ed. her tv ads have been condemned as false and misleading. and even her hometown newspaper said meg whitman has demonstrated "a loose relationship with the truth" on our broadcast tonight -- the reckoning in key states and all across the country, high stakes as the campaign kicks into high gear. hard hits -- this was one of the most violent weekends in football in memory and somewhere now wondering what can be done. paying the price -- one more reason not to get into an accident. and desperate days -- those trapped miners tell us what they really went through deep underground. also tonight -- a powerful couple as we've never quite seen them before. couple as we've never quite seen them before. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening.

these days you can tell where the democrats think they have a a chance to win on election day, you can also tell where they're trying to limit the damage. just look at where the big name democrats are turning up from the president to the first lady on down. both parties know there are political types predicting both houses of congress could switch to republican control. there's a brand new force in politics that makes this election all new and the tea party is just one of the unpredictable elements as we get down here with just 15 days to go. so we begin tonight with our political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd. it's getting rough out there. >> it is. we're at the time where every hour feels like a day and every day feels like it went by in an hour. today the campaign trail was dominated by the popular women on the campaign trail. here we are just 15 days before the pivotal midterm elections.

first lady michelle obama helping democrats in connecticut. >> i know we can keep this movement going. >> reporter: sarah palin firing up the tea party express. >> you're winning. and the last -- don't know what the heck to do with ya. >> reporter: and house speaker nancy pelosi in pittsburgh with steel workers trying to save her own job. >> we will win this election. >> reporter: pelosi has been nothing short of a lightning rod in republican tv ads. >> markey votes the pelosi party line on spending. >> career politician rick boucher supports nancy pelosi 96% of the time. >> reporter: in the most recent nbc news/"the wall street journal" poll, 51% said pelosi as speaker is unacceptable. now many are distancing themselves including bobby bright of alabama. >> i'm going to vote for the person that will allow me to best represent my constituents. >> reporter: democrats are on defense everywhere.

analysts from both parties believe more than 100 house seats are up for grabs almost assuring a republican takeover of the house. on the senate side republicans need a net gain of ten seats, made even more difficult by tea party republican candidates. asked on "meet the press" whether being gay is a choice, colorado tea party candidate ken buck said this -- >> i think that birth has an influence over like alcoholism and some other things but i think that basically you have a choice. >> reporter: buck later told the denver post he wasn't talking about being gay as a disease but he expects his remarks to become fodder for a democratic attack ad. in kentucky, democrat jack conway is questioning rand paul's christian faith based on disputed reports from his college days. why are there so many questions about rand paul? >> reporter: the ad sparked a heated exchange sunday night. >> why did he freely join a group known for mocking or making fun of people of faith?

>> cast aside these attacks on my personal religion. jack, you should be ashamed of yourself. >> reporter: paul is now threatening not to appear in any more joint appearances with conway, he's very upset. up with a response ad already to that one, but there's a lot of now make you cringe moments of negative tv ads all over the country from alaska to florida to kentucky. >> election day will bring some relief if nothing else. it's getting rough out there. chuck todd, starting us off tonight. thanks. there are big races with big name big money candidates all across this country. one of them is to the north of us in connecticut, a wild contest for senate, pitting former wrestling executive linda mcmahon against state attorney general richard blumenthal. our own kelly o'donnell reports. >> reporter: senate hopeful dick blumenthal is just the kind of candidate drawing fire this year. >> connecticut is going to have an election, not an auction.

>> reporter: a democrat and veteran politician running on his record, 20 years as connecticut attorney general. up against political newcomer super-rich former wrestling ceo linda mcmahon, an election big on personality. >> is money making a difference in this race? >> my opponent has launched a $50 million attack machine. >> i'm a business woman and he is is a life-long politician. that's i think the primary difference. >> reporter: mcmahon ran her family's wrestling entertainment empire, real world business experience she hopes will attract independents. here in connecticut, there weas one type of voter linda mcmahon is having a tough time winning over. other women. in poll after poll, women choose her opponents 2:1. >> she was in wrestling and everything, i just don't think she's right for the job. >> reporter: mcmahon has tried to soften her image. >> i'm a wife, i'm a mom, i'm a grandmother.

>> reporter: blumenthal who leads in polls, accuses mcmahon of marketing sex and violence to children. >> there have been seven dead wrestlers since she started campaigning for this office. >> reporter: and mcmahon attacked blumenthal for saying this: >> we can learn something very important since the days i served in vietnam. >> reporter: blumenthal was forced to admit he never went to vietnam while he was a marine. >> blumenthal never went to vietnam. >> he said he misspoke. >> what about at soldiers? >> reporter: apologetic, blumenthal claims voters will look at his whole career. >> people in connecticut know me and they've taken the measure of my character. they know i've never backed down from a fight. i'm not perfect. >> reporter: and in this matchup, each claims to be the real fighter for the middle class. kelly o'donnell, nbc news, torington, connecticut. now we turn overseas to france specifically, where days of sometimes violent protests threaten to paralyze the country. protesters say they want to

preserve a way of life, the government says it's facing reality. the issue here is the plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. our own stephanie gosk is with us tonight from paris. stephanie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the government is proposing just a two-year increase but that is enough to trigger strategic strikes that threatening to strangle the economy here. today, students protested against police in a number of locations including the suburbs of paris. they lit cars on fire and police responded with tear gas. tomorrow, there are fears there could be more violence. there is a nationwide strike called for. they expect millions of demonstrators to turn out on the streets. all of this ahead of the scheduled vote on thursday by the government. the government is expected to pass this proposal. now, the strike is being organized by union workers and they've spent the last week blockading fuel supplies at both depots and refineries around france, it has led to fuel shortages.

today, 1,500 gas station was facing critically low supplies and many forced to close. tomorrow, two of france's largest airports orly and charles de gaulle say they could see as many as 50% of their flights canceled. brian? >> stephanie, while all this is going on, you're in the grips of a potential new terror attack ll us about that. >> reporter: well, this is based on comments that the interior minister made during a talk show yesterday. he was asked whether there was still a threat here in paris. he mentioned that the french government had received intelligence from saudi officials, but there were a few mentions of it in the french media last night but by today we didn't see any mention of it because the french are really now more concerned about where they're going to find enough gas to fill up their cars. >> as often happens, stephanie gosk in paris, thanks. now to the latest on the foreclosure fiasco that has rocked the real estate market.

bank of america said it will restart foreclosures in the 23 states where judges must approve by resubmitting documentation that may have been falsified or prepared improperly. the company said the re-signed documents are valid and more information is expected tomorrow when the company releases its third quarter earnings report. if you watched any football this weekend, you know this was one of the more violent weekends in terms of colossal hits and injuries in recent memory. some of the highlights made even veteran fans look away after a while. helmet to helmet collisions that are not supposed to happen but they happen anyway in what is already a violent sport. at the college level there was a horrible injury, it caused a kind of post game discussion across the country and our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman has our report. >> for both pro and college

football it was devastating weekend. 6'2", 275 pound rutgers junior hey motionless on the field after a devastating hit in saturday's game against army. >> players on both teams have taken a knee. >> yesterday rutgers confirmed he has serious damage to his cervical spinal cord. today greg shiano, the football coach spoke guardedly about the players condition. >> here's the situation. this is going it be a long, long hard road back. he's got a lot of friends and lot of people who care. >> reporter: serious head and neck injuries in football are statistically rare but some say seem more common. this weekend, on the same field that rutgers' legrand was injured, the very next day detroit lions linebacker zach follet was carted off the field after an inadvertent head to head hit.

there were a parade of hard hits in the pros yesterday with apparent concussions on the field. nbc sports peter king said this weekend is the most violent he's seen in 26 years of covering the league. with several helmet to helmet hits leading to several concussions for players. >> i don't think it registers to players and won't registers to players until suspensions start getting handed out. >> reporter: it was a sentiment voiced by nbc sports football analyst rodney harrison, known for his own hard hits. >> you didn't get my attention when you fined me five grand, ten grand, 15 grand, you got my attention when i got suspended. >> today's players are bigger, stronger, faster than they used to be and more susceptible because of the increasing impact, even the best equipment cannot protect every single player from every kind of injury.

>> reporter: the events this weekend even caught the attention of the vice president of football operations calling the injuries really disturbing and saying helmet to helmet hits may be for the first time offenders suspension and that means sitting on the sidelines and bigger fines than these players have ever known before. >> i don't think i've seen anything like this past weekend in terms of the violence in the sport. >> i agree. >> dr. nancy snyderman, thanks. as always. when our broadcast continues on a monday night, you're on the road, you're away from home, you you get into a an accident. then you get the bill and finished out real cost of getting injured. then what really went on among those miners a half a mile underground. miners a half a mile underground. with all the equipment you use to stay fit, you might want to try lifting one of these. in recent years we've added a unique natural sea salt to over 40 campbell's condensed soups. it helps us reduce sodium, but not flavor.

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charging you if you're involved in an accident, even if it wasn't your fault. our report tonight from the nbc's kevin tibbles. >> a cruise on his scooter is what 71-year-old kerry feldman had in mind but while passing through chicago heights, illinois, he was hit from behind. >> i fell and the bike fell on top of me. >> reporter: fortunately no serious injury. a fire truck came but he says it wasn't needed. then feldman got hit again with a $200 bill. >> this can't be true. this has got to be a mistake. >> reporter: no mistake, feldman was assessed with what is called an accident tax. he wrote a check under protest. >> it's wrong, it's just plain wrong. >> reporter: today, many towns are turning to the accident tax to offset costs. insurance industry estimates suggest as many as 37 states have municipalities that have charged out-of-towners with

in sal emergency services. line in a, kansas, emergency crews suffer covering 56 miles of interstate and charges $375 an hour. >> if you're driving a vehicle and actually require a rescue service you're going to get the bill. >> reporter: the fees will never cover what an accident costs his taxpayers, but they do help offset the expense of high speed crashes. hydraulic rescue tools cost a lot and cost a lot to maintain but with today's cars this is what you need to save lives. the fire department has invested $1 million in its emergency response vehicle. >> we only bill if we deliver a service and most people are happy with that service. >> reporter: the insurance industry maintains motorists shouldn't get dinged because they're away from home. >> it's a double taxation, they've already paid tax for police and fire protection. many people call it a crash tax what do you call it? >> a ripoff and a scam. >> reporter: in today's economy

the price of saving lives often comes with a price tag. kevin tibble, salina, kansas. the crystal cathedral megachurch in southern california has filed for bankruptcy protection tonight facing spiraling debts and dwindling donations, the church founded 50 years ago by televangelist robert shuler is home to the hour of power tv show. the organization lost some of its membership when a family feud erupted after shuler retired earlier this year. its creditors are owed between $50 million and $100 million. when we come back tonight, at home with the putins and the photo that has russia talking.

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there was news today about those ten russian nationals caught here in the u.s. this summer and shipped back home. the kremlin was tight lipped about it and won't allow any pictures but did announce all ten have been given medals, russia's top medal in fact honoring their work as spies. among them the 28-year-old tabloid favorite named anna chapman. and russia is abuzz about what vladimir putin's den looks like. the website gawker compared it to a motel 6. it is in a word modest. the video aired on russian tv to promote the census showing the putins being interviewed by a census worker in clothing that matched the couch with a dog present but it wasn't the modest furnishings in their official residence that has the web buzzing overseas.

bloggers say they are secretly divorced and this was all for show. a spokesman issued a formal denial. this is for all those while boarding walk back the first class cabin with a combination of derision and envoy. there won't be much left to envoy in the front. plane. "usa today" reports carriers are moving away from a full-blown first class section into something more modest, more closely resembling say business class. the article mentions united, qantas and british air as those reducing their first class investment. we've all heard a lot about teenagers being obsessed with text messaging their friends and now the folks at nielsen are putting real numbers out there. it turns out the average 13 to 17-year-old sent 3,339 text messages per month. as a result actual voice phone calls are down 14% among teenagers. another "sesame street"

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stuffing. the side dish that makes people take sides. take a stand at greatstuffingdebate.com. finally tonight, for more than two months we wondered, all of us, what they were really going through, what it was really like down there for those 33 men trapped 2,000 feet down in a mine in chile. now they're out, all of them, and we're just beginning to learn just how desperate their days really were. and tonight, some of them have spoken with our own natalie morales about their ordeal. >> reporter: just four days out

of the mine, victor zamora and carlos barrios are seeing the museum now open in honor of them. what's it like for you two now seeing the images? "it's like being there again, every moment," says victor. we point out their pictures, the 33 faces that now tell a story of horror, courage and survival. the first breakthrough, what was that moment like for you? "it was very emotional as you can see by my smile we knew something good was coming soon." physically, they're okay, emotionally, they have a long way to go. "when we became trapped, i screamed, we're not going to get out of here. i thought of my kids, it was very painful." desperation set in, they were dying and they knew it. they even wrote farewell letters. did you prepare yourself?

"i delivered myself. i wrote two letters. they stayed below in the mine." what did you say in those letters? i told my wife to take care of my son and give him good values. they miss their families, they missed celebrations. victor turned 34 underground, but above, they threw him a party. finally, day 69, the capsule arrived, carlos was 13. for him, it was a joy ride, he first saw his dad and the light of day. victor was next, he said his rebirth was like a rose about to bloom as he was reunited with his son. did your life change a lot, carlos? part of ourselves. we still don't feel whole, we're not 100%." so you're going to be go back to mining knowing the risks? "i'll go back. it's a passion. we're miners. we're proud to be miners. it's a family." natalie morales, nbc news, copiopo, chile.

>> that's our broadcast for this monday night. thank you for being here with us as we begin a new week. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we have breaking news out of the south bay tonight, look that the backup the reason for that backup, tanker carrying 43,000 gallons of wax which overturned on southbound 101 near morgan hill. you can see you are looking at a live picture, our chopper scans over that traffic, you haven't even been able to see the tanker yet. crews are dealing with that right now. the tanker overturned around