on our broadcast tonight, closing time in new hampshire, with the vote coming tomorrow, tonight the candidates scramble. the front-runner mitt romney is under increasing attacks on jobs. hidden risk. the health new is is enough to shake your faith in everything. the potential bad new for millions of women who take lipitor and other cholesterol drugs to prevent heart attacks. the cost of good intentions may be another serious health condition. the amazing moment last night in tucson. a year ago we didn't know if she would survive. class act. some say the best british export since the beatles. why so many americans are hooked on "downton abbey." "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. for a small state it can be a giant killer. new hampshire also has a funny way of deciding the next nominee for the presidency and they are just finally proud of that. they vote tomorrow the first primary of the season. we'll see you from there tomorrow night. the hours until then, it's a mad scramble because political fortunes can be won and lost there. and because mitt romney has a house there and was governor of the state next door, it's always been considered something of a race for second place, but make no mistake, mitt romney is under incoming fire for his words and his record, and with our team in place tonight, it's where we begin this evening with nbc's peter alexander. peter, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. the stakes in new hampshire are clear. one senior huntsman advisor told me the final 24 hours, the last-ditch effort is to make sure mitt romney leaves this

state stumbling. the sentiment shared by other candidate as they try to improve their chances of coming out on top. in the waning hours before tomorrow's first in the nation primary, the race has taken a nasty turn. with mitt romney's challengers united to block his path to the republican nomination. >> i can stand the heat. now we'll see if he has broad shoulders and he can stand the heat. >> reporter: newt gingrich who until now promised to run a positive campaign today acknowledged he changed his mind. >> i don't believe the other person sets the standard of being tough that you back off so you can't defend yourself. >> reporter: the bitterness became more intense sunday when gingrich challenged romney's authenticity. >> politics is not a career. my life's passion has been my family, my faith and my country. >> can we drop a little of the pius baloney? >> reporter: rick perry sarcastically responded to this romney comment. >> i know what it's like to

worry whether you're going to get fired. >> i have no doubt that mitt romney was worried about pink slips, whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out. >> reporter: in an interview with nbc news today, jon huntsman says romney can't relate to ordinary americans. >> he's terribly out of touch with the reality playing out on the ground in this country. >> reporter: this bitter back and forth spilled into south carolina where the next primary is two weeks away. a spending spree of negativity with gingrich supporters releasing $3 until in ads, using clips from this scathing movie about bayne capital. >> a group of corporate raiders led by myth romney, more ruthless than wall street. >> reporter: supporters fired back, buying nearly $1 million worth of air time. one more thing, earlier today mitt romney told voters in new

hampshire, i like being able to fire people. he was speaking specifically about health insurance companies that provide bad service. his opponents jumped on that. the rick perry campaign offering supporters a downloadable ring tone of that line. tonight mitt romney's campaign says those words were taken out of context. >> you're right, peter. rightly or wrongly, that turned out to be the sound bite of the day for him. peter alexander from new hampshire tonight. today's attacks on romney picked up where things left off yesterday during our nbc news "meet the press" facebook debate yesterday morning moderated by david gregory, who is also part of our team in new hampshire tonight. i guess this becomes the question. is mitt romney stoppable or unstoppable coming out of new hampshire? >> the rival campaigns see an opening tonight, brian. it's not a huge opening, but since the debate and on the campaign trail today, romney's

rivals see an opportunity to touch a chord with conservative voters who already are not entirely sold on the idea of romney as a conservative. to now make the argument that he's vulnerable in a general election. he is not electable because of his experience at bayne capital, because he may be gap-prone. they say take a second look, new hampshire, and take a look at him again in south carolina. a veteran republican from south carolina told me tonight, brian, he actually sees evidence of consolidation around romney in his favor. his rivals don't have a lot of time left. >> was interesting this weekend, you have two debates, what, 10, 11 hours apart. it was clear the candidates waited for the second one, yours yesterday morning to attack romney and leave that lasting down in voters' minds. >> i think that's right. i think the reality set in. he won in iowa. he's way ahead here in new hampshire.

he's ahead in south carolina. if they are successfully going to make the case whether it's huntsman, santorum or gingrich that romney shouldn't be the nominee, they need to do that soon. >> david gregory in new hampshire, thanks. way want to show you what we discovered in the nbc news film archives today. to our knowledge this hasn't aired since it was recorded in 1967. what you're about to see is george romney, mitt romney's father, a former auto executive, governor of michigan and presidential candidate himself, defending his own wealth and status and success in a sidewalk encounter that gets heated in chicago. >> i've been poor. i worked from the time i was 12. my parents were driven out of old mexico when i was only 5. my people were revolutionary refugees. they had to be fed by the united states government and housed by the united states government. i know what poverty is. i've been up through it.

>> it's an amazing moment we discover we'd had in our archives. it mentioned a story we are did he bug later tonight on "rock center," the romneys of mexico, the members of the extended mitt romney family who are mexican citizens, and how they are watching all of this going on in the gop presidential race. again, that's tonight on "rock center" at 10:00, 9:00 central. there is more political news to report tonight. it comes from the west wing. there's been a change the a the top there. our chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd, also in new hampshire tonight, has more on the news today out of washington. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. what happened here is, of course, chief of staff bill daley, who had already seen some of his duties trimmed back. he's been chief of staff one year and three days, but after the entire debt ceiling debacle, budget negotiations that never came to fruition, he had a deputy chief of staff take over

the day-to-day duties. i'm told bill daley, home for the holiday, decided maybe it was time to go now. he already said he was going to go at the end of 2012. maybe time was now to issue that resignation. he did it. the president at first refused it last week, then bill daley said, no, he wanted to leave, so they announced it today. we don't know the motivation why they wanted him to stay, if it had more to do with not having one of these stories go public. replacing jim daley, budget director jack lew who will not be involved in the campaign, but doing more of the management of the government side of the white house through 2012. >> chuck todd, part of our team in new hampshire. we'll see you up there tomorrow night. thanks. we mentioned an important health news story tonight. this is enough to shake your faith in any treatment. the story is this. as we said, you might call it the cost of good intentions because women who take lipitor

or other statin drugs for cholesterol have a 50% greater chance of developing diabetes, according to this study and affects potentially millions of americans. we get our report from our chief science correspondent robert bazell. >> reporter: tens of billions of americans take medications scald statins, zocor, lipitor are in that class. new evidence suggests these drugs often called wonder drugs may be a risk factor for type diabetes. the study followed 50,000 women over 50 with and without heart disease for ten years. those taking statin drugs had a 48% greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes. judy has her diabetes well under control, but she was not surprised when she was diagnosed 19 years ago.

diabetes ran in her family and her weight was way too high. >> i was sort of a perfect candidate. >> reporter: today's study sulgt suggests the statins she was taking may also have put her at risk. the research does not implicate any single brand. >> this association was true of both the low potency and higher potency statins and appeared with shorter-term use as well as with longer-term use. >> these are so widely spribed. >> reporter: specialists emma size since heart disease is one of the major complications of diabetes no one should stop taking their medication, but the risk is something to consider. >> doctors have to factor that into the equation and think about it, especially in lower risk, lower weight women who are being started on it for prevention rather than for

treatment. >> reporter: judy has no plans to stop taking her statin. >> i have to weigh the risks and talk to my doctor. >> reporter: good advice for all patients. another reminder that every drug has both risks and benefits. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. also tonight, the pharmaceutical company novartis is recalling excedrin, buffer inbecause they may contain broken or stray pills from more powerful prescription meds like percocet and others. bottles expiration dates 2014 are on the list. in arizona this past weekend, thousands gathered at a candlelight vigil to remember the tragic shootings in tucson one year ago today. gabby giffords was the target of that shooting spree and left six people dead.

giffords near death. for a lot of people, the wounds there are still very fresh, but last night brought an amazing moment for those involved. our report from nbc's miguel almag uchb era. >> reporter: from the moment congresswoman gabrielle giffords took the stage, the home crowd town of thousands offered a warm embrace in the chilly desert night. with husband mark kelly by her side, giffords raised her hand, opening the memorial service with words firm and clear. >> i pleej allegiance to the flag. >> a most emotional day for everybody in tucson. >> reporter: sunday's vigil capped off a weekend of moving tributes. at 10:11 a.m., the moment of the shooting, tears, a memorial unveiled where the shooting took

place. six killed here, 13 wounded when jerry lee lochner shot giffords. >> if anybody can pull themselves out of a horrific situation just through sheer determination and hard work, it's gabrielle giffords. >> reporter: tucson remembered all the victims and the survivors. >> with liberty and justice for all. >> reporter: together they move forward. miguel almaguer, nbc news, tucson, arizona. amazing night. up next, a young american sentenced to death in iran. he says he was just visiting his grandparents. we'll have the report live from tehran. the british import that has become a breakout hit here in the states, what is it about "downton abbey?" [ male announcer ] this is coach parker...

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has been sentenced to death accused of spying. his family and the u.s. government have a very different version of what he was doing in that country. our tehran bureau chief is with us tonight from tehran. ali, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the american sentenced to death is 8-year-old amir mirzaei hekmati, a former u.s. marine who served as an arab translator. he was born in arizona to immigrant tehranian parents and holds dual citizenships. iran does not recognize his u.s. citizenship. he was arrested in early december and charged with spying for the cia. three weeks ago state tv showed him allegedly confessing to being part of a cia plot. photographs of hekmati have been posted online. his family say they are terrified and shocked at the sentence, and insist he was only in iran to visit his grandmother.

obama administration was quick to react. >> if it is true that he has been so sentenced, we would condemn this verdict in the strongest terms. we maintained from the beginning that the chargest against him were a fabrication and we call on the iranian government to release him immediately. >> reporter: all this is playing out amid growing tensions over iran's nuclear program. iran announced that it's now enriching uranium at a second underground facility. iran supreme leader this morning said despite heavy sanctions, iran was not going to back down on its nuclear program. meanwhile, an american sits in an iranian jail with 20 days to appeal his death sentence. >> ali, thank you for that. when we come back, the death of a political warrior and a cable television fixture. people with a machine.

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way to the north tonight there's high drama going on. a coast guard ice breaker, the only functioning ice breaker in the fleet is cutting a path through frozen waters to help a russian tanker carrying fuel bound for nome, alaska. it got stranded friday in the icy bering sea. the coast guard vessel is creating a path so the tanker can proceed. it's the carrying over a million gallons of diesel fuel. everyone who bungee jumped thought about it briefly, i hope this thing cords and the cord doesn't break, but it did for a woman named allison langworthy. got tethered up, hurled herself off a bridge. when it snapped, she was sent plunging into crocodile-infested waters survived and is fine. hyundai elantra was named

american car of the year today. journalists voted for it with comments like, "it gives a lot of bang for the buck with the feel of a much more expensive car." second time the south korean automaker has won car of the year honors. the genesis got the title back in '09. tony blankley died. tony was at the forefront of an era that saw the proliferation of cable channels and cable pundits. of the latter, he was among the most ubiquitous. he became a child actor for film and tv and acted alongside humphrey bogart. then came a law degree, career in politics, worked for ronald reagan, press secretary for newt gingrich and was a solid conservative voice as a journalist. tony blankley died of stomach cancer. he was 63 years old.

prince william's new bride former kate middleton turns 30 years old today, with a celebration the at royal family says will be quiet and low key. she rang out her 20s for good last night at a movie premiere. stephen spielberg's "war horse" opened in london last evening. kate reportedly needed a kleenex at the end as so many american viewers. when we come back, something else from the uk that's come to america. almost as popular as the princess. [ kyle ] my bad. [ roger ] tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have... [ dennis ] ...allstate. [ roger ] same agent and everything. [ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no...we're not. ♪ the allstate value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. it's bring your happiness to work day.

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back in the early '70s in homes across the country, sunday nights were reserved for pbs and the wildly popular british tv import "upstairs, downstairs." 40 years later, another story of the people who work for the aristocracy. fair warning, there is something highly addictive about this show according to a lot of american viewers. stephanie gosk reports on the frantic following for "downton abbey." >> butlers and maids, lords and ladies. love and, of course, deception. britain's "downton abbey" is back on pbs for a second season.

in an age of often violent, fast-paced tv shows, a stately period drama, so very proper, so very british, has busted out. >> i wasn't expecting the success we got because i think if you expect that, you're a mad person. you know, that happens very rarely in a career, if ever. >> reporter: "downton abbey" is one of the most highly acclaimed tv shows of all time. six emmys, four golden globe nominations, and likely more to come. the show's popularity in the u.s. has stunned one of its youngest stars. >> i just think it's mad, it's so exciting. i want to go over there and watch it on the telly in american to believe it. >> reporter: if there is a key, it's likely to be found here where the show is filmed. high clear castle, a 17th century monument to british aristocracy. is there a pivotal scene here in this saloon. what happens between two main

characters changes everything. we've seen it here in britain, the rest of you are just going to have to wait. it's home to lord and lady grantham in the show and lord and lady canarvin in real life. why do you think it's caught on the way it has? >> perhaps it has something to do with the romantic idea of family. this is all about a family. the house today is still about the family here in downton. >> reporter: the show produced by a company owned by nbc benefits from an oscar-winning screenwriter and a skillful cast that includes maggie smith. >> are you afraid someone will think you're american if you speak openly? >> i doubt it will come for that. >> i love writing maggie. she makes the lines funnier than i wrote them. that's how writers dream. >> put that in your pipe and smoke it. >> reporter: season three starts shooting next month, welcome news for "downton abbey's" loyal following on both sides of the pond.

stephanie gosk, nbc news, london. that is our broadcast for this monday night. i'm brian williams. see you later this evening on "rock center" and hope to see you back here tomorrow night. we'll be up in new hampshire covering primary day. good night.ht