tom costello explains why there is less pain at the pump recently. >> reporter: funny thing about gas prices, we all notice when they go up. remember labor and delivery? the national average was $3.83 a gallon but chicago paid $4.34. >> first time i filled my little car and spent over $50. >> reporter: but gas has dropped nearly 50 cents on average. while many of us missed it, they noticed it in california where regular unleaded dropped a full dollar. 370 now. >> i saved money. i am happier at the tank. >> reporter: why the price drop? much of it is supply and demand. demand drops during the winter and we are driving more fuel efficient cars. also, u.s. supply increased. >> with production rising to an 18-year high with demand at a ten-year lower less reliant on imports to meet our demand. >> reporter: america is using nearly 700,000 fewer barrels of oil each year than we did in 2007. does that mean we won't have to worry about $4 or $5 gas? >> we could see $4 this spring. $5, i wouldn't be surprised to see pumps at $5 a gallon. should there be another refining issue. >> reporter: but

it's all where we begin tonight with nbc's tom costello in washington. tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. the white house today said president obama supports senator feinstein's proposed bill that would ban assault weapons and high capacity ammo clips. tonight gun control advocates think they have the momentum, but nra is now weighing in. four days after the newtown massacre, the nra today broke its silence in a statement saying it's made up of 4 million moms and dads, sons and daughters who are shocked, saddened and heart broken by the murders in newtown. it says it's prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again. talk of new gun regulations has got gun store cash registers ringing in alabama. >> people who feel insecure about their surroundings and about the future are purchasing weapons. >> reporter: in oklahoma. >> wanting to take care of themselves. taking care of their own safety, the safety of their families. >> reporter: at a gun range in virginia, tim was shooting a mini 14. he opposes an assault we

tom costello has that part of the story in washington tonight. good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. it's been a very busy day. the mayor of america's biggest city today urged congress, in fact, challenged congress and the white house to act, and the nra remains silent. surrounded by victims' families, new york mayor michael bloomberg today said enough talk, it's time to act. >> congress has to come up with something that stops this carnage, no matter what the political ramifications are. >> reporter: long an advocate for stricter gun regulation, bloomberg is pushing congress to close gun show loopholes and demand background checks of anyone who buys a gun. he wants a new assault weapons ban to replace the one that expired in 2004 and a ban on high-capacity ammo clips. and he's promising to use his own vast personal wealth to take on the gun lobby if necessary. the numbers are striking. 8,500 people die each year in gun violence. just since columbine, nearly 14 years ago, more than 30 mass murders involving guns. the list is chilling. >> shame on

>> tom costello starting us off tonight. thanks. >>> meanwhile in newtown, four days now after this tragedy at the elementary school, this was the day the rest of the town schools reopened and kids returned to class, even as others were being laid to rest. nbc's anne thompson remains in newtown for us tonight. ann, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. you know the biggest difference at schools today was police presence. at holly elementary school, officers stopped each and every car and spoke to the parents and students inside. and at each school there was a team of counselors helping students deal with their grief and fear. the reopening of newtown schools, an act of faith and resolve. >> whether you wait a day or month or whatever, there's no -- there's no rule book. >> reporter: determination quickly tested as a threat to one elementary school forced it into lockdown before students even arrived. the sight of the massacre at sandy hook elementary school remained closed. moving vans carrying furniture and equipm

here is nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: the numbers speak volumes. day, worldwide, there are 93,000 commercial airline flights. 3 billion passengers a year. and yet not a single fatal commercial airline accident in the u.s. in nearly four years. and worldwide, 2012 is going down as the safest year ever, with just one accident for every 5.4 million flights. veteran aviation safety expert john cox. >> what's significant about that is that we're improving by 50% over last year, which was the aviation's safest year previously. it's an incredible feat. >> reporter: why the improvement? pilots have never been better trained. computerized cockpits monitor every aspect of flight. systems warn pilots of a potential crash or mountain ahead. and hd simulators for pilots and air traffic controllers train them to handle emergencies before they face a real one. deb deb debby herzman is chairman of the ntsb. >> we bring the accidents back in, they have been embraced in many cases and we're not seeing repeats of those same accidents. >> reporter: but experts say two

tom costello, nbc "nightly news," washington. >>> as the bereaved residents try to get through the tragedy, a group of ten golden retrievers as comfort dogs. very sweet. a look at the weather. bill karins joins us. >> good morning. a new anchor this morning. >> thank you. >> you're either lucky or unlucky. you have to deal with me every single morning. you may regret it in a week or two. good morning, everyone, we have one area of rain and snow exiting new england today. you saw that from the live shot there in connecticut. just pouring rain this time of year, definitely a little bit on the strange side. we are watching only cold air in northern portions of maine are the only areas that will deal with the snow and sleet. it's a soaker this morning. even in areas like vermont and new hampshire. temperatures are good. don't have to worry about the roads. as far as the morning, through the rockies, through the higher elevations, this is going to head out to the plains today and tonight. tomorrow, a snowstorm is developing. through green bay, through the heart of iowa, blizzard watches here in

tom costello is outside the gas station in upper marlboro, maryland, where the mystery man was caught on tape. we're talking about an arizona ticket, right? >> yeah. so it's a bit confusing, lester. here's what happened. it was lunchtime on thursday and this gentleman walks in and he pulls out of his pocket what looks to everybody in here in the exxon behind me as a legitimate arizona powerball ticket. he wants to check the numbers. and then he realizes oh, my gosh, i think i've won it. everybody around him says it looks like it's legit to me. the numbers match. and we talked to one of those customers who says the ticket looked real. >> he was excited. you've seen the video. he walked back and forth here three or four times. >> well, he was excited. now the question is whether the guy who's on the surveillance camera celebrating is the same guy that our local nbc station tracked down at a virginia d.o.t. lot. that gentleman seemed to be wearing the same collared fluorescent uniform. he had what looked like the same kind of black suv that the first gentleman had. but this guy wouldn't

here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: lunchtime at bell jeff high school outside of los angeles. everyone, it seems, has some sort of mobile device. but the government says most of the mobile apps kids download these days also target them. kids like giovanni gabb. >> i have probably, like, 12, 13 apps on my iphone. >> reporter: he is there a good chance some of his apps are among those the federal government says regularly collect data on kids without disclosing it. and that's not okay with his parents. >> i feel that we should have the information up front. let us know what we're getting into and what our kids are getting into that we could protect them, protect ourselves and know exactly when you apply or buy these applications, you know your kids are going to be safe. >> reporter: but the government says only 20% of the apps reviewed by the ftc do disclose their privacy practices, while nearly 60% are transmitting information about the user's device back to the app developer or an advertiser. the ftc is warning that third parties, including advertisers, could use that informat

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nbc's tom costello is in bethesda, maryland, with this. m, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, matt. good morning. we're talking about big price drops. we've seen ten cents a gallon drop on regular unleaded in a month. they're talking about another 10 to 15, even 20 cents a gallon by christmas. that means some areas will see $3 a gallon. remember how we were all complaining just about three months ago? funny thing about gas prices. we all notice when they go up. remember labor day? the national average was $3.83 a gallon. but chicago was paying $4.34. >> the first time i ever think i filled my small little car and spent over $50. >> reporter: in just over three months, gas has dropped nearly 50 cents on average. national average now $3.35 a gallon. and while many of us may have missed it, they noticed it in california, where regular unleaded has dropped a full dollar from a high of $4.70 in october to $3.70 now. >> i save money. i'm happier at the tank. >> reporter: why the sudden price drop? much of it is simple, supply and demand. deman

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nbc's tom costello is in washington with that part of the story. good morning, tom. >> hi, david.the discussion from "meet the press" over the weekend, we're talking about the assault weapons ban that congress allowed to expire in 2004. this morning, there is a growing chorus of voices, including some nra members calling for a new assault weapons ban to prevent any more tragedies. just four days since the massacre at sandy hook, signs of movement in the decades-long gun control debate. it began with president obama. >> are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom? >> reporter: by monday morning, joe scarborough, now an msnbc host, came out forcefully against assault weapons. >> it is time for congress to put children before deadly dogmas. it's time for politicians to start focusing more on protecting our schoolyards. than putting together their next fundraiser. >> reporter: then, one of the biggest pro-gun senators. >> as your senator, i'll protect your second amendment rights. >> reporter: joe man

nbc's tom costello is in maryland with the very latest. tom, good morning.s up. >> well, let's run through what happened here. this was thursday at lunch time, and a gentleman came in, wearing that big reflective suit, looks like he worked for a highway crew, and out of his pocket he pulled what looked like to everybody in the store, like a legitimate arizona powerball ticket. he asked to compare the numbers. they said, it looks like your numbers match. he became very excited. he started celebrating, asking other people, look at this. do my numbers match? everybody in the store thought the numbers matched. and, in fact, we talked to one of the people in the store at the time, and they said that ticket certainly looked legitimate to them. >> he was excited. you know, he just -- have you seen the video when he was, you know. and he walked back and forth here three or four times. >> all right. so the question is, is that guy you see celebrating there in the video, is that the same guy that the local nbc station here in washington tracked down at a virginia d.o.

co tom costello has the details.rter: this will little girl has survived for two years, even though doctors thought she might not survive the plane ride to baltimore with her parents. now she and her family are praying for a very special christmas gift, the gift of life. in an or fajage south of beij g beijing, she was the frail 3-year-old with a shortened arm and two fingers waiting for a family. >> geez, look at that. >> she stole her adoptive parents' hearts. ann and brett had eight kids back home, four adopted. this little girl they named teresa was so sick she needed urgent help. >> we knew she was terminally ill, but we were ready and we were prepared to make her as happy can be for however long god with share her with us. >> terminally ill with half a heart. making matters worse her lungs were permanently damaged. adopting a child can take a year or longer, time teresa didn't have. that's where cindy jones expected. they expected red tape when they called u.s. immigration for help. instead, officer jones answe

nbc's tom costello is in maryland with his story. >> alex, good day to you.dy in this gas station here in upper marlboro, maryland says they really believe that this guy wasn't putting on an act who showed up here on thursday. that it looked like the ticket that he came forward with was legit. meanwhile, the arizona lottery officials say that nobody has yet come forward to claim the jackpot. so the question is, have we found the mystery man? if you found out you'd won half the powerball jackpot, would you go back to work the next day? >> did you win the lottery? >> reporter: it sure looks like the man who celebrated in a maryland gas station was indeed back on the job at the virginia dot friday. his highway safety uniform looks the same. the car he drove away in looks the same. so washington nbc pat collins asked him. >> is that the lottery winner there? >> it is! >> i found him! but the driver quickly sped away. that's when pat noticed a coworker who he thought he recognized from the gas station video. >> were you with him when he -- you were there. i saw yo