brazen attack in afghanistan. high ranking americans are gunned down in place they thought was safest. this after days of rage of the accidental burning of the koran. mandela hospitalized. the latest on the condition of the legendary south african leader. silent killer. a ground breaking look at the leading cause of death for women. new information about heart health that could save your life. and demolition day. one of the most notorious houses on earth comes down.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. the anti-american backlash in afghanistan may have taken another ominous turn on this fifth day of protests. two more americans both high ranking u.s. military officers were shot to death as they worked on a heavily fortified afghan ministry building. tonight, nato officials are taking extraordinary steps to help those working in kabul. four americans have been killed over the accidental burning of the koran. today president obama said he remains committed to a partnership with the afghan government. we are joined in our kabul bureau with the very latest. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. well, the defense minister called leon panetta offering his apologizes after the killing of

two u.s. army officers as anti-american protests continued. police and demonstrators clashing again today in northern afghanistan. the protesters attacked shops, government buildings and a united nations come pound. they shouted death to america, a scene that's been repeated here for the past five days. and for the second time this week, a deadly attack on u.s. service members. in kabul, two american advisers to the afghan interior ministry, an army colonel and a major, were shot and killed by a gunman inside their offices. the building had some of the heaviest security in the country. in a statement after the attack, the pentagon said the u.s. condemns it in the strongest possible terms, and said defense secretary secretary leon panetta urged the government to take action to protect the forces. the taliban said it was in

response to the burning of the korans by the u.s. soldiers earlier this week. two days ago, an afghan soldier killed two other u.s. service members during a protest outside a base in eastern afghanistan. that night, general john allen the commander of nato forces in the country visited the base consoling the soldiers and telling them the afghan people still need them. >> now is the time to look deep inside your souls, remember your mission. remember your discipline. remember who you are. and come through this together as a unit. >> reporter: but after today's killings, general allen recalled all nato advisers and staff working at afghan ministries for what he called force protection reasons and he said that today's attack will not go unanswered. throughout afghanistan, the anti-american protests continued today despite a series of apologies. >> we apologize to the afghan

people. >> reporter: but many here want more. this man says we don't accept when they say we apologize. we don't want americans here at all. president karzai is calling for dialogue and calm and is assembling religious leaders and is hoping to protect american lives. >> thanks. we want to return to military analyst barry mccaffrey. how surprised are you that theousethe officers could be tikilled in a heavily supervised building? >> we may be seeing a watershed event after billions of dollars and 16,000 u.s. casualties. we see how shallow the impact we have on this primitive society is. yeah, we'll take it in context. these are thousands of

demonstrators in a country of 30 million people, but this is really outrageous. we have had dozens of u.s. and nato forces killed by afghan uniformed people. and karzai is clearly not standing for and leading on this effort. >> but the cornerstone of the strategy is the partnership with the afghan government and working alongside them. is all of that now potentially in jeopardy? >> i have been skeptical about this from the start. once we get u.s. combat forces out of afghan, it was going to be 2014. secretary panetta said it's 2013. we need to re-evaluate the notion of having thousands of americans isolated all over afghanistan. it's about time for us to step forward and take a new look at our security strategy. >> general barry mccaffrey, thank you. now, to the other big story that a lot of other folks woke up to morning, news that nelson

mandela has been hospitalized. nbc news special correspondent char lain hunter-gault is joining us from johannesburg with the latest on his condition. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. well, the news tonight is cautiously optimistic. the word is that nelson mandela is resting comfortably after being admitted to hospital this morning with stomach pains, abdominal pains. and there's a bit of question about just what was the nature of those abdominal pains because the government unlike in his previous admission to hospital has seized the opportunity to take control of the word that's going out exactly about what's happening with former president mandela. so they have said simply there was a procedure, they haven't said whether it was surgical or just what it was exactly. but they are saying now that he is resting comfortably and

possibly may go home either sunday or monday. right now, the rest of the country is sort of holding their breath because nelson mandela is really the heart of this nation. so some hearts are palpitating because of his condition. but everybody is hoping that he pulls through this as he has in the past. >> all right, thank you for the update. now to the increasingly desperate situation in syria. dozens more were killed as government forces continued their violent crackdown. tonight, a lucky few have made it out across the border into neighboring turkey. that's where we find richard engel. >> reporter: a truce in syria doesn't seem to be in the making. new undated video shows homs, battered and lifeless. the red cross was only able to bring out around 30 women and children from the besieged city

on friday and just a few more today. that's hardly a war zone evacuation from a city of 30,000. in neighboring turkey now, tent cities are cropping up full of men with stories like this man. he says, i was arrested on the street because i'm against assad. i tore a picture of him at the entrance of town. then, he joined the free syrian army and his punishment was 60 days of medieval torture including being chained to the wall, crucifixion style, with feet hanging off the floor for days. they said i was a traitor working for america. there are nearly 2,000 refugees, about 10,000 in all in other camps nearby. turkish officials say this could become a staging ground for

humanitarian supplies to enter syria or weapons. they're just waiting for a green light to do it. primarily from the united states. arming the rebels is now an intense international debate. saudi arabia supports it. so does qatar. turkey doesn't oppose the idea but russia definitely does. it's arming the other side. the government. u.s. officials have doubts about sending in guns, not because they support president assad, but they don't know or trust the rebels. don't know where the guns could go. we don't want aid or food or water, we need rifles and ammunition. if we don't fight he says, no one will do it for us. but now, many syrians are trapped by indecision. and dying for it. richard engel, nbc news. back home now, and presidential politics just 72 hours from the crucial primary in the state of michigan which several polls show is up for

grabs. tonight, mitt romney and rick santorum are crisscrossing the state in search of votes and both campaigns are hitting the other hard. nbc's ron mott is on the trail for us in detroit. ron, good evening. >> reporter: hey, lester, good evening to you. at every opportunity on the campaign trail today, mitt romney and rick santorum got after each other and that seems to be the strategy here in michigan three days before this primary. come out swinging hard and look for the knockout punch and that's what they did. >> thank you. >> reporter: in trying to bring mitt romney to his knees in front of largely conservative crowd near detroit, rick santorum flung a hay maker toward president obama and higher education. >> president obama said he wants everybody in america to go to college. what a snob. >> reporter: and he wasn't done. >> well, i understand why he wants you to go to college. he wants to remake you in his image. >> reporter: those were two of the jabs that he threw today.

mostly in the direction of mitt romney, attacking his conservative record as inconsistent. >> what you have with me is what you see is what you get. as opposed to well, what you see today may be something different than what you get tomorrow. >> reporter: santorum parlayed such an argument to a clean sweep of colorado, minnesota and missouri, leading to a surge in national polling. both stumped for support under the same roof saturday, vying for votes in a race that is headed to a tight finish on tuesday. the latest poll shows romney regaining a slight edge in michigan. a state that some say is a must win. so when it was his turn at the mic, romney quickly reminded the room that santorum supported his presidential bid four years ago. >> if you're a conservative, there really is only one place to go right now. if you're a republican in the broadest sense, there is only one place to go right now. and that's mitt romney. >> he said he's the clear

conservative candidate. he's right. i'm the conservative candidate and what we need in the white house is principled, conservative leadership and i'll bring it. >> politics is a team sport, folks. >> reporter: romney again brought up santorum's support of president bush's no child left behind education reform law. which santorum defended at wednesday's debate saying he took one for the team despite the bill compromising his principles. >> we can't do that anymore. we can't continue to take one for the team. my team is the people of the united states of america. >> reporter: mitt romney and rick santorum have hit president obama on the high cost of gas. both pushing for approval of the keystone pipeline. it's a project that the president opposes for now. >> ron mott, let's bring. let's bring in john harwood. i want to pick up with how ron ended the story about the gas prices. republicans will hone in on this. 18 straight days now we have seen gas prices rise.

how vulnerable is the president on that issue? >> lester, at a time when most things politically are going well for the president it's a problem for three reasons. first is the immediate pain americans are feeling and they identify every time they go to the pump. second, the potential to slow down the economic recovery and third, because of instability in the middle east threatens to make this problem worse over time. the one saving grace for the administration, typically gas prices go down in the fall after the summer driving months. >> let me ask you about that sharp tone between romney and santorum. is that indicative of the fact they both see this as a crucial must win state and why? >> they do see it as a must win state for mitt romney it's his home state. but he appears to have slowed down rick santorum's momentum with his negative ads and with rick santorum's poor debate performance. i spoke a few minutes ago with a senior santorum adviser. he recognized the momentum has slowed by they're looking ahead to super tuesday, states like ohio and oklahoma where they hope to extend this battle.

>> john harwood, thanks. rick santorum will be among david gregory's guests tomorrow morning on "meet the press." now to the weather and tonight millions of americans living along the eastern seaboard are dealing with a serious bad hair day. strong winds are howling from the great lakes up into new england and down to the carolinas around into georgia. snarling air travel on the eastern half of the country. some places today seeing up to 60 mile an hour wind gusts. when "nbc nightly news" continues on this saturday evening, vital news about women and heart attacks. the warning signs you might not recognize. and later how alicia keys and others are bringing a new buzz to broadway. ix. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix.

if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. it helps to have people around you... they say, you're much bigger than this. and you are. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. what if the first step on that road is a bowl of soup? delicious campbell's soups fill you with vegetable nutrition, farm-grown ingredients, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's -- it's amazing what soup can do.

ooh gas. take an antacid. oh thanks. good luck. good luck to you. doesn't he know antacids won't help gas?

oh, he knows. [ male announcer ] antacids don't relieve gas. gas-x is designed to relieve gas. gas-x. the gas xperts. we're back now with important health news about a silent killer among women. heart disease is the number one killer in the u.s. in fact, it kills more women than all cancers combined. and a new study this week is highlighting why so many women are dying. serving as a warning to pay attention to what their bodies are telling them. we get that information tonight from dr. nancy sneiderman. >> reporter: maxine levy remembers when she woke up with overwhelming nausea.

she told her husband to call 911. >> my husband looked at me and he said, have you lost your mind? i said, maybe. i said, but let's call 911 and see what they say. >> reporter: at just 41 years old, maxine was having a heart attack. >> that was not at all on my radar. not possible. i wasn't a smoker. i had low blood pressure. i didn't have diabetes. >> reporter: she did not have chest pain. a new study shows 42% of women who arrive at the hospital already having a heart attack don't have that classic red flag. and once at the hospital nearly 15% of women die, compared with 10% of men. one reason is that women are more likely to have atypical symptoms. shortness of breath, light headedness, pain in the jaw, neck or arms, nausea, cold sweats and extreme fatigue. those symptoms which are most common in younger women are not always recognized as a serious threat. >> this creates a perfect storm. because women get to the

hospital later. they're traditionally sicker when they arrive. >> reporter: recognizing atypical symptoms of the heart attack is one thing. but empowering women to act on them and get medical help, well, that's a completely different matter. >> research has shown that only 50% of them would actually call 911 if they thought they were experiencing a heart attack. >> reporter: linda bugby ignored her symptoms for years. >> overtired, tightness in my chest. pain in my jaw. but i thought it was heart burn. >> reporter: she was dying nosed with heart disease. but says she paid a hefty price for putting things off as long as she did. >> i medicated myself with ant ac -- ant acids and knowing that it was probably serious. >> reporter: gender can make a difference. knowing those differences and acting on them can save your life. >> we can't give you those life-saving therapies when you show up at the hospital too

late. >> reporter: dr. nancy snyderman, new york. up next, why another kennedy is facing charges tonight. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line. we take pride in what we do. when that refrigerator ships out the door, it's us that work out here. [ michael ] we're on the forefront of revitalizing manufacturing. we're proving that it can be done here, and it can be done well. [ ilona ] i came to ge after the plant i was working at closed after 33 years. ge's giving me the chance to start back over. [ cindy ] there's construction workers everywhere. so what does that mean? it means work. it means work for more people. [ brian ] there's a bright future here, and there's a chance to get on the ground floor of something big, something that will bring us back. not only this company, but this country. ♪ my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function,

starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. what ? customers didn't like it.

so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. tonight the pakistani government has begun to demolish the infamous compound where osama bin laden spent his final years hiding and where he was killed by u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s last year. crews in the city moved in late in the afternoon with cranes and jackhammers and flood lights. pakistani officials say plans for the site include a park with

green areas and benches which they say will be built within a month. and tonight, robert f. kennedy's youngest son is facing misdemeanor charges after a fight at a suburban new york hospital. it started when douglas kennedy tried to take his 3-day-old child outside for a walk. nurses say they tried to stop him because he wasn't allowed to take the newborn off the maternity floor. one nurse claims he twisted her arm and another is seen on the surveillance tape being knocked to the ground. kennedy says it was the nurses that attacked him. and john hinckley the man who tried to kill president ronald reagan three decades ago has a request. he says he'd like to be known as something other than reagan's would-be assassin. as an artist, for example. hinckley spends part of his time painting at a washington mental hospital. he made the statement to a doctor who interviewed him in the last year in connection with his request to spend more time away from hospital. up next, as we continue to hear tonight, alicia keys helping to make this broadway

season like no other. urism seas. all because so many people came to louisiana... urism seas. they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. with thermacare heatwraps. thermacare works differently. it's the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles for up to 16 hours of relief. that's 8 hours while you wear it, plus an additional 8 hours of relief after you take it off. can your patch, wrap, cream or rub say that? so if you've got pain... get up to 16 hours of pain relief with thermacare.

ooh gas. take an antacid. oh thanks. good luck. good luck to you. doesn't he know antacids won't help gas? oh, he knows. [ male announcer ] antacids don't relieve gas. gas-x is designed to relieve gas. gas-x. the gas xperts. why you fell in love with her in the first place. and why you still feel the same. but your erectile dysfunction -- that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision,

or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. finally tonight, there's something happening on the broadway stage here in new york that a lot of theater watchers say they have never seen before. the current crop of shows includes three written by african-american women. and that's just the beginning of some barrier-breaking changes. we get the story from nbc's ron allen. >> can i fix you something? >> that would be great. you know what i like. >> black or white rice?

>> let's keep it black. >> reporter: this is about summer vacation, comedy, drama and conflicts as the sons bring girl friends home to meet dad. >> my friend, mm-hmm. she's italian. >> you mean she's white. >> she's italian. >> reporter: what's unusual for broadway, this family is wealthy, dysfunctional and black. >> how many times have we seen an affluent black family at martha's vineyard is never. >> reporter: and alicia keys composed the music and gave it her superstar name. >> one of the things that's a dream of mine is to able to help bring to life stories of diversity. >> reporter: there's also been celebrity behind shows like "the mountaintop", about martin luther king, jr., featuring samuel l. jackson. and then "magic bird."

about the two nba legends. theater has changed during the career. >> i was an actor. and i didn't get to play a character that even got to wear pretty clothes on stage. >> reporter: broadway enjoyed a record box office last year. some analysts say a wider range of shows helped. for alicia keys who grew up in a tough neighborhood nearby, broadway has always been in her sights. >> there was a lot of darkness that i had to pass through to get to the light of broadway, the big dreams. >> reporter: i can't help but wonder that you want to be here on stage. >> i would absolutely want to do that one day for the right thing. >> i'm almost your sister. >> no, no such thing. right now, you're just a gold digger engaged to my brother. >> reporter: getting to broadway is one thing. staying there quite another. the curtain is coming down on stick fly after a three-month run. this season, more diverse actors and plot lines wait in the wings. ready to take the stage. ron allen, nbc news, new york.

that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today." then right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com