taking a hit. we're live inermuda as hurricane igor closes in. home at last. the american woman jailed in iran for more than a year speaks out. >> i never in my worst nightmare imagined na i would be a prisoner. what happened to 13 people missing all weekend? police fred a cul suicide. tonight's news. one man's triumph, a swimmer and sea and a journey against all odds. sibling versus rivalry, manning versus manning, what mom and dad have to say before manning versus manning, what mom and dad have to say before tonighs big game. captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc word news headquarters in new york this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening. the american woman freed by iranian authorities after more than a year in prin came home to the united states today and

had lot to say about iran and her experience. sarah surd was mindful her words could impact the futuref two other americans still be held there. here homecoming coincides with the arre arrival of mahmoud ahmadinejad in new york for the general assembly. >> i never in my worst nightmare imagined i would be a prisoner. i never saw it coming. >> reporter: sarah shourd chose her words carefully because her fiance and friend remain in the notorious iranian jail. she called their arrestore than 13 months ago along the' iraq-iran border during a hiking trip a huge misunderstanding. >> they do not deserve to be in prison one day lger than i was. we committed no crime, and we are not spies. >> reporter: iran says it released her because of health problems but insists her

companions will stand trial. iran's president in new york for the u.n. general assembly says the u.s. should release nine prisoners jailed here. the mothers have asked to meet iran's president here. so far no response. >> whether i knew that sarah was definitely released, it s a very bittersweet moment for me. i mean, the cold, hard truth is shane and josh aretill in prison, and we want them home. >> reporter: they wouldn't talk about conditions in the prison or how shourd was treated. they have met a lawyer, they said. the investigationeems complete, but neve they have no when a trial will happen. ourd called leaving iran one of the most memorable moments of her life. >> i'm only one-third free. that was the last thing josh id to me before i walked

through the prison doors. josh and shane felt one-third free at that moment and soid i. >> reporter: it was a time of mixed emeegss, desperately worried about two missing sons. tonight bmuda is bracing for a head-o h from hurricane igor just hours from now. tonight the category 1 is casting a massive ftprint on the radar map with hurricane-force winds up to 90 miles from the center. thousands have evacuated bermuda in recent days but others took shelteto see what this night will bring. jim can to her is there now. what are conditions like, jim? >> reporter: lester, it's done nothing b go downhill since this morning. we're in hourly gusts of hurricane force and it will get worse with the storm within 70 miles of the island of bermuda. the problem is every time we get a gusts, more and more power goes out. approximately 35,500 customers sitting on the islandith

power. we've lost 20,000 so far and that number continues to climb by the hour. the most visible sight here is the beach erosion. tremendous beach erosion has occurred here. we've lost in some cases 12 feet, 16 feet of sand. every time these waves roll up, they continue to spray up mucher higher than than i am and the building we're standing in. it's an incredible sight to see, and we have a long night ahead of us. we dealt with the front side and will see the bottom side of this. you can see it on the satellite, this large red blob to the south is yet to come. duri the day today we got a chance to take pictures of these waves. ner huge and mass sxif that's what igor will be most noted for. we have no idea about theind of damage both structural and to the trees on the island, but we know this island was ready to take on a category 3. they'll deal with a category 1 for the next 12 hours or so. we'll keep you posted as long as we can here, lester. back to you. >> be careful, my friend.

jim can to her in bermuda tonight. five long months after the bp oil disaster began the man in charge of federal response today declared the blown-out oil well dead, sealed up. as for the recovery, president obama said we will work closely with the people of the gulf to rebuild their livelihoods and restore the environment tt supports them. nbc's chief environmental fairs correspondent anne thompson has been in louisiana since it began. ann d ann, after all the predictions how bad has it been for the environment? >> reporter: leer, let's talk about what we know. we know that more than 4 million barrels of oil went into the gulf. today we know that 40,000 square miles of gulf, some 17%, remains closed to fishing. we know there is still oil in the marshes of louisiana, there is oil in the currents and, and scientists are finding oil on

the gulf floor that they suspect although they have not confirmed comes from bp's ll. what really has people concerned here is what we don't know. that is the long-term impactn the marine life, the crabs, the shrimp, the oysters, the tuna. that is going to take several years, several reproductive cycles to tell us exactly what has happened to the marine life in the gulf. >> that gets to the question of those that make their living in the gulf is huge. how is the claim process going? are people getting their money? >> reporter: oh, they are most unhappy here in louisiana and along the gulf. claims are -- ken fineberg has overpromised and underdelivered on his invoice vow to get the m people fast. he realizes that and says he's working on that. talking to fishermethey're very frustrated, so frustrated they a bp did a better job with

the claims process. and that's not high praise, i can tell you. >> thank you, anne thompson. over six weeks now until the midterm elections, and both parties have the dden impact of tea party movement, inclu last week's victory in the delaware primary by christine o'donnell. mi is at the white house with more on the season of political upheaval. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. with democrats facing big losses this fall p-esident obama has issue aid plea to the grassroots program to get involved in the fall campaign. this is a new controversy involving a republican candidate threatened to widen the rift within the gop. the first family today leaving the white house and walking to church on a quiet sunday morning. it was a brief moment of calm on what has become a desperate campaign season for democrats. >> i need you because this isn't

going to be easy. >> reporter: fearing a lack of enthusiasm and with democratic control of congress in doubt, last night the president delivered an urgent appeal to his party's base. >> i need everybody to go back to yourneighborhoods, go back to your worlaces and churches and the barbershops and the beauty shops and tell them we've got more work to do. >> reporter: told colin powell offered the president on h advice. >> go right after the single issue uppermost in the minds of the american people, and that's employment. >> repter: there's trouble blueing for republicans as well. >> i never joined a covenant. chr >> christine o'donnell seen in this 1999 television appearance with bill maher talking about her experiences with the cult. >> one of the my first date was

on a satic although tar and didn't know. >> maher reair it had andhis morning she had scheduling conflicts and couldn't be here. >> she was a no-show for two interviews she was backed by sarah palin in the tea party and defeated a moderate republican favored by gop leaders in washington. today at least one that opposed o'donnell has seen his fears confirmed. >> there are serious questions raised about miss o'donnell's ckground, character and previous actions. >> reporter: they hope the crack in gop unity gives them a foot hold in november. >> they merged with the tea party and, they're finding out it's the donner party in many instances. >> reporter: christine o'donnell was back in delawarcampaigni campaigning. she told an audience how much of you didn't hang out with questionable folk in high scol? lester. >> for more we're joined by

cnbc's chief washington correspondent don harwood, he's at the museum in washington where he'll moderate an event with president obama tomorrow. the democratic senatorial committee is out with a tv ad that accuses christine o'donnell of not paying her staff or taxing and labeling her financially irresponsible. does this foreshadow a democratic strategy of trying to bring tea party candites back down to rth? >> reporter: absolutely. tea party candidates and all republicans. democrats are overaded with problems. the power is empowered at a time the weak economy, and one of the few advantages from the tee party movement and some have skroefrss in their past to make it difficult to get elected in kentucky, nevada and delaware. >> there might be a larger issue. the majority of the country think it's a time for a third party. does this show that americans are simply fed up with republicans and democrats? >> reporter: there's no question

they're fed up with both paies. we see that in polls. they don't think either has a plan to fix the economy. how does that energy get translated into a new political noouchl movement? ross perot tried to do it. it's always a practical problem. rightow most of that disaffection benefits of republicans. >> the president is facing moun mounting criticism on the shear number of programs. colin powell suggests the president needso shift his approach with voters that feel overloaded. any signs the white house is experiencing that, too? >>eporter: yes. wheth when you talk to people in the admission they're talking about a transition from stimulus, all the cash off the sidelines and begun to be invested to generate the next phase of economic

growth in this economy. but it's a balancing act, and the president's got se populist sentiments, he has to restore confidence in the business community and convince americans he's on the side. wel talk with him tomorrow. >> john harwood, thank very much. you can watch that town hall event tomrow at noon eastern on cnbc. this pgram note, more perspective from former president jimmy carter and surprising revelations about his new book tomorrow here on "nightly news" with brian williams. we continue on this sunday evening, the latest on 13 members of a california religious sect missing most of the weekend. manning against manning. what the parents have to y about a great sibling rivalry. f. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now, i can join the fun and games with my grandchildren. great news! for people with copd, including chronic bronchitis,

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only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. 13 missing members of a religious sect had a lot of people thinking the worst had happened to them, until just a few hours ago. we have the latest from palmdale, california. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. this search chs so massive, officials with the department of justice were involved. l.a. county authorities had unleashed their full force. in the end an alert citizen discovered the missing people in this park bringing peace to a community on edge. for almost 24 hours fear gripped this southern california community. five adults and eight children were reported missing saturday afternoon. authorities authorities said they were a part of a cult-like group led by this group.

husbands of two women in the group reported them missing and gave the police a purse one of the women left behind. inside belongings including cell phones, personal identification and chilling notes which reportedly read like a last will and testament. >> they left behind notes saying they were going to visit tir deceased relatives, they were going to meet jesus. no words such as suicide or taking our own life were used at all, but the indication seemed that that may be a possibility. >> reporter: the group was once members of a nearby christian church but later held their own prayer gatherings. this weekend as time slipped away, friends and neighbors started to imane the worst. >> i feel really sorry thinking about their kids. >> i'm completely shocked. >> reporter: then -- >> we found them right here in this area, in this area right mere. >> reporter: an incredible discovery, all 13 people alive holding an exteed prayer vigil in a local park, found after an

alert citizen recognized them from news report. they he took the reported leader in for queioning and psychological evaluation. no weapons were found. >> it is better to overreact than underreact in a situation like this. >> reporter: l.a. county authorities couldn't take any chances, the possibility of a suicide pact is so volatile with past cases wit heaven's gate where 39 people near san diego committed massu side by eating poisoned pudding and applesauce. >> these kinds of behavior and kind of leadership is a cause for concern. >> reporter: tonight there is cause for celebration because eight children are back home. investigators say those people are immigrants from el salvador. they're still trying to figure out why they disappeared without warning. they say the leader right now seems disoriented. lester. >> thank you. up next, one man's inspiring achievement.

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♪ [ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down? ♪ introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid, specially formulated to fight morning pain and fatigue. ♪ so get up and get goin'! with new bayer . the morning pain reliever. . a journey that began in england and ended in france wouldn't be all that notable if it weren't for the man that completed it. his achiement was to swim the english channe and this is why it's so memorable. >> reporter: after 13 1/2 hours in the water h reached land. as he emerged the significance of what he had accomplished was

obvious to all. this weekend the 42-year-old frenchman became the first quadrup quadruple amputee to swim the english channel. >> translator: i just kept going and going until i finallyade it. >> reporter: we spoke to him om his home in france. >> translator: i was so scared of not making it. i kept thinking of my son and all the people that supported me throughout the year. >> reporter: with special designed slip others his g, he did a steady crawl and a snorkel aided his breathing. friends and family weret his side all the way offering words of encouragement. >> he's just brilliant. he's an example for everybody. he's giving real inspiration to everyone. >> reporter: the former metal

worker lost his arms and legs 16 years ago after being electrocuted by fixing his tv antenna. while in the metropolitan a document bring swimminghe channel fixed his am missions. it took two years of training. >>ranslator: it's it's a symbol who think life is about suffering. you can pull yourself out of everything. >> reporter: he's an inspiration for beam with disabled. he's parachutes, and now this brave frenchman hopes to swim from europe to africa across the strait of gill brar tar. nbc news, london. up next, a football showdown. o quarterbacks named manning, bob costas talks with their parents. i was short of breath, so i couldn't always do at i wanted to do. but five minutes ago, i took symbicort, and symbicort is already helping significantly improve my lung function. so, toda i've noticed a significant difference in my breathing. and i'm doing more of what i want to do.

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tonight here on nbc, onef the great football rivalries. the manning brothers, eli and peyton both play against each other fo the first time in four years. perhaps no one will watch tonight's contest more closely than their parents olivia and archie manning. bob costas sat down with them. >> reporter: you're the parents of two super bowl-winning quarterbac. they don often play on the same field, but this sunday they do. is that a source ofnly pride and excitement or is it also a source of dread? >> all of that mixed in together. wouldn't you say?

>> it would start with pride, and we're veryroud of them. we still pinch ourselves. we didn't plan this. this wasn't a plan. we planned to raise kids, not mvps in the super bowl, but it haened. we feel very blessed, very proud. >> reporter: how difficult is it -- forget about them on the same field at the same time. just each time they play, this is a very dangerous sport. how difficult is it to wch your sons play? >> i'm very nervous for them when they play. i mean, i don't take that for granted that they get up. i thi i thank the oensive line every night in my prayers they protect them so well. i don't like to see blood like i did a few weeks ago with ilee. that's for sure. it's unsettng. >> turns out it's okay, but initially blood is gushing and multiple stitches. what's your immediate reaction whether you see that?

>> it brought back memories when he was a little bo and we'd be in na situation before. when we get to the doctor it's a tiny little thing that needed mae half a stitch. i was hoping it was like that. >> reporter: oliviolivia, which the two is more like his dad? >> i have to say peyton over eli. nobody ever says peyton is like me. i don't know where peyton came from. >> who's your favorite football player? >> my dad. >> you going to be a football player wheer you grow up? >> uh-huh. >> peyton is a combination, but he is very intense and very focused and driven, but so are you. you just weren't as vocal. p peyton is very vocal. >> they see that side of peyton on sundays, but they're thau

thoughtful to tir mother. that's the most important thing. >> bob costas with the mannings and what is going to be a never-racking night for them. "sunday night football," the giants taking on the colts tonight. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lesterolt reporting from new york. i'm lesterolt reporting from new york. good night, everyone. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com