on the broadcast tonight, under fire under the national outrage over trayvon martin's death, the police chief steps aside. and tonight, new questions and serious questions about the controversial self defense laws across this country. the fallout for one of the biggest names in breast cancer charities and the women who may pay the price. and whitney houston, tonight, the cause of death has been revealed. "nightly news" begins right now. good evening. we have all watched it happen just as we have covered it here every night. the crush of national media attention, the arrival of the

febs on the case of a teenage boy shot and killed outside the florida home he was viszting by an apparently overzealous neighborhood watch volunteer with a gun. tonight, the police chief who has been under relentless fire for not arrested the man has stepped aside. for those who have descended on sanford florida and those watching across the country, it amounted to progress in the case today. it's where we begin again tonight with nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: late today, chief bill lee under enormous pressureering told reporters he's stepping aside. >> it's apparent that my involvement in the matter is overshadowing the process. >> reporter: he's been chief just ten months, brought in to clean up after the beating of a homeless black man by an officer pfsz son was caught on tape. since the killing of tre'von martb, lee has defended the decision not to arrest zimmerman, who admits to pulling the trigger. >> mr. zimmerman admits to self

defense. until we can establish probable cause to dispute that, we don't have the knroundz to arrest him. >> today, martin's parents say they want the killer arrested, notgist the cheap stepping down. >> the temporary step down of bill lee is nothing we want. we want the arrest, conviction and sentence for the murder of our son. >> tension remains high with mostly black residence voicing allegations of police abuse. >> now that the chief has stepped down, it's the police department admitting it has a problem. that's going to prompt a lot of people to want to see a deeper probe. >> reporter: to the manager, new on the job and a father himself. >> what do you think this has done to the community? >> it's bib devastating for the community, devastating for how we view ourselves and how the world sees sanford. >> the justice for trayvon martin's family echoes everywhe

everywhere. at a miami high school, hundreds of students walked out of class. in atlanta, hundreds oof people board eed buses heading for her. they insist this is just the beginning. >> it's a temporary relief, but we need a permanent relief. i still say we need an arrest. >> reporter: tonight, there are thousands of people here gathered to support the family and demand justice for trayvon martin and his family. the family today had their first opportunity to meet with investigators from the u.s. department of justice in washington who are here looking into whether this can become a civil right case. and george itzimmerman remains hiding, but he won't be returning to the community college where he's taking classes. they asked him, please don't come back until this controversy is over. >> the controversy over the trayvon martin shooting has focused new attention oba florida law called "stand your

ground." nearly half of the states in the country have similar laws of their own on the books. tonight, some of them are getting a closer look. our report from our justice correspondent, pete williams. >> reporter: the florida law at the center of a civil rights tempest was born in the after' math of a hurricane, after ivan in 2004, a pensacola man who shot a looter at his house, waited months before learning high wouldn't be prosecute said. nat prompted the ledgislature that allowed florida the first to allow homeowners to use deadly force. it was extend ed anywhere a person has the rights to be. one of the spaunonsors said it never meant to apply to someone who chases someone else. >> i don't want to make the mistake of removing protections for law abiding citizens, that we will stand by them and protect them.

>> people can use deadly force if they reasonably fear for their safety. it does away with the usual rule that people who are threatened have a duty to retreat if they can, and florida's law goes one step further, allowing deadly force to stop a serious crime including robbery or burglary of anyone's property. >> the common law allowed you to use force to defend yourself or your home. it's called the "stand your ground" law but it's really stand someone else's ground law. >> 19 other states have similar laws, allowing the use of deadly force outside a home of business. they encourage violent behavior. >> based on fear and paranoia and the idea of shoot first and ask question later, and vigilantes protecting themsel s themselves, and this is a law that encourages that. >> now they're inspecting the law. pete williams, nbc news,

washington. >> we mentioned this at the top of the broadcast, after weeks of speculati speculation, tonight, we learned what killed whitney houston. the cause was accidental drowning complicating by cocaine and heart disease. there were other drugs found in the system including xanax, marijuana, benadryl, and other, but they didn't contribute to our death. we have reached our chief medical expert by phone tonight. nancy, i heard the medical examiner quoted as saying, she had a heart ataturk aggravated by cocaine while in the bathtub, plain and simple. >> this is a classic examiple o the pain of addition, and you don't have to have one massive drug in your system. she really has a cumulative issue. underlying heart disease, most probably from cigarette smoking and smoking marijuana, and then the lethal combination of

alcohol, xanax, ben drl, all depressants, and all of those things together when you slip into a hot bathtub, can be enough to slide under the water, and then drown. so the coroner is causing the cause of death accidental drowning, but when you decrease the respiratory rate with all of those medications, it really is one problem precipitating the other. and the real concern here is obviously, as an addict, as someone who was treated before for an addiction, there are doctors, family, friends, who could have helped deny access to the medications. but what concerns me is that this is the new face of drug addiction and death caused by a lethal cocktail. and in most cases like this, obviously, heart breaking and preventable. >> nancy, thank you. dr. nancy snyderman on this coroner's report just out in l.a.

a violent end to a story we told you about. a tengs standoff between french police and the alleged gunman in three fatal shootings. after being corners for 32 hours, french officials say the suspect came out with guns blazing as police stormed the apartment. he jumped from a window, landing on the ground, still firing until he was shot dead by police. three plofrszs were hurt in the exchange. the 23-year-old al qaeda militant died as they claim he wanted to, with a gun in his hands. now to the pollaauolitics o women's health. the largest women's breast cancer charity remains in kroenchs after a controversial decision to cut off funding to planned parenthood. donations to the susan g. komen charity are down. >> the organization known for

its iconic pink ribbon is taking a hit where it hurts. as raszs for the cure around the country. in southwest florida, donations down almost 30%. lafayette, louisiana, down 27%. ft. worth, texas, race registration down 40%. >> we do recognize that people are upset with komen right now. even on a local level. >> the biggest affiliate, new york city, just canceled its annual gala. the cause, a spokesman says, we're not certain about our ability to fundraise in the near future. eve ellis, a former new york board member whose family has raised or donated about $250,000, says she's closed her check book. >> i stopped giving to komen because it no longer represents who i thought komen was. and that to me is extremely sad. >> komen's hierarchy is in turmoil. today, the chairman of the board

stepped down and was replaszed by a previous chairman who is close to the founder and ceo nancy brinkman. three ceos have stepped down. they oppose to the withdrawaling funding to planned parenthood. >> we let you down. for that, i'm profoundly sorry. >> there are growing demands for komen to clean house. >> brinker needs to resign and the board needs to be replaced. >> they ocknowledges these are difficult times but the board said they have complete confidence in brinker and fewer donations will mean less money to help women who can't afford mammograms or cancer treatment. today, this maryland hospital provided mammograms for low income women thanks to money from komen. >> this year, we'll do an additional 600 mammograms.

>> because of the komen money? >> because of the komen money. >> ultimately, they saved my life. >>rox an mar detinez was pregna and then lost her job. she said money from komen helped pay for chemotherapy, medicine, and insurance premiums. >> knowing what i have been through, i know that the women's lines are on the line here. >> martinez says she'll run at least three rashs this year and urged friends to forgive komen's mistakes. lisa myers, nbc news, washington. >> there's a staggering new number out tonight from the federal government. student loan dent in the country has reached $1 trillion. that's a record. it's also more than americans owe on credit cards. and the implications here, like the numbers, are enormous. our report from our chief education respondent, rehema ellis. >> maria recently got a masters in education to improve her job

prospects, but at 31, married with one child and another on the way, she said the cost of her degree is a burden. >> it's a terrible way to start a marriage with someone, to have those extra stresses on you. >> with $50,000 in student loans, a stack of other bills, and a teacher's salary of $35,000, she said she barely makes ends meet. >> it's scary. >> two thirds of the class of 2010 graduating lowing an average of $25,000 in student loans. more than a quarter of those students are behind on their payments where. >> my credit was shot because of defaulting on payments and defehring loans. >> the cost of a public school education is nearly $21,000 a year. private college, $36,000. unlike other debt that can be forgiven in bankruptcy, student loans for the most part, cannot. that in fact, not just the borrower, but the national as well.

>> if you could discharge the student loan, you could rebuild your credit and get back to someone who does buy a house, that helps the housing economy. >> experts say there are ways to manage the debt. talk with your lenders. work out a repayment plan that fits your budget. >> if your dent to income ratio is a certain percentage, your payments can be as little as $45 or $15 or zero. >> she's paying interest only. >> that's the scary thing. we're just buying time, but we're prolonging the inevitable that you have to pay it. >> a lesson she hopes her children will learn before they're old enough to go to college. >> what do you want to draw a picture of? >> rehema ellis, nbc news wroorb. a lot more to tell you about as we continue, including love and marriage and new stats out bringing a fascinating snap shot of american life wroorb. >> and a symbol of the american west returns. a day that has been years in the making. hlee! ashlee!

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marriage. in the late s, just about 10% of people lived together before tying the not. now, most do. a full 66%. >> we used to have rules against cohabitation, and those seem to be falling away. >> the number of couples engaged when they move in together last longer than those without the commitment, but in any case, staying together is hard to do. >> what a beautiful wedding ring. where's your husband? >> he's not here. >> oh. >> we're actually taking some time apart. >> more than 50% of first marriages now end in divorce before the 20 year mark. valencia married at 22. after 18 years and four children, she and her husband split. >> i think if a woman waits a little longer, she could find a more compatitable partner. >> a college degree increases

chances you'll stay married 20 years or more. ationen asian women stay married the, and if you want to increase your marital bliss, don't want down the aisle with a man who is married or has kids. >> and one more, maybe the biggest cultural change of all. today, nearly 4 of 10 american women have never been married, but jeff and claudia still believe in happily ever after. >> up next, you mieth have seen headlines on the web proclaiming a cure for baldness. tonight, what could be a step toward the holy grail. all right, let's decide what to

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now. nbc news has learned bales will face 17 counts of murder and 6 counts of assault and attempted murder. now that number, 17 counts of murder, means the death toll in this case has been raised by one. the charges are expected to be released tomorrow. and we learned today this country has lost two men who have had a great impact individually on the american morning routine. samuel glazer has tied, but you may know him better as mr. coffee. he was the king of the drip cough ay makers, the co founder of mr. coffee. the choices were percolator or instant, and drip was a game changer. so was their pitchman, joe dimaggio, who took the job because he called and asked him. he was a world war ii vet, he sold dog food before he hit it big.

they sold the company for $82 million a few years back. and murray lender has tied. lender as in lender's bagels. the son of polish immigrants who started a family bakery, they were the first to sell prepa prepackaged bagels and then frozen bagels who brought the product to americans who never would have encountered them. he was 81 years old sgloorb it's always been believed that a baldness cure would be the holy grail of medicine. that so many men would be willing to pay the price, it would make some inventor or company or both very rich. now scientists are reporting a big clue in the terms of bald men and laboratory rice. they have pinpointed a protein that triggers hair loss. for now, good news for male mice with thinning hair. but for humans, this could lead to a cream or medicine to

prevent baldness in the next five years and also how this would apply to women with thinning hair. upthex tonight, the return of an american icon. there he is, poised to discover plum amazins, the amazing alternative to raisins and cranberries with more fiber, less sugar, and a way better glycemic index. he's clearly enjoying one of the planet's most amazing superfruits. hey, keep it down mate, you'll wake the kids. plum amazins. new, from sunsweet.

i get my cancer medications through the mail. now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. the ripple effect is going to be devastating. congress created the problem. and if our legislators get on the ball, they can make the right decisions. is non-stop to seattle? just carry preparation h totables. discreet, little tubes packed with big relief. from the brand doctors recommend most by name. preparation h totables. the anywhere preparation h. the doctor leaned over and said to me, "you just beat the widow-maker." i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now.

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back. the bison, for decades, they were bred with cattle, so pure bison are rare, but now a coalition of viernltalists, native americans, have brought the bison home, but not everyone is happy with that. our report from anne thompson. >> reporter: for the first time in more than a century, a herd of yellowstone bison are home on montana's range. 58 animals, descendants of the millions nearly slaughters to extinction in the late 1800s, now caught between two visions of the west, the endless lanld landscape as it was. the bison arrived this week in the dark, welcomed with a sacred song to the canadian border. for tommy christian, the bison are his heritage. >> how we refer to ourselves as

the buffalo people. >> historically, the bison provided food, clothing, and medicine. today, christian says they offer a cultural connection young members need. >> there's hope they'll understand just because we're different doesn't mean we're wrong. >> these links to the past are very much a threat to the present day people in montana who also make their living off the land. the bison were moved to a larger pasture, but will remain behind a eight-foot fence. that's not enough for rose, who along with her daughter and other ranchers are suing the state to prevent from becoming a wild herd. >> we propose for them to stop calling them wide. >> they will take over everything. >> utenvironmental groups see these bison as a example of

sustainable living. >> what we can do is thoughtfully manage the bison on the landscapes that are suitable for bison. >> making room for bison, cattle, and man on montana's vast landscape. that's our thursday night broadcast. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams, and of course, we hope to see you right y