on our broadcast tonight, apologies from the top for the government worker fired from her job over race, lies and videotape. rough weather. they are watching very carefully in the gulf where the fight is on tonight to save an entire species from that oil. rough air. out of nowhere a routine cross-country flight turns terrifying. what happened okansas? and sworn to secrecy. the sleuthing going on to find out the plans for the wedding of chelsea clinton. also tonight, news for women on what some say is a myth about c-sections. on what some say is a myth about c-sections. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. a short time ago in washington, the secretary of agriculture entered a press conference and apologized to a low level employee who he had fired after a short piece of video came out that hardly told the full story. secretary tom vilsack took all the blame. he said the buck stops with him and he's offered her a new job. >> i didn't take the time. i should have. and as a result, a good woman has gone through a very difficult period. >> this story combines race, politics and media. it involves a black woman who was at first labeled a racist right before we learned she was anything but. it sounded like she was out to hurt a white family until we found out she saved their farm and became a hero to them. we begin our reporting tonight with our chief white house correspondent chuck todd. chuck, good evening.

>> reporter: good evening, brian. what started out as a simple speech about racial healing by shirley sherrod ended with apologies all around from the white house and the full obama administration. >> this is a good woman. she's been put through hell. and i could have done and should have done a better job. >> reporter: a humbled agriculture secretary, tom vilsack, took full responsibility for the fires. >> these types of decisions require time. i didn't take the time. i should have. and i will have to live with that for a long, long time. >> reporter: vilsack said late this afternoon he called sherrod to apologize and discussed bringing her back to the department in a new capacity. >> she has a unique set of skills which i think would lend themselves to assisting and helping usda as we deal with trying to turn the page on our civil rights chapter. >> reporter: vilsack said a history of racial discrimination at the department of agriculture

contributed to his hasty decision on monday. >> i was very sensitive and remain sensitive to the civil rights issues involving this department. >> reporter: two days after shirley sherrod was dismissed for comments that appeared to portray her as a racist, she seemed to be everywhere. >> you know, this is a whirlwind. >> reporter: this morning, sherrod told nbc news her comments had been taken out of context by a conservative blogger. she first got wind of the video via an angry e-mail she received last thursday. she alerted superiors and heard nothing back. >> and then on monday, as the saying goes, all hell broke loose. >> reporter: she was first told she was being put on administrative leave. >> so i immediately got in a car and started driving back toward athens and thinking, my gosh, this is so unreal. then to get the first call saying, shirley, you know, they want you to resign. >> reporter: this in spite of her efforts to make her bosses understand that her speech was about how she had overcome her own prejudices.

>> working with him made me see that it's really about those who have versus those who don't. you know, they could be black, they could be white, they could be hispanic. >> reporter: sherrod said she was disappointed that the naacp also condemned her before hearing the entire tape, a sentiment echoed by her children today at a rally held in her hometown. >> for them to step out and rush to judgment because some organization is pushing them just doesn't sound like the organization we have grown up with our entire life. >> reporter: the white house today also apologized. >> on behalf of the administration, i offer our apologies. >> reporter: for his part the conservative blogger, andrew breitbart, who posted the original edited clip made no apologies. he said his goal was to seek retribution on behalf of the tea party movement. the naacp has said some parties of that movement are racists. >> when she talks about not giving him what the full weight of what she can do with her

position, the audience cheers in this video. that, to me, is the standard of showing that racism existed in that room. >> reporter: you know, this story re-opened the debate about how easily the media can get manipulated in this day and age and for the white house, it's re-opened this debate about how the administration of the first african-american president deals with race issues, brian. >> all correct. chuck todd from the white house tonight. chuck, thanks for that. we want to turn now to the ongoing tragedy in the gulf of mexico where that cap on the well is still holding and where a lot of people are keeping a close eye on the weather tonight. our chief environmental correspondent anne thompson in venice, louisiana, for us again tonight. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. with the well still shut in and that relief well tantalizingly close to its final stages, there is a big problem tonight. it's one no one can control and it threatens all the progress made to killing this well.

out at the leak site, this was supposed to be the day crews ran the final pieces of pipe in the first relief well, but instead of pipe, crews put in a storm plug. >> the reason we did that is with the weather window that we could see at this time there was no way we could get the casing in, have it cemented and do all we need to do to be able to move off location before we could have tropical storm-force winds at the site. >> reporter: the problem is not on louisiana's coast where blue skies dominated today, but some 1,600 miles away in the waters between puerto rico and the dominican republic and haiti. >> it's heading toward florida. in two days it could be a tropical storm or it could be nothing. but we do need to keep a very close eye on this. >> reporter: the drilling rigs at the leak site must start moving out five days before gale-force winds are predicted to hit and officials must decide whether to keep the well shut in

if they can't monitor it. >> is there any other way we could do surveillance or would it be in the best interest to reduce pressure in the well by venting hydrocarbons into the environment during that three to four-day period so we would make sure that there was less risk to the wellhead. >> reporter: that means oil would once again flow into the gulf. this real life science experiment prompted four oil giants to join forces. exxon mobil, chevron, shell a conocophillips today announced they will create a billion dollar venture to provide an oil containment system for use in depths up to 10,000 feet that can collect as much as 100,000 barrels of oil a day. meanwhile, the oil keeps coming as the first oil patty was found in the mississippi river today. now, with the weather picture uncertain, tonight bp is moving vessels of opportunity in to shore and some equipment and supplies to higher ground. brian? >> anne thompson in venice, louisiana. anne, thank you for that. it happened last night in the skies over kansas, and it

happened without warning. a united airlines flight bound for los angeles hit some very bad air. turbulence so severe some passengers became airborne in the cabin. more than two dozen were injured and the pilot had to make an unscheduled landing. the ntsb is now investigating. our own kristen welker has more on what happened and why. >> reporter: by all accounts united airlines flight 967 was terrifying for the 255 passengers and ten crew members on board. >> i thought the plane was going to crash. >> reporter: the boeing 777 took off from washington dulles airport at 5:27 p.m. headed for los angeles. the pilot flew around a line of thunderstorms, but hit turbulence over the midwest. all of the sudden passengers say there was a violent drop. >> it felt like i had gone down an elevator shaft and hit the bottom and came back up.

>> the bottom fell out. people hit the ceiling. it was pretty bad. >> reporter: pictures taken by a passenger show just how bad it was. a crack marks the spot where a woman hit her head. tomato juice is splattered on the ceiling. the oxygen masks deployed. >> laptops everywhere. looked like there was a huge party on the plane, but there wasn't. >> reporter: the pilot diverted the plane to denver where emergency crews took 21 people to the hospital. most were walking wounded. moments before the drop, the pilot warned passengers to brace for turbulence and turned the seat belt sign on. in fact, most of the injuries happened to those who weren't wearing seat belts. >> that's why we insist, we always ask, please, folks, keep your seat belts fastened while you're seated. unfortunately, some people don't listen to that. >> reporter: federal investigators are working to determine the cause. experts say it was likely a case of clear air turbulence which is nearly impossible to detect. several uninjured passengers continued on another flight to los angeles, relieved this trip

was finally over. kristen welker, nbc news, los angeles. let's go back to washington for a moment for what happened there today because it will be felt across the country. almost two years now after the entire banking system almost collapsed, president obama signed the financial reform bill into law. as our own tom costello reports, it will usher in some big changes. >> reporter: with the stroke of a presidential pen, the new financial regulatory reform law is aimed at curbing the excesses on wall street while protecting average americans who live and work on main street. >> all told, these reforms represent the strongest consumer financial protections in history. [ applause ] >> in history. >> reporter: that will largely come from a new consumer financial protection bureau charged with stopping scams and

overseeing nearly every type of loan including mortgages. the bureau will ensure home buyers are qualified for the loans they are getting. lenders will be required to provide credit scores for free. merchants will be allowed to set a $10 minimum for credit card charges and offer discounts for cash, while bank overdraft fees and interest rates will also be regulated. >> consumers should understand what they are getting and not have to worry after they buy something or sign on the dotted line that they didn't understand what they got. >> reporter: for wall street the law establishes a council of regulators to oversee banks and the risky derivatives markets that contributed to the financial crisis with the power to shut down the riskiest banks. >> the average american may be affected by this bill in terms of slightly higher cost for credit. what they will be receiving in return might be a more stable financial system. >> reporter: critics on the left say the new regulations won't stop another meltdown while business argues it's bad for business. >> what are the things that are

going to put people back to work? it's assurance by the job creators, the access to capital. >> unless your business model depends on cutting corners or bilking your customers, you've got nothing to fear from reform. >> reporter: the next political fight will be over who should lead the new consumer protection bureau. he or she will have tremendous influence over banks, credit cards and even payday loans. the senate gets to vote on the president's choice. tom costello, nbc news, bethesda, maryland. turning to health news briefly, we have noticed this week a new sponsor on this broadcast is a certain type of replacement knee. knee surgery is suddenly a multi billion dollar a year business in this country, especially among us aging warriors. a new study out that followed some amateur soccer players with acl injuries says they fared no better with acl surgery than they did with rehab and physical therapy. new guidelines out tonight from the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists are out to reverse the old

expression "once a cesarean, always a cesarean." it says most women who have had a c-section, and many of them who have had more than one, should be allowed to try labor with their next birth. by the way, c-sections now account for about a third of all births in the u.s. that's an all-time high in this country. we'll put both stories on our website tonight. when nbc "nightly news" continues in a moment, the fight to save one of the giants of the water threatened by the oil in the water and now threatened altogether. later, trying to uncover the secrets of the wedding of the season.

we're back with more now on the gulf oil disaster and its impact. tonight, we focus on one of the amazing creatures found in the waters there -- the giant bluefin tuna. they can weigh up to 1,500 pounds and live more than three decades, but their numbers, as you may know, have dropped sharply due to overfishing. now, some are actually worried

this oil nightmare could end their time on earth. our report tonight from our wildlife and science expert, jeff corwin. >> reporter: veteran charter boat captain greg sears setting off from scituate, massachusetts, at first light in hot pursuit of the giant bluefin tuna. >> are you going to fish the spot you talked about yesterday? >> reporter: on this day, sears is going to try to put me in position to pull one in myself. >> look at the tuna jumping right there. >> reporter: it won't be easy. these fish are tough to spot. but four hours into our trip, the fight is on. >> get that main safety line on him. >> even though we're 1,200 miles from the gulf of mexico, that environmental catastrophe can directly impact the survival of this incredible fish. scientists believe the majority of bluefin tuna found off the new england coast actually spawn in areas of the gulf of mexico hit hardest by the oil spill.

and that is a major concern. >> keep his head up. get that door open. >> reporter: after a 45-minute battle, the crew and i reel it in. the fish is measured. >> 6'10", full length. >> reporter: it weighs 250 pounds. then this giant is tagged by a scientist on board. >> swimming right out the back door. >> reporter: and returned to the ocean where marine biologists can track its every move. bluefin travel an extensive migration from the coast of massachusetts and maine to nova scotia and then eventually to the gulf of mexico -- a journey of more than 5,000 miles. right here in the gulf of mexico is where the majority of the breeding takes place each year. with the amount of oil flowing into these waters, it has scientists very concerned. researchers collect samples of bluefin larvae from the spill areas, searching for answers. >> if a lot of the sporting grounds were compromised there could be detrimental effects to the bluefin population. >> reporter: experts don't know yet just how much damage has been done. >> if bluefin eggs and larvae

encounter oil, they're going to die. >> reporter: it could be several months before scientists can understand the data that's been collected. what we do know is in these waters, a natural nursery for bluefin, now contaminated, an entire generation of this iconic fish may be at risk. jeff corwin, nbc news, off the coast of ocean springs, mississippi. >> we have put more on the story on our website for you. nightly.msnbc.com. when we come back here tonight, a man who made the skies safer for all of us.

when you hear this, you might never want to fall asleep on an airplane again. a flight attendant for air france has been arrested for stealing from sleeping passengers. she's charged with 27 counts of theft, cash and jewels mostly. her normal route was france to tokyo, a long haul route which

usually means a lot of sleeping passengers. she's facing up to ten years in prison now. an exciting find to report tonight. astronomers say they have discovered the most massive and the brightest star ever. the image of it. it is said to be 300 times the mass of the sun and ten million times brighter than the sun. here's what may be the picture of the day taken by a couple who had chartered a yacht for a quiet sailing trip off the south african coast. a 40-ton whale flipped into the air, crash landed on their boat off capetown. after thrashing around for a while, taking down the mast, riding along as a massive passenger, the whale was gone, back into the water. david warren has died. as a child in australia he lost his father in an airplane crash. his father's last gift to him had been a crystal radio set. later on in life, when david was called upon to investigate a commercial airline crash, he

applied his love of electronics and invented the black box. it took years to catch on, but eventually his flight data recorder eventually became standard. now mandatory equipment onboard passenger airplanes. he was given australia's highest civilian award and qantas honored him by christening a jumbo jet bearing his name. dr. david warren was 85 years old. up next here tonight, it involves a president and a secretary of state. it's shrouded in secrecy, all because it's supposed to be such a happy occasion.

she was forced to grow up in the public eye, so you would think chelsea clinton had a little privacy coming to her. but no. she's the daughter of a president and the current secretary of state. she was an active campaigner and now chelsea clinton is getting married. "but where" has been the question. a whole lot of people are obsessed with the answer and the details. with just days to go before her high interest, low profile wedding, our own peter alexander was out looking today in upstate new york. >> reporter: over breakfast today at the rhinebeck deli, they are serving coffee with a

side of speculation over the next weekend's wedding between chelsea clinton and her fiance marc medvinsky. >> all kinds of rumors. >> reporter: the clintons haven't even told their guests -- a list rumored to include steven spielberg, ted turner and barbra streisand -- where to show up. but here in this quaint hudson valley town, they are already making plans. >> we have the chelsea choice wrap. we have bill's all american sandwich and hillary's the secretary of steak. >> reporter: by most accounts the clinton wedding will -- well, may happen here at the exclusive astor courts on 50 acres that looks remarkably like the white house. this is about as close as we can get. the estate is something like three-quarters of a mile down that road. on tuesday, a handful of trucks with massachusetts license plates which happens to be the same state as the reported wedding planner is from, were

seen pulling through these gates. around here, that counts as a scoop. jim langen, editor of the hudson valley news, is chasing one of the best kept secrets. is this the biggest mystery ever to hit rhinebeck? >> this is the biggest mystery and speculation has become the greatest parlor game since monopoly. >> reporter: it may be calm in the kitchens here now, but chef jeff croner is one of several possible names for a caterer. >> i'm not denying or confirming anything about this. i can't talk about my clients. >> reporter: that's the best you've got? >> that's the best i've got. >> reporter: back here a couple knows the ingredients for a good marriage. >> we were high school sweethearts. >> reporter: married right here in rhinebeck 57 years ago. today they are wishing the soon to be newlyweds much happiness, no matter where they tie the knot. peter alexander, nbc news, rhinebeck, new york. >> so there you go. that's our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com new evidence tonight showing what police believe to be two killers who murder eared visitor to the bay area who was looking for a job. good evening, everyone, i'm tom cinco visit. >> i'm jessica aguirre. take a good look at this video. do you recognize those people? police say they have take an big leap toward finding the people and