on inbroadcast tonight, new fall mp out from the secret service scandal. agents are ousted. it could be just the beginning. the mystery. when this little boy disipeered, it changed everything in the country. tonight, a new search is under way based on a tip in this infamous cold case. fight of her life. one of the greatest of all time makes a decision, marking the end of an incredible era. and sea of life. could a key to beating cancer be hiding just beneath the surface? "nightly news" begins now. good evening. it is a scandal big enough and troubling enough to have at least temporarily tarnished the

good name of the united states secret service. the men and women who have protected our presidents dating back to the several war era. while their work goes on quietly, the way it always has while secret sufrbts agents are on the job around the world and at the president's side at this moment, this scandal involving prostitutes in a foreign country and a security team that was there to clear the way for the visiting american president has already claimed victims and it's still early yet. we learn still more details today. we begin again tonight with white house correspondent kristen welker to cover eed the president's trip to colombia. kristen, good evening. >> we learned three secret service personnel are ousted, and sources on capitol hill tell us they're expektding more departures, possibly by the end of the week. as the inquiry widens in cartagena, nbc news has learned that investigators have finished

interviewing the housekeeper and staff at hotel caribe where 20 secret service and military personnel partied with prostitutes. representative peter king is being briefed regularlioon the investigation. >> right now, they're trying to locate the 11 wim. they have names, addresses, faces. >> mart potter is in cartagena. >> not only are investigators looking for the women involved, but so are journalists. we interviewed a cab driver who said he was called to the hotel last week to pick up two women. he said one of the women told him she had sex with a man who said he was a member of president obama's security detail. >> the "new york times" said it interviewed that woman. nbc news has not independently confirmed the aeblth, but in the story, the woman claimed she spent the night with a man she later learned was an agent, after agreeing to "a" an 800 escort fee, the next morning, he offered her only $30.

on the hill, lawmakers continues to express outrage. >> it's a stunning thing, actually disgusting. >> they go to colombia and have a fight with a proustitute over how much she should be paid, that's stupid or a total lack of common sense. >> senator jeff sessions questioned the president's manageme management capabilities. >> the presidents are to be held responsibility. >> that sounds very much like a lawmaker attempts to politicize something that is not at all political. >> the white house press secretary was again bombarded with questions about the scandal today but continued to stand by the agency's director, mark sullivan. now, jay carney reiterated that the president has complete faith in the director. it's worth noting that sullivan was appointed by george w. bush in 2006 and he's earned some of the agency's highest awards, but this moment, undoubtedly, one of

his biggest challenges. >> kristen welker again tonight from the white house lawn. kristen, thank you. now to the case of a missing child that changes everything when it burst into the news. his name was aton patz. he was 6 years old when he disappeared in 1979. as one writer said today, quote, it made a generation of parents afraid to send their children out alone. and suddenly today, we got word fbi agents were digging around in a nyc building. ron, good evening. >> good evening to you, brian. it's been a remarkable scene down here, almost as if the crime just happened. dozens of fbi investigators and new york investigators as well on the street where etan vanished so long ago. teams of forensic experts

converged where 30 years ago, it was a workshop and storage area. reviving a mystery that consumed new york and a nation, looking for any sign of etan patz. >> he disappeared in 1979. at this point, we're still optimistic, we can bring closure to the investigation. >> etan was 6 when he left home one morning alone, on a two-block walk to catch a school bus. his parents have been searching for their son ever since. >> it just overwhelms you and you think you're going to fall to pieces. >> that question, that big unknown, will be ever see him again, constantly troubles me. i doubt a day goes by when i don't ask myself the question of what happened to my son? >> the search went worldwide. he was among the first missing children to be featured on a milk carton. president reagan declared the day he went missing, may 25th, national missing children day.

>> i remember that day so clearly. >> judy's daughter was 7 then and caught the bus with etan in this big city neighborhood with a small town feel. >> everybody in the neighborhood with kids after that day, no more walking to the bus stop alone. that was it. >> two years ago, the district attorney visiting the case. a search dog recently dedected a human scent in the building being searched today. police sources also say a local handyman recently had been questioned in the case, while people here hope there's finally some resolution for a family that still lives in the neighborhood. >> to be taken and grabbed and not know what happened is painful and my heart goes out to hem. >> investigators say they're ripping out sheetrock walls that were not there when the crime happened so long ago. they're also digging up a cement floor and going to do excavation work. that's an operation that could take several days. etan would have been 40 this

upcoming october. >> hard to believe. ron allen on one of the enduring mysteries in new york in recent times. >> what happened in the skies over the gulf of mexico today reminds a lot of people when the jet carrying the golfer payne stewart crashed after those onboard lost consciousness when the plane lot pressure. a cessna believed to just have a pilot on board, and look at the pattern it flew, around and around in circles before running out of fuel. the pilot never responded to attempts to raise him by radio. >> there's another scare today with a wide body to l.a. it suffers an engine strike after takeoff. it was able to circle back to jfk without incident. >> sadly there is new evidence that we just can't afford to think of measles as a vanquished disease that we don't have to worry about it anymore. in fact, the cdc said today last year was the worst year for

measles outbreaks in the last 15 years in our country. our chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman, is with us tonight from london, heathrow airport. nancy, good evening. >> good evening, brian. tomorrow, the runway behind me will come alive as 195,000 people board planes and leave heathrow. many of them carrying the threat of measles. over a decade ago, u.s. health officials believe measles would be eradicated. but today's report by the centers for disease control was sobering. not only are measles back in the country, but the members are growing. >> they're being reported as well as the threat of there being many outbreaks. it's still a real and present danger. >> the cdc report shows that in 2001 to 2010, an average of 60 measles cases and four outbreaks were reported. last year that number jumped to 222 cases and 17 outbreaks.

measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus. the symptoms include fever, runny nose, cough, and a rash all over the body. the main culprit for the uptick, global travel. as the world gets smaller, the threat of contagious gets much larger. more than 90% of americans who caught the virus last year were infected by people who traveled to other countries. almost half from europe. 75% of those infected had not been vaccinated. experts say the growing number of parents reluctant to immunize their children are putting them in harm's way. >> it should not dissuade parents from having their healthy kids inuneized. >> an outbreak at the super bowl took experts by surprise. 13 cases have been traced to the game. with the olympics coming this

summer and thousands of people converging on the city, experts expect to have quite a challenge on their hands. children need to be inuneized, and adults, too, need boosters later in life. nlsh you're absolutely sure you had measles as a child, play it safe and get your shot. >> nancy snyderman in london for us. nancy, thank you. now we turn to domestic presidential politics. our first nbc news/wall street journal poll since mitt romney became the presumptive republican nominee. chuck todd with us from the d.c. newsroom with new numbers tonight. good evening. >> the starting gun of the general election truly went off in the last two weeks and it's clear from the results of the new poll, although the president is ahead, mitt romney is in a strong position to make this a very close election. thanks to large leads among women, hispanics, and even nments, the president begins

with a 49%/43% advantage over presumptive nominee mitt romney, but it's a six-point margin that is by no means insurmountable. the good news for obama is how his numbers stan today. this 49/46 job rating is almost identical to where george bush was in 2004. it's much better than the last president to lose re-election, george h.w. bush in 1992. and he was viewed at more likable than romney and the candidate more in touch with the middle class. romney is mentioning it in speeches. >> even if you like barack obama, we can't afford barack obama. it's time to get something to get the economy going and put people back to work with good jobs and rising incomes. >> there's a reason romney wants to focus on obama's policies and not his personal.

by a 40/34 margin, he's viewed to have good ideas and more likely to change business at usual in washington. the big debate is going to be on economic flaulacy. we tested the arguments both candidates have been making. >> i have said it before and i'll say it again, there has to be some balance. all of us have to do our fair share. >> 76% said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate advocating that. >> i want to restore to america the values of economic freedom and opportunity and small government that have made this nation the leader it is. >> 64% said that message would make them more likely to support that candidate. >> all right, well, as an obama and romney duke it out, both will have spouses to lean on who are more popular than they are. michelle obama was the most popular in the poll, and ann

romney is viewed positively in her debut in the poll. >> thanks. still ahead as we continue along the way tonight, a huge landmark in the world of sports, reacting tonight to one woman's choice to focus on the fight of her life ahead of her. and later, from breast cancer to alzheimer's, parkinson's to lupus, are there effective medical treatments hiding just beneath the surface? ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about market volatility. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 in times like these, it can be tough to know which ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 way the wind is blowing. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we're ready with objective insights about ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 the present market and economic conditions. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 and can help turn those insights into ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 a plan of action that's right for you. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 so don't let the current situation take you off course. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 talk to chuck. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice.

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legendary college basketball coach pat summitt formerly turned his whistle over to her longtime assistant today. as we told you last night, summitt is sfeping aside as the head coach of the lady vols of tennessee after an unparalleled

career. and she will be honored with the presidential medal of freedom, the highest honor for her inspiring work as a coach and an advocate for a cure for always mi hiem hiemers. our report from lisa myers. >> it's never a good time, but you have to find the time that you think is the right time and that is now. >> with humor and grace, the winningest coach in college basketball, womens or mens, stepped aside after 38 spectacular years. >> it was really a great ride for me. it has been a privilege to make an impact on the lives of 161 women who have worn the orange. >> she grew up on a dairy farm and turned hard work, a ferocious competitiveness, and that trademark stare into eight national championships and 1,098 career victories. >> the way she coached the team,

the way she conducts herself, the way she did things, i think it transcends that gender. >> someone larger than just women's basketball or sport. she's known for integrity, compassion, doing the right thing. every player with her for four years graduated with a college degree. ashley robinson is now playing professional basketball. >> the motherly side, the lady that gives you advice on men, on the pros, on just life in general, that's pat summitt to me. >> last august, at age 59, summitt revealed her latest opponent. >> the doctors at the mayo clinic diagnosed me with an early onset dementia. il alzheimer's type. >> some urged her to retire and disappear from public view to preserve her image as the disease progresses, but she was on the bench all season coaching and vows to stay active as coach emeritus and with her foundation

to fight alzheimer's. >> i made a choice early in my career to challenge my self, to step up my game each and every game. >> what makes her distinctive is her lack of fear. she's not afraid of any of those things. >> even today, her focus was on others. >> you know what, it was a good day. it was a good day. i assured the players that i would be here, and i'd go with hem and, you know, stay with them. >> she gave her whistle to tenness tennessee's new coach. and later went to practice. once again, leading by example. >> hopefully we can, you know, have a good fight. and that's exactly what i want to do. >> lisa myers, nbc news, washington. and we're back in a moment with the loss today of an american music legend. this is $100,000.

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>> livan helm has died. he played in a band called the band, he played the drums, but mostly anything. with songs like the wait, up on cripple creek, and the night they drove aold dixie down. the son of old scratch arkansas, he was good at a lot of things, including acting. he played a narrator in the "right stuff" who always seemed to have a stick of chewing gum for her partner, and also did a stint at loretta lynn's father in "coalminor's daughter." he bravely battled throat cancer and toured to the very end. he was 71 years old. stanley resor died.

he was secretary of the army for six years at the height of the vietnam war. he joined the army. in world war ii, he saw heavy combat in the battle of the bulge, earning him a purple art and braunlz and silver stars. he was an arms negotiator and ambassador. he was 94. >> and quite a visual moment yesterday in dearborn, michigan, at the henry ford museum. president obama sat in the same bus from montgomery, alabama, where rosa parks refused to give up her speak. he was there for a fund-raiser. after that, he spoke of parks' courage and tenacity. >> when we come back, how saving some of the most beautiful sights on earth may hold the key to saving human lives. for my type 2 diabetes. me... thinking my only option was the vial and syringe dad used.

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our chief foreign environmental affairs correspondent anne thompson has our report from key west, florida. >> the kaleidoscope of light in the coral reef under the turquoise water of the florida keys is a magnet for tourists. does all of this help you preserve the reef? >> i think ultimately it does, people become advocates for the reef. >> the nature conservancy's stephanie reed things this could help. it may help people, too. >> what we're doing is taking advantage of the chemistry and turning the chemicals into drugs to save lives. >> scientists thing the reefs could yield new therapies for alzheimer's disease, parkinson's and lupus. l because of the success they'll had for drugs to beat cancer. this woman had help from a chemotherapy drug originally

derived from a sea sponge. without it, she said she could have died at age 26. did you ever mage what could make you better would come from the sea? >> not at all. i spent most of my life swiving in the ocean, but i didn't aseem it would have anything to do with my cancer. >> without the reef and doing that conservation, we have no starting point. >> dr. edwards developed new drugs at esan, a drug that produced a drug for cancer. >> in order to make this drug by synthesis, we would require over 60 steps. the typical drug is about ten steps or less. >> scientists need just a small sample from the reef to unlock the history, but they do need the reefs. >> it's like the new york city of the ocean, where everything is happenish, lussal, bustle, neon lights. >> it could make a big krbtion

for the oceans and mankind. >> that's our broadcast on a thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams, and of course, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.