Hi. More stuff on the stock market (a wilder ride than anything at Six Flags); the credit markets (harder to decipher than a Paul Thomas Anderson film); and the plot point no economic meltdown is complete without: the rogue trader (dude, where's my $7 billion?)
Between the Federal Reserve, the Executive Branch, Congress (working together.. gasp!), state regulators, the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (FannieMae, FreddieMac), Jim Cramer and Larry Kudlow, the powers-that-be are throwing everything including the kitchen sink at the equity markets, which have been tip-toeing a little too close to the abyss lately. Huge, surprise Fed Funds rate cuts, 2-minute drill stimulus packages, bond insurer bailout tirades and meetings, hikes in conforming loan limits, it's all coming, rapid fire. Will it be enough, or did the excesses of the past few years create so many problems that even the kitchen sink can't put out all the fires? Let's start with the bond insurers.
A couple of months ago, I spent a bunch of time trying to understand what a Structured Investment Vehicle was and whether the Treasury Secretary's idea of setting up a Super-SIV so banks could pool bad stuff they had parked in their SIVs in one place. A lot of reasonable people writing about the issue said the Super-SIV would never get off the ground, and it turned out, it didn't. No one wanted to invest in the Super-SIV, so the banks started repatriating what was in their off-balance sheet SIVs onto their books, and we all saw giant write-downs at bank after bank in Q4. Now there's talk of a bailout of a group of bond insurers called monolines, which used to provide plain-vanilla coverage to municipalities, but branched out into exotic credit derivatives during the last few years. That included insurance for bonds based on mortgage debt, which has now gone bad. The fear is that if the insurers default, it will have a really nasty ripple effect throughout the entire global financial system. The downgrade of one of those insurers, Ambac, on Friday may have been what triggered the global stock market freakout Monday and Tuesday.
The Army continues to investigate the Jan. 9 deaths of three members of the 101st Airborne Division to determine whether they were killed by enemy or friendly fire in Samarra, Iraq. The three soldiers died in a three-hour firefight in which U.S. aircraft blasted insurgent positions with rockets, 500-pound bombs, and .50-caliber guns. The bodies of two of the men, Pfc. Ivan Merlo, 19, of San Marcos, Calif., and Pfc. Phillip Pannier, 22, of Washburn, Ill., were found during the battle. Sgt. David Hart, 22, of Lake View Terrace, Calif., died later of his injuries.
Last week, six more soldiers died in Iraq, including another three members of the 101st Airborne. Please click here and then click on the individual photos to read their tributes.
There is also a more private reason that he reveals to Ann in her piece tonight on Nightly News.
We traveled to Paris late in December to look at the exhibition of Father Desbois's work at the Memorial de Shoah. There are over 600 eyewitness accounts that Father Debois and his team at Yad In Unum have gathered in remote parts of the Ukraine. These are memories long locked away. As one holocaust expert told me, these villages have been practically hermetically sealed since the war. These eyewitnesses don't talk about what they saw, and they have not had access to the vast dialogue and research about the Holocaust the way many of us have. There are no memorials and no museums.
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By Geoff Tofield, NBC producer
For Hard Times: A Nightly survival guide, Nightly News presented viewers with ways to keep afloat during these tough economic times in a two-part series. Some notes and tips from NBC producer Geoff Tofield, who produced CNBC's Carl Quintanilla's Hard Times segments, which aired Monday, Jan. 21, and Tuesday, Jan. 22:
There are hundreds of credit repair companies, many of which need to make money. Some of those are scams. Here's a reasonably safe place to start for those who want to look into debt help, credit repair, etc:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/repair.shtm
For our story, we spoke to the President of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, which represents a large group of non-profit community-based agencies (100 member agencies, about 900 local offices) that serve more than three million people a year, by their own measure. They provide no-cost but also low-cost services (depends on the need):
http://www.nfcc.org and http://www.debtadvice.org
We also spoke to a woman in Monday's story who received assistance from the Community Development Corporation of Long Island. CDCLI is under the umbrella of Neighborworks America, which was chartered by Congress in 1978. Neighborworks is a group of 240 community development groups in all 50 states. It was established as a neighborhood revitalization effort helping needy and lower-income areas in everything from energy efficiency to small business assistance, and while they do that they are (obviously) helping lots of people these days facing rate adjustments and foreclosure.
Their Web site: http://www.nw.org
Watch Part 1 of the Hard Times series here.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I can't think of a more nerve-wracking day watching CNBC, going back to the aftermath of 9-11. What a jittery feeling knowing what we knew overnight about Asian markets -- but cooler heads have apparently prevailed.
We'll talk about the economy tonight -- also about politics -- and last night's turn for the personal in the CNN debate. Tim Russert will be with us to talk politics. We'll also report on diabetes, the troubles in Gaza and more.
I'm off now to do a special report on the network on the day's market trading (Mike Taibbi rode out the day on the trading floor of a Wall Street firm -- that will be interesting to see on the air tonight) and then start compiling the broadcast.
I also want to call your attention to a great piece from Richard Engel in Iraq that will go up on our Nightly News website immediately following the broadcast.
A busy day, and it promises to end with a busy broadcast tonight. We appreciate you being with us.
Hi. Hoo boy, the past few days make me wish I could just noodle around on this blog instead of attending to my actual job. We live interesting times, and this morning's stock market open was more exciting than a Giants field goal attempt at Lambeau (sorry Williams boys-- your boys are going down!) Since this space has been in an obessive-compulsive mode over the economy and the financial markets since last July, we'll just dispense with the obvious and start digging into what's under the surface. There's are big questions about what's really going on in the banking system and the financial markets now, and we'll try to ferret out the best the internet has to offer for some answers.
The obvious: the Fed (with one absent and one dissenter) cut the Fed Funds target rate by a whopping 75 basis points this morning, an hour before the stock market opened. It was the first emergency Fed Funds cut since September 17, 2001 and the biggest one since the FFT became the fed's main policy tool back in 1990. Was it a surprise? Sort of.. there was certainly a lot of speculation they'd do it based on the mondo-world-sell-off from the day before. Did it work? Well as we all saw, the Dow plunged 464 points then reversed, made it all the way to -38 and has been holding in the -100 points or so range for much of the day. So, stick save by the Fed.. an outright crash averted for today. (And the second time the market seemed to be heading into the abyss and was "saved" by an emergency cut-- the last one was the surprise Discount rate cut August 17. By the way, that was 1,108 Dow points ago.) But lots of question about what the Fed may really be looking at as it slashes away at the FFT, especially with demand for bank credit way, way down. Trying to parse what's going on behind the scenes, Russ Winter of the Wall Street Examiner channels Jerry Maguire and wants the banks to "Show Me the Moneeeeey!" And the Financial Armageddon blog take the deflationist side of the argument, which would explain agressive rate cuts in the face low interbank demand, high commodity prices and consumer inflation. On the fundamentals front, Bank of America and Wachovia reported earnings today. Or "earnings" might be more appropriate since they were bascially zero for the fourth quarter.
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
A longtime member of my computer "favorites" list was discovered by the New York Times this morning. While their Business section profile will tell you much of what you need to know about the blogger Michael Yon, I constantly visit his website looking for updates.
I first met Michael in Iraq -- I was travelling with my late friend and good luck charm, retired four-star Army General Wayne Downing. Yon was attached to the group we were with for the night -- and when General Downing discovered who he was, it was as if he'd met a rock star. Wayne thought Michael's website was one of the few where he could find the truth about the status of the war.
Yon is a former SF (Special Forces) guy, who knows his way around -- around Iraq, around a military base, and now, the world of journalism. If you read only one dispatch by Michael Yon, read Gates of Fire. It is as real a depiction as I've read of the height of the fighting there. It's gripping journalism, and it chiefly serves as a character study of the incredible young men and women serving their country in this nation's dual wars.
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by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Greetings from the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Airport. I'm on my way back to New York to anchor tonight's edition of NBC Nightly News. That is, IF our flight is cleared to takeoff in time. The gate agent just announced there's a "ground stop" at my destination airport, or what the FAA calls "traffic management system." Translation: too many airplanes and not enough air space available, and you'll take off when we can squeeze your airplane in. I fly several times a month on this job and it's become a familiar and frustrating routine. Judging from the rolled eyes and sighs from my fellow passengers, my guess is it's a routine they also know well.
Ok, enough of my whining. How about the real road warriors: the presidential candidates, who remain in a holding pattern with each hoping to land the status of undisputed frontrunner. Mike Huckabee told me the other day he could absorb a loss in South Carolina, but in talking to him, I had the sense he really thought he would win the state. Fred Thompson, on the other hand, mused openly to me that maybe it is necessary to start running for president when you're in high school in order to be successful. I couldn't tell if it was an expression of regret on his part, or simply a veiled shot at some of his competitors. In any case, last night's results give him a lot to think over, and since he and Huckabee seem to be appealing to many of the same kinds of voters, my guess is Huckabee would prefer he think fast. And then there's John McCain. As every TV commentator noted last night, this was the guy whose candidacy was written of as dead on arrival several months ago. No matter what happens from this point on, his story by itself is remarkable. McCain, of course, still faces a very alive Mitt Romney who continues to rack up the delegates. Romney is playing a very effective numbers game. CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Tonight my friend who usually occupies the anchor chair on Saturday night, Lester Holt, is in the field in South Carolina covering a slice of the most exciting election year in modern American politics. Tim Russert and I are here holding down the fort in New York, where we've been watching these results come in all day. While Romney was a foregone conclusion in Nevada, the internal numbers are nevertheless fascinating. And while few would have predicted a Clinton victory in Nevada just a few days ago (when the Culinary Workers Union endorsed Obama), the Clinton campaign has shown its strength today in the West. Now we focus on the 7pm poll closing in South Carolina, where it SNOWED in parts of the state today -- and where tonight's result will almost surely break the tie (of three contests/three separate winners) in the GOP. The process keeps going and going...with a remarkably small attrition rate given where we are. It is a fascinating Saturday in politics -- and on a cold night in January, our modest group of colleagues is huddled together in New York preparing the broadcast as I write this.
We have some great stories in the lineup this evening: in addition to complete political coverage, we have Savanah Guthrie on the economy (and sudden bipartisanship breaking out in Washington over the need for a stimulus package) and a fascinating closing segment on a discovery in Antarctica.
We hope you can join us tonight for Nightly News. Lester will be back in the chair where he belongs by this time tomorrow night.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Not long after we're off the air and en route home tonight after the broadcast, some of us will circle back and come to work tomorrow for a rare "Saturday session" for many of us on the weekday Nightly News team. Tim Russert and I are coming in to cover and report on the results from South Carolina and Nevada -- in what is turning into a fascinating, ultra-competitive (and exhausting) political year. First things first: tonight we'll cover the political state of play, as well as the state of the economy, and we'll have our Friday Making a Difference segment.
I also want to thank those of you who are launching the grassroots movement to buy me a personal jet. While I'd really miss those four-hour redeye flights from Las Vegas to Newark, I guess I'd get used to it in time. In fairness to my employers, you should know: we often have to arrange charter aircraft if the destinations and arrival and departure times don't lend themselves to commercial air travel. The case I always cite is Banda Aceh, Indonesia after the awful tsunami there in December, 2004. No commercial air travel was allowed to land or take off during the first two days of that crisis, so a charter jet was the only option we had. Somehow (and so far, at least) thanks to the hard work of a lot of people, we always get where we need to go.
Thanks for watching this past week. We have indeed covered a lot of ground and a lot of news in the space of just five days. We'll be back at work tomorrow night, then Lester Holt will take the reins on Sunday. I'll be home rooting for the Giants. We'll be back on Monday to start another week, which will include a Republican debate in Florida. Have a great weekend, and thanks for watching.
By Maria Menounos, NBC News contributing correspondent
I flew from New York (having finished my duties on the Today Show Wednesday) to Columbia, South Carolina to interview Sarah Huckabee and Meghan McCain. I had been efforting the candidates' kids for a few weeks and finally started getting responses.
I sat with Sarah Huckabee in the boardroom of the Courtyard Marriott. The conference room was a mini-headquarters of sorts for her, her brother David, and a few campaign staffers. She was definitely tired, but she managed to give us a lot of time.
The candidates' kids have been very visible in this campaign, more so than we’ve ever seen -- and all in very different roles. Sarah is the national field director for her dad’s campaign and Meghan chose a less official role-- she started a blog to document her journey for those curious about the process. Both have chosen very public roles unlike the less-public Chelsea Clinton.
Why? I think we live in a time where there is unprecedented access to information, via the Internet and sites like YouTube and My Space. In this particular campaign, that access is helping connect these candidates with the masses, particularly, the younger voters. It humanizes the candidates and allows the public to see real moments... and to see that campaign kids are kids just like us. The young people relate to other young people, allowing a better connection with the parent. It may be the reason why so many are interested and engaged in this race than previous races.
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By Kevin Tibbles, NBC News correspondent
When I got home last night I sat my kids down to talk about the litany of suburban travails that soooo take over daily life.
"Who's gonna pick up whom?" "Why won't you eat fruit?" My clothes are wrinkled. Why didn't you empty the dryer?"
It was a little different however as, thanks to this job of mine, I met someone yesterday who is special. So, we talked about that instead.
If I was in reporter mode here, I would type..."Farah Ahmedi is a 20 year old Afghan refugee who lost one of her legs when she stepped on a land mine. She eventually left her homeland to make her way to the United States and a new life."
All of that is true, of course. But, none of it really describes this remarkable young woman. With an ill-fitting prosthetic leg and her ailing mother in tow, Farah walked over the mountains into Pakistan. She survived the dangerous and fetid refugee camps, came to America, educated herself in a new culture, has written a book about her experiences and has inspired almost everyone she's met. Many now volunteer to help other refugees in America.
Video: Watch the report as it aired on 'Nightly News'
Her intense, dark eyes destroy any notion that Farah Ahmedi will ever allow circumstance or disability get in the way of her goal. She lobbies against landmines and works to save the children of Afghanistan. Today this remarkable woman, who makes a difference every single day, becomes a U.S. citizen. She says she is so grateful to have the freedom of choice in the country that has made such a difference to her.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
It always happens.
Anytime I'm forced to take a red-eye, the moment I board, the captain gets on the PA and says some variation of the following, "Folks, from the flight deck...good news...we've got some good tail winds tonight and we'll be four hours, ten minutes en route to New York tonight."
Everybody's different, but I equate nighttime with sleep. The fallacy of the red-eye is that you'll actually get restful sleep over four hours spent inside an aluminum tube, sitting next to a guy who has chosen your particular flight to catch up on some bill-paying under the intense glow of the reading lamp...which in the darkness of the cabin gives off the same amount of light as the sun. I'd much prefer the captain to tell us we're taking a special route over the polar cap, with our flaps partially extended to slow down our airspeed, allowing us all eight hours of restful sleep en route. I get how that would affect commerce, the environment and the like...but I dread spending the day after a red-eye...recovering from a red-eye. At least someone gave it an appropriate nickname.
The upside from last night's experience? I learned of a new use of the language. After arriving in the welcoming confines of Newark Airport, and after the wait for our luggage stretched into 40 minutes, I asked the Continental Airlines baggage supervisor what the hold-up was. She told me there had been a "problem downloading the bags." We're downloading bags now! I think that means tossing them from the cargo hold onto a cart, but I'm not sure.
To the broadcast: we just watched the Dow drop 300 points, there's a human cloning story in the news, Mitt Romney had quite an encounter with a reporter today, and our terrific series on gender, "The Truth About Boys and Girls," continues tonight. So we'll muster our energy, gather our forces and we'll have it all for you tonight -- we sure appreciate you joining us.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
This will have to be brief. I'm in a holding room with Senator Clinton, typing this on my Blackberry, while she participates in a conference call with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. The subject is the economy. We're on the campus of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas -- where we accompanied the Senator in her motorcade after our first stop at a hotel on the Vegas strip.
Senator Clinton held a roundtable here on the subject of Yucca Mountain (the proposed nuclear waste site here) before a small but enthusiastic crowd. Tonight we'll show you a slice of life inside the Clinton campaign, coming off what they believe was a very good outing for them last night at the debate here in Las Vegas.
Tonight we have more on foreign ownership of U.S. financial institutions, as well as a great piece on the pronunciation of Nevada (even though in a moment of debate fatigue I briefly insisted we were in California last night) about which there's been much talk and attention (at least in our newsroom and that of our Las Vegas affiliate) of late.
We'll see you from Las Vegas tonight, and following the horrors of the redeye, back home in New York tomorrow night. Thanks for watching it all.
Editor's note: Brian Williams's interview with Senator Clinton airs tonight on the broadcast, and can be seen online in its entirety tonight. Here's a preview.
By Mike Taibbi, NBC News correspondent
Editor's note: Mike Taibbi filed this while on the road this week with Rudy Giuliani in Ft. Myers, Florida. His report airs tonight on the broadcast.
Rudy Giuliani was beaming, and with good reason. He’d just finished the second of six stops during a long day of his Florida bus tour, this one a town meeting in the megachurch centerpiece of the Shell Point senior citizens complex, and the place had been packed with people who sure sounded like supporters. One of them, an enthusiastic woman named Bonnie Raymo, sounded like she’d been briefed in detail on the 63-year-old former New York mayor’s "late start" strategy of launching his campaign with a Florida win while his opponents spent their ammo in a circular firing squad before getting to Florida, none of them the clear leader and all of them weakened enough to cede the front page to a new lead story: Rudy!
"It seems like he’s putting all his eggs in this basket, (but) he’s trying everywhere," Bonnie said, "and it has been unpredictable for everyone. And, the polls are all wrong. I think he knows how to operate…and he’s the one who’s going to beat Hillary!"
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By Savannah Guthrie, NBC News correspondent
Should it be easier for boys than girls to get into college? The simple answer, of course, is no. But as we prepared the third installment of our series, "The Truth About Boys and Girls," we learned that nothing is simple when it comes to the college admissions process.
The story starts with some good news: Girls are shining academically. Girls have done so well, in fact, they now represent the majority of the student body on many campuses nationwide.
But all that success has led to some unintended consequences. At certain schools - particularly, liberal arts colleges overloaded with female applicants - the only way admissions offices can keep a gender-balanced student body is to admit a greater percentage of boys and reject more girls. That means better qualified girls are sometimes turned away just to increase male enrollment. An admissions dean from Kenyon College caused a firestorm in the academic world for acknowledging as much in a New York Times op-ed entitled, "To All The Girls I've Rejected."
On the other hand, many schools point out that a diverse student body - whether it's by race, gender, or geography - is a legitimate goal for colleges.
"As far as I'm concerned," one admissions officer told us, "not only is there not anything wrong with that, but we ought to be doing that, because we are all about building a community here."
By the way, during our encounter with high school senior Courtney Duffy, we came across her charming - if unorthodox - college admissions essay. Her chosen topic: why she loves milk. You may be wondering what milk has to do with getting into college. So were we. Click here to see Courtney explain it, and here to read the essay that got her admitted to her first-choice school, Trinity College in Connecticut.
Editor's note: Savannah Guthrie's report airs tonight on the broadcast. For her findings on how to find gender biases in college admissions, click here.
By John Rutherford, NBC News Producer, Washington
Army Staff Sgt. Sean Gaul was on his fifth combat tour. Sgt. Zachary McBride liked to read satire. Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Pionk was married with three small children. The three soldiers were among six members of the First Armored Division killed Jan. 9 when a bomb exploded inside a house in Sinsil, Iraq, north of Baghdad.
"They entered that house totally convinced that they were just checking it out, cleaning it out," a relative of one of the men told the Kansas City Star. "And it was booby-trapped."
The six deaths underscore the continued vulnerability of U.S. troops to improvised explosive devices, which account for half of the American dead and wounded in Afghanistan and two-thirds of the casualties in Iraq.
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Not much time to report on our day here in Las Vegas because of our pre-debate schedule. Tonight, it's safe to say, what happens in Vegas will get beamed all over the country.
We just did a facilities check of the theater and the set where we'll broadcast the debate tonight--a decidedly different setting and format than we've seen in the past. One unique aspect of tonight's format: the candidates will have the ability to question each other during one particular segment. We will be lucky if we get to ask half of the questions we have prepared. We have one more prep session scheduled for the time period between the first East Coast feed of Nightly News and the 9 p.m. (Eastern) start time. For those on the West Coast who miss the 6 p.m. live broadcast, we will re-broadcast the debate at 10 p.m. (1 a.m. on the East Coast).
Tomorrow morning, I will transition to the campaign trail for a part of the day, to continue our reporting from the ground level. We take the stage tonight with these candidates at, shall we say, an "interesting point" in the Democratic campaign. My partner Tim Russert and I will do our level best. Emphasis on level. So we'll look for you for Nightly News and--depending on your particular time zone and your choice of airing options-- or the Democratic Debate on MSNBC.
By Rehema Ellis, NBC News correspondent
When I first started researching this story on single-gender education I wasn't surprised to learn that some kids test scores improved. I was however, surprised to learn that, at least in the school we visited outside of Orlando, Florida, the boys showed considerably more improvement than girls.
By allowing the boys to move all about the classroom -- on the floor, huddled in tents, or in rocking chairs -- the teachers essentially allowed the boys' energy and creativity to run free. There was no insistence on learning by sitting at desks and quietly raising their hands and waiting their turn. Instead, the boys got to respond to at will.
It's a radical concept.
Were this to is happen in a mixed class, or even in an all boys class, in a public school with an untrained teacher, I suspect there's a good chance those boys could be seen as unruly or labeled A.D.D. -- Attention Deficit Disorder. Many parents, and teachers will tell you they think there has been a rush to judge fidgety boys as inattentive boys. Maybe, just maybe, the labeling is not totally correct.
Yes, there is a furious debate in this country about the merits of single-gender education in public schools. But whether you think it's the right way or the wrong way to go--
It is working for some. And there could be a surprise benefit: our nation's educators might be learning something about our children that goes beyond how to improve test scores.
By Andy Franklin, NBC News senior producer
If there’s one word Barack Obama likes more than "change," it’s "hope." It punctuates his speeches and has a prominent place in the title of his autobiography. After Obama’s win in Iowa, change and hope became all the rage in presidential politics, among Democrats and Republicans alike. For Hillary Clinton, political survival meant blunting that winning message, even as she made it a part of her own. She didn’t have much time; just four days separated Iowa from New Hampshire. Midway through that gauntlet, facing the double threat of Obama and John Edwards in the ABC News debate, she fought back. It was a show of emotion as vivid as the one that came two days later. But this wasn’t weepy vulnerability; it was full-throated anger. "I think it is clear that what we need is somebody who can deliver change," Clinton said. "And we don't need to be raising the false hopes of our country about what can be delivered."
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Hi. Only got time for a few items today, but they're pretty good ones. Citigroup hit the confessional this morning, and the implications of what they reported about their past, present and future are sobering. Also, a smart person sends up a warning flare for conditions that could lead to a stock market crash, Senators Obama and Clinton turn back on to the high road, and inquiring minds want to know what really happened in the Strait of Hormuz last week.
So it was Citigroup's very bad, truly awful, no-good day: and the litany of bad news included a $10 billion loss, an $18 billion write-down, a dividend cut, 4,200 layoffs, a $14.5 billion chunk of itself sold to investors including Singapore and Saudi Prince Alwaleed, and at the end of today a 41% drop in its stock price in just 3 months. The NYT rounds it up. And if you have a WSJ subscription, here's their version. That, combined with a weak retail sales report from December sent stocks plummeting, with the Dow closing below the August swing low for the first time.
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Tonight you'll see us in our familiar Los Angeles bureau, largely because we were anxious to gather our debate/political team here on the West Coast. We're here to prepare for tomorrow night's Democratic debate (9pm ET on MSNBC) which seems to take on more importance with each passing hour of the campaign. And please remember, it's not too late to submit a question of your own -- something you'd like us to ask the candidates tomorrow night. Click here to see how; we'll get to as many of your questions as we can.
We have a lot of campaign news to cover tonight: Ron Allen is with the Republicans, Andrea Mitchell covers the Democrats. For good measure, we'll also report on medicine, the Saudis, the environment, cars and gender (the start of a special series called "The Truth About Boys and Girls"). After tonight's broadcast from Los Angeles, we head to Las Vegas for a debate prep session upon arrival -- another tomorrow morning and another tomorrow night before air time. It's the definition of a "working" trip to Vegas -- luckily, I don't gamble, so its not like I'm fighting a huge temptation to hit the blackjack tables instead of preparing for the debate. We'll originate Nightly News from Las Vegas tomorrow night, and then we'll peel away for that final prep session. Lester Holt will update the later feeds of Nightly News because I'll be tied up with the debate while those are airing. We'll even have a little something for all those of you who have written us about the proper pronunciation of "Nevada." That's pretty much the way things will work for the next 24 hours -- we hope you'll be with us to watch it all.
By Phil LeBeau, CNBC auto and airline industry correspondent
After 2 days taking in the Detroit Auto Show, I leave impressed with some of the new models and moves the big 3 have shown here.
GM: The company's announcement that it has bought into a Chicago area company to develop cellulosic ethanol (ethanol made from items other than corn) is a sign GM is committed to alternative fuel options. In addition GM's style event Saturday with Mary J. Blige, Maroon 5, and Kid Rock created a buzz for the automaker here in Detroit.
Ford: The new F-150 pick-up is a well-done improvement and should keep the best selling vehicle in the world on top. With innovations like a truck bed sidestep and more space in the cab (the back seat is huge), Ford's bread and butter truck is a strong comeback to those who wonder if there's a better truck somewhere else.
Chrysler: The new Ram pick-up is a nice re-design and the "rambox" cargo compartment in the bed frame is cool. But Chrysler also helped itself by making CEO Bob Nardelli available to talk with reporters. When I talked with him, he made it clear, Chrysler has taken the steps needed to get back in the black. Now we'll see if it's enough.
Tonight at 9 pm Eastern on CNBC we will go behind the latest models being introduced and look at the stars, cars, and new arrivals at this years Detroit Auto Show.
By Robert Bazell, NBC News Chief science correspondent
That men and women behave differently is well known. The idea that there are fundamental differences in the brains between the sexes is something many people assume to be true. Thousands of articles and hundreds of books on the subject have appeared. But there are far fewer differences and far less evidence than popular culture would have you believe.
It takes a highly skilled anatomist to know whether a brain removed at autopsy comes from a man or a woman – the differences are that slight. Many papers report an experiment that purports to show a difference between the behavior of male and female brains, and those often make news because there is so much interest in the subject. But often subsequent attempts to repeat the experiment fail and those do not make news.
Tonight we report on one experiment that has been repeated often enough by some many researchers that it is highly believable. When it comes to storing emotionally-rich memories women’s brain place the memory in a part where emotions and details remain intertwined. For men the emotions get separated so the recall often becomes “just the facts”. This makes for some amusing scenarios like the couple we show with differing memories of their wedding day. But it could also have medical applications. Women suffer almost twice as much depression as men. This difference in brain function could account for that and someday suggest better treatments.
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
After TODAY Show duty this morning, I became a man on a mission in search of my snow boots. We haven't needed them around here in quite some time, but the word from our friends at NBC Weather Plus, is that New York City is in for its first snowstorm of the season – beginning tonight. We may see as much as a foot in some parts of the region. The fast moving nor'easter could cause big travel problems tomorrow from Philadelphia to Boston. Bill Karins from Weather Plus will come on the program tonight for a brief update. In the meantime, I can report I found the boots, along with my favorite down vest, buried deep in a storage closet. Now, if I could just find those earmuffs I got for Christmas a few years ago that double as ipod headphones…
If it's Sunday, this must be Nevada. Or is it South Carolina? Or maybe Michigan? Welcome to the world of the presidential candidates who are focused on so many states, with so little time. From Hillary Clinton's revealing hour-long sit down with Tim Russert this morning, to John McCain's challenge to the apparent Mitt Romney lead in Michigan, there are some intriguing story lines in a week that features three primary elections. We'll be covering many of them tonight. CONTINUED >>
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
If you've been anywhere near a TV this past week you've heard plenty of references to the ‘R’ word – as if the word recession is some sort of profanity – or that actually saying it will make it come true. Economist say if we're not there yet, we are, in fact, close to a recession. Either way, it's certainly nothing we should be talking around. A new AP-Ipsos poll finds the economy has now tied the war in Iraq as the issue of most concern to Americans. Tonight on Nightly News we will show you how the faltering economy is putting enormous pressure on both the White House and Congress to act, and why there could be a rare moment of cooperation to get something done quickly.
The economy is also on the lips of the Republican presidential candidates making their way through Michigan this weekend. Michigan has lost a lot of jobs, and that will be on the minds of voters in next Tuesday's primary. NBC's Ron Allen will set the scene for us there tonight.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
If all the weeks in this year to come are going to last as long as this one seemed, it's going to be a tough slog, and I'm not even running for office. We're capping off the week with a crazy day -- planning our travels for next week, and our debate Tuesday night among the Democrats in Las Vegas, a place I last visited on Wednesday of this week. Before we do Nightly News, I get to go upstairs and tape Conan O'Brien for tonight.
I've been trying to stay on top of the avalanche of emails and posts following our political coverage (and my essay) this week. To the gentleman who wrote about the Obama speech and his use of a teleprompter - it's an issue I raised following the Iowa Caucuses.
We have some great coverage to show you tonight: on the economy, the president's trip, the campaign, and our Friday Making a Difference segment. Thanks for joining us all this week -- next week also promises to be eventful. Have a good weekend.
By NBC local journalist in Iraq*
"Wake up, it's snowing! Don't miss the view!" Those were my 13-year-old niece's words when she called me early this morning.
I felt pleasure and joy in her words, jumped out of my bed and ran to the window. It was much more beautiful than can be described; a scene I have not seen before in my lifetime in Baghdad.
My family used to call my niece Snow White because she has pale skin, very blue eyes, and dark hair – plus she was a fan of the cartoon. So today she was especially pleased, because for the first time she felt what the taste of snow was really like.
 |
| AP |
| An Iraqi man and his child enjoy light snow fall in Baghdad on Friday. |
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Just a quick travel update: We're back in New York after a whirlwind week (which started with checking into the Holiday Inn Express on the Interstate near the New Hampshire-Vermont border Sunday night) that brought us from New England to Nevada last night and back East again. It's one of those weeks. It feels like it ought to be Friday. Is anybody with me here? I'm gratified by the response to my essay,
"Something's Happening Here," and equally gratified by the number of outlets that have picked it up and the quality of the comments from so many folks. I would never expect everyone to agree with me - nobody wants to live in that kind of a world. My aim was to share what I saw, record what I think we experienced this week in New Hampshire, and engender a lively conversation. Thanks to all who have read it and participated. It only gets more interesting from here, and a reminder: I make my second trip to Nevada in five days when Tim Russert and I moderate the Democratic candidates' debate next Tuesday night. Thanks for joining us tonight. I hope you are all enjoying the
new Web site, which we are all enormously proud of.
Editor's note: The following was filed by the NBC News White House team traveling with the President in the Middle East.
The White House team had a unique experience today. We got to ride with the President on board Marine One as he flew from Ramallah to Bethlehem. The press often tags along on Air Force One, or some of the accompanying press planes. Rarely, however, do we get the chance to fly in the President’s personal chopper, seeing him in a more relaxed mood as he moves from one set of meetings to another.
Mr. Bush arrived in the Holy Land on Wednesday, trying to nudge the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to go back to negotiations in an effort to find solutions to issues that have so far derailed all the previous peace processes.
Following his meetings with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Mr. Bush headed to one of Christianity’s holiest sites: The Church of the Nativity, the place where Christ is believed to have been born. We joined the President in Ramallah for his 20-minute flight as he made his way to the biblical town.
CONTINUED >>
Hi. After a break over the holidays, this twice-weekly tour of the internet and the blogosphere in particular is back. Did anything happen while I was out?
Oh yeah. People actually caucused and voted! Since you can get your fill of horserace and tactics coverage from innumerable sources, I'll just stick to the relentless and deserved bashing the media is taking in the wake of New Hampshire. Salon has two representative offerings up: Joe Conason takes the overall view of media hostility toward Hillary Clinton boomeranging (a phenomenon which has shown itself in the 800+ comments posted to Brian's essay on this very blog.) And Rebecca Traister looks at it from the female voters' point of view.
And Josh Marshall looks at Karl Rove's offering on Obama in today's WSJ and points to the "dog-whistle" words embedded therein.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says the Fed is ready to aggressively lower the fed funds rate because "downside risks to the economy have become more pronounced." See Citi/Merrill below for more on the nature of the downside. BUT! (and there's always an ever-lovin' but, isn't there) the Chairman acknowledges that inflation pressures may be putting the fed's ability to slash at will into a nasty box. QUOTE: "...any tendency of inflation expectations to become unmoored or for the Fed’s inflation-fighting credibility to be eroded could greatly complicate the task of sustaining price stability and reduce the central bank’s policy flexibility to counter shortfalls in growth in the future." To quote a great American philosopher: D'oh!Read Bernanke here.
CONTINUED >>
By John Rutherford, NBC News Producer, Washington
Ami Neiberger-Miller lost her brother Chris (below, left) to a roadside bomb in Iraq last summer. Army Spc. Christopher Todd Neiberger, 22, of Gainesville, Fla., was killed Aug. 6 in Baghdad and buried at Arlington National Cemetery. In her grief, Ami turned to TAPS, a national support group for families of fallen service members.
"I find that within the TAPS community, I'm surrounded by people who understand what I am going through, who are caring and loving, and who want to help support each other in dealing with loss," Ami said.
Ami and TAPS organized a screening Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., of a new movie, "Grace is Gone," starring John Cusack as a father who grapples with telling his daughters their mother has been killed in Iraq.
"There is this sense of - now what do I do?" Ami said. "I can relate to that feeling of just wanting to shut down and tune the world out. After my brother's burial at Arlington, I just felt like closing the door of my house and not going outside for a week."
Ami found the movie "remarkably poignant and touching." "Grace is Gone" is out now on limited release. You can view the movie's trailer here. CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
WRITTEN EN ROUTE FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE TO NEVADA — On Monday afternoon in Manchester, New Hampshire, I called my executive producer in New York and said that we needed to pencil in more time than we had allotted for Andrea Mitchell's report on the Clinton campaign. It needed to be enlarged to include a 48-second sound bite of Hillary Clinton at a roundtable, answering a question about the campaign. She was tired, and she was emotional. She did what any of us would have, and have done at times: She briefly lost control of her emotions. At that very moment, while he was miles away and unaware of it, Barack Obama started to lose control of what we had been told was a commanding lead in New Hampshire.
I am a son of New England — my father is from Framingham, Mass., my parents met in college in Maine, and over a lifetime of immersion I came to know the psyche well. The core of the older, native New Hampshire population (albeit in a state that is rapidly changing) is still made up of the sons and daughters of the original Puritans. They take civic responsibility seriously, they take care of those who need it and they take pride in process. In modern political terms, they generally don't like negativity, they reward the downtrodden, they earnestly deliberate over their choice of candidate and they venerate the sturdy among us. In short, they are good people to have in your corner. Hillary Clinton was bloodied in New Hampshire. The people of New Hampshire saw it and didn't like it. They saw assumptions forming and didn't like them. Some felt they were being told what to think: the race was decided, Hillary was desperate and inauthentic. Worst of all — and this was made very clear to me by more than one person — when some in the media quietly doubted that Hillary Clinton's emotions at that roundtable were real (there was quiet snickering about an "acting job" born of an urgent need to seem normal) it was proof to them that cynicism had taken hold of the politics/media realm, and they simply refused to believe that.
CONTINUED >>
By Andy Franklin, NBC News senior producer
In the end, the New Hampshire Democratic primary was a close race with a clear winner. Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama, 39% to 36%. But the outcome was a surprise -- an “upset” and a “comeback” -- in part because of the expectations created by the polls, commentary and press coverage in the days leading up to the primary, much of it wrongly predicting a double-digit margin of victory for Obama. The "experts" got it wrong, but it was hardly the first time.
The most famous case in point: the 1948 election of Harry Truman, a victory predicted by virtually no one except Truman himself. That year’s false expectations were immortalized in the Chicago Tribune’s famous “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline, held aloft on election night by the beaming president-elect himself. But the Tribune wasn’t alone. Truman’s expected political demise was conventional wisdom in the fall of 1948. Respected pollster Elmo Roper was so sure Republican Thomas Dewey would win he actually stopped polling in September -- almost two months before the election. That October, Newsweek published a poll of 50 of the nation’s “leading political writers.” All of them — every single one — predicted a Dewey victory. Dewey himself, a New York governor who had been running for president since 1940, was so sure 1948 would be his year that he ran an overcautious, overconfident, low-key campaign that never caught fire. Meanwhile, Truman was giving ‘em hell, criss-crossing the country, drawing ever larger and more enthusiastic crowds at one whistle-stop after another. Something was happening out there, and almost nobody saw it coming -- certainly not the political and media intelligentsia of the time.
CONTINUED >>
By Janet Shamlian, NBC News Correspondent
They are as common a piece of household electronics as the television. It's hard to find a family anymore without at least one computer and a connection to the Internet. But I couldn't find either when I spent an evening recently in the sprawling home of Lesli and Christos Catsouras, and it soon became apparent why.
The couple has suffered every parent's greatest fear -- they've lost a child. Nikki was a free-spirited 18-year-old when she slipped out of the house with the keys to her dad's sportscar and crashed into a freeway tollbooth. Agony enough for a lifetime, certainly, but for Lesli and Christos it was just the first blow in what's now been more than a year of torment and heartache and unimaginable pain.
CONTINUED >>
By John Yang, NBC News White House correspondent
JERUSALEM – Whenever a president participates in an event, he's carefully briefed on what's planned. No doubt President Bush was told that when he went to call on Israeli President Shimon Peres at his official residence in Jerusalem, there would be a "children's performance," which was the guidance that was given to the press.
But from the look on Bush's face Wednesday, it seemed he didn't quite expect what he got. Outside the residence, a line of children waving U.S. and Israeli flags sang what sounded like a club remix version of the Hebrew celebratory folk song "Hava Nagilah."
CONTINUED
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I see from a tour of the web that we find ourselves in the position of having our own words and reporting turned back around on us, and I wanted to clarify something we posted yesterday.
During my day with the Obama campaign, I took Lee Cowan aside for a brief interview. Lee covers Obama for us, and we're lucky to have him on our roster... he is one of the very best in the business. In the interview, which you can see right here, Lee admits "...it's almost hard to remain objective..." which as he implies is our goal in our work every day. He's referring to what all of us who have covered campaigns have felt from time to time: it's impossible to get the long view...the view from 40,000 feet...while operating at sea level, and inside the bubble.
Lee was talking about the swirl of excitement that has hit the Obama campaign after Iowa -- the crowds, the hoopla -- all of it. Today we learned that rival political efforts were spinning this as some kind of "bias" on the part of either Lee, or me, or this News Division, and that's just ridiculous. My response is as it always is in these situations: look at it again, listen to what's being said, and judge us by the quality and fairness of our journalism.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Risking charges of TMI, in no particular order, here's the news from Manchester, New Hampshire:
1) The town square has become a free-fire zone. Every human is taking images (either moving or still) of some sort -- and seemingly everyone here is pushing a particular candidate, working for one or covering one. The networks are set up in various camps -- hotels, tents, trailers. The people here are marvelous, and seem to relish the political axe they will wield with their primary votes. My favorite story so far: the Manchester attorney named Jasmine who is apparently such a fan and loyal reader of this blog that she came to our hotel to tell us so.
CONTINUED >>
By Alexandra Wallace, executive producer
We received a lot of positive emails and blog comments about our new and improved home of Nightly News on the Web. But we also heard from many of our loyal netcast viewers, who were desperately seeking their preferred method of watching our broadcast.
We hear you. The netcast is back. Here's how to find it on our redesigned site:
On the far left side of our home page, under "Video," click on or scroll over the word "Previously," and select the option, "As broadcast" (see image below). That's it.
Please bear in mind that tonight's netcast may be slightly delayed due to the volume of political news from New Hampshire, but it will be there -- we promise. Thanks for your patience and your feedback -- and thank you for watching Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Editor's Note: Brian filed this dispatch late last night, after a Hillary Clinton rally in Manchester, N.H.
It was billed as the last major rally of the Clinton campaign in New Hampshire. Last night, we piled into a car and drove to the Executive Health and Sports complex near the Manchester Airport, where we joined hundreds of others on the indoor tennis courts for the rally. The crowd was sizeable and energized -- showing good advance work by the campaign. The candidate was late -- close to an hour late, and so the usual vamping went on: a band played (the lead singer confessed to being a friend of Chelsea's), t-shirts were given away and cheers went up every few minutes, organized from the stage.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I have no idea who's going to win the New Hampshire primary, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
After overnighting alongside the Interstate near the Vermont border, we joined up with the Obama campaign for a few events today -- and many miles with him inside the confines of the bus that has become his home on wheels -- a cocoon of black vinyl, cup holders, mirrors and dirty carpets -- in short, the same standard equipment rented by most campaigns. 
He is sipping tea all day to soothe a sore throat. He was seen by a doctor and promptly ignored the doctor's advice to "stop talking." Saying that to a Presidential candidate a day before the New Hampshire primary is like telling a bird not to fly.
His crowds are large. In Lebanon, New Hampshire, we came across a line of people several football fields long -- all of them had to be turned away from the event, where 700 people had already crowded inside. Senator Obama addressed the people waiting outside -- and actually apologized for having attracted something that is highly coveted in politics: a packed venue.
CONTINUED >>
by Alexandra Wallace, executive producer
Welcome to the home of NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams on the Web. Many of you who visit here often know we're not totally brand new, but we are bigger and better than ever. Brian and I and the entire Nightly News team are excited to bring you an historic expansion of the quality journalism and storytelling you've come to expect from Nightly News, and what we hope you will agree is an enhanced and improved user experience.
The first thing you will notice is the way we've made Nightly News video the centerpiece -- we are, after all, in the business of telling stories with pictures. Not only do we have more video offerings than ever before (more on that in a moment), but our new video player makes every video crisper and cleaner than it's ever been. (Some of you may need to download the latest Adobe Flash player to watch the videos. Click here for more on how to do that.)
Brian, of course, is central to Nightly News on the Web, and he guides what we do here just as he does on the broadcast. You will see his video welcome message when you log onto our site today; he'll have a new video message every day. He'll also continue to write his blog at DailyNightly, and our Web site will always be your first stop for video of Brian's other projects.
CONTINUED >>
By Robert Bazell, NBC News chief science correspondent
For many years, doctors and scientists thought that the key role Vitamin D plays in the body is strengthening bones. And that’s true. But in the past few decades evidence has accumulated the Vitamin D is critical for almost every cell in the body. Today we report on evidence from the highly respected Framingham Heart study showing that the 28% of people who had the lowest levels of Vitamin D in their bodies had a 60% higher risk of developing a heart attack or stroke over a five-year period.
CONTINUED >>
By Andy Franklin, NBC News senior producer
When is a win not a win? A loss not a loss? Those are not Zen riddles; they’re political questions whose answers can be found in the snows of New Hampshire.
The Granite State has a reputation as a place where winners go on to become presidents -- Ronald Reagan in 1980, for example, after trouncing George H.W. Bush (who had beaten Reagan in Iowa) -- but that’s not always so. Take 2000, when John McCain beat the ultimate winner that year, George W. Bush. Either way, it was clear who had actually won the primary. But that was not the case in two other contests that have become legendary in New Hampshire lore.
Forty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson was on the ballot in New Hampshire. Four years earlier he had been elected in a landslide in the wake of the Kennedy assassination, but his political fortunes had fallen as opposition to the war in Vietnam grew. Even so, it was widely assumed that Johnson would be the nominee that year, and that he would be tough to beat in the fall. Then came the Tet Offensive. In late January and early February 1968, enemy forces in Vietnam launched a wave of coordinated attacks against U.S. and allied forces. Militarily, the assault was a failure. But on the battlefield of public opinion, it was a different story. The enemy showed it was ferocious, determined, and capable of surprise. Americans were shocked by Tet, and came to believe that the war was not going as well as they had been told. Support for the war -- and for President Johnson -- began to evaporate, and it happened just weeks before the New Hampshire primary.
CONTINUED >>
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Good day from New York, and a special hello to our viewers in the West, who have not been able to watch us on Sundays during the regular football season. It will be nice to have you back with us, though, in the interest of full disclosure, I will miss kicking back after the show and watching the Sunday night game.
With that said, we're covering another full contact sport tonight in New Hampshire. Every presidential election year, we all marvel at how two small states play such a huge role in determining which candidates survive until the conventions – while the rest of us watch from the sidelines. No one appreciates that better than the candidates who have survived round one. New Hampshire isn't exactly a case of win, or go home, but it's close. With the primary there now just two days away, the attacks are sharpening, the messages, in some cases, have been tweaked, and the anxiety is growing. Our campaign embed reports are telling us there have been overflow crowds at many of the candidate stops there today. Meantime, the Iowa results and the latest MSNBC-McClatchy poll have given the pundits plenty of data to crunch in determining who has the most to gain and or lose in New Hampshire. The Obama-Clinton, and McCain-Romney match-ups are offering the most interesting twists today. We'll show you the numbers, and get Tim Russert to break it down tonight, along with reports from our correspondents on the ground there. CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Last night in Iowa, from the perspective of late afternoon here in New York, is just a collection of images and fresh memories: our surprise (and it's always this way) when we heard over the internal NBC News squawk box that we were getting ready to declare both Huckabee and Obama the projected winners; the Huckabee speech; the Edwards speech (and his wife's role before and after it in stressing finishing "second," ie: in front of Clinton); the Obama speech (delivered in front of a controlled setting, with teleprompter, lending it a seriousness and "voice" and sense of moment that so many critics lined up to praise the moment it was over); and the Clinton speech. Today is a new day in New Hampshire, and there are new issues for us to discuss. Joe Klein wrote a superb piece today about the victorious Obama effort, and there will be time to talk about the Oprah effect, the Clinton effect, authenticity, Rudy's gamble, and more. Chris Dodd showed that a full-on embrace of Iowa (moving his family there, enrolling his daughters in Iowa schools) wasn't enough, just as Mitt Romney learned it takes more than money. It will be a weekend of campaigning and analysis. We have miles to go: first, we travel to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where we will unveil our brand new Nightly News website. Be sure to visit the site Monday and take a look around. Right after that, we go to the next frontier in politics: New Hampshire, where Tuesday's primary vote takes on a new importance in the wake of Iowa.
As I write this, Mike Huckabee is playing guitar in New Hampshire with a group called the "Momma Kicks." He looks to be having fun. He ought to have some fun -- and Barack Obama should find a way to as well. After all, both men took on a tough race and a grueling system and found a way to win. Round one.
We hope you'll stay with us for the very best coverage of politics. Tonight we'll also have our Friday "Making A Difference" report. We're thrilled that you're with us for this ride, and we'll see you on the air tonight. Have a great weekend.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Last night after we got off the air, we filled up a car and went event-hopping: one McCain, a Clinton and an Obama -- based on the "Why come to Iowa and not sample the politics?" theory that sleep can wait.
We conducted a brief interview with Senator McCain at his headquarters (portions of which will air tonight) following a packed, sweaty rally. CONTINUED >>
By John Rutherford, NBC News Producer, Washington
This photograph shows Army Sgt. Peter Neesley feeding his dogs Boris (small) and Momma (large) in Iraq. Sgt. Neesley died in Baghdad on Christmas. The photo was sent by his cousin, Terrie Pawlyk, of West Milford, N.J., who is trying to bring Boris and Momma to America.
"On Christmas morning," she wrote, "2 military men knocked on my Aunt Chris's front door and they told her my cousin Sergeant Peter Neesley had died. This was his second tour of duty and he had five months to go. He even thought he would enlist again if he could stay in the states. To make sense of this war, he took care of stray dogs and he was going to bring home 2 dogs when his tour was over. He had made them a dog house.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
It was two degrees when I arrived back in Iowa this morning, and I could not have been happier. I fished my gloves out of my suitcase (a gift from my stage manager back in New York...thanks, Jeff!) and set about our day in Des Moines. Just when many of us would assume that exhaustion and cynicism would be taking hold here, every Iowan I've met is charged up for the process that begins tomorrow night.
The newspapers are full of politics, the airwaves are full of campaign ads, motorcades criss-cross the streets, the snow has frozen into a perma-frost of sidewalk concrete -- this is how we pick our Presidents, and all roads lead through here. Our workspace is a drab concrete convention hall backdrop but we're all old friends and spirits are high. What it lacks in interior design it makes up for in terms of excitement. We have come together to cover a great story, part of a great American tradition.
Tim Russert is here, David Gregory is here (left pic), Andrea Mitchell is here (with producer Doug Adams, right pic), Kelly O'Donnell is here -- we'll put together our very best work and have it for you over the next two nights.
By Andy Franklin, NBC News producer
It’s finally here. After months of throat-clearing, get ready for some actual decision-making. Tomorrow, the clamor of pundits, flacks and assorted opinioholics will subside, ever so briefly, as Iowa caucus-goers begin the solemn process of choosing the 44th president of the United States.
We see some variation of this ritual every four years, though it hasn’t always started in Iowa -- or started this early. Forty-eight years ago today -- on January 2nd, 1960 -- Senator John F. Kennedy was just getting around to announcing that he was a candidate for president. The 2nd fell on a Saturday that year, and with little else making news that first weekend of the New Year, Kennedy hoped to make a splash in the Sunday morning papers. He did. But the actual contests themselves were a still a long way off. The first primary, in New Hampshire, was two months away; Kennedy (from neighboring Massachusetts) was unopposed, and won easily. Wisconsin, Illinois and others followed in April. But the contest that would prove decisive -- the West Virginia primary -- did not take place until May.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Amid the fog of Bowl games, Americans begin dialing into the New Year starting today. We'll broadcast from our Los Angeles bureau tonight, (after some time off with family) and then it’s off to Des Moines. As this is the year we'll select our new president, politics is the lead story tonight (and will likely remain that way until other news nudges it out of position) and we'll begin with the last dependable polling numbers before the caucuses get underway. It's unlikely that any Iowa voters can say they haven't heard a thorough enough airing of the candidates' positions -- and from here on out, the candidates must now try to play mistake-free baseball. Tomorrow's forecast high temperature in Des Moines is 14 degrees, the evening low is 3 degrees... an important component in Iowa politics this time of year. You've got to want it. The candidates have to want it; the caucus-goers have to want to be part of the process. We'll take a close look at that process tonight.
We also have a rundown of the changing situation in Kenya, an update on the domestic green movement, and some new laws for the New Year.
Allow me to be among the first to wish you a healthy and prosperous 2008, from my family to yours. We appreciate every one of you -- viewers, readers, emailers -- truly, every day. We will do our level best to do the best work possible for you this coming year.
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