good evening. for the second time in less than two weeks, the fbi has arrested a person they believe sent poison laced letters to president obama and two others. we're told the president was informed of today's arrest of a 41-year-old tupelo, mississippi man. he was picked up this morning just days after embarrassed authorities cleared another man arre arrested in the case, releasing him after admitting they couldn't link him to the letters. the letters were addressed to the president, a u.s. senator and a mississippi judge. tonight, there are questions over the motive and whether someone in all this was framed. nbc's janet shamlian has the story. >> reporter: federal agents arrested karate teacher dutschke at his mississippi home. tonight, he's charged with possession of a biological agent with intent to use as a weapon. the latest chapter in a bizarre investigation after ricin laced letters were sent to president obama, senator roger wicker and a mississippi judge. when investigators searched his house and studio earlier this week, the 41-year-old denied any involvement. >> i had absolutely nothing to do with those letters and the person accused of sending those letters, her defense attorney or his defense attorney said -- steered them in my direction because i was probably an easy target. >> reporter: dutschke was referring to elvis impersonator paul kevin curtis, the man initially arrested for sending the letters. curtis also denied being involved and suggested dutschke might have set him up. he was held six days before terrorism charges were dropped and he was released. >> what did i think? i had never heard of ricin. i thought they said rice and i said i don't eat rice. i said here's the key to my home. you can go in and search. there's no rice. they said you know what we're talking about. they were very angry. it's like they knew they had the right guy. >> reporter: the men reportedly had a tangled relationship. the arrest of one and then the other experts say doesn't reflect well on law enforcement. >> no one is more embarrassed and sorry than the fbi and u.s. attorneys office when something happens like this. they don't want it to happen. they regret it. they are only after the real person responsible. >> reporter: prior to today's arrest, dutschke was out on bond on charges of child molestation, which he's pleaded not guilty. if convicted in this case, he could face life in prison. janet shamlian, nbc news, houston. and there are new developments tonight in the boston bombings investigation involving the car used by the suspects and what investigators are now saying about their mother. we'll get the latest from nbc's michelle franzen in boston. >> reporter: nbc news has learned that although early accounts focus largely on the stolen suv, investigators are also focusing on a second vehicle. a green honda used by the bombing suspects on the day of the manhunt and fatal shooting of m.i.t. officer sean collier in cambridge. in an affidavit, federal authorities say the suspects carjacked a vehicle. police say a mercedes suv, following the shooting when they were riding together during the chase that ended in watertown, but in photographs obtained by nbc news and eyewitness accounts, a green honda was also spotted at the scene in watertown along with the black suv. in nearby bedford friday, investigators also searched a landfill. police say they were looking for dzhokhar tsarnaev's laptop and receipts for fireworks used to make the bombs. overseas, more details on the brothers' family. authorities confirmed tsarnaev's mother was placed on the u.s. government terrorist database because of her son, tamerlan, 18 months before the boston bombings. a u.s. official tells nbc news russian authorities passed along information to the cia, stating that both tamerlan and his mother were showing signs of increasing radicalization. accusations the mother denied this week. cnbc obtained these photos posted on what appears to be the mother's web page on a russian social media website in 2010. back in boston, copley square was packed with visitors. many who felt compelled to stop by and reflect. >> to help us get through it, we need to be able to live it a little bit, to see what happened and how we're remembering the people who were affected. >> reporter: in nearby dorchester, martin richard's little league team paid tribute on opening day to the 8-year-old who died in the bombing. his name painted on the field and his jersey draping the fence. a fitting remembrance for the boy who loved to play ball. and back here in copley square, crowds continue to gather here tonight leaving messages, flowers and all along boylston street, businesses are reopening and we're getting an update on the people injured in this bombing. there are still 30 victims that remain in boston hospitals. lester? >> michelle franzen, thank you. the medical examiner office in new york said today it will search for human remains in a narrow alley near ground zero where a piece of landing gear was recovered. investigators found a boeing serial number on the debris that links it to one of the planes used in the 9/11 attacks. the area will be checked for toxicity before investigators comb through the alley next week. in afghanistan, four americans, all members of the international security assistance force died today when a plane they were on crashed in southern afghanistan. initial reports show there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash. overseas, a desperate search in bangladesh for survivors of a building collapse that killed hundreds of factory workers this week. 29 more people were rescued today. this tragedy has raised new questions about safety in factories that supply retailers around the world. it happened in a town not far from the capital and ian williams has the latest. >> reporter: they were still pulling people alive out of the rubble saturday, four days after bangladesh's worst industrial disaster. rescue workers sifting through the twisted remains of a complex of garment factories making clothing for western consumers. refusing to give up hope. there are people still alive and we're supplying them with food. so far, more than 350 people are known to have died when the building collapsed wednesday. the factories employed more than 3,000 workers. police said as many as 900 could still be buried and relatives gathered today in the desperate hope that their loved ones may still be alive. angry garment workers continued to protest across the capital. their anger undiminished by the arrest of five people including two factory owners. police say the owner of the collapsed building, a well connected local politician, is on the run. they say they ordered an evacuation of the building tuesday after the cracks were seen, but the factory ignored them. police said the top floors of the building had been added illegally. they listed north american and european retailers as customers. their brands lying underneath the debris. the parent of one of those labels said it is committed to finding an approach that ensures safe working condition and drives lasting change in the industry. one factory says it supplies walmart, but the company says it didn't authorize any of the factories in this building to make its products. with monthly wages as low as $38, bangladesh has been a magnet to global brands. >> brands and retailers in the u.s. that are driving prices down, driving delivery time pressures down, driving pressure on these factories that lead them to cut costs, lead them to cut corners. >> reporter: in bangladesh, the association representing the manufacturers said the five factories ignored its warning not to open, after the cracks in the building were found. just five months ago, a fire in another garment factory killed 112 people. then brought widespread pledges to improve safety standards. but little seems to have changed. one government minister saying today this wasn't so much an accident, it was murder. ian williams, nbc news, bangkok. here in washington, the faa said today the furloughs of air traffic controllers have been suspended and air traffic will be back to normal by tomorrow night. furloughs were part of a que sequester and caused widespread delays for travelers this week. kristen welker is at white house with more on how congress engineered a quick fix to the delays. kristen. >> reporter: this entire process shows how quickly congress can act when it really wants to. it took just two days for lawmakers to pass legislation authorizing the faa to use other money in its budget, to end the furloughs and those flight delays. today in his weekly address, the president who has said he will sign the bill, called it a temporary fix, a band-aid that doesn't address the overall budget issues which led to the sequester cuts. he continued to criticize republicans for allowing the sequester to occur at all. now in the republicans' official response today, a republican congressman charged that the faa could have made adjustments to avoid those furloughs. he accused the obama administration of playing politics, inflicting pain on the public to give the president more leverage to avoid making spending cuts and to impose more tax hikes. now, due to a typo in the bill, it won't reach the president for his signature until early next week, but, again, those travel headaches should subside a bit starting tomorrow. lester? >> all right, kristen, thanks. beyond the air traffic furloughs, other highly visible examples of the sequester, the cuts are hitting home in many other i was. among them, some cancer patients on medicare are being turned away from doctors' offices where they receive chemotherapy. nbc's senior investigative correspondent lisa myers has that story. >> reporter: 68-year-old caroline davis is being treated for breast cancer at the charleston cancer center in south carolina. but she recently had to start getting her infusions of a costly chemo drug called herceptin at a nearby hospital outpatient facility. >> it is the waiting when i get in, it is just not like at the cancer center. >> reporter: caroline says all the waiting at the hospital adds to her level of exhaustion. dr. charles holiday says his center had no choice, but to send some patients elsewhere for chemo when it is part of the sequester medicare cut reimbursements to doctors who administered the drugs by 2%. some private clinics are finding that harder to absorb than hospitals. >> approximately 75% of our most commonly used chemo therapeutics cost us more to administer than we're reimbursed. we can't continue to function that way. >> reporter: this clinic decided it could no longer see one-third of its 16,000 cancer patients. >> they have to ship their care somewhere for them to sereceive chemo drugs is unconscionable and we need people to fix this. >> reporter: medicare officials say they don't have the power to roll back the 2% cuts. and argue the system has been highly profitable for many clinics. in fact, the president's new budget proposes an even bigger reduction in reimbursements, coupled with rebates on drug prices for smaller clinics. a medicare spokesman says that will ensure access and reduce overpayments. but many cancer doctors disagree. >> the cost of the drug will be the same. the problem is the reimbursement to the physician will be less. and the physicians potentially will go out of practice. >> reporter: what's more, doctors argue that any savings from cutting their payments may be in the lodge because it will push more chemo treatments to hospitals which studies show usually leads to higher costs for the patient and taxpayers. for caroline davis, and thousands like her, this budget battle has already cost too much. lisa myers, nbc news, washington. there is growing reaction tonight over an ohio gym teacher fired from her job at a catholic school for being in a relationship with another woman. while the school is digging its heels in over the incident, some of the students are standing up for her. nbc's stephanie gosk has our report. >> reporter: karla hail does not like the news cameras. >> i don't want money. i don't want fame. >> reporter: the gym teacher would prefer to be at bishop waterson, the school in columbus, ohio, where she taught for 19 years. but last month, hail was fired. >> shock. i literally could not even sit down. >> reporter: hale lives with her partner, something she never talked about at school, but when her mother died in february, hale included a mention of their relationship in the newspapers obituary. >> i told julia what i had done and she instantly questioned me and said, are you sure you want to do this. >> reporter: a parent of one of the students read the obituary and sent in an anonymous letter to the bishop. days later, hale, a practicing methodist, lost her job. the diocese would not grant nbc news an interview, but a statement says the catholic church respects the fundamental dignity of all persons, but must insist those in its employ respect the tenets of the church. a group of students jumped to the teacher's defense. an online petition has more than 62,000 signatures, including kendall meacham's, a junior at the school. >> maybe it is my generation that has no problem with people being gay. we don't see any problem with that. >> reporter: these recent graduates from waterson say the decision to support hale is inspired by catholicism. >> part of the catholic social teaching is when you see injustice, a discrimination, you're called to stand up. >> reporter: one of the reasons hale says she stayed at the school her whole career. >> watterson's just a great place to be. >> reporter: you love the school? >> i do. i love the school. >> reporter: what the gym teacher really wants to do is go back to work. stephanie gosk, nbc news, columbus, ohio. when nightly news continues, heart disease and the newly identified risk factor that comes from common foods and later, why they're going to the birds. a rare look inside the eagle's nest. supreme court justice stephen breyer under went surgery today to repair a broken bone in his shoulder. the operation was performed at georgetown university hospital after the 74-year-old breyer fell from his bicycle yesterday. we've heard the warnings about heart attacks, the things we can do to lower our risk, but now comes word that despite our best efforts, many of us may have a hidden risk for heart attacks that doctors are just now beginning to understand. with more, here's nbc's chief science correspondent robert bazell. >> reporter: six years ago, linda was the very picture of health. she ate right and had frequent check-ups. then she had a heart attack. >> i didn't think i was at risk for a heart attack, number one, because i was very thin. my cholesterol, they checked everything all these years. >> reporter: many people have heart attacks, even though they don't have the well known risk factors including high cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes. so doctors are always looking for new risk factors. the latest possible culprit, a chemical called tmao. made by bacteria we all carry in our gut. a three-year study of 4,000 people who had been treated for heart disease showed the higher level of tmao in the blood, the greater their future risk. >> a simple blood test that's measuring a bacterial product was able to predict future risk of heart attack, stroke and death independent of existing risk factors or other existing blood tests. >> reporter: where does tmao come from? when a person eats cheese, eggs and red meat, harmless bacteria help digest the food, but in the process, they produce tmao, which increases the plaque buildup in the arteries which causes heart disease. this latest study is part of a growing understanding of the complex role of gut bacteria in health. we need the bacteria to help digest food and try to kill them off with antibiotics only makes things worse. by producing resistant germs. if this latest research holds up, a blood test for tmao may become another way to identify people at risk for heart disease. understanding the role of gut bacteria may lead to new ways to prevent heart disease. meanwhile, doctors still recommend a heart healthy diet. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. when we come back, the nickel that became a whole lot more than spare change. a dangerous hailstorm battered parts of oklahoma leaving a lot of folks without power last night. wind driven hail snapped tree limbs and accumulated like snow on streets and lawns. luckily, nobody was seriously injured. after getting the all clear from government regulators, the first boeing 787 dreamliner grounded since january for overheated battery problems took to the air with passengers today. the ethiopian airlines jet made an uneventful landing or flight from adis ababa to nairobi. the 787s are slowly coming back into service with modified batteries designed to eliminate the risk of fire. if you had this nickel, you really would be a millionaire. a rare 1913 liberty head nickel has been sold at an auction for more than $3 million. the owner of the nickel died in a car accident in 1962 and his daughter recovered it from the wreck. only five of the nickels are known to exist. up next, the scenes that have hundreds of thousands of people taking up bird watching. finally tonight, from humboldt bay, california, the view that's taking flight across computer screens everywhere. two american bald eagles and their brand new eaglets, whose every meal are being beamed to a growing crowd of fans around the world. mike taibbi reports. >> reporter: monty merrick spends a lot of time nursing injured bird backs to health. this one survived a gun shot wound. >> you can see how that wing wants to droop. >> reporter: but these days, merrick and his staff and nearly 300,000 fans online can't keep their eyes off the computer screen. two nesting eagles with their two new chicks born just this week. first named kyle and the second to be named by local school children. >> one of the things that's nice about it is that it really demonstrates that the endangered species act really works. >> reporter: in fact, since the passage of that act four decades ago, a stretch that's seen the eagles to nearly 10,000 today, this is the first pair to homestead on the shores. she's the one with the fashionable bright feather with mom and dad equally generous at feeding time. >> you'll see they're bringing in all kinds of fish and also the occasional rat. >> reporter: whether you live in the city or the country, it's rare to see even a single bald eagle, but your chances of observing a nesting couple and raising an eaglet or two are just about nil. unless you're following an eagle cam. there have been others. one in iowa, even one in new jersey. >> whoever would have thought that years ago when we were poisoning our fields with ddt that these eagles could come back in such a short period of time. >> reporter: but this one, from a camera atop a 100 foot tall douglas fir is streaming as intimate a view of an eagle family's life as has ever been seen. >> they'll still be with their parents after that because they have a pretty steep learning curve. learning to be hunters. >> reporter: right now it's just the parents doing the hunting and the baby-sitting and the chicks and their hundreds of thousands of fans can't get enough of it. mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from washington. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today", then back again tomorrow evening. good night. good evening, i'm terry mcsweeney. >> i'm diane dwyer. community groups are joining forces in the castro tonight to get the word out about crime and safety. they want everyone to be the eyes and ears for each other especially since there's been a spike in thefts and burglary over the past year. nbc bay area's kimberly terry is in san francisco with more on what's happening tonight. kimberly? >> reporter: diane, it's a call to end the violence. sisters of perpetual indulgence and castro community on patrol will be targeting this area of the city tonight handing out safety information and offering advice. they also plan to give people whistles they can use to call attention to themselves if there is, in fact, an emergency. the groups say they are concerned about crime in the castro and are hoping the san francisco police department will join them tonight as they head into bars and restaurants to distribute the anti-violence materials which include personal safety tips. >> a lot of people come to the castro to have good fun. unfortunately, there are people who also come to prey on that. and so we want people to be prepared and to arm themselves with knowledge. >> it's interesting, we've been doing this for six years. we have passed out over 70,000 safety whistles and every time you hand a whistle to somebody, they've never heard
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