on this sunday night, the final 48 hours in the race for president. a frantic final push on the campaign trail, obama and romney making a mad dash through the swing states. meantime, tempers flare. tonight a final poll on where this race stands and how sandy could impact the election. plus the new big storm closing in threatening to disrupt a massive recovery operation. and making a difference, the marathon may be off, but the race is on to help some of the hardest hit victims of the storm. from our election home, nightly news begins now. good evening. in just over 48 from now, the first polling places here on the east coast will close in the presidential election. the final countdown is on and the gut check moment has arrived for president obama and governor romney as they make the crucial decisions as to where and how to marshall their resources into places they can still make a difference. and tonight, we re about to release the results of our time poll in this race, a last-minute snapshot that could give both camps a reason for hope and anxiety. and how the hurricane sandy disaster has affected this race. let s start with our political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd who s just below me here on democracy plaza. let s get right to the numbers, the president with a very narrow lead, 48% to 47%. this is almost last close presidential election we had which is when president bush also had a 48% to 47% lead. among early voters, president obama with a seven-point advantage here. four in ten voters may vote early this year. and in the battle ground states, the president s got a four-point lead and that s within the margin of error. in the northea let me show you where there may be a sandy effect, and that is the idea of which candidate has better leadership qualities. a week earlier, governor romney led the polls, but now you see president obama leads. in the middle class, the president leads by n k11, value versus the economy. and watching the exhausting travel schedule has been like watching a pair of prize fighters in the 12th round. let s get right out on to the campaign trail, along with kristen welker with the president in cincinnati. reporter: good evening to you lester. president obama campaigns here in must-win ohio tonight with music legend stevy wonder kicking thing off. with this race too close to call, president obama is enlisting his biggest su egest s and supporters to help him close this deal. president obama in the final sprint of this deadlocked race, stopping first in concord, new hampshire today. let s go get them, new hampshire. and then to hollywood, florida. are you fired up? reporter: mr. obama will travel several thousand miles, stopping in ohio, colorado, wisconsin. today the president enlisted one of the most high profile democrats to fire up voters. former president bill clinton. president obama even borrowing president clinton s campaign song. president clinton slammed romney. he s tying himself into knots saying he didn t oppose what he didn t oppose. reporter: and obama we know what change looks like and he ain t it. reporter: and president obama confused the former presidents. that ad th that. that ad that you have seen that president clinton bankrupted the auto industry so that china could buy it. we re in commanding position, but our big challenge new is to make sure that we execute and get our vote out. reporter: michelle obama will join the president in iowa for his final event tomorrow night. kristen welker, nbc news, traveling with the president in cincinnati, ohio. meantime tonight mitt romney is barrelling through a few states of his own. reporter: anticipating a dramatic finale two more days. two more days and we can get to work rebuilding our country. reporter: mitt romney this weekend is racing through eight events in seven states. we have got to change course because unless we do, we may be looking at another recession. let s make sure we get everyone out to vote on tuesday. reporter: governor romney s carefully crafted final pitch that he would be a bipartisan leader. and he has this new line don t boo, vote. voting is the best revenge. they asked their supporters to vote for revenge. for revenge. instead i ask the american people to vote for love of country. reporter: and while upbeat, mr. romney made this acknowledgement. if the president were to be re-elected. boo! it s possible. but not likely. reporter: this afternoon, new jersey governor chris christie who praised president obama s leadership in the aftermath of hurricane sandy, said he s still voting for mitt romney. i am voting for mitt romney, but that doesn t mean that i can t turn to president obama and say thank you. reporter: romney advisors are projecting confidence and claiming a more enthusiastic base. there s a gap on the side of republicans. reporter: late saturday mrs. romney rallied supporters in cleveland. i m feeling it r you feeling it? reporter: i m peter alexander traveling with governor romney in pennsylvania. i want to first talk to you about those numbers, about the leadership question, saying that president obama may have gotten a sandy bounce. is there anything that romney can do in that case or does he have to be on the sidelines? he is on the sidelineses, there s no question about it. in talking to the president today, they maintain that their zeta is unchanged. he would win bagsd on the reality is chris christie is now having to go out of his way to say he s still voting for mitt romney. he did provide him a boost. mitt romney needs to lead, let s face it the country is starved for it at the moment which is why i think it resonates. they both really have reason to be confident now, don t they? they have reason to be confident because you saw our poll, it s deadlocked, neck and neck. now it s whether they get their supporters to the polls, this very sophisticated report that the president has had years to vote on. building for mitt romney, perhaps stalled a bit when attention was taken off of him during sandy and during the recovery, whether that passion can be reignited and in his closing message, reaching out to moderates, reaching out to bipartisanship whether that ignites people and gets them to the polls. and your thoughts quickly on president clinton s appearance on the campaign trail. having covered bill and hillary clinton, this is the anniversary of bill clinton s 92 race. you can see him absolutely energized and igniting these crowds, he s the closer for barack obama. they have got to get young people and might norities out t vote. in florida, anger and frustration today in miami where voters lined up to cast absentee ballots after being cut off from the early voting deadline yesterday. what happened there and other potential election problems. reporter: frustrated voters juice the miami-dade election office this afternoon. they had come after the county announced it would open its doors to provide an accept absentee ballots today. but so many voters showed up that election officials were overwhelmed. they shut their doors and then decided to reopen. the democratic party ensued to extend early voters after some voters were stuck on line for hours. i have waited five hours now. reporter: election officials are bracing for lots of potential voting problems on tuesday, especiallily in the key battleground states n ohio, experts say because of confusion over new absentee ballot rules, more than 200,000 voters may be forced to cast provisional ballots that won t be counted until ten days after election day. there s a realistic chance that we will not know which candidate won the election in ohio. reporter: citizen groups like tea to vote, a tea party offshoot who says it s trained more than a million poll watchers to look out for voter fraud. liberal activist groups are saying they re employing their own poll watchers. we will be watching the poll watchers to make sure they are not acting as bullies. reporter: meanwhile hurricane sandy s devastation has swamped election plans in the northeast. officials are faced with flooded buildings and power outages are besieged. actually the timing of the storm was horrible for us respecting people s ability to get to the polls. reporter: this weekend the state announced it will let voters displaced by sandy e-mail or fax their ballots in. and military trucks may be deployed as backup polling stations. all these issues could lead to an election storm that leads to confusion and even chaos at the polls on tuesday. we want to let you know that brian williams and our entire political team will be with you every step of the way on election night. our coverage begins at 7:00, 6 central on tuesday night. amid the long lines for gas and the long wait for power, a new crisis emerges after sandy, where will people live during the long recovery. and another storm, taking aim at some of the hardest hit areas. imagine you, with less 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an account. we re back now with a long road to recovery facing thousands of families hit hard by superstorm sandy. in addition to the immediate needs of food and gas, there s a new emerging crisis. where are they all going to live in the weeks and months ahead? nbc s michelle franzen is on the jersey shore tonight. reporter: good evening, lester, aside from our light this neighborhood is in darkness. an hour earlier thanks to the time change and also an early cold night for residents hunkering down in their homes, those still without power. now tonight, new jersey s governor says fema has extended public assistance for all 21 counties in the state a big step as officials here and in new york try to overcome a challenge. in the blue collar fishing towns of highlands, new jersey amber moskowitz is surrounded by debris. we re safe, but it killed us, we lost all our pictures and memories. what we re worried about right now is that it s so cold they can t stay? their homes. the reality of not know what s next has set in. look at that, i don t know how that s going to be repaired. reporter: today homeland security secretary janet napolitano toured neighborhoods. our goal is to get people out of the shelters now as quickly as possible into something more stable, more satisfying. reporter: meanwhile the crisis at the pump continues, with drivers lining up at the pump to fill up and rationing in place in new jersey until supply can catch up with demand. part of the gas thing is that people are worried it s going to run out, it s not going to run out. in new york city, ferry sciee back online for tomorrow s commute. but for thousands still without power a crisis is emerging. one of the great fears we have with cold weather coming we have to make sure that people can stay warm and among the hardest hit, the rockaways in staten island. governmetonight the first ma donation from pepsico and walmart. reporter: in staten island, victims waited five days before help arrived. please start going door to door and ask some of the owners if they need anything. reporter: in queens more than 100 homes burned to the ground in a raging file fueled by sandy, a church service offered comforting words and a new determination. we don t have any crystal balls that will tell us how breezy point will be rebuilt. do not abandon your hope because only hope sustains us. reporter: volunteers and military teams continue to travel across the country to help in the recovery effort. the latest, 400 marines helping out in staten island. there is another big storm headed toward the region. we re joined tonight by w channel meteorologist kelly cass. this is the last thing we need in the northeast, and remember all those protective dunes have been washed away by sandy so obviously we have some store fronts and residential areas that could be hit with another storm. we ll be dealing with a lot of rain and very windy conditions. it s going to start off on the southeast coast, affecting basically election day. that nor easter co-moves up the coast, very strong winds traveling up the northeast and those winds will be sustained between 25 and 30 miles an hour, but gusting as high as 50 miles an hour. we could be looking at two to three inches of rainfall. coastal flooding is a huge concern. right now it looks like ohio will be clear, back to you, lester. kelly, thank you and we re back in a moment with some of the other day s news.
we re back now with some of the day s other news. in pittsburgh, a boy was killed when he fell about 14 feet into an enclosure at a zoo and was mauled by a pack of wild dogs. zoo officials entered the enclosure and used tranquilizer darts, but it was too late to save the boy. there was a big blast right in the heart of damascus, a car bomb went off near one of the city s largest hotels. when we come back here on this sunday night, the marathon is off, but that doesn t stop thousands from putting on their running shoes today making a difference on the path to recovery. that s why dentures require special care. make polident® part of your daily routine. polident s unique microclean formula cleanses gently. it releases antimicrobial agents, including active oxygen, to kill ninety-nine-point-nine percent of odor causing bacteria and reduce plaque. for a cleaner, fresher, brighter denture, use polident® everyday. this has been medifacts for polident®. get coricidin hbp. the number one pharmacist recommended cold brand designed for people with high blood pressure. and the only one i use to relieve my cold symptoms without raising my blood pressure. coricidin hbp. if you re a man with low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that s right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com. the view here in democracy pla plaza, finally when they cancelled the new york marathon, many found themselves with nothing to do after the storm. many felt they could make a difference in the lives of those hardest hit. reporter: after the staten island ferry, it felt like the marathon. 600 garbage bags, if everybody can take a garbage bag. 1,000 runners suddenly with time on their hands were ready to deliver supplies. this is the boat that could have taken them over to the starting line this morning. instead they re going to statten island to help, they re man thonners, they have a lot of energy. the father-daughter team from the west coast, they were relieved when the race was cancelled. i didn t think could have felt good about it knowing that all these people were cold and carrying all they own on their backs. so they were running. baby wipes, batteries. flashlights whatever people need. there was anger in this community last week when michael bloomberg said the race would go on, especially with food, water and generators were piled up for the race, not the residents. now the runners delivered those same supplies and lended a has been where it was needed. i m glad the run was cancelled and they re just able to lend a helping hand. in some ways canceling it did the same thing. that s nbc nightly news for this sunday. up next, football night in america, followed by sunday night football, the cowboys take on the falcons. i m lester holt reporting from democracy plaza here in new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night.
this is world news and tonight your voice, your vote, tens of millions of americans going to the polls. lining up for hours to choose their president at schools, homes, laundromats, even car dealerships. and even americans in the storm zone doing what it takes to make their voices heard voting by flashlight in the shelters. after this long and tough road, the president appears at the end of his final campaign. we ve made real progress these past four years. the challenger, governor romney fighting for the last vote. that s when you know you ll win. getting ready for this historic night. our abc news political team here and reporting across the nation as tonight it is the vote, the big picture, election day in america. good evening from the crossroads of the world, pulse of the nation, abc news election headquarters in times square on this historic day for democracy after one of the toughest elections ever, americans are choosing a president. and our great abc news team of analysts and experts have taken their posts eager to tell you would won, how and why throughout this evening. and it is your voice, your vote. it will be lighting up our maps here at election headquarters. and we also thank you all day long. you have sent us pictures proving how much you care about this vote and we saw you lining up before dawn in virginia, braving lines, rain in florida, children in tow and even guys with surfboards and bare feet as in chicago a woman who went to the polls while in labor then went on to the hospital. talk about the candidates in these last moments, the two men who have been racing to the finish line spent the day proving determination and stamina and abc s white house correspondent jake tapper starts us off in chicago where the president is with his family waiting for results. jake. reporter: good evening on this exciting night, diane. president obama and his campaign are gurding hem thfls for a long night and the president said this might spill into the morning but he fully expects by tomorrow he will be re-elected. it is out of his hands and in yours. my name is barack obama, you know, the president. reporter: at a chicago campaign field office president obama called volunteers in wisconsin to thank them for their hard work. hi, is this annie? hi, this is barack obama, how are you? [ laughter ] i m doing you know i don t think she knows it s me. reporter: his message has been one of staying the course. forward. painted himself as a warrior for the middle class. are you fired up? all: fired up. are you fired up? reporter: but today another message, an olive branch. i also want to say to governor romney, congratulations on a spirited campaign. reporter: later today joined by scottie pippen and his old friends the president played basketball, an election day superstition. he did not do so the day of the 2008 new hampshire primary and has not repeated that mistake. also not taking anything for granted vice president biden who made a quick stop in must win buckeye battleground ohio. the son of scranton, gave clevelanders part of his folksy charm. running for county council. reporter: it s been an emotional home stretch late last night with his wife in the state that launched his national career, iowa. as you know this is a pretty emotional time for us because this is the final event of my husband s final campaign. reporter: sleep deprived in the battle of his life standing in the freezing cold, the president saw old familiar faces in the crowd of 20,000 before him. to all of you who ve lived and breathed the hard work of change, i want to thank you. reporter: tears streamed down his face. that s the spirit that carried us through the trials and tribulations the last four years. reporter: and now president obama is in a suite at the fairmont hotel. he is waiting for his family, his girls have arrived. they flew here after school with the president s mother-in-law. they ll be watching the returns at the hotel. the president is expected to return to washington, d.c., diane, tomorrow afternoon. diane? okay, jake, thank you so much. and again, we have been following you on social media and so many of you wrote us to tell us about epic lines you encountered at the polls coast to coast. you can see some of them right there in washington, d.c., but people did wait hours and hours to vote and the voting remained in full swing and does now, but it hasn t stopped governor romney from squeezing in a few more campaign stops and abc s david muir was there with him. david? reporter: diane, good evening. can you believe the day is finally here and as you mentioned a frenetic pace for governor romney right up the end he just landed here in boston after stops in ohio and pennsylvania today. they do believe pennsylvania is now in play for the republicans but i got to tell you it all started this morning when he walked into his own polling place in his neighborhood in belmont, massachusetts and was hummed when he saw his name right there for president of the united states. mitt romney and his wife ann back home this morning walking in to cast their vote. a quiet moment side by side after nearly six years of campaigning, two runs for the white house and tonight he is one step away. outside a kiss and then a question about ohio. yeah, i feel great about ohio. thank you. reporter: but not taking that state for granted a last-minute dash today back to ohio. his body man taking this image on the plane proudly wearing this pin and the plane and running mate s plane paul ryan and vice president joe biden s plane in a state both sides want to win. it s been a race to the finish traveling 15,000 miles in 4 days. overnight on my iphone capturing this moment, the romney plane pulling into this columbus, ohio, hangar and soon after we were all back on the plane. we re headed to new hampshire. headed to new hampshire where his candidacy began for a rally lasting past midnight. this is where our campaign began. you got it started a year and a half ago. reporter: we were standing right there as he worked his last rope line as a candidate but now to us for that giant bear hug. if anyone is revealing the rigors, it is ann overcome last night by the support. i m so moved. so emotional to have this kind of reception from ohio, a state that is going to make the next president of the united states. [ cheers ] reporter: in the final hours romney is sticking to his playbook. it s all coming together today. reporter: all about the economy, pushing his vision of lower taxes and working on his ipad on tonight s speech and one more stop, pennsylvania, once considered a long shot now they believe within reach and unexpected moment in pittsburgh, a parking garage filled with supporters. the governor with his hand to his heart and a wave telling abc news afterwards. that s how know you re going to win. reporter: i can tell you, diane, right here in the hall they re beginning to gather at the romney victory party. they re hoping a few hours from now later here in evening and i can tell you the governor, his wife ann and five sons are holding at the westin hotel and the speech he was working on on his ipad, it s 1100 words long and asked if he had two versions. he said, diane, he has one and it s a victory speech. all right, david. but tell me again, he s going to be watching with his family right there? reporter: yes, the five sons are all here. the big number i ve got to get for you, how many grandchildren. as you know that number is much larger. we will track that down as the evening goes on. they re waiting in the hotel right next door. good luck with all those grandchildren. now i want to bring in the co-anchor, george stephanopoulos, right here, so, george, we have the first window on to what people are saying as they come out of the polls. i saw a surprise in the first window. when we asked people where they think the country is going on the right track or in the wrong direction, a year ago 77% thought we were on the wrong track even as late as august it was 69%. today, down to 52%. pretty dramatic increase in optimism over the last several weeks and asked them about the candidates and the economy. president obama has a small advantage, you see it right down in front of us, 52-44% on empathy being in touch but overall trust to handle the economy it flips a little and governor romney has a slight advantage over president obama, 50%-47%. different views on the candidates and the economy. so i m calculating, your first campaign, 1988. that s right. a little over 25 years ago. so what s the most important thing you ll be watching? i m looking at three things, the first one is a number, 74%. that was the share of the electorate four years ago in 2008. down every year. if that goes up, that is good news for governor romney. if it continues to go down that will be good news for president obama. the second thing i ll be looking at is a state, early state, virginia, the polls closed there at 7:00. governor romney has to win that state to be in the hunt for 270 electoral votes. if he doesn t, president obama does, he will be on his way to victory and finally going to be looking at an issue. that is the issue of the auto bailout. big dramatic action. president obama took early on. many jobs across the industrial midwest, president obama s fire wall, ohio and wisconsin and michigan were dependent on the auto industry. if you see a favorable ritting for that that s good news for the president. we will be right here bringing everybody the big news tonight. because it is a once in a generation election. a changing america election and rarely have the stakes been higher and not just because the white house is up for grabs so is control of the senate and abc s jonathan karl, our veteran capitol hill correspondent is here and we ask in the three places he ll be watching tonight, the states also voting by the way on some pretty far-ranging things. we ll get to that in a moment. jon. that s the other big battle is the battle for control of the u.s. senate so very early in the night i m going to be looking at two senate seats especially. the first one up in massachusetts, this is scott brown against elizabeth warren. the most expensive race in the country. the most high profile. it has been a bitter race. if republican scott brown loses in massachusetts, the republicans have a much harder time to win control of the senate. the other one also early in the night is going to be in the state of indiana, this is richard mourdock running against donny. they controlled it for 36 years. should have been a slam dunk but he made controversial comments on rape and abortion now it s at risk for republicans. if they lose both of those it will be virtually impossible to win control of the senate. my third one is actually a house seat. all 435 members up. that s in minnesota, michele bachmann running for re-election, of course, a year ago she was a front runner to run for president now fighting for her political life for her own district in minnesota. the states putting up referendum some wide-ranging things. what s number one you ll be looking at. we could have legalized marijuana in three states at the end of the night. that s what i ll be looking at. real possibility. it s a possibility. [ laughter ] all right. i m going to see you later. we ll talk later. put you down for a talk. you re going to be with us, of course, all this evening. jon, george, the abc news political team standing by, analysts and experts ready to roll as your voice, your vote rolls in starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern. coming up next here, election day in the storm zone, the amazing ways americans are making their voices heard against all odds. i ve been a superintendent for 30 some years at many different park service units across the united states. the only time i ve ever had a break is when i was on maternity leave. i have retired from doing this one thing that i loved. now, i m going to be able to have the time to explore something different. it s like another chapter.
and on this big day in america we ask all of you to give us three words, and here s a photo of three words. take a look. we loved it. we the people coming up after people are showing you voting here right now. we the people turning out even in the shelters showing a unity that is strengthening family as cross the storm zone even in the darkness and the cold. images that poured in to us all day long from our voting our voting colleagues, our voting americans in the shelters and the tents with their flashlights, family suffering after sandy a. as you know vo n unbroken to vote. linsey davis tells us what they re facing tonight. reporter: without power, but not power-less. in some of the areas most devastated by hurricane sandy, we saw images like this of the victims, eager to show with everything they lost, they still have a voice. in rockaway park, queens, when the generators ran out of gas, voters had to cast ballots in the dark. some new jersey voters climbed into winnebagos to cast their ballots. overwhelmed by applications, state officials there extended the deadline for casting votes by e-mail until friday. hard-hit staten island residents are still trying to catch their breath. did you get a chance to vote today? vote. no. look at this. who s got time to vote? reporter: now with the added burden of another storm on the way, expected to hit tomorrow night, this devastated coastline is in the bull s-eye of a nor easter bringing rain, high winds, coastal flooding, even snow to an already battered region. we could have some snow on the ground and certainly snow on the trees. that makes the trees that already have their bases flooded more likely to fall over. this is the new york city police department. reporter: new york city is prepping again urging residents in the lowest lying areas to move out of the storm s path ago as parks, playgrounds and beaches are expected to close for 24 hours beginning at noon tomorrow. new jersey officials are watching the path of the storm closely. just when i thought i was going to start to get some more sleep we re going to get the nor easter and i think it s going to be all hands on deck again. how much more can we take? reporter: at the peak of the power outages, more than 8.5 million people were without power. today, close to a million are still in the dark. and now the fear is that those who just got their power back may lose it again. why does it always happen we get creamed with a storm and then two days later there s another storm? reporter: elinda restaina, a mother of seven, is trying to work fast to salvage what she can before the next round of rain and wind. you can take our home but you can t take our heart. reporter: linsey davis, abc news, staten island. thank you, linsey. all of us at abc want to make sure help is on the way for those families and thanks to your extraordinary generosity, all of you and the abc family coming together for a day of giving, listen to this. we have raised more than $17 million to help families suffering in the storm zone and, by the way, it is not too late to help. the phone lines are still open, call 1-800-help-now or go to our website, abcnews.com and thanks to all of you for your incredible generosity. coming up, something to make everyone smile on this election day. we asked which song plays into your head as you go to the polls? an election day playlist. you gave it to us today. born in the usa born in the usa born in the usa i was in the ambulance and i was told to call my next of kin. at 33 years old, i was having a heart attack. now i m on a bayer aspirin regimen. 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(cries) a machine can t give you what a person can. that s why ally has knowledgeable people there for you, night and day. ally bank. your money needs an ally. we loved hearing from you all day on twitter, on facebook and e-mails. so many of you telling us that as you cast your vote, you never forgot that it s a kind of celebration of democracy with its very own soundtrack so we asked you tell us which song was playing in your head as you went in the voting booth. i feel good o say can you see by the dawn s early light devil with the blue dress on i saw all this red. let s get it on marion gay. quite a difference four years made every minute every hour born in the usa i was born in the usa like springsteen said baby i was born to run we ve only just begun god bless america land that i love stand beside her and guide her through the night by the light from above and coming up, as the abc news political team is assembling josh elliott will take you behind the scenes at abc s election headquarters. ete. me. thinking my only option was the vial and syringe dad used. and me. discovering once-daily levemir® flexpen. flexpen® is prefilled. doesn t need refrigeration for up to 42 days. no drawing from a vial. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. flexpen® is insulin delivery. my way. levemir® (insulin detemir [rdna origin] injection) is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life threatening. ask your healthcare provider about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions. tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions, such as body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat, or sweating. with flexpen®. say good night to vial and syringe. ask your doctor about levemir® flexpen. covered by 90% of insurance plans, including medicare. find your co-pay at myflexpen.com. looking for a better place to put your cash? here s one you may not have thought of fidelity. now you don t have to go to a bank to get the things you want from a bank, like no-fee atms, all over the world. free checkwriting and mobile deposits. now depositing a check is as easy as taking a picture. free online bill payments. a highly acclaimed credit card with 2% cash back into your fidelity account. open a fidelity cash management account today and discover another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. i got your campbell s chunky soup. mom? who s mom? i m the giants mascot. the giants don t have a mascot! ohhh! eat up! new jammin jerk chicken soup has tasty pieces of chicken with rice and beans. hmmm. for giant hunger! thanks mom! see ya! whoaa.oops! mom? i m ok. grandma? hi sweetie! she operates the head. [ male announcer ] campbell s chunky soup. it fills you up right. we are counting down, just minutes away from the first polls closing. we are all gathering here, so we asked abc s josh elliott to give a kind of backstage tour of abc s election headquarters. that s right, diane. we are in the nerve center of our election headquarters at abc news and what a nerve center it is. we do want to show you where we will be parsing all the information tonight as it become as valuable as we elect a new president. here to my left the insiders, matthew dowd, nicolle wallace, donna brazile, george will and barbara walters will tell us what it means when a state turns one way, what it might mean four years from now. to the right of our set we also have our insiders desk. remember, there are many key house and senate races still to be decided and they will be parsed and synthesized, as well. the banks of seats, we have our analysis desk and ballot watch team. the analysis desk is really the first point of entry for the raw information, the exit poll numbers that will become the real numbers that you will see and then you see the ballot watch team led by pierre thomas looking for any irregularities at voting and polling stations around the country and that flows to our twin pillars of rome as george and diane will then bring it to you and as you can see here technology will play a part, the information will spring from the floor. this huge l.e.d. screen, in fact, george with a touch screen in front of him has the ability to tell us when a state turns and maybe why it did. county by county parsing it for you as best as we can. obviously technology will be a star and to that end social media which has had an impact on this election unlike any other will have a place with us, as well. this is our social media corner, you see. a touch screen and katie couric will be with us tonight monitoring what you are talking about on facebook and on twitter as we have all come to see history tonight, as our president will be re-elected or the republicans will have taken back the white house and we do hope you joins at abc news till the very last, diane. we thank you. and our election 2012 coverage will begin right now. george stephanopoulos, the powerhouse political team standing by. we will be here with the latest minute-by-minute results as they come in and see you after a short break. good afternoon, i m cheryl jennings with this abc 7 news election update. all eyes on prop 30, education funding measure, supporters greeted the governor as he arrived to vote in the oakland hills. it would boost sales tax a quarter percent, increasing taxes on individuals that earn more than $250,000 a year. the governor says if it fails, california schools will be in big trouble. prop 30 opposers say it will drive business out of california. election officials divided into two locations pushing some vote dwrorz a precinct down the street. san francisco s big ush yu is proposition f which wants the cities to transition away from hetch hetchy as a primary water source. in richmond supporters say measure n will help fight childhood obesity. you still have four hours to vote in the bay area when polls close tonight at 8:00. abc 7 news will be live with the first returns and you can get realtime results at abc 7 news.com also, live updates at facebook.com/abc 7 news and through twitter. our next update is in less than 30 minutes.
on our broadcast here tonight from our nbc news election headquarters on democracy plaza, decision day. that means election night soon we get to learn the verdict of a nation. either another term or another president after a long and bitter campaign and a grueling fight to the finish. tonight, what we ll be looking for as the first returns start to come in. and after the storm in the cold, without power after losing so much, they came to cast their ballots. tonight the extraordinary election effort to make sure everyone gets to vote while so much human suffering continues. nightly news this election night, decision 2012 begins now. good evening from our spectacular location here tonight at rockefeller plaza, in the center of new york city, transformed for thevening into democracy plaza. our nbc news election night headquarters. across this country today from the first light of day in montana, americans voted. they voted in temporary tents and by flashlight in the rockaways here in new york, where after all an entire region remains crippled and this will remain another cold, dark night for upwards of a million people. the first polls have already closed. more are closing in the next 30 minutes. people are still lining up to vote tonight in the state that may be the greatest prize of all, ohio. the candidates are spent after an exhaust iing campaign. now it all comes down to tonight. and just after midnight in keeping with a grand american tradition, the people of dixville notch, new hampshire cast the first votes in the nation and voted to a 5/5 tie. the first tie vote in that small town s history. we can only guess what that means for how late we ll be at this tonight. our team is in place all over the country and here in wbr id wbr1380 new york. we want to begin with our white house correspondent kristen welker covering the president in chicago. kristen, good evening. reporter: brian, good evening to you. the obama campaign is energized tonight, but also a bit wistful. after four years in office, the candidate once known for hope and change is counting on voters to stay the course. my name is barack obama, you know, the president? reporter: president obama campaigning tirelessly in the final hours before the polls closed, stopping by a chicago campaign office, to stress the importance of turnout. we have to round up the votes. reporter: since saturday, he s kept up a break neck campaign pace, logging more than 7,000 miles aboard air force /b one. making a dozen stops over eight states and granting 20 interviews to local stations. i hope we have a big turnout in iowa. reporter: after a long fight it came down to a sentimental journey to the packed center of des moines, iowa. i ve come wbr-id wbr1980 back to iowa one more time to ask for your vote. this is where our movement for change began. reporter: and it didn t surprise even veteran aids when the president reached a certain portion of his emotional speech with his voice strained. that shows you what one voice can do. reporter: and teers flowing down his cheech. it was the last event of his last presidential campaign. as you know, this is a pretty emotional time for us, because this is the final event of my husband s final campaign. reporter: today our nbc affiliate in des moines asked the president about his tears. a photographer got a little tear going down your left cheek. was that the cold out there or emotion? you know, probably a mix of both. i have to say that being back in des moines, thinking about all the folks in iowa who had worked so hard on my campaign back in 08 and then to see them still working hard back in 2012, it made me feel deeply moved and honored to have been able to be on this journey. reporter: this final stretch has taken on the feel of a family reunion, with aids from 2008 rejoining, some growing good luck beards, others wearing good luck charms. the president s tradition, a game of basketball with some of his closest friends and advisers. in fact we have a shot of him with one of the folks who played today, former illinois state treasurer. president obama will have dinner with his family tonight at his chicago home before watching election returns with the rest of his team. sports is a superstitious business. kristen welker starting us off. thanks. now to the other side, peter alexander traveling with the romney campaign. and tonight that means headquarters, back home in boston. peter, good evening. reporter: brian, good evening to you. within the last hour, mitt romney just landed back here in boston after wrapping up his final campaign swing. tonight he s going to watch those returns alongside his wife ann and all five of their sons. during that last flight he spoke to reporters and said he was very proud of the campaign, adding, and i quote, we put it all on the field. at the end of an exhausting quest for the white house. mitt romney cast his ballot alongside his wife ann in their home state of massachusetts. his mind was on the midwest. i feel great about ohio. reporter: governor romney went straight from the polls to his campaign plane with paul ryan. i m awed by the spirit and enthusiasm, support, energy, it s just amazing. thank you. reporter: while mr. romney thanks volunteers, later fueling up on fast food. it was a near traffic jam on the tarmac in cleveland. air force two carrying the vice president to a late campaign swing of his own touched down behind the governor s jet. he appeared almost overwhelmed by the reception in a state until now he largely ignored. that s when you know you re going to win. reporter: mr. ronlny said he didn t want to look back with anything other than satisfaction about his campaign. last night the romneys were greeted by a rock star s welcome in new hampshire. a three minute ovation in the state where the former massachusetts governor kicked off this campaign more than 500 days ago. i have a clear and unequivocal message. with the right leadership, america s going to come roaring back. reporter: late today after a bitter campaign, mr. romney struck a conciliatory tone. the president has run a strong campaign. i believe he s a good man and wish him well, but it s time for new direction. it s time for a better tomorrow. reporter: from that conversation with reporters tonight, it is clear that governor romney deeply believes he is going to win tonight. so confident apparently, he says he s only written one speech, a victory speech. peter alexander, romney headquarters in boston, where it s going to be a long night. let s fly across the plaza, a location we re going to be checking in with a lot, chuck todd, the keeper of the numbers. so chuck, give us a viewer s guide in effect, a lot of folks tuning in now will be with us the rest of the way out. what to look for tonight? good news for you presidential political junkies, before 9:00, look at how many states in the battlegrounds where the polls will be closed? six of the sort of ten states we ve been eyeing in either direction. the first big one comes up in a few minutes, the state of virginia. there s certain things to watch in the state of virginia. we expect it to be a tight race. if it s a good night for romney, is it something we re able to call by 9:00 or 10:00? is it a good night for the president, does he get it in his column early. i ve done all these scenarios. there s not many romney scenarios that don t include the state of virginia. two others i want to circle here. pennsylvania and north carolina. these are states that democrats believe something that s going to be in the president s column, north carolina something that s going to be in romney s column. what if they re too close to call at 9:00. if pennsylvania s too close to call, good news for romney. if north carolina is, good news for the president. we ll be checking in along the way. thanks a lot. we re joined now by three former nbc news chief white house correspondents, andrea mitchell, david gregory, savannah guthrie, who will be with us the rest of the way, of course. same question to chuck. what are the moments you ll be looking for tonight? the keys to the game here, as it were, two teams, and is obama s defense better than romney s offense? obama s got to protect the midwest tonight, he can do that, the states he won in 2008, ohio, iowa, wisconsin, he gets a second term. is romney s offense better. can he expand the battleground map? if he does that, he has his shot. what does the vote and the voter look like? how white is it? how nonwhite is it? what s the gender gap like, and what about men, white men in particular, for one side or the other. we re going to be paying a lot of attention on that. we got to barnstorm around on air force one for about 24 hours last week. what struck me, it s not 08 and you and i were talking about this before we went on the air, in so many ways. when you think about 2008, that was the night this country elected the first african-american president. four years later, if you look at the data, this is a country more racially divided politically than it has been ever before. the president is winning margins with nonwhites, upwards of 66%, losing whites by 21%. and that fact alone may be determinative of what the electorate looks like tonight. i think about how divided this country is, along racial lines, gender lines and political lines. we know this is going to be an extremely close race no matter what happens. what will that tell us for how we ll govern the next four years. to andrea mitchell, you re covering the senate and house races tonight. there s a lot of closely watched contests? speaking of partisanship, we re going to be watching to see whether the democrats can retain control of the senate. they have more to defend. the republicans have some self-inflicted wounds that they themselves would acknowledge with todd akin and richard murdoch, the candidates who spoke so controversially about rape. we re going to be watching women, 18 of these candidates in both parties in the senate are women. we re watching the house, of course. republicans expected to retain control of the house. what s going to happen to the tea party and the partisanship in the house. andrea mitchell wrapping up our purely political subtext tonight. by this time tomorrow night, this plaza will likely be full of swirling snow from a huge storm that s going to add insult to injury to this region. already for millions of voters here in the northeast, this election day includes such a painful subtext as the suffering from hurricane sandy continues for so many people. ron allen s been covering that, he s across the river from new york city in hard hit hoboken, new jersey. ron, good evening. reporter: good evening to you, brian. this city hall has been the center for relief operations here. today they added voting to the long list of things they re trying to accomplish. for voters in new york and new jersey, still battling the aftermath of the storm, there was frustration and confusion, and a huge problem caused by e-mail voting. election day got off to a chaotic start in communities outside new york city that still don t have power. when voters arrived at polling places that were not ready. it s a disgrace. i ve been here three times, they finally got machines in, now the machines are jammed up. reporter: in manhattan, where the storms effects still linger, the lines were long. in queens, tents were set up outside unusable polling places. shuttle buses carried other voters to alternative sites. throughout the metro area, some who turned out early even used flashlights. any means possible to have their vote counted. that s the only frightening part. there s a lot of people that just don t have positions to come and vote. reporter: registered voters could cast ballots at any polling place. in new jersey, anyone displaced by the storm could vote by e-mail or fax. an unprecedented move that overwhelmed election offices. frustrated voters who could not get ballots vented on social media. voting in new jersey is a disaster, said one tweet. late today the governor made it clear, e-mail voting is limited. you have been displaced from your home because of the storm. get your butt up and go vote at your polling place. reporter: buildings normally used for voting served many rolls. in hoboken, voters lined up at one side of the high school, while on the other side, storm victims lined up for emergency supplies. and many still plan to vote. i m still going to vote. that s not going to change anything. reporter: late today because of that huge backlog, the deadline to vote by e-mail was extended to friday night at 8:00 p.m. even before that move critics were warning of voter fraud. and legal experts say all this will land the state of new jersey in court. brian? ron allen across the way in hoboken tonight, ron? our justice correspondent pete williams has been watching for all reports of irregularities at the polls today. he reports that so far things have gone fairly well for the most part. he ll be part of our election night coverage tonight. however, one incident quickly went viral starting this morning. it happened to a voter in pennsylvania today as he filmed himself pushing the electronic screen, the obama button, the machine checked off romney s name instead. he eventually figured out how to touch a screen in such a way that allowed him to choose the candidate of his choice. he reported the problem to poll workers. when our broadcast continues, this other big story we re following, the continuing suffering from sandy, and how that has led to a vital new mission for the u.s. marines. 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[ male announcer ] it s the power of aspirin plus more in a triple action formula to relieve your tough migraines. new bayer migraine formula. we re back, this was the scene in the far rockaway section of queens in new york city today. hundreds lined up to get food and water from the national guard and nypd. among the items being handed out. blankets from the new york marathon that was cancelled. in one area particularly hard hit, staten island. the problems are piling up. when you have a problem, send in the marines, well, they did, as stephanie gosk found out there today. reporter: marines on patrol. this season thele monday province, it s the storm ravaged streets of long island. 50 marines in a community that need the muscle. especially the merchants. it s a huge job. they said, no problem, we can do it. reporter: a kindergarten teacher can t talk about her home without crying. russian immigrants, they worked for years to save enough money to buy their house. demolition is the only way to save what s left. of course, it s a big help. we can t do it by ourself. reporter: this is the kind of work that is needed all along this block. people are coming by to help out, but they re charging $3,000 to do what these marines are doing in here for free. reporter: in just an hour, the job was done. when i walked through these streets, it s like nothing i ever saw before. these homes were ripped off the foundation, fires, floods, winds. everything damaged this place so bad. reporter: they said at camp lejeune they were getting ready to deploy again to the middle east when they got the call to come to staten eye land. everyone s thankful to be here. reporter: the marines returned to their chopper to fly back to their ship. they will be on the ground here again tomorrow. this debris field behind me is now a 24 hour a day operation. the pile already big is going to get a lot bigger, brian. stephanie, i m sitting here thinking you ve been shot at while covering marines around the world. at least you re in the more hospitable climate of new york. there s this other storm on the way. by this time tomorrow night we could be seeing bands of snow through new york. the problem is the coastline, there are already mandatory evacuations underway in some jersey shore beach communities. the low lying one where the dunes the protection is gone, washed away. jim cantore is with us for an update on the severity of the storm. good evening. it s already coming to fruition, you can see it just off the coast here. these high clouds screaming north to where it s going to be another cold night tonight in new england. and these storm ravaged area. this model is going to give us an idea of what the storm is going to do. possibly tomorrow morning, no precipitation on the coast yet. it won t be long after that, look what happens during the evening brian. we change the rain over to snow, even in new york city, the hard hit jersey shore, across long island as well. the wind, surge and now the snow to add insult to injury. nine days after sandy. unbelievable. we ll talk to you next right back here tomorrow night, jim cantore, thanks. we ll take a break. in a moment, what voters are telling us mattered most to them as they left the polls today. 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[ male announcer ] polident. cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. first big poll closings just minutes away, that includes the state of virginia. our special election night coverage begins just after this break. we ll be with you all night long. this is it in a few minutes. so get comfortable. but for now, that s it for us for nightly news. our special coverage just moments away.
did they know and when did they know it? questions swirl around the cia and the fbi as we learn more tonight about what happened in the days leading up to the bombshell resignation of cia director david petraeus. money trail. new concerns about whether millions in donations are actually reachin families left shattered by sandy. tonight, our nbc news investigation. moment of crisis at one of the most trusted institutions in the world. explosive allegations against a popular tv star, now a shake-up all the way at the top. reunited, separated during the storm, we re there for the emotional moments when families find the pets they thought were lost forever. and paying tribute to those who served and those who continue to serve. tonight, honoring our nation s heroes on this veterans day. good evening. the fallout from the surprise resignation of cia director david petraeus after admitting to an extramarital affair has taken two tracks tonight. first with the bombshell landing just days after the presidential election, there is a growing course of questions from lawmakers about exactly when petraeus s affair was discovered and who in washington was told about it. then there s the fbi investigation that inadvertently exposed the whole thing. a probe into some harassing e-mails allegedly sent by petraeus s biography, paula broadwell. tonight nbc has learned who the fbi believes was on the receiving end of those e-mails. nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker has been working the story. she joins us now with the latest developments. kristen? reporter: lester, good evening. according to multiple government officials, the woman who made the initial complaint to the fbi is a close family friend of general petraeus, and there is no indication of anything more. now, the details are still murky, and lawmakers are demanding more answers. reporter: according to a senior federal official and close friend of david petraeus, 37-year-old jill kelly complained to fbi agents about being harassed by paula broadwell, david petraeus s biography. a senior u.s. military official says jill kelly is involved in wounded warrior fund-raising in tampa, is married, she and her husband are close family friends. officials say petraeus s downfall started when kelly complained to the fbi that she was receiving intimidated e-mails from broadwell. law enforcement and multiple u.s. officials tell nbc news that those e-mails led to the discovery of others between general petraeus and broadwell and were indicative of an extramarital affair. a senior law enforcement official told nbc news that fbi agents interviewed general petraeus in late october and concluded there was no criminal violation. today, members of congress are asking why the fbi did not inform them or the president sooner. we received no advanced notice. it was like a lightning bolt. i mean, this is something that could have had an effect on national security. i think we should have been told. there is a way to do it. reporter: this comes as we are learning more about the days leading up to petraeus s resignation. house majority leader eric cantor said in late october he was tipped off by the situation. in a statement, cantor said, i was contacted by an fbi employee concerned that sensitive, classified information may have been compromised and made certain director mueller was aware of these serious allegations and the potential risk to our national security. however, the president first learned about the incident on thursday, the day petraeus offered his resignation. a senior law enforcement official says the agent s call to a congressional staffer had no effect on the petraeus/broadwell investigation or the timing of the disclosure. still lawmakers say there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. it seems as we ve gone on for several months, and yet now it appears that they re saying that the fbi didn t realize until election day that general petraeus was involved, it just doesn t add up. reporter: several of petraeus s former aides say broadwell had too much access to the general. she hasn t been shy about sharing details about her relationship with petraeus, and their shared interest in running. ended up being a test for both of us since we both ran pretty quickly. but that was the foundation of our relationship. reporter: now, we have reached out to general petraeus. paula broadwell and jill kelly, so far no response. general petraeus was scheduled to testify on capitol hill this thursday about the attack in benghazi on the u.s. consulate. now, the acting cia director, michael morrell, is expected to testify in his place. that has upset some lawmakers who say petraeus is key to getting answers. lester? kristen welker tonight, thank you. now to the other big story that has consumed washington in the days since the election. the so-called fiscal cliff looming at the end of the year. if democrats and republicans can t come together and agree on a deal to avert it, taxes are going to go up for most americans. we get the latest tonight from nbc s mike viqueira. reporter: today top democrats drew a hard line. it s either higher taxes on the wealthy or the nation goes over the fiscal cliff. if the republicans will not agree with that, we will reach a point at the end of this year where all the tax cuts expire, and we ll start over next year. reporter: this as one influential conservative called on republicans to give ground. let s have a serious debate. don t scream and yell where one person says, you know what? really? the republican party s going to fall on its sword? a bunch of millionaires half of whom voted democratic and half of whom live in hollywood. reporter: but house speaker john boehner rejects any hike in tax rates. instead he would close loopholes in the tax code. raising tax rates will slow down our ability to create the jobs that everyone says they want. reporter: failure to agree by the end of the year would trigger a combination of deep spending cuts and expiring tax cuts. that could mean an estimated $2,000 more in taxes next year for the typical household. the jobless rate soaring to 9.1% by the end of the year. and possibly another recession. boehner and the president were close to a deal last year. the so-called grand bargain. $4 trillion in debt reduction including politically sensitive changes to social security and medicare. many think that blueprint still works. and the real problem is uncontrolled entitlement spending and a government that has grown massively. not just under this administration, under republican administration. reporter: experts warn of serious damage to the economy if the standoff drags on. if three or four weeks from now they re making no progress at all, you re going to see the anxiety and the nervousness growing both in the markets and in corporate boardrooms. it s going to be a rough two months for the u.s. economy. reporter: and lester, as the clock ticks with the two sides still at odds, they ll try to take the first steps towards common ground on friday here at the white house when the president hosts the entire congressional leadership. mick viqueira, thank you. tomorrow marks two weeks since sandy roared ashore here in the northeast, wiping out homes, leaving families with nowhere to go as they try to even think about how to pick up the pieces. a housing crisis that has the feds scrambling to help them. nbc s michelle frandsen is in staten island with more on that. good evening. reporter: good evening. this distribution center is the hub for this darkened neighborhood on staten island where people can come and get a hot meal and also much needed supplies. tonight, more than 120,000 homes and businesses in new york, new jersey and connecticut are still without power two weeks after sandy hit, and thousands of others displaced and in search and in need of housing. patrice sotomayor has spent the day clearing out her staten island home. the water came up to here. reporter: since sandy hit, she has stayed with friends. but with her flooded home now gutted, patrice worries about finding a new home. i m taking it a day at a time. i can t even think long term. reporter: today homeland security secretary janet napolitano returned to staten island for the second time since sandy struck. we know we have more to do. this is going to be here for the long term. and we are here for the long term as well. reporter: one of the biggest needs and questions, where to house the thousands of displaced residents. more than 4,800 displaced residents in new york, new jersey and connecticut are still in shelters tonight. fema is helping pay for temporary housing and says more than 369,000 have applied for individual assistance. and fema has approved more than $455 million of assistance so far. meanwhile, organizations like new york-based architecture for humanity which has helped rebuild communities in haiti and new orleans say the long-term needs for sandy victims are just as great. what we ve noticed is that there are pockets that are very similar to some of the hardest-hit areas after katrina. reporter: the company plans to help rebuild seaside heights, still closed off to residents. back in staten island, patrice says she doesn t know what s next, but she does know what she needs. i need some place to stay permanently. that i can afford to pay once fema help ends. reporter: and this is a community-based center run by volunteers. also fema has set up 55 centers throughout the hardest-hit areas of staten island. michelle frandsen, thank you. meanwhile, the red cross says it s received $117 million in donations to help victims of sandy. and tells us that so far its response has been near flawless. but that s not what we heard in some hard-hit areas of new york city where storm victims claim the country s preeminent disaster relief organization has been missing in action. here s nbc s senior investigative correspondent lisa myers. reporter: two weeks after sandy hit, residents of breezy point, new york, still wonder if more help will ever arrive. we haven t seen red cross at all. red cross hasn t offered any assistance up until yesterday. reporter: carrie lynn allen says she s donated to the red cross before and is very disappointed. they take people s hardworking money to assist people. and then when push comes to shove, they don t assist. reporter: her neighbors also wonder what happened. the red cross, you know, they re normally a wonderful organization, and it s just that they re not here. reporter: ann marie willis coordinates volunteers in the community and rates the red cross performance here poor. they need help with everything from housing to just hold them, say you re going to be okay. you ll get through this. we need everything. and i know the red cross has it. reporter: even in areas with a greater red cross presence like brooklyn, there is criticism. they were all saying too late. way too late. we needed help back then, and now people are sick and people are in trouble. reporter: red cross ceo gail mcgovern defends what she calls a massive relief effort. 5,700 volunteers, hundreds of emergency vehicles serving 4.8 million meals and snacks, shelters, clothing, health services. so what grade would you give the red cross so far? i think that we are near flawless so far in this operation. i m just so proud of everything that we are doing on the ground. it is incredible. one truck offers sandwiches with a blowhorn? it s disgusting. reporter: the red cross also has drawn fire in the past. it was accused of a chaotic and uneven response to katrina. and of being too slow to spend money in haiti. as for sandy, mcgovern says this storm poses unique challenges. the first cold weather hurricane. victims stacked in high-rises. a storm area the size of europe. the red cross promises that 91 cents of every dollar donated will be used to help victims of this storm. mcgovern says she hears the cries for help and is moving as quickly as possible to get as many resources as possible to the hardest-hit areas. lester? please sa meyers, lisa myers. ors are trying to figure out what caused an explosion. the explosion sparked a huge fire, flames shooting into the night sky that damaged or destroyed about three dozen homes. and take a look at the scene in denver. a southwest airlines 737 slid off a snowy taxiway last night during a snowstorm. the jet came to a stop in the grass. none of the 130 passengers or crew members was hurt. still ahead as nbc nightly news continues, the new fallout tonight as one of the most trusted broadcast institutions in the world is now described as being in a near meltdown. millions of tv viewers in shock. and later, we are there for the emotional reunions. families and the pets some worried they d never see again. okay, now here s our holiday gift list. aww, not the mall. well, i ll do the shopping. if you do the shipping. shipping s a hassle. i ll go to the mall. hey. hi. you know, holiday shipping s easy with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. yea, i know. oh, you re good. good luck! priority mail flat rate boxes. online pricing starts at $5.15. only from the postal service. we re back with more tonight on a deepening scandal involving one of the world s largest and most respected broadcasters, the bbc. one month after a legendary host was accused of having a long history of child sex abuse, the top official resigned this weekend. we get the latest from nbc s keir simmons in london. reporter: it is a british institution described today as in near meltdown. the terrible crisis which is entirely self-inflicted. reporter: the bbc, watched and trusted by millions, now overwhelmed by scandal, leading to the resignation this weekend of its director general after just 54 days on the job. a broken broadcaster, its leaders admitted today. if you re saying, does the bbc need a thorough structural radical overhaul, then absolutely it does. tonight, historical allegations reporter: for a week the bbc wrongly implicated a senior politician in child sex abuse claims. other networks made the same mistake. but for the bbc, it followed the decision to kill an investigation by the program newsnight of an alleged child abuser in its own ranks. for decades, one of the bbc s star hosts. it really is one of the most serious crises the bbc has ever faced. reporter: there are continuing questions as well about the man who entered a few months ago was the bbc s director general and editor in chief, mark thompson. tomorrow is he scheduled to become the ceo of the new york times. in a statement, thompson said, during my time, i never heard any allegations about jimmy. but nbc has spoken to one journalist who says he informed thompson s personal assistant about the claims. i absolutely said that. i always felt it extraordinary that no senior people within the bbc, including mark thompson as director general, ever addressed this issue. reporter: the bbc disputes his claim, but admits in the report it did call thompson s office. they ve seen public trust stop and his successors step down. now some predict more of thompson s former colleagues may have to resign before this is all over. keir simmons, nbc news, london. there is more ahead on this sunday evening. when we come back, one of the most famous dresses in movie history definitely not in kansas anymore. [ male announcer ] it s time for medicare open enrollment. are you ready? time to compare plans and see what s new. you don t have to make changes, but it s good to look. maybe you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. medicare open enrollment. now s the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare. in the middle of all the loss and suffering from hurricane sandy, tonight we take a look at another part of the story that s gotten less attention. the plight of all the animals that became separated from their owners when the big storm hit. nbc s jill rappaport has that story. reporter: survivors of hurricane sandy are holding on to whatever they can find. everything is gone. everything. reporter: all you have left is what s on your back? on my back. reporter: and by your side. despite losing their homes and belongings, these people feel lucky. she s my heart. reporter: she s your heart and soul. yes. reporter: as sandy approa approached, officials in the northeast told residents to evacuate. don t leave your pet at home because you don t know when you can get back. reporter: but some didn t heed the warnings. most people did not think they were going to be gone for this long. they thought they would be back within three days. so they re heartbroken. reporter: animal rescue teams spent days scouring the hardest-hit areas, rescuing thousands of animals. my cat. reporter: in new jersey about 200 pets are in a temporary shelter run by the humane society of the united states. many animals here are accounted for. but since not all evacuation shelters allow pets, it may be some time before their owners can reclaim them. we re going to reunite you in a second. reporter: some are waiting patiently. daddy missed you so much. my baby boy. reporter: others a little less patiently. then there are the four-legged survivors without owners. like max who survived after a tree fell on him. tragically, that tree killed his owner and her friend. we didn t think he was going to make it for the first 48 hours. and then his strength and his will to live just really, really shone through, and now he s going to bring some comfort and joy to the parents who have really lost everything. reporter: the aspca is helping this group of displaced new yorkers and their pets move to an animal-friendly shelter. not having your pet here would be like not having a family member here. we love these guys and each other. reporter: happy reunions after a harrowing ordeal. as people count their blessings in the midst of devastation and loss. jill rappaport, nbc news, new york. the producers of skyfall, the latest james bond movie, might want to rename it windfall. that s because the film generated almost $88 million in its first weekend at theaters here in the u.s. that s a north american record for a james bond film. sales worldwide have already surpassed $500 million. and speaking of windfalls, how about this, the blue gingham dress judy garland wore as dorothy in the wizard of oz sold at auction this weekend in beverly hills for $480,000. and get this. the seller originally paid only $2,000 for it at auction back in 1981. up next tonight, honoring those who served and those who continue to sacrifice so much for their country. i can t afford to ignore our retirement savings, not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family s goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they re managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier than i thought. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america s retirement leader. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta 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veterans day, we celebrated and honored those who have worn this nation s uniforms and preserved our freedom. aim, fire! each year, on the 11th day of the 11th month, we pause as a nation and as a people to pay tribute to you, the heroes over the generations who have served this country of ours with distinction. [ playing taps ] we have to remember who fought for our country and who gave us our independence and our freedom. it s our veterans. we lose sight of what has been paid as far as the price for our patriotism, then we re lost. i believe in what they do for our country. and support our freedom and defend our country so that we can live free. in this country, we take care of our own. especially our veterans who have served us so bravely and sacrificed so selflessly in our nation. welcome home, daddy. thank you, buddy. we carry on, knowing that our best days always lie ahead. americans expressing gratitude for our veterans on this november 11th. one final note here, earlier in this broadcast we showed a picture of several people including a woman named jill kelley. while showing the photo, we inadvertently zoomed into the portion of the picture which showed kelley s sister on the left. to clear up any confusion, jill kelley is the woman second from the right. and we apologize. that s nbc nightly news for this sunday. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i m lester hou eer holt reporti new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night.
kills dozens, including children. can they avert an all out ground war? the vice president gets a close-up look at the ravaged jersey shore while hundreds of homeowners are told for the first time, their homes can t stay. and for shoppers this year , the battle starts earlier than ever. and they call it turkey town. our visit to the place where turkey isn t just a meal, it s a way of life, 365 days a year. good evening. there are millions of people in israel and the gaza strip who are spending this night living in fear of rockets and missiles raining down on their homes and neighborhoods as outside parties hurriedly work behind the scenes to stop the exchange fire. huge explosions rocked gaza with one strike killing at least 11 people. israel says the targets were palestinian militants, but several of the dead included women and children. but with palestinians continuing to fire rockets into israel and tel aviv in their crosshairs, israel says it is preparing to expand its attacks. we re on the ground on both sides of this conflict starting with richard engel in gaza. reporter: good evening, lester, israel appears to have exceptionally good intelligence about hamas and today was able to target individual militants in their homes, but they re also killing anyone who happens to be around them. this was a three-story house of hamas militants. israel says it s using precision strikes against gaza. there were eight people in this house when they were attacked and they have already pulled out three bodies. there was total panic as rescue cr crews gasans feel that israel what no regard for life. israel warned gazans to stay away from all hamas locations. this man lived next to a hamas police station. now he doesn t have a home. we can expect anything from israelis. mourners for another hamas militant targeted today, witnesses showed up with the shell that killed the young militants. they say it was fired from an israeli ship. and warships fired more rounds. but that volley didn t stop the funeral. more about expressing defiance here than sadness. they re taking this man s 9-year-old niece to be buriey b. israel wants to eliminate hamas s leadership, but that s coming increasingly as a cost to civilians. reporter: this is martin fletcher in tel aviv. more than a hundred strikes from gaza today. half of israel s 3.5 million people are now within range of hamas long range rockets. tel aviv, israel s largest city was attacked for the fourth straight day. saved by the anti- missile defense system which shot down p rockets. less than three miles from the city center, debris fell right on this car. israel says it s intense air attacks on gaza are meant to gel hamas in gaza and not civilians. they re using their homes and their mosques to hide their arms. reporter: but the rockets keep coming, leading israel s prime minister to this warning today. the military, benjamin netanyahu, is prepared for significant operations. to maintain secrecy, cell phones have been taken from the soldiers, they re on full alert waiting only for the order to go. and hamas warned, we will be waiting at the entrance for you, we will shred you to pieces. so the question now is what comes first, a ground invasion of gaza with maybe many dead on both sides or a truce. to stop the war in escalating, muslim leaders as well as americans and europeans are worki working feverishly for a truce. mohammad morsi said today there s a possibility of a cease fire soon. negotiations are in high gear with israel i ming high. hamas wants israel to stop killing its leaders to end the blockade to gaza, but people are both sides of the border are living in fear. president obama made his first public comments about the crisis today while overseas on a historic three-nation tour of southeast asia, including the first-ever visit by an american president to myian mar. chuck todd is traveling with the president. reporter: the president touched down at bangkok on sunday on a three-day whirlwind trip to east asia. he used a joint press congress fence with the prime minister of thailand to strongly support israel s right to defend lisits. there s no country on earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside it s borders. we fully support israel s right to defend itself. reporter: the president issues a plea to allies of the palestinians playing on their hope that including a palestinian state next to israel. if we see a further escalation of the strikes on gaza, then the likelihood of getting back on any kind of a peace track that leads to any kind of solution is going to be pushed off way into the future. reporter: tomorrow the president makes an historic visit to myanmar, a country that just a few years ago was isolated from the world community. president obama defended the trip as some human rights advocates say it s coming too soon. this is not an endorsement of the bermese government, this is an acknowledgement that there is a process underway inside that country. reporter: on his last trip with the outgoing secretary of state hillary clinton, president obama expects to meet with leaders again. the two reflected on it during their visit to the monastery. after myanmar, it s off to cambodia. meanwhile back here at home, much of the focus here in washington remains on controversy on what happened in gaza. reporter: on meet the press, firm denials on benghazi from a top democrat. was there a cover-up? do you believe that the president or anybody serving the president deliberately misled the true nature of this attack for political reasons? no. reporter: former cia director david petraeus left no doubt in his testimony on friday. he said all along that the attack was a terror attack. it was terror. that s the point. reporter: republicans continued their attack on u.n. ambassador susan rice and her account in the days following the attack that expressed her role in an anti-muslim video. the stories he told re-enforced a political narrative helpful to the president. she was the most politically compliant person they could find. i don t know what she told, but i know the stories she told were miss leading. it was one of the most unfair attacks i have ever seen in washington in 34 years, susan rice was using the unclassifies talking points that were provided by the intelligence community. somewhere along the line those talk points changed. what i do know that every member of the intelligence community says the references to al qaeda were removed by somebody and they don t know who. reporter: but the administration denied claims of white house interference and says they made only a minor change. there s only one thing that was changed and i checked into this, i believe it to be absolute fact and it was the word consulate was changed to mission. reporter: and today lawmakers say they want both the current secretary of state hillary clinton and the woman who may be nominated to succeed her susan rise to come before congress and explain how they knew how the attack at benghazi was handled. officials begin to amass a full accounting of what was lost during hurricane sandy. another high powered a mission from washington. mi reporter: fema estimates nearly $3 billion in aid has already been approved and sent into the pockets of storm victims whose homes were destroyed or damaged like many of those here in breezy point, a massive need for assistance in sandy s wake that is still unfolding. a first look for vice president joe biden today touring sandy ravaged seaside heights in new jersey, a visit hitting close to home. as a kid, i spent all my time at the jersey shore. reporter: the vice president assured the region, this just isn t a local responsibility but a national one. he greeted local first responders. the vice president flew over the beach side communities hit by the force of sandy s surge and wind. preliminary findings from fema now underscore the massive loss homeowners have suffered. in new jersey alone, fema estimates more than 73,000 homes and businesses sustained damage and the number is expected to rise. in region we re about to walk into now, the water was this high. fema is assessing the damage on the ground, home by home. we pretty much got a handle on the scope at this time, but as this evolves, we re going to continue to look and address anything else that comes up. in a city that hit ocean side neighbors, feel what would you do if somebody came to you and said oh, i think we re going to have to demolish your house, would you fight it? yes. now fema is trying to find people to tell them their homes are not livable. and today new york city mayor michael bloomberg extended the odd/even license gas rationing through the thanksgiving holiday. new york city building flp fors have already examined 2,000 homes and 900 are tagged with that tag that says seemingly unsafe. rescuers have found the body of a man floating in the water on friday. one of the four men who suffered burns in the fire is improving and is now in fair condition. another is in serious condition and two remain crital. still ahead, as nbc nightly news continues, forget black friday, this year they want you to stop until you drop even before the turkey is digested. and then later, a surprise visitor drops into the sights of hundreds of troops in afghanistan. year again. medicare open enrollment. time to compare plans and costs. you don t have to make changes. but it never hurts to see if you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. open enrollment ends december 7th. so now s the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn t think i would ever quit. 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[ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don t take chantix if you ve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. with chantix and with the support system it worked. it worked for me. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. and his new boss told him two things cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn t know it yet, but he ll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he ll start investing early, he ll find some good people to help guide him, and he ll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn t rocket science. it s just common sense. from td ameritrade. back now with the sign of the season. tonight we re just five days away from black friday, the day after thanksgiving and the busiest shopping day of the year. the wind-up has been intense with retailers battling to bring in shoppers any way they can. we have more tonight from cnbc s courtney reagan. reporter: it s the super bowl of retail. with 147 million shoppers expected, some already waiting on line, best buy and other stores are rehearsing for black friday. we got to make sure we are ready to go. reporter: because this year holiday sales are expected to rise just over 4%. well below last year s 5.6% gain. revenue coming in short of forecast. reporter: with the world s largest retailer, walmart, reporting weaker than expected sales are offering bigger promotions and ever earlier hours to get customers into the door. walmart and toys r us will open at 8:00 p.m. thanksgiving day. we have focus groups who say what would be the ideal time frame for you, the compelling times were 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. to get some good deals. reporter: but not everyone is excited about the extra shopping time. thanksgiving day should be kept for thanksgiving day. reporter: while some debate weather to shop in stores, online sales are expected to surpass $90 billion this holiday season, up 12% from last year. retailers are offering door busting deals to people who download their mobile app or join their mailing list. sears the leading the pack and starting it s online sales today. some of the strategies are having customers buy items online and comes to pick them up in the store hoping they will buy more items in the store. back at best buy, the countdown is on. for the black friday shopping marathon, courtney reagan, cnbc. up next, why some were not impressed by a recent visitor to the oval office. th coverage nee, unitedhealthcare can help you find the right plan. are you looking for something nice and easy? a medicare advantage plan can give you doctor, hospital and prescription drug coverage all in one plan. for nothing more than what you already pay for part b. you ll also have the flexibility to change doctors from a network of providers dedicated to helping you stay healthy. call now to learn more. unitedhealthcare has the information you need so you ll be better prepared when making medicare decisions. maybe you d just like help paying for your prescriptions. consider a part d prescription drug plan. it may help reduce the cost of your prescription drugs. remember, open enrollment ends friday, december 7th. call unitedhealthcare to learn about medicare plans that may be right for you. call now. throughout our lives. one a day women s 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for women s health concerns as we age. it has more of 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day 50+. you think a personal visit from the usa s fierce five would be enough to thrill even the president of the united states, but let s just say he was not impressed. that s the picture that s got a lot of folks laughing, president obama striking the now famous not impressed pose with olympic gold medalist michaela maroney. she was showing her displeasure at winning silver not gold on her signature event, the vault. nobody was making that not impressed face during a surprise visit to afghanistan. take a look, 007 himself daniel craig who dropped in on camp bastion to the delight of hundreds of british troops. this weekend his new movie became the most successful bond movie in history. we re about to start the busiest travel week of the year, many are hoping for clear skies and few delays at the airports. julie martin joins us with what we can expect. as thanksgiving approaches, here s what we can expect for the millions traveling. we ll see a couple of systems, one in the southeast and one in the northeast. if you re travelinging along the 5, be prepared for rain and wind and snow in those mountain passes. that trend s going to continue on in through tuesday and into the northwest as well. we ll see some light showers on tuesday in michigan. nothing big that will show you down, and wednesday, one of the biggest travel days of the year traditionally looks pretty good across the u.s., we re just going to have that system in the west to contend with once again. and by thanksgiving day, plenty to be thankful for, we re looking at clear skies for the macy s thanksgiving day parade. and in the midwest, chicago 62 degrees. julie martin, thank you. when we come back, a visit to turkey town, u.s.st. of medicare and social security. anncr: but you deserve straight talk about the options on the. table and what they mean for you and your family. ancr: aarp is cutting through all the political spin. because for our 37 million members, only one word counts. get the facts at earnedasay.org. let s keep medicare. and social security strong for generations to come. i took my son fishing every year. we had a great spot, not easy to find, but worth it. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function starting within five minutes. symbicort doesn t replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i m breathing better. and that means.fish on! 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. with copd, i thought i d miss our family tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today, we re ready for whatever swims our way. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can t afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. finally tonight, as millions of americans give thanks on thank gives, one small community in arkansas will be giving its thanks for the holiday itself. that s because many who earn their livelihood depend on turkeys. reporter: it s long be a staple of the thanksgiving feast. so much so, it s fondly call turkey day. many say the holiday just isn t complete what kind of a thanksgiving dinner is this? where a es the turkey, chuck. reporter: it s a question they re not asking in a small community in arkansas. on a map, the town is called z oza ozark, but by it s most famous export, it s called turkey town, usa. turkey is year round. reporter: and turkey pays the bills. from the butter ball plant which employs 400, to the area s 76 farmers, who supply a third of the nation s turkeys. people all over the country are going to eat these turkeys so i got to take good part of them. reporter: in this barn alone, there are more than 11,000 turkeys and mike has three others just like it. these guys are about six weeks old. that s halfway through the growing process. this is thanksgiving dinner for every family in america. reporter: there s no down time at the plant. only fresh turkeys come off the line now. 26 or 27, everybody s pretty tired and dragging. reporter: wilma has worked in the turkey industry almost four years. i work there had about eight years. reporter: in fact it s hard to find anyone here who doesn t have a connection to it. my mom works at butter ball. reporter: in a tough economy, a product most americans buy at least once a year keeps the paychecks coming. and a free bird given to the workers doesn t go to waste. what do you eat for thanksgiving dinner? turkey, of course. reporter: from a small town that runs on turkey. that s nbc nightly news for this sunday. brian williams will be here tomorrow. up next, football night in america, followed by sunday night football, the ravens versus the steelers. i m lester holt reporting from new york, for all of us here at nbc news, good night. 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