the driver was awfully taken up. just kept apologizing and over and over again. we're still trying to figure out if they gave him his license or not. >> up he on our broadcast tonight, the rescue still the talk of the world. tonight, how they pulled it off and what it was like dowthere. >> countdown with time ticking down. another big televised debate and the first lady's televised tour. a last hope for families about to lose their homes, even as banks take back the most houses ever. and making a difference by fighting for a place to let kids cut loose. also tonight, sit true they might allow liquids back on airplanes? "nightly news" beginnow. captions paid r by nbc-universal television good evening. not a whole lot got done in chile today. and who could blame them after all?

this was a national day of celebration after that nation pulled off a spectacular rescue. successful every step of the way, pulling off the near impossible task of drilling through over 2,000 feet of solid rock and extracting 33 men and the men were able to hang on. they're all okay. their story has come a global drama as a global television audience followed it live. now we're learning what we didn't know while we wched all of it, including what it was like down there. we want to begin our coverage again tonight with nbc's kerry sanders in chile. kerry, good evening. >> reporter: well, good evening, brian. the doctors here at the hospital say all 33 miners are mostly in very good health. one has pneumonia, another one has some dental problems. in fact, three or four of the miners may actually be released om the hospital today. thus far, they're not talking. they say that they've made a

pact and they're only going to talk collectively if they get paid. it was the picture an entire nation waited more than two months to see. all 33 miners alive and well, and ee. meanwhile, outside the regional hospital today, a swarm of onlookers and cameras om all over the world, waited to catch a glimpse of chile's new heroes. and standing in the crowd, a group of teenage girls. hoping to see 19-year-old jimmy sanchez, their newest idol. asked about l the attention rescued miner richard villarroel says, it makes you want to cry. >> i think they're more anxious to get out frothe hospital than they were from the mine. >> reporter: inside, family members anxiously waited to see their loved ones. this, after celebrations broke out in chile streets last night.

thousands cheering ang a parade route of ambulances transporting the 33 miners to the hospital. they were wheeled in like rock stars still wearing their sunglasses. greeted by a flurry of camera flashes. luis urzua shook hands with the hospital sta. he was the ship leader, and the last miner out in a successful rescue that took less than 24 hours. he surfaced 12 minutesfter climbing into the capsule, marking the end of a 70-day nightmare. chile's president told h, your shift is done. i congratulate you. you did your duty and came out last, like a good captain alwa does. ♪ they sang the official song of the miners, with their helmets over their hearts. deep in the mine, before climbing into the capsule themselves, the rescuers held up

a sign "mission accomplished, chile." and the mission was these 33 men whose lives now begin again. >> kerry sanders reportingrom the hospital tonight to start us off. one person involved in this rescue and the planning for it called it 75% engineering d 25% miracle. that math is fin except there's no mention of bravery. it took a lot of that, and more. it took 33 men deciding they were going to make it as a group. it took thousands back up on land figuring out how to get them out of there. today, our own natalie morales got a closer look at what this intricate operation entailed. she's with us tonight from the site of thnow closed mine. natalie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, brian. yes, you said it. many calling it a miracle today. it was a super human effort and it also took the perfect plan.

a sense of great pride for a job well done. miion accomplished in just 22 hours and 39 minutes. with more than 800 people working day and night to get all the miners out. the entire operation planned and carried out with the pcision of a moon shot. >> the main objective was accomplished because we had very talented people and very brave people down there. >> it'the second one, we call it fenix 2. >> reporter: one of those talented people is a lead engineer who gave us a first look into the rescue area. this could not fail? >> no,o. we don't have a second shot. >> reporter: the capsule may seem simple, but it was designed not only to transport the miners qukly, but to make them feel at ease. >> the miners said it was very smooth. >> reporter: a nasa team sent 75 features for the design of the capsule.

one was making the wheels like racecars, shock absorbent, which was incorporated >> we cannot have the capsule crashing with the walls. >> reporter: cameras captud every angle so the rescuers could monitor the ascent and the world could watch the ride to freedom. once out of the mineshaft, they were delivered here into the triage area and now taking a look at all 33 names and their conditions, all for the most part, normal. manuel gonzalez, first rescuer descend and last man out of the collapsed mine early ts morning says things went like clockwork, making the rescuers even faster. "there was a lot of camaraderie with the miners, they even joked with me about turng off the lights before i left," he said. the whole world had a part in the rescue, south africans and americans provided equipment for the drilling. brandon fisher slept by the

drill sitentil t shaft finally reached the miners. >> it's like a drilling family while we were down there. reporter: but with all of the planning, all of the technology, everyone here, including the miners, are saying it was the love, the labor of love that saved 33 lives. brian? >> natalie morales, thanks for your great reporting down there over so many days. now back in this country, we turn to politics and we begin tonight in the state of delaware where there have been two debates in less than 24 hours between the tea party favorite and republican senate candidate christine o'donnell, and her democratic party opponent, chris ons. they went at each other over erything from taxes to late-night television. nbc's kelly o'donnell following the race tonight from wilmington hey, kelly, good evening. >> reporter: well, the outcome of this race could not be more personal for joe biden.

of course, it's his old senate seat on the line. tomorrow, the president and vice president will both be here campaigning. it's that important to them. voters have been seeing a lot of spectacles and now they're getting me substance, too. today in wilmington, not your usual rotary club meeting. a lunchtime senate debate drew a packed house and international media. republican voters are outnumbered in delaware, so christine o'donnell is fighting to broaden her appeal. >> what i represent is not just tea party, but hillary democrats and those independent voters. >> reporter: with a big lead in polls, democrat chris coons, a county government executive, wants angry voters to choose his experience. >> the question i've asked them is what sort of message are you sending, a protest or do you want to send a senator who will be an independent voice foyou? >>eporter: their first tv debate last night delivered substance on issues with a sting. >> ms. o'donnell has experience

at running for office but not at really running anything. >> he has a history of promising not to raise taxes on the campaign trail and then raising them as soon as he takes office. >> reporter: he accused her of getting her facts wrong. >> some are just actually untrue. >> reporter: yale educated, coons comes from privilege. o'donnell has had serious financial struggles. critics question her respsibility. >> i sold my house and i sold a lot of my possessions in order to pay off my personal debt. >> reporter: she claims much of the media attentiois unwelcome, but seems to relish pop culture status. >> thanks for having me. >> you're just jealous you weren't on "saturday night live." >> i'm dieing to see who's going to play me, christine. >> reporter: clearly behind, o'donnell claims voters are about to see a tougher side. >> we're going to take a much more aggressive approach on

exposing exactly who my opponent is and exactly what his record is. >> reporter: talking with voters here, brian, they say politics has the delare way, meaning it's supposed to be nicer, neighborly and about what's happening inside delaware, not so much around the country. but this kind of race is testing all of those things. brian? >> i was going to say big fight for a small state. thanks for that, kelly. there's another way you can tell campaign season is heading into the final turn. both the president and first lady were on the road today becauseemocrats in some very tight races need the help. our own john yang has our report from denver. >> the first lady of the united states, michelle obama. >> reporter: it looked like old times today, here in denver michelle obama continued her first campaign trip since 2008. >> this is officially my second y campaigning. >> reporter: in washington, president obama held a televised town hall meeting with a group of young people.

>> although i'm a proud mocrat, i'm a prouder american. >> reporter: he wants to make them young voters. >> thank you so much. >> repter: the president and the first lady are hoping to make it feel like old times, too. on the stump, mrs. obama repeatedly invokes memories of the presidential campaign. >> yes, we can. we were energized, we were hopeful. we were fired up. >> reporter: the obamas are trying to rekindle the energy and enthusiasm of the 2008 campaign. that's when young minority and first-time voters turned out in huge numbers and became a ke part of the democrat success. once mr. obama took office and tackled tough issues like the economy and health care rerm, his popularity plummeted. but mrs. obama, who got off to a slow start in the 2008 campaign, has seen her popularity soar. she's since held her own, making her an important part of the democrat strategy. >> in some ways michelle obama has maintained a connection the

president has lost, so she's very much kept a lot of the cool factor, if you will, from the campaign of 2008. >> reporter: the first lady is striking out on her own, headlining fund-raisers in seven states. she's hit some of the toughest races in their battle keep control of congress. this weekend she'll be in ohio with her husband for the first time since 2008. >> her popularity gives her some ability to talk to voters who won't even listen to the president. >> reporter: popularity the democrats hope will rub off on their congressional candidates. john yang,bc news, denver. we have a quicnote on the weather tonight as we've been warning all week. the storm in the east is upon us and the entire northeast region is on a flood watch for later night and tomorrow, and a fast-moving nor'easter is set to blast ashore with 30 to 40-mile-an-hour winds and heavy rain. there's some winter weather advisories out there, too. some people will get several inches of rain. others, including the

adirondacks, theatskills on north should be on the lookout for snow. meteorologists warn there's about 12 hours worth of precipitatn at the heart of this storm. when "nightly news" continues in just a moment, families on the brink trying to hang onto their homes in the face of this massive mortgage mess. later on, leading the charge to reclaim the place you loved as a kid. nothing more simple than that. making a difference by the way for a whole new generati. making a difference by the way for a whole new generation. [ male announcer ] for frequent heartburn relief,

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but now that's been thrown into doubt by serious problems with the way foreclosures are being handled. our report on all of it tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: cindy klein's last hope to save her home may be with her bank hitting the pause button in the nation's foreclosure mess. two years ago, her husband howard suddenly died of cancer. then she lost her job and couldn't pay the mortgage. she's since found a new job and while bank of america has told her it's considering modifying her loan, it's also threatening to foreclose. >> i don't want a handout. i just need my interest rate lowered from 8.49% and need my house payment lower. >> reporter: that would keep cindy and her two kids from joining the record 102,000 homes that were repossessed just last month. nationwide, 1% of all mortgages are in foreclosure with 10% delinquent.

>> never had this kind of ngthy foreclosure crisis in the country. and we're actually in very unchartered waters here. >> reporter: now amid allegatis that hundreds of thousands of foreclosures may have been rushed and rubber stamped with legal documents never even read, some of the nation's biggest banks have suspended foreclosures, just as all 50 stanlts launch a joint investigation. the attorneys general say so manyocuments have been bungled, perhaps falsified, the very legitimacy of the process is in question. the ohio attorney general -- >> the seriousness of the matter is we're talking about taking away people's private property rights. that's something we've been carefuabout in this country. >> reporter: but suspending foreclosures could postpone any recovery in the housing market, since foreclosed homes account for 31% of sales nationwide. 54% in nevada. for this woman and her husban

they have put money down on a foreclosed home. now that deal is on hold. >> it feels like it can be taken away and everything i've been sharing is gone away. so it is a little scary. >> reporter: her american dream on hold right now, while the kleins just try to hold onto theirs. tom costello, nbc news, columbus, ohio. when we come back here tonight, is it safe to eve imagine a day when we will boldly carry liquids on bod a flight? will boldly carry liquids on board a flight? ♪ [ heather ] businesses need a reliable financial partner. one who can stay in sync with their moves. job at ge capital is to gebobcat all the financial and busiss support they need. we provide financing for every bobcat dealer in north america. together, we've rolled out over 100,000 machines to small businses all over the country so they too can grow. ♪ ge capital. we're there for bobcat every step of the way.

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the folks who brought us the atomic bomb have taken oa project that might be just as challenging in today's technology -- will we ever be allowed to carry liquids on a plane again? they are working on a scanner that would use magnetic resonants that could read the molecular makeup of any fluid. more importantly, what this means is passengers could go back to the care-free crazy days of carry-on water, shampoo, skin cream, aftershave and mustard, both yellow and brown. one prototype machine has been usedn albuquerque, but sadly

it is years away for most of us. it's taken nearly eight years and $240 million, but tonight a new bridge high above the colorado river near hoover dam is set to open. this new bridge isreat news for people who travel between las vegas and phoenix. they'll no longer ha to make their way as a crossing along the top of the dam. along with the new security checkpoints post 9/11. thbridge is famo in bridge circles for being the longest bridgeuilt with concrete ches in the western hemisphere. there's actual news that sometimes love does ease the pain. it's something singers have been singing about for ages. so it's nice to know it's true. scientists have figured out that the euphoria of falling in love outs on the brain like a powerful drug and the passion and the chemical pathway it activates really does relieve physical pain. the question now, can they bottle this understanding of the

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finally tonight, a story about making a difference in the city of brotherly love. the folks who live in one neighborhood in north philly want something that a lot of folks who live in mile class suburbs take for granite every day of the year, places where kids go to play. nbc's ron allen has the story how, against some tough odds, the people are taking back what should be already the heart of their community. >> reporter: leroyisher has dreamed of this day. an army of volunteers in his neighbhood park, building a new playground. finally. >> i don't know how to contain myself when i think about what this park can possibly be. >> reporter: t park has fallen on hard times. the ballfield is in poor shape and difficult to play on. weeds taking over the tennis court.

crime plagues the neighborhood, making the park a no-go zone, especially at night. to really appreciate what a play ground means in th neighborhood, consider this, it's one of e largest in the city of philadelphia. some 87 acres. and right now, there are only four swings in thientire park. but fisher knows the park's proud history. when decades back the circus came to town, horsesrotted arnd the track. fisher's mother remembers family picnics that went well off dark. >> you felt safe. you didn't care if they ran up the hill or whatever. >> i want to bring that back. i could waddle in the negativity, but that doesn't propel me any further. >> reporter: a few years back, his thusiasm beganpreading. coach fisher and other dads started sports league. residents started holding park cleanups and planting gardens. all of that caught the attention of a nonprofit, run by the city's park system, which

devised a massive $20 million overhaul plan. >> the goal is to assist this communy in reclaiming the park for everything that is positive in the community. >> reporter: philadelphia baseball star ryan howard donated money to start rebuilding thelaying fields. and volunteers quickly tned this piece of barren land in a playground. >> when i think about all the children that are participating in something special, you can see i'm really feeling it inside. >> reporter: fisher knows progss comes in small steps. like those his nephew cedric takes. and he's determined to see the park become what it used to be. ron allen, nbc news, philadelphia. >> and before we leave you tonight, we want to show you something. the white house is forhis night only the pink house. that's in recognition of breast cancer awareness month. not to be outdone, the vice president's house is exactly the same color. do not adjust your sets. that's our broadcast for this

thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. to see you right back here -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com