Headquarters in new york, this is nbc nightly news with brian williams. Good evening. If police hadnt acted when they did, theres a good chance we would have been coming on the air tonight to report the latest terrorist attack overseas. Instead police and investigators in belgium say suspected jihadists just back from syria were planning to launch largescale terrorist attacks on police facilities. The attacks were said to be imminent until the plot was busted up today. Just a week after the deaths of 17 people in paris. It is where we begin tonight our chief Foreign CorrespondentRichard Engel starts off our reporting. [ gunfire ] reporter this is what it sounded like today. Like a war. In the normally quiet belgium city of verviers. A neighbor filmed a counterterrorism raid that turned into a prolonged gun battle. It began Authorities Say when the suspects in the house opened fire. Two suspects were killed, a third one has been arrested. Luckily during this intervention no policemen was harmed. Reporter nor were any civilians. The suspects were clearly armed and dangerous. We found that this group was about to commit terrorist attacks in belgium. Reporter belgian Authorities Say the raid was one of three to arrest individuals recently back from syria. And there may be links to the paris attacks. An arms dealer from belgium reportedly sold weapons to the paris gunmen. In the wake of the paris attacks, europe is tightening its defenses with good reason. Thousands of foreign fighters from europe who fought in syria have returned home, some of them apparently determine today bring their holy war with them. And todays raid showed theyre not just in the big cities. Both isis and al qaeda have called on supporters to carry out more attacks in the west. European Security Officials are determined to intercept them first. Today in belgium they did. Richard engel, nbc news, istanbul. Reporter this is bill neely in paris where more of the Massacre Victims were buried today. Two were cartoonists. One carried in a plain casket covered in cartoons drawn by his friends. Buried too the policeman who guarded Charlie Hebdos editor. But from the pope today a clear message. Insult people and youll get hit. He didnt name charlie hebdo, but he said lets speak clearly about paris. Gesturing with his hand, he said, if a friend says a swear word against my mother, then a punch awaits him. One cannot provoke, insult other peoples faith. There is a limit. Charlie hebdo is provocative. It calls itself irresponsible. Its latest cover another image of the prophet muhammad. The pope insisted killing in the name of god is wrong, but he came close to suggesting the attack on the magazine is understandable. All three gunmen said they were avenging insults to islam. One of them is now being investigated by police in spain where he spent time before attacking jews in a supermarket. Amedy coulibaly was in madrid for four days before returning to paris where five days later he first shot dead a policewoman and then took hostages, killing four jews. More troops reinforced paris today. 10,000 now on frances streets and on high alert after tonights killings in belgium. And tonight the vatican has clarified what the pope said saying the popes expression is in no way a justification for the violence in paris which he has already condemned. But, says the vatican, there are limits to humor. Meanwhile, in paris tomorrow secretary of state john kerry will meet the french president hollande to discuss cooperation against radical extremists, cooperation thats needed in europe now more than ever after tonights events in belgium. Back to you, brian. Bill neely covering it all in paris for us tonight. Bill, thanks. Weve learned more about what the feds say was this foiled domestic terrorist attack plot in washington. Christopher lee cornell of ohio, age 20 accused of planning to bomb the u. S. Capitol and shoot people as they fled the building. According to House Speaker john boehner the plot was foiled with the help from the governments Controversial Surveillance Program which collects bulk data on american communications. Cornells father said his son was coerced during an undercover organization. The gateway to cuba closed to americans for more than five decades now appears to be swinging open, starting tomorrow. And thanks to a change announced today, Street Scenes in havana like this one that were looking at live tonight may soon be full with american tourists. But questions remain over whether cuba is truly ready for all of this, ready for the influx. Our report on that tonight from our chief Foreign Affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. Reporter in havana dramatic change after more than a halfcentury tomorrow the cold war will be over. A huge opening for u. S. And cuban travel and trade. In havana, Nelson Fernandez says these measures help the countrys economy. Orlando, a restaurant cook, says we think more americans will come. There is still an embargo on general tourists, but a lot more americans can go more easily. Educational groups, cultural groups, journalists, medical and religious organizations, family visits. I got two daughters in cuba. I have to go. Reporter at the miami airport alex rivas has a new baby who has never seen its grandmother. I have a 4month kid and dont know his grandma right now. Reporter and soon he can fly on a regularly scheduled commercial flight not just the current commercial limited charters. He can use the internet when he gets there as Internet Companies jump in. Use a credit card, not just cash. Until now no u. S. Credit was allowed in cuba. Plus, credit opens the door for ten times the current grain sales from iowa farmers like bob bowman. When we travel to cuba, the cuban government officials were almost begging us to open up trade with them. We know there is a huge appetite for building equipment, things to repair your home because so many of the homes there are in disrepair. Reporter and cigars, so prized john kennedy got a stash of more than 1,000 for himself before imposing the embargo. Americans will still only be able to bring back 100 worth. That is about three cohibas, cubas best. After tomorrow youll be approved. I know. Reporter are you excited about . I think it will be beneficial to the industry. I think there will be a lot of consumer excitement about it. Reporter but there were plenty of americans in havana today all there from special tour groups. And by tomorrow they can spend more money and use credit cards. Critics say the president is going too far violating the embargo. And they ask whether cuba is really ready for the American Economic invasion, especially Internet Access for all cubans, brian. Andrea mitchell in our Washington Bureau tonight on the cuba front. Andrea, thanks. Also out of washington today, news that could affect millions of American Families including new parents who need time off. And a lot of americans who get sick but cant afford to stay home from work. 43 million americans do not get paid sick leave, and tonight the president is trying to change that and reduce that number. And in the process he has opened up a big debate. We get more on that from our senior White House Correspondent chris jansing. Reporter Janelle Buckman was working at a nonprofit in maryland when she got pregnant four years ago. I love my job. Reporter but avery came eight weeks early, mother and daughter almost died. Her company didnt have any paid leave and she lost her job. Women want to be both working parents and good workers. And a paid leave would have allowed me to continue a job that i loved. Reporter today, president obama signed a memorandum guaranteeing up to six weeks paid leave for federal employees who are new parents, and urged congress to require most private companies to do the same. The u. N. Says only the u. S. And pau pau, new guinea dont have some mandatory paid time off for new moms. And 47 million private Sector Workers arent eligible for a single sick day. The white house wants to guarantee at least seven. But Small Business groups are fighting it. This familyowned Carpet Company is a good example. Some people have worked here more than 20 years. And, yes, good benefits help them to get and retain good employees. So the owner says while hed love to do more, he cant afford it. Were not ge. Were not apple. Our margins are really tight. Sometimes we make money, sometimes we lose money. Reporter many republicans agree meaning an uphill battle in congress. So the white house is also encouraging states and cities to pass laws of their own. I just think that it will help so many struggling working families not having to choose between having a baby or having to take care of a sick loved one and their job. Reporter chris jansing, nbc news, maryland. Its not too early for our first reminder next tuesday night president obama will deliver the state of the Union Address before congress. And we learned today a rising star in the gop, the new senator from iowa, joni ernst will deliver the republican response that follows. Nbc news of course will have live coverage of both on tuesday evening. Now we shift our focus to southern california. This is a big day every year in the entertainment industry. The Academy Award nominations were announced today. While the list always triggers both celebrations and hurt feelings, this year the controversy was slightly different. We get our report tonight from Nbcs Joe Fryer in los angeles. Reporter as soon as this years Oscar Nominations were announced, a glaring observation, all 20 acting nominees are white. That hasnt happened since 1998 when titanic was the big winner. It wasnt a good year for diversity, certainly in terms of, you know, the final selections by the Motion Picture academy. Reporter while the civil rights movie selma earned best picture nomination the director was snubbed. So was lead actor david oyelowo. Anger was visible online with a twitter hash tag oscarsowhite. And the Huffington Post headline. Hollywood doesnt make enough movies for women and people of color. Reporter last years 12 years a slave also won, asked about this years controversy Academy President cheryl boone isaacs, who is africanamerican, says it was just very competitive. Eight great movies are up for best picture this year. None of them box office blockbusters. In fact the grand Budapest Hotel is the highest grossing nominee earning just 59 million total, compare that to the latest the hunger games flick which grossed 121 million on opening weekend. Another headline this year the rise of the biographical film movies based on true stories earned 45 nominations. Four of the five lead actor nominees played reallife characters including american snipers Bradley Cooper who portrayed navy s. E. A. L. Chris kyle. Just fell in love with the guy from doing it. I have tremendous respect for what he did. Reporter the notsoreal lego movie is not nominated for animated feature but the director took to twitter said, its okay, made my own. Joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles. To Health Matters now. Weve been steadily reporting on how this years flu shot mixture is failing to stop the spread of flu. Now we know just how badly its failing. The cdc says the current vaccine is only 23 effective, normally that numbers in the 60 to 65 range in a better year. Even so doctors still say we should get vaccinated to minimize symptoms if you do get the flu. Still ahead for us on a thursday evening, adding years to your life span, how little it takes. Easier than dieting. What doctors say you should be doing 20 minutes a day, heres a hint. Also, what we didnt know during that spectacular celebration at the summit of el capitan, and what is next for the two climbers who captivated the world. N, and what is next for the two climbers who captivated the world. Major ok fitness class heres our new trainer ensure active heart health. Crowd yayyyy heart im going to focus on the heart. I minimize my sodium and fat. Gotta keep it lean and mean. Pear uhoh. Heart i maximize good stuff like my potassium. And phytosterols, which may help lower cholesterol. Major im feeling energized already. New delicious ensure active heart Health Supports your heart and body, so you stay active and strong. Ensure. Take life in. Fact. When you take advil you get relief right at the site of pain. Wherever it is. Advil stops pain right where it starts. Relief doesnt get any better than this. Advil. We all know by now exercise equipment makes an excellent place to hang and stack clothing. The truth is people need motivation to workout, sometimes any sorts of exercise sounds exhausting after a day at work. But we are now armed with fresh stats that speak to the value of walking. Walking 20 minutes per day and what that can do for your health and life expectancy. Our report tonight from our chief medical editor dr. Nancy snyderman. Reporter the human body was made to move, and nothing is more straightforward than walking, which begs the question why arent we doing it . Walking to me is a little boring. Reporter walking is simple, free and can be enough to ward off illnesses. But it may also save your life. In a new study that tracked 330,000 european men and women over a 12year span, the advantages of walking were clear. Twice as many deaths were tied to lack of exercise compared to obesity. And a 20minute daily walk reduced a persons risk of early death by 30 . People think of running, people dont necessarily think of walking. Thats exactly right. I think that sometimes when we think of fitness we think if we dont run were a failure, or if were not running all the time were not as good an exerciser. Reporter urban planners are changing how they think of the modern city. Here in denver consistently listed as one of the most walkable American Cities work has gone into building better walkways and bike paths. I think were seeing a renaissance. Theres a lot of Development Going on with the city right now. And with that is more people who are interested in walking and more interested in getting around without the use of a car. Reporter and for some people walking is cool again. I like to walk. For me i love to walk. Reporter proof again when it comes to exercise, simpler can be better. The recommendation is to take a brisk 20minute walk every day. Thats a pace of about three to four miles an hour, enough to get your heart rate up. Youll know it when you do it right. Its simple and it works, brian. It does work. And then we all get sick this time of year any way. Nancy, thank you as always. Were back in a moment with something families have been arguing about for years. Tonight, will this settle the ageold kitchen debate . S settle the ageold kitchen debate . You get sick you cant breathe through your nose suddenly, youre a mouth breather. A mouth breather well, put on a breathe right rip and shut your mouth. Cold medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow, it opens your nose up to 38 more. So you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do sleep. Add breathe right to your Cold Medicine shut your mouth and sleep right. Breathe right. And look for the calming scent of new breathe right lavender in the sleep aisle. Our eyes they have a 200degree range of sight. Which is good for me. Hey and bad for the barkley twins. Your brain can send information to the rest of your body at 268 mph. Three times the speed of a fastball. Take care of your most important parts with centrum. Multivitamins expertly designed with nutrients people dont get enough of from food alone. Centrum. For the most important parts of you. [cheering] everything okay . Were here because youre about to have a heart attack. Petes heart attack didnt come with a warning. Today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. If youve had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. woman caring for someone with alzheimers means i am a lot of things. I am his guardian. I am his voice. So i asked about adding oncedaily namenda xr® to his Current Treatment for moderate to severe alzheimers. It works differently. When added to another alzheimers treatment, like aricept® it may improve overall function. And cognition. And may slow the worsening of symptoms for a while. man namenda xr doesnt change how the disease progresses. It se allergic to memantine, or whos had a bad reaction to namenda xr or its ingredients. Before starting treatment, tell their doctor if they have, or ever had a seizure disorder difficulty passing urine, liver, kidney, or bladder problems, and about medications theyre taking. Certain medications, changes in diet, or medical conditions may affect the amount of namenda xr in the body. And may increase side effects. The most common side effects. Are headache, diarrhea and dizziness. woman all my life, hes protected me. Now i am giving back. Ask their doctor about adding. Oncedaily namenda xr. The journal of nature says sea levels are rising at a faster rate than they did in the past. They blame melting ice sheets in greenland and near the south pole. Even the current rise of 1. 2 inches a decade is concerning news for a number of east coast cities, especially. The man who gave us danger, will robinson, has died. Robert kinoshita, he designed the robot for the tv series lost in space. He did the same thing for the scifi movie forbidden planet. A man who try today guess what the future looked like lived long enough to see what the future looked like. He was 100 years old. And lowel bud pakson, Home Shopping network, an idea wort