it down. >> i can relate to that. if you are scared of heights, you can feel like you are going to get sick. >> he's just a pussycat at heart there. >> let's hope he doesn't good too hungry. >> thank you for watching. on our broadcast tonight, why president obama's being accused of falling short on the environment, today with the whole world watching. we debut the new poll. how are americans grading the new president now. under water, entire neighborhoods submerged after floods go through the south. tracking the swine flu. what a project on campus could tell us about the spread of the flu. how many shots will kids need this season?

making a difference by sweating it out, "nightly news" begins now. good evening. back when he was running for office and addressed throngs of people in berlin, we were there when barack obama said, quote, this is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. today, president obama, fell short on that topic. while many countries under fire came to today's u.n. gathering here in new york, ready to change, ready to get cleaner, president obama's speech left a lot of people wanting more. the reason may be health care. that's because it's what he needs from congress most and first. in a moment, our exclusive poll, what americans have to say about

their president and their country right abt now. first, we begin with anne thompson, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. when barack obama became president, many in the world hoped the u.s. would take a leadership role in stopping climate change. it led to big expectations for today's speech. expectation that is were quickly dashed. the world wanted to here president obama make a commitment to specific cuts in carbon dioxide emissions. instead of action, it got talk. >> we understand the gravity. we are determined to act. >> reporter: one line sounded like george bush who agreed to cuts without similar actions from india and china. >> but, those rapidly growing, developing nations that will produce nearly all the growth in global carbon emissions in the decades ahead must do their part

as well. >> reporter: this was not the leadership the world's diplomats wanted. >> many of the key players were disappointed with what the u.s. brought they were hoping there would be more. >> reporter: carbon dioxide to the table. emission from burning coal is changing the climate. 80% come from the world's richest countries, the biggest, china and the u.s. each account for 20%. the u.s. held its cards close, surprisingly, china put some on the table. >> translator: chi gnat stands ready to build a better future for the generations to come. >> reporter: they said china would increase the energy from 15% by 2020. cut emissions but not by a specific target. the most dramatic plge came from japan, responsible for 4% of the world's emissions. >> for the mid-term goal, japan will aim to reduce its emissions by 25% by 2020.

>> reporter: at stake, the island nations could be swamped by rising sea levels. the window to act is closing fast. >> if we miss it, again, in copenhagen, then we are out of time and very little chance to keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees centigrade like we were told to do. >> reporter: with today's announcements from china and japan and india's pledge to increase energy, one diplomat put it, it's squarely on the united states. brian. >> anne thompson, thanks. now, a look at how this president is viewed these days our brand-new, nbc news wall street journal polleçy!aueñ ton making its debut here. our political director and white

house correspondent, chuck todd is here with us while the president is in new york. we're just a few months into this administration. so many issues. >> he's in the midst of health care, pushing the economic policies he's trying to get passed, yet, he may face a greater challenge convincing a skeptical public the war in afghanistan is still worth fighting. facing a tough decision about strategies in afghanistan, president obama has to contend with eroding public support for the war according to the latest poll. a clear majority, 59% is less confident the war will come to a successful end. only 28% are confident. a mar jorty of those sur vied, 51% are opposed to sending in more troops with 34% supporting. >> personally, i don't think we belong there. i don't think we belong there at all. >> reporter: on the heels of a

summer long debate, the president delayed dealing with afghanistan to campaign for the health care reform plan. he's stabilized the political situation. only 39% think his plan is a good idea. there are more people who tell us they would rather see the plan pass, 45%, than no change at all, 39%. >> the over all cost of health care is mind boggling. we do need to reform health care. >> reporte there's a disconnect between the president's personal popularity an the pop lawyerty of the policy. 46% like him and his policy. 31% like his, but not his policy. >> it's hard because i like him personally. i would say most people do like him personally. but, his policies, as of the past couple months, it's where i lost faith in him. >> reporter: people still say the economy is the number one issue. there are signs of optimism. 47% believe the economy will get

better. it's a 9% jump. or stay the same. a few housekeeping notes. 51%, good, not great. 54% said they don't have confidence in his economic policy. he's dealing with the issue of being more personally well liked than issues. >> a bunch of people watching the speech at the u.n. say he's holding back. it's about health care. it's how big the health care fight has become. what are the people saying? >> reporter: it's interesting. all of washington takes a beating in the poll. congressional republicans and congressional democrats their own representative. they have negative views. you wonder, the number one issue is the economy. the way they are going to measure the economy getting better is jobs. the conversation they are hearing in washington, health care. health care gets in the way of energy and in the way of the afghanistan debate and in the way of the debate people are

having around the kitchen table now, where is my job and where is my next job? >> there we go. chuck todd, always a pleasure. thanks. one final note, the wealthy suburb of bedford, new york, north of here, the home of richard gere, martha stewart and tomorrow, kadafi of libya. donald trump's organization says it's looking into the reports that he's put down stakes at the trump's estate for the u.n. visit. he's trying to pitch his tent, including the satellite dishes on the estate that's known as seven springs. late today, a local newspaper said the town issue add stop work order because nobody got a permit for the tent. now, to the alleged terrorist plot we have been reporting on for days, apparently directed at targets here in new york city. tonight, police and fbi agents are trying to unravel what they have here. in the meantime, the feds issued

new advisories for sports venues and hotels across the country. our justice correspondent, pete williams with the latest on this. good evening. >> reporter: the fact the homeland security advisories are so general, covering a wide range of places is a clear sign investigators don't know what the actual target was. because investigators believe a target of the plot might have been mass transit, security was more visible on big city trains and subways including the long island railroad commuter lines. homeland security urged individual lens in sports arenas and entertainment complexes. there were no known plots against such sights. they did not change security in response to the federal bulletin. >> they think -- as i say, we are every day up to a level that

i think. [ inaudible ] >> reporter: in new york and denver, scores of police and federal agents checked companies that sell the materials listed on the laptop of najibullah zazi to see if they bought the supplies. >> they were inquiring if individuals of companies were purchasing large quanties of chemicals. >> reporter: similar questions at storage facilities. so far, nothing has turned up. zazi filed for bankruptcy, more than $50,000 in debt. officials doubt that was a sign of a coming suicide attack. zazi tried to mislead them saying a possible attack target might be a big discount store outside new york. they say, there's no reason to think it's true. trying to identify who was

involved in the plot remains urgent priority. anyone in contact with zazi, more arrests are coming. >> pete williams in washington, thanks. we turn to the flooding in the south. today, more rain and more deaths brought on by several feet of flood water covering a huge area. ron mott is live in powder springs, georgia, northwest of the city of atlanta. good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. tonight, the death toll is at least eight with an expected nine fatalities where a man has been missing since sunday night. the sun came out, but it's far from picture perfect. the only thing moving across parts of interstate 20 was rushing water. nearby, many houses remain flooded to the rooftops, schools, too.

the great american scream machine at six flags amusement park was under water. they asked president obama for federal aid, asking citizens for patience. >> i know it's a huge temptation for people wanting to get back in their neighborhoods and see the damage to their homes. please, please, please, safety first. >> reporter: for some of those able to reach their homes, the trip back was wrenching. >> we don't have anything. everything we worked for is in . we have only been there a year. >> reporter: others were luckier. >> it's not as bad as it could have been. we have our lives, you know. >> reporter: it's not just residents left with a mess. raw sewage flowed into authorities say drinking water is not threatened. the river. >> there's a tremendous amount of damage. until we can bring the plant back online, we will continue to directly discharge the river.

>> reporter: elsewhere, in atlanta, they waded through thigh-high water and damage. >> everything we worked for is gone. it's gone. >> reporter: his two little ones, found safe and sound. >> i couldn't believe it. everything we own was floating around in there. these cats were clinging for dear life in there. never seen this before. >> reporter: with forecasters calling for more rain, officials and residents are hoping to get a lot of the water down before the skies open up, again. brian. >> ron mott, in georgia, what a terrible situation. so much suffering going on across the region tonight. thanks. at the other end of the country, the other end of the weather extreme. a dust storm in phoenix today. some drivers were forced to pull off the road because of poor visibility. air quality warnings kept folks inside for the day. when "nightly news" continues on a tuesday night, what is the

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talk to your doctor about prescription treatment options. and make this time, your time. back now with tonight's news about swine flu. as you may recall, it was last spring the virus first appeared on college campuses. tonight, it turns out college campuses are a good laboratory for tracking how it spreads in alkinds of close quarters. our chief science correspondent, robert bazell has more on how students are one campus are helping researchers track swine flu, and perhaps stop it before it hits. >> that's good. >> reporter: they call themselves the flu-crew. scientists and nurses who make daily rournd rounds of students

around duke university to learn about the infectious disease, this year, the swine flu in particular. they take blood samples from students, sick and healthy. they get $25 gift certificates. it goes to a lab to identify people before they get sick, identify those who may be spreading disease without having symptoms. it began two years ago, but it's taken on a greater urgency. >> it's been an unfortunate, but fantastic opportunity for us. we can refine our ability to say it's seasonal, it's h1n1, it's another type of common cold virus. >> reporter: when they began work for this term, they encountered the first swine flu case. >> they saw me and were like you're sick. i was like, yeah, i am. >> reporter: they invited her friends to join the study and are repeating the process with dozens of other sick students.

>> it's a reminder thing. >> reporter: in addition to giving blood, they answer eight questions daily on the internet to determine if they have any symptoms. >> reporter: it's carried out on a college campus, but funded by the department of defense. to find out how disease would spread among soldiers in barracks and sailers on ships. the goal is to identify a chip so a droof blood would reveal who needs treatment and isolation from others. >> miracle of the jet age, bob bazell has traveled from north carolina to our nbc affiliate in minneapolis, kare, kare 11. i asked to talk to you because i wanted to put a fir point on something we talked about last night. this bombshell finding. this flu season, some kids may require four flu shots in all or four nasal sprays. can you put a finer point on this and what parents can expect?

>> reporter: absolutely. i double checked with the cdc. some kids will need more vaccinations. that's the ones that have never been vaccinated before for seasonal influential. all kids under 10 need two swine flu shots. the ones without seasonal flu will not need a booster -- sorry, if they haven't they will need a booster. >> we'll keep going at this. thanks. >> reporter: we will, indeed. >> when "nightly news" continues, a whole new way of seeing something we are already familiar with. way of seeing something we are already familiar with. we had a mouse.

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we're back and it's time for our making a difference report. tonight, a man who does that by showing people the way to better health. the story from natalie morales. >> reporter: today, margaret is a vibrant and healthy 46-year-old. two years ago, she was suffering. >> i was on actually five different medicatis. one day, a friend of mine told me that i really needed to do something or i was not going to be around very much longer. >> reporter: at her heaviest, she weighed more than 255 pounds. she tried fad diets and occasionally exercised. nothing really stuck until she found dennis berry. >> very good, margaret.

>> reporter: dennis gave her motivation and tools she needed to succeed with his program, power hit. >> the idea is to try to teach you there's more inside you. >>reporter: the high intensity work out combines cardio, weight and fitness training. it extends beyond margaret. he trained dozens for tree and on his own time. >> it's up to me to give you a chance, put you in a position to succeed. five more reps. >> reporter: after losing his moth to bone cancer in 2007, he made it his charge to reach out to women. with his support, margaret lost 90 points. she gained confidence and a good friend. recently, it became necessary for dennis to charge new members $30 per session, still affordable.

his mission remains reshaping the body and the mind. >> i like to think it empowers them. they can do what they are doing in here, why not get that job? why not look for the promotion. >> it's not just about fitness, it's about being successful. >> reporter: a lesson learned through hard work and perspiration. no gym membership required. natalie morales, nbc new york. >> that's our broadcast this tuesday night. thank you for being with us.