on the broadcast tonight, message received. the democrats have elected their old leader, and tonight we have new numbers on what americans think of our new divided government. back from the brink. the new general motors about to take a big step on their road back. will this gamble financed with your money pay off? s is >> and nbc news investigation. why it's important to know where our seafood comes from and what we find out about what's in some imported seafood. and the royal wedding. millions of details and millions of dollars. let the planning begin. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. two weeks ago the american people spoke by going to the polls and causing a huge national political shift. as late as today, two weeks later, voters were still being heard. nbc news can now report that it appears when all the votes are counted in alaska, republican senator lisa murkowski will go back to the senate from alaska. she did this, remember as a write-in candidate, having lost her primary race to a tea party candidate endorsed by sarah palin. more on that later. there was another election just today in washington. the democrats elected their leader and, again, they've chosen nancy pelosi, though 43 of her own people, her fellow democrats, voted against her in that chamber. we have new numbers tonight about what americans think about

their new split government, with a democrat in the white house but republicans in control in the house. we're going to start off all of it with our keeper of the numbers, our white house correspondent political director chuck todd. chuck, in the house to start with, the new boss looks a lot like the old boss. >> reporter: in fact, the same four people running congress before the election. reid and mcconnell in the senate, boehner and ploelsi in the house, the same four leading things. and we asked people how is the election sitting, how are the results sitting with you two weeks later? 61% still feel positive about the results, which gave, of course, republicans control of the house. that same number, 60% are very happy with divided government. but they're pessimistic that it's going to lead to much change. 73% do not believe much change is going to take place in washington. perhaps when they see those

congressional leadership elections and the same people are running things, that may be why they're cynical. who should set the agenda? the white house is not going to be happy with this number. 52% say it should be congress, particularly republicans. just 39% believe the president should do that. a couple of big ticket items. number one, that big presidential debt commission plan unveiled last week, it was a test plan. we tested it in our poll and it fell flat. 40% called it a bad idea. just 25% said it was a good idea. we tested even more details. it was even more unpopular as you get into the detail. the big policy debate is going to be what to do with those bush tax cuts. 49% say don't give the wealthy these tax cuts. 46% say extend it at least temporarily. that mixed signal from the public is why you're seeing a

mixed signal from the white house and congress. that's why a compromise of probably one year or two years is coming. one political note, next month we're going to do a 2012 preview in our poll. we got a little preview already. sarah palin is telling barbara walters not only is she thinking about running, but proclaims if she does it, she can beat president obama. brian? >> chuck todd, with all things political tonight in our washington newsroom. chuck, thanks. now more on what we mentioned, the election night result. we mentioned at the top of the broadcast here tonight, the stunning comeback of alaska republican senator lisa murkowski. our own kristen welker has been covering this race since election night and she's still there, with us again tonight from anchorage. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. incumbent senator lisa murkowski is on the brink of making history. he's about to become only the second person since 1954 to win a senate seat through a write-in

candidacy. election officials spent seven days counting more than 100,000 write-in ballots, and lisa murkowski has built up a 10,000 vote lead over her rival, joe miller. miller argued a lot of those votes shouldn't count due to things like spelling errors. even if you toss out all of those contested ballots, she still has a very strong lead over miller. now, miller did beat murkowski during the gop primary, bolstered by the support of the tea party and sarah palin. joe miller has said he might ask for a recount. brian? >> kristen welker in that room which will fill with supporters tonight. it's tempting but we should not forget this is much more than about who's in, who's out, a kind of scorecard for those who find politics a sport. election results matter profoundly.

there's no better example than an issue on the table right now in washington. a new arms treaty with russia, the democrats want desperately to save the start treaty, which will have ripples around the word. our own kelly o'donnell has more from the hill tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the pressure really ratcheted up today when some key republicans said they would block approval of that treaty. and they say there's just not enough time to work out differences with the white house in the few weeks remaining in this congress. that is a blow to one of the president's signature foreign policy issues. flanked by the top senators on foreign relations, today secretary of state hillary clinton's raised voice sent a message of urgency. >> for anyone to think that we can postpone it or we can avoid it, is -- i'm afraid vastly underestimating the continuing threat. >> reporter: a threat that evokes a cold war fear of the soviet union.

it was such a vivid part of american life. until the first start nuclear arms treaty in 1991. but that deal expired last december. so the u.s. can't officially track how many warheads russia has now. >> we need to get our inspectors back into russia after a gap of nearly a year. >> reporter: there is considerable bipartisan support. >> any one of those warheads can obliterate the city of annapolis. >> reporter: in april, president obama and russian president medvedev signed a new version of the treaty. meeting again last week in japan, mr. obama promised quick action. >> i reiterated my commitment to get the start treaty done during the lame duck session, and i've

communicated to congress that it is a top priority. >> reporter: but the opposition is led by the senator republicans consider an expert on nuclear issues. and most of their members want more money to modernize u.s. weapons and more time to decide. >> we need a robust nuclear defense and do the upgrades to our own nuclear capability. >> reporter: and the negotiations are going on and the point man senator john kyle is telling the white house he has a list of concerns. half to do with money, half to do with what types of weapons and saying there can't be a rubber stamp for retreat. >> kelly o'donnell, i know you'll follow this for us on capitol hill. there's a split verdict in the case of the first guantanamo bay detannee being tried in a civilian court and it's a message that these cases are going to be hard to prove. he faced charges stemming from the bombings of two u.s.

embassies back in '98. 224 people died in all in those attacks. a federal court jury found him guilty of conspiracy to destroy u.s. property. he could spend the rest of his life in prison. but the jury found him not guilty of more serious terrorism charges. now to the u.s. economy. another big step in what's been a big comeback for gm, the company forced into bankruptcy and kept alive really only through that massive government bailout. tonight, gm's long plan stock offering will raise an record amount for an american company, but is this a good deal for taxpayers and investors alive? phil, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. general motors has priced its stock to start trading tomorrow at $33 a share. as the company makes another big step in its comeback from bankruptcy. it is a historic day for a

company that was all but dead last year. for more than a century, general motors gave us classics like the chevy camaro and cadillac seville. now it's about to become publicly traded, ending a year and a half of government ownership. at this dealership in washington, michigan, that's welcome news. >> people are going to be very excited to see what the new gm can do. >> reporter: after cutting a dozen plants in north america, the new gm is leaner. gm sold or shut down point yak, saturn, hummer and saab. more importantly, gm is now profitable. in 2008, it lost almost $1,200 on every car it sold in north america. today, it's making just over $3,000 on every car it sells. the focus of the new gm is

increasingly overseas. in particular, china where gm is number one in sales. gm's chinese partner, shanghai automotive, owned by the chinese government, is poised to buy 1% of gm for $500 million. >> general motors has wisely taken their relationship with shanghai automotive to the next level. >> reporter: for thousands of gm retires who watched their savings evaporate when the old gm went bank ruptd, deciding whether to buy into the new gm is not easy. >> i think they have learned from past mistakes and they are a stronger company. unfortunately, there was a lot of decisions made that affected a lot of people, that hurt a lot of people, myself included. >> reporter: when all is said and done, the gm ipo could generate up to $13.6 billion for the federal government as it sells its stake, money that will go back to the treasury department. >> phil, thanks as always. and now the latest on the grim awful spread of cholera in haiti. the remedy is simple, if

detected early and victims are treated quickly. but that's not what's happening in haiti. now they're hearing there's evidence the disease has spread to the dominican republic and people there are getting angry. our report from our own kerry sanders in port-au-prince. >> reporter: health teams patrol haiti's capital in search of cholera victims and they're finding them, sometimes dead in the streets. violent protests this week focused on the united nations. cholera is a warter born disease. the u.s. centers for disease control say it came from half a world away. southeast asia. u.n. troops from nepal, here to help after the earthquake, used this latrine, now considered the likely source of the epidemic. >> hopefully we'll know one day, but it's not our job to point out. because it makes no difference to us. >> reporter: in the small village, the faces of those hit

by the bacterial disease are haunting. a 9-year-old labors to breathe. he and his brother just clinging to life. is he going to survive because he got here in time? >> well, he came with his family of six. >> reporter: the remedy is a mixture of salt and sugar water, antibiotics for the more extreme cases. world health officials say in the coming month the disease will hit an estimated 200,000 haitians. kerry sanders, "nightly news," port-au-prince, haiti. when our broadcast continues in a moment, we are constantly told that seafood is good for us. but what about when it's not because of what it contains? and later, the engagement's been announced, but does anybody know a really good wedding planner? mmmm.

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keep this one fact in mind. 80% of the fish and shrimp we eat in this country is imported. 80% of it shipped here from overseas. tonight, our investigation has found some of that seafood may contain toxic chemicals and may cause serious health issues over time. our report from nbc's jeff rossen. >> reporter: this video, shot by a u.s. advocacy group, shows dirty sewage water to raise shrimp in vietnam. boosting production and driving down cost. would you consider this a public health threat? >> absolutely. >> reporter: ron sparks is the commissioner of alabama's department of agriculture. one of the only states testing imported seafood for these dangerous drugs. >> in some cases, between 40% and 50% of our tests would come

out positive. >> reporter: all targeting seafood with the worst record of contamination, shrimp, catfish, crabmeat and talapia, imported from china, taiwan, vietnam, malaysia, and indonesia. in some cases, officials say ending up in our country's restaurants and grocery stores. >> unfortunately, consumers can't tell if any of these compounds are in their seafood. you can't smell it, you can't taste it or cook it out. >> reporter: how dangerous are these chemicals? over time, eating this tainted seafood could cause anemia, cancer, even birth defects. the fda says the risks are long-term and not fully understood. while the fda is responsible for keeping the nation's food supply safe, our nbc news investigation found it tests less than 2% of imported seafood. does the fda need to do more? >> i would certainly suggest

that the fda do more. >> reporter: the fda declined to speak with us on camera but said it's doing the best it can, targeting its testing on companies and countries that are repeat offenders and rejecting their products until proven safe. john conley runs a trade group represents the imported seafood industry. >> the fda says it's still coming in with toxic chemicals, it's been a problem for years and it's not stopping. >> to say any unauthorized use of antibiotics is inappropriate. the vast majority of seafood coming in does not exhibit any problems. >> reporter: he says the problem is being overblown as a trade issue. he says this video is misleading. instead, he gave us his own video, a picturesque fish farms in vietnam. but when you buy seafood, chances are you don't know where it comes from. while federal law requires grocery stores to disclose its country of origin.

>> where is the tilapia from. >> reporter: in restaurants, where most of us eat our seafood, it's a different story. most states don't rye you to tell where it's from at all. don't i have a right to know where my seafood is coming from. >> consumers should feel comfortable fda does a good job. >> reporter: some officials say consumers are at risk. jeff rossen, nbc news, new york. coming up next here, a drink that exploded onto the scene, especially popular with college kids. well, the fda has something to say about it tonight. to my grandkids, i'm nana. i'm friend, secret-keeper and playmate. do you think i'd let osteoporosis slow me down? so i asked my doctor about reclast because i heard it's the only once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment. he told me all about it and i said that's the one for nana. he said reclast can help restrengthen my bones

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with who you love. mmmmm. kellogg's frosted flakes... they're g-r-r-reat! good catch, dad. [ laughs ] so if you've got teenagers or college-age kids, this is probably familiar territory to you, but these new energy drinks on the market that combine alcohol and caffeine are very popular. four loko is the best known brand. the fda says that because alcohol and caffeine is a dangerous combination, dozens have been hospitalized after drinking these products, today the manufacturer of four loko agreed to take the caffeine out and the fda, which doesn't

regulate the alcohol component, sent letters to a total of four companies suggesting they do the same. and here is a side of the decidedly manly russian prime minister vladamir putin we don't always see. putin with a puppy, a gift from the prime minister of bulgaria. it's a bulgarian sheep dog. i hope he knows how big they get. the thing is putin apparently wasn't happy with the name he came up with, so he's asking for name nominations on the internet. what a good dog in the meantime. up next, the big event for the royal family. so many details, so little time. [ man ] if it was simply about money, every bank loan would be a guarantee of success. at ge capital, loaning money is the start of the relationship, not the end. i work with polaris every day. at ge capital, we succeed only when they do. whoo! awesome! yes!

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finally here tonight, the upcoming royal wedding of prince william and kate middleton, the biggest event in the uk since the last one. there are millions of details to be worked out. it will cost millions of dollars. there are seemingly just as many questions. our report tonight from nbc's jim meceda. >> reporter: prince william and his princess to be kate, or will it be catherine? the wedding, like the devil, is

in the details. but a royal wedding? even the most mundane details are the focus of worldwide speculation. where will it be, at st. paul's? or the more modest westminister abby, even of print sell elizabeth's nuptials 63 years ago. >> it's going to be somebody to do with westminister where royal weddings have happened. but maybe something more personal and private. >> reporter: some say church bells will ring in mey, others as late as august. and the dress. there's kate's favorite designer, or perhaps someone british. much is at stake. >> i think it will have a huge impact on weddings to follow. >> reporter: even a scaled down wedding will be expensive. the cost shared by taxpayers. that's worrying many in these tough times. >> i'm happy for them as a

couple. but i also don't like funding them, really. and their lifestyles. >> reporter: a spokesman says buckingham palace will contribute, too. but taxpayers are likely to foot the bill for security. in what could be one of the biggest british police operations ever, as many as 2 million spectators are expected to flood the capital of london for what could be a wedding bonanza. these plates, $50 each. there is seen a run on these knockoffs of kate's engagement ring, the one once worn by diana. kit and williams' wedding could generate as much as a billion dollars and a ton of pride. jim meceda, nbc news, london. >> and there's more tonight on nbc. a special hour of "dateline" about william and kate and their romance and engagement. that's tonight at 8:00, 7:00

central. friday night, my interview with prince charles, the man who will be king. that broadcast at 9:00, 8:00 central on friday night. followed by the prince of wales' own documentary on the environment. for us, for now, that's our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you, as always, for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.