on our broadcast tonight, blown away. the outbreak of tornadoes in texas. tonight, how everybody made it out alive and the story behind the unforgettable airborne images. how can a storm do this? too many tests. big health news tonight. the routine medical tests doctors say you don't need and how this news can change the american checkup. >> teed off. will a woman be admitted to the home of the masters? how about a prominent woman who runs one of the best known companies in the world. tonight, the famous golf club responses. and drilling down. the massive construction project going boom in the night, enearl knocking people off their feet. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. it was an incredible sight, in part because we could see it live from a helicopter, we watched as tornadoes swept across a huge metropolitan area. dallas/ft. worth in broad daylight in early april. we now know 13 tornadoes touched down. the wind speeds at times reaching 150 miles per hour. the twisters sent 6.3 million people into shelter. and it's now easy to see why. lester holt is heading up coverage from a texas suborn recovering from an f-3 tornado. >> we're in forney, texas, one of many dallas suburbs hit hard. when i come upon these scenes and i have come upon a lot this spring, if thirst thought is you want to recoil from shock. then you hear the back story, a 61-year-old woman who survived. survival is the headline of the storms thankfully because of a

rel thought out and well executed warning system that got people to cover in time. >> that's right in that neighborhood. >> they knew they were coming. but even with plenty of warning -- >> oh, my goodness. >> the sight of an actual tornado sends an 8-year-old girl into a fit of tears. >> stop. we'll be okay. we'll be okay. >> it seems a miracle most people were in fact okay. >> we had about 20 minutes or so before the tornado touched down in the community. >> more than 600 homes damaged, but not a life lost. mike's wife sherry saved their grandkids by hiding in a bathtub, nearly losing one of them to the wibd. >> he had lifted to where that was all she was hanging on to, and then literally drug him back down to her. >> this is something i have never seen before. >> denise petty saw it all as she reported just four miles from the twister inside the news chopper for nbc station kxas.

>> i did at one point say to my pilot, this is heading right for dallas. >> and petty captured what quickly became the storm system's more iconic image. >> it's throwing 18-wheelers. >> as the same tornado swept parked tractor trailers high into the air. >> i thought they were school buses because of the color of them, orange. >> as television tracked the storm live, many communities sent text alerts. warning people to seek coverage immediately. >> it's early april. is this going to be a season for the record books? >> it's hard to say. we had an early start in march, with all of the warm weather, the big outbreak on march 2nd, so march was busy, but now we're getting to the heat of the season. >> in a hard hit section of arlington, the reality of loss and the reality of survival. >> i don't know that it's really sink in. sorry. >> prove to be powerful emotions for jim meyer. >> thank you. >> but for one woman, sadness gave way to smiles when local tv reporter amanda garrett reunited

her with her dog, brownie, discovered as he walked unhurt through the rubble. >> i'm so glad to see you. >> along with the tornadoes, there was massive hail, especially at dfw airport. american says a lot of its planes took quite the beating. 500 cancellations today. they expect much fewer tomorrow as they try to get back to normal. brian. >> lester, thanks. let's spend another moment talking about the stunning pictures of the airborne 18-wheeler truck trailers captured on live television. some of the most dramatic live footage captured on television, and it tells us so much about how the storms work and their awesome destructive power. that part of the story from nbc's gabe gutierrez in dallas. >> this is something i have never seen before. >> the twister, nearly 1,000 feet high, takes aimed as a lot filled with over 400 trucks and trailers. an extraordinary sight even for one of the nation's most

formidable tornado experts. dr. greg forbes of the weather channel. >> here, two tractor trailer bodies have been tossed into the air, 50 to 100 feet high, then they twirl around inside the tornado and then they fall to the ground. tornadoes don't just have horzauntdal winds. tornadoes have winds that are going upward, in this case, over 100 miles an hour. that's how they're able to lev state the trailer beds. then they come tumbling down to the ground and rebound. i have never seen video that showed clearly the entire box trailers being levitated, suspended in the air, falling to the ground, breaking up, falling into pieces. we know it's happenedurg but this is the best video i have seen to show how vivedly this can occur. >> for darryl hamlin, it's hard to forget. >> it's overwhelming to see what mother nature can do. >> he huddled with three dozen of his fellow coworkers inside the great dane trucking company. it wrecked over 15 trailers,

some of them tosses over 100 yards. to give you an idea of the sheer power of the storms, here are two big rigs stacked on a tree. each weighed about 20,000 pounds. clearly, this cleanup won't be easy. as crews begin to move the wreckage -- >> how long is it going to take? >> we're probably looking at two, three days. >> and try to bring order to the chaos after five minutes they'll never forget. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, dallas. the masters golf tournament starts tomorrow, and along with the competition comes a new flare-up over a long running controversy at augusta national golf club which does not admit women as members, including in this case, one very prominent woman. our report from nbc's lisa myers. >> augusta national is among the most iconic venues in sports. and the masters is the super bowl of golf. today, the world's best got in some last minute practice. that is augusta's chairman, billy payne, who was pummeled with questions about when the

club finally will admit a woman member. >> once again, that deals with the membership issue, and i'm not going to answer it. >> what would he tell his granddaughters about why women are excluded? >> my conversations with my granddaughters are also personal. >> what would you suggest i tell my granddaughters? >> i don't know your daughters. >> the controversy over women was rekindled because the tournament's longtime sponsor ibm has a new female ceo, ginni rometty, and ibm's last four ceos were all invited to become members. >> the longer this goes, the more ridiculous it looks. it's sending a strong message to women and girls, which is you're not welcome here. >> he argues the club played a leadership role in an international sport and has a responsibility not to exclude half the population. but he says the situation also puts pressure on rometty and ibm

about whether to continue to sponsor the masters. >> she has to explain to her female coworkers and share holders why they're supporting a club that won't have them. >> today, an ibm spokesman said the company has no comment and that rometty is focused on her job. she was in brazil last week negotiating a billion dollar deal. sources say she will be hosting clients at augusta later this week, but there's no indication she'll be wearing the iconic green jacket, reserved for club members and past champions. lisa myers, nbc news, washington. now to presidential politics where mitt romney pretty much ran the table last night, winning primaries in wisconsin, maryland, washington, d.c., and effectively, effectively wrapping up the gop nomination in the process. and romney wasted no time in going into general election mode and going after the president today, accusing him of hiding his real agenda. >> the president came here

yesterday and railed against arguments no one is making. and criticized policies no one is proposing. it's one of his favorite strategies, setting up strawman to distract us from his record. >> mitt romney, which brings us to our political director, chuck todd, with us from our d.c. newsroom. what to make of all this? >> there's going to be no pause in the campaign. we know the obama campaign again today came out with a web video attacking romney. they already had a tv ad up earlier this week doing it. we heard the president yesterday. that's their strategy. they're trying to tie mitt romney to the negatives of the republican party as a whole. what we heard from romney, he wants to make it a referendum on president obama the person. that's the challenge here both are trying to do that. by the way, rick santorum has taken the next four days off the campaign trail for the easter holid holiday, he says, but don't be surprised if there's a lot of soul searching about how long he can stay in the race.

>> chuck todd on the state of politics and the race tonight. chuck, thanks. >> politics are ideally supposed to stay out of the nation's courtrooms, but that's not what happened this week in a federal courtroom in texas. one of the judges took issue with some of what president obama said this week at the white house about the big health care case in the hands of the supreme court. our justice correspondent pete williams has more. >> the political controversy spilled into a texas federal court where the rules are designed to filter out politics, interrupting arguments about a challenge to part of the obama health care law. jerry smith, an appeals court judge, put a justice department lawyer on the spot yesterday about a common earlier this week from president obama. >> i'm referring to statements by the president in the past few days the effect, and i'm sure you have heard about them, that it is somehow inappropriate for what he terms unelected judges to strike acts of congress. >> on monday, asked about

predictions that the supreme court might strike down the health care law, the president used terms normally invoiked by conservatives to attack decisions they don't like. >> for years, we heard the biggest problem on the bench is judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint. an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law. well, it's a good example. >> he said it would be unprecedented to overturn a law passed by a majority in congress. judge smith, a reagan appointee, demanded a letter from the government by noon tomorrow stating its position on the power of the courts to strike down laws. republicans in congress pounced too. mitch mcconnell circulated a list of 169 times the supreme court has struck down federal laws in part or completely. the president did dial back his remarks yesterday, saying simply

the courts have shown restraint in overruling acts of congress, but some say everyone should now cool it. >> president obama really stepped into a controversy by criticizing the judicial activism of the court, but i can't imagine the circumstances under which a federal judge would then order the justice department to explain the president's views. >> unknown in all of this is whether the justices were listening. most legal experts say even if they were, it won't make a difference in what they do. pete williams, nbc news, at the supreme court. still ahead for us, big changes for checkups. the tests that even doctors are saying you can skip. and later, how do you build a brand new subway in a real old city? this is lois. the day starts with arthritis pain... a load of new listings... and two pills. after a morning of walk-ups, it's back to more pain, back to more pills. the evening showings bring more pain and more pills. sealing the deal... when, hang on...

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back now with the health news story we mentioned. after years of assuming more care is always better, nine medical societies, including the nation's cancer doctors and heart specialists are now recommending fewer routine tests and procedures. the story tonight from our chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman. >> fewer ekgs during routine physicals, waiting longer between colonoscopies. those are just two of the dozens of recommendations from a cross section of medical experts and consumer advocates joining forces. >> the primary goal is to improve care. and to prevent patients from harm that they might encounter unnecessarily. >> of an estimated $2 trillion a year spent on health care in america, some say up to a third goes to treatments, tests, and procedures that are unnecessary and could be potentially harmful. among the 45 recommendations medical groups unveiled today,

skipping mris in certain cases of lower back pain or simple headaches. not getting a ct scan just because you faint. saying no to antibiotics to treat mild sinusitis, and passing on a chest x-ray before minor surgery. >> very rarely do we find something for someone who feels well, and meanwhile, we have added a significant cost and more importantly, we have exposed the patient unnecessarily to radiation. >> still, some people prefer to err on the side of caution. >> i had a friend who did not get that kind of testing and three years later found out she had cancer. >> it was helpful to say i had these tests. we eliminated ten things i could have had. >> even physicians who agree with the recommendations admit this sort of thinking could make following them challenging. >> you should not do the test for everybody if we're only benefitting a small percent. but if you were one of the people who benefitted, you might feel strongly about it.

you might feel very glad you had that test. >> we hope by having more informed patients and better conversations between doctors and patients, that we can reduce the risk to patients of unnecessary procedures and also reduce waste in the system. >> the ultimate goal is to improve health care, not necessarily by spending more but spending better. today's recommendations are not a one-size-fits-all, but a reminder if we avoid certain tests that may be unnecessarily and pose some risks, there's going to be more in the bank for the people who really need health care, and frankly, we're all going to be healthier for it. brian. >> an idea we might have to get ahold of here. thank you, as always. up next here tonight, the women in the national spotlight because they really are perfect. sweet, nutty crunchy nut... can't wait 'til morning.

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when you think about it when you're a panda in captivity. because you're cute, people want to look at you all the time. you have to feel for sweetie and sunshine, two new pandas from china, a male and female, who have been thrown together into a mating area in the zoo, not unlike the poconos, but so far, no sparks, no fireworks, and if it's going to happen, there's really only one more day left as the females are only in season, so to speak, 36 hours per year. of course, zoo officials still have the option of piping in some marvin gaye music. a related topic. there's having a lot of fun over this in texas. meet the new texas ranger stadium hotdog. two pounds, $26. the length of a baseball bat. they call it the boom stick. because ball players will always be ball players, veteran ball player, club president nolan ryan said to be sold at rangers games, quote, it has to be a tremendous wiener. he also called it a wild dog. wait until the food police get

their hands on this one. a big change is coming, by the way, to a couple ballparks this baseball season. while bags of peanuts have been flying over the heads of fans for generations, more teams are instituting peanut-free seating because of the explosion of peanut allergies. some kids have had violent reactions to simply the airborne aroma of them. and nobody wants that at the game. and speaking of sports, if you're wearing a hat, tip for baylor. the baylor women's ncaa basketball team had a perfect season. they beat notre dame yesterday for the championship. that means they went 40-0 for the year. something that has never been done in men or women's ncaa basketball. finally, true u.s. history buffs grow up knowing the death toll in the civil war was just north of 600,000. 618,222, to be exact. but a new study by a demographic historian from big hampton university in upstate new york

said we need to change the history books because the real number is way north of that, much closer to 750,000, over 20% more casualties than first thought, and it was already the greatest death toll of any war in american history. when we come back after a break, the massk project that has a lot of people on shaky ground. what's with you? trouble with a car insurance claim. [ dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can trust 'em.

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talk about your crumbling infrastructure. it also applies to the people's house. a water line burst today at the white house where construction is under way on the grounds. while it briefly added a new public fountain to washington, no harm done, really, and it was eventually turned off. >> we have recently been covering a mystery in a small town in wisconsin where they're hearing unexplained underground booms. it's also a problem in a much bigger town, and the booms are much louder. the city of new york is building a new subway line through very old earth. if you come visit us this summer, you may feel it yourself. our report from katy tur. >> if you're lucky, you hear two blasts of the warning horn before the ground beneath you begins to shake.

80 feet below, it's like you ventured into another planet. those earth rumbling subterranean blasts are making way for what will one day be new york's long delayed second avenue subway. >> that's is done with a tunnel boring machine. >> this is the multilingual romanian born engineer responsible for finally making it a reality. >> takes a lot of hutspah to be the guy to say i'm going to do that. >> i do have that. >> and he'll need it. new york has not built a new subway since the 1940s. this one has been on the drawing board since 1929. they even started bulding part of it in the '70s. but then the money ran out and the tunnels were sealed. this time, though, the city swears the trains will be running by 2016. as interesting as it is down here, from the muck to the construction, to the fragel rock like cavern, above ground, it's

anything but. for the residents of new york's tony upper east side, the new subway means cracked walls, closed businesses, and dust, so much dust, that people say they have the second avenue cough. >> i think it's probably from the foul air, i'm sure it is. >> not to mention the daily blasting. >> oh, my god, it's so loud. the windows shake. i mean, you, like, feel if. >> hi. >> about the only people who don't hate it are the first graders at nearby ps-290. >> it's fun and sometimes it's a bit boring. get it, tunnel boring machine, boring rig. >> funny now, but remember the first first graders who joked about the second avenue subway are now great grandparents. katy tur, nbc news, new york. >> that's our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. please join us later tonight for

"rock center" at 10:00, 9:00 central, and we, of course, hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. [ female announcer ] with xfinity, you can always expect more. like more on demand shows and movies than ever. and more ways to discover them too. plus more speed from america's fastest internet provider. so you can run more devices at the same time. ♪ feel a firework