the u.s. soccer team tearing up the field in the feel-good story of the summer. the field in the feel-good story of the summer. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. while it's sometimes hard to remember what flying was like without the bins and the ziplock bags and the shoe and laptop removal and the occasional shouted cry of "bag check," the tsa has been around now for almost a decade, there are 51,000 of them all wearing those blue shirts, working all flights, all shifts and their job is to keep the skies safe. 2 million people a day get screened at u.s. airports, 700 separate checkpoints at airports across the country. and while the tsa is used to complaining by now, this was complaint day in washington. the agency took the heat for everything we have seen here, the aggressive patdowns of kids and the elderly, the big bureaucracy they have become, and questions about imagination and common sense and how safe we really are given their $8 billion budget. it's where we begin tonight with nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: with its tactics already making it one of the most ridiculed government agencies, members of congress today interrupted and taunted a top tsa administrator, even arguing amtrak police dogs would do a better job of explosive detection than the tsa's airport scanners. >> you give me one of his dogs and we will find that bomb before you find your bomb. >> reporter: the tsa today acknowledged 2,500 security breaches since the agency was founded in the months after 9/11. but that's over 10 years after 450 airports, on average, 5 1/2 breaches per airport per year, everything from a misplaced bag to doors left open and passengers walking into secure areas, but also more serious scenarios, like the man who flew across country on an old boarding pass and expired id. the stun gun found on a jetblue flight last week. while the tsa conducts security reviews of every airport every year, it today said it only conducted joint reviews with the fbi at 17% of the nation's highest risk airports. >> we will not get to 150% of 450 airports with the fbi every year, no. >> the idea that you haven't conducted joint vulnerability assessments in 83% of our nation's airports is not acceptable. >> reporter: today the former security director from israel's ben gurion airport urged the tsa to shift its focus to dangerous people and dangerous weapons. >> reporter: the tsa needs to stop treating babies and the elderly as extreme security threats. >> first of all, you have to identify the risk and when you identify the level of risk, then you can adjust the level of searching. >> reporter: following up on that, just a short time ago, the tsa e-mailed me a statement, saying, quote, we're working on common sense changes that will strengthen security by looking more at the people who fly and better identifying and focusing on the highest risk threats. it would appear, brian, that the tsa has got the message and things may soon change. >> tom costello starting us off out at washington national tonight. tom, thanks. now to an outrage you may not have noticed, but the government now has. the question is how closely to any of us really look at the phone bill, all those charges on there? when unauthorized charges show up in that jumble of numbers, it's known in the trade as cramming, for how it's crammed in there. well, today a senate investigation said it's become a national epidemic, costing customers as much as $2 billion a year in all. and now the question, how do the phone companies allow it to happen? our report tonight from our senior investigative correspondent, lisa myers. >> reporter: bev arnold was shocked to find almost $300 in mysterious charges buried on her phone bills. one for her very own 800 number. >> i laughed because it was an 800 number, but then i was furious. >> reporter: the bogus charges were from companies she had never even heard of. >> it's called cramming, but it's really scamming. >> reporter: today at a hearing, senator j. rockefeller said that millions of americans have already been victimized, with phone companies profiting from the scheme. how do the phone companies make money on this practice? >> every time something shows up of a cramming nature on one of their bills, they will make $1 or $2. >> reporter: we went to florida to track down some of the companies suspected of cramming. their corporate headquarters, seemingly only a post office box. we also visited the firm that represents many of these companies named dedata. they say customers are only charged for items they authorize we found the company in this unmarked building. your lawyer has declined an on camera interview, but we were in your neighborhood and wanted to give you another chance to talk to us. phone companies have gotten hundreds of thousands of complaints. so why do they still give cuthe companies access to their customers? >> they are allowing these people to use their platforms to bill because they're getting a piece of the pie. >> reporter: senate investigators say that since 2006, verizon, at&t and qwest have raked in $650 million in fees. still, today a phone industry representative argued that steps have been taken to stop cramming. >> there has been improvement, but it remains a very significant, very pervasive problem. >> verizon and others insist they do not tolerate cramming and that customer who is complain will be offered a refund. lisa myers, nbc news, washington. and one note on the ongoing debt ceiling fight and the talks tonight, the credit rating agency moody's put america's aaa rating on review for a downgrade, citing uncertainty on a deal before the treasury deadline august 2. moody's has already warned if the debt ceiling deal doesn't include significant progress in getting this country's fiscal problems under control, that aaa rating will be in jeopardy. overseas the scandal grows and so does the anger surrounding the media empire of rupert murdock. the phone hacking scandal has already taken a big prize away from him. his company, news corporation, badly wanted to buy the big satellite network bskyb. today they dropped their bid. there's no telling where this case ends, but this is all new territory for this huge media figure and for great britain. nbc's stephanie gosk is in london again for us tonight. stephanie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. well, news corps got beaten up all day today by british politicians both before and after they dropped out of the bid. one of their fiercest critics, former prime minister gordon brown, who accused murdock's papers of law breaking on what he calls an industrial scale. >> order! order! >> reporter: in parliament today politicians for once found something they could agree on. rupert murdock's news corporation, they said should drop its bid for british tv network bskyb. >> they've got to stop talking about mergers until they sort out the mess they created. >> reporter: but even before they voted, news corps, beat them to it. >> they have decided in the last few moments that it will withdraw. >> reporter: announcing they would walk away from the biggest merger in the corporation's history, potentially worth billions, in a statement they said they would walk away from a deal potentially worth billions. the company said it has become clear that it is too difficult to progress in this climate. the climate turned hostile just ten days ago after news of a 14-year-old's cell phone had been hacked by news corps's reporters. news corp shut that paper down perhaps hoping to save the bskyb deal. but it didn't work. >> rupert murdock has rarely been thwarted in his ambitions. the fact that is for the most part, he has ultimately achieved what he has wanted to. >> reporter: and he has achieved a lot building the largest media empire in the world. starting with a single newspaper inherited from his father, rupert murdock has amassed some of the world's best known, most watched brands. movie studios, television networks, cable companies, internet properties, magazine and book publishing, all part of the murdock empire. if you're watching "american idol," "the simpsons" or "glee" you're watching news corps. "the wall street journal," the "new york post," fox news and 20th century fox movie blockbusters like avatar or x-men. all news corps. and it's all made a fortune for murdock and given him enormous business and political clout. now really for the first time, that power is in jeopardy. tonight there's signs that murdock's troubles could spill out of the uk and across the atlantic. there are three u.s. senators and one congressman calling for separate, u.s.-led investigations of news corp. brian? >> stephanie gosk in london tonight. stephanie, thanks. and we'll have much more on this story tonight on a cnbc special report, called "empire under attack" it airs at 7:30 eastern time on cnbc. three powerful bombs exploded today in india's financial capital mumbai killing at least 21 people, it was the worst terrorist attack in mumbai since 2008. our coverage begins tonight with chief foreign correspondent richard engel. >> reporter: the bombs were well hidden and coordinated to explode at the height of mumbai's evening rush hour. the first exploded in a renowned jewelry market just before 7:00 p.m. a minute later, a second, more powerful device went off in a crowded business district near a bus station, one bomb was apparently hidden under an umbrella, the other in an electric circuit box. after two back to back explosions, police knew, mumbai was under attack by terrorists. then a third bomb believed to have been in a taxi, exploded downtown. police locked down the city. >> the entire city of mumbai has been put on high alert. i would appeal to the people of mumbai and people all over the country to remain calm and maintain peace. >> reporter: so far, no one has claimed responsibility, but suspicion falls on the same pakistan-based group that attacked mumbai in 2008. this time, mumbai was better prepared, but the violence would inflame tension between two old enemies, india and pakistan, both nuclear powers. richard engel, nbc news, cairo. and here in our new york studios our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. andr andrea, i don't need to tell you, this is your line of work. you ask any u.s. official what keeps you up at night, and they answer, these two countries, nuclear nations, and especially pakistan. >> pakistan is about to pass france as the fifth greatest nuclear power in the world and they're on a hair trigger. there's no hot line between india and pakistan, only last week, diplomats from both countries meeting out at stanford university trying to talk about establishing a hotline. so unlike the cold war, there is no communication, they could have an accident. this time india has said in the past that they were restrained three years ago when it was proved that pakistan was behind the attack, they were restrained by the u.s., by the rest of the world, they did not retaliate. this time most likely they would. only a couple of days ago i was talking to a prominent indian diplomat saying i could not persuade any country not to attack if this happened again. and now it potentially is happening again. it could be an indian group, officials don't know here or in india. just tonight, the head of pakistani intelligence is meeting with the acting head of the cia here in the u.s. that was previously set up because of growing tension between the two countries, between us and pakistan, but this will be the number one topic now. >> a lot of pieces in play, a serious situation, glad to have you here, andrea mitchell, as always. when we come back here tonight after a break, how those squiggly shaped energy saving light bulbs are becoming a rallying point against government interference in people's lives. and later, the u.s. women's soccer team writing their own script in the blockbuster sports story of the summer. back in 2007, unbeknownst to most americans, congress passed a law phasing out regular incandescent light bulbs, president george w. bush signed the bill and the phaseout starts next january. the idea of this forced switch to the new bulbs and the light they give off and how long it takes some of them to warm up, has irritated a lot of folks who consider it the ultimate example of intrusive government reaching into our homes and lives. an effort in congress to reverse it failed just this week. but in texas, they're not giving up the fight. our report tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> how are you doing on light bulbs today? >> reporter: from his lighting store in ft. worth, john patterson takes a dim view on traditional incandescent bulbs. >> i believe that americans ought to have a choice and be able to have a free choice to decide what they want to do with themselves. >> reporter: so patterson supports a new texas law aimed at circumventing the ban, by allowing made in texas incandescents to be sold in texas, authored by state representative george lavender. >> we're tired of the federal government micromanaging their lives. >> reporter: many still love the bulb that was invented 140 years ago. the traditional bulb that we all grew up with. >> they call it an edison base or a medium base. it goes in the regular light bulb. >> reporter: and the other one? >> this is a compact fluorescent light, this particular one is a 15 watt. the new kid on the block. >> reporter: a lot brighter. >> a lot brighter. >> reporter: does anybody say they're too harsh? >> if they're too harsh, you can down wattage. >> while the lights my differ some, some say the old light bulbs are electric heaters that give off a little bit of light. 90% of the energy is given often by heat. >> reporter: but the new bulbs also contain small amounts of mercury. >> if i dropped this light bulb, we would have to evacuate the house of representatives, according to the epa light bulb law. >> reporter: one group freedom action opposes the ban with the video of a black marketeer dealing with the black market of the future. >> reporter: there is one problem with selling incandescent light bulbs in texas. >> reporter: but then a light bulb went off in george lavender's head. >> if we attract light bulb manufacturers to the state of texas, then it's a great jobs program. >> reporter: the message in texas, don't mess with the light bulbs in the lone star state. kevin tibbles, nbc news, ft. worth. another break and up next as we continue, a new honor for this nation's newest hero. the nation's newest medal of honor recipient having just had the medal placed around his neck by president obama yesterday was today honored at the pentagon inducted into the hall of heroes. he is army ranger sergeant first class leroy petrie, six tours in afghanistan, two in iraq, a married father of four, awarded the nation's highest military honor by saving the lives of fellow troopers by picking up a live grenade and throwing its which cost him his hand and much of his forearm. this photo received wide circulation around the country today, it's the president, shaking his new prosthetic hand yesterday at the white house. so we wanted to show you a clip from our exclusive interview with sergeant petrie to show you how matter of fact he is about the new hand, which he loves to play with and talk about and demonstrate. that's a handsome hand. >> it's wonderful. when i lost it, i thought i was going to have a hook, which i was content with. i mean i was happy the way i lost my hand, but nevertheless, nobody wants to lose a hand. >> shake my hand with that. >> oh, yes. >> tell me how it feels for you. >> for me it feels like a normal handshake. it uses the same muscles that i would to open and close. it's no change from what i did before. it took me a couple of hours to learn how to use it. >> if you haven't caught on by now, this is an exceptional guy. he's also proud of something else, the names of the fallen from his ranger regiment, he's had them ascribed on the plate affixed to the carbon fiber forearm he was fitted with. it's a reminder to him of the sacrifice he lives with every day. we would like to urge you if you're so inclined to watch our full interview with this extraordinary soldier, it's on our website, nightly.msnbc.com. having been in southern california just last night, i'm here to tell you, the warnings are everywhere, you see them wherever you go. all of southern california has been warned about the coming carmageddon. the closing of the 405 freeway this coming friday for 44 hours. the contractor will be fined $6,000 for every 10-minute period the job runs over for each side of the highway not open. and the brilt yant brilliant marketers at jetblue are offering a carmageddon special fare. the airline will fly you from burbank to long beach for $4 one way to avoid the freeway this saturday only. when we come back here tonight, it's so far been the summer of the casey anthony trial and the debt ceiling talks, so if you're looking for something to feel good about, how about the u.s. women's soccer team? finally tonight, put it this way, when our friends at espn ranked the plays of the week, their number one pick was not jeter's 3,000th hit, it was the achievements of the u.s. women's world cup soccer team. first they beat brazil, then today they beat france, now it's on to the finals for the world cup. tonight nbc's anne thompson take a look at the women who have made this summer exciting. >> reporter: they are the wonder women of 2011, the u.s. women's soccer team, reaching the world cup finals, defeating france 3-1 in a glorious display of tenacity. >> this is about who wants it more. about who's willing to leave it all out on the field. >> reporter: this has not been an easy tournament for the team ranked number one in the world. they lost in the preliminary round to sweden. then on sunday, it took an overtime goal to send the contest against brazil into penalty kicks. but giving up is not in their playbook. >> we fought back from everything, we're resilient and i'm excited. >> reporter: they're using the burden of high expectations to sell nike and themselves. >> what if for the first time, there were no pressure? then we wouldn't have a chance. >> reporter: in new york city, 3,700 miles from today's triumph in germany, this team brought back memories of the 1999 squad, the last u.s. team to take the cup. >> everything's just so great. >> reporter: erin fitzsimmons was just 15 when mia hamm ignited her dreams. now the stars were goalie hope solo and forward abby wanbach. she scored three goals in this tournament, including sunday's crucial header and another one today, putting the u.s. ahead for good, creating a new generation of fans. >> they are very good people. >> reporter: and they are a social media phenomenon, building their fan base on twitter and facebook attracting not just girls and women, but some of america's best known male athletes, like lebron james or like super bowl mvp aaron rodge rodgers, chad "ocho" cinco. people who are household names and they are actively following women's soccer. >> reporter: a new team with the same goal, one more win to make history. >> no pressure, but we'll be cheering for them in the final game. that's our broadcast for this wednesday. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right b right now how hisam fily is involved in the l.a. dodgers bankruptcy case. >> live in san jose, where a community is worried about the police chief decision to bring immigration agents into his department. that's coming up. >> also, new power for parents who want to improve their child's school. nbc bay area news at 6:00 starts right now.