have an order like a half latte -- >> even then -- >> on this thursday night, backtracking from a last-minute campaign declaration that shook the world. tonight andrea mitchell gets the first interview with benjamin netanyahu. and stunning reversal on a palestinian state and the swift reaction from the white house. campus outrage. word tonight of an criminal investigation into the bloody arrest of an honors student. the chaotic scene caught on camera, but what led up to it? tale of the tapes. did the secret service erase potential video evidence involving its latest scandal? and on the money. where all the faces are men. tonight the growing campaign to get a woman on the 20. who do you think it should be? "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc

nightly news." reporting tonight, lester holt. good evening. days after his stunning 11th hour campaign declaration that there would not be a palestinian state on his watch, israel's benjamin netanyahu did an equally stunning turn-about today. it came in a one on one interview with our andrea mitchell that itself is making headlines around the world tonight and drawing a strong response from the white house. fresh off his election victory, netanyahu tried to explain to andrea a series of statements he made that caught the world off guard seeming to dash hopes for a peace settlement. here's what he's saying now. >> reporter: it was benjamin netanyahu's last-minute campaign promise when he thought that he might lose that set off the firestorm. promising to reverse decades of policy. stunned by a furious white house reaction today he tried to walk it back. >> i haven't changed my policy.

i don't want a one-state solution. i want a sustainable peaceable two-state solution but for that sirng um stances have to change. >> reporter: but you were re-elected on a mandate. certainly your israeli supporter s supporters believe you were re-elected on a mandate against a two-state solution. that is the way the white house is >> it would be real security in order to have a realistic two-state solution. >> reporter: but it was his warning to supporters that arab israelis were coming out in droves that was called calamitous. one was that he ran because he's a bigot. >> i'm very proud to be the prime minister of all israel's citizens arabs and jews alike. >> reporter: that's not the way it sounded on election day. >> i wasn't trying to suppress the vote.

>> reporter: today the white house wasn't buying iz explanation. >> i think it's certainly a pretty cynical tactic. there's no doubt that it's divisive and it's a pretty transparent attempt to marginalize israeli citizens. >> reporter: further poisoning a relationship badly damaged by his speech to congress. why should president obama trust you when you came to congress to lobby against his negotiations with iran? >> i think there's an unbreakable bond between israel and the united states. the president said that, i've said that. >> reporter: but what about between you and barack obama? >> well we have -- we can have differences but we have so many things that unite us. >> reporter: has he called you yet to congratulate you on your visit? >> i'll be talking to president obama soon. we'll work together, we have to. >> reporter: in fact president obama did call prime minister netanyahu to congratulate him tonight but i'm told that the president said in private exactly what the administration has been saying in public

reassessing what he said about a palestinian state and pointedly bringing up what netanyahu said about israeli arabs. >> andrea mitchell starting off thank you. you may have seen the story about a bloody honors student struggling while being arrested on a street. new tonight authorities have opened up a criminal investigation, but while a camera caught the ugly ending what we're trying to understand tonight are the events leading up to the struggle. gabe gutierrez is in charlottesville searching for answers. >> yo his head is bleeding. >> reporter: this shows officers arresting third year student marteese johnson outside a pub wednesday morning. >> i go to uva. i go to uva. >> reporter: that's johnson on the ground yelling. >> i go to uva.

you [ bleep ] racists. >> reporter: in virginia, the state enforcing liquor laws and alcohol control agents say the 20-year-old johnson, a member of uva's honor committee, was detained after being denied entry to the bar. according to the arrest warrant, johnson was agitated and belligerent and is now charged with obstruction of justice without force and public intoxication. about a thousand students protested overnight. johnson, who received ten stitches after his arrest addressed the crowd. >> we're all part of one community we need to respect each other especially in times like this. >> reporter: even the university's president had strong words. >> this is not something that should ever happen. i don't know why it happened. >> reporter: today outrage on campus. >> no one's safe. no matter what we do no matter how smart we are, how we dress, how we act, how we talk

we're still seen as a black community. >> as a parent, i speak for all the parents. those pictures are very, very disturbing. >> reporter: with johnson by his side, his lawyer spoke out today. >> martese has received support from administrators, students, community members and even perfect strangers. >> reporter: his attorney stresses that johnson did not provide a fake i.d. at this bar. now virginia's department of alcohol and beverage control has been under scrutiny before. last year the state reached a settlement with the uva students when someone was arrested after the water she bought was mistaken for beer. now to the tale of the tapes at the secret service. a barrage of questions for the agency's new director before congress today about the latest scandal involving two top agents. joseph clancy told lawmakers that it's possible some of the surveillance video

from the night in question was taped over. kristen welker has details. >> reporter: senators pressed secret service director joseph clancy on whether his agency erased surveillance tapes from the night of the latest scandal. clancy acknowledged there is at least one missing camera angle. >> that camera angle we do not have. that's what we're going to go back and hopefully be able to capture. >> reporter: this after several lawmakers complained there are only two tapes of the march 4th incident when two top agents allegedly drove on to the white house grounds after a night of drinking interrupting a bomb investigation. >> that tape should be preserved, and so i am concerned. >> reporter: the supervisor that night allegedly allowed the two agents to go home without taking a breathalyzer. today clancy who was not told of the incident for five days explained surveillance tapes are routinely taped over, but said he understands all the suspicion. >> we don't have a system where someone can erase tapes. but they are by

practice 72 hours taped over. and i know that's a concern. >> reporter: at this intersection where the incident occurred, there are at least ten cameras that are visible to the naked eye. what's not clear if they're always recording or if all operated by the secret service, but this checkpoint is bristling with cameras. clancy vowed changes. >> it undermines my leadership, and i won't stand for it. >> reporter: one change -- installing a new fence after a man with a knife made it inside the white house last year. kristen welker, nbc news, the white house. dramatic images reveal today for first time that the marathon bombing trial in boss fn is showing the power of a bomb that prosecutors say the tsarnaev brothers threw at police three days after the marathon attack. our justice correspondent pete williams is covering the trial for us. >> reporter: during the intense shoot-out with the tsarnaev brothers in watertown, witnesses say dzhokhar threw a pressure cooker bomb at the police. it exploded with such force, the fbi says

that a huge piece flew into this nearby car penetrating more than halfway into a rear door. the name of the company that made the pressure cooker is clearly visible, and an fbi agent testified today that it's the same brand as the pressure cookers that held the two bombs set off three days earlier near the marathon finish line. the fbi says the bomb was thrown from down the street landed here and blew up with pieces found as far as a black away and embedded into the houses on both sides of the street. and the fbi says the lid of the pressure cooker was actually found on the other side of this house in the corner of a side yard. that's the lid, the fbi says, where it landed on the grass. the lock for the pressure cooker was found stuck in the front wall of a house. prosecutors say that tsarnaev's laptop computer contained instructions for making pressure cooker bombs. pete williams, nbc news, boston. with the death toll rising from the museum massacre in tunisia and questions about who was behind

it, today a claim of responsibility from isis. claims of fears of violent extremism on the rise in a country struggling to achieve democracy. we get that story tonight from nbc's county katy tur. >> reporter: in tunisia today funerals and a national museum scarred with bullet holes after a gunman opened fire on unsuspecting tourists killing 23. officials have made nine arrests and this morning isis claimed responsibility for the attack, though it offered no evidence. posting online that the attackers used automatic weapons and grenades. >> islamic state wants you to think that it has a franchise here in west africa a new in north africa but this is all based on propaganda. >> reporter: tunis is still shaken with the images of terrified visitors running for their live, some carrying small children. many of the victims had just arrived on a mediterranean cruise. british mother of two sally was traveling

with her husband. australian javier was killed alongside his mother. this morning, security forces found a spanish man and his pregnant wife still hiding in the museum paralyzed with fear. juan carlos sanchez says he saw one person shot. today tunisians were defiant saying they won't be intimidated. but as survivors embrace and left for home, there were nagging fears that terrorism is taking deeper root. katy tur nbc news london. authorities in japan say they've arrested a man accused of making phone calls threatening u.s. ambassador caroline kennedy. police say the 52-year-old man also made bomb threats against the u.s. embassy in tokyo. the arrest comes as kennedy attended a series of events today with first lady michelle obama who is on a tour of asia to promote the education of girls. want to turn to the growing investigation into real estate heir robert durst charged with murder, and the question of whether

there could be more to this than first thought. we've learned that the fbi is working with local law enforcement to determine if durst could have links to missing person cases in places where he's been. nbc's stephanie gosk has this report. >> reporter: the investigation of robert durst did not end with his arrest. in fact, it may have grown even wider. federal law enforcement sources say they're working with local police on cold cases in several cities, like the 1997 disappearance of 16-year-old karen mitchell in eureka california. durst owned a home in a nearby town. the real estate heir owned property in multiple states and moved frequently. in the hbo documentary "the jinx" he mumbled -- >> killed them all, of course. >> reporter: many speculate he was referring to his wife in new york, his neighbor in texas and susan berman in california. >> no one's labeled robert durst a serial killer. >> but if any of this is true, you have a

mobile killing pattern. the detectives need to talk to detectives in new york need to talk to detectives in eureka. >> reporter: prosecute prosecuting durst with the evidence that already exists could be a challenge if the case relies on the handwriting comparison at the center of hbo's series. a note durst sent to susan berman and a note the presumed killer sent to police. court documents show in 2014 handwriting analysts determined durst did write the letter to police, but earlier in the investigation, different analysts pinned it on somebody else. >> handwriting analysis has been really questioned in the courts lately. i think the science underlying it is seriously suspect. >> reporter: tonight durst sits in a mental health facility on suicide watch. the murder trial is likely a long way off. his case far from shut. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new orleans. it is a fascinating case, and we'll have much more on it tonight on a special edition of "dateline" at 8:00

7:00 central. the governor of california proposed a billion dollar emergency fund for drought relief. jerry brown said there's no greater crisis facing our most populous state than a lack of water. a bit of an example of what this drought is doing, a heat wave virtually cooking away the poppies in the antelope valley. blooming just days ago, now shriveled and dead. to the east. don't look now. there's a big snowstorm about to hit on the first day of spring. janice huff is in the weather center. it just doesn't end, does it? >> no, lester. unbelievable. right now it's all rain that's across the carolinas and the virginias, but as low pressure develops along the coast, it will pull in colder air and this system will produce snow beginning across pennsylvania and upstate new york around 9:00 tomorrow morning and then spreading through pennsylvania, towards philadelphia, new york city, southern new england through the evening commute on friday. boston it looks like you barely escaped this storm with an inch or less of snow. but generally we're talking 3 to 6 inches

as winter just won't give up, lester. >> all right janice huff, thanks. still ahead tonight, it's totally free. just about everybody clicks on it but are you unknowingly giving away your private information? up next the stunning results of our investigation. also, can you name the man on the $20 bill? we'll tell you about the growing campaign to replace him and change the face of money as we know it.

we've got a warning tonight for anyone who has ever clicked on a free wifi

site. millions of us do it every day trying to find a cheap way to connect to the internet on our phones, laptops or tablets but if you log on to the wrong wifi hot spot you could be giving the cyber criminals the keys to your computer, your identity, even your bank account. here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it's a constant risk in our 24/7 on the go society, staying connected but still protected. security experts warn cyber criminals are waiting to pounce setting up fake wifi hot spots right next to real hot spots offered by restaurants and coffee shops. >> fake hot spots are a huge problem. people are connecting to these sites and they don't even know who is on the other side. >> reporter: to proof how unsuspecting so many of us are, this man set up his own hot spots across new york offering free public wifi and get online. within minutes 391 people were connected at jfk airport. 768 in brooklyn. over three days a whopping 2,341 people connected to his wifi

potentially surrendering control of their devices and their identities. and those little padlocks you assume mean the site is secure, not so much. >> all that really says is your information is encrypted on the way to the cyber criminal me. >> reporter: even more disturbing, when james offered 24-hour access for $2 109 people handed over their credit card information. we asked james to show us how easily a cyber criminal can set up a wifi trap. so i type in my name, my e-mail address, i hit enter. >> immediately the information pops up over here, i can see your name, e-mail and password and credit card details if you were providing them. >> reporter: already? >> instantly, in realtime. >> reporter: how can you protect yourself? use a wifi that you know is trustworthy. avoid paying for hot spots. and keep your security software up to date. carelessness will only line the pockets of cyber criminals. tom costello nbc news, washington. we're back in a moment with some big

prizes as a national obsession begins.

a royal visit to the white house today. prince charles and his wife camilla met with president obama and vice president biden in the oval office. the prince telling the president about his stop in mt. vernon part of a four-day tour of u.s. cultural sites. march madness is in full swing. opening day saw a couple of big upsets. in the first, the 14th seeded university of obama alabama birmingham swept by iowa state. then baylor also winning by a point. and by the way, almost three in ten americans plan to watch march madness at work by at least one estimate. up next could this be the new face of a $20 bill? "nbc nightly news" is brought to you by -- pacific life. for insurance, annuities and

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argentina's got eva peron. in the uk queen elizabeth, but here in

the u.s. all paper money features the faces of men. now there's a growing movement to put a prominent american woman on the 20. as hallie jackson reports, andrew jackson may be on his way out. >> good morning. >> reporter: call this lesson plan right on the money. seattle fifth graders researching who's on u.s. bills and who's not. >> they just show all the men and not the women. so i think it's unfair. >> reporter: this class caught up in a new national movement. >> no bills. >> reporter: the women on 20s campaign. organizers have selected 16 candidates. you must be dead to equal to replace andrew jackson on the $20 bill including civil rights hero rosa parks, cherokee chief will la mankiller and clara barton. the goal get one of them on the 20 by 2020, the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote. >> that led me to thing what can we do to celebrate our centennial?

and what better honor than to commemorate women on money? >> reporter: the online vote, which ends in april, has drawn 80,000 people so far. countless more tweeting about it. and in the nation's most prominent paper, prominent women rallied behind their preferred pick. sure susan b. anthony and sacagawea have been on dollar coins, but when was the last time you used one? meantime 20s are passed around every day featureing a man who never wanted paper currency in first place. >> which i thought was pretty good idea. >> reporter: and if 100,000 people sipe the petition this spring, the white house will have to consider it. >> certainly it's a provocative notion. >> if it does happen i'll show it to my kids and i can say i was a part of this i did this. >> reporter: a woman on the 20? no small change. for them it's priceless. hallie jackson, nbc news, los angeles. and a story we'll be keeping a close eye

on. that's going to do it for us on this thursday night. i'm lester holt. reminder, i'll see you at 8:00 7:00 central for "dateline." for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. . . . judg nbc bay area news begins with breaking news. >> breaking news on the peninsula. a gruesome discovery inside of a palo alto apartment. police are canvassing the neighborhood looking for witnesses or clues. >> this is happening at a senior apartment complex in palo alto right near the san antonio exit off of 101. now we have learned that two men have been found dead inside. peggy is joining us live from the scene. what do we know at this point? >> reporter: well, jessica and

raj, fabian way is almost to a standstill. very busy road at this time of day. you're looking at the building where about 3:00 this afternoon police received a phone call of somebody just walked in and found a body in the lobby of a common area of this building. this is a senior housing building relatively new. 55-plus to live in this building. when police then arrived, they found the deceased male. they then found a second deceased male and a weapon in another common area. right now, they are not saying if this is a murder-suicide, but they speculate that could be the case. however, police have yet to confirm that information. now once again, they say that this is right next door to the oshman family jewish community center which had a busy crowd earlier today, parents coming to pick up their children in preschool seeing everything blocked off with police tape and wondering what the heck was going on. right now there are still classes and other things going on inside the jcc.