both were placed next to each other. cadet ramin gray was shot in the head. court records indicate kern intended to fire a shot with the training done into a door where recruits had been milling around behind. it was found that the fact he had a live weapon with him, participating in a training exercise, constituted reckless behavior. the family filed a $5 million lawsuit that has just been transferred to federal court. sentencing in the case is scheduled for december 17. officer william scott kern, city officer, found guilty of reckless endangerment by a baltimore county jury. he faces up to five years in prison. david collins, wbal-tv 11 news. >> some 800,000 federal employees are back on the job thanks to a late night deal wednesday that avoided a dault

on the nation's debt. >> the crisis dragged on for 16 days. sally kidd has the latest. >> the president says americans are fed up with washington and had some tough words for republicans in congress. doors are back open, the federal government up and running again. they signed a deal to avert avoid the shutdown. the president told congress to straighten up erie >> all of us need to stop focusing on lobbyists and focus on what the want.ty of americans the cost to the economy, some $24 billion, according to standard & poor's. a temper cancer more $24

billion? i don't think so. -- temper tantrum worth $24 billion? the newlyders of established budget conference committee kicked off talks this morning. >> our goal is to get the debt under control, to do smart deficit reduction, and do things to get people in this economy back to work. the gop has seen its approval rating plummeted since the shutdown began. >> it is probably healthy for us to have that debate, but at the end of the day, you have to come together. top republican, mitch mcconnell thomas says a government shutdown will not be strikesany future against obamacare.

>> nearly 7000 social security employees were for load and went back to work. they started going out to lunch again, and that is a huge relief for the people at my hands club in woodlawn. the owner said customer account has been down by 70% during the shutdown, a financial hit they are unlikely to recover from. >> 15 days and 15 lunches, that is money that is lost to us forever. >> a recent poll found that about a third of the population of the country was personally affected by the shutdown. >> the shutdown did some damage when it comes to the public opinion of lawmakers. solace poll was released -- just 13% in

maryland said they were not concerned. the poll revealed a sharp decline in president obama's approval rating, down six percent since january of this year, with only 58% in maryland approving of how the president is doing in office. at least one political professor said the government shutdown played a key role in the downgrade. >> marilyn governor martin o'malley's approval rating has also dropped. >> it seems american voters hate the gas tax. studyinglser has been the poll and joins us here in the studio with more on the results. >> the gonzales maryland poll for october was officially released this morning. it surveyed a total of 819 registered voters in maryland who said they were likely to vote in the 2014 general election. on a local level, voters seem split on certain issues, and

approval of the governor has dropped. according to the latest gonzales maryland poll, voters are looking less favorably on their governor. back in january, 54% of voters approved of governor o'malley, with 41% disapproving. as of september, the line is split, with 48% approving and disapproving. >> the maryland popularity rating has sort of bounced around for some time. i'm not sure what to make of this. donald morris told 11 news it is hard to pinpoint why there was a draw. it may have something to do with the number of new laws that went into effect him including the controversial gas tax and gun law. when it comes to the gas tax being raised, only 21% approved, while an overwhelming 76% disapprove. new gun-control laws, 50 eight percent approved, while 40% disapprove. looking

towards future leadership in the state, the poll took a closer look at the next governor's democratic primary race. if the election were held today, 41% of democratic primary voters said they would vote for anthony brown. 41% for doug gansler, five percent for heather missouri, and 33% were still undecided. figure outy need to how to change the numbers, with so many undecided. 60% of theve populace saying they have already decided, there is not a lot of wiggle room. brown is way ahead. he only has to pick up another 10 points. 40sler has to pick up points. >> poll officials claim a margin of error of plus or minus three point five percentage points on each question. if you would like to take a closer look at the poll, go to wbaltv.com. lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news.

>> even with the government reopened, hundreds of longshoremen at the port of baltimore are not on the job today. they are on strike for the second straight day, demanding changes to their work contracts. they have planned an arbitration between union reps and the trade association for tomorrow. operations have put cargo operations on hold. we are told that cruise operations are still up and running. a second homicide along reisterstown road in two days. this morning officers responded to the 5500 block where they found 35-year-old frank harper shot in the stomach. he died at the hospital. we are told police are currently interviewing a person of interest. there was another shooting around 11:00 tuesday night on reisterstown road. a 25-year-old was fatally shot in the head.

wednesday night shooting involved a city police officer. the commissioner revealed the suspect in the case was trying to hide drugs. kim dacey is live at city police headquarters with the latebreaking details for us. >> police say 40-year-old sean dean has an extensive criminal record. he is out on parole on a drug conviction. he decided to take a drive to be belair edison neighborhood last night. the neighborhood in northeast baltimore used to be a quiet place to live, according to longtime residents, but it is changing. the neighborhood has steadily, rapidly declines. the drugs and the gang activity. 10:00 wednesday night am a police officer shot and killed 40-year-old sean dean after investigators say dean

drag the officer alongside his car for several blocks after traffic stop. >> i heard a gunshot, i heard a big tank. iran and checked all my grandchildren and i heard a young lady screaming, saying you killed my dad. is 19-year-old daughter was questioned and released. >> the driver was determined not to cooperate. mr. dean put this officers live in jet -- in jeopardy to avoid capture. he was concealing the fact that he had a felony amount of drugs hidden or secreted in his vehicle. neighbor say incidents of crime and violence are becoming more common. disrupting their formerly peaceful neighborhood. >> you are always hearing ambulance sirens. 10 years ago you did not really hear that. >> the wednesday night incident

happening so close to their homes was still shocking and frightening. >> i just want to be safe. i just want to live to see another day. i am scared to sit on my porch because who knows what is going to happen now? >> the officer has been treated and released from the hospital. , one for thed books as anne arundel county thecials try to increase adversity awareness in schools. >> a controversial test went public. >> it can start as early as this weekend. that story is straight ahead. >> the terrible towel, what is it? tracking some sports on hd doppler. insta-weather plus, straight

ahead.

>> anne arundel county school officials say they are open to diversity training for teachers and administrators. after a racially biased test was given to at one high school. tim tooten has the story. but the test was called a

mistake by school officials. week a diversity workshop is planned. the controversy all intelligence test turned up at a run the high school almost two months ago. it was given to 400 students without the knowledge of the school principal. the administration has launched an investigation and is committed to doing even more pb >> it is not geared toward one specific race or culture. >> school officials had already diversity workshop. they admit there is a need to expand training system wide, especially among teachers pb >> we realize it is important. the training consists of all types of different cultures. what experience did you have do you haveand what that may affect how you treat others?

>> something is missing. >> the head of the anne arundel county naacp felt additional training should not be an option . >> at think it is important that we all know about diversity, but in light of what occurred, at least with the test that was given at toronto high school, i think it is important to be at the school system -- given that a rondeau high school. arundel high school. says a meeting with the superintendent is already planned for next month. tim tooten, wbal-tv 11 news. >> now, your forecast with tom tasselmyer. , and angrees today seasonably mild october day. in 1938.d high was set the normal high is continuing to

slide down. today's 75 degree reading was quite above that. we go throughs the next seven days around baltimore. right now we are on the warm side of an approaching front. .id 70's around college park some showers moving into deep over into and frostburg in allegheny county. a line of showers will move through there and temperatures will start to cool. we have to rate for -- wait for that line of showers to reach us before we can give the all clear. the wind will shift to the wt overnight and by morning, some 40's in the northwest suburbs and 50's in downtown baltimore. right now, 52roit in cleveland. temperatures are dropping to the north and west. pushing this milder weather off the coast.

a front goes through saturday andt, cool air behind this a gradual trend toward normal and then below normal temperatures as we go through the next several days. the second one, probably just a widely scattered shower or a sprinkle as it moves through here saturday evening. tomorrow, some sunshine, breezy and cool. on saturday,gain with some showers popping up in the evening with the front moving through. on sunday we should have nice weather to finish up the weekend, not only in baltimore but on up towards southwest pennsylvania as well. friday in baltimore, 65-70, wins out of the west that 10-15 miles an hour. sunrise tomorrow at 7:20. the wind will be brisk on the bay tomorrow. in the western maryland

mountains where some showers are moving through now, they will be long gone by tomorrow. cool and 55 degrees. best chance for showers in the state will be on saturday up in the mountains. sunday looks like that nice day and western maryland as well. , 68 andastern shore breezy tomorrow, slight chance of an evening shower on saturday. coastal areas, sunshine tomorrow, 20% chance of an evening shower on saturday. up in pittsburgh on sunday, 55 at kickoff, into the upper 30's by late evening. sunny and 68 friday, a chance for shower saturday evening, other than that the weekend looks nice. 50's for highs on wednesday and thursday of next week. >> now, 11 sports with pete gilbert. >> ravens fans jumping all over

the place with big plays on defense. out whene will find they get together. we should count on the intense atmosphere at heinz field. many newcomers on both sides of the ball. >> i don't know much about the , just the energy in preparation going into this week. are you looking forward to seeing all the terrible towels? >> what is that? >> i thought he was kidding at first. the last thing i said to him, you will find out.

attsburgh has not won a game heinz field get the season. they have lost largely to turnovers. the office and line opens a few holes -- the offense of line. rock was berger was more effective, no interceptions. understands seem to just how deep a hole they have dug. we are taking every game one at a time with the mentality that we have to win this one game. now it means a little bit more, but we are still in a pretty big ho. we have a tough fight this week. now.re we are

the steelers have lost popularity. a harris poll taken this year has them at seven in national popularity. bowl, itinning a super is inexplicable. the cowboys maintain the title of america's team. us, one more check of the forecast is coming up.

>> here is a look at what we are working on for 11 news tonight. several cases of smash and grab in howard county. the target, mothers picking up and dropping off their kids for day care. the shooting left a man dead in baltimore city last

>> it looked like we were slipping back into summer. front goes through tonight, sunshine returns tomorrow, a couple of degrees cooler. that are day some showers in the evening. thes only in the 50's by middle of next week, wednesday and thursday. >> thanks for joining us, everybody.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

on our broadcast tonight, back from the brink, but for how long? hundreds of thousands of federal workers are back on the job, but only after great damage and the loss of billions of dollars in taxpayer money. the big glitch. tonight we look inside to find out what went wrong with the rollout of the new health care law as so many americans still can't sign up. all around us, new evidence that's tough to take. it's because it's about a leading cause of cancer around the world. close calls. dick cheney is out with a surprising story of his own heart history and how close he came how many times, including an undisclosed heart scare he had on 9/11. and a woman who became an inspiration during the shutdown

back on the job tonight. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is ""nbc nightly "nbc nightly n williams. >> the american shutdown ended today, leaving challengers to go home and face their constituents. the deal raises the debt limit until february 7 and the 16-day government shut down caused grave damage beyond the erosion of remaining faith and elected officials. beyond the damage of u.s. prestige, it hurt a lot of americans, some of whom can never recover what they lost. politically, it was a big loss and self-inflicted wound mostly for the republican party. we have the cost. our report from nbc's stephanie

gosk. >> reporter: barrett kathe barrt triggered outrage at the world war ii memorial were removed today. combats no longer have to fight to get in. >> it was an experience that every veteran should have. >> reporter: after 16 days of being shut down, the federal government rumbled back to life. federal agencies, parks and monuments reopened around the country. the cdc in atlanta went back to work, fully tracking flu and other outbreaks. the shutdown went into effect midnight on october 1st. 16 days later, standard & poor's roughly estimates the price tag at $24 billion, including $3.1 billion lost in government services. more than 2 billion lost in travel spending, and more than a billion at national parks alone. hardest hit, hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers. >> we say fight back. >> reporter: in chicago we first met epa employee elizabeth leidl

as the shutdown began. >> congress needs to be turned over somebody's knee and spanked real hard. >> reporter: today she was relieved to be back on the job but still worries about making ends meet. >> i'm living on about $150 to the end of the month, and that's not a whole lot of money. >> reporter: while most government workers will get back pay eventually, millions of federal contractors will not. david walden works for the navy. >> i don't have t vocabulary to discuss my anger about it. i'm actually very, very livid that you have representatives in washington that just can't get things done. >> reporter: but no price can be put on what the mccartneys went through. >> we won't rest until we get her on the treatment she needs and desperately deserves. >> reporter: their desperately ill daughter was forced to wait for an nih funded clinical trial, including about 30 children.

most of those patients are now waiting for a phone call. and then there are intangible costs like the country's reputation with foreign investors. >> america's political system has been exposed to the world once more as both dysfunctional. >> reporter: the founding fathers signed the constitution in philadelphia predicting that the government would hit some stumbling blocks down the road, but it's unlikely they ever thought it would turn into this. brian? >> stephanie goss starting us off from philadelphia tonight. stephanie, thanks. this was damage control day for a lot of members of congress. it was also when we learned more about what more is in this bill. you may recall the terminology we heard all the time, it was supposed to be clean legislation just designed to fix that debt ceiling, get the government up and running again. we get that part of this story from nbc's kelly o'donnell on the hill. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good to see you again, brian. for many republicans they're now at that acceptance phase after a

bruising defeat. many are admitting mistakes, assessing responsibility, and one of the most divisible figures started the day trying to mend some wounds. >> he greeted visitors and veterans outside the reopened capitol. lawmakers headed out of town after the late-night vote, and house speaker john boehner turned up on twitter, his photo snapped at an airport gate today. the shutdown leaves new political baggage for the republican party to carry. >> i think a lot of folks that thought this might be a productive strategy have learned that it's really not. >> reporter: the conservative conflict is over the flawed strategy of making the budget fight about obamacare. today the most senior represent can senator utah's orren hatch blamed outside groups for stalking imperial battles. >> they think they can control

the republican party, some of which have been good think tanks in the past but now are losing their reputation because of some of this radicalness. >> are you referring to heritage? >> well, yeah. of course, i am. >> reporter: the shutdown opened up a new rash of criticism aimed at congress. >> i want to make a matter of record, i did not ask for that. >> reporter: billions of new spending was added for favored projects during closed door negotiations to reopen the government. like this ohio river waterway project dating back to the 1980s. nbc's gabe gutierrez was there today. >> reporter: there's been delay after delay, but supporters here insist it needs to be finished to replace two crumbling lochs upstream. >> harry reid expected the scrutiny. >> this is not an earmark. it saves the taxpayers lots of money. >> reporter: today democratic house leader nancy pelosi said she had been kept in the dark. >> was this crisis really the right time to add things that

didn't have anything to do with reopening the government? i don't think any of that should be in the bills. i don't know how that got in there. in fact, i displayed my own dismay at -- only learned of it because i was saying, what's holding up the bill? >> reporter: clearly nancy pelosi was frustrated, though she says the list of d-ones is small compared to the need to reopen the government. and so much of the attention today, brian, focused on that ohio project because it benefits one of the states that is home to leadership: kentucky. that brought to mind mitch mcconnell who says while he has supported in the past says he did not make that special request in this deal. brian? >> kelly o'donnell on all the business at capitol hill tonight. kelly, thanks. also on capitol hill, we have an update of something that became kind of a sad symbol of the government shutdown. it's called the ohio clock. it's stood for almost two centuries outside the entrance to the u.s. senate. it stopped running, just stopped on october 9. there was no one around to wind

it because they had been furloughed. that changed today. you see the man there. tonight it's up and running and ticking and keeping time. president obama talked today about the mess we all witnessed unravel for the past two weeks. notably he talked today about the damage it has caused. >> nothing has done more damage to america's credibility in the world our standing with other countries than the spectacle we've seen these past several weeks. it's encouraged our enemies, it's emboldened our competitors and it's depressed our friends who look to us for steady leadership. all of us need to stop focusing on the lobbyists and the bloggers and the talking heads on radio and the special activists who profit from conflict and focus on what the majority of americans sent us here to do. >> the president a at the white house earlier today. well, we said it many times. had it not been for the government shutdown becoming our

lead story for these past 16 days and nights, it may well have been obama care and the incredibly rocky rollout for the federal government's health care website. the system is not ready for the volume. some republicans are saying the secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebelius, should be fired as a company ceo could be fired after any botched rollout like this. our report tonight on what went wrong from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: almost two weeks after the glitch of the rollout of the health care website, congress is talking. >> people are enrolling across the country. >> reporter: who is behind the website? it is the u.s. arm of a canadian company, cgi federal. they grew dramatically during the bush administration. then on october 4, 2011, it was

awarded a 55,744,081 price tag. by may of this year, the contract shows cgi had spent $196,000, and the ceiling price tag had soared to $292 million. >> is this escalation in price due to fact of the quick turnaround time to get this website up and running? are there technical glitches and bugs that are driving the cost up? >> reporter: the government said the cost went up as more states joined the federal exchange. for weeks cgi has failed to comment about the troubled rollout. ontario fired cgi and canceled its $46 million contract, accusing the company of failing to build an on-line medical registry on time. cgi tells nbc news it's in talks to resolve the issues. they say the problems with the website are serious. >> it doesn't work. it's supposed to give you a

quote. it doesn't do that. >> reporter: lou chung owns a software and data base company. >> if this was your company, what would you say? >> i would be embarrassed and i would use language with my development team that couldn't be on the air. this is ridiculous. >> reporter: a health care analyst it says cgi was forced to deal with late design changes ordered by the government. >> it would back up their ability to test to see whether everything was functioning properly. >> reporter: last june a gao report forshadowed these problems, warning the webte might not be ready to go live in part because of all the last-minute design changes. and cgi has helped establish some state web sites that have actually gotten pretty good reviews. brian? >> tom costello in our newsroom tonight. tom, thanks. speaking of health, health is in the news tonight. we mentioned this earlier. it's specifically about the danger in the air all around us. the world health organization is warning tonight that air pollution is, indeed, a major

cause of cancer. our report from our chief medical editor, dr. nancy sneiderman. >> reporter: from car exhst and traffic across the country to industrial stacks spewing smoke and haze halfway around the world, we know air pollution isn't good for us, but today there is more proof of just how bad it is. the world health organization experts now conclude for the first time that exposure to outdoor air pollution and particulate matter cause lung cancer. >> we can't help the air we breathe and we're all responsible for it. so i think it's important to make the point that this really needs collective public health action to solve the problem. >> reporter: the industrial revolution saw the advent of air pollution. and while the united states has cleaned up its air thanks to environmental regulations, air

pollution is still a significant risk factor for respiratory illnesses and heart disease. this united states map shows our air pollution hot spots. the red dot shows air quality changes by climate and season. this shows summer where the highest level of air pollution is along the eastern part of the country. and in winter, california fares the worst when it comes to air pollution and particulate matter. experts liken the air pollution in some places to secondhand smoke, and it's cutting short lives in the most polluted places on earth, notably places like china and india, and globally, brian, that means more than 200,000 people die every year because of air pollution alone. >> that's the scariest part where people can't escape it. dr. nancy sneiderman, thank you, as always. still ahead tonight, for the first time former vice president dick cheney reveals how close he came in the battle with heart disease and the farewell to his family when he didn't think he would make it. later a woman thrilled to be

back on the job telling her park visitors a great american story. find out how you can save at purplepill.com. there is risk of bone fracture and low magnesium levels. side effects may include headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. if you have persistent diarrhea, contact your doctor right away. other serious stomach conditions may exist. avoid if you take clopidogrel. for many, relief is at hand. ask your doctor about nexium. wow...look at you. i've always tried to give it my best shot. these days i'm living with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. at first, i took warfarin, but i wondered, "could i up my game?" my doctor told me about eliquis. and three important reasons to take eliquis instead. one, in a clinical trial, eliquis was proven to reduce the risk of stroke better than warfarin.

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former vice president dick cheney's heart problems have been well chronicled, five heart attacks and a heart transplant, but he has never spoken about them in quite this way. he has detailed his hisry in a new book that talks about just how close he came more than once. the book isn't officially out until next week, but we were able to buy a copy at a bookstore today, and so our report tonight comes from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: it is a dramatic story of a man at the pinnacle of power in the white house bunker on 9/11, facing a possible life and death crisis of his own. the president and his traveling staff were being rushed to a military bunker in nebraska. but at the white house, the vice president's blood tests taken earlier that morning revealed dick cheney could be about to suffer a lethal heart attack. choppering to a secure location, camp david, the white house

doctor passes cheney and his wife a note. he needs to be retested urgently. not tonight, cheney plreplies, u can have it in the morning. after he was retested, he was cleared. but that wasn't the case after five heart attacks. >> at night all i wanted to do was get to my chair where i could put my feet up and take a nap. >> his book "heart" out next week but obtained by "nbc nightly news." a week after he retained office, he had another crisis. >> every time my heart beat, blood shot in a stream from my nose. when i tried to stop the bleeding with pressure, blood ran in the back of my throat. he says goodbye to his family and writes, if this is dying, i remember thinking, it isn't all that balanced. he was fitted with an emergency heart pump to keep him alive prior to an emergency transplant. >> i wear it on a vest and this

is a control valve up here and two batteries, one on each side. >> reporter: finally in march 2012, a heart transplant. >> i wake up every morning with a big smile on my face thankful for a new day i never expected to see. >> reporter: cheney, now 72, has come so close to death so many times, but writes that he was not frightened, at peace, knowing he had already led a remarkable life. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. back in a moment with the improvement that's supposed to solve a big problem at one of the nation's busiest airports. problem is, not everybody likes it. from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned,

so we can all produce energy more safely. our commitment has never been stronger. [ female announcer ] we eased your back pain... ♪ ready or not. [ female announcer ] ...so you can be up there. here i come! [ female announcer ] ...down there, around there... and under there for him. tylenol® provides strong pain relief and won't irritate your stomach the way aleve® or even advil® can. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol®. i took my son fishing every year. we had a great spot, not easy to find, but worth it. 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 five minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better. and that means...fish on!

symbicort is for copd including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. with copd, i thought i'd miss our family tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today, we're ready for whatever swims our way. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. you really love, what would you do?" ♪ [ woman ] i'd be a writer. [ man ] i'd be a baker. [ woman ] i wanna be a pie maker. [ man ] i wanna be a pilot. [ woman ] i'd be an architect. what if i told you someone could pay you and what if that person were you? ♪ when you think about it, isn't that what retirement should be, paying ourselves to do what we love?

♪ the veteran character actor ed lauter has died. he was one of those guys who always played one of those guys in the movies, including an occasional starring role. fans of "the longest yard" will remember him as will kanauer,

the mean prison guard whose football team was intent on wrecking butter reynolds' wrecking crew. he worked in big budget films like "sea biscuit" dead. kroory booker was elected t senator of new jersey replacing the late frank lawsuutenberglau. the new capacity means a plane taking off or landing every 15 seconds. it will bring noise tie lot of neighborhoods but it may reduce

o'hare's on-time percentage. they now rank last among major airports. the other thing congress agreed to before leaving town last night was the title ambassador caroline kennedy. the daughter of jfk was confirmed by the u.s. senate to serve as the next u.s. ambassador to japan. it's a vital relationship for this country. japan is our largest trading partner. 54,000 americans are still stationed there, many of them, of course, attached to the home of the navy's seventh fleet. when we come back tonight, an american original. a unique federal employee thrilled to be back at her post this evening. for your personal economy, helping you readjust your retirement plan along the way, rethink how you're invested, and refocus as your career moves forward. wherever you are today, a fidelity i.r.a. has a wide range of investment choices to help you fine-tune

your personal economy. call today, and we'll make it easy to move that old 401(k) to a fidelity i.r.a. her busy saturday begins with back pain, when... hey pam, you should take advil. why? you can take four advil for all day relief. so i should give up my two aleve for more pills with advil? you're joking right? for my back pain, i want my aleve.

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sleep. add breathe right to your cold medicine. shut your mouth and sleep right. breathe right. finally here tonight, of all those federal workers who got dressed for work and headed back to their jobs for the first time this morning since the government shutdown, perhaps nobody was more delighted to be at her post than a woman named betty reed soskin whose job it is to give a firsthand account about working women during world war ii. she knows the story because she lived it. and tonight she is back on the job telling it once again. her story from nbc's kristen dalgren.

>> reporter: for most 92-year-olds, work is a thing of the past. >> yes, we're open today. >> reporter: but for betty reed soskin, being back on the job today made her feel like a kid again. >> it was like going to school for the first day after summer. >> let me show you. come on. >> reporter: ranger betty is the nation's oldest park ranger based at the world war i national home front park in riverside, california and out of work for the past 16 days. >> this national park service facility is closed. >> reporter: we first caught up with ranger betty as she struggled with the shutdown. >> time for me is precious. my whole identity has become under that hat. >> reporter: but it's not just a hat. ranger betty, whose great-grandmother was born into slavery, lives to teach about the greatest mobilization of workers into history. workers from the segregated south all came together to build ships, sometimes more than one a

day. >> this park brings us a chance and a way to go back and revisit that era that we moved through too fast to learn from. >> reporter: like lessons in working together that betty says could have come in handy in washington. >> have you ever, in your 92 years, seen anything like this? >> no. >> reporter: for more than two weeks, no one was allowed into the park, including surviving rosies here for a reunion last weekend. but today ranger betty is back, welcoming everyone with a smile and the perspective only a 92-year-old can give. >> it was disconcerting because i live with a sense of urgency now. it's a period where, if i don't get it right, i don't have time to do it again. >> reporter: a living bridge to history. >> okay, see you. >> reporter: just happy to be back on the job. krten dalgren, nbc news, richmond, california. >> here's to ranger betty and all her colleagues. that's our broadcast on a

thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we, of course, hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. good night.