three-story structure constructed from 1.5 million bottles. on our broadcast here tonight, a milestone for the american economy. question is how many americans will feel what happened today? the gathering storm over nuclear terrorism and who the president called together to deal with it. family ties, the uproar grows over that boy sent back to russia by his adoptive mother. and behind bars, keeping little children with their mothers as a debt to society gets repaid. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. you might not have been aware of it. there is a good chance you

didn't feel anything when it happened today, but when the closing bell sounded a milestone was reached. the dow closed above 11,000. the experts are fond of terms like breaking through the 11,000 barrier to describe what happened today, but how will it help the millions of americans who couldn't feel any farther away from wall street, in economic terms, because they are in the grips of an economic downturn and high unemployment? it is where we begin with david favor of cnbc. david, we have a graphic i want to show you. it shows three big events, really. starting with the last time we were here, 11,000 and the big dip, 9/11, strong runup to 14,000 in '07, the economic crash, march 9th about exactly a year ago. here we are at 11,000. the question is what does it mean? >> well yeah, you know, it is only a number, brian. that being said it is certainly indicative of how far we've come in the last year. a little over a year ago panic reigned in our financial market,

there was great concern about our economy and that was reflected in a dow at 6,600. hadn't been there in 12 years. we have come a long way since then. but unfortunately a lot of people who watch this show who look td at their 401(k)s or iras said i had enough. it is not clear to me the individual investor has benefitted from this rally from last year, indicating how few shares have been traded each day on wall street. not typical amounts for a rally of this type. >> i'm looking at the copy of "newsweek" magazine out today. it says "america's back." we have a classic disconnect. we hear numbers out of wall street, we see covers of magazines like that, people watching at home, millions of people in the grips of unemployment and poor financial times wondering when they are going to start feeling some of this. >> that is the key question for this economy. far be it to me to seem

unpatriotic, but one has to wonder when our economy is going to grow. growth is going to depend on the u.s. consumer. unemployment still remains very, very high. we are going to hear a lot from corporate america about how much money cooperations made. they have done well. that is why the stock market is up. they have done well because of productivity gains. they fired a lot of people in 2008 and 2009. they found they can do more with less. the question is when they get back to hiring. >> this is why we turn to you. thank you, as always. reporting on tonight's latest economic numbers. in washington tonight, 47 world leaders have gathered for a summit on the most serious of topics, nuclear security and the worry and instability that can come from knowing, fearing some nuclear materials could be out there loose. our chief white house correspondent chuck todd is covering for us tonight. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the president is using his international bully pulpit to focus the world and america on

what they believe is the number one danger in the world right now, nuclear terrorism. the leaders gathered as news emerged that pakistan is expanding its nuclear program as it struggles with terrorist camps hiding within its own borders. the administration says the pakistanis insist their stock pile and nuclear fuel is security. but privately the administration has its doubts. some experts agree. >> for my money pakistan is the most dangerous country on earth. it helped osama bin laden. about 60 kilometers from the nuclear facilities. >> reporter: the nuclear fuel in question, highly enriched uranium. it is used in power plantes and can be used to make nuclear weapons. the problem is securing it. >> it is our most preventible threat. you lock up the material, the uranium and the plutonium and prevent the terrorists from getting the one thing they can't make themselves. >> reporter: russia, great britain, france and china and

limited programs, india and pakistan are here. the administration is urging countries to use nuclear fuel in their power plants that is harder to weaponize. it wants more secured facilities for weaponized fuel. today ukraine accepted the idea. >> this is something the united states has tried to make happen for more than ten years. >> reporter: securing that former soviet republic's nuclear material could become an american burden. the administration left open the door for storing the fuel in this country. >> when forced with the choice of having that material stored safely here or taking the risk that it may or may not be secured somewhere else, particularly in highly volatile regions in the world, our choice, quite clearly, is to have that here. >> reporter: the president has spent a lot of time in one-on-one meetings before the start of this summit, the most important of which a 90-minute session with the head of china where they have gotten some commitment, brian, that china

will not veto any effort in the united nations to issue new, tougher sanctions against iran. we just don't know the level of toughness. >> our chief white house correspondent, chuck todd. chuck, thanks. now to the story we covered so closely all weekend long. the nation of poland still in shock tonight, understandably so, after the top tier of polish leaders including the president all died in saturday's plane crash. even in the face of this overwhelming national grief the investigation continues along with government there, our own jim maceda has the latest from warsaw. jim, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. well, poles returned to work on monday, their hearts were elsewhere. the shock of the fatal air crash mixed with growing questions about how it could have happened. beginning a week of national mourning, poland's grief was quiet and dignified. school children across the

country observed a minute of silence in memory of their lost president lech kaczynski. in australia auswitch many marched. and in warsaw some stood in line to sign a book of condolences. >> we don't know how to live without our president. we feel very, very sad. >> reporter: as poland mourned russian investors confirmed they identified the body of maria kaczynski, the president's wife. their closed coffins will lie in state at the palace tomorrow. investigators say the likely cause of the crash which killed 96 is pilot error. the black boxes revealed no technical fault. some analysts say the pilots may have been pressured by passengers, even the president

himself, to get them on time despite heavy fog to a memorial at the site of the massacre of polish world war ii pows at the hands of the soviet secret police. >> there were people waiting for the service to begin. i think the alternative was flying to moscow, suggested by ground control, was simply out of the question. >> reporter: today poland's chief prosecutor said there was no evidence of any such pressure so far. but his office will conduct an analysis of background sound recordings during the flight which could trigger new leads. we want to know if there was any pressure on the pilots from third parties. we must cover all our bases, he said. a state funeral for poland's presidential couple could happen on saturday but polish officials say preferably not before all the 96 victims are identified, mostly through dna matching and that could take much longer.

>> jim maceda, flanked by candles in warsaw, poland. in afghanistan today the deadly encounter in kandahar. u.s. troops opened fire on a bus carrying civilians killing at least five of them. the u.s. command there called it a tragic loss of life, but it has inflamed anti-american feeling in the area just as a major new offensive is about to get under way. nbc's john yang is in afghanistan. >> reporter: chanting death to america, protestors burned tires to block the main road out of kandahar. it followed a predawn incident where a u.s. patrol fired on a civilian passenger bus. at least five people died, one of them a woman. 18 others were wounded including this man. when we were close to the convoy, he said, suddenly they opened fire at us. afghan and nato officials say the bus was west of kandahar heading to herat. there were conflicting reports but the u.s. military said the

bus approached the slow-moving patrol from behind and soldiers tried to wash the driver with a flashlight, three flares and hand signals. the bus kept getting closer and they opened fire. the bus driver said he was trying to stop when the shooting began. since last summer troops have killed 30 civilians around vehicle check points or military convoys. coalition commanders acknowledge none of them turned out to be a threat. >> we are in the ninth year of conflict. the number of civilian casualties are growing year by year. certainly it is frustrating the afghan people in general because they want to have an end to this. >> reporter: in a statement afghan president hamid karzai called the incident in his home province unjustifiable. yesterday karzai cautioned tribal leaders against reacting strongly to civilian deaths. leave this fight to me, he said. this is my job. today's events are likely to

complicate planning for a summertime military offensive aimed at driving the taliban out of kandahar where their movement began and where afghan support is crucial for u.s. efforts. john yang, nbc news, kabul. tonight our justice correspondent pete williams is confirming that naji planned to enter the u.s. subway system with an accomplice, both carrying bombs in backpacks. planning to enter at grand central and times square subway stops and choose whether to bomb the one, two, three or six trains. nbc news has also learned a fourth suspect in the plot was arrested in afghanistan and expected to be extradited to this country.

the vatican made another move to try to get ahead of the child abuse scandal. an acknowledgement that priests who commit such acts should be accountable under the law. the story from ann thompson. >> reporter: the church states for the first time that every case by sexual abuse by priest should be reported by police anywhere in the world. something u.s. church officials have had to do since 2002. the guidelines require local diocese to investigate every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric. in cases where a priest has been convicted of sexual abuse of a minor or the evidence is overwhelming, the case can be taken directly to the pope and he can dismiss the priest. the vatican says reporting crimes to the police has been its internal policy since 2003. but now it is clearly bowing to pressure says this papal biographer. >> they must be quick in answering the issues, to be very transparent in his policy and also to give exact figures.

>> reporter: the vatican has been under siege as charges of sexual abuse by clergy swept europe in recent weeks. calls to act went unheeded during holy week. just today a report commissioned by the church found children were is a disically tormented in the pope's native bavaria. >> this makes bishops more accountable. this is going to put their feet to the fire to make sure they handle these cases appropriately and i think that is very good. >> reporter: but victims of abuse want more than guidelines. >> what we would like to see is the pope to be telling the bishops to open up all their records and turn over all records to police. >> reporter: further fueling the controversy, comments from the vatican secretary of state on a visit to chile he said it is homosexuality not celibacy linked to pedophilia, but offered no proof to support his

allegation. he called the behavior of pedophile priest scandalous and said pope benedict would have more surprising initiatives coming up regarding the crisis but he did not specify what those steps would be. >> ann thompson with the latest developments in the story. thanks. when our broadcast continues in just a moment tonight, more questions, some answers about an american woman who sent a 7-year-old boy back to russia alone. later, keeping women and their children together and offering peace in a sometimes hostile place. mes hostile place. their imported water? don't be ridiculous. work with the company that's helping more people reach retirement than anyone else -- because when it comes to investing, you should never settle. fidelity investments. high arches. (announcer) people everywhere are discovering

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you're looking at the scene in west virginia today. memorial wreaths and a moment of silence for the 29 miners killed a week ago now in the explosion at the upper big branch mine. federal investigators have arrived on the scene but won't go into that mine until all of the miners' bodies have been removed from it. the state department said today it is sending a delegation to russia to clarify any changes

to adoption rules after an american mother sent her adopted son on a flight back to russia all by himself. the case has caused outrage in russia and here at home in shelbyville, tennessee, where the family lives. our own ron allen is there tonight with the latest on this case. >> reporter: a swing set and toys are the only signs of family life at tori hansen's home, the adoptive mother why she has to fully explain why she put her 7-year-old son on a plane back to russia. where according to care takers has shown no sign he is violent as hansen claimed. >> i show from medical personnel that all mental and physical conditions are good. >> reporter: the emotional behavior hansen says she feared does not surprise some doctors who work with international adoptions. children from orphanages who sometimes have difficulty trusting anybody. >> if there is not any stability

in the caregivers providing care to these children that affects their ability to bond with an adult. >> reporter: james and barbara diggs adopted an 8-year-old russian girl with severe emotional problems. >> she has a problem with compulsive lying, severe disobedience. >> reporter: after years of therapy did not help the diggs ended the adoption legally. the girl lives with a family better able to cope. that is how adoptions that don't work out usually end out. families don't stay together about 1% of the time there is a a couple of hundreds of children and their parents separated each year. there is a huge uproar about a mom sending an adopted child back. she has been called cruel, a child abuser. some lawyers say no crime was committed. children often fly alone. >> there was no intent to

abandon, there was no intent to put the child in any type of danger. >> reporter: late today local authorities say hansen has no plans to discuss what happened unless she is charged with a crime. ron allen, nbc news, shelbyville, tennessee. when we come back, what passengers say are the best and worst airlines and the finalists might surprise even some frequent flyers. uhh... was it rather old and wrinkly? yeah, you saw it? umm fancy a crisp? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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the annual survey of airline passenger satisfaction or the lack of it is just out.

at the top of the list for the second year in a row is hawaiian. the biggest news in the report is about half of all flights these days are on commuter airlines, often those owned by the big carriers and we passengers mostly don't like them. the bottom four carriers, by the way, delta, comair, atlantic southeast and american eagle, three of those owned by delta. we put the survey on our website nightly.msnbc.com. in an unrelated story the website the onion is reporting that american airlines is going to start charging fees to nonpassengers including people who aren't even thinking about flying. luckily the onion is a comedy website but the fees are getting close to that. former nbc "tonight show" host announced a shocker today.

he will do a new 11:00 p.m. comedy show on tbs. he said "in three months i have gone from network television to twitter to performing live in theaters. now i'm headed to basic cable. my plan is working perfectly." the show will air mondays through thursdays on tbs. it starts in november. as we said here friday night there were reports last week elizabeth taylor was engaged to be married again. this time to her manager jason winters. today taylor denied the story via twitter saying that while winters was her "dearest friend, they were not engaged." it would have made for nuptial number nine. when we come back, trying to keep young children with their mothers in an unusual place. mothers in an unusual place. if you're at high risk of heart disease and taking a statin to lower bad cholesterol, along with diet, adding trilipix can lower fatty triglycerides

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>> reporter: in so many ways the ohio reformatory for women is exactly what you would expect. and then -- there's the unexpected. the state's largest prison is home to 2,500 inmates and these nine temporary residents. takia patterson is serving a year for theft. her cellmate, 7-month-old son takim. >> he's a very happy baby. >> reporter: and mom is happy to have him. in most cases babies borned to inmates are whisked away within hours to live with relatives or in foster care. ohio's program lets nonviolent offenders keep their children for a year in an isolated unit. >> babies belong with their mother whether in prison or not. >> reporter: prison officials say the program is mostly for the babies so they are not deprived of a parent. >> i think it is important we invest in these peoples lives right now. >> reporter: and there is a lot

invested, from clothes and shoes to daycare. when 20-year-old inmate heather o'brien goes to her ged class, her 4-month-old stays with one of three nannies, also inmates, all of this is paid for with a government grant. other states use taxpayer funds, for some, a questionable expense. >> i don't think the department of corrections should be in the child rearing business. they can barely do the job they are supposed to be doing. >> reporter: studies show programs like these reduce reoffense rates, offering these moms hope for a better future. >> when you go back into the world sometimes people don't want to give you a second chance. >> reporter: here they get the tools for a second chance without missing any of their baby's firsts. >> i'm so thankful i'm here for the special moments. >> reporter: this year of bonding made their time served time well spent. nbc news, marysville, ohio. that is our broadcast for this monday night which happens to be the 65th anniversary of

the death of president franklin delano roosevelt in warm springs, georgia. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. as always, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com