on this saturday night, daring escape. a high profile prisoner makes an awe get away in the middle of the night. the fugitive. a dramatic end to a man hunt at an elaborate bunker in the woods. spy mystery. a brilliant code cracker found dead. 20 years later, rodney king on the beating, the acquittal and the riot that set l.a. ablaze. and to the dogs. a new breed of television

looking to collar a whole new a new breed of television looking to collar a whole new audience. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening, everyone. from high above the stunning campus of pepperdine university where i delivered the commencement address today to the class of 2012. we'll share some moments from that a bit later in the fwra broadcast, but we want to begin with a story about one brave man whose cold, bold move could complicate relations between two players. a human rights activist outsmarted china's elaborate security apparatus. escape from house arrest and may now be at the u.s. embassy in beijin beijing. what makes it more remarkable is

that chen is blind. it happens before hillary clinton travels to china and could complicate religiations between the two county tris. >> reporter: for years, he's been a symbol of courage and defiance. he denounced his freedom in a video posted on youtube appealing to investigate the brutality. the 40-year-old self-trained lawyer has been blind since childhood after exposing forced sterilizations under china's one child policy, he was jailed and then put under house arrest with his family. he documented their confinement. his every movement was monitored. visitors prevented from meeting with him. yet he was able to secretly plot his escape. friends say he evaded china's oppressive security apparatus by pretending to be sick, hoping

his jailers would lower their guard and they did. though blind, he escaped over a wall. friends drove him to beijing and to the u.s. embassy. though this has not been confirmed by washington or beijing. >> our reliable source shared with us he was in the u.s. diplomatic protection. >> reporter: there's no sign of extra security at the u.s. embassy in beijing. if he is there, it comes at an awkward time for the u.s. with secretary of state hillary clinton due to visit next week. she referred to his plight in a speech last year. >> when we see reports of lawyer, artists an others who are detained or disappeared, united states speaks out both publicly and privately. >> reporter: it also comes as china's leadership is embroiled in a huge scandal involving the purging of a rising political star amid accusations of corruption and murder. chen's dash for freedom is

another challenge for them and for the u.s. administration eager to gain chinese support on global issues from north korea to iran. >> back in this country, a dramatic end to an all out man hunt for a fugitive hiding out in the mountains east of seattle. police have been hot on the trail of a man suspected of killing his family. a trail that led them to an underground bunker in the woods. we get our report tonight from gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: this is the underground bunker where police say a well trained survivalist was holed up, heavily armed with a rifle, gas mask and generator. investigators say peter keller had spent eight years building and stockpiling the elaborate structure, preparing for the end of the world. >> you couldn't even make this up. the challenges presented by this were just extraordinary. >> police suspect keller shot and killed his wife and

18-year-old daughter before setting their nearby home on fire last sunday. detectives have not revealed a motive for the killing. >> i can't stop being angry. you know? they were amazing people. >> reporter: photographs found in keller's home after the fire led authorities to the cascade mountains outside seattle. after a wild day of tactical operations in rugged terrain, s.w.a.t. teams used explosives this morning to blow the lid off the bunker. inside, they found the body, believed to be keller, dead of a self-inflected gun shot wound. >> there's a pistol nearby and a great deal of blood. >> reporter: court documents reveal he had withdrawn thousands of dollars and told co-workers he might not return. >> this person we thought we knew turned out to be somebody who had a whole other side to them and we can't make any sense of it. >> reporter: now, officers are

searching for explosives, but they're relieved that the stand off is over. there is late word tonight of deadly storm damage in downtown st. louis. police say one person has been killed and at least 17 more hurt. some critically and rushed to hospitals after a tent collapsed on top of them. local fire officials say at least 100 people were treated at the scene for various injuries. it happened outside a bar near busch stadium. to presidential politics now and a war or words that has erupted between the white house and republicans as we approach the anniversary of the death of osama bin laden. mike viqueira is in washington tonight with details. >> reporter: by any measure, it was a success. >> and now, we can report that osama bin laden is dead. >> reporter: one year ago wednesday, the daring covert into pakistan when navy

s.e.a.l.s shot and killed osama bin laden, but now -- for political gain. the vice president at a campaign rally on thursday. >> if you're looking for a bumper sticker to sum up what president obama has done, what we inherited, it's simple. osama bin laden is dead. and general motor ss alive. >> reporter: all week, administration officials have been doing interviews tied to the anniversary. the president was interviewed in the white house swas room and where the photo was taken the night of the raid and later in the week, the obama campaign released a web ad. it hit mitt romney for his 2007 comment suggesting the hunt for bin laden wasn't worth it and the ad touched a nerve with some republicans. mr. obama's 2008 opponent, john mccain, lashed out writing

president obama is shamelessly turning the one decision he got right into a pathetic political act of self-congratlation and while mitt romney has praised the killing of bin laden, a spokeswoman says it's now sad to see the obama campaign -- in order to try to distract voters' attention from the failures of his administration. the white house says it's all fair game. all part of the president's record on foreign policy. >> i think the way we handled it is represents exactly the balance you need to strike. >> another political controversy today over credit taking when top romney aide told the washington forum that the only reason that general motors and chrysler continue to exist is because president obama's mitt romney's advice. the obama camera scoffed and said both gm and chrysler would not be vital and vibrant and back in business today.

lester? >> mike viqueira at the white house. thanks. obama's campaign senior strategist robert gibbs and romney campaign senior strategist are among david gregory's guests tomorrow morning on "meet the press" here on nbc. now to the economy, which we learned grew in a sluggish rate the first three months of the year. and this week, a new report revealed that the state of wisconsin lost more jobs than any other state in the country from march 2011 to march 2012. the news coming just a few months before voters there decide whether the state's embattled governor will keep his job or become only the third governor in u.s. history ever to be recalled from office. we get a report tonight from ron allen in madison, wisconsin. ♪ >> reporter: with the protesters serenading with scott walker and urging voters to recall him from office june 5th, the state's job

losses add to the list of grieve enss. wisconsin lost 23,900 jobs between march 2011 and march 2012. >> moves sort of off the rails of the national recovery. >> reporter: kim johnson said she lost a position a year ago and had been looking for work ever since. >> you have to make things happen. >> reporter: but many here blame governor walker for the job losses. he took office in january 2011, made deep cuts to balance the budget and virtually eliminated collective bargaining for most workers. policies that brought tens of thousands of protesters to the capital and launched the effort to recall walker from office, but walker is telling a very different story about jobs as he fighting to keep his own. >> today, wii w's unemployment rate is the lowest it's been since 2008. >> reporter: walker also

promised to create $250,000 private sector jobs in his first term. what is the number of jobs? >> right now, the governor's created 66,000 jobs. >> 6,000. on the way to 250,000. >> this is a marathon, not a sprint. we're going to continue to move forward and we believe that 250,000 jobs is a very attainable goal. >> reporter: right now, the poll shows the electorate is equally divided about whether the governor should keep his job and there's only one more job report to come before june. and the number of jobs will determine the number of votes. ron allen, nbc news, madison. now to a bizarre death investigation involving britain's version of the cia. two years ago, a british spy was found dead, stuffed inside a bufl bag in his bathtub. it's a mystery that investigators battled, once again, trying to figure out who

done it and how. >> reporter: he worked for the same intelligence service featured in james bond movies. his body was found zipped into a duffel bag, padlocked and left in his bathtub. was it murder or self-inflicted? two years later, police still don't know, but they believe it's unlikely he was alone. reconstructions shone this week demonstrate how difficult it is to climb into a similar bag unaided. when williams died, he had just returned from a working visit to the national security agency in the u.s. >> garrett williams was working on an important matter of national security. >> reporter: but his death in this apartment left a puzzling crime scene. in the living room, a woman's wig on a chair. in a bedroom, two bags packed with women's designer clothes and dresses worth $30,000 and on a table, his cell phone with the data cards removed.

williams was missing for days before the intelligence offices he worked with called the police. >> one of our members of staff who lives in london is missing. >> reporter: why did it take british intelligence across the river there, so long to raise the the alarm about their missing colleague? a man who spent his career solving puzzles, now the center of a terrible mystery. his work was so secret, even his family cannot be told what he did, but they want to know what happened. they do not believe speculations that he was taking part in a sex game. a former landlady said she had once found him tied to a bed unable to escape. others question whether he was killed because of his secretive work. a spy who lived a mysterious life and whose death is still unexplained. when "nbc nightly news" continues, 20 years since the riots that lit l.a. on fire. our talk with rodney king about

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despite some frayed nerves, no reports of injury or damage. 20 years ago tomorrow, it was a stunning trial verdict that rocked los angeles. the acquittal of four police officers who were criminally charged in the rodney king beating. the reaction to the jury verdict was swift with parts of l.a. set ablaze and now on the anniversary of the riot, some of the key players are speaking out about then and now. all it took was two little words. >> not guilty. >> to light the fuse that would erupt the city into flames. and knocking on already embattled police department back on its heels. bob green from south central l.a. remembers that afternoon. >> there was a lot of concern because things were very dense in the community. >> reverend dr. cecil murray was a prominent pastor at the time. >> when i went outside the

church, there an inferno. it was hell. >> the match was struck more than a year earlier when this amateur video emerged of los angeles police officers beating motorist and parolee, rodney king, after a dangerous, high speed chase. >> i was screaming to the death and begging somebody to please come out. screaming as loud as i could so somebody could hear me before i died. >> the video brought long standing complaints of police abuses to a head. >> they were brutalized under served segments of the city. >> four officers were charged with assaulting king and put on trial. >> very happy. >> news of their acquittal hit south central l.a. like a lightening bolt. the epicenter, the intersection of florence and normandy where a shell shocked city would witness another vicious beating. this one, reginald denny.

whose idea was it for you to go public? >> i wanted to say something, you know, but i -- i didn't. i pulled back and then lawyer asked me, can you say something? >> can we all get along? >> rodney king's five simple words have guided the last 20 years as l.a. has invested millions of dollars in south central, applying the lessons of 1992. >> you can't grow and be a great city if you're leaving entire communities behind. >> the l.a.p.d. has repaired much of its image, too, creating partnerships with the community. >> the policeman is radically changed. >> 20 years later, he still struggles with alcohol and occasional run-ins with the law.

but remains a symbol with police brutality. >> this is the healing part for me and i accept the role fully. >> in a later trial, he was awarded almost $4 million in a civil suit against the city of los angeles. he has recently written a book called "the riot within." we're back in a moment with more about what went on in malibu today. pretty good excuse for anchoring in paradise. slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] get the mileage card with special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. to put more giddy-up in our get-along. it's time to start gellin' with dr. scholl's... ... and mix a little more hop in our hip-hop.

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that in life, it's not always the questions we ask, but rather our ability to hear the answers that truly enriches our understanding. never, never stop learning. you'll graduate from here today, but in life, class is never really dismissed. commencement season has begun and that was one of the thoughts i shared with the graduating class at pepperdine university this morning. i was also privileged to receive a graduate degree with my son. my thanks to president andy benton for the honor and for graciously hosting our broadcast this evening. we'll get him to work on the view next time. tonight, rescuers here in southern california are trying to help a wayward dolphin find its way back to the ocean. it's stranded in a title lagoon in orange county. earlier, it swam about 200 yards into open water, but turned around after encounter rs two other dolphins.

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fair to say it was only a matter of time before someone would think of hitting the tv pause button in a whole new way. yes, a cable channel for dogs is finally here. the first city is san diego with hopes for expansion. miguel almaguer has a preview.

>> reporter: for 1-year-old blue, a french bulldog who prefers lazy sundays, this is the very definition of must see tv. a cable channel shot, produced and edit for dogs called dog tv. >> blue was obsessed with dog tv. >> reporter: mary says blue was hooked at first site. puppy love. >> his eyes almost like bulge out of his head. >> reporter: created to keep your pooch entertained while you're away, dog tv claims their programming package stimulate and can even lull fido to sleep. for now in san diego, the test market, dog tv free, but the company plans to charge 4.99 a month. when it comes the tv, dogs and their owners don't necessarily see eye to eye. pups like jake here see something different than you and

i do. >> our old television, dogs would see mostly flickering. now with the digital tell veviss televisions, dogs can see tv as well as we can. >> reporter: with low angles, sweeping views an calming music, for now, some of the biggest fans of dog tv may be peel. at this san diego shelter, dog tv didn't seem to have much bite. >> some dogs don't care about it. they're here to see their friends. >> reporter: but for michael and renee peters, one of their dogs has fallen in love. >> she'll sit there on the couch and pretty much lay there all day. >> reporter: seems she has become a couch potato thanks to dog tv. a new breed of television that could become a dog's new best friend. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. >> got to love it. nas "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt from the campus of pepperdine university.

i'll see you from new york tomorrow morning on "today" and again for ""nightly news"." have a good night, everybody. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com