just as dangerous, nevertheless. >> jim miklazewski starting us off from the pentagon tonight. jim, thanks. >>> in that same house chamber where the president spoke last night, there wasn't a dry eye in the house today as one of their members resigned after the fight of her life. gabrielle giffords said farewell to congress and a lot of friends today, and in a place split apart lately by party and unable to agree on anything, it seems, it was a rare and raw emotional moment. our capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell was there. >> reporter: a truly extraordinary day. party and politics simply did not matter. >> gabby, we love you. we have missed you. >> the brightest star among us. the brightest star congress has ever seen. >> reporter: gone were the usual fiery passions. >> no matter what we argue about here on this floor or in this country, there is nothing more important than family and friendship. >> reporter: so many wanted to honor gabrielle giffords' grace and resilience. >> gabby's courage, her strength and her down-right fortitude are an inspiration to all of us and

our correspondent there jim miklazewski on duty tonight. jim, good evening. >> reporter: brian, the marine corps has one word for this video, disgusting. the four marines in the video have been identified. two are in custody at camp lejeune in north carolina. the other two were previously assigned to other units. tonight, one of them may even be back in afghanistan. the video first posted on the internet sent shock waves around the world. it shows four u.s. marines in full combat gear urinating on the bodies of three dead militants. at one point the marines can be heard joking about their antics. they were part of a sniper team deployed to afghanistan. they returned home to camp lejeune last september. two are being questioned by naval investigators. within hours after the video surfaced, came an avalanche of condemnations from top-ranking pentagon and military officials. at the state department today, secretary of state hillary clinton called the video deplorable. >> it is absolutely inconsistent with american values, with the standards of

jim miklazewski reporting for us. thanks. >>> there is more to report on the big story out of mississippi where a nationally prominent governor sometimes mentioned as a potential presidential candidate issued dozens of pardons to convicted criminals, including murderers on his last days in office. late last night, haley barbour, the former governor offered an explanation of sorts, but with outrage going over this unprecedented action a judge has said not so fast. our report from nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: the anger in mississippi over governor barbour's decision to grant those pardons and early releases will not go away. >> i just can't understand what was going through haley barbour's mind. >> reporter: mary's brother was killed 20 years ago by joseph osmond sentenced to life in prison. after working as a truth's at the governor's mansion, he's just been pardoned and free. >> as if nothing happened. as if my brother does not matter. as if these victims do not matter. >> reporter: of the more than 200 convicts gr

our pentagon correspondent jim miklazewski is being told they are believed to be based at camp lejeune. the marines promise a swift investigation. if they are positively identified, they could face criminal prosecution. >>> there is a major decision to report tonight from the u.s. supreme court. it's about religious freedom in this country. it's unanimous and affects people who work for churches and other religious institutions. our justice correspondent pete williams in washington with this story tonight. good evening. >> reporter: easily the most important decision on religious freedom in decades. all nine justices said today people who work for churches or religious schools and are involved in furthering the mission or the religious message cannot sue for job discrimination, race, gender, disability, any kind. the court says the government cannot interfere with a religious institution's decisions about who will carry out its beliefs. chief justice roberts said, "it's undoubtedly important to enforce the laws against job discrimination, but so too is the interest of religious groups