this despite the catholic church's ban on contraceptives, we get more from nbc's anne thompson in rome. >> reporter: returning from mexico, pope francis surprised many by opening the door to the use of artificial contraception to prevent the sexual transmission of zika, the vi rugs rampant in his native latin america, linked to babies born with unusually small heads. it's similar, he said, granted to the nuns in the belgian congo when they were routinely raped in the 1960s. francis continues to shock, as he did in 2013 when he said the church has been historically too obsessed with things like birth control, abortion and gay marriage. loosening up church teaching is a misreading of what he's doing. this is a pastor, and a pastor responds to people in their situation. >> reporter: it was revealed in letters this week, francis said a friendship with a woman is not a sin. the pope needs the input of women. he said a man who doesn't have a friendship with a woman is missing something. as with donald trump and immigration, pope francis is proving once again that he is not afraid of taking o

anne thompson has the details. >> reporter: appearing to smirk -- >> are you listening? >> reporter: and often inattentive. >> yeah. >> reporter: former pharmaceutical ceo martin shkreli lived up to his bad-boy reputation appearing before congress. >> i intend to use the advice of my counsel, not yours. >> reporter: posing for pictures instead of listening. >> it's not funny, mr. shkreli, people are dying, and they're sicker. >> reporter: he declined to answer why he raised their life-saving drugs 5,000%. did anything wrong? >> on advice of counsel, i invoke my fifth amendment privilege. >> reporter: the 32-year-old usually loves to talk. >> i'm from the streets. >> reporter: but today he let his attorney speak for him. >> what you saw was nervous energy by an individual who very much would like to explain what happened. >> reporter: leaving the other drug company executives to face furious questioners. >> i find it repulsive what you've done. >> reporter: valiant under fire for jacking up prices on two heart medicines and other well-established drugs. >> where we've mad

nbc's anne thompson has the details. >> can't afford to let heartburn get in the way? >> reporter: stopping heartburn is big business. >> zero heartburn. >> reporter: sold as nexium, prilosc and prevacid more than 15 million americans shelled out more than $10 billion in 2013 for the prescription versions of these drugs cold proton pump inhibitors. now a new study from johns hopkins says the acid-reducing drugs may increase the risk for chronic kidney disease 20% to cleveland clinic kidney specialist is treating kim hinkel. >> kim had normal kidney nunks in march and bloodwork in august showed kidney function down to 30%. >> reporter: kim was taking one of the over-the-counter versions. on a hunch the doctor had kim stop, and her kidneys improved. >> i was lucky it was caught early, and that we can do something about it. >> reporter: for over-the-counter acid reducers the fda recommends they be used for 14 days and no more than three times a year. for the prescription versions, the package insert recommends for most conditions the pills be taken for up to eight weeks.

anne thompson has the story. in pope francis' native latin america the zika virus, carried by mosquitos, is wreaking havoc... linked to babies born with abnormally small heads. public health officials have urged women to avoid getting pregnant in a region of the world that is overwhelmingly catholic. at his in-flight press conference, the pope said contraception to prevent zika is the lesser of two evils compared to abortion. abortion he said is a crime, an absolute evil and likened it to what the mafia does. while surprising, francis' decision is not a first in church history. the belgian congo, in danger of rape to use birth control. in that case, as in the zika epidemic now, francis said it was a clear exception. that exception has some people in latin america hailing francis as a modern pope, who finds solutions. but experts insist this is not a change in church doctrine. "this is not a blanket statement to apply to all forms of contraception at at any moment, but this is a dealing with a disease that is wrea

anne thompson, nbc news, new york. >>> we're back in a moment with the race to rescue dozen from >>> the clock is ticking to rescue the more than 100 people to still be believed to be trapped after the powerful four more were pulled from the rubble today including an 8-year-old girl who was trapped for more than 60 hours. more than 30 people are confirmed dead, but officials warn that total could top 100. >>> 112 million people watched the denver broncos beat the carolina panthers last night in super bowl 50. peyton manning celebrated today with his kids and a parade at disneyland. on the "today" show manning side stepped questions over whether last night's win marked his retirement retirement. carolina's cam newton is being criticized widely for his play on the field and behavior afterward, walking in a post-game news conference. at halftime many agreed beyonce stole the show from headliner coldplay and as usual some of the most talked about moments were the ads from the funny to the bizarre to the controversial. >>> when we come back here tonight, is lighter side of the 2016 race.

nbc's anne thompson s the detas. >> reporter: appearing smirk -- >> are you listening? >>eporter: - and ofn inattentive. >> yeah. >> reporter: former pharmaceutical ceo main shkreli lived up this bad-boy reputation appearing before congress. >> i intend to use the advicef my couel, not yours. >> rorter: posing for piures instead of listeng. >> it's not funn mr. shkreli, people are dying, and they're getting sicker and sicker. >>eporr: he de to swer why the company he once led raisedhe price of a life-sav dru 5,00. >> on advice of counsel, invoke fth amendment privilege. reporter: under deralndictment for unrelated securits frd, the -year-old ually loves to talk. >> i'm from the street >> reporter: but today he let his attorney speak for him. >> what you saw was nervous ergy by individual who very much would like to explain what happene >> rorter: leavi the other drug company executives to face furiestioners. >> i find it repulve what you've done. >> reporter: valiant under fire for jacking up prices on twoeart medicines and other well-established ugs. >> whe wve made mi

border attracting tens of thousand of followers on as nbc's anne thompson explains the pope is seizing this moment to make an emotional plea on the issue of immigration. >> reporter: a simple gesture and powerful message. at the u.s. border fence pope francis builds a symbolic bridge from mexico on immigration. francis himself the son of immigrants seeking to put a human face on the people fleeing what he calls grave injustices, poverty, exploitation and violence. among the hundreds of thousands here to see him, 21-year-old jasmine flores who crosses the border every day to go to school. >> for him just to cam to juarez, means everything to us. >> reporter: no longer the murder capital of the world juarez is still a dangerous place. father half jer kovalio runs a shelter for immigrants. he says he hopes francis can make americans see the people he helps every day should be as he does on nearly every foreign trip, francis visited a prison. one of the inmate musicians overwhelmed. this evening's mass broadcast on both sides of the border. >> religion reaches over walls, over mountains. >

ann thompson, nbc news, new york. >>> meteorologist, bill karins here with your friday forecast. >> a slippery morning for the morning commute. we have winter storm warnings in new england and winter weather advisory from i 95 to the coast. to snow in many areas. and right down along the coast. what makes this forecast interesting and difficult is the temperatures are above freezing. in some cases, ssignificantly above freezing. and we get the accumulation but wet. most of the accumulations will be on the grassy surfaces. the heavier areas of snow in areas along i 95 south from boston down along the coast. hartford to new york city, looks like the grass areas could pick up three to four inches. it's a little chilly in minneapolis and chicago. we will be watching a weak storm on the west coast. seasonably cool from oklahoma down to the southeast. so saturday is going to be fine and super bowl sunday looks fine at 68 and sunny. we will see snow showers in the great lakes. there's a big storm off the southeast coast. now a closer look at your day ahead. so, in areas of new england and th

nbc's anne thompson reports. >> reporter: pope francis went to the poor, the city of ecatepec notorious for its crime. francis rode through the streets given a makeover by reformed criminals. more appropriate for the occasion. the pope portrayed in all kinds of ways, even as a graffiti artist. home to 1.6 million people, they have one of the highest murder and disappearance rates of women in mexico. but police have solved few of the cases. it's such a dangerous place, raina vasquez tells me mass is one of the rare times she can bring her children to a public event. under a strong sun more than 300,000 people filled the dusty field to hear the pope warn of the temptations of wealth, vanity, and crime. emphatically telling them there can be no dialogue with the devil. here evil can feel like a daily reality. for this nation, which polls show has little confidence in its government, francis is asking these people, many of them poor and powerless, to join the front lines of making mexico a land of opportunity. urging them to create a country where no one has to leave to find a better life.

>> anne thompson in mexico, thanks. >>> this could affect millions of men who suffer from low testosterone. low t has been linked to loss of energy, muscle mass and sexual function, to increase vulnerability to illness. now as tom costello tells us, new research by the national institutes of health, shows testosterone replacement therapy may have some benefits. >> reporter: it's a nearly $5 billion a year market. millions of men 40 and over are on testosterone replacement therapy, hoping to boost their energy, boost their mood, sexual desire and function. this 62-year-old said at the age of 55, he suddenly began to feel tired and depressed. >> i just felt off. and at the gym, i started losing ground. >> reporter: diagnosed with low t, he began testosterone replacement therapy. >> my body mass came back to where it was, my energy was better, libido was a little better. >> reporter: now, for the first time, a national study has found that a testosterone repla replacement gel provided some benefits to men 65 and older who suffered from low t. >> testosterone treatment improved their sexual fu

we get more from nbc's anne thompson in rome. >> returning from mexico, pope francis surprised many by opening the door to the use of artificial contraception to prevent the sexual transmission of zika. the virus rampant in his native latin america, linked to babies born with unusually small heads. it's a very rare and specific exception, similar, he says, to the one granted to nuns in the belgian congo when they were routinely raped in the 1960s. unexpected from a church that has long opposed artificial contraception. francis continues to shock as he did in 2013 when he said the church has historically been too obsessed with issues like birth control, abortion, and gay marriage. >> to say that he simply loosening up church teaching and, you know, anything goes, is quite a misreading of what he's doing. this is a pastor, and a pastor responds to people and their situations. already on st. paul the 2. froim with a female philosopher, francis said a friendship with a woman is not a sin. the pope needs the input of a woman. he says a man who doesn't have a friendship with a woman is missi