on our broadcast here tonight, paying tribute. president obama's first meeting with the team who risked it all to kill bin laden as al qaeda vows to strike back against the u.s. on the ground in pakistan, more details emerging about bin laden's secret world, down to the medicines he was taking in his hideout. jobs report. some of the news sounts great for americans looking for work, but there's new to the numbers. >> opposites extreme. too much water in some places and too little where they really need it. and the unusual story behind a new honor for a former

president. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. today, the president of the united states delivered the thanks of a grateful nation to a group of men whose names we can't know and whose faces we can't show. members of the u.s. navy s.e.a.l. team who pulled off the high-stakes raid that killed osama bin laden. the president went to ft. campbell, kentucky, where halfway around the world, we're still learning more about the raid, what was grabbed, the official confirmation of bin laden's death, and a potential threat to all of us once again. we start off with two reports tonight, beginning at the scene, ann curry on the ground in pakistan tonight. ann, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. and confirming osama bin laden's death today, al qaeda is clearly trying to reinvigorate its jihad

and sent a message that its war on americans will go on without him. at the same time, u.s. intelligence officials tell nbc news bin laden was fully engaged in al qaeda operations a s at t time of his death. coordinated protested that announced the raid against the killing of osama bin laden in multiple cities today as al qaeda reacted for the first time. quote, soon, with god's help, we shall flip their celebrations into sorrow and their blood shall mix with tears. >> soon could mean anything from the next three days the next three years. it's difficult to know and it's important to emphasize al qaeda uses its language whether or not it has an attack in score. >> these images are the newest from inside the compound where they tell nbc news bin laden was

far from retired and was al qaeda's operational leader. u.s. intelligence also tells nbc news, a lot of video as well as details of plots around the world and associates were found. osama bin laden's compound is just beyond these buildings, but today, the pakistani soldiers have told us all the media has to be pushed back and if they even see our cameras, they threaten to take them. local officials in abbottabad said the compound is now cleansed. they have as many as three of bin laden's wives in custody under interrogation. the cia asked for access to the wives, especially bin laden's last and favorite wife. she was known to be devoted to bin laden and was in the room when he died and she told interrogators that bein laden ad his family have been living in

the abbottabad combound for the last five years. al qaeda also said today it will soon release a voice recording of bin laden which it claims was made a week before his death. >> ann curry, thanks for your reporting on the ground in pakistan tonight and all week. in their short sometime on the ground, those navy s.e.a.l.s grabbed everything they could find of any consequence inside bin laden's house, down to the medications they found in his bedroom, and the list of medications looks a lot like the stuff advertised on the broadcast. an ulcer relief medicine and two others for stomach discomfort, two antibiotics, one drug believed to be for the treatment of shingles. the other is a french-made medication for high blood pressure. they also find ibuprofen and cough and cold medicine, and avena syrup which could be used

for virility. no kidney nmedication was found raising rumors about the stories that bin laden had kidney problems. back in this country today, as we mentioned at the top of the broadcast, president obama met for the first time since bin laden's death with members of it team who went in and got him. he and vice president biden met privately at ft. campbell, kentucky, with the assault team, bistroing upon them the high honor of the presidential cisation honor. he went on to tell the ft. campbell community, job well done. our report from norah o'donnell. >> hello, ft. campbell. >> reporter: the president and vice president today came to say thank you. >> job well done. job well done. >> reporter: speaking, he

sprazed their extraordinary service and sacrifice. >> we're going to ultimately defiet al qaeda. we have cut off their head. >> reporter: and he repeded his intention to start pulling u.s. forces out of afghanistan. >> we're moving into a new phase. starting this summer, we'll begin reducing american forces. >> reporter: this is a big deal for the soldiers here at ft. campbell, kentucky, home of the 101staire borne. few divisions have been called on more in afghanistan than the 101st. it's also home to the night stockers who flew in the navy s.e.a.l.s in the dark to kill osama bin laden. today, the president met for more than an hour with special ops forces. >> they're america's quiet professionals. whose success demands secrecy, but they train for years. they're battle-hardened. they practice tirelessly for this mission. when i gave the order, they were

ready. >> reporter: and now, with bin laden's death, this soldier who just got back afghanistan this morning feels a sense of satisfaction. >> some soldiers who didn't make it back, felt like they did something for them. and we got the job done for those guys. >> reporter: brian, president obama and vice president biden got quite a briefing from the navy s.e.a.l.s today complete with maps and a scale model of bin laden's scompount and when one s.e.a.l. mentioned that a dog was part of the team, biden asked to meet the combatant, and the handler said, quote, i rememb recommend you bring treats. >> norah o'donnell, good to hear those in the crowd today. we have economic news on two fronts tonight. both hit home more than any other. jobs and gas prices. as we reported here last night, oil prices have plummeted his past week, which should bring

some relief at gas pumps soon. and the april jobs numbers are just out. coming in better than most of the experts expected. so we have two reports on this front tonight, beginning with nbc's tom costello in washington. >> reporter: the good news is that it was a private seconder, not the government, that added jobs at the fastest rate in five years last month. 57,000 jobs in retail. 51,000 professional jobs, 46,000 in leisure and hospitality. 29,000 manufacturing jobs. a-123 has hired 800 in michigan, and the ceo said he'll hire more. we aloneesh pkt to hire thousands of people. >> in yiindiana, president obam toured a hybrid bus company that plans to add 200 jobs. >> this is where the american economy is rebuilding. >> reporter: despite adding 240,000 jobs in april, the

unemployment rate inched up from 8.8% to 9%. as the population grew and some americans resumed their job hunt. in ft. myers, florida, natasha green has been looking for two years. >> nobody wants to hire somebody who has been unemployed for so long. >> reporter: and experts caution the real unemployment rate may be closer to 16% when you include the underemployed and those who have given up on a job. at this rate, it would take several more years to recover the 8 million jobs lost during the great recession. to get unemployment down to about 6% over the next three years, we're going to have to add about 360,000 jobs a month. >> a tall order with nearly 14 million out of work americans now hoping for better days ahead. tom costello, nbc news, bethe a bethesda, maryland. this is kevin tibbles in chicago wrk as the oil prices

sky rocket plummeted this week, it was pandemonium on stock floors this week. closed at $98 a barrel, down 15% for the week. there's a saying in the trading community, high prices fix high prices. and so that process is what's under way now. rrtd a combination of bad weather, refinery maintenance, and mideast turmoil put oil prices through the roof. gas sits at $3.98. this time last year, it was more than a buck cheaper. the wild fluctuation in price has turned us all in mini speculators. do you fill up thinking the price is going to be higherth et time. or do you put in $10, hoping it's going to go down. others foyt back, these chicago commuters belong to a van pool. >> i probably save about $90 a month. you figure over a course of a year, you're talking about

$1,000. >> it amazes me a lot more people aren't looking for alternative ways to commute back and forth to work. >> reporter: the department of energy says people have already changed their habits, resulting in a 2% drop in a demand for gas, and that could soon translate into lower prices. >> i'm expecting gasoline prices right now are peaking. as we go through the summer, they will begin to decline. >> any more uncertainty and they could rise again. >> it's not going to be a summer for renting the winnebago and going to yellowstone. >> unless you like playing gas pump roulette. >> now we have to turn to the midwest. we think this story is going to occupy a lot of our time and attention next week. it's already been an awful flooding season. if you live in memphis or the surrounding area, all eyes are on the mississippi river. they're looking for perhaps the second highest crest in u.s. history, perhaps in the next five days. nbc's ron mott is in memphis on some hallowed ground there in

that city. ron, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. we're standing at the low end of beale street tonight. as you can see behind me, it's taking on water, water that is starting to flow where it's simply not invited. >> maybe a boat for the lake, but not to your house. >> after 19 years in his community, tina picked the right friend to befriend a neighbor with a bot. >> i have salot of my mom's stuff in there. i don't even know if i can get in. you can only do what you can. >> reporter: we paddled along with joe, who offered to help tina get a few more of her valuables. she waited for leach infested floodwaters and pushed in and found a mess, also what she came looking for. hers is one of 2,800 homes and businesses officials say are in the flood threat zone. as the mississippi continues to rise, approaching an all-time high here, sand bagging

intenlsifies. intersections are swamped, a horse stable under water to the roof, as the water expands far beyond the banks. >> even though there are predictions that the crest will exceed historic limits, we still will be prepared for that. >> south of the miss, the river has forced river boat casinos to be closed, an economic product to be felt. >> they have a place they can safely leave their bet. >> as rough as it has been for victims upstream, the worst may be to come for those downriver. >> they will be working through the region in the next few days. it will bring rain at time. we're not expecting significant rain, but the damage has been done. it's going to be weeks of major and record flooding. today, the coast guard closes a 5-mile stretch of the

mississippi for eight days. they're trying to keep that water from flowing over the flood walls in that city. there the crunch time begins. we'll be watching. ron mott in memphis. when we come back, the other side of the story. a place where folks are desperate for water. they depend on it. right now, rirt not there for them sgloorb and later, an honor for an ex-prdz and a proud part of his past you may not know about. if you have gout, high uric acid can lead to more attacks. ♪ to help reduce attacks, lower your uric acid. uloric lowers uric acid levels in adults with gout. it's not for the treatment of high uric acid without a history of gout. uloric reduces uric acid to help you reach a healthy level. [ female announcer ] don't take uloric if you are taking azathioprine, mercaptopurine, or theophylline. gout may flare when starting uloric. don't stop taking it. your doctor may give you other medicines

to help prevent flares. a small number of heart attacks, strokes, and heart-related deaths were seen in studies. it's not certain uloric caused them. certain tests to check liver function may be required. tell your doctor about liver or kidney problems, or history of heart disease or stroke. the most common side effects are liver problems, nausea, gout flares, joint pain, and rash. [ male announcer ] if you have gout, ask your doctor about uloric. until the combination of three good probiotics in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. [ slap! slap! slap! slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums paid your dues. raised a family. you've earned a little peace of mind.

now, some in congress want to make harmful cuts to medicare and social security. cutting your benefits so washington can pay its bills. aarp believes the country can do better. we can cut wasteful spending without cutting the benefits you've earned. join us. tell congress to stop the harmful cuts to medicare and social security. well, we just saw ron mott in memphis with water rising behind. it seems especially cruel with all this news of flooding in the medwest that the next story is about a drought, a bad one making life hard in a place where they could really use water about now. janet shamly is in cedar creek, texas, tonight. >> this is the sound of a th thirsty texas. so brown and barren that ranchers are having to provide feed for their cattle at great

expense because there's simply nothing to graze on. >> we have been in business since 1971, and we have never had an april like this, never. and may is starting off the same way. >> reporter: mare than a quarter of the state is in what's called exceptional drought, the most severe category, and it's grown worse over the last six weeks. the red and dark red showing the hardest hit areas, not just in texas but throughout the region. the lone star state is the epicenter, feeling parched and bone dry. tommy works for the department of agriculture. >> it's crunchb below our feet. you can look right here, these cracks in the ground, we shouldn't have these. this is our wet season. >> these fields will yield no corn and will be plowed next week to be used for feed. >> we have to plant it in the next two to three weeks for the insurance purposes. and then if it doesn't rain, it

will be -- you know, it will be a total loss. rrt financial losses are heart to predict. they're expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. >> it's extraordinarily dry right now, the crop losses are going to be tremendous, and we probably won't see a trend in the pattern. it's unlikely that much changes into summer. >> reporter: with no sign of desperately needed storms, droughts continue. and if the impact on agriculture and livestock isn't bad enough, these conditions are the perfect tinder for the wildfires that have been ravaging the state. they have claimed something like 200,000 acres so far. >> janet, it's tough to watch. thanks. when we come back here tonight, a week after the big royal wedding, another high profile couple has decided to get hitched. ♪

[ female announcer ] little acts like using less material can make a meaningful impact. ♪ because everybody wins when you use less. switch to future friendly products from p&g, like new concentrated tide powder detergent. with 24% less packaging and more stain-fighting power. future friendly from p&g. dr. scholl's custom fit orthotic center recommends the custom-fit orthotic that's best for your tired feet. foot-care scientists are behind it. you'll get all-day relief. and you could save a couple hundred bucks. for locations, see drscholls.com. thank you... but i wasn't winning any ribbons managing my diabetes. it was so complicated. there was a lot of infmation out there. but it was frustrating trying to get the answers i needed. then my company partnered with unitedhealthcare.

they provided onsite screenings, healthy cooking tips. that's a recipe i'm keeping. ( announcer ) turning complex data into easy tools. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on p of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b,

have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. good job girls. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. today we're going to surprise peoples. with the taste of activia. that's good. wow. this is really good. great flavor. it's really creamy, it's really tasty. ooh, wow! jamie lee curtis! it's activia. it's delicious. i am shocked. it's hard to believe it's that good for you. it's so good. try the fabulous taste of activia today. taste it, love it, or it's free. and now discover activia dessert. in rich, indulgent flavors like blueberry cheesecake. try activia dessert today. ♪ activia

paul mccartney is off the market. he's announced he's heading married. he's marrying his longtime girlfriend, her second time, his third. a live web cam in one of america's national parks may have prevented a disaster. specifically, thanks to someone in wisconsin watching the live feed of yellow' stone's old faithful. the camera showed tourists too close to the mouth of the geyser which sprays steaming hot water at regular intervaled. a web cam viewer contacted the park rangers, moved the people back, disaster averted. if you have been there, there are warning signs saying stay back. that's what they say, and they're all over the place. up next here tonight, what you need to know aubt former ball player from michigan who wept on to make it big. [ male announcer ] if you've been to the hospital

with heart-related chest pain or a heart attack known as acs, you may not want to face the fact that you're at greater risk of a heart attack or stroke. plavix helps protect people with acs against heart attack or stroke: people like you. it's one of the most researched prescription medicines. goes beyond what they do alone by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking and forming dangerous clots. plavix. protection against heart attack or stroke in people with acs. [ female announcer ] plavix is not for everyone. certain genetic factors and some medicines such as prilosec reduce the effect of plavix leaving you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. your doctor may use genetic tests to determine treatment. don't stop taking plavix without talking to your doctor as your risk of heart attack or stroke may increase. people with stomach ulcers or conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines, including aspirin, may increase bleeding risk, which can potentially be life threatening, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. tell your doctor all medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke.

if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than two weeks after starting plavix. to london starts with arthritis pain... and a choice. take tylenol now, and maybe up to 8 in a day. or...choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. enjoy the flight.

or...choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. host: could switching to geico or more on car insurance? host: would foghorn leghorn make a really bad book narrator? foghorn (stammering): it was the best of times, it was the wor - i say worst of times. and by worst i'm talkin' as bad, i say, as bad as my aunt ginny's corn puddin'. that stuff'll sink you like a stone. engineer: ok that was a little... foghorn: you gettin' all this in there son? i just added that last part it's called "adlibbin..."anyway...it was, i say it was... vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. finally tonight, a man of the house, of all our modern era presidents, gerald ford of michigan never ran for the job. he never much wanted the job, but richard nixon needed a vice

president after his first vp resigned, facing criminal charges, then nixon resigned and gerald r. ford became our president. all he wanted to be was speaker of the house, where he served for a quarter century. and now visitors to the capitol building can see evidence of how beloved he was in the house and in his home state. tom brokaw haze the report tonight. rt it's often said gerald ford was the right man at the right time for a wounded nation reeling from watergate. >> our long national nightmare is over. >> reporter: being the right man at the right time started early for gerald ford. in 1934, he was a starting center for the university of michigan football team and close friends with the only black player of the team, a gifted athlete named willis ward. >> back then, you were subject to being ostracized if you

became too involved with blacks. tlatd was a test to jerry despite that. he was a man even though he was only 17 years old. >> in 1974, the visiting georgia tech team refused to take the team if michigan started ward. steven ford, the president's youngest son, said his father was outraged that michigan would bench his friend. >> he wrote his father in grand rapids, said he would make a stand and not play in the game. >> but willis ward persuaded him to play in the game, anyway. >> he said, you're captain of the team. i'll sit out. i appreciate what you're doing. convinced him to go back in the team, and that's the only game they won that year. >> the stand he took that day would inform his support decades later for civil rights, but even that legacy wasn't enough to get around the rule that each state is allowed only two statues for the capital. to honor ford, zakaria chandler, secretary of the interior under

ulysses s. grant would have to be removed. he was an abolitionist and deserved his spot, an awkward situation until willis ward's grandson, buzz thomas, weighed in. >> it was time to stood up, like he stood up for my grandfather. it was time to stand up for him. >> reporter: tuesday's unfa unveiling, an occasion for ford friends and family to remember. >> it's full circle generati generationabgeneratio generational ey retired dad ffs jersey.y we were standing on the field, soaking in the people in the stands, and dad has tears in his eyes. as we left the field, a man pulled me aside and he looked at me, and he says, you know, son, do you know what character is? character is what you do when nobody is watching.

and nobody was watching your father's life as a young 20-year-old kid at the university of michigan back in 1934. willing to make a stand for his good friend, willis ward. >> our thanks to tom brokaw and zakaria chandler fans should know his statue is back home at the michigan state capitol. thank you for being here with us. programming note. tomorrow, they run for the roses. kentucky derby starting at 4:00 eastern here on