but was presented as such by brian williams. now, talking points is not sniping at either the president nor mr. williams. but this is one big mess. and the national media is not demanding answers nor did governor romney during the foreign policy debate. by the way, despite that interview with mr. obama, the factor at 8:00 last night beat the nbc program rock center in total audience, which is kind of amazing. getting back to libya. my view is this: muslim terrorists were tracking ambassador stevens. they had heavy weapons at the ready. and saw an opening to attack in benghazi. there is nothing spontaneous about that. the cia was caught napping, then froze when all hell broke loose. apparently not understanding rescue options or what was at stake. when the damage and death became fully known, the obama administration tried to manage it, rather than report it. and so chaos developed. people like u.n. ambassador susan rice, as well as white house spokesperson jay carney did not assess the situation correctly to the public. talking p

>>> also in iowa, president obama sat down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with our own brian williams. the president told brian that his campaign is doing better than some have expected. >> folks in your business were writing me off a year ago, saying there's no way i would win. so, you know, these things go in ebbs and flows. the one thing i've tried to always be is just steady in terms of what i believe in, who i'm fighting for. >> and you can see more of brian williams' exclusive interview with president obama on the campaign trail this morning on "today" and tonight on "nbc nightly news" and "rock center." >>> it's another busy day on the campaign trail. president obama speaks at events in florida and virginia before heading to his home state of illinois, where he is going to cast his ballot early. that's the first for a presidential nominee. the president will end his day in cleveland. governor romney travels to three events in ohio, while his running mate, paul ryan, campaigns in virginia. >>> well, president obama is weighing in on the controversy surrounding indiana senate can

mitchell has been leading our truth squad during these debates, and last night she spoke with brian williams. they began with that disagreement you just heard over domestic energy and oil production. >> reporter: oil production did fall by 14% on federal lands on shore and offshore, brian, but that was only in one year, from 2010 to 2011, and it was largely the result of fallout from the deep water horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico in 2010. but mr. obama is right that since he took office oil production on federal lands is up. in both 2009 and 2010 oil production increased so even with the 14% drop last year overall production on federal lands is still up 10.6% since 2008. one other thing, in terms of natural gas production, natural gas production is down and declining since 2003 according to the energy information administration mainly because of a decline in offshore natural gas drilling, brian. >> andrea, another topic early on, and this has come up sporadically during the campaign, what did mitt romney say and when did he say it about, quote, letting detroit go bankrupt, more speci

and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." >>> and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. vice president joe biden and congressman paul ryan weigh in on last night's presidential debate. and tony bennett is live in studio to perform a duet from his new cd alongside a surprise guest. >>> and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

blitz from one state to the next, day and night in the final 13 days of the campaign, tonight, brian williams asks the president is this where he expects the race to be. our exclusive look at the race behind the scenes >>> also on the trail with the romney campaign, and tonight, why he is having to respond to a candidate's comments about race. >>> plus, what it is like living in the most hotly contested battleground state. under assault, 24 hours a day, gatheri ining storm, the hurric season >>> and breathtaking, an awesome new view of the grand canyon like you have never seen it before. nightly news begins now >>> good evening, i'm lester holt, sitting in for brian tonight, with the presidential race locked in a tie for the polls, president obama and governor romney are engaged in a fast and furious campaign blitz, the president launching an assault in some of the places vital to his election. he is on a two day trip, it will take him to eight states spending the night on air force one. romney is calling it a sign of being desperate, even as romney was racking up his own air miles. we'll che

thank you for joining us, i'm brian williams, we of course hope to see you back but today...( sfx: loudct hitting the ground) things have been a little strange. (sfx: sound of piano smashing) roadrunner: meep meep. meep meep?

tomorrow's talking points memo which i know you watch every night faithfully is going to be on brian williams' interview with president obama. we shall see mr. williams asked about libya. >> we will see if he thinks it's as questionable as some in his onus department. >> bill: what do you think is going to happen if wimsz doesn't is ask him. >> i think is he going to have to answer to the factor. is he going to take a beating in the no spin zone. i have been there brian. >> bill: too late now, did you the interview already. jeff dunham on deck. he says there are many dummies this political season and he will prove it to us. o'reilly on letterman last night. we will tell you some the highlights. and we're coming right back. bill bill back of the book segment tonight, one of the hottest comedians in the country our pal van thrill quis jeff dunham, he has a variety of dummies very eager to comment on the presidential election. >> got into another argument on the phone today, didn't you. >> calls right back, did you hang up on me? i said i don't know. did it sound something like this? click. >> b

>>> also in iowa president obama sat down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with our own brian williams. the president told brian his campaign is doing better than some people had expected. >> folks in your business were writing me off a year ago saying there's no way i would win. so, yeah, these things go in ebbs and flows. the one thing i've tried always to be is just steady in terms of what i believe in, who i'm fighting for. >> and you can see more of brian williams' exclusive interview with president obama on the campaign trail. that's this morning on "today" and tonight on "nbc nightly news" and of course "rock center." >>> it is another busy day. president obama will speak in florida and virginia. the president will then end his day in cleveland. to governor romney, he travels to three events in ohio while his running mate paul ryan campaigns in virginia. and president obama is weighing in on the controversy weighing in on richard murdock's comments. he said even when a birth happens as a result of a rape it is, quote, something that god intended to happen. well, appearing on the

of course brian williams has been traveling with the president. he joins me now from that tampa rally. brian, i'm in hamilton county perhaps the most important county. you're in the most important county in florida. >> reporter: this county has 10% of the vote in. the last couple rallies since we've been on the trail, it's all about early vote. early vote. last night katy perry event in nevada was all about early vote. president is coming on the stage now. i'm about ten feet away from the senior strategist in the chicago engine room who is on this trip and like all of the guys on this trip, needs a shave and a cup of coffee. the president did decide to in effect pull an all-nighter. a few hours sleep in the front cabin of the plane. i asked the campaign spokeswoman here do you worry on a day like today that nothing big happens in the world because the leader of the free world is working on three hours of sleep. this trip, chuck, as you well know, look at where they're going. eight stops. 24 hours. about 6,000 miles. two trips to illinois and exactl

. >> in iowa, president obama sat down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with our own brian williams. the president today brian his campaign is doing better than some people had expected. >> folks in your business were writing me off a year ago, saying there's no way i would win. you know, these things go in ebbs and flows. i've been trying to be stead inny term of what i believe in, what i'm fighting for. >> you can see more of inteinten "today" and tonight on "rock center". >>> president obama is weighing in on the richard murdouck's comments saying even when a rape happens, it's something god intended. on jay leno the president used some language he used in august when scolding todd akin. >> let me make a simple propositi proposition. rape is rape. it is a crime. and so these various distinctions about rape and -- don't make too much sense to me. don't make any sense to me. >> meanwhile mitt romney's campaign says he continues to mourdouck even though he disagree with his xhenlcomment rape. >> this is way outside the norm. this is something you want to see that can't possibly be t

. >>> nbc's brian williams spent the past two days on the campaign trail with president obama, often gaining exclusive access to the commander in chief. the president talked to brian about the election verses the job itself. >> it's funny. one of the things about being on the campaign trail, you're in "air force one," marine one, these big motorcades. michelle jokes that i've got everything but a ka boos and a dogsled behind me wherever i'm driving -- none of that is the presidency. the presidency is all about who's going to fight for the american people every single day even when you've got to make tough decisions that are unpopular because you have some compass about what this country can be. and i've -- during the course of these four years, there are all kinds of mistakes that i've made every single day, but my compass has been true, and i've focused on what's going to be best for the american people. >>> yesterday president obama picked up the endorsement of republican colin powell which prompted this reaction from top romney advisor john sin knew knew during an interview last ni

this is nbc nightly news with brian williams. >>> good evening, if you were among the over 60 million of us who watched the presidential debate, then you know we saw two things that night, really, an energized mitt romney, and lackluster president obama, and tonight it appears what happened that night has the numbers on the move there was new polling when they opened up against the president, the numbers show the race trending, tightening, trending towards romney, at least right now, we begin with peter alexander, traveling with the romney campaign. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you, a romney adviser tells me that the campaign is stronger, that the candidate is increasingly confident. he tried to draw a sharp contrast on the issue of national security. with just 29 days to go, following the last debate, the race is quickly tightening, but remains volatile. the polls had different results. the latest poll shows romney leads, now up four points between the likely voters, but a new gallup poll shows the president up by five. looking to capitalize on his momentum, today, romney trie

and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." >>> and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. rick santorum and president obama's deputy campaign manager preview what to expect at tonight's presidential debate. >>> and in a "today" exclusive, hear a story of survival from two friends who were left stranded after their plane crashed in the gulf of mexico. >>> and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

last night with brian williams, she zeroed in on one of mitt romney's most frequent attack lines on the president. >> then the president began what i've called an apology tour going to various nations in the middle east and criticizing america. i think they looked at that and saw weakness. >> bob, let me just respond. nothing governor romney just said is true starting with this notion of me apologizing. this has been probably the biggest whopper that's been told during the course of this campaign. >> reporter: the president pushes back very hard on this. in fact, he never used the word apologize when he went overseas to cairo in 2009 explaining that he thought the u.s. had made a few mistakes in dealing with the world. many consider it a matter of diplomacy, a matter of nuance. romney points to several examples including when president obama said in 2009 that, quote, america has shown some arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive. romney claims that shows weakness which is harmful to the u.s. place in the world. >> governor romney has charged repeatedly that the president hasn't bee

now, back to brian williams. >>> first monday in october. that means first day of the new supreme court term when we learn which of all the cases that will affect our lives the court has agreed to decide or cast aside. our man at the court pete williams says to expect big decisions on voting rights, affirmative action, and same-sex marriage. the justices today refused to hear a claim that those airport full-body scanners allow the tsa to see too much of us. some notable departures in the news tonight, beginning with james burke. widely agreed to be among the most effective ceos of the modern era. he ran johnson & johnson during the tylenol tampering crisis. his steady stewardship became a harvard business school case study. jim burke was a navy veteran. after his business career he chaired the partnership for a drug-free america and was awarded the presidential medal of freedom. the word from los angeles today, seth macfarlane will host this year's oscars, a master of all voices, says his goal is to channel the great hosts of the past, like

tomorrow's talking points memo which i know you watch every night faithfully is going to be on brian williamsiew with president obama. we shall see mr. williams asked about libya. >> we will see if he thinks it's as questionable as some in his onus department. >> bill: what do you think is going to happen if wimsz doesn't is ask him. >> i think is he going to have to answer to the factor. is he going to take a beating in the no spin zone. i have been there brian. >> bill: too late now, did you the interview already. jeff dunham on deck. he says there are many dummies this political season and he will prove it to us. o'reilly on letterman last night. we will tell you some the highlights. and we're coming right back. with the spark cash card from capital one, olaf's pizza palace gets the most rewards of any small business crit card! pizza!!!!! [ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, everday! helium delivery. put it on my spark card! [ pop! ] [ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve the most rewards! awesome!!! [ male announcer ] the spark business ca

thank you for joining us, i'm brian williams, we hope to see you back here tomorrow night.land, florida. >> that is our broadcast tonight. thank you for joining us, i'm brian williams, we hope to see you back here tomorrow night. good evening.

i just like watching brian williams' daughter. >> she is as attractive as brian williams. >> every star of "girls" is the off spring of somebody famous. >> just like in real life. >> i like it when brian williams' daughter had sex with dudes in bathrooms. >> she does some awkward -- she has some awkward activities. 24r* is the one time she is having sex with her boyfriend and she is like not having a good time and then she pleasures herself. that's the only reason really to watch google search people. jay 18 and over. >> you know what is so sad about this ad? four years ago young people were making their own videos. and now obama is trying to commission them. >> that's an excellent point. >> we were giving them a little guff, a word we don't use often enough these days, but the naked cowboy and meat loaf endorsed mitt romney. the naked cowboy. >> that's something we would make fun of if he was endorsing obama. >> i would never make fun of the naked cowboy because i see him every day and he would beat me up. it is the cuteness that is so prevalent. you are all doing the baby talk. you ar

i'm brian williams. reminder, we're back on the air tonight with our live coverage of the presidential debate, 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific. we'll look for you then. good night from new york.

i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. >>> right now at 6:00, crime is on the rise across the bay area. one local city is teetering on the edge. is the answer a federal takeover? >>> plus, they're the team everyone's talking about. the oakland as' historic comeback. we'll talk to the man who literally wrote the book on the as, "money ball." >>> good evening, and thanks for joining us, i'm jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. two of the bay area's three major cities are plagued with problems in their police departments. san jose is searching for a new chief, while tonight in oakland, civil ts

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 conflic

look, you remember when brian williams did that interview during the london olympics of mitt romney, and it was a disaster. he almost got thrown out of the uk, and at that time charles krauthammer wrote a recommendation to mitt romney which was zip it, be quiet, you can only do damage to yourself in these interviews. it's not the art form that mitt romney is good at. barack obama is facile and quick-witted, can be funny and can get into policy depth. mitt romney is quite shallow in some ways, and he's better off probably running the ads he's doing than going on the talk show circuit. >> joan, your thoughts you have to interview people all the time. it seems to me he doesn't think he has to do it because it's below him to answer questions and i think as a business guy, a tycoon really, he can talk to anybody he wants to or not talk to anybody. that's the difference between the political press and the business press. >> yeah. he's not used to it. it's like he's running a rose garden strategy, but he doesn't live in the rose garden yet and no one has told him, chris. doug is absolutely

this monday night as new week, thank you for joining us, i'm brian williams, we hope to see you right of course, tomorrow evening. good night.

. >> and that is our broadcast this night and for this week, thank you for joining us, i'm brian williamsto see you back here on monday night. meanwhile, please have a good weekend. good night. nbc news. >> and that is our broadcast this night and for this week, thank you for joining us, i'm brian williams, we of course hope to see you

coverage of the vp 6, and 9, i'm brian williams, we'll look for you tonight and hope to see you rightorrow evening. good night.

. >>> now nbc news headquarters in new york, this is nbc "nightly news" with brian williams. >> a huge portion of the eastern seaboard is crippled tonight. millions of views cannot see this broadcast because they're headed into another night in the dark. a huge area of the country on its knees where life has ground to a halt because of this one storm. the death toll is now at least 40. the biggest city in the country has been staggered, power is out for more than 8 million homes and businesses and that's an early low-ball estimate across 15 states. an early guess at the cost of this storm would begin at 0 billion in damage and lost business and the map of the atlantic coastline, especially the jersey shore, has been simply redrawn in some areas. the president is touring the damage in new jersey tomorrow. today he told the folks across this entire region america is with you. here is where this storm is now. it's centered 50 miles east southeast of pittsburgh so think of it this way the same storm that plunged the east coast into darkness was today causing 60 mile-an-hour winds as far as

i'm brian williams, of course, we hope to see you right back here on monday.ime, please have a good weekend. good night. . i'm brian williams, of course, we hope to see you right back here on monday. and in the meantime, please have a good weekend. good night. as governor, i cut five billion dollars in spending and balanced the budget every year. and tim kaine and i both cut our own pay as governors, to lead by example. mark warner and i reached across party lines to get things done. we were a great team in richmond and we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i approve this message ...because we'll work together to restore fiscal responsibility, grow our economy and create jobs.