vermont, bernie sanders' home state, we project he will win in vermont. bernie sanders wins the vermont democratic primary. chuck todd is with me right now. your first thoughts as the evening begins? >> i think the bill surprise is virginia republicans, too close to call, good news for marco rubio. if there was a state that he had a shot at winning it was virginia. moderate electorate. anybody can vote in the primary and there's a lot of evidence a lot of democrats may have turned out to help rubio in virginia. so a big deal. if you're ted cruz and marco rubio you're not happy about that georgia result. the fact that we could call that poll closed that's a big win for trump, a premonition of what arkansas and alabama could look like. >> we'll be looking at four more states. we'll have closings coming up at 8:00 eastern time. and of course we'll be back on as we characterize those races for you. you see alabama, massachusetts, oklahoma, tennessee will be up election headquarters. we'll see you a bit later on. we are back with our continuing "nightly news" coverage of this super tuesday. the polls have closed in georgia, vermont, virginia. you've seen the results. let's get to nbc's kristen welker with the clinton campaign in miami. what's the latest from there? >> reporter: the crowd erupting into cheers as they have learned secretary clinton has won georgia and virginia. it as strong start for this campaign, hoping to build on its momentum in order to claim victory tonight she needs her entire southern firewall to hold. that includes states like arkansas, tennessee. still, the campaign says the earliest it could put the race out of reach mathematically is march 15th. that's when florida votes. and one of the reasons she's holding her watch party here. clinton is already starting to set her sights on the general, taking increasing aim at donald trump, criticizing him for being a divisive candidate. democratic strategist and campaign officials are signaling, if clinton makes it to the general and faces trump, she'll stress his divisive and offensive comments and his controversial policies like building a wall. meanwhile, one democratic strategist tells me if clinton makes it to the general and faces off against donald trump, she shouldn't get personal unless and until he does. and also says trump makes democrats nervous because while he energizes the base, he could also bring a lot of new voters into the polls. >> all right, from the democratic side let's move to the republican side. katy tur live with the trump campaign in palm beach. hes hearing from there? >> reporter: the trump campaign is happy about this win. trump tweeting just now, thank you to georgia. certainly surprise is though to find out he is neck and neck for first place with marco rubio right now. also competing for first in vermont with kasich. now, if you're going to believe the polls, trump was supposed to run away with the majority of the delegates tonight and that could still happen. keep in mind there's been a lot of drama the past few days. trump refusing to immediately condemn the kkk. that got a lot of headlines. rubio has also been going after him hard. but it would take a major upset for him not to win the majority of delegates tonight. regardless the campaign is looking forward to states that vote in the next few days, states that vote in the next few weeks. they're also looking ahead to the general election, promising to go after hillary clinton hard, to bring up her e-mail scandal every single day. they think she is a flawed candidate. to put this in a little bit of perspective, this is a campaign that started out little organization, a campaign that started out with no backing from the republican establishment, a campaign that still is getting a lot of hostility from the republican establishment, a campaign that was often called a joke. but now donald trump is poised to potentially win big. certainly close races in virginia and vermont have got to be a little worrying for the campaign at this moment. >> all right, katy, thank yous. chuck todd is with us, let's continue that thought. what's happening in virginia right now? trump and rubio vying for first place. does that give anyone pause? >> it's more important for rubio to win than it is for trump to win. trump's going to win a lot tonight. he's the guy if he's not winning he's in second. there may be different first place guys, maybe cruz somewhere in the southwest, maybe rubio in virginia, maybe john kasich in vermont. ultimately it's always trump is the other guy. so look, rubio desperately needs his first victory. virginia is his best shot tonight. they've got to feel very good that we can't call this yet. it does mean that we've virginia'sn early counting state, we should know. trump is poised to have a big delegate night and we can't underscore that. the virginia win here is what should really scare ted cruz and marco rubio. because he did it with such ease. >> this is still a period where we're looking at proportional delegates. >> it is except winning isn't everything, but georgia, we think it's going to be a substantial donald trump win, well, that means we're going to have -- he's going to get a lion's share of those delegates and it could mean cruz and rubio barely make the threshold necessary to get delegates and may not even get delegates in every congressional district. we know trump is going to get delegates everywhere. so that's what makes that -- if alabama and arkansas and tennessee look more like georgia than it does in virginia, that's why donald trump could be poised to have a big delegate lead after the night's over. >> clinton getting off to a good start, her firewall strategy looking like it could play out. >> totally holding, i don't understand why bernie sanders didn't play i s tennessee in particular. he's going for that northern strategy. we'll find out if the strategy works in less than an hour. what's massachusetts look like when polls close? a very important state to bernie sanders and the difference between clintons having a good night and a great night. >> chuck todd, thank you very much. it's rare to see so much importance placed on a race for runner-up. as we do tonight in the battle for republican nomination. both marco rubio and ted cruz see themselves as we've explained as viable alternatives to trump. but do voters? as nbc's gabe gutierrez explains the road to the nomination is a tough one for both candidates. >> reporter: for marco rubio, the slog to second place is steep. >> anyone who votes for donald trump today in these caucuses is voting for hillary clinton in november. >> reporter: today his campaign's hoping for a surprise finish in minnesota. but he could go 0 for 15 so far, possibly failing to win a single primary or caucus. tonight he's trying to crack 20% of the vote in states like or >> right now the strategy seems to be coming in second everywhere. how long is not winning going to be a winning strategy? >> reporter: after a weekend full of personal attacks -- >> he should sue whoever did that to his face -- >> reporter: the florida senator now toning down jokes about donald trump, telling nbc news rubio wants to make a more dire closing argument on super tuesday, calling trump dangerous. >> get him out of here! >> donald trump has been bullying people for a year, insulting people. every now and then a bully needs a taste of his own medicine but that's not going to be what my campaign is. >> trump refuses to denounce the kkk. >> reporter: the pro-rubio super pac spending millions in florida, his home state, ahead of the key primary in two weeks. >> if rubio doesn't win florida his campaign is essentially done. >> reporter: ted cruz betting on a crucial win in his home state of texas. >> the only campaign that is in a position to beat donald trump on super tuesday is our campaign. >> reporter: john kasich banking on winning ohio on march 15th. ben carson ignin the other candidates, urging civility. >> these trump voters believe fundamentally that the country is no longer great. and that it is at its last hour to be great again. >> reporter: with the billionaire front-runner dominating in national polls, the gop is split on any alternative. rubio is running neck and neck with donald trump right now in virginia. now today both trump and cruz called on rubio to drop out of the race if he underperforms tonight. late this afternoon, rubio said that's not going to happen. and he's promising to win his home state of florida here in two weeks. >> gabe gutierrez, let's ping-pong over to the democratic side again. let's go to nbc's casey hunt with the sanders campaign in vermont. he has won his home state, loses in georgia and virginia, what's the mood of the crowd? >> reporter: amazingly the crowd here still has not learned that bernie sanders has won hisom of course neither have they learned about clinton's wins in those two major states. of course underscoring the fact that this is likely to be an overall rough night for sanders. he himself reiterating when he went to vote today in burlington that he's in this for the long haul, no matter what. potentially all the way to the convention, saying the only 15 states have voted so far and he wants to give more democrats a say in the process. the fund-raising numbers suggest that he may be able to do that. he's raised more than $35 million in the month of february after he asked his online donors to help him process $40 million threshold. they raised over $5 million in 24 hours. and that could help power them further on than other challengers. still they're keeping an eye on oklahoma, feeling good about that. they're watching massachusetts very critically and carefully, it's still very close they believe, and that's going to be a key these other states against hillary clinton. the reality is still they're going to come under enormous pressure for him to ratchet back this campaign or potentially drop out. if he doesn't have a decent showing tonight so that hillary clinton has a chance to run directly against donald trump, lester. >> casey, thank you. we're joined by savannah guthrie. these primaries are taking place against the backdrop of a contentious fight over a vacant seat in the supreme court. the president met with senators, republican senators trying to find a case for filling justice scalia's seat, how high are the sta stakes? >> incredibly high. three branches of government essentially on the ballot. not just the congress and white house but the supreme court as well because of the passing of justice scalia, a once in a generation chance for president obama or his successor to name someone that would tip that ideological balance on some of the most divisive issues. you see that 5-4 split eighther way on the court. high. it's lime a game of three-dimensional chess for senate republicans. right now their posture is, don't bother to nominate anyone, president obama, we're not giving a vote, we don't want to meet with them, nothing. however, if they're starting to realize it's trump who may be their nominee, does that change the calculus? do they think, maybe he's not as electable against hillary clinton, do we want to roll the dice that hillary clinton wins and she's the one who gets to appoint the new justice? everything very complicated. and the stakes are very, very high. >> some raise the questions about trump's credentials in terms of his republican credibles where he would go with that choice. >> a lot of people have asked that question. he has said he would appoint a conservative justice. but we've seen in the past how sometimes he'll appoint a justice that doesn't necessarily turn out to be what the president had hoped. >> savannah, we'll be talking with you throughout the evening, thank you. still ahead the name-calling, the schoolyard taunts, the harpest attacks and controversial comments of this presidential race. is this the meanest campaign ever? we're going to take a look. constitute republican race come down to a convention? you've probably heard that come up from time to time. we'll explain why it could happen and how it could end up choosing the e when it comes to the fithings you love,. you want more. love romance? get lost in every embrace. into sports? follow every pitch, every play and every win. change the way you experience tv with x1 from xfinity. we're back on this super tuesday with the early results continuing to roll in. as this campaign has accelerated voters have watched it descend further and further into the dirt. disrespect and nasty put-downs are par for the course. it's led a lot of people to wonder if this might be the meanest modern campaign we've seen yet. here's abs's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: from the ethnic insults -- >> they're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists -- >> reporter: to schoolyard taunts. >> biggest ears i've ever tan in america is attacking me. >> reporter: the attacks this year have gone from plain old nasty to flat-out crude. >> little rubio, he's a very nasty guy. >> his hands are the size of someone who's 5'2". you know what they say about men with small hands. >> reporter: even those who least expected got in on it. >> i've got to get this off my chest, donald trump is a jerk. >> it's hard to think of any campaign in modern times where you've had the language and the debate be so raw and angry and getting personal. >> reporter: undeniably it is donald trump, the most controversial candidate in memory, who's driving the tone. >> jeb is a low-energy person. she said he's a [ bleep ]. they're losers. >> reporter: his sharpest tool, twitter. social media rants sparking a new phrase. >> donald is throwing yet another temper tantrum, if you like trumper tantrum. >> reporter: the personal attacks exploded ahead of today's big contest. ss chance. >> maybe make sure his pants weren't wet. >> little mouth on him. bing bing bing bing bing. >> he's flying around on hair force one and tweeting. >> it's rubio! >> reporter: is it the first modern campaign to hit below the belt? in 1992 it was george h.w. bush attacking bill clinton and al gore on foreign policy. >> my dog millie knows more about foreign affairs than these two bozos. >> reporter: in 2008 about senator obama -- >> this whole thing is the biggest fairy tale i've seen. >> reporter: but this election has hit a new low. >> there has been nastiness in the past but it was over issues, not personal insults against each other. >> reporter: does nasty campaigning work? we'll find out tonight. andrea mitchell, nbc news back in a moment with other news. they'vee bin laden's compound and what we kathleen matthews: imagine paying 20% more for a cup of coffee just because you're a woman. so why does congress think it's ok that women get paid 20% less than a man for doing the same job? choice for women, and expand paid and family leave. now some politicians will belittle this as a women's agenda. more proof that we just need more women in congress. i'm kathleen mathews and i approve this message. votes are still being counted. the political experts like our chuck todd say there are only two scenarios left on the republican side, either trump will become the nominee or we're headed for a contested convention. something that hasn't happened in a long time. nbc's peter alexander explains. >> reporter: it's a political junkie's dream and a political party's nightmare. a brokered or more accurately contested convention, where no candidates won a majority of delegates before this summer's republican convention. the delegates you keep hearing about -- >> the man that will lead our party to victory -- >> reporter: yeah, those guys. the republican party will assign more than 2,400 of them. right now donald trump has the momentum but less than 100 of the 1237 delegates needed to secure a simple majority. if trump's showing over the next two weeks isn't as strong as some polls might suggest, it gets tougher for him to reach the magic number he'd need to win the nomination outright. beginning march 15th, states will shift from assigning their delegates based on vote counts to winner take all. which could help a candidate like marco rubio catch up quickly. a win in florida, his home state, is worth 99 delegates. but that still might not be enough without a big bump tonight. the rubio campaign's reportedly already drafted plans to overtake trump in a contested convention. but ted cruz says it won't come to that. >> a contested convention is the great hope of the republican establishment. th's not going to happen. >> reporter: the last one was decades ago where stevenson got the nod. >> i accept your nomination -- >> reporter: here's how it works. in the first round, most delegates are bound to vote for the candidate they represent. but if there's no clear winner they keep voting and delegates are freed up to pick whoever they want. that's when things get messy. >> having to bend the will of the majority to back one candidate is a large task. >> reporter: and get this, the party's delegates get to create additional rules one week before the convention. there's nothing to stop them from making it easy for a new name to be added to mix, say the 2012 nominee mitt romney, or house speaker paul ryan. an astounding race now potentially on track for a chaotic conclusion. clearly a contested convention is rare and it's very unlikely it would happen this summer. but with a growing movement inside the republican party to support a nominee other than donald trump, tonight several top republicans tell me the odds of a floor fight this sumner cleveland are getting bigger discussion, peter, thank you. u.s. intelligence has released a treasure trove of documents seized from osama bin laden's compound, including a handwritten will in which he says he's leaving $29 million to be used for waging jihad. also personal letters including one suggesting that bin laden and his aides plan to reach out to news outlets for a media blitz on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. when we come back, tom brokaw joins us with f for some final thoughts on this super tuesday we're joined by tom brokaw. tom, historically speaking, looking at the rr one-off or fundamental change in that party? >> we're yet to find out. look at history on the other side. democrats 1968 had lyndon johnson forced to step down, bobby kennedy assassinated in los angeles, dr. king killed as well. riots in chicago. vietnam war is going on. the nomination after a contested convention there as well. 72 is george mcgovern for the democrats playing hard left. he only wins one state. after that younger democrats like bill clinton decided there had to be a third way so they reinvented the party. i would think that people like speaker ryan and others of that generation are now thinking about what do we do with the republican party if trump continues the momentum that he has? i'm going to be looking tonight to see if there are fault lines in what appears to be the juggernaut of donald trump and who at the end of the night is no longer a candidate. >> all right, tom brokaw, thanks very much. that's going to do it for we're back on the air throughout the evening with breaking news and the latest results and our primetime special across the country begins at 10:00 eastern, 9:00 central time. i'm lester holt for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. breaking news tonight. super tuesday, 12 states up for gr grabs, a dramatic night in the race for president. "nbc nightly news" begins right now. decision 2016, super tuesday. this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. and a very good evening are from our election head quarters on this super tuesday, a night that could be the tipping point in both the republican and the democratic races for the presidential nomination. 12 states as we know it are in play tonight, and polls have closed in georgia, vermont and virginia. over to the boards, wie will shw you how we are characterizing those races. starting on the republican side, e projects that donald trump wins the state of georgia. in virginia, on the republican side, this race is too close the call based on the early exit polls trump and rubio are vying for first place. in vermont, on the republican race, race too early to call for the gop in vermont. on the democratic side, in the state of georgia, nbc news projects that hillary clinton is going to win handily in georgia. in virginia, nbc news is projecting that hillary clinton will win are the as well. and in vermont, projecting that bernie sanders is going to win in his home state tonight, winning vermont. our team is in place, and we will start with the trump camp and katy tur in palm beach. how are they the reacting to the news so far, katy? >> reporter: another dramatic entrance for what is shaping up to be a dramatic souper tuesday. trump is riding high and chris christie is by his s a >> he said that i had small hand, and he said that they are -- well they are not small are they. i have always had people say, donald, you have the most beautiful hands. >> reporter: the up conventional campaign and the outsider is poised for a blueout and call for marco rubio to quit on fox news. >> well, he has to get out, and he has not won anything, and ted cruz has said that marco has not won anything. >> reporter: and there is talk that he might refuse to take place in the future gop debates. the next on thursday in detroit by fox news and megan kyn kelly trump ha has repeatedly trashed for reciting his own words back to him in the first debate. trump said he has not thought the of thursday yet, but there is a lot of speculation who will be on the stage. trump today saying that he won't skip it. >> no, i won't e skip it, but the deba >> donald trump has played by his own rules since he started last summer, and should he choose not the do it now, we should not be surprised. >> reporter: the bombastic tour aimed to fire on the national e e lek shup and hillary clinton. >> hillary clinton cannot make america great. she subtalking about making america whole. no, not whole, but i want great again. not whole. >> reporter: meanwhile the grand old party is worried about the grand old legacy after trump failed to immediately condemn the kkk over to the weekend. >> if the person wants to be the nominee of the republican party, there can be no evasion and no game, and they must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry. >> reporter: ryan said that he will support whomever the party nominates, but gop sources tell nbc news will there is real concern about how the candidate and the staff will cooperate with the party, and whether he will quit calling people losers and start acting more presidential. is campaign that started out with little organization, and no backing from the republican establishment, and a campaign that many called a joke despite all of that, and despite all of the drama, donald trump is still expected to run away with the majority of the delegates across 11 states tonight, lester. >>er all right. katy, thank you. if trump dominates as many expects the storyline could be the republican race for second place. both marco rubio and ted cruz are competing to be the face of the anti-trump effort within their party. as hallie jackson reports, both candidates believe they have a viable pathway to the nomination. >> reporter: ted cruz can't afford a misstep here, and voting in his hometown of houston. >> reporter: how do you feel? >> i feel good. we have tremendous support in texas. >> reporter: it is the biggest super tuesday prize 155 delegates in texas. he needs and the most money there in the last 24 hours. his campaign is privately acknowledge ing acknowledging to nbc they are all but conceding vermont and massachusetts and virginia. >> why should i cast my voteer for you instead of donald trump? >> reporter: and arguments that trump has a ceiling of 60% of the republicans are opposed to him. >> and is it logic that 75% of the republicans are not backing you? >> we will definitely lose the general election if donald trump wins. >> reporter: cruz wants a two-man race, but he won't get it with marco rubio in the mix. >> i will campaign in all 50 states. >> reporter: he is again shifting his campaign strategy against trump now and not below the belt. >> you know what they say about men with small hands. >> reporter: but above the fray. >> donald trump has small hans.s >> we are not going to be talk about this t this to be a serious election. >> reporter: and his aides sa g saying that they want him to focus on more serious warnings, and calling trump dangerous. the senator has not won anywhere, and probably won't tonight unless he pulls off a shocking upset in virginia and minnesota. >> he needs to get more than his fair share of second places. >> reporter: and even if rubio drop drops to below, he has to win in his home state of florida. and john kasich also needs to win in ohio, and he looking past super tuesday, but ben carson is not. on political life support a top the aide is acknowledging how important the priorities are to his future, but the bigger storyline is cruz and rubio and the showdown for second as they hope to prove that one of them is going to slow down donald trump. lester? >> thank you, hallie jackson. and let's turn to the democratic race, and the night is turning out good for hillary clinton, and she is expecking to have a good night, and she is hoping that her campaign is the end tonight for bernie sanders. and clinton is looking ahead to the general election, and sharpening her attacks against donald trump. >> reporter: trying to run up the score, frontrunner hillary clinton in minnesota, a bernie sanders' stronghold, while bill clinton in boston is challenging sanders in the new england s senator's backyard. they are tag teaming sanders trying to put the nomination beyond his reach. meanwhile, sander s s is voting this morning in his home state of vath vth where he is expected to coast to victory. >> i know that the bernie sanders here in vermont got one vote, and i was working on my wife so i probably got two. >> regard lless of the results, sanders is vowing to fight clinton to the convention, and he has the cash to do it. raising more than $41 million in the last month alone mostly from the small and online contributions. thousands tni for his rally in massachusetts where the race is tightening. >> your state led the american revolution -- [ applause ] -- and now it is time for massachusetts to lead the political can revolution. >> reporter: but clinton was overwhelming support from the african-american voters is counting on a southern firewall tonight. she has a commanding lead in texas, tennessee and georgia. according to the nbc/wall street/maris poll, already confident enough about the nomination to start to focusing as well on donald trump. >> i am just speaking out against bigotry and bullying wherever i hear it. sflr and the campaign officials are saying that the strategy against trump is hitting him early and often and portraying him as dangerous and bigoted because of his comments on race and ethnic minorities, energizing the minority voters to turn out for her. and clinton is testing new attack lines against trump. >> you know, america never stopped being great, but we have >> reporter: and trump is talking about making it a huge fight. >> we will be talk about those e-mail e-mails every moment of everyday. >> reporter: and the clintons know that donald trump does not play by the rules, but they are also known for their tough campaigning, so if clipton and trump become their party's nominees, you ain't seen nothing yet. lester? >>n thank you, andrea. we are joined by savannah guthrie and chuck todd, and great to have you both with us. and chuck, with the exit polling, you have seen the data and what is standing out? >> well, i am watching virginia very closely, because this is make or break for marco rubio, and why is he doing so well here and it is a split to explain the trump phenomenon overall, and why rubio is strong, and it is the division of educated and college-educated voters. a little over half are college graduates in the republican electorate, but look at virginia. virginia has 60% of the republicanlectorate college educated or better, and why does this matter to marco rubio, and let me show you the split inside of among in virginia among college graduates rubio leads by ten points. and among non-college graduates donald trump leads by close to almost 20 points. now a majority of the electorate is college-educated in virginia and that is why rubio has done well. this is a pattern, rubio does better with the college educated electorate, but it is the working class part of the electorate in the republican party that has helped trump so much, and he may lose virginia because of the split, but it also explains why he is doing so well in the rest of the super tuesday races. >> one of the races we are watching close ly. and savannah, you have spoken to cruz and -- >> mar eco rubio. >> wow. it is even early. see where where i am later tonight. nd what happens tonight, this is trump's night big time and he is in it all of the way to the convention, and he says, if i have to get in my truck and drive to all 50 states, i will do it. they believe they have the money, and they can do it, but the problem is ted cruz who also believes he need s s to be in t two-man race which is the dynamic that has led to trump to get a foothold in the republican primary race, because neither cruz nor rubio nor car sson wan to et get out, and trump is going to continue the rise, and continuing to go on, and calls from trump and cruz for rubio to get out, and he says no. >> and we remember how big that first debate stage was. and now, we will have live updates as the results come in, and i will be joined by savannah and chuck with primetime starting at 10:00 p.m. eastern, and 9:00 p.m. central with all of the breaking candidates >> and other news, e let's talk about the argument between apple and the fbi that reached capitol hill today. apple is refusing to unlock an iphone belonged to one of the san bernardino attackers. >> if you will please rise, i will begin by swearing you in. >> reporter: the fbi director faced a skeptical ju didiciary committee that apple write special software to help the fbi unlock an iphone used by one of the san bernardino attackers. >> we are asking apple to take the vicious guard dog away so we can pick the lock. >> reporter: they concluded that the only apple held the key. >> when is the tux of government to compel or force a private citizen or a company to act as an agent of the government to do what the government couldn't do? >> reporter: apple's top lawyer warned that if the fbi gets what it wants, the software to di into the wrong hands. >> we believe that the protecting the security and the pri privacy of hundreds of millions of iphone users is the right thing to do. that is the reason that we are doing this this. >> reporter: but some committee memb members are worried about the phones keeping evidence out of the reach of law enforcement. >> you can go into the people's bodies and remove a body, but you can't go into dead person's iphone and remove da ta. i find it baffling. >> reporter: a federal judge has ruled for them to unlock a drug dealer's phone, and the are result that they ruling is that they cannot force them to unlock it. and with a win in federal court, apple stock is up. the next hearing is in three weeks in san bernardino. and up next, erin williams on the stand, and what some say helped her career. and now, a man shunt on for a man with children who then slipped a away. man with children who then slipped a away. hshunt on for a man with children who then slipped a away. ushunt on for a man with children who then slipped a away. nshunt on for a man with children who then slipped a away. tshunt on for a man with children who then slipped a away. on for a man with children who then slipped a away. on for a man with children who then slipped a away. on for a man with children who then slipped a away. ison for a man with children who then slipped a away. on for a man with children who then slipped a away. that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet? 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(all) yes! good, 'cause if not we're gonna watch highlights of my career 12 hours straight. i know, talk about pain. seriously now, talk to your doctor or pharmacist today about a vaccine that can help prevent shingles. ththere requires exactly that. rea plan for what you want your future to look like. for more than 145 years, pacific life has been providing solutions to help individuals like you achieve long-term financial security. bring your vision for the future to life with pacific life. talk to a financial advisor to help build and protect your retirement income. pacific life. the power to help you succeed. in southern california, an intense manhunt is under way for a kidnapping suspect who took police on an hour's long pursuit while holding his girlfriend and her children captive. the police tailed the man across the los angeles area in rush hour monday before he escaped on foot on a rugged hillside even though he was surrounded by officers. mi >> you are run but you can't hide. >> reporter: it was high speed drama. police say that the driver thomas w a ano kidnapped his girlfriend and two children and a domestic dispute playing out on one of the nation's busiest freeways i-5 endangering the public for more than five hours. >> he won't get long. >> reporter: onlookers were there when the pursuit comes to an end in newport beach, and the suspect holding up the 1-year-old, and the woman and her children running towards the police as he fled tonight. the suspect is shot with nonlethal rounds. >> the suspect in a hoodie comes running up saying, i'm hit, i'm hit. >> reporter: he es kates through the dragnet into the night, and today, it is a manhunt, and like this chase, police say it is miguelle almaguer, "nbc nightly news." and after spending nearly a year in space, astro gnat scott kelly is coming home h. he is departing the international space station where he has set a record for the longest space h mission, and he is going to touch earth with all of its gravity later in the evening. he said that the thing that he missed most about home was human contact. coming back this souper tuesday, we will speak to chuck todd before another round of poll closings. yogurt. get moving. keep moving. i know! try laxatives. been there, done that. my chronic constipation keeps coming back. i know. tell me something i don't know. vo: linzess works differently from laxatives. linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. it can help relieve your belly pain, and lets you have more frequent and complete bowel movements that are easier to pass. do not give linzess to children under six t be given to children six to seventeen. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain, especially with bloody or black stools. the most common side effect is diarrhea sometimes severe. if it's severe stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. other side effects include gas, stomach-area pain and swelling. talk to your doctor about managing your symptoms proactively with linzess. try phillips' fiber good gummies plus energy support. it's a new fiber supplement that helps support regularity and includes b vitamins to help convert food to energy. mmmmm, these are good! nice work, phillips! the tasty side of fiber, from phillips'. and i quit smoking with i'm chantix. i was a smoker. hands down, it was, that's who i was. after one week of chantix, i knew i could quit. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix definitely helped reduce my urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. most common side-affect is nausea. life as a non-smoker is a whole lot of fun. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. and welcome back live. we are minutes away from the next round of poll closings hon this super tuesday, and before that happens, let me bring back chuck todd. chuck, what are you anticipating here? >> well, this is the most poll closing times for bernie sanders, massachusetts and oklahoma, and two of the five state s th states that he was targeting tonight. these are the primaries that he wants to win other than vermont, and can he win those two state, oklahoma the most southern state that he targeted, and then tennessee and alabama, and i think that we won't be shocked if hillary clinton does well here. but on the republican side, can does trump continue the southern romp here? this is southern super tuesday, and georgia was a big , alabama and georgia mirror, and if it is, that is the start of a big night for donald trump. >> and virginia is still too close to call? >> yes. >> battling it with rubio? >> yes, and this is one that we have to wait for a lot of the votes to be count ed ed to see wins that primary. >> all right. chuck, we will have to see shortly. that concludes the first half hour of news on this super tuesday. for many of the stations, they will continue for an additional half hour of coverage, and rereminder that we are back on at 10:00 p.m. across the country with the breaking results on this big night of the presidential contest. i'm lester holt for "nbc nightly news," and thank you for watc g watching. on this big night four more states, and the polls have closed and we will show you where things stand right now. we will start on the republican side in alabama. "nbc nightly news" projecting that donald trump wins in the alabama primary. and in massachusetts, nbc predicting that the trump is going to win there as well. in tennessee, again, it is trump. we project as the winner. oklahoma, the gop primary there is too early to call. one that we will be watching is virginia and proposed an hour earlier, and a tight race between trump and marco rubio