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captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good evening. from the ronald reagan presidential library here in simi valley, california, we're this is the first debate featuring the new entrant and already the new front-runner, governor rick perry of texas. brian williams is moderating, along with john harris of the website politico, and our team is covering it as we go. beginning with nbc's lee cowan at the reagan library. lee, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, harry. yeah, it's almost a cliche to say all eyes are on rick perry, but this is his first debate, his first chance to convince a national audience of his credentials to run for president. they were eight candidates on stage tonight, as we speak in

fact. they were all greeted here by the reagan presidential library by former first lady nancy reagan. shortly after that, it went right to the questions very quickly and not surprisingly it was the economy and jobs. mitt romney and governor perry who were sparring back and forth defending their own records in their individual states. take a listen. >> well, governor romney left the private sector, he did a great job of creating jobs in the private sector all around the world. but the fact is, when he moved that experience to government, he had one of the lowest job creation rates in the country. but the fact is, while he had a good private sector record, his public sector record did not match that. as a matter of fact, we created more jobs in the last three months in texas than he created in four years in massachusetts. >> let's widen this out and let's bring in mr. cane on one

side -- >> wait a second. >> go ahead. i'll give you 30 seconds. >> states are different. texas is a great state. texas has zero income tax. texas has a right to work state, a republican legislature, a republican supreme court. texas has a lot of oil and gas in the ground, those are wonderful things. but governor perry doesn't believe that he created those things, if he tried to say that, it would be like al gore saying he invented the internet. the reality is, there are differences. there are differences between states. i came into a state that was in real trouble, a huge budget gap, losing jobs every month, we turned it around three out of four years, we had un employment rate below the national average. i'm proud of what we were able to do in a tough situation. >> no back and forth, but michael dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did.

>> and george bush created jobs at a faster rate than you did, governor. >> that's not correct. >> that is correct. >> nice to see everybody came prepared for tonight's conversation. >> reporter: and that was just the start of the debate. a lot more underway as we speak. a lot of folks thought that rick perry was the one that had the most to lose tonight, tothers thought it was michele bachmann that had the most to lose. a lot of folks think that she has to have a very, very strong performance tonight in order to stay relevant. all of it is ongoing, we have at least another hour or so to go of this debate on msnbc as we speak. that's the latest from here, harry. back to you. >> lee cowan, thanks. this was also the night president obama had wanted to unveil his jobs plan. a package of tax cuts and spending reportedly worth some $300 billion. instead, he agreed to wait until tomorrow night.

but it's a good bet we'll hear some pre-emptive push back during the debate tonight. kristen welker is at the white house for us tonight. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, to you, brian. republicans smell political blood, they are engaged in a vigorous plan to try to unseat this president. tomorrow mr. obama will unveil that new jobs plan. he's done this before, but he insists this plan will have new ideas that should gain bipartisan support. at an orlando jobs fair today, thousands packed this warehouse looking for work. they're among the nation's 14 million unemployed. many say they want to hear more than just words when the president speaks tomorrow night. >> go ahead, make your speech, but i hope you have something to say. >> reporter: they also had a message for congress. >> i think they need to look the american people in the eye and realize that these people's jobs are more important than their own. >> reporter: the president's plan is expected to cost several hundred billion dollars. and will be a mix of stimulus and tax cuts. today the white house insisted it will have an impact.

>> you can be sure they'll be specific, they'll be measurable, they will be paid for, and they will be by any objective standards the kind of measures that have enjoyed bipartisan support in the past. >> reporter: but some republicans have argued that the infrastructure investments and payroll tax cuts which the president has said will be a part of the plan are old ideas. >> we certainly intend to listen politely to the recommendations that the president has, but i think i can pretty confidently say everybody in the republican conference in the senate thinks we need to quit doing what we have been doing, quit borrowing, quit spending. >> reporter: the speech is politically important to mr. obama who's gearing up with his re-election bid with unemployment rate stuck above 9% and his approval rating at a record low and some economists say there are limits to what can realistically be achieved in the short-term. >> here's the dirty little secret, there's actually not all

that much the policymakers can do to create jobs and these kind of crises take a long time to recover from and often jobs is the last thing to come back. >> reporter: administration >> reporter: and too show that some things do rise above politics, president obama called texas governor rick perry who's also a republican presidential can at the. he pledged support for the wildfires. folks in carson city, nevada are still in shock this evening after the terrifying attack yesterday morning at a popular pancake house. a loan gunman rained bullets on a restaurant full of people eating breakfast. four people killed were members of the national guard. >> there's a shooting going on. >> reporter: 911 calls after the sheer terror as the gunman opened fire. now he's coming back out with a

gun. he's got an automatic weapon. he's shooting at us now. >> reporter: most of the unsuspecting crowd at the carson city ihop doing nothing more than eating breakfast. but eduardo sencion unloaded his assault rifle. >> it was just pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. >> reporter: the massacre took just minutes, but in the end, four were dead, including three ahn armed national guard troops gathered for a breakfast meeting. major heath kelley, a father of two. miranda mcelelhiney who was 31 years old a veteran with a ready smile and home made cupcakes whenever there was something to celebrate. and sergeant first class christian reige who served in afghanistan, a fitness buff and father of three. nevada's national guard lost as many troops here as in the wars in iraq and afghanistan, leaving a community that prepares for loss at a loss for words.

>> when you compare those combat losses to the losses that were suffered yesterday, you know t whole national guard is grieving. >> reporter: a civilian was also killed, 67-year-old florence donovan gunderson and seven more were injured. >> there's been no information gathered that links the suspect to the business in any manner. the suspect's mental health history does remain under investigation. >> reporter: sencion eventually killed himself, leaving no note, only questions and pain. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, carson city, nevada. now to texas where the weather finally gave firefighters a break in their efforts to contain those massive wildfires. nbc's jay gray is on the front lines east of austin. jay, good evening. >> reporter: hey, there, harry. firefighters did make progress today but it's still a slow go for so many who can't get back into their neighborhoods because of hot spots there. they're forced to rely on things

like this, lists of homes that have been destroyed for any real solid information about what they be left. as firefighters walk the path of the blaze in some places the flames are finally gone. but the devastating effects of the fire are scattered everywhere. >> we spent a lot of time here and it's gone. >> reporter: the wildfire is still raging, a wall of flames 24 miles long and in places 20 miles wide. but for the first time in four days, there's a glimmer of hope in this smoky haze. >> an excellent day. >> reporter: with the winds down, strike teams have managed to contain at least 30% of the wildfire. >> that does it, no wind. and cooler weather. >> reporter: giving firefighters a chance to gain some ground. >> the forest service can probably get a handle on it and make some good progress today. >> reporter: progress is measured much differently on the other side of the fire line, sifting through the charred rubble of what used to be his home. >> here's your needle in a haystack. >> reporter: dan stern somehow

found his wedding ring. >> i knew this was the spot to start looking. >> reporter: it will be much tougher to find the way to explain to his young children, their lives before the fire are gone. >> it's very difficult to tell a 6-year-old the truth on some of this stuff, because when she cries, i cry. >> reporter: thousands across texas now searching for answers and an end to this violent blaze. now tonight the forecast is driving a very real fear that the winds will pick up in the next couple of days, keeping people like in out of their homes even longer and causing more problems along the front lines, harry, it's going to be a tough go. >> jay, tell me this, how are these firefighters holding up? there's been more than 200 days of wildfires in texas just in this last year. >> reporter: yeah, harry, it's been amazing to watch them work, they're working tirelessly now. but they are stretched to their limits, they're getting a lot of help from across the country, units from as far away as alaska all the way through california

showing up to help on the front line. here in the northeast, more of what we don't need, rain. from maryland to new england, towns that are already soaked from hurricane irene are getting soaked all over again by the remnants of tropical storm lee. rivers are rising, highways are flooding and cleanup crews are stretched thin. and there is more trouble as well tonight at washington's national cathedral. a 500-ton crane repairing damage causesed by last month's earthquake collapsed today damaging two vehicles. thankfully, no one was injured. up next, as "nightly news" continues, a school puts students on notice, zero tolerance for bullies. but is the new law more than most schools can handle? and later, diamonds are forever. liz taylor dazzled on the screen, wait until you see the stunning collection she wore offscreen about to go on the auction block. n block.

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bullies beware. as of the beginning of this school year, bullies in new jersey schools will face the toughest set of rules in the country. but the good intentions of the state legislature might be more than some schools can handle. nbc's chris jansing reports. >> reporter: ask students at any high school and chances are you'll get this answer. have you been bullied? >> yes, yes i have. >> yes. >> reporter: have you known people? >> yes, definitely. >> reporter: experts say at least 3 million students are

victims of bullying every year in the u.s. and 48 states have some kind of anti-bullying policy. but now new jersey has the toughest law in the country. it mandates public and private schools have zero tolerance for bullying and recommend it for private schools too. >> there's a new law in town. >> reporter: before classes started this year, thousands of teachers crammed mandatory training sessions, watching bullying videos and learning about the 18 pages of what the law requires. >> reporter: the law specifically states what is and is not bullying, if it fits the criteria, there are consequences that are part of the policy that will be administered. >> reporter: schools must report every complaint they get and appoint an anti-bullying specialist to investigate, whether they happen in schools or online. it was a video posted on the internet that led to the suicide of rutgers student tyler clemente and pushed new jersey to effectively outlaw bullying. the new law is not without its

critics, especially school board members and administrators who say already cash-strapped schools are once again being asked to do more without any new resources. >> every time there's a societal problem it seems to end at the doorstep of the schoolhouse. kristen is a full-time guidance counselor and now also a anti-bullying specialist, but she's hopeful it will all be worth it. >> nobody should feel intimidated. nobody should feel like there's people picking on them and that they can't go for help. >> reporter: and that's something that both sides of the debate agree on. chris jansing, nbc news, new jersey. on wall street today, stocks snapped a three-day losing streak in a big way. the dow was up more than 275 points, the nasdaq and the s&p 500 were also up sharply, gaining about 3% on the day. up next, a young veteran about to receive the military's highest honor, the president will call him a hero, words he would rather not hear. a

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several former hockey league players were killed today in russia when a plane carrying one of that country's top ten teams crashed. 43 of the 45 people aboard died in the crash which happened on takeoff, about 150 miles northeast of moscow. 27 of the victims were players, making this one of the worst accidents involving athletes ever. the team was on its way to its season opener. players from ten countries were on the roster of the team called the locomotive, part of russia's continental league. in a white house ceremony next week, president obama will deliver the nation's highest military honor to a young man being called a true american hero. former u.s. marine dakota meyer will be the third living recipient of the medal of honor, awarded for heroism in the war in afghanistan. jim miklaszewski reports.

>> reporter: on his grandfather's farm in southern kentucky, dakota meyer is a long way from afghanistan, but he's never far from the war. >> a lot of people ask, did you think you were going to die, i didn't think i was going to die, i knew i was. >> reporter: two years ago, meyer was a 21-year-old marine corporal in afghanistan when his unit walked into a deadly ambush. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: in a ferocious firefight that raged on for six hours, dakota charged head on into enemy fire and saved the lives of 13 fellow marines. >> i was going to keep fighting until they got me. i wasn't going to sit there and lay down and let them win. >> reporter: though wounded, dakota fought on, three marines and a navy corpsman were still missing. by all accounts, dakota was so committed to try to save his battle buddies who were under heavy fire that he had to disobey orders to do it. and with no regard for his own life, dakota ran repeatedly into the kill zone in a frantic search. on his fifth attempt, a grim discovery.

>> they were all killed and i found them all laying in the ditch. their weapons had been stripped, radios had been stripped. >> reporter: dakota still wears the names of all four, but he's convinced they didn't have to die. despite repeated calls for help, army commanders nearby refused to provide artillery fire or re-enforcements. an investigation later found those commanders were negligent, leading directly to the loss of life. >> i'm still angry about it but what do you do about it? >> reporter: he vents that anger with a gun, firing his pistol into the pasture. his father big mike says dakota is finally sleeping better, but worries he's still got a long way to go. >> i don't think he'll ever get over it completely. >> reporter: for his courage, dakota will receive the medal of honor, but denies he's a hero. >> i don't even like that word, hero. i'm the farthest thing from a hero. i will accept it on behalf of the marine corps and for the guys that died. >> reporter: dakota admits that

part of himself also died on that battlefield in afghanistan, another casualty of the war. jim miklaszewski, nbc news, columbia, kentucky. jim miklaszewski, the hinbc new. you now have the responsibility to go dirtbiking, nbc news. nbc news. boating... jet skiing... and show a ford explorer a thing or two about what it means to have best in class towing. the s.u.v. is back. [ male announcer ] you never know when a moment might turn into something more. and when it does men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven

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in "ge in "gentlemen prefer blondes," marilyn monroe nt famously sang "diamonds are a girl's best friend." for no one was that probably more true than elizabeth taylor. today we got our first glimpse of elizabeth taylor's jewelry collection. worth $30 million or more at christie's auction house will sell later this winter. take a look at this, a diamond ring of more than 30 carets, a gift from richard burton, she wore it most every day, burton loved taylor so much he married her twice and lavished her with jewels. of one gift he cracked, this diamond has so many carets, it's almost a turnip. beautiful, brilliant, words that could describe both the star and the jewels that adorned her. >> i'm not like anyone, i'm me. >> reporter: husband number three, producer mike todd, gave her this set, she was so pleased she jumped in a pool and went

for a swim, jewels included. elizabeth taylor said i never thought of my jewelry as trophies, i'm here to take care of them and love them. and when i die, i hope whoever buys them, gives them a really good home. >> these have always brought me luck. >> and rescuing the orphaned pieces won't come cheap. this bauble once owned by the man who built the taj mahal will set you back as much as a half a million. as the song says, men grow cold and we all lose our charms in the end, but square cut or pear shape, these rocks don't lose their shape. for elizabeth taylor, diamonds and rubies and emeralds were a girl's best friend. and that is our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm harry smith for brian williams and all of us at nbc news. williams and all of us at nbc news. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

good evening, everyone. i'm janelle wang. >> and i'm raj mathai. we begin with a case that's been in the headlines for months. from mising case to murder. michelle le vanished after leaving a medical class in hayward. today police say she was killed by a former