richard engel reports from tel aviv as tensions reach a fever pitch. >>> super bowl security. with 48 hours to go, tonight an exclusive look at the massive challenge to keep the stadium secure. >>> and commercial appeal. some of the best ads have already gone viral as advertisers threw out the old playbook looking to score early. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. brian is off tonight. i'm lester holt. score another one for the power of social media, susan g. komen for the cure. the nation's largest breast cancer charity is the latest high-profile organization forced to beat a hasty retreat from an unpopular decision in the face of a twitter and facebook firestorm. in this case it was komen's decision to pull funding from its long-time women's health partner planned parenthood. though komen said it dropped planned parenthood because it was under government investigation, many women read it as komen bowing to pressure from anti-abortion groups. the public outcry amplified over the internet became deafening. today an about-

our own chief foreign correspondent richard engel is on the syrian border in turkey tonight and starts us off from there. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. today's violence showed the intensity of the syrian government's crackdown on the city of homs and its indiscriminate shelling of civilian area. even if you listen closely, it's hard to hear a single peaceful moment in homs. syrian troops ringing the city with fire rockets and machine gun in ferocious barrages to drive out a few hundred opposition forces. the blogger who took this video can be heard praying for his life. he was killed a few hours later. this morning, more voices were silenced. this rubble was a rudimentary media center in homs run by the syrian opposition who barely hold a few pockets in the city. the building took a direct hit. inside killed as they were working, french photographer remi ochlik and veteran american war correspondent marie colvin who reported for the british newspaper "the sunday times." colvin provided the bbc with some of the most vivid accounts of the brutality. hearing her

we get the latest from richard engel. >> reporter: it started out today as a funeral for three membersopposition killed yesterday. but grew quickly. 5,000 swelled to 15, maybe even 30,000 opposition members say. they were mourning and protesting. and it wasn't just anywhere. but right in damascus and not far from bashar al assad's presidential palace. maybe it was too close for comfort. because witnesses say syrian security forces lowered their weapons and fired live ammunition into the crowds. witnesses say several protesters were killed. dozens wounded. but this could pale in comparison to what may be coming in homs, syria's third city. for two weeks straight, homs has been surrounded by government troops and tanks and snipers. homs is the strong hold of the army, a legion of defectors. government forces have shelled homs from afar and strangled it. but even this dire situation could get much worse. tonight, a leading member of the opposition, a syrian ambassador who defected and now lives in istanbul said they'll enter the city and leading to the worst bloodshed yet. >> the people o

our chief foreign correspondent richard engel on the syrian border with turkey to start us off. richard, good evening. >> reporter: yes, brian. the evacuations have begun, but only in the city of homs. this is all happening in the middle of the night here after protracted negotiations on the ground and extensive pressure on syria. hours before the evacuation, signs of how desperate syria had become. the free syrian army the rebel brigade tries to fight back. they attack government forces. it's a brave fight, but they're losing it. outnumbered and outgunned by a lot. and this morning, homs itself was once again under attack. witnesses describe neighborhoods on fire. people living on shrubs and onions, bodies unreachable under debris. we managed to reach an activist there via skype. he feared for his life. >> no one can protect themselves from shelling. everyone can be a target. i think i will die now. i don't know. >> reporter: then an explosion, the line cut. hours later we learned he was okay. but pressure on syria to let up on homs may have been too much to ignore. in tunisia t

>> richard engel, again from th syria/turkey border tonight. thanks. >>> back in this country, a quick weather note. the snow has moved out to sea but the mess remains across the mid south. as much as nine inches in kentucky, tennessee, parts of virginia, west virginia, the carolinas causing lots of trouble on the road. hundreds of accidents. several multi-car pileups. power outages, school closings reported. for good measure there is a huge storm moving east from the kansas/missouri border. >>> still ahead as we continue on this holiday monday night, skiing out of bounds, swept to their deaths by a powerful avalanche. tonight a survivor tells her story and talks about a new piece of equipment she says saved her life. >>> and later, the american with the right stuff. 50 years ago tonight he showed the world the u.s. was no longer second best in space. >>> it was a deadly weekend for skiers out west. four killed in two separate avalanche incidents in the cascades range and washington state. some experts say this is shaping up to be one of the wo

that's where we find richard engel. >> reporter: a truce in syria doesn't seem to be in the making. new undated video shows homs, battered and lifeless. the red cross was only able to bring out around 30 women and children from the besieged city on friday and just a few more today. that's hardly a war zone evacuation from a city of 30,000. in neighboring turkey now, tent cities are cropping up full of men with stories like this man. he says, i was arrested on the street because i'm against assad. i tore a picture of him at the entrance of town. then, he joined the free syrian army and his punishment was 60 days of medieval torture including being chained to the wall, crucifixion style, with feet hanging off the floor for 12 days. they asked a lot of questions, he said. they said i was a traitor working for foreigners, israel and america. there are nearly 2,000 refugees, just in this camp. about 10,000 in all in other camps nearby. turkish officials say this could become a staging ground for humanitarian supplies to enter syria or weapons. they're just waiting for a green light to do

as nbc's richard engel reports, more journalists are being caught in the crossfire. >> reporter: even if you listen closely it's hard to hear a single peaceful moment in homs. syrian troops ringing the city, fire rockets and machine guns in ferocious barrages to drive out a few hundred opposition forces. the blogger who took this video, can be heard praying for his life. >> [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: he was killed a few hours later. this rubble was a rudimentary media center in homs run by the syrian opposition who barely hold a few pockets in the city. the building took a direct hit inside killed as they were working, french photographer ren nay off link and veteran american war correspondent marie colvin who reported for the british newspaper "the sunday times." in homs, colvin provided the bbc with some of the most vivid accounts of the brutality. hearing her now, is haunting just hours before her death. >> there are just shells, rockets coming in, just hitting any building. i have not seen one military target. they're simply [ inaudible ]. and the wounded and dead i have seen, i

we get our report from our chief foreign correspondent richard engel near the turkey/syria border. >>eporter: lester, this referendum is effectively a yes/no vote on new articles of the syrian constitution, and amendments that, in principle, sound very good. they end the syrian baff party's monopoly on power, set term limits for the president, and implement multiparty democracy. the syrian government is presenting this as the centerpiece of its reform program, a program that has been called for by the syrian opposition and members of the international community. the problem is the syrian opposition has absolutely no confidence that any of these changes will actually be implemented. and the referendum is taking place amid ongoing violence. at least 20 more people were killed in syria today. the red cross has been unable to reach the hardest hit parts of the city of homs, so a referendum is taking place, but a war is taking place at the same time. lester? >> richard engel. >>> tonight, legendary former south african leader nelson mandela has been released from a hospital, and is resting

richard engel, nbc news along the turkish border. >>> still to come at 5:00, crews broke ground 70 years ago today for a bay area landmark that changed commuting forever. >>> and ran drew lk showed off his skills today. we will tell you how he did. getting ready to plant? chances are your soil is like this: compacted, drained of nutrients. it'll hold your plants... but it'll also hold 'em back. the solution: miracle-gro garden soil. the perfect mix of rich, organic ingredients, and miracle-gro plant food. just mix it in. and turn bad soil into great soil. helps plants grow twice as big. instead of holding 'em back, they'll leap ahead. miracle-gro garden soil. start right. finish big. [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories,

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innovation for all. ♪ . >>> we're back let's go back to tel aviv and chief correspondent richard engelthe new book "strategic vision" richard, we talked to dr. brzezinski, what is israeli public opinion whether to strike or not to strike iran and the nuclear facilities? >> israelis are divided on this. not that everyone in the country is clamoring for military action. i was in an israeli home. people are cleaning out bomb shelter making sure it's ready, the gas masks are are available and in working order. . . >> if they have a guarantee from the united states they have as much safety as western europe or japan, or south korea. we have to be forthright and our president and our secretary of defense also have to speak forthrightly and make it clear we don't want that

nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more. what kind of response would an is wrayly attack on iran ignite? >> reporter: well, what kind of a response would an israeli attack is a sensitive question. u.s. intelligence officials have been telling me they are concerned that israel is serious. obviously some of this is blufter. at the end of the day, what is the goal? what does israel want? what does the united states want? israel in particular wants iran to stop its nuclear program and stop developing its nuclear weapon which israel is convinced iran is trying to do, which the united states is convinced iran is trying to do. iran says it is not trying to develop a nuclear weapon. that is the goal, not to just launch some sort of attack on i rehab. you can achieve that goal by either launching the attack or at least threatening to launch it. but what we saw in the last few days in particular is that u.s. officials were becoming incre e increasingly concerned that israel was going to actually do it. and what kind of response its wo

nbc foreign correspondent richard engel has more.there any indication that this cease fooer, wish for two hours of peace will be granted? >> reporter: at this stage, no, and without any serious diplomatic pressure it seems very unlikely. the syrian government is not acknowledging that there is a rebel movement. the syrian government is calling the opposition gangs of terrorists, and without the syrian government's wishes, then there will be no cease-fire. there's also a much more ambitious plan that is being talked about for a humanitarian corridor that would allow supplies to get into some of the conflict zones. we saw some pretty heavy conflict overnight in the city of homs, and that is an area where rebels have been able to hold onto one particular neighborhood, and for about two hours overnight u.s. time, the syrian arm which has been surrounding this area and the entire city of homs for 18 days started to unleash a heavy bombardment and 16 people have been killed including two children. and toactivists we've been speaking to has

richard engel has more on the scale of destruction inside syria. >> reporter: for the last several weeksall of homs has been surrounded by syrian government forces. they have been shelling the city from the outside, but the opposition does control a few pockets within the city, and this media center was in one of those pockets. it was one of the only places that had limited internet access. the journalists were in this center this morning when it was destroyed by a rocket, apparently fired by government troops, posted around the city. >> and of course, we had the incredible death of marie colvin and others only yesterday. at the same time, today in london, hillary clinton suggested that the time for bashir assad may be coming to an end. >>> it is clear to me that there will be a breaking point. i wish it would be sooner, so that more lives would be saved than later, but i have absolutely no doubt there will be such a breaking point. >> former congresswoman jane harman is president of the wilson center and joins me now. jane, it just seems as though all the rhetoric is not going to get us

our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in tel aviv and our tehran chief ali arouzi is in iran. what is the awareness about the tension, how heavily is it being reported in the press there? >> reporter: well, people are very aware of the tensions here, lester. i mean, it's not being reported that heavily in the press because that's carefully staged managed. but yesterday, iran's supreme leader the final authority in the country gave a live televised sermon during friday prayers but he kept saying that the enemy is at the gate. he has been warning the country and the threats from israel is evidence that the enemy is at the gate. so the country is on high alert. he spoke for an hour and a half about the threats to the country from israel, and how iran would retaliate. there's a very jittery feeling on the streets today and over the past few weeks. >> i'll put the same question to richard about the reaction on the streets there. does it feel like a country on a war footing in fear of attack? >> reporter: it certainly does not. today's obviously a saturday and if you walk around te

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is on the border between syria and turkey. what's the very latest? >> well, i think you had it right. this is not a cease-fire and it shouldn't be portrayed as one. the violence is continuing. the war being carried out by the syrian regime against the opposition. and the armed opposition against the syrian government is ongoing. what we do see now is a very limited tactical cease-fire and attempt by the syrian red crescent and the red cross to evacuate a few people from the besieged city of homs. homs has received a great deal of attention over the last several weeks because about 30,000 people are trapped in this city, surrounded by syrian forces who have been shelling them from the perimeters of the city. of course, it received even more attention when the two journalists were killed, potentially targeted and killed, in the city of homs. we have been told that there are ongoing negotiations between all sides being carried out by the red cross to try and evacuate some people from homs. but it's a very small scale. overnight,

among his friends and colleagues our own chief foreign correspondent richard engel, who has written a personal remembrance that we commend to your attention. we put it on our website tonight. >>> now we turn to domestic politics this evening. congress moved with remarkable speed today to pass the payroll tax cut extension through the end of the year. the bill passed today extends unemployment benefits, heads off a cut in doctors' medicare fees. republicans agreed to go along with the extension without offsetting budget cuts. today's action will add about $100 billion to the federal deficit. it goes on to the president for his signature. >>> we have news from the campaign trail. they have a big mess in maine. it was the scene of the last caucus just this past saturday. mitt romney won, ron paul was second. were those results really the results? not unlike iowa, it seems there might have been misplaced votes and the gop may have another primary embarrassment on its hands. the state party chairman in maine says some precinct results may have gone to his e-mail spam folder and he may have

. >>> we'll bring in chief foreign correspondent richard engel, what can you tell news. >> >> reporter: there is a mood in israel something could be coming, i'm in tel aviv inside a home of an israeli family and they were just showing me their bomb shelter they have in their home, all israeli homes built in the last 20 years have to have a safe room with reinforced doors, reinforced concrete walls and ceilings and putting gas masks inside it just in case. there is a concern that once again we could be heading toward a military conflict in the middle east. i've spoken to u.s. officials what they have been telling me is fairly similar what ignatius is reporting that there is a concern, not certainty, but a high concern that israel might defy the sanctions aren't having enough impact and would carry out some sort of of military strike on the israeli nuclear program. all about timing. israel thinks that iran could have a nuclear weapon in about a year to a year-and-a-half. but they worry that if they wait too long, there is a point of no return. that after four months, five months, six mon

richard engel writes, what a horrible tragedy. a great man, a great reporter, a great friend to many of us. and anthony shadid was the gold standard of journalism because of language skills, hard work, examination, and toughness. rest in peace. and the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. tweeted he is, quote, heartbroken by the loss of anthony shadid in syria. he leaves behind a wife and two children. anthony shadid was 43 years old. our condolences go out to his family, to the "new york times" family as well. >>> meanwhile, the killing in syria continues. nearly one year of the government's brutal suppression of protesters, despite new efforts by the community, the regime shows no signs of loosening its grip. the united nations general assembly calls on syria to stop the bloodshed. but the government purely symbolic world leaders at this point have no options in the u.n. to enforce the measure. a similar effort was vetoed in the security council you'll remember by russia and china two weeks ago leaving the other largely powerless to put

by the way, we are going to have more on all of this from our chief foreign correspondent richard engel from tel aviv tomorrow here on this broadcast. >>> tens of thousands of protestors poured into cairo's tahrir square today after the soccer riot we reported on last night that left at least 74 people dead. protestors are blaming egyptian security forces for letting the situation get out of hand. tonight's protest left more than 600 people injured. most of them from tear gas used to disperse the crowd. >>> while much of the u.s. has been experiencing a milder than usual winter, europe is having one of the harshest, colder winters in years. at least 123 people are dead, especially hard hit eastern europe including serbia where thousands have been trapped by heavy snow. we posted a full report on all this by stephanie gosk on our website nbc nightly news.com. >>> in health news tonight, prominent researchers are slamming sugar saying it's time this country treated foods with added sugar the same way we treat things like alcohol and tobacco and regulate them. nbc news chief medical editor

here's nbc's richard engel with an update from the turkish/syrian boarder. >> representatives for more70 countries meeting node tunisia to call on the syrian government to immediately implement a cease fe-fire and aw in humanitarian aid. >> we want a peaceful solution. we cannot assure this without a cease-fire. >> reporter: two problems with the call, russia, country that has the most influence over syria, is boycotting the meeting and, two, as things stand now, any humanitarian corridor would need the copration of the syrian government which remains unlikely. >> cities under siege and what we're desperate to do is try to get a proper assessment of what's going on so we can get urgently needed supplies in. >> reporter: kofi anan, former secretary-general of the united nations, appointed as special envoy to the syrian crisis but it's unclear how much authority he really has. and on the ground, in syria, the situation remains the same. the syrian government is maintaining the offensive. protesters did take to the streets message of defiance. >>> grim outlook for the dutch prince caught

our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is on the border between syria and turkey. he was able to join us via a small portable satellite dish. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. the syrian opposition's immediate concern is a massacre in the city of homs which has been surrounded for over two weeks. it's been shelled from the outside. now the opposition worries that syrian troops will storm the center of the city. but the conflict in syria is no longer just a local affair. outside parties are becoming increasingly involved. russia, china, iran, hezbollah, iraqi shiite militia groups are all backing the syrian regime. russia has been arming the syrian government. the united states has been observing syria from drones, but u.s. officials say they don't see any clear options in this entrenched, bloody, proxy war. >> richard, thanks. >>> back in this country, a quick weather note. the snow has moved out to sea but the mess remains across the mid south. as much as nine inches in kentucky, tennessee, parts of virginia, west virginia, the carolinas causing lots of tro

nbc's richard engel is in israel, keeping tabs on these developments.erage continues on "nbc nightly news" with lester holt in just about ten minutes. >>> well, today is national wear red day. and the american heart association is using humor to send an important message about heart disease. >> it started out like a totally normal day. >> this short film is a humorous exaggeration of a typical working mother focused on everyone else's needs. the mom ignores the signs of a heart attack to get everyone out the door on time. the film may be funny, but the facts aren't. heart disease is the number oner of women. experts say you can reduce your risk by exercising, eating right and not smoking it drops a heavy hint to men to pay attention to the health of women in their lives. >>> several celebrities are taking part against prop 8 by taking part in a controversial play. martin sheen, jamie lee curtis will take place in the play 8 written by lance black. black says he was motived to wright "eight" after the supreme court ban public release of trial video. it i