MOMENT OF UNITY
Posted: Sunday, July 29, 2007 3:51 PM by Daily Nightly Editor
by Lester Holt
Hello from New York, where it has turned into a dark and stormy afternoon. In fact it's so dark outside I keep checking my watch thinking we're about to go on the air.
We'll begin the broadcast tonight (at the correct time) with an amazing demonstration of true national unity in Iraq. One not carved on the battlefield, but on a soccer field in far away Indonesia. Our Jane Arraf is covering the joyous celebrations in Baghdad following Iraq's amazing victory in the Asian Cup. The team, The Lions of the Two Rivers, defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0. The shots heard in Baghdad tonight are being fired in celebration, not in anger. Associated Press writer Steve Hurst probably summed it up for many of us at the end of his dispatch from Baghdad today with the question, "Will a first postwar home game for the Lions of the Two rivers signal things are truly better?"
On the subject of Iraq, will Great Britain's new prime minister speed-up the withdrawal of his country's 5,500 troops currently on duty in southern Iraq? There is certainly pressure at home for such a move, but Brown's spokesman played down such considerations as the PM made his way to the U.S. for talks at Camp David with President Bush. Brown's agenda does include dealing with the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region and trade issues. John Yang will report on this new era in US-British relations.
NBC's Pat Dawson will examine the forces at work behind last week's selling frenzy on Wall Street, and look toward the week ahead. While all signs still point to strong market fundamentals, CNBC's Maria Bartiromo will joins us to talk about what this means to the average consumer who may be looking to borrow money and or buy or sell a home.
We'll of course report any news regarding Barry Bond's quest to tie and beat Hank Aaron's home run record. He's playing in this afternoon's game.
Our Peter Alexander is back from a trip to Cuba with a story about a virtual musical time capsule that for years sat undiscovered. Never-before released recordings made in pre-revolution Cuba by some artists you will likely recognize, and they are finally about to be heard.
As always, thanks for checking-in. I hope you'll be able to spend a half-hour with us tonight for NBC Nightly News.
