on our broadcast tonight, new trouble for john edwards as he tells the court about a health condition so serious his trial needs to be put off. winter blast. that first big storm of the season on the move tonight. now winter really does arrive for millions. tensions rising. the u.s. warns iran not to make good on its latest threat. what are the odds and risks they'll try to carry it out? the road to retirement, have you saved enough? most americans aren't close. a special look how to catch up. already a winner. that remarkable young woman we told you about succeeding despite overwhelming odds. tonight after our report aired, some good news to tell you about. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. on top of all his other problems, on top of the problems his behavior has caused for others, tonight former senator, former vice presidential nominee john edwards has a health problem serious enough to put off his trial. as you may know, he stands accused of using campaign money to help hide an affair. all this comes after his wife, of course, lost a public battle with breast cancer, and as his own court date approached, he told the judge he had a serious health issue of his own. today we learned it's a heart problem. nbc's andrea mitchell here with us tonight with some exclusive details on this. andrea. >> reporter: good evening, brian. for years as you say, john edwards' legal and political family drama was set against the back drop of his betrayed wife elizabeth's heartbreaking struggle with breast cancer. a year after she lost that battle, it is john edwards'

health that is of issue. edwards who entered and left by a back door in a federal court in north carolina today, as his lawyers presented letters from two cardiologists asking for a postponement on his trial until he can have medical procedures. federal judge catherine eagles agreed to postpone the trial until march 26th at the earliest, saying, "the public has an interest in a speedy trial, and this case has already been continued twice, but clearly there were some limitations on mr. edwards due to real and serious health issues." edwards appeared to be fit, but the judge said the doctors say he should avoid driving and travel to court for a trial until he has surgery. edwards is charged with accepting about $1 million from campaign donors to hide his affair with rielle hunter, the mother of his daughter frances quinn. he has denied all charges, saying the money was a gift, not campaign contributions. now i've been told this heart procedure is not a bypass, not a valve, not open heart surgery

for a critical bypass, the kind of thing we saw with bill clinton. instead, it is an arrythmia. there are reports he collapsed while jogging in december. this is still being evaluated. it may require a pacemaker. these procedures will be done and the trial is postponed until march 26th at the earliest. >> andrea mitchell, thanks for that update tonight. on the campaign trail, mitt romney pushed back against attacks on his time running a private equity firm bain capital, while newt gingrich struggled with accusations that his supporters have been less than truthful in their advertising. nbc's peter alexander in hilton head, south carolina, tonight. good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. these candidates try to dash around the state, mitt romney nearly missed his event here in hilton head tonight because he was stuck in paralyzing traffic so bad that he ultimately needed a police escort. he actually called in by cell phone to the room filled with veterans.

the crowd gave him a groan, but ultimately cheers when he arrived. campaigning across south carolina today, front-runner mitt romney tried to present himself as a sympathetic conservative. >> i want to get jobs for americans. by the way, i'm concerned about our poor in this country. >> reporter: at the same time, romney launched a new ad responding to his opponents' accusations he callously killed jobs while running bain capital. >> this is a business mitt romney helped start. and this one. and this steel mill. >> reporter: newt gingrich continued to challenge romney for mischaracterizing his record at bain. >> he claims he created 100,000 jobs. "the washington post" two days ago reported in their fact check column he gets three pinocchios. that's what you get from the "post" if you're not telling the truth. >> reporter: that same analysis found gingrich's supporters guilty, too.

awarding them four for actual errors in this movie that portrayed romney as a selfish profiteer while at bain. >> i'm calling on them to edit out every single mistake or to pull the entire film. >> reporter: meanwhile, the scathing new memo president obama's re-election team seized on the line of attack writing, "romney and his partners made hundreds of millions of dollars while taking companies to bankruptcy." supporters are also targeting rick santorum whose message could appeal to the state's evangelical christians. >> santorum pushed for billions in wasteful pork voting for the bridge to nowhere, a tea pot museum, even an indoor rainforest. >> reporter: rick perry took his struggling campaign to target practice, but he was off the mark again during an interview, confusing which three federal agencies he vowed to shut down. for his part, jon huntsman who finished third in new hampshire's primary is trailing, according to some polls here in south carolina, behind comedian steven colbert who says even he is considering a presidential

run. >> so it goes. peter alexander in hilton head tonight, thanks. monday night on "rock center," ted koppel will have a special report on these new big money super pacs that are changing the face of presidential politics this year. monday night on "rock center." now to the rising tensions overseas with iran, over that country's threat to close a vital oil-shipping lane in international waters in retaliation for sanctions over its nuclear program. the u.s. is warning iran now publically and through back channels privately, not to try anything. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more on this high-stakes dangerous standoff. >> reporter: today in tehran, the funeral of a nuclear scientist assassinated this week, and everyone knows who to blame. "death to israel," "death to america," they shout. u.s./iran relations are plunging fast and military analysts warn

this could escalate well beyond angry rhetoric. the likely slash point, the strait of hormuz, the most important waterway on earth. 1/5 of the world's oil moves through the strait, 21 miles at its narrowest and it crosses right through iranian waters. tensions escalated dramatically in recent days. first, washington imposed harsh sanctions on iran and pressured the world to follow suit. iran staged a show of force. threatening to close the strait. that would send oil prices skyrocketing. the logic for iran if we suffer with sanctions, so will everyone else. it is a risky move. the u.s. fifth fleet is within striking distance. >> we cannot tolerate iran blocking the strait of hormuz. that's a red line. >> reporter: just last week threes iranian speed boats approached a u.s. navy ship. u.s. officials dismissed it as

routine. nbc's top military analysts both warn a conflict is now a dangerous possibility. >> these new economic sanctions actually start to strangle the iranian economy. the regime barely has control today, that the economy collapses, then they are going to take some action. >> there is liable to be, if not likely to be, a confrontation of some kind. >> reporter: with so much tension and military hardware in a tiny stretch of water, clashes can start by accident. it's happened before. >> good evening, it was not supposed to happen, but it did. >> reporter: in 1988, tensions were also high. the u sfrn sfrss vincenness tho was under attack from iranian jets. it was wrong.

the american warship shot down an iranian passenger jet over the strait of hormuz killing all 290 people onboard. >> i think probably both of us agree, military confrontation in the gulf would be a disaster for everybody involved. >> reporter: the good news, brian, is that both the u.s. and iran seem to recognize the danger of all this and are communicating and trying to back away from any potential conflict. there is, of course, another wild card, that american who was recently sentenced to death in iran for spying. some analysts are suggesting he could end up being a bargaining chip. >> what a dangerous neighborhood. richard engel, thanks for your reporting tonight. back in this country, former mississippi governor haley barbour spoke publically today about the controversial pardons, more than 200 he granted as he was on his way out of office. there's been widespread outrage, but today barbour said he's sure they are all valid. including the pardons granted to several men who worked for him at the governor's mansion. >> i can't tell that you one person out of these 250 won't do something wrong. but i am very comfortable with

this and most comfortable with the people who were at the mansion. >> he said he believes in forgiveness and second chances and never thought this would become a political issue. to this year's delayed winter onset, which in the midwest is most emphatically here finally tonight. the snow that hit the chicago area moved east. behind it bitter cold. weather channel meteorologist mike seidel with us from cleveland tonight with the latest. >> reporter: good evening. it was a shock to the system in many in the midwest today as the recent springtime warrants were snubbed by an icy reality check. in cleveland four inches of lake-effect snow with 40 mile-an-hour wind gusts that caused whiteouts. wind chills near zero were long overdue here. in buffalo, six inches of snow fell. another foot could small tonight and tomorrow. making up for the large lack of snow this season. in green bay 450 turned out in lambeau field and scored $10 an

hour to shovel out the stadium ahead of sunday's packers/giants playoff game. unlike four years ago, temperatures will be in the upper 20s at kick-off and not below zero. close to zero tonight in chicago. your coldest night so far, more snow around the lakes tomorrow. that 29 in new york city tonight is actually a little bit above average. wind chill will get you. tomorrow, a seasonable january day in the northeast. sunshine, less wind. the warm-up begins in the big cities. by sunday, temperatures are back above average. how many times have we said that this season in chicago, st. louis and atlanta? with millions dealing with this teeth-chattering weather going into the weekend, at least some will be online tonight checking out caribbean vacations. >> a cold night on the lake in cleveland. mike seidel, thanks. "still ahead as "nightly news" continues this friday evening, the road for retirement for the millions who haven't saved nearly enough, some numbers that may be hard to hear, but key to getting back on track. later, making history at 30

rock, 60 years of our friends of the "today" show.

our report a week ago tonight on saving for retirement drew a lot of comments from viewers on our website. a lot of them have questions about what to do if they're starting to save very late or if their retirement accounts have taken a hit. what does it take to get back on track? nbc news correspondent anne thompson helps us navigate the road to retirement with a look at how to bounce back. >> reporter: turning 40 makes human resources manager tasha robinson realize her retirement nest egg of about $30,000 needs to get a lot bigger. >> i want to be able to be self-sufficient and care for myself and live comfortably and not have to struggle or worry. >> we're at 50%. >> reporter: after meeting with her financial planner, robinson knows she has a lot of work to do.

these are the milestones aarp says you should hit on your road to retirement. at age 30, your retirement savings should be 40% of your annual income. by 40, two years of income. by 50, four years. by 60, nine years of income to maintain your lifestyle. >> there are all these detours. >> reporter: ideals nbc news financial editor john chatzky concedes are discouraging. should somebody look at these numbers and think, i'm too old, i can't do it? >> absolutely not. somebody who is 50 years old has a very good shot of living another 30 to 40 years. that's a lot of time that you really have to save for. >> reporter: starting early takes a smaller chunk of your paycheck. if you start in your 20s, 3% to 6%. in your 30s, up to 10%. wait until your 40s and you're talking about 25% of your income. if you delay until your 50s, it's even more daunting.

>> it's only about half of 50 plus workers who are taking an active step and calculating how much they need for retirement. >> reporter: is ignorance any excuse here? >> no. at this point people should have gotten the message, we are responsible for our own retirements in a way that no other generation has been responsible. we've got to pick up the ball. >> reporter: robinson knows she needs more, so she's ordering out less and getting a roommate. >> i'm not taking anything away from myself when i increase the contributions, i'm actually giving myself something. >> reporter: retirement needs and goals are very individual, so to figure out what you need for the life you want, try aarp's retirement calculator. you can access on nbc nightly news.com. in order to do that, you need to know your salary, retirement savings and any pension benefits you might have. put all those numbers in and it will give you a reality check about where you are today and what those golden years could look like.

brian, it is eye-popping. >> even if the answer scares you. ann thompson, thanks for your reporting tonight. when we come back, good people who saw our report last night and stepped up to make a difference for a hard-working young woman succeeding against long odds.

television news lost one of its very best today when richard threlkeld died. he was killed in a car accident on long island, new york. among television correspondents, his distinctive recognizable name was one of the best known of the modern era and that was because of his work. he was at cbs news over 25 years, later jumped to abc news, later did a second tour at cbs. he covered the vietnam war, fall of saigon, goldwater, johnson and clinton, the rfk assassination and the persian gulf war.

his last job was moscow bureau chief. along the way he won every major award, and of course, the respect of his colleagues for being such an elegant writer. he was married to television correspondent betsy aaron. richard threlkeld was 74 years old. we told you here last night about a homeless high school student here in new york who, despite all the challenges she is facing, is a semi finalist for the intel science competition, the top prize is $100,000. already because some good people were watching us here last night, there is help for her on the way. nbc's rehema ellis is back here to tell us about it. >> reporter: a lot of people were moved by this remarkable teenager's story. she won't be homeless much longer. today at the high school where samantha garvey worked over a marine biology project for 2 1/2 years, officials from suffolk county social services showed up and offered her family a three-bedroom single-family

home. most announcements are not publicized, but the county regularly provides affordable housing for families in shelter, about 40 families each month. even though samantha's parents work, the garveys fell on hard times and were evicted from their home new year's eve. samantha continued to work hard despite the trauma of being uprooted. >> we had to leave everything behind at the old place, so this is, to have everything given to us -- this is completely amazing. thank you. >> an incredible story. i understand the good news didn't stop there? >> reporter: it didn't. in ten days they get the keys to the new house and they get their dog back which they were not allowed to have in shelter. >> talk about quality of life, that is important. rehema ellis, thank you very much. we'll stay on this story. what an interesting young woman. up next tonight, a giant milestone for our friends at "today." the all-star team they assembled.

a huge birthday celebration here at 30 rock today. a lot of big names here to help us celebrate 60 years of the "today" show.

it was like cooperstown and canton, ohio, all wrapped into one. a reunion, too. barbara walters and a slew of past hosts raising a glass together. we thought we would end tonight with household names americans have been sharing their mornings with all these decades and what they had to say looking back in their own words. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning, all. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> there it is, january 14, 1952, when nbc begins a new program called "today." >> this show has been a witness to so much of what has shaped our lives over the last 60 years. >> pat lever had the idea that the country, which was new to television at that time, would want a place to start its day to find out what happened overnight. >> knowing where you're going and what the world is like you're going into. that sounds like a pretty big job. >> dave gariway was a massive communicator. he could talk to people.

he was a showman. the window was his ring. >> we were in a big glassed-in fishbowl here. we can look out the window, as you see. you can see the people looking in at us. >> there was a time women were viewed as the "today" girl. back in those days the women were being chased around the desk. then there was barbara sitting at the desk and commanding attention. >> barbara walters here this morning. >> barbara walters was a true trail blazers. >> i dodged your question. >> you certainly have. >> as women evolved and women took a more prominent role in the work place, we took a more prominent role on the "today" show. >> every woman on the "today" show is now a co-host. that's my legacy. >> we are going to go live and show you a picture of the world trade center. >> every single major news event in the history of these 60 years has been on this broadcast.

>> it's kind of like the open square where people come with ideas and where news is passed along. but we always had time for fun. >> bryant, give me a hug. >> another member of our cast, a very hard-working fellow named j. fred muggs. >> he had a chimpanzee. >> well, thank you. >> i hope the future of the "today" show is strongly tied to its past. i hope it continues to be a program that strives to inform people in an intelligent, worldly, sophisticated and humorous way. >> congratulations to our friends and co-workers on an incredible bit of television history. that's our broadcast on a 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 back here on monday night. in the meantime, by the way, have a good weekend. we'll leave you tonight with a look at the landmarks that started this day lit up in "today" show colors. have a great weekend.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com these charges are very unfounded, and we will fight these charges. >> right now at 6:00, a united front. san francisco sheriff ross markarimi and his wife talking and speaking out after markarimi is charged with domestic violence. good evening, everyone, i'm