on our broadcast tonight, hhow safe are commuter airline? what we learned today about a big crash that could have ramifications affecting millions of passengers. those americans arrested in haiti for trying to get children out. there are new developments in this strange case on the three-week anniversary of the disaster. unlocking the mystery of infants who die in their sleep. tonight there is an important new clue. and the long list of nominees this year for best picture. it begins a whole new era for the oscars. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. if you fly a lot these days, that means you're likely flying on commuter airlines more of the time. they fly under the brand name of the big name carriers a lot of the time, but they're not. their pilots look the same passing through the airport, but often they are not. the stats are not on their side. every fatal airline crash since 2001 involved a commuter aiine. most recently, the loss of 50 lives near buffalo, new york. today, the final report on that crash came out and the inescapable conclusion appears to be it didn't have to happen. it's where we begin tonight with nbc's tom costello in our washington newsroom. >> reporter: hi, brian. the ntsb's report coming out i record time. regional airline colgan air was flying for connental, but flying continental's logo. today the ntsb heard evidence this crew wasn't up to the job

and it's time for some changes. the ntsb's investigation into what caused flight 3407 to crash outside buffalo points to a complete breakdown in cockpit discipline and basic piloting. first officer rebecca shaw was texting from the cockpit just before take-off, a violation of faa rules. during much of the hour-long flight from newark, shaw and captain renslow were talking about personal matters, not the flight. >> it was if the flight was just a means for the captain to conduct a conversation with this young first officer. >> reporter: as the plane approached buffalo, the crew failed to notice their air speed had dropped. when cockpit warnings went off, captain renslow who failed multiple faa tests and check rides did exactly the wrong thing, and pulled the nose up causing the plane to stall and crash. at headquarters today, family and friends were read in remembrance of the 50 people who

died. among them, kevin johnston's family. >> there is a lot of anger and frustration that this has gone on, that they were so incompetent up there. >> reporter: among the ntsb's findings, crew fatigue, a lack of training, lack of professionalism and maturity, a lack of experience and basic skills all contributed to the crash. >> unfortunately, it's taken 50 more lives for us to focus additional attention on these issues that have not been addressed. >> reporter: today, colgan air insisted the crew was trained properly, but "we cannot speculate on why they did not use their training." with regional airlines involved in accidents, a former chairman says new-hire pilot should have more cockpit time. >> you can get a job with something like 250 to 300 hours and maybe that's not good enough. >> reporter: there is a big push for new pilots to have 1,500 hours of cockpit time and much more training, more monitoring.

meanwhile, the ntsb is now planning new hearings into the relationship between the big airlines and the small regional airlines to fly those code-sharing routes. >> what a haunting story for the families of those 50 souls. tom costello in washington tonight. thanks. 62 years ago today, president truman ordered the defense secretary to take the needed steps to remove discrimination in the military. he was talking about race. today the topic was sexual orientation, specifically the clinton-era policy known as don't ask, don't tell, a policy that is now on borrowed time. more on this story from our pentagon correspondent jim miklazewski. >> reporter: in a hearing today on capitol hill, the nation's top military commander revealed the worst-kept secret in the armed services. >> i have served with homosexuals since 1968. >> reporter: admiral mike mullen said it's time to scrap don't ask, don't tell that prohibits

gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. >> we have a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. >> reporter: in his state of the union, president obama made repeal of don't ask, don't tell a political priority. >> this year i will work with congress. >> reporter: today defense secretary gates says he supports the president, but indicated it could take two years to implement the change. >> the question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it. >> reporter: that drew a blistering review from republican senator john mccain, suggesting gates was playing politics. >> it requires the agreement of congress in order to repeal it, and so your statement, obviously is one which is clearly biased. >> reporter: there is an estimated 65,000 gays and lesbians in the military and 69% of americans believe they have the right to serve.

gay rights advocates claim the shift in public opinion is generational. >> the majority of service members today are between 18 and 34, and they have no trouble, no problems serving with gays and lesbians every day. >> reporter: for now, secretary gates would like to loosen up on enforcement, to permit more gays to remain in the military while don't ask-don't tell is still the law. jim miklazewski, nbc news, the pentagon. we turn our focus now to haiti. first off, an update tonight on the relief effort now three weeks after the earthquake. there are signs that the food distribution effort is slowly improving, but also new signs of desperation in the face of so much great need. as "the new york times" puts it tonight, paper coupons that can be redeemed for 55 pounds of rice have become more valuable these days than money in haiti and counterfeiters are printing up fake coupons. a government official tells nbc news tonight tens of thousands of people are now getting paid

every day to clean up the huge piles of debris, and that organized tent cities with large waterproof tents are starting to take place of sheets held up with sticks across the countryside. now we move to the latest on those americans arrested for, as they tell it, trying to get children out to a better life. there are some new twists in thp strange story tonight. nbc's michelle kosinksi with us from port-au-prince. >> reporter: good evening, brian. a judge met with some of those americans today but their lawyer was not allowed in. there is no decision whether they will be charged with attempted child trafficking. the prime minister says it is clear they knew what they were doing was wrong, something they deny. the americans held in a haitian jail are finally getting their time before a judge. >> we are meeting with the government officials and talking with them. everything is going very well. >> reporter: families worried sick in idaho. >> we are doing everything,

everything we can to secure their release. >> reporter: the group of baptist missionaries say they were transporting 33 children, including infants, these two sisters, 13-year-old and his three siblings from orphanages in haiti to a new one they prepared in the dominican republic. along the way, this human rights activist told the u.n. she had met group leader laura silsby and warned her that her plaas it stood could be against the law. >> you need to be very careful. you could get arrested and you don't want to end up in a haitian jail. >> reporter: the americans claim all surviving parents gave their consent, something the families' neighbors explained. >> some of them lost their houses, okay? so they expect to have a better life. >> reporter: some of the parents have come here to the rescue of the haitian government displaced 33, but they are still not allowed to see their own children.

>> it's unclear why these children haven't been on the bus. why did the parents give them away? >> reporter: this protective big brother said he knew he was going away permanently and wanted to go with nice people to a nice place where he could play. waiting for a decision for the foreigners who said they wanted to save him will themselves be punished. the issue here was a lack of proper documentation. now the u.n. and other organizations are working on creating this data base that would track children not only to prevent trafficking, but also to reunite children with their parents, brian. >> michelle kosinksi part of our team in port-au-prince, haiti. thanks. there is late news tonight about the man accused of trying to blow up the jet on final approach into detroit on christmas day. for this story, we want to go to our justice correspoent pete williams also in our washington newsroom. good evening. >> reporter: brian, this is a major boost in the government's effort to learn more about the al qaeda group in yemen considered responsible for the attack. federal officials now say that

omar abdulmutallah has been freely talking to the fbi and has been since last thursday. officials say the organization is current and reliable. abdullah talked to the fbi about an hour after he was arrested christmas day. then he stopped answering questions. his renewed cooperation may lead to a plea agreement sparing him a trial that could have brought the death penalty, brian. >> pete williams in our washington bureau with the latest on this, thanks. we have the latest on toyota's massive recall. obama administration took a harder line with the company today. the secretary of transportation said the government has not finished investigating possible safety defects. he also said there is a possibility the company could face a civil fine on top of the rest of it.

toyota sales fell sharply in january. nourprise since they stopped selling most of their popular cars due to the recall. toyota sales officially dropped 16%. ford and gm seemed to have taken advantage of that, double-digit gains for both u.s. automakers. chrysler still struggled, down 8% even with toyota mostly out of the game. first lady michelle obama invid a oup of cabinet members and congressional leaders to talk about r campaign of child obesity. later in an interview to air on "the today show" matt lauer talked to the first lady about that very topic and the overall effort to get health care reform passed. >> this is the right thing for the country. it's hard. it's scary. it's confusing. but i hope for our country's sake we can do it now and not wait until things get worse. i agree with the president when he said we don't have the option to do nothing. he's right.

>> you can see much more of that tomorrow morning on "today." when our broadcast continue hears on a tuesday night, why scientists are saying they could be a big step closer to unlocking the final mystery of sudden infant death syndrome. and later, celebrating black lstory month. celebrating black celebrating black history month. like, if we wanted to travel? husband: or start a business? advisor: yep. wife: or take some classes? sure. or find the best cheeseburger? the line isn't for everything. whatever your destination, fidelity has the people, guidance and investments to help you find your way. and get a cold... ...you need a cold medicine with a heart. only coricidin hpb has a heart, right here.

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among some 2,000 families a year who lose a child to sudden infant death syndrome, commonly known as sids. >> i can't imagine what you go through. i know what i go through is also very private. >> reporter: their baby andrew seemed healthy, but his death at eight months brought grief, anger and many unanswered questions. >> with the death of a child comes complications of unbelievable guilt and responsibility, this happened on my watch. >> reporter: the known risk factors include present maturi, being male, over-bundling, maternal smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke. new research from boston's children's hospital and others suggest something else is going on, a deficiency of serotonin which in infants helps regulate breathing, sleep, blood pressure and heart rate. >> if there is too little, that circuit doesn'function well, the alarm system doesn't work and the baby when stressed goes on to die. >> reporter: even with today's report, sleep position is an independent risk factor for sids.

that's why mack here who is just a day old when he is ready for his nap will sleep on his back. >> a normal baby will wake up and stir and turn its head and get itself out of that dangerous situation. face-down baby may be rebreathing carbon dioxide and this builds up. >> reporter: there is currently no screening test for serotonin levels in the brain, but they hope some day there will be. what do you hear from parents? >> what we hear is hope. i don't know how else to say it. >> reporter: hope that fewer babies die and more families are spared this terrible grief. dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, boston. when our broadcast continues in just a moment, a big change on the west coast. hange on the west coast. (announcer) funny thing about sinus pressure you can blow your nose

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use caution when driving or operating machinery. chantix should not be taken with other quit-smoking products. ♪ my benjamin, he helped me with the countdown. "ben, how many days has it been?" "5 days, mom. 10 days, mom." i think after 30 days he got tired of counting. [ male announcer ] talk to your doctor to find out if prescription chantix is right for you. this year's oscar nominations are out. in the category of best picture, it might take less time to list the movies that aren't nominated. that's because this year for the first time, ten pictures are nominated in that one category. lots of even dieard movie fans are wondering why such a wide field of films? our own lee cowan has the story from los angeles.

>> the ten films selected as best picture nominees for 2009 are -- >> reporter: if you're the betting type, the odds of you naming most, if not all the nominated films in your office pool this year were better than ever. not just because there were the obvious contenders like the blockbuster "avatar" or "the hurt locker." most agree those were a given. this year you almost could have thrown a dart at a movie marquise and come up with a nominee. >> you want to be in the boat? >> yeah, alone. >> reporter: in all there are ten films that got the coveted best picture nod. surprises were "blind side," "up" and "district nine." there were others, "education," "a serious man" inglorious basterds." and "precious." there haven't been this many since 1943 when "casablanca" got the oscar.

>> play it again, sam, for old time's sake. >> the academy wants to give the nod not just artistic, but popular, as well. there was a bit of an uproar last year when "the dark knight" was snubbed. this year movies that stole audiences' hearts like "the blind side" or the animated film "up," now have equal oscar footings as movies like "an education" or "a serious man." >> it's much more populous. when you up the vote, you'll make it more about what people want and make it more commercial. >> reporter: by march, most believe there will only be a handful of serious contenders. a larger field gives viewers on oscar night more to cheer about and movie studios more to curl about and a winner is still a winner.

an oscar can't be watered down. lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. and we put the full list of oscar nominees, all categories on nightly.msnbc.com. when we come back, ann curry can only try. s on nightly.msnbc.com. when we come back, ann curry can only try. for a limited time t, you can earn double extra bucks with your extracare card? for every two prescriptions purchased, you get two extra bucks. and you normally get 2% back, but noyou can earn 4% back on all cvs brand items. what a treat! sign up for double bucks today. only at cvs/pharmacy. start taking care of my heart, but i wasn't ready to give up taste. sometimes, sacrifice... is the name of the game. honey nut cheerios cereal... tastes great and can help... lower cholesterol. i guess i can do this. bee happy. bee healthy.

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finally tonight, we are marking black history month here all this week by profiling those who are making history right now, with the help of our partner website the grio.com and its list o100 influential people. tonight our own ann curry introduces us to a man who already invented himself once and has been in the reinvention business ever since. >> reporter: as a dancer, bill t. jones has never been one to sit still. a celebrated choreographer for the last 20 years in the modern dance world, by now he could have easily taken an artful bow. >> from the top, please. >> reporter: but instead, heas leapt to a new stage. >> reinventing the wheel again and again.

such is my lot. >> reporter: on broadway, in a role few have attained, that of director and choreographer. his show "fala" is an african musical, but a far cry from "the lion king," mixing the true story of fala with jones' own avant garde dance line. he has somehow spun into the mainstream. i was in this audience. a mostly caucasian audience that was doing "the clock." >> that clock, how do i trick people into understanding what it is to do something outlandish and free?

>> reporter: that freedom is among many feelings jones' layers into dances from his life, drawing in part from his family. he was one of 12 children in upstate new york. >> i don't think i can overstress what it was like to grow up in an african-american family in a german and italian community in the late '50s, early '60s. they were good people, but there was no blending. there was always this question out, who am i? >> reporter: creating a safe place to look inward, he founded a dance company in the '80s with his late partner arnie zain. now he has a new piece on lincoln. always pushing boundaries, to be an original, to be real. now making broadway stretch. >> look at this space, look at these lights. i want you to believe that we're in nigeria, 1978. wow, how did that happen?

>> reporter: one of the mottos or messages of this show is originality, not artificiality. you give the dancers a chance to let them be original in their own work. >> yes. if broadway could be that way. that we're actually saying to the world, take a solo. go for it. what you got? >> reporter: teaching a new dance for a new audience eager to see more. ann curry, nbc news, new york. >> great story. one more story before we go tonight from the entertainment world. we can show you a little bit what they've given us from the remaking of "we are the world," the new version of the video to aid haiti under production right now at jim henson studios out in l.a. the complete product will air for the first time anywhere on the planet during the olympic games' opening ceremonies from vancouver. just a few days away now. for us, for now, that is our broadcast for this tuesday night.

thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. hope to see you back here tomorrow night. good evening. good night. -- captions by vitac --