on our broadcast tonight, on alert. the u.s. tells travelers to be vigilant against terrorism attacks and other nations follow suit. bench strength. a big difference visible on the supreme court facing tough decisions and a new term unlike any other in history. tangled web. it happened again. the perils of putting very personal information on the internet in this era of oversharing. and brothers in arms. two heroes from two wars, best friends in life, together again today and now forever. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. the u.s. state department has issued a formal travel advisory for all americans traveling to europe. it says to be vigilant, be aware of your surroundings, be aware of the possibility of commando-style attacks, for example. beyond that, beyond being on the lookout, being cautious, there isn't much to tell the thousands of americans who make that trip every day. and in this still fairly new post 9/11 era, that's often all there is. snippets of intelligence, so-called chatter and alerts like this one. we have it covered from here to london, beginning with andrea mitchell. andrea, good evening. >> good evening, bliian. this travel alert is based on information that intelligence agencies around the world have been collecting for weeks. but they don't have any specifics about time or place. that left u.s. officials trying to balance just how to advise

travelers to be cautious without causing panic. in paris today, americans like the new york knicks practicing for a preseason game are not being warned against going to europe, just to be careful in places like plain stations and airports. >> we know where to go and places to visit. again, you have to cherish the moment. because how often do you get to place an nba game in paris? >> reporter: officials say the alert is based on many streams of information, including a prisoner the u.s. has been interrogating in afghanistan. and intercepted conversations indicating europeans trained in pakistan may have now gone underground in europe. with so little to go on, the government's advice -- >> when using mass transit, to be cautious. when in market places to use caution perhaps to avoid political demonstration things of that nature.

>> reporter: japan also issued a travel alert today. an unusual step for their government, telling japanese tourists to be careful in europe following the u.s. lead. >> we have information that al qaeda and its afail yat organizations are planning something and people should be careful. >> reporter: u.s. officials say several of the plots originated in pakistan where the u.s. has stepped up its predator unmanned attacks in the tribal region where osama bin laden is believed to be hiding, including another strike today that pakistani officials say killed a number of germans training with the militants. >> they're feeling the heat. they're probably looking to their foot soldiers to respond and cranking up the level of activity. >> reporter: u.s. officials are not telling citizens to stay out of europe and tightened security probably makes the eiffel tower the safest place in europe.

>> reporter: this is stephanie goss in london. the state department says avoid places where incidents play occur but they don't explain what those places are. this is buckingham palace. there's never been a terrorist here, so forrists are going to have to decide on their own, is it safe enough to come here or not. kyle and valerie brown from south carolina just started their european tour. >> we're more aware of pickpockets than terrorists. terrorists, you just -- what do they look like, what do you do? >> reporter: they say the alert has made them more away of their surroundings. >> there are threats every day everywhere we go and we have to be conscientious of what we're doing. >> reporter: security experts recommend simple steps. >> if i were coming down here today and i was going to the london eye and i was with my family, what sort of advice

would you give us? >> this is very, very common sense with what's going on. the security forces and the police around here have it under control. >> reporter: around london today, there were no visible increases in security and few signs that tourists were deterred. this couple from ohio brought their teenage daughter grace here for the first time and have no desire to cut the trip short. >> if we are worried and don't go places because of warnings, then we will miss a lot of wonderful things. >> and they win. >> yeah. >> the terrorists win. >> reporter: there's some concern from officials here in london that the terrorism alerts could affect the tourism industry but there are no signs of that, yet. u.s. airlines see no reason so far to change their scheduled flights to europe. brian? >> mostly watch out for those buses. roger cressey is a former

national security official in the white house and he's these days our nbc news terrorism analyst. what was it about this chatter, this intelligence, this case that broke through and became an alert to travelers? >> it was several things. most important is that this threat came from al qaeda central, it came from pakistan. because it's focused on western europe, you're seeing more attention. with the european focus and al qaeda component, this rises above. >> i heard you tell lester holt over the weekend that you were going to go ahead with your plans to fly to london this coming week. isn't there something to be said for all this publicity, we've said they perhaps may look at soft targets, gatherings of lots of people, reducing the risk that someone would pull the trigger on an attack. >> when there's more publicity, that is a form of deterrence. in the counterterrorism business, it's about buying time

to identify the individuals and disrupt the plot. >> watching these setup pieces, we both saw the people expressing frustration. we don't know what we're looking for. having been on the other side of this, is there frustration you can't say more to the public? >> it's terribly frustrating because you're dealing with sources and methods and incomplete information. a lot of folks thinks this is a real science. counterterrorism is an art. it's judgment calls on a daily basis. that's why there was an advisory and why they're not going to go any further than that until they get more information. between now and then, we pay attention but don't overreact. >> have a safe trip to london. thanks as always. while all of this has been going on, there's trouble on another front, pakistan. a series of attacks in recent days on crucial supply lines for u.s. and allied forces fighting in neighboring afghanistan. we get our report tonight from

nbc's ian williams in islamabad. >> reporter: the attack came at midnight, about 20 fuel tankers supplying u.s. and allied forces in afghanistan went up in flames. at least three people died when around a dozen gunmen opened fire on the tankers. the pakistani taliban said they did it. a brazen attack on the outskirts of the capital islamabad, putting further pressure on supply lines. the tankers have been forced to stop here since friday because of the closure of the border crossing. when the attack came, they were like sitting ducks, with absolutely no security. >> if you don't have any security, i think no one will go. >> reporter: the pakistan authorities say protecting the afghan bound convoys isn't their responsibility. 80% of fuel and three quarters of other non-lethal supplies travel via pakistan. now hundreds of fuel tankers are vulnerable to attack, stranded

since pakistan closed its main border crossing. that was an apparent reaction to a nato border incursion when attack helicopters killed three border guards. pakistan television showed video of what it says is coverage of that incident. for which nato has expressed regret. it comes at a time of a record number of drone attacks on targets in pakistan's tribal areas. pakistan says it will open the border soon, but with the taliban threatening more attacks, nato's supply lines are dangerously exposed. ian williams, nbc news, islamabad. back in this country in washington today, the supreme court started out its new term this first monday of october. the first outing for this new court with a big difference. it's the first ever with three woman justices. our justice correspondent pete williams joins was a look at what's new and what's on the docket for this court's season. pete, good evening.

>> reporter: for the second year in a row, this is a court with a new lineup. we've had four new justices in the past five years. but elena kagan is getting off to something of a slow start. the court's latest alival has jumped right into the job, taking the newcomers traditional spot at the far end of the bench. in today's first case, she asked ten questions, about average, then got up and left, sitting out the second argument as she'll do in roughly one third of this term's cases. that's to avoid conflicts with cases she worked on as solicitor general. any time she sits one out, that means eight justices and the possibility of a 4-4 tie, which would leave the lower court ruling in tact, changing nothing. >> it's very odd for a justice to miss 1/3 of the cases but she's going to be a justice for 25, 30 years and it's not what she's going to be remembered for because it's a temporary problem. >> reporter: while women make up

a 1/3 of the supreme court, for the first time in history, none of the justices are protestant. six are catholics, three jews. the biography of william brennan who was catholic says it shows the country has come a long way. >> the main criticism and concern about him is whether you could have a catholic on the court, because the assumption is they would be loyal to the pope and not to the constitution. >> reporter: as for who else these nine are, average age, 64. seven have children, four are grandparents, six were born in the east. in fact, four are from new york city, and all graduated from ivey league law schools. five from harvard. two are opera buffs and three like their drama outdoors as die hard baseball fans. on wednesday, the court takes up one of the term's biggest cases, whether distasteful protests at

military funerals amount to protected free spich. >> speaking of sports, the business of sports actually found its way into the court today. >> reporter: it took 13 years, but the university of southern california trojans were victorious legal today in a battle with the university of south carolina gamecocks. here is the issue. the trojans have long had a logo with an interlocking s and c. south carolina wanted to register another logo, but a court said they looked too much alike and might confuse casual fans. today the supreme court declined to take that case, leaving the lower court ruling standing. >> and hopefully the constitution in tact to live to see another day. pete williams at the court building in washington. thanks as always. when "nightly news" continues in just a moment, our era of oversharing. every thought, every activity and some of our deepest, darkest

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and trouble passing urine. i'm glad i'm taking spiriva everyday because breathing better is just better. ask your doctor if once-daily spiriva is right for you. impression piece of dialogue about the new movie about "the social network" which took in $23 million, winning the weekend box office race, and it's just getting started. but lately we've been hearing more and more about the dark side of sharing personal information on the internet. and oversharing has claimed yet another victim. our own kevin tibbles reports from chicago. >> reporter: it's as if our capacity for cruelty and bad taste have gone rival. a college student who rated her

lovers. complete with rankings and photos of their partners without their knowledge. problem is, the list was soon sent worldwide. another e-mail gone very wrong. >> unfortunately, once you post it, it's there, it's embedded in cyberspace. you can't take it back. >> reporter: just ten years ago, only about 35% of americans went online. today it's about 80%. the internet has changed the way we communicate, but anyone can say almost anything, whether it's ground breaking, time wasting nonsense or hurtful. >> it's like a minute generation where we can get all things in minutes. >> reporter: megan says she spends about seven hours a day not talking, but communicating online. facebook, twitter, you name it. >> it's definitely easier to say something on a computer rather than face-to-face, because you don't ve to deal with that person right then and there. >> reporter: but megan is leery

of becoming desensitized online. like many, shocked in recent weeks by news of young men and women being driven to suicide after they were bullied or taunted by the net. >> what's private and what's public is no longer clear. people are not thinking about this at the time they do it. and the repercussions are enormous. >> reporter: and words you might never speak could be seen by millions in a blink. >> i believe i should live my life with do unto others as you would have done unto yourself. if it's going to hurt someone else, it's going to hurt me, too. >> reporter: behavior that in some way diminishes us all. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. verizon wireless said today it will send refunds to customers who were billed for data charges, even though they didn't have a data plan. the company says the refunds will average between $2 and $6. the total could come to as much as $90 million for their

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robert edwards, the 85-year-old british physiologist who is the father of the in vitro fertilization technique was awarded the nobel prize in medicine today. his work was the result of the first test tube baby in 1978. since then, 4 million people have been as a result of the ibf. the vatican committee protested today. it's going to make more than a viral infection and hospitalization to keep a former president down. that is former president jimmy carter who just turned 86 on friday, was helping build houses

for habitat for humanity. he said he felt good and plans to keep working as long as god lets him. some folks in san francisco are being accused of trying to take the happy out of happy meals. a proposed city ordinance would force mcdonald's to take the toys out of the happy meals, with forcing mcdonald's to make the meals healthier instead. the famously liberal city has a history of bold public health policies. as you might imagine, mcdonald's is fighting it hard. laptops are good for a lot of things, by as you may already know, they may not be good for your lap. a new study out of switzerland tells us prolonged use can actually damage the skin because of the heat they give off and cause lap discoloration in rare cases. the study focused on younger users whose skin is more sensitive. there's even a name given to the

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a recent poll shows americans have the most respect for members of the u.s. military. they hold them in the highest regard, and that esteem is for good reason and it often comes at a high cost. our final story here tonight is about two americans in uniform. they were best friends and they went off to fight in separate wars. tonight, we get to hear how their journey ends, together. the story from our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. >> reporter: under gloomy skies, navy s.e.a.l. brendan looney was buried today. killed in a helicopter cash in afghanistan. looney was laid to rest beside his best friend, marine lieutenant travis. the two became roommates at the navel academy. they hit it off immediately and according to tom and janet, were so close, they were like

brothers. >> they talked the same way, they cared about their country in the same way. they wanted to serve. >> they wanted to be involved. they wanted to be in the mix. >> reporter: but after graduation, the wars in iraq and afghanistan pulled them apart, liamingly forever. as a marine, travis was sent to iraq, where he was cut down by a sniper three years ago. at a memorial service for travis, brenden was devastated by the loss. >> he was a great friend, and i'm going to miss him. >> reporter: travis was buried near his home just outside philadelphia. but when brenden looney was killed last month, they learned for the first time he wanted to be buried side by side with travis. in a tough but selfless decision, they had their son's remains disinterred in pennsylvania and reburied last week at arlington, next to the

grave site already prepared for brenden. >> so many mixed emotions for us. >> it was really hard, just the memories all over again. but i know he's at home with the people he fought side by side with. that's what he wanted to be. >> reporter: this is memorial hall. a tribute to all naval academy graduates killed in war. even here, travis and brenden are only steps apart. one is separated by two wars and three years. the two have never been closer together. and for tom, at long last inseparable. >> they're together, roommates, brothers forever. >> reporter: jim miklaszewski, nbc news, the pentagon. >> and we wanted to let you know, the manyan family has established a foundation. we've put more information on our website, that's nightly.nbc.com.

for us, for now, that's our broadcast for this monday evening as we start a new week here. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com two governors, two different approaches. even in good times bob ehrlich didn't make education a priority. he increased college tuition by 40%, cut school construction by $200 million, and ehrlich voted to eliminate the department of education while serving in congress. but in the toughest of times, martin o'malley has made record investments