but tonight nbc's george lewis has some of the reaction live in los angeles. george, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. tonight proponents of same-sex marriage are celebrating the fact that for the first time ever a federal judge has said a ban on such marriages is unconstitutional. opponents say they will appeal. outside the courthouse in san francisco, a group of same-sex marriage supporters cheers the news. >> this is a historic day. this is a great victory for us. >> reporter: the ruling comes in a legal battle launched by two gay couples in california is a huge victory for same-sex couples nationwide who want to marry. >> two loving families said their commitment could only be second class in the eyes of the law. >> reporter: they challenged proposition 8 approved two years ago by 52% of the state's voters. it amended the california constitution to say that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. >> is there a public interest in marriage between a man and a woman? >> reporter: the group stepped in arguing redefining marriage would

our report from nbc's george lewis. >> reporter: the grand canyon gets about 4.5 million visitors a year from all over. these days those visitors come laden with technology. the young woman from france with her iphone. the guy from japan balancing video and still camera. and plenty of americans eager to share their pictures with folks back home. using this state of the art smart phone, i can shoot stills, i can shoot video, i can facebook, i can twitter, i can phone a friend. i can use gps to find out where i am at all times. and if i get so absorbed in this gadget i forget the basics of safety, i can get in a lot of trouble. just ask kathy hayes, whose brother-in-law donald spotted a bison in yellowstone. kathy, sensing the perfect youtube moment, followed and started rolling. >> look at the shot of donald getting gored by the buffalo. >> reporter: when the bison got angry and charged, it was kathy, not donald, it went after. >> it was a traumatic experience, so, yeah, don't do what i did. be smart, people. >> you want to stay away from the animals here. >> reporter: ranger ken phillips

george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. >>> and that's our broadcast for this monday night. thank you as always for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we all hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. we all hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> we begin with breaking news tonight. i'm lisa kim. >> i'm tom sinkovits. moments ago a judge ruled in favor of the ac transit bus drivers union in a months long labor dispute. the judge decided the contract that ac transit imposed on its drivers is not valid. that contract increased health insurance costs for workers and created new work rules to try to make up for a $56 million deficit. bus drivers have

george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. >> when we come back here tonight, spectacular tornadoes leave a trail of destruction in the >> amidwndes >>> and slouching tiger. look who just played the worst golf of his career. i was short of breath, so i couldn't always do what i wanted to do. but five minutes ago, i took symbicort, and symbicort is already helping significantly improve my lung function. so, today, i've noticed a significant difference in my breathing. and i'm doing more of what i want to do. so we're clear -- it doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. my doctor said symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. my copd often meant i had to wait to do what i wanted to do. now i take symbicort, and it's significantly improves my lung function, starting within five minutes. symbicort has made a significant difference in my

nbc's george lewis has the story. >> reporter: the end of the line for mccluskey and welch. they referred to themselves as a latter day bonnie and clyde. >> they're dangerous. they take what they want when they want. we're glad to get them off the street. >> reporter: it all began july 30th when mccluskey and two other men escaped from this arizona prison. marshals say welch helped them by tossing wire cutters over the prison fence. two days later one of the escapees was captured in colorado after a shootout with police. on august 4th in new mexico, the bodies of gary and linda hos were found inside a burned out travel trailer. police said forensic evidence linked mccluskey and welch to the killings. august 9th, another escapee was arrested in wyoming. then thursday night at a campground in arizona, an alert park ranger spotted an oddly parked vehicle and called in the license plate number. >> he is a true hero. he made that contact. he was out there doing his job. >> reporter: as swat officers surrounded the couple, welch grabbed a pistol hidden in the small of her back but

nbc's george lewis is in malibu with the latest. george, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. this is the spot where dr. frank ryan's jeep wrangler plunged off veered off the pacific coast highway and plunged to the rocks below. ryan pronounced dead at the scene. the question now, was he distracted, possibly checking twitter messages while he was driving? what was it that caused the jeep to veer off the road with ryan and his dog on board? a twitter message from ryan and a picture posted 20 minutes before the crash said, border collie jill surveying the view from atop the sand dune. the dog survived the crash, but was badly injured. the california highway patrol says investigators have not yet found evidence that ryan was texting while driving. something california has outlawed. >> we've got studies now that tell us that texts while driving is more dangerous than drinking while driving. more dangerous than driving under the influence of marijuana. and yet probably 25% to 30% of californians acknowledge that they dri

nbc's george lewis is in billings, montana. good morning to you, george. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. the u.s. marshal's service says the fugitive couple may have undergone a makeover, changing their appearance to avoid capture. this as the search for them spreads across the country. these pictures of john mccluskey and caslin welch have been splashed across the country. now this is what investigators believe they look like. mccluskey may have let his hair and beard grow out and welch may have dyed her hair blonde. a woman matching that description was spotted sunday at the bad frog mexican can tina grill in st. mary, montana, just south of the canadian border. >> this guy showed up the next day, have you seen this lady? oh, my gosh, i served her food. >> reporter: the investigation broadened wednesday into arkansas, where a man and a woman robbed the owner of the cut and curl beauty salon in gentry, arkansas, near where welch's mother lives. >> scary. real scary. he kept saying he was sorry but they needed the money. >>

but first, here's nbc's george lewis. george, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. 42-year-old tracy province is being held here in the park county jail before a court hearing which will determine his extradition back to arizona. that's where he and two others broke out of prison almost two weeks ago. province might be on the loose if he hadn't stopped for sunday services near a small town church. 42-year-old terry province spent his sunday morning in the meeteetse community church singing along with the congregation. >> he was extremely involved in the worship. he was singing. he was closing his eyes. he was involved in prayer just like any christian that walked through our doors would be. >> reporter: across the street at this motel, province persuaded a guest to let him sleep on the floor for the night. >> apparently one of our guests who just started talking to him, said he needed a place to crash. so one of our guests was being a good samaritan, let him crash on the floor. >> reporter: later that nig

nbc's george lewis has the latest on this story. george, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. law enforcement officers throughout the west are looking for the three fugitives and they warn these are extremely dangerous individuals who have killed before and who could kill again. police say inmates tracy province and john mccluskey broke out of prison in arizona with the help of casslyn welch, mccluskey's cousin and fiancee. there's evidence tying the fugitives to this crime scene in santa rosa, new mexico, a burned-out trailer where police found the charred bodies of linda and gary haas from oklahoma. since then, the two escapees and the woman are believed to have traveled to the area around yellowstone national park, although investigators now say province may have split off from mccluskey and welch. >> we want the public to understand and be aware that they are violent and extremely dangerous. >> reporter: the two inmates got out of this privately run medium-security prison in kingman, arizona, last month. a third

nbc's george lewis has more on this. he is standing outside the courthouse. george, good morning. >> good morning, ann. john mccluskey and welch did label themselves a modern day bonnie and clyde. but unlike the omplgs, they didn't die in a shoot-out with police. they surrendered. although authorities say it easily could have gone the other way. >> reporter: it was early saturday when the two were brought here, being housed in separate cells under heavy guard. during a court hearing on friday, it was obvious they won't be getting out on bail any time soon. >> your bond is set at $1 million. >> that is $1 million apiece. on july 30th, mccluskey and two other inmates escaped from this medium-run security prison. they suspect welch of helping them by throwing a pair of wire cutters over the fence. the other two men were caught. mccluskey and welch eluded the nationwide dragnet. finally, the pair was captured at a campground in eastern arizona near the new mexico border. after a park ranger spotted the couple's gray nissan sentra, parked in a strange position, pa

as george lewis found out, all those gizmos can sometimes lead to trouble. >> did you see a deer? >> reporter: the park ranger runs emergency services at the grand canyon. his mission is to keep park visitors safe, and there are plenty of those. >> on average we've been doing about 4.5 million visitors each year. >> and these days those visitors come laden with technology. the young woman from france with her iphone, the guy from japan balancing video and still cameras. and plenty of americans eager to share their pictures with folks back home. here's the old point of view shot over the rim as we come close to the edge. >> reporter: but while people are carrying smart phones, they're not always doing smart things. i can use gps to find out where i am at all times and if i get so absorbed in this gadget that i forget the basics of safety, i can get in a lot of trouble. just ask kathy hayes whose brother-in-law donald spotted a bison in yellow stone. kathy, sensing the perfect youtube moment, followed, camera rolling. >> we'll get a shot of donald getting gored by the buffalo. >> re

george lewis has details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, carl. mcclufky and welch told people they considered themselves sort of a latter-day bonnie and clyde but unlike that couple their story did not end in a hail of bullets but rather with their surrender in arizona, the place where it all began. >> reporter: mcclusky and welch had been on the lam since july 30th. u.s. marshals say she's suspected of helping him and two other inmates break out of a medium security prison in arizona. they were arrested at a camp ground near the arizona/new mexico border when a park ranger noticed a car backed into the trees as though someone were trying to hide it. >> the scene has been sealed off for investigators to look for evidentiary items. not only for crimes in arizona but for crimes in other states. >> reporter: one crime in particular, the murder of an oklahoma couple whose charred bodies were found inside their burned-out travel trailer in new mexico. the marshals say there's evidence tying mcclusky to the murder scene. investigators believe that mccl

in this panel, we have a depiction of george washington moving west. what is interesting about it is the image of lewis and clark here is in black and white, something that is occurring in the future, painted as though it was in the past. what is interesting about it is the very obvious conclusion of slavery. the number of students were expressing unease around some of the themes. the additional mural would be placed in the school, one with more positive representation of the student body. in 1974, they completed three panels that were placed in the library -- in the lobby. they depict native, latino, asian

in this panel, we have a depiction of george washington moving west. what is interesting about it is the image of lewis and clark here is in black and white, something that is occurring in the future, painted as though it was in the past. what is interesting about it is the very obvious conclusion of slavery. the number of students were expressing unease around some of the themes. the additional mural would be placed in the school, one with more positive representation of the student body. in 1974, they completed three panels that were placed in the library -- in the lobby. they depict native, latino, asian american, and african- american heritage and culture. >> that artist was talking about the history coming alive. that is what we want for the students here. i also think they might share that with past alumni and the community, so they could no the treasure that we have here in the schools. many people have the same experience i did when i first walked into this building three years ago, being the new principal. the grandeur of these murals is fanta

in this panel, we have a depiction of george washington moving west. what is interesting about it is the image of lewis and clark here is in black and white, something that is occurring in the future, painted as though it was in the past. what is interesting about it is

george. >> okay, martha, thanks. so the fighting is not over for all the soldiers, but today, we also the saw some from the final brigade welcomed home. the happy reunions happened in ft. lewis in washington state, and neal karlinsky was there. >> reporter: for the last combat brigade in iraq, this is what the end of a long, deadly war looks like. for these families, the war in iraq has felt like a lifetime, and in some cases, it really has been. a lifetime measured in children who weren't yet born when their parents went off to war. this soldier's kids greeted him with a huge necklace of his favorite candy. how does it feel? >> there's not enough words to express the feeling i have right 93 now to be home, and i thank god and just praise him that we all made it home safe. >> it's been seven grueling years of war. thousands of troops called to serve three, even four times. this unit wasn't called up until thesurge in 2007, but faced some of the heaviest fighting. and they were extended when they thought they were com

. >> joaquin argues these officers didn't get in trouble why should jimmy lewis and other video gate officers? >> officers had noticed that not only their superiors but other patrol officers had participating in making of videos and haven't been disciplined. >> we posed a question to george gasdon koen. >> sit fair to displin these officers in these videos part of the culture? >> well, you know, i inherited this case. this case was filed with the police kmigs kmigs prior to my arriveal. i'm dealing with case that's were filed. we can go back, years and years back. >> he complains about treatment, the asian officers in the video were not suspended. others receive aid slap on the wrist. and short sus spexs or forced to resign. last week, one officer received nine months off without pay. and the girlfriend of the producer has hear hearing tomorrow, officer wendy hurley did not respond to our request for an interview. jimmy lewis will be last of the officers to have a hearing later in the week. >> i've gone through many phases and in four and a half years, angry, and more resilient. want

keith mcfarlane profiles the life and career of lewis and johnson. prime time all this week on c- span2. >> until that hearing at 11:30 eastern on capitol hill, a look at the annual report from americans for tax reform on the cost of government. journal" continues. host: grover norquist is president of americans for tax reform, to talk about the cost of government. you are out with your annual report. guest: cost of government day is different from tax freedom day. tax freedom day are all the taxes you pay, divided by how big the economy is and taxes are one quarter or one-third of the economy. cost of government day goes beyond that and it builds on what milton friedman pointed out, which is the true cost of government is not just taxes, it is total government spending. we ought to have total federal, state, local spending, including both taxes and deficit spending, accumulated debt, and the regulatory burden, so when the government says you have to do this and you have to do that, it may be a good idea, but it is not free. so, what is the cost? wha