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 ] 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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shopping site of all. how do they get it to you so fast? power struggle is getting worse in egypt. growing fight between a president once hailed as a hero and angry protesters threatening a revolution. road rage caught on camera but not in the way you might think. how folks on two wheels are turning into four wheelers who don t play nice on the road. making a difference for families who thought their most cherished memories were lost forever. good evening. by any measure this weekend has been a bonanza for retailers. we went from gray thursday to black friday and we re rounding the corner into cyber monday. one of our viewers suggested today should have been dubbed so broke sunday. say what you will about the state of the economy but americans didn t hold back this holiday weekend. a record number of shoppers were out there, 247 million in all. the amount spent per shopper last year, total spending was up, online sales was up too. that doesn t include all the online spending about to happen tomorrow. we begin with kristen dahlgen at a mall in california. kristen. reporter: good evening, kate. those door buster deals may be gone but the shoppers aren t. you can see them up here wrapping up a retail at the national retail federation is calling as impressive as we ve seen. from the moment doors opened thursday before the thanksgiving dishing were even done until they close tonight almost a quarter billion shoppers will have been online or in stores. put my sneakers on and go for it. reporter: shopping started earlier than ever. in spite of the employee protests, the early opening paid off. more than 35 million shopped on thanksgiving. six million more than last year. black friday was big too. 89 million brave the crowds in search of those hard to beat bargains up from 86 million last year. the biggest wish list is reporter: americans spent more too. the average shopper spent $423 this weekend up from 398 last year for a total of $59.1 billion. it s not just the store seeing the boom. for the first time online spending topped $1 billion on black friday well before so called cyber monday also expected to break records. great for me. don t have to get off the couch. we don t have to go anywhere. it s easier shopping. reporter: while shoppers were out in holiday force this weekend, not emp wveryone was spending freely. many shoppers say they will be cautious concerned about the economy and the gridlock of the fiscal cliff. they will pull back. they don t know what to expect for 2013. they want to remain cautious as we move into the next year. reporter: to that point, two-thirds of shoppers say they will use cash or debit cards. we re seeing consumers do a lot more research online and smartphones. kate. retail analysts predicting another first this year. for the first time ever online shopping could exceed 10% of all holiday spending. the folks who track these things tell us that amazon was the most visited retail site of all over the holiday weekend, but what happens after your click your mouse and make a purchase. we got an inside look at one of amazon s largest hubs in the u.s. reporter: from the moment you check out at amazon.com the process begins. your item is picked, sorted, packed and shipped. this is what the holidays look like here at amazon. to give you some perspective this is one of 40 across the country packed with thousands of items in time for the holiday rush. they re going to need them. last cyber monday they sold more than 200 items per second. one glance at the shelves and it seems workers can shop where ever they can find space. they don t have to worry about where they are putting thi things. where will there s space there s product? it is. it doesn t matter what is next to next. reporter: workers will physically pick up every item per order and those items could be anywhere. is this your exercise for the day. you get your cardio and toning the up your legs going up and down the stairs. reporter: veteran picker jaime may cover several miles a day, picking product, scanning them and sending them off to be shipped. she says it s starting to feel a lot like christmas. more picks. more orders are coming in. more energy. reporter: as the workload increases so does the stress. do you ever dream about work? i have, yes. i ve dreamt about picking items. reporter: sometimes items are too far apart to walk. this is amazon s biggest fulfillment center. it s the equivalent of 28 football fields which explains why some employees need tricycles to get around. with this year s holiday season expected to be the biggest one yet, amazon has brought in 50,000 additional workers. work hard and make it. reporter: an online operation that depends on the human touch to fulfill the holiday wishes. phoenix, arizona. turning oversea to the renewed crisis in egypt. the violence is getting worse and tengss are rising unless the in the new president backs down. jim is watching it for us in cairo. good evening. reporter: today six aids of president morsi resigned. the latest sign of what some are calling his power grab is giving his inner circle some serious second thoughts. day four of the crisis and it s starting to look like revolution again. now filled with dozens of tents and protesters who refuse to leave until president morsi backs down or resigns. they clash again with rioters who were caught brutally beating and dragging away several protesters. casualties are mounting on both sides as anger against morsi gr grows. translator: everything is still the same. we have replaced a corrupt regime with another brutal rejust a minute. reporter: the latest turmoil begain thursday when morsi decreed sweeping powers for himself claiming that would speed up toward a new constitution and democracy. we tried to take care of the countries that try to secure stability for this country. reporter: only his islamist supporters were buying it. we want a new president. reporter: many judges and journalists have gone on strike. this union meeting today turned chaotic when a group of journ journalists assaulted a boss. at this muslim headquarters more casualties today. one dead and dozens were wounded when angry youths attacked the officers. the uncertainty is taking a toll on egypts struggling economy. today the stock market plunged 10%. translator: the stock exchange is worse now than in the revolution. reporter: it may get worse. tens perhaps hundreds of thousands of protester will be less than a mile apart making it a perfect storm for more clashes and casualties. now to israel and gaza where the fragile peace is holding tonight though signs of mistrust we are clear today as israel displayed a new show of force. martin fletcher has our report from tel aviv. reporter: this was the new reality this weekend. israeli soldiers on one side of the gaza fence, palestinian police yards away on the other sharing the same goal to protect the cease-fire. islamic cleric in gaza went a step further declaring it a sin to violate the truce. israeli school kids in the south went back to school today, some damaged by palestinian rockets. their parents hoping the calm means no more war. i told my daughter this was the last time and the calm will remain for years. i sure hope so. reporter: london sunday times reported today that israelis spotted an iranian cargo ship loading long range rockets for islamic militant groups in gaza. it quoted a source saying if the ship is headed for gaza regardless of the cease-fire israel will destroy the arms. despite its promise to observe the cease-fire hamas is defiant. they won the war. reporter: what about beginning the real peace proc s process. with hamas forget about it. anything with israel is f forbidd forbidden. what drives them is islam. reporter: news of the first testing of the first anti-rocket missile. it was moved up due to the general sense of urgency. officials said it was successful. martin fletcher, tel aviv. firefighters are searching for victims a day after a fire tore through a garment factory in bangladesh killing 112 people. many were unable to escape because they became trapped by flames. fire officials say the building lacked emergency exits. it makes products for walmart and other businesses in the u.s. congress returned from the holidays still facing the fiscal cliff. if a deal can t be reached by january 1st americans will face half a trillion more in taxes next year coupled with a hundred billion dollars in cuts to domestic and defense spending. since the reagan era most republicans have day caretaken promising they won t raise taxes. mike viqueira says there may be flexibility on both sides of the aisles. reporter: it s a pledge almost all republicans have signed to oppose tax increases of any kind. today shit was showing cracks. the world has changed and the economic situation is different. reporter: republicans insist in return for defying part doctrine they must have changes in social security and medicare. i will sign only if they undo entitlement reform. reporter: be president has put them on the table before. during last year s failed talks on a grand bargain and more recently in his first post election press conference. we have to continue to take a serious look at how we reform our entitlements because health care costs continue to be the biggest driver of our deficits. reporter: mr. obama has insisted tax rates must rise. today a top democrat signalled openness to the republican stance. revenue could be raised by closing loopholes and limiting deductions. they have to go up either real tax rates or effective tax rates. reporter: tax begin this week amid tentative steps toward common ground. we can t go off the fiscal cliff. we have to show the world we re adults. the election is over. reporter: one ceo of honeywell said there s so much uncertainty hanging over the economy because business isn t confident that washington can go its basic job. he says people like me just aren t hiring. kate. mike viqueira at the white house. senator john mccain softened his tone after vowing to block the nomination of u.n. ambassador susan rice to be hillary clinton s successor. he argued that rice damaged her credibility when she said the attack was a spontaneous protest to an anti-muslim video not a planned terror attack. today mccain was asked if he might change his mind about ambassador rice. i give everyone the benefit of explaining their position and the actions that they took. i ll be glad to have the opportunity to discuss these issues with her. still ahead, sick and tired of being bullied on the road. how cyclists are taking matters into their own hands. later, mick, heath and the stones still rolling after half a century on top. [ male announcer ] are you considering a new medicare plan? then you may be looking for help in choosing the right plan for your needs. so don t wait. call now. whatever your health coverage needs, 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. take a look at this dramatic rescue out in oregon. firefighters pulled the driver out of his pickup truck after he crashed into the railing and ended up dangling from an overpass yesterday afternoon. the driver is okay. he is now facing drunk driving charges. now to a sign of the times. more cars on the roads competing with more biscycles on the road. some cyclists are turning to technology to document what they see as an increase in road rage directed at them. reporter: for evan wilder it was supposed to be another bicycle commute to work at national geographic but this day in august he went down hard after a driver screamed at him to move over. then i think he intentionally targeted me because i was in his way and maybe slid him down. you could have been seriously injured. could have been dead. reporter: he walked away with scrapes, bruises, a shoulder rotator cuff and the driver s license plate. lots of cyclists are documenting their daily encounters on the road from intimidation in colorado. i have no idea what this guy is doing. i m riding right of the white line. reporter: to hit and run in california. both of these riders were unharmed. bicycling have never been more popular. commuting is up 47% nationally. up 80% in bicycle friendly areas. in 2010, 52,000 were injured and 618 killed in urban areas between the hours of 4:00 and 8:00. be victims male. the average age 42. with so many drivers and cyclists sharing the road there s a perception no one is obeying the road. psy cyclists unwilling to stop and stop signs and motorists unwilling to give them the room they need. we all have had things thrown at us, pushed off the road. reporter: former olympic cyclists is a lawyer representing cyclists. they have the same rights that you have. you can pass them. you have to do so safely. reporter: back in d.c. the video came in handy. the police found the driver who hit evan wilder. he s plead not guilty to charges of assault and leaving the scene of an accident. we re back in a moment with the surprise shower impossible for the weather man to predict. of washington about the future 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. 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. tomato, obviously. haha. there s more than that though, there s a kick to it. wahlalalalallala! smooth, but crisp. it s kind of like drinking a food that s a drink, or a drink that s a food, woooooh! 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[ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they ll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they ll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn t rocket science. it s just common sense. from td ameritrade. believe it or not their average age is older than that of the justices on the u.s. supreme court, but tonight mick, keith and company showed they can still rock after all these years marking the 50th anniversary of the rolling stones with a concert at london s o2 arena. they will play another show on thursday before heading to the stage for a few shows in new york and new jersey. decent seat at those new york shows are going for more than $1500. you might need to win the lottery. nobody matched the winning numbers so the money rolled over. the jackpot is a power ball record at $425 million. the next drawing is on wednesday. just like the new york yankees or the miami heat you either love them or hate them. the fighting irish are set to play for college football national championship for the first time in a quarter century. notre dame beat usc last night. likely against alabama or georgia who will face off in the sec championship game next saturday. take a look at this. the sun was shining but it was pouring on the field today in miami. the sprinklers came on in the middle of the third quarter. as the dolphins took on the seahaw seahawks briefly delaying the game. they re breathing new life into old family memories they thought were lost forever. rich in fiber. my dad taught me, and i taught my son out there. morning, pa. wait. who s driving the.? 99 bushels of wheat on the farm, 99 bushels of wheat [ male announcer ] yep, there s 8 layers of whole grain fiber in those mini-wheats® biscuits. to help keep you full. 45 bushels of wheat .all morning long. there s a big breakfast. 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[ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. finally, when disaster strikes you can replace the house and the furniture and the car, but you can t replace family and friends and pets and you can t replace your old treasured photos once they have been damaged or can you? that s how one remarkable group is making their story. reporter: linda is pouring over family photos. after superstorm sandy the images are all that s left of her family history. my mother-in-law was so beautiful. reporter: memories nearly swept away when six feet of water flooded her basement. most of these people are gone. we can never get them back. it s part of our history. we re just so happy to be able to show them to our kids. reporter: now photographers are helping linda preserve that history. the photos are on this paper which you re not going to be able to take off. reporter: they re part of a volunteer group called shoot for change using cameras and smartphones to duplicate the images exposed to salt water and mold. there s no amount of money to replace photographs of your family and friends. reporter: photographs snapped in homes to generations of the families. prom back in the day, graduation. reporter: amanda is sifting through thousands of photos. it was a container full of water with my pictures swimming across the top. it was heartbreaking. reporter: anyone with a smartphone can help restore and replace those photos utilizing new technology to save the hold. the smartphones have been the easiest and most efficient way that we can preserve these old photographs from the 30s and 40s. reporter: and restore them with programs like photoshop. your life is on the street waiting for the sanitation department and you realize, i still have this and it is a treasure. reporter: giving families a renewed focus on what matters most. michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. that s nightly news for this sunday. brian williams will be here tomorrow. football night in america. the packers and giants tonight. i m kate snow. have a great night. sunday night football , the number one prime time show on tv, with the big
world s attention today was focused on a horrific tragedy in brazil, the death toll tonight at least 230 after a fast-moving fire broke out in a crowded nightclub. officials say too many people and too few exits turned the club into a death trap after a rock band s pyrotechnics apparently ignited the ceiling. many patrons were left unable to get out, overwhelmed by the smoke, and in some cases, the flames themselves much the circumstances are eerily similar to some other deadly nightclub fires the past several years, including one in this country. today s tragedy happened in the southern brazilen university town of santa maria. nbc s mike taibbi reports. reporter: the kiss nightclub was packed with the usual saturday night crowd when at 2:00 in the morning, a disaster. the ground floor was filled with smoke. club security initially blocked several emergency exits, thinking patrons were leaving without paying and that left only a few ways out. in the ensuing panic, many victims were trampled, others died of smoke inhalation. witnesses told police the fire was sparked by a pyrotechnics show on stage, according to nick ravenskroft of itv news. the stunt on stage with the flare made the ceiling catch fire. reporter: whatever the precise cause, the fire spread incredibly quickly as the crowd struggled to find ways to safety. some clubgoers who did make it out, joined firemen and onlookers in their attempts to open new escape routes using sledge hammers and axes, but it was too late for many inside. does of victims were carried to arising ambulances, if they survived. santa maria s major trauma hospital was quickly overwhelmed. translator: the injured are scattered around the hospital. those waiting for news outside are desperate. reporter: they were desperate, too, outside the club, as more and more bodies of those who hadn t survived were laid on the ground. the numbers of the dead rose so quickly that the city morgue ran out of room. the bodies of scores of victims were brought, instead, to a local gymnasium. eat merging details of this disaster, a packed club, too few escape route and a fire triggered by on-stage pyrotechnics brought to mind several other similar nightclub tragedies. there was a 2003 inferno in west warwick, rhode island s, station nightclub that claimed 100 victims much the 2004 blaze in ba when knows aires with 200 victims. but as brazil s president consoled relatives of the victims here, her country, soon to host the world cup and the olympics, remains in shock at one of its worst modern tragedies. mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. now to the middle east, an angry egyptian president took to the air waves tonight to announce tough new measures aimed at ending the violence that has claimed at least 50 lifts the last three days. the violent protests in cairo and several other industries been the biggest challenge yet toz mohamed morsi s government. let s go to cairo for the latest. reporter: it is mohamed morsi s biggest test as president of this country. on one hand, an increasing security vacuum across the country, on the other, a political crisis with the country s political parties. tonight, in an address to the nation, he delivered a strong warping. even burying the dead in egypt is now deadly. today in port sayyid, a day after 37 people were killed in protests, thousands walked to mourn them. the grief and prayer turned into fear and chaos. this amateur video, which we couldn t independently ver, if i reportsedly shows the moment the clashes with police turned deadly. meantime, as thousands mourned in port said, others fought in cairo, alexandria and suez. tonight, the country s embattled president, mohamed morsi, addressed the nation, declaring a state of emergency and imposing a curfew in the cities with the worst fighting. the country s powerful military is back on the street guarding government buildings recently attacked by protesters. and the military wants more power. today, the military requested the right to arrest civilians who break the law, this general said. two years ago, egypt s street full of optimism and hope as united people toppled a dictator. today, stifling tear gas and plumes of smoke filled the air of a divided country. egypt s police are struggling to cope with the protesters. they, too, have suffered losses and are angry. when the country s interior minister came today to pay his respects to fallen policemen, he was hackled by grieving colleagues and their families. and as it has for the past three days, night fall brought more violence. tonight, outside a luxury five-star cairo hotel. with a predictable-like precision, police charged the crowd, firing tear gas but minutes later, protesters returned, lobbing stones and setting fires to block roads. there are few words president morsi can say to calm these protesters. this man tells me that the president must resign and a new constitution must be written. another says only protests work with a regime that kills its people. president mohamed morsi has invited members of the leading opposition political forces tomorrow for emergency talks on the way out. many people are hoping there will be a breakthrough that could end the four days of deadly violence that have engulfed the country. thank you. in this country, the weather remains a big concern for many people in the midwest, where a deep freeze is bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain. the weather channel s mike seidel is in davenport, iowa, tonight with the latest. mike, good evening to you. reporter: good evening, lester. it was an icy day across many part its of the midwest. the hardest hit areas were the roads and the airports. at chicago s o hare, just over 200 flights have been canceled so far, but despite the ice, there wasn t a lot of it there wasn t many power outables. tonight, the temperatures on the way up that will change the freezing rain to rain in chicago in chicago and many areas, like it has here. monday, the snow, sleet and ice will head to the northeast during the day you reaching boston by late afternoon. any snow totals will be on the light side. but for millions that have been in the ice box, the jetstream is our friend. southwest winds from texas to the great lakes will produce a huge warmup. we could see our first 90-degree day in the lower 48 this year in deep south texas. temperatures elsewhere more than 20 to 25 degrees above average. subzero windchills will be replaced by highs in the 40s and 50s on monday. and by tuesday, d.c. cracks 60 and atlanta pushes 70. but many of us will get another shot of frigid air following this fall and that cold front will have lots of wind energy that will help to fire up some big thunderstorms, possibly severe, from houston and dallas to little rock and st. louis on tuesday. there could be some tornadoes but more than likely, quite a bit of straight line wind damage. and then after that, the bottom falls out on temperatures. for example, lester, chicago will drop 45 degrees between tuesday and thursday. so enjoy the thaw while you can. back to you. all right, we will take what we can. mike seidel, thanks. national transportation safety board tonight says further examination of batteries on boeing s new 787 has yet to point to the cause of the january 7th fire on board a japan air lines jet at boston s logan airport. that fire followed days later by a smoking battery aboard another 787 in japan led to a worldwide grounding of the revolutionary new planes. lack of progress in both investigations has raised concerns the planes will remain grounded indefinitely. in washington, the battles over guns and immigration reform are taking center stage this week, as president obama pushes his second term agenda. nbc s peter alexander is at the white house and has more on that. hi, peter. reporter: lester, good evening to you. the president isn t wasting in i time in his second term, tackling two of his top priorities. specifically on immigration, one democratic senator said measures formerly off the table are now back up for discussion. barely a week into his second term, president obama is preparing to dive into the contentious issue of immigration, with a major speech set for las vegas tuesday. the president is expected to push for improving border security you expanding the system for employers to verify their workers a legal status and perhaps most controversially, creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. we can t go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in an illegal status. we are committed to a comprehensive approach to finally in this country have an immigration law that we can live with. reporter: a bipartisan group of six seine stores planning to unveil its immigration reform proposals this week. last november, president obama won more than 70% of the latino vote, a new political reality forcing some republicans to reconsider their past opposition. first of all, americans support it in poll after poll. secondly, latino voters expect t third, the democrats want it and fourth, republicans need it. reporter: senator marco rubio in a nevada newspaper today insisted illegal immigrants must earn their new citizenship. we can t round up millions of people and deport them but we also can t fix our broken immigration system if we provide incentives for people to come here illegally. also front and center, the battle over guns. president obama telling the new republic magazine that advocates of gun control have to do a little more listening than they do sometimes. asked if he has ever fired a gun, mr. obama said, up at camp david we do skeet shooting all the time, like jfk used to years ago. on meet the press, former vice presidential candidate paul ryan referred to last month s newtown tragedy as a watershed moment. it s our worst nightmare, something like this happening. let s go beyond just this debate and make sure we get deeper. what s our policy on mental illness? what s going on in our culture that produces this kind of thing? reporter: and for its part, congress will hold its first hearing on gun violence, lester, this wednesday. one other note, by the way, about the president s interview with the new republic, one one week before the super bowl, the president weighing in on football, if he had a son, we have to think long and hard before letting him play to the game, referring to the violence in the sport. peter, thank you. still in washington, the education department is taking action to make sure disabled school children are not shut out from school sports programs. nbc s chief education correspondent rehema ellis has that story. reporter: it was a big week for 13-year-old owen grosser. get in there. reporter: sinking not one but two three-pointers the first time he stepped out onto the court this season. owen, an eighth grader, has down syndrome. disabled students like him already have the right to participate in school sports but this week, the department of education released new guidelines on how to incorporate those students onto teams, something some cash-strapped schools have struggled with. we have needed more cooperation, more guidelines from the top. and we believe this is going to lead to some standardization and certainly more opportunity for these families and kids. reporter: some of the doe s suggestions are simple, a visual cue for hearing-impaired student who wants to run track, the elimination of the two-hand touch rule in swimming so a student with one arm can compete. but the recommendations also state when existing school programs cannot accommodate those with disabilities, the school district should create additional opportunities for those students, meaning, a new team. although some liken it to title ix, the department of education cautions against that comparison, saying these are guidelines, not a mandate. schools will not be required to dismantel an existing team because they don t have enough disabled students to field a comparable team. we have been age to create one or two teams per school district, you re not going to find enough students in one school to necessarily start a team. push. push for the basket. reporter: adam mcwork, an eighth grader, has cerebral palsy, he lives outside atlanta, an area that has been successfully mainstreaming disabled students in sports for years. yes, sir. he used a walker to get around with and we didn t think that sports was something that he could do at all. reporter: now, he stands like every proud dad on the sidelines. my son scored his first goal in the final game, so excited about that the gym was so loud. we d good time. shoot it, baby. reporter: something more families across the country may soon experience. oh, yeah. reporter: rehema ellis you nbc news, new york. when nightly news continues on this sunday, your money and the fees that merchants can now charge when you pay by credit card. later, the golden age club, friends for years pulled apart by superstorm sandy and now reunited. you want to see something cool? snapshot, from progressive. my insurance company told me not to talk to people like you. you always do what they tell you? no. try it, and see what your good driving can save you. you don t even have to switch. unless you re scared. i m not scared, it s. you know we can still see you. no, you can t. pretty sure we can. try snapshot today no pressure. families across the country may friends for years pulled apart a little uncomfortable. but when it s hard or hurts to go to the bathroom, families across the country may friends for years pulled apart , it just makes it easier to go. , dulcolax stool softener. make yourself comfortable. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week. i m like.yeah, ok. little did i know that one week later i wasn t smoking. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. we re back with a story involving your money. you may not see it right away but fees for buying things by credit card may be on the rise with merchants starting today now permitted to hit with you a surcharge when you use certain credit cards. we get the story tonight from nbc s katy tur. reporter: if you felt like you were digging even deeper into your pocket yesterday, keep your eyes open today. businesses can now charge you for using your credit card. this is great news for retailers, not very good news for consumers, which have never had to pay these kind of surcharges when they use credit cards. reporter: it is the fallout from a class action settlement last july giving merchantance option to tack as much as a 4% surcharge onto your bill if you re paying with a visa or master card. it would change my shopping patterns, definitely. i would carry cash all the time. reporter: you may be familiar with gas stations charging one price for cash and another for plastic but could the same happen in shops, restaurants and even doctors offices? in this highly competitive marketplace among retailers and an economy that is really trying to get the consumer back to spending, i highly doubt that retailers are going to charge this fee. reporter: in fact, the national retail federation polled its members and found that none planned to add the fee. toys r us and target told nbc news they would not pass the buck to their shoppers. retail analysts say that s because most big chain stores have the ability to negotiate lower fees with credit card companies. but small businesses don t have the big chain bargaining power. silvia karch is the own other of a vintage clothing store. short of a cash-only sign, she is shoirlgtd the fees. in order for me to implement another charge, i would have to discount my prices are, it there is a balancing act. i would wouldn t want to have another charge for my customers. reporter: not everyone should be worried. ten states already have laws on the books banning merchant surcharges, including some of the biggest, california, new york and texas. still, the power is in the consumer s hand. shoppers could pay cash or use a debit card, which doesn t incur a surcharge. i would carry cash or stay away from stores that carry the fee. reporter: after all, you ultimately, have the choice to pay or walk away. katy tur, nbc news, atlanta. and here is something that s definitely going up, starting today, the price of a first-class postage stamp will cost a penny more, 46 cents. the sixth time the postal service raised the price in eight years as it continues to lose money to the tune of $25 million a day. up next here tonight, a dramatic rescue from raging floodwaters. great year in the gulf,sucha we ve decided to put aside our rivalry. cause all our states are great. and now is when the gulf gets even better. the beaches and waters couldn t be more beautiful. take a boat ride or just lay in the sun. enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty. and don t forget our amazing seafood. so come to the gulf, you ll have a great time. especially in alabama. you mean mississippi. that s florida. say louisiana or there s no dessert. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. yeah. then how d i get this. 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(blowing sound) ask your doctor about spiriva. finally tonight, the senate is expected to vote tomorrow on the $51 billion sandy aid package. and almost three months after that devastating storm, the stories of loss and hardship are still being told. but there is also this story, the reunion of a group of women whose lives were up-ended by sandy and how they were brought back together. here s nbc s michelle franzen. reporter: annie hezlin makes tea in her temporary apartment in brooklyn and sorts through some of her photos, some some of the only possessions she has left after losing her breezy point home in superstorm sandy. with he an imagined to survive and we are very grateful for that and that is the thing we have to remember, that lives are more important than things. reporter: the storm devastated the close-knit community and forced residents to relocate. including members of annie s social group, the golden age club. the women used to meet every tuesday at st. thomas more church, still under repair from flood damage. this weekend, annie and dozens of golden age members boarded a bus. hi, rose. reporter: first time they were able to see each other in three months. wonderful reunion. it s greet see every ebb and everybody looks good. reporter: their destination, manhattan s nightingale been aford, an all-girls school, where the women prin is righted to share their stories, an exchange between generations. and this one house slipped with the wind right over the walk and into the other house. reporter: that included emotional stories of survival. but the water was coming down from the walls. it was coming into the windows. reporter: lorraine larson says talking with students and reuniting with her friends helped her realize she s not alone. all in the same boat, we re all hurting. we all are longing to be back home. reporter: students say the gathering is a reminder of the challenges sandy victims still face. talking to them, we found out that they still are suffering a lot of the loss. reporter: despite their loss, these golden girls are still singing. i m gonna let it shine reporter: and certainly, their best days are still ahead. michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. that s nbc nightly news for this sunday. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i m lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. . you re watching nbc sports. in for the touchdown! championship over. a stanley cup for los angeles. shaun white, boy does he deliver! the mercedes-benz superdome in new orleans, a week from tonight, the 2012 nfl season will conclude with the unique matchup in super bowl xlvii. the afc champion baltimore ravens led by head coach john harbaugh will meet the nfc champion san francisco 49ers led by head coach jim harbaugh. in a brother versus brother championship game. it s time to celebrate! the ravens are going back to the super bowl! the san francisco 49ers, super bowl bound! now we kick off super bowl week from honolulu, hawaii where many of the league best players have been gathering more than
schieffer: tonight, planning for a u.s. military strike against syria. as the death toll rises, the pentagon makes preparations for action, but will the president give the go-ahead? david martin that has story. the fastest-growing wildfire in the country now covers 165 square miles and it is just entered yosemite national park. theresa garcia is on the scene. something is killing dolphins along the east coast. terrell brown has the latest on the search for clues. and on the road, steve hartman catches motorists smiling in a no-smiling zone. never so happy to get a ticket in my life. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the cbs evening news with scott pelley. schieffer: good evening, scott s off tonight, i m bob schieffer. cbs news has learned that the pentagon is making the initial preparations for a cruise missile attack on syrian government forces. we say initial preparations because such an attack won t happen unless and until the president gives the green light, and it was clear during an interview on cnn today he is not there yet. if the u.s. goes in and attacks another country without a u.n. mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it, do we have the coalition to make it work, and those are considerations that we had to take into account. schieffer: the attack on the damascus suburbs which left hundreds dead this week is looking more and more like a poison gas was used. the united states warned syria months ago that using chemical weapons could provoke a u.s. response. two reports tonight, first david martin is at the pentagon. david? reporter: bob, president obama s national security advisor has just sent out a tweet calling what happened in syria an apparent chemical weapons attack. and the commander of u.s. forces in the mediterranean has ordered navy warships to move closer to syria to be ready for a possible cruise missile strike. launching cruise missiles from the sea would not risk any american lives. it would be a punitive strike designed not to topple syrian dictator bashar al-assad but to convince him he cannot get away the w using chemical weapons. joint chiefs chairman general martin dempsey is expected to present options for a strike at a white house meeting on saturday. potential targets include command bunkers and launchers used to fire chemical weapons. however, officials stress president obama, who until now has steadfastly resisted calls for military interventions, has not made a decision. u.s. intelligence detected activity at known syrian chemical weapons sites in the days before the attack. at the time, that did not appear out of the ordinary. but now it is part of the circumstantial evidence pointing toward an attack. the clearest evidence would come from a team of u.n. exports already in damascus to investigate earlier smaller-scale incidents involving suspected chemical weapons. so far, they have not been allowed into the field, but with pictures providing graphic evidence of mass casualties, even russia, long one of the assad regime s staunchest backers, is calling for a u.n. investigation. whatever an investigation finds, president obama will also have to consider what he would doll next if he ordered a strike and syria continued to use chemical weapons. schieffer: thanks, dave. new photos out of syria today make it even harder to conclude that the attacks were anything but a poison gas attack. holly williams talked to her sources there today and we warn you, the pictures in her report are difficult to watch. reporter: two days after the attack, more disturbing video has emerged of the aftermath. they are horrific scenes that show the dead and the dying. many of them children. this young boy describes struggling to breathe and then losing consciousness. when he woke up in hospital, he said, he could no longer see. it s impossible to verify how many people died, but in this crowded makeshift morgue, so many of the bodies were unidentified they were numbered. doctor ghazwan bwidany is caring for survivors of the attack at a clinic damascus. today we spoke with him over the internet. he told us his mobile medical unit treated 900 people, 70 of whom died. reporter: dr. bwidany told us some of the survivors have neurological problems such as memory loss and confusion that he believes could only be caused by a nerve agent. if this wasn t a chemical attack what could it have been? reporter: we talked with a spokesman for the syrian opposition today who told us he is angry and frustrated with the international community. he believes that if the u.s. had delivered the arms it promised the opposition two months ago this deadly attack might not have happened. schieffer: holly williams. thanks, holly. at fort hood, texas, today, a military injury convicted major nidal hasan of the massacre that left 13 soldiers dead and more than 30 others wounded. the murder verdict was unanimous which means hasan could get the death penalty. anna werner is at fort hood. reporter: major nidal hasan looked up at the jury foreman as she read out the decision. the jury voted unanimously that he was guilty on 13 counts of pre-meditated murder and also guilty of 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. over 13 days, prosecutors laid out a detailed case to convince the jury that hasan came to believe he had a jihad duty to kill soldiers and then carried out a plan to do just that. they showed evidence hasan trained for months at a shooting then hid two guns and 420 rounds of ammunition in his army fatigues then went to a medical building where members of his own unit were prepareing to deploy. witnesses told of a scene of terror and chaos as hasan opened fire on a group of 45 unarmed soldiers. they listened as a pregnant soldier private francesca velez begged for mercy saying my baby, my baby before she was shot and killed. hasan, who is representing himself, admitted i am the shooter in his opening statements. he did not testify or call any witnesses and made no chrarg. howard ray rescued soldiers at the scene that day. he wants hasan to get the death penalty. what we re talking about is assessing a punishment on someone that had total disregard for the lives of 13 men and women that day. total disregard. reporter: the judge admonished those seated in the courtroom including about a dozen victims relatives not to display emotion when the verdict was read but, bob, as we were leaving the courtroom i saw tears in the eyes of a couple of those relatives. they ve been waiting four years for this verdict. schieffer: all right, well, thank you, anna. to egypt now. a week ago today tens of thousands of supporters of the muslim brotherhood who opposed military rule filled the streets. a thousand died in the crackdown that followed. today, the muslim brotherhood called for a return to the streets but it didn t happen. our charlie d agata is in cairo. what did happen, charlie? reporter: well, today, bob, we saw just how dramatically the military has weakened the muslim brotherhood here. just after friday prayers, we saw a group gathering outside a mosque, maybe a hundred or so people and almost immediately they were outnumber bid local residents who support the military and forced them to move on. this is typical of the kind of demonstration wes saw here and elsewhere, the small protests that never really got going. there s a huge military presence here, tanks and barbed wire have choked off most of the main squares. it is clear the military has the upper hand at least for now. schieffer: all right. thank you so much, charlie. 40-year-old army sergeant robert bales will spend the rest of his life in prison. a military jury in washington state sentenced him today to life without parole for shooting 16 afghan civilians to death last year, most of them women and children. he pleaded guilty in june to avoid the death penalty. bales apologized for his actions but never tried to explain them. in san diego, the fate of mayor bob filner, accused of sexually harassing more than a dozen women, is still up in the air. ben tracy covering this one. ben? reporter: bob, the san diego city council is still in closed session right now. they re debating whether or not to approve this deal they made with mayor filner that includes his resignation. they re hoping to quickly end what has become san diego s civic nightmare. i bob filner reporter: when bob filner took office nearly nine months ago he was the first democrat elected mayor in san diego in 20 years. the 70-year-old promised to help the homeless and bring jobs to the city. it s going to be a time of change for san diego. reporter: now even some of his strongest supporters admit filner ended up giving their stay black eye. 18 different women accused him of sexual harassment, including at least one city employee. at the council meeting this afternoon people from san diego announced support and anger. we re not fooled. we know this is a circus to get a good man out of office. reporter: julie adams. i came down here to let you know how determined our voters are debt-to-get this predator out of this building. reporter: many urged the city council not to pay off filner in exchange for his resignation. we re looking for a way out to get back to the business of the city and the public. reporter: city council president todd gloria will become the acting mayor. he says negotiating filner and covering his legal costs is a necessary evil. what do you say to the citizens of san diego who say he shouldn t get anything? what i know that each day that passes that this man is mayor more bad thing happening to our city, fewer businesses are coming to san diego and our national reputation continues to be drug through the mud. reporter: we re told if this deal does go through, filner s resignation won t be immediate. apparently it was important to him during the negotiations, bob we re told he ll likely leave office next week. sheaf seif all right, thank you, ben. that huge wildfire in northern california spread into yosemite national park today. here s how it looks from space. the fire grew overnight from 99 square miles to more than 165, making it the fastest-growing of the dozens of western wildfires. the smoke has spread more than 100 miles from what s called the rim fire. teresa garcia is on the scene. reporter: the fire is threatening more than 4,500 structures. about half are in pine mountain lake. that s where we found ken cannobio. he was pumping water out of his swimming pool to spray around his house. just trying to wet it down, get it as moist as possible. that s the main thing as far as if the flames get up here to put them out. reporter: cannobio has already packed a car for a quick getaway. more than a thousand people who live around him are already gone. there s a comfort zone i have that and it s pretty much down a few hundred yards. so it s looking like we re not going to have to leave right now but things can change. reporter: so your comfort zone changes when you see what? (laughs) red! reporter: more than 2,000 firefighters are battling the fire. bruce and his team work to clear brush and put out hot spots. it s holding right now so it s looking pretty good. the wind s in our favor. it s unreal. reporter: but air drops of water and flame retardant are the only ways to outflank a fire that now ranks among the 20 worst california has ever seen. it is an incredible sight to behold as the smoke from the fire has claimed eight miles into the sky and, bob, evacuation orders have also just been issued for two more towns. schieffer: all right, thanks, teresa. steve ballmer, the c.e.o. of microsoft, announced today he ll retire some time in the next year. ballmer, who is 57, succeeded bill gates in 2000. they met 40 years ago at harvard. under ballmer microsoft has struggled to compete with apple and google. colorado gets a hailstorm in the dog days of summer. and why are dolphins dying along the east coast? when the cbs evening news continues. 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[ female announcer ] if you can t afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. schieffer: this has been a very bad summer for dolphins along the east coast. more than 250 of them, dead or dying, have washed up on beaches over the past two months. no one is quite sure why. terrell brown has our report. reporter: the first dead dolphins washed up in new jersey and virginia in june. since then, more have been found in maryland and new york. biologist kimberly durham s rescue team has recovered 27 dead dolphins. you don t know why this is happening? currently, no. when we were doing examinations, we would find that they were very skinny animals. they were compromised animals. some of them had skin lesions. they were just very sick individuals. reporter: marine biologists believe the dolphins could be suffering from a bacterial or viral infection with symptoms similar to measles. there s a lot of skin contact between. they re constantly rubbing each other so, yeah, the possibility of just spreading it amongst themselves is very large. reporter: it was a virus that killed nearly 750 dolphins from new york to florida in the late 80s. charles potter studied that epidemic. he s a marine mammal biologist at the smithsonian. he believes pollution could be weakening the dolphins immune system. as the animals migrate south passing back through virginia and then going down to the carolinas, if this event follows what we saw in 1987, we can expect the epicenter of the epidemic to move south with the dolphins. reporter: when does this end? it will run its course but there s no way to know when the end will come. reporter: late today, another dolphin was found dead on the jersey shore. terrell brown, cbs news, river head, new york. schieffer: a severe hailstorm left parts of colorado looking more like december than august. so much hail fail yesterday snowplows were deployed to clear streets in the suburbs southwest of denver. the icy runoff trapped one teenaged driver who was forced to abandon his car and head to higher ground. in a moment, we ll show you what happened when a biker neglected to bear left. it starts with something little, like taking a first step. and then another. and another. and if you do it. and your friends do it. and their friends do it. soon we ll be walking our way to awareness, support and an end to alzheimer s disease. and that? that would be big. grab your friends and family and start a team today. register at alz.org apply cold therapy in the first 24 hours. but not just any cold. i only use new thermacare® cold wraps. targettemp technology delivers a consistent, therapeutic cold to stop pain and start healing. new thermacare® cold wraps. a better way to treat pain. [ crashing ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. tum, tum tum tum tums! schieffer: now for today s birth announcements. the national zoo tweets toward that the giant panda may-shong gave birth to her third cub, a female. a short time later, the zoo tells us she picked her up and cradled her. mai-shong delivered a cub in 2005 and another born last year lived only a week. it is not exactly a kodiak moment, but it is close. royal canadian mounted police say a motorcycle rider was too focused on recording his speed with his helmet cam to notice a bear crossing the road. they collided at 87 miles an hour. the biker survivored barely with broken bones and a speeding ticket. the bear walked away. according to court papers in chicago, brandon preveau drove his girlfriend s car to his job at o hare airport, the couple broke up and there the car sat for three years wracking up 678 tickets totaling $106,000. that is an all-time record for chicago and about 30 times more than the 95 chevy was worth. the city has agreed to settle the tickets for $4,500. preveau will pay about a third of it. his ex-girlfriend the rest. a deputy who gave out tickets for a living has set a record of his own. on the road with steve hartman is next. hey kevin.still eating chalk for heartburn? yeah. try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i m feeling better already. 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[ villain ] well mr. baldwin. it appears our journey has come to a delightful end. then i better use the capital one purchase eraser to redeem my venture miles for this trip. purchase eraser? it s the easy way to erase any recent travel expense. i just pick a charge, like my flight with a few taps, it s taken care of. impressive baldwin. does it work for hotels? absolutely thank goodness. mrs. villain and i are planning our. you scare me. and i like it. let s go what s in your wallet? trust your instincts to make the call. to treat my low testosterone, my doctor and i went with axiron, the only underarm low t treatment. axiron can restore t levels to normal in about 2 weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. 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 symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. 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. ask your doctor about the only underarm low t treatment, axiron. it s nice to have the experience and commitment to go along with you. aarp medicare supplement insurance plans, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. keep dreaming. keep doing. go long. schieffer: there is a deputy sheriff in los angeles named elton simmons who has set a record when it comes to citizen complaints. but if he sounds like the last cop you d want to run into on the highway, you would be wrong, which is why steve hartman did a story about him on the road. reporter: this is l.a. sheriff s deputy elton simmons. and i bet you don t like him already, seeing him there hiding in the shadows. why can t he go catch some real criminals, you may be thinking. no wonder he has a record number of complaints. who wouldn t complain about a guy whose sole purpose in life is to ruin your day. around the corner. reporter: by the very nature of the business, all l.a. traffic cop cans expect to get a few complaints every year. a lot of them are petty, people just mad because they got a ticket. regardless, they all get documented and place in the officer s personnel file. which is why captain pat maxwell was stunned when he started looking through simmons file. i said that s not possible. reporter: although he did see lots of commendations, looking back over the last 20 years, over the last 25,000 traffic stops, captain maxwell couldn t find one complaint. a record. zero. i mean, vegas or m.i.t. could not give you the odds of the statistical probability of that. reporter: obviously elton is doing something right. yeah, it s got to be something. pelley: do you know what it is? no idea. reporter: until the captain told him, elton didn t know he had such a record let alone how he got it. it s how i do it everyday. reporter: so we trailed him to figure out how he does it. first thing i noticed that he has this pitch perfect mix of authority i need you to take care of that. and diplomacy. i don t want to keep pulling you over. reporter: with none of the attitude that sometimes comes with a cop. sorry! that s okay. just be careful. i m here, i m not up here. i hate to be looked down on it. can t stand it. i won t look down on you. reporter: that s why in luf a lecture he gives most people the benefit of the doubt. it happens. reporter: they still get the ticket, just not the guilt trip. the drivers seem to appreciate that. so much so that by the end some are down right smitten. that s a smile he s got a great smile. reporter: you re giggling now you just got a ticket. he s a nice guy! i mean how can you be mad at that guy? reporter: apparently you can t. disarming. reporter: time after time, ticket after ticket. never so happy to get a ticket in my life. reporter: we saw elton simmons melt away a polar icecap of preconception. and his boss says there s a lesson in there for hard-nosed traffic cops everywhere. their excuse is i give tickets all day long, i m going to get complaints. well, that s not true. there s a way. there is a way to do it and elton simmons is the way. reporter: certainly no complaints here. steve hartman, on the road in los angeles. schieffer: and that is the news. sunday on face the nation, we ll talk about the 50th anniversary of the march on washington with former secretary of state colin powell, georgia congressman john lewis and newark mayor cory booker. scott will be back here on monday. i m bob schieffer in new york. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,