on our broadcast tonight, detecting breast cancer. could a simple blood test tell women if they're at risk to have their cancer come back. team player. today we asked former president clinton about those whispers of disagreement between him and the obama campaign. and he took it head on. the queen's day, 60 years on the thrown, tonight we get to hear from the queen herself. and the big show in the sky. it's been a wild team in the heavens lately, and what's happening tonight is something none of us will ever live to see again. nightly news begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. over these past few days we've had encouraging news to report on the cancer front. and tonight there's more. this time it's about breast cancer. specifically, what could lead to a simple way of telling women who have already been treated for breast cancer whether their disease could come back. the science is early, but the potential impact is obvious, and could be life altering for millions of american women and their families. it's where we begin tonight with our chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: for every one of the more than 200,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer this year, the fear is, will it return? and for about 20%, the answer is yes. doctors now decide treatment and prognosis by looking at a tumor's size and location. a new study today from anderson cancer center suggests one day there may be a simple blood test to predict recurrence.

researchers looked at 200 women with stage 1 to 3 breast cancer that had so far been untreated. drawing blood to search for the presence of circulating tumor cells in the blood stream. the theory being, it may be the number of breast cancer tumor cells in the blood stream that can predict a woman's risk of relapse and how long she will survive. >> if the patient had cells in the blood, they had at least four times the chance of having a reyens or death. and for patience who had a lot of cells, let's say three or more, the chance of dying was around 11 times higher. 367 the challenge now is to find out which of these circulating tumor cells is harmless and which could cause trouble. and that's a question that even the researchers admit they don't know the answer to yet. the reality check here is that this test is not yet ready for clinical use, we need more studies, longer follow-ups, many more patients, because what we don't want to do is throw an unnecessary test out there as a

guide to women that don't fit them. i think interesting brian, and a glimpse into the future. >> what are the questions raised by this? >> i think the questions raised are, what do tumor cells circulating through your blood system mean? you can have tumor cells from one with tumor, some may be really bad actors, some may be dormant. we have to figure out different tumor cells, there are individual risk factors for women. we need to get away from this burn, poison and cutting people. now we're looking into the future but at a very, very, very basic level, not yet ready for women to go to their doctor's offices yet. >> so anxious to break that cycle. overseas tonight, the u.s. has confirmed the killing by cia drone strike of another very senior al qaeda leader, it happened in pakistan and u.s.

intelligence officials call it a significant blow to al qaeda. he's believed to rank second in the organization and was involved in numerous terrorist plots against western with targets over the years. after a knockdown dragout political fight that's dragged on for over a year, wisconsin voters are finally deciding tonight whether to recall their republican governor scott walker and replace him with the man he beat two years ago, tom barrett. nbc's ron ail season in waukeshaw, wisconsin. >> reporter: for governor scott walker, voting this morning marked the end of a campaign to keep his job that started in february of last year, when the recall effort was with launched. as tens thousands of proetters occupied the capitol, angry at his conservative agenda. >> a lot of times people ask, what can you do to bring the state together?

it's more important actions than just words. >> reporter: his opponent has accused walker of waging a civil war with reforms favoring the rich, and virtually eliminating public sector union collective bargaining. >> around the state, the energy has been building and building and building. >> reporter: turnout has been like a presidential year. with with perhaps as many as 65% of the state's voters expected to cast ballots in the most expensive and contentious contest wisconsin has ever seen. >> a lot of ugliness, i'm ready to move the state in a positive direction. and be done with the recall process. >> i wanted to make sure i voted, for sure. this is too important to not vote. >> reporter: in the suburb of milwaukee, vote hes had lined up an hour before the polls opened at 7:00 a.m. turnout monitors said was running some four times higher than usual for a statewide election. an election that's pitted

neighbor against neighbor. >> it's caused a big divide. everyone is telling everyone else what their opinion is. who's right, who's wrong. >> and even josh who supports the recall. he wants the governor recalled. you are supporting the recall of the governor, your wife doesn't. how does that work out at home? >> it can make for some dicey dinner conversation from time to time. >> reporter: there are countless activists from across the country who have been campaigning and trying to get out the vote today. tens of millions of dollars have been spent by outside groups trying to influence the outcome of this election, because so much is at stake. >> ron allen, thanks. while we're on the topic of politics, we had a chance to sit down with former president bill clinton in his office in harlem here in new york. he's preparing for a big gathering in chicago of his foundation, the clinton global anywhere tev. it's focused on fixing problems in the u.s. and we talked about some of those as well. including his view of what

social media is doing to our society, the allegations that mr. clinton and the obama campaign somehow aren't on the same page. and the new unemployment figure of 8.2%, and the challenge that presents to the democrats. roger simon, the political writer has a piece on the web today. the headline "bill clinton out of control in 2012." people are wanting to find room between you and the president on issues like romney, bain capital your quote that they had a sterling record in their line of work. is there any difference between you and the tack the obama campaign has taken? >> mr. simon may think i should be an employee of the campaign, but i'm not. i'm trying to help the president win re-election, he's done a better job than most people know. i think the health care bill is a step in the right direction, not the wrong direction. i think his energy policy is

very well grounded. and i think his economic policy is dramatically better than the one articulated by governor romney and his supporters, and i think -- you know, i've been agast by all this flutter about it. i don't think i should have to criticize romney personally to disagree with his politics. >> how does president obama run a re-election campaign with this being the unemployment rate, saying nothing of running a country? >> i think, first of all, he has to deal with the facts db he has to say, which i've heard him say many times, at least we're growing, and our unemployment rate is much lower than europes. but we're not going fast enough. then he can point out, we lost 600,000 public jobs, teachers, police officers, firefighters, because state and local

governments, they can't do this, they can't sell bonds for current expenses. we still haven't resolved all this home mortgage stuff, although there's some evidence that it's speeding up, refinancing to resolve it. until those things happen, we're going to be plagued with up and down periods. >> what does clinton global initiative have that can help america right now? >> this year, what we're trying to focus on are things that are working that could be replicated. for example, last year we had the carnegie foundation say they were going to answer president obama's call for 100,000 more science, engineering and math teachers by 2020. they had seven partners, now they have 15 partners. >> do you have an opinion on facebook as a product, as an

ipo? and did you buy in? >> no, i didn't buy any, no, i don't have an opinion on the ipo. what i'm worried about, is that for young people who send an average of 80 text messages a day on their telephone, and live on the internet, that it may make it harder for them now and for the rest of their lives to be present where they are. i think one thing is, i was the last president born -- president bush, i never asked him how old he was when he got his first television. i was 10 years old before we got a television. i grewp you in a story telling era where you were present where are. >> by the way, facebook stock continued its slide today, closing below $26 a share. we have posted the rest of the conversation on our website,

nbcnightlynews.com. another legal victory tonight for advocates of same sex marriage. in san francisco a federal appeals court refused to reconsider a ruling, finding proposition 8 unconstitutional that bans same sex marriage. this puts the case on track to the u.s. supreme court. jury selection underway today in the child sexual abuse trial of former penn state football coach jerry sandusky. the day showed just how intwined penn state is with the surrounding community. of the 40 prospective jurors interviewed. either half work with the at or retired from the university or had immediate family affiliated with the school somehow. the judge said that alone is not enough to disqualify anybody. and one of the nine jurors seated today has been a penn state football season ticket holder since the 1970s. still ahead for us tonight, a grand finale in the queen's thank you for a regal celebration. and later, up in the sky tonight, catch it while you can

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♪ in london today, millions of british subjects paid tribute to their queen. again today there was a notable absence, but the queen kept calm and carried on. our report tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk in london. ♪

>> reporter: queen elizabeth began her day with solemn ceremony. the monarch followed her family down the aisle of st. paul's cathedral. but with husband prince phillip in the hospital, she walked alone. the lord mair and swords nearly blocked the 86-year-old from view. it was called a service of thanksgiving. a chance to reflect on the second longest reign in british history. >> we are marking six decades of proof that public service is possible. >> reporter: the 2,000 guests included prime minister david cameron, extended members of the royal family and dignitaries from around the world. the queen sat next to her son, prince charles. down the row, grandsons prince william and prince harry.

first, second, third in line for the thrown. after the service, the dine of st. paul's led the queen outside. stopping to point out a plaque honoring the only other monarch to reign as long, queen victoria. her diamond jubilee was in 1897. on the streets of london, the cheering grew. 1.5 million people waiving a sea of british flags. with the rain starting to fall, the royal procession began. the queen led the way, escorted by the famous horses guard. thunderous applause follow the royal family all the way to buckingham palace. after the carriages pass by, the crowd spilled on to the streets. in a taped address, the queen thanked the country for the overwhelming support. >> i will continue to treasure and draw inspiration from the countless kindnesses shown to me. thapg you all. >> reporter: the final act of

the diamond jubilee took place on the balcony of buckingham palace. the same balcony that's been the scene of so many great moments in elizabeth's life, and in her country's history. she stood there smiling, surrounded by her family. another milestone met. and a job that began 0 years ago, and still isn't done. in just over three years, the queen will be the longest ruling monarch in british history. what we have seen over the last four days, there are plenty of people in this country that hope she will rule even longer than that. and just a quick update on prince phillip, the palace says he's improving and recovering from his bladder infection. >> stephanie gosk at buckingham palace, where the new era starts tonight. up next here, as we continue, a young woman teaches us all a lesson in valor. last season was the gulf's best tourism season in years.

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♪ only you can make >> herb reed has died, he was the last surviving group of "the platters." you can hear his voice on songs like "only you." his voice is on more than 400 songs. he was 83 years old. sheryl crow who successfully fought breast cancer six years ago, and has wagged with tirelessly to raise fundses has revealed she has a benign brain tumor. she's a mother of two. she says despite getting this news last november, she's fine, happy and healthy. it was an act of valor and selflessness the likes of which see in a war movie. this one took place at a state

high school track meet in ohio. it's meghan vogel you'll see on the right. she was competing in the 3200 meter, when her competitor and fellow distance runner fell down short of the finish line. meghan scooped her up and they finished together 14th and 15th at the wire. she said she just reacted naturally. we thought the example she set deserved some attention. two names that harkin back to the dawn of the internet age are back together with a new invention. airtime. a new video chat service was unveiled today in new york. while with video chat isn't new, airtime is getting a lot of attention, because it's founders are shawn parker and shawn fanning, creators of napster in the mid '90s. later this week, savannah guthrie sits down with both men for "rock center" thursday night

10:00 p.m. this man became the face of sun damage. he's 69 years old, he drives a semi. and for 30 years that one with side of his face has been exposed to the sun in the cab of his truck. his doctors say it's a stark textbook example of repeated long term sun exposure. sad news from here in new york, the shuttle got dinged. the shuttle enterprise which survived a flight on the back of a 737 from d.c. to new york did not do so well when with traveling by water on a barge to its permanent home on the intrepid. it suffered wing damage this weekend. it was passing under a railroad bridge. it was a tight fit to begin with, then a 35 knot gust of wined with got ahold of it. the damage was done, but the damage will be repaired for its big debut. up next here tonight, a rare sight making for a very big night in the sky.

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what's happening tonight in the sky will never happen again in our lifetime, most of us. the planet venus is passing between us and the sun. once it's over it won't happen

again until 2117. a lot of folks are gathering to watch safely. mike taibbi is among them in griffith park in l.a. >> reporter: a festive afternoon here at l.a.'s griffith observatory. it started at 3:07 pacific time. though it's not technically an eclipse, you have to wear eclipse caliber eye protection to see it happen. it's not as dramatic as a lunar or solar eclipse. no suddenly darkened skies. a transit of venus shows itself as a distinct dark dot inching slowly across the face of the sun. it takes just under seven hours for the dot to move across the sun. hawaii is a prime viewing spot and then moving across europe and the rest of the eastern hemisphere wednesday morning.

nasa is streaming for those who want to follow on screen. for hundreds of astronomy bfs donning these special glasses is the only way to go. >> it's a once in a lifetime feeling. >> there's purely scientific events beyond their rarity. the last one in 2004. astronomers learn more during their duration of the universe beyond our solar system. more than 60 additional planets have been discovered circling their own sons. >> in the history of astrong me it's important, because it's linked to the successful understanding of how the solar system is laid out. >> among those with the best view, the astronauts aboard the insister national space station. no matter how excited you might be to see it, don't look toward the sun without proper protection. now, only six of these transits have been observed since they were first discovered in the 17th century.

if you miss this one, the next one is on december 10th of the year 2117. >> cool stuff. you're in a great spot to see it. that is our broadcast from new york on a tuesday evening. thank you for being here with us, i'm brian williams. and, of course, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com [ male announcer ] we have more than 3,000 daily flights on southwest airlines. and that gives our customers thousands of options to fly where they want, when they want. fly nonstop service from bwi airport to greenville-spartanburg and charleston.