on the attack. the gloves come off and the candidates come out swinging. >> the only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> and the big money wager that has everyone talking. >> $10,000 bet? out of iraq, once a bustling base, now an eerie ghost town. the last u.s. troops coming home. our richard engel is there. two weeks to go. shoppers buy in a blistering pace as shippers brace for their busiest day of the year. and once upon a time, moms and dads keep a bed time routine going, but they're serving far from home. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. if the jab seems sharper and the tone more contentious during last night's republican presidential debate, it is likely because there have been some pretty dramatic developments in the final weeks before primary season kicks off. last night's debate in des moines was the first since newt gingrich surged out in front of mitt romney in iowa, where the all important caucuses are just three weeks away. and now a new nbc news/marist poll shows gingrich leading in two other key battlegrounds, news tonight that is changing the tone and focus of the attacks on the campaign trail. nbc's mike viqueira reports. >> reporter: the debate quickly got personal. >> if you cheat on your wife, you'll cheat on your business partners. so i think that issue of fidelity is important. >> reporter: it was an appeal to conservative voters by rick perry and a clear challenge to newt gingrich and his history of infidelity. gingrich was ready.

>> people have to render judgment. i said up front openly, i made mistakes at times, i had to go to god for forgiveness, i had to seek reconciliation. >> reporter: leading in iowa polls, gingrich was a frequent target, hitting back when mitt romney called him a career politician. >> the only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> that's probably true. if i would have been able to get in the nfl, like i hoped when i was a kid, i might have been a football star all my life too. >> reporter: the brass gingrich style is playing well with republican voters. a new poll shows gingrich opening up big leads in key republican battlegrounds. in south carolina, he leads second place mitt romney by nearly 20 points. and in florida, gingrich's well ahead after a 38-point increase since october. the debate was at times a free for all. >> i'm just saying, you're for individual mandates, my friend. >> reporter: when romney challenged on his support for an individual mandate in health care, suddenly proposed a big wager on the facts to a startled perry. >> 10,000 bucks?

$10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> reporter: today, critics pounced, noting $10,000 is one fifth the yearly median income in iowa. >> i'm like, holy mackerel, that's a lot of money for most people and i guess not for mitt. >> reporter: other rivals fought for attention. michele bachmann said she was more conservative than both front runners put together. >> if you look at newt/romney, they were for cap and trade. if you look at newt/romney, they were for the illegal immigration problem. >> reporter: ron paul hit gingrich on his lucrative deal with mortgage giant freddie mac. >> so in a way, newt, i think you probably got some of our taxpayers' money. >> reporter: and gingrich doubled down on his claim that palestinians are, quote, an invented people. >> somebody ought to have the courage to tell the truth, these people are terrorists, they teach terrorism in the schools. >> reporter: romney called that the wrong approach it a sensitive issue. >> i will exercise sobriety, care, stability. i'm not a bomb thrower.

rhetorically or literally. >> reporter: and late today in new hampshire, mitt romney tried to make light of the proposed wager to rick perry. saying after the debate his wife came up to him and said, honey, you did very well but betting is one thing you do not do well. >> mike viqueira, thanks very much. for more on the fallout from the debate, let's bring in cnbc's chief washington correspondent john harwood. from where you sat, did romney do or say anything to blunt newt gingrich's momentum? >> i haven't found anyone outside the romney campaign who thinks he did. romney and other republicans went after newt gingrich, but this was a case when a front-runner looked good under fire. gingrich was calm. he showed some humility. and he also came back with the most devastating rebuttal to romney when he said, you would be a career politician if you hadn't lost to teddy kennedy. >> one of the topics that came up in the debate was the standoff in congress over extending the payroll tax cut. the clock clearly running out there. is it likely to get done? >> i think it is likely to get done. president obama, of course, is

for it. so are republican and democratic leaders. they think it will be good for the economy. there is also an increasingly acute sense of members of both parties of how vulnerable they are to voters in 2012. toughest job may be john boehner because he has a lot of resistance from the rank and file. >> john harwood, thank you. former penn state coach joe paterno is in a pennsylvania hospital after falling and breaking his pelvis for the second time. paterno is not expected to need surgery. meantime, there are new questions tonight in the jerry sandusky child sex abuse case about what a key prosecution witness heard and saw. nbc's jay gray has our report. >> reporter: tonight, explosive new allegations in the penn state child sex abuse scandal, this time from the defense. >> it seems that all of these now young men are following a similar pattern. >> reporter: attorney joe amendola telling nbc news he's

ex-moplo- exploring how and how often accusers may have been in contact with each other prior to charges being filed in the case. >> is it possible that all of them reacted the same way to the abuse by staying in touch with jerry and maintaining contact with him. i find it strange and what it smacks of is some kind of collusion. >> reporter: one attorney said, they're trying to raise any sort of doubt and throw up a smoke screen. i can't speak for everyone, but i can speak for my client, victim number four, and to suggest he is colluding is preposterous. there are also new questions tonight about another key witness in the case. penn state assistant coach mike mcqueary said he told investigators he saw sandusky sodomizing a young boy in a shower at the university athletic facility, then that night rushed home to tell his father and a family friend. to this point, he's refused to discuss the alleged incident in public. >> that will all come out.

i just don't have anything to say about that right now. and sometime there will be something said. not right now. i'm sorry. >> reporter: but in a report in today's "patriot news," a source with knowledge of the grand jury investigation says that family friend told the grand jury he asked mcqueary three times if he saw anything sexual, and three times mcqueary said no. mcqueary has long been considered a vital part of the state's case and is expected to testify in a preliminary hearing on tuesday. it is a hearing that is getting a lot of attention and not only from those of us in the media. almost 1400 people entered a public lottery for the 100 seats available in the courtroom on tuesday. let's get back to joe paterno for a moment. now we're told tonight the legendary coach is resting well and expected to make a full recovery after his fall. lester? >> jay, thank you. overseas now to iraq where tonight just a few thousand u.s. troops remain. and they're expected home by the holidays as the u.s.

withdraws -- withdrawal nears its end. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel has been covering the war againsince the beginnin. he joins us from baghdad. >> reporter: after nearly nine year, u.s. troops are leaving iraq and the cycle of deployment after deployment to this country is ending. there is a surreal feeling on u.s. bases these days. camp taji, 12 miles north of baghdad, was once a huge american air base. now -- >> not too many people here. >> reporter: very different. you go outside, you look around, like a ghost town. nobody's home. it is very strange. sergeant christopher redick was only 11 years old when this war started. now he's one of just a few hundred troops still in baghdad, packing up. >> i've been here a while. now i get to go home to my

family. >> reporter: lieutenant colonel ray davis is taking a last look at family photos before his computer goes in a bag too. about a million troops deployed to iraq over nearly nine years. and it has come down to this. everything you have is going to go in here and then you're done. >> that's it. >> reporter: everyone else is doing the exact same thing. >> all down to one bag. >> reporter: there are a thousand buildings on taji, nearly all now vacant. at its peak, this was a military city, with 45,000 american troops and contractors. it was so busy, the troops were required to wear reflective belts so they wouldn't be run over by all the humvee traffic. now, the military vehicles are gone, and there is hardly anyone left. awkwardly named containerized housing units, they have ribbons on the doors to show each one has been cleared and locked. nearby, soldiers have left notes on a field of destroyed iraqi

weapons that already look like relics from a conflict long ago. but what will be the legacy of america's biggest military mission since vietnam? >> always clear. >> reporter: military commanders say they're confident it will be positive. >> we have set iraq up for success. they are capable of maintaining internal security and they are well on their way to becoming a sovereign power that is a partner to the united states. >> reporter: but the view is different at baghdad's cafe. an author and historian says iraqis will not judge this war kindly. he says during saddam's days, we did not have this hell. yes, under saddam there was a single hard rule, there were arrests and there was no freedom. but you could go home at 4:00 a.m. now you're afraid to walk the streets at 4:00 in the afternoon, he says.

but troops are leaving and leaving behind concrete sprawls in the desert and a country with an uncertain future. while u.s. troops are leaving, lester, the american embassy here is dramatically expanding. and even after all the troops leave, there will still be about 16 to 17,000 diplomats, government officials, and contractors staying behind. lester? >> richard engel back in baghdad tonight for us, thank you. responding to mass protests in the streets of moscow, tonight russian president dmitry medvedev ordered an investigation into allegations of widespread fraud and ballot stuffing during last sunday's parliamentary elections. yesterday tens of thousands rallied in the country's largest political demonstration in decades, demanding the ouster of prime minister vladimir putin. more fallout from the nato air strike that killed two dozen pakistani soldiers near the border with afghanistan. tonight, the last american forces stationed at a pakistani

air force base have left the country, ordered out by the pakistani government in response to that strike two weeks ago. now to a significant development in the effort to combat global climate change. tonight, there is news from south africa of an agreement by more than 190 nations, and our chief environmental affairs correspondent anne thompson is here with details tonight. >> reporter: good evening, lester. there is an agreement tonight on what would be required to reach a legally binding pact to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. following this new blueprint, cutting emissions would no longer just be the responsibility of the developed countries. any new pact would require all countries, including emerging power like china and india, to reduce their output of the gases that fuel climate change. that is something the united states desperately wanted. the path would be hammered out by 2015 and take effect by 2020. but environmentalists and nations already dealing with rising sea levels, hotter temperatures and drought say

this is too little, much too late. they argue co2 emissions must be reduced now if the world is to avoid the worst impact of climate change. lester? >> anne, thank you. we lost a fracture e treasu at nbc news. john foley was the voice of mass from the vatican. >> grant us your peace in this life, save us from final damnation. >> he was a contributor to nbc news for decades, including the 2005 papal conclave when then archbishop foley was a fixture on our broadcast. he was ordained in 1962 and became an active priest and catholic journalist in his home state of pennsylvania. in 1984, pope john paul ii named him an archbishop and he was elevated to cardinal four years ago by pope benedict. cardinal john patrick foley passed away peacefully early this morning at the age of 76. he will be greatly missed.

when "nbc nightly news" continues, record-setting shopping fueling the busiest shipping day of the year. and later, parents still tucking their kids into bed, while serving far from home. ♪ [ laughter ] ♪ [ male announcer ] for tim and richard smucker, giving a gift of their family's delicious jam always made the holidays just a little bit sweeter. we forgot to put our names on them! richard, i think they'll know who it's from. ♪ thank you boys. you're welcome. you're welcome. [ male announcer ] happy holidays from our family to yours. i love christmas! real, objective investing help? that's a little harder to find. but here's what i know -- td ameritrade doesn't manage mutual funds... or underwrite stocks and bonds. or even publish their own research. so, guidance from td ameritrade isn't about their priorities. it's about mine.

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any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctors approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion,stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if pradaxa can reduce your risk of a stroke. for more information or help paying for pradaxa, visit pradaxa.com. back now with the holiday shopping rush, just two weeks left until christmas, after modest predictions earlier in the year, sales have been much better than expected. in fact, they're on a blistering pace. and with black friday and cyber monday now in the history books, they're preparing for what is called green monday and shippers are bracing for their biggest

day of the year. courtney reagan covers the retail industry for cnbc and has our report tonight. >> reporter: despite still challenging economic conditions, this holiday season is turning out to be more joyful than expected. consumers are shopping and spending more than they said they would. according to the cnbc all america economic survey, the average u.s. shopper plans to spend $751 this year, up 22% from last year. >> they're feeling a little bit bitter. consumer confidence is picking up a bit and we're seeing that in the spending numbers. >> reporter: tomorrow, the second monday in december is dubbed green monday by ebay five years ago when online sales shot up. it has become one of the largest shopping days all year with big discounts. they predict $1 billion will be spent online tomorrow, so far more than $24 billion has been spent online for the holiday season, marking a 15% increase

over last year. >> it is very possible that tomorrow, monday, might well be the heaviest day that we have ever seen in the history of the internet. >> reporter: a fact that fedex is well aware of, saying tomorrow could be its busiest shipping day ever. >> busiest day is going to be tomorrow. they're going to be moving 17 million packages and i'll really excited. it is going to be organized chaos. >> reporter: as for shopper, survey after survey indicates scoring a deal is priority number one this year. on a online, free shipping can clinch the deal. discount clothing sales are up 18% at outlet malls this year, compared with an increase of 2.5% at department stores in traditional malls. >> i got three, four, less than the one flannel i bought somewhere else. >> i think there is a lot of savings. >> prices are excellent here. one of the main reasons why we're here. >> we got four pairs of shoes from nordstrom for $130 and we're very happy.

>> reporter: happy shoppers and happy retailers, hoping for a holiday season for the record books. courtney reagan, cnbc, new york. when we come back, could there soon be someone to turn to if you feel violated on the airport security line. [ male announcer ] every day thousands of people

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or even find a new one. i'm velia carboni, and i helped create fidelity's next-generation ipad app. it's one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. open an account today and get a $500 apple gift card. one of the biggest stars in major league baseball is being accused of cheating his way to the national league mvp award and could now face a 50-game suspension. there are multiple reports that milwaukee brewers outfielder ryan braun tested positive for a performance enhancing substance in october. in a statement, braun denied the accusations saying there are highly unusual circumstances surrounding the case that will support his complete innocence

and demonstrate there was no intentional violation of the program. baylor university quarterback robert griffin iii won this year's heisman trophy as the top college football player in the nation. griffin accepted at ward last night in new york, finishing comfortably ahead of stanford quarterback andrew luck, and alabama running back trent richardson. griffin is first baylor player to win the award. amid this busy season for holiday travelers, some new york lawmakers were calling on the tsa to create a passenger advocate at airports nationwide to act on the spot when passengers complain of invasive security screenings. the proposal by senator chuck schumer follows recent claims that an elderly woman was strip searched at kennedy airport here in new york. for its part, the tsa says it does not conduct strip searches. speaking of high profile incidents at the airport, alec baldwin is getting the last laugh after getting kicked off a flight for refusing to stop playing a game on his electronic device before the plane backed

away from the gate. last night he stopped by "snl" to spoof the incident, posing as the american airlines pilot who game him the boot and essentially apologizing to himself. >> mr. baldwin is an american treasure. i am ashamed at the way he was treated. i mean, what harm would it do to let him keep playing his game. not any game, mind you, but a word game for smart people. >> keeping the laughs going, seth meyers asked baldwin, are you sure this is the right way to handle this? up next here tonight, story time, before shipping off to war. across america, i've learned that when you ask someone in texas if they want "big" savings on car insurance, it's a bit like asking if they want a big hat... ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer.

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finally tonight, as the last u.s. troops in iraq come home for the holidays, the war in afghanistan wages on and thousands of american servicemen and women are preparing to head overseas. but before they go, there is an effort under way to help some of them stay connected with their kids during their long physical separation. here's nbc's mike taibbi. >> you'll be able to see yourself on this screen. >> okay. >> reporter: for her family that lives outside seattle, this is the second time he's doing it, this time reading a sesame street story. >> your favorite character from sesame street, elmo. >> reporter: with equipment donations, harris and hundreds of others in uniform, many on the aircraft carrier "abraham lincoln," get to read their kids a selection of bed time stories and add any personal message. >> i love you so, so much. i want you guys to know i really

miss each and every one of you. >> reporter: dvds the kid plays over and over and can't wait to get. >> they were so excited. i got some candid pictures of them seeing my face and they were glowing. >> reporter: in a tech world where just about everyone including those in uniform has a cell phone with a camera, this program is catching on because so often in distant deployments there is no available internet. and even when there is, the parental ritual of the bed time story is so personal. >> it puts the face to the book. it connects people in ways that phone calls can't. >> reporter: especially for sailors leaving now. the holidays are always hard on servicemen and women far from home. that doesn't change. and that's why they're open to any idea that makes the world a little smaller, the distance from home a little shorter, and the connection to loved ones a little more intimate. harris' wife and kids told us via skype it is magical. >> it is exciting for them to hear daddy's voice before they go to bed. >> reporter: harris boarded "the

lincoln" knowing he won't be home until next summer at the earliest, knowing too in this way -- >> even when we're far apart, we're always together at heart. buy, you guys. >> reporter: -- he can be home virtually every night. mike taibbi, nbc news, san diego. that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. coming up next, "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football," giants take on the cowboys. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

[ coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] more pollution from power plants means more childhood asthma attacks. [ labored breathing ] there's technology that makes the air cleaner, but too many plants don't use it. we can't wait. epa must update power plant standards to protect our kids. [ baby coughing ]