on the broadcast tonight, countdown to the first big contest of 2012. who's got the momentum to win? tonight, what iowa voters are saying. hold the phone. paying an extra fee just to pay your bill? outrage over what the largest wireless company in america is about to hit you with. filled to capaci. despite a sluggish economy americans can't wait to play at some of their favorite amusement parks. from the heart. the inspirational last message from a texas teen that has people around the world listening. and to the moon. tonight, inside the mission being called the biggest since we landed there. being called the biggest since we landed there. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. i'm harry smith, in for brian tonight. five days to go and eyiowans cat blink without seeing or bumping into a republican presidential candidate. the candidates are making final arguments before tuesday's caucus claiming they have the record, the values and the right stuff to win next november. chuck todd and peter alexander are in iowa tonight. we begin with peter in mason city. peter, good evening. >> reporter: harry, good evening to you. one sign that mitt romney's campaign is gaining confidence and looking forward to the opportunity to win here in iowa next week is today they announced they will host a party after tuesday night's caucuses and stay overnight to do tv interviews before heading to new hampshire where romney is

heavily favored. before a large crowd in this iowa city that inspired the broadway play "the music man". >> i feel like breaking into "76 trombones" but i will not do that now. >> reporter: frontrunner mitt romney focused his closing argument on patriotic values. >> o beautiful for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years. >> reporter: while many iowa republicans are still searching -- >> see how they interact with the crowd. >> reporter: carlin erickson is leading toward romney because he can win though her political heart lies elsewhere. >> even though i love michele bachmann and would like to see her maybe be vice president or whatever, i just don't think that she has a chance. >> reporter: while voters are fuelling romney's campaign at the last minute others like retired school teacher marge schmidt are frustrated by the choices. >> i think out of all the people

in the whole wide world and the republicans can't find fooind one good person to put up. >> reporter: the latest to emerge from the republican field, rick santorum, who spent more time in iowa than anyone else believes his success here can make up for lack of resources. >> i will provide the spark. there is plenty of tinder on the ground that will start building in other states. >> reporter: analysts wonder if santorum has the political organization for the long haul. trying to stop santorum, rick perry, today launching a new radio campaign. >> which republican running for president voted for the bridge to nowhere earmark? >> rick santorum? >> correct. >> reporter: meanwhile michele bachmann accuses the ron paul campaign of buying out a chairman who defected to paul tuesday. >> he told me specifically he was offered money, a great deal of money from the ron paul campaign. >> reporter: tonight the ron paul campaign denies that it

paid anyone to defect from michele bachmann. tonight, the former campaign manager for herman cain who was the frontrunner said mr. cain has no plans to endorse any republican candidate. >> peter, thank you. while the romney campaign likes its chances in iowa, the wild card continues to be ron paul. he's got momentum, organization and a fiercely loyal base of supporters. our chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd is traveling with the paul campaign today. he joins us now from atlantic iowa. chuck? >> reporter: good evening, harry. when it comes to ron paul there are two key questions. one, can e he widen his appeal among widestrem republicans and not just the closet libertarians in the party? and two, does he have the infrastructure or is this a howard dean ruse from 2004 to

catapult him? at the core of ron paul's strength in iowa, devote followers like these. joe stone made some 200 calls last night for the campaign and drove four hours from his minneapolis home to catch a glimpse of his little bit kol hero. >> i have never seen him and he's one of the only people i want to meet before i die. >> reporter: nick hofstetter turns 18 next year in time oh cast his first vote. he's volunteering here while visiting relatives in iowa. >> me and my friends do sign-making party as lot. >> the next president of the united states, ron paul! >> reporter: five days ago the paul campaign is now measuring success by the sheer number of attacks from other candidates. >> ron paul would be dangerous as president of the united states. >> one of the people running for president thinks it is okay for nuclear to have a nuclear weapon. i don't. >> reporter: today paul continued to push back

aggressively. >> some people say, you mean isolationism we don't want to deal with the world? no. >> reporter: it's that policy position that resonates with his supporters here. >> i think we are in too many wars and it is time to change that and start bringing our military home to protect this country. [ applause ] >> i don't really see what we've got when you're borrowing money from china to lend to pakistan and what do you have as your final valuable product other than more chaos and debt? >> reporter: attempts to pigeon hole paul and his supporters as outside the main stream offends stacy hartman of minburn, iowa. >> there are references to paul supporters being fringe, lunatics, extremists. i don't think it's true. >> reporter: what makes insiders nervous about paul is the idea that so many of his supporters wouldn't mind if he ran as an

independent. the paul campaign is worried about being pigeonholed. so they had little cookbooks on the chairs at all of the events here in atlantic iowa and also in perry iowa. if you remember the old clean for gene campaign for jew yeen mccarthy. think about that when it comes to ron paul. >> as long as there is a recipe for pork tenderloin. >> there is. >> chuck todd, thank you so much. first it was banks and credit card companies that triggered outrage over customer fees. now the nation's largest wireless phone and internet provider says it will start charging a fee to millions of customers who pay their bills online. you heard that right. they want you to pay for the privilege of paying your bill. it's got more than a few people more than a little steamed. pete williams is in washington with the details. pete, good evening. >> reporter: verizon is calling this a convenience fee. it means customers who pay their

wireless phone or internet bills directly to verizon online on the company's website will be charged $2 each time for the privilege of paying their own bills. the new fee goes into effect in mid january and applies to subscribers of verizon wireless. as word of it spreads it's coming as an unwelcome surprise. >> $2 is a lot when it comes up through years. >> if there is extra money charged on your bill you're going to get people on your bad side. >> it feels like a penalty to me. >> very shocking. >> reporter: starting january 15, customers will be charged a $2 fee each month if they pay their verizon wireless bill by going directly to the company website. the same fee applies to paying every month by phone. that's $2 each time the bill is paid. but the company said it will not charge for customers who pay the old fashioned way by mailing in a check or by enrolling in

automatic billing from a credit, debit, atm or checking account giving verizon direct access to your account. no extra fee either for customers who go to the verizon wireless store or kiosk to play in person, log on to their bank to pay the bill, use company gift or rebate card or so electronic checking. the response has been instantaneous. says one customer on the twitter page. wow, that is dumb. there is no fee if you walk into a store and take an employee's time to pay, yet it costs $2 to do it online? another tweets, verizon wants to charge you for the privilege of paying them. tonight verizon says they are offsetting what the company pays when subscribers pay directly online once a month. the company said most of the customers already use one of the alternatives that will not incur the new fee, harry. >> amazing. pete williams, thank you so much. tensions over iran's nuclear

program triggered a war of words over one of the world's most important waterways. one-sixth of the world's oil is shipped through the persian gulf through the straits of hormus and they are planning tough new sanctions on iran. that could cause oil prices to go sky high and the u.s. is warning against such a move. today, iran said the u.s. had no business telling iran what to do. there is news tonight about the largest offshore oil spill in u.s. history. the wall street journal report that is prosecutors are preparing what would be the first criminal charges related to the deep water horizonta whi killed 11 people and caused misery for the gulf coast last year. according to the journal the investigation is zeroing in on several bp employees for allegedly providing false information to regulators. now to what may be a sign of the times and americans' pent-up

desire for fun. this week at some theme parks including those owned by nbc universal, the crowds were so huge, many people were initially turned away. apparently it's an escape that's worth the wait. nbc's kerry sanders reports. >> reporter: packed in like times square on new year's eve, but this is orlando. for the second day in a row disneyworld's magic kingdom and your server sal orlando resort had to limit access telling people to come back later. yesterday, even the just opened legoland in orlando was at capacity. some economists say the huge crowds may be americans are tired of doing without. theme parks are proof, at least this week, vacation spending is back. the bellinger family who last took a vacation ten years ago said it's much needed therapy, even if financing it took

creativity. >> we did dig deep. very deep. deep, deep. >> reporter: how deep? the average cost of a family of four with children to enjoy five days costs $460 for hotel, $698 for food. other expenses like transportation and tickets to the theme parks, $2,281. for a grand total of $3,439. the spinotle family from connecticut said it took the entire family's efforts one nickel at a time to fund their escape to disneyworld. >> i work at a university. some of the students there give us their cans and bottles which in connecticut they're worth five cents. we cashed them in and we were able to afford the trip. >> reporter: when they got there the waits for rides in some cases were up to 90 minutes long. >> we have plenty of opportunities if the wait is longer than they prefer. we'll direct them to areas to enjar their experience and come back later in the day.

>> reporter: orlando, the top tourist destination in winter had 51 million visitors last year. this year they project 53 million will come. >> i think what's happening is consumers are releasing some of the pent-up demand from a long and harrowing recession. >> reporter: another reason so many folks are in town? football bowl games. now, parks say no one is completely turned away from the day. just their entrances are delayed. they stagger folks coming in as people leave and the parks are staying open later tonight so that everybody can be accommodated. harry? >> kerry sanders in orlando tonight, thank you. promising news about home sales. the dow finished up 136 points. the nasdaq and s&p finished up as well. when "nightly news" continues, a teenager's message about life and death that's got people around the world talking today. and later, what may be the biggest mission to the moon

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back now with the remarkable story of a young man from austin, texas, who lived his life to the fullest while suffering from a dangerous heart condition that few have ever heard of. he shared his hopes and fears with friends and fans online, including a final inspiring message that has touched a lot of people. it was one of the most popular videos online today. the world listening to words from the heart. >> thanks for watching breedrov tv. >> reporter: from his austin, texas, home brad breedlove built a loyal following on youtube. >> i'm here to give you the information back. >> reporter: offering video advice on everything from school work to dating. >> the main thing i want to go over for you girls is building up your confidence. >> reporter: he also told the world about his life threatening heart condition. >> it's cardio myopathy and i

have a pacemaker. >> reporter: the thickening of the heart muscle can lead to heart failure. >> i'm not limited on anything, but i may have -- like i have to go in for check-ups and stuff. other than that it's not a big problem. >> reporter: but it was a big problem. ben died on christmas day after a opening presents. but just before christmas, unbeknownest to anyone, ben sat down and quietly made a video with flash cards, sharing his hopes and fierce about his life long struggle with his failing heart. in his video, ben described how he had cheated death three times, beginning at age 4 and again this month when he collapsed at school. he wrote about a white light he had seen each time and the peace that he felt. >> it was pretty overwhelming. because not only did we not know he had made it, but we could

tell he was really speaking from his heart. we really appreciated the message he wanted to share with people. >> reporter: on youtube, the world is responding. more than a million people have viewed the video. thousands have written comments and condolences, even creating their own flashcard videos. a phenomenon that didn't go unnoticed at ben's funeral today, streamed online. >> it seems like more than mere coincidence, the timing of everything and how ben's message is now going literally to millions of people. >> reporter: the unspoken words ben's sister says, make the message more powerful. >> i was noticing how perfect it was that he told his story through silence. and these cards instead of speaking a story because he was at peace when he was telling his story. >> reporter: a teenager who gave advice, saving the best for last. ben breedlove was 18.

when we come back, an update to one of our making a difference reports that touched a lot of folks. my name is robin. i'm a wife, i'm a mom... and chantix worked for me. it's a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away.

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this was another day of spectacle in north korea. thousands crowded into the main square of the capitol and across the country three minutes of silence, all a highly orchestrated display of mourning for the late kim jong il. and a coming out party of sorts for his youngest son and successor kim jongun anointed as the supreme leader. the country has no love for the united states but a lot of people noticed kim's funeral featured three vintage mid 1970s american-made lincoln continentals and at least one mourner was spotted wearing a new york yankees cap. take a look at this. all hell breaking loose in one of christianity's holiest places. the church of the nativity in bethlehem.

greek and armenian monks fighting with broom sticks during the annual cleaning, each side accusing the other of encroaching on parts of the church they claim as their own. security forces had to break up the melee. now an update on one of our making a difference reports. detroit dog rescue cares for abused and stray dogs and keeps them from being euthanized. since we profiled the organization on the "nightly news" earlier this year, the folks have received an overwhelming response from don rs. this week the biggest donation yet. a $1.5 until gift from one dog-loving woman who wishes to remain anonymous. up here next, nasa's high hopes for new year's eve. called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem? are you taking warfarin to reduce your risk of stroke caused by a clot? you should know about pradaxa. an important study showed that pradaxa 150mg

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quarter of a million miles away. they will be monitoring a pair of spacecraft orbiting the moon, hoping to answer some age-old questions in what's being described as the biggest moon mission since man first landed there more than 40 years ago. here's nbc's george lewis. >> reporter: millions of years ago, earth may have had not one, but two moons. then, according to theory they collided -- an event known as the big splat. that would explain the irregularities on the present day moon. all the valleys on the side we see. all the mountains on the other side. >> scientists have not had a good way to track that down yet. this is the going of solving that mystery. >> zero, and liftoff of the delta ii, journey to the center of the moon. >> reporter: in september, nasa launched two lunar probes aboard the same rocket. they'll chase each other in orbit around the moon to study it from surface to center.

the mission will be run from this control room in paspasaden california. a critical point comes this weekend when the two craft fire to get into orbit around the moon. >> this is the big crunch time. this weekend is going to be the time when it comes together or falls apart. >> that's one small step for man -- >> reporter: for nasa it will be the most intense focus on the moon since the days of the apollo program. >> it's very challenging but we have done a lot of practicing and we're ready to do that. >> reporter: former astronaut sally ride will organize thousands of middle school students to tell nasa what pictures the spacecraft should take with their on-board cameras. >> hopefully it will encourage kids to get more involved in science and engineering. >> reporter: so this weekend while millions are watching the new year's ball drop in times square, nasa scientists will be watching the other illuminated ball that holds so many mysteries. george lewis, nbc news,

pasadena, california. and that's our broadcast for thursday night. thank you for being with us. i'm harry smith in for brian. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com