October 2008 - Posts
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Okay so the validation that we are living in strange times came as I boarded the Continental flight from Tampa to Newark this morning, and the flight attendant said our flight was in the command of "Captain Kirk". Imagine my sadness when we were forced to fly...instead of getting beamed...to Jersey. If she'd said Scotty was first officer, I had made a quiet vow to get off the plane before they closed the jetway door.
We all have to get through one more weekend. It all ends Tuesday. We have a great broadcast for you tonight. Have a great weekend.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
We arrived in Sarasota at 3am -- I flopped down in my hotel room and awoke this morning to the most stunning sight outside my window: water, and palm trees and sun. There was no time to do anything more than note it, as we were up and out this morning to catch up with the Obama campaign at an outdoor rally. Right now I'm in a cinder-block office, looking out the window at the aforementioned sun and palm trees, while on MSNBC I'm watching John McCain at a rally in Ohio, where it’s so cold I can see his breath. How these candidates avoid being sick constantly is beyond me. I can tell you that the Obama campaign has a maniacal germ-avoidance program, in the form of ubiquitous bottles of hand sanitizer. Candidates for President, and the aides and Secret Service Agents who surround them, touch a lot of hands each day...and they cannot take any chances. Neither McCain nor Obama can afford to go down now. Five days until the finish line. We'll see you from Florida tonight, where it is absolutely beautiful.
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
"Medal of Honor," a 90-minute documentary airing Nov. 5 on public television stations around the country, pays tribute to the 3,473 recipients of the nation's highest military award since its creation during the Civil War.
Among those recipients was Army Pfc. James Monroe, a college classmate of mine who was killed in South Vietnam in 1967 when he threw himself on a live grenade.
"Through his valorous actions, performed in a flash of inspired selflessness, Pfc. Monroe saved the lives of two of his comrades and prevented the probable injury of several others," his Medal of Honor citation reads in part.
Rick Olson, Monroe's best friend, was not surprised by Monroe's heroics.
"He was a medic, and I don't think he would have had a second thought about, you know, throwing himself on the grenade," Olson said recently.
Monroe and Olson grew up together in Wheaton, Ill., and went off to college 
together at Washington & Lee University.
"He was very fun loving and kind of irreverent at times," Olson remembers. "He loved to laugh and have a good time."
Monroe studied political science in college but dropped out before graduating and was drafted into the Army. Olson last saw Monroe when his friend was home on leave in August 1966.
"He was gung ho," Olson said. "He was into the war and especially the camaraderie and the brotherhood of soldiers kind of thing. He was very upbeat, and at that time the war wasn't as unpopular as it became, and he was doing okay with that."
Olson pulled out an old newspaper clipping in which Monroe was quoted as saying of the men he served with, "It gives me great pride to see these young guys take a hard job they don't understand and do it - and do it damn well."
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
We are, in effect, on election night footing. I just came back from a walk-through of our election night studio, to get a feel for the place and see how it "reads" on camera. It looks beautiful. Tonight, Tom Brokaw and Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd and others will stay late to do some further checks. Then we fly to Florida to catch up with the Obama campaign tomorrow -- then it's back to New York on Friday for the final stretch. Tuesday night will come down to having the best team, armed with the best facts and a keen sense of history, to cover this election. I hope you can join us for all of it -- starting with tonight's broadcast, of course. Miles to go before we sleep.
by NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News correspondent
Today the McCain campaign seized on a comment made by Joe Biden on tax policy during an interview with a Scranton TV station Monday.
Senator Biden was talking about tax cuts and which voters should get them. Biden said, "... It should go like it used to. It should go to middle class people -- people making under $150,000."
The McCain campaign chose to make a political argument claiming the Obama campaign has said conflicting things about tax policy. McCain argues Obama has "redefined rich" and that the income level is "creeping" down to include more families.
The Obama campaign provided a written response calling McCain "desperate."
The Obama campaign did not address the $150,000 income that Senator Biden cited. The campaign simply chose to ignore that figure in its official response.
Instead the campaign did state that its policy is households earning less than 200,000 dollars would receive an Obama tax cut.
Senator Biden's words appeared to be in conflict with his own campaign. That is the kind of inconsistency opponents look for and why McCain chose to highlight those remarks.
In my Nightly News report, I wrote that the Obama campaign response to McCain's charge "provided a different number, $200,000 dollars." The Obama campaign contends my use of "different" implied a "new" policy. I did not say or suggest the figure provided was "new." If viewers interpreted it that way, then I regret any lack of clarity.
My script stated, "the campaign provided a different number than Biden had, saying families earning under $200,000 would get Obama's tax cuts. And not the $250,000 that Obama has claimed in the past."
A centerpiece of the Obama tax policy is that an income of $250,000 is the bright line between tax increases and tax cuts.
But Senator Obama has not always been precise discussing that policy. He has suggested that workers making less than $250,000 would also receive a tax cut. For example, Senator Obama said, "If you make $250,000 a year or less, we will not raise your taxes. We will cut your taxes."
However, the Obama campaign says taxes on incomes between $200,000 and $250,000 would remain the same and not cut.
Again, that perceived conflict is what the McCain campaign chose to argue before voters.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Because the people I know who are truly mental about this upcoming election cannot stand the coverage and the wait and the suspense (a friend of mine stocked up on rental DVD movies just to keep her mind off the election and her eyes off the media coverage), here's another attempt to make the time go more quickly: The best playlist I could come up with on short notice, a thematic countdown to the big day:
Seven Days - Bob Dylan
Six Days on the Road - Dave Dudley
Five Days, Five Days - Gene Vincent
Four Days - Counting Crows
Three Days - Jane's Addiction
48 Hours - The Clash
Tomorrow - Avril Lavigne
Today - Smashing Pumpkins
Bonus track:
Let's Do It Again - The Staple Singers
Please remember to stop listening long enough to join us tonight for our broadcast.
By Les Kretman, NBC News White House producer
As a cold angry rain and gusty winds blew across the Washington, D.C. area the past couple of days you could feel it in your bones. Change is coming not only in the meteorological sense --- but in the political sense as well.
The President last night celebrating the 150th birthday of Teddy Roosevelt reflecting on his own eight years in office after a performance by a Roosevelt impersonator in the East Room: "And, of course, it's good to see President Roosevelt. (Laughter.) Often times people ask me, do you ever see any of the ghosts of your predecessors here in the White House? I said, "No, I quit drinking."
Today the President visited the Republican National Committee headquarters to thank workers there. He's made similar visits the past couple of weeks to the State Department, the Pentagon and the National Security Agency.
The schedule now extremely skinny. A head of state here...an ambassador there. Outside the White House grounds, Pennsylvania Avenue is beginning to resemble a small construction site. Chain link fences are surrounding areas where bleachers and a Presidential reviewing stand will go for the inauguration.
And the second meeting today today of the Transitional Coordinating Committee being headed by two former chiefs of staff Bush's Andy Card, Clinton's Mac McClarty along with Jenna Dorn, of the National Academy of Public Administration; Norm Ornstein at the American Enterprise Institute and Max Stier, with the Partnership for Public Service. Their job aimed at making the change in the Oval Office as smooth as possible.
All what is happening is a given the last few months of a president's term...the leaves will soon leave the trees bare. Winter is around the corner.....changes.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Today I want to devote my post to a video circulating on the web -- don't stop me if you've seen this, but I want to hear what you think about it as a barometer of where we are as a society, and an indicator of the stakes going into this exciting election 8 days from now. It's powerful. Is it all true? Are the facts all correct? I'd like to hear from you -- what do you think? Take a look, let it sink in. And don't forget to join us tonight!
By Carl Sears, NBC News producer
The verdict came swiftly, unexpectedly like an ice shelf cracking in the remote Arctic Circle. The jury foreman's voice: "guilty" came crashing down on Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, 7 times for 7 counts. The longest-serving Republican Senator has been unanimously convicted in his 6-week federal corruption trial. Stevens now found guilty of lying about $250,000 of gifts and renovations on his Alaska home that he was required to report on Senate financial disclosure forms from 2000-2006.
The conviction appears to put Stevens 40-year Senate tenure in grave jeopardy in next week's election. Motions for sentencing will be heard on February 25th. It all started with a little rustic cabin in the Alaska woods where Stevens said he liked to chop wood and think. But in the new millennium, the cabin was transformed into a handsome ski lodge with wrap around decks, extra bedrooms, Jacuzzi, snow-melt system, steel stairs, and garage. It was the home many Americans dream for where the Stevens could accommodate family and friends in style. Sadly, the end of the road for Stevens could be 'the Big House.' He is facing a maximum of 35 years in prison though whether he is sentenced to jail time remains to be seen.
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By Anthony Galloway, NBC News producer
Anyone who has experienced the Las Vegas desert heat, even in mid-October, knows it takes a special kind of person to spend an entire day outside in it. But Xavier Rivas and Aurora Espinosa are undeterred. Rivas, a business development consultant, volunteers daily with Sen. John McCain's campaign, talking to locals and business owners about why McCain should be president. Espinosa, a maid on leave from Harrah's hotel and casino, has spent the last two months walking door-to-door educating fellow Culinary Union members about why Sen. Barack Obama is the right pick.
Both Rivas and Espinosa are especially well suited for this task. They are Latino and bilingual and live in Nevada, where ten percent of registered voters are Latino, too. It's a number significant enough to tip the scales of the election in this close toss-up state.
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By Alexandra Wallace, Executive Producer, NBC Nightly News
We're proud of all the NBC affiliates around the country that have been honored this year with the prestigious Edward R. Murrow by the Radio Telvision News Directors Association for exemplary journalism. We hope you'll watch their great work. Congratulations to all the winners who work so hard to bring quality broadcast journalism to their viewers.
WBAL-TV, Baltimore, MD
News feature: John Sherman exposes an illegal wetland clear-cutting operation in Maryland, which leads the state to take action. Watch
WBAL-TV, Baltimore, MD
News documentary: Africa's Maryland examines the historical and cultural ties between Maryland, USA and an area known as Maryland County in the Republic of Liberia. Shot during a two-week visit to West Africa, this half-hour documentary uses historical photos, archival documents and location interviews to tell the little-known story of freed slaves from Maryland, USA who settled the area in the mid-19th century. Watch
WCNC-TV, Charlotte, NC
What happens when a successful businessman sees the light? Seriously. What happens when one day he wakes up and everything changes in the way he sees life? Miracles happen. That's what. Watch
WTHR-TV, Indianapolis, IN
Feature hard news: Iraq veteran copes with loss of limbs; returns home only when he can walk off the plane. Watch
KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, CA
Investigative reporting: How safe is the food in your favorite restaurant? Joel Grover and his team went undercover for four months, and they've exposed some dangerous problems with some of the food that's ending up in popular restaurants all across Southern California. Watch
KARE-TV, Minneapolis, MN
Spot news coverage: Honored for coverage of the I-35 bridge collapse. Watch
KGW-TV, Portland, OR
Continuing Coverage: Huge rainstorms in late 2007 along the Oregon/Washington coast. Watch
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Can we call it the final stretch yet? That was the question some of us were pondering as we prepared for tonight's newscast. There are just nine days left before Election Day, and today, we are officially entering the final week of campaigning. If not the final stretch, we're certainly nearing the end of this long trek. We are hearing some familiar refrains from the candidates as their appeals take on the tone of closing arguments. That said, there has been some intriguing movement in the battleground states map that could force some last minute adjustments on the campaign trail. We'll go into detail on the broadcast this evening.
By airtime, we hope to know more about a reported attack against a Syrian outpost along the Iraq border. The Syrians say U.S. helicopters were involved. NBC's Richard Engel is working the story from our Baghdad bureau, and will bring us the latest tonight.
There has been a huge outpouring of support for Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson after the murder of her mother and brother. NBC’s Peter Alexander will join us tonight with news of Hudson's emotional public appeal for the safe return of her 7-year-old nephew who went missing after the attack.
Thanks for clicking on the blog. I hope you'll tune in later for tonight's broadcast.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
If like me, you don't live in a "battleground state," you may feel like a second-class citizen these days. I say that tongue firmly in cheek, but there's no question that at this point in the campaign, the race for the White House is being fought on a fairly narrow swath of real estate. There are a handful of states which the campaigns believe hold the mathematical keys to attaining the necessary 270 electoral votes. If your state is still solid blue or solid red on political maps, don't expect to see much of either candidate.
With so little time left, today finds both candidates campaigning in Western states that they believe will seal the deal. Lee Cowan will check in from the Obama campaign in Nevada, and Kelly O'Donnell will catch us up with John McCain's day in New Mexico. Kelly will also shed some light on Sarah Palin's new flash of independence on the trail.
We’re also covering the horrible tragedy that struck the family of American Idol star, and Oscar-winning "Dreamgirl" Jennifer Hudson. As you may have heard, her mother and brother were murdered in their Chicago home yesterday, and her young nephew is still missing. NBC’s Peter Alexander will examine the latest details.
We've had a great deal of reaction to the gripping series of reports Richard Engel filed from Afghanistan this week. Tonight, he tags along with Viper Company as they go toe-to-toe in a fight against an invisible, but lethal enemy.
I hope you'll join us this evening for NBC Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Just back from Ohio and we're compiling the next segment of our interview to air tonight. We all just came from an election briefing: polls, trends and caveats with 12 days to go. As I've pointed out on the air over the past two days, after a 55-day wait to interview the GOP Vice Presidential nominee, we were then told that the bulk of the interview with Sarah Palin had to be conducted while she was at Senator McCain's side. When it was time to interview Palin herself, time was called after something like 8-10 minutes. We'll air part two tonight -- part three, and a summation, tomorrow evening. We hope you can join us for the broadcast tonight.
By Robert Bazell, NBC News Chief science correspondent
One of the biggest pieces of proof of the “mind-body” connection is the existence of the “placebo effect.” Inevitably, in clinical trials, some people get the placebo, or dummy treatment and perceive they have gotten some benefit. The big question is whether the drug or other treatment brings more benefit than the placebo. Brain scans have even shown that people who are told they are getting a treatment will feel less pain –even if they are not actually getting treatment.
Tonight we report on a study that looked at how doctors use this well-known power of persuasion when they have run out of other options. A survey of U.S. physicians by a group of bioethicists at the National Institutes of Health found that 50 percent of doctors used a placebo regularly. About 61 percent thought it was ethical to do so and only 5 percent tell their patients what they are doing.
We usually think of a placebo as a sugar pill or a pill with some other inert ingredient. In clinical trials, it often is. But in the case of this survey, doctors would give a vitamin, an over-the-counter painkiller, or even an antibiotic knowing full well that it was of no use for the particular condition at hand.
What they hope is that the patient’s mind will perceive some release. A big question, according to the researchers, is whether we have gotten to the place in American medicine where a patient would be content to leave a doctor’s office without a pill or other treatment if the doctor simply offered an assurance they would get better.
The Food and Drug Administration has posted an article about the placebo effect. In 2001, some researchers analyzed a long series of studies that used placeboes and concluded the effect was not powerful enough to be used as a treatment. Apparently, many U.S. doctors feel otherwise.
Click here to read more from the Associated Press. Click here to watch Thursday's package as it aired on Nightly News.
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
A memorial service was held last Friday at Arlington National Cemetery for a soldier who died in Iraq after his discharge from the Army was blocked and his enlistment was extended.
Sgt. Timothy M. Smith, 25, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., was one of more than 12,000 soldiers currently subjected to stop-loss orders, which force them to remain in the Army involuntarily.
"He should have been out," his father told the Tahoe Daily Tribune. "He had done his duty."
Smith had joined the Army in 2004 and had served a nine-month tour in Afghanistan in 2006.
"He was pretty gung-ho going to Afghanistan," his brother told the Daily Tribune.
But Smith's attitude changed after he returned home. He married Shayna Richards on July 4, 2007, and began the formal process of adopting her infant son Riley.
"He had a family to come back to, a wife and a son to come home to," his brother said.
Smith decided to leave the Army, but he was prevented from doing so by stop-loss. He was shipped instead to Iraq in November 2007 to clear roadside bombs and was killed by one of them on April 7, 2008.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Brian Williams is busy preparing for tonight's broadcast. His exclusive interview with Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin airs tonight on NBC Nightly News. Tune in to your local NBC station or nightly.msnbc.com.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Frequent readers know how I feel about those serving in uniform overseas, and those here at home who support them. A number of you wrote us some wonderful, emotional e-mails about Richard Engel's reporting from Afghanistan last night -- part two of his dispatch airs tonight.
Richard and his producer and camera crew risked their lives to show how the soldiers at that outpost risk their lives every day. (Click on the below photo to watch Monday night's report.) In tonight's dispatch, the fighting gets dicier, and tragedy strikes. Richard is now "safely" in Baghdad after leaving Afghanistan and beaming the videotape back to us.
We are preparing questions for tomorrow's interview with Sarah Palin and John McCain. Tonight after the broadcast, Chuck Todd and I will fly to Ohio. If any of you wish to submit questions as posts to this blog, feel free -- I'm still anxious to hear what people want to hear from Governor Palin, especially. We will see you from Ohio tomorrow night -- and we hope you can join us tonight.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This post has been updated.
By Carl Sears, NBC News Washington producer
Either you believe the government that Sen. Ted Stevens is "dirty" - as in corrupt - or you believe the defense attorney Brendan Sullivan's dim view of the government's case: "If you look at life through a dirty glass, and the dirty glass doesn't get washed for 5-10 years, then the whole world looks dirty." Either way, there is a lot of mud being slung in the closing arguments of Sen. Stevens trial.
Prosecutor Joseph Bottini argued that "the price is always right when it's free." Sen. Stevens is charged with knowingly and willfully receiving thousands of dollars in gifts and renovations on his Alaska home that he failed to report on Senate disclosure forms from 1999-2006. Much of the work was performed by Stevens' friend Bill Allen, a key government witness whose oil service company employees worked hundreds of hours on the Stevens "chalet" remodeling.
Prosecutor Bottini methodically took the jury through a series of e-mails and played snatches of secretly recorded conversations in an effort to clearly show that Stevens knew that he was receiving free work and gifts on his Alaska home. Bottini frequently punctuated his arguments with harsh words such as: "this is nonsense," "this is absurd," "his story is ridiculous." "Where is this mystery bill?" and "This is a classic cover-up."
Chief defense counsel Brendan Sullivan blasted the government's case: "I could win the football game on Monday morning - the government is being a Monday morning quarterback six, seven, eight years out." The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, Sullivan said. "You've got an innocent man on your hands. You've got to understand what the evidence means - it doesn't mean what you heard."
In reviewing key e-mails and invoices, Sullivan has shown the Stevenses paid $162,000 to other contractors for renovation work on their Alaska home: "the evidence is overwhelming that what they paid is fair ... They paid their debt and they didn't think they were getting anything for free."
Sullivan attacked the credibility of key government witness Bill Allen, whose Veco workers performed much of the renovation, saying "Ted Stevens had a friend that he thought was one of the more reputable people in Alaska - he didn't know he was the bum he turned out to be - (Allen) pled guilty to bribing people, campaign violations, none of which involve Ted Stevens."
Sullivan said "they ask you to brand (Stevens) a criminal, despite the evidence is undisputable that he is an honest, truthful man."
In the government's final rebuttal, prosecutor Brenda Morris said Stevens blames anybody else, "just so it doesn't stick to him." Morris asked the jury to find Stevens guilty because "he gambled and he lost." Jury deliberations will begin on Wednesday.
More NBC investigative reporting can be found at www.deepbackground.msnbc.com.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Robert Nett has died at the age of 86. I will link to his story, so you can see why his nation thought he was a worthy recipient of the highest possible honor for military action, the Medal of Honor. Notably, Bob's death leaves just 99 living Medal recipients -- the lowest number since the Civil War. For comparison, in the early 1970's, there were over 400 alive. The other numbers are staggering: Bob Nett was wounded three times and nearly died. He stayed in the fight despite blood loss, and killed seven enemy soldiers in a single combat engagement. He served in three wars, and was a 33-year veteran of the U.S. Army. I just stand back and admire an American life like his, and Americans like him. My thoughts and prayers are with Bob's family -- and with the remaining living recipients, on whose board I happily serve. Their proud ranks have once again been diminished by the passing of a fellow patriot and warrior.
I hope you can join us for our Monday broadcast, with 15 days to go until the election of a new President.
Nightly News reported on Thursday, October 16, 2008 that an Alaska investigation into Governor Sarah Palin's firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan found that the governor had abused her powers in the process, but not broken any laws. The report, in fact, found that the governor's abuse of her powers was a violation of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act, but that the firing itself was not a violation of Alaska law.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
The first thing I do most mornings is grab my laptop and read a dozen or so Internet news Web sites to get a sense of the day's stories. However this morning, the first thing I did was search for a video clip of last night's “Saturday Night Live” opening sketch with Sarah Palin.
The digital age has blurred many lines, and the distinction between politics, entertainment and pop culture is no exception. Palin was funny, self-deprecating and came off as a good sport. Who knows, her “SNL” appearance might turn out to be as important to the McCain campaign as any of the rallies she holds this week.
“Saturday Night Live” has become a must-see program for political junkies this campaign season, and all of the late night shows have become must-be places for the candidates including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Jon Stewart have brought us a side of the candidates that we may otherwise have not seen: their ability to laugh at themselves. What we don't know yet is whether it will attract voters. We'll look at the comedy factor of this campaign on our broadcast tonight.
In addition, we will examine the serious business of money and political geography that is dramatically altering the momentum of the race down the final stretch. Our correspondents are on the road with both candidates.
We'll also check in with CNBC's Scott Cohn to preview the week on Wall Street. We’ll ask him if last week's stock gains might finally have signaled the bottom of the financial free fall.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Greetings from Chicago. I made my way to the Windy City after the TODAY show this morning, and will anchor this evening’s installment of the Nightly News from here. After working as a local news anchor here for 14 years, it's always a thrill to be back.
I've returned this weekend to serve as a presenter at the 50th Annual Chicago-Midwest Emmy Awards. When we were planning the trip several weeks ago, both of the city’s baseball teams were on fire. I had visions of leading tonight's newscast with the excitement over the impending World Series between the Cubs and the White Sox. Well, we all know how that worked out – can you say next year?
That said, we’ll have good news at the top of the program tonight. The national average price of a gallon of gas has fallen below $3. That's a price few of us ever thought we'd see again, and it’s happening because of the plummeting price of crude oil. Tonight we'll look at what this means for drivers, homeowners, and the broader economy.
We've got the campaign trail covered as well, which is leading to some unlikely places for the Republican ticket.
Finally, I'll introduce you to a 109-year-old woman who may be providing a glimpse into the future of old age in America, as scientists try to unlock the secrets of longevity.
Thanks for checking in, I hope you can join us later for Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Any time you can use the word "soulful" to describe someone -- or the art they produce -- it commands our attention. Levi Stubbs was soulful. He commanded our attention. His voice appears on the soundtrack album of our times. His music moves people, and makes them move. We'll pay tribute to the magnificent Mr. Stubbs on the broadcast tonight. We'll also take stock of the economy and the election, with 18 days to go. I had a pretty decent seat -- behind both Obama and McCain and next to Kissinger -- at last night's Al Smith dinner here in New York -- where appropriately, there was more than one tribute to our friend Tim, and so many people felt the need to mention him to me -- to touch that shared nerve, and note the loss at the event he loved so much.
I hope you can join us tonight, I also hope you have a good weekend.
By Michelle Kosinski, NBC News correspondent
There's so much going on in this country right now, that stories like this tend to easily get lost in the stress and strain of the bigger picture.But that's also what makes these things such a pure pleasure to find, and put together sometimes...a small escape, some good news, one person... whose story might otherwise escape notice in a week like we've had.
A reminder that a single person still makes a difference. Often, a quiet difference-- never asking for any recognition. But that difference-- that inspiration-- has a tendency to spread. And these are the good people who collectively make our country great.
Chimaobi Amutah's mother didn't come from this country, she survived civil war in Nigeria and emigrated to New Jersey, where she supported and raised her four children by herself.
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By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Perhaps because I had more time than normal today to cruise the interwebs and the Googles, I'd like to devote my post and my space (see how well I avoid any discussion of last night or politics in general?) to some notable stuff out there: a great piece of work on the TSA, and items of interest on the Titanic and the Royals (not the Kansas City kind).
Tonight I'm off to the Al Smith dinner here in New York. It's a night of good news/bad news. The good news is, I'm lucky enough, as a former keynoter, to have a seat on the dais with Obama and McCain and all the other luminaries. The bad news is: I'm missing one of the more spectacular nights of television viewing, including The Office, the SNL special, and McCain on Letterman! The good news is: a seat on the dais usually means you get your meal about 6 minutes before the folks at the tables. The bad news: all those on the dais have to wear white tie.
The most important thing, however, is this: as with all political events this season, this is the first Al Smith dinner in modern memory without Tim Russert. Tim and I used to jokingly call the dinner the "Irish-Catholic Oscars," and sadly, my friend won't be there tonight -- but his wife and son will. So will a room full of people who loved him.
We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
All of us become aware -- in the course of an average day -- of small moments … snippets of Presidential speeches. There are tons of them, constantly -- the President always seems to be speaking somewhere, saying something to someone -- and it's simply a fact of life that during "normal" times, most Presidential remarks don't have national impact. Sometimes you have to hold them up and highlight them -- so we can read them and concentrate on them, away from the heat of the day and debate, and reflect on them. So I offer, for that purpose, these words from the President:
"Our adversaries have not abandoned their ambitions, our dangers have not diminished, our vigilance cannot be relaxed. But now we have the military, the scientific, and the economic strength to do whatever must be done for the preservation and promotion of freedom. That strength will never be used in pursuit of aggressive ambitions -- it will always be used in pursuit of peace. It will never be used to promote provocations -- it will always be used to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes."
The words of the President. President John F. Kennedy. It's a portion of the speech he never delivered: prepared for delivery at the Dallas, Texas Trade Mart on November 22, 1963.
I hope you can join us for our broadcast tonight, and then for our special live coverage of the Presidential debate -- the last of three -- tonight at Hofstra University on Long Island. We'll be on the air at 9pm Eastern for the full two hours.
By Robert Bazell, NBC News chief science correspondent
Today we report on yet more promising research in monkeys involving possible treatments for paralysis. You can read more of the details here. Whenever we consider reporting on animal research we have to consider the fine line between relating hopeful basic research and raising false expectations in the millions of people who suffer paralysis from injury or illness and their loved ones.
The head scientist in this study Dr. Chet Mortiz was careful to tell me that he thinks human applications will be decades away. Yet there is a genuine excitement, not just from this one study, but from many, that a combination of a better understanding of the brain, computers and robotics will bring real help to people sooner rather than later.
To see many of the research projects now underway I suggest you check out the websites of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, and the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke.
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
Some families endure tremendous sacrifices for this country that most Americans are unaware of.
Sharon Rusch was three days shy of her sixth birthday when her father was shot down over Laos in 1972 and disappeared.
"He wasn't suppose to fly that day," Sharon said recently. "Actually, his friend was, but his friend's wife had called and said, 'I had a bad dream. You can't fly today.' So my dad took the mission and of course got shot down."
Air Force Capt. Stephen Rusch, 28, left behind his wife Judy and daughters Sharon and "We had nothing," Sharon said. "My mom had no money. She would work all day at minimum wage jobs and then put us to sleep and make doll clothes for us for Christmas. It all worked out in the end, but I don't know how she did it."
Sharon joined the Air Force herself in 1992 and rose to the rank of colonel in the Dental Corps. She married a fellow Air Force officer, Kevin Bannister, and had two daughters of her own, Kira and Haley.
But her father's disappearance continued to prey on her, especially when she began receiving phone calls from a man who insisted her father was still alive and living overseas.
"He never asked for money, but that's where I think he was going," Sharon said. "I was very quick to tell him I didn't buy any of it and I thought it was awful of him to call families. He contacted me a couple of times and then sort of disappeared."
She said families of the missing are often targets of such scams.
"It's more common than you would think," she said. "It makes me a little sick to my stomach to know people are out there doing that to families."
About 10 years ago, her father's crash site was located, and a bone fragment was later recovered. A DNA sample was needed from his mother to identify his remains.
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By Vicky Bernal, NBC News associate producer
More than a third of all children in foster care are African American, yet they have lower rates of adoption than children of other race and ethnicities. African American children are also more likely to stay in foster care for a longer period of time compared to white children. A report from earlier this year examines the role of race in adoption from foster care.
The Even B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a non-profit adoption advocacy and research organization, takes a look at the federal law governing adoptions from foster care. Under the law agencies that receive federal funding are prohibited from considering race, color or national origin as a factor when placing foster care children with potential adoptive families. Part of what this includes and what the Institute takes issue with is that white parents adopting a black child are not required to receive special training or counseling to discuss the potential challenges that adopting across racial lines can bring-things like how to deal with discrimination to how to take care of African American hair.
This report argues that a colorblind approach doesn't work and doesn't meet the needs of African American children. While adopting across racial lines can bring much needed homes to children who need them the Institute wants more practices in place to help better serve the challenges that adopting across racial lines can bring.
CONTINUED >>
By Al Henkel, NBC News producer
Driving into the middle of Kansas City, Missouri, we saw James Brickhouse sitting on his porch, having a cigarette and a cup of coffee, getting ready to go to work. Brickhouse and his girlfriend live in what was once a pretty nice area of inner-city Kansas City, Missouri.
Brickhouse and most of his neighbors admit, it's not so nice right now. "It's the economy, man. It's really jacked up right now," he says in a low-key voice. Brickhouse is working to remodel some houses for his landlord, and is looking for another job on top of that, but no one is hiring in this neighborhood right now.
This zip code, 64130, has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the city. Abandoned houses, with boarded up or broken out windows are everywhere, Courthouse auction flyers decorate some porches, and bright green "Do not occupy" stickers are all around.
Brickhouse says crime around here is out of control. "Kids are doing stupid crimes, shooting people over gas, just stupid stuff."
Kansas City police say overall crime is up about 10 percent in the city.
Exact stats are not kept, but cops on the beat patrol this neighborhood all the time. The economy goes down, crime goes up. It's not all gloom and doom for the people in this neighborhood, but there's a lot less of a cushion than in most.
Tomorrow: Des Moines, Iowa.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Supreme Court buffs know that when you put nine high-intellect legal minds together, something is bound to happen to upset the norm once in a while. It has happened this term, from an unlikely source. Tonight we'll talk about one of those rare occasions when a Supreme Court justice busts out of the norm -- and instead of writing a by-rote piece of legalese, decides to have some fun...with an otherwise serious case before the Court.
And about last night: thanks to all of you who wrote...and clicked on our extended coverage...and who share our fascination with the Kennedy tapes -- and the simple joy of hearing the conversational voice of a former President. He was taken from us too young, he left far too little behind. What a rare treat to uncover something new from this man about whom it was famously said, "We hardly knew ye..."
We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
By Al Henkel, NBC News producer
Our road trip continues through the heartland. Tonight we'll take you to tiny Garden Plain, Kansas, and introduce you to Larry Steckline and some of his neighbors. Larry was born on a farm in northern Kansas, and clearly loves it. He has to love it, he says, "because some days I sure don't like it very much." He jokes that farming is like going to the crap tables in Las Vegas, "But at least in Vegas you can have some fun while you are losing your money."
Farmers all throughout the country enjoyed a pretty good 2008, at least until the last few months. Grain and feed prices are swinging like a pendulum; fertilizer and diesel fuel prices were through the roof for the planting season last spring, so farmers are stuck with those costs, yet grain prices are depressed. But farmers are optimists, and you will see that in our story tonight.
I wanted to give you a small snapshot of how we're traveling this week. From our jumping off point in Tulsa, OK, we've driven about 600 miles so far in the SUV.
Once we're done shooting, Mara jumps in the backseat and starts logging and editing the tape to get it ready for the next day's spot. My best guess is a total trip of about 2000 miles, once you count the backroads and side trips.
Tomorrow night: Kansas City, MO.
By Pete Williams, NBC News justice correspondent
In dissenting from the Supreme Court's refusal to take up a drug case from Philadelphia, Chief Justice John Roberts today channeled his inner Jack Webb or Dashiell Hammett in summarizing the facts of the case like a hard boiled fiction writer.
"North Philly, May 4, 2001. Officer Sean Devlin, Narcotics Strike Force, was working the morning shift. Undercover surveillance. The neighborhood? Tough as a three-dollar steak. Devin knew. Five years on the beat, nine months with the Strike Force. He'd made fifteen, twenty drug busts in the neighborhood.
"Devin spotted him: a lone man on the corner. Another approached. Quick exchange of words. Cash handed over; small objects handed back. Each man then quickly on his own way. Devlin knew the guy wasn't buying bus tokens. He radioed a description and Officer Stein picked up the buyers. Sure enough: three bags of crack in the guy's pocket. Head downtown and book him. Just another day at the office."
The issue was whether the policeman had sufficient reason to make the arrest -- probable cause -- even though he didn't actually see any drugs change hands. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said no, he did not, and dismissed the charges. Justice Roberts, joined by Justice Kennedy, said that was the wrong ruling. They said the Supreme Court should have taken the case to overturn that decision.
Probable cause requires only a reasonable ground for belief of guilt. There could have been an innocent explanation for the transaction the policeman saw, said Roberts and Kennedy, but the officer knew it was a high-crime area where frequent drug sales take place. He was entitled to draw the conclusion he did, the justices said.
Tough racket.
By Maria Menounos, NBC News contributing correspondent
Today, one in every five kids living in the U.S. is a child to immigrant parents and, in 15 years, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that more than half of all children will be minorities.
It should be no wonder, then, that this story and topic seemed to electrify our Nightly News office in New York. Upon hearing the pitch for the series, over 20 first-generation American employees swarmed to a meeting, eager to discuss their respective journeys with me, a first generation Greek American myself.
We had almost every culture represented at the meeting, too (Indian, Jamaican, Asian, Latino, African American and more). There was a definite unity – a common bond of sorts amongst all in attendance. Though some of us weren’t always proud to be the different ones in our classes growing up, we were all most certainly proud of our various heritages now.
Needless to say, growing up first-generation in America isn’t always easy and I can speak from personal experience. To begin with, English was my second language, and that created a myriad of problems. The worst thing was that I felt trapped in an endless game of academic catch-up. I was always two years behind in my grade school reading and comprehension and had to work incredibly hard just to maintain even that pace.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
We're debuting our JFK tapes tonight -- we're planning and putting together an extra package on the web to go with it (for those who want to hear more) and it continues to be fascinating the more I listen to it. The great Michael Beschloss, historian and author, will be here tonight to talk us through what we're hearing. I think most listeners will be struck by President Kennedy's intellect, his respect for the political process and the voters, his candor, and how our language has changed in the course of a generation or two. We're very excited to be bringing this to you tonight, along with the rest of our newscast this Columbus Day Monday evening.
I hope everyone had a good weekend and can join us tonight.
By Les Kretman, NBC News White House producer
The economy "schmeconomy." There is something about a White House South Lawn ceremony that that pushes aside worldly troubles for almost an hour. As many members of the Italo-American community waved flags and cheered the close relationship between Italy and this country, a nineteen gun salute punctuated the air.
This is Columbus Day and in less than a month the U-S will be electing a new President. So in recent weeks a variety of heads of state have made farewell stops at the White House - and today one of President Bush's closest allies Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dropped by for a state visit complete with a review of the troops. Tonight, there'll be state dinner.
Back in 2003 Berlusconi got one of those coveted invitations for a weekend at the ranch in Crawford, Texas - and has made several trips to the White House. Bush, meanwhile, visited Italy earlier this year. Today, Berlusconi called the President a man of great ideals and principles. Bush greeted him with as hearty "Buon Giorno." And later at a Rose Garden news conference Berlusconi expressed 'love" for the president.
But in today's atmosphere of hyperbolic cordiality there was a dose of reality. At both the South Lawn ceremony and in the Rose Garden the leaders made references to the economy, and the urgent need to stabilize world markets. Bush, in the Rose Garden described this as being as being "a crucial time in history."
Tonight more ceremony with a State Dinner and entertainment.
By Al Henkel, NBC News producer
This week Mara Schiavocampo and I will be taking you on an economic adventure through the Midwest. We're traveling through 5 states, talking to people about the economy. We'll give you a different snapshot every day. No experts, no talking heads, just real people, from all walks of life.
The Midwest is a great place to do this sort of reporting. If you are polite enough to ask first, people will talk to you about darned near anything. I grew up, both personally and professionally, in the Midwest. I was a reporter in Iowa more than a quarter century ago, when family farms were being lost, and bankers were repossessing livestock to cover bad loans. In Oklahoma in the 80's the savings and loan debacle occupied much of my time, both as a reporter, and a consumer. Working everyday in that environment doesn't make you an expert on economics, but it sure gives you a good base for questions this time around. The phrase "main street to wall street" doesn't mean much unless you really get out and hit the bricks.
Tonight we'll introduce you to the people of Pryor, Oklahoma. Even before the national troubles, Pryor has not had a good couple of months. Two major employers have announced job losses of almost 700 people. That's a lot for a town of 86-hundred. When Georgia Pacific announced it was shutting down the paper mill that's been operating here since Johnson was president, people were stunned. Early this month, a second long-time employer announced it was moving operations to Texas and Mexico. That would be bad enough. Then the markets started the meltdown. People here scared, frustrated, and worried, yet hopeful and optimistic at the same time. "Small towns are like that" says Mayor Jimmy Tramel. "We all help each other, it's just what we do."
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
I'm beginning to regard the notion of a Monday through Friday business week as a thing of the past. The U.S. financial markets don't open until tomorrow morning, but for yet another Sunday, economic policy makers are busy trying to head off a market meltdown. Their deadline is not Monday morning, but tonight, when Asian markets open for business.
The flurry of activity is not just taking place in Washington, but in European capitals as well, as the global crisis is being met by a global response. We'll have late details on the plans to boost investor confidence when we go on the air tonight.
With John McCain and Barack Obama both preparing for the final presidential debate, their running mates and surrogates were keeping the fight alive today. We'll share the day's highlights on Nightly News tonight.
While you are on the Nightly News Web site, I hope you'll take a moment to watch a terrific piece of reporting by NBC’s Victor Limjoco. Today marks 10 years to the day that Matthew Shepard died following a vicious beating in Laramie, Wyoming. The murder of the 21-year-old gay student was a hate crime that shocked the nation. Victor traveled to Laramie and found a community still coping with the murder.
In the meantime I'll look for you tonight on NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Emotions are running high in the final weeks of the presidential campaign. Sharp language, attacks and accusations are flying fast and furious — and that's just between supporters of the two candidates. Now, John McCain – who the Obama folks have accused of crossing the line with some of his recent attacks – finds himself in the curious – and oddly uncomfortable – position of confronting his supporters at campaign rallies, and defending Barack Obama.
Tonight on the Nightly News, we'll report on another apparent adjustment in strategy and tone for the McCain campaign, as well as a serious accusation aimed at the Republican nominees from a Democratic congressman who supports Obama.
We'll also examine President Bush's response to the economic crisis after making his sixth public statement in the last eight days. Today, it was an expression of unity after his meeting with officials from the G-7 nations. How and when that international unity might produce action to ease the crisis is the subject of Kevin Corke's reporting tonight. In addition, CNBC's Trish Regan will join us to talk about how consumer habits are adjusting to all of this. She'll also share the status is of the apparent merger talks between GM and Chrysler.
It's another busy Saturday, and I'd be pleased to have you join us for our broadcast this evening.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I'm about to get in a cab...or on the subway (depending on traffic) and go downtown to Wall Street. We will originate the broadcast tonight from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, where they officially had the wildest trading session in history: a swing of over a thousand points up and down.
I wanted to alert our viewers (as Tom Brokaw will on Meet the Press on Sunday) to something we have coming up Monday night: newly-discovered audio tape, of an un-guarded JFK, just months before becoming President -- just over 3-years before his assasination. He talks candidly about his life, politics and his own health. The tapes will air for the first time anywhere on our broadcast Monday night. I've listened to all of it -- and it is chilling, haunting and fascinating at the same time. Having read just about every book extant on the Kennedy family and his presidency, I already know there is material here that will be in the next printing of various textbooks.
We'll hope to see you tonight. Have a good weekend (or try to) and we'll see you here Monday.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I just returned from one of my favorite things. Every year I speak to a group of about 100 U.S. Marines -- mostly Lt. Col.'s and Col.'s -- all of them just back from either Iraq or Afghanistan or both. Many are base commanders and XO's; all of them thoughtful warriors. I'm flattered to be invited to spend time with them during their week-long gathering in New York every year. As is always the case when I spend time with the military, I get much more from being around them than they could possibly get from my remarks. But that's just the way it is. They had a ton of questions about public perception of our dual wars, the financial mess and the upcoming election.
I found a sobering video on the New York Times website last night, and I recommend it to all who are looking for some historical perspective on the current financial crisis. It is serious and sobering and features two of the paper's veterans talking about the topic they know best...their life's work, and our shared financial state.
I hope you can join us for our Thursday night broadcast.
By Carl Sears, NBC News producer, Washington
The Government has gone fishing for a 'king salmon.' His name is Ted Stevens, longest-serving Republican Senator and at age 84, an Alaskan legend up for reelection. Stevens corruption trial has reached the half-way mark with the Government resting its case that he lied about $250,000 in home renovations and gifts that he failed to report on Senate financial disclosure forms.
At trial, Stevens has been as imposing and placid as a totem pole as his former close friend Bill Allen testified about extensive renovations performed by Allen's former oil pipeline company--Veco employees on Stevens' Alaskan home in Girdwood. Allen is a convicted felon having been 'hooked' last year in a separate federal investigation for bribing Alaskan state legislators, and is a cooperating witness in Stevens’ trial.
Whether the jury saw Allen as a tarnished titan or a rusty steel pipe is open to question, but his halting testimony was supported by numerous exhibits--showing the transformation of Stevens' modest A-frame cabin into an A-Z home with extra bedrooms, new kitchen and bathrooms, sauna, decks, garage, fire escape ladder and generator for power failure. Much of this work was performed by Allen's Veco employees totaling $180,000 on the company's internal accounting records, but Senator Stevens was never sent a bill.
At trial, Government witness testimony supported by emails and handwritten notes showed that on at least 3-4 occasions Stevens asked Allen or Veco workers for a bill, and even reminded Allen in a note that "friendship is one thing, but compliance with ethics rules is another." The defense argued that even Allen acknowledges that if Stevens had been sent a bill, he would have paid it. On the one hand, this suggests a willingness to pay for work done, but on the other it is potent evidence that Stevens knew the importance of reporting on the disclosure forms -- and even if he didn't have a bill to pay -- he knew that Bill Allen was doing work that needed to be paid for and that he needed to report it --- he neither paid nor reported any of Bill Allen's or Veco's renovation work.
On Thursday afternoon, Judge Emmet Sullivan has denied defense motion for acquittal. The defense is opening its case with character witness Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), and intends to follow perhaps tomorrow with Colin Powell, among others. In better days, Stevens and his fishing buddy Bill Allen used to catch their share of prized king salmon in Alaska's Kenai River. Now, the big fish is in the dock as the trial winds through its third week.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
As I said after last night's coverage, anyone familiar with the early American town hall meeting tradition -- would be forgiven for not considering what happened in Nashville last night a "town hall-style meeting" per se. The rules allowed the audience to play but a limited role. Tom Brokaw did the best he could against the time constraints, and the candidates did what candidates do. If the voters want changes, the Commission on Presidential Debates will have to change...and it will take both parties to change that. For now, we'll continue using these same formats, the same lecterns, the same eagle logo above the stage -- and we'll have to be content with events like last night.
We'll have coverage of the debate and the continuing economic situation tonight. I hope you can join us.
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
Army Chief Warrant Officer Michael Slebodnik, the father of six children and a veteran of six combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was buried Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery.
Slebodnik, 39, died Sept. 11 of wounds suffered when his helicopter was hit by small arms fire in Afghanistan.
Slebodnik enlisted in 1987 after graduating from high school in Gibsonia, Pa., and spent the next 21 years flying helicopters in the Army. He participated in Operation Desert Storm in 1990 and served four tours in Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan in January.
He was scheduled to return home this month but was fatally wounded near Forward Operating Base Nagil on the seventh anniversary of 9/11.
"Mickey loved his country," his sister Jody said at an earlier memorial service. "He loved being a soldier. That's all he ever wanted to be."
He also loved his wife, Tanja, his daughter, Ginger, his three sons, Michael, Jacob and Spencer, and his two stepsons, Benjamin and Dylan. CONTINUED >>
By Michelle Kosinski, NBC Correspondent
Driving around foreclosure-riddled southwest Florida, we couldn't believe our eyes. The prices! Were those typos?
Funny, that's exactly how we felt three years ago about real estate in Florida. Only, for the exact opposite reason.
Today, homes that would have sold--and did sell--in the high $200,000 range in 2005 are being sold off by banks for $50,000 or $60,000. We found four-bedroom, never-lived-in homes for $80,000. Generally, when you look at what the peak value was for a particular house in this area, you can subtract $200,000 now.
Yes, this is partially a very sad story. For many of those thousands of foreclosures, there is a family that bit off more of a mortgage than they could digest, and were forced out. One listing mentioned that the original family would like to rent the home back from the new buyer, if possible. One bidder, a 24-year old student who never dreamed she'd be able to afford a home now, felt guilty.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
When media people have to approach other media people for comment, or an interview -- including times when they know that it’s a fruitless task -- they always say the same thing, "I had to ask."
So when we asked Tom Brokaw's producer in Nashville this morning if he wanted to come on Nightly News tonight to preview the debate, we quickly added that we had to ask. Per usual, Tom did the right thing and declined. Whenever I've moderated debates, I've tried to stay well within a protective bubble on the road -- from hotel to venue and back again, avoiding all interview requests. It’s inevitable: everyone wants to know how you THINK it’s going to go, and what the candidates "have to do" that night. Afterwards, the first question is always "who do you think won the debate tonight?"
Because that's not our role, and because Tom knows that more than most, as I write this he's "underground" and can't be reached, while he's doing his final preps. We'll be watching our man tonight -- I'll be watching while sitting in the seat he occupied for 23 years. Tom knows that at a well-moderated debate, the focus is squarely on the candidates, and what they say and how they react -- as it will be tonight.
We hope you can join us for Nightly News, and again later in the evening for our live debate coverage at 9pm Eastern time, 6pm on the West Coast.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
This is what Gretchen Morgenson wrote in the New York Times on 3/30/99, under the headline DOW FINISHES DAY OVER 10,000 MARK FOR THE FIRST TIME:
"Although 10,000 is little more than a psychological hurdle for investors, the market's move is significant in what it reflects: the unparalleled strength of the economy and the dominance of the world economic stage by American corporations."
On the other hand, there's today's news. And tomorrow's. As one leading financial executive said today, "you will remember 2008 for the next 50 years." I fear it won't be for anything good.
Sorry to end the post on that note, but work calls. On the upside, the New York Giants are undefeated. We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
By Rehema Ellis, NBC News correspondent
When we joined the kids at Van Derveer Elementary in Somerville, New Jersey, we discovered they're learning a lot of lessons on the so-called walking school bus.
For one, kids are getting pointers on what it means to be a good citizen. One teacher, Lindsey Frevret, who walks with the students every Wednesday, says she reminds the children about the importance of respecting the property of others.
"I tell them not to walk on the grass and not to pick the flowers, because those things are here for everyone to enjoy,” she says.
Another lesson: We saw the children pick up trash in front of a stranger's house and put it in a garbage can.
Now this may all sound a bit corny and maybe even simple, but not if it's your neighborhood that children are walking through and not if it's your grass and flowers. The children are all supporting each other’s efforts, having a good time, laughing and burning up a lot of energy as they scurry to school. And by the time they get to class, they're wide awake, and ready to learn, teachers say.
The benefits aren't limited to the children and the neighbors. Teachers and parents -- the walking monitors -- are also getting to exercise, and they're getting to know the children in a different setting. Frevret says as she listens to the kids share stories with one another.
“It keeps me updated on things like Hanna Montana. So I can go into the classroom and throw out those names and feel cool, and it gets the kids excited,” she says.
One father walking his son to school said he loves it because they get to talk. And that makes it a good time for both of them.
WATCH VIDEO
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
After all the urgency and build-up to yesterday's passage of the financial bailout plan, one almost expected to wake up this morning to an economy on the rebound. The reality of course is that it will take time before the government can start buying up all that bad debt, and no one can say with certainty whether the plan will work as advertised. One can understand the impatience of industries and businesses that are running out of time. On our program tonight Chris Jansing profile's a Los Angeles area car dealership that saw virtually no customers walk through the door this morning, has had to lay off workers, and now even closes up early each day to save on the cost of electricity. It seems lately if you get more than two people in the room, the conversation turns to the economy and the signs we are all seeing around us of how people and businesses are getting hurt. In addition to Chris's story, CNBC's Trish Reagan will be on tonight to address what happens now that the bailout plan has been approved, and how we will know if it's working.
The other talker of the day is the OJ Simpson guilty verdict, which came 13 years to the day after he was acquitted in the murders of his ex-wife and her friend. What would otherwise be a local story of a two-bit holdup has re-ignited the national debate over whether justice was in fact properly served 13 years ago in Los Angeles, and whether it was ever possible to view this latest case in a vacuum. We'll have much more on the story tonight.
I hope you'll join us later for NBC Nightly News.
By Mara Schiavocampo, NBC Nightly News digital correspondent
Last week I was in Haiti covering the aftermath of four fierce storms that slammed the island nation in less than a month. (You can view my first report be clicking on the photo below.) We were based in Gonaives, one of the hardest hit areas. By the time we got there it had been three weeks since the last storm, and people were still living on their roofs, their houses full of mud and water.
Those people were the "lucky" ones, as they still had a house to live on. Many more--tens of thousands--lost absolutely everything, and are living in shelters around the city. We met one woman in a shelter who was wearing a slip as a dress. She told me that her slip and underwear were all she had, and even those things had been donated.
Knee-high mud still covers much of the city. From the smell of the mud, it's likely mixed with sewage. Pools of fetid water, like little lakes, were scattered about. We had the luxury of having brought wading boots. Most of the locals walked around barefoot or wearing regular sneakers. Doctors Without Borders told me they're treating a lot of cuts and infections from people wading through mud barefoot.
As we were packing up to go, we decided to leave our water behind: two cases of half-liter bottles. We thought it would be wise to give them to a group of nuns who live and work in Gonaives, as they would know the best way to distribute them. As we carried the cases from the car to the nuns, a group formed nearby. They were asking for water. Then they were shouting for water. Then they started arguing with one another about who should get the water. One young man I had introduced myself to didn't speak English, but he remembered my name. He kept calling out to me over and over. We got the water to the nuns and they put the cases inside a building, to be distributed when things settled down. All of that commotion for about two cups of water, something that means so little to most of us in the U.S., some seven hundred miles away.
There are rarely light moments in such awful circumstances. But I saw a pig that briefly made me chuckle. He was rolling around in all the muck, happy as a pig in you-know-what. I remember thinking "that pig is the only one happy here.”
Editor's note: Click on the photo above to watch Mara's report from Sept. 26, "Little aid making it's way to storm-stricken Haiti." Watch NBC Nightly News tonight for our report about some of the volunteers who are there "Making a Difference."
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
These are the kinds of debates we have in our newsroom. Since every word we use has a specific meaning and can carry great weight, we, along with other news organizations, have been debating between the two. We've mostly settled on "bailout" -- even though it's as pejorative as "rescue" is positive. We've mixed it up a bit -- talked about it every day -- and we'll come up with something better if we land on it. We're still talking about last night's debate -- we'll cover it tonight with Andrea Mitchell. Have a good weekend and we'll see you here Monday night.
By Anthony Galloway, Producer, NBC News
After three hours of deliberations, we received word from the jury room. “Pizza and chicken wings,” court information officer Michael Sommermayer said. Sitting under a tent outside the Clark County Regional Justice Center on a day like this, it was a morsel journalists could devour.
We are waiting on a verdict in the O.J. Simpson robbery and kidnapping trial taking place in Las Vegas. Until we get the big news, we’ll settle for any news. This morning’s news was what the jury would eat for lunch: Pizza and chicken wings.
What the jury probably doesn’t know, as they debate whether or not to convict Mr. Simpson, is that across the street from the courthouse a barbeque is underway. This lunch is for the group of journalists that have covered this case since the alleged incident took place at the Palace Station hotel in September 2007.
The smell of barbeque led straight to the Court TV satellite truck, where the information officer and our Court TV colleagues readied chicken, brisket, corn on the cob, mac and cheese, potato salad and an array of desserts. Reporters gathered in the makeshift media village to eat and discuss the case. We speculated on how fast a verdict might come and which direction we thought the jury was leaning. We recalled other high-profile trials we had covered and questioned the common wisdom that juries like to reach verdicts on Fridays.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
When I drove by the vacant slip on Manhattan's West Side today, there was a palpable air of anticipation -- and an undeniable police presence. It felt as if an important, beloved -- and still robust -- family member was on the mend and returning from the hospital. And indeed she has. The Intrepid is back where it belongs, 22-months after shoving off (quite literally, it turned out, as a sandbar of silt had formed beneath the keel over the years) for repairs and refurbishing in drydock. Intrepid (part of a large military history museum complex) has become a vital part of this city, and I recommend it to all visitors. The decks show the scars of the history the ship has seen, and there's always at least one man onboard who served on the great, storied carrier. I cannot wait to pay a return visit.
There is a temptation to express the anticipation (and yes, for junkies, the pure excitement) surrounding tonight's VP debate in sports or entertainment terms -- and while I'll resist that, it is a genuinely exciting evening, and a hugely important event in the process that culminates on election day. We'll be back on the air later tonight with live coverage of the debate beginning at 9pm Eastern time.
In the meantime, we hope you can join us for Nightly News tonight.
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
Iraq and Afghanistan don't look very far apart on a map, but they appear worlds apart when it comes to the success of the U.S. war effort in those two countries.
Each month, I interview soldiers receiving Purple Hearts at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and invariably they tell me the war is going well in Iraq and badly in Afghanistan. Last Friday was no exception.
"There was a lot of progress made in my area of East Baghdad east of Sadr City," Army Sgt. Brian Scott, 28, of Boston, Mass., told me. "It was going very well."
Scott, who was wounded Aug. 28 by a roadside bomb, worked with the Iraqi police forces.
"Progress has been made with the Iraqi police over time," he said. "I noticed it personally working with them and going on patrols with them and talking to the people that were feeling more comfortable coming and talking to the Iraqi police about regular crimes that happened in the streets and neighborhoods of their area."
Afghanistan is a different story, according to two soldiers who were wounded there.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
After hearing the news today that Warren Buffett is now a $3 billion investor in our parent company, GE -- following his $5 billion to Goldman Sachs -- does this not make him our "central banker"? There were so many new financial developments today -- I'm in the midst of separating them out, between our lead story and several smaller, separate items (staggering auto sales figures from Ford...which especially hurt as a Ford owner) that will lead into a live interview with Michelle Cabrera. We'll try to explain as much of this as we can. In the meantime, the debate preps are just about finished heading into tomorrow night's widely-anticipated showdown in St. Louis. We have an important segment on breast cancer tonight, and a tip of the hat to Chicago.
We hope you can join us tonight.
