on our broadcast tonight, october surprise, chris christie endorses mitt romney, and we have the exclusive interview with both men tonight. the plot, murder for hire. huge sums of money and links to the iranian government. the u.s. says it stopped a huge international conspiracy. does the story all add up? more surprising news about prostate cancer. this time it's a popular vitamin supplement that may be doing more harm than good. and the interrogation of michael jackson's doctor. today jurors heard conrad murray's emotional description what he told jackson's children

on the day he died. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening he remains one of the biggest names in republican politics. we just watched chris christie carry out a public decision about running for president himself. he said no. and today he made an early endorsement for mitt romney. there is still a big gop market out there for a more conservative candidate, and the ranks are still shifting tonight. as you're about to see in our exclusive interview with christie and romney together, today they were all about one republican party going-forward. we begin our coverage tonight with our political director chuck todd in d.c. chuck, good evening. >> good evening, brian.

we're at a strange moment in this republican race. just as polls are showing the race is wide open, there's a growing movement among insiders to rally around the fragile front-runner, mitt romney, and that was on display today with chris christie trying to cement romney's chances. >> a clearly ebulent mitt romney today. and christie was quickly on romney's message. >> you look admit romney's experience, turning businesses around, going in there, telling people the truth about what needed to be done. >> it was a case of life imitating art. this was "saturday night live's" spoof just days ago. today the real pair took questions. the weekend election and the dustup where rick perry called mormonism a cult. >> i think any campaign that

associates itself with that kind of conduct is below the office of the president of the united states itself. >> i don't believe that that kind of thinking about religion has a place in this country. i would call on governor perry to repudiate the remarks made by that pastor. >> people run for president of the united states because they think in their minds, i think i can win, i hope i'm ready. mitt romney says, i hope i can win, i know i'm ready. >> the endorsement comes at a time when perry was hoping to regain traction against romney. starting with tonight's debate in new hampshire. he's got a new hurdle, herman cain. new nbc news polls in iowa show cain surging. in iowa, romney and cain are neck and neck with perry in fourth. in new hampshire romney's lead is bigger, but again it's romney

in first, cain in second. president obama does not farewell in either state, which are swing states. >> chuck todd in our d.c. newsroom starting us off. thanks. these two men only granted one sitdown interview today, with jamie gangel, she's with us from lebanon, new hampshire. >> reporter: this is a big endorsement for mitt romney, it sends the message that he's the choice of a popular republican governor that many in the party wanted to run. and romney left open the possibility that if nominated, he would consider chris christie for vice president. >> why are you endorsing him? >> he's the best person for the job. it's simply on the merits, and the fact is, that we need to make sure that barack obama's a one-term president for america's future. and i looked at all the republican candidates, met with

many of them. and there's no question in my mind that governor romney gives us the best chance of winning back the white house in november 2012, i want to do everything i can to help him. >> did he promise you anything? >> absolutely nothing. >> vice president christie? >> no. >> no? >> no, he didn't promise me anything. >> would he be on your short list? >> of course he may be on anyone's short list. he may take himself off the list and say he has no interest. but the truth is, governor christie is one of the leading figures in the republican party. someone who has taken on extreme interests in his state, battled them down, and balanced the budget in new jersey without increasing taxes. it's what america needs. >> reporter: you know, brian with his plain speaking, no nonsense style, chris christie will be a tough surrogate out on the campaign trail. >> jamie, thanks. you can see more of this

interview exclusively tomorrow morning on "today." now, to the midafternoon news conference that got everybody's attention, the u.s. attorney general came to the podium and said the united states had indicted two iranians and foiled an alleged terrorist plot that involved mexican drug lords, murder for hire and a lot of money to kill the saudi ambassador. as he laid out the details, it all sounded so outlandish. a lot of people wondered if it was all for real. with us from our washington bureau tonight, our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. andrea, good evening. >> good evening. we've been running the trap, they laid out a plan that on its face sounds bizarre. but the u.s. insists it was a real plot to bomb the saudi ambassador and his offices here in the u.s. >> many lives would have been lost. >> reporter: an alleged $1.5

million plot to assassinate saudi arabia's ambassador, a veteran diplomat and king abdullah's right handman by blowing him up in a washington restaurant and bombing the saudi embassy in washington. a second target was iranian's embassy. a co-conspirator name in the indictment remains at large, but the administration says iran's government was behind it all. >> the plan alleges this conspiracy was conceived, sponsored and was directed from iran. >> he was arrested 12 days ago and has been cooperating ever since. accord together complaint, since last spring, he met in mexico with a man he thought was a member of a drug cartel, trying to hire an assassin to kill the saudi diplomat. the mexican was an agent for the

u.s. government. the iranian even got $100,000 supposedly wired from iran to the u.s. as a downpayment to kill the saudi ambassador at a washington restaurant. when the agent warned there could be senators dining there, others could die. he supposedly said no problem or no big deal. >> there are a lot of details about this that sound a little too salacious to be true. it suggests a willingness to act aggressively, even wrecklessly on the part of the iranian regime that we haven't seen from the iranians since the 1980s. >> reporter: tonight iran's television dismissed the idea of the plot. >> this kind of action which violates international norms must be ended. >> today president obama visited the team that worked on foiling the alleged plot in the situation room to thank them for their work, and called the saudi

ambassador to express solidarity. top iranian owe efficients either knew about the plot or they have a military force running amok. either way they have to explain this to the world. >> is this the kind of thing where we're likely to see saudi retaliation? >> i don't think you'll see direct retaliation. they'll take their ti. it could set the stage for saudi retaliation, israeli retaliation. this has a lot of people on edge tonight. >> thanks. a man accused of trying to blow up a passenger plane headed to the u.s. on christmas day two years ago now, went on trial in detroit in federal court there. prosecutors told the jury that the so-called underwear bomber who's representing himself in this case, performed a religious purification ritual, washing and returning himself before returning to his seat. trying to set off the bomb that was sewn in his underwear.

this was the attempted attack that led to the full body scans and intrucive patdowns at airports across the country 37. remember that big jobs bill president obama proposed? tonight's the night they vote on it in the u.s. senate, it needs 60 votes to keep moving forward, not predicted to happen tonight. if it fails, democrats are considering breaking the $447 billion measure into smaller parts and then trying to pass those individually. those occupation protests continue to in several u.s. cities, including a group of community organizations that staged a millionaires march here in new york city. demonstrating in front of apartment buildings that are home to some prominent new yorkers, mostly in media and finance. in washington, meantime, protesters from the same occupy wall street movement were arrested when they occupied the hart senate office building amid chants of we will not be

ignored. in los angeles, another emotional day at the trial of michael jackson's physician, as jurors heard more of dr. conrad murray's police interrogation, conducted just days after jackson died. and they heard from the man who conducted the autopsy in this high profile case. jeff rossen is covering the trial for us from downtown l.a. >> reporter: dr. conrad murray sat silent today as his words echoed through the courtroom. >> brought into the room. >> reporter: after jackson's death, murray described to police the heartbreaking scene inside the hospital as jackson's kids, prince, paris and blanket learned their dad had died. >> the children cried and cried and cried. paris said she didn't want to be an orphan. she said to me, dr. murray, you save a lot of patients, you save people with heart attacks.

you couldn't save my dad. i'll wake up in the morning and not be able to see my daddy. >> jackson's mother katherine was in shock too. >> well, how is he? he's not dead, is he? and the doctor said yes. and she broke down. >> prosecutors say murray gave jackson a lethal dose of propofol, but they also found other drugs in the singer's mansion. >> i was not aware of other medications he was taking, but i heard he was seeing dr. klein three times a week in beverly hills. and he never disclosed that to me. >> dr. klein a dermatologist has not been accused of any wrongdoing. >> we found a small portion of marijuana in his room. did you know him to be a smoker? >> no. >> later in the day, l.a.'s deputy medical examiner took the stand, telling the jury this was

a homicide. and the doctor murray story that michael jackson injected himself with propofol just isn't reasonable. prosecutors could rest their case this week, and then murray's defense team takes center stage. jeff rossen, nbc news, los angeles. still ahead as "nightly news" continues on a tuesday night, as if all the confusion over the tests for prostate cancer isn't enough. now there's news that a popular vitamin that tons of people take may not be doing its job at all. making a difference for the kids of moms and dads serving far from home in uniform. ... and i quit smoking with chantix. knowing that i could smoke during the first week was really important to me. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke -- and personally that's what i knew i needed. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix.

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tonight's health news story as we said, is another example in a string of them, of something we have been told is good for us. it turns out, not to be at least according to the latest study. last night we began this broadcast with the news that some of those ubiquitous vitamin supplements may be harmful for older women. today we've been told the psa may not save lives afterall. today there is more about prostate cancer, and the headline here is vitamin e may have exactly the opposite effect than most people take iing may think. >> bill ross started taking

vitamin e regularly more than 20 years ago on his doctor's advice, because he has a strong family history. >> my father is a prostate cancer survivor. he's been battling prostate cancer for about 20 years. >> reporter: but vitamin e may actually increase risk of prostate cancer by 17%. according to results from the so-called select trial. select researchers followed 35,000 men who were taking one or both of the supplements or a placebo. this type of study is considered the gold standard of medical research. >> i was surprised by the result of this trial. there was a substantial amount of evidence going into select when it was designed in the early 2000s. to suggest that vitamin e or selenium may prevent prostate cancer. >> fresh fruits and vegetables have lots of vitamins and

anti-oxidants. taking them in a pill form would offer more protection. the trial was stopped in 2008, because the vitamins clearly weren't helping. researchers continued to monitor the subjects and found an increase in prostate cancer among those taking vitamin e. because vitamins and supplements are not regulated as strictly as medicines, some vitamin e bottles advertise they promote prostate health. >> consumers should be cautious about information on bottles or elsewhere. >> reporter: many doctors others should be cautious as well. good days in motown and home movies from mars. [ engine sputtering ] ♪

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firsts here, the first lady michelle obama and the first ever group jumping jack attempt in the backyard of the white house. it's part of her effort to get kids fit. it was led by al roker, hosted by national geographic kids, 400 kids jumped their hearts out, part of an effort to break the world record for the most people doing jumping jacks at once. these are good days for our friends in detroit. how about them lions, first of all. as one sportswriter put it today. they've been bad for seemingly ever. they beat the bears at ford field last night. now they're 5-0 for the first time since ike was in the white house. the tigers are in the alcs. michigan is 6-0. and the red wings are 2-0, for a town that's had a lot of hardknocks. right now detroit is remembering what success feels like. this is one of the most

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tonight's making a difference report is a reminder about how important the simple thens in life can be, especially when one of your parents works for the u.s. military in uniform and a long way from home. our report from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> come in. >> reporter: here at the scott eyre force base a routine checkup for service members now includes a prescription for reading. >> school books. >> school books, that's read. >> reading is a proven coping meanism for children in times of stress and tragedy. we know it helps them cope. >> reach out and read is a program that encourages parents to read allowed to their kids, by provide chg a new book at every doctor visit. so far to 4 million families total. and more than 90,000 children of military families. major doug boosers has made recordings of himself so when he

is deployed his two boys can still listen in. >> it's good to know your kids are interacting with you even though you're far away. >> it's something that will serve them every day of their lives. >> that bond that is created between a parent and a child reading a with book is never broken. >> every time that child picks up the book, he's going to remember the parent. >> and there are real benefits, many of these books are designed to help kids deal with separation. >> it will help our children be strong readers. >> reporter: little alessandra was just a month old when her father left for iraq. yet thanks to videotapes of him reading, she knows his voice. >> i think she's going to know

who he is when we pick him up from the airport. >> i would sit upstairs in my rocking chair and say, we're going to read a book now. >> and listen to daddy? >> yes, and listen to daddy. >> kevin tibbles, nbc news, scott eyre force base, belleville, illinois. >> as we honor the service of everyone in uniform, that's our broadcast on a tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams, and we hope to see you rig