or this much attention as the spieder and the guy sitting straight up. the guy that shed out $5 million was not identified. he wants to keep eight while. >> w it worth it? >> yeah. on the broadcast tonight -- how's he doing? our exclusive nbc news poll takes the nation's pulse on the president and the uphill battle over health care. online risk -- social networking sites are a favorite new target for hackers. what you can do to protect yourself? on the case -- the swine flu pandemic puts school nurses on the front lines. are there enough of them to do the job? in the early '90s and coming of age in the 21st century. what life is like for this year's college freshman class. what life is like for this year's college freshman class. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. i'm lester holt in for brian williams. we begin tonight with the results of an exclusive new nbc news poll concerning how americans feel about the job president obama is doing. and about an issue that could define his presidency, health care. on both questions it seems mr. obama has hit a rough patch. his job approval rating has dropped 5 points since the start of summer. our new poll taken in the middle of the much-talked-about town hall meetings also finds the country deeply divided over how far the government should go to reform the health care system. nbc's chief white house llo, chuck.e numbers.ns us to >> reporter: good evening, lester. look, it's been a heated three weeks on health care, no doubt about that. and while there is a large majority that agrees there needs to be a major overhaul of the health care system it is about the only point of agreement in this poll.

the scenes are familiar now. passionate support. >> health care for >> reporter: passionate opposition -- >> who's going to pay! >> reporter: for the president the debate hasn't been particularly helpful. for the third straight month mr. obama's overall job approval rating has dropped. now just 51%. with 40% disapproving. on health care the president's job rating while unchanged still only has 41% approving, 47% disapproving. lyle rexler of brooklyn is withholding judgment. >> you know, we don't know how good a job he did until we find out whether, you know, he gets something through. then we will find out if he did a good job or not. >> reporter: it's even worse for republicans in congress. just 21% approve of how they are handling health care. 62% disapprove. >> of course they want -- >> reporter: the public is split over reform efforts. 54% worry the president's efforts go too far and will make it worse. 41% are concerned reforms won't go far enough.

clarence mills, an obama supporter from eastern maryland believes the president has to be flexible. >> i think he ought to deal with the public, you know, see what the people want. listen to the people and do what they want him to do. >> i'm sorry, sir, i just don't believe you. >> reporter: the townhalls -- the country is evenly divided. 43% say they have done more harm than good. 42% say they have done more good than harm. and by overwhelming majority, democrats believe they're harmful. republicans believe they're good. michelle mockey of lawrenceville, georgia, voted for john mccain in 2008. >> i think the townhalls are a good idea. i think that -- they're allowing people to vent some frustration. >> most of the people doing the yelling and screaming, they're showing their dark side. >> reporter: as for those controversial allegation as but what's likely to happen, the president has some work to do. >> he is not really communicating with the average american out there. >> reporter: 55% believe illegal

immigrants will get health care insurance. 50% believe taxpayer money will be used to pay for abortions. 54% believe the government will eventually take over health care. and 45% believe the plan, empowers the government to decide when to stop giving medical care to the elderly. paulette bruno's south florida e-mail inbox has been jammed. >> people over the age of 65, god forbid if they have a serious illness, such as cancer they're going to be pushed off when this townhall madness , started three weeks ago the president's plan was in serious condition. it's still in serious condition politically. but it is stable. >> chuck, over the weekend the administration expressed some willingness to negotiate, the so-called public option. do the numbers in the poll bear out that decision to be a bit more flexible here?

>> it does. we've asked the public option question the same way two months in a row. last month, a bare plurality were in favor of it. this month, a bare plurality were against it. base liberal democrats are very much gung for this idea. 80% approve of the plan. but the nonliberal democrats that live in some of the conservative rural areas, less supportive, still supportive, but less supportive. it may explain why he is having a tough time selling other democrats in his own party. chuck todd at the white house tonight. thank you. we have more on the topic of that public option. one of the central arguments in president obama's case for health care reform. controlling skyrocketing costs. but there will be costs associated with a possible public option. nbc's tom costello has a look at that part of our effort making sense of it all. >> up! >> reporter: for many americans, the cost of health care reform could be like a bitter pill. hard to swallow. >> what is national health care

going to cost and how much is it going to cost my kids, my grandchildren. >> reporter: $1 trillion over ten years. much of it promised through changes to medicare and medicaid. but also, tax hikes. >> people want reform but they want to make sure reform at the end of the day they are better off or no worse off as opposed to having been harmed. >> reporter: congress had considered raising taxes on the health care benefits that many americans already get from their employers tax-free. but already that proposal is virtually dead on arrival at the white house. >> when i was campaigning, i made a promise that i would not raise your taxes if you paid $250,000 a year or less. >> reporter: the president has proposed raising income taxes on the wealthiest 1% of americans all to pay for health care. on families or businesses with a taxable income of more than $350,000, that could mean a tax surcharge of up to $7,000. on families or businesses earning $500,000, a $15,000 tax

surcharge. and on families with incomes of more than $1 million, it could mean a $54,000 increase. but republicans and some democrats don't like that idea. saying that unfairly targets wealthier families and could force some small businesses to lay off employees. so now the house is considering raising taxes only on families making more than $1 million. the wealthy are already slated to pay more taxes as the bush tax cuts expire in 2011. and the top rate jumps from 35% to 39.6%. among proposals to pay for the public option, a 10 cent tax on sodas, a new tax on insurance companies most extravagant health care plans and fewer tax deductions for the wealthy. >> it would put a cap on your total itemized deductions and your total itemized deduction s include charity, home interest, mortgage, et cetera. >> reporter: so far it is all

talk. but the talk could quickly turn into tax hikes. tom costello, nbc news, washington. more violence in afghanistan today with that country's elections just two days away. a suicide car bomber killed ten people and wounded more than 50 in kabul. as the campaign for president kicks into high gear. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is there. >> reporter: flying at 11,000 feet in a 25-year-old russian transport helicopter, presidtial candidate abdullah abdullah is on a barn storming tour. in three weeks, the former foreign minister has visited more than 100 tiny hamlets making big promises. to build roads, hospitals, and schools. why are you going on this grassroots campaign? >> i think my message is to the grassroots. and this is, this is the people who will decide about their own future. >> reporter: abdullah claims president hamid karzai who rarely leaves his presidential

palace is out of touch with the 43% of afghans living in poverty. the majority of afghans live in villages like this one, remote in a mountain valley with no roads in or out they receive no services from the central government and many people here feel they have been ignored by president karzai. instea president karzai's strategy has been to court power brokers, tribal leaders and men some here call warlords. and in a televised debate this week, karzai even reached out to the taliban. we must hold a national assembly for peace with all afghans including the taliban, he said. five years agohen he won the presidency, karzai had a 95% approval rating. now, it is only 30% to 4. why? karzai's mismanagement. government corruption, nepotism, karzai's half-brother is an accused drug trafficker, and rising violence from the resurgent taliban. that's why many voters like this man remain undecided.

the tailor who earns $100 a month with hand-cranked machines and irons heated on open flames voted for karzai last time. but my life hasn't improved he said. thursday's contest between abdullah's populism and karzai's deal making is now so close, analysts predict neither could win outright. the race may go to a run-off. richard engel, nbc news, kabul. we told you last night about new federal charges against a man who might have been the most prolific computer hacker ever. stealing credit datfrom stores and restaurant chains. there is a new source of worry when it comes to protecting your personal information. a rich new target for hackers. here is nbc's michelle franzen. >> reporter: brian rutberg at his home in seattle last january when he first learned someone had taken over his facebook account and posted a desperate message for help. his facebook friends were

soon calling, they received an e-mail from rutberg in london claiming i got robbed at the hotel i am staying. can you help. >> i got hacked. my friend got scams and a bunch of friends were attempted scammed. >> reporter: a recent report by breach security, shows overall web attacks in the first half of 2009 are up 30% from last year. and social networking sites have surpassed government web sites, emerging as the number one target, accounting for 19% of the attacks on organized web groups. >> oe you have logged in and surrounded by your friends and it appears that you know everybody and the discussion that is going on is very personal. you let your guard down. when you let your guard down r a bad guy.ou an easy target >> reporter: for hackers, social sites offer a wealth of information and opportunity to steal personal data or use it to attack other networks. a constant battle for social web sites which are always upgrading their security. >> they all are determined not

to be brought down, not to be hacked. because when that happens and people get the idea that their information isn't safe, they'll go some where else. >> reporter: but hackers seem to be one step ahead. in the past two weeks, twitter suffered several spam attacks and outages. in a statement to nbc, facebook attributes the increasen security breaches to the rise in popularity of social sites. but experts say the sites may be outgrowing their ability to guarantee that security. >> this means having a password that isn't easy to guess. that isn't easy for someone to find out and change it frequently. >> reporter: also it is still the user who can control and best protect themselves by limiting the information they post on these web sites. michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. when "nightly news" continues on this tuesday evening -- coping with a shortage of school nurses at a time when they might be needed more than ever. later the world according to the class of 2013. why the incoming college freshmen don't see things the way their parents do. 2013. why the incoming college freshmen don't see things the way their parents do. but how close are you to your goals?

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with a n school year upon us the front lines of the battle against swine flu now shift to the classroom. and that makes school nurses the first line of defense. are there enough of them to do the job? our report tonight from our chief science correspondent robert bazell. >> headed over to my middle school which is about 800 students. >> reporter: for more than 15 years, sheila holcomb has been driving between five different schools. >> good morning. >> reporter: for her job as a school nurse in the fulsom cordova school district of california. >> did you bump your nose? >> reporter: and the number of students she cares for keeps increasing. >> better? my case load is just under 2,000. >> how many of you washed your hands before you came to school today? >> reporter: and now there is a new threat, school just started and this district already, more than a dozen students have confirmed swine flu. guidelines from the cdc and state health departments call for the school nurse to be the one who keeps up for the status

of the epidemic in the community and identifies students who are truly at risk and must be isolated and sent home. but if there is no nurse? >> there will be secretaries or other nonmedical people that will have to try their best to handle it. >> reporter: the availability of school nurses varies enormously according to state laws and policies. vermont has one school nurse for ever275 students. while utah has the worst ratio, one nurse for just under every 5,000 students. last spring when st. francis prep in new york city was the first u.s. school hit with the virus. >> every child deserves to be safe and healthy. >> reporter: school nurse mary popus widely regarded as a heroine who played a key role in keeping the epidemic from getting worse. >> i sent home 102 children the first day. and 80 the second day. you have to ke your cool. you all of a sudden represent the school to the parents. >> then your middle schools tuesday and friday.

>> reporter: sheila holcomb can't be everywhere at once. >> you got your front tooth back. >> reporter: but faces her enormous challenge with enthusiasm. >> wow! it is busy. i am tired when i get home. but i love this work. i wouldn't think of doing anything else. >> reporter: she knows the odds ar.he will have a very busy >> do you have a cat at your house? >> robert bazell, nbc news, new york. robert novak died today, a fixture of washington journalism for decades. a familiar face on television and an influential newspaper columnist. his conservative views and aggressive style earned him the nickname "the prince of darkness" and was at the center of the controversy of cia operative valerie plam in 2003. robert novak was 78. and continuing on here tonight, when "nightly news" continues in a moment, a high stakes struggle over what to do with a little piece of paradise. like hunting for bargains,

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now to a battle playing out at the colorado rockies. it involves a former tennis star, turned nun trying to help sick kids. and a real estate deal where the stakes are all too real for everyone involved. nbc's lee cowan has our report. >> reporter: it's been said the rocky mountains have the power to heal. at the silver lining ranch at aspen there is no question. here the campers are all whitewater rafting to be kids for a change not patients. lindsay arrived with a brain tumor. >> one of the kids i became friends with died not too long after. >> reporter: but now the camp is fighting for survival. aspen is an expensive place to operate a nonprofit, so its co-founder, andrea jager had to make a tough choice, sell the valuable property now worth $13.5 million or her foundation would go under. >> it was a funding factor where we could provide these programs

for more kids on a longer term scale if we sold. e is used to challenges. in the 80s she was a teenage tennis phenom, number two in the world, rich, famous, but unhappy. to her, love was helping sick kids not a score on the tennis court. >> i thought, okay. now god wants me to help kids full time. i was excited. >> reporter: she used her tennis winnings to form a foundation. she eventually became a nun whose prayers for a bailout were answered by a rabbi. >> it was a match made in heaven. >> reporter: he too had a dream, a jewish community center. the camp's game room could be turned into a preschool. the soaring living room, into a sanctuary for weddings and bar mitzvahs. and andrea's kids could keep coming. >> this was a win-win i feel from every aspect. >> reporter: it all seemed well and good. the aspen city council even unanimously approved the sale. but just as everyone was getting ready to sign on the dotted line a group of people that andrea least expected to block the deal did. her neighbors.

>> that is just not consistent with what the subdivision is all about. >> reporter: tom reagan and four other nearby property owners call the deal illegal saying it violates the homeowner association. a full-time jewish community center they say is a far different use than a camp for sick kids run only a few months out of the year. >> it is going to change the character and dynamics of the neighborhood. >> for now the deal is off. >> our children don't have the time to sit here in a legal battle and sit here and wait to see if homeowners like who is buying the property. >> reporter: who wins? no one knows. but the silence here reminds everyone who loses. while a fight for this slice of heaven drags on. lee cowan, nbc news, aspen. when we come back here tonight, being young is more than a state of mind. just ask this year's freshman class. sk this year's freshman class. then you may not be seeing the whole picture.

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beloitte college's mindset list. the list out shows this year's freshman class is no exception. they were born in the early 90s which seems just like yesterday to a lot of us. what does the world look like to re's nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: they are the on demand generation. so connected, so accessible, they have never had to wait. >> i do have my ipod with me and laptop. >> my cell phone. >> reporter: this is the class of 2013. in the prehistoric days of television children looked forward to saturday morning cartoons. not these college freshmen. their animated friend were always on, on their own cable channel no less. ♪ don't bother getting up you're in my control ♪ >> many people sitting in small life rafts. >> reporter: news of the day? try news of the moment. they never needed to wait for the evening newscasts they watched wars, terrorist attacks, and dramatic trials unfold in real-time. >> then the other passage. >> reporter: technology and information that beloitte

college professor say have shaped the freshman mind set. >> in one sense they are very, very with it, very now, very sophisticated. in another sense, a sense involving longer perspective they aren't sophisticated at all. >> reporter: at the dinner table. ♪ anticipation >> reporter: their parents savored ketchup. today salsa is the condiment of choice. mention the dewey decimal system. to this bunch, and you can't blame them if they think disney. they never had to use a card catalog, a physical one to look up a book in the library. in fact, the only one we could find is here at the new york historical society. can you say google? ♪ ho-ho-ho, green giant >> reporter: for their parents the green giant is a jolly corporate symbol. but to the freshman it is shrek. still parents and students have some things in common, phil jackson coached the nba champions, the bulls in '91, the lakers in '09. this just in, brett favre is still an nfl quarterback. only proving the more things change, the more they stay the

same. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. yep, we all feel old. that's our broadcast for this tuesday night. thank you for being with us. i am lester holt in tonight for brian williams. 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