on our broadcast tonight, the rescue still the talk of the world. tonight, how they pulled it off and what it was like down there. >> countdown with time ticking down. another big televised debate and the first lady's televised tour. a last hope for families about to lose their homes, even asbacks take back the most houses ever. and making a difference by fighting for a place to let kids cut loose. is it true they might allow liquids back on airplanes? "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. not a whole lot got done in chile today. and who could blame them after all? this was a national day of celebration after that nation pulled off a spectacular rescue. successful every step of the way, pulling off the near impossible task of drilling through over 2,000 feet of solid rock and extracting 33 men and the men were able to hang on. they're all okay. their story has become a global drama as a global television audience followed it live. now we're learning what we didn't know, including what it was like down there. we want to begin our coverage again tonight with nbc's kerry sanders in chile. good evening. >> reporter: well, good evening, brian. the doctoring here at the hospital say all 33 miners are mostly in very good health. one has pneumonia, another one has some dental problems.

in fact, three or four of the miners may actually be released from the hospital today. thus far, they're not talking. they say that they've made a pact and they're only going to talk collectively if they get paid. it was the picture an entire nation waited more than two months to see. all 33 miners alive and well, and free. mean while, outside the regional hospital today, a swarm of onlookers and cameras from all over the world, waited to catch a glimpse of chile's new heroes. and standing in the crowd, a group of teenage girls. hoping to see 19-year-old jimmy sanchez, their newest idol. asked about all the attention rescued miner richard says, it makes you want to cry. >> i think they're more anxious to get out from the hospital than they were from the mine. >> reporter: inside, family

members anxiously waited to see their loved ones. this, after celebrations broke out in chile streets last night. thousands cheering along a parade route of ambulances transporting the 33 miners to the hospital. they were wheeled in like rock stars still wearing their sunglasses. greeted by a flurry of camera flashes. he was the ship leader, and the last miner out in a successful rescue that took less than 24 hours. he surfaced 12 minutes after climbing into the capsule, marking the end of a 70-day nightmare. chile's president told him, your shift is done. i congratulate you. you did your duty and came out last, like a good captain always does. ♪

they sang the official song of the miners, with their helmets over their hearts. deep in the mine, before climbing into the capsule themselves, the rescuers held up a sign "mission accomplished, chile." and the mission was these 33 men whose lives now begin again. >> kerry sanders reporting from the hospital tonight to start us off. one person involved in this rescue and the planning for it called it 75% engineering and 25% miracle. that math is fine, except there's no mention of bravery. it took a lot of that, and more. it took 33 men deciding they were going to make it as a group. it took thousands back up on land figuring out how to get them out of there. today, our own natalie morales got a closer look at what this intricate operation entailed. she's with us tonight from the site of the now closed mine. natalie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to

you, brian. yes, you said it. many calling it a miracle today. it was a super human effort and it also took the perfect plan. a sense of great pride for a job well done. mission accomplished in just 22 hours and 39 minutes. with more than 800 people working day and night to get all the miners out. the entire operation planned and carried out with the precision of a moon shot. >> we had very talented people and very brave people down there. >> it's the second one, we call it fenix 2. >> reporter: one of those talented people is a lead engineer who gave us a work into the rescue area. this could not fail? >> no, no. we don't have a second shot. >> reporter: the capsule may seem simped, but it was designed

to transport them quickly and make them feel at ease. >> the miners said it was very smooth. >> reporter: a nasa team sent 75 features for the design of the capsule. one was making the wheels like racecar. >> we cannot have the capsule crashing with the walls. >> reporter: cameras captured every angle so the rescuers could monitor the ascent and the world could watch the ride to freedom. once out of the mineshaft, they were delivered here into the triage area and now taking a look at all 33 names and their conditions all for the most part normal. manuel gonzalez, first rescuer to descend and last man out of the collapsed mine early this morning says things went like clock work, making the rescuers even faster. "there was a lot of camaraderie with the miners, they even joked with me about turning off the

lights before i left," he said. the whole world had a part in the rescue, south africans and americans provided equipment for the drilling. brandon fisher slept by the drill site until the shaft finally reached the miners. >> it's like a drilling family while we were down there. >> reporter: but with all of the planning, all of the technology, everyone here, including the miners, are saying it was the love, the labor of love that saved 33 lives. brian? >> natalie morales, thanks for your great reporting down there over so many days. now back in this country, we turn to politics and we begin tonight in the state of delaware where there have been two debates in less than 24 hours between the tea party favorite and republican senate candidate christine o'donnell, and her democratic party opponent. they went at each other over everything from taxes to late-night television.

kelly o'donnell following the race tonight from wilmington. >> reporter: well, the outcome of this race could not be more personal for joe biden. of course, it's his old senate seat on the line. tomorrow, the president and vice president will both be here campaigning. it's that important to them. voters have been seeing a lot of spectacles and now they're getting some substance, too. today in wilmington, not your usual rotary club meeting. a lunchtime senate debate drew a packed house and international media. republican voters are outnumbered in delaware, so christine o'donnell is fighting to broaden her appeal. >> i represent those independent voters and hillary democrats. >> reporter: the democrat wants angry voters to choose his experience. >> the question i've asked them is what sort of message are you sending, a protest or do you want to send a senator who will

be an independent voice for you? >> reporter: their first tv debate last night delivered substance on issues with a sting. >> ms. o'donnell has experience at running for office but not running anything. >> my opponent has promised not to raise taxes and breaking those promises as soon as he takes office. >> reporter: he accused her of getting her facts wrong. >> some are just actually untrue. >> reporter: yale educated, he comes from privilege. o'donnell has had serious financial struggles. critics question her responsibility. >> i sold my house and i sold a lot of my possessions in order to pay off my personal debt. >> reporter: she claims much of the media attention is unwelcome, but seems to relish pop culture status. >> thanks for having me. >> you're just jealous you weren't on "saturday night live." >> i'm dieing to see who's going

to play me. >> reporter: clearly behind, o'donnell claims voters are about to see a tougher side. >> we're going to take a much more aggressive approach on exposing exactly who my opponent is and exactly what his record is. >> reporter: talking with voters here, brian, they say politics has the delaware way, meaning it's supposed to be nicer, neighborly and about what's happening inside delaware, not so much around the country. but this kind of race is testing all of those things. brian? >> i was going to say big fight for a small state. thanks for that, kelly. the obama daughters are home tonight with their grandmother because both the president and first lady are out on the road because democrats in some very tight raises need the help. nbc's john yang has our report from denver. >> the first lady of the united states, michelle obama. >> reporter: it looked like old times today, here in denver michelle obama continued her first campaign trip since 2008.

>> this is officially my second day campaigning. >> reporter: in washington, president obama held a televised town hall meeting with a group of young people. >> although i'm a proud democrat, i'm a prouder american. >> reporter: he wants to make them young voters. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: the president and the first lady are hoping to make it feel like old times, too. on the stump, mrs. obama repeatedly invokes memories of the presidential campaign. >> yes, we can. we were energized, we were hopeful. we were fired up. >> reporter: the obamas are trying to rekindle the energy and enthusiasm of the 2008 campaign. that's when young minority and first-time voters turned out in huge numbers and became a key part of the democrat success. once mr. obama took office and tackled tough issues like the economy and health care reform, his popularity plummeted. but mrs. obama, who got off to a slow start in the 2008 campaign,

has seen her popularity soar. she's since held her own, making her an important part of the democrat strategy. >> in some ways michelle obama has maintained a connection the president has lost, so she's very much kept a lot of the cool factor, if you will, from the campaign of 2008. >> reporter: the first lady is striking out on her own, headlining fund-raisers in seven states. she's hit some of the toughest races. this weekend she'll be in ohio with her husband for the first time since 2008. >> her popularity gives her some ability to talk to voters who won't even listen to the president. >> reporter: popularity the democrats hope will rub off on their congressional candidates. john yang, nbc news, denver. we have a quick note on the weather tonight as we've been warning all week. the storm in the east is upon us and the entire northeast region is on a flood watch for later tonight and tomorrow, and a fast-moving nor'easter is set to

blast ashore with 30 to 40-mile-an-hour winds and heavy rain. there's some winter weather advisories out there, too. some people will get several inches of rain. others, including the adirondacks, the catskills on north should be on the lookout for snow. there's about 12 hours worth of precipitation at the heart of this storm. when "nightly news" continues in just a moment, families on the brink trying to hang onto their homes in the face of this massive mortgage mess. later on, leading the charge to reclaim the place you loved as a kid. nothing more simple than that. making a difference by the way for a whole new generation. [ male announcer ] for frequent heartburn relief,

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banks have seized 816,000 homes from mortgage borrowers so far this year. a number that was on track to top 1.2 million by the end of 2010. but now that's been thrown into doubt by serious problems with the way foreclosures are being handled. our report on all of it tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: cindy's last hope to save her home may be with her bank hitting the pause button in the foreclosure mess. two years ago, her husband howard suddenly died of cancer. then she lost her job and couldn't pay the mortgage. she's since found a new job and while bank of america has told her it's considering modifying her loan, it's also threatening to foreclose. >> i don't want a handout. i just need my interest rate lowered. >> reporter: that would keep cindy and her two kids from joining the record 102,000 homes

that were repossessed just last month. nationwide, 1% of all mortgages are in foreclosure with 10% delinquent. >> never had this kind of lengthy foreclosure crisis in the country. and we're actually in very unchartered waters here. >> reporter: now amid allegations that hundreds of thousands of foreclosures may have been rushed and rubber stamped, some of the nation's biggest banks have suspended foreclosures, just as all 50 states launch a joint investigation. the attorneys general say so many documents have been bung lted, the legitimacy of the process is in question. the ohio attorney general -- >> the seriousness of the matter is we're talking about taking away people's private property rights. that's something we've been careful about in this country. >> reporter: suspending foreclosures could postpone any

recovery in the housing market, since foreclosed homes account for 31% of sales nationwide. they have put money down on a foreclosed home. now that deal is on hold. >> it feels like it can be taken away and everything i've been sharing is gone away. so it is a little scary. >> reporter: her american dream on hold right now, while the kleins just try to hold onto theirs. tom costello, nbc news, columbus, ohio. when we come back here tonight, is it safe to even imagine a day when we will boldly carry liquids on board a flight? ♪ [ heather ] businesses need a reliable financial partner. one who can stay in sync with their moves. my job at ge capital is to get bobcat all the financial and business support they need. we provide financing for every bobcat dealer in north america. together, we've rolled out over 100,000 machines

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the folks who brought us the atomic bomb have taken on a project that might be just as challenging in today's technology -- will beever be allowed to carry liquids on a plane again? they are working on a scanner that would use magnetic resonants that could read the molecular makeup of any fluid. what this means is passengers could go back to the care-free

crazy days of shampoo, skin scream, and mustard. one prototype machine has been used in albuquerque, but sadly it is years away for most of us. it's taken nearly eight years and $240 million, but tonight a new bridge high above the colorado river near hoover dam is set to home. this new bridge is great news for people who travel between las vegas and phoenix. they'll no longer have to make their way as a crossing along the top of the dam. the bridge is famous in bridge circles for being the longest bridge being built with concrete arches in the western hemisphere. there's actual news that sometimes love does ease the pain. it's something singers have been singing about for ages. scientists have figured out that the euphoria of falling in love

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finally tonight, a story about making a difference in the city of brotherly love. the folks who live in one neighborhood in north philly want something that a lot of folks who live in middle class suburbs take for grant it every day, places where kids go to play. nbc's ron allen has the story how the people are taking back what should be the heart of their community. >> reporter: leroy fisher has dreamed of this day. an army of volunteers in his neighborhood park, building a new play ground. finally. >> i don't know how to contain myself when i think about what this park can possibly be.

>> reporter: the ballfield is in poor shape and difficult to play on. weeds taking over the tennis court. to really appreciate what a play ground means in this neighborhood, consider this, it's one of the largest in the city of philadelphia. some 87 acres. and right now, there are only four swings in this entire park. but fissure knows the park's proud history. when decades back the circus came to town, horses trotted around the track. fisher's mother remembers family picnics that went well off dark. >> you felt safe. you didn't care if they ran up the hill or whatever. >> i want to bring that back. i could waddle in the negativity, but that doesn't propel me any further. >> reporter: a few years back, his enthusiasm began spreading. coach fissure and other dads started sports league. residents started holding park

cleanups and planting gardening. all of that caught the attention of a nonprofit, run by the city's park system, by devised a $20 million overall plan. >> the goal is to assist this community in reclaiming the park for everything that is positive in the community. >> reporter: philadelphia baseball star ryan howard donated money to start rebuilding the playing fields. and volunteers quickly turned this please of barren land into a play ground. >> when i think about all the children that are participating in something special, you can see i'm really feeling it inside. >> reporter: fisher knows progress comes in small steps. like those his nephew cedric takes. and he's determined to see the park become what it used to be. ron allen, nbc news, philadelphia. >> and before we leave you tonight, we want to show you something. the white house is for this

night only the pink house. that's in recognition of breast cancer awareness month. not to be outdone, the vice president's house is exactly the same color. do not adjust your sets. that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . bob ehrlich says he wants to fix maryland. but he increased state spending by record amounts. ehrlich raised $3 billion in taxes and fees... including property taxes... and a 40% increase in college tuition. and now he's made over $1 billion in new promises...