deals a fellow republican congressman called corrupt? and in her last year at ebay, whitman paid herself $120 million right before the company laid off 10% of it's workers. we're choosing a governor, shouldn't character matter? on our broadcast tonight, fall lines. a new report on the oil spill in the gulf. seems to identify a major culprit. five days to go till the midterm elections. why some gop candidates are doing so well but can't win some big races. hero's welcome. a big day for some of the americans who helped with that spectacular rescue the whole world was watching. "making a difference" for women from different cultures fighting a common enemy -- breast cancer. the man who gave us a great american expression is gone. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. it started with a blowout and a fire. it went on for 87 days. that's 87 days worth of crude oil straight from the ground, billowing into the waters of the gulf of mexico. the bp disaster became the largest environmental disaster ever. it all but wiped out the seafood industry in that region. they're now coming back. it disrupted lives, entire towns, caused a massive financial impact, as well. the search for a culprit has resulted in an early report tonight, zeroing in on a company that's been in the news before for something else, halliburton. we begin tonight with tom costello in washington. >> reporter: months before the deep water horizon rig exploded killing 11 workers, evidence suggests both halliburton and bp were aware the cement mixer used to seal the well from explosive gases wasn't stable.

yet they went ahead with the job any way. investigators for the presidential commission today reported that cement provider halliburton conducted two tests in february that showed its cement mixture wasn't stable. on march 8th, halliburton notified bp about that test. there's no indication that bp acted. in april, seven days before the explosion, halliburton conducted two more tests using a different mixture. in the first, the cement was found unstable but investigators say halliburton never told bp. investigators say halliburton then changed the testing protocols and got one good test. those results reported to bp after the explosion. >> if the cement had worked, the disaster would have definitely been avoided. like i said, it's the first line of defense. >> reporter: the presidential commission asked an outside lab run by chevron to run its own test on the cement. shown in these photos. chevron's letter details nine separate tests. chevron reports "we were unable

to generate stable foam with any of the tests." former shell oil president john hoffmeister. >> bp makes a choice of what cement job it wants. it's my opinion, this was an effort to rush this job to conclusion. >> reporter: while investigators say the cement job must have failed, they can't yet say whether it was the sole cause of the explosion. representative ed markey is chairing a congressional investigation. >> it is clear that bp and halliburton were more interested in their own bottom line than they were in what was going on at the bottom of the well. >> reporter: halliburton says it's studying today's report. bp says it has no comment. bp's ceo bob dudley declined an invitation to appear before the committee. markey said he's hoping dudley will reconsider. brian? >> tom costello in our washington bureau tonight. tom, thanks. we now turn to politics, the midterm elections just five days out.

lots to talk about, and so we've assembled part of our political team here with us in the studios tonight. chuck todd, andrea mitchell and david gregory all with us from washington. chuck, we're going to start out with you. where do we think of things five days out? >> right now, campaigns are focused on two things. number one, winning over any remaining undecides. and number two, trying to get out the democrat or republican bases who remain a tad unmotivated or unconvinced. after two days in the hospital to treat infection related to her successful battle with breast cancer, california republican carly fiorina was back on the stump today, trying to close the narrow gap with senator barbara boxer. >> this is a very tight race. >> reporter: taking a break from their own california campaigning, first lady michelle obama and dr. jill biden showed up on "ellen" and did a little dancing. while nationally republicans have momentum in these waning days, analysts expect them to

fall short of the ten seats needed in the senate. why? two words. tea party. >> the pea party has been a big plus in terms of energy and excitement and boots on the ground. but tea party nominees haven't been always as effective or strong. >> reporter: in delaware, tea party nominee christine o'donnell has all but cost the gop that seat. and in nevada, alaska, colorado and kentucky, they have made those races closer than they should be. >> the tea party folks i think too much wanted to be about themselves and their agenda. that's not a good thing this year. >> reporter: in alaska, where sarah palin is trying to salvage tea party republican joe miller's bid, it's all about personality. >> is sarah palin qualified to be president? >> of course she is. you look at who we have in office right now and compare the two, there's no comparison. >> senator murkowski? >> if she were to run right now, i would not support her as president. >> reporter: another nonsupporter, bush adviser karl rove. in an interview with the london daily telegraph, he wondered if people believed she has the

gravitas for the job. palin is a big target for big democratic guns. >> she got a big laugh when she said how is that hope and change thing working for you now. how is that trickle down thing worked for you? >> 12 million people as of 5:00 this afternoon have already voted. that's more than 10% of the expected turnout. we may see 30 to 35 million people already have voted through the weekend. >> so the election night will be anti-climactic in terms of the vote. let's talk about a politically fascinating state, pennsylvania. a tea party republican trying to pick off a democrat there. and like so many, andrea mitchell with the story tonight, it is rough, especially on the airwaves. >> it's a very rough race. this is a republican fiscal conservative who was fiscally conservative before the tea party was cool.

and now with tea party help, he's ahead in a democratic state. extra firepower in pennsylvania tonight to help democrat joe sestak. sestak is leaving no hands or paw unshaken. even trotting out his dog, bell, to dirty up republican pat toomey. >> they let wall street run wild. now pat toomey is attacking me for cleaning up his mess. >> toomey is a former congressman and a fiscal conservative. >> we really need him in washington, so you make sure you get him across the finish line, okay? >> reporter: toomey, who led a conservative washington interest group, is campaigning as an outsider against sestak, a congressman. >> he voted for the stimulus and obama's massive health care takeover. >> reporter: if any state should be a safe halven for president obama and the democrats, even

this year, it's pennsylvania. president obama carried it by ten wouldn'ts. there are 1.2 million more democrats than republicans. now it's a blue state threatening to turn red. >> i think the government is going crazy with their bailouts. >> i thought bush did a lot better job than obama is doing. >> reporter: the candidates are whacking each other for being too extreme. >> he's to the left of nancy pelosi. >> he's on the fringe of his party. >> reporter: toomey accuses sestak for being a rubber stamp for the democratic party. >> he's been in congress four years now. he's unwilling to take accountability for the terrible legislation he's supported. >> reporter: sestak says he's taken on party leaders. >> i stood up to my party and said they were wrong when they wanted to endorse senator specter. >> reporter: in the primary, sestak defeated the white house choice, democratic congressman arlen specter. now sestak's chances depend on whether the democratic party turns out voters in philadelphia where democrats outnumber republicans by more than 6-1. getting them to the polls is an old fashioned ground game fueled by cash.

>> the street money gives the committee resources to put people to work on the polls. they go out, knock on doors, they get their street list, they check who did vote, who didn't vote. >> reporter: the race is getting a lot of high voltage attention from the democrats. in addition to bill clinton, president obama will be there this weekend and michelle obama on monday, hoping to offset republican votes in the rest of the state. a big challenge. brian? >> what is it about pennsylvania politics always so interesting? andrea mitchell thanks. all of which brings us to the moderator of "meet the press" david gregory. those lucky enough to get some sleep as tuesday becomes wednesday, you wake up wednesday morning, we already believe that a lot of republicans are going to wake up in new jobs wednesday. do they start thinking about now about that new responsibility? >> no question about it. talking to republican leaders, they are talking about it, they're talking about the message they take away from tuesday. and they don't know what the magnitude is going to be. one thing that was emphasized

to me today, this is not a mandate for them. there's no great love for republicans or their ideas in this election. they see it as a rejection of the president and his agenda. if there is a mandate, one leader told me today, it is all about spending. got to get spending under control. taxes and spending will be where they start. under control. taxes and spending will be where they start. >> where they collide with the democratic white house. chuck todd, andrea mitchell, david gregory, tiny fraction of our political team you'll see at work as tuesday rolls into wednesday, the day after election day. now we turn to what we're calling the war next door. the escalating violence and bloodshed going on in mexico over drug money. a war that's spilled over the border into this country. this past week alone, there's been an explosion of violence. just today, two more brutal incidents. one of them at an american owned company right near the u.s. border.

our own mark potter has the latest in this war next door. >> reporter: the latest attack occurred today before dawn, when gunmen opened fire at three bus loads of factory workers just south of el paso, texas. four women and a man were killed. 14 others injured. police say the gunmen were targeting another man. juarez is also where relatives held a mass funeral. 14 young people were shot and killed at a birthday party last weekend. this mourper says what is happening here cannot continue. in the past week, violence in mexico has exploded in eight cities across the country. >> this is violence directed against a mexican state. innocents are being intimidated or murdered. mexico is at peril. >> reporter: yesterday at a car wash, 15 people were killed by

gunmen arriving in suvs. most of the victims were clients at a drug treatment facility. in tijuana, 14 patients at another drug rehab center were lined up and executed. president calderone offered his condolences to the families of these and other young victims. during the four-year war he's waged, nearly 30,000 people have been killed. other recent incidents include six young men killed today in mexico city. the discovery of a mass grave, and assaults with guns and grenades on two police stations after this attack, the entire police force quit. mark potter, nbc news, miami. >> >> and when our broadcast continues in just a moment, on a thursday night, an american honored for his role in rescuing those chilean miners. what he did, how he felt. tonight, we'll hear him in his own words. later, the raise for the cure like you've seen it before,

and it's "making a difference" for women who are in the fight. . that new healthcare law sure sounds good for all of us on medicare. starting next year, we'll get free check-ups, cancer screenings, lower prescription costs. and better ways to protect us and medicare from fraud, so it will stay strong for our kids and grandkids. now, that's music to my ears. ♪ toi switched to a complete0, multivitamin with more. now, that's music to my ears. only one a day women's 50+ advantage has gingko for memory and concentration plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. [ female announcer ] one a day women's. fabulous! they gave me this great idea. yea? we mail documents all over the country, so, what if there were priority mail flat rate... envelopes? yes! you could ship to any state... for a low flat rate?

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nbc news has learned some early data tonight from the survey of those in uniform asking how they would react to serving alongside openly gay men and women in the military. this comes as the military is considering the repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy. tonight, our own richard engel has learned from military sources that the survey of u.s.

troops tinld the majority would either not object to serving alongside openly gay troops or would raise any concerns directly with their gay peers. some service members, however, did strongly object to a change in the policy. a full report is due out in december. the americans who helped with that amazing chilean mine rescue that captured the attention of the world earlier this month got some official recognition back home today. they were welcomed to the white house and thanked personally by the president. one of the rescue heroes who was there today is a man we've told you about. he's jeff hart, who was drilling wells for the u.s. army in afghanistan, when he got the call to fly to chile to operate the drill that finally provided those 33 miners a way out. he spoke with nbc news today. here tonight, jeff hart in his own words. >> for a normal guy like me, it's incredible that i get to meet the president of the united states. and so i think everybody that

was there was taken back just a little bit, like is this really happening? so it was overwhelming. it was a great moment. it's not like anything we've done. when you're drilling for water, oil and gas or minerals or something, there's still a goal in mind, but it has -- it doesn't really have a meaning. you know, in some sense. so when there's people's lives at stake, there's so much meaning because it's personal at that point and you come to work and put yourself in their shoes every day. it makes it very difficult and very personal. we did have obstacles. we worked some long shifts and covered for each other. when we were struggling and having problems, yeah, we definitely covered for each other and worked together and put in some long days, for sure. the story is truly about the real heroes, which are the miners that are down there and kept themselves alive. we truly went out and we do our job to the best that we can. and that's what we did in this case.

and we are just grateful that we had the opportunity to help and speed up the process. so we truly don't consider ourselves heroes. >> in his own modest words, jeff hart, the driller from denver, who became a hero in south america. was nice enough to talk to us today. when we come back, remembering the man behind the name that launched a great american catch phrase. copd makes it hard for me to breathe. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now, i can join the fun and games with my grandchildren. great news! for people with copd, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair is different from most other copd medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day.

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our state is in a real mess. and i'm not going to give you any phony plans or snappy slogans that don't go anywhere. we have to make so me tough decisio.ns we have to live within our means. we have got to take the power from the state capitol and move it down to the local level, closer to the people. and no new taxes, without voter approval. we have got to pull together not as republicans or as democrats but as californians first. at this stage in my life, i'm prepared to do exactly that. i can tell you this next item is true after flying from los angeles the other night. the tsa is instituting a new pat-down procedure for those who either choose not to go through the new full-body scanners for

those who are randomly selected for it, and for those who somehow flunk the first round of tests. it's called enhanced pat-down, and it is, and it's also more aggressive. those scanner machines, by the way, are moving into several new major airports. a list of the most popular baby names in great britain out tonight shows muhammad was actually the number one name in england last year. and remember, there are ten different spellings that show up on the annual list. olivia was the top name for girls. without him, we would not have one of the great phrases in the modern american lexicon. >> book him, dano. murder one. >> the man who played dano has died. james macarthur was cast to play opposite jack lord. he was the adopted son of ellen

hayes, god son to lillian gish. "hawaii 5-0" ran for so long he got bored and quit before the last season. he died today in florida. he was 72 years old. when we come back here tonight on a mission against breast cancer. a history-making first that's making a difference. did you know a problem in your heart can cause a stroke in your brain? it's true. an irregular heartbeat, called atrial fibrillation, or afib, can make a blood clot form, here, in your heart, that can break free and go straight to your brain where it can cause a serious stroke. having atrial fibrillation gives you a 5 times greater risk of stroke than if you didn't have it. strokes that are twice as likely to be deadly or severely disabling as other types of strokes. if you, or someone you care for, have atrial fibrillation, even if you're already taking medication, there are still important things you'll want to know. for a free interactive book

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finally here tonight, our "making a difference" report has a very personal meaning for our own anne thompson. as our environmental correspondent, she covered the gulf oil spill for five months. she normally would have covered it as our lead story tonight, but she traveled thousands of miles from here to the walls of the old city in jerusalem for the story you get to see tonight. it's a history making first. you may recall anne has talked on this broadcast and elsewhere about being a breast cancer survivor. tonight, she reports on the first race for the cure fund-raising event in israel. and how it brought women from different cultures together to fight a common enemy. >> reporter: in jerusalem, a historic flashpoint for israeli-arab conflict.

today, its first race for the cure. 5,000 people of all faiths putting aside their differences for an afternoon to confront an issue every bit as deadly -- breast cancer. >> this event is a force multiplier, where the dialogue begins. >> reporter: in the crowd, a survivor israeli arab. >> it's wonderful. >> reporter: a speech therapist. and mother. she was diagnosed last year at age 30. she says all she wants is to see her daughter grow up and get married. she shares her story with other arab women, determined to lift the veil of secrecy and ignorance. ignorance that dr. carol says can have deadly consequences for the palestinian women she sees in east jerusalem.

how aware are palestinian women of breast cancer? >> 70% of the women come with late-stage disease. >> reporter: it's the number one killer of women in israel, accounting for 30% of all cancer cases. one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the world. she is the third generation of her family to survive breast cancer. >> it doesn't matter where you're from. it's not like i'm jewish so i'll have breast cancer. everyone can have it. >> reporter: the dynamic co-founder of the dance troupe discovered her cancer six years ago at 33. her best friend documented her journey, as cancer took her hair but freed her spirit. >> i'm healed, and time surprises you, and the only thing you can do is be syncro nitzed with it. >> reporter: today, women hoping to conquer women. anne thompson, nbc news,

jerusalem. >> and that is our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. as always, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com once i started beginning to use marijuana, it just lowered my drive, my grades seriously surd suffered, i lost interest in sports. >> it's not often you hear the case against marijuana. tonight a young man makes the case that pot nearly ruined his life. plus rain is on the way. a stubborn storm teasing the bay area tonight.