allowed to resume their journey promptly. >> if not, it could cost iran billion dollars in the nuclear deal with the u.s. to be implemented at the end of the week. >> for iran to do anything but to return the people and the equipment immediately would be a blatant slap in the american's face. >> reporter: and u.s. officials now say despite their assurances, those ten americans will not be released by the iranians tonight, raising concerns here that the detention for the americans could drag on for days. lester. >> jim miklaszewski, thanks. the story playing out against the back drop of years of bad history between the u.s. and iran. but also the delicate nuclear deal. and as he mentioned, the president about to speak to the nation. let's go to andrea mitchell. what is going on today? >> it has been frantic. politically this could not have happened at the worst time. hours before the state of the union address.

planned to talk about the fact that iran had gotten rid of the nuclear fuel and lifting the sanctions was only days away from being implemented. so behind the scenes it was a scramble. secretary kerry ran out of top officials to call minister zarif. explaining they had sailed into the waters by accident. after a while iranian officials called back and promised the release of the sailors promptly. but critics like jeb bush and marco rubio his iran policy. state officials say it proves exactly the opposite. if this happened a year ago before kerry and iran negotiated the deal, hard-lines would make sure the sailors did not get out at all. they say daylight is out. >> andrea mitchell, thank you. to the event that brings us to the capitol. the president in final preparations for the state of the union. give.

jansing tells us, the president is expected to strike a very different tone than we've heard in recent years. >> for the last time preparing to address congress and the nation about the state of the union, a president trying to recapture the hope and change of when he first took office. despite the setbacks and gridlock that have helped turn his hair gray. posting a video shot like a hollywood trailer to reach beyond congress and write his own legacy. his message of optimism, trying to rise above the noise and anger of the 2016 campaign as he told matt lauer on "today." >> do you feel you are responsible for a certain hunger out there for the message donald trump is putting out. >> talk to me if he wins and then we'll have a conversation about how responsible i feel about. >> he will talk about solutions for the partisanship that has divided the nation. the failure to pass tighter restrictions on guns symbolized by an empty chair in the first lady's box for

violence. and a culmination more fearful of terrorism at any time since 9/11. one of michelle obama's guests, the air force sergeant who leapt in action to stop a terrorist on a train in paris. >> it is something i got to do, give an opportunity to do something good and it worked out. >> reporter: with all of the pomp and circumstance of tonight's address, the president will focus on bigger themes he hoped will be carried on by a democratic successor. >> this is probably his last best hope to try to fame the issues for 2016 in a way that might be more likely that a democrat could get elected to succeed him. >> reporter: a major final challenge to find the voice that moved americans to elect him twice. and we just got our first look at excerpts of the address. tonight the president will argue that the future we want will only happen in we fix our pl ticks. you won't hear him name donald trump or call out any other republicans.

acknowledged to me that the republican rhetoric absolutely played a part in how this speech was written. lester. >> chris jansing, we'll see you with the coverage later in the president's speech. and while the president prepares to address the nation, those who to succeed him are shifting into overdrive on the campaign trail. they have less than three weeks until the iowa caucuses. as nbc's hallie jackson reports, republicans are already unleashing attacks on what they expect to hear from the president. >> reporter: skipping the state of the union? soerntd ted cruz. >> i think there is a canadian curling contest on. >> reporter: instead firing away at president obama. at a second amendment rally in new hampshire. >> why not join your colleagues tonight. >> tonight is no surprise what the president will say. >> my prediction is we'll see heights of

reached in his final farewell state of the union. >> others taking aim at the president's leadership. >> he can't be thrilled with me. and frankly, you know, the country is a mess. and we're going to straighten it out and we're going to make america great again. >> the state of the union is way too pessimistic for the american people. they do not believe that it is good. change. >> the state of the union will not be a call to action tonight. it will be fantasy wish list by a president who has failed us. >> reporter: on the democratic side, not hitting president obama, but hillary clinton hugging him and distancing herself from rival bernie sanders. >> we have a big difference over guns. you know that. if you go around saying you stand up to special interest, stand up to the most powerful special interest, the gun lobby. >> reporter: the sharpest attacks yet, echoed by her daughter on the first campaign trip. the hint, assign the race getting tighter

>> it could be that the inevitable candidate for the democratic nomination may not be so inevitable today. >> reporter: a pair of new polls show sanders leading now in both iowa and here in new hampshire. but nationally, our online tracking survey has hillary clinton up all. and on the republican side, it is donald trump still dominating. >> hallie jackson, thank you. seating behind president obama tonight as always will be the vice president. today joe biden spoke exclusively with savannah guthrie about the loss of his son bowe and thoughts about hillary clinton and donald trump and the 2016 race. >> reporter: for the eighth president and the eighth time as vice president, joe biden tonight takes his seat. a heartbeat from the president. but with his heart still heavy from the loss last year of his son beau. >> i think people are wondering how are you doing?

we're focusing on the inspiration beau was rather than the loss. >> reporter: he confided beaus may become too sick to support his family, only with the president. >> jill and i will sell the house and be in good shape. he said don't sell that house. promise me you won't sell the house. he's going to be mad at me saying this. he said i'll give you >> reporter: tell me how your relationship with president obama has evolved over the years? >> it is family. and he's become family. and i think probably no vice president or president on a personal basis closer than he and i have been. >> reporter: but now with a year left in office, joe biden sizes up a presidential field he is no longer part of it, calling hillary clinton new to a key progressive issue propelling bernie sanders, income inequality. >> for the last five years she's been engaged in foreign policy. she has good ideas but

>> and as for donald trump? >> do you think he could be elected. >> yes. >> you said he is divisive. >> he is divisive. and that is not healthy. we do best when we act as one america. >> reporter: but joe biden said this office will be his last in the white house. a decision he recently said he regrets every day. >> was it hard to hear him say that? >> it was because i know how he feels. but, you know, i've always said joe would make a great president. >> work, he said, he could continue beyond the west wing. >> is there no scenario in which you could see yourself getting into this race in 2016. >> i learned never to say no. if i win the lottery. i'm only joking. that was a joke. >> savannah guthrie with the vice president at the white house today. turning now to chuck todd, nbc political news director of "meet the press."

>> if joe biden wins powerball, it would just be enough to run for president. it is the final state of the union but first peach of the campaign for president obama. this is issues tonight he wants to put on the campaign trail and forcing his democratic successor forcing them to embrace but he is the message he wants to spend the year campaigning on. and so i think that is the proper way to put this in the context. look, there is a laundry list. they are proud of that. but it is really about the agenda that barack obama would be running on if he could run for a third term. >> you'll join me later on as well as andrea for live coverage of the president's final state of the union address at 9:00 eastern here. a deadly suicide attack at istanbul's historic district. killing ten foreign nationals including eight german tourists. the u.s. has condemned the attack suffered by a key nato ally.

istanbul for us tonight. >> reporter: good evening, lester. turkish officials say the suicide bomber was a syrian national, saudi-born and he recently entered turkey from syria and registered as a refugee. police say they identified him by his fingerprint. nearly all of the victims, ten killed, 15 injured, were from a single german tour group. they were in the old city visiting monuments when the suicide bomber approached them and then detonated his explosive. isis hasn't formally claimed credit for this attack. but unfortunately the city has become something of a cross-roads with isis and other militants going through here on the way into and out of syria. the turkish government has sometimes cracked down on the militants and critics say other times turned a blind eye. lester. >> richard engel in istanbul. thank you. those low prices at the pump could fall even further after oil

a barrel today. it was brief but notable. because oil hasn't traded that low since december of 2003. many investors are betting that china's volatile markets will curb demand for fuel and the price could fall even more. a blast of winter weather and white-out conditions contributed to massive pile-ups in several states today. shutting down some big highways. and trapping drivers in their cars. the biggest was at the indiana-ohio border. it involved some 40 cars, including several semis. another crash in indiana involved at least 15 vehicles after a tractor-trailer rolled over. there is a lot more to tell you about here tonight still ahead. new questions about who made the call to stand down when the authorities could have months ago. also the president's word smith. how he took the president's handwritten notes and

there is new fallout from the capture of one of the most wanted men in the world as we go inside of the secret hideout where el chapo was taken into custody after an hours-long fire fight. there are new questions about the clandestine meeting between el chapo and sean penn. did the meeting delay his capture. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in mexico where el chapo spent his last hours of freedom. >> reporter: in an interview with rolling stone, joaquin el chapo guzman described

god-fearing family man who loves his mother and wants to die of natural causes and years. he said freedom is on friday it ended after a fierce gun battle at this safehouse. sinaloa. >> as we walk up the stairs, we could see many bullet holes. this is one of the bedrooms inside of the and an interesting detail here is what is laying on the bed. several dvd copies of a movie starring kate del castillo. >> she is the soap opera star who sean penn said facilitated an oct meet between him and the drug lord. now there are conflicting reports on how much of a role that played in his capture. mexico's attorney general said it was essential because it revealed guzman's location. penn and del castillo were seen in these surveillance videos. mexican marines were preparing to move in.

actors would not be harmed, the raid was called off. it is unclear who made that call. days later when the operation did take place, el chapo had already escaped. it would be months before agents found him. multiple u.s. sources tell nbc news penn played no role, even inadvertently in last week's raid. instead, they say, the key was a tip from the police. >> sean penn as he said himself was there to conduct an interview. not there as part of any u.s. government effort to apprehend el chapo. >> mexican officials tell nbc news that he is being held in isolation isolation, not on the ground floor to prevent another escape. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, mexico. we're back in a moment with a major recall on children's cold medicine. we'll tell but the

there is a major recall to tell you about regarding medicine. it is made by a company called periggo and sold by many chains.

kroger and others affected by the recall. the dosage cups that come with cherry and grape flavors have incorrect measurement markings and that could lead to an overdose. a full list could be found on our website. up and up it goes. the jackpot for tomorrow night's powerball drawing is now reaching $1.5 billion. but the odds of winning remain the same. which is why it is $1.5 billion. it is about one in 292 million, the odds. the jackpot is already more than twice the previous record. when we come back, rare access behind the scenes, inside of the white house with the man who takes notes from the leader of the

finally tonight, as the hubbub builds in the building hint. the speech writer changes. a flurry of activity over the last few days that peter alexander got to see first-hand, rare access of how it all comes together. >> >> reporter: in the to the state of the union, cody keenan is trying to keep up with the president's last-minute edits.

feeling when tonight is done? >> relief. pride in what everyone has done here. >> reporter: behind the president's speeches, keenan is the man tasked with translating images into the words. >> this is where the magic happens. this corner basement office. no windows. the white house doctors give me vitamin b. >> the chicago native takes his boss's hand-written notes like these, and turns them into powerful presidential prose. >> if prayer were made of sound, the skies over england that night would have deafened the world. >> reporter: we caught up with him in the midst of a coffee-filled writing binge, including a meeting in the oval office with the president. the final days of a two-month marathon to prediction 2,000 words. >> where did you watch last year's state of the union. >> at this desk. >> with? >> chicken tenders and a buzz wiser.

of speech writing six years later. >> the moment you stare at a blank piece of paper, what is going on in your mind. >> fear, that you don't know what to say and hope you could make it into something nice. >> knewtown and tucson where others struggled to find words. >> reporter: keenan friends say, writes from the heart. he met his fiance who is a researcher who fact-checks his speeches. >> so she gets paid to tell me i'm wrong. >> how does that go? >> it is tense around state of the union time. >> the state of this union has never been stronger. peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverage of the state of the union. i'm lester holt. for all of us.

>> announcer: today on the meredith vieira show. one direction controversy. and you will not upon how far people are going to reclaim virginity. plus, kirstie alley talking about her weight loss struggle and revealing the loss of 50 pounds. we have best tips for keeping organized in the new years.

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