on our broadcast tonight, the mine disaster in west virginia. the agonizing wait. the search for survivors and the company's safety record. a state of emergency for a key american ally. what it could mean for the u.s. war effort. chain reaction. why some smokers get lung cancer and others don't. something new tonight that could lessen the risk. and air rage. what more can they charge for? the anger over an airline's plan to charge to carry on a bag. tonight we'll hear from the man in charge. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

>>. >> good evening. we received word late today several ambulances were moving toward the entrance of that mine in west virginia. while we wanted to be hopeful tonight, there is no such news from deep inside the ground there they are still drilling holes into the mine, but the air is too toxic and dangerous in there. it's been a setback for the rescue effort. while nothing will save the 25 confirmed dead, there is a lot of attention being paid tonight to the safety record of this mining company. we have it all covered this evening beginning with nbc's ron mott at the scene. good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. this investigation into this tragedy tonight is a fullout push to find signs of life among the missing. rescuers can resume the search of four missing miners. the air quality underground must

return to safer levels than they found in tests this afternoon. high elevated levels of carbon monoxide and too little oxygen continue to delay the effort to get back in. >> we can't take any chances of the rescue teams going onto an area that could and of itself cause a problem or explosion. >> reporter: the vent the mine crews started drilling three holes last night. the first broke through 1,100 feet of rock nearly after 4:00 this morning. rescuers banged on the drill, but got no response from below. if the four missing miners are alive could they be holed up in rescue chambers? joe manson says the 18 families still waiting for confirmation remain hopeful. >> our best chance is right now for that sliver of hope we have is any of our miners are unaccounted for could have gotten into the chamber. if they did, we are fine within

the time envelope we have to work within. >> reporter: officials say the rescue chambers could sustain life for 15 miners up to four days, longer with fewer people. dr. judy peterson finds that comforting, and is convinced her missing brother dean jones is alive. >> i'm confident he is in the emergency shelter. he was in the furthest area away from the blast. >> reporter: as the community continues its vigil, fellow miners are steadfast. >> i definitely do not feel special at all. these guys that are still in there, they're the ones among my very good buddies. >> reporter: there is a camaraderie here all because of mining. for a lot of miners we talked to today they say it's mining or move. brian? >> ron mott starting us off in west virginia.

it's tough to watch. amid the sadness, some anger is starting to emerge in the community surrounding this mine. about the company that runs it and the way it's run. it's tempered by a need for jobs in a company town. tom costello has that angle of this story for us tonight. tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. every day of this explosion the company was cited again for safety violations at the mine. this is a company county, in fact. a lot of people here are reluctant to speak out against the employer, but today some started talking about what they think are questionable safety practices. 30,000 people in west virginia make their living off coal. with more than 2 dozen dead, some veteran miners who work for massey energy say they believe the company's lax approach to safety led to the tragedy at the big branch mine. >> coal first, safety last. that's how a lot of guys feel. >> reporter: they fear

retribution if they show their faces, but claim the largest energy company in central appelachia isn't as safe as it should be. ray worked with the company for 40 years. >> there is no way that should have happened. if a state mine inspector and found that, that mine should have been closed until they took care of it. >> reporter: after receiving 515 federal safety violations last year, massey energy accumulated 124 more this year, including ten violations for excessive levels of methane gas and dust. 40 similar violations over the last four years. officials have said gas levels in the mine were far too high. jeff biggers has written about america's coal industry and says the system is flawed. >> i think we have to ask the question, why do we allow coal companies, for example, to contest violations that have been noted by inspectors and draw them out in the courts for months, if not years?

>> reporter: the controversial ceo of massey energy is concerned about tougher new mine safety laws. >> no matter how you look at, the accidents are a human tragedy. second, they disrupt you and cause additional regulations and issues. >> reporter: jim lucas was at the mine at the time of the explosion. safety is not just the k company's job, he says, is's also each miners' responsibility. >> every day we put our head between two rocks. if you think about that, probably wouldn't do it. but we just go and do our job. >> reporter: many miners also insist inspectors need more authority to shut down unsafe mines. >> the law's got to change. in this country, unfortunately, every law that's ever been written for a coal miner has been by blood. >> reporter: inspectors have the authority to temporarily shut down a shaft or a mine until a particular violation is then addressed, but they don't have the authority to permanently

shut down the mine for excessive or repeated violations. brian? >> tom costello rounding out our coverage from west virginia tonight. thanks. there's been a change of government and a bloody one at that in a country not that many americans can find on a map of the world, but it's a key u.s. ally in the war in afghanistan. it's appears protestors in the central asia nation of kyrgyzstan have overthrown the government after fire police opened fire on them today. andrea mitchell explains what is happening there tonight. >> reporter: it was open warfare in the streets of bishkek, kyrgyzstan's capital. seizing an armored vehicle, storming government buildings. being fired on by government troops and firing back.

the opposition says as many as 100 protestors were k killed, hundreds more wounded. a rebel-on against the tightening grip of political and economic controls, finally triggered by a 200% increase in charges for heat and electricity. by the end of the day, protestors had freed their leaders from jail and taken over state-run tv. robin walker is in bishkek for al jazeera. >> the government had control of the media. now op sags supporters have taken control of the main tv stations, it looks as if the opposition have the upper hand at this stage. >> reporter: the principal targ targ target, a u.s. ally by convenience. they allow nato troops and supplies into afghanistan. when the government threatened to evict the u.s. from the base last year, the obama administration nearly quadrupled

its annual rent to $60 million. without this base the u.s. would have to rely heavily on land route, including the dangerous khyber pass. >> i think the air base is absolutely vital. we put 15,000 troops a month through that base, along with the french and spanish, i made add. supporting the ongoing operations in afghanistan. >> reporter: even so, only last month the state department's annual human rights report accused the government of arbitrary killing, torture, trafficking persons and child labor, among other abuses. tonight the rebels say that the president fled the capital and they have control of the city. u.s. officials say it would not be surprising if they are dealing with a new government. it could be a government no longer willing to let the united states use that air base. >> andrea mitchell in our washington newsroom tonight, thanks for that. there are two big stories in business news tonight. between them affecting millions of american consumers. first toyota. our own kelly o'donnell on

capitol hill has obtained an internal e-mail written by a company executive here in the u.s. just five days before toyota announced a massive recall. in the e-mail, the company executive acknowledges the company has accelerator pedal problems. goes on to say, "we are not protecting our consumers by keeping this quiet. the time to hide on this one is over. we need to come clean." look for a lot more on this story tomorrow. second story tonight concerns the airline business. news of a possible blockbuster merger combining two big brand names in the air, cnbc's david faber is with us to talk about it. what are the names and what is the likelihood here? >> the names are ual and usair. most likely it will probably happen, although it is weeks away and there are plenty of things to come in terms of hurdles they have to overcome. the airlines are still facing a

prospect of not make anything money. you can charge as many people as you want for their bags, ultimately one of the best ways they perceive to actually be in a position to profit is by merging. consolidation is something the airline industry has embraced for a long time. unfortunately regulators in washington and their own unions proved a gaping issue. that's happened. ual and usair talked in the past in 2000. the government said we don't think so. and in 2008 when their own unions probably said we don't think it's something we want to happen. >> as a consumer, i'm thinking of the two brand names, united is one of those so-called legacy carriers, been around forever. would they control in a company formed by united and usair? >> not necessarily. usair has a younger management, a younger ceo, doug parker who has been quite aggressive. he might ultimately ron the combination. those are what we call those social issues. glenn tilton who runs ual has

been in favor of consolidation. of course, you're talking about two companies that visited bankruptcy in recent years which reflects the weak nature of the airline industry. they hope it's a different story this year in terms of actually getting this merger to happen. >> as somebody in our newsroom said this afternoon, some day there are going to be three airlines in the whole world. just when tiger woods thought he changed the subject somehow back to the big business of golf, the head of augusta national golf club and the masters let him have it publically today. >> it is not simply the degree of his conduct that is so egregious here. it is the fact that he disappointed all of us, and more importantly, our kids and our grandkids. our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we sought for our children. >> tough words from somebody in the industry. that criticism aside, nike, tiger woods' long-time sponsor is debuting a new television ad

tonight in which you see tiger woods in black and white staring into the camera. the voice you hear, however, the voice of his late father asking his son what he's learned in recorded audio? tiger woods tees off first round of the masters tomorrow afternoon. when our broadcast continues here tonight, new health information that every smoker or ex-smoker needs to know about. [ advisor 1 ] what do you see yourself doing one week, one month, five years after you do retire? ♪ client comes in and they have a box. and inside that box is their financial life. people wake up and realize i better start doing something. we open up that box. we organize it. and we make decisions. we really are here to help you. they look back and think, "wow. i never thought i could do this." but we've actually done it. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com [whistles] taxi!

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lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. i'll never forget what i went through. don't take your health for granted. [ male announcer ] have a heart to heart with your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. virginia governor bob mcconnell apologized today issuing a plok mags declaring april federal confederacy month. mcdonnell said it was a mistake and apologized to citizens of the commonwealth who were offended or disappointed. it has always been a medical mystery. you take two heavy smokers.

one of them gets lung cancer, the other doesn't. why is that? there is a new clue along those lines tonight, and if researchers are right, there may also be a relatively easy way to reduce the risk. more on this story from our chief science correspondent robert bazell. >> reporter: loretta roche is one of 90 million americans who once smoked cigarettes or still do. despite the enormous risk, only 10% to 20% of current and former smokers develop lung cancer. roche is part of a study that seems to explain why. >> there are significant alterations. >> reporter: this team identified a set of genes shown in this pattern on a computer chip. >> we specifically found this high level of activity of these genes precedes the development of lung cancer. >> reporter: before the cancer develops, people with this gene pattern usually get dysplasia,

abnormal cells that often become cancer. >> we can reverse the activity using a drug that inhibits this pathway. >> reporter: the drug is called inostiol, a plant product with few side effects already sold in health food stores. they found in 6 of 10 people, the drug returned the gene pattern to normal and their abnormal cells appeared healthy again. the national cancer institute already is testing it in former smokers to see if it reduces the rate of lung cancer. >> those gene activity patterns can tell us something -- >> reporter: but this latest research shows treatment could be more targeted. for now, the cells testing can only be recovered with a bronchoscope. researchers believe they will soon be able to test cells from the nose or throat. what would you think if somebody took your work to be an excuse to continue smoking? >> that would be a mistake. lung cancer is only one of many

diseases associated with cigarette smoke exposure. >> reporter: still, this early work holds the promise of reducing deaths for what is still the biggest cancer killer. >> this is along the lines of the questn you asked that doctor, people with a heavy smoker in the family, someone who decided they can't quit if they called having seen this story and said start taking this stuff, would that be wrong? would that be bad? >> i don't think it would be wrong or bad. they can certainly do it. it's for sale in health food stores. no responsible doctor is going to advise them to do it because there is a clinical trial. until that's finished, we don't know if it's going to work and we don't know if some untoward side effect we haven't anticipated is going to appear. >> part of this era of multiple uses for things with one intent. bob baz he'll, thanks for stopping by. martina navratilova says she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. she told "people" magazine it happened after she skipped four years without a mammogram. she has a noninvasive form of the disease, we are told.

her prognosis is considered to be excellent. martina navratilova is 53 years old. we are back in a moment. y who was never oing to have the heart attack. i thought i was invincible. i'm on an aspiriregimen now because i never want to feel that helplessness again. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. ta to your doctor, and take care of what you have to take care of. you something about osteoporosis you don't already know.

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>> since we like to keep you current on such things, here is the latest internet video. remember susan boyle's debut? well, lin yu chun is being compared to her in taiwan the way he sings like whitney houston. we posted it for the curious on our website. news about the weather tonight. here in the east, we are about to say good-bye to early summer. temperatures here in new york hit a record-breaking 90 degrees today. well above normal for the month of april at this time. all that's about to end. we are told we are getting the big cooldown the next few days. tomorrow night here we will cover what promises to be the worst allergy season in years. the invasion of pollen over parts of this country.

well, we heard it for years from the families who make the trek there for summer vacation. one of the most beloved of all the national parks is losing its namesake. the glaciers in glacier national park in montana are going away. two more of those moving ice fields disappeared now. ecologists with the u.s. geological survey says the warmer temperatures are melting the glaciers. he is warning the rest of the glasiers may be gone by the end of this decade. the definition of a glacier, 25 acres or more of moving ice. there were once 150 of them in glacier national park. now they number 25. when we come back, some of the outrage. anncr vo: with the new geico glovebox app...

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the most common side effects include flu-like symptoms, fever, muscle or joint pain, headache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. nothing strengthens you like an old friendship. but when it comes to our bones, we both look to reclast. you've gotta ask your doctor! once-a-year reclast. year-long protection for on-the-go women. last night here we told you about the latest airline effort to squeeze every dollar out of flying passengers. spirit airlines has announced it will charge to put bags in the overhead bins. you know how people generally feel about airlines and air

travel? can you guess what they thought about this idea? our report tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: just when you thought all the pleasure had been nickelled and dimed out of flying, it's ben stiller in "meet the parents" all over again. >> hey, i'm not checking my bag, okay? >> there is no need to raise your voice, sir. >> reporter: now they are after your carry-on luggage. it didn't sit right with the jet-setters on "today" today. >> 45 bucks. >> that's the spirit. >> reporter: spirit air will now charge $45 to stow your carry-on overhead, $30 if you pay up before showing up at the gate. and sheepish, spirit ain't. >> there are two waves of business, nordstrom and walmart. they are successful retailers. we are not in the same business as a full-service airline. >> reporter: to many travelers, it's an affront. >> i paid enough to get on the flight and go there. >> i hope it dice an ugly death.

>> reporter: spirit says it cut its fares to the bone, bring less, pay less. rival jetblue is poking fun with its mock sherpa shirt, wear your luggage onboard. a small part of this makes sense. it might stop people from trying to squeeze everything, including the kitchen sink, into the overhead compartment. >> i think it's ridiculous. >> reporter: spirit won't charge for diaper bags or strollers. where will it end? ryanair is planning to charge $1.40 to use the toilet. in england, that's a pound to use the loo. to save money, you might consider visiting grandma without luggage at all. >> they've got to remember grandma has a washing machine, right? >> reporter: just don't forget the kids. even "home alone." they cost enough already. >> kevin! >> reporter: no, that isn't my mom. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. >> that's our broadcast for this

wednesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening, flying or driving. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com because every week, we start things off with ten dollar pizzas from pizza hut. yeah, it's insane. any pizza, any size, any crust, any topping is just ten dollars. meat lover's, supreme pan pizza...whatever we want. it's crazy. ♪ what's even crazier? ♪ i'm not even in economics this semester. [ male announcer ] right now, any pizza at pizza hut is just $10. any pizza, any size,