. >> reporter: george kerry and his family are in mourning and in fear. >> we're trying to keep ourselvesether and focus right now on healing ourselves. >> reporter: his wife died last week of a stroke. she was diagnosed with fungal meningitis after receiving an injection of a tainted troid. george received similar injections and is awaiting test results to see if he's also infected. >> i think that right now the grief and disbelief that something like this could happen is still there. >> reporter: on tuesday new jersey became the 10th state to report an infection. 119 cases have been confirmed by the centers for disease control, 11 of them fatal. ron barb from tennessee is awaiting test results. he received two injections for back pain last month. >> symptoms started this morning with a slight stiff neck and headache. >> reporter: officials in tennessee said they identified a second fungus, a fungus most doctors would not see. cdc says 13,000 people received the potentially contaminated drug. those patients are being told to watch for symptoms for three months. george kerry is watching a

. >> it has a strong -- >> reporter: george kerry and his family are in mourning and in fear. >> we are trying to keep ourselves together and focus right now on healing ourselves. >> reporter: kerry's wife lillian died last week of a stroke. she was diagnosed with fungal meningitis after receiving an injection of a tainted steroid. george received similar injections and is awaiting test results to see if he is also infected. >> i think that right now the grief and disbelief that something like this could happen is still there. >> reporter: on tuesday new jersey became the tenth state to report an infection. 119 cases have been confirmed by the centers for disease control, 11 of them fatal. ron barb of tennessee is also awaiting test results. he received two injections of the steroid for back pain last month. >> symptoms started this morning with a slight stiff neck and a headache. >> reporter: officials in tennessee say they've identified a second fungus in the vials of tainted steroid, a fungus most doctors would normally never see. the cdc says 13,000 people received the potentially c

. >> reporter: george kerry's wife lillian died of meningitis after she and her husband received injections of tainted steroids for back pain. >> it's a tragedy that my wife and i and the thousands of other people have been exposed to this contaminated medication. >> reporter: now his family says george is in the hospital with meningitis, though it's not yet confirmed that tainted steroids are the cause. >> this is a large and ongoing catastrophe. >> reporter: one leading expert predicts there will be many more victims. >> i think we are in the middle of the meningitis outbreak. and the end is not yet in sight. >> reporter: the fda revealed friday that federal inspectors who investigated the new england compounding facility found greenish black foreign matter and white filamentous material in supposedly ste really vials of steroids and green, yellow and reddish residue in clean rooms or rooms used to mix medicines. the fda said the pharmacy's sampling repeatedly found bacteria and mold in supposedly sterile rooms between january and september 2012. yet no documented corrective actions were

but i think if you look at george bush and john kerry, or george bush and al gore, first president bush or bill clinton, i don't think that anybody would say that while you were in the middle of a campaign that you felt deep affection for the other guy, because you know, look, you're fighting for competing visions. but what i think the american people understand is that this is not about two individuals or even two political parties. this is about two different visions for the country and how we are going to make sure that every single person in america who is willing to work hard, is going to have a shot at a better life. >> so lester, a bit of our conversation earlier today, the day continues into tonight. into tomorrow, the obama campaign covering 5300 miles in all, on just this trip. we'll have much more tomorrow night, and of course on "rock center" tomorrow evening, back to you lester. >> all right, brian williams on the campaign trail tonight. as we mentioned, mitt romney, as well is moving across the nation, waking up in colorado and making a pitch in nevada and overnighting in

george kerry, who spoke on the program about losing his wife lillian to fungal meningitis is now himselfg the disease. he went into the hospital on saturday. both he and his wife apparently got infected from tainted steroid injections that were processed by a massachusetts pharmacy. the new england compounding center. those doses may have gone out to as many as 3,000 medical facilities nationwide and have now been blamed for 24 fatalities. >>> the justice department has filed suit against bank of america, seeking to recover $1 billion lost by taxpayers. it alleges the bank sped through the processing of government-backed mortgages, resulting in thousands of fraudulent and defective loans. >>> we're getting word of one death as hurricane sandy batters jamaica. 70% of the island is without power. parts of florida are under tropical storm warnings right now. forecasts show sandy heading north along the u.s. east coast over the next few days. >>> and if you just can't drive 55, you may want to head toward a new stretch of highway just outside of austin, texas. it opened today with a speed li

when more younggters voted for john kerry over george w. bush in 2004.iie in arkansas aae investiiating a bbzarrr case of voter fraud. fraud.prosecuttrs are calling they say arransas democrat priid to steal and eeection rr - with money, food and booze.all ffur plead guulty in thee destroyed onns that were cast pallum says: "i guess ii..- always knew all along that it was wwong but i- irst i peaaly didn't think it was that big a deal, youuknow, that's, ou know, that's wwat eeerybody did" did"felken says: that's your most basic right is your vote and if um that's compromised, well then you're gonna see democracy disappearingg disaapeeringghallum faces up to five years in prissn... but he's still on the ballot for november's election.if he wins... heewon't take oofice nd there will most likely be a special election. workers at a denver zoo jump to action to save a newboon... and it's all caught on tape. tape.this surveillance video ssows a female tapir (tap- peer) in labor..mmments later, she's caught on cameraa giving birth to her baby. deever zoo taafers

george kerry in michigan. a michigan man, his wife lillian died in the fungal meningitis outbreak.'s fighting it himself. initial tests showed he wasn't infected, but he fell ill over the weekend. 24 people have died. our hopes and prayers are with him. >>> some people barely able to outrun the flames. wetmoore, colorado. 14 homes have been destroyed or damaged. hundreds have been evacuated. >> i am confused about that fungal meningitis story. they said it's not contagious. he must have had the shots, also. >> wow. what are the chances. two family members. >>> 21 minutes past the hour. apple by the numbers. did the iphone 5 and ipad mini translate into big earnings for the company? we'll let you know? ♪ [ male announcer ] the way it moves. the way it cleans. everything about the oral-b power brush is simply revolutionary. oral-b power brushes oscillate, rotate and even pulsate to gently loosen and break up that sticky plaque with more brush movements than manual brushes and even up to 50% more than leading sonic technology brushes for a superior clean. oral-b power brushes. go to o

back in 2004 more young people voted for john kerry over george w. bush. obama answered questions submitted by nickelodeon viewers for a special earlier this month. romney did not participate. >>> many students graduate from school and move on to do other things but one student from new home decided to return and give back. richard stokes serves as a mentor to help inner city youth. our education reporter sherrie johnson shows how he's making a difference. >> reporter: richard stokes is in the your average teaching assistant. he is a mentor, a 2011 graduate of new hope ac dem mcacademy. he's back to help other students. >> to help all the students around. they get frustrated a lot. i talk to them in the hallway. >> reporter: new hope academy started in 2008 as a partnership between specialized education services encor operated and baltimore city public schools. the middle and high schools serve students with e messing hall disabilities. many of them face tough issues. richard helps them focus on academics. >> i see how they feel. >> reporter: kevin johnson

john mccain i knew because i'd served with him in the senate, but i think if you look at george bush and john kerryr george bush and al gore, first president bush and bill clinton i don't think anybody would say that while you were in the middle of a campaign that you felt deep affection for the other guy because, look, you're fighting for competing visions. >> you can see much more of brian's conversation with the president tonight on "rock center." where others fail, droid powers through. introducing the new droid razr maxx hd by motorola. now more than ever droid does. >>> another first for president obama. just after 5:00 p.m. today in chicago, he will be the first president to cast his vote early. so far more than 3 million americans have voted early in the 35 states that allow early voting including the key state of ohio and a new time poll shows that president obama is leading mitt romney among ohio voters who already voted or planned to vote 49-44%. joining me now contributing writer for roll call, nathan gonzalez and also for the roth political report. good to see you. good morning. >> tha

george w. bush conspiracy theory of course was always that john kerry absolutely destroyed george w. bush in that debate when bush was supposedly wearing a listening device. so if he was wearing a listening device whoever was supposedly whispering in the president's ear was not whispering things that helped him. that's always the part i didn't understand. but the 2012 version of that theory now is that mitt romney cheated in the debate against president obama this week not by having somebody feed him the answers through an ear piece but rather by bringing the illegal crib sheet on to the debate stage with him. you see, previous debate rules have set out very clearly that, quote, no props, notes, charts, diagrams, or other writings or other tangible things may be brought into the debate by any candidate and yet have a look at this damning evidence. this is at the very beginning of the debate on wednesday night and as you'll be able to see clearly here what is that in your pocket? mr. romney very clearly pulls something from his right pocket and he pops it on to the podium in front of

it was john kerri and george bush back in 2004. now you can up load your own head. get yourself into a video with mitt romney and barack obama. we're going to look at that and we may have special stars. >> i think a few people at home are saying brian bolter is all ready a talking head. all right. when we switched to fios, we got better tv, better phone, better internet. it was like somebody like took our computer, shook all the junk out of it. we're actually getting more for our money with fios. [ male announcer ] it's time to get more for your money. upgrade to verizon fios internet, tv and phone with our best price online. just $84.99 a month, guaranteed for one year with no annual contract. there's at least three computers. [ girl 1 ] a tablet. [ woman 1 ] couple of gaming systems. we could all be running at the same time. we do not notice any dips. [ male announcer ] get tv rated #1 in customer satisfaction. and get the school year off to a great start with america's fastest, most consistent and most reliable internet. internet is absolutely imperative for scho

>> 2004 george bush john kerry moved from topic to topic it topic or stay on the important issues? >> he will want to cover a lot of ground. they have 90 minutes. one of the things not on the list is russia. there's an opening there for mitt romney. also on china we talked a lot about the financial aspects. but the human rights aspect is really important as well. the problem with the moderator if you go from being an umpire to being like the replacement rep in the packers seahawks game -- >> nice. >> thank you. i know what i am doing here. i think that romney has to be competent and look lyiike he wod be able to handle it. it's tricky to do foreign policy because you don't want to step on the president's toes too much. there might be negotiations that he is doing. you have to be respectful. i think he has to do what he has done in the last two debates. did well in the first one held his own in the second one and on the furred one when there is a lot of things going on in the sports world. >> did you hear that analogy. packers seahawks not packers cincinnati. >> you had to get that

it's very much like to me what happened in 2004 when you recall the first debate with john kerry, george a little peevish and snapish because he was coming in to the first debate as the guy who had been the president for the previous four years. >> cenk: that's an interesting point. you know i hate to give the right wing any kind of credence but they've been calling him a celebrity, and i don't think it applies in a lot of ways, but this may have been one case where like celebrities no one challenges them in their own little bubble. in their room nobody says you're wrong, this is not the right way to go. i wonder if he fell into that trap, joe, where he thought well i got this thing locked down. we're up by ten in ohio. my advisers say take it easy. no one is saying that i'm doing anything wrong in the four years. in the press they are but not in the room, as michael was pointing out did it lead to overconfidence. >> i don't know if overconfidence is exactly the right word, but we have a president who famously said he does not pay attention to cable tv news shows, and certainly if he had

well, george and lillian kerry were both treated for back and neck pain at a michigan clinic that receivededication from that new england compounding center. she died in late september. she tested for deadly meningitis and tellsed the associated press he was hospitalized for the illness. fungal meningitis is not contagious. so this appears to. separate injections from the same contaminated medication, shep? >> he didn't catch that from her. that's reassuring. there is promising news tonight as well. >> there is indeed. this coming out of tennessee. the state has he seened largest number of cases in this outbreak, public health officials there say that patients are being identified earlier, being treated earlier and that's producing better outcomes. meningitis patients in that state are showing symptoms an average of 18 days injection. and while doctors have been warning exposed patients to watch for symptoms for a matter of months, public health officials now believe by 42 days after injection, the risk of death or stroke significantly diminishes and just looking at tennessee alone, 75 per

i was reminded in 2004 when john kerry was challenging george w. bush and we saw a similar debate performance where the challenger came out swinging, did very, very well. the incumbent president was a little bit on his heels mainly because sometime you're not used to being challenged by somebody in that type of setting. so we move to the next debate. it seems like mitt romney did very well on style, although substance might have been a different matter. >> speaking of substance, a lot of people thought this debate was more informative, but did these issues and ideas connect to the voters? >> i think so. you look at this abroad, there were so many statistics that were at issue. i did think it was a very substantive debate, but going on the substantive part, i think the next 24 hours or so, the obama campaign has the opportunity to seize on some of the facts that mitt romney was citing. one of the things he talked about, he said my tax plan isn't going to benefit wealthy high income americans, but every tax analysis out there shows that the wealthies

that worked very well for us against john kerry because even people who didn't necessarily agree with george that he had clear conviction, strong principles, knew where he was going, knew what he wanted to do. even if people didn't like john kerry, they didn't like the fact he wasn't clear about his principles. even if they disagree with him just because they liked his core convictions. i would argue in that campaign, in any ways if howard dean had been elected, he might have been a tougher competitor. kerry -- his weaknesses reflected george bush's strengths. i understand that comment about bill clinton and the problem is they're saying you tried to paint him as a conservative. in the course of one debate, he was able to flip that entirely and drown out or discount millions and millions of dollars of advertising. the other notion -- the other argument is if he's a flip-flopper, a lot of people are saying great he's flip-flopping to a position i like. >> jennifer: it is a tough one because let's use the example of richard mourdock. is mitt romney flip-flopping when he tries to distance himse

they were split in 2004 between george bush and john kerry. romney took aim at the unemployment figures today saying that while the numbers may look good on the surface, fewer jobs were created in the month of september than in either july or august and he promised that in a romney administration the jobs picture in america would look very different. >> when i'm president of the united states, that unemployment rate is going to come down not because people are giving up and dropping out of the workforce but because we are creating more jobs. i will create jobs and get america working again. >>reporter: governor romney took aims at president obama's plan to raise taxes on wealthy americans by $1 trillion saying that hits the small job market unduly hard and could result in 700,000 jobs simply evaporating. >>trace: we mention governor romney's second battle ground state the day. how is he tailoring the message to the different communities he is visiting? >>reporter: when he comes to st. petersburg area on the west coast of florida he will talk a

but i think if you look at george bush and john kerry, or george bush and al gore, first president bush and bill clinton, i don't think anybody would say that while you were in the middle of a campaign that you felt deep affection for the other guy because, you know, look, you're fighting for competing visions. but what i think the american people understand is that this is not about two individuals or even two political parties. this is about two different visions for the country and how we are going to make sure that every single person in america who is willing to work hard is going to have a shot at a better life. >> mr. president, on domestic politics, a recent poll, 4% of voters said they would like a first term like the second, 62% of voters said they would expect major changes in a second obama term. would you be prepared to enact truly major changes? >> well, brian, if you think about that question, i'd like to meet the 4%. we went through the worst crisis in our lifetimes. we had the stock market freeze up, tank, financial market freeze up, small businesses couldn't get financ

four years ago the race went to barack obama when he topped john mccain by 3%. 2004 george bush beat john kerry by five points and, of course, few will forget florida took center stage in 2000, that razor thin margin that separated the candidates. after a recount dispute george w. bush won by just more than 500 votes. and right now we're in the center of it all. hillsborough county, which includes tampa, has picked the presidential winner every time but once since 1960. it's a place that mirrors the nation, the economy has been hit hard here, unemployment is a big problem. coming up, we'll look at why florida is such an important prize in the race for the white house. >>> i'll also speak to former florida governor charlie crist. at one point he was on john mccain's short list to be his running mate. now he supports president obama. >>> we'll also change gears and ask from he wielian gonzalez tor woods to animals running wild, why does it seem so many wacky stories happen here in the sunshine state and, jenna, i know you have a lot to get to as well from new york. >>> yes, lester. also coming up

. >> reporter: even a strong debate performance by john kerry wasn't enough to defeat george w. bush, but debates matter because it's the first chance to size up the candidates in unscripted moments one-on-one. brian? >> andrea mitchell, who by the way will be our fact checker during our live coverage of the debate wednesday night here on nbc. andrea, thanks. >>> more american deaths today in afghanistan. and the rising death toll numbers will bring more question about the mission in a very unsteady region. tonight we have special coverage of that region, many believe is at the brink, with americans there in harm's way. we have three reports this evening from ann curry, richard engel, and lester holt. we'll begin with lester in kabul in afghanistan. lester, good evening. >> brian, good evening to you. three americans, nearly a dozen others, killed in a suicide bomb attack in the eastern province of khost. for some time now military officials have been saying the taliban have been weakened and are avoiding direct conflict. still they are finding new and effective ways to strike.

that's what happened in 2004 after john kerry just destroyed president george w. bush in the first '04 debate and kerry got a big bump in the polls thereafter. but that bump eventually dissipated, partly on the heels of dick cheney's strong performance against john edwards the week afterwards in the vp debate. democrats this year are hoping for that same kind of dynamic to play out. so honestly, the stakes for tomorrow night's debate between vice president joe biden and paul ryan could not be higher. and no one on the obama side is trying to play down this debate as if it is not important. the romney/ryan side did make a kind of hilarious feint this week at trying to play down how well paul ryan is expected to do at this debate. this is mr. romney trying to do that on cnn yesterday. >> i don't know how paul will deal with this debate. obviously, the vice president has done, i don't know, 15 or 20%s during his lifetime. experienced debater. this is, i think, paul's first debate. i may be wrong. he may have done something in high school. i don't know. >> high school?

look at this, october 2004 just a week before the presidential election, john kerry was leading george w. bush. he went on to win by an even larger margin. so tomorrow night we get another reading. will romney continued the momentum or will obama rally? will find out in 27 hours. st week we told you about two professors whose computer program predicted every presidential contest winner since 19. one of those professors will join me tomorrow, you don't want to miss that. >> coming up o "the willis report," cell phones handed out to the poor making the richest man richer. all thanks to your tax dollars. we will hear from one congressman fired up about all of this next. and he says his administration plans to put their taxpayers first. the governor weighs in on the state of iowa later. more government red tape, this time clucking away at chickens tranorted across state lines. jerry is all over the explosive new details. we are on the case next on "the willis report." [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part