tom costello has this story for us tonight. he's at national airport in washington. m, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. in fact, the airlines, the pilots, are telling the customers the delays are not their fault. republicans on capitol hill blaming the white house for needlessly creating the situation. and now the white house is saying that congress has got to deal with the sequester. day three of the sequester's impact on the nation's air traffic and delays are becoming the norm on many routes. hundreds of takeoffs and landings delayed. nearly every city affected. 30 to 45-minute delays in dallas and los angeles. ground stops at washington national and dulles. and a ripple effect across the country. kim zolar flying from dallas to laguardia for an important meeting was more than 90 minutes late. >> we were supposed to leave at 8:25, and just as we're about to leave, they said, sorry, we're not leaving. we've been sequestered. >> reporter: jonathan rogers sat on the ramp for two hours. >> new york city is right there. you want to reach out and grab it. >> reporte

tom costello at national airport in washington again tonight. >> in the midwest tonight the struggle to contain flooded rivers is into its seventh consecutive day now. the map tells the tale. so many areas right up the middle of the country are coping with high water right now. nbc's john yang with us from peoria, illinois. john, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the wait has begun tonight. the wait for the illinois river to start dropping from record levels, the highest in 70 years. this wall of 30,000 sandbags kept the water from encroaching any farther on downtown including the corporate headquarters of caterpillar just up the block here. roads have become rivers, levees overtopped, houses swamped and farmland is under water. now the illinois river here flows very slowly. so it's going to take some time for all this floodwater to clear out of here. one place it will go once it clears is the mississippi river where the illinois river joins north of st. louis. that's going to add to the flooding concerns along that waterway. brian?

tom costello, nbc news, capitol hill. >>> and still ahead for us tonight, the invasion on its way for spring, billions of them uninvited guests about to make a whole lot of noise and trouble. >>> and later, high drama at the louvre in paris, a big problem that has the folks who work there fed up and a world famous museum has been shut down. >>> seems like we say something like this every year and some years, sadly it comes true. the annual atlantic hurricane forecast is out from colorado state university. it's bad. it calls for 18 tropical storms, nine full-on hurricanes. last year's forecast was well below what actually happened, which we all know included hurricane sandy in october. it killed dozens of people, caused billions in damage and ripped up the coastline which remains crippled in parts to this day. in those dark days of the aftermath of this past storm season, you could hear people asking, what's next? pestulants? locusts? well, close, how about cicadas. they hibernate underground and they only come out every 17 years, and that would be right now. just when we thought natur

tom costello from washington national tonight. tom, thanks. >>> late today in lower manhattan we learned of a stunning discovery. what investigators believe to be pieces of one of the commercial jets that brought down the world trade center found wedged between two buildings near ground zero 11 years after the terrorist attack. this discovery is being treated as a crime scene by the nypd tonight. nbc's stephanie gosk is there. >> reporter: good evening, brian. it's hard to imagine after all this time someone could essentially stumble across a piece of wreckage. especially this big. we are about a quarter of a mile or so from ground zero. that piece was found wedged between these buildings behind me. there were construction workers doing solo inspections. they called 911, brought in the police. they have now turned it into a crime scene. they are taking photos of it. they said they will move the piece in a couple of days but they might have to do some demolition to get it out of there. it's wedged in so deeply. they may test for hum

tom costello is at the verizon center in washington where there's an nhl game tonight. the capitals playing the toronto maple leafs. tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. and the attack on boston very much on the minds of people here as well as at sporting events across the country. but there is also a determination not to bow to terrorists. on this day after, many americans felt on edge like they haven't in years. suspicious packages brought boston's logan and new york's laguardia airports to a crawl today. both were later deemed safe. in washington, a heavy police presence in the subways. pedestrian traffic in front of the white house shut down. capitol police checked every trash can for explosives. while at the emancipation day parade, both unease -- >> i was kind of concerned as to who's here, you know, why they're here, if anything's going to happen. are we safe? >> reporter: -- and defiance. >> i came down. i'm not going to be afraid. this is my home. >> reporter: across the country, police departments were showing the badge today. the tsa also stuffing up pas

our report tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: the call in irving, texas, was for all available ambulances. trapped inside and under an overturned motor coach, dozens of senior citizens screaming for help. >> bodies stacked on top of each other. blood everywhere. >> yeah. >> just moaning, crying. >> reporter: ernie johns survived with bad cuts and bruises. >> people were piled everywhere, you know. thrown everywhere. >> reporter: it happened on highway 161 not far from dfw airport. police say the bus hit a rubber barrier, then ricocheted across two lanes of traffic and into a grassy median before straddling a concrete divider and rolling over. at least two dead. more than 40 injured. >> you can have severe internal bleeding. so we are watching carefully. one patient is in surgery because of internal bleeding. >> reporter: the bus was operated by cardinal coach line taking seniors to a casino in oklahoma. federal records indicate the company has a good reputation. no crashes or serious violations. but it's the latest in a recent series of terrible motor coach accidents. two dead

nbc's tom costello has more on what's going on. >> reporter: from retail to construction it's been six months of an improving jobs picture and economic recovery. but today's numbers were a shocker. >> this is a punch to the gut. this is not a good number. >> reporter: after adding an average of 196,000 jobs in each of the last six months, only 88,000 were added in march. economists hoped for nearly 200,000. the unemployment rate still fell but experts say that's because many people took part-time jobs or gave up looking for work. the white house suggested the looming government sequestration cuts played a role in the bad numbers. >> if you look at the regional coverage of the impacts of sequester it focuses on real people. >> reporter: an estimated 12 million americans are still out of work. among them, single mom lois taheda who was polishing her resumÉ today in rhode island. >> me without a job for a year basically has been the roughest thing ever. just no money at all. >> reporter: to land a job in the growing health care field she's been getting vocational training at the stepping

tom costello, nbc news, washington. >>> we'll take another a break tonight. when we come back, what most americans now say should be legalized. >>> if i may be permitted to question my own witness in my own way. >> i would like you to get to the point. >> i am -- >> i believe i have the right to ask the witness a direct question. >> the great irish actor milo o'shea once said he wanted to be remembered as more than just the irishman with the eyebrows. when word of his death arrived today we thought of the superb irish actor with those wonderful eyebrows. his performance in "the verdict" with paul newman left an indelible mark. he appeared in a slew of tv series like "the west wing." he was twice nominated for a tony. born to two performer parents in dublin, he got off to a rough start here in the states and had to take a job as an elevator operator at the waldorf astoria hotel here in new york. he broke out with a great performance in "ulysses." the great milo o'shea died of alzheimer's complications. he was 86. >>> if you look at the new polling data a lot o

nbc's tom costello is at a ford dealership in vienna, virginia, tonight. tom, good evening. >> hi, brian. ford sales up 6% in march. customers drawn in by those shiny new cars and suvs and trucks, low interest rates, and some statistics that suggest the economy really has found firmer ground. today's signs of economic recovery are right there in the headlights. auto sales in march the best in six years. ford, chrysler, toyota, gm, and nissan, all reporting strong sales. truck and suv sales especially strong. cnbc's phil lebeau. >> this is not something where the automakers are goosing the market with outrageous incentives. this is people coming into showrooms and saying i need a new car or truck and this is the time to buy. >> reporter: the average car on the road today is more than 11 years old. something else helping the economy, gas prices down 30 cents from a year ago. and while many areas of the country are still struggling with real estate foreclosures, and decreased home equity, the overall housing market seems to be recovering. existing home sales n

tom costello from washington tonight. tom, thanks. >>> we'll take another break.when we come back, an eyewitness to today's bombing. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. from capital one... boris earns unlimited rewards for his small business. can i get the smith contract, please? thank you. that's three new paper shredders. [ boris ] put 'em on my spark card. [ garth ] boris' small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase every day. great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. read back the chicken's testimony, please. "buk, buk, bukka!" [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose 2% cash bac

brian. >> tom costello after a day of pretzels in the air. tom, thanks for your trouble. what a mess. >>> we are back in a moment with a beautiful tribute sending a powerful message. >>> a wild night in mobile last night as explosions and fires tore through two barges, seven blasts in all. the fires burned through the night, left three people in critical condition with burns. the blast was felt ten miles away. it was last in the news because the carnival cruise ship triumph is undergoing an overhaul a short distance away. >>> a new study from yale new haven says there may be a new tool to predict who is at risk for autism at the time of birth. the study finds in families with a high genetic risk for autism, the placenta at the time of birth showed abnormal folds and creases in them. a doctor compared it to a warning light on a car dashboard. a sign of possible trouble ahead. these days about 15% of placentas are analyzed to look for indicators of health problems before being discarded. >>> what an impactful cover of the may issue of "boston" magazine. after disaster struc

>> tom costello with all things fda related from washington tonight. tom, thanks. >>> new numbers out tonight about home prices. the highest annual jump in nearly seven years. 9.3% according to one closely watched index. and that's in all 20 of the biggest cities in this country. one reason prices are rising so fast? inventory, pure and simple. there is very little out there to buy. with fewer new listings than we see, especially during this time of year. >>> still ahead for us as we continue tonight, taking down historic churches to put up a new stadium. it's a wrenching problem involving big money and progress and the wrecking ball. >>> and later, what happened today to the eternal flame at the jfk burial site. the basics, you know.t gim i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(

tom costello reports. >>> stay on the phone here with me, okay?call center in america. >> are you with the patient now? >> this one is different. >> okay, ma'am. are you still on the scene? >> sending paramedics to help you now. they'll tell you what to do next. >> frederick county, maryland, people who need help can text 911 operators and they can text back. >> could be a number of reasons they can't speak at the moment, medical event, stroke, something like that, but they he can still type. >> reporter: hard to believe, but in most of the country today, texting 911 isn't possible. in the last three months more than 13,000 texts have been transmitted to 911, but most were never received. very few 911 centers are equipped to accept them. frederick county is also the home of the maryland school for the deaf and the need seemed obvious. >> especially when it comes to an emergency. time is so important. and we didn't have that access ever. so, this is huge. >> i thought we were going to die. it was really, really scary. >> reporter: in chicago, 15-ye

tom costello from washington tonight. tom, thanks. we'll take another break. when we come back, an eyewitness to today's bombing. the grief was staggering. one hundred days after us senate starts to act are coming together background checks the second amendment hands of dangerous criminals. ninety percent of america background checks. urge them to join comprehensive background checks. demand action. now. >>> we are back tonight, this day of the twin bombings at the end of the boston marathon. we want to talk now to an eyeness, someone we spoke to earlier during our developing live coverage. sudar azturk was very close to the initial and the secondary bomb. tell us how far you were away, what you remember, what you saw and what you felt. >> i was about a half a block away from the scene. i initially felt the first one and i felt it go through my legs, into my chest. i was sitting down. everyone in the room, everyone outside was -- just stopped moving and instantly had no idea what was happening until that second bomb went off. that second bomb you felt just as

nbc's tom costello is on the national mall in washington, d.c., this morning. to you. >> reporter: hi, savannah, good morning. this is emancipation day here in washington that, means a parade down pennsylvania avenue. it will go on as planned. in london this weekend they have a marathon planned. next weekend a marathon is planned in oklahoma city, all of it with the threat of terrorism looming large. in washington, always viewed as a potential terrorist target, a show of force, heavily armed police and dog teams patrolling the subways, checking trash bins. in new york the nypd in grand central station and times square and across the country the lapd out in force at the dodgers game, union station and lax but security experts warn ensuring 100% security at a public event like the boston marathon simply isn't realistic. >> if somebody wants to go out and kill people, they can. the question remains, can they cause mass casualties and can they sustain an attack. >> reporter: oklahoma city, 1995, 168 dead including 19 children. timothy mcveigh was convicted and execu

nbc's tom costello is at gallaudet university for the deaf, just across town here in washington. morning to you. on this campus which is mostly for the deaf students almost everybody texts. it's a vital communication tool and if somebody here texted 911 for help, the chances are the text would go unanswered and it's not just here, across much of the country, if you text 911, the help probably isn't coming. >> stay on the phone here with me, okay? >> reporter: it could be any 911 call center in america. >> okay, are you with the patient now? >> reporter: but this one is different. >> okay, ma'am, are you still on the scene? >> i'm sending the paramedics to help you now. >> reporter: in frederick county, maryland, people who need help can text 911 dispatchers and they can text back. >> there could be any number of reasons why they can't speak at the moment, could be the medical event, stroke, something like that, that they can still type. >> reporter: hard to believe but in most of the country today texting 911 isn't possible. in the last three months more than 13,000 texts have bee

nbc's tom costello is on the national mall in washington.morning to you. today is emancipation day here in d.c. it is a d.c. holiday and they have a big parade planned for pennsylvania avenue. it is going to go on as planned. in london this weekend, they have of course the big marathon and they also have another marathon planned for oklahoma city in about two weeks. all of this as the threat of terrorism looms very large. in washington, always viewed as a potential terrorist target, a show of force. heavily armed police and dog teams patrolling the subways, checking trash bins. in new york, the nypd and grand central station and times square. and across the country the lapd also out in force at the dodgers game, union station and lax. but security experts warn ensuring 100% security at a public event like the boston marathon simply isn't realistic. >> if somebody wants to go out and kill people, they can. the question remains is can they cause mass casualties and can they sustain an attack. >> reporter: oklahoma city, 1995. 168 dead, includi

. >> tom costello in washington, thank you so much.ciate it. >> you bet. >>> nfl player and lgbt act visit, brendon ayanbadejo released from the baltimore ravens joins me. >>> and mother versus son, let the trash talking begin. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. [ sneezing ] she may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air. there's a lot i had to do... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said that with novolog® flexpen, i don't have to use a syringe an

let me go to nbc's tom costello who is standing by with the very latest here.us at least, again, this is a part of sequester and the decision being made today. >> this is a big headline. many communities and cities across the country will be breathing a sigh of relief. the fax has postponed for now the decision to delay, rather, to close 149 air traffic control facilities. these are mostly in small communities across the country. the bottom line is many communities were arguing about it. some were mounding a legal challenge. some said they need more time to come up with their own plan to staff the towers with their own contract employees, come one the money to do that or what have you. now the fax has postponed this decision until june 15th. the overall goal is to save more than $600 million. what is mandated by the sequestration goes into effect. as a result the faa had announced 24 faa towers would close this coming sunday. another 46 on april 21st. another 79 on may 5th. and airports could continue to operate if they came up with a plan them would do it with

tom costello is in washington. what are your sources telling you? i know you've been on the phone with a lot of people. >> most cities will go ahead with the events they have planned. this is spring in america and many cities plan many events to take advantage of the good weather. my contacts i've been talking to have suggested, listen. you are probably going to see an increased security presence, perhaps at the airports, when you fly someplace. you you might see the tsa doing a double-check. they might be less forgiving of something in their bag that causes them suspicion. before they might have given it a pass. they won't do that right now. one big concern is the sequester and what if any effects that might have on the tsa staffing levels around the country as they take this elevated posture even more seriously. at specific police departments around the country, you're seeing more showing of the badge. what that means is that we're really seeing maybe not an increase in staffs but more of a visible presence them want to be sure that the public is

. >>> nbc's tom costello in washington this morning. g a look at the dangers that these kind of fertilizer plants may pose. tom, good morning to you. >> matt, good morning. some of the witnesses have said that it sounded like and felt like a bomb that went off in the murrah building in oklahoma city back in 1995, and remember, that was, of course, a fertilizer based bomb. not saying this was a bomb, but this was a fertilizer plant. these are very difficult fires to fight. i've talked to veteran fire commanders this morning saying fires involving ammonium nitrate are volatile and unpredictable. this explosion that occurred was after firefighters were working on them, has been said to rain embers and shrapnel and debris down on to them. the firefighters' bible to responding to a chemical fire of any sort is the emergency responders guide. and it says if the ammonium nitrate fire is in a tanker, a like a rail tanker, a radius of 1/2 mile should be evacuated and firefighters should flood it with water from a distance and hose positions shoul

nbc's tom costello has the details on that. : if you have a pulse and an e-mail address there's a very good chance you're also on facebook. now, if you have an android phone, facebook wants to take its relationship with you to the next level. do you have enough facebook in your life? the company says it has more than 1 billion monthly users the world over, 600 million logon using a mobile device, so the company is going all out. >> this is facebook home, from the moment you turn on your phone, you see what friends are sharing. >> reporter: facebook wants to take over your phone. >> the home screen is really the soul of your phone. you look at it about 100 times a day. it sets the tone for your whole experience, and we think that it should be deeply personal. >> reporter: that means the minute you turn on the phone, you'd be greeted with photos and messages from your facebook friends. no longer would you have to open those pesky apps. oh, something else, eventually ads will hit your facebook phone. there's a $7 billion market in

nbc's tom costello has more on that. tom, good morning. >> reporter: hi, matt. we're talking about how long your fingers should be able to touch a screen to change a radio station, dial a phone number, even texting messages while you're driving. because every second that your eyes are not on the road, you, your passengers, other drivers are at risk. >> i just want to give up so bad. >> reporter: you may have seen will craig on the internet. >> i'm currently suffering from a severe traumatic brain injury. >> will's life changed forever five years ago when he was riding in a car in which the driver was speeding and texting. >> she texted the word "where" and the letter "r." and it kills me every time i see someone texting and driving. >> reporter: each day, americans transmit an astonishing 6 billion text messages. and in january, aaa reported nearly 35% of drivers admitted to reading a text or e-mail while driving in the past month. 26% admitted to typing while driving. now. the department of transportation is asking automakers for help. to install technology tha

nbc's tom costello is in washington with more on this. l, high blood pressure, heart disease, the question medical ethicists are asking, whether we're taking entirely too many pills for our own good? it was pain like she had never known before, ten years ago kathy nicholas varraso slipped on black ice, breaking her neck and causing permanent nerve damage. >> i would sit in a ball in the bottom of the shower and cry because i didn't want to cry in front of everybody. >> reporter: it was only when doctors prescribed methadone, a pain killer, that she found relief. without it, she says, she might have given up. >> i wouldn't be alive. i was at the point where i was seriously considering suicide, just because i couldn't take the pain anymore. >> reporter: thanks to the methadone, she has her life back. nationwide americans are taking more prescription medicines than ever before, more than 15 million americans take pain killers, hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol most prescribed. 5 million sleeping aids and 18 million take antidepressants. the

tom costello is at reagan national airport with more.orter: erica, good morning. republicans say the white house created this process. the white house say the republicans should address the sequest sequester. this drama now resolved by washington. after a week of air traffic delays caused by the budget impasse, sequester and controller furloughs, congress has now voted to give the faa authority to pay the controllers. >> members of this house are going to run for the airports. >> a few hours later, they headed to the airport for a week long recess. >> i don't have have to wear a mask or a disguise as i go through the airport, i'm happy to say. >> at chicago o'hare friday, travelers were mostly fed up with all of washington. >> the government just doesn't appear to be working for the people. they appear to be working for themselves. >> we seem to wait to the last minute for everything. >> it's not faa that i'm so cynical about. it's congress that i'm so cynical about. >> before leaving town, members of congress offered congratulations. >>

. >> i can also tell you tom costello from nbc reporting a no fly zone over watertown.icts the media. police activity only. you can see some of the choppers in that area that have been there earlier. a no fly zone could lead you to expect they are hammering down on this particular location. >> let's bring scott cohn back into the conversation. really interesting images and sounds just moments ago as police were surrounding this home. is there anything you can update us on here? do we have scott? i think we lost scott. >> scott has been in watertown. obviously it's a large location. that activity has been taking place throughout the town and surrounding communities. it looks like it has been focus using in on this one location. we will continue to check it out. but scott is standing by in watertown. scott, i don't know if you know this police activity is taking place from where you are. >> if i had to guess just based on where the chopper is hovering is probably a mile or two tops. i'm sorry. if i had to guess based on where the chopper is hovering, it's probably about a

nbc's tom costello is at reagan national airport with the latest. good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. thousands of flights delayed just since sunday, and it's fair to say there's a lot of finger pointing going on between democrats and republicans and the white house and the faa and the airlines. bottom line is that passengers are caught in the middle of this washington dysfunction, and they're getting angry about it. from los angeles to atlanta, new york to washington -- >> united 395, clear to chicago o'hare airport -- >> reporter: the nation's control towers and radar facilities are now five days into the furlough that's have slowed takeoffs and landings nationwide, and nobody is happy. >> they didn't provide any information at that time so we sort of sat on the tarmac for a little bit waiting. >> i guess it's the politicians back in washington that just can't seem to play in the same sandbox. >> reporter: there's plenty of anger boiling over on capitol hill. >> this imperial attitude on the part of the administration, and yo

tom costello is at reagan international airport. good morning. >> reporter: good morning.report says the airlines are getting better, they are not losing as many bags and getting better at arriving on time. if you want a sample of public opinion about the state of airfare these days you head to the biggest international airport the nation, atlanta. >> when i asked if i could change my flight. they said it would be $1,000 because i booked ahead of time. >> b minus. a little above average. >> reporter: it turns out in today's annual ranking of the airlines the little guys come out ahead. >> the low-cost carriers as a whole tend to outperform the more established, long-term main line carriers. >> reporter: analysts say low-cost carrier s are more nimble and quicker to recover from a stumble. it is all in the numbers. overall airlines improve their on-time performance. in 2012, 82% of flights were on time, compared with 80% in 2011. one reason, carriers are padding their schedules to give themselves more time in case of bad weather or delays. hawaii air, alaska, airtran, delta

costello. new warnings in the killing of colorado's top prison official. tom clements shot to death at his home by a former prison inmate. investigators believe evan ebel may have plotted that with fellow white supremacists. clements had cracked down on their prison gang, 211 crew. thomas gilly and james ware are believed to be armed and any police officer who crosses their path could be in danger. ebel spent a lot of time fantasizing about killing people in law enforcement, and that goes back years, long before he died in a police shoot-out in texas. martin savidge in denver, joins us by phone. you have a glimpse into his hate-filled mind. >> it was prison authorities as well. they knew that the interaction with prison guards, he had a real problem with authority, and he would threaten them. strike them, and he would threaten them with death and not just them, threaten their families, and ty managed to get hold of a letter that he was writing to on the outside. this is where the fantasy issue comes in. he was telling the person about alleged the abuses the gu

tom for that. there is a lot of other news going on in the world right now. let's go to the atlanta and carol costello for that. >> john, thank you. i am carol costello, reporting from atlanta. across the country today americans are pausing to honor the victims of the boston marathon bombings. at the new york stock exchange a moment of silence just before the opening bell. let's take a look at the big board right now. there you see it. you see stocks are up 101 points so it's doing okay. we'll keep an eye on it. >>> other news we're following this morning, gold prices are making a slight rebounds after the biggest sell-off in decades. at last price, $1300 an ounce, the slight upturn comes after it falls in the biggest daily drop ever. analysts say the financial crisis in europe and doubts about the strength of the chinese economy are two of the reasons behind the drop. >>> on the korean peninsula, there are no signs today of any cooling of tensions and now there's a new threat from north korea that it will not give any advanced warning before any attack on south korea. the threat came in a statement p