on the broadcast tonight, refund ripoff, sounding the alarm about a growing epidemic, identity theft. and tonight why a lot of americans filing their taxes might be in for a huge surprise. the scandal at the u.s. secret service. new calls for answers about what happened on the road in colombia. we'll hear fm a former director of the agency. the incredible sight in the skies over washington today. a final mission low and slow on its way into retirement. and bird's-eye view. the first of its kind, how they're counting every emperor penguin in antarctica from way up above. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening, because this year's april 15th tax deadline has been pushed to today, a lot americans are working right up until tonight on getting their taxes in, and this year more than any time before, there are thousands americans who will submit their returns tonight and then wonder where their refund is, and when they inquire about it, they'll be told it went out long ago. the problem is, they won't have received it, someone else will because of identity theft. it's tax fraud plain and simple, and this is the time of year when it hits home. our justice correspondent pete williams is the at the irs tonight to start us off. pete, good evening. >> reporter: brian this is now the fastest growing tax fraud out there, someone steals your identity, gets your social security number, claims to be you, and then files for a tax

refund in your name, greatly complicating your ability to get the money you have legitimately coming. the latest to be charged with running this booming kind of scam is a russian national from brooklyn, charged with setting up a phony website, promising to help people find jobs. all it really did was steal the identities of people who turned to it for help. >> what is particularly sad about this instance is the individual's focus on the unemployed, the low income, the people who were looking to better themselves and taking advantage of them. >> reporter: prosecutors say he pocketed neer eed nearly half a dollars in tax refund money. two years ago 250,000 were caught. now it's over 261,000. the irs stopped phony claims for $1.4 billion in refunds.

it happened to bart cohen, he expected a $4,000 refund but when he filed his taxes, the irs told him, somebody else beat him to it. >> it's just a huge nightmare that you can't believe that's happening. >> it took months to straighten out, he only recently got his refund, the one due last year. the irs says it's assigned hundreds more staff to help detect fraud, looking for mismatches with with family and address data from past filings. but a deputy irs commissioner says it's hard to spot the phonies, especially with pressure to get refunds sent quickly. >> millions of taxpayers move every year. millions of taxpayers have children, millions of taxpayers change jobs, so we have to go through the process of validating, are you really who you say you are? >> reporter: how to protect yourself, number one say the experts, safeguard your social security number, often the key to identity theft. don't use it as a password or enter it on a website.

the irs will never ask for personal information in an e-mail. something to think about for next year, file your tax return early so you get your refund before somebody else does. >> pete williams at the irs to start us off tonight. thanks. on capitol hill today, a second day of congressional hearings on the lavish spending on trips by employees of the federal general services administration, the gsa, all of it right now being exposed. the executive at the center of if all, did not show up today, but the sags's inspector general told lawmakers, he couldn't believe what he found when he started investigating this. our report tonight from nbc's lisa myers. >> reporter: the has been at the center of the scandal, jeff neeley did not show up on capitol hill today. >> i have no comment. >> i guess the only way we'll get to see him is on a video in the hot tub. >> this is neeley relaxing in

the tub, and enjoying some wine on a scoutingi intrip to the la vegas resort that cost taxpayers almost a million dollars. he's facing a criminal investigation and has invoked his right to remain silent. there are more questions about his travels. two months ago he took a 17-day junket to the pacific. and in an e-mail to his wife said, guess this will be your birthday present. last month, he was part of an executive team meeting in napa, california. cost the taxpayers $40,000. >> you have to go to the wine region. >> reporter: the inspector general whose report triggered this scandal, suggests abuses at gsa are pervasive. >> we turned over every stone and every time we turned over a stone, we found 50 more, with all kinds of things crawling out from under it. >> i can't understand why taxpayers are still paying the salary of jeffrey neeley, who

approved this $800,000 bender while my constituents are straug struggling to make ends meet. >> reporter: workers are urged to report misuse of taxpayer dollars. invet gators want to know why after top gsa officials were alerted to the las vegas boone dog el, they allowed neeley to keep traveling, at taxpayer's expense. now to the prostitution scandal involving agents and officers of the united states secret service and members of the u.s. military. tonight there are growing calls for answers in washington, as the white house is defending the secret service director. we're also hearing from a former director of the secret service about the dark cloud that now hangs over the agency. for more, we go to our white house correspondent kristen welker tonight, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. tonight we're learning that at

least ten military personnel are under investigation from all four branches, the army, navy, air force and marines. we're also learning this alleged incident happened 12 hours after the president's advance team arrived in colombia. it's a scandal that flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that discipline and order define the agency charged with protecting the president. key what you makers defended the initial response by secret service director mark sullivan. >> the president has confidence in the director of the secret service, director sullivan acted quickly in response to this incident and is overseeing an investigation as we speak. >> i've known mark sullivan, very a great regard for him. from what we know so far, he acted quickly, promptly and did the right thing. >> reporter: but official washington is demanding quick answers from sullivan, who has been briefing members of

congress about the incident secret service agents brought prostitutes back to their hotel rooms last week. >> there were 20 to 21 women signed in to the hotel. >> reporter: michael isikoff confirms the women were working at this cartagena bar, where witnesses said the men were drinking and partying. >> it's so hard for me to believe that this was the first time an incident like this occurred, because too many people were involved. for 11 or 12 secret service personnel to be involved raises a huge red flag. >> it's not the first time a flag has been raised. in 2009 the secret service came under scrutiny when a reality tv couple entered a state dinner without an invitation. >> this is about the reputation an organization that goes back to 1865, and a proud tradition

of quiet professionals. >> reporter: but brian stafford, a former director and veteran of more than 30 years with the service says these incidents are isolated, and the agency is still as sound as its historic reputation. >> the vast majority our people, again, are dedicated, shard working professionals. and it doesn't look anything like what we've seen on the news for the last few days. >> reporter: prostitution is legal in parts of colombia, but the police and the u.s. embassy became aware of this situation when two secret service personnel had a dispute over paying one of the prostitutes. >> kristen welker at the white house for us tonight. kristen, thanks. there was something special in the skies today from florida north to washington along the east coast. it stopped traffic and it brought people out their homes and offices. it was a final farewell for the space shuttle "discovery," latched to the top of a 747,

flying around as if to waive good-bye on its way to retirement at the smithsonian. turns out "discovery" had one more mission left in it, as nbc's anne thompson reports. >> reporter: "discovery's" sentimental journey to washington began early this morning, taking off from florida's kennedy space center on the back of a 747. flying over its launch pads and beaches where generations watched its liftoffs starting in 1984. >> the first flight of the orbiter "discovery." >> reporter: "discovery" orbited the earth 5,830 times, logging more than 148 million miles. jay barberie has covered every manned space mission for nbc news. >> this is the biggest foundation of knowledge that we have built. we're 50 years ahead where we would have been had we not a space program. >> reporter: "discovery's"

career marked with historic moments. eileen collins flew "discovery." john glenn the former astronaut and senator, the oldest person to fly in space did so on "discovery." it helped build the international space station and deployed the hubble telescope. and in times of tragedy, after the disasters of the challenger and columbia, "discovery" led america back into space. it was fitting today that "discovery's" victory lap brought together christa mcauliffe's belief that space is for everybody. >> is that the coolest thing you've ever seen? yeah. >> ever? >> yeah. >> reporter: people looked up in awe as "discovery" flew by the monument, the capitol and the white house. a sight so spectacular it stopped traffic on the ground. drew teachers and students out of classrooms, even pilots in the air wanted to see.

>> a 747 with a shuttle on the back is landing -- he's about 15 miles out now from the smithsonian. >> reporter: "discovery" landed for the final time at dulles airport, a bittersweet moment for janet cavandi. >> we wanted it to fly for a long time before it touched down. >> reporter: now "discovery" will have an earthbound role, to inspire a new generation of americans for the exciting adventure of space. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. berkshire hajjaway's ceo, warren buffett said today he has stage one prostate cancer, was diagnoses last week after an elevated psa reading. in a note to his shareholders, the 81-year-old buffet said his condition is not remotely life threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way. he told becky quick of cnbc that after consulting with his doctors about his travel

schedule, they agreed it would be okay for him to hold off radiation treatments until about mid july. still ahead as we continue along the way tonight, the strong quake that rocked a southern california hospital today. none it was the making of nature we should add. but the next one might be the real thing. and later, the incredible view from space. counting every emperor penguin on the bottom of the earth from way up high. when we got married. i had three kids. and she became the full time mother of three.

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the bodies an american couple from minnesota who died when the costa concordia cruise ship ran aground back in january, they've finally been identified weeks after they were found in the wreckage. barbara and gerrald were 69 and 70 years old and told family the cruise was their dream vacation. one passenger and one crew member have still not yet been found. a total of 32 people died in that accident just offshore. in southern california today, in earthquake country, scientists set off a couple big ones of their own, using a simulator, in a five story building constructed just for the purpose of seeing how buildings and their contents react when the ground beneath starts to shake. >> reporter: one of the most powerful earthquakes ever reported, chile's 8.8 quake in 2010. one of the costliest california's 6.7 north ridge

quake in 1994, the damage in the billions, critical infrastructure leveled in seconds. today in san diego, the force of both earthquakes replicated here, a moving plate that fits beneath this specially constructed five story test building. >> we're trying to learn how earthquakes affect buildings. we're trying to design buildings that have a behavior that we can expect. >> reporter: the 1.4 million pound lab took a year to build, is outfitted with 70 cameras and sensors. the goal to design buildings that will survive major earthquakes. scientists hope to reenact about a dozen earthquakes in the coming weeks. each one teaching them about protecting schools, homes and saving lives. >> the entire country needs to be concerned about the

possibility of a significant seismic effect. >> reporter: today's focus protecting hospital that is have been devastated in the past. the top two floors of this building, a makeshift emergency room. >> hospitals need to remain functioning after an earthquake, because they're the lifeline support of a community. >> reporter: scientists say it will take months to analyze the data generated today, but what they learn here in california's earthquake country could one day protect people everywhere. when we come back here tonight, the big break that nobody was hoping for. i remember the days before copd. 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...

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earth, it's not expected to disrupt anything here, unlike some recent eruptions. we've been reporting how bright venus is in the night sky. venus' brightness is enough to fool a professional, especially when he's fatigued. the first officer of an air canada wide bodied jet flying from toronto to zurich last january had just atwak awakeneda long cockpit nap. he thought venus was an oncoming plane. the first officer later complained he wasn't sleeping enough at home because he's the father young kids. the alabama crimson tide were almost unbeatable on their way to the championship. a's player's father accidentally broke the $30,000 water forward

crystal trophy, when he tripped on the carpet, fell into the trophy table. the father feels awful about it. but they have ordered a new one from the folks atwater forward. u.s. army specialist lesley sabo, jr. will posthumously receive the medal of honor for his actions in war back in 1970. he picked up a grenade, shielded his soldiers from it, before getting killed boy a second grenade he threw. his own father died seven years after his son without knowing about his own son's actions. president obama will award the medal of honor to sabo's widow at a ceremony on may 16th.

a stash of giant fossilized dinosaur eggs, they're calling this find sensational saying eggs this size have never been found before. we're going to be hearing, however, a lot more talk about this. there's good reason for the skeptici skepticism. paleontologists say there's no way the round formations are eggs, that they are way too large even for any known dinosaur. when we come back here tonight, the remarkable new way they are counting the march of the penguins. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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finally tonight, they've been trying for years to get an accurate count of the number emperor penguins marching across antarctica. in lay terms, that's easier said than done because there are a lot of them. scientists say they have done it, from hundreds of miles across the earth. tonight michelle leroux describes how they accomplished the penguin census focused on the bottom of the world. >> reporter: antarctica is a

harsh climate, where these penguins are located you can't get to them. by having these satellite images, we can get a remote view that is not accessible any other way. there are 46 colonies of penguins in antarctica. we found 595,000 penguins in antarctica. that's not to say the population doubled, we just know more about the population, and we know there are double what we previous when i thought. for scientists to be able to make this kind of discovery is awesome. the reason it's important to understand how many emperor penguins there are, we're able to see how their populations will change in the future, particularly with sea ice loss. emperor penguins are the canary in the coal mine afar as the ecosystem goes.

they're related to the king penguin, emperor penguins can't be found anywhere else other than ability arctic ka. i guess that's why it's so important to understand their population, because if sea ice starts to be lost more and more around antarctica, there's nowhere else they can go. >> that's our tuesday broad cat,