on our broadcast this evening, the big shift in a controversial american policy in a dangerous world and what does it say about iran. tonight, ann curry's interview with the president of iran. tonight, under arrest and accused of murdering a yale student. how police got their man. swine flu. tonight, we answer questions from you. another voice of a generation is gone. this evening, we remember a woman who made great music with a mission. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. it was famously called the access of evil by president bush. iran has been the subject of worry, intrigue, mistrust and mystery. it was a surprise when the new president said he's scrapping a controversial shield against iran's missiles. why the policy change and has anything changed about iran or u.s. policy toward them? in a moment, ann curry's exclusive interview with iran's president, ahmadinejad. first, the white house decision. savannah guthrie starting us off from there. good evening. >> reporter:ood evening. the plan to build missile defense bases was a pet project of president obama, one president obama never warmed up to. today, he scrapped the plans saying his strategy better adapts to a changing threat from iran.

sensitive to accusations the u.s. is abandoning allies in europe, the president took pains to explain missile defense isn't disappearing, it's changing. >> to put it simply, our new defense will provide stronger, smarter and swifter defenses of american forces and america's allies. >> reporter: the plan to build a large-scale missile defense base in poland was a darling of the bush administration, recommended by his defense secretary, robert gates, three years ago. today, gates said improvements in military technology, an intelligence that shows the real threat from iran is not long-range missiles, but short range ones. >> those who say we are scrapping missile defense europe are either misinformed or misrepresenting the reality of what we are doing.

>> reporter: gates said the new strategy will be operational sooner and relies on missile interceptors on ships. >> this decision was obviously rushed. >> reporter: republicans like senator john mccain were quick to pounce saying the administration is flay kating the russians at the expense of european allies hoping it can win russian cooperation. >> i think the main reason they made this decision is to appease the russians. they have this idea they can get the russians to play ball in other areas. there's no evidence, so far, that's going to be true. >> reporter: it was a responsible move. the white house insists there was no quo. somage itself -- some analysts say the white house deprived russia with a favorite excuse not to cooperate on iran. brian. >> savannah, thanks. now, to ann curry's

interview with president ahmadinejad in iran. they covered questions abouthe election that was rigged, the protest that erupted and the young woman who became a martyr of sorts. ann is reporting from tehran. >> reporter: good evening. his first interview with any news organizations since the disputed elections in june. they drew an outpouring of protest. inside and outside of iran, people are questioning the legitimacy of your presidency. it's important to ask you, mr. president, did you steal this election? >> translator: in iran, expressing one's point of view is fully permissible. it's free. if a person has an opinion to express within the confines of

the law, they are free to express such opinions. i don't see any problems. >> reporter: would you like to answer the question more directly given it's a question people around the world have asked? would you like to address the question, did you steal this election, sir? >> translator: i don't know what you mean by that. >> reporter: did you create conditions so that you would win no matter the vote? >> translator: it's very clear, whoever becomes a candidate will start a campaign and will do his outmost to win. i think we should be courageous enough to accept the vote of the people. it's more courageous than participating in the vote itself. >> reporter: i want to give you

an opportunity because i think it's important to react to the video that was seen by millions of people around the world, showing the death of this young lady. people were very upset watching this. she has come to symbolize the violence in the streets. i want to know, what were your emotions when you saw this video? >> translator: well, i was saddened as well. all the iranian people were saddened. we think that this incident is a suspicious death. we are treating it as a suspicious death. we are very sorry about this. i am sure that the truth will come to light.

>> reporter: she has come to represent what some in iran and some outside iran say has been a series of examples. human rights organizations estimate 4,000 people were arrested in the protests. some are still missing. there are reports of torture. there are even reports, mr. president, that so women protestors were raped in prison. your government acknowledged some protestors were killed. you often speak of compassion here inside iran. the question has to be asked, where was your compassion for your people? >> translator: first of all, all of us regret the fact that some people were killed.

two, the police officers and those who accompanied the police officers were killed. their numbers are higher compared to others. >> reporter: iran and the first talks between iran and the u.s. in nearly 30 years. what do you want from the united states? >> translator: a new arrangement should be put in place based on new principles so that the war is directed toward peace an tranquility. we have always believed in talking and negotiating. that is our logic. nothing has changed. >> reporter: are there conditions under which iran would weaponize? >> translator: well, nuclear

the past and the past generation. >> reporter: so, may i assume your answer to that question is no? >> translator: my response to what question? >> reporter: is there a condition under which iran would weaponize? >> translator: we don't need such -- we don't have such a need, nuclear weapons. >>reporter: so the answer is no, sir? >> translator: i don't know what you mean by no. >> reporter: i'm asking if there are any scenarios in which you would change what you say is your course and move into creating a nuclear weapon. am i correct, the answer is no? >> translator: we do not see any need for such weapons. >> reporter: people will remark that you did not say no. i asked the same question three times. are you sure you want that to be your final answer, sir?

>> translator: well, you can take from this whatever you want, madam. >>reporter: we asked about the three young american hikers being held for straying across the border. we'll have more on that tomorrow morning on "today." brian. >> we'll look forward to it. in this country, word came from new haven, connecticut today, a 24-year-old yale university lab worker under arrest and charged with the murder of annie le, the grad student who disappeared eight days ago, just before her own wedding. jeff rossen has the latest. >> reporter: shortly after 8:00 a.m. today, at a super8 motel, 30 miles from yale's campus, authorities handcuffed and arrested raymond clark, an animal and lab technician charged with the murder in the choking death of annie le.

the judge set bail at $3 million. ray clark worked with annie le inside this lab on campus where her body was later discovered inside a wall. >> there are reports about a romantic relationship. this is not true. this is not about urban crime. it's not about university crime or domestic crime, but an issue of workplace violence. >> reporter: police won't discuss a possible motive. they made an arrest after comparing clark's dna to dna found at the crime scene. >> things never match up 100%. you have to make sure everything points in one direction. >> reporter: on yale's campus, the arrest provided relief. there's concern the accused is a university employee. >> he's been a lab technician since december, 2004. his supervisor reports that nothing in the history of his employment here gave any indication that his involvement in such a crime might be possible.

>> reporter: tonight, he's in a high security prison. he'll be back in court next month. if convicted, he could face up to life in prison. jeff rossen, nbc news, new haven, connecticut. when our broadcast continues along the way on a thursday night, so many questions right about now about swine flu. tonight, we answer some of those you sent to us. later, remembering mary travers of peter, paul & mary and what her voice meant. is right for your body. tylenol 8 hour works with your body, with one layer that dissolves quickly... ...one layer that lasts all day ...and no layers that irritate your stomach the way that ibuprofen can. it's tough on your body pain. not on your body. you something about osteoporosis you don't already know.

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dangerous side effects. federal officials say they don't expect any. it's similar to the vaccine for seasonal flu that's given hundreds of millions of times. bottom line, no serious side effects are expected. there's a large monitoring system in place to detect them if they appear. tammy asks -- >> if one tested positive for the h1n1 do you need to get vaccinated? >> reporter: if you tested positive, you do not. most were never tested so they don't know what made them sick. bottom line, if there's any doubt, get the vaccination. richard wants to know, if someone is in a hospital emergency room, are they capable of transmitting the swine flu? >> yes, they are. hospitals should have procedures

in place to keep flu away from other patients. if a person is exposed and they do get the flu, symptoms appear between one and seven days after exposure. bottom line, if you can, stay out of the emergency room. natalie from texas writes, should we all art wearing face masks and should we keep away from flying until next summer? officials say there's little evidence wearing a mask can protect you. there's no warning to avoid flying. they emphasize, the vast majority of cases are mild or moderate. the most important piece of advice is not to panic. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. >> one of our own was schooled today in proper sneeze etiquette. the scene was the white house briefing room. the health secretary, kathleen selius was in the middle of a briefing when chuck todd came forth with a robust and productive sneeze. he swears he covered his nose with his hand.

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as of today, this nation has a new medal of honor recipient. he could not accept it for himself. for the first time in his presidency, barack obama awarded the medal of honor to an american soldier, today. the nation's highest military honor was accepted by the family of an extraordinary man who died in afghanistan. jim miklaszewski has the story. >> reporter: june, 2006. on his second tour in afghanistan. he was both a soldier and a diplomat. two weeks after he's seen here, he was killed in combat. >> i was devastated. i couldn't sleep. not my jerry. >> reporter: his parents say jared was a natural born leader. he cared deeply for others.

they weren't surprised he gave his life to save another. >> i couldn't expect him to do anything else. because that's how he lived in life. >> reporter: they were on a surveillance mission when they were suddenly ambushed. staff sergeant chris cunningham was there. >> it was very, very intense. >> reporter: outnumbered three to one, they took cover from an avalanche of enemy fire. one soldier s quickly killed. one of the wounded was out in the open and exposed to the enemy. without hesitation, he left the safety of his position to reach the wounded soldier. not once, but twice, he was driven back by intense enemy fire. >> he went out again and he was determined to get his soldier. >> reporter: the third time, he was hit by a grenade. medical reportly wounded, he asked his soldiers to tell his

parents he loved them. president obama presented the nation's highest award, the medal of honor. to those who knew him, he was already a hero. >> he wasn't a g.i. joe or rombo. he was a great human being. a tremendous humanitarian. that's the way i want my son remembered. >> we're back in a moment with another great voice of our age that's passed from the scene. ♪ about smoking - the one thing is it dominates your life, and it dominated mine. and the sad thing about it is that you can always use an excuse if cigarettes don't kill me, oh well - something else will. but, you can't use that as an excuse. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. it was very interesting that you could smoke on the first week. chantix gave me that extra help that i needed

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♪ puff the magic dragon lived by the sea. she was mary of peter, paul & mary, when we learned of the death of mary travers, she died of leukemia. it was another loss in a string of prominent deaths lately. mary travers was all about harmony in all forms. here is george lewis. ♪ where have our flowers gone. >> reporter: peter, paul & mary burst on the screen in 1961.

a group put together by bob dylan's manager. they launched his career as well. ♪ the answer my friends is ♪ blowing in the wind ♪ the answer is blowing in the wind. >> reporter: active in the civil rights and antiwar movements, they took part in the 1963 march in washington. >> i have a dream. >> reporter: and provided musical accompaniments. ♪ >> everybody mattered. everybody counted. >> reporter: peter, paul & mary broke up in 1970. later, reunited from time to time until her leukemia forced her off the stage. ♪ take to leave you up to say

good-b good-bye. >> reporter: this summer, we said good-bye not only to mary travers, but many icons from the '60s, '70s and '80s. ♪ so kiss me and smile for me. >> one way people discover the mortality is when they are demi gods and idols die. >> reporter: mary travr thes is survived by her husband, two daughters and grandchildren. ♪ the answer my friend is ♪ blow iing in the wind ♪ the answer is love, passion and all of us working for it together. god bless you. >> reporter: george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. that's our broadcast on a thursday night. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams, we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. we'll leave you something from the tomorrow show.

181 on nbc. good night. ♪ don't know when i'll be back, again ♪ ♪ i still hate to go