countdown -- just nine days before the midterms. what both sides need to do to pull out a win. >> outbreak. the race to control a growing epidemic as the death toll mounts. secrets of war. more of what the pentagon knew but wasn't telling us about the war in iraq. tonight, the hired guns. american tragedy. the sudden loss of a world class athlete. and gam changer. an inspiring coach answers the call to duty. an inspiring coach answers the call to duty. >> that a boy, cohen

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good eveng. nine days to go until election day d the vote-counting has started at least in the minds of republican and democratic leaders who were out today doing the math and predicting what the next congress will ok like. the name of the game is controlling the agenda on capitol hill and on this next to last weekend before the vote, the strategies of how they both hope to get there were on full display. nbc's mike viquera reports. >> reporter: today the rnc chairman predicts victory. >> we have 38 seats and we need 39 to get control. we're more than there. >> reporter: while conceding his party faces big losses the democratic leader holds out hope that all is not lost. >> the more people turn out, the better we do. we are seeing strong trends in

eay voting. >> reporter: fresh off a five-state campaignwing the president is working to fire up democrs. >> so in 2008 you said "yes, we can." in 2010, you've got to say, "yes, we can." >> reporter: the president staged big rallies on college campuses. >> we still have a significant gender gap when it comes to wages. >> reporr: and draw new focus to women. >> democrats need the women and the young people. that's where the president's going. 's doing the job tha needs to be done for democrats. >> reporter: mr. obama plans more campaign travel between now and election day, ting to shore up democrats at risk with stops in pennsylvania, connecticut, ill noiinois and o along with a trip to raise campaign cash tomorrow in rhode island. while republican gains are expected in the senate, they are not likely to take majority control. but with only the most

optimistic democrats believing that the housean be saved, experts say a new face -- republican john boehner -- is likely to be seen in the speaker's office next year. >> chances are good that all the gains the democrats maid de in house, 50 seats plus, are going to be erased in this election. >> reporter: to give you an idea of the lengths to which obama will reach younger voters it appears he' be on ""the daily show." lester? >> thanks, mike. the house controlf the senate is proving harder to predict. one reason, a three-way race in alaska where in addition to a mocrat there are two republicans in the race. but only one of theis actually on the ballot. tonight, all three face off in a debate. nbc's lee cowan is in anchorage tonight. lee? >> reporter: well, lester, this election might end up in court and the reason for that is because traditionally,

historically anyway, write-in candidates for the senate don't have much impact on a race, but this one is so tight that determining a winner on electn night may come down to handwriting a voter intent. incumbent senators argues but everything for lisa murkowski is on one issue. after losing the primary to joe miller, she not only refused to endorse her party's winner but mounted her own write-in bid to defeat him. the republican party made it clear it was not backing her, but she had some left-over gop heft i her back pocket. the late alaska senator ted stevens. >> she's working for alaska every single day. >> reporter: that message was recorded just before the popular senator was killed this summer in a plane crash. it was a sensitive, even risky move to run it, but stevens's own daughter gave murkowski her

blessing. miller has his share of endorsers, not the least of which is sarah palin. her nod and the financial support of the tea party express helped miller whose ads say his race with murkowski is history. he calls him a constitutional conservative and he resonated with voters who see him as the voice of an angry populist. >> lisa murkowski represents all the things they don't like about washington. >> reporter: while he's raid a lot of money he raised aot of eyebrows too. it was just ruled his records needed to be made public. last week his security team hand cuffed a reporter at a town hall meeting who was trying to ask questions about it. once leading, miller finds hymn in one tight race. >> here's the difference between me, joe and lisa. they think the campaign is all

about them. >> reporter: even the challenger, scott mcadams has been coming up in the polls. were it not for murkowski splitting the vote, h says, he might have a chance. all three are scheduled to face off tonight. this will behe first of a series of rapid fire debates. they have onemonday, tuesday and wednesday leaving undecided voters days left to make up their mind. >> lee cowan in alaska tonight, thanks. let's go to nbc news political directornd chief white house correspondent chuck to. what is late polling saying about the races like colorado, illinois and pennsylvania where democrats are on the ropes? >> in those races democrats feel better today than they did a week ago. the once large lead pat toomey had in pennsylvania is gone. that's a dead heat. in illinois, there is a huge undecided vote because the voters seem turned off by both

candidates and democrats think it will help them because the base is larger. in colorado, the republican ken buck lookedike he was getting ready to put the race away. he made that statement about gay rights on "meet the press" and has been on defense ever since. >> the jobs the obama health care plan. any sign that is changing ase go down to the final nine days? >> none of it is changing in that respect. look, there's basically two broadways to look at the campaign. the generic democrat is trying to make t generic republican the issue. the generic republican in these races is trying to make speaker pelosi or president obama the issue or perhaps health care. is you've got the republicans trying to nationalize. you've got the democrats trying to localize and in some cases, it'sworked. if the biography of the candidates had been a little shaky or they said some things that just make you scratch your head, but in most cases it does

appear the national environment is still controlling the direction of the races. the question is just how strong will that win be. >> chuck todd in washington tonight. thanks. >> there is more to report tonight of the war in iraq based on hundreds of thousds of u.s. military documents made public this weekend by the organization wikileaks. they shine a harsh new light on the roll of security contractors in iraq. hired guns who found themselves in high demand after the invasion. here's nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel. >> reporter: the iraq war was supposed to be quick. the guidance was to go fast and light with relatively few american troops on the ground. but within a year an insurgency began. d baghdad became the most dangerous city in the world. to fill the growing security vacuum, the u.s. military, state department and private companies

red thousands of foreign security contractors, most of them ex-americans and british litary. but quickly there were accutions the contractors used excessive force. the most notorious and public incident was in september 2007 when 17 iraqi civilians were killed in baghdad. witnesses told us then the shooting was de by employees from blackwater, a security company with extensive u.s. government contracts. blackwater, which has since changed its name to z services said its guards acted in self-defense. according to documents posted by wikileaks this weekend, the u.s. military knew of at least several dozen incidents involving security contractors, including in 2009, two employees of british armor group were shot and killed by their own colleague. the suspect w detained by u.s. soldiers. in 2006, a demonstration broke

t after blackwater employees allegedly shot two civilians. in the same year u.s. soldiers were told blackwater troops killed an ambulance driver in baghdad. there have been numerous investigations into blackwater and other serity contractors and there has been punitive action. armor group tells nbc news it will not comment because of ongoing investigations but called thencident tragic and the victims valued employees. these services told the new york timest will not comment on specific reports but it is cooperating with investigations. but to military analysts the leaked documents raise a critical question. if the american military knew so much about the problems with contractors, why did u.s. agencies continue to employ so many of them >> the u.s. armed forces are simply too small to conduct global operations without massive overreliance on

contractors. >> reporter: the pentagon has said, lester, that it is worng overtime to reduce its dendency on foreign contractors. >> richard engel in new york tonight. thanks. the outbreak in cholera in haiti continues to spread. health officials noted more than 3,000 cases now with the death toll over 250. the latest challenge comes as haiti continues to recover from jaary's devastating earthquake. nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman is in port-au-prince tight with the latest. >> reporter: even if the haitian vernment and aid organizations intensified efforts to can tan the disease, their worst fears are now realized. there are five confirmed cases of cholera in the nation's c capitca capitol port-au-prince. it could hit the tent camps and spread like wildfire. >> we are trying to specifically inform the people of the camps. they are more at risk for the

conditions they are living. >> reporter: for now the epidemic is in the rural areas in haiti. hospitals are inundated with the ill lying on floors. dehydrated children hooked up to i.v.s and many too weak to move. cholera is a bacterial infection from contaminated water or food. it causes severe vomiting and diarrhea. while it is not spread person to person it can move quickly through communities where the water isn't clear. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> reporter: people are dying, says this woman. she knows they aren't supposed to drink the untreated water but says it's all they have. public health officials have a concern about a cholera outbreak haiti since the earthquake in januar the already fragile sanitation system was fractured leaving this population even more vulnerable. even then it s clear t survivors were at risk for disease. >> the fever's gone. >> reporter: with an estimated 1.3 million ople living in tent camps across the country

and hundreds of thousands concentrated here, preventing an outbreak like this has been a race agast time. dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, port-au-prince, haiti. a big storm named richard turn into a tenth hurricane of the season today. it is expected to hit belize this evening. hundreds have been evacuated. when nbc "night news" continues this evening, the growing business of walk-in medical care. fast, convenient and everywhere. and what led to the death of a prominent american swimmer? if you fight to sleep in theiddle of the night, why go one more round ? you don't need a rematch, but a rethink. with lunesta. lunesta is thought to interact with gaba receptors associated with sleep. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need. lunesta has some risk of dependency. when taking lusta, don't drive or operateachinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, drivi or engaging in other activities while asleep without rembering it the next day

have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusi. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or throat swelling occur rarely and mabe fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness, and morning drowsiness. stop fighting with your sleep. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a co-pay as low as zero dollars at lunesta.com discover restful lunesta night. you don't love me anymore do you billy? what? i didn't buy this cereal to sweet talk your taste buds it's for my heart health. good speech dad. [ whimper ] [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and its whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. fabulous! they gave me this great idea. yea? we mail documents all over the coury, so, what if there were priority mail flat rate... envelopes? yes! you could ship to any state.. for a low flat rate?

yes! a really low flat rate. like $4.90? yes! and it could look like a flat rate box... only flatt? like this? you..e...genius. genius. priority mail flat rate envelopes. just $4.90. only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. hi, may i help you? yes, we're looking to save on car insurance, even if that means we have to shop all day, right, honey yep, all day. good thing you're starting here. we compare your progressive direct rate to other top companies', so you can save money! look! we saved a lot! and quick, too. and no more holding her rse! it's a european should bag. it was a gift. mm-hmm. shopping less ansaving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today. it is the health care equivalent of fast food -- the growing business of walk-in medical clinics where you can be treated quickly and efficiently

for minor ailments. maybe you have been to one in your neighborhood. is this kind of trement the best medicine? nbc's tom costello takes a look. >> reporter: it was the persistent coughing and wheing that convinced raj parik that he needed to be seen. wednesday evening, without an appointment healked into the doctor's express office in paramis, new jersey. >> obviously i'm not feeling good. seemlike i have been coughing for -- off and on for the last almost two months. >> reporter: within minutes the doctor was listening to his chest. >> your oxygen saturation is good. >> reporter: and ordering a chest x-ray. >> hold it. don't breathe. >> reporter: it's happening nationwide. the gwing demands on primary care doctors a overcrowded emergency rooms have more americans with minor ailments turning to nurse practitioners the local pharmacy or doctors storefront urgent care

clinics. >> you're just not feeling well. you don't want to go to an e.r. and wait around for four or five hours because you're not deemed critical. >> reporter: e.r.s are the only treatment option for some who can't pay. costs have exploded. an average visit is $550 while urgent care visits charge $125 to $140 on average. a recent studyy the rand corporation found 17% of all patients treated in hospital e.r.s could be treated at retail medical clinics or urgent care centers generating savings of $4.4 billion each year. >> the best solution islways to see your doctor, but in america today, less than half the time are americans seeing their own doctor when they have an immediate healthconcern. >> reporter: one constant problem, patient information often isn't readily shared between primary care docs, e.r.s or urgent care clinics. health care advates say with

35 million more americans gaining assurance under the health care reform law, quick access to a patient's history will become even more critical. doctors express is a national franchise like mcdonald's or burger king. >> the patients are loong for convenience. >> reporter: with at least one market solution to the health care dilemma. tom costello, nbc news, washington. up next tonight, the sudden death of a top american swimmer. [meow] desperate for nighttime heartburn relief for many, nexium helps relieve heartburn symptoms caused by acid reflux disease. and for the majority of patients with prescriptio coverage for nexium, it can cost $30 or less per month. headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are possible side effects of nexium. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. ask your doctor if nexium can help relieve your heartburn symptoms. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

host: could switching to geico or more on car insurance?cent do woodchucks chuck wood? (high-tched laughter) man: hey you dang woodchucks, quit chucking my wood! vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. when my doctor told me that my chronic bronchitis was copd... i started managi it every day. i like to volunteer... hit the courts... and explore new places. m breathing better with spiriva. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for bo forms of copd... which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. i take it every day... it keeps my airways open to help me breathe better all day long. spiriva does not replace fast acting inhalers for sudden symptoms.

stop taking spiriva and call your doctor right away if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, have vision changes or eye pain... or have problems passing urine. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, problems passing urine or an enlarged prostate... as these may worsen with spiriva. also discuss the medicines you take... even eye drops. side effects include dry mouth, constipation and trouble passing urine. now, i'm managing my chronic bronchitis every day. ask your doctor if once-daily spiva is right for you. the world of competitive swimming is in mourning tonight after the sudden death of a prominent american swimmer. fran crippenied during competition in the united arab

emirates. did the water temperature play a part? more from kevin tibble >> reporter: 26-year-old fran crippen was competing in the open water 10 kilometer world cup near dubai when he failed to finish. following an extensive two-hour search diversound his body in deep water. >> the smmers started weeping. they were sad becau one of theirs had gone missing. >> reporter: crippen came from a family of prominent swimmers. he won silver in the same event at the pan-pacific championships in august. at this race, many swimmers complained that water temperatures were too high. race officialsut the temperature at 84 degrs, but it could have been higher. three-time olympic gold medalist rowdy gaines says heat plays a ro in swimming. >> when the air is so close to 100 degrees and the water temperature is in the mid to upper 80s standpoint, it's just an acciden waiting to happen.

>> reporter: officials in the united arab emirates say overertion was the cause of death and heat was not a factor. crippen was well liked in the swimming world. in a video on his personal website he talked about missing out on a trip to the beijing olympics. >> it's hard to describe the feeling in your heart when you know you can do better. >> reporter: on that site crippen looked forward to a european vacation after the dubai race. >> as great as an athlete as fran was in the water, he was at much better of a person outside the water. everyby loved him. >> reporter: as a result of his death, officials cancelled a 15-kilometer open event that was scheduled forater in the week. can he haven tibbles, nbc news, chicago. we are back in a moment with a story of inspiration and sacrifice. in celebration of our one milliontloan, we're paying off one lucky client's mortgage ring the quicken loans thanks a million giveaway. have you ever wanted to do this to your mortgage? or this? well, now's your ance. just close a loan with us by december 31st

and you'll automatically be entered to win a chance to say "good riddance" to your mortgag up to $250,000. just call or click to learn more about the thanks a million giveaway. only from quicken lns. about the thanks a million giveaway. if you live for performance, upgrade to ctrol edge advanced synthetic oil. withight times better wear protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. just don't feel like they used to. aryou one of them? remember when you had more energy for 18 holes with your buddies? [ glass shatters ] more passion for e one you love more fun with your family and friends?

it could be a treatable condition called low testosterone, or low t. c'mon, stop livg in the shadows. you've got a life to live. [ male announcer ] so don't blame it on aging. talk to your doctor and go to isitlowt.com to find out more. nothing beats prevacid®24hr. just one pill helps keep you heartburn free for a full 24 hours. prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn ith prevacid®24hr, all day, all night. nothing works better. i couldn't sleep right. next day it took forever to get going. night after night, i sat up. sprayed up. took a shower... or took a pill. th i tried drug-free breathe right advanced. and instantly, i breathed better! i slept better. it felt...better. thank you, breathe right! [ male announcer ] breathe better, sleep better, feel better. now try new breathe right advanced for free... at breatheright.com. [ woman ] it's my right to breathe right. isn't it your right, too?

this has been a bittersweet season for a football coach in the new york area, a man who has inspired his team to excel as he himself prepared for a game changing experience in his own life. we get the story tonight from nbc's peter alexander. >>eporter: in football, reaction time is critical. those best prepared to handle developments on the field usually walk away with a win. through eight gameshis season, maritimeollege in the bronx is undefeated. >> good call, ty. >> reporter: guided by clayton kendrick homes, the privateers

are deang with a difficult development. >> i received a phone call at my desk in july from the navy. they said i was being called back to service and would be heed to afghanian for probably a year. >> reporter: as a navy reservist holmes answered the call without reservation. still, it means leaving his family behind. what was your reaction? >> you know, bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. kind of the worst scenario. >> reporter: for more than 50,000 navy reservists who have served in iraq and afghanistan, the story is a familiar one. answering the call of duty is not without sacrifice to family, work, and convenience. on aecent saturday, kendrick holmes is up before dawn. not going over the game plan, but preparing for war. at are you worried about? >> iorry more about my family

here than my personal safety or how i'm going to be. i'm going off to do a great mission, serve with people who have a lot of pride and professionalism in what they do. >> little push off there. that good. >> reporter: what will you miss most? one year. >> just his companionship. just having him cle. >> reporter: kendrick holmes will deplay oy at the end of th football season, just before the holidays. just a few miles by water from 9/11's ground zero, kendrick holmes built maritime football from a nonexistent program into a championship contender. >> nice job. >> reporter: the foundation for the team's success rests squarely on the shoulders of his players. their jerseys emphasize principles over personality. >> you have to count on the guy next to you when everything is eier going good or bad. you have to count on them.

>> every day when you look at coach, the values are displayed right there. >> reporter: as the victories pile up, time is winding down. kendrick holmes' family and team have counted on him. now his country does. peter alexander, nbc news, new york. that is "nbc nightly news" for this suay. coming up, sunday night football in america. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester hold reporting from new york. for all of us at nbc news, good new york. for all of us at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

sync: i did as ged my property taxes 60 percent. woman 1 syi didn't owatrnor man 3: he worked for ak 10 billn doanother bamillion.apsed.axers7 h big s don't ed help. middle class marylanders do.