on our broadcast tonight, the crisis following the killing of an american ambassador in libya, murdered along with three other americans as the consulate is attacked. the president says justice will be done, but what sparked this furious attack? the response is now part of the race for president. mitt romney is taking fire tonight for the way he went on the attack politically. also tonight, who we are, the numbers that will get your attention about the number of americans struggling to pay for gas and food and medicare. and making an addition to the classroom, that is turning out to be a powerful idea. and as apple unveils the newest iphone, guess what just became gone? >> in new york, this is nbc

nightly news with brian williams. good evening, he was a u.s. foreign service officer, a diplomat representing his country, all he ever wanted to be, he didn't ask for cushy assignments. be, chris steven was the u.s. ambassador to libya, killed last night in the attack in the city of benghazi. a total of four americans were killed, america -- the president vowed justice will be done. ill are justice, turns out turns out 911 was a bad day for overseas, protesters in cairo destroyed the american flag in cairo and egypt, and then in

benghazi, where we begin tonight, we have our chief foreign correspondent, richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, we hoped to broadcast in front of the u.s. embassy here in cairo, but had to leave as egyptian security forces clashed with the demonstrators there, pushing them back, using tear gas to try to stop assaults like the ones yesterday, which we are learning much more about. two attacks on u.s. buildings, one here in cairo, spontaneous, passion, harmless, the other in benghazi, focused and deadly. at 4:00, protesters in cairo answer a preacher's call on tv to go to the u.s. embassy to

denounce a u.s. video made in the u.s. that insulted islam. they say they want to stop the movie about to premier, by 6:00, the protesters scaled the embassy, ripping down the u.s. flag. nobody is hurt, but egyptian police are noticeably slow to arrive. around 10:00 in libya, the militants attack the u.s. consulate in benghazi. using the grenades, mortars, they set the consulate on fire. witnesses told them it had been peaceful until the militants showed up. >> the protest was supposed to be a quiet, simple peaceful one, but people started shooting at some point, some people got injured from the lybian side. >> reporter: the u.s. and libyan

personnel, battling. four americans, including the was this the act of a spontaneous act or was it planned? 9/11 anniversary attack? and did the militants know and did the militants know that he was in benghazi? they say it was too sophisticated to be spontaneous. today, the libyan government apologized. and there was a pro-american demonstration in benghazi, but elsewhere in the region there were anti-american protests. in afghanistan, the government blocked access to youtube. in eg the protes continued in front in egypt, where it all began, the protests continued in front of the embassy.

more have been called on this friday. this is the dark side, brian, of the arab spring movement which empowered many looking for democracy, but also unleashed a great many radicals without the strongmen keeping them in check. there could be more in days, years to come. >> all right, richard engel starting off our coverage, now the response to the crisis, taking place on several fronts. we'll get to the political part of it. first, with us our chief foreign correspondent, andrea mitchell, with more on the response and much more on the dedicated american diplomat, who again has been killed on the job. andrea good evening. diplomat, ws been killed on the job. >> reporter: >> reporter: good evening, the president consoled the grieving, saying that no act would shake the resolve on a great nation. barack obama vowed to bring the killers to justice. >> the libyans helped others to

safety and carried steven's body to the hospital, where we learned he had died. >> reporter: the president then paid a condolence call on the shaken officers, suffering the first killing in the line of duty in 30 years. >> today, many americans are asking, indeed i asked myself how could this happen? how could this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we helped to save from destruction? >> reporter: the sad irony, 52-year-old ambassador stevens served before. >> my name is chris stevens and i'm the new u.s. ambassador to libya. >> it is a sad day in my life. i know chris personally. he is my tennis partner, he comes to my house, we have breakfast together. >> reporter: friends describe

him as courageous, even asked if he would go back. >> he wanted to learn the language, and be the first diplomat on the ground. >> reporter: two others were killed, even as the evacuation happened, the fbi was launching an investigation. the veteran diplomats going back to the reagan years urged the critics to call a time out. >> i think it is very important we don't play politics with this. we have american lives at stake. our embassy, they're at out posts that are very dangerous. >> reporter: and more on how effective chris stevens was as an ambassador, an out pouring from others expressing sadness over his death. >> what a tragedy for the state department and others, andrea

thank you. as far as a u.s. military response tonight. our correspondent reports one u.s. navy destroyer has arrived off the coast of libya tonight. a second is expected tomorrow. 60 u.s. marines are being moved into libya to beef up security. the marines traditionally defend all larger u.s. embassies from around the world. with us, michael lighter, a former director of of the u.s. national countterrorism center. if that was indeed what spawned the rage in cairo, somebody i spoke to said there is great reason to believe that the attack on benghazi was different, more concerted, more organized. do you concur with that earlier analysis?

>> i do, brian, although it is very hard to tell in just the hours and days after an attack like this. i think it is most likely the only correlation was that they occurred at the same time. the protests in egypt looked so different from the rather organized attack that was clearly intended to harm and kill u.s. diplomats, my guess is that the case will be different than the other. >> do you concur with richard gel who says it will be interesting in the weeks, months, years ahead? says it wi interesting in. >> reporter: we did >> reporter: we did amazing work in libya to help depose moammar gadhafi. but at the same time, there are real elements in tunisia, libya, that are really quite against the american interests. if you look at the polling, very

high percentages, it will be hard for the governments that are trying to formulate themselves and try to regain control of the nations and control the negative elements of the society. >> michael lighter, thank you very much for joining us from washington. and now, to how all of it became political today in the race for president. mitt romney somehow wanted today to be about america apologizing for its values, even after it became clear that today was about the death of an american ambassador and others, in one of two attacks on american interests on 9/11, no less. and instead of backing away, romney doubled down on his position. our chief political correspondent chuck todd has been following this all day. >> reporter: good evening, well, last night, mitt romney turned the attack and brought it into the presidential campaign, despite being criticized even by fellow republicans, for the timing.

he stood by that position and had discussion from the president. >> reporter: a mere 15 minutes before the statement. >> it was wrong to stand by a statement with sympathy, to those who had breached our embassy. >> reporter: the statement romney referred to was issued by the u.s. embassy in cairo around 6:00 on tuesday morning, saying in part, the united states condemns the hurting of the religious muslims, the statement issued on the anniversary of the 9/11 attack was intended to distance the u.s. from the video that it angered protesters in libya and egypt and led to romney's first criticism, which then triggered this reaction from the obama administration. we are shocked that at a time of the death of one of our officers in libya, governor romney would choose to launch an attack.

this morning, romney faced questions about the timing of the criticism. >> do you think coming so soon really after the events unfolded overnight was inappropriate to weigh in as the crisis was unfolding in real time? >> the white house issued a statement saying they tried to distance themselves, saying they didn't reflect their views. i had the exact same reaction. the views were european. the -- that was a mistake, i believe that when a mistake is made of that significance, you speak out. >> reporter: some republicans criticized mr. romney's timing. >> i don't feel that mr. romney is doing himself any favors, sometimes when really bad things happen, cool words or no words are the way to go. >> reporter: but laura graham was supportive.

>> mitt romney's team was smart in coming out strong saying we should never apologize when these things go down. >> reporter: late today, the president responded in an interview with cbs. >> there is a broader lesson here, and governor romney has a way of shooting first, naming later. and as president, one of the things i have learned is you can't do that. it is important to make sure that the statements you make are backed up by the facts, and that you have thought through the elements before you make them. >> reporter: it is worth noting that romney changed his schedule today and pulled back on the event he was holding in florida. the president is landing in nevada very soon, holding a campaign rally. >> chuck todd at the white house for us tonight. and of course before all of this blew up, the big story last night was the tensions that were higher than ever between the u.s. and israel over how to respond to iran's nuclear plans. prime minister netanyahu claimed

the president had refused a meeting with him. the white house said it was not true. today, we're told the president and prime minister spoke by phone last night and smoothed things over. still ahead for us as the broadcast continues, in plain sight, but you may not know it. the impact of the stubborn recession in this country, especially on american children. and later, fathers welcome, and they're making a difference. and they're making a difference. [ female announcer ] did you know the average person smiles

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of how many of our teachers are women now, out numbering the male teachers in that city, 5-1, now some cities are working to get more male role models in some schools. nbc's john yang has more on the volunteers making a difference. >> reporter: adam nally doesn't just drive his daughter to this elementary school, sometimes he goes in with her and spends the whole day. >> are you guys ready for the weekend? we'll be out there cheering. >> reporter: greeting students as they arrive. >> what are you thinking right now? working with them in class, even having lunch with them. >> it is fun to show them i'm here to care about them. >> reporter: now he is with a program called watch dogs, dads with great centers. it is now across 41 states in the district of columbia. the idea? get more male role models in

classes on regular school days, not just special events. >> the kids get so excited. it is like we have a special guest, a rock star in our building. >> sit down here with them. >> reporter: teachers report fewer discipline problems and more academic work when there are dads there. >> they put their shoulders back, push out their chests and read. >> reporter: nally notices it too. >> it gives them a chance to say hey, i know what i'm doing. >> reporter: now, he is a familiar face at school. >> good job. >> reporter: and gets to know the kids better than many watch dogs who volunteer just one day a year. he comes once a month, saying he can't think of a better way to use vacation days from his engineering job. >> i get more than they could ever imagine. when they become parents, they will know what i'm feeling. >> reporter: at the end of the day, he gives the kids a warm send-off.

and they know he will be back again soon. >> good-bye, have a good day. >> reporter: john yang, louisville, kentucky. >> and that is it for us, thank you for joining us, i'm brian williams, we hope to see you back here tomorrow night. good night. it for us, thank you for joining us, i'm brian williams, we hope to see you back here tomorrow night. good night. anncr: this casino's in west virginia. but it makes millions off marylanders every year. now they're running dishonest ads. why? because voting for question seven is a vote to build a... world-class resort casino in maryland. creating thousands of jobs and... ...according to the official department of legislative...