lee cowan, nbc news, samoa. >>> elsewhere overseas, you don't see this often. the u.s. and iran sat down for face-to-face talks. it happened in geneva. the hope is today's discussions will be the first step on a breakthrough to all things nuclear. andrea mitchell is in geneva for us, andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. the first talks between the united states and iran in 30 years. the president and the white house issued a stern warning saying he wants to see results within two weeks. at an 18th century villa in lake geneva, talks of a 21st century problem. iran said it would not discuss the nuclear program here. for seven and a half hours, it did, including a one-on-one session with william burns. others enjoyed a lavish lunch, the iranians and americans negotiated in a side room. they agreed to prompt inspections and a possible way to enrich stockpiles of uranium. freeze sanctions if iran freezes its nuclear program. at the white house, the president said his patience are not limited. >> if they do not step up, then the united states will not continue to

i ran and -- >> that was lee cowan. relief and aid have been pouring in from all over the world. >> 11:07. 58 degrees. nice stiff breeze blowing out there under sunny skies. >> looks pretty but a little on the chilly side. no shorts and tee shirts. for some. i bet that's what you would wear. you never are cold. >> that's what i'm wearing under this suit. >> he's complaining it's too hot in here. >> it is cool outside. we had our coolest morning of the autumn so far, the coolest since back may 20th. that rope there, it's a beautiful day to paint the tower. they are actually up on the tower here, 250, 300 feet above the ground level and painting today. we have a few clouds that popped up. now it's 59 degrees and it's certainly much cooler than average for this time of the day. right now in lexington, virginia, it's 55. look at their low. they had 36 this morning. lexington, virginia is in the southern shenandoah valley, southwest of charlottesville. right now out of the mountains it's still in the 40s, there were a few is

lee cowan is on the ground in samoa. >> reporter: most of the devastation is on the south and southwest part of the island, because what is the side the wave hit it is extraordinary. the wave, in some places, went as far as a mile inland, sweeping just about everything out of its way, many places, some of the coastal areas, the wave came in, it swept everything back out. some places you go you don't think there is any damage, there is nothing left, literally nothing left it got all swept back out to sea. what is extraordinary is the amount of recovery that they are already involved in in rebuilding. some of the road we have seen the last 12 hours, one side of it washed out right along the water, they have filled in areas were they could at least get aid vehicles in and out. we have seen utility workers around trying to get the power up to some of the remote villages, which is no small task. everything on that side of the island, on the southern side, really just these pockets of very, very small communities, but everybod

nbc's lee cowan is on the samoan island of upolu. lee, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. yeah, the death toll here now stands at at least 115. officials expect that to rise as well. and now police are saying that it could be weeks or even longer before the dead and missing are recovered. as the damage became more apparent, so, too, did the misery. village after village literally wiped off the samoan map. the death toll continues to climb from this week's tsunami that sent a wall of water rushing at streets and villages. even now, days later, searchers continue to find bodies in what's become a muddy landscape of ruin. many of the victims were tourists, now destined for temporary morgues, because the hospital morgues are full. many more, it's feared, have likely been washed back out to sea. survivors are returning to find their homes often nothing more than a foundation. >> this is the first time i ever seen anything like this, so dangerous. no words to describe. >> reporter: she was able to save her 90-year-old

nbc's lee cowan reported. in other news this morning, the top u.s.fghanistan warns the insurgency is growing, adding success there cannot be taken for granted. this follows an intense war council meeting at the white house on wednesday, where some administration officials pushed back against calls for additional u.s. forces. meanwhile, republicans in congress are urging the president to make a quick decision. minority whip eric cantor tells "the washington times," listen, you've got american lives on the line over there. as long as they are delaying, that puts in jeopardy, i believe, our men and women. the white house frames that criticism as purely political. >> i don't recall congressman cantor saying that, when general david mckiernan's request for 30,000 additional troops sat on the desk of the previous commander in chief, i don't remember him going to a newspaper or on television saying that that commander in chief was endangering the lives of men and women in afghanistan. i would say this to congressman cantor and everybody else, the american p