on the broadcast tonight, the scandal at the u.s. secret service. tonight, is there more? security check. new outrage over airport pat downs and the man who used to run the system now says it's broken. fired for trying to get pregnant. tonight, the teacher versus the catholic school. and up all night. news tonight about how many of us don't get enough sleep and why it matters so much. "nightly news" starts now. good evening. i'm savannah guthrie in tonight for brian. from the moment word broke about misconduct by secret service agents advancing the president's

trip to colombia. some wondered whether it was a one-time incident or part of a larger cultural problem. now, the homeland security secretary said she believed it was an isolated incident. tonight, they're investigating another isolated incident. it's an allegation only, not yet verified, but it growed to the adding headache. kristen welker has the story. >> the white house says despietd the new allegations, the president continues to believe the majority of secret service and military personnel behaved responsibly and professionally. the nagging questions persist in the wake of the cartagena prostitution scandal. lawmakers and the obama administration acknowledge today investigators are looking into new allegations of misconduct by secret service and u.s. military personnel. >> i know the allegations first

broke about two days ago and the secret service is on it immediately. >> according to a television station in seattle, the reported misconduct occurred just before the president's 2011 trip to el salvad salvador. they quote a man who said he joined secret service and military agent at a san salvador strip club. the secret service said it takes issue with some of the report's basic facts but will assess and follow up in a appropriate manner. representative peter king said he was briefed by the agency. >> they have gone through the reports and there's no indication that anything occurred on the trip based on the official records. obviously, they're going to talk to the reporters, talk to anyone involv involved. >> the pentagon declined comment. jay carney skirted most of the questions. >> you're talking about a rumor in a newspaper that as far as i know is not confirmed.

i would refer you to the secret service. >> on tuesday, defense secretary leon punetty traveling in bazille was asked by reporters about an incident last year in which three marines and an embassy staffer were accused of pushing a prostitute out of a car. >> they were reduced in rank and severely punished for that dehave. . >> janet napolitano said she believed the cartagena incident was isolated. >> over the past two and a half years, the secret service office of professional responsibility has not received any such complaint. >> now, all of this made for a rather awkward briefing at the state department where a lot of employees took advantage of bring your kids to work day after introducing the young guests, spokes woman victoriaue a newland was peppered with questions about the prostitution scandal. after trying to keep it g-rated,

she said, parents, you can explain all this later. savannah. >> kristen welker at the white house tonight. thank you wroorb. tonight, as we approach the one-year anniversary of the death of osama bin laden, the federal government is urging local police to be extra vigilant for the next week or so. pete williams in in the washington bureau. >> may 1st is the anniversary, and u.s. intelligence officials said some terror groups vowed to avenge osama bin laden's death, but the fbi and department of homeland security say they have not picked up any sign of a credible threat and no sign of plotting by these groups since bin laden's death to stage attacks here. even so, these officials say terror groups remain committed to attacking the u.s. and there's always a concern that homegrown terrorists could do something on their own, so for now, fbi agents are pulsing their sources and the advice to local police is stay alert. >> always good advice. pete, thanks. still in washington, republicans are turning up the

heat on president obama saying his trip this week to election battleground states pushing to keep student loan rates low is pure politics at the taxpayers' expense because it's one issue the two sides mostly agree about. tomorrow, there's a big vote on the issue on capitol hill, and today, the house speaker criticized the president in remarkably blunt and personal terms. nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins us now. good eefrkening. >> good evening, savannah. you know when the president travels, the price tag is big. his trip this week cost $179,000 an hour for everything that goes with him. the white house says it was official business, and so the government, not the obama campaign, paid for it. today, the house speaker called them out and said this particular trip was a political stunt. today, the house speaker's words were unusually sharp and personal. >> frankly, i think this is beneath the dignity of the white house. >> speaker john boehner lashed

out alt the president, accusing him of campaigning on the taxpayers' dime. >> it's time for the obama campaign to pony up and reimburse the treasury. >> this boiled over after the president visited colleges in three battle ground states. the issue, student loan interest rates. the rate will nearly double in july unless congress passes an extension. >> congress needs to act right now to prevent interest rates on student loans from shooting up and shaking you down. >> while every sitting president takes heelt over whether his travel is legitimate policy or pure politics, today was different. boehner claims the president is, quote, inventing an issue aimed as young voters. the president, to make a campaign issue out of this, and then to travel to three battleground states, and go to three large college campuses on

taxpayers' money, to try to make this a political issue is pathetic. >> democrats argue that house republicans did not move on extending the current rate until the white house turned up the pressure. >> hello hawkeyes! >> to travel around the country and bring it up when the other side is blocking it. that's what the founding fathers envisions. it's just what the president should be doing. >> the house speaker called it pathetic, but the white house said they followed the rules on whether the campaign or the staff should pay the tab. and tomorrow will be a vote on the rate. >> thank you. there is new concern tonight about the security pat downs at the airport and what's more, the man who used to run the tsa now says he agreed with the many americans who say the system is broken. john yang is live at reagan national airport. good evening to you.

>> good evening, savannah. kip polly ran the tsa for 3 1/2 years. he gave us the plastic bags for our liquids and gels. but he said that ban should be reversed because it's one of the things eroding a key ingredient to a effective security system, broad public support. frequent flyer john brennan spoke for a lot of flyers when he stripped naked at a tsa station in portland, oregon. outrage has been fueled by parents' anger over patdowns of children like a 6-year-old girl with cerebral palsy and a 4-year-old girl in new york. in both cases, the tsa said their officers followed proper procedure. the agency's reputation took a further hit this week when officers in los angeles were charged in a drug running operation. passengers today at chicago's o'hare airport. >> we still might be a target, and i feel safer knowing that it's not going to happen here. >> i'm not so sure it's not just

window dressing. >> kip polly said the system is broken. he ran the tsa from 2005 to 2009 and has written a new book. he argued animosity toward the system is hurting security. >> the result of this compounding security measure over ten years has driven the public crazy. and created a huge separation between tsa and the public. >> he says most frequent flyers checkpoint horror stories could be eliminated if officers were allowed to use common sense rather than being threatened with discipline for not following procedures to the letter. >> the effect after three or four years to tell the officers who came to tsa to stop terrorist attacks, we welcome you here but you may not use your brain. >> technology exists that could eliminate the need for the measures that are most annoying, taking shoes off, limiting liquids in a separate back, and number one on the list, the pat down. he said all could go away by

memorial day without effecting safety. >> you do owe it to the public to pull it out as soon as you come up with a better way. >> in a statement, the tsa said it's using new technology and revising practices to prove away from one size fits all screening to progress toward improving both security and passenger experience. he said that progress could go a lot faster, but a big obstacle is political reluctance to take away any security measures. savannah? >> john yang in washington, thank you. over seas, one of the world's biggest media moguls, rupert murdoch, under sharp questioning, made a rare public apology for the phone hacking scandal at his newspaper, the news of the world, which he shut down in the wake of the scandal. >> the news of the world, quite honest, is an aberration and it's my fault, and i'm sorry i didn't close it years before. >> sources tell nbc news,

national investigative correspondent michael isikoff that the u.s. justice department is looking into whether they broke laws here. we posted a fuel report on this story on our website, nbcnigh y nbcnightlynews.com. >> health news tonight, and chances are you may be able to relate to this story. a study from the centers for disease control showed a big chunk of the american work force, 41 million people, get far too little sleep. that's danger in more ways than one. here is robert bazell. >> it's a nightly struggle waged by tens of millions of american workers. beating the clock and somehow getting enough sleep. but many of us are losing. and today, the government put a number on it. >> unfortunately, what we found is that about a third of working adults get only six or fewer hours every day of sleep. >> those most sleep deprived are

those on the night ship. among health care workers, just over half said they don't sleep enough. for those in the transportation and delivery business, it was 70%. many studies have shown a lack of sleep increases the risk for all sorts of health problems including heart disease, obesity and diabetes, and it is responsible for 20% of car crashes. the cdc says people who work nights should adopt a regular sleep routine. on the night shift at brigham young hospital in boston, some nurses say they actually do better working nights. >> even when i was younger, i was a night person. i would have trouble sleeping at night, i was up all night. >> but most like nurse paula ashy said they never catch up. >> i average maybe four hours a day. and even on my nights off, i average maybe 3 1/2, maybe four hours of sleep. yeah, so i'm always tired. >> a battle with continuous xaupgz waged by millions with no

relief in sight. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. still ahead as "nightly news" continues, the teemper who said she was fired by her catholic school for fertility treatments. now she's taking the church to court. and later, talk about a rough landing. the plane you did not want to be on. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. 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. flavor, meet food. introducing swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth in easy to use packets. mix it into skillet dishes, for an instant dose of... hell-o!

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so this is 365 horsepower. all while delivering really great fuel economy. so we're getting great fuel economy? cuz that's what i'm thinking about right now. in indiana tonight, a former teacher at a catholic school is suing the diocese of ft. wayne. she said she was fired from her job because she was trying to get pregnant using the fertility treatment ivf. here is katy tur. >> it is one woman's battle against infertility, and the restrictions of the catholic

church. emily taught literature and language at this catholic school. she said she was fired for trying to expand her family and has filed a lawsuit claiming the catholic school's monsignor refused to renew her contract. >> my husband was heart broke broken,ibroken, my family was heart broken. >> at issue was the way in which she was trying to get pregnant, in vitro fuertilizatiofertiliza. she said he called the treatment an intrinsic evil which means no circumstances can justify it. even her circumstances. doctors told her after the beirt of her first child, she had become medcll infertile. they had a right at a religious employer to make decisions consistent with its religious standards. in a statement, the school said it has clear policies requiring that teachers in its schools must as a condition of

employment have a knowledge of and respect for the catholic faith and abide by the tenets of the catholic church. >> i'm sure the church is going to say having a teacher in a catholic school that undermines church doctrine in this waiss and models that for the students is an undue hardship. >> church employees who pass on a religious message can not sue for job discrimination, but she said she teaches only language and literature, not catholic doctrine and therefore should be allowed to sue. >> i'm proud because my 7-year-old, one day she's going to know his mom shood up for what is right. >> she's not only asking for her job back, but comp saslicatioen mental distress and anguish. >> up next, an extraordinary honor for bob dylan, among others, and the first ladesy reveals the one thing she would like to change about her job. if you are one of the millions of men

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probably very glad you weren't on as it came in for a bumpy landing in vaefrb high winds in northern spain. the plane got swept up in strong gusts. one had to go back up before it could go down again. all's well that ends well. the pilots eventually brought it down safely. >> there was controversy at last night's texas rangers/new york yankees game, but it wasn't on the field. it was in the stands. a pair of fans grabbed a ball tossed in the seats much to the dismay of a little boy sitting next to them. the play by play announcer for the yankees voiced his disbelief at the couple posed for a picture as the boy sat there in agony. someone from the dugout noticed what was going on and threw the boy his own ball. a happy ending written all over his face. a lot of kids had a lot of questions for the first lady

today at the annual take our sons and daughters to work day. one little girl wanted to know if she could change anything about her job, what it would be. >> one fantasy i have, and the secret service, they keep looking at me because they think i might do it, is to walk right off the front door and just keep walking. just go right over there and going into some shops and stop and have some ice cream. yeah, go shopping. but i can't do that. i can't just up and decide, i think i'm going to go for a walk, and i'm going to walk to georgetown. so if i could change something, i would be able to sneak around a little bit more, but it causes people a lot of stress when i do that. so i try not to. >> another young visitor asked whether the first lady would ever run for president. her answer, absolutely not. and today, president obama named 13 new recipients of the presidential medal of freedom,

the nation's highest civilian honor. they include former secretary of state, madeleine albright, bob dylan, astronaut and former senator john glenn, the author tony morrison, and pat summitt, the hall of fame basketball coach who just last week announced she was stepping down after 38 years at the university of tennessee because she's battling alzheimer's. when we come back, a daughter stepping up to the plate for her legendary father and his many fans. i had to switch my insurance plan. but then my prescriptions got more expensive. i felt helpless... frustrated. it was very frustrating. then john... maurice... jill stepped in... made some calls... and saved me hundreds of dollars. that's a lot. it meant a lot to me. taking the time to help you with insurance questions. another reason to transfer your prescriptions today. ♪ i'm carol, and i bring all my prescriptions to my cvs.

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finally tonight, his nickname was the splendid splinter. ted williams notched a .406 batting average in 1941 and no one has been able to come close to that since. he was simply one of the greatest players ever and he's beloved by his legions of fans in boston where he spent his entire career. now they have a chance to take a piece of that magic home with them. nbc's anne thompson reports. >> they want to touch them all. the trophies, the uniforms, the baseballs. from the personal collection of ted williams. >> ted williams. most famous red sox player. >> put up for auction this weekend by his daughter claudia. >> for me, it's almost like a

gift, giving it back to the fans. >> on the off the field. a marine who served his country in two wars. logging missions in his own neat script. taking five years off a hall of fame baseball career. the last man to hit over .400 only asked for one autograph, and babe ruth signed this baseball. >> you arguably couldn't get a better combination of pieces or players to come together on one autograph. >> claudia, born 11 years after williams retired, knew her father as a world class fisherman. it wasn't until she heard him cheered in an old timers game in fenway that she understood. >> i remember thinking, wow, he must have done something really good on the baseball field. >> a doubleheader. >> today, williams still brings people to the hall of baseball. >> it's a connection to my father, my family, and my children. >> this is fenway park, and

there's not a game, no dreaded yankees, just a chance for fans to watch where their heroes do and did. >> in his last at-bat, williams homered and still refused to tip his cap. author john up dike famously wrote, gods do not answer letters, but this one has answered prayers. >> as you know, there are two things close to my heart, baseball and kids. >> williams raised millions for kids with cancer through the jimmy fund and will do so again. a portion of the auction's proceeding going to help the charity he loved. >> he was adamant about keeping that alive. anytime anyone wanted to give ted williams anything, he said, you know what, send a donation to the fund. >> he stepped up to bat for the kids. anne thompson, nbc news, boston. >> and that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you for being with us. i'm savannah guthrie in new york. brian will be back tomorrow. have a good evening, everybody.