on our broadcast tonight, america remembers what happened 11 years ago today. but for many families at the memorials, this day was different. no school again today in chicago. tonight we'll look at the sticking point in this huge teacher's strike being watched across our country. whistle blower. a convicted felon rewarded with more than $100 million of taxpayer money. tonight the government says there's a very good reason for that. the crisis in syria. ann curry on the ground reporting on the violence driving families apart. and fish oil supplements are in the news, specifically what they do or don't do for your heart. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening on this tuesday, september 11th. a date that will always and forever mean just one thing on the calendar. especially for all of us who were alive that day. and most especially for those who lost someone on that day. every year on this day, we pause. bells toll and taps is played in many places. this year, especially coming off the tenth anniversary last year, a lot of people noticed a change. today's date remains cemented in history as the day that changed everything in the modern era. ron allen starts us off tonight from the world trade center site in lower manhattan. ron, good evening. >> we're on the 22nd floor of the new world trade center. you can see the memorial down there, set in the footprints of the original twin towers. today's event was more intimate than many others. it generates powerful emotions.

>> and my uncle, whom my brother and i missed meeting by ten days. >> reporter: the tradition of honoring each of the individuals lost lives on. with only their relatives reading the names. >> dominick e.talia. >> reporter: politicians were excluded for the first time, to keep the focus on the families. president obama led a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane struck the north tower. and later, laid a wreath during a tribute at the pentagon, where 184 people were killed. >> this is never an easy day, but it is especially difficult for all of you. >> reporter: in shanksville, pennsylvania, vice president biden comforted families. while in nevada, mitt romney struck a patriotic tone. during an appearance at the

national guards meeting. this anniversary seemed more private than public. many communities like glenrock, new jersey which lost 11 residents chose not to hold a formal observance for the first time. this always will be a deeply personal day for those who lost loved ones. like rob fazio. who says the stories he heard about the heroism of someone trapped on the 99th floor. >> he held the door open to help someone. we saw that as an inspiration of how he lived his life. >> reporter: his foundation, hold the door open helps people deal with grief. >> the south tower of the world trade center was gone. >> reporter: new stories are still emerging, one in a new documentary airing tonight on discovery. pasquale says he's finally able to talk about how he survived,

sliding from the 22nd floor to the top of a pile of rubble as the building collapsed around him. >> i didn't feel anything. my body was totally numb. i felt nothing at all. i opened my eyes and saw blue sky. i really thought i was dead. >> reporter: a group of firefighters rescued him. many said they wanted to honor first responders who gave their lives and saved so many lives that day. brian? >> ron allen starting us off in lower manhattan tonight. halfway around the world in cairo today, an explosion of violence aimed at the united states. muslim protesters stormed the u.s. embassy, they're angry over a film they consider insulting to the profit mohammed. richard engel is in the region tonight from istanbul. what was this about? and was the embassy ever in any real danger? >> it was never in any real danger, but this could escalate

and the situation remains tense. it all began this afternoon when several hundred demonstrators gathered in front of the u.s. embassy. then a few dozen of the demonstrators managed to scale the perimeter walls, get inside the embassy, hold down the u.s. flag, replace it with a black islamic flag, then egyptian security forces moved in to secure the perimeter. under the former president, this would have been very difficult. protesters wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the u.s. embassy. today they were able to skrim bell graffiti on the empasscy wall. this was all triggered by a movie, a fringe radical movie made in the united states that is insulting to islam, and the danger is in this internet age, even an obscure film like this, could be seen all around the world. and already tonight there's been another attack. that one in benghazi, the u.s. consulate demonstrators angried by the film, tried to burn it

down. the u.s. state department says all staff have been accounted for. >> richard engel on this explosion of violence just today. thanks. there's a new flairup between the u.s. and israel over iran. what seems to have set this off, recent remarks by secretary of state hillary clinton, she said the u.s. would not set deadlines or name so-called red line limits that can't be crossed concerning iran's nuclear activities. netanyahu of israel fired back today, saying those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before israel. and we learned today, the president is not going to meet with netanyahu when he comes to address the u.n. here in new york later this month. in the city of chicago, the third largest in our country, another day of no school and no options for parents and students there. the teachers strike has now stretched through day two. and again tonight, thousands gathered and marched in the downtown loop at rush hour after

picketing around the city all day. earlier reports that these two sides were close are being shot down by the union tonight as we learn more about what separates these two sides. our chief education correspondent rehema ellis remains in chicago tonight. rehema, good evening. >> good evening, brian. this is one of the school where's kids spent some of their time today. 11,000 kids showed up citywide, but that's only a fraction of nearly 400,000 kids who have been locked out because of the strike. on the picket lines, strikers say they're fighting for what's best for students and what's fair for teachers, whose job security may depend on test scores. >> standardized testing, it carpet truly evaluate the teacher, because it doesn't truly evaluate the students. >> a major stumbling block in negotiations, reform. linking 25% of the teacher's evaluation with standardized test results. >> i wish people would stop

thinking that standardized tests tell us anything other than the socioeconomic background of our students. >> reporter: around the city, teachers have shouted out their frustration with school administrators and the mayor. visiting a school open for a few hours to give kids some place to go. mayor rahm emmanuel called for teachers to go back to work. >> i'm confident we can work through these issues. we have to on behalf of our children. >> reporter: emmanuel came into office promising education reform. that state legislators agreed to and his former boss strongly supports. >> for the first time in a generation, nearly every state has answered our call to raise their standards for teaching and learning. >> reporter: two years ago, the president's race to the top initiative offered states struggling with massive budget deficits a piece of a $4 billion grant program, to jump start education reform in big ways. illinois was one of at least 22

states, and the district of columbia that approved new teacher evaluation laws to qualify for federal funds. >> what's happening in chicago -- >> reporter: tim knoells of the university of chicago now says the battle in chicago is the nation's battle. >> mayors across this country are going to look at who prevails. if rahm prevails, they're going to push for the kinds of reforms he wants to improve the schools. >> reporter: and if teachers win, it's likely more cities will see increased resistance from teacher's unions. the strike comes at an awkward time for the democrats. analysts point out that teachers union has been a strong ally of the democratic party, which will look to that union to help get out the vote in november. brian? >> rehema ellis remaining in rehema, thanks. a former banker is in the news tonight, he helped his rich clients hide their wealth from the irs in swiss bank accounts and turned whistle blower a few

years back. he squealed on his customers and ended up going to jail himself for a time. but today the irs gave him an eye-popping reward for all the information he provided on those taxpayers. our report from our senior investigative correspondent lisa myers. >> reporter: bradley burkenfeld is an american banker who spent much of his life in switzerland, helping americans hide their riches in a swiss bank. in 2007 he went to the u.s. government and secretly provided information which led to ubs to pay a $780 million penalty, and turn over the names of 4,000 u.s. taxpayers with secret accounts in switzerland. today his lawyers announced the irs has rewarded him with what's believed to be the largest whistle blower award ever. $104 million. citing his exceptional cooperation. >> with $5 billion collected so far, the award to brad is less

than two cents on the dollar for every dollar collected by the treasury. >> reporter: after birkenfeld blew the whistle, he was prosecuted for failing to come completely clean about his own actions helping a client. >> this was the largest tax fraud case in the world, and i sacrificed my representation, life, finances, and this is how i get treated? >> reporter: birkenfeld will have to pay taxes on the award and pay his lawyers, who say they now plan to pursue a presidential pardon. lisa myers, nbc news, washington. now we go to syria, where the civil war has triggered a growing humanitarian crisis that we're on the ground to see. more than a quarter million syrians have been forced to flee their own country. most of them to crowded refugee camps in turkey, lebanon and

iraq and jordan. ann curry is reporting from there this week and is with us from there again tonight. >> reporter: brian, good evening. it's not just the number of people who have been affected. but how vicious this war has become. the government has the heavy weapons and is using them, but atrocities have been alearned by both sides. the u.n. has reported that even children have been tortured, killed and used as human shields. civil war is turning syria into an unimaginable hell. the fighting is intensifying. the government attacks are more indiscriminate. even small children now know to run. people do what they can to help the injured. while thousands flee the country. desperate to get out of harm's way. refugee camps are filling up. today actor and activist angelina jolie, a special u.n. envoy drew a crush of news

cameras as she visited a camp in jordan. she was visibly moved by what she saw. >> it is a horrific situation and very critical time. hundreds and hundreds of people are dying every day. >> reporter: the desperation jolie witnessed has become commonplace. near the syrian border our news team saw a pickup truck speeding into jordan. and jordanian soldiers raced to bring the injured man with a critical neck injury to safety. his name is mohammed, a 20-year-old farmer. he had been driving a truck to pick up a relative when a bomb struck. he says he blacked out. it was the day before his wedding. medics struggled to keep him from slipping away. they don't believe he will survive. two days later we found mohammed alive in a jordanian hospital. and eager to speak with his fiancee back in syria. we help him make the call. his joy is immediate.

he tells her, when i regained consciousness, i was thinking about you the whole time. come over here, come over. she says, how can i come over. mohammed knows she cannot easily make the journey. he's already planning to return to her in syria. he tells her, you are the love of my life. two lives and a country torn apart by war. today the head of the u.n. refugee agency and jordan foreign minister made an urgent appeal for more international aide to help a growing flood of refugees. brian? >> ann curry continuing her reporting from the region for us tonight. ann, thanks. still ahead along the way, fish oil, millions take it for a lot of reasons, does it make a difference in one crucial area? what butterflies in flight may be trying to tell us about something much bigger. ix helped. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit.

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often recommend fish oil to patients for a number of things, for your heart, digest on, skin, hair, brain. but fish oil is being talked about in the news today because of one of those new studies. it narrows in on the effect it has or doesn't have on your heart. our report on this new study tonight from robert bazell. >> reporter: katie has been taking fish oil supplements as part of a heart healthy program for 20 years. >> taking fish oil has lowered my cholesterol. and that makes me happy, because i don't have to take any other medications. >> reporter: she is hardly alone, the supplements are a source of omega 3 fatty acid. while sales exceed $1 billion a year, studies differ on how much fish oil helps. the research out today combined 20 previous studies involving more than 68,000 patients since 1989. the analysis by greek scientists were published today in the

journal of the american medical association. overall, the study concluded the supplements do neither harm nor good. but it also showed that people taking fish oil supplements suffered 9% fewer heart deaths and 11% fewer heart attacks. for several other factors, sudden deaths, total deaths and stroke, the study found no significant difference. >> if you focus on cardiac death. which is the outcome most likely influenced by fish oil, there is a significant benefit for that outcome. >> one thing today's report finds is that older studies tended to show more benefit from the supplement than newer ones. that could be because people are taking better heart medications and eating more fish. the supplements don't matter as much. >> i recommend to patients that they eat fish as a first blind measure. if they don't like fish or want to make sure they're getting omega 3s, there's no harm in

taking fish oil. and it may help. >> reporter: katie follows that advice, and nothing in the latest research will change her mind. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. up next here tonight, did we here on earth just get spared from something cataclysmic without even knowing about it? i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth!

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as one astronomer put it, it looks like jupiter has taken one for the team. a photograph of jupiter has captured a flash on the surface of the massive planet, believed to be the impact of a comet or asteroid. at 11 times our size, jupiter is so big, out there closer to the edge of the solar system, it acts like the earth's catcher's mit, it actually attracts and stops a lot of big things that would leave a mark if they hit us. while we were on the air last night, he was playing an epic five hour tennis match. with the folks back home staying up late to watch. andy murray became the first brit in 76 yearso win a grand

slam event the. he is your u.s. open champion for this year coming off a gold medal at his home olympics in london. well done, andy murray. with their nine-day overseas tour underway, william and kate are lighting up singapore. their travels are taking them to southeast asia, south pacific and an extended celebration of the queen's diamond jubilee, william was presented with a white orchid named after his mother who died just two weeks before she was to see the flower unveiled herself. why the butterflies of the bay state may be trying to tell us something about the state of our world. it doesn't get any better than endless shrimp at red lobster. you can mix and match all day!

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bacon and pancakes for $4.gs, umm. in my day, you get eggs, bacon and pancakes, and it only cost you $4. the $4 everyday value slam. one of 4 tasty choices for $4 off the 2-4-6-8 value menu. only at denny's. there's been a news story developing lately in the commonwealth of massachusetts, but to see it, to fully take it in, you have to slow down, get off the grid and be very quiet. it's like the old expression about stopping to smell the roses. but in this case, it's about butterflies. and these butterflies may be on to something bigger than even massachusetts. we get the story tonight from our chief environmental affairs correspondent, anne thompson. >> reporter: in this lush garden of verbena, butterflies that have long called massachusetts

home. are making way for an influx of butterflies from the south. until recently more likely to light in florida and texas. >> we call them accidentals. in the old days, you would see one or two fiery skippers. now you see dozens. >> reporter: the shift of southern butterflies to the increasingly warmer north is detailed in the journal nature. greg breed is the study's lead scientist. >> we see the species that are more adapted to warmer clients are increasing, and species that are adapting to colder climates are decreasing. it seems sensible to infer that this is some kind of climate driven pattern. >> is it climate change? >> that would be the most logical infer ens. >> the study is built on the work of citizen scientists. all members of the massachusetts butterfly club, and the 20,000 sightings they've noted over a period of 19 years. the data includes tom ganion's

notes. >> how do you keep your records? how do you know what's been here? >> i have a running log right here that i keep. >> reporter: other club members add their observations to the notebook under the bench. from september 2007. >> we had ten common checkered skippers and -- >> this is a southern species. >> yes. >> reporter: this year, the buzz is all about the giant swallow tails, common in the deep south. >> have you ever seen 108 giant swallow tails in a season? >> not in my whole life. never mind a whole season. >> reporter: some may consider these club members too, accidentals too, accidental scientists, not breed. >> if they go out and look and they're interested, and they write what they see, that's a perfectly valid observation. >> reporter: seeing nature's patterns change right before their eyes. anne thompson, nbc news, northampton, massachusetts. >> that is our broadcast on a tuesday night. thank you for being here with us, i'm brian williams, we sure hope to see you right back here with us tomorrow evening.

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