pete williams, nbc washington. >>> that's our broadcast this tuesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams reporting from the washington bureau. we hope to see you back in new york tomorrow night. good night.

pete williams has bedales from washington. pete. >> reporter: ann, a judge accused him of lying.he faces far more serious bomb charges in new york, a place where investigators say he decided to become a terrorist. federal officials brought him to the denver airport for the flight to new york where he attempted to stage attacks. arguing against granting him bail, prosecutors called najibullah zazi a danger. he tried to mix up a powerful explosive, sending urgent e-mails for more directions after buying gallons of strong chemical ingredients. the owner says zazi tried to explain why he bought so much. >> the only unusual comment was, of course, the reason i'm buying this is because i have a lot of girlfriends. >> reporter: his lawyer says no chemicals were found in his house or car. >> given the high profile, it was not a surprise to anyone. >> reporter: experts say his terrorism case is different than others. an illinois man arrested for driving a car bomb to springfield. in dallas, a 19-year-old -- both men were under the watch of undercover agents posing as al qaeda operatives.

our justice correspondent, pete williams with the latest on this.ood evening. >> reporter: the fact the homeland security advisories are so general, covering a wide range of places is a clear sign investigators don't know what the actual target was. because investigators believe a target of the plot might have been mass transit, security was more visible on big city trains and subways including the long island railroad commuter lines. homeland security urged individual lens in sports arenas and entertainment complexes. there were no known plots against such sights. they did not change security in response to the federal bulletin. >> they think -- as i say, we are every day up to a level that i think. [ inaudible ] >> reporter: in new york and denver, scores of police and federal agents checked companies that sell the materials listed on the laptop of najibullah zazi to see if they bought the supplies. >> they were inquiring if individuals of companies were purchasing large quanties of chemicals. >> reporter: similar questions at storage facilities.

our justice correspondent pete williams in our washington newsroom tonight with more on this. pete, good evening. >>> brian everything about this is unusual. judges almost never flat out reject settlements with this and seldom with tough talk. one year ago today when bank of america agreed to acquire the wall street trading giant merrill lynch for $50 b the bank told shareholders merrill lynch agreed not to pay year-end bonuses to its top executives. but the sec says in fact bank of america did agree to let merle pay $6 billion in bonuses. today a new york federal judge refused to let bank of america pay a $33 million fine to settle a lawsuit the sec filed accusing the bank of misleading investors. the judge said it is absurd that bank of america shareholders having been lied to blatantly need to lose another $33 million. he said that would have the victims of the lie pay an additional penalty for their own victimization and would violate justice and morality. the judge said the sec should be doing more to find out who at bank of america was responsible for misleading sharehold

our justice correspondent, pete williams, starts us off from the banks of the boat tomy knick washington tonight. pete, good evening. >> reporter: brian this is memorial bridge over the boat tomyic. and as the president's motorcade was driving back and forth across it this morning, something was going on nearby that sent ripples of alarm across the capital. for the crews of the u.s. coast guard's fast patrol boats, it was a normal day, a routine training drill like this one on the boat tomyic river between two washington bridges i and not far from the pentagon and national airport. as part of the drill, a coast guardsman said on an open marine channel that a suspicious boat refused an order to stop. "bang, bang, bang" said one of the exercise participants. >> there is other news that we need to get out to you. in fact, breaking news right now. >> reporter: a few minutes later, cnn, hearing the radio call and seeing coast guard boats maneuvering, reported that shots had, in fact, been fired. >> this is pretty incredible. i have to say, as the story is developing here and i learned that ro

our justice correspondent, pete williams, in our washington news room gathering details on this story good evening. >> reporter: for months officials had an immigrant from afghanistan under surveillance fearing he was planning some kind of attack in the u.s. tonight, officials say he's beginning to talk. the case burst into public view early this week when police and fbi agents searched four apts in new york. a man from denver drove a rented car to new york late last week, fearing he could be plotting a terrorist attack. in the rented car, agents found a laptop computer with directions for making bombs. no explosives were found. since wednesday, he's been interviewed for hours by the fbi. tonight, officials say while he denies planning to stage attacks in the u.s., he admits attending a terror training camp in pakistan. u.s. officials say he had contacts there with associates of al qaeda. an intense investigation is underway. agents checked several denver hardware stores to see if he bought any ingredients in the laptop. based on the laptop discovery, the nation's airport screeners we

pete williams is here to tell us more about that.s this related to the arrest of those three men in denver and new york? >> yes, it is. i think wt it really tells you is they don't know what the target was. if you look at the list of possible venues there, it's half the yellow pages. it clearly tells you the authorities don't know what it was. they don't feel they have all the people involved rounded up. they think they are still out there and still might have the capacity to carry out an attack. why not urge the people in charge of security at those places to keep an extra eye out? that's the audience, not the public. it's the people in charge of security. in fact, in response, while metro says they haven't done anything different here, long island railroad is increasing extra security on the fork subways. >> and we areeeing tonight at the nationals ballpark, they are starting to check bags more. how should the public interpret this? should they just go about their lives and not think about it? >> i think it's a legitimate concern.

justice correspondent pete williams has more. >> reporter: late last night the fbi arrested the man thought to be at the center of the plot,a 4 24-year-old immigrant from afghanistan living in suburban denver. agents also arrested his 53-year-old father. both of accused of lying to investigators. the fbi says he drove a rented car to new york city a week and a half ago carrying a laptop computer. newly released court documents say it it contained nine pages of instructions on how to make bombs. an fbi scientist said it was produce an effective explosive charge. >> what was on his computer was nine pages of handwritten material that refers to fuses or how to put together ignition devices for a larger explosion. >> reporter: he was questioned for three days late last week. the fbi says he lied about where the bomb instructions came from, but he admitted traveling to pakistan last august and receiving lessons in weapons and explosives from al qaeda operatives at a terror training camp, a terrorism expert says it appears to have been a serious plot. >> he went to training camps in pakistan who

pete williams, nbc news, washington. >>> as one analyst put it today, a general has put president obama in a box. in a once-confidential report now leaked to the media, via "the washington post," general stanley mccrystal, the top u.s. commander in afghanistan, says the war could be lost unless more american troops are sent in. you see the choice for the white house. our report tonight from our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. >> it's very difficult. >> reporter: the message from the top u.s. commander in afghanistan is brutally blunt. general stan mccrystal warns that unless he gets more military forces within the next year, the u.s. could lose the war. in a grim 66-page strategy report, mccrystal states without additional forces, the u.s. war effort will likely result in failure, and if the enemy's momentum is not reversed, defeating the insurgency is no longer possible. >> in the next 18 months we either rescue this situation or risk having it unravel on us. >> reporter: mccrystal wants to provide increased protection for the afghan people while training afghan security force

we've got pete williams who's going to fill us in and then roger cressey will give us more details. shepard najibullah zazi was indicted today on conspiracy charges to commit terrorism. >> the weapons of mass destruction is legal terms for planning to use a bomb. authorities still believe he was planning to carry out some kind of terror attack in new york. first, he faces a much more serious charge. this is a terrorism charge that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. he had been charged earlier with lying to federal agents. secondly, we learned that according to the government, after coming back from pakistan, he moves to colorado and then with at least three other people starts buying the chemicals that would be needed to build a very powerful explosive, the same this was used in the 2005 london subway and bus attacks. it was also hidden in the shoes of would-be airline bomber richard reid. they're trying to find these chemicals at three separate times in late august and early september. he rents a hotel room with a stove in it and is heating them up to try to concentrate t

so nbc chief justice correspondent pete williams joins us.what they know and what you know. >> well, we know that there were three other people that are believed to have helped him. >> at least three. >> well, three for sure we know. three other people helped him buy these bulk chemicals in colorado. how do we know that? because in the court documents it says zazi in late august went to the beauty supply stores and we know there are at least three others but, clearly, just knowing them and the federal authorities, obviously, know who they are. that is not enough. it is proving to be a tougher case than many of us suspected at first to charge other people. as zazi's lawyers said in court today until you do, you do not have a conspiracy case. he is not accused of conspiring with anyone else yet. it is not illegal to go to pakistan and buy these chemicals and not illegal to go to new york with a laptop in your car. that may all change for him. today he said until you get other charged, there is no conspiracy. >> the back story, there was some fr

pete williams, thanks for explaining what happened today. obviously very confusing. >> thanks, pete. >>> coming up, the fallout from congressman joe wilson's outburst during the president's address to congress. hear what "new york times" columnist gail collins had to say ahead. >> worth listening to. >>> and a "new york times" columnist in the political risk involved in the political care reform. the op edge is coming up. this is the "new york times" special edition here on msnbc. k. it's more affordable than you think. now with smart finance options for the way you live. now there's new heart health advantage from bayer. its non-aspirin formula contains phytosterols, which may reduce the risk of heart disease... by lowering bad cholesterol. new heart health advantage from bayer. >>> welcome back to the "new york times"special edition on msnbc. now time for our weekly look at some of the sharpest line notice new york times op ed pages this week. >> first up on the op ed, gail collins takes on the outburst by the republican congressman from so

. >> evan, just let me pick up on some things pete williams mentioned. first of all, he asked the question rhetorically, who all is involved in this. you mentioned home grown cellblocks. maybe al qaeda influenced, maybe not even though this naji person is denver based, are there groups based here in new york city? >> well, look, i think the one thing that's figuring most importantly in terms of whether or not this is part of a larger conspiracy is the supposed admission by mr. zazi that he attended an al qaeda training camp in pakistan last year. now, that -- i mean, that is ground zero for al qaeda and for the taliban. if they was there and he really did attend a camp, then there is a presumption there that he was also given instructions about what to do when he returned to the united states. so we start to wonder whether or not this is coordinated. it's difficult to determine if it's coordinated out of denver, new york, out of afghanistan. if there is a plot. the point here is that unlike a lot of the home grown cells we've become accustomed to, this r

before we get to this gathering, we're going to begin with pete williams in washington. pete, good evening. >> reporter: the denver area man arrested last week is terrorism. prosecutors say he was trying to master a formula for explosives. as he was brought to a hearing today, najibullah zazi carried bombs. in july and august, zazi and at least three others shopped at denver area beauty product suppliers buying dozens of chemicals that can be used for explosives that are were used in the 2005 bombings in london. >> they were far further along in planning than people thought a while ago. >> reporter: three times in late august and early september, zazi got a hotel room in denver, one with a stove and heated the chemicals to concentrate them. he struggled with the formula, repeatedly contacting someone for guidance. before heading to new york, two weeks ago, he searched the internet for stores that sold similar chemicals. >> we have an individual trained in bomb making by al qaeda and pakistan. he came back. he has co-conspirators and was working on getting the bomb to go.

nbc's pete williams on top of all of it accurately and in realtime accurately. pete, how did this all go so wrong? >> well, what happened here is this is the sequence of events as we understand it. the exercise began about 9:30 on the potomac river between the 14th street and memorial bridges. now, that's not far from the place where the president crossed the river to go over to the pentagon. he was back by 10:00. at shortly after 10:00, cnn reported that shots had been fired on the potomac. apparently, this is the -- the fact is that someone was monitoring the coast guard frequency, an open frequency that any boater can listen to, in which someone said bang, bang, bang and said that shots had been fired and said that there was some boat on the potomac that was not following instructions to stop. now, this involved not just radio transmissions but boths like these, coast guard fast patrol boats, four in all. one was pretending to be the boat that didn't stop. the other three boats were in an exercise to try to stop it. the coast guard says transmission, normally

pete williams is outside the court tonight with more on this. pete, good evening. >> reporter: brian, just a year ago, the court said the second amendment guarantees the right to keep a gun at home for self- self-defense here in washington, d.c. now, the question is, does the same right apply nationwide. the court agreed to take up a challenge brought by residents of chicago who oppose that cities ban on handguns. the court ruled down an equally strict handgun in washington, d.c. ruling it violated the second amendment to bear arms. it prevented washington from banning the self-defense at home. the court's ruling was limited saying it was a protection against restriction on gun ownership. the district of columbia is a federal city. they are hoping the court will use the chicago case to approve the second amendment right nationwide. >> i think they are going to say it's a freedom to be enjoyed by the entire american people. >> reporter: if the court says the second amendment prevents cities and states from banning handguns, it would endanger new y

nbc's pete williams, thank you very much, pete. it is incredible, norah, some of these items were sought by zazi at a beauty supply place. it sounds so trivial but the thing that's people can use for destructive purposes or allegedly in this case, is shocking. >> acetone, peroxide, all of those things. i'm just glad they're slowly piecing together this puzzle and know at least where this guy's been and that they wrapped up the other guy as well. >> absolutely. >>> up next -- sarah palin's parting shot. was she said just before leaving hong kong. >>> and new details about that speech she gave behind closed door. i think nothing stays behind closed doors these days with cell phones and cameras. >> that's right. that's how we got some intel on that. >>> and, of course, we're keeping an eye on the g-20 protests in pittsburgh. unbelievable pictures. they're not huge but you will see the new techniques police are using. you're watching "the big picture" here on msnbc. you're the colon lady! diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating. that's m

pete williams joins us from washington. pete, what is the latest? >> of course, right now, this is an arraignment for najibullah zazi. he actually has not been accused of attempting to bomb subways and trains. that is a supposition. it is a terrorism charge planning to used what is called in the law mass destruction or a bomb. authorities say when he went out in late july and early august to buy beauty supplies by the gallon to get the chemicals in them that could be used to make explosives, he had three people working with him. authorities know who the three people are and they are questioning them, but no additional charges have been filed beyond the three charges that came out earlier against zazi, his father who is now ought out on bail and a cleric who is out on bail. these are three other people and they are being questioned along with others. what we are told by officials is that this case is not as simple as it first appeared that we sort of all expected that after he was arrested, it would be only a matter of days before others were arreste

nbc justice correspondent pete williams joins us with more on this. what can you tell us? >> the question is does the constitution provide any kind of impediment for cities like chicago which is the one in this case from enacting strict gun control laws. a couple of terms ago the u.s. supreme court struck down the strictest gun control in the nation in washington, d.c. saying that violated the second amendment. now the question is does the second amendment apply to the states in you may think it's odd the courts have never said whether all parts of the constitution apply for the states but that's the fact. the bill of rights don't automatically apply and two lower courts that have looked at this, including one on which judge sonia sotomayor was a member and now on the supreme court has said it's not clear that the second amendment applies to the states. this is the case that will decide whether the original decision confined to washington will spread across the country. it's of huge importance to gun rights advocates and believe the second amendment prevents cities from ba

nbc's justice correspondent, pete williams, joins us now live. pete, what is the latest on this? >> i think you can conclude from the fact that this homeland security advisory list, basically half the yellow pages, that there's really no certainty about what the plot target was. there are many different reasons for thinking that it could have been mass transit or that it could have been sports stadiums. there were things found on the computer, there were pictures that najibullah zazi had taken of grand central station, for example, with his cell phone. so there are all legitimate reasons for including these things on the list. but it's important to emphasize that there is no information indicating there was any plot against such facility. and in fact, they really don't know what the potential target was. on the investigative side, there are other people under observation, some under surveillance, some being questioned. this is a number that's expanding, as you would naturally expect in any investigation like this. but there's no sign that i can tell that any arrests are imminent.

nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has the story. >> reporter: the case burst into public view early this week when police and fbi agents searched four apartments in new york. a man from suburban denver, naj bulla zazi drove a car here last week fearing he could be plotting an attack, they searched everything. agents found a laptop computer that contained directions for making bombs. no explosives were found in the new york searches or in his denver-area apartment in a house he once lived in there. officials say while he denies planning to stage attacks in the u.s., he has admitted attending a terror training camp in pakist pakistan. u.s. officials says he had contact with associates of al qaeda there. agents asked owners of hardware stores to see if zazi bough any of the chemicals found on the laptop. zazi lives with his parents, immigrants from afghanistan, who's been saying he's no terrorist, but officials now say he's telling a different story. pete williams, nbc news, washington. >>> well, 3 million swine flu vaccines will be made available to the public early next month.

pete williams joins us live. and pete, just learning about this case, reading up about it, i'm struck by how much investigators frankly don't know about this case. >> reporter: fair enough. i think the concern about backpack bombs is simply based on the fact that when they did the search in new york, they found a number of backpacks. that's thing one. and thing two is, on the computer you're talking about, about this denver man, najibullah zazi, they found a formula for making explosives. it's similar to the explosive material that was used in the london bombings in 2005. you see najibullah being arrested over the weekend in denver. similar to the formula used in the london subway bombings in 2005. and in the shoes of richard reid, the would-be shoe bomber trying to blow up a plane from the u.s. to france. and i think that's why the authorities are saying to the people who run trains and subways, you know, you maybe ought to step up your security. but they're honest in saying they really don't know what the goal o

pete williams is in washington for us. pete, good morning to you. what is happening now in court? >> there's a procedural thing that has to be worked out here. there was an earlier charge against zazi lying to fbi. that is still there. what they have to do is dismiss that charge and clears the way for him to go to brooklyn which is where authorities want to consolidate all of these terrorism cases. already a man charged there with lying to the fbi and he was released on bail yesterday. that's where initial charges will come in this case. when there are additional arrests. there seems to be little doubt that there will be. for example, yesterday, authorities disclosed that najibullah zazi had at least three other people helping him acquire these chemicals that can be used to build a powerful explosive. it seems odd you would go to a beauty supply store to buy them but one of the greats is hydrogen peroxide and most hair care products have that in them and they will be going to court today. >> that is going on in denver and related to new york, a couple of other men in unrelated bom

we have a live report from nbc's pete williams in just a moment. and more late-breaking mark ini news. could there a september surprise that would drain bank cash and set up an unexpectedly early exit strategy? that's a wow. might helicopter ben tumpb into king dollar ben after all? fasten your seat belts, buddy. "the kudlow report" begins right now. >>> good evening, everyone. i'm larry kudlow. we believe free market capital schism the best path to prosp prosperi prosperity. an alleged terrorist plot reportedly targeting new york city, nbc's justice correspondent pete williams joins us live from washington with details. hello, pete. what can you tell us. >> i think it's fair to say officials are focused on two things. who oels are behind this plot and where did they hide the materials for making a bomb if indeed they have them? and the investigative activity has all been on trying to solve those two fronts. a lot of people questioned and being watched. check storage facilities, check retailers that sell the kind of ingredients they were looking fo

pete williams joins us from washington. with a good afternoon to you, what is the status? he is literally en route at this time? >> yes. he is on his way from denver where authorities today dismissed the charges against him of lying to the fish. now the remaining charges are much more serious. terrorism charges choch could bring a sentence of life in bring. he will face a hearing in brooklyn on those charges and i'm sure they will continue to hole him here penning his trial which will, of course, come many months from now. it is not clear, frankly, if i can go back to what you said a moment ago. what the government meant when it said that today in court. i've always been told that authorities do not believe either what the target was or when it was going to happen. and there is some reason to believe that perhaps the prosecutor got a little carried away there. the events are certainly true. he certainly did as you see in the surveillance video, buy the chemicals, try to make a bomb. we've been told that he didn't succeed in doing it. but no explosives were found in his car

nbc justice correspondent pete williams is reporting to us from the supreme court. tim pact what we might see in the future? >> i think it is going to have a big impact. here is the reason. the government blocked that movie from running on television because the group that wanted to place it on cable it v had taken some comp pratt contributions, for years, federal law banned corporations from buying political ads, what the government said the documentary ammed to. today, the backers of that movie said to the supreme court those laws violate free speech and should be struck down and it did seem, from the oral arguments today that a majority of the supreme court agrees and ises on the verge of changing decades of laws that govern campaign spending. >> pete williams at the supreme court. thanks, pete. >> you bet. >>> you ever want to run and hug your favorite athlete? this man sure did. then got arrested 'cause, you know, come on, you can't go onto a court after ravel nadal's victory against his opponent tuesday night, a spectator hit nadal with a big, sloppy wet one o

despite earlier media reports, nbc news justice correspondent pete williams reports officials are waiving off claims they discovered a large quantity of potential bomb-making materials. >>> meanwhile, reports say connecticut police expect to make an arrest later this morning in the case of murdered yale graduate student annie le. according to police, 24-year-old raymond clark was detained and questioned until 3:00 in the morning, while authorities carried out a seven of his apartment tuesday night before releasing him into his attorney's custody. a second search of clark's apartment and car was conducted late wednesday, the same day a coroner's report said le was strangled to death. according to police, they are now preparing clark's dna with evidence found at the scene. officers have surrounded clark's hotel in cromwell, connecticut while they await the results of those tests. new haven police will hold a news conference later this morning. >>> today afghan president karzai is insisting he firmly bags the integrity of last month's presidential election despite widespread allegations of f

pete williams joins us now from washington with more. pete, i also understanding that departures from reagan national were halted shortly after 10:00 am a recaution. did no one know about this? >> well, this was even less of -- than you would think as a conventional training exercise. you're looking at one of the coast guard patrol boats here in the area every day. and you would not have seen anything had you been there watching these boats. they were not even doing a training exercise in the sense of doing anything on the water. what we're told happened here is that there was a radio call, a normal exercise involving the radio traffic, the people who man the radios. a radio call indicating that shots were fired. apparently this was just an exercise to challenge response times. apparently, according to a very senior coast guard official, a citizen overheard this radio transmission and passed that word to some news organizations who reported this morning that shots were fired. i just want to emphasize, not only were no shots fired, the exe

pete williams, nbc news at the supreme court. >>> to news about afghanistan.first, nbc news learned general stanley mccrystal banned the use of alcoholly all international forces in kabul. u.s. military officials are telling jim miklaszewski he has the ban because he objrqaór to the beer garden where allied military officials gathered throughout the day. he thought it created a distraction. they are prohibited from drinking alcohol anytime in the war zone. many allied forces permit drinking at the base. >>> a british soldier and translator were killed in a daring raid on a taliban hideout in northern afghanistan. the raid accomplished the objective. it freed the reporter of the new york times. stephen farrell was taken hostage. >>> high drama on the hundredway in mexico city. a lone hijacker tried to take control of a plane full of passengers, including several americans. kerry sanders has more on how it started and how it ended. >>> some passengers on board said they didn't realize there was a hijacking in progress. >> translator: we never would have guessed

. >>> our own justice correspondent, pete williams is report iing the fib is searchin the denver home of the man at the center of a higprofile terror investigation. it's related to a series of work in new york. the fbi has had the same man under surveillance for awhile. agents searched his apartment today. he lives with his parents, immigrants from afghanistan. he says he's not a terrorist and was not planning an attack. authorities say they found documents in his rented car that contain formulas for explosives. when our broadcast continues on a wednesday night, what is the connection between the internet and wireless devices and the spread of the swine flu? >>> later, a moment of truth for a parent on the spot. it happened during a televised major league baseball game. during a televised major league baseball game. you've wanted to quit smoking so many times, but those days came and went, and the cigarettes remained. but today's a new day. and a few simple steps can make a real difference in your next quit... things like starting with a plan to quit smoking... getting support... and

pete williams of nbc news and karen tumulty of time magazine.>>celebrating 40 years of journalistic excellence, live from our nations capital, this is "washington week with gwen ifill" produced in association in national journal. corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> we know why we're here, to stand by all who serve. >> to deliver the technologies vital to freedom. >> to help carry hope to those in need. >> around the globe, the people of boeing are working together for what matters most. >> that's why we're here. >> major funding for "washington week" is provided by the annenburg foundation, the publication of public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington moderator gwen ifill. >>good evening a friday morning surprise in pittsburgh today, as the leaders of the united states, britain and france gathered to denounce iran for secret plans to build a nuclear plant >> this site deepens a growing concern that iran is refusing to live up to those in

>> all right, pete williams this morning. pete, thanks. >>> the death toll has risen to at least 240 people killed from the massive flooding in the philippines. overwhelmed, relief officials are calling for international help. the same storm killed more than 20 people today in vietnam. >>> the pilot who landed his plane on the hudson river back in january will be back in the cockpit. us airways says that captain chesley sullenberger will pilot regular flights and be part of the airline's flight safety team. and conan o'brien was back on "the tonight show" for the first time since suffering a concussion during a taping of the show on friday. he showed a clip of the incident in which he fell during a stunt with actress teri hatcher. he joked that he hit his haead o hard, for a second he understood the plot of loss. back to you three. >> he's -- >> you look at that video there and he's kind of faking it -- >> he wasn't, though. >> i don't think he's faking it. >> they said he was actually slurring his words and was little disorie

pete williams explains. >> earlier last year when it looked like hillary clinton had a shot at winning the democratic nomination for president, a conservative group wanted to run what it called a hillary movie on tv. >> she was the first first lady to come under criminal investigation. >> but because the movie was partly paid for with corporate contributions, the government blocked it, because federal law bars corporations and unions from using their own money from running ads. in the months leading up in the elections the law also prevents ads from mentioning some names. and now they want the law to strike the laws down as a violation of free speech. >> the more information the public has, the better decisions the individuals will make when going to the voting booth. >> reporter: but that would create other opportunities for corruption. >> what they could spend if they could use corporate treasury funds is simply enormous, beyond our imagination. >> the group challenging the law has a surprising mix of allies from the aclu to the national rifle association. >> barack obama is not the

nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has more now. hey, pete, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. najibullah zazi of suburban denver is now formally charged of attempting to use bombs in new york. prosecutors say he and at least three other people, so far unnamed, went to denver area beauty products suppliers in july and august, buying gallons of chemicals that can be used to make a powerful explosive. the government says in late august and early september, zazi got a hotel room in the denver area, one with a stove in it, which he used to heat the chemical tease concentrate him. court documents say he had trouble getting the explosive formula to work and was contacting someone for help. law enforcement officials say he did not succeed in making it. now, officials say federal agents are working to identify all the people that zazi was working with and that some of them are now cooperating with investigators, ann. >> all right, pete williams this morning. pete, thanks. >>> in two unrelated developments, two other alleged

let's go now to our justice correspondent from nbc pete williams. is is on the docket at what point in front of the supreme court? is there something that these two are talking about relative to today? >> yes, that is just what just happened and, frankly, i think senator mccain and senator feingold have every reason to be worried because it did sound from extraordinary oral arguments that we just heard in the u.s. supreme court that the court is on the verge of making a huge change in the laws governing where the money comes from in american ploks. here is the issue. the law has long banned corporations and unions from making contributions to candidates. the issue today was what about the ban on corporations and yoons buying ads to support candidates? this issue came from the backers of something called hillary, the movie, a 90-minute documentary harshly critical of hillary clinton that they wanted to run last winter and spring when she was on the verge of looking like she might win the democratic nomination. the federal government said no, you can'

. >> pete williams, thank you very much. we have more now from pat collins. pat? >> reporter: well, on this anniversary of 9/11, somebody in the coast guard decided to have a dri here on the potomac river between the 14th street bridge and the memorial bridge. and that's at about the time the president is making his way to the pentagon for the ceremony. and there were machine guns mounted. and there were coast guard radio transmissions that shots were fired at the rogue vessel. and it was a drill. news agencies heard that transmission. that story was broadcast around the world. and cameras converged on this area, and police departments went into a state of alert. but it was a drill. unfortunately, we are told the coast gud never told theitane ot t metropolitan police department about the drill. we are told the coast guard never called the department homeland security security and gave them advance warnings about the drill and never told the news media about the drill. normally when they have the drills, the news media is notified in advance because they know that

pete williams joins us now. as in mind. at this point only charged with lying to federal investors who are trying to figure out what is going on when the man in the center of this case, najibullah zazi drove from denver to new york city and that is what touched off this whole thing. people he visited there, all their apartments were searched. places he went were searched. his car was searched. that only added to the alarm when the authorities found a laptop computer that had instructions to making bombs and directions from an fbi scientist said would have built a powerful explosive. now the technique here is to get more out of them and try to figure out who else they may be involved with. authorities tell us they do believe others were involved in denver and new york and elsewhere they say although we don't know where the elsewhere is, other than in pakistan, where zazi admitted going last year to receive training from an al qaeda training camp. this is definitely a fast-moving investigation and we expect to see

pete williams is on the beat with the latest. hi, pete. >> hi, dylan.minor. the important one is that of najibullah zazi who will be back in denver court today. to get him transferred to brooklyn where authorities tend to get these cases consolidated in this plot. it is important he would buy the chemicals for his bombs at beauty supply scores because they sell concentrated versions of some of the chemicals needed to make this particular formula he was trying to put together. authorities say he and at least three other people bought gallons of these chemicals in denver area stores and that on three separate dates he got a hotel in suburban denver that had a stove in it so he could heat these chemicals up to try to concentrate them. now, it appears, from what we've been able to learn that he never actually succeeded in putting together a working explosive. it appears before he drove to new york city two weeks ago he was urgently communicating with someone trying to get the formula right. each communication more urgent than the one before, the federal aut

joining us to talk about today's developments is nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. based on what was heard in court today, do investigators believe an attack was imminent? >> reporter: i'm not sure about imminent. what this says is you probably have the most serious blot since 9/11. you have someone who left the united states, went to pakistan to get advice from the professionals in al qaeda how to make bombs. then came back to the united states and started to acquire the ingredients and carry that out. what we learned today was zazi with at least three other people in the denver area were going around to places where they can buy the commonly available ingredient that would make an explosive that would be similar to what was use in the 2005 london bus and subway attacks. a powerful explosive. we learned that zazi and his associates bought gallons of these chemicals. on three separate occasions in late august, early september, he got a hotel room in suburban denver, one with a stove it in, and was using that heat to try to concentrate his chemicals. he was apparentl

chief justice correspondent, pete williams, has the latest. >> in denr an airport shuttle bus driver, zazi, and his father and another man were arrested. a recipe to make a bomb was on his computer. >> what was on his computer was nine pages of hand written material that refers to fuses or how to put together ignition devices for a larger explosion. >> the fbi says during three days of questioning in zazi admitted to traveling to pakistan last august and receiving lessons in handling weapons and explosives at an al qaeda training camp. >> the fact that it's a known al qaeda training camp is a significant development, and that's why the fbi is taking it so seriously. >> reporter: a man he talked to was also arrested over the weekend, accused of lying to investigators about tipping zazi off to the fbi's interest in him. the search did not turn up exsploe explosiv explosives. >> attorneys for the three men say they have cooperated with the fbi and they are not terrorists. federal officials believe the investigation derailed one of the most significant terror plotsince 9/11. >>> new today

pete williams, what are you expecting to see in court?> we will certainly here hear a plea from him. he will have the same two lawyers who represented him in colorado who have gone to new york for this hearing. he always said before he was arrested that he was no terrorist but then he was arrested and we haven't heard from him. he was brought to new york, to brooklyn, in fact, under very heavy security late friday and he has been waiting for this hearing. it will be his first court appearance on these terror charges in new york where these cases are now consolidated. in the meantime, investigators are looking at others who may have helped him and could be preparing charges against them soon as well. >> pete, thank you. that's it for now, dylan. >> much more ahead here this morning. the senate finance committee back to work on capitol hill. the public option not to mention free choice in the liberation of all of us to an updated modern health care system that actually lets us choose how we relate to our doctors. senator ron wyden joining t

pete william, nbc news, at the justice department. >>> well, it is ten past the hour. time for a check of the rest of the morning's headlines. >> we turn to cnbc's melissa francis at the news desk. >>> good morning, everyone. we begin in pakistan where two separate suicide car bombings have killed at least 16 people. the explosions happened in northwest pakistan where more than 150 people have been injured. the bomber was detonated outside of a bank and a police station. moammar gadhafi held a meeting this week with relatives of some victims of pan am 103. he pliszed for the loss but did not go into details about the attack. libya has paid billions of dollars to families of the victims. >>> on friday, vice president joe biden pledged the federal government would help georgia recover from the severe weather that's swept through the southeast even as rain and the threat of more flooding is in the forecast for the weekend. biden toured the area by helicopter and saw portions of the city still under water. at least 11 deaths in georgia, alabama, and tennessee were blamed o

. >> pete williams, thank you so much, pete. >>> president obama will soon be on his way to part two of his big week on the world stage, the g-20 meeting. this one's in pittsburgh. savannah gurthrie is there in pittsburgh ahead of the president's arrival this afternoon. savannah, we'll talk about the president at the u.n. security council in a moment, but first let's talk about where you are in pittsburgh. what's the president hoping to accomplish at the summit? >> reporter: i think there are two big issues here at the g-20. number one is financial regulatory reform. world leaders really want to see some action. certainly in their countries, but in particular this country where they think the crisis originated to really crack down on the practices that they say led to this financial crisis. and the other big concern has to do with all of that fiscal stimulus. everything that the government did to try to stave off a depression. now the question is, how do you get out of it? how do you unwind those programs without unwittingly triggering financial crisis 2.0. there was the u.n. securit