because it's not about the next election, it's about the next generation. right? yeah!!! on our broadcast tonight, a family's grief. a marine is killed in iraq, then protestors show up at his funeral saying his death was god's punishment. is there any way that constitutes free speech? worst case scenario. did the government hide information on how bad that gulf oil spill was? a new report critical of how the obama white hoe handled it. stuck at home. divorced couples who are still forced to live together. good jobs being turned down because people can't move in this economy. and making a difference. american volunteers returning to a grateful nation. one of the neediest places on earth and we go along. also tonight, a message from the boss. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. the u.s. supreme court sometimes deals in esoteric legal questions but not today. here's the case, a young marine is killed in iraq. at his funeral back home, protestors show up, saying "thank god for dead soldiers." and worse. can you imagine being that marine's parents and imagine how that would make you feel? today, the court got this case. they're not being asked to decide if it was a terrible thing to do, it was. they have to decide if it was free speech on the part of the protestors. it's where we begin tonight with pete williams. pete, good evening. >> reporter: this case has aroused strong passions, partly because of the setting, a military funeral, and partly

because of the hateful message and several of the justices seem to be offended by it, too. when a dream of serving in the u.s. marines ended in iraq's al anbar province, his family gathered for his funeral at this maryland church. but they had protestors with signs that said "thank god for dead soldiers." fred phelps shows up at military funerals to claim that because the nation tolerates gay rights, u.s. war deaths are god's punishment. >> i pray that they kill more of them guys. these idiots are still talking about patriotism. >> reporter: their message at the funeral outraged albert, who sued for emotional distress over the protest and a diatribe phelps put on line saying schneider raised his son for the devil. >> speaking of a father, their

conduct was so extreme, it went beyond all possible bounds of decency. >> reporter: but phelps' daughter said that funerals are public events open to protests. >> the mere fact that you call yourself having your feelings hurt over words is not enough to shut up speech. >> reporter: but if she was expecting a ringing endorsement from the court, she didn't get it. justice ginsburg called it exploiting a private family's grief. why should the first amendment tolerate that when there are so many other places to spread an anti-war message, like public buildings or parks? the phelps insist they keep their distance at funerals, but justice scalia says that doesn't mean you can have a protest that defames the corpse. he asked, suppose someone walks up to a woman that has just been

to the grave of her son killed in war -- >> you have one and only one opportunity to bury your child. and aiz civilized society, we shouldn't be forced to skip the funeral. >> reporter: but free speech advocates say without the idea to express ideas even offensive, it would suffer. >> the public discourse could become bland and there would be no meaningful exchange of ideas. >> reporter: the court has recognized limits on free speech like fighting words or shouting fire in a crowded theater. and the court seemed to at least willing consider it again this time. brian? >> pete williams starting us off at the court tonight in washington. thank you. slgz >> at the white house today, a green beret, just 24 years old when he was killed in afghanistan, was honored for exceptional valor on the battlefield. staff sergeant robert j. miller

was on his second tour in afghanistan when he was killed in a firefight in '08. today, the president presented his parents with the medal of honor, the nation's highest military award. >> they could hear his weapon still firing as he provided cover for his men. and then over the radio, they heard his voice. he had been hit. but still he kept calling out enemy positions. still he kept firing. still he kept throwing his grenades. and then they heard it, rob's weapon fell silent. >> along with his parents, miller's seven brothers and sisters were at the ceremony in the east room today. one of his younger brothers is now training to be a green beret himself. the united states tonight apologizing to pakistan for that recent helicopter attack that killed two of its soldiers near

the border with afghanistan. but the apology may be too little too late. the u.s. and its nato allies came under new attack today. our chief foreign correspondent andrea mitchell in washington tonight with more on this escalading situation. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: indeed, relations between the united states and pakistan are close to veering out of control tonight. as gunmen attack two more convoys trying to reach u.s. and nato troops in afghanistan. as many as 40 nato supply trucks were set ablaze in today's attacks, with no sign pakistan is doing anything to protect the convoy. just look what happened to this bbc correspondent as he tried to file a report. the toll is recentless. ever since pakistan closed the border crossing to protest the death of the two pakistani soldiers in that u.s. helicopter attack last week, nbc's ian williams is in islamabad. >> today's destruction of dozens

of fuel tankers brings to number seven the number of attacks since pakistan closed the border crossing. hundreds more tankers remain stranded without security. >> reporter: pakistan's refusal to let the convoys through is frustrating the nato allies. >> i think the first thing is to get them moving. when they're static, they're much easier targets. >> reporter: the white house is also losing patience. in a report to congress, president obama sharply criticized pakistan for not shutting down training camps from which attacks on u.s. troops in afghanistan and plots against europe are launched. the report obtained by nbc news says, the pakistan military continued to avoid military engagements that would put it in direct conflict with afghan taliban or al qaeda forces in north waziristan. the white house assessment was even more damning about pakistan's president who stayed in europe while his country was drowning in floods.

>> the problem with pakistan as an alley is pakistan is committed to only part of the fight and it is also collaborating with militias that are attacking and killing american soldiers. >> reporter: the u.s. is not waiting for pakistan. tonight, cia drones again hit targets in the tribal areas. even as fans issued a new warning telling french travelers that the risk of a terrorist attack is likely. >> andrea mitchell in other washington newsroom tonight. now to the bp oil disaster and an investigation ordered by the white house of the government's handling of that catastrophe. turns out the panel is coming down hard on the obama administration. our white house correspondent savannah guthrie with us with the story tonight. >> reporter: good evening, brian. this is an early report, not the final record on the response. but it does fault the obama administration for a lack of competence on the issue of how much oil was leaking.

for months, tens of thousands of barrels of crude oil gushed into the gulf, disrupting wildlife and a way of life. but now a draft report from a commission appointed by president obama is sharply critical of his administration for underestimating how much oil was spilling into the gulf and overestimating how quickly the oil disappeared once the leak was stopped. by doing so, the report concludes the federal government created the impression that it was either not fully competent to handle the spill or not fully candid with the american people about the scope of the problem. among the findings, the government took initial estimates about the rate of the oil leak on bp's word alone, without supporting documentation. and used crude methodology to determine how much oil was leaking and was overly casual about the numbers. while estimates at the same time from private scientists were significantly higher, and used more clear and rigorous analysis. >> there's no doubt in my mind the original numbers were

significantly lower than the flow was. from what i've seen, i don't see that the government was intentionally trying to low ball the oil spill estimates. >> reporter: the report says when some government scientists thought to publy size their figures, they were blocked by the white house. but the white house says worst case data was available then and points to examples of top officials in early may being quite candid about how bad it could be. >> the worst case scenario is we could have 100,000 barrels of oil coming out. >> our scientists have done an official assessment and more than three quarters of the oil is gone, the vast majority of the oil is gone. >> reporter: but the report says the administration misused the data to come to an overly sweeping conclusion. again, this is just a staff report, not the final word.

it doesn't answer that ultimate question, whether all this confusion about the flow rate of the oil into the gulf affected the government's sponsor cleanup. the white house has always insisted it based its response on the worst case scenario of more than 100,000 barrels a day going into the gulf and ultimately those figures, about 62,000 is what was concluded was flowing into the gulf, was less than that. >> savannah, thanks. overseas, there's an effort to stop the toxic sludge in hungary from reaching the danube river. still not clear what went wrong and authorities say the reservoir passed inspection two weeks ago. in arizona today, tornadoes. violent storms spawned funnel clouds, at least three

confirmed. the hardest hit area, west of flagstaff, where 15 homes were destroyed. trains were blown off their tracks, tractor trailers were blown off the road. in all, 28 separate tornado warnings were issued for that area. despite all of that, no deaths or serious injuries reported 679 when our broadcast continues in just a moment, the fallout from the housing mess in this country. what happens when divorced couples are stuck under the same roof because of it? later, americans in the place that was too dangerous even for the peace corps. now they're back and making a difference. (announcer) chug that coffee, bolt that burrito. no matter what life throws at you, you can take the heat. until it turns into... heartburn. good thing you've got what it takes to beat that heat, too. zantac. it's strong, just one pill can knock out the burn. it's fast, the speed you need for heartburn relief. and it lasts, up to 12 hours. so let them turn up the heat.

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being printed at record levels in this country. 41.8 million americans received government food assistance in the month of july. that's another all-time record and up a staggering 17.5% from the year before. the real estate market is another part of the economy still struggling badly, and tonight as a result, a lot of americans are living in circumstances they never imagined. our own kevin tibbles has our report. >> reporter: the ray family built this house in cedar hill outside st. louis 13 years ago. but cathy ray never imagined she would be so eager to sell and get out. >> we are stuck here. and we're stuck here until we can sell the home. >> reporter: not one offer since march, and that's a problem, because after 29 years of marriage, cathy and her husband divorced. months later, they're still living under the same month. >> i can't afford to buy him out, he can't afford to buy me out. so we are here until we sell the

home. >> reporter: her ex-husband declined to speak with us. they sleep in separate rooms and sometimesommunicate by texting. it's tough on everyone, including 19-year-old son alex. >> somebody, yeah, come on, just sell it, buy it, something. >> reporter: unemployment in st. louis is hovering around 10%, which means there are fewer people looking for a new place to live. it's uphill for sellers like cathy. but this troubled market isn't just affecting divorced couples, for others it's affecting their entire retirement plan. laid off from his executive job in 2009, he can't find another. so he needs to move. >> the house has been on the market for 12 months and not one person has come to see it. >> reporter: they realize it may be years before both the job and housing markets recover. he now thinks he'll be forced to retire years before they're financially ready. >> it wasn't in the plans to be

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people who work in a noisy workplace have twice the risk of heart disease as those who don't. the national health and nutrition examination survey says those who put up with the most noise have the most chest pains, heart attacks and the highest blood pressure. the occupations that carry the greatest risk are mining, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and no one who wants to stay healthy should visit our newsroom from mid to

late afternoon. earlier today, a couple of jersey boys sat down in jersey. nbc news has been granted the only television interview with bruce springsteen in conjunction of the making of his documentary. today, strumming his guitar and hitting in his beautiful new home recording studio, i asked him to talk about his country, the economic conditions in the usa that he sees these days. >> i think that -- that -- that when the economy moved away from serving the everyday guy that's out there, working at his job, your small businessman and turned into really a gambling house, that it spelled doom. you know, it spelled doom. i think it spelled doom for a lot of people's expectations and

hopes to get whatever small piece of the american dream they could get. that's got to be fundamentally altered. that's got to turn around somehow. it's a very, very difficult climate to do that in. >> after that, we got around to talking about music and the interview will air tomorrow morning on "today." and we'll have more tomorrow night on our broadcast as well. when we come back, carrying the torch of president kennedy's dream. back to a place that could use a spark right about now. 3q ( woman ) even with an overactive bladder, i don't always let the worry my pipes might leak compromise what i like to do. i take care with vesicare, because i have better places to visit than just the bathroom. ( announcer ) once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle, and is proven to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of frequent urges and leaks, day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder, do not take vesicare. vesicare may cause allergic reactions that may be serious.

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timely tonight, a story of a long-awaited return to a place where generations of americans have a rich history of making a difference. back in the '60s, president kennedy challenged america's young people to travel the world, promote good will along the way. that challenge became the peace corps and tonight our story comes from sierra leone. tonight, our own ron allen has the story of the first u.s. volunteers to venture back in. >> reporter: jessica now does without so many things she took

for grant it back in new hampshire. she draws well water for a morning shower. breakfast is fried chicken and pineapple, made by the family she's staying with in this rural african village. >> it's hard waking up and thinking i want a starbucks ice coffey. >> reporter: she's among 37 u.s. peace corps volunteers just assigned here. a desperately poor nation, devastated by civil war and so dangerous, even the peace corps pulled out. 15 years later, the first american trainees are back. learning the local language, preparing to be teachers in schools so ravaged students often don't even have books for pencils. scott sawyer was a firefighter in northern california. >> when things are hard, they're good. and these kind of what the peace corps is about. >> reporter: the most important step is learning to live like the people they're here to serve.

>> i wanted to be in a situation where i could lend my skills to people who need it. there's no better place than here. >> reporter: no running water or electricity, just a few comforts of home. >> this is very basic, yeah. bare minimum, that's right. >> reporter: they first came together in washington this summer. recruits to a program of civilian ambassadors launched by president kennedy in the 1960s. the government here pushed hard to convince and encourage the peace corps to return. a process that took several years. leaders here home the arrival of the americans sends a clear signal to the rest of the world that this country is peace pafu safe and over the years volunteers have left a lasting impression. this is an accountant here with memories of an american teacher from 40 years ago.

if you saw her, what would you say to her? [ inaudible ] >> reporter: it's those stories and the warm welcome they believe will help them through tough days ahead. including the drudgery of laundry. show me your knuckles. their goals are realistic. >> we're not going to turn the country around, like develop it. if we can at least teach kids about what we know, that's something to us. >> reporter: they're carrying on what's been a tradition and adventure for young americans lending a hand in far-flung corners of the world. ron allen, nbc news, sierra leone. >> because they are carrying on a great tradition in the almost 50 years since the peace corps started, more than 200,000 americans have served, after all, in 139 countries. we've asked our viewers to submit photos from their peace corps experiences. you can see a gallery of the

images. submit your own, that's nightly.nbc.com. that's our brad cast for this wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we sure 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