on our broadcast tonight, grief and rage. tonight, we'll tell you what we know about the u.s. soldier accused of those murders in afghanistan. what we've learned about the rampage and the innocent lives lost, and how it might affect the mission of u.s. forces there. showdown in the south. two primaries tonight. two more tight races that could once again have a big impact on the gop race. and making a difference. a living legend 100 years old and still on the job. a living legend 100 years old and still on the job. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. we are learning more tonight about the u.s. army staff sergeant in a rampage that killed 16 innocent civilians in afghanistan. the latest, really in a string of incidents that have all been big steps back in the massive military effort, the effort to win hearts and minds in afghanistan that long ago became this nation's longest war. the president used strong wording when talking about it today in the white house rose garden. >> the united states takes this as seriously as if it was our own citizens and our own children who were murdered. we are heart broken over the loss of innocent life. the killing of innocent civil n civilians is outrageous and it's unacceptable. it's not who we are as a country and it does not represent our military. >> still questions tonight go to

motive, possible reprise sals a and how it might affect. our chief correspondent is in afghanistan tonight. richard, what have we been able to gather there and elsewhere about the attack and the immediate aftermath? >> quite a bit, brian. good evening. our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski was told my military officials that on the night of the shooting, a search party went out looking for the missing 38-year-old staff sergeant. he was first spotted from the air, either by a drone or a helicopter. they saw him crawling through an open field on his belly, heading back to the base. they tracked him from the air. as soon as he got to the base, he was confronted by soldiers, asked specifically about the shooting. at that stage, he said i did it. he was taken into custody, disarmed. he demanded to speak to a lawyer and after that has refused to cooperate any further. as for why, it's still unclear. there are reports that he was having marital difficulties,

that he had recently received a letter, not a good one, from his wife. and u.s. officials say they do have reason to believe that alcohol may have been involved. but whatever the reason, now afghanistan has to deal with this. afghan president hamid karzai today tried to make amends for the u.s. troops keeping him in power. he sent a delegation led by two of his brothers to a memorial for the 16 civilians allegedly killed by a rogue american sergeant. the response came a short time later. the delegation was attacked. the one afghan soldier killed. this soldier said the taliban knew government officials were coming. in jalaibad, students burned an effigy of president obama and a christian cross. but the crowd was fairly small, just a few hundred. it's not the nationwide uproar some u.s. officials fear still might come.

as the savagery of the killing spree sinks in. it was a bloodbath. 16 dead, 11 of them from the family of this man, abdul samid. his wife and eight children, ages 2 to 12 methodically killed as the american chased them from room to room, shooting them and stabbing them and then trying to burn their bodies. the family had recently returned to this rural area, the government telling farmers it was safe. instead, they were killed in their beds. they were lined up, swaddled in bed sheets. a tiny corpse in the back of a truck. all the bodies were brought together and burnt, says a relative. i'm asking these elders, karzai, the ministers that the culprit be handed over to afghanistan and put on trial. after the shooting, villagers gathered outside the u.s. base lingering, searching for answers. some afghans thought having u.s. troops nearby would make them

safer. in kabul, afghans we spoke to didn't appear to blame all americans. but the killer should be executed. that is the punishment, said this man. and that could happen. the united states is considering capital murder charges that carry the death penalty after an american court-martial, most likely in afghanistan. u.s. officials say the court-martial will likely take place here, both to send a message to afghans and because of the logistical problems of bringing witnesses out of the country. brian? >> richard engle starting us off from our bureau in afghanistan. thanks. all of this puts the u.s. in the a difficult position as the president meets the biggest ally in afghanistan. the british prime minister. andrea michelle is with us in the d.c. bureau. sitting down with the prime minister yesterday in london, you could tell that he was still, as so many are, processing the impact of this.

>> reporter: hard to get your head around it. the white house is trying to send a message tonight the president is not going to change strategy because of this horrific incident, but there is an unstated but very clear glide path out. brian, they plan to withdraw the last 23,000 surge troops by september. then they can always axccelerat the withdraw of the remaining 68,000 troops. as you know from that interview with the prime minister at downey street, just before he flew here today, afghanistan is going to be a big topic at those meetings. what's becoming clear is an increasing number of americans and the brits no longer understand why we are still in afghanistan and what could be accomplished by staying. then there's always the politics here. mitt romney says obama has not defined the mission, but then goes on to describe goals virtually identical to the president's. gingrich says we should leave fairly soon, that's a quote. the difference, of course, is it's a lot easier to take shots

on the jo it side than be commander-in-chief while you're also run running for re-election. brian? >> it's clear, it's all in play. thanks. >>. >> now to presidential politics. and primary day in alabama and mississippi. both races have been seen as close three-way calls between mitt romney, rick santorum and newt gingrich. nbc's kelly o'donnell is with us from lafayette, louisiana, where the santorum campaign is. kelly, good evening. >> good evening, brian. well, republican voters in the deep south are getting a lot more attention and more chance to have a real influence on choosing the nominee than in primary seasons past for years. and there's also a sort of quality of a cliffhanger with all of this, because tonight, it appears that those top candidates are in a tight race. >> what's going on in missouri today? >> reporter: well, one thing not happening there is a republican primary. today, voters went to the polls in alabama and mississippi. and when you look at where the

candidates chose to spend the day, that says a lot about their own view of the nomination fight. >> i would love to have your votes. if you haven't already voted. if you have already voted, e-mail your friends or tweet them. > . >> reporter: gingrich is the only one who stayed where ballots are cast, staying in alabama. >> the reason i stayed in this race, it's about more than right versus left. it's about being smart. it's about understanding the modern world. >> rick santorum moved on to get a jump in another conservative friendly state that votes next week, louisiana. santorum says he does not need wins tonight to remain the mitt romney alternative. >> don't vote with what the pundits say. trust your own heart and your own head. >> the super pac that supports santorum debuted a new tv ad today across louisiana that hammers the president on gas prices. >> rick santorum is the principal lead we are an energy

plan. >> and back to missouri. what stands out is that romney said nothing on his campaign stop about today's primaries nor his gop rivals. instead, romney focused his fire on the president over foreign policy and gas prices. >> the president is looking around for someone to blame. you know, it seems to be part of his nature. he's out of ideas. he's out of excuses and in 2012, we're going to get him out of office. that's got to get done. >> there's been less notice, we should say that republican voters in hawaii and american samoa are caucusing today. and there will be some more tropical air was a because tonight, santorum flies from here to puerto rico. mitt romney is head there had, too, for their primary sound. brian? >> kelly, thanks. in all of the primary and caucus states today, there's an issue out there getting a lot of attention. should a person is have to present a photo i.d. to cast a vote 1234234 two of the states

voting today, alabama and hawaii, voters are required to present photo i.d.s a at the polls. the third, mississippi, is one step away from one of the strictest laws in the country. our justice correspondent pete williams explains how it came to this and has an exclusive interview tonight with the attorney general who talks about his effort to get some of these laws thrown off the books. >> reporter: the 2000 bush-gore election debacle in florida set off a wave of calls for election reform, including voter i.d. laws. nearly every state has now considered them, 14 this year alone from new york to new mexico. they require registered voters to show a government issued photo i.d. card at the polls like a driver's license to get a ballot. they have strong support among republicans who say requiring a picture i.d. cuts down on fraud, providing proof of two things -- >> that anyone who thousands up to vote is one, validly registered, two, that the validly registered person is actually the person casting the vote.

>> reporter: eight states have passed the strictest laws, but mississippi's is awaiting legal approval and laws in south carolina, texas and wisconsin are tied up in court battles. seven other states ask for tot toe i.d.s but allow casting a ballot if the voter can provide other forms of identification. the democrats say it discourages turns out from the elderly and poor and minority voters because most don't have i.d.s. >> we want to make sure that our elections are free from fraud, but there is no proof that our elections are marred by in-person voter fraud. >> many people say, though, we have to have a driver's license to have so many things in our lives, why not to vote? >> you're only coming up with a mechanism that makes it more difficult for people to exercise what is the most fundamental of american rights, and that is the right to vote.

>> reporter: next up, the tough new photo i.d. law approved by voters in mississippi last fall, now on hold, awaiting approval. pete williams, nbc news, at the justice department. now to the weather, making news again today. if you were out and about today in the plains, nebraska, kansas, then you know it felt like a june afternoon. new record high temperatures for this date set in omaha, topeka, unseasonably warm temperatures across the midwest, all the way to the east, even burlington, vermont, hit a record high 67 today. tomorrow might be a good day to skip work or school. almost everywhere from the plains to the eastern seaboard, it's going to be more like summer than late winter. we're not expecting high productivity here in new york to be honest. a big day on wall street today. stocks soared as jpmorgan chase announced its raising its dividend. dow was up almost 218 points, now 1,000 points from its all-time high.

nasdaq closed above 3,000 for the first time since the year 2000. and the s&p 500 hit a new recovery high, five points from the 1,400 mark. still ahead, as "nightly news" continues, more on our top story tonight. the american soldier who snapped in afghanistan. tonight, his military base here in the u.s. has had its share of trouble and tragedy. and later, on making a difference, a woman who just celebrated her 100th birthday has no plans to stop doing what she does so well. emily's just starting out... and on a budget.

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the murders in afghanistan this week are putting a spotlight on the military base the suspect calls home, the base at fort lewis in washington state. the still unied iftied army sergeant has a wife and two children who are on base tonight, brought there for their own protection. our report from nbc's miguel miguel almaguer. >> reporter: the base also a troubled past. this is where the d.c. sniper who murdered ten in 2002 was once stationed. four soldiers convicted in the

2010 murders of three afghan civilians were also based a lewis-mcchord and the 29-year-old iraq veteran alleged to kill a park ranger on new year's day also called this base home. one soldier says multiple employments are taking a toll. >> i don't think they were ready for ten years in war. >> reporter: last year, 12 soldiers here took their own lives. army ranger jared haigman, a married father of two killed himself before his eighth deployment to a war zone. >> it hurts to know that it didn't have to happen, that if people would have listened he would still be here. >> reporter: the military launched its own investigation into lewis-mcchord's health care system after nearly 3 million soldiers had their ptsd diagnoses reversed. the military declined to comment

on individual cases but released this statement -- soldiers expect and deserve the best possible care and our priority is to make sure all soldiers are getting a fair clinical assess. and diagnosis. the latest shooting suspect was also based at lewis-mcchord. he has not been identified. medal of honor recipient and military analyst jack jacobs on msnbc. >> this guy himself was living with a bunch of other soldiers 24 hours a day and i remain to be convinced that somebody there doesn't know that something was wrong. >> reporter: the base that supports thousands of troops on the frontlines is tonight accused of letting down those same soldiers when they return home. miguel almaguer, nbc news, fort lewis, washington. up next, it's stop the presses tonight for a name so many american families grew up with. and the story behind the pictures, the mishap at a major american airport today. when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we were determined to see it through. here's an update on the progress.

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finally here tonight, when you consider that stat that half of all new teachers leave their job after five years, tonight's story about a very special teacher in chicago is all the more remarkable. she started teaching in 1935. she is still going strong. our education correspondent rehema ellis has our "making a difference" report. >> olivia is celebrating a couple of milestones. she turned 100 years and may be the oldest teacher in the nation, still in the classroom and loving every minute. >> yes, my son drives me crazy. he says now, come on mom, when are you going to stop? >> mrs. newbauer found her calling 80 years ago.

she taught dance to neighborhood kids. she went on to be a phy ed teacher. after taking ten years off to raise her own chirp, she realized she missed teaching. she's taught kindergarten and reading ever since. >> reading is so important. if they can't read, they can't really do anything. >> reporter: and while much has changed with computers now in school, mrs. newbauer still teaches the old fashioned way, one-on-one. with remarkable results. >> our kindergarteners are reading by christmas. >> thank you, mrs. neubauer for being such an awesome teacher. i wouldn't be where i am without

you. >> reporter: at her church this week, her community stood up to applaud her. >> i enjoyed it so much, it just sticks with me. >> reporter: even at 100 years old, olivia neubauer still sees a future in teaching. great story. we need more girl: i want to tell you about my friend. his name is ben. ben learned about a homeless boy who had an infected tooth, and the boy died. that made ben really sad. he wrote a law so every kid can see a dentist. we have special dental van that goes from school to school. he even helps make sure we learn how to brush our teeth.