praying for the rain because of the drought, and the kids have been putting on rain boots and running out and having fun and enjoying it. >> reporter: on highway 17 however is a reminder the rain can cause problems, too. making the roads more slippery and causing trees to fall like this one in scotts valley. the storm can also cause rock