power play. the president and first lady join forces on the campaign trail fighting predictions of a republican blowout with two weeks to go. from the depths. revealing new details from the miners themselves about what it was really like to face death deep underground. the war next door. going bad from worse at america's doorstep. richard eleningel reports. think pink. how an idea to raise awareness about breast cancer became a game changer for an nfl star and his mom.

>> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening. after tonight there are just two more weekends left before election day, and with both the clock and polls working against democrats, president obama is once again on the road tonight trying to fire up the voters who put him into office and hoping to prevent a republican take-over of congress. his latest stop, ohio, where tonight for the first time this election season, he is campaigning with first lady michelle obama by his side. nbc is traveling with the president in columbus. hello, mike. >> reporter: good evening, lester. polls show the first lady's approval ratings are 20 points higher than the president. while michelle obama has been campaigning on her own, today the president has her by his side in the crucial battleground of ohio. the first couple today arriving

in cleveland campaigning together for the first time since 2008. trying to recapture the magic of that run, fund-raising for democrats here, many on the verge of defeat and later tonight trying to fire up young voters with a big rally this time at ohio state university. while change is a theme again this year, today even top obama aides concede it's not a change they can believe it. >> the republicans will have more seats. >> reporter: it will determine his course for the next two years and another aide had fresh confidence. >> i think our candidates have done a remarkably good job in a tough political environment, and i think that come election night we'll retain control of both the house and senate. >> reporter: a poll today spells frubl for democrats. the ap reports that one-quarter of obama voters from two years ago may strovote for republican

this fall. only 30% say mr. obama is living up to his promise cto change washington, while some say it's too soon to tell. gop party leaders are hoping for an election day sweep. >> we have 17 days to go. we can't think it's over yet. yogi said it ain't over until it's over. we have to leave the dancing to swuns right now, but soon we'll all be dancing. >> reporter: with moralies pland, the president is working to close the gap on enthusiasm and hold off a republican wave. >> in two weeks you can say yes, we can. >> reporter: with election day looming even a team effort from the first couple may not be enough. >> they are trying to hold down their losses to the extent possible by focusing on individual candidates, by focusing resources into competitive districts. the fundamentals of this election year are pretty clear at in the point.

>> reporter: lester, starting wednesday the president is back at it. he has a west coast trip, five states in four days including the democratic stronghold of washington state and california and including a trip to nevada. another try to save the senate, senate democratic leader harry reid. lester. >> mike, thanks. for more on the strategies down the stloechl homestretch of thi election, we want to bring in john harwood. he mentioned a new ap poll. it indicates that the coalition that propelled obama into the white house has crumbled and the core backers are disspirited. can he help ailing democrats without re-energizing that group and does the first lady hem him get there? >> the first lady can help to some degree. the biggest challenge is not persuading independent and swing voters because they have drifted towards the republicans. the coalition was strongly boosted by independent voters in

2008, they have shifted towards republican. the president can try to boost turn outby core democratic partisans and try to even up that enthusiasm gap. they can't do it all the way. >> much of the talk is about how many of those who voted democratic in 2008 will this time vote republican. what about those who don't vote? is a low voter turnout a big danger for democrats? >> it depends on which group you're talking about. there's some downscale voters republicans think blue collar, independent voters, swing voters who they're also trying to get to the polls and they're concerned because many don't turn out in midterms. what the president is focusing on is minority voters, african-americans in particular who were at parity with white voters in 2008 trying to make that come true in 2010 and also young voters so important. that's why he's on the ohio state campus today. >> john, thank you. we'll turn to the latest on those 33 rescued miners in chile

trapped underground for 70 days. they've been free for less than a week, and learn quickly that for them life above ground is a lot different than it used to be. kerry sanders joins us with new details on the miners' ordeal before and after their rescue. kerry. >> reporter: good evening, lester. today was a day of thanksgiving for the miners and their families. just three days after they were rescued, the men returned to the mine today to pray. as the morning fog lifted at the mine, they returned. the families who camped outside and the hero miners who remained trapped down below for 70 days. he walked the same dirt road his daughter had nervously paced for more than two months. what day chs twas the worst dow there? he says i don't want to answer

that now. he emerged as a leader during the crisis. another was the jokester mario and he's now sharing the most detailed and sobering account of their 70-day hell. nicknamed super mario, he told the mail on sunday of london for 14 days were all in pitch-darkness, there was no night and no day. we begged god to help us. at 40 years old the father of two is the first to break the miners' code of silence. did he ever cry? i would walk away from the others down a tunnel so they would not see me weep. i knew i had to stay strong. my reputation in the mine was as a funny guy. he says of the miners he was trapped with, some of the other ones were in a bad way, hif cal. the youngest is 19-year-old

jimmy sanchez. today he went to his mother's desert camp and started to clean up. she said she once wondered if she'd ever been b able to kiss him again. the men who returned to the mine this sunday say they did so to pray, to sign rescue workers' shirts, snap pictures, for some to face for reporters' questions. these men are yet to share specific personal details of the 70-day deal. marcus is close to several miners. do you want to know what happened during those 70 days? >> no. >> reporter: she says no because those are painful, sad experiences deep in their souls, and we must let them heal. i asked a miner what was his lowest point. he doesn't want to talk about it. they were digging for copper and gold, but it turns out they're the national treasure. five were guests on chile's version of ""the tonight show."

natalie morales was also on the show and chatted with the miners. >> one of the miners last night said he saw his death. another of the miners said that the videos that they sent to the surface were actually not the full picture. they didn't want their families to really know the horror that they were going through. >> reporter: demons one miner hoped to face down today at entrance of the mine, but it's now closed forever and even he was turned away. one of the miners is in the hospital tonight, but doctors say his condition is not life-threatening. le lester. thank you. there are new concerns over potential terrorist attacks in europe from saudi arabia about al qaeda threats against france. we're watching all this and we report from the bureau in london. what can you tell us? >> reporter: lester, the french interior minister said today he

has new information warning of a potential terrorist attack in france. he said this morning in the law foou days since friday with intelligence services and that the threat is real, end of quote. he added that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is believed to be active or planning to be active in europe in particular and france. this is significant because it comes just two weeks after a travel warning was issued to u.s. citizens living in or visiting europe to take extra precautions while here. france has evacuated the eiffel tower twice in month, and there's a heavy police presence at a number of tourist sites as well as the met fro and other transportation hubs. while the french are taking the warning seriously, they have not changed the threat level from one below the highest, lester. >> thanks. meanwhile, the standoff in france continues tonight over the plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. for days protestors have clashed with police and blockaded french

refineries and oil depots. they want to choke off fuel supplies, something officials vowed would not be allowed to happen. it's being called a super oophn, a powerful category 5 storm named megi bearing down on the philippines. thousands are fled their homes a in the face of torrential rains and heavy seas and winds in excess of 175 miles per hour. australian catholics crowded into st. peter's square for the canonization the first saint. pope benedict confirmed her sainthood today along with five other catholic figures from around the world. when "nbc nightly news" continues this sunday night on the front lines of the war next door. the violence is getting worse, and it is getting closer. add a fashion statement on the football field. thinking pink and sending a message. [ male announcer ] got a cold? [ sniffles ]

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you hear it more and more. mexico is the new colombia. the south american couldn't that was synonymous with drug wars two decades ago nearly torn apart by violence between drug lords to feed america's appetite for illegal drugs. with mexico there's a crucial difference. this time the war is at america's doorstep. richard engel has covered wars far from home. he joins us from mexico city to report on the war next door. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. there is a serious conflict going on down here which few americans are paying attention to, but which some u.s. officials say is as big of a threat to america's national security as iran or even al

qaeda. an average week here, any week these days, shows mexico at war. last monday in mexico's richest city, monterrey, once immune to slum violence, drug cartels attacked a police station with grenades. in a nearby province they killed eight highway patrolmen. the next day in tijuana 11 people were found murdered. long known as california's seedy play gound, the u.s. marine corps told its service members not to go to tijuana. in mexico there are now effectively two wars fought simultaneously. one is between the drug cartels and the military of the u.s. backed government of mexican president calderon.

there are brutal, internal power struggles over smuggling routes. this map shows how strong the cartels have become with control in about half of mexico, including areas along the u.s. border and the entire gulf coast. >> it's going to be the fifth time in the century that the u.s. has a part in in war. >> reporter: first time in saint a century. that's a significant statement. this is not a political conflict. the goal is cash. the drug cartels bring in about $30 billion a year, as much as mexico's oil industry. selling marijuana, cocaine and crystal meth to the united states. and the elicit border trade goes both ways. drugs and illegal immigrants flow north from mexico to the united states. whim ca while cash and weapons go south from the u.s. to mexico.

most of the killings here are down with assault rifles and 50 caliber machine guns bought over the count in the united states where gun laws are among the most relaxed in the world. so far the violence has mostly stayed in mexico, but u.s. officials worry it could bleed into the united states. it's hard to estimate the size of the cartels, lester, but they're big. according to u.s. officials just one of the seven main cartels has 20,000 members. >> richard, what's the u.s. government doing on this side of the border to curb the violence? >> reporter: there are many different american agencies down here, homeland security, the fbi, the dea. mostly they're training mexican officials trying to create a federal police force, but mexican officials say the biggest problem may come from the united states since most americans consume so many drugs and create the market that is really fueling this war. >> richard engel in mexico city

tonight. thanks. we're back in a moment with a growing pension crisis and how to keep promises without going broke. [piano keys banging] [scraping] [horns honking] with deposits in your engine, it can feel like something's holding your car back. let me guess, 16. [laughing] yeeah. that's why there's castrol gtx... with superior protection against harmful deposit build-up. don't let deposits hold your car back. get castrol gtx. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. [ smack! ] [ smack! smack! smack! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums nothing works faster. when my doctor told me that my chronic bronchitis was copd... i started managing it every day. i like to volunteer...

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and minerals and crunchy oat clusters. total. are you getting 100%? they call it a trillion dollar time bomb, and it could go off with a big promise collides with a hard reality. the promise? hefty retirement benefits for public employees. the reality? many states face a shortage of cash to pay for those benefits. here's nbc's george lewis. >> reporter: life is good for hugo who retired from the new york police force three years ago at age 44. >> i have opportunity to be home with my child. i thought it was a golden opportunity. >> reporter: a golden opportunity indeed. his annual pension is $101,333. >> i can't complain. i'm doing better than a lot of people in this country right now. >> reporter: why is he doing so well? in his last two years as a cop, he worked a lot of overtime to

bump up his pay and pension. a legal and common practice known as spiking. t . >> the situation is a train wreck down the tracks. >> reporter: this law professor says the impact will be felt at state capitols. >> a number of states will run out of money when it comes to being able to make good on their pension promises. >> reporter: in a study earlier in year, only nine state pension systems were rated at solid performers, able to meet their obligations when the costs of retiree re ee health care and o benefits were included. in the state of california, a study by stanford university shows the state's pension system is half atr trillion dollars in the hole. the group californian for fiscal responsibility keeps tabs on thousands of local and state officials pulling down six-figure pensions. under the rules here, employees

can add in unused vacation, sick leave and uniform allowances to inflate the pay numbers used to calculate pension. unions have watered down attempts to change that. >> nobody is able to push back, so it's really a catastrophe that's coming up. >> reporter: as more public employees are added to the pension rolls, state pension funds are going broke, and taxpayers will be on the hook to make up the difference. george lewis, nbc news, sacramento, california. as we reported here last night, barbara billingsley died this weekend at age 94. she will be remembered as the perfect mom june cleaver on leave it to beaver. this morning on "today" i talked to jerry mathers about her memories of her. >> she loved manners. she told me the proper way to eat or set up the silverware and how to put the napkin on your

laugh. she was the most wonderful person i pefr knew. i'm deeply saddened. >> jerry mathers is 62 now. up next, pretty in pink meets the nfl all for a good cause. desperate for nighttime heartburn relief? for many, nexium helps relieve heartburn symptoms caused by acid reflux disease. and for the majority of patients with prescription coverage for nexium, it can cost $30 or less per month. adache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are possible side effects of nexium. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. ask your doctor if nexium can help relieve your heartburn symptoms. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. man: everybody knows you should save for retirement, but what happens when you're about to retire? woman: how do you go from saving to spending? fidelity helped us get to this point, and now we're talking about what comes next. man: we worked together to create a plan to help our money last. woman: so we can have the kind of retirement we want. now, you know how this works. just stay on the line.

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to the lights on the white house itself. to help the cause, pink even has a place this year in the ultimate male preserve, the football fields of the nfl. we get the story tonight from peter alexander. >> touchdown washington. >> reporter: even in pink chris cooley start tight end is a fearless 28-year-old celebrated for his toughness, but the hardest hit he ever took happened off the field. >> she called me and she was crying and right away i knew something was definitely wrong. she said, i have breast cancer. that is so scary, because you just don't know what's going to happen. >> reporter: in 2008 cooley's mother nancy was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. >> it's every day it's a different life. i felt like i was not a part of the real world. >> reporter: even today two years later nancy doesn't like to think about it, not about the chemotherapy or losing her hair. >> you have the prettiest hair.

>> reporter: inspired by her courage cooley and his wife started an all-star survivors event, a day for relaxation for people battling the disease. cooley shared what a team doctor told us. >> now i know where you never miss a game and play hard. because your mother so much tougher than you. i said, i know. >> all right. >> reporter: the women got a makeover and an inside the locker room tour. suzanne was diagnosed with breast cancer in june. >> it's really just so nice that they make everybody just feel good. >> reporter: among the other hosts offensive lineman derrick dockery whose mother is a 15-year survivor and his wife emma who lost her mom to the disease in 2006. >> you begin to understand what life is really about whether you see these women, and you begin to think life is short.

>> reporter: outside the lines a group of women forming a team of their own, cheered on by a fan of athletes like chris cooley. >> when i see pink gloves and cleats in my locker, it definitely makes me reflect on what my mom went through, and i feel so fortunate. >> reporter: playing for his mom and proving real men can wear pink. peter alexander, nbc news, ashburn, virginia. that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. "football night in america" is next followed by "sunday night football." the colts and redskins including tight end chris cooley. brian williams will be here today. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. from all of us here at nbc news, new york. from all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com