ron allen, nbc news, new york. >>> two americans released this week from an iranian president are on their way back to the u.s. tonight after being held for more than two years as accused spies. michelle kosinksi joins us from oman where they spoke before boarding a flight home. michelle, good evening. >> reporter: hi, lester. right now, shane bauer and josh fattal are on a plane with their loved ones as they just put it, eager to go home at last. they spent more than two years in prison convicted of spying and illegally entering iran, which they deny. sentenced to eight years. but with the help of diplomats and the omanian government, they were released. they read statements just before leave og man. >> just hours after we left prison, we were able to swim in the calm waters of the gulf. we stayed up all night with our loved ones and we watched the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen. >> reporter: they would not answer a single question about their ordeal. but an omanian government source described prison conditions as being bad all around except that the food was good. they were

ron allen, nbc news, united nations. >> reporter: this is martin fletcher in the west bank where thousands of palestinians watched the united nations, applauding their president abbas. >> i hope that tomorrow and after tomorrow we will get our own state. >> reporter: throwing shoes at israel's prime minister. it's a long way from talk to change. what palestinians call the moment of truth began badly. earlier, one palestinian was killed during a clash with jewish settlers and soldiers. and at a border crossing, palestinians attacked a symbol of israel's domination. 15 minutes from the heart of jerusalem. the violence is more of a symbol than a threat. so far it's just a few palestinians throwing rocks at israelis. more of a show than anything else. there is a warning. if there is no real change, pride could turn to frustration and much wider violence. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> reporter: he says, stones are our way to tell them we must have our state. stones and fire. right now the wind is in favor of the palestinians blowing the smoke straight into the face of the israeli soldie

our report tonight from nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: the six students left court in shame. 19-year-old sam eshaghoff allegedly took the s.a.t.s for them. a graduate of the same high school, now a college sophomore. the exam's top score is 2400. >> scores for 2220, 2210, 2140, 2180. what these six kids did was they took an opportunity away from every other child. >> reporter: four already are in college. two still enrolled at great neck north high school. one of the country's top 100 in recent years where students say the pressure to get into college is intense. >> if they had the money on hand and they can, they had the opportunity it's not that surprising. >> reporter: prosecutors say eshaghoff charged up to $2,500, used fake i.d.s to impersonate the students, including one female, at a testing center where they would not be known. he pleaded not guilty. his lawyer said this is not a matter for the courts. >> the issue should be handled administratively within the school. >> reporter: authorities say rumors of cheating within the school led to an investigation. it found some students

michelle kosinski and ron allen before her. florida, florida, florida, the republican candidates back there for another debate in the sunshine state. how the candidates will stack up tonight and how they stack up in a brand-new poll. we'll talk about that. plus, shocking video of kids wrestling in a cage. it's been called barbaric, apparently though it is not illegal. we explain in just a few minutes. ♪ when your chain of supply ♪ goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there ♪ ♪ track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that ♪ hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec®, i can love the air®. maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it

want to start with ron allen, at the united nations. ron, what did the president say today? >> reporter: well, he just had a meeting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu of israel. and a very polite, professional session. they delivered statements that were very perfunctory, interestingly, though, the president reiterated the strong support that the united states has for israel and its security, and mr. netanyahu thanked the president for standing with israel and said it was a badge of honor, badge of courage that he was doing that. it's a sharp contrast to a meeting that they had in may at the white house where the prime minister essentially lectured president obama after their meeting about the history of the middle east. they have a difficult relationship. the question is -- where does this go now? and i think the fact of the matter is is that neither leader has a lot of political incentive to push this whole process further. president obama is in full re-election campaign mode. and back in israel, benjamin netanyahu is under a lot of pressure domestically to try and im

we want to bring in ron allen who has been at the united nations station all week braving the elements for us on this friday afternoon. ron, no surprises there for mahmoud abbas as he made the case. >> reporter: we're having the worst weather we've had all week so bear with me as i try to explain this. this is no surprise. it's basically an act of frustration and some would say desperation. as you're listening to mr. abbas lay out his case, he was basically saying that there's no hope of further negotiations with the israelis that have been going on for some 20 years. and he is trying it internationalize this conflict. he wants here on the world stage to find more players who will step in and try and aid the palestinians in their efforts to get statehood. here at the u.n. general assembly i would dare say two-thirds to three-quarters of the members support the palestinian position and are opposed to the israeli joint u.s. position and what he's trying to do is isolated u.s. and israel and put pressure on them to try to move this process forward. we've talked about the peace process for

. >> nbc's ron allen is live at the united nations. what else did we hear from the president this morning? the highlights of the address? >> -- [ no audio ] >> unfortunately, difficulty on ron's audio. ron, are you there? have we got your mike back? okay. we will move on and ftry to get ron allen back here. and we will talk about the tight rope that each leader is walking here at the u.n. and we will talk to the chief editor of the el air barabita n. and let's listen. >> america's commitment to security in israel is unshakable. our friendship with israel is deep and enduring. and so we believe that any lasting peace must acknowledge the very real security concers s that israel faces every single day. israel, a small country of less than 8 million people look out at a world where leaders of much larger nations threaten to wipe it off of the map. >> well, president obama really wants to be a part of the solution in the middle east just as many other presidents who have gone before him, so how bad would a u.s. veto of palestinian veto make

vetoing this demand for statehood by the palestinians against the backdrop of the arab spring. >> ron allen from the united nations this afternoon, ron, thank you. >>> crews working around the clock to put out a massive blaze after an oil rig exploded. also, free falling, a 6.5 ton dead satellite is about to fall from space. could happen any time now. details on that straight ahead. ♪ i'm free free falling lac... aflac... and major medical? major medical, boyyyy! [ beatboxing ] ♪ i help pay the doctor ♪ ain't that enough for you? ♪ there are things major medical doesn't do. aflac! pays cash so we don't have to fret. [ together ] ♪ something families should get ♪ ♪ like a safety net ♪ even helps pay deductibles, so cover your back, get... ♪ a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aflac! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. [ beatboxing ] ♪ ♪ i like dat, all right [ male announcer ] mio. a revolutionary water enhancer. add a little...or a lot. for a drink that's just the way you like it. make it yours. make it mio. ♪ hush, little baby ♪ don't you cry ♪ soon the sun ♪ is going to shine ♪ [ male ann

ron allen is live for us at the united nations., we expect a lot of the remarks today, not just from president obama, to touch on both the arab spring, but also this issue of palestinian statehood. >> right. and that is the dilemma for president obama. we believe that much of his speech is going to talk about the positive developments in the middle east and the arab world. the end of the regime's in tunisia, egypt and libya and people there achieving the right of self-determination and freedom. and then when it gets to the palestinian issue, he says to them essentially, we believe and we want those same things for you. we want a two-state solution, but we don't want you to achieve it this way and we're going to block it, veto it, if it gets that far. and there are some incongruity, contradiction in that. and the palestinians for their part, when you talk to them here, they see no other way. and it's hard to see what these back door negotiations between the u.s. and others could give the palestinians to encourage them to back away f

ron allen is at the united nations for us. ron, you got through the traffic. you got through the check points. what can you tell us about what's on the agenda today? >> well, it's a little odd talking to you about what the president is going to do. i'll give it my best shot. you were talking about campaign mode. this place provides the president with an opportunity to show campaign mode, if you will, on the foreign policy side. that's all about israel. the issue that hangs over the meeting of the general assembly this time is the palestinian drive for statehood. it gives the president an opportunity to show he's a strong supporter of israel and that's what we expect him to do. as you know, there's a lot of doubts and skepticism in the jewish community in the united states about the president's commitment to israel. this gives him a chance to show his -- what he thinks of israel and show his support for that country. on the calendar today though, before that, he has a meeting first with the new leaders of libya. later he has a meeting with the president of afgh