thanks for watching nbc bay area news at 5:00. nbc nightly news is next. we'll see yo:0 odight >>> battle lines. in iowa, it's getting personal. and the gloves are off hours from newt gingrich's first debate as front-runner. >> rallying cry. russians march on moscow, rising up against their own government. mass protests not seen in decades. >>> desperate act. why would this woman agree to marry the man who raped her? >>> fighting breast cancer. promising news for women battling one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. >>> and tall order. >> a nice tree. >> discount retailers turning an annual family outing into a >> discount retailers turning an annual family outing into a simple click of a mouse. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. for so many months the word "front-runner" seemed almost permanently attached to mitt romney's name even as challengers surged even to fizzle out. but landscape in the early caucus state of iowa has taken a dramatic shift. tonight romney finds himself behind and losing ground to newt gingrich

the latest numbers from the new nbc news poll, plus an emotional moment for newt gingrich. remembering mom. wiping away tears. >>> tonight, one on one with the surging rick santorum. >>> l.a. on alert and southern californians on edge. a serial arsonist torches hollywood. investigators scramble to solve a mystery. >>> and what lies beneath? as the earth heats up an incredible phenomenon. you won't believe what we're going to show you. you won't believe what we're going to show you. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. i'm harry smith filling in for brian. power to the people is a phrase from the '60s u.s. corporations have begun to feel in a big way this year. whenever companies propose new policies or changes consumers don't agree with, the response is instantaneous and unequivocal. as we reported last night, the latest case comes from phone giant verizon. as pete williams reports, verizon is listening. pete, good evening. >> reporter: harry, barely 24 hours after saying it would charge a fee for paying bills online, ve

and then tomorrow evening for "nbc nightly news." and then tomorrow evening for "nbc nightly news." good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> we begin with breaking news. you can see the protesters on top of one of the big rigs there. the idea, the goal for the evening for the second time in as many months is to shut down the port. those protests began early this morning and at this hour, thousands are back again after marching through the streets of oakland. their message, a simple one -- stop and keep t

"nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. the president promised they'd be out by new year's eve and here they come. american men and women in uniform are coming home after nine years, 4,500 lives lost and tens of thousands of injuries. staggering sacrifice here at home all the while. the war started with the event somebody called shock and awe and it became a tragic and prolonged slog. the u.s. and allied troops fought bravely. iraqi civilians suffered terribly. now the fighting phase comes to an end though far from a storybook ending. the president marked the occasion today with those in uniform who are just back from there and nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker starts us off tonight. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, brian. president obama struck a reflective tone today when he addressed a crowd of returning war veterans. mr. obama has opposed the war since his days as a state senator. today he said it's harder to end a war than to begin one. >> hello, ft. bragg! >> reporter: appearing

mara schiavocampo, nbc news, new york. >> very nice. that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and right back here tomorrow evening. we leave you tonight with a live look at the rockefeller center christmas tree. lots of crowds packed into the plaza to see it all lit up. we hope you have a good night, everyone. we hope you have a good night, everyone. we'll see you tomorrow. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> good saturday evening. the 49ers are one step closer to

ron mott, nbc news, beverly, massachusetts. >> that's nbc nightly news for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" then right back here tomorrow evening. and there's our christmas tree. tomorrow evening. and there's our christmas tree. have a good night, everyone. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com [ coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] more pollution from power plants means more childhood asthma attacks. [ labored breathing ] there's technology that makes the air cleaner, but too many plants don't use it. we can't wait. epa must update power plant standards

ron mott, nbc news, beverly, massachusetts. >> that's nbc nightly news for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" then right back here tomorrow evening. and there's our christmas tree. tomorrow evening. and there's our christmas tree. have a good night, everyone. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

mike taibbi, nbc news, san diego. >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. coming up next, "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football," giants take on the cowboys. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com [ coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] more pollution from power plants means more childhood asthma attacks. [ labored breathing ] there's technology that makes the air cleaner, but too many plants don't use it. we can't wait. epa must update power plant standards to protect our kids. [ baby coughing ]

"nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. the president promised they'd be out by new year's eve and here they come. american men and women in uniform are coming home after nine years, 4,500 lives lost and tens of thousands of injuries. staggering sacrifice here at home all the while. the war started with the event somebody called shock and awe and it became a tragic and prolonged slog. the u.s. and allied troops fought bravely. iraqi civilians suffered terribly. now the fighting phase comes to an end though far from a storybookending. the president marked the occasion today with those in uniform who are just back from there and nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker starts us off tonight. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, brian. president obama struck a reflective tone today when he addressed a crowd of returning war veterans. mr. obama has opposed the war since his days as a state senator. today he said it's harder to end a war than to begin one. >> hello ft. bragg! >> reporter: appearing b

mike taibbi, nbc news, san diego. >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. coming up next, "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football," giants take on the cowboys. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪

captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. >>> good evening. brian is off tonight. i'm lester holt. there is some real political drama building tonight ahead of next tuesday's republican caucus in iowa. a brand-new poll of likely caucus-goers has just reshuffled the gop deck showing mitt romney with a late surge, now moving out front with 25%. previous front-runner ron paul is hanging close at 22%. rick santorum showing his own late momentum has now overtaken former house speaker newt gingrich to run third. tonight gingrich is telling nbc news nbc four may be good enough. his conversation with chuck todd is coming up, but we begin with peter alexander in clinton, iowa where the candidates are picking up the pace racing the clock and each other. peter. >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. while this new polls shows just how volatile the gop field still is, ron paul has steadily remained at or near the top through the course of this political campaign, and again today he was the ta

for all of us at nbc news, happy holidays. for all of us at nbc news, happy holidays. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> good evening and thanks for joining us on this friday, i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. everything apparently new again and it's causing a frenzy. the quest for air jordan 11 concords turning violent. pushing, shoving, even shottings over basketball shoes. cle mad dash turning into mayhem uding in the bay area where a shot was fired a

mike taibbi, nbc news, san diego. >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. coming up next, "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football," giants take on the cowboys. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com you can choose your channel package. ♪ you can choose your own internet speeds. ♪ you can even choose to chat with a live person. ♪ now you can choose to save $35 a month for fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month, plus get a $300 verizon visa prepaid card with a 2 year agreement. but hurry, offer ends soon only at verizonfios.com.

"nightly news" begins now. >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. >>> good evening. brian is off tonight. i'm lester holt. there is some real political drama building tonight ahead of next tuesday's republican caucus in iowa. a brand-new poll of likely caucus-goers has just reshuffled the gop deck showing "the 2011 miss universe pageant" mitt romney moving out front with 29%. ron paul is hanging close at 22%, rick santorum showing his own late momentum is now over taken newt gingrich to run third. tonight gingrich is telling nbc news nbc four may be good enough. his conversation with chuck todd is coming up, but we begin with peter alexander in clinton, iowa where the candidates are picking up the pace racing the clock and each other. peter. >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. while it this new poll shows how shawl tile the gop field is, ron paul is at or near the top through the course of this political campaign, and again today he was the target of nearly every other candidate looking to he erode his supports. their mes

"nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. i'm lester holt in tonight for brian. the season of giving has given way to the season of giving back and cashing in on the post christmas bargains. retailers who this year have been especially eager to brand every big day on the shopping calendar are calling this one mega monday. no doubt a lot of weary shoppers are sitting it out. you wouldn't know it by the scenes that played out in malls today. asked to list top reasons for wading back into stores this week 82% in a consumer reports poll listed post holiday sales. around half said redeeming gift cards. nearly a third said returning gifts was a top motivating factor, too. all of which explains why nbc's ron mott has got lots of company in new york's herald square tonight. looks a lot like the day before christmas. >> reporter: indeed it does, lester. good evening. the doors at macy's have gotten a pretty good workout today as re-energized shoppers are back on the hunt tonight hoping to bag the biggest bargains. from the west coast

kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> can't top that so we'll say that's it for "nbc nightly news" for this christmas eve. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and then right back here tomorrow evening. merry christmas, everyone. tomorrow evening. merry christmas, everyone. and good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> good evening. we begin on this christmas eve with the last-minute dash to

craig melvin, nbc news, new york. >>> we turn to the economy now. the company that owns sears and kmart said today it will close more than 100 stores after lackluster sales during the holidays. both chains have struggled in recent years as rivals like walmart and target spruced up their stores and drove prices down. >>> and now that all the holiday gifts are unwrapped, tonight a lot of americans are wrapping them back up, sending those ugly sweaters and knickknacks they'll never use on a one-way trip back to the store. nbc's thanh truong joins us now from a busy ups hub in kentucky, where the return packages are coming fast and furious. thanh, good evening. >> reporter: lester, at this time of the year, ups is delivering 300 packages per second. a lot of those packages, thousands in fact, are on a conveyor belt like this. at this facility alone, they're sorting through 46,000 packages each hour, and it's going to get even busier as more shoppers are saying, send it back. return season is in full swing at ups. the world's largest shipping company, wi

news, racine, wisconsin. >> that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" then right back here tomorrow night. "today" then right back here tomorrow night. good night, everyone. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> good evening. thank you very much for being with us tonight. i'm garvin thomas in for diane. >>> a four-alarm fire in alameda

news, los angeles. >>> that that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. coming up next "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football", the ravens versus the chargers. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com makes it easy for anne to view her finances from anywhere. like gate d12 for the next three hours. citibank for ipad. easier banking. standard at citibank. really? [ male announcer ] kate uses her citibank debit card

keir simmons, nbc news, london. >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. coming up next, "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football," lions versus the saints. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks.

kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> can't top that. we'll say that's it for "nbc nightly news" for this christmas eve. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today." and then right back here tomorrow evening. merry christmas, everyone. and good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

"nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. imagine your husband or son or brother or your mother, sister or daughter served this country in uniform overseas in wartime and god forbid imagine they made the ultimate sacrifice and paid with their life. we have all been assured if that happens their remains are treated with great care and the utmost respect every step of the way. sadly we are learning that's just not true in all cases. a scandal is unraveling in washington and elsewhere about how some of our service members' remains have been treated. we start off tonight with our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. >> reporter: d er air force base is the first stop for all of america's war dead on their final trip back home. behind the dignified ceremony there is a growing scandal over the fact that many partial remains of u.s. service members were unceremoniously dumped in this virginia landfill, and it is a far greater number than previously disclosed. over four years, the air force dropped over 2,700 partial remains in th

for all of us at nbc news, happy holidays. for all of us at nbc news, happy holidays. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

ron mott, nbc news, boston. >> there you go. we want to let you know every night next week we'll have a "making a difference" follow-up report. we'll show you how some of the folks who have seen the stories we've aired have stepped up to help others in need. >>> that is our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we, of course, hope to see you right back here on monday night. in the meantime, have a good weekend. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

mara schiavocampo, nbc news, new york. >> very nice. that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and back here tomorrow evening. we leave you tonight with a live look at the rockefeller center christmas tree. lots of crowds packed into the plaza to see it all lit up. we hope you have a good night, everyone. we hope you have a good night, everyone. we'll see you all tomorrow. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone. >>> tomorrow it's the jets who invade fedex field. and the redskins have

mara schiavocampo, nbc news, new york. >> very nice. that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and back here tomorrow evening. we leave you tonight with a live look at the rockefeller center christmas tree. lots of crowds packed into the plaza to see it all lit up. we hope you have a good night, everyone. we hope you have a good night, everyone. we'll see you all tomorrow. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

"nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. i'm lester holt in tonight for brian. the season of giving has given way to the season of giving back and cashing in on the post christmas bargains. retailers who this year have been especially eager to brand every big day on the shopping calendar are calling this one mega monday. no doubt a lot of weary shoppers are sitting it out. you wouldn't know it by the scenes that played out in malls today. asked to list top reasons for wading back into stores this week 82% in a consumer reports poll listed post holiday sales. around half said redeeming gift cards. nearly a third said returning gifts was a top motivating factor, too. all of which explains why nbc's ron mott has got lots of company in new york's herald square tonight. looks a lot like the day before christmas. >> reporter: indeed it does, lester. good evening. the doors at macy's have gotten a pretty good workout today as re-energized shoppers are back hoping to bag the biggest bargains. from the west coast -- >> we look forwar

keir simmons, nbc news, london. >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. coming up next, "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football," lions versus the saints. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

ron allen, nbc news, chicago. . >>> the weather is in the news tonight. specifically a big change heading right for a lot of folks in the eastern half of the nation. tonight nbc's janice huff joins us in studio with a look at what's in store. 61 degrees in new york last night. winter has to arrive at some point. >> it's december already. most of the snow has been out west, but this time the eastern seaboard will see a bit especially across interior areas of the northeast. this is the same storm system that brought anywhere from two to three feet of snow over parts of new mexico. they had snow, wind and even snow in tennessee, alabama and mississippi this morning. a huge plume of moisture from the southern states up the appalachians into new england. it's mainly rain for the coastal cities, d.c., new york city, boston. back to the west it has changed from snow for west virginia, pittsburgh and interior sections of new york. that's where you will see the heaviest snow amounts coming up. we have a future cast preview to show you what we expect with the compu

the new nbc news marist poll shows gingrich with a substantial lead in iowa and he's a strong second in new hampshire, romney's backyard. gingrich is benefitting in part because large majorities of republicans believe romney is a moderate, not a conservative. the new frontrunner's first tv ad drew the attention of the obama campaign today. >> because working together, i know we can rebuild america. >> you're talking about the godfather of gridlock here. the guy who, you know, two decades ago really invented the kind of tactics that have now become commonplace in washington. >> welcome to iowa. >> good to be here. >> reporter: a month away from the iowa caucuses the republican race is far from settled. trump's plan to moderate a republican debate is making some main stream republicans uncomfortable. >> i think the republican national chairman ought to step in and say we strongly discourage every candidate from appearing in a debate moderated by somebody who is going to run for president. >> reporter: karl rove got a rise out of trump. >> karl rove gave us george bush and george bush c

news, los angeles. >>> that that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. coming up next "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football", the ravens versus the chargers. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

michael isikoff, nbc news, pennsylvania. >> we're joined by savannah guthrie, our nbc news chief legal correspondent, and other than the gross alleged details in this case, what changed materially today? >> well i think we really saw what may turn out to be some of the most powerful evidence against not these two penn state officials. them, of course, but also, jerry sandusky. it is so rare in a sexual assault case to have an eyewitness to an alleged crime and that's what mcqueary says he is. so we saw, here he is giving a very vivid, detailed narrative. i would make one caution which this is the early stage, just the preliminary hearing. prosecutors only had to put on the barest of evidence to establish probable cause for the charges to go forward and defense attorneys were somewhat limited in their cross-examination, so we haven't really seen the full throttle attack on the testimony mcqueary gave that we will see if this case indeed proceeds to trial. >> for folks who haven't been following the machinations of this, what was the decision sandusky's legal team reached earlier this we

nbc news, stowe, vermont. >> learn more about vacations for veterans. we have more on the program on our website, nbcnightlynews.com. for us for now that's our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. lester holt will, of course, be here with you this weekend. we'll look for you right back here monday night when we'll be joined by ted koppel and chelsea clinton prior to their reports monday night on "rock center." in the meantime, have a great weekend. in the meantime, have a great weekend. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

kerry sanders, nbc news, ft. myers, florida. >> that's our tuesday night broadcast, thank you for being here with us, i'm brian williams, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

ron allen, nbc news, chicago. >>> the weather is in the news tonight. specifically a big change heading right for a lot of folks in the eastern half of the nation. tonight nbc's janice huff joins us in studio with a look at what's in store. i've got to say, 61 degrees in new york last night. winter has to arrive at some point. >> it's december already. most of the snow has been out west, but this time the eastern seaboard will see a bit especially across interior areas of the northeast. this is the same storm system that brought anywhere from two to three feet of snow over parts of new mexico. they had snow, wind and even snow in tennessee, alabama and mississippi this morning. plume of moisture from the southern states up the appalachians into new england. it's mainly rain for the coastal cities, d.c., new york city, philadelphia, boston. back to the west it has changed a erovo sner for parts of west virginia, pittsburgh and into o terior sections of new york. that's where you will see the heaviest snow amounts coming up. we have a future cast preview

captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. >>> good evening. brian is off tonight. i'm lester holt. there is some real political drama building tonight ahead of next tuesday's republican caucus in iowa. a brand-new poll of likely caucus-goers has just reshuffled the gop deck showing mitt romney with a late surge, now moving out front with 25%. previous front-runner ron paul is hanging close at 22%. rick santorum showing his own late momentum has now overtaken former house speaker newt gingrich to run third. tonight gingrich is telling nbc news number four may be good enough. his conversation with chuck todd is coming up, but we begin with peter alexander in clinton, iowa where the candidates are picking up the pace racing the clock and each other. peter. >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. while this new poll shows just how volatile the gop field still is, ron paul has steadily remained at or near the top through the course of this political campaign, and again today he was the

ron mott, nbc news, new york. >> now about those lawmakers. kelly o'donnell is with us from capitol hill tonight with an update on what's going on or not going on there. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. with no breakthrough to tell you about, today became a battle of political appearances. first, speaker boehner invited cameras in to see his team at work saying they are ready to negotiate a one-year deal, an extension of the unemployment and tax benefits. president obama phoned boehner and had his own photo on taking a holiday shopping trip to the pet store, buying gifts for his daughters who are in hawaii while he's stuck here in d.c. aides say the president told boehner they must have the two-month extension first as insurance. then they can work on a one-year deal. the wall street journal surprised everyone with tough words for republicans saying they have blown this, calling it a fiasco. brian? >> kelly o'donnell on the hill tonight. thanks. >>> the justice department announced today it has settled lending discriminat

the latest numbers from the new nbc news poll, plus an unusual moment for newt gingrich. remembering mom. wiping away tears. and tonight, one on one with the surging rick santorum. >>> l.a. on alert and people on edge. investigators scramble to solve a mystery. >>> and what lies beneath? as the earth heats up an incredible phenomenon. you won't believe what we're going to show you. you won't believe what we're going to show you. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. i'm harry smith filling in for brian. power to the people is a phrase from the '60s u.s. corporations have begun to feel in a big way this year. whenever companies propose new policies or changes consumers don't agree with, the response is instantaneous and unequivocal. as we reported last night, the latest case comes from phone giant verizon. as pete williams reports, verizon is listening. pete, good evening. >> reporter: harry, barely 24 hours after saying it would charge a fee for paying bills online, verizon wireless abruptly took it back. the company sa

ron mott, nbc news, boston. >> there you go. we want to let you know every night next week we'll have a making a difference follow-up report. we'll show you how some of the folks who have seen the stories we've aired have stepped up to help others in need. >>> that is our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we, of course, hope to see you right back here on monday night. in the meantime, have a good weekend. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

"nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. imagine your husband or son or brother or your mother, sister or daughter served this country in uniform overseas in wartime and god forbid imagine they made the ultimate sacrifice and paid with their life. we have all been assured if that happens their remains are treated with great care and the utmost respect every step of the way. sadly we are learning that's just not true in all cases. a scandal is unraveling in washington and elsewhere about how some of our service members' remains have been treated. we start off tonight with our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. >> reporter: dover air force base is the first stop for all of america's war dead on their final trip back home. behind the dignified ceremony there is a growing scandal over the fact that many partial remains of u.s. service members were unceremoniously dumped in this virginia landfill, and it is a far greater number than previously disclosed. from 2004 to 2008, the air force dropped over 2,700 partial remains in

"nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. exactly four weeks from today, the iowa caucuses will give us the first results of this election season. and tonight things are on the move. the latest polling shows newt gingrich out ahead in iowa by 2 to 1 over mitt romney who chose not to campaign there early on. but that's changing. and president obama invoked an old rule in politics, define yourself or wait to be defined by others. he gave a speech in the midwest today that was different in tone, tenor, volume than what he has been saying lately. and so today, four weeks from iowa, it sure seemed like this campaign was on. it's where we begin tonight with our chief white house correspondent and political director, chuck todd. hey, chuck, good evening. >> good evening, brian, you got that right. as the republican campaign appears headed to a two-way contest, the man they ultimately have to beat threw out the cornerstone of his case for re-election. the president rolled out the obama version of prairie populism today in a small kan

kiko itasaka, nbc news >>> a terrible story this christmas. a decorated soldier on home leave has been paralyzed after a shooting in a party in california. family members say christopher sullivan was shot late friday night when he tried to break up a fight between his brother and another man. sullivan had been recovering from injuries he suffered in a suicide bomb attack in afghanistan. >>> and a tragic scene early this morning in stamford, connecticut, about 35 miles north of new york city where a fire killed five members of one family, including three children. two people were able to make it out of the burning victorian home, screaming for help, according to neighbors. it took dozens of firefighters to get the fire under control. tonight they continue to investigate the cause. >>> tonight the white house is condemning a string of terrorist attacks in nigeria. suicide bombings across that country targets including catholic churches during christmas mass. the attacks highlight the growing threat for the muslim extremist group bogaharom on a v

"nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. there are just 25 days to go until the iowa caucuses. that's when the campaign season becomes real for a lot of people. and it's getting real rough in the normally polite republican party. newt gingrich is surging. he's ahead in national polls. he's ahead in iowa and south carolina and florida. that makes him a very big target right now. there is at least one other candidate in this race who feels this ought to be his, and that's mitt romney. there are a lot of other republicans willing to line up and stand up against the former house speaker. it means saturday's debate will be interesting. it means the next 25 days will be interesting. we've got it all covered tonight beginning with our political director chuck todd in washington. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. on the eve of the first debate with newt gingrich as the frontrunner, the anti-newt drum beat is growing louder and more personal. a washington-based super pac supporting mitt romney is saturating iowa a tonig

news, racine, wisconsin. >> that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" then right back here tomorrow night. "today" then right back here tomorrow night. good night, everyone. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies.

"nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. it is one of the most unusual things nature does on this planet and it's going on right now across a vast area out west. the weather in this country, with few exceptions, travels from west to east. that's why it takes longer to fly new york to l.a. than l.a. to new york. but what's happening tonight is one of those exceptions and one of those rare weather events. the winds are blowing over land from east to west, and in some cases, they have reached 140 miles per hour over land. these are the santa ana winds and then some. a strong, intense, severe system we haven't seen the likes of since the 1990s. it's causing big problems, risking lives and it's on the move. we begin tonight with miguel almaguer in pasadena. good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. these are some of the most powerful winds to hit this area. the city of pasadena took a beating. folks that live here are told to stay home if their home isn't damaged. this wind-driven event isn't over yet. the notorious santa a

the new nbc news marist poll shows gingrich with a substantial lead in iowa and he's a strong second in new hampshire, romney's backyard. gingrich is benefitting in part because large majorities of republicans believe romney is a moderate, not a conservative. the new frontrunner's first tv ad drew the attention of the obama campaign today. >> because working together, i know we can rebuild america. >> you're talking about the godfather of gridlock here. the guy who decades ago really invented the tactics that have become commonplace in washington. >> welcome to iowa. >> good to be here. >> reporter: a month away from the iowa caucuses the republican race is far from settled. in trump's plan to moderate a republican debate is making some main stream republicans uncomfortable. >> i think the republican national chairman ought to step in and say we strongly discourage every candidate from appearing in a debate moderated by someone who may be a candidate. >> karl rove gave us george bush and george bush crashed and burned. because of that we have obama. >> reporter: like other frontrunne

keir simmons, nbc news, london. >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. coming up next, "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football," lions versus the saints. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> pete: from the superdome, it's a matchup between two teams from the nfc playoff pitcher. one we're used to sees there, the other, not so much. two seasons removed from their