on this sunday night, a deadly mass shooting in wisconsin. chaos in suburban milwaukee, a gunman opens fire in a crowded spa. tonight at least three are dead, four are wounded. the bomb squad on the scene and an all-out man hunt for the killer. our team is there. all tied up. our brand-new numbers in the race for president ahead of one critical debate as a bombshell report sets off a firestorm. mad rush, mid-october and half of holiday shoppers have already started. and george mcgovern, tonight remembering a giant of american politics, liberal icon who ran against nixon, a towering voice against a vietnam war.

good evening, from the university of tampa where in this key battleground state on the eve of tomorrow night's final presidential debate, we're also unveiling our brand-new national poll numbers. we'll get to that. but first there is late breaking news to report. another mass shooting has rocked an american community. this time at a day spa outside of milwaukee, leaving at least three people dead, four people wounded. a day-long search for the killer is now over. it's all unfolding near a mall in brookfield, wisconsin. kevin tibbles is there. >> reporter: lester, we now know that the man suspected of bursting into the day spa and opening fire earlier today has been found dead of a

self-inflicted gunshot wound. police have just finished the news conference, they say the investigation is ongoing. hours after the shooting at the azana salon and spa, the suspect has been found dead. authorities identified 45-year-old radcliffe houghton as the shooter and described the investigation as being fluid and ongoing. >> we have a number of investigations not only in the salon, but the shooter's home in brown deer. >> reporter: emergency vehicles quickly descended on brookfield mall just across the street from the spa. witnesses describe a kay contractic scene. >> people came running out of the back of the building. >> i saw someone pulled out by a police officer. they were told there was a bomb coming out of her sack where she

got shot at. >> reporter: late this afternoon police official confirmed that s.w.a.t. teams were moved in to search the building near the salon and they founden improvised explosive tonight. late this afternoon, president obama was briefed by a conference call by his national security team and fbi director at camp david. there are also reports that the alleged shooter had a restraining order against him and he had been allegedly stalking his wife who worked at the day salon and also the vice presidential candidate who's from wisconsin also expressed his shock and horror over today's violence. >> kevin tibbles, thanks. to presidential politics, now 16 days to the election, our brand-new poll numbers show election night could be a cliffhanger.

one more critical debate here in florida. now the president has made his way down to the scene of the debate in boca raton. >> reporter: the topic of tomorrow night's debate the foreign policy. and there are new debates in libya, syria and iran. mitt romney took time out to toss the coin before a beach football game before his staff and his press corps. the president was at camp david where he'll spend the night before heading to florida. with both canning ddidates prac, surrogates took up the battle. >> mitt romney could onto point to binders for an accomplishment towards him. a binder full of women.

>> even more startling is the president's inability to putford an agenda for the next four years. >> in mid-september the president led 50-45. the numbers show an evenly divided country overall. the president's job approval holding steady at 69%. the economy at 46%, and the poll also shows a clear enthusiasm gap. the president has a 49-44 lead among all registered voters, but that 47-47 tie of unlikely means the president is more enthusiastic and more likely to vote. 62% said they wanted major changes if he eastsi's elected. david axelrod has always said he

expected a very slows race. >> it's very robust and it's very good indicator for us. >> even ann romney got into the campaign. >> reporter: one of the big parts of tomorrow night's discussion is going to be iran. there was a "new york times" report indicating that the u.s. and iran would have one-on-one direct talks, but the white house is denying that any sort of one-on-one talks are going to happen any time soon. >> chuck todd down tonight in boca. let's bring in david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." there's many foreign policy issues to talk about. but is this what mitt romney wants right now in a state where the economy is number one? >> these candidates are going to find a way to get the economy back into the conversation. what did chuck just mention? whether it's libya or syria or

iran. we have already seen that. we have seen it with libya, look how politicized that's become. you talked about iran and whether the administration has been tough enough in dealing with iraq. most importantly the tissue of america's strength is really about america's wealth and it's standing in the world. so our economy, our fiscal problems, the problems with the debt, all of that is the backdrop for how america can assert itself in the rest of the world. i think that will be a big theme, particularly from governor romney as he takes the fight to the president. >> david gregory in washington tonight. thank you. while supporters of the candidates will be watching tomorrow's debate, hoping to see their candidates score points, the real targets are those undecided voters. particularly here in florida where the margins are usually very small and every vote

counts. >> reporter: somewhere along this political dmz between the republican leading north and democratic south, the election may be won or lost. >> this is the dead center of ground zero. >> reporter: hillsborough county has a near perfect record of taking presidential winners, going back 50 years, a swing county in a swing state. political ads saturate the airwaves. >> is this what you see all the time on tv? >> every day all day. >> in this razor close contest, people like the wilds are a sought after prize, undecided voters. in '08 they voted for obama. >> i'm really disappoint in the last four years. and the spending has been a big part of it because the deficits are huge. >> do you think any of these men can fix our problems, the problems being jobs and housing and all those sorts of things.

>> i'm undecided whether i'm going to vote or not which some people might think that's really horrible. but i haven't been given a compelling argument from either candidate. >> the campaigns have been aggressively pushing early voting. >> in part campaigns tend to do that because they're trying to get the vote of people who are very confident for them because there's a bigger poll on the turnout. >> politics and tampa's woes are a popular side dish. joe patre wlrlia says his busin has gone down to nothing. he wrestles with who to blame. >> i don't think it's one particular person, i think congress has a lot to do with what's going on in this country. >> across the diner, this 50-year-old worries about health care.

for all the strong political passion for both candidates, there are still plenty of voter who is haven't fallen in love with eacher man, and so the court ship with undecided voters in these final weeks is only going to grow more intense. >> we don't keep our home phone plugged in, i can't imagine what it would be like. but we get mailers every day in the mashlilers all over the mai >> the undecideds are getting attention all over tonight. this week brian williams will interview the president on the campaign trachil. look for it starting wednesday on nbc "nightly news." the bloody civil war in syria is likely to be a topic. a taxi loaded with explosives blew up near a police station, 13 people were reported killed

and 29 wounded, and in neighboring lebanon, new protests about what re syria might have played in the death of a top lebanese intelligence official friday. stephany gosk has the latest from beirut. >> reporter: protesters rushed the prime minister's offices ripping up barbed-wire and hurling rocks. troops responded with warning shots and lots of tear gas. the air was so bad, some passed out and were dragged away. this has turned into a standoff right now, between the protesters and the military, the leader of the opposition has called active people to pull back and go home. but this was never how this day was supposed to begin. the day began with a top member

of the political regime was killed. it is believed the syrian government orchestrated the attack. >> there's a serious conflict going on between the country and the government. >> reporter: lebanon's president told the country to stand united and urge investigators to quickly find those responsible. but the opposition doesn't trust the government, which they say supports the assaad regime. and they believe lebanon is inextricably tied to religious faith. growing worry that the new state of violence here means that civil war is spreading. the situation is still tense here in beirut tonight. these fences here behind me were

put up after the protests. >> stephany gosk on the streets of beirut tonight. still ahead, as nbc "nightly news" continues. don't look now, but if you haven't started holiday shopping yet. apparently you're already behind. retailers pulling out all the stops earlier. of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision,

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we're back now with a holt topic tonight as we head into the holiday season. when and how to get is best shopping deals whether you're buying in stores or online. >> reporter: it's are holiday tradition, rounds of shoppers. lining up to get the best deals on black friday. but according to decide, a company that tracks retail prices, many popular items like cameras, jewelry and high end apparel get more expensive as the days go on and prices increase. last year this price of ugg boots averaged $135, but this year just $85. it's part of why more than half of holiday shoppers will begin

before halloween this year. >> toys "r" us is going after early birds with a hot reservation program. you're guaranteed to it have for the holidays, although you'll pay full price. it's all a sign of the tough competition that retailers face. this year for the first time more than half of holiday shoppers will shot online which has major retailers doing everything they can to lure consumers back into the stores. toys "r" us and walmart will match the prices of local stores and with more and more people using smart phones to comparison shop from the aisle, best buy and target are taking it a step further. matchi ining internet competito the biggest threat online. be careful, there are exceptions. >> they're not going to price

match on their busiest day. >> also make sure that it's the same item that you're asking them to price match against. the same color, the same style, the same brand. >> a little research may be the best bet of big savings of the holiday season. >> when we come back, lance armstrong speaks out about his horrible week. time to compare plans and see what's new. you don't have to make changes, but it's good to look. maybe you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. ♪ medicare open enrollment. now's the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare. ♪ visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare. do you often experience the feeling of a dry mouth? it can be the side effect of many medications. dry mouth can be frustrating...

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of american politics. >> come home, america, come home to the affirmation that we have a dream. >> reporter: he left us with the term mcgovernite which may always stand for a -- in life george mcgovern was a heroic member of a famous winning team. as a young pilot, he flew 35 combat missions in the b-24 liberator. named the dakotas queen for his wife eleanor, he was hit by enemy fire often and hit badly, engines on fire, bullets flying through the cockpit. after one emergency landing that saved the lives of his crew, they counted 110 holes in the aircraft. he was given the distinguished flying cross among a chest full

of members. when the war was over, he went back home hating war and battling horrible nightmare. he went back to his hometown which ballooned to 601. he grew up poor, his parents often received payment for just food during the depression. but mcgovern was a superb debater. he got his phd started teaching, eventually entering congress. four terms in the house and 18 years in the senate. he launched a ferocious attack against the vietnam war which was eating up our young troops overseas and filling our streets over here. >> this war is destroying the united states. >> he scolded his fellow senators who supported it. >> we need to end that war and get on with what are the real

problems before the nation. >> it was and an unabashed liberal that the democrats nominated him in 1972, it was snake bit from the start. >> come home to the conviction that we can move our country forward, come home to the belief that we can see a newer world. >> when his running mate missouri senator tom eagle on the revealed he had had electroshock therapy for depression, he came off the ticket. despite the efforts of a young campaign staff, including a young man named bill clinton who ran the effort in texas, on election night george mcgovern was crushed by richard nixon. >> we can see the dimensions of

nixon's landslide tonight. >> he didn't even win his home state. a new years later the reagan revolution ended him off and he lost his united states senate seat. >> i leave the senate and the service of south dakota with very deep personal satisfaction. >> after such crushing defeat he kept working especially on world hunger. jfk put mcgovern in charge of a new program called food for peace and he went on to become a hero in the effort to feed the world, often working with bob dole, two men from farm states but pulled apart politically, working on the same cause. >> don't send them into needless war. >> he railed against the iraq war and called for the impeachment of both bush and cheney.

his daughter terry and son steve both dies of alcohol ifl. mcgovern lost his wife years ago and his own health started to fail soon afterwards. it took him 50 years to talk about what he did in the war long ago, his political scars, he took to his grave, he once said hel couldn't be any worse than the skies he piloted through in europe. >> we do love this country and we will continue to beckon it to a higher standard. >> brian williams on the life of george mcgovern, that's our broadcast from tampa, good night, everyone. ike leggett: gaming generated one hundred and eighty...

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