for erin's widower jason, the dream is gone. empty chair, an empty ache remain as he and so many in the family, as if climbing those montana mountains, try to keep putting one foot in front of the other. >> it's a dance between the grief of their loss to the joy and the blessing of having experienced them. >> it's like seeing a meteor. you wouldn't curse your luck that you saw this meteor, you'd just be thankful that you were blessed to see it. so we just have to cling to that, that wow, how amazing that we got to spend a good part of our life with two of the most precious people on the planet. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i am lester holt. of "dateline." i am lester holt. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> this sunday, mitt romney rollin new hampshire. >> we celebrate as we go back to work. >> now the stage is set for the showdo in soh carolina. >> those that are calling themselves true conservatives end up attacking a venture capitalism and capitalism in general and it's suggests

for erin's widower jason, the dream is gone. only an empty chair, an empty ache remain as he and so many in the family, as if climbing those montana mountains, try to keep putting one foot in front of the other. >> it's a dance between the grief of their loss to the joy and the blessing of having experienced them. >> it's like seeing a meteor. you wouldn't curse your luck that you saw this meteor, you'd just be thankful that you were blessed to see it. so we just have to cling to that, that wow, how amazing that we got to spend a good part of

erin takes it through it step-by-step. we will reair that interview again sunday night at 9:00 eastern. it's available at hlntv.com. i would love it if cnn.com would put it up as well. >> let's listen to -- we had the interview from your show and you can take us through new information. erin brockovich walks us through it right? >> yes. >> let's listen and we'll get back to you. one of the family member somebody put a note in the mailbox and it was about a 1971 derailment and the contaminated rock and fill and soil was used to build the new school. >> slow down. you found out. this is something you could corroborate? >> we are still trying to corroborate that. >> that's one story. >> what i did to research it i went online and low and behold in 1971 there was a very serious train derailment that caused 1 ton of cyanide to spill and 45,000 gallons of tce. >> that is try clear ethylene. >> is that the same thing -- >> that was hexavalent chromium. >> can it cause these sorts of neurological problems? >> i have read that tce

very good question, erin. it's not entirely clear because of rick santorum right now. i just spoke with somebody high up in the santorum campaign. they are about to make a very large ad buy in the state of south carolina. as you know from the wall the other night when flicking away there that strong moral character is the key to santorum's support. 40% of the people who were looking for strong moral character were santorum supporters and that is really important in south carolina. so mitt romney has a way to go there. >> it's interesting. you bring up the moral character going for santorum. john avalon, you were pointing at reverend brad atkins in south carolina. saying in south carolina romney's morm onyx will be a cause of concern than gingrich's infidelity which would put him below both santorum and gingrich with that crucial group of voters. >> at least, according to that analysis. there are parts, bob jones university is in south carolina. there are some folks in the area that may have a problem with romney's religion. but mitt romney came in fourth in south carol

erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >>> thanks, john. new hampshire primary, five days away pch you saw that from john. what front runners are doing to shore up new hampshire tonight. then michelle parker vanished on november 17. her mother out front with a pleat. >>> and steven colbert. last night on his show, he flipped, then flushed me. i have a number of problems with that. let's go "outfront." ♪ ♪ >>> hello, i'm erin burnett and out front tonight mitt romney begins a battle in south carolina. five days until the primary in new hampshire, right in that's where the former massachusetts governor has a solid lead. so where he decided to spend most of the day was, south carolina. >> i want to restore to america the principles that made us the powerhouse, morally, economically and militarily, in the entire world. >> romney, his pal john mccain, and gal nicky haley, all there, giving a joint speech in charlston. this is a whole new ball game. one of the highest concentration of evangelical voters in america, nearly half of the population i

very good question, erin. it's not entirely clear because of rick santorum right now. i just spoke with somebody high up in the santorum campaign. they are about to make a very large ad buy in the state of south carolina. as you know from the wall the other night when flicking away there that strong moral character is the key to santorum's support. 40% of the people who were looking for strong moral character were santorum supporters and that is really important in south carolina. so mitt romney has a way to go there. >> it's interesting. you bring up the moral character going for santorum. john avalon, you were pointing at reverend brad atkins in south carolina. saying in south carolina romney's morm onyx will be a cause of concern than gingrich's infidelity which would put him below both santorum and gingrich with that crucial group of voters. >> at least, according to that analysis. there are parts, bob jones university is in south carolina. there are some folks in the area that may have a problem with romney's religion. but mitt romney came in fourth in south carol

now, let's bring up erin burnett's lovely photo and flick.eering and applause] [flushing] >> stephen: where did she go? where did she go? where is erin now, you ask? let's see. i'm sensing a presence somewhere, somewhere in the... it's in this area. young lady, hole still. are you... what's, what's this? cnn? is this your graphic? pow. sthat's how you report an e, guys. we'll be right back. thank you. [cheering and applause] >> stephen: welcome back, everybody. thank you so much. now, folks, just because the iowa caucus results are in does not mean i am turning my laser focus away from the hawkeye state. other news organizations may hit it and quit it, but colbert don't roll that way. and this caucus has left me with an unquenchable thirst for iowa news. well, thankfully i have a local affiliate woi abc 5 des moines's news leader. when i >>-want iowa news, i-watch iowa news team. i love the whole team, especially brad edwards, certified as central iowa's most accurate meteorologist. how many years? >> five! >> stephen: in a row, bitches. so l

this is erin worth, a tourist from australia, plunging toward the river right there. oh, my gosh.nd then the cord of that bungee breaks. watch the cord, one more time there. she falls to the water below, 300 feet, and amazingly, she actually survives that. >> it wasn't black straightaway and i felt like i had been slapped all over. i had to swim down and yank the bungee cord out of whatever it was caught under. i think it is a miracle i survived. >> it turns out the cord broke at just the perfect moment if there is a perfect moment. she avoided serious injury because it broke when she was already so close to the surface of the water. she's bruised pretty badly. that river is known for being filled with crocodiles, by the way. that is nuts then, knowing about the crocodiles especially. i want to bring in cnn's errol burnett. i'm going to call you crazy now too. you did that plunge, though you're lucky, the cord didn't break. tell me what is the fascination with the jumping that way into the river. >> well, fred, the reason i was there and doing it, i must admit, was for professiona

now, let's bring up erin burnett's lovely photo and flick.eering and applause] [flushing] >> stephen: where did she go? where did she go? where is erin now, you ask? let's see. i'm sensing a presence somewhere, somewhere in the... it's in this area. young lady, hole still. are you... what's, what's this? cnn? is this your graphic? pow. sthat's how you report an e, guys. we'll be right back. thank you. [cheering and applause] so listen up. ford f-150 was just named motor trend's 2012 truck of the year. know why? well, here's your lesson of the day, pal: it's all in the name. motor. trend. see, the ford f-150 is the only truck out there with ecoboost, which is a powerful...motor... that also delivers on the... trend...of excellent gas mileage. got it? it's truck of the year-101, baby. class dismissed. this is the future. this is the ford f-150. >> stephen: welcome back, everybody. thank you so much. now, folks, just because the iowa caucus results are in does not mean i am turning my laser focus away from the hawkeye state. other news organizat

and erin "outfront" starts right and erin "outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> well, bowing to pressure, mitt romney relesions his tax return and it is a 500-page monster. we killed a lot of trees today, and did it reveal anything? >>> and the re-election campaign of president obama starts tonight. we are counting down to the state of the union. >> the death toll continues the climb off of the cruise ship crash off of the coast of italy. we have video of the search and rescue of the divers. let's go there tonight, "outfront." >>> well, good evening, everyone, i'm erin burnett and out front crunching the numbers in mitt romney's tax returns. here they are. we have flags in here, because i will admit that as we said, i'm not sure that anybody has read all 500 pages here, but this is two years' worth of mitt romney's tax returns released todayment the romney camp yeeling to the pressure on the campaign trail. here is the breakdown. the presidential candidate earned 42.7 million in the last two years. he paid 6.2 million in taxes. and an effective rate of just u

erin. absolutely one hundred percent not. george anthony is a good man. was no evidence of sexual abuse in that family what so ever at any time for anybody other than casey. for her to make that claim in detail in these -- in these evaluations that the psychiatrist did and then, for the defense not to use them, i think, says a lot about the defense's own doubt as to her credibility and her statements. >> have you seen any of the video diary that she's made? we show that to our viewers and viewers, we've shown a little bit of that replaying. she looks very different now with the short, blond hair. have you, sir, seen that diary? and what's your impression? >> yes, erin, i have. and, again, casey antny's statements are always self serving. they're always out to protect her and typically, tray portray her as poor me, poor casey, i'm the victim. nobody else. >> well, thank you very much, sir. we appreciate your being with us tonight. >> my pleasure, erin, thank you. >>> all right, there are two catholics and there are two mormons left in the gop field. does t

erin. absolutely one hundred percent not. george anthony is a good man. was no evidence of sexual abuse in that family what so ever at any time for anybody other than casey. for her to make that claim in detail in these -- in these evaluations that the psychiatrist did and then, for the defense not to use them, i think, says a lot about the defense's own doubt as to her credibility and her statements. >> have you seen any of the video diary that she's made? we show that to our viewers and viewers, we've shown a little bit of that replaying. she looks very different now with the short, blond hair. have you, sir, seen that diary? and what's your impression? >> yes, erin, i have. and, again, casey antny's statements are always self serving. they're always out to protect her and typically, tray portray her as poor me, poor casey, i'm the victim. nobody else. >> well, thank you very much, sir. we appreciate your being with us tonight. >> my pleasure, erin, thank you. >>> all right, there are two catholics and there are two mormons left in the gop field. does t

it's been amazing over these many months, erin. >> it really has. going to take a look at national, wolf. then we're going to zoom in on iowa as we were joking about. and here we go. everything is working. this is amazing. we call this the squiggly lines. that's really what it's looked like. look back in june. we're going to take everyone from june all the way to where we are now. you see mitt romney was in the lead. mitt romney remained in the lead but started to fall. then you see romney at 27%. which as you pointed out, gloria, really seemed to be kind of the ceiling for him. >> exactly. >> then you see in july the surge of rick perry. which holds for a little while. up to 31%. higher than mitt romney has ever gotten. then you see in gray, that would be the surge of herman cain. mitt romney just barely there. but then you see romney and cain with that tie. in november you start to see the rise of newt gingrich which has been stunning. 37%. highest of anybody so far. and then some of those negative campaign, the spotlight on the leader took a hit

now let me ask you, erin, about enthusiasm.t the polling, the flavors of the week, gop voters on presidential field in january, 51% felt the field was excellent to good. january of 2008, it was 68%. only 44% in january of this year. in '08, 31% said they were fair to poor. so you get this sense that people are really saying the field doesn't excite us. >> that's right. but they have been saying all year that the field doesn't excite them. and it's actually pretty bad for the republican party that the enthusiasm level has gone down rather than up. as the primary season has gone on. so, you know, i agree with that, that it's a problem. i've talked to a lot of voters here who say it's a foregone conclusion that mitt romney is going to win in new hampshire. probably will get the nomination and he just doesn't excite voters. mitt romney will have a lot to handle if he does get the nomination in trying to not only unite conservatives behind him so they don't launch some sort of third party candidacy, but also to get the base excited

erin? >> all right.missing after the costa concordia cruise ship disaster. we have new video to show you tonight which, as you will see, shows the moments just after the ship ran aground. a crew member, speaking in italian is telling people to go back into their cabins. >> it sounds and looks chaotic. dan rivers has been covering the story from giglio island. when you see the video with the crew member saying, everything's fixed go back to your cabins, seems like proof that the evacuation was chaos, doesn't it? >> reporter: well, that's certainly what some passengers are saying. certainly the impression you may be left after watching that video. however, one costa employee writes in a local newspaper writes, we have heard so much nonsense from survivors resorting to sensationalism claiming that in fact if crew acted well, did everything they could. they're well trained, did the best they could. they got 3,000 passengers off as quickly as they could. of course all the passengers disagree saying they had t

we'll be watching tonight, you and erin on this bizarre medical mystery. dr. drew 9:00 p.m. hln. we appreciate it. we'll be watching. and now this entire election season we have heard from older voters. we've heard from the younger voters, the democrats, the republican, but there's one left out group here. it's the pirates. >> arrrr. >> you're going to love this. involving pirates. who'd thunk. we're doing it live from tampa next. ♪ give your customers the added feeling of security a printed statement or receipt provides... ...with mail. it's good for your business. ♪ and even better for your customers. ♪ for safe and secure ways to stay connected, visit usps.com/mail >>> live pictures. you're looking at dave and christina. we're working hard to bring you the show live from tampa. now, let's see, flip the camera around. we're talking political pop, pirate sal. we caught the pirate happen in front of the camera in front of me. when we arrived in tampa, i got in saturday night, we ran into these guys and gals, yep, pirates. it's the pirate festival. it's like mardi gras with p

drew pinsky, erin brochavich, thanks as always. >> fascinating stuff.tinue to follow that story. still ahead, a verdict in an incredible murder trial. three young sisters prosecutors say they were killed by their parents and own brother because they were too westernized. >>> and what the cruise ship that wrecked off italy will cost and the parent company's has seen business plunge since the disaster. [♪...] >> announcer: with just a few details, an identity thief is able to change access to your bank accounts and make your money his money. [♪...] [whirring] you need lifelock, the only identity theft protection company that now monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. [popping and spattering] it's the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. lifelock. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we were determined to see it through. here's an update on the progress. we're paying for all spill related clean-up costs. bp findings supports independent scientists studying the gulf's environment. tho

let's go "out front." >>> i'm erin burnett. i'm erin burnett. "out front" tonight, romney on a roll. mitt romney squeaking out a win in iowa and immediately hitting the new hampshire air waves. >> it's time for this pessimistic president to step aside and let american optimism that built this greatest nation on earth build a great future for our children. >> but are people buying what mitt's selling? conventional wisdom says the former ceo will be the republican nominee and that the quote/unquote establishment is behind him. well, we wanted to know if that is really true. so we reached out to the "out front" strike team, our exclusive group of the best and brightest minds in the business world in this country and asked them which gop candidate is best for the economy. here are the results. it turns out most do support romney. 12 of 15. two preferred gingrich over all other candidates and one person said ron paul and i'll get to that. that's really important. here's another thing. in a head-to-head matchup the strike team matchup said they would

erin burnett was up all night and erin burnett and "up front" starts right >> a royal murder mystery. a young woman found dead on the queen's estate. who is she hand who killed her? and the united states and china in an arms race, but the u.s. facing severe cuts in defense spending. can we keep up? what is china putting all that money in right now? and then mitt romney, just barely won the iowa calk yeses, but guess who might be number one? let's go "out front." i'm erin burnett. "out front" tonight, romney on a roll. mitt romney squeaking out a win in iowa and immediately hitting the new hampshire air waves. >> it's time for this pessimistic president to step aside and let american optimism that built this greatest nation on earth build a great future for our children. >> but are people buying what mitt's selling? conventional wisdom says the former ceo will be the republican nominee and that the quote, unquote establishment is behind him. well, we wanted to know if that is really true. so we reached out to the "out front" strike team, our exclusive group of the best and brightest mi

erin burnett "outfront" starts erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> super pacs are spending millions and millions and millions of dollars on candidates, but we don't know who the donors are are. we may be about to find out. and good news today regarding the u.s. economy. is it just what president obama needs to seal it up? and a lawsuit filed today seeking millions of dollars, actually, hundreds of millions of dollars from for the passengers of the cruise ship from crashed in italy. let's go "outfront." >>> tonight, the billion dollar presidential election. so far, $35 million have been spent in only four states on the republican side and 85% of the money that gingrich and romney's super pacs have spent has been on negative ads. >> ronald reagan fight reagan. >> gingrich exaggerates dropping reagan's name 50 time, but in his diary, reagan mentioned gingrich only once. >> there are a lot of reasons not to elect me. >> all right. 35 million super pac damage so far is just a scratch compared to the gash this will inflict on candidates before november

>> yes, erin, i have. again, casey anthony's statements are always self serving, they're always out for casey and always out to protect her, and typically they portray her as poor me, poor casey, i'm the victim, nobody else. >> thank you very much, sir. we appreciate you being with us tonight. >> my preleasure. >>> there are two catholics and two mormons left in the gop field. does their faith matter? that's next. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. in what passes for common sense. used to be we socked money away and expected it to grow. then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common. fortunate

drew pinsky, erin brockovich, thanks as always. >> fascinating stuff.nue to follow that story. it's such a mystery at this point. still ahead, a verdict in an incredible murder trial. three young sisters prosecutors say were killed by their parents and own brother because they were too westernized. >>> also ahead, what the deadly cruise ship off the coast of italy is going to cost carnival. they've seen business plunge since the disaster. ♪ [ male announcer ] a simple gesture can spark romance anytime. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day so you can be ready anytime the moment's right, even if it's not every day. [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. [ man ] do not drink alcohol in exces

drew pinsky, erin brockovich, thanks as always. >> fascinating stuff.nue to follow that story. it's such a mystery at this point. still ahead, a verdict in an incredible murder trial. three young sisters prosecutors say were killed by their parents and own brother because they were too westernized. >>> also ahead, what the deadly cruise ship off the coast of italy is going to cost carnival. they've seen business plunge since the disaster. rol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] yes, it is. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make th

aaron brock a -- erin brockovich is getting involved.ves a toxic chemical spill could have something to do with this. >> this high school in upstate new york -- at this high school in upstate new york, 15 teenagers have developed uncontrollable tics and faintings bells -- and thinkin spells. >> i cannot stand for more than two minutes. i am in a wheelchair. everything gets really bad at night. >> the doctor who has treated most of the teenagers believe this is a form of mass psychogenic illness, a rare disorder often called mass hysteria. >> i have never seen anything like this before. it is remarkable. >> until the famed environment activist erin brockovich -- enter the famed environmental activist, erin brockovich. >> there are other people reporting that they lived close to the spill site and that their family is experiencing health problems. >> members of routine visit -- of her team visited the site, wanting to know whether the ground water is contaminated from this bill 40 years ago. -- the spill 40 years ago. laura trevelyan, bbc

let's go back to erin burnett and gloria borger. they're taking a closer look at the numbers. erin?ght. we wanted to actually switch-up how we were going to do this, wolf, just because of your interview with rick santorum. because at the end, you know, you saw him smiling and -- >> having fun. >> -- as wolf said working hard. i wanted to show you this. who best relates to iowans in the latest des moines register poll. this is where you see that hard work coming through. rick santorum, 20%. michele bachmann very high. >> michele bachmann has traveled to all 99 counties in the state. so has rick santorum. i bet ron paul is pretty close. these are the people who spent the most time in the state. iowans feel like they know them. i mean, you saw rick santorum. he's been traveling around in a truck with his chief of staff and they're kind of hanging out in every county. you look at the person, though, the question, who best relates, mitt romney only 10% to iowans. "a," he hasn't been there a lot. "b," even when he's there, they know him from 2008. he didn't do so well in 2008, so there ar

rod smith and erin mcpike, thank you for your time tonight.ght back. [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition? ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. try bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles so it enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. >>> finally tonight -- we know politics can be ugly. but arizona congresswoman gabby giffords gave us a true moment of unity. today in an emotional ceremony, she delivered her letter of resignation to speaker boehner. so that she can focus on her recovery. members of the house who rarely see eye to eye on much of anything came together to honor their colleague on the floor. >> though gabby may be leaving washington today, i know this won't be the last we see of her. >> you will be missed in the house of representatives, but your legacy in this congress and y

erin thinks not.unity who are reporting, older people who are reporting with tics with neurological syndrome and little regions of cancer outbreaks. we're trying to document that epidemiology right now. >> that could be significant, but does this chemical have any history of causing these kind of symptoms? >> tce is a carcinogen, and vinyl chloride is something it's converted into and vinyl chloride can be transferred into something that causes neurological symptomatologies tics, i'm not clearly convinced yet. even though we haven't come responsible the cause for the newurological syndrome, we're nt convinced. >> the investigation kongtss. thanks very much. >> yes, sir. >>> now for the red carpet, sizzlely night at the s.a.g. awards with a fantastic display of fashion, big wins from everyone from viola davis and christopher plummer. melissa rycroft was there. >> reporter: whether it was michelle williams smoldering in this gown, and in mcqueen black and lace and brad and angelina making a late but ver