for all of us. >> exactly. >> they look great. >> thanks for being here at 5:00. as a reminder brian william join us us next with nightly news. on our broadcast tonight, an imminent attack foiled overseas. authorities say a terrorist cell was about to execute a major operation like the one we just saw in paris. and just tonight police were met by a big firefight as they moved in. change in the air. from the u.s. to cuba. hours from now it's about to get much easier for americans to travel there. paid days off for new moms and dads, and the millions of americans who get sick and can't afford to stay home from work. a big debate erupts over an issue that really hits home. 20 minutes a day. the new research about the one thing doctors say you should be doing to add years to your life. and the controversy at the oscars, beyond the usual. this time it's about what's missing from the list of nominees. "nightly news" begins now.

>> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. if police hadn't acted when they did, there's a good chance we would have been coming on the air tonight to report the latest terrorist attack overseas. instead police and investigators in belgium say suspected jihadists just back from syria were planning to launch large-scale terrorist attacks on police facilities. the attacks were said to be imminent until the plot was busted up today, just a week after the deaths of 17 people in paris. it's where we begin tonight. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel starts off our reporting. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: this is what it sounded like today. like a war. in the normally quiet belgium city of verviers. a neighbor filmed a counterterrorism raid that turn into a prolonged gun battle. it began, authorities say, when

the suspects in the house opened fire. >> two of the suspects were killed. a third one has been arrested. luckily during this intervention no policeman was harmed. >> reporter: nor were any civilians. the suspects were clearly armed and dangerous. >> we found that this group was about to commit terrorist attacks in belgium. >> reporter: belgian authorities say the raid was one of three to arrest individuals recently back from syria. and there may be links to the paris attacks. an arms dealer from belgium reportedly sold weapons to the paris gunmen. in the wake of the paris attacks, europe is tightening its defenses with good reason. thousands of foreign fighters from europe who fought in syria have returned home, some of them apparently determined to bring their holy war with them. and today's raid showed they're not just in the big cities. both isis and al qaeda have called on supporters to carry out more attacks in the west.

european security officials are determined to intercept them first. today in belgium they did. richard engel, nbc news, istanbul. >> reporter: this is bill neely in paris where more of the massacre victims were buried today. two were cartoonists. one carried in a plain casket covered in cartoons drawn by his friends. buried too, the policeman who guarded "charlie hebdo's" editor. but from the pope today a clear message. insult people and you'll get hit. he didn't name "charlie hebdo," but he said let's speak clearly about paris. gesturing with his hand, he said, if a friend says a swear word against my mother, then a punch awaits him. one cannot provoke, insult other people's faith. there is a limit. "charlie hebdo" is provocative. it calls itself irresponsible. its latest cover another image of the prophet muhammad. the pope insisted killing in the

name of god is wrong, but he came close to suggesting the attack on the magazine is understandable. all three gunmen said they were avenging insults to islam. one of them is now being investigated by police in spain where he spent time before attacking jews in a supermarket. amedy coulibaly was in madrid for four days before returning to paris where five days later he first shot dead a policewoman and then took hostages, killing four jews. more troops reinforced paris today. 10,000 now on france's streets and on high alert after tonight's killings in belgium. and tonight the vatican has clarified what the pope said saying the pope's expression is in no way a justification for the violence in paris which he has already condemned. but, says the vatican, there are limits to humor. meanwhile, in paris tomorrow secretary of state john kerry

will meet the french president hollande to discuss cooperation against radical extremists, cooperation that's needed in europe now more than ever after tonight's events in belgium. back to you, brian. >> bill neely covering it all in paris for us tonight. bill, thanks. we've learned more tonight about what the feds say was this foiled domestic terrorist attack plot in washington. christopher lee cornell of ohio, age 20 accused of planning to bomb the u.s. capitol and shoot people as they fled the building. according to house speaker john boehner the plot was foiled with the help from the government's controversial surveillance program which collects bug data on american communications. cornell's father said his son was coerced during an undercover investigation. the gateway to cuba closed to americans for more than five decades now appears to be swinging open starting tomorrow. and thanks to a change announced today, street scenes in havana like this one that we're looking at live tonight may soon be full

with american tourists. but questions remain over whether cuba is truly ready for all of this, ready for the influx. our report on that tonight from our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. >> reporter: in havana dramatic change. after more than a half century, tomorrow the cold war will be over. a huge opening for u.s. and cuban travel and trade. in havana nelson fernandez says these measures help the country's economy. orlando velez, a restaurant cook, says we think more meshes will come. there is still an embargo on general tourists, but a lot more americans can go more easily. educational groups, cultural groups, journalists, medical and religious organizations, family visits. >> i got two daughters in cuba. i have to go. >> reporter: at the miami airport alex rivas has a new baby who has never seen his grandmother. >> he doesn't know his grandma

right now. >> reporter: an soon he can fly on a regularly scheduled commercial flight not just the current limited charters. he can use the internet when he gets there as internet companies jump in. use a credit card, not just cash. until now no u.s. credit was allowed in cuba. plus, credit opens the door for ten times the current grain sales from iowa farmers like bob bowman. >> when we travel to cuba, the cuban government officials were almost begging us to open up trade with them. >> we know there is a huge appetite for building equipment, things like paint, things to repair your home because is many of the homes there are in disrepair. >> reporter: and cigars. so prized john kennedy got a stash of more than 1,000 for himself before imposing the embargo. americans will still only be able to bring back $100 worth. that is about three cohiba's, cuba's best. after tomorrow you'll be approved. >> i know. >> reporter: are you excited about? >> i think it could be very

beneficial to the industry. i think there will be a lot of consumer excitement about it. >> reporter: but there were plenty of americans in havana today all there from special tour groups. and by tomorrow they can spend more money and use credit cards. critics say the president is going too far, violating the embargo, and many ask whether cuba is really ready for the american economic invasion especially internet access for all cubans. brian? >> andrea mitchell in our washington bureau tonight on the cuba front. andrea, thanks. also out of washington today news that could affect millions of american families including new parents who need time off and a lot of americans who get sick but can't afford to stay home from work. 43 million americans do not get paid sick leave, and tonight the president is trying to change that and reduce that number. and in the process he has opened up a big debate. we get more on that from our senior white house correspondent chris jansing. >> reporter: janelle buckman was working at a nonprofit in maryland when she got pregnant

four years ago. >> i love my job. >> reporter: but avery came eight weeks early. mother and daughter almost died. her company didn't have any paid leave and she lost her job. >> women want to be both working parents and good workers. and a paid leave would have allowed me to continue a job that i loved. >> reporter: today, president obama signed a memorandum guaranteeing up to six weeks paid leave for federal employees who are new parents and urged congress to require most private companies to do the same. the u.n. says only the u.s. and papua new guinea don't have some mandatory paid time off for new moms. and 47 million private sector workers aren't eligible for a single sick day. the white house wants to guarantee at least seven. but small business groups are fighting it. this family-owned carpet company is a good example. some people have worked here more than 20 years. and, yes, good benefits help them to get and retain good employees. so the owner says while he'd love to do more, he can't afford it. >> we're not ge.

we're not apple. our margins are really tight. sometimes we make money, sometimes we lose money. >> reporter: many republicans agree meaning an uphill battle in congress. so the white house is also encouraging states and cities to pass laws of their own. >> i just think that it will help so many struggling working families not having to choose between having a baby or having to take care of a sick loved one and their job. >> reporter: chris jansing, nbc news, maryland. >> it's not too early for our first reminder that next tuesday night president obama will deliver the state of the union address before congress. and we learned today a rising star in the gop, the new senator from iowa joni ernst will deliver the republican response that follows. we'll have live coverage of both on tuesday evening. now we shift our focus to southern california. this is a big day every year in the entertainment industry. the academy award nominations were announced today. while the list always triggers both celebrations and hurt feelings, this year the controversy was slightly different.

we get our report tonight from nbc's joe fryer in los angeles. >> reporter: as so year's oscar nominations were announced, a glaring observation, all 20 acting nominees are white. that hasn't happened since 1998 when "titanic" was the big winner. >> it wasn't a good year for diversity, certainly in terms of, you know, the final selections by the motion picture academy. >> reporter: while the civil rights movie "selma" earned best picture nomination director ava duvernay was snubbed. so was lead actor david oyelowo. visible online "oscar so white " and "the huffington post" headline. >> hollywood doesn't make enough movies for women and people of color. >> reporter: last year's best picture was "12 years a slave" and loop ito enwongo won best

actress. eight movies are up for best picture this year. none of them box office blockbusters. in fact "the grand budapest hotel" is the highest grossing nominee earning $59 million total compared to the latest hunger games flick which grossed $120 million on opening weekend the rise of the biographical film. movies based on true stories earned 35 nominations. four of the five lead actor nominees played real-life characters including american sniper's bradley cooper who portrayed navy s.e.a.l. chris kyle. >> just fell in love with the guy from doing it. i have tremendous respect for what he did. >> reporter: the not-so-real lego movie is surprisingly not nominated for animated feature, but the director took to twitter proclaiming, it's okay. made my own. joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles. to health matters now. we've been steadily reporting on how this year's flu shot mixture

is failing to stop the spread of flu. now we know just how badly it's failing. the cdc says the current vaccine is only 23% effective. normally that number's in the 60% to 65% range in a better year. even so doctors still say we should get vaccinated to minimize symptoms if you do get the flu. still ahead for us on a thursday evening, adding years to your lifespan. how little it takes. easier than dieting. what doctors say you should be doing 20 minutes a day. here's a hint. also what we didn't know during that spectacular celebration at the summit of el capitan, and what is next for the two climbers who captivated the world.

we all know by now exercise equipment makes an excellent place to hang and stack clothing. the truth is people need motivation to work out. sometimes any sort of exercise sounds exhausting after any kind of day at work. but we are now armed with fresh stats that speak to the value of walking. walking 20 minutes a day and what that can do for your health and life expectancy. we get our report tonight from our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: the human body was made to move, and nothing is more straightforward than walking, which begs the question why aren't we doing it? >> walking to me is a little boring. >> reporter: walking is simple, free and can be enough to ward

off illnesses, but it may also save your life. in a new study that tracked 330,000 european men and women over a 12-year span, the advantages of walking were clear. twice as many deaths were tied to lack of exercise compared to obesity. and a 20-minute daily walk reduced a person's risk of early death by 30%. >> people think of running. people don't necessarily think of walking. >> that's exactly right. i think that sometimes when we think of fitness we think if we don't run, we're a failure or if we're not running all the time we're not as good an exerciser. >> reporter: urban planners are changing how they think of the modern city. here in denver, consistently listed as one of the most walkable american cities work has gone into building better walkways and bike paths. >> i think we're seeing a renaissance. there's a lot of development going on with the city right now. and with that is more people who are interested in walking and more interested in getting around without the use of a car. >> reporter: and for some people walking is cool again. >> i like to walk.

>> for me it's not far because i love to walk. >> reporter: proof again when it comes to exercise, simpler can be better. the recommendation is to take a brisk 20-minute walk every day. that's a pace of about three to four miles an hour, enough to get your heart rate up. you'll know it when you do it right. it's simple and it works, brian. >> it does work. and then we all get sick this time of year anyway. nancy, thank you as always. we're back in a moment with something families have been arguing about for years. tonight, will this settle the age-old kitchen debate?

the journal "nature" says sea levels are rising at a faster rate than they did in the past. they blame melting ice sheets in greenland and near the south pole. they say even the current rise of 1.2 inches a decade is concerning news for a number of east coast cities especially. the man who gave us danger, will robinson, has died.

robert kinoshita. he designed the robot for the tv series "lost in space." he did the same thing for the sci-fi movie "forbidden planet." so put it a different way, a moon who tried to guess what the future looked like lived long enough to see what the future looked like. he was 100 years old. and lowell "bud" paxson has died. he had an idea the home shopping network, an idea worth billions. his empire included radio and the pax television network. bud paxton was 79. what could be a bellwether for our dashboards. "the l.a. times" reports the new in-car electronics debutted by hyundai do not include cd players. they will offer the increasingly common bluetooth system that can play anything from your portable device in the car. and if you remember eight tracks and then cassettes, you'll recall how quickly they started

to go as well. there's been a lot of talk lately about baseball games slowing way down, so this will be an interesting experiment to watch. starting this year major league baseball will experiment with a pitch clock in aaa and aa minor leagues. it's the same principle as the shot clock in basketball. pitchers will have 20 seconds to throw after the ball is returned to the mound. and there's a good chance that millions of us have been doing something wrong just about every night for years. engineers at the university of birmingham in the uk, have turned their attention to automatic dishwashers in all those households lucky enough to have them. it turns out you should place the dishes in more or less a circle, all facing inward on that lower rack. it optimizes water flow. they say the center of the top shelf is a good place to get the full force of the water jets for that baked on stuff. when we come back it's all downhill from here for a pair of rock climbers who made history with the whole world watching.

we were on the air here last night when they made it over the top, the two men who free-climbed the rock face of el capitan in yosemite. 19 days, over 3,000 feet, climbing by hand and foot only

and using ropes only to break their fall. they are indeed worse for wear, but now forever enshrined in climbing history. and nbc's hallie jackson has a look at their towering achievement. >> reporter: at the peak of el capitan they stood on top of the world, pure joy for tommy caldwell and kevin jorgeson. 19 grueling days ending in champagne and a steak dinner. after a celebration so loud, it's no wonder caldwell lost his voice. >> there was a lot of cheering going on yesterday. >> best thing i've done in the last 24 hours is probably take a shower, honestly. >> reporter: their first showers after inching their way up 3,000 feet of the smooth granite dawn wall. >> do that over and over and over is hard on the skin hard on the mind, hard on the body. and it's a pretty unique challenge in that way. >> reporter: was there ever any moment when you thought about giving up? >> no.

no. i never wanted to give up. >> just a big, beautiful objective for shooting to the stars. >> reporter: the two posting incredible images of the climb online inspiring millions around the world, even at the white house where president obama gave a thumb's up. >> there's all these elements that every human can relate to. dream big, persevering, committing to something. you know, teamwork. >> reporter: but their biggest inspiration came from each other and from family. >> persevere ens and a positive attitude keep those in the front of my mind as values i wanted to show to my son. >> reporter: they're planning their next climbs already daring to dream big, daring others to do the same. >> i hope people find their own dawn wall and use it as an example of what you can do. >> reporter: the end of one adventure means the start of another, always reaching for the impossible. sometimes achieving it. hallie jackson, nbc news,

yosemite national park. that's our broadcast on a thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. nbc bay area news starts now. >> i've got to thank all the coaches and people that have taken a chance on jim tomsula. >> right now at 6:00 we hear from the new coach and his game plan for the san francisco 49ers. good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathai. by his own admission, his coaching pedigree is not the norm. in fact, at one point he was a sales rep for a food company. but now he is a head coach of one of the most prestigious franchises in the country. today we met jim tomsula.

we have team coverage this evening. nbc bay area's geraud moncure is with us. but we begin with damian trujillo from levi's stadium. >> jim tomsula talked about personal relationships and the importance of playing as a team. those who know him say that's a common thread for the new 49ers head coach. he walked in with the owner and general manager, jim tomsula, the 19th coach in the 49ers' storied history. >> i would say i'm very proud to be standing here right now. i understand that my journey is an unusual one. >> they're celebrating the hire at megabytes restaurant in san diego's evergreen community. this is where the tomsulas sit for dinners several times a month. >> i love him. you get excited when you meet people like him. he is very personal and you can see it. >> the owner says tomsulas blend in with the crowd, not drawing attention to themse