ring connect 5760 >> kids with disabilities are often times targeted by bullies because of their vulnerable reaction to the behavior, whether it's getting mad or scared or angry, they are providing a response that makes the person bullying feel emwered and in control. >> reporter: the national center fobullying prevention, pacer.org, estimates 160,000 students stay home from school every day fearing they'll be bullied. now add james jones daughter to the list. she's in the hospital of what her father calls debilitating anxiety, a result of the bullying. kerry sanders, nbc news, miami. this was the day americans

who opposed the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the u.s. military thought maybe the policy of don't ask don't tell would be repealed. it didn't happen. but before tha there was high drama on capitol hill over what would happen, even a huge celebrity made her plea for a change ithe policy. our own key o'donnell has been covering the story and she's with us tonight from washington. kelly, good evening. >> hi, brian. >> reporter: the emotions run deep and the intensity playing out is, to some degree, about the future of thpolicy itself and a lot is about politics. with just a few weeks to go before the mid-term elections. >> this is a blatant political approximately ploy in order to approximately in order to galvanize the political base of the other side which is facing a losing election. >> it is wrong to suggest that the fight legislatively is election-driven. >> reporter: republicans

effectively blocked repealing th17-year-old ban on gays serving openly in the military so the president's often-repeated promise goes unfulfilled. >> i will end e "don't ask don't tell." that's my commitment to you. >> reporter: failing to deliver has gered liberal voters. that frustration took stage on monday in maine where music seation, lady gaga, toned down her looks and turned up the heat. >> doesn't it seem to you that we should send home the prejudice? the straight soldier who hates the gay soldier. >> reporter: they chose maine trying to win over the moderate republicans. >> i think it's the right thing to do. i think it's oy fair. >> reporter: but today, collins and all republicans voted "no." >> it's totally political and all seup for the november 2nd election. >> reporter: republicans claim democrats were rushing to fire up the voters and refused to wait for a december pentagon report on changing the policy. democrats say top brass already want to end the ban. >> secretary gates, a

republican? decides this policy must change, because there's anlection coming up? of course not. >> reporter: and democratic leaders have tried to pass the repeal by adding it on to a big military spending package. and two decrats voted no, both from arkansas, including senator blanche lincoln who is at serious risk of losing her seat november. brian? >> and thehole mess in washington continues for another day. kelly o'donnell with our report. thanks. this has been an awful day for americans in afghanistan. nine u.s. service members killed this morning when their chopper went down in southern afghanistan. the deadliest chopper crash in more than four years for any of the nato forces. question now, of course, were they shot down by e taliban? our own john yang is in kabul and he's with us from there. john, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. military officials say this appears to be an accident, not a shootdown.

but still as you say, the worst helicopter crash since may of 2006. today's nine dths bring the u.s. death toll to at least 351 for this year. still, more than thr months to go in 2010 but already, it's t deadliest year for both u.s. and coalition forces. the helicopter that crashed today was a black hawk. the crash is under investigation. officials say there's no indication of any hostile fire. that, despite the taliban claim that they shot the helicopter down. meanwhile, another threat to hamid karzai in afghanistan. mounting claims of fraud in this past weekend's parliamentary election almost on the scale of last year's taind presidential election. so growing challenges here, both on the security front and on the political front, brian. >> thank you for all of it, john yang ikabul, afghanistan, for us tonight. it has happened again, just south of the u.s. border in the

fierce fight between the drug cartels and the mexican govement. another journalist has been killed sending a chilling message about how journalist cover the dangerous and violent war on drugs. nbc's mark potter has been reporting exclusively on the war next door to the u.s. he has more tonight on this latest rou and a deadly campaign of intimidation. >> reporter: at a dusty funeral over the weekend in juarez, mexico, local journalist mourn the loss of one of their own, an intern athe city's newspaper. 21 year old louise santiago, a photographer, was shot and killed in his car outside a busy shopping center in broad daylight last week. another intern was also shot but survived the attack. colleagues grieved at the crime scene. the gunman escaped. juarez, mexico, is now considered the most dangerous city in the world. a vicis war ere between the drug cartels, gangs and the police, left 2800 people dead

last year and 2200 more, so far, this year. in response to newspaper published a front-page editorial addressing the drug traffickers directly and it read -- you are at present the de facto authorities in this city. we ask you to explain what you want from us and what we should try to publish or not publish so we know what to expect. a mexican government spokesman condemned the newspaper saying that no one should negotiate with criminals. the acting newspaper editor shot back saying if the authorities cannot guarantee citizens the right to be informed, then we want to know who can. >> in mexico, the government cannot, will not, does not protect journalists. >> reporter: and there are other dangers. when a car bomb went off in juarez earlier this year, the photographer who shot it was badly injured. by exploding the car bomb here at this intersection in juarez, the traffickers ratcheted up the drug war to a new level of

violce and authorities fear the violence will escalate and spread. as that happens, more and more mexican journalists are under siege. mark potter, nbc news. back in washington, the white house announced tonight president obama's chief economic adviser, larry summers is leaving to go back to a job at harvard university by the end of the year. the president is reportedly considering replacing summers with someone from the corporate world. at would be in response to criticism that his innercircle and economic team has been lacking private-sector business experience. if you've paid to check a bag or bought a snack, airline profit margins for the second quarter of this year were e highest they've been since 2002. that's because the major airlines say they cut schedules, they are flying packed planes

and charging fees for ju about everything that used to be free in the air. the industry as a whole, pulled in more than $3 billion in the second quarter, with low-fare carriers like southwest and jetblue reporting the highest ofit margins. when our broadcast continues in just a moment, a stunning look at the lives of young girls who are being raised, instead, as boys. and later, takinthe nationwide fight of bedbugs to a whole new level. of bedbugs to a whole new level. [ male annouer ] if you have type 2 diabetes,

you struggle to control your blood sugar. you exercise and eat right, but your blood sugar may still be high, and you need extra help. ask your doctor about onglyza, a once daily medicine used with diet and exercise to control high blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. adng onglyza to your current oral medicine may help reduce after meal blood sugar spikes and may help reduce high morning blood sugar. [ me announcer ] onglyza should not be used to treat type 1 dietes or diabetic keacidosis. tell your doctor if you have a history or risk of diabetic ketoacidosis. onglyza has noteen studied with insulin. using onglyza wh mediines such as sulfonylureas may cause low blood sugar. some symptoms of low blood sugar are shaking, sweating and rapid heartbeat. calyour doctor ifou have an allergic reaction like rash, hives or swelling of the face, mouth or throat.

ask your doctor if you also take a tzd as swelling in the hands, feet or ankles may worsen. blood tests will check for kidney problems. you may need a lower dose of onglyza if your kidneys e not working well orf you ke certain medicine [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about adding onglyza. extraelp. extra control. you may be egible to pay $10 a month with the onglyza value card program. we're back now with a look at a long hidden secret about every-day life in afghanistan where we're back now with a look at a long hien secret about every-day life in afghanistan where girls cannot always be who they are. a documentary airing tonight on the cable channel hd net reveals the length that some afghan families go to created a better life for themselves and most importantly, their children. our own kate snow has more on this "secret in plain sight."

>> reporter:hey look like any other middle-class family in kabul. mom makes breakfast and kids get ready for school. but 6-year-old mehran is not what he seemed. two years ago, the mom told he youngest daughter she would be gettina haircut. >> and you would be a son after this. she says, wow! play outside? fight with the boys? and also, to play football, ply play cricket. i like it. let's go. >> reporter: as hard as it may be for americans to understand, in afghanistan, families cherish boys so much they often cry when a girl is born. in partnership with the "new york times," dan rather's team spent several months talking with families that changed girls to boys for a program airing on hd net tonight. >> the reason they do its, one, to bring honor to the family and make the family part of the afghan tradition and be accepted by peers. number two, to give the child an opportunity to go to school. >> reporter: it's been quietly

happening for generations in the language it means "dressed up as a boy." girls are drains and boys are contributors. it will take time to change. >> reporter: ironically, she's a champion for women's rightses, one of the rare female members of parliament but when constituents came to her home they would say how sorry they were that the family had no boys. now they proudly show off their son. in this secretive tradition, he'll likely be raised as a boy until she's a teenager, ready to be married off, which, by the way, is exactly what happened to her mother, who spent years of her own life as a boy. kate snow, nbc news, new york. when we me back, a medal of honor for an act of heroism that was kept secret for 42 years. heroism

that was kept secret for 42 years. this is steven, a busy ma. his day starts with his arthritis pain. that breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's timfor two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. 'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. so today i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder.

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the fusion, from ford. get in . . . and drive one. [ man ] then try this. new and improved freestyle lite® blood glucose tt strip. sure, but it's not gonna -- [ beep ] wow. [ man ] yeah, that's the patented freestyle zipwik™ design. [ woman ] did it just -- target the blood? target the blood? yeah, it drew it right in. the test starts fast. you need just a third the blood of onetouch®. that is different. so freestyle lite test strips make tting... [ man easy? easy. [ man ] great. call or click -- we'll send you strips and a meter, free. free is good. [ m ] freestyle lite test strips. call or click today. at a white house ceremony, the president awarded the medal

of honor to a military hero. however, air force chief master sergeant richrd etchburger was not there to receive the honor. he died in the line of duty in march of 1968. it's because of his mission and because of where he died in laos that it's taken this long. we were not supposed to be in laos on that day in 1968. intentionally exposed himself to enemy fire to place three wounded men on board rescue choppers. they were under attack by housands of enemy and as they flew away, ground fire hit and killed him. the president today said this was all a part ofighting a wrong from an entire era. >> today, also marks another chapter in a larger story of our nation finally honoring that generation of vietnam veterans who served with dedication and courage but all too often, were shunned when they came home. which was a disgrace. it mustever happen again.

>> his three sons were thee today. at the emotional event to accept the thanks of a grateful president, a proud branch of the u.s. armed forces and, of course, a grateful nation. it was a stunning sight last night, the first time the skies over the united states looked that way since 1951 by our reckoning. that's because jupiter was a bright light right overhead. its closest pass to us in a generation. it will remain bright and prominent for the rest of this month so don't worry. and with binoculars you can see uranus right behind it. it won't be again like that until 2022. he plays a former convict who always seems to be on the make, but last night, he was every inch an academy-award winning movie star. man in full on the red carpet four blocks from this building at the new york premiere of his new movie "wall street 2."

michael dougls who also happens to be our announcer is in the midst of one of three rounds of chemo and radiation for throat cancer and last night, he took time out to shine the only way a star knows how. up next here tonight, the epidemic that's also become a huge industry and it's all based on getting them before they get to you. maybe you want to rebuild homes for those in need? or, maybe you want to help improve our schools? whatever youant to do, members project from american express can help you take the first step. vote, volunteer or donate for the caus you bieve in at membersoject.com. take charge of making a difference. words alone aren't enough. my job is to listen to the needs and frustrations

of the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel or restaurant workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you inform. our job is to listen and find ways to help. that means working with comnities. restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-par expense. i know people are wondering-- now that the well is capped, is bp gonna meet its coitments? i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right.

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finally here tonight during the dinner hour, bedbug we have covered their slow and nasty march across this country, every little one of them. they're such a big problem now invading homes, hotels, college dorms a even stores and movie theaters. it's officially an epidemic and as you can imagine, they are the talk of the bug gathering going on right now in chicago, a special summit devoted to findng and killing the pests for which our own kevin tibbles reports on tonight. >>eporter: tiny, thirsty and biting their way acro ameria and these are the people that stop them in their tracks. in chicago at the first national bedbug summit, no less, where

one can learn alsorts of ways to snuff the critters out. you can freeze them -- >> that's minus 100 degrees fahrenheit. >> so if you're a bedbug, you are frozen? >> reporter: if you want to toast them, there's the thermax heat remediation solution or the bedbug inferno. >> instead of throwing it away we'll heat treat it in our trailer and kill them suckers dead. >> reporter: even special covers to keep them out. >> is this a mattress that's meant for bedbug control? >> the mattress encasement for bedbug control. >> reporter: once a worry mainly for international travelers nowadays bedbugs have been found in all 50 states and each infested american household will spend between two and $4,000 getting rid of them. >> other parts of the world, they just live with bedbugs but americans aren't going to do that. >> reporter: but don't be ashamed if youet bit.

>> it ist a matter of my own personal cleanliness whether or not i bring them into my house. they come anyway. >> the cleanest people in the world get bed biggs bedbugs. the best hotels get bedbugs. >> don't get embarrasse get scooby. he sniffs out the bedbugs and once he does, you can get even. >> they want your blood. >> i want to freeze them to death. >> reporter: all in a day's work in the bedbug biz. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. they're coming for all of us. that's our broadcast this tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. tomorrow night on this broadcast, we'll have a report on the controversial new lm that may change how a lot of people think about education in this country. and that includes teachers' unions and charter schools. the name of the documentary is "waiting for superman." again, our story heron the broadcast tomorrow night. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. until then, good

night.