on the broadcast tonight, on the record mitt romney sits down with us one-on-one trying to set things straight after an ugly war of words over his business career. chemical weapons on the move in syria. where are they headed and why? u.s. officials are concerned as the violence there explodes. two weeks out and a lot of opening jitters in london. a massive show of force before the mes begin. and here at home, growing controversy over those american olympic uniforms made in china. tonight the folks at ralph lauren are announcing a change. and making a difference for children in some of the toughest places on earth. a one woman dynamo still going strong at 90. a one woman dynamo still going strong at 90. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. mitt romney planned all along to run for president based on his private sector business experience. at the same time the obama campaign has had months to prepare an attack on mitt romney based on just that his private sector business experience. just today this issue and romney's past in the business world escalated into a heated war of words. we heard from both sides today and just tonight mitt romney has spoken with nbc news one-on-one on this very topic. it's where we begin our broadcast tonight with nbc's peter alexander on the campaign trail in new hampshire. good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. just a short time ago we wrapped up the sit down one-on-one interview with governor romney here not far from his lake front estate in new hampshire where he'll spend the weekend with his family. he has been on the defensive

over new accusations about his business record at bain capital and about his personal finances. tonight during our conversation he insisted that the president needs to apologize about his attacks on romney himself. in a heated campaign that's become increasingly nasty with both president obama and mitt romney's teams accusing the other of lying romney today told nbc news it's the president who is being dishonest to the american people. >> and the president's campaign has been outrageous in making the kinds of charges they have. i think the kinds of attacks are beneath the dignity of the presidency. >> reporter: the obama campaign is trying to raise new questions about romney's business experience at bain capital, specifically when he stopped running the private equity firm. romney says he retired in 1999 to turn around the winter olympics at salt lake city. these s.e.c. documents list him as the company's chief executive officer in 2000 and 2001. >> most americans figure if

you're the chairman, ceo, and president of a company that you are responsible for what that company does. >> if you were officially the boss in those years, why are you still responsible for bain capital's activities including the out sourcing of jobs at that time? >> in february of 1999 i left bain capital and all man anlgment authority and responsibility for the firm. i had no ongoing activity or involvement in the affairs of bain capital. >> if in fact it is the case that you left in february of 1999 and some independent fact checkers suggest that that is exactly the case is it fair then to take credit for jobs created by bain capital after that time? can you have it both ways? >> well, what i point out is that businesses we helped create and helped start went on to create lots of jobs. if you're responsible for starting a business, and it grows and adds a lot of jobs in the coming years, then i'm happy to point out my involvement was in helping get that business

started. >> romney's personal finances have also been in queson. despite sharing 23 years of tax returns with senator john mccain's campaign, when romney was vetted for vice president in 2008, he insists he'll only put out two years during his own presidential campaign. >> i understand that the opposition research people at the obama campaign want more information. you know what? i put out as much as we're going to put out. >> romney was also tight lipped today following a conservative websites report that former secretary of state condoleezza rice is a front-runner for a possible running mate. late tonight my colleague white house correspondent kristen welker traveling with the president in virginia got this response from the obama campaign. they write, the obama campaign is not satisfied with romney's answer. they still want to see romney's tax returns as well as minutes from bain meetings. they conclude by saying they expect the american people would want to see more information. we still have three and a half months to go. >> peter alexander in new

hampshire with the candidate tonight. thanks. for more on this let's join david gregory moderator of "meet the press" with us from our washington newsroom tonight. so, david, give us a viewer's guide to what we're seeing here. >> this is really an attempt by the obama campaign to talk about what it wants to talk about, and that is mitt romney's time as head of bain capital. why? because they would not like to talk about the jobs report right now and the tough economy. they want to talk about mitt romney as a very wealthy person who ran a venture capital firm and put the onus on him to explain whether he was involved in outsourcing of jobs, keep up the pressure about whether bain was exploiting workers and companies. really to make the case to middle class voters that mitt romney is not on their side and president obama is. that's the argument. that's why they want the attention here and why they'll focus on this period of time of just what mitt romney was doing when he was filing papers to the s.e.c. saying he was still the

chairman even though he says as you just heard he had no operational involvement. >> all right. david gregory, we will look for you sunday morning on "meet the press." thanks for joining us tonight from d.c. turning to news overseas now specifically in syria where nbc news has confirmed tonight the syrian forces have started moving chemical weapons from storage facilities. though u.s. officials refuse to speculate whether the assad regime is preparing to use those chemical weapons. this move comes a day after one of the worst massacres there since the start of the uprising. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel just back from there is with us in the studio this evening. >> a u.s. official tells us over the last several days syria has been moving some of its chemical weapons. u.s. officials don't know exactly why but there are reports that the syrians are moving the chemical weapons from one location to a slightly more secure location. any time a government is accused

of massacring its own people including at least a hundred people yesterday and the government starts moving chemical weapons it is obviously a cause of great concern. [ chanting ] >> reporter: many syrians want to know how many more massacres must happen before outside help arrives. protesters across syria accuse the army and pro assad militia of getting in and carrying out atrocities. the latest massacre began according to the syrian opposition and the united nations. with a military bombardment on the village of tremzi. we spoke to one activist who, fearing reprisal, didn't want to be identified. >> it was heavy, heavy artillery, the shelling from the airplanes and there were two, two heavy rockets that had been thrown from the planes into the houses of civilians in the area.

>> then, survivors say, pro government shiite led militia men swept into the sunni village to do more killing at close range. bodies were gathered today at a mosque -- so many they had to be moved in shifts to mass graves that looked tightly packed. but as we saw last week in syria, violence like this is not forcing the opposition and the organized rebel movement into submission but triggering army defection and only further enraging the syrian people. all while the united nations remained seemingly powerless to fulfill its mandate to protect civilians. a u.s. official, brian, said if syria actually ever used chemical weapons as part of its crackdown, it would be crossing, quote, a serious red line. >> richard engel just back from syria. thank you as always for your reporting. now we move to london, a city on alert tonight just two

weeks to go now until the start of the summer olympic games. by land, by sea, and by air they are stepping up security and then some, making sure nothing goes wrong before the games begin or of course during. we get our report tonight from nbc in london. >> reporter: london as you've never seen it before -- on the highest military alert. with two weeks to go security has become the olympics' number one priority. >> this is all preparatory to making it clear to the mischievous out there and possibly the genuine terrorists that the games will be secure and that they won't get near. >> reporter: the navy's largest ship hfm ocean sailed up the thames today and is poised to defend the capital. royal marine commanders, helicopters, all out in force. service-to-air missiles have been placed on six sites around the city. an extra 10,000 police officers

on the streets of london will be supported by a unique display of military might. 17,000 troops, some freshly returned from afghanistan, will be on the ground. >> these games are the biggest challenge to british security that has ever been faced. and it's the biggest challenge for the olympics as well. >> reporter: the organizers wanted london 2012 to be the friendly, relaxed games, but cracks in the $450 million security operation have transformed the atmosphere. 3,500 extra troops had to be drafted to guard the olympics this week. the contractors responsible failed to deliver the promised numbers of security staff for the games. this former employee was fired when she spoke out. >> they didn't have enough staff. it was a total rush job from the beginning. absolutely no shock. >> reporter: with two weeks to go, london is a city on edge. the uk can't afford to make a mistake.

tonight the skies are controlled by the ministry of defense and right behind me is the hms ocean, the naval ship that is on the river thames. the british government is standing by right now saying that there is not an over reaction but simply a very strong security plan and nothing to worry about. back to you, brian. >> thanks. tonight nbc news has learned that in response to the fracas over the u.s. olympic team uniforms manufactured in china the folks at ralph lauren say they will switch over to making the uniforms for the team in america in time for the next olympics, the winter games in russia in 2014. in the meantime, and again today, lawmakers in washington who can't agree on much these days lined up again today to express their outrage. our report tonight from nbc's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: in this far off

factory stitch by stitch -- patches of team spirit for america's finest athletes carry a label with three words that really touched a nerve -- made in china. >> our athletes are produced here so certainly the clothes should be too. >> the 2012 opening ceremony uniform that debuted on "today" is designed by the famed american brand ralph lauren but sewn in china. >> ralph lauren has always been inspired by the olympics. >> reporter: uniformed outsourced to china drew a swift reaction that is all american. >> yeah i consider it an embarrassment. >> kind of doesn't make sense to me that this is an american team, u.s. olympic team -- that we should do everything in the u.s. >> reporter: new york senator chuck schumer today. >> whatever reason the olympic committee should be ashamed of themselves but they can learn the errors of their ways and do an about face right now. >> reporter: hickey freeman made a last minute pitch to sell a whole new batch of american uniforms before the flame is lit

in london. the fallout has been so heated that even donald trump who tweeted burn the uniforms and harry reid are on the same team. >> i think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again. >> reporter: the u.s. olympic committee stands by ralph lauren and says it relies on private funding to support the team. many american companies that sponsor the games also make their goods overseas where labor is cheaper. it's considered too late to change the uniforms so in a way the athletes will represent both their country and the difficult issue of out sourcing. kelly o'donnell, nbc news, washington. the banking giant jp morgan chase today announced losses from a bad trade made by an employee nick named the london whale have now reached $5.8 billion. nearly three times the first estimate. that's one employee. the company also announced it's clawing back as they say two years' worth of pay and bonuses from several people who worked

in the trading unit. still, jp morgan stock was up today because over all earnings for the second quarter, even with this massive trading loss, were better than expected in wall street terms. and that helped lead the rest of wall street sharply high other -- on the day breaking a six-day losing streak. still ahead along the way for us on a friday night drivers wanted. so many planes, fewer and fewer pilots to fly them. we'll tell you how this became an issue today. and later, she has devoted her life to changing the lives of a lot of kids and she is still making a difference at the age of 90. [ feedback ] attention, well, everyone. you can now try snapshot from progressive free for 30 days. just plug this into your car, and your good driving can save you up to 30%. you could even try it without switching your insurance. why not give it a shot? carry on.

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passenger loads. our report on this tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: 21-year-old costas sevilus was born to fly. he just graduated from an ear nautical university and has already had three job offers with only one problem. a new law means he can't fly commercial planes until he is 23. >> well, this has been my dream to become an airline pilot my whole life. now that i am flying, that's all i'm going to do and i'll go wherever i need to go to continue flying. >> reporter: he should have no problem landing a job in the u.s. or overseas. boeing is now forecasting 460,000 new pilots will be needed worldwide over the next 20 years. 69,000 in north america alone. why so many? an expected flood of retiring pilots is one reason. and thousands of u.s. pilots are taking jobs overseas where pay is higher and demand is skyrocketing. 180,000 new pilots needed in asia alone over the next two decades.

u.s. military pilots are staying in the service longer and for civilians becoming a pilot isn't cheap. just pairing for aeronautical school can leave new pilots with debts approaching $200,000 while the starting pay at a regional airline averages just $25,000. >> we'll have to address that problem and make sure we're paying pilots appropriately so they'll be trained here in the u.s., be able to have a job in the u.s., and have a livable wage in the u.s. >> reporter: low pay and poor piloting were cited as factors in the colgan air crash that killed 50 people in buffalo in 2009. nbc news aviation analyst john cox. >> i'm more concerned about the quantity and quality of pilots in overseas markets, the fast growing markets, than i am the pilots in the u.s. >> reporter: the coming challenge attracting and keeping enough pilots like costas sevilus willing to stay in the u.s. and do their flying here. tom costello, nbc news, washington. we're back in a moment with

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but, for mitt romney... planned parenthood. we're going to get rid of that. visa, mastercard, and the big banks that issue those cards reached a settlement tonight with thousands of stores across this country over the fe for processing credit and debit card transactions. the settlement is one of the largest ever. $7.25 billion will go to the merchants but it may wind up making it more expensive to use our credit cards. somewhat unbelievably stores will now be allowed to impose a surcharge for using credit instead of cash. news from the entertainment world. some big defections in "american idol." first steven tyler announced he's leaving the show. then jennifer lopez. that leaves one judge, randy jackson, and with the three-judge panel down to one, the "l.a. times" pointed out today the real suspense for the

12th season isn't just who will win but who fox will find to decide that winner. a massive flare on the surface of the sun. while technically still on its way here, it may give us an extraordinary light show this weekend. and that's just for starters. one nasa scientist says we could see northern lights as far south in this country as california and alabama this weekend. the energy force from the solar flare is currently traveling toward us at 3 million miles an hour. it's expected to begin affecting the earth at dawn eastern time tomorrow morning. it could affect power grids, gps reception, portable electronics before it's all over. it is the largest eruption of its kind in months. another break. we're back in just a moment with our friday night making a difference report.

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>> so this is for girls. this is for boys. >> reporter: a happy moment in a country with too few of them. seattle native betty tisdale on her third visit to afghanistan delivering gifts from 7th graders in redman, washington. >> i feel there is nothing impossible to do and that war isn't going to stop me. >> reporter: betty runs halo, helping and loving orphans. and she is here to open afghanistan's first licensed nursery for orphans. it's at the house of flowers orphanage which provides food, shelter, and education for 31 children. more than a thousand are waiting to get in. this is the only montissori school in afghanistan in hopes that these children, who had a rough start, will have a very bright future. betty, who turns 90 this year, is an orphan herself. she's devoted her life to helping children all over the world.

she's been at it a long time. in 1975, as the vietnam war was ending, betty evacuated more than 200 orphans, brought them to america, and found them all homes in less than a month including five girls she adopted herself. she had already adopted five boys. we joined her in kabul as she personally picked out children's clothing and supplies. she is a skilled haggler. she has to be. every penny counts. betty says helping these children helps makes the world a safer place. you won't leave when america withdraws. >> no, no. you get to know the people and the children. how can you just say, okay. the war is over. i'm not here because of the war anyhow. >> reporter: the children here are just happy that the woman once known as the angel of saigon has spread her wings in afghanistan.

nbc news, kabul. that is our broadcast for a friday night and this week. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we'll look for you right back here on monday night. in the meantime please have a good weekend. in the meantime please have a good weekend. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com