on the broadcast tonight, up in the air. some airports in europe are open again, some flights are on, but not a lot. this could go on for a while. would you fly through this stuff if the airlines told you it was safe? sugar and salt. health news tonight on two staples of our diet. making a difference. remembering a passionate and inspiring woman who dedicated her life to fighting for others. how much did goldman sachs just make? "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. we may be at this for months.

no one knows what this volcano in iceland is going to do. tonight after a scare over a new cloud of volcanic ash, the airlines are bound and determined to get back up in the air. and tonight we've seen the first few flights land at london's heathrow airport. this was the scene there tonight. european air space slowly comes back to life again. we can see it on live flight tracking systems like this one. yellow icons are jets in the air. you can almost see the ash line through europe north to south. while ireland and parts of germany are still restricted, others countries are coming back online after six days of no flights. not knowing what the future of this volcano may bring. we begin our coverage with dawna friesen at london heathrow airport. >> reporter: good evening, brian. here at heathrow for a while now the only sound you could hear was the sound of birds singing. tonight the familiar roar of

aircraft engines is back. europe has begun flying again after the airlines put immense pressure on the authorities to let them get back to business. europe has finally become flying again. the first flight onto heathrow airport for six days touched down, a british airways flight from vancouver. >> everybody on board was cheering and clapping when we landed. >> very high spirits. >> reporter: earlier today, across europe, the skies were busy. about 50% of the usual 28,000 flights made it. for the lucky first passengers, it was a relief. >> i think we are just a little nervous that we are the first flight flying out and hope we make it back to the united states san francisco okay. >> reporter: with much of europe flying, the pressure was on britain to open, too. british airways forced the issue by putting 26 long haul flights in the air on route to london before the ban was lifted. within hours, it was. >> despite the presence of ash in the atmosphere, it is

possible for safe routes through areas where there are low levels of ash to be established. >> reporter: that includes flight path to heathrow, europe's busiest airport and all other london airports. the levels of ash now believed to be so small that it's safe to fly. there was immense pressure from the airlines which lost more than $1 billion to get back to business. while no one doubts volcanic ash can jam aircraft engines, there is dispute how much is too much. tonight britain's civil aviation authority said recent data from test flights and analysis from aircraft manufacturers, they believe planes can tolerate low levels of ash that currently exist over much of europe. tonight in iceland, the volcano that caused all this trouble is getting quieter. the amount of ash significantly reduced. >> this is nature. we can't control it and we can only guess about what might be ahead of us. >> reporter: for now at least, planes in europe and britain are cleared for take-off.

and more than 95,000 flights have been canceled in the last week. the airlines are warning that it could take weeks, perhaps longer for that backlog of passengers to be cleared up. >> dawna friesen starting us off from heathrow tonight. thanks. we heard some of the airlines say some of the flight restrictions were an overreaction. they've been losing a lot of business. they are so anxious to get back up in the air what about flying anywhere near this volcanic ash, even if they were willing to fly through it? our chief environmental correspondent anne thompson is here. anne, we learned a lot of these descents are steep so they spend the least amount of time possible flying through that ash cloud. we started talking about this in the newsroom today. would you fly if could you? >> somebody asked that of a noaa scientist on a conference call. the scientist said he would be cautious. that takes you back. >> that gets your attention. >> reporter: it does. he said the reason is scientists

don't know a lot about what's actually in the air. they don't know how much ash is in the air. they don't know the size of the ash. they don't know how high it's in the atmosphere, so all of that is a very imprecise science here that they are dealing with. what they do know is when that gritty ash, all those tiny particles of glass and rock get into jet engines they can cause big problems. they can cause the engine to fail. there have been from about 100 to 125 incidents since 1980 with that. planes do have radar that detects small particles, up to three centimeters. the kind we are talking about here is like talcum powder. it's that fine. you're talking about 0.01 millimeter. that's what makes it so difficult to determine when it's safe to fly. >> we are all feeling our way

through this the first night of restored flights in europe. we'll see how we do by morning. anne thompson, as always, thanks. every day of this disruption has hurt businesses. there are europeans stuck here in the states and americans stuck overseas. 40,000 americans in just great britain alone. there are bottle necks and heartaches on both sides of the atlantic. our own rehema ellis is at jfk tonight. >> reporter: good evening, brian. at one point 1,500 passengers were stuck here at jfk airport. now it's down to 270. 82 lucky folks were able to take showers in trailers set up here at the airport. across the country, after days of sleeping on airport cots, chairs and floors, thousands of stranded travelers are running out of patience. in newark they are anxious for updates. >> trying to go to france, anywhere in france. >> reporter: in atlanta, some american soldiers assigned

overseas were garrisoned in the terminal instead. >> i already said good-bye to them. it's just mean to go back and leave again. it's not right. >> reporter: businesses are hurting, too. the u.s. airline industry is losing an estimated $200 million a day with 63,000 flights in and out of the country canceled since last week. u.s. businesses that ship goods by air stand to lose nearly $13 billion because perishable items such as flowers, fruits and vegetables are now rotting away. ups, the giant package hauler, has been unable to fly directly to its hub in germany. instead, it's flying cargo into madrid, then driving packages to germany. from there, it's using ground transportation to reach all other european destinations. u.s. tourism is also affected. in new york alone, a city aching for cash, officials estimate a loss of $250 million in tourism-related revenue.

>> tourists from europe are no longer arriving. the ones who are still here are running out of money and not spending much anymore. >> reporter: what they are spending a lot of now is time on cots, like this man from london. stranded in cot city at jfk airport with a cardboard plane and a dream of going home. even though some u.s.-bound flights are opening up, it is expected this fly ban will affect spring tourism in places from new england down to florida, suffering from the absence of european visitors. brian? >> thanks. what an unbelievable event this is. back overseas, when we last saw nbc's stephanie gosk, she was showing us what it was like trying to get from london to madrid and it wasn't easy. in fact, she didn't make it. she got as far as france. that's where stephanie picks up her long journey tonight from point a to point b. >> reporter: marseille airport at an unreasonable time in the morning hoping to fly from spain

to new york. our first hurdle, our flight isn't listed anywhere. so we're confirmed on the 7:45. is there a 7:45 flight? >> we don't know now. >> reporter: we weren't the only confused passengers. 500 people had the same phantom booking. they actually now created a brand-new flight just for us. let's see if it takes off. sure enough, the plane appeared and even left on time. strange to think all over western europe people are dying to get on planes and here we are on a plane that's basically empty. on the ground in spain, happiness is quickly crushed by an airport overwhelmed with thousands of stranded passengers. like the punzels from green bay who miss their dog terribly. >> a golden retriever. >> reporter: what's his name? >> frankie.

>> reporter: don't get her going. oh, no. oh, no you are crying over frankie the dog. carla and doug are five days delayed. it will take another two to get home. from madrid, a connection in san juan. then on to miami, chicago and finally wisconsin. a rough trip, but at least they are getting off the ground. i might able to get a flight to barcelona and then chicago on thursday, but it's a little unclear. it might be time to get a taxi. i could be stuck here for days. of course, there are slightly worse places to be. stephanie gosk, nbc news, madrid. as we rush back to reality here in the states now, we switch to wall street and just days after being accused of fraud by the s.e.c., goldman sachs is reporting huge profits for the first three months of this year. goldman's profits, mind you, top $3.4 billion in the first

quarter, up 91% from the same time last year. and it set aside $5.5 billion for employee compensation, including bonuses. cnbc's david faber has been brave enough to join us tonight to try to figure all of this out, especially in light of this lawsuit. we were talking earlier. it seems to me, obviously there are troubles for goldman, in an industry that depends on confidence. they've got two problems. a, how this looks, and b, by the way, fighting fraud charges. they are making $1 billion a month in a financial crisis. >> they are an extraordinarily successful firm. they have been for a long time. they pay their people extraordinarily well, sums most people would never be able to imagine. that's the way wall street worked. goldman has benefited from surviving the crisis from the fact that many taxpayers came to aid the financial system and it survived. they also benefited from the fact that lehman brothers is gone, bear stearns is gone, merrill lynch was bought.

so there is more market for them to take. that has resulted in very strong numbers for the firm. yes, they are fighting fraud charges from the s.e.c. they continue to fight a larger public relations battle because of the optics of making so much money when people feel as though, what did we get out of this and we don't even potentially have a job in many parts of this country. >> david faber, we'll call on you again, as we always do, to explain this kind of thing as goldman sachs deals with this two-pronged story. thanks. at the u.s. supreme court today, the justices handed down a decision involving animal rights, videotape and the first amendment. a virginia man sold videos of pit bulls in violent dog fights. they were made overseas, he says, where dog fighting is legal. he was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison under a federal law that banned depictions of animal cruelty, but by a vote of 8-1, the

supreme court today struck down that law saying it was so broad, it violated the constitution's guarantee of free expression. supreme court justice john paul stevens turned 90 today. he's already said this will be his last term on the court. only oliver wendell holmes was an older, active justice. a letter justice stevens received from the president today said his service to his country has been remarkable. when our broadcast continues here on a tuesday night, new information on the link between two big dietary staples in this country and heart disease and what we can do about it. can do about it. to ya cuz he. guess what? he's got his hand in your wallet. he makes money on gas. you losney on gas. ok? so, here's something to wipe that smile off his face. introducing the all-new 2011 super duty. now with two all-new ford built engines. gas or diesel, they've got the most horsepower, the most torque and they've also got the best fuel economy. hey, who's your friend now?

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missions ever, including a launch of the shuttle "atlantis" next month. americans consume about twice as much salt as they need every day, by some estimates. today food and drug administration got a recommendation from the institute of medicine that it's an order to cut back the amount of salt that goes into all kinds of processed foods. fda says it prefer as voluntary approach across this country. they're working with the food industry on a gradual rollback in salt content in everything we get. on the same subject, news today about the amount of sugar in the american diet and a new potential health risk for those who consume too much of it. we get more tonight from our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: 39-year-old kevin irvine is recovering from a heart attack. like millions of americans, his diet may have been part of the problem. >> any time you get a couple of

stents put in your heart in the morning, it makes you think of a lot of stuff. >> reporter: a study today in the journal of the american medical association reveals a link between sugars added to everyday foods and risk factors that cause heart disease. >> it is a much better known that high fat diet is related to cardiovascular disease. >> reporter: excess sugars decrease levels of good cholesterol and increases the levels of triglycerides that can be a lethal combination. unlike natural sugars found in fruit, added sugars have no nutritional value. they are just empty calories and found in every grocery aisle. from cereal to condiments to pasta sauce. scientists now recommend women get fewer than 100 calories a day from added sugar and men fewer than 150 calories a day, but it's easy for it all to add up. >> i am a fan of soda.

>> reporter: one can of soda has 170 calories and zero nutrition. >> yes, do i love ice cream? i love ice cream. >> reporter: one scoop of vanilla, 92 calories of added sugar. food manufacturers say they're working on reducing sugar in their products. the grocery manufacturers association says all foods, including sugars, should be consumed in moderation as part of a healthy diet. leaving it up to consumers to choose their foods carefully and read those labels. dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, new york. when we come back, an area where men are being surpassed by women. area where men are being surpassed by women. at cvs/pharmacy, you get a surprise as soon as you walk in the door. just go to the extra care coupon center [beep] and scan your card. then you print your coupons, and surprise! you save. it's so easy. just scan, print, save.

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new numbers from the census bureau show women are just as likely as men to have a college degree and could surpass men when it comes to advanced degrees by the end of this year. not all education transferred into equal pay. women with full-time jobs earned 80% of what men earned last year. that's down from a high of 81% on the dollar back in '05. and did a young software engineer who works for apple really leave the prototype for the next generation iphone in a

bar in california? or is apple's pr machine so good we are falling for this story that's getting lots of buzz on the internet? after the technology webside gizmodo supposedly purchased the phone from somebody else at the bar that night and revealed some of the features of the new phone, it sure did generate a lot of talk and speculation today. tonight a new survey provides confirmation american teenagers would much rather text message than talk face to face on the phone. the pew research center says half the teenagers it surveyed send 50 text messages a day. girls between 14 and 17 average 100 or more. most said they almost never communicate with friends via e-mail because they consider it too formal. you may recall a story from last year in one of our "making a difference" reports about a special music school in harlem called opus 118. it inspired the meryl streep picture "music of the heart." the program is now in financial

jeopardy. some of the students are performing at public locations throughout new york city, including here at rockefeller center, letting people know they are out to raise $500,000 to help the music keep playing. there is more on our website msnbc.nightly.com. we be back with the story of a woman. acle-gro. it's a revolutionary way to grow a great garden. liquafeed makes feeding as easy as watering. no measuring, mixing or guessing. just attach, insert and feed. plants get the perfect balance... of water and nutrients... to grow twice as big. liquafeed from miracle-gro. and prevent weeds up to 3 months with miracle-gro garden weed preventer. i thought i was invincible. i'm on an aspiriregimen now because i never want to feel that helplessness again. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. ta to your doctor, and take care of what you have to take care of.

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this morning brought word of the passing of a trailblazer. dorothy height is dead. she was 98 years old. today the president of the united states called her the godmother of the civil rights movement. she led the national council of negro women, but because she was a woman, she was often off to the side behind the podium, behind the scenes. ann curry interviewed dorothy height years ago. tonight she looks back on a life spent making a difference. >> i have a dream today. >> reporter: dorothy height was one of the principal planners of the march on washington on august 28, 1963. which led to the civil rights act. >> you are empowered when you feel that you can make a

difference. you join hands to act that out. >> reporter: she continued her crusade by bringing black and white women together in meetings she called "wednesdays in mississippi." the daughter of a nurse who couldn't find work in white hospitals and self-employed contractor, height remembered the first sting of prejudice with the encounter of a white school mate. >> she couldn't go to school with me because i was a nigger. >> reporter: what her mother told her set the stage for a life spent crusading for racial justice. >> she said you're a smart girl. you're a strong girl, so no matter what has happened, i found myself not getting bitter, but feeling in the midst of all of this i have to stand up. >> reporter: by standing up she rallied against lynchings and rural poverty. fought for better housing and community development. she counseled numerous u.s. presidents on civil rights. you can see her face in photos with presidents and first ladies. a recipient of more than 30 honorary degrees, she received

the nation's highest civilian honors, the presidential medal of freedom and the congressional gold medal. often cited in speeches by president obama, she was a special guest at his inauguration. she said she never thought she would live to see such a day. to all the young people who are listening now, what do you want to tell them? >> keep struggling for jobs and freedom. don't think we are going to get it by talking. we are not going to get it by the laws. we're going to have to take the hands and make the laws work. >> reporter: when that day comes? >> and when that day comes, we'll be able to see as dr. king says, we're free at last. >> reporter: and you'll be up in heaven singing hallelujah. >> i hope so. >> reporter: anne curry, nbc news, new york. >> that's our broadcast for this tuesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. good night.

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