in tehran today, an angry mob storms an embassy, takes hostages, and sends a chilling message to the west. and the rich getting richer. you saw the three lottery jackpot winners in connecticut yesterday. are they the real winners? if not, who is? "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. perhaps it's because of its name. for all the bankruptcies we've covered in this grim u.s. economy, this one gets our attention. it's called american airlines, and for a lot of people, it can mean a cramped seat on a crowded flight on a well-worn aircraft. a legacy carrier. it's one of the oldest, one of the big brand names. the airline has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

during this busy holiday travel time, to financially regroup while staying in the air. though perhaps not something special any more. tom costello has that story for us. >> reporter: american airlines says its labor costs are $800 million higher than its competitors. it was losing too much money. today it acted. for ten years, american airlines has fought to avoid bankruptcy even as delta, united, continental and usairways became leaner and stronger under chapter 11. more than $10 billion in debt, american said it could wait no longer. >> the path ahead will be hard, but it's a well worn path. and we will make the company successful. >> american insists customers won't be affected. but for the 265,000 passengers who fly american and american eagle every day, some concerns.

>> we would be concerned the next time we schedule a flight anywhere. certainly, if it was american. >> reporter: among passengers most common questions, what if i booked upcoming travel on american or a partner? those tickets will be honored. what about the valuable frequent flyer miles we've earned. american sent out an e-mail today saying, we want to assure you your advantage miles are secure. and what if i may want to fly american in the future? the airline insists it plans to be around for a long time. >> for most of us who get on a plane and fly, you're not going to notice any difference. >> reporter: despite all the extra fees passengers now pay to check a bag, get a little leg room or change a ticket, american lost nearly half a billion dollars last year. now it promises a tail by tail review of the entire airline. that could mean slimming down, fewer seats and fewer destinations. robert crandall is considered a legend in the airline industry.

running american from 1985 to 1998. >> what you're going to see as a consequence of this bankruptcy filing, american will remain a strong and viable competitor. and the industry needs a strong and viable american airlines. >> reporter: that could also mean painful cuts for some of the 80,000 american employees. it's been locked in nasty contract talks with its pilots union. they expect the airline to use chapter 11. >> tom costello starting us off from our washington bureau, tom, thanks. now we move to presidential politics tonight, one day after an atlanta woman came forward alleging a 13-year affair. herman cain told staffers, he is reassessing his candidacy. our report tonight from nbc's lisa myers. >> here he is. >> reporter: herman cain kept his distance from reporters today, after telling his staff he's reassessing the viability

of his candidacy. in a conference call with his team, cain spoke of the latest firestorm. claims by an atlanta woman, ginger white, that she had a 13-year affair with him. >> i didn't want so come out with this, i did not. >> reporter: cain unequivocally denied having an affair. said the woman was a friend he had been trying to help financially. but he added, we have to do an assessment as so whether or not this is going to create too much of a cloud in some people's minds, as to whether or not they would be able to support us going-forward. he said, it's also taken a toll on my wife and family. many conservatives came to cain's defense before. when four different women accused him of sexual harassment. so far, not this time. >> i think this is the most damaging allegation that's been made to date, no question about it. >> reporter: today, former speaker newt gingrich, whose had his own infidelity issues, tread carefully. >> i think it's a very difficult situation for he and his family.

my heart goes out to them. i hope he reaches whatever is the right decision for them. >> reporter: white says she decided to comfort, partly because she felt badly, about how cain's other accusers were treated. >> these statements are false? they're all lying? >> did not. >> they are all lying? >> did not -- >> they're all lie something. >> yes, they are. >> it bothered me that they were being demonized, sort of. or if they were being treated as if they were automatically lying. >> reporter: asked tonight if he is dropping out of the race, cain told nbc news. >> 9-9-9, doing fine. >> reporter: cain says he'll continue to campaign with vim and vigor over the next several days and see how his supporters respond. many conservative voices say he's too badly damaged to be a viable candidate. lisa myers, nbc news, washington. >> let's talk about this with chuck todd tonight.

where does this leave the field, after all, iowa is in 35 days and sooner or later there's going to have to be a leading contender emerge from this pack? >> reporter: that's right, exactly five weeks from tonight. herman cain was on a yuan ward trend even before this latest allegation. and now it appears, it looks as if he's in a campaign death spiral. where does that leave us? you have newt gingrich who is surging in the polls, even hiring new staffers, trying to beef up iowa. he's trying to engage mitt romney in a one on one. meanwhile you have the front runger, mitt romney and the dnc running attack ads against him. what's the obama campaign doing? trying to prevent the -- prolong the republican primary, so they're throwing these attack ads out on romney so rick perry

or newt gingrich pick them up in the primary, they want the primary to go long, not short. there's an interesting circular attack going on between those three candidates. >> you mentioned rick perry, i want to play a clip that's aired on cable news all day. folks say he makes two errors in the span of one sin tense. >> those of you that will be 21 by november 12th, i ask for your support and your vote. those of you who won't be, just work hard. >> what's wrong? >> reporter: the voting age is 18. and you could brush it off and say he misspoke, he did it in new hampshire and the new hampshire leader today said all these flubs taken together are making him less qualified to be president. so of all the days and of all the places to do is it, this was

not a good day for rick perry do be doing that. >> chuck todd on the white house lawn tonight. thanks. we turn overseas now to what happened in the streets of tehran this morning. the storming of british embassy in an assault that looked frighteningly familiar to what we all lived through decades ago there. and we are learning tonight it may have been more orchestrated than it first appeared. our chief foreign correspondent andrea mitchell reports. >> reporter: a terrifying mob attack. hundreds of protesters screaming death to england. storming the british embassy, breaking windows, even running off with a picture of the queen. a violent echo of the takeover of the american embassy in tehran in 1979, when 52 americans were held for 444 days. today iran's government tv covered it all live. >> britain should be accountable. this is not my word, this is the word of experts. >> reporter: a tip-off that the takeover was sanctioned by the regime, and carried out by a

powerful force, the government militia that crossed student protests during elections it in 2009. today even iran's russian allies joined the u.s. and others in condemning the attack. >> i strongly urge the iranian government to hold those who are responsible to task. they have a responsibility to protect diplomatic outposts. >> reporter: nbc's tehran bureau chief is there. >> we have to assume that incidents like this have tacit approval from the very top. spontaneous demonstrations are not tolerated here by the government, and are crushed by an iron fist. >> reporter: what set it off? last week the british cut off all dealings with iran's central bank because of the country's nuclear activities. much tougher than u.s. sanctions. >> you feel isolated because of the sanctions. >> reporter: there are other tensions. iran has accused great britain and the u.s. of assassinating

top military scientists. and sabotage at iran's military site. all this, plus political infighting between the supreme leader and president ahmadinejad. >> it may be that the power struggle underway -- and there are lots of factions vying for power -- has allowed this to happen. >> reporter: the embassy attack comes as israel is debating whether to take military action against iran. and the republican candidates all calling on president obama to get a lot tougher with the regime. >> andrea mitchell in our d.c. newsroom. thank you, as always. in los angeles tonight, michael jackson's former doctor conrad murray was given the maximum sentence, four years. he was found guilty earlier this month in the singer's overdose death. and the superior court judge in the case had some words for the now disgraced physician. >> not only isn't there any remorse, there's umbrage and outrage on the part of dr.

murray against the decedent. dr. murray repeatedly lied, engaged in deceitful misconduct and endeavored to cover up his transgressions. he violated the trust of the medical community, of his colleagues, and of his patients. and he has absolutely no sense of remorse, absolutely no sense of fault. and is, and remains dangerous. >> by the way, california's prison overcrowding problem means murray will probably only serve less than two years behind bars in the l.a. county jail. still, jackson's family said after the sentencing, they were please with the result. they're having a sporty time of it in chicago tonight as a huge weather system crawls right up over top of them, 60 mile an hour wind gusts, whipping up 20 foot waves in some spots along lake shore drive. making getting around a dicey

business. the high winds are part of an aggressive cold front that is expected to bring three inches of slushy snow to northern indiana during the night tonight. when we continue here this evening, the boarder, drug smugglers putting american lives at risk. our extraordinary trip with u.s. pilots out to stop them. and later, those three bankers, big time lottery winners. tonight, did they really win, however? [ coughing ] [ male announcer ] got a cold? [ sniffling ] [ male announcer ] not sure what to take?

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our series of reports, the war next door, about the escalating fight against mexican drug traffickers who have crossed deeply into this country along our southern border. tonight we have a rare look from the sky over an area that's seen record drug seizures this year with some of the americans who fly day and night spotting smugglers and protecting u.s. law enforcement down on the ground. our report tonight from nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: near the mexican border, another day of air patrol, for the texas department of public safety. >> try looking on this side. >> reporter: on a day we fly with them along the rio grande, pilots quickly spot a team of mexican traffickers, with a load of drugs bound for the united states. >> there's going to be about six or seven guys. at least five bundles, and a blue raft. >> reporter: veteran officers here who spend every day in the sky, say drug trafficking in

this area has increased dramatically in just the last couple of years, and they see no end in sight. what they do see is vehicles loaded with mexican drugs racing dangerously through busy streets on the u.s. side of the border. >> near two school buses, southbound. >> i've seen the level of aggression increase exponentially. the sheer volume of narcotics that's being pumped into our border has risen. >> reporter: what texas pilots also see are mexican tar tell smuggling vehicles running from u.s. law enforcement, then driving into the rio grafrnde t avoid capture. >> we have a splashdown. >> reporter: in south texas, it happens routinely. >> we have a bunch of people on the u.s. side. >> reporter: teams of mexican smugglers come brazenly to the riverbank to retrieve their drug packages, and then move quickly to the mexican side where agents

cannot arrest them. >> we've had a lot of guns on the river. obviously, the threat is there. >> reporter: pilots say that threat to officers and the public is rising. >> i think it's important that our citizens not only in the state, but in the united states are aware of how porous our border is, and what the threats are and could be. >> splashdown. >> reporter: threats that officers in the sky see every day. mark potter, nbc news edinburgh, texas. >> there is a lot more from the front lines on the war next door. it's on our website, nbcnightlynews.com. up next here tonight, why a big star is telling his fans not to buy his new album. and proof that no matter who you are, you still have to wait for the cable guy between 3:00 and 5:00. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart have teamed up to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan.

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sobering news today for all those with a soccer player in the family. it's about headers, frequent headers show brain injuries similar to that seen in patients with concussion. also known as mild traumatic brain injury. those who fared worse are the players who made head contact with the soccer ball over 1,000 times a year, which among frequent players, including practice isn't all that money. one doctor says the worry here is degeneration of brain cells and lacerating nerve fibers in the brain. this year's tournament of roses parade in pasadena, may look a lot like the current state of the u.s. economy. the occupy protesters are planning to flood the event with thousands of people. a lot of folks are cutting back on floats. one float maker locally is out of business. several companies have drooped out. for the first time in memory, even the budweiser clydesdales are staying home in sarnt louis,

presumably to watch the parade on tv like the rest of us. today happens to be the tenth anniversary of george harrison. and also today we got a first time glimpse into the private life, the every day home life of john lennon. it's in the form of his to do list, containing some wonderfully ordinary stuff, and proving everybody has to wait for the cable guy. first item on the list, says the guy's coming to fix hbo from 3:00 to 5:00. another item, make sure both cars have full tanks of gas. there's a note about marmalade, and a hook on the bathroom door is falling off. among contemporary musicians, elvis costello has to get some kind of award for honesty. he has a big limited edition of his box set coming out for christmas. he tells fans, it's just not worth it for the money they want for it.

he's suggesting people buy the ambassador of jazz boxed said by louie armstrong, which he calls vastly superior. his only box set will be available for less money if you wait until the first of the year. up next here tonight, that's the ticket, but who's the real winner. do you have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem? are you taking warfarin to reduce your risk of stroke caused by a clot? you should know about pradaxa. an important study showed that pradaxa 150mg reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin. and with pradaxa, there's no need for those regular blood tests. pradaxa is progress. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have kidney problems or a bleeding condition, like stomach ulcers. or if you take aspirin products,

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last night here we told you about three money managers who won the biggest lottery jack pot in connecticut history, a quarter million dollars. today the plot thickened as a friend said the three american were fronting for a wealthy client who wanted to remain anonymous. tonight another plot twist, and at least a promise that some of the money will go to a good cause. the story from nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: winning $254 million would make most people giddy, not these guys. money managers stoically claimed the largest jackpot in connecticut history monday. their uncomfortable reaction in stark contrast to other big lottery winners. >> congratulations. >> reporter: the $229 million

joy of tom and kathleen moore. >> we're going to live the way we have, just a little bit higher. >> reporter: the new york costco winners. splitting more than $201 million. and the humility of neal wanless. hitting the jackpot of $232 million. >> i plan to repay it many times over. >> reporter: the reaction from david and his colleagues led to snarky headlines. and this bombshell, reporting the three are fronting for the real winner. their source, tom gladstone, who told told nbc news, i was nervous that i left the cat out of the bag. conspiracy theorists online, pointed to the trio's attorney to talk about the men. and then there are the odds. you have a better shot at dating a supermodel, winning an olympic gold medal, even becoming president than the 195 million to 1 odds of winning this prize. today a spokesperson said there

is no fourth person, and at the gas station where the ticket was sold, the story is very simple. >> he's right here. >> reporter: now these money managers have to manage millions of their own. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. that's our broadcast on a tuesday evening. i'm brian williams, and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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