May 2008 - Posts
By Lester Holt, NBC News Anchor
I can't say I ever imagined a meeting of the Democratic rules committee would be "must-see television." However, anyone who has become caught up in the drama of this year's nomination battle would have a hard time looking away. MSNBC has been airing today's session all day as members debate whether to award delegates from the Florida and Michigan primaries. It reminds us that unlike the general election, the primaries are largely governed by the parties themselves, not election officials. The outcome of today's meeting, which we hope to know by the time we hit air tonight, could change the math in the Obama-Clinton race.
Since Hillary Clinton was the big winner in both states, she stands as the one with the most to win or lose from today's decision. As I watched the coverage, it struck me that if there is one good thing about this prolonged race, it is that it has taught us all a lot of things about the nomination process we never knew or didn't quite understand (okay, maybe some of it is way too inside). But think about it: Before 2008 had you ever uttered the words "super delegates" in casual conversation?
We'll be turning to Andrea Mitchell, Ron Allen and Chuck Todd for our Nightly News political coverage tonight.
There were a couple more crane accidents today, one in Wyoming and the other in Nevada raising more questions about the safety of the machines. Pat Dawson has more on yesterday's crane disaster in New York and whether a dangerous pattern is emerging.
We're also watching the scheduled space shuttle lift-off this afternoon, a potential new weapon in preventing recurrences of breast cancer, and why a new gold rush may be getting underway out west.
Thanks for checking in. We'll look for you tonight on NBC Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
From the apartment this morning, I knew something was wrong when I watched as Rescue One's rig drive uptown from midtown.
The FDNY Rescue companies don't carry water, they don't have hoses -- they are the specialists -- their job is to rescue people. It's also why their ranks were decimated on 9-11. They were trying to rescue people. They were among the first responders to today's crane collapse, which recieved live television coverage across the board here today.
I spent most of the day in a board meeting of our Medal of Honor Foundation. We learned today that one of the 105 living recipients is badly ailing, and so we head into the weekend girding for possible bad news about a genuine American hero.
Time to get the broadcast together, and to wish you all a good weekend. We'll see you back here on Monday.
By Lisa Green, Senior producer, NBC News
Once I heard about the collapse, realized why helicopters were whirring past my Upper East Side apartment, and touched base with my colleague at Today, I headed to the accident site just a couple of blocks away to look for eyewitnesses who could describe what happened to our viewers.
As is often the case, even in New York City, people who moments ago had experienced a terrifying event were gracious enough to stop and share stories. Tara Hamilton, a resident of the 22d floor of the white brick high-rise hit by the crane, made it out with her two dogs and her valuables, but not before watching water damage begin to wreck her home. Nathan Cochran, her neighbor, was in bed when the accident occurred, but managed to scramble out and offer to help in the rescue effort. And Leonard La Russo, who had just relocated from a higher floor apartment in the same building that was now damaged in the wreck, to one on a lower floor, was aware of his good timing.
To a person, all residents I interviewed said they immediately knew, without seeing it, that the crane was what caused their building to shake as if an earthquake had hit. All said they worried, at least a little, about the towering crane in their vicinity, especially after the March accident.
In short order, I was joined by Lester Holt, my Today colleague, and producer Stephen Weeke and their crew, and they got on tape what I had managed to scribble down on paper -- stories of shocked Upper East Siders whose sunny Friday had been shattered by an accident.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
A story you'll next hear on tonight's broadcast: US Airways is eliminating snacks in coach effective June 1st. You know those pretzels, or the pouch of 3 cookies served as "breakfast" on flights before noon that often have to suffice as a meal? Forget it. They will still serve basic fluids -- apparently recognizing passenger rights to stay hydrated and maintain a measurable pulse during the flight -- but that's it.
Ran out of time today. Just came from a seat on the floor at a China planning meeting, and now the day is off at a full gallop. Charity benefit dinner tonight, the third in three straight nights.
We're watching politics, a massive fire in Peabody, Mass, a gathering weather situation in the Eastern Plains and more. All by way of saying: we hope you can join us tonight.
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
Names are still being added to the Vietnam Wall 33 years after the war's end.
The latest is that of Marine Lance Cpl. Raymond Mason, who died at age 58 of wounds suffered in 1968 during the Tet Offensive.
"He was shot right between the shoulder blades, and it nailed his spinal cord on the way through, and he was paralyzed from mid-chest down," his widow, Priscilla, said. "He had full use of his arms but lost everything else."
Confined to a wheelchair, Mason still managed to own four businesses over the years back home in Riverside, R.I.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Allow me, please, to direct your attention to the cause that unites us all these days: cancer. As you may have seen, I did something unusual today: I spent the morning with my competitors. Charlie and Katie and I hopped in an SUV and went to all three network morning shows, to unveil the new campaign called Stand Up To Cancer.
We are enormously proud of it, gratified that our employers are fully supporting it, and we all have our own family stories of involvement in the fight against cancer. By my own accounting, everyone does.
It was a great morning. Whatever people might think of these jobs we are so lucky to have, and however fierce the competition can sometimes get, the three of us have a very easy relationship. We understand each other and have known one another for many years. I was proud to be in their company as a part of this project this morning, and we hope to make more appearances together to promote the cause, raising awareness and funds.
Please take a moment and explore the website, and consider making someone a "star", as I did with my late sister. Cancer has hit three members of my family, and it took two of them away from us. It truly is time we all stood up.
We're compiling tonight's broadcast now (all three anchors having retreated to their respective newsrooms) and we hope you can join us.
Editor's note - Nightly News won't be seen in some areas on the West Coast due to hockey coverage, but remember you can watch the Netcast on nightly.msnbc.com
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
My thanks to Lester Holt for filling in, and allowing me to be with my family yesterday. After a weekend of family cookouts, the annual Memorial Day parade, and a visit with my Father on the sparkling Jersey shore -- it's back to work here in New York. It was an eventful weekend: a heartbreaker for Danica at Indy, the horrendous weather in the Midwest , and the staggering losses to the entertainment industry, both of which we will mark on the broadcast tonight: Dick Martin, one of our own here at NBC, and the outstanding Sydney Pollack.
The understatement of the weekend was a quote I found on a wire service story on the web: after a Kalitta Air 747 cargo jet (auto racing fans might recognizing the Kalitta name from the world of drag racing -- the air charter firm was indeed founded by racing family patriarch Connie Kalitta) broke in half after a rough landing in Belgium, an official was quoted as saying the aircraft was "very seriously damaged." Broken in half...that would pretty much qualify as "very serious" damage. Anything that can't be repaired with duct tape -- especially on an aircraft -- is pretty serious.
We hope you can join us for our Tuesday night broadcast tonight -- we're back on the job in New York.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
In a nation at war, is one day a year enough to properly honor the fallen? Tomorrow, most Americans will return to their jobs, classrooms, and regular day to day lives. For one group of dedicated women, however, paying tribute to America's veterans is a full time commitment.
Tonight, NBC correspondent Jim Miklaszewski tells the story of the "Arlington Ladies," a group of volunteers who attend every funeral at Arlington National Cemetery and offer hand written condolences to the families of the dead.
They are remarkable individuals who remind us all that service, sacrifice, and gratitude don't require a holiday.
In addition, there is potential for more severe weather. We'll be reporting the latest on the deadly tornadoes that hit Iowa and Minnesota last evening, and get some answers as to why this tornado seasons is on a record pace.
Mike Taibbi is looking into the ways high gas prices are affecting Americans on this usually busy travel weekend. We'll also tell you what's next for scientists, now that that Mars lander "Phoenix" has successfully touched down on the surface of the red planet.
Brian Williams returns tomorrow, meantime I hope you'll join me for the Monday edition of NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News Anchor
Lately, I've spent a great deal of time researching China in preparation for covering this summer's Olympics. While China's history and culture are fascinating, it is the numbers—a population of 1.3 billion people –that I find hard to wrap my mind around. China makes up twenty percent of the world's population, more than four times the population of the United States.
By extension, I find the casualty numbers from the May 12th earthquake equally tough to comprehend. Tonight we will be reporting on a strong aftershock that has rocked the Sichuan region, collapsing another 70,000 homes, and leaving 200,000 other structures at risk of destruction. Officially, the death toll from the original quake stands at 62,664, with 23,775 people still missing. Officially 5,000,000 people are homeless. There is nothing in our experience in this country that compares to the scope of devastation and suffering there, and so I suppose it is understandable that we look on with both sympathy and a sense of awe. Tonight our Beijing-based correspondent Mark Mullen continues his excellent reporting on the disaster, including word of yet another "miracle" rescue of a quake survivor.
CONTINUED >>
By Amy Robach, NBC News Anchor
It was mid-afternoon when everyone in the Nightly newsroom looked up from their computers. A dramatic scene was unfolding on the televisions in front of us; a monster tornado was destroying an area just north of Oklahoma City. I can say with great certainty that witnessing the unstoppable power of Mother Nature leaves you simply in awe.
This has been an extraordinarily tough tornado season, and whenever I see pictures of these storms, I get chills from head to toe. Growing up in the Midwest and South, I spent more time than I liked, huddled in the basement with my mom, brother and a transistor radio. I distinctly remember the sound of warning sirens reverberating through my early childhood home of St. Peters, Missouri, and feeling nothing but fear. You won't want to miss the dramatic video you'll see tonight as we recount the toll these storms have taken on so many communities across this country.
By Mark Potter, NBC News correspondent
Over the years, while covering many different stories in Cuba, I would walk into the famed Hotel Nacional and be greeted by a bellman named Jorge Pupo. And during all those times, I had absolutely no idea who he really was.
On my last trip, though, as I was leaving that hotel one day, NBC's Havana Bureau Chief Mary Murray stopped me and said, "I want you to meet someone."
She then formally introduced me to Pupo and told me his amazing story. And that is how tonight's Nightly News "Making a Difference" story was born.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I have been a fan of auto racing (admittedly more stock car-oriented than open-wheel) since I attended my first race at our local fairgrounds at the age of five, and yet I've never made it to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway...until now.
I'm in an office inside the famous "pagoda," the multi-layered "reviewing stand" that is instantly-recognizable to viewers of the sport on television. It's a dreary, rainy day here at the track -- thankfully, the forecast for the race weekend is stunning.
The track, an American sports legend first built in 1909, will be our backdrop for tonight's broadcast, which will also feature an interview with the biggest star in the starting grid, Danica Patrick.
We had a great day here, including a visit to our incredibly dominant NBC Station (in our industry parlance, it's a "blowtorch") WTHR in Indianapolis -- one of the most successful network affiliates in the nation, and home to a huge chunk of Nightly News viewers. Our station, and this city -- are home to a huge number of truly terrific people.
I've just completed our afternoon conference call/editorial meeting -- we've got a lot of news to get to -- and let's just say I'm in a distracting environment. Racing fuel, famous drivers, stacks of tires, fast cars, race fans and over two miles of smooth asphalt make concentration difficult for me -- but I'll soldier on, and we hope you can join us as we wind up another week.
By Ann Curry, NBC News anchor
All three emotions flood through me, as I wait to see tonight's story NBC Nightly News is airing about my father's death from cancer last month, as part a series on aging parents.
A lot of the images are from my video camera, but in my grief, I have not been able to look at them, and did not participate in putting the story together, as a matter of journalistic integrity. So I am nervous.
The embarrassment comes from knowing Bob Curry has had more than his fair share of airtime on NBC News, especially since he is not a newsmaker at all.
But because losing these irreplaceable ones, our parents is a suffering we all share, there is a chance tonight's story might be useful to you watching. That's why Dad agreed to let me record these glimpses inside our family's suffering. I am not certain what sense I made speaking about this in an interview so soon after losing him, but I deeply hope you benefit, so I can make one last wish come true for him.
To you then, with love.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
This has been the most changeable day in months. In the course of just the last hour we've had three stories in the lead position, and as I write this we have a few hours yet to go until airtime.
So I've chosen to use my posting today to talk about one thing in particular: our final piece tonight. It's from Ann Curry. It's about her father, his fight against cancer and his eventual death on April 13th.
Bob was a great man, and he raised a great daughter. This story is emotional -- almost hard to watch. I don't think Ann will mind me saying that its my understanding that she is not planning to watch herself. This was difficult for her -- she did it for us, and for the audience, in keeping with the design of the Trading Places series: caring for elderly parents.
My own father is still recovering from abdominal surgery (on top of, in order, a heart attack, cancer surgery, two fractured hips and subsequent replacements and a pacemaker) and one of these days I will take a camera along with me when I visit him and we'll air an update.
Tonight we hear a very personal story from a friend of ours...a woman of such dignity and humanity and affection. That is probably why it's so hard to watch.
We hope you can join us tonight.
By Mark Potter, NBC News correspondent
COLUMBUS, NEW MEXICO -- In reporting tonight's Nightly News story on how the vicious war between drug cartels and police throughout Mexico is affecting U.S. border towns, we came across some disturbing evidence that adults aren't the only victims.
In Columbus, New Mexico, some 400 American-born children, who actually live across the border in Palomas, Mexico, come to the Port of Entry most mornings to clear immigration, board buses and then head off to school on the U.S. side.
In talking to some of those elementary and middle school children, we found out that they are quite aware of the dangers that traffickers have brought to their tiny town. So far this year, a drug-related turf war in Palomas has claimed some 40 lives. Throughout Mexico, that war has caused about 4,000 deaths since the start of last year, with many of the victims being top law enforcement officials.
Talking with the children, we heard one boy describe a gun battle near his home in Palomas. "They start shooting everywhere and you don't know where to go," he said. He added that while in the relative safety of the American side of the border he is still concerned about the dangers back home. "When I walk from there over here I worry about my parents," he said. "When I'm coming back I worry about myself."
Many of the children talked casually about the killings and the weapons involved. "You can hear by the sound, AK-47," one said, describing the traffickers' rifle of choice. And a boy who lives near the border fence said, "All the time you can hear shootings downtown, drive-bys, too. Everywhere you could hear the shootings. It's, uh, people dead."
Some of the girls we met had similar stories. One stunned us by saying, "It has happened around my house, 'cuz people who are involved live there."
When asked if they are afraid, many of the children said they were. But others said they had just become numb to the violence. "At first, when it all started, it was kind of scary, but then you have to get used to it," a young girl told us.
When asked if he had actually seen a shooting, a boy said firmly, "I haven't seen that and I don't wish to see it, 'cuz if you see something like that they can kill you, 'cuz they want no witnesses."
A life-saving thought perhaps, but surely too much for a little school-kid to have to know.
photo by NBC's Stephanie Himango
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Too much sadness lately. I received word at home last night that Hamilton Jordan had died.
My wife and I had dinner with Hamilton and his family a few months ago in Georgia. He was carrying his ever-present oxygen tanks that evening, without complaint. He matter-of-factly ran through his most recent medical procedures, surgeries and treatments and talked only about his family and the future. He was the personification of bravery in the face of illness. His bestselling book, No Such Thing As A Bad Day, survives him as a monument to courage and positive thinking.
In journalism, we no longer say things like "cancer victim" -- a phrase that was still in active use just a few years ago. Instead, we try to talk about those "living with cancer." Hamilton Jordan truly lived WITH cancer -- and taught everyone around him how to do the same. In life, he was devoted to his family--and to Jimmy Carter.
While his surname is quite common, his preferred pronunciation was not. Introducing himself in Washington, he was known to tell a first-time acquaintance, "My friends call me Jerd'n."
Some resented the forced customization, and when he became a public figure, not all television anchors of the day went along. Hamilton played a big role in then-Governor Jimmy Carter's amazing victory in 1976. At 34, he was the youngest White House Chief of Staff in American history. He was brash, impatient, intense, irreverent and obsessed with his boss's Presidency. He was a political animal, from a political family -- who was moved to enter the trade after watching Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. march through his native Georgia.
Hamilton died at home last night at the age of 63. He suffered from mesothelioma. He leaves his lovely wife Dorothy and their three beautiful children. He also leaves behind Camp Sunshine and Camp Kudzu, summer camps for children with cancer and juvenile diabetes. Hamilton's legacy will be with us for ages to come. It's Hamilton we will miss.
We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
You can watch the video about Jordan from Nightly News here.
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
Last year, Army Sgt. Peter Neesley adopted two stray dogs off the streets of Baghdad and named them Boris and Mama. He fed them, built them a dog house, and loved them dearly. After Neesley died in his sleep of an undetermined cause on Christmas Day, his family began a successful effort to bring Boris and Mama to America to live with them in their suburban Detroit home (01/03/2008 Daily Nightly and 02/11/2008 Field Notes).
Today, three months after their arrival in Michigan, Boris and Mama are doing just fine, thank you.
"They are adjusting well to domestic life and especially love sleeping on the sofas," Neesley's sister Carey wrote. "They are very affectionate and especially love my son (Peter's nephew), Patrick. They love running around the backyard with him and taking walks at night. Spring has finally arrived in Michigan and they love laying in the grass and Boris loves chasing ants on the driveway."
Most importantly, they're helping Peter's family heal.
CONTINUED >>
By Maria Menounos, NBC News contributing correspondent
Like most children, I love and respect my parents dearly. I have known no better guardians, no better friends and no better heroes. To this day, I value and treasure their company as much -- if not more -- than I did when I was a teen.
Yet, today our relationship is vastly different. With each year that passes, I discover that our respective roles as parent and child are somehow reversing. Their health and well-being, and the future state of their health and well-being are, increasingly, becoming my responsibility.
Upon further research, I discover that I am not alone and am so happy Nightly News decided to cover this. Mind you, this is by no means any kind of admission of regret or any form of complaint on my part. On the contrary, I cherish the opportunity to help my parents in any way I can and to repay them for all they have done for me. I am also quite thankful to be blessed with the resources with which to do so.
Though I normally loathe imposing my opinions and beliefs on others, I do hope that others who may not be so proactive in their own situations with their parents will consider doing otherwise.
I have one friend who is short on money and shorter on time. Yet, she always finds a way to include her lonely and widowed mother into the fabric of her daily life, keeping her company, monitoring her health, and even finding creative ways to keep her productive. In the end, both parties benefit on so many levels.
I hope my report tonight accurately acknowledges just how great Mom and Dad were as parents and as individuals, as well as just how lucky I really am to have them.
One quick note - I want to pay a special thank you to Dr. Anne Peters, professor of medicine and director of the USC Clinical Diabetes Program for all the help she gave my dad.
Editor's note: Maria Menounos's report airs tonight on the broadcast, as part of our special series, "Trading Places." Click here to watch her report.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
That they said a prayer in the Republican and Democratic Senate caucuses today says a lot about the news we received earlier this afternoon, and the man it concerns. It was a fear of so many who heard the news Saturday morning: Senator Ted Kennedy had suffered a seizure. Those who know that brain tumors sometimes present that way were given pause -- and a good many folks have spent the past few days hoping that it would turn out to be something else.
Because of the times we live in, and the man we're talking about, it's inevitable that much of the coverage of Senator Kennedy's illness will be viewed through a partisan lens. Viewed instead through the lens of American history, it's important to remember that Edward Moore Kennedy, in the course of his lifetime, lost a brother, a sister, a brother, a brother and a sister. Joe, Kick, Jack, Bobby and Rosemary. Ted endures. As the nucleus of the family, the Irish-American political dynasty, as the liberal lion, as the icon from Massachusetts. A uniquely American figure -- flawed and checkered, robust and ebullient, fighter and survivor. Now this father of two cancer survivors enters the "cancer community" himself. So many of us are members -- either personally or by extension. At a hearing two weeks ago, Ted Kennedy called for a "new war on cancer", never dreaming he'd soon be a warrior himself.
We'll have coverage of this news tonight, as well as tonight's primaries. We have an exclusive story on oil, and we begin the reprise of a terrifically popular series called "Trading Places." We hope you can join us tonight.
NBC News president Steve Capus responded to Ed Gillespie's letter complaining about the editing of NBC News' interview with Pres. Bush.
Here is a link to the text of Ed Gillespie's letter. Below is Capus' email:
Mr. Gillespie,
I'm in receipt of your email and want to assure you we take this matter very seriously.
We appreciated President Bush's decision to do the interview with NBC News, and believe Mr. Engel's reporting accurately reflects the discussion with the President.
Let me assure you, there was no effort to be "deceptive," as you suggest. Furthermore, the notion this was, "deceitful editing to further a media-manufactured storyline," is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.
In fact, the entire interview was posted Sunday on our website, MSNBC.com, thus allowing everyone to draw their own conclusions about it, the subject matter and our editing. In addition, the entire section in dispute has already aired, unedited, on NBC's Today program and in edited form on other NBC News broadcasts.
Editing is a part of journalism. We take the collective body of information surrounding a story, distill it and produce a report. We strive in all cases to be fair and accurate. In some instances, where appropriate, we offer interviews in their entirety — in live broadcasts, or posted on our website.
Your letter goes on to address a series of issues beyond this matter. I think it wise to discuss those matters in a more appropriate forum.
We take our jobs and responsibilities seriously and respectfully suggest the interview was conducted in like manner.
Sincerely,
Steve Capus
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
We are doing something a bit different tonight in airing a very powerful story from China -- from our British broadcasting partners at ITN. Because of our shrinking attention span -- we can't air enough reminders of the scope of the twin tragedies the world is dealing with right now in China and Myanmar, the former Burma. This is gripping stuff, at times hard to watch, but revealing and striking at the same time.
We have a lot of political coverage tonight (on the eve of another Democratic primary) in addition to news from Texas and a story from the world of health.
I was privileged and happy to be on hand for SNL this weekend, as the show and cast wrapped up another season. Their fall premiere has been moved up in order to make the most of our political calendar, but it's still going to seem like a long time to go without late-night appointment television on Saturday nights.
And a heads-up: we're going to be revisiting some of our popular "Trading Places" series of reports, where members of the NBC News family talk about caring for their aging parents. It will begin tomorrow night and is a subject we will revisit from time to time.
We hope you can join us tonight.
By Lester Holt, NBC News Anchor
The routine in the Nightly News newsroom was briefly disrupted today as we reacted to some breaking news right below our 30 Rock headquarters. An SUV ran up onto the sidewalk, striking a pedestrian before coming to rest along the edge of the famous Rockefeller Plaza ice rink. The pedestrian was treated for minor injuries at the scene, and we've since learned the driver was a pregnant woman who had just gone into labor. She was whisked away by an ambulance. It was unsettling to watch, and we are certainly hoping the mom and her baby will be ok. It goes without saying they are in all of our thoughts today.
While that's a story you likely won't see on our program tonight, we do have a pretty full plate of news on this Sunday afternoon, including Richard Engel's exclusive sit-down interview with President Bush in Egypt. Richard got the President Bush’s reaction to the political flap he caused back here at home over his "appeasement" remarks made during that address before the Israeli parliament last week. Richard will also tell us about the tepid reception Mr. Bush received today before a mostly Arab audience at the World Economic Forum meeting.
NBC's Ann Thompson is in Boston for us again tonight to update the condition of Senator Edward Kennedy, who was hospitalized following a seizure at his Cape Cod home Saturday.
CONTINUED >>
By Lester Holt, NBC News Anchor
A line of reporters, cameras and satellite trucks is gathered in front of the emergency room at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, ready to report any news on the condition of Senator Edward Kennedy. The initial report was that he had suffered symptoms of a stroke, but a spokesman for his office later described it as "a seizure." Little else, however, was immediately forthcoming. The information vacuum has left a lot of room for discussion about what he may have been stricken by, the causes, severity, and recovery. We will pick up our coverage this evening with Anne Thompson's reporting from Boston. Anne will walk us through exactly what we know while Dr. Nancy Snyderman will join me here in New York to discuss strokes and seizures, as well as the treatment Sen. Kennedy underwent last fall to unblock a major artery in his neck.
During this campaign cycle, Sen. Kennedy has been an active campaigner on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama. Lee Cowan will have more on that, and how all three major presidential candidates reacted to Kennedy's health scare.
We get a new view from the ground in cyclone-stricken Myanmar. NBC's Martin Fletcher managed to get inside the country where he will show us why a distribution bottle neck continues to deprive victims of what they need. Kevin Tibbles will share the story of a man who even though he lost both his legs, is hoping to break new ground on the Olympic running track.
Finally, if you miss tonight's live broadcast, I have some great, and long-awaited news. Starting this evening, a weekend edition of the Nightly News netcast is available. This allows you to watch the entire program here on your computer screen, or even on your iPod. On our Web site, nightly.msnbc.com, you'll find netcast information in the "Special series and related links" section, located just below the video player.
We'll look for you later, wherever you happen to be watching.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
It's just too much. Pick up any newspaper, watch any evening newscast, and it's enough to force you to look away: Myanmar, China, (the Democrats), the price of oil, the ants in Texas, the oil pipeline fire in Nigeria, the Polygamists. I could go on. Turn to the sports pages and you'll read about the investigation into whether the juggernaut New England Patriots have been spying on their opponents for years. It has a staggering cumulative effect -- all of it -- which is why I (unaccustomed as I am to quoting myself) started Monday's broadcast with, "It's enough to make you wonder about our world."
Now it has spread to Oreos. Please read this sweeping, Churchillian rant in the U.K. Daily Mirror. The Brits are feeling attacked. This is a gem. It takes a lot to work Churchill and Neville Chamberlain references into our current national dialogue (note to radio talk-show hosts -- you'd be well-advised to bone up on history -- even the Wikipedia version -- before coming on television to discuss it,) but if it was ever gonna happen, this was the week for it.
A great season of SNL comes to an end tomorrow night, hosted by Steve Carell of "The Office." It promises to be a momentous evening, especially given the much-rumored cameo by John McCain. I just might drop by rehearsals... for old time's sake... on my way out of the building tonight. Needless to say: cancel any plans you might have had for Saturday night.
I hope you have a good weekend. We have a great broadcast planned for you tonight.
By Savannah Guthrie, NBC News correspondent
For most of us, when we think of the words "airlines" and "blankets", our hearts aren't necessarily overcome with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Many envision those skimpy, plastic-wrapped blankets of whose cleanliness we might be somewhat suspicious. Tonight's "Making A Difference" report may just change some minds.
In 2000, a Salt Lake City-based Delta flight attendant manager, Cindy Atkinson, recruited flight attendants to help create quilts for a local hospital, Primary Children's Medical Center. Atkinson brought in a quilting frame that once belonged to her grandmother and set it up in the employee lounge. She was amazed at the response. Flight attendants flocked to the project, gathering on breaks or long layovers to contribute a stitch or two. That first year, Delta employees donated a few hundred quilts. This year, they produced a record 2,300 blankets.
And what started with flight attendants now has spread throughout the airline. From pilots to ground crews to ticket agents, hundreds of Delta employees are participating. "I think it helps them feel like they are part of a healing process," Atkinson explains.
Brenda Richards is one of the faithful. Richards worked as a flight attendant for Delta for 38 years. She has retired from flying, but not from quilting. Even now, she returns to the airport to lend a hand in sewing the blankets. Her reasons are very personal. "One time my granddaughter had surgery at the hospital and she came out from surgery, and she was wrapped in a Delta quilt!" Richards says. "I'm in it for the duration now."
As for the hospital, the staff there are convinced of the blankets' healing properties. "That quilt is like medicine that you cant get from a bottle," says Sharon Goodrich, director of annual and corporate giving at Primary Children's Medical Center. The hospital promises a handmade quilt for every child's bed - a promise Delta is helping them deliver.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
We're in Atlanta tonight -- as I'll say somewhere in the body of the newscast, I'm here for a big dinner honoring 35 of the 105 living Medal of Honor recipients tonight (on whose board I serve) and so the broadcast comes with me.
I'm linking to an interesting piece of writing by a friend: correspondent Ron Allen has written this piece on the fly from the Clinton campaign, as detailed and interesting analysis piece as you'll see out there today.
The weather here is just awful. Steady and heavy rain, and we're all watching the weather radar on MSNBC as the bigger stuff moves north and east from Alabama. This could get interesting: the thunderstorms are due to arrive just about the time we go on the air. I haven't visited Atlanta since the tornado that tore through the downtown section, and the sight is striking: so many hi-rise buildings have missing windows -- while duct tape covers large cracks in some of them, others are just gone -- some replaced by plywood, some not. It's not unlike the sight of the New Orleans skyline when we first emerged from the Superdome the morning of Katrina. We of course never associate twisters with crowded, built-up metropolitan areas -- this was an aberration, and a strong one. The damage is still very visible.
We have a full broadcast for you tonight -- from Israel to Washington to California to China to Chicago. We hope you can join us.
By Robert Bazell, NBC News Chief science correspondent
With the third part of our series, “Medical Mysteries,” about auto- immune diseases, we turn to what many see as the biggest mystery of all: why do these disease strike women in far greater proportions than men?
As many have you have commented in response to earlier reports and blog postings, all these diseases do indeed affect men as well and we certainly do not mean to ignore that fact. But still, it is overwhelmingly a problem for women. The numbers vary for different diseases, but they can range from three to 10 times as common in women as compared to men.
So what is the answer? The fact is that scientists do not know--even though they have been searching for years. Clearly, a woman has to have a difference in her immune system so she can tolerate a fetus in her body. Clearly, hormones are involved, because often auto-immune diseases get getter or worse before, during, and after pregnancy and menopause. Many scientists think that if they could understand why women suffer disproportionately, they would find better treatments.
Tonight’s report focuses on multiple sclerosis, the auto-immune condition that leads to destruction of the covering of nerve cells, including those in the brain. It can be horribly crippling in many ways
The woman we feature, Cathy Dennes Akay, is involved with a fantastic MS charity called Cure MS Now. Other excellent sources of information are the National MS Society and the National Institutes of Health website on the subject.
In tonight’s reports, we do not deal with the exciting research toward finding better treatments and many other important aspects of MS. Each of the reports in this series is only about two minutes long. We try to highlight important issues in a compelling way. With the limited time we can only mention so many things, but we hope the links to websites like those above can be helpful for those seeking more information
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I'm writing this from the Nightly News studio, basically to say: I won't have time to post in any significant way.
I just concluded an extended interview with Senator Hillary Clinton. Now it's back to the newsroom to write for the broadcast. Then I get yanked upstairs to tape Conan for tonight -- always harrowing, as it takes me away from the newsroom at the height of the writing for 35 minutes, then dumps me (even though they always are so kind to make me the first guest to accomodate my schedule) back in the newsroom at 6:15 ET for a 6:30pm ET first live feed of the broadcast.
So...that's where I'll be. We hope, as always, you can join us at the appointed hour.
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
Casey Casanova loved to sing and dance and play the drums growing up in McComb, Miss.
"She had a beautiful voice," her grandmother told the Laurel Leader-Call.
Casanova, 22, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College on a music scholarship and sang and played the steel drums in a stage band.
"Her favorite song was anything country," her mother told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. "I called her my dancing cowgirl."
Casanova shocked her mom in 2006 when she announced she was joining the Marines.
"I asked her, 'Why would you do this?'" her mother said, according to the McComb Enterprise-Journal. "She told me, 'I am young and there is nothing here for me. I want to do something with my life.'"
Casanova went through boot camp at Parris Island in South Carolina and was assigned to Camp Pendelton in California.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Time is short today as I'm just back from the Council on Foreign Relations, where after a brief lunch I moderated a lecture/interview/q&a session with my fellow members with our featured speaker, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea. I had the unusual experience today of informing the Secretary General of a bombing in India that had been reported in the few minutes it took him to travel from the U.N. to the Council. Word arrived via my Blackberry, and he was obviously disturbed to hear it, especially the component of today's bombings that apparently involved remote-control detonators activated by motorcyclists driving by.
Tonight we'll be updating Nightly News -- no matter where you live, no matter where you watch us -- to reflect the results from West Virginia. Politico has a good viewers guide to tonight's Primary.
Yesterday in this space I told the story of Picher, Oklahoma. Tonight, our own Don Teague, at my request, has traveled there -- and will deliver the television version of that same story. And Rehema Ellis will end our broadcast tonight with a story about one family's service that you will want to see.
By Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News correspondent
The candidates often like to say there are "stark differences" between the two parties in this presidential contest. One small and simple difference is how they fly.
The McCain campaign, unlike
the operations surrounding Obama and Clinton, does not yet have one designated aircraft. For months, the presumptive republican nominee has chartered JetBlue with its fleet of Airbus and Embraer aircraft. Airbus is headquartered in France and Embraer in Brazil and usually that is of little interest on the campaign trail. But in the Pacific Northwest it matters. So today when Senator John McCain flew from Portland to Seattle, he landed in a Boeing 737. This week, the McCain campaign is using Swift Aviation which uses Boeing aircraft. While advisors say they simply got a better price for the week clearly the Boeing factor provided a political opportunity. If McCain had landed in an Airbus, that picture could have been a story in itself. By changing to Boeing, McCain at the very least avoided the issue and at best appeared conscience of the local economy.
McCain also has some political baggage attached to the Boeing name. A few years ago McCain went after a pentagon project where the Air Force had a pricey contract with Boeing to build a tanker. Without going into all the details here, the mess revealed an illegal deal and a few people both at Boeing and the DoD were convicted. One other consequence, Boeing lost the deal to Airbus. Some in Seattle blamed McCain for lost jobs. Today he was asked about the issue at a short news conference. McCain responded, "I have the greatest respect and appreciation for the workers at Boeing Aircraft. They have turned out some of the finest products in history, we all know that... I led an investigation that ended up, unfortunately with Boeing employees in federal prison and would have cost the taxpayers an additional 6.2 billion dollars."
McCain certainly knew a question like this was coming and so you can see why landing in a Boeing aircraft was about more than a good charter deal.
By Robert Bazell, Chief science editor
For many young scientists this is a very distressing time. The federal government’s support for basic research through the National Institutes of Health has slowed vastly from what it was a decade ago. As a result, many people who were looking to careers in basic science simply can’t find them.
I mention that because tonight’s story in our series Medical Mysteries about auto-immune diseases looks at rheumatoid arthritis where there is some success. To be sure, there is not a cure. But doctors have more and more drugs for treating RA, an auto-immune disease that strikes the joints and other parts of the body. RA afflicts more than two million Americans, 70 percent of them women, and can leave people horribly crippled if not treated effectively.
The discovery of those drugs is the result of basic research into the immune system, the exquisitely complex set of blood cells and antibody proteins that defends against diseases. Chemicals in our body called cytokines are the signaling mechanism of the immune system –- setting off the alarm of an invasion of viruses or bacteria. As basic researchers have discovered more of those cytokines and how they direct the immune system, they have been able to design drugs to selectively dampen the immune response in people with auto-immune diseases, and lessen the disease.
Of course if the basic research slows, so will the drug discovery that for this disease has been growing ever more successful.
For more information about rheumatoid arthritis I would recommended starting with the Arthritis Foundation website.
By Robert Bazell, NBC News Chief science correspondent
Tonight we begin a series called “Medical Mysteries” about autoimmune diseases. We picked the title because these very common conditions remain incurable, difficult to treat, and poorly understood.
An autoimmune disease strikes the exquisite system that protects our bodies from viruses and bacteria. The white blood cells and the proteins called antibodies turn on us. The result can be damage to almost any organ in the body—chronic illness that can be severe and even life-threatening. The National Institutes of Health has a good primer on autoimmune diseases.
In the series we will examine three of the most common autoimmune diseases: lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Our friend and producer Sam Singal thought it was an important enough email to alert me to it over the weekend. When I read it, I understood why he thought it deserving of special mention. In turn, I read the following to my extended family, gathered at our house last night for a Mother's Day cookout. It might be the most extraordinary email, in what it says about our age of communications, I've ever received.
It came from a U.S Army soldier named Tim Terpak, who was responding to my blog post from last week about the Bruce Springsteen concert in Red Bank, New Jersey. I'll let him take it from there:
Brian,
Sounds like a concert to remember. With my being in Iraq, connectivity is hit or miss, so I didn't realize Bruce was even doing the show. Being a fellow Jersey Shore boy, as we discussed back in April 2003 in the Iraqi desert after your helicopter landed next to the one my Bradleys were securing, I am certainly a big Bruce fan. I would have liked to have been home to see the show, but duty calls again.
I would like to take this moment to thank you for your continued coverage of what's going on over here. When I do get a chance to surf the net or watch the news, it appears Iraq and Afghanistan have fallen off most news reports. It is nice to see someone is still covering the effort of our service members.
Let's take a moment to de-construct this: a young soldier, who is, like me, from the Jersey Shore, reads my blog entry last week during a break while on active duty in Iraq. The last time I saw him, I was with my friend and NBC News Military Analyst Wayne Downing, a retired 4-Star Army General. Wayne and I were riding along as part of an Army mission to deliver bridge components to the Euphrates River, so that the invading forces of the 3rd Infantry could cross the river on their way to Bagdhad. We came under fire by what appeared to be Iraqi farmers with RPG's and AK-47's. The Chinook helicopter flying in front of ours (from the 101st Airborne) took an RPG to the rear rotor, as all four of our low-flying Chinooks took fire. We were forced down and stayed down -- for the better (or worse) part of 3 days and 2 nights.
Soon after we hit the desert floor, (just as we were wondering how we were going to survive this unplanned stay in the desert south of Najaf, and just as General Downing was going to propose "the distribution of weapons," as he put it) we heard the sound of approaching Bradley Fighting Vehicles -- an armored mechanized platoon under the command of a young West Pointer, Lt. Eric Nye. He ordered his men to dismount and dig in and surround us. They set up a perimeter, they killed two Iraqis who arrived to fire on us again, and they are the only reason we lived to see U.S. soil, or our families, again.
Tim Terpak (who came to have a big admirer in the late General Downing, who was mightily impressed by the indefatigable and resourceful Terpak) was among those few soldiers. He has served more tours since then. It is clear he still has his priorities in order while serving this country: he's expressing obvious concern that a Springsteen development has somehow taken place without his knowledge. It's an awful feeling. It was far from a routine email -- it speaks to our shrinking earth, our volunteer force, love of country and the great feeling of loving a great band. Wayne would have loved this story.
Now to a spot thousands of miles from the Iraqi desert, but having to do with a harsh stretch of land just the same. The first story I ever did for television was about abandoned lead and zinc mines in the region surrounding the far corner of Northeast Oklahoma. As part of my travels on that very first day on the job at a Kansas television station, I stopped at several locations to shoot videotape pictures of the mine openings and the "chat piles" -- the discarded rock -- mountains of it, that contain lead and zinc remnants (and other chemical compounds) that give off a relentless toxic dust. Chat piles are a hazard and an eyesore across a huge swath of the old mining region in the middle of the country.
Among the towns I stopped in that day: Picher, Oklahoma. Picher was then a down-on-its-luck town of a few thousand people -- these days, a few hundred. Mickey Mantle played ball there as a kid -- he was from a neighboring town. The mining business had long ago shut down, and left its sorry remnants behind. The mines that had provided the lead for so many of the bullets fired from American weapons in World War II and Vietnam -- quickly became a health hazard. I often felt, talking to folks in Picher, a bit of sadness. It was well known that children in Picher had lead levels in their blood way above the national average. Raising a family in Picher often meant having no other financial options. Many of today's residents of Picher are the sons and daughters of the original "Okies" -- the brave Americans who were part of the westward movement to settle the Plains. They worked their patch of dirt, they somehow scratched out a living. They paid their taxes, sent their children to school, and at the end of the week enjoyed a church supper, a ball game, and services on Sunday. A lot of good people have stayed in Picher, trying to petition their government to clean up the problem, trying to make a go of it as a town.
Then came this weekend's tornadoes, which wiped the earth clean of structures everywhere they swung. There was a familiar sight in the background of one of the interviews conducted with a storm survivor this weekend. While the woman spoke, standing in front of what appeared to be her former front porch, off in the distance was the unmistakable sight of a chat pile -- a man-made mountain of rock.
It survived the storm. So did the woman being interviewed. Sadly, because of what happened there this weekend, living in Picher, Oklahoma got tougher. If Picher is to make it, and recover from what man and nature have done to that small, proud, Oklahoma town, it's going to take the work of a lot of good people.
By Bo Gu, NBC News, Beijing
I noticed the swinging leaves on our office manager's desk when she pointed out her plant to me and asked me if I felt the earthquake. Her eyes were wide open and her hands were on her chest. I told her I didn’t feel anything, but I couldn’t help giving a quick glance on our ceiling lamp-it obviously swayed for a few seconds.
In a few minutes our freelance producer Steven called in, told us there were hundreds of people evacuating from office buildings to the street, causing a small traffic in the main road of Beijing.
News started popping up on major websites: a quake measured at magnitude 7.5 struck western China, shaking buildings in cities as far away as Beijing and the business hub of Shanghai. The quake struck 57 miles (92 kilometers) northwest of the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu at 2:28 p.m. (0628 GMT). The 7.5-magnitude quake was centered 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) below the surface.
7.5 magnitude is absolutely an appalling level to Chinese people, who two years ago just had the 30th anniversary of the greatest earthquake in the northern city of Tangshan in 1976. Over 240,000 people were killed in that 7.8-magnitude earthquake, the second largest death toll in a single earthquake in modern history.
More news and images caught up at a frightening speed. Schools buildings fell down with hundreds of children buried underneath. Chemical plants collapsed, causing tons of liquid ammonia to leak. Cracks showed up in buildings. Water tower was toppled. In a village in northern Sichuan alone, 80% of buildings were destroyed. Electricity was out and no phone calls could be made to the quake zone. Death toll climbed up gradually from ten to a hundred to hundreds, then thousands.
By 8:00 pm, Premier Wen Jiabao has arrived in Sichuan in his private jet, and gave a speech to the whole country, expressing central government’s condolence, ordering a military entry to the disaster zone and calling for the whole country to fight against the catastrophe.
Regions and countries as far as Bangkok and Taipei felt the tremor too. More and more deaths are reported in other nearby provinces in Gansu, Shanxi, and Yunnan provinces.
By the time I finish this blog, 9,000 people are reported to have died in the earthquake, and official news says the death toll is likely to grow.
By Ann Curry, NBC News anchor
Tonight we will see more dramatic images from Myanmar's delta region, hardest hit by last weekend's cyclone, our report from one of the few journalists able to get close.
The images are haunting. Showing the dead, and the survivors, their suffering is palpable. But even they do not even begin to tell the horror of what happened.
The government of Myanmar, which tells us 100,000 people were killed or injured, and that one and a half million are homeless, today is still preventing foreign aid from coming in.
We hear food and supplies from the UN are still in warehouses, as the government, which denied aid workers visas, doesn't have the infrastructure to get the help to the suffering.
People need food and shelter, and are expected to start getting sick and many are orphans.
How long can the world sit and watch, allowing it's hands to be tied?
If Myanmar's government can prevent the world from seeing images like those we are going to show you tonight, the world could well forget.
By Trudy Hall, Headmaster of the Emma Willard School
Editors Note: Shelby Davis, featured in Rehema Ellis' segment tonight, began his investment crusade by providing scholarships for international boarding schools and American universities. In tonight's piece, we did not have time to share Mr. Davis' newest venture, an effort to diversify American boarding schools. Each participating school has been asked to design their own program to recruit the most promising need-based students representing new dimensions of international diversity.
Upon graduation, this new branch of Davis International Scholars will be eligible for continued scholarship support if they are accepted into a participating college.
Pilot programs will begin at 5 select boarding schools this fall: Emma Willard, Phillips Academy, Lawrenceville, Taft, and Westminster.
Trudy Hall, head of Emma Willard, reflects on her goals for the unique program.
Making a difference. Altogether a good thing. I think we might agree, however, that the Davis idea of making a difference through scholarships is to do so on a grand scale; indeed, a global scale. It is an incredible notion really: the way to make a global difference just might be through one relationship at a time. The Davis family in their remarkably visionary way is betting on this concept in new ways even as the NBC story airs. They are pushing the needle of cross-cultural influence ever deeper into the core of American culture through a fascinating partnership with five American high schools.
Emma Willard School in Troy, New York has the good fortune to be one of those partners. For nearly two hundred years, amazing girls from around the world have come together to create an educational community, and as they have done so, their lives are transformed in remarkable ways. “Empower a girl. Transform the world,” we are fond of saying. And the Davis family is holding us accountable as they extend their visionary philanthropy to include the secondary school experience.
CONTINUED >>
By Subrata De, NBC Nightly News senior producer
You might remember the e-mails I posted back in September from a friend who lives in Myanmar's capital Yangon (Rangoon). He'd been describing the monk uprising against the military rulers there. Well, he's now living in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. He's ok and finally getting messages out. We'll maintain his anonymity once again, given the retaliatory nature of this regime. Here are excerpts from his recent e-mails:
"It's Tuesday evening, 4 full days since the world of Yangon was turned upside down by Cyclone Nargis. We had known for several days that a big cyclone was in the Bay of Bengal, gathering strength for a run at Burma, but it didn't seem like an imminent danger. On Friday, some parents took their kids home early, but it didn't even rain that afternoon. We had heard stories that landfall would come around 6 pm on Friday evening, but at that hour all seemed quite normal. I laughed it off as an overreaction, and went to bed confident that at worst we would get a thorough soaking with rain.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I got off the air last night, sped through the Lincoln Tunnel and soon entered the familiar confines of home -- the Jersey Shore, and a benefit concert by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the Count Basie theater in Red Bank, NJ. Bruce and his wife Patti granted me one of the great honors of my lifetime when I took to the stage on my home turf to introduce the band. As a fan of over 30 years, who spent countless Friday and Saturday nights chasing rumors of impromptu E Street concerts up and down the Jersey Shore -- it was an emotional event. Followed by a history-making concert: Bruce performed, in order, the songs from Darkness on the Edge of Town and Born To Run. It's never been done, and won't be done again. It was heaven. Those of us who were present for it knew it at the time -- there were shared looks of amazement among complete strangers last night. In all our years together -- we'd never seen or heard anything like it.
I'm typing this on my Blackberry in a car en route from LaGuardia, having flown to Washington to interview Senator Obama. We'll have a large portion of it on the broadcast tonight; it will also air in its entirety tonight on MSNBC and on the web.
Time is short. We're late, and I don't like getting a late start on writing for the broadcast. So that's all for now -- I hope you can join us for the finished product tonight. Oh -- I almost forgot -- thanks to Bruce and Patti.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Watching Evan Bayh warm up the crowd last night before Hillary Clinton's speech, I could not help but think of the spiderweb of relationship that fuses our modern politics to the generation before it.
Consider this, a story many people have forgotten: Senator Bayh's father, Senator Birch Bayh, was on board a twin-engine plane when it crashed in an orchard in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was June of 1964. Senator Bayh and his fellow passenger, Senator Edward Kennedy, had just cast affirmative votes for the Civil Rights Act, and were en route to make a joint appearance at the Massachusetts Democratic Party convention. The crash killed Ted Kennedy's pilot, Ed Zimny, and a Senate aide, Ed Moss. After Senator Bayh pulled his own wife from the wreckage, he returned to rescue his friend Ted Kennedy. The Massachusetts Senator had a "negligable" pulse when he emerged from the wreckage. He came near death that night, and it must be said he would have died were it not for Birch Bayh's efforts.
CONTINUED >>
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
There's not a lot of information available on Army Staff Sgt. Jason L. Brown, a 29-year-old Green Beret killed April 17 in Iraq.
He was from Magnolia, Texas, north of Houston, and he graduated from Sam Houston State University with a degree in criminal justice. He enlisted in 2003 and was just two weeks from completing his second tour in Iraq when he died.
He was killed by small arms fire while entering a building in Sama Village in search of an Al Qaeda leader. He is survived by a daughter, Alyssa Gomez of Cypress, Texas, and his parents, Rosemary and James Brown of Cartwright, Okla.
His mother and father were too distraught to talk to reporters after his death, but you can practically trace his life through the tributes friends wrote in the online Guest Book:
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Chuck Todd, our Political Director, has it about right about tonight: the ground game, while not over, takes on much less importance after tonight, because the number of undeclared superdelegates will exceed the number of available "regular" delegates in the remaining primary states.
Tonight could be a game-changer, and it could be the 6th inning in a long ballgame. We get our first indication at about 5:30 Eastern time, when Sheldon Gawiser briefs us on his read of "first wave" exit polling results (which he puts through his algorithym pro-rating blender) and about which we are sworn to secrecy. It can "educate" but not otherwise affect our coverage in the Nightly News feeds prior to the poll closings. Tonight might go fast. We will be here nonetheless, making sure each time zone gets a new, live and updated feed. Tonight's speeches will be fascinating, depending on the outcome. The morning shows have already booked a "roadblock" -- both Democrats, in separate interviews, on all three broadcast networks. It feels like the height of primary season. I guess, in a way, it is.
I want to thank the great folks, my friends (sitting about 50 yards from me) at MSNBC for helping me put on a great hour earlier today. We did it seat-of-the-pants style; I hadn't written a word, no teleprompter, and just the most basic format -- the best kind of television news there is. The only problem is: while it's huge amounts of fun for the anchor (and, we hope, the guests) it's hell on a control room, where they always need to plan 2 or 3 moves in advance. But they keep having me back...
We've now swung over to work on Nightly News and begin the writing (they insist on it here) for tonight. We have a great broadcast planned, no matter your time zone, and we hope you can join us. Off to work.
By Robert Bazell, NBC News chief science correspondent
When we were planning this week’s series “the Mind Body Connection,” Alex Wallace the executive producer of Nightly News asked me what was new with the alternative medicine movement, which has been in full swing for more than a decade.
The answer is that a handful of billionaires have brought alternative medicine into many the nation’s major medical centers, long the bastion of opposition. The new approach is called “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM) or integrative medicine. Tonight we profile the program at Duke where meditation, massage, biofeedback, and acupuncture among other alternative approaches are offered along with conventional medicine.
John Mack, the CEO of Morgan Stanley gave the money to set up the Duke facility. His wife Christy, the daughter of a physician, has long been a proponent of integrating alternative and mainstream medicine.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
First-year law students everywhere, along with students of contemporary American history, know it as "The Loving Case" -- shorthand for the landmark 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Loving vs. Virginia. The court ruled unanimously, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, that laws forbidding interracial marriage (in this case, a law in the Commonwealth of Virginia) violated the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Mildred Loving (formerly Mildred Jeter) was a black woman who fell in love with a white man. They married in Washington, D.C. in 1958, when she was 18. It was upon their eventual move to Virginia that their union was legally challenged. Her husband died in a car accident (in which Mildred was also injured) back in 1975.
Mildred Loving shunned the spotlight for her entire adult life, often saying she never set out to be famous, only to fight for her right to marry the man she loved. Her case was brought to the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice (under Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy), who referred it to the A.C.L.U. The Supreme Court ruling voided similar laws in at least 16 other States. The Lovings had three children and several grandchildren.
Mildred Loving died today in Milford, Virginia. She was 68 years old. Her name will live on, like Linda Brown and Jane Roe before her -- the surnames in American jurisprudential history that now stand for the cases that changed the course of our nation.
On the broadcast tonight, we'll preview tomorrow's presidential primaries. A word about our coverage tomorrow night, for those of you who see the first feed of Nightly News at 6:30 Eastern time: while the polls will not be closed in all of Indiana (80 of the 92 counties will be closed -- but polls in Gary and Evansville will still be open), we will be able to report the raw vote tallies from the rest of Indiana as early as 6:30 ET. That is because the State of Indiana puts the numbers out -- posts them on the web. I didn't want anyone to think we were violating any agreement, principle or policy when those numbers pop up on the screen tomorrow night... the state itself will be reporting the early (albeit incomplete) raw vote.
Also tonight: why some passenger jets are flying more slowly today than they did in 1959 -- and a fascinating health news story.
I hope you all had a good weekend -- we hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
By Lester Holt, NBC News Anchor
Today we witnessed what is probably the closest thing to a debate before Tuesday's Democratic primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton appeared on rival Sunday morning news programs, and while each appeared alone, if you had placed two televisions side by side, you might have felt like you were in fact listening to a debate. Obama sat for a full hour on "Meet the Press," taking Clinton to task on her comments about "obliterating" Iran, calling it "the language of George Bush." He also continued to ridicule Clinton's proposed gas tax holiday. Clinton, appearing on another news program, pointedly responded to Obama's criticism, defending both positions and calling economists who oppose her gas tax plan "elitists." Our Lee Cowan and Ron Allen continue their reporting from both camps tonight, as the candidates press for an advantage in the final two days before the primaries.
Many people are still talking about the joy and sorrow that marked the ending to yesterday's Kentucky Derby. I watched the drama unfold from our Nightly News set as we were preparing to do our east coast feed last night. What a shock it was for all of us, as the victory celebration for Big Brown turned into a tragedy, as second-place finisher Eight Bells was euthanized after breaking two ankles. It was a brutal reminder of how fragile these equine athletes are. The tragedy raises a lot of question about what these animals are put through. Chris Jansing will address many of the questions in a report she is preparing for tonight's broadcast.
CONTINUED >>
By Lester Holt, NBC News Anchor
There is no question; this has been a year of exceptionally wild weather. The National Weather Service says there have been around 700 preliminary reports of tornadoes this year, a sharp increase over last year's numbers. At least 25 of them occurred this past Thursday and Friday, when parts of four states were struck, leaving 7 people dead in Arkansas. There have been 26 tornado related deaths in Arkansas since the beginning of the year. Tonight on Nightly News, we'll check in with NBC Weather Plus for some perspective on why we are seeing so many deadly storms this year, along with complete coverage of the aftermath in hard hit communities from Missouri to Arkansas.
It's another Saturday before another Tuesday that "could be a turning point" in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. How many times have we said that since January? Though few back then would have predicted Indiana and North Carolina would be crucial primaries, the fact is, voters in both states have the power to send this race to the convention floor, or possibly even end it in its tracks. We're with both candidates tonight, Clinton in North Carolina, and Obama in Indiana. Our correspondents Ron Allen and Lee Cowan will show us the strategies both sides are employing down the stretch.
The economy has been sending some mixed, if not in some cases, slightly encouraging signals this past week. In the week to come, more and more Americans will be receiving economic stimulus checks from the government. Can they stimulate a recovery? From the White House, NBC’s Savannah Guthrie will explain what the administration is pinning its hopes on, as it looks to avoid a full blown recession.
In addition, NBC's Robert Bazell will share some fascinating news in the fight to understand osteoporosis. I hope you can join us this evening for the Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Jim Maceda spent a second straight day with the Marines, under fire in Afghanistan. Tonight we get to see what he's been through.
Last night's piece was harrowing -- not just because we knew our friend Jim was under fire, but because we were all seeing it for the first time; it was rolling out of our London control room, having been fed from the field into our London bureau by computer. We had seen and cleared the written portion of Jim's story, but not the pictures -- and so we watched it for the very first time along with our audience. He's with a great group of Marines who don't scare easily, and while they've been surrounded more than once over the past 48 hours, we don't fear for Jim's safety. He knows his way around a battlefield, and so do the men he's with.
We have several West Point cadets visiting today -- a great group, and I spent time with them earlier. We discussed the debate underway on our blog -- and my belief that this kind of an exchange is always a good thing.
We're off to start writing the broadcast -- I hope you can join us, and have a good weekend.
By Tom Costello, NBC News correspondent
Ever had a teacher who truly made a difference in your life? Someone who set you on a course that you really didn't expect?
Well, the students at Fredericksburg High School in Texas have just such a teacher, and he's turned a whole lot of kids on to subjects many of them had no interest in.
The hard ones: Math, Science and Physics!
In 1996, Brett Williams had an idea. To get kids really excited about science and physics, he needed to step away from the classroom to help make those subjects come alive.
He decided on a hands-on project that takes dedication, focus and commitment....and above all else, is really cool: Rockets!
That was the beginning of the Redbird Rocket Program at FHS. That first year, they managed to send one rocket up one mile, carrying one pound.
They've since become the first high school to break the sound barrier, even soaring to 100,000 feet.
Today, they are preparing to send a 500 pound rocket up to the edge of space, carrying a payload from Stanford University graduate students.
Fredericksburg High School's Aerospace program is turning into a model for the entire state.
Dozens of high schools now participate in the annual rocket launch. But only FHS has developed a program so sophisticated, the air force gets involved - launching its biggest rocket every year from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Now, there's a movement to take the program that Brett Williams started, and spread it across the country.
This is not the Estes Rockets of old!
Tonight on Nightly News, we'll go along as the students in Fredericksburg see if their hard work paid off.
Also, check out a Web Extra video of Brett Williams explaining his dedication to his kids and his approach to teaching.
You'll see why they call him the Rocket Man.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
What a great piece posted in Slate by Daniel Gross on the meeting here in New York this week between the top management of Exxon/Mobil and some of the adult descendants of John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil, the forerunner of Exxon/Mobil. In Gross's hands, the story I first read as an item in the business sections of several dailies yesterday is a great set piece, full of detail and an appropriate reference to David Rockefeller's fascinating autobiography.
To the task at hand: by my count, we have no fewer than a dozen contenders for stories -- that's in just the FIRST block of the broadcast, before the first commercial. So we need to do some winnowing down.
This is the one day every few years when my hobby actually intersects with my job: I've listened to all of the raw tapes so far released by the LBJ Presidential Library (hundreds of hours) of his tape-recorded telephone conversations. Today's release deals with a critical period of his Presidency. I've got all of the CD's at home and have been sampling on the web all day.
We've also got an astounding piece of work by Jim Maceda from Afghanistan tonight, politics, food prices, physical pain and infrastructure. It's a full boat. We hope you can join us tonight.
By Robert Bazell, NBC News chief science correspondent
Tonight we report on some new numbers showing just how many Americans are in pain at any one time. Two economists, Alan Krueger of Princeton and Arthur Stone of the State University of New York at Stony Brook designed a survey, similar to a political poll, and commissioned the Gallup Organization to interview almost 4000 people on the telephone to ask whether they are in pain.
Krueger and Stone found that at any one time 28.8 per cent of men and 26.6 per cent of women report they are in pain. People who are less educated, poorer and less satisfied with their lives tend to be in more pain. But it clearly a problem that cuts across all classifications in the society.
Dr. Anne Oaklander, a pain specialist at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital told me that chronic pain is “the giant elephant under the rug in the middle of medicine.” She said it is “underestimated and underappreciated because it is so common.”
But it costs us a lot -- $60 billion a year in lost productivity – with Americans spending $2.6 billion a year on over the counter pain medications and $13.8 billion a year of prescription drugs. Dr. Russell Pourtnoy of Beth Israel Hospital in New York told me today that those numbers reflect “a very important reality and that is that we don't have the answer to this problem . Patients are buying medications and patients are prescribing medications because they just don't get adequate relief with any one.”
Two years ago we did a series on Nightly News on chronic pain and unfortunately little has changed since then.
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