My fellow Americans:
There are many men and women in America -- sincere and faithful men and women -- who are asking themselves this Christmas: How can we light our trees? How can we give our gifts? How can we meet and worship with love and with uplifted spirit and heart in a world at war, a world of fighting and suffering and death? How can we pause, even for a day, even for Christmas Day, in our urgent labor of arming a decent humanity against the enemies which beset it? How can we put the world aside, as men and women put the world aside in peaceful years, to rejoice in the birth of Christ? (1)
It is well in this solemn hour that we bow to Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln as we face our destiny with its hopes and fears -- its burdens and its responsibilities. Out of the past we shall gather wisdom and inspiration to chart our future course. (2)
In the light of Christmas, the dark curtains of the world are drawn aside for the moment. We see more clearly our neighbors next door, and our neighbors in other nations. We see ourselves and the responsibilities that belong to us. (3) CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
A few things before we get going:
Do we believe Roger Clemens?
And to those of you who have written about Multiple Myeloma, thank you. Indeed, our family has been touched by it, and its my pleasure to support the good folks (and great achievements) of the MMRF. Dr. Ken Anderson is regarded as something of a living saint by the patients who have come to know him.
Last night, minutes after our story about the "floating cross" some people insist was intentionally featured in the Huckabee Christmas campaign ad, we got emails from viewers saying they had noticed something similar in the background during our interview with Time Magazine managing editor Rick Stengel. I can't believe people "discovered" it. Or maybe it's true that people just see what they want to see.
Yesterday we talked about the OEOB and energy. I listed quotes to show that "energy independence" is not a new goal. Today we concentrate on silverware. The moral of the collection of quotes below: President Bush wasn't the first one to joke -- as he did today -- about people "stealing" the silverware from the White House. Nor was he joking about it for the first time! Take a look at these varied attempts at presidential humor, all of a theme:
Silverware Pattern
Good morning. I hope you all enjoyed the holiday reception at the White House as much as Laura and I enjoyed it. We took an inventory of the silverware, and this year only a few pieces were missing. So like if you see Gregory, tell him to bring them back.
-- President Bush at today’s press conference (referring to NBC's David Gregory)
I love meeting with the Members. For those of you who have been to our office, thanks for coming. For those of you that have not been to our office yet, you're coming. Just don't take any silverware. [Laughter]
-- President Bush, February 2, 2001, two weeks after taking office; remarks at the Republican Congressional Retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia
It's good to see my old fellow owner, "the Boss." [Laughter] What a record you've had -- a man who demands excellence and oftentimes gets it. [Laughter] But thank you for coming, George. I know the real boss of the Yankees is here, too, Arthur Richman. [Laughter] How are you, Arthur? Good to see you. I told you one of these days we would get to the White House. Just don't take any silverware, Arthur. [Laughter]
-- President Bush, May 4, 2001, referring to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and senior advisor Arthur Richman during remarks honoring 2000 World Series Champion New York Yankees.
Thank you all for coming. I'll see you Thursday, coats and ties. [Laughter] This year, Gregory, don't take any silverware. [Laughter]
-- President Bush, December 15, 2003 press conference; referring to upcoming holiday party
I want to thank Bob Wallace, the executive director. He spends a lot of time in the Oval Office. I'm always checking the silverware drawer. [Laughter]
-- President Bush, August 22, 2007, referring to VFW executive director Robert E. Wallace during remarks at Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.
As you know, this is the second time that we've had editorial cartoonists here during this term. Last May 1 had some of you over for lunch. We're still looking for the missing silverware. [Laughter]
-- President Ronald Reagan, May 7, 1987; remarks to Members of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists
We have a lot of ground to cover tonight -- from New Orleans to Washington. We'll have an update on Rudy Giuliani's health, and a report on the so-called "War on Christmas." (My favorite is the retailing website that talks about opening gifts on "holiday morning"... exactly what morning is that?) We'll cover politics, medicine and more.
We hope you can join us tonight -- and thank you.
By Mary Murray, NBC News Havana bureau chief
Reporting from communist Cuba is always a challenge.
Most times, it’s just not easy finding people willing to talk—especially when you are a U.S. journalist asking strangers to share their thoughts on topics that have been taboo for decades.
So when we drove into the small village of Perico, I wasn’t certain we would find anyone willing to tell us what happened here in the early morning hours of November 24th. Instead, we found an entire town wanting to talk about nothing else: Los Desaparecidos – the Spanish term for “The Missing”.
CONTINUED >>
By John Rutherford, NBC News producer, Washington
Three civilian contractors, among 11 Americans killed last week in Iraq, died Dec. 9 when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb southeast of Baghdad. A fourth contractor, badly injured, was expected to survive.
"I don't know, I guess it just wasn't his time to go," Christine Johnson said of her injured husband, Billy, according to the Milford (Mass.) Daily News.
All four men were military veterans who willingly took on the dangerous assignment of providing security for contractors who search for and destroy old Iraqi munitions stockpiles.
"It's just in their blood," Christine Johnson told the Daily News. "It's part of them, but I think he [her husband] is done now."
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Before I finish a thought that began on the air last night, a story from this morning:
We were midway through our morning editorial conference call when someone said, "Look at what's on MSNBC!" -- It was a live picture of smoke rolling out the windows of the Executive Office Building next to the White House. I immediately reeled back to my time years ago as a White House intern. I knew the massive building almost by heart -- I could tell from the windows and balcony exactly where the fire was burning, and I even remembered details (the floor, the ceiling, the vice president's desk with the signatures under glass in the drawer, the bullet-proof glass shields -- everything down to the light switches and fixtures) from the many tours I had led down that hall and through that room. I shudder to think of the history lost in the fire, not to mention the beauty of the offices and furnishings, the records and telecommunications equipment and the water and smoke damage for several floors above and below the fire. (We're trying to confirm a report that all firefighters entering the building had to be accompanied by Secret Service -- before they could fight the fire. If true, it is the bureacracy of security run amok, and someone should probably lose their job over it.)
The magnificent 19th century building, now officially called the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, once housed the Departments of State, War and the Navy. For years, it was known as the Old Executive Office Building, and despite my love for President Eisenhower, I will forever call the building the "OEOB," as a lot of Washington veterans do (the same people who still call the airport "National"). I was stunned to see the live pictures of the unfolding disaster. I understand there was one injury: a Marine who cut himself breaking out a window.
We have a number of visitors in the studio tonight: correspondents Ian Williams, Janet Shamlian, and TIME Magazine Editor Rick Stengel, on his "Person of the Year" cover choice, Vladimir Putin. My nominee? Mother Earth. I lost.
CONTINUED >>
By Janet Shamlian, NBC News correspondent
Editor's note: After Janet Shamlian's report aired on the broadcast, we received many of your emails asking how you can help the Sanchez family. This is a link to the Jeffco Action Center, which says it will direct all donations to the Sanchez's.
It's a new and uncomfortable position. Michiko and David Sanchez never thought they'd need help. They both have full time jobs, and their combined income of $60,000 was enough to allow them to donate 10 percent to their church. That was last year. This year, the Sanchez' are the recipients of the kind of goodwill they used to selflessly offer others. After their mortgage jumped, they lost their house to foreclosure. Now, as they save for a deposit on an apartment, they're getting their groceries from a food pantry. When I visited them in Denver a few days ago, they had $60 to make it to payday Friday. With three children in the home, they've already told the kids.. there won't be any Christmas gifts under the tree.
Their story comes as no surprise to food banks across the country, struggling with an unprecedented need from families trying to make ends meet. The weakened economy and the credit crunch has transformed tens of thousands of middle class Americans from donors to reluctant recipients. At the Jeffco Action Center in Denver, donations are down 50 percent from last year and the non-profit will have to buy food for the first time in its 39 year history. 75 percent of the needy there hold a full time job.
Michiko Sanchez has no room for pity and chooses to look at their struggle as a way to teach her kids about the season's true meaning. "There won't be any presents," she told me, "but we'll spend the day together, celebrating the wealth of our love."
Click here for one of the organizations featured in this report.
By Pete Williams, NBC News Justice correspondent (and architecture buff)
The fire that damaged the Eisenhower Executive Office Building today is just the latest indignity it has suffered during its 120 or so years as one of Washington's major buildings -- and from the beginning, one of its most controversial.
It took 17 years to build, at a cost of $10 million, and was such an excess of opulence that it was immediately considered over the top. Three times it was the subject of direct assaults:
-In 1917, a federal commission asked architect John Russell Pope (whose most famous design is the Jefferson Memorial) to vastly modify the building's outward appearance.
-In 1929, after Herbert Hoover declared the building an "architectural orgy," another firm was asked to perform modifications.
-And in 1957, a presidential commission went further and recommended it be completely torn down.
The first two efforts failed for lack of money. And President Eisenhower himself intervened to save the building from demolition, which is one reason it is now named for him.
The building's original architect, Alfred Mullett, didn't fare so well. Considering himself overworked, underpaid, and severely under appreciated, he sued the government for more money. When that came to nothing, he committed suicide.
By Ian Williams, NBC News correspondent
Editor's note: Watch Ian Williams's report on tonight's broadcast.
Sankar Masthri is a monkey catcher. It says so on his business card.
"Monkey, Dog Hunter," it reads, together with little drawings of his targets and his cell phone number. The phone's ringing a lot these days, as India’s capital tries to rid itself of an exploding primate population that’s accused of all kinds of mayhem.
"Problem is, monkeys [are] getting smart," Masthri said, as we watched from a distance as one audacious monkey leaned inside a cage baited with bananas and made away with the food before Masthri could pull a wire to close the hatch and trap it.
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Dec. 19: NBC's Janet Shamlian reports on America's charities feeling the pinch this holiday season. Click here to watch.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Although she left us for CNN, frequent viewers of this broadcast remember Campbell Brown fondly, as we all do. Today's welcome bulletin has to do with Campbell and her husband Dan -- they have a magnificent new arrival, Eli James Senor, born just this morning. We were thrilled to hear the news and wish our friends Campbell and Dan just the very best.
Thanks to those of you who joined us for our political coverage on MSNBC today -- it was fun, as it always is, taking the reins for an hour at 1pm Eastern time. My day got compacted from there -- we're crashing on some stories for the top of the broadcast and I'm behind on writing, but Andy Franklin has penned a magnificent political piece below which deserves its own headline:
UNDER THE BIG TOP
The process of choosing a president has become a marathon in this country. All the major candidates declared their intentions months ago, and ever since they’ve been loudly and busily campaigning, debating, raising money, airing commercials, attacking their opponents, defending their records and positioning themselves for the contests to come. Those contests are now almost upon us: the Iowa caucuses are 16 days away, followed by the New Hampshire primary five days later. Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina and Florida follow in quick succession, leading up to February 5th (aka “Super-Duper Tuesday”) when 20 -- count ‘em -- 20 states have scheduled their contests. The nominations may be settled after all that, but if not, don’t worry -- the primary season continues until early June. If things are still up in the air, we can count on the conventions to sort things out. The Democrats hold theirs in Denver in late August, followed by the Republicans in St. Paul in early September. By then we’ll finally have just two candidates -- or maybe three, if there’s an independent in the race. That’s when things get serious -- not that things aren’t very serious now, of course. Between the conventions and the election, we’ll have about ten weeks of flat-out campaigning, not to mention flat-out campaign coverage. Then, on November 4th, 46 weeks from today, there will be an election. At long last, we’ll have a new president. Except we wont; that doesn’t actually happen until Inauguration Day, eleven weeks later. At which point the 2012 campaign will begin.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I've found that with a little barbeque sauce, crow actually tastes...like chicken. I reference of course my trash talk in my Friday posting, predicting -- ASSUMING -- a Giants victory over the Redskins last night. My son and I were there for the humiliating loss. We braved the 17-degree wind-chill, we braved snow and wind in the face, we even braved the sausage sandwiches at the stadium. When we turned around in our seats and realized the season ticket holders sitting behind us in section 212 didn't bother to come back to their seats for the second half, we knew we had a problem. Our beloved Boys in Blue really stunk up the place. Later, in line for the bus back to the Port Authority in New York (the ONLY way to travel to the Meadowlands without spending a significant portion of your life in the Meadowlands parking lot) my son guessed that it was the coldest he'd ever been. I placed it third -- after Bosnia and Iraq. He's just 16; give him time. We had a great night, and we were even polite to the Washington fans who walked past the bus line of hundreds of Giants fans singing the Redskins fight song, "Hail to the..." I can't finish it.
Much excitement surrounding tonight's broadcast. We've been looking for a new announcer ever since our beloved, veteran "voice of Nightly News" Howard Reig left us for retirement two years ago. Many of you will be reading this after 6:30 eastern time (our first live feed of the broadcast) when the "identity" of our new announcer will already be known. Let me just say this about this man: I called him, I appealed to his sense of history and tradition and his love of the medium -- and he said yes without hesitation. I was a fan before this. Now I am devoted to the guy.
CONTINUED >>
By Mara Schiavocampo, NBC Nightly News Digital correspondent
Editor's note: Mara is on assignment in India, preparing several stories for Nightly News. Watch for her reports soon on the Digital Dispatch.
I’ve had the privilege of shooting photos and video of people all over the world. I’m always interested in how individuals respond to a camera. In some cities I’m greeted with friendly curiosity. In others, disdain. Sometimes, annoyance.
But in India, I’ve seen a reaction I’ve never found anywhere else. The moment I point a camera at someone, they stop whatever they are doing and stare into the camera, proudly, dutifully. Below are some photos of those who have turned their eyes on me, as I have turned mine on them.
In Srikalahasti:
CONTINUED >>
By Martin Savidge, NBC News correspondent
Batman had his Bat-mobile.
The Green Hornet had the Black Beauty.
And Michael Knight had KITT.
Now the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has its first Animal CSI-mobile.
CONTINUED >>
On Monday, December 17, "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" will debut a new, very special announcer who will introduce the program and Williams nightly.
Who will it be?
Here's a hint. The announcer has had a rich, extensive, award-winning theatrical career for nearly forty years.
Make sure to listen carefully at the beginning of Nightly News and send us your best guess as to who it is.
We will reveal the announcer's identity at end of Monday's broadcast.
Good luck!
by Lester Holt
It was potluck Sunday here in the Nightly newsroom this afternoon as we shared favorite dishes (I made an apple-berry cobbler) and said good-bye to some of our colleagues who are moving on. A big thanks to Tom Bowman, a senior producer on the show, and one of the first people I got to know when I joined MSNBC back in 2000. I'd miss him regardless, but now that I've discovered he cooks up a mean mac and cheese, I'm suggesting we compete more aggressively to keep him.
CONTINUED >>
by Lester Holt
We're officially in that "crunch time" period before Christmas when shoppers become more mission focused as the calendar ticks down. For a second straight weekend shoppers in many parts of the country are going about their tasks with an ear cocked to the weather forecast. All week we've been hearing of a stronger punch of winter-like weather on way following that damaging ice storm. Snow is falling today from Kansas into Indiana, and our colleagues at NBC Weather plus tell us it's all likely to re-develop into a Nor'easter on Sunday, bringing snow, rain and wind to the Northeast. The questions tonight: how bad will it turn out to be, and where is the snow/rain cutoff line? Bill Karins will join me on Nightly News tonight to tell us all what we're in fo.
CONTINUED >>
By Jim Maceda, NBC News correspondent
What a joy it was to shoot in Afghanistan again...and not be shot at... even once. Finally, 6 years since the war began, my Afghan camera-and-soundman, Iqbal Sapand, and I were here to do a NON-military story. What a perk! A story, not about suicide bombings or coalition losses, but a Hollywood movie, starring Afghans, about Afghans. The 'Kite Runner' - based on Khaled Hosseini's blockbuster novel - debuts today in the US. We wanted to ask ordinary Afghans, as well as some Afghan officials, how they looked upon a potentially award-winning film that throws a POSITIVE light on their war-torn country.
We met with a wide swath of people in Kabul, a city that was still too unsafe for 'The Kite Runner' to be shot here (all scenes were filmed in China). In fact, we never went into the streets without a discreetly armed body guard watching our backs. We spoke with an Internet chat room host, worshippers after Friday prayers, workmen in the Hazara district (the traditionally suppressed ethnic tribe of Mongol origin), a master kitemaker, a human rights director, a sociologist, and lots of kite enthusiasts - young and old - who honed their skills on Nadir Khan Hill, overlooking the capital, on a Friday afternoon.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
We have several favorites in the broadcast tonight: including a story -- the favorite of many of us in the newsroom -- that came to us from our Miami station, having to do with something that happened at a Starbucks yesterday. We also have great reporting tonight on the baseball scandal, New Orleans' latest issue, and the environment. And of course: Making a Difference.
My son and I have tickets to the New York Giants victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday night. So I'm going to ask our meteorologist Bill Karins to accelerate the timing of the snowstorm scheduled to arrive this weekend. I'm pretty sure he can do that for me. He knows people.
I exchanged emails today with a young commander in Iraq -- as I sat in my office looking at the plaza and the Christmas tree here at 30 Rock, he was looking out over a complex of military base housing units (some of them converted tractor-trailers) and humvees and latrines. He was between patrols. It was a healthy reminder (the same reason why I keep a medallion from the U.S. Army First Cavalry in my pocket every day -- since the day it was given to me in Ramadi) that we must think of these volunteers while we go on about our parallel lives. Especially this time of year.
CONTINUED >>
By Brett Holey, NBC Nightly News director
Tonight we say goodbye to a familiar voice, an era for NBC and a small piece of broadcasting history.
Tonight's broadcast will be the last time you'll hear announcer Howard Reig say the familiar words introducing the broadcast following John Williams' spectacular fanfare. Monday you'll hear a new voice that will be familiar but in a whole new way.
Howard is diminutive in stature but a giant in heart and voice. His career in the television business has spanned the entire history of "the business." When his voice was first heard on NBC Radio, FDR was president, the U.S. population was less than half of what it is today, there were fewer than 7,000 televisions in America and only a handful of commercial stations.
CONTINUED >>
By Mara Schiavocampo, NBC Nightly News digital correspondent
Editor's note: Mara is on assignment in India right now, preparing several stories for Nightly News. Watch for her reports soon on the Digital Dispatch.
I’ve spent most of my adult life in two cities: New York and L.A. And I work in television. So I’m used to seeing celebrities. For the most part I ignore them. I figure I’d hate to be constantly bothered by strangers, so why force myself on someone else? But this was one I couldn’t ignore.
Quickly, some context: I’m in India working on several amazing stories that you’ll soon see on the Digital Dispatch and other NBC News programs. This morning I left Bangalore, a major city, for a tiny city called Tirupati. So tiny that there are more cows on the streets than cars. So tiny that I had to re-arrange my planned itinerary because on some days there are no flights in or out. That tiny.
But huge at the same time. Tirupati is home to a Hindu temple which is one of the most visited religious sites in the world. Indians claim it’s more popular than the Vatican. This weekend alone, hundreds of thousands of devotees will come here to worship.
Now back to the story. A few minutes after checking into my room I got a phone call from my Indian guide in the lobby. “Mara, are you busy?” he asks. “No, why? What’s up?” I reply. “Well,” he starts tentatively, “the Hollywood actor Chris Rock is here in the lobby.” “HE’S HERE?!?!?” I shouted, and made a mad dash for the door.
When the elevator doors opened, there was Chris Rock - in tiny Tirupati, India - with about seven other men, including well-known producer and writer Nelson George. “What are you doing here?” I asked. He told me that they were working on something for HBO, but wouldn’t say much more than that. (My guide, Uday, later told me what they are working on and it’s the same reason I’m here. So now I’m determined to beat them to air. HBO, I’ve got my eye on you. You’ve been warned.)
Anyway, back to Chris Rock. I begged for an interview. Nelson George said, “No, no, no.” I begged for a video shout out for this blog. Again, “no”. I meekly asked for a picture, and finally got a “yes”.
I went to Tirupati, India and all I got was this lousy photo.
Seriously though, Chris (we’re on a first name basis now) and his crew were all gracious and friendly. And in all fairness, I got a lot more than just a picture. I have a cool new travel story too.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
If you were walking down West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan last night and heard loud music, that was us. The staff of Nightly News had a terrific time at our annual party. We celebrated the hard work done by this team to make us the #1 newscast in America, and we toasted all of you as well. We were treated to some great music (a band headed up by our senior East Coast promotions executive Frank Radice) and the voice of an angel, Nightly News's own Amber Payne, whose singing voice is positively transporting. It was loud, fun and went late.
To today: one of the few times when only a single voice could be heard throughout our newsroom: during George Mitchell's press conference today. What a dark day for baseball. What a tough time for parents who have young players at home -- as I do -- yearning for positive role models in the game.
The only other audible sounds in the newsroom: the sleet that is presently tapping against our windows, and the sound of the wind howling. Winter is visiting New York City today, just as it threatens to hit the East Coast again on Sunday with a powerful storm. It'll all be part of our reporting tonight.
We will close tonight's broadcast with a quirky feature on one of my favorite new products of the last few years: light-emitting diodes, or LED's. They are tiny (some not so tiny) light bulbs that burn cool, burn bright, and burn almost forever. They have revolutionized Christmas tree lighting, law enforcement (those REALLY bright flashing roof racks that you never want to see in your rear-view mirror) and even airplane reading lights, auto headlights and stoplights. I am lit by them during the broadcast. While they come in any color, they are decidedly green in terms of the environment.
Finally, if I may put in a plug. As you may know, I'm on the board of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Foundation. We are bestowing an honor similar to the Medal on ordinary folks who do extraordinary things. Those who put service above self. Those who act above and beyond the call of duty. We'll collect nominees, research them and celebrate those honored during a prime-time special in March in Washington. If you know an extraordinary person to nominate, you have until December 16th to do so. Please go to aboveandbeyond365.com to read all about it.
Andy Franklin has given us a great politically-themed gift below. We sure appreciate you joining us tonight. As always.
CONTINUED >>
By Stephanie Himango, NBC News producer
Editor's note: Mark Potter's report on LED lights airs tonight on the broadcast. Watch a preview here.
Lite Brite is a game I hadn't thought about in years--until I started thinking about LED lights. Any child of the 1970s who was captivated by Lite Brite probably has the same recollection I did when looking at LEDs in their infinite applications: tail lights, traffic lights, cross walks, holiday lights, billboards and more. The circular stippled appearance of vibrant LED lighting is definitely reminiscent of the light and paper-punch game.
But the similarities are purely visual, and end there.
CONTINUED >>
By John Rutherford, NBC News Producer, Washington
Army Sgt. Alfred Paredez Jr. was due home from Iraq in October, but his deployment with the 1st Cavalry Division was extended for three months, and he was killed one month into his extension by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.
"He faced fear for 13 months in Iraq," an Army colleague said at Paredez's Nov. 29 funeral in Las Vegas, according to the Review-Journal newspaper.
Paredez, 32, was one of a growing number of soldiers killed after their combat tours were extended from 12 months to 15 months to accommodate President Bush's troop surge.
"We did that with a full understanding that it was temporary," Army Chief of Staff George Casey said in a recent speech. "We can't sustain that. We have to come off of that, and we're working that very hard." CONTINUED >>
By Anne Thompson, NBC News correspondent
I can't believe the McCaughey septuplets are ten. It seems it was just yesterday that I was standing in front of Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines doing live shot after live shot for MSNBC and making my very first appearance on Nightly News.
The birth of the septuplets was my first big story for NBC. I was sent down to Des Moines from our Chicago bureau for what was supposed to be three days. I stayed for 29. I think I knew every staff member at the Embassy Suites by name and every resident of the McCaughey's hometown, Carlisle... population just over 2000 at the time.
The story was a great introduction to the NBC family. I did a live shot for Keith Olbermann's show, during his first tour of MSNBC duty, holding seven stuffed cows with t-shirts that said "I love Iowa." I still have one.
I can remember being on MS dayside talking about the various issues involving multiple births between live shots from Andrea Mitchell and Jim Miklaszewski about Iraq violating the "no fly zone." And I remember my first live shot on Nightly News. It was the day the septuplets were born. What a thrill! I was so excited to be part of a newscast I had admired for so long. Here's a little secret: before we go on live, often the anchor reads the introduction to the first story to practice. That's what happened that night and I in my best professional voice recited my live lead-in and then waited for my video tape to come up. Nothing happened and a look of horror must of come over my face because the control room quickly said in my ear "That was just practice." When the real time came, Tom Brokaw read my intro, I did my part and all went off without a hitch.
It was a wonderful feeling. Later that night, I was back on MS to talk to some guy named Williams. :)
It stuns me to think of how much has happened in those ten years. I love seeing pictures of the kids. Kenny, the oldest, I swear I could pick him out on a crowded street. He looks so much like his father. And I don't know how Bobbi McCaughey does what she does. She is a wonder. I am so glad my friend and colleague Ann Curry keeps up with them and I hope you'll watch her report tonight. Happy 10th birthday to Kenny, Alexis, Natalie, Kelsey, Nathan, Brandon and Joel.
By, Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I've lived in Kansas, and I've lived in New York (and several places in between). And of those two places: New Yorkers tend not to be weather-obsessed. They are used to taking what is thrown at them during an average day (and it's not like those city-dwellers have crops to worry about, unlike many of the Kansans I got to know). That said, there is a growing realization today that if things "set up" just right (in the parlance of the weather folks) we may be looking at the first major winter storm of the season. We'll have a full report on our weather again tonight.
Also tonight: From the big screen -- to being objects of a major concern: the Emperor Penguins, suddenly in trouble because of their melting habitat. Anne Thompson will have that story. Andrea Mitchell will have a look at the Hillary Clinton campaign, and we'll have much more.
Tonight the Nightly News staff will have a little holiday get-together here in New York. We will celebrate our successes and toast some good friends. We will do so knowing none of it would be possible without all of you joining us every night. You have our deepest appreciation, always.
We hope you can join us tonight, and Andy Franklin has submitted the great item below.
CONTINUED >>
By Janet Shamlian, NBC News correspondent
You could almost ice skate across Missouri right now. In many areas, the stop signs and red lights -- those that are working -- yield no power on a day like this, as cars careen through intersections, unable to obey on still slick roads.
In St. Joseph, where more than half the city is without power, the crackle of ice-laden tree branches falling is topped only by the buzz of chain saws clearing them from driveways and sidewalks.
It's impossible to deny the asthetics of all this. For all the hardship the storm delivered, it's like a postcard here; the city glistening in glass.
I'm driving through Krug Park, where a winding road cuts through a forest of Oak and Hickory trees coated in ice. It's beautiful and pristine.. but only to eyes that haven't seen the other side -- a long night in a cold house.
By Clare Duffy, NBC News producer
Editor's note: Robert Bazell's report airs on tonight's broadcast. Watch a preview here.
One of the great privileges of working on this broadcast is the opportunity to dig into stories that matter - especially stories that have personal significance as well. Today's piece by Robert Bazell on multiple myeloma is, for me, one of those stories.
A year ago today, my uncle, the actor Peter Boyle, lost his battle with this disease at age 71. It took Gen. Wayne Downing, a much beloved figure here at Nightly News, as well. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, and it lays waste to a person's immune system. It was a terrible way to go, and unimaginably hard for my aunt and cousins to witness. But they were helped tremendously by some very kind and gifted people, in particular my uncle's physician, Dr. Brian Durie, who is featured in tonight's story. Dr. Durie and his wife, Susie Novis, head the International Myeloma Foundation, which is doing groundbreaking research. Some of the results were presented at the American Society of Hematology conference just this week - in particular, some intriguing findings about the impact of exposure to certain toxins in the environment on a person's tendency to develop this disease. Unlike most other cancers, rates of diagnosis are increasing for myeloma and it's vital to figure out why.
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I did one of my favorite things today: I met with a group of West Point Cadets, visiting NBC News with their professor, Army Col. Jack Jacobs (Ret.), Medal of Honor recipient and part of our staff of MSNBC on-air analysts. What a spectacular group of young men and women -- each more impressive than the next. When most of them graduate (and receive their commissions) a few months from now, they'll be shipped off to war. They already know their basic assignments (i.e.: infantry, artillery, intelligence) but not their specific post assignments yet. They asked great questions, we took a lot of pictures, and I was sure to tell them what examples I think they are of the very best of the United States. A piece of my heart will go off with each of them as they embark on their travels. I'm proud to get to know them, and I salute their service.
A paragraph in our morning weather briefing caught my eye this morning -- it warned of a potentially large blizzard for the East Coast by this weekend. The weather is dire across a huge slice of the country -- we'll devote a lot of coverage to it tonight.
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By Mark Potter, NBC News correspondent
Editor's note: Part Two of Mark Potter's Medicare fraud report airs tonight on the broadcast. Watch a preview here.
In reporting on Medicare Fraud, my colleagues and I spent a lot of time wondering how so many of the blatant and outrageous schemes we ran across could have actually worked.
For example, why would Medicare pay for two artificial arms and two artificial legs each for patients whose arms and legs are perfectly fine? A cross-check of the patients' medical records would have shown that none of them ever had amputations performed, and certainly not quadruple amputations.
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I don't know how you're all going to make it here to New York between now and the first week of January, but you must come. Not to see the tree here at 30 Rock, not to shop in our stores (though it would be great if you did both while you were here) but to see something else: what I saw this morning, 100 yards or so from our offices here. I'll link to it here so you can read about it for yourself -- but it must be seen to be believed. It's a life-altering sight.
Thanks to all of you who wrote and shared your stories and quiz answers. This past Pearl Harbor Day was my first without my old friend John Popp. We profiled John (a Pearl Harbor survivor) back when I was working at MSNBC. John and I became instant buddies, and were pen pals for a decade, until his death last year. What a sweet man. His friends called him the "Chief" -- and so did I -- and John is one of the reasons why we should never forget what happened that day.
As we put together the broadcast tonight, I've asked Andy Franklin to help me pay tribute to a legend here.
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By Mark Potter, NBC News correspondent
If you've been around long enough, you find yourself bragging that "nothing shocks me any more." I say that a lot, and often it's true. But then I started looking into Medicare fraud, and was I shocked! Floored, actually. Medicare fraud is an outrageous pilferage of your and my money--an estimated $60 billion dollar-a-year theft. Until I looked closer, I had no idea just how widespread it is, and how brazenly an army of criminals has turned America's social safety net for 43 million seniors and the disabled into its personal bank account.
In reporting this week's two-part series on Medicare fraud for Nightly News (watch a preview here), I rode with a private investigator, and later went with some FBI agents as they checked on storefront operations that purport to be legitimate medical supply companies. In most cases, they are actually just "fronts" or shell-companies designed only to bilk Medicare. They have nothing to do with actual health care.
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by Lester Holt
Good afternoon from the Nightly Newsroom in New York. This has turned out to be a big political Sunday, and we will be all over it tonight. A brand new MSNBC/Mason-Dixon poll is out that shows Senator Barack Obama narrowing the gap with frontrunner Senator Hillary Clinton in the early voting states (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada). In each case the difference between the two is now within the margin of error. It's interesting to note the poll was conducted before Oprah Winfrey hit the campaign trail in support of Obama. She's at an Obama rally in South Carolina today mixing her usual down home style with a little more southern twang in her voice than we're used to hearing, appealing to primary voters there.
Our new poll also shows Republican Mike Huckabee's surge is no longer just an Iowa story. He has leapt ahead of Mitt Romney in South Carolina. We'll have full coverage of all of this tonight, plus Tim Russert has some interesting insight into the issues and dynamics that are driving all these new numbers. Suffice to say, this is a very different race then the one we were watching 6 months ago. CONTINUED >>
by Lester Holt
Good afternoon from New York. We'll be watching "Oprah" on the TV's here in the newsroom shortly. Not her talk show, but her political performance in Iowa where she will stump for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at a big rally in Des Moines. It's Oprah's first time on the campaign trail, and its got both political and marketing gurus wondering if her remarkable ability to turn books and commercial products into overnight successes will extend to politicians. Our Lee Cowan is covering it all and will have a full report on Nightly News.
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
On December 7th, 1941, my father was a newly-minted Captain in the U.S. Army, in his office in Conway, Arkansas. My mother was at home with a brand-new baby -- living in the sparse housing on base. Money was tight, and because they couldn't afford a proper crib, they did what a lot of struggling couples did: my oldest brother came home from the hospital as a four-day old infant and slept in a dresser drawer, outfitted with blankets to mimic a crib.
On that day -- 66 years ago today -- the ticker printed out in the office outside where my father was sitting. Something to the effect of: PEARL HARBOR UNDER ATTACK -- THIS IS NOT A DRILL. My father called home, and my mother burst into tears at what the news meant. My father called his sister, who did the same thing, knowing her husband, a lieutenant Commander in the Navy, would surely ship out soon. He did, and was badly wounded when his ship, the USS DuPage, was hit by a kamikaze aircraft.
President Roosevelt spoke the next day, and we knew we were in the war. He called December 7th "a date which will live in infamy," and it remains one of those dates we remember. Like July 4th. Like September 11th. Just as an exercise -- bear with me here -- I've listed some other events below. See how well you do at remembering the actual dates for each one. And send me your own family story regarding December 7, 1941.
We're still putting the broadcast into running order tonight. We hope you can join us for it. I also hope you have a good weekend, and can join us again on Monday night.
QUIZ (push continued for answers):
1. When did War II end?
2. The Vietnam War?
3. When did World War I begin -- and end?
4. The Civil War?
5. When was Abraham Lincoln assassinated?
6. James Garfield?
7. William McKinley?
8. Martin Luther King?
9. Robert F. Kennedy?
10. When did man first walk on the Moon?
11. What date was “Black Monday”?
12. When was the Oklahoma City bombing?
13. When did Richard Nixon resign?
14. When did the Berlin Wall fall?
Answers:
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Watching the all-day coverage of the aftermath in Omaha is a sad exercise. I can't shake the fact that our local anchors there kept saying, "Omaha has been changed forever." They may be right. It is also true that the goodness of the people there will go a long way toward healing the awful wounds they've suffered. We pray for the families who have lost a loved one -- and so awfully close to the holidays. Where did the life of this young man go wrong, exactly?
Religion is also in the news today: specifically, the speech by Mitt Romney at the Bush Presidential Library in Texas. Tim Russert will be with us to talk about it.
We'll talk about housing and the economy, and we'll deliver a warning (sadly) to those who are moved to deliver greetings to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed -- its about an email hoax.
We hope you can join us for the broadcast tonight -- we appreciate it as always.
By Al Henkel, NBC News Producer from Omaha, Nebraska
As I drove from the Omaha airport to the Westroads Mall last night, it was a very familiar feeling, driving to a place I didn't know, in the middle of the night, to cover a truly awful story.
It reminded me of other middle of the night drives, after earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, school shootings, other crimes so sick and twisted it would pale any horror movie ever made.
I don’t like horror movies or haunted houses at Halloween. I discourage my kids from both. I tell them, "Life is scary enough." They make fun of me, but I really believe it.
READ MORE
By John Rutherford, NBC News Producer, Washington
Tyler Curtis's name does not appear on the Pentagon's website of war casualties, even though he served two combat tours in Iraq and his death was service-related. The 25-year-old Curtis, who suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome, took his own life on Thanksgiving morning in his hometown of Livermore Falls, Maine.
"He was just unhappy," his former wife told the Sun Journal newspaper. "He didn't know what he wanted to do with himself."
Curtis was remembered at his funeral as a mischievous kid who always wanted to be in the Army. He enlisted in 2001 out of high school and was honorably discharged in 2006. He changed dramatically in those five years, growing inward and sad after seeing combat.
"The look in his eyes was different to everybody," his ex-wife told the Sun Journal. "He would look right through you."
Curtis got into bar fights, talked about wanting to return to Iraq, and grieved for the families of those he may have killed. "He had lots of problems," a sheriff's deputy told the newspaper.
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Our boisterous editorial meeting had just broken up when I glanced up at the screen and watched the coverage on MSNBC (courtesy WOWT) of the gunman in the mall in Omaha. I watched a small clutch of young women running from the mall, all of them with their hands up and clutching Christmas packages, save the young woman carrying a small child. I lamented that the collection of women "was America" -- and how sad it is that you can't Christmas shop in a mall on a Thursday in Omaha without the threat of something awful happening. I got back to my office and received an email from my niece Gretchen in Nebraska. The subject line reads "Mad Man" -- and is chilling by itself. The gunman is across the street from her mother-in-law's office, and her building is in lockdown. It's not even six degrees of separation between us here in New York, watching on television, and my wonderful niece who just moved to Nebraska from Louisiana, seeking a better life and better schools for her two children -- now has to deal with a mad man. Thankfully, both my niece and her mother-in-law are safe and out of danger.
Its among the stories we've covering tonight. Here's another one -- let's see if this gets your attention: for the first time since the Civil War, life expectancy is predicted to drop an average of two to five years, because of what and how much we EAT in this country. It SHOULD get your attention, as should our lead story tonight.
Below, from Andy Franklin, is some essential background to what we're going to be covering tomorrow: the speech by Mitt Romney in Texas on religion -- specifically, Mormonism.
Please join us for the broadcast tonight.
Keeping the Faith
Mitt Romney’s speech tomorrow on his Mormon faith is sure to generate plenty of speculation about how the “religious issue” might affect the race for the Republican presidential nomination. And comparisons are sure to be drawn between Romney and John F. Kennedy, whose Catholic faith was an issue in the 1960 presidential campaign. No Mormon has ever been elected president, just as no Catholic ever had before 1960 (and none has since). The nomination of a Catholic in 1928 -- Democrat Al Smith -- triggered a wave of religious intolerance. As Ron Allen pointed out in his piece Monday night, Kennedy tackled the religious issue head on, in a speech to a meeting of Protestant ministers in Houston on September 12, 1960. (Read the text of the speech here. Watch the video here).
Like Romney, Kennedy wanted to confront religious prejudice, and address concerns about his religious affiliation among those who feared his church would have undue influence if he became president. Simply put, Kennedy sought to reassure skeptics -- Protestants in particular -- that the Vatican would play no role in his presidency, and that if elected he would adhere to the Constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. The speech -- co-authored by Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorenson, a Unitarian -- was one of the finest of Kennedy’s career, and by all accounts it accomplished its intended purpose. “I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me," Kennedy said in Houston, and he promised to resign if circumstances required him to do otherwise.
One major difference between Kennedy then and Romney now: Kennedy was already his party’s nominee, and his speech came just eight weeks before the general election. JFK had actually been dealing with the issue of his religion for months, particularly during the May 10 West Virginia primary, where he said repeatedly, “I refuse to believe that I was denied the right to be president on the day I was baptized.” The Kennedy machine went all-out in West Virginia, sparing no effort or expense -- even bringing in Jacqueline Kennedy, then pregnant with John Jr., to campaign for her husband. They touted JFK’s record as a World War II hero. "Nobody asked me if I was Catholic when I joined the U.S. Navy,” Kennedy would say. (This had the added benefit of reminding voters that Humphrey had not served in the war; he’d gotten a draft deferment because of a medical condition). Kennedy won big in West Virginia - 60.8% to Humphrey’s 39.2% -- in a state that was overwhelmingly Protestant. That very night, Humphrey dropped out of the race, and Kennedy told reporters, “I think we have now buried the religious issue once and for all.” He was on his way to the nomination.
Humphrey himself never did challenge Kennedy on the issue of his religion, though some of his supporters did, and the Humphrey campaign’s theme song in West Virginia was “Give Me That Old Time Religion.” Likewise, in the general election, Republican nominee Richard Nixon went out of his way to downplay the religion issue. The day before Kennedy’s Houston speech, Nixon said on Meet the Press that it would be “tragic” if the election were decided on the basis of religion. Nixon further declared that he had ordered his campaign staff not to raise the issue, or even discuss it, and promised that he would do the same.
Richard Nixon meant what he said, but there may have been a touch of political calculation in his determination to move beyond the issue of religion, for the simple reason that he had nothing to gain from it. The fact is -- contrary to popular wisdom -- John F. Kennedy probably won more votes than he lost by being Catholic. It’s an advantage that Romney’s Mormonism does not give him today. Here’s why: In 1960, Catholics made up about 25% of the U.S. population, and on election day, a staggering 83% of Catholic voters chose Kennedy. (Compare that with the previous Democratic nominee, Adlai Stevenson -- a Presbyterian -- who got 43% of the Catholic vote in 1952, and just 36% in 1956). What’s more, Catholics were concentrated in many of the biggest states, such as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts and Michigan. Those six states alone had a combined 156 electoral votes -- well over half the total needed to win -- and Kennedy carried them all.
In 2008, Mitt Romney would have no such built-in advantage if he were the nominee. Mormons make up less than 2% of the U.S. population, with the biggest concentration by far living in Utah, a state with just five electoral votes.
It’s true that most Protestants in 1960 voted for Nixon, not Kennedy. But Nixon’s big margin among Protestant voters (63%) was actually slightly less than Eisenhower’s against Stevenson four years earlier (64%), and it wasn’t enough to win what turned out to be one of the closest elections in American history. Nixon, of course, did go on to win the presidency in 1968 -- thereby becoming only the second Quaker to do so. (The first was Herbert Hoover, the man who defeated Catholic Al Smith by a landslide in 1928).
And Dwight D. Eisenhower? His parents were Jehovah’s Witnesses, and as an adult he was a Protestant. Eisenhower joined the Presbyterian Church in 1953, just days after his first inaugural. While he pretty much stayed out of the 1960 campaign, he was asked about the issue of religion by NBC’s Ray Scherer at a news conference just two weeks before the West Virginia primary. The president was obviously ready for the question, and his answer is as timely as ever:
Scherer: A number of men in American public life recently have spoken up on how they feel about the injection of the religious issue into the political campaign. Could you tell us how you feel on that?
President Eisenhower: First of all, let me read two items from the American Constitution. Article Six: "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
The second is the Bill of Rights and it is the first one of those rights: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Now, my answer, as far as I can give it, has been better given by the Constitution than in any words I can think of.
-- April 27, 1960
Editor's note - Due to computer glitch - we are sorry that the comments to this post were deleted. Please feel free to re-submit. We apologize for the inconvenience.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Reading the postings to my blog about the Philharmonic reminded me how lucky I am to have a great participatory audience. Some individual responses are called for today:
To Greg in Chandler, Arizona: while I don't have "The Mission" on my iPod, I can do you one better: I have the original score framed and hanging on my office wall, signed by John Williams. I cherish it.
To Amanda in Ridgewood, NJ: If you have any evidence that anyone is censoring your posts, you email me directly. You're one of my best blog friends -- this wouldn't be as much fun without people like you and Lisa, Joan, Jackie, Stephanie and all the rest. Let nothing come between us on the Web.
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By Chris Colvin, NBC News writer
Hi. Well we've done a whole lotta worrying in this space about a potential military strike on Iran. That seems like a much more remote possibility today, in the wake of yesterday's NIE that concluded Iran stopped working on a nuke weapons program in 2003. Reactions galore out there. Also, danger in your money market funds.. the WSJ names names. And the "D" word (Deflation) rears its head.
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Last year, NBC News president Steve Capus and I attended the Edward R. Murrow awards dinner here in New York, where local stations and national networks are honored for outstanding work.
In addition to our current network responsibilities, both Steve and I are veterans of many years of local news and actually worked together at WCAU in Philadelphia. We know good reporting when we see it.
Watching the winning entries, we realized that some of the best work, as always, was being done at our NBC affiliates. Specifically, an ice-fishing piece from KARE 11 in Minneapolis made light bulbs go off over our heads.
What about a series called "Across America," where we could invite our affiliate partners to submit examples of their very best work?
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
At some point last Friday afternoon, Tom Brokaw came up to me in the newsroom and said, "Will I see you tonight?" I immediately knew what he meant. The annual NASCAR banquet -- a spectacular yearly celebration of the sport, a night of racing immersion, hard partying and debauchery -- was held Friday night at the Waldorf in New York. As a big fan of the sport and an admirer of the drivers, I usually attend. Not this year. Friday night, my wife and I had long-standing plans (which were made before we knew the exact date of the NASCAR banquet) to do something that was a first for us: attend the New York Philharmonic. Tom had a speaking role in the banquet: he was paying tribute to the NASCAR legends we had lost over the past year -- names like Bobby Hamilton, Benny Parsons, and the NASCAR patriarch of the modern era, Bill France, Jr. From what I’ve read on the NASCAR blogs, Tom did a spectacular job (one prominent racing blogger wonders why Tom can't be named permanent host of the event -- I'll gladly add my support to that nomination). During his remarks he happened to tell the crowd where I was, and why I wasn't with them at the banquet. I'm now going to catch flak for this for years. I will retaliate.
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by Lester Holt
Good afternoon from a snowy New York city. That weather system that socked the Midwest with heavy snow on Saturday extended into the northeast today giving us a couple of inches on the ground, and slowed air travel in and out of the region. Parts of New England, however are bracing for up to 20-inches of snow. Across the country at least 8 people have died in weather-related accidents. We'll have the latest on the weather tonight on Nightly News.
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by Lester Holt
It is safe to say that autumn as we know it is over. There are still 3 weeks left in fall, but the storm system dumping snow from Utah to Wisconsin this afternoon has winter written all over it. At least two planes have skidded off icy runways today, thankfully resulting in no injuries, and there have been numerous traffic accidents and weather-related power outages. Tonight on Nightly news we'll have the very latest on severe weather that will affect a large part of the nation by the time the weekend is over.
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