on this saturday night, homegrown terror? late word tonight of an american teenager arrested for planning a car bomb attack. what the feds say he promised would be a jihad in one of america's biggest city. what we have uncovered about the anti-muslim fil at one of the men involved with the movie is taken in for questioning. battle lines. in a big fight over who gets to vote and how, fears of chaos and confusion on election day. why a lot of americans could be turned away at the polls. tab loloid wars. more magazines published the private pictures of kate middleton. for the british royal family

tonight the scandal hits closer to home. and making a difference. a second chance for folks in need paired up with mu best friends who need them right need paired up with mu best friends who need them right back. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. on what has already been a week of high anxiety for the country with the 9/11 anniversary and anti-american violence over seas there is word tonight ha the fbi has exposed an apparent homegrown terror plot in chicago involving an american teenager. the feds arresting an d man who tried to detonate a car bomb outside a chicago bar. what he apparently department know was that the fbi was in on it from the start and the bomb was a fake. nbc's john yang is in our chicago newsroom with more. was anyone put at risk here? >> reporter: law enforcement

officials stressed to nbc news that no one was ever at risk. the bomb was a phony. the suspect, 18-year-old adal daud had no weapons training and is not a member or connected with any terrorist group -- international terrorist group. according to this 35-page criminal complaint he was spotted by the fbi online talking jihad and talking about attacking americans. an undercover fbi agent got in touch with him. in the course of their discussions he came up with this plot to attack a target in chago. and last night, according to the fbi, he was given a phony bomb, drove it in a jeep cherokee to a bar in downtown chicago, parked it outside, walked away and tried to detonate it. once he did he was arrested by the fbi. he's now in custody. he had a brief uhappearance befe a magistrate today. he'll be back in federal court on monday.

law enforcement officials tell nbc news he's a misguided, angry 18-year-old. lester? >> john yang in our chicago bureau. thanks. things are much quieter though the middle east remains a tinder box after several days of anti-american demonstrations, at times turning violent. at this hour the state department and the military are taking efforts to step up security at u.s. embassies across the region. jim maceda joins us from cairo. good evening. >> reporter: hello, lester. the state department is closing embassies temporarily in sudan and yemen warning of travel risks in those countries and in tunisia where americans are encouraged to leave as worries about more violent protests escalate. a four-day standoff outside the u.s. embassy in cairo ended this morning. when riot police charged the protesters and cleared o

out tahrir square. the city began to return to normal as did the country with no reported protests or violence. friday's day of rage spread across more than 20 countries. in tunisia today local citizens and security personnel surveyed damaged cars and buildings at the u.s. embassy now protected by armored vehicles while a u.s. marine rapid response team took up positions at yemen's charred u.s. embassy and western hotels. it wasn't all quiet. as far away acs sydney, australia, hundreds protested outside the u.s. consulate saying america had defiled their religion. >> we are defending our prophet's honor. >> reporter: with the whole middle east in crisis pope benedict xvi offered a message of peace today on a rare visit to lebanon where he said people of different faiths now live

together. but in the arab world, anger runs deeper than religion and america is a lightning rod. >> everyone has something against it. so whenever something relates to america happens, everyone is just all fired up. >> reporter: even after the arab spring which the u.s. embraced, america is disliked and mistrusted and not just by muslim militants. >> a lot of ordinary people say why do you support our dictators. >> reporter: some egyptians said they were beginning to change their mind about america until the anti-islam film clip appeared on the internet. now as american embassies and symbols become targets around the world the state department is taking no chances. >> now to libya where we are learning new details about the attack that killed four americans including the u.s. ambassador there.

eamon mojadin has an exclusive interview tonight. good evening. >> reporter: the details of the attack that killed the american ambassador and three others may not be clear. according to libya's president there is no doubt in his mind who is responsible for the attack. the charred remains of the u.s. consulate in benghazi. libya's president said today the attack was not the aftermath of a spontaneous outburst of street protests over an anti-islam movie. >> i have no doubts about this. it is a preplanned attack. with criminal intentions. >> reporter: for the first time president magriev said it wasn't just libyans involved in the attack. without giving details he said foreigners participated in planning and orchestrating the assault. >> we have assumptions and we have some information.

and all the information that we have now leads to the same direction. >> reporter: one possible reason the u.s. was targeted -- revenge. earlier this year a u.s. drone strike killed one of al qaeda's most senior leaders, a libyan man. since the collapse of the gadhafi regime the libyan government has struggled to maintain security. there are concerns militant groups will exploit the vacuum to launch deadly attacks like the one on the u.s. consulate. today in a statement posted online al qaeda praised the killing of the american ambassador and called for more attacks on u.s. embassies around the world. outside the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libyan police sealed the compound to protect uh clues or evidence to help the fbi with the investigation. earlier today, i spoke with one of the libyan security guard at the u.s. consulate who was wounded in the assault. he told me there are about 40 attackers who used rocket propelled grenades and machine

guns as they stormed the compound looking for americans inside. the americans who survived the attack have been evacuated to germany where they are being interviewed by the fbi for any possible clues. here in libya, the government now says it has ten suspects in its custody. lester? >> thanks. we are learning more about those responsible for making the video that triggered so much of the violence we have seen. several cast and crew members say they were duped into working on a film last summer that was turned into a poisonous 14-minute trailer. one of the key figures agreed overnight to answer questions from authorities, not about the content of the film but about his probation status. mike taibbi has our report. >> reporter: shielding his face from the cameras an ex-con and ultra conservative christian was escorted from his home to voluntarily answer questions about his role in the video. >> he is not a danger to anybody or anything.

he's right now being interviewed by federal probation officers to see if he is, in fact, in violation of his federal probation. >> reporter: he said he only provided logistics help but other key figures long sounded similar to those expressed in the video. >> wake up, america! >> reporter: another egypt born c coptic christian who was a speaker at the protests against the so-called ground zero mosque. >> they conquer our country the same way conquer america. >> reporter: media for christ includes a website and the studio where the video was made. one of the regular show hosts is stephen klein. >> mighty proud of it. >> reporter: his leaflets painted islam terms he's on several hate speech watch lists. with klein as the self-described consultant the video from the

studio was a bargain basement bait and switch project titled desert warrior with actors who say their video was dubbed over. they even put osama bin laden in the title to hype a theater screening though there may not have been a completed movie. the uh video did come out of the studio and while klein stood by his role in it. >> i will live and die by the truth, period. >> reporter: he was soon seen leaving town because of death threats. and nasrala was gone, his facebook page saying he, too, always tells the truth. >> reporter: akoula said he would go to an undisclosed location for his and his family's safety. >> in afghanistan today an afghan policeman shot and killed two british soldiers bringing the total to 47 international

service members killed by the afghan forces serving alongside them. >> reporter: good evening, lester. nato says the service members killed were victim of another attack. a local policeman returning from a security operation turned his gun on them, killing two and wounding three others. also in helmand last night 20 taliban insurgents breeched the perimeter of one of the largest nato bases in the country. also home to camp leatherneck. using small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades they killed two u.s. marines, injuring several others. they released this video, claiming to show the aftermath of the attack. the taliban said they attacked the base to avenge the anti-islamic movie that's outraged the muslim world.

they chose that base because they heard that's where prince harry was based. today happens to be prince harry's 28th birthday. lester? >> the outburst of violence this week across the middle east has the white house dealing with an international crisis. a difficult balancing act for the president. about seven weeks until election day. here's more from mike viqueira. >> reporter: today president obama vowed once more to bring those responsible to justice. >> those who attack our people will find no escape from justice. >> reporter: the images of besieged american embassies are just a small part of a larger picture. >> for every angry mob millions yearn for the prix dofreedom an promised. >> reporter: the white house insists the anti-american

violence sweeping the region is not a rejection of the president's policy. >> the unrest we have seen is a reaction to a film with which the united states government had no involvement. >> experts say the administration must walk a fine line. >> it is a dangerous political dynamic on the ground that's fuelled by the fact that the arab spring has not quickly found a very clear direction. >> reporter: after initially taking hits for politicizing american deaths in libya, mitt romney softened his tone. >> well, this is politics. i'm not going to worry about the campaign. >> reporter: with romney trailing on the question of foreign policy running mate paul ryan continues to hammer the president. >> uh amid all the threats and dangers what we do not see is steady, consistent american leadership. >> reporter: today a close ally added more foreign policy pressure. in an interview to air on "meet the press" benjamin netanyahu

insists president obama gets tougher with iran over their nuclear program. >> iran is guided by a leadership with an unbelievable fanaticism. the same you see storming embassies today. do you want them to have nuclear weapons? >> reporter: the middle east once again a political flashpoint. nbc news, the white house. there's much more of the interview with benjamin netanyahu on tomorrow morning on "meet the press." still ahead, the intense battle over who gets to vote on election day and how. a decision now hangs in the balance. later, making a difference with good old fashioned puppy love. here he comes. you wouldn't want your doctor doing your job, the pitch! whoa! so why are you doing his? only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach acid can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief,

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to vote. >> there is no way. you know, we are americans. >> reporter: opponents of the law seized on these comments listing accomplishment. >> voter i.d. which is going to allow governor romney to win the state of pennsylvania, done. >> reporter: while supporters of the law claim it will prevent fraud in court lawyers admitted there haven't been cases of fraud in recent elections. 31 states have some sort of voter i.d. law. photo i.d. uh laws in texas and wisconsin were recently struck down. only four states have laws considered as strict at pennsylvania's. the voting battles go beyond uh showing picture i.d. at the polls. the courts have been deciding disputes over early voting procedures, voter registration drives and of course how ballots will be counted. >> reporter: some democrats call it voter suppression. >> too many people struggled, suffered and died to make it

possible for every american to exercise their right to vote. >> reporter: while some conservatives insist the issue is voter protection. >> to compare the requester for a photo i.d. or utility bill to a poll tax is beyond comprehension. >> reporter: in pennsylvania state officials estimate 100,000 to 800,000 voters may want have proper i.d., a public service campaign explains the uh new ruls. with the high courts split, three democrats and three republicans, the law is likely to stand. and the battle likely to continue to election day. ron allen, nbc news, philadelphia. we're back in a moment with a growing scandal for the british royal family now hitting closer to home. [ male announcer ] this is rudy. his morning starts with arthritis pain. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when...

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over seas tonight the duke and duchess of cambridge put on a brave face even as more magazines in more countries promise to public the pictures of kate middleton prompting harsh reaction from the palace. sarah james is traveling with the royals. >> reporter: the remote beauty of borneo. the lush rain forest a great place to get away from it all. especially now. the duke and duchess of cambridge gave no hint that they are at the center of a storm brewing over photos of kate sunbathing topless which appeared in a french magazine. the royal couple were reportedly furious that a photographer armed with a long lens snapped the photos while they were on vacation at a private home in the south of france. lawyers for the future king and queen of england are fighting

back in the french courts and filed a lawsuit against the magazine. a palace spokesman called it a grotesque invasion of privacy and linked it to the worst excesses of the paparazzi with princess diana. despite the lawsuit an italian gossip magazine plans to publish the pictures. an irish newspaper already has and they are also on the internet. determined to keep the focus on their tour, the royal pair are going ahead with the planned schedule. this trip takes the duke and duchess everywhere from major cities like here in coa la lampur to borneo to the south pacific. their next stop, the solomon islands. with the official media in tow, the couple are well aware that these public appearances are beamed around the world. but prince william, who was just 15 when his mother died while being pursued by paparazzi reportedly is determined to

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homeless. a new pilot program in san francisco is matching them up for a fresh start. we get the story from nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> is baby getting sleepy? you're beautiful. >> reporter: they say there is nothing like puppy love. >> he loves to play. >> reporter: in san francisco they are trying to see how powerful it can be. he changed your life. >> he changed my life a lot. >> reporter: roylene nixon was once homeless and alone like her foster dog dexter. >> he need it is love uh needed when i was out there before i was rescued. i'm here to give that to him. >> reporter: the two were part of a pilot program called woof pairing people who used to live on the streets with shelter dogs. the idea started with the economic downturn. people were turning in more dogs they couldn't afford anymore. the shelter was full and found they were having to put down 20 more dogs every month. the city's animal shelter

offered formerly homeless now living in supporting housing a chance to provide a temporary home for needy dogs spl out's a win-win. we'll see a positive outcome from a program like this. >> reporter: the idea has critics including animal rights advocate peta worried the pets wouldn't be well cared for but housing official bevin dufty disagrees. >> we have screened individuals we think will do well and dogs we think will respond to just a little human touch. >> you can walk the dog as many times as you want throughout the day. >> reporter: during the program the foster owners attend classes to learn how to care for the puppies and themselves. >> i understand as a participant in the program i am prohibited to panhandle for the duration of my involvement in the program. >> reporter: participants get a small weekly stipend and more. >> she really needs me. that really changes your perspective when something needs you. depends on you.

>> reporter: while they will soon have to give up their dogs to more prerm innocent homes most say they will foster again knowing sometimes second chances comen small packages. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, san francisco. >> that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt. see you back here tomorrow evening. see you back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com