fight to the finish. after a wild week on the trail tonight we're minutes from polls closing in south carolina. and it's down to the wire for the candidates. will the first southern primary be a game changer? winter blast. after a mild start to the season, tonight there's snow and ice from coast to coast. and another twist from mother nature on the way. and the captain's story. he's been called the most hated man in italy. now, what he says really happened when disaster struck at sea. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening, tonight, bad weather is adding to the drama in south carolina where a half hour from now the polls will close in today's primary. 14 counties there have been under tornado watches at some point during the day. and weather-related power outages have affected the voting machines and turnout in some places. today's republican south carolina face-off caps one of the wildest weeks yet in the race for president with newt gingrich making a late run at mitt romney, who until recently had enjoyed a comfortable lead there. the importance of this primary is underscored by the fact that since 1980 the republican winner from there has gone on to clinch the nomination. at the end of the night we could for the first time see three different winners of first three contests. iowa, new hampshire and south carolina. our political team is in place to cover this big night. and we'll begin at gingrich headquarters in columbia with

ron mott. good evening. >> lester, good evening to you. as bad as the weather has been, it hasn't dampened the enthusiasm and excitement. people are fired up and what better way to court the votes than with a good old fashioned breck fast and all the trimmings. hamgate was quintessential red, white and blue theater. first, mitt romney. >> biggest crowd we had. >> newt gingrich both rallied the vote in greenville within a half hour of each other. the former speaker loose after a late surge feasted on the moment in the crowd. >> what's mitt? i thought he was going to stay and have a little debate here this morning. >> today's menu was about dishing up the most appetizing images. candidates swarmed by screaming

is up pores and joanna price's says gingrich's debate performance sold it for her. >> hopefully once he'll gets in the white house he'll enforce everything he said. >> romney's business background is what this voter says this economy needs. >> are we better off than four years ago? we're not. >> and why they battle toe to toe and face to face, rick santorum certified today as the winner of the iowa caucuses worked to maximize his turnout. smaller believed good news for gingrich. as for the dreary weather he said bring it on. up. >> i thought rain is a good i think this, bad weather is a good thing because our folks are passionate and they're going to come out and vote. >> ron paul scheduled no campaign eventbes today. opting instead to meet with supporters at his watch party headquarters tonight. at for the turnout it has been described as everything from light to heavy depending on

where you are around the state. lester? >> thanks, ron mott. as we noted at the top, a few days ago showed mitt romney with a wide lead in south carolina, but the romney campaign sensing a change in the winds has been trying to tamp down expectations as it ratchets up its attacks on newt gingrich. peter alexander has that end of the story. good evening to you. >> reporter: lester, good morning to you. and roomy took the afternoon off, in fact, to relax and he took his family to the movies today. regardless of what happens here this evening, governor romney's advisers say he's in this for the long haul. for the romney campaign, proudly meticulous about every detail, that visit to tommy's country hamhouse featured an oversight that summed up a week's worth of stumbles. >> we came here. >> reporter: the crowd couldn't hear the candidate because his campaign didn't bring its own microphone.

all week romney who is largely focused on attacking president obama -- >> repeal obamacare -- >> reporter: has struggled to fend off jabs from his rivals. newt gingrich and santorum and sidetracked about his personal wealth and wavering answers about whether he'd release his tax returns. >> maybe. i'll take a look at what the -- what our documents are. >> reporter: saturday morning romney tried to slow gingrich's momentum, and talking about the contract he signed with freddie mac. >> this is a big issue, got the washington insiders, talking about freddie mac. let's see what the report was to freddie mac. what advice he gave them. >> reporter: the romney campaign levelled this sarcastic attack, wishing again dprigingrich a ha anniversary. part of the increasing nasty

campaign that has some voters turned off. >> even got carolina to answer some. just hanging up. we're not listening to the messages. >> reporter: still as romney looks to lower expectations here, his advisers are already touting their head start in florida. >> we have a long way to go. come join us in florida. then in nevada and michigan and colorado. >> reporter: but first, romney appears to have a few chores. today, his son tweeted this photo. showing the former governor doing laundry. and the next time we expect to see all four of the republican presidential candidates together, lester, is monday night in tampa. that of course is nbc news's presidential debate. >> peter alexander in columbia, thank you. for a look at what voters had to see as they left the voting booths today, we want to turn to tamryn hall with a look at the exit polls. >> good evening. the republican primary voters have been interviewed all day

and this is an overwhelmingly conservative electorate. 37% call themselves very conservative. nearly as many describe themselves as somewhat conservative and 31% said they're moderate or liberal. what was on their minds as they went to the polls? south carolina has one of the worst unemployment rates in the nation and republican primary voters expressed great concern about the economy. in fact, 78% indicated they were very worried about the direction of the economy in the next few years. it may not come as a surprise that the top issue, the thing that mattered most today was the economy. another big concern is electability. the ability to beat barack obama. there we see nearly half. 45% said that was the quality that mattered most to them. finally with so much breaking news out of south carolina this week we found that a lot of voters were on the fence until the last minute. 53% said they made their minds up within the last few days.

some of them today. we'll be watching closely to see what difference those late deciders made this this primary, lester. >> thanks. let's bring in the nbc political team for insight, chuck todd and andrea mitchell and david gregory. david, we heard that it's a very conservative electorate in south carolina. it was a group of evangelical leaders who got together to figure out a plan to stop romney from running the table. any signs that that may have worked? >> well, it may have strengthened rick santorum. actually something we'll be looking at as the night progresses, did it actually help newt gingrich? or was he helped more by debate performances and by rick perry getting out of the race which may have gotten him some strong evangelical support. i'd keep my eye on electability. strong debate performances, a forcefulness about gingrich is what i think he's been trying to build on and i think that's what's created most of the momentum this week.

>> chuck, win or lose, what's the take away from romney. his experience in south carolina and what it means as he marches toward florida? >> well, you know, the concern for the romney campaign has always been their first conservative test, this south carolina is a conservative test. so is florida. but what's interesting about the romney campaign over the last 24 hours is now they're now down playing the strategy of trying to wrap up the nomination early. they're back to saying what they said to us in november is we're a campaign built for the long haul. translation on that code, it means they're concerned about losing tonight and they know that florida now is the first big test in a big state and they want to see if their resources can overcome their problems with conservatives. >> andrea, things got nasty in south carolina. we heard in peter's report a saying she -- she hangs up the phone know when she gets the calls. how is all that playing with voters in south carolina? >> well, the one thing is that ever there was a state that voters are used to the nasty campaigns it's south carolina. there's a long history of rough

and tumble politics there. four years ago, lester, a candidate for state office reportedly hired an undocumented worker to infiltrate a crew painting the house of his opponent and then accused the opponent of hiring illegal workers. all the way back in the 1800s there was a caning against a massachusetts caning, a savage caning and then the experience of john mccain, defeated in south carolina after false allegations. there was a fake e-mail accusing newt gingrich of misconduct and it was followed up by a denial on his own campaign letter ahhe. now the romney campaign is sending a cake to him to mark the 15th anniversary of his ethics reprimand. i asked the republican charge about this today and he said by south carolina standards this one has been tame. >> all right. andrea, chuck and david, our thanks to all of you and a quick program note. newt gingrich will be among

david's guests tomorrow morning on "meet the press." coming off a dramatic finish in south carolina, the focus will turn to florida and that's where we find brian williams gearing up for monday night's nbc news presidential debate. good evening. >> well, lester, that's right. good evening to you. the minute we have a result in south carolina overnight and into tomorrow morning, the attention shifts here and if mitt romney indeed has a bad night in south carolina, as chuck said, part of that long haul firewall strategy starts here in florida. if newt gingrich has a good night in south carolina, it will be largely because of his debate performances. so it couldn't come at a more crucial time. all four republicans with us in tampa, florida. that's monday night, 9:00, 8 :0 central. lester, back to you. >> we'll look for your reports later. when "nightly news" continues here, the wild turn in the weather. snow and ice from coast to

coast. and another twist on the way. and later, what that cruise ship captain now has to say about that deadly night at sea. [ male announcer ] have you heard? it's bring your happiness to work day. campbell's microwavable soups. in three minutes -- the deliciousness that brings a smile to any monday. campbell's -- it's amazing what soup can do.

uh, trouble with a car insurance claim. ah, claim trouble. [ dennis ] you should just switch to allstate,

and get their new claim satisfaction guarantee. hey, he's right man. [ dennis ] only allstate puts their money where their mouth is. yup. [ dennis ] claim service so good, it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can always count on them. unlike randy over there. that's one dumb dude. ♪ the new claim satisfaction guarantee. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. [ man thinking ] oh, this gas. those antacids aren't working. oh no, not that, not here! [ male announcer ] antacids don't relieve gas. gas-x is designed to relieve gas. gas-x. the gas xperts. we're back now with a winter blast hitting millions of americans from seattle to boston. after a mild start to winter, much of the country is now covered in ice and snow. a lot of folks dealing with plunging temperatures. nbc's michelle franzen is here

in new york tonight. >> reporter: good evening, lester. this is the heaviest snow that the northeast has seen since that wallop last october. winter finally arriving after it ushers in after a mild and slow start. it left the mark from the midwest to the northeast but parts of new england saw nearly a foot of snow. aside from a few accidents like this overturned tractor-trailer on interstate 70 in pennsylvania, winter's better late than never arrival was a welcome sight. >> we are really happy to be out here because we have been missing the snow. >> reporter: in new york, just over four inches of snow blanketed streets and parks. just enough and just right for sledding and snowballs. >> truth is i don't love the snow, but with three kids they have been really, really itching for us to have snow. >> reporter: the snow first hit in the midwest yesterday. in chicago, it made for a messy

and treacherous commute. it is a far cry from last winter when storm after storm after storm left record snowfall. this time last season in new york city, crews had to bring in special machines to melt the 31 inches of snow that had already piled up. this season just over seven inches of snow has fallen in the city. that lack of snow is also evident in new england and the upper midwest. meanwhile, northern california and the pacific northwest are getting hit with more rain and wind than snow. except in and around seattle where rain on top of this past week's rare snowstorm created a slushy mess. forecasters say the missing ingredient this winter has been cold temperatures that have finally moved in. >> this year we could be looking at a flip-flop where we start mild and there's time to catch up as we head to february and march. it's not over yet. >> reporter: so far this winter has left most people wanting more. >> i'm looking forward to a few

more snowy days, but hopefully winter doesn't come with a vengeance now that it's come so late. >> reporter: and this storm still managed to cause quite a few delays and cancellations at airports around the country. nearly a thousand cancellations just today. on top of that, just 300 alone in the new york area and on top of the nearly 700 in chicago yesterday. >> michelle, thanks. for more on the wild weather from coast to coast, let's turn to weather channel's meteorologist paul goodloe. >> good evening. finally we have seen the winter weather return to us. take a look at the snow totals michelle was talking about, chicago, we had over half a foot of snow there and across new england the most snow since that october 3031 snowstorm. that snow is out of here. we'll see 40s and 50s by monday. the southeast still dealing with severe weather, mainly a hail

and damaging wind threat and that continues into your sunday and even a chance of tornadoes as we head into the overnight hours and this includes the ohio valley as well. out t to the west, plenty of mountain snow. and the forecast for more snowy weather out to the west and more valley rain and the dry weather across the northeast, but our focus as we head into this week and into next week, we have a lot of rain and snow heading towards the west coast. l.a. a soggy start to your weekend and couple of feet of snow in the mountains. lester? >> paul, thanks. some good news from reno, nevada, where firefighters say a huge wildfire has been contained. tonight, we have learned how it started. officials say a man admitted to accidentally starting the fire when he improperly discarded ashes from his fireplace. the fire destroyed 29 homes and forced some 10,000 people to

evacuate. up next here tonight, new developments in the scene of the cruise ship disaster in italy. what the ship's captain is saying now. ready or not, here i come! ♪ found ya! you always find me. you always hide here. [ male announcer ] tim and richard smucker have always loved the taste of just-picked fruit. so it's no wonder why today smucker's makes the world's best jam. for five generations, with a name like smucker's, it has to be good. you should know that just one dose of children's advil gives up to eight hours of fever relief. allowing your little one to get back to building a better afternoon. children's advil. relief you can trust. to get back to building a better afternoon. whee wheeeeeeeeeeeee! wheeeeeeeeeeee! whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee!

whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! pure adrenaline. whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! everything you love about geico, now mobile. download the new geico app today. whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee! when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open

for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home. there is late word tonight that joe paterno's health has

taken a turn for the worse. the former penn state coach announced in november that he has lung cancer and tonight, nbc news has learned that the 85-year-old paterno has developed further health complications over the past few days. and doctors now characterize his condition as serious. paterno is hospitalized and doctors have stopped chemotherapy treatments due to the complications. now, the latest on the cruise ship disaster in italy where tonight the death toll has gone up to 12. there's also new information about the captain under house arrest and under fire. tonight he's defending himself, fighting back and we get our report from nbc's michelle kosinski who remains on giglio island. >> reporter: conditions finally giving divers a window of safety, they resume their search. then, late afternoon, a discovery. the body of a woman among the 21 missing.

their families nearby, including the daughter of missing american barbara and jerry heil from minnesota up. comforted by another on board. divers focus on this area they have been trying to access for days. called deck 4, and it would have been the meeting place where passengers would come with life jackets on to wait to be rescued. but it's on the side of the ship that's submerged. pictures from today's search show what it's like down there. and everything left behind. here someone's luggage. and today, an italian newspaper reports what it says are captain schettino's statements in court. he says that night he was having dinner with officers and the ship's hostess and told the crew to let them know when they reach six miles from the giglio island. helped to steer closer, a salute to a retired commander. radar showed a rock. he turned the ship, desperate and too late.

he states he called the company, told them i messed up and explained what happened. then arranged the evacuation. he says he didn't sound the alarm immediately to avoid panic. but panic came. and he claims he tripped, fell into the sea, was rescued by a boat, insisted they bring him back, but says they refused. in a phone call with the coast guard after the accident, he told them he'd be the last man on board. i will stay here, i think it will be just me. he's accused of manslaughter and abandoning the concordia. the families gathered here from around the world. their desire to lay their loved ones to rest starting to surpass hope of finding that miracle of survivals now. michelle kosinski, nbc news, giglio, italy. a 16-year-old from the netherlands capped off quite a feat today, sailing into a

harbor in st. maartens to complete a year-long solo journey around the world. laura dekker said she's the youngest to complete the around the world voyage, but won't be recognized by the folks at guinness because they're trying to discourage young sailors from making such attempts. we'll have more on decision 2012 when we come back. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ]

with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. [ man thinking ] oh, this gas. those antacids aren't working. oh no, not that, not here! [ male announcer ] antacids don't relieve gas. gas-x is designed to relieve gas. gas-x. the gas xperts. then i found new pronutrients omega-3. it's from centrum. it's a smaller minigel. with two of the best omegas

to support my heart, brain and eyes. new pronutrients from centrum. you have to dig a little. fidelity's etf market tracker shows you the big picture on how different asset classes are performing, and it lets you go in for a closer look at areas within a class or sector that may be bucking a larger trend. i'm stephen hett of fidelity investments. the etf market tracker is one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. get 200 free trades today and explore your next investing idea. back now and we're just minutes from polls closing in south carolina.

we want to go back to "meet the press" moderator, david gregory. what should we be looking for as the polls close? >> we'll see if we have seen the political climate change here in south carolina. have we seen a real change in momentum in this race that has moved toward newt gingrich? we have seen it in the polling, we felt it on the campaign trail after the debates this week. and some real missteps for governor romney as well. i think the other thing i'm looking for is this issue of electability. we know that it was an important factor in south carolina based on what voters are telling us. it was big in iowa and new hampshire. who will get the nod from the voters on who can beat obama? >> david gregory, i know you'll be with us throughout the evening that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. a reminder we'll have primary updates throughout the night on this nbc station, msnbc and online at nbcpolitics.com. see you tomorrow on "today" and

tomorrow evening. have a good night.