There is an old saying in the news business that you can’t go wrong with stories about adorable children and dogs. So a report that has both is a sure fire winner. That may not always be the case but I find tonight’s story especially fascinating.
Riley Mers is an eight year old in Monument, Colorado who has such a severe peanut allergy that a slight whiff can actually threaten her life. Her mother Sherry was watching a television program about how bomb sniffing dogs had been trained to look for illegal fruits and vegetables at customs crossings, so she thought: Why not a peanut sniffing dog to check out rooms before Riley enters them to be sure she is safe?
Mom started asking around in the area about someone who might train a dog. A dog breeder gave her a Portuguese Water Dog whom Riley named Rock’O and directed her to a Bill Whitstine who trains dogs to detect explosives at the Florida Canine Academy. There have been reports of other dogs trained to sniff out peanuts but Whitstine had never done it and took it on a challenge. He donated his time in training the dog that would usually cost $15,000. He said it was surprisingly easy to train a dog for peanut diction.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I want to direct your attention to the last segment in tonight's broadcast. In its simplest terms, it’s a story about a wall, in a school building in Washington, DC. But it’s much more than that--it’s about children, about education, and the so-far incalculable effect the election of a new President has had among some. It’s an interesting item -- I hope it’s a story well-told, and we'd like you to pay special attention to the very end of our broadcast (for that matter--to ALL of the broadcast) tonight. We hope you can join us.
By Jack Chesnutt, Producer, NBC News
(Tucson, AZ) After millions of words are written, hours of analysis by golf commentators, and a few suggestions from their caddies, there is one last voice pro golfers Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Ernie Els hear before hitting the shot that could lead to a one point four million dollar purse: Dick Fitzgerald. Dick who? That's Dick Fitzgerald, the 59-year old Tucson real estate broker, amateur golfer, and starting tee announcer. As Tiger waits to tee off, golf announcers fall silent, and there is Dick's voice. No microphone, no amplifier, please.
"From the United States, Tiger Woods!" The crowd goes wild. Fitzgerald knows it's not for him, but that's okay. Only a few seconds later, Tiger hammers another picture-perfect drive down the fairway. Fitzgerald is within 10 feet of his backswing.
"Proximity, that's what is so cool. It's great to really see these guys up close." Anfod, he is close. He shakes hands with all the players and most of the caddies. He can hear the whispered questions and conversation between golfer and caddie. And, he has had the best seat in the house at the Accenture Match Play Championship for the last 10 years to take note of who is edgy, "most come to the tee with nerves, butterflies, some even pace." And, who is in their own world. "Tiger. He has such focus!"
CONTINUED >>
By Jack Chesnutt, NBC News producer
It's 86 degrees, blinding sunshine and I'm running between tall columns of saguaro sactus and dodging low bushes armed with evil thorns. I'm carrying two videotapes of beautiful footage of Tiger Woods' first day back in competitive golf in eight months. If I don't get the tape to a satellite uplink truck soon, the fine pictures and also our news report for NBC Nightly News will not get on the air. I'm looking for a satellite uplink truck somewhere inside a large compound in the desert. The compound is near the swanky golf course where the Accenture Match Play Championship is now underway. Its hot, I'm sweating, and my leg just took a thorn-scratch.
It's at this point I should mention that everyone at NBC News and among my friends and family hooted when they heard I had the assignment to cover Tiger's return for NBC.
"Boondoggle!" was the typical observation. "Hey, I thought you had to work for a living!" Was another. Yes, I'm a golfer-- a hacker like most who have tried this evil game. Today, I'm not wearing golf shoes and a nifty golf shirt. Its a sweat-stained polo and (thankfully) low-rise hiking boots which I hope will protect my feet from thorns and... yes, that sign ahead is a warning to watch out for snakes.
Jack Chesnutt on assignment.
As a member of the media, I have a special sticker on my cell phone that allows me to make and receive calls (vibrate only) but cell service in this high desert enclave is spotty at best. Calls by a co-worker in the satellite truck to ask "Where are you" do not get through.
For a moment, I trot along a dirt road, free of threatening plants and reptiles, and I think back to the 30 minutes of the golf tournament I was able to watch. Like the rest of the golf world, I've missed seeing Tiger's uncanny skills on TV. But shortly after dawn on Tuesday, I witnessed Tiger walk out to a practice range and without so much as a practice swing, he hit a high arching shot over 100 yards which dropped, bounced about a foot and stop within two feet of the flagstick. He then did it three more times in a row, each shot falling gently within that space the size of a card table.
Now, I have a lot of respect for NFL quarterbacks. They have to dodge those 300 pound rushers. But, what Tiger does with a ball would be the equal of Peyton Manning throwing a football the length of the field into a bushel-basket-- and not knocking over the basket.
I also stood about 60 yards down the fairway when Tiger hit a drive. The sound of the ball passing overhead was a high-pitched whistle. It makes me think of a jet fighter or a missile fly-by. But, I digress... I have to find the satellite truck, or I will be fired, left to scratch a living out of the desert.
I vaguely remember hearing that the truck is "under a big crane." That helps. There are about a dozen cranes out here. But with luck I spot a large truck with two giant transmit-dishes on the roof. I've come to the right place. The tape feeds out on the satellite to be edited in our Burbank office. I bask in the cool of the air-conditioned control room for a few minutes and then it's back out into the sun to report on the last few holes of the Tiger match.
One last impression: As Tiger is about to hit a drive on one of his last holes of the day, I see fans and media folks walking along the paths. Some people even have large umbrellas to keep the sun off. It's distracting even for me. Tiger NEVER loses his focus. At a moment when the hacker golfer would be asking for a moment of peace and calm, Tiger fires another picture-perfect drive, the white dot of the ball streaking across the blue sky. The umbrellas continue to amble down the path. The ball rockets ahead to land, again, near the green. Nice. Better than nice. Awesome. A little pay-off for the hot trip through the desert to feed the tape, and I even have a little scratch-scar to brag about back home.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Back in New York thanks to my friends at Amtrak. The blogs and morning papers chose some interesting follow-up topics, including the First Lady going sleeveless last night, showing off what the Washington Post's billiant Robin Givhan has called her "post-Title IX Arms."
Here's the New York Times Caucus blog.
There's also Mark Halperin's list of 15 items about Obama and Dana Milbank on Twitter. The other piece of required reading this week is the New Yorker profile of Rahm Emanuel.
We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I was seated next to the President for lunch today -- the annual background session for television journalists (just as there are frequent sessions for print journalists, members of Congress and business executives) prior to his speech tonight.
It was a wide-ranging discussion (the ground rules prohibit us from quoting the President directly) that included movies (“Slumdog” reminded him of growing up in Jakarta, he saw “Gran Torino” last night and loved it) and his own life and security (he was horrified to learn that everyone who attended his daughter's basketball game this past weekend was searched prior to his arrival) and the business at hand.
On the economy, the President previewed his speech tonight -- in which he will try to explain to Americans what we're going through, while noting the anger, fear and frustration out there. He's going to call on the American spirit and express his optimism that we'll get through this, all the better for it.
He indicated the last month has flown by him, but repeated what he's said before: he loves the work of the Presidency.
These sessions are always interesting and always useful...and it’s fascinating to see the differences in personality and operating style between these last two Presidents. The tone in the West Wing and the Residence is decidedly different, in a way that defies an easy description or definition.
Tonight we all get to hear what he proposes...for what ails us. We will have live coverage of the speech tonight...and well before that, we hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
By Mark Potter, NBC News Correspondent
NOGALES, MEXICO -- When considering the vicious drug war being waged in Mexico, it's instructive--and a bit disconcerting--to head south to look at it from Mexico's point of view.
While U.S. citizens are rightfully worried about the violence and the tons of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine and heroin crossing the Mexican border into the United States, Mexican officials have their own complaints about the threats they face from their neighbor north of the border.
Mexican officials point out that almost all the financing for the murderous Mexican drug cartels--billions of dollars a year--comes from U.S. drug users.
They also note, and U.S. officials confirm this, that 90 to 95 percent of all the traffickers' high-powered weapons are purchased at gun shows, gun shops and from independent dealers in the United States and are then smuggled into Mexico.
Weapons seized by Mexican officials. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO
Because Mexican gun laws are so restrictive and very few Mexican citizens are allowed to own or sell guns, the traffickers purchase most of their weapons in the U.S. where the laws are more lenient and federal firearms agents are stretched woefully thin. (Several sources have said that along the entire 2,000 mile U.S.-Mexican border, there are fewer than 100 federal firearms agents currently working weapons smuggling cases.)
On too many occasions, Mexican police have been simply out-gunned and overrun by the well-armed drug gangs. Just last week, the police chief in Juarez, Mexico, resigned after the drug traffickers began to make good on their threat to methodically kill his officers one by one if he didn't quit.
Federal, state and local public officials, as well as soldiers and journalists, are also targeted by the traffickers as they fight to defend and spread their narcotics operations. Innocent bystanders are often caught in the crossfire.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon and other officials have been begging the United States to tackle the drug abuse problem more effectively and to do a whole lot more to slow the illicit weapons trade. In a moment of frustration, the Mexican Attorney General told me once that too often the United States appears to be fighting the drug war on the wrong side--by financing and arming the traffickers.
No one suggests Mexico is devoid of responsibility on this issue. The poverty, widespread corruption and failures of its justice system all enable to traffickers to operate with impunity in too many areas. But, under the current presidential administration in Mexico, the government is fighting back and has sent more than 45,000 troops to confront the drug cartels.
A Mexican police officer stands guard during a prison
transfer of drug traffickers.
In the United States, an increasing number of officials are realizing the Mexican drug war is also a serious U.S. problem. Among other things, there is proposed legislation now to hire more firearms agents to stem to southbound weapons flood. Washington is also helping to train and finance Mexican authorities through its Merida initiative, although the amount of that aid clearly pales in comparison to the money and arms the traffickers collect from the U.S.
Watch Mark Potter's related video report that aired Wednesday on NBC Nightly News. Click here for related previous reports.
By Robert Bazell, NBC News Chief science correspondent
Tonight we report on a big advance in flu research. Like so many other stories on science this does not mean much of anything will happen in the next few months. In this case some reassuring change should come in as soon as three years. And. it could bring a much bigger achievement several more years down the line to end much of the danger from seasonal flu and the threat of massive death from a pandemic of bird flu.
Here is what scientists from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (a Harvard teaching hospital), the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, California and the U.S. Centers for Disease in Atlanta have done. You can read details of the work on several sites:
http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090222/full/news.2009.116.html
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2009/flu_mab.htm
http://www.dana-farber.org/abo/news/press/2009/scientists-identify-human-monoclonal-antibodies.html
http://www.burnham.org/default.asp?contentID=688
The researchers have located an area on the influenza virus that appears not to mutate continuously as other parts of the flu virus does. Those constant mutations are the reason we need a new flu vaccine every year and why sometimes it does not match the virus that is actually going around.
The researchers have also found an antibody – a protein from the immune system -- that attacks that region. When given to mice, the antibody both prevents infection with several strains of human influenza (including the current H5N1 bird flu) and actually treats animals that are already infected. The beauty of this is that unlimited amounts of the antibody can be made with well understood manufacturing processes (it is called a monoclonal antibody). Tests in humans will be needed to prove the antibody is safe and effective. That seems like a very good bet. If the antibody is safe and effective in people, very large amounts could be manufactured, stored and used to treat or prevent infection for a few weeks if a pandemic were to break out. That is the part that appears to be about three years out.
Next the same information can be used to make a vaccine that would generate these antibodies naturally in the body. Perhaps a person could be vaccinated once – or maybe every several years with a booster – and get immunity against all strains of the flu. That is the fallout form this story that is still many years off. But these research results bring the possibility much closer.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Not that the Academy asked me, but if requested to submit my findings following last night's broadcast (somebody check...is it still going on?), they would be the following...
MEMO TO:
The Academy -- you must let Steve Martin and Tina Fey host next year. They are the Mike Nichols and Elaine May of a new generation.
Joaquin Phoenix -- you deserved it
Ben Stiller -- you killed
True North, Coke, Amex and Hyundai -- nice ad campaigns
The Academy -- while the morning-after consensus seems to be that there were about three too many musical numbers, we liked the "panel" concept of past winners announcing the nominees. By making sure each received a tribute, it took the sting out of losing (and we didn't have to see that awful Brady Bunch box on the screen, looking always for bitter reaction shots). It was a nice, personal touch with very few clunky mis-matches. I think there were enough cutaway shots of a serene-looking Angelina Jolie.
The Academy -- When you remember the giants who passed away during the last year, please let us watch it on TV. Don't zoom in and out with a steadicam and a jib camera to a confusing array of TV screens showing the same image. Just take it full, as we say. And further: when a giant like Paul Newman passes from our lives, he deserves more than what he got last night. He was an icon. He should have been treated that way.
The cast and crew of Slumdog -- how can we not be happy for you? Congratulations.
Back to what's important for us: tonight we begin a series of segments that we're proud of on the economy. Close readers of this space may remember me saying a few days back that I wanted all those charged with fixing the U.S. auto industry to own American cars. Guess what? They don't, according to the Detroit News. And Senator Jim Bunning said an awful thing about Justice Ginsburg and when he went to apologize, he spelled her name wrong . We hope you can join us for our Monday night broadcast.
By Kevin Tibbles, NBC News correspondent
OK…So I fly a lot. That doesn't make me much different than a lot of folks these days.
And, when I say there are times I feel more like a domestic animal being herded towards an untimely fate, I am sure many of you will understand. Once you manage to squeeze your way down the aisle and into that middle seat (purchased at the last minute for top dollar of course), the ultimate indignity often awaits. The nasty half-sandwich, or McNugget (is that honey mustard or barbecue sauce oozing?) or chewed gum…rammed down the back of the seat in front of me; and missed in the hasty cleanup that was performed during the 2 and a half minutes the plane has been at the gate. Yuck.
Well, in tough economic times, the airlines are finding happy passengers can indeed become…return passengers. And, when ticket prices are relatively even across the board, a cold-half-consumed Starbucks in the seatback could be enough to make customers go elsewhere.
Enter…the man United Airlines calls 'Mr.. Clean'.
Paul Sanders is an air force vet..and an admitted 'clean freak'; who's job is to make sure ALL of United's fleet is spic and span by the time YOU reach YOUR seat. How does he do it? Well, aside from patrolling the aisles and poking around in the overhead compartments; Sanders has stepped up the number of times each jet is steam cleaned each month. His staff is now armed with hand-held computer devices….reporting all transgressions of tidiness to a central office. Those problems are then quickly dealt with.
Does Mr. Clean think those passengers who leave behind their apple cores and banana peels are slobs?
Nope. "They are not slovenly", he says. "They are just living for a few hours on an airplane.
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
“The only easy day was yesterday." That's what instructors regularly remind Navy SEAL recruits at the service's infamous and grueling Coronado, California training school. At this point in his presidency I wonder if President Obama is ready to adopt the slogan as his own. With the wheels falling off the economy at every turn, each day is a new battle in a war with many fronts. He won the skirmish over that economic stimulus plan, and now he heads into this week unveiling a federal budget that projects the government's deficit climbing well over a trillion dollars. Our White House correspondent Chuck Todd will be on the broadcast tonight to tell us about the president's rough week ahead as he potentially steps out on a limb with a pledge to half that deficit by the end of his first term.
We'll also bring on CNBC's Trish Regan to preview what effect this budget announcement might have on Wall Street, as well as the lingering questions over the fate of two of the nation's biggest banks.
There are big storms brewing on both coasts tonight, and though Northern California is in for a big soaking, farmers there are warning drought conditions could soon spell higher food prices for all of us. Michael Okwu will have that story.
Finally, with police on the verge of making an arrest in the Chandra Levy murder investigation, we've asked Peter Alexander to update us on some other famous cold cases.
I hope you'll join us tonight for NBC Nightly News.
By Peter Alexander, NBC News correspondent
From rising unemployment, to the growing housing crisis, we all know the problems. But, what are the answers? This week, I traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit one organization seeking solutions. The Charlotte Professionals is a job search support group where accountants, sales managers and IT executives gather for breakfast every other week, sharing coffee and professional contacts.
Formed eight years ago, the self-help group's ranks have grown from a trickle to a flood. Fifty-five out-of-work professionals showed up this week – the largest crowd yet. It has grown into an effective outlet for the unemployed to network, get advice, and find motivation. In Charlotte alone, the number of job search support groups has nearly tripled since the end of 2008.
Ilene Cohen is one of the Charlotte Professionals' success stories. Laid off from banking giant, Wachovia, the group's leader steered her toward reinventing herself. After six months and 400 cover letters, she starts at Coca-Cola as a sales trainer in a week.
It is just one example of Americans seeking solutions. Undoubtedly, it is one of many. Starting tonight, we'll be "Seeking Solutions" here on Nightly News, but we need help. Leave a comment below, and let us know if there's a unique idea or program where you live that’s seeking resolutions in this troubled economy.
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Those of us who were toiling in the trenches of cable news will remember the summer of 2001 for shark attacks and the disappearance of Chandra Levy. The two stories dominated the headlines for those months. The unexplained rash of shark attacks played to a basic human fear. The disappearance of Levy, a 24-year-old former Washington intern, who had been in a relationship with a married U.S. congressman, raised an already disturbing mystery to the level of political intrigue and scandal.
Everyone was talking about it until the morning of September, 11, when all of us forgot about Chandra, sharks and everything else that was happening at the time. All of us except for the family of Chandra Levy, and that lawmaker, Gary Condit – who though unconnected to her disappearance – would see his political career come to an abrupt end.
Chandra Levy's remains were found several years later in a Washington, D.C. park. Now almost 8 years after she vanished, we have learned that an arrest is about to be made in her murder. Police say they now have enough evidence to serve an arrest warrant on a 27-year-old man already serving time in prison for assaulting two other women.
Tonight on Nightly News, we will hear from Chandra Levy's parents about the impending arrest, and what these last 8 years have looked like through their eyes.
I hope you'll join us for the Saturday edition of NBC Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I will end the week with the writing of others: specifically a piece for those who still believe in the American spirit and possibility and optimism. For my fellow American car lovers out there let's dedicate this one to my indellible memory of the day our new mint green 1967 Pontiac Catalina arrived in our driveway -- the first new car my father was ever willing to buy, or could afford. In my view, if we're resolved to save the American car business, I only hope that the people who are working on the problem in Washington are among those who own and love American cars. I say that because a couple of them look like 1987 Volvo wagon types to me.
I hope you have a good weekend. We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
By Janet Shamlian, NBC News correspondent
If you live in Houston and have children, you just like knowing it's THERE. One of the nation's best pediatric hospitals calls this city home. As a mom of five, I've logged a few hours at Texas Children's Hospital as doctors stitched and bandaged the inevitable badges of childhood. That was in the emergency room and worlds away from the ninth floor where every parent prays they'll never become a 'regular.'
It's brightly lit and filled with toys, but make no mistake, the ninth floor of Texas Children's means your baby is in the fight or his or her life. Every child, from toddlers to teens, is battling cancer and has come to nine for a dose of hope -- chemotherapy. There are a dozen or more infusion rooms but sometimes they're all in use and soon the waiting area is full of bald heads and heavy hearts.
And yet if it's possible to see a rainbow inside, there's a vivid one on the ninth floor. It's coming from a small room down near the elevators. If you follow it, you'll find a true Texas treasure; a woman who's the subject of our Making A Difference report tonight.
She's not a doctor or a nurse -- but she is healing kids like leukemia patient Mary Jo Stavinoha with a different type of tonic. And it's happening one song at a time.
NBC's Janet Shamlian and leukemia patient Mary Jo Stavinoha
More information on the program highlighted in Janet's report.
When Brian Williams filled in for Meredith Vieira this morning, Al Roker suggested a new theme song for the dynamic duo of Williams and Lauer..."It's Raining Men." Added Roker: "It's a Whitman's sampler of man candy right there."
Here are some lighter moments from this morning's show:
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
The Globe and Mail in Canada has been live blogging the president's visit this afternoon -- and at one point reported, as did the CBC on television, that they had seen "Barack Obama's double...a mannequin version of the President, riding in the back..." of the second of the two limousines, often called the "decoy" limousine. As the Globe and Mail put it, "the dummy is obviously an effort by the president's security detail to throw off those who might try and do him harm." But reporter Bill Curry went on to point out, "the fake Obama appeared to be lying back catching a snooze. Surely those posing the mannequin would know a President shouldn't be caught sleeping during his first trip abroad?"
So I did some checking. A source connected to the U.S. Secret Service has put the matter to rest, so to speak...and they blame the confusion on the speed and excitement of the motorcade and the thick green-tinted bullet-proof glass in the new limousines. "It's (personal aide to the president) Reggie Love," says the source...who went on to note Reggie works close to 24-hours a day, and might have seen the ride in the second limo as his only opportunity during a long travel day...to relax for just a moment. It all makes sense -- staff members ride with the president on trips where the seats aren't taken by dignitaries (or when the president just wishes to be alone). The only part of it that doesn't make sense? I've never seen Reggie NOT working. I'm willing to bet a substantial sum that he was using both his phone and laptop...and maybe his blackberry.
Glad that's settled. We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
by Ann Curry, NBC News
CHAD/DARFUR BORDER -- We traveled to the Chad/Darfur border with New York Times columnist Nick Kristof and actor/activist George Clooney, two men you might not guess have much in common, but both are smart and funny -- and care deeply about Darfur.
Today in a refugee camp on the Chad side, we found in one refugee camp, a school house named for the President Obama.
School house named after President Obama | Photo by: Ann Curry/NBC News
The students told us Obama made them believe anything was possible, that they could rise from the sands of this desert, where they don't even have shoes, and become anyone they wanted, maybe even a president. That these children, who are among humankind's most suffering living in one of the world's most hopeless places, could imagine such greatness... now that is the audacity of hope.
CONTINUED >>
By Robert Bazell, NBC News Chief science correspondent
We received a lot of email today about last nights report on childhood immunizations. Several people wanted clarification of the statement by the state epidemiologist of Minnesota -- that of five children in that state who contracted meningitis in the past three years from the bacteria called Hib-- three had not been vaccinated because their parents declined. Many of you asked about the other two.
Since it did leave confusion we should have put the information in the report. Of those two children one was five months old, too young to begin the regular immunizations and the other had a compromised immune system that made the vaccine ineffective in the child. I hope this makes the situation more clear.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
There's no sense in me even trying to write something remotely interesting today -- because of all the interesting writing I've encountered out there. While I cruise around the papers and the internet each day, I have help in my pursuit of information: the astoundingly smart and capable Megan Marcus of our staff, who tries to find the nuggets of information no one else sees, in hopes that they will make the threshold of the broadcast each night. Those that don't -- are always interesting. For example: this account of what its like to fly with the Obama family on board Air Force One. Or this traveler's advisory if you know anyone traveling through Tulsa. Or this, from my favorite voice on the subject of airline security, Jeffrey Goldberg (warning, this gets a bit graphic) of the newly-aggressive Atlantic. On the subject of the new President and the military: an interesting essay on our returning war dead and a must-read on the President's letters to the families. I'll let all of that suffice for today. We all hope you can join us tonight.
Ann Curry is in Chad, covering a pivotal moment in the Darfur crisis: the International Criminal Court's upcoming decision whether to issue an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president. See her video from the TODAY Show here. She's also scheduled to report from the region on Nightly News tonight.
Ann Curry has been using Twitter during her trip. Here are some of her entries, including this moving photo:
--In one refugee camp, a boy sits down before me, his eyes full of suffering. Around his neck, the amulets that are supposed to protect him. (about 10 hours ago)
--Found Aziza and Khamus, Darfurian refugees who we profiled for Nightly two years ago. They are still waiting for justice and peace. (about 5 hours ago)
Click here to follow her on Twitter. See more of Ann's reporting on humanitarian issues on AnnCurry.msnbc.com and right here on Daily Nightly.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and Managing Editor
It's time to think of who you would nominate as the best person you know. For this post today, I'm wearing my hat as a board member of the Medal of Honor Foundation, which serves the 98 living Medal of Honor recipients, the values they stand for, and the memory of those who have gone before them.
Please follow this link to the Above & Beyond Citizen Honors. We are taking nominations until the end of this week. Sully is a great example -- he's already been nominated by several folks, as is a guy who is a hero to many of us: Rick Rescorla. Rick was the iconic infantryman pictured on the cover of "We Were Soldiers Once, And Young." Rick was an extraordinary figure...who (after surviving the combat of the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam) was killed on 9-11 after leading his fellow Morgan Stanley employees to safety. Please give it some thought and offer a nomination.
It is typical of the Medal Of Honor Recipients (the men who've earned their nation's highest military honor) to want to use their good name to honor others. Let's help them do it.
We hope you can join us tonight.
by Ann Curry, NBC News
SOMEWHERE IN CHAD -- Our NBC News team has landed in Africa and is again heading to the edge of Darfur, gearing up to report a pivotal moment in this tragedy.
Anytime now the International Criminal Court will announce whether to issue an arrest warrant for the President of Sudan for the atrocities in Darfur, a region of Sudan.
About six years after a war between the government of Sudan and a rebel group unleashed systematic rapes, mass killings, and the burning of hundreds of villages, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions are still waiting in camps in Sudan and Chad, waiting for hope and justice.
As our news team moves from planes to vans toward this world of desperation, I think of a woman named Myriam, who survived the burning of her village called Tamajour, just two days before we found her under a tree. Her 5-year-old daughter was traumatized and refusing to eat. When we took her back to her village to salvage what she could, it was still smoldering. The only life she had ever known was in ashes.
I think of Khamis, 13-year-old orphaned when his mother was killed and his father was lost in an attack. When we last saw him, he was a boy alone, surviving on his wits and the kindness of others in a refugee camp. Still he was able to be a good student in the camp's school.
I think of Aziza, raped as a virgin at 17, by an Arab wearing a Sudanese uniform. She said he first wanted to know what tribe she belonged to. He told her, "You are black. You have no place here. We will push you out of here. This land will remain for us." Then he grabbed her tightly and raped her, biting her arm and neck to mark her a victim of rape.
In the hospital, we found elderly Gida Zakaria, severely burned when her thatched roof was set on fire. White gauze was wrapped around her slender body. She told us her husband couldn't move fast enough and was burned to death.
Photo: Six-year-old Khalid (left) recovers at a hospital after a Janjaweed attack, flanked by his mother and sister. Click here to see more photography by the NBC News team and Ann Curry during a 2006 trip.
In a nearby room, a young man lay motionless, both his eyes bayoneted. At his side, his wife was weeping and his children sat stunned.
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has argued Sudan's President Omar al Bashir masterminded genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur and should be brought to justice.
What will the court decide? And what do the victims have to say about it?
Who more deserves a voice than the victims of atrocities?
Ann Curry will be filing reports for Nightly News, TODAY, and msnbc.com this week. Click here to read her 2006 blog entries. Follow her Twitter feed here.
By Robert Bazell, NBC News Chief science correspondent
We'll have a report Monday night on Nightly News on some of the implications for health care in the economic stimulus package that was just passed by Congress and that President Obama is expected to sign into law Tuesday. So how do you know what is in a 500 page bill that was written, passed in different versions by the House and Senate, reconciled by conference and then passed again by both houses, all in a matter of weeks?
You can try it yourself. Go to the Library of Congress’s search service called THOMAS at http://thomas.loc.gov (named after Thomas Jefferson). Click on "bill number" and type in H.R. 1. It does not allow for a more direct link from here. But once you get there you can see summaries of the bill from the Congressional Research Service as well as a copy of the entire piece of legislation.
For an estimate of the cost of the legislation you can get the report to Congressional leaders from the Congressional Budget Office: http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9989/hr1conference.pdf
As so often happens with the reports we prepare for the Nightly News, we can’t cover all the ground we want. A couple of things we left out which we hope to cover in future reports: The bill stops some cuts in funding for training of doctors and other medical professionals that had been mandated by the Bush Administration.
It also pays out $1.1 billion for further studies of the effectiveness of various therapies. Betsey McCaughey, a former lieutenant governor of New York who now works for a think tank, doesn’t like this at all. Ms. McCaughey played a key role in helping to defeat the Clinton attempt at health reform in 1993 and 1994. She recently wrote a column on Bloomberg.com claiming that this research will be the first step toward allowing the federal government to "monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective."
It is a curious argument because almost everyone involved in health care reform believes that unless we bring costs under control, there simply will be less health care available for almost everyone. And the main way to control costs is to learn what treatments truly are "appropriate and cost-effective." But as I said, we will cover this issue in more detail at a future date.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Although I know people who are enjoying a day off, or returning from ski vacations, we hardy souls are here on the job today: the few, the proud...with no other plans, and a total dedication to work. Since you were kind enough to come to the blog (during what is likely a day off for you, too), I wanted to reward you by bringing to your attention a few notable items from the web and publications. From one societal sidebar to another, to the political to the emotional. I hope you had a safe and happy Holiday weekend. We're actually happy to be here to prepare tonight's broadcast, and we hope you can join us.
By Janet Shamlian, NBC News correspondent
You have to WANT to get to Battle Mountain. The northern Nevada town is just off Interstate 80, but only after you've logged considerable car time with an hour or more between exits. Producer Martha Caskey flew from Los Angeles to Reno and then drove 200 miles east. I landed in Salt Lake City and headed 300 miles west--most of it desert and all without the benefit of satellite radio! With mountain ranges in every direction and a sunset for the ages, it was a stunning if quiet ride.
It's been called a recession boom town. Battle Mountain's three thousand residents don't love the term but acknowledge these ARE good times. At least right now. While layoffs and foreclosures plague so many cities, there have been few of either here. New homes are sprouting and if the Owl Café's lunch crowd is any indication, people are spending.
So what's the secret? As you can see in Monday night's Nightly News report, Nevada may be the Silver State, but Battle Mountain is all about gold. This is mining country and with an ounce topping 900 dollars, there's no down time. They're running hard and even have a few jobs open at salaries averaging 65-thousand a year.
It's a fun place to be these days, as we witnessed from the all-you-can-eat 'crab feed' on a Saturday night. Who says you can't get fresh seafood in the desert? They flew in thousands of pounds for a fundraiser and sold out every last ticket. It was quite the party. And yet this is town of realists. They've seen the cycle before and know it's just a matter of time before their fortunes change. When the nation recovers the price of gold will, inevitably, decline. And so too will the boom for Battle Mountain.
Janet Shamlian/NBC News
Workers prepare crab flown in for an all you can eat
party in Battle Mountain, Nevada.
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
The commuter plane crash investigation is already generating lots of important clues. Between this writing and the time we go on the air tonight the NTSB will provide another briefing, but we have already learned the crew was using autopilot at the time of the accident, which, as it now turns out, may have violated the airline's rules regarding flying into severe icing conditions.
What isn't clear, however, is whether the icing at the time of the crash would have been considered severe. The temptation for all of us is to begin jumping to conclusions about the cause of the crash, and while evidence continues to point to icing as a leading suspect we have to remember these investigations are tedious and painstaking, and no stone will be left unturned. In fact often the NTSB finds multiple contributing factors to accidents, and it could be a year before the final report on this one is finished. In the meantime Tom Costello will again be near the scene tonight to update us on the latest findings, and to help us understand what they could mean in the search for a cause.
Thanks for checking in. I hope you will join us tonight for NBC Nightly News.
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Just a few weeks ago, I was standing in front of a camera along the Hudson River, reporting on efforts to retrieve that ill-fated US Airways Airbus from the frigid water off New York. I remember remarking to a colleague how lucky we were to be reporting on this "miracle" water landing in which everyone survived, and how close we came to reporting instead from behind a police line with smoldering wreckage behind us.
Sadly, we all knew it was inevitable that the 2 1/2 year streak of no fatal U.S. airline accidents would be broken. None of us could know it would occur just a few weeks later. Outside Buffalo, New York today, NTSB investigators are sifting through the grim wreckage of that Continental Express tubo-prop, where 50 people lost their lives. Experience is on their side. There is little doubt they will determine the cause of the accident, and an already safe industry will learn another lesson, and hopefully become just a little more safe. We'll check in with NBC's Tom Costello on the scene tonight who will tell us about the remarkable progress investigators have already made in their search for answers – including what they've already pieced together about the final minutes of the flight.
We'll catch up with President Obama, who is back in Chicago, basking in the victory of his stimulus package in Congress. We’ll take a hard look at an important question: How will we know it is working?
Dr. Nancy Snyderman has some disturbing new findings about the dangers of second-hand smoke. It may be a lot more damaging than anyone thought.
Finally, we'll report on why at least one American city is hoping corporate America won't totally abandon those junkets and corporate incentive trips. I hope to see you later for NBC Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
In the first moments after first word of last night's crash, there was an unbelievable amount of information available on the internet. Within minutes, I could trace the flight path from Newark to the loss of radar contact, at about the location of the final five-mile "marker" where the aircraft was slated to turn on its five-mile final approach. I was able to find the precipitation in the area and the temperature aloft, as well as its last known airspeed. I was also able to pinpoint the location of impact, based on what I was hearing from our local station. All of us who travel frequently in the Northeast and elsewhere have flown on board that aircraft type, and will continue to. What I could not do, sitting at my laptop last night...was change the outcome, or save any of those souls who were lost last night. One of the passengers, known to several of us here for her work on behalf of 9-11 families (following the loss of her own husband that day) will be profiled by Tom Brokaw on our broadcast tonight. We mourn all of them.
I hope you have a good weekend. I hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Until this afternoon, the buzz of the web and media world was the Joaquin Phoenix moment last night on Letterman...which I happened to be watching as it aired, in all of its strangeness. If it was a Kaufman-esque send-up, it does beg the point. Then actual news took over the afternoon conversation, with this piece and word that President Obama has lost another Cabinet nominee. We're putting it all together for tonight, and we hope you can join us.
By Pete Jeary, NBC News, London
Serendipity - the ability to make fortunate discoveries by accident. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it tastes all the better.
On Christmas Eve, I decided on a whim to book a cheap flight with a discount airline for the miserable, dark days of February. I had finally decided to get some snow, because for the past decade in southern England there had not been any appreciable snowfall.
I think of my carbon footprint, and consider myself an ethical traveler, but with each leg of the flight costing just one British penny (less than one and half cents) it was too good an offer to miss. Round-trip from London to Norway for three cents? Yes Please!
A few days before the trip I searched online for details of my destination - Sandefjord in southern Norway. Instead of the couple of hits I expected, there were dozens of news stories about the place. They mostly pointed to one man - Geir Skeie.
Geir had just won the prestigious Bocuse d'Or competition in Lyon, France. Held every two years, it's considered the Olympics of Haute Cuisine. Geir had placed first among 24 chefs from around the globe… and his headquarters were in Sandefjord.
So taking advantage of my cheap flight, I arranged to meet Geir just a few days after his victory. It almost didn't happen because the day before I was set to fly, southeast England slid to a halt after the heaviest snowfall in nearly 20 years. But thankfully by Tuesday the runways were clear and my flight took off just fifteen minutes late.
Sandefjord is a charming town that thrived in the first half of the twentieth century on the whaling industry. There's a whaling museum and an old whaling ship docked in the harbor. But nowadays one of the harbor's biggest attraction is the Solvold restaurant, workplace of Geir Skeie and his mentor, Odd Ivar Solvold.
Geir told me that his recipe for success at the Bocuse d'Or was to keep things pure and simple. He chose comparatively plain versions of the two ingredients that every chef had to prepare: Aberdeen Angus beef and Norwegian cod. Geir decided the judges would prefer to taste the meat rather than be wowed by novelties: "They don't want all these knickknacks" he said. And he was right.
His friend, the restaurateur Odd Ivar Solvold, said he thought Norway would never be famous as a gastronomic paradise, although Norwegian chefs have won the Bocuse d'Or four times. Only the French have won more. He told me Norwegian chefs were free to take inspiration from around the world and were not bound by French, Italian or American traditions.
But there may be a fishy secret to Norway's success - the cod.
Both men told me that Norwegian cod is the best in the world. It's widely considered to be the National Fish of Norway and holds a special place in most kitchens. With the shortage of other fresh produce during the long winter months, chefs are obliged to find interesting ways of cooking and preparing the fish. Odd Ivar believes being so familiar with one of the main ingredients will always give Norway's chefs a competitive advantage.
And just how good is Norwegian cod? Well, the chefs at the Solvold restaurant prepared me one of their favorite dishes: poached cod with an Italian tapenade. I am not a great gourmet, but (as my expanding waistline testifies) I like my food. And, honestly, this cod tasted like nothing I have ever tasted before. Perhaps that's not much coming from someone raised on traditional English fish and chips. But believe me, it's not often that food makes me cry.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
This is a gem -- and how often can we say this: an essay by Fidel Castro on Rahm Emanuel. It must be read to be believed -- and even though our in-house Castro expert says it has the ring of authenticity -- many won't believe it even after reading it. And if you wish, here are a few others. From February 4, 2009. From February 5, 2009.
We're back from Washington and we hope you can join us tonight.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
From last night's Presidential news conference: a detail some of the live blogs and today's write-ups missed: the rare presence of a teleprompter for the President's opening remarks. It was further noted that both screens were lowered for the q and a portion. Most Presidents have read their opening statements from paper copy on the lectern.
It was interesting upon exiting our interview with Treasury Secretary Geithner to walk down the hallway and see the various oil portraits of the modern era former Secretaries of the Treasury. There was Larry Summers (currently employed) and Bob Rubin (currently not) whose name is likely to come up tomorrow on the Hill as the nation's biggest bankers come here to face the music before Congress. Won't it be fun to see if any of them fly to DC by private jet?
The best painting in the building? Alexander Hamilton. It hangs over Geithner's fireplace.
Because the market is tanking, I've just been informed that we're doing an NBC News Special Report at 4pm Eastern, after the closing bell.
We hope you can join us tonight from Washington.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
We're still talking about the Grammys here today: strong start by U2 -- the album will be huge. Loved Coldplay, loved McCartney, and how lucky is Dave Grohl? I love Adele but she needs to lose the gum. Loved the USC Trojans with Radiohead (anyone remember "Tusk"?). Loved the Rap Pack despite some obvious tension on stage. M.I.A. looked a bit like she was about to pollinate a flower. You've got to give her credit for working so hard -- an Amy Poehler-like appearance about as late in a pregnancy as you can get. It has to be some sort of Grammy record. Allison Kraus and Robert Plant (a superb recording) certainly shocked a lot of people. So did Katy Perry riding in on a banana. Guess we now know where Chris Brown was. Still deciding what to think about Kanye's new hair -- Whitney's appearance was a heart-stopping moment. Overall, compared to years past, I thought it was a good live broadcast, and it's now clear that a British invasion was underway last night.
Now to the hard part: tonight's broadcast has the President on the road, high tension in Washington (where we'll be on the air with his press conference tonight) A-Rod in the news (for an awful reason) and Sully and crew interviewed in our studio. It's a lot on a busy Monday night and I hope you can join us.
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
We're a week away from the beginning of Spring Training, and the baseball world has already been tossed upside down with word that one of its biggest stars may have been using steroids.
Sports Illustrated, citing several sources, is reporting that New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003 when he was playing for the Texas Rangers. A-Rod apparently took the drug test as part of what was supposedly a "non-disciplinary and anonymous," Major League Baseball survey on steroid use. According to SI.com, 104 MLB players tested positive. NBC's Chris Jansing is working the story for us, and will explain how the information wound up in the hands of investigators involved in the BALCO case, as well as the firestorm of controversy it now threatens to ignite.
What does $800 billion buy these days? We're going to drill down on the economic stimulus plan that the Senate will vote on next week, and will break out some of the key provisions to understand how and when Americans might feel its impact if approved.
NBC's Jim Miklaszewski is filing a report for us tonight from the deck of a U.S. warship on the hunt for pirates off the coast of Somalia. Jim is the first television correspondent to sail with the Navy on one of these dangerous missions.
Thanks for checking in, I hope you'll be able to join us this evening for NBC Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Developments on two threads we've been following: first Andy Card said this about the dress code in the Oval Office and then Joe Klein took his weapon from its holster and wrote this. Not helping the Bush forces is this photo. But then President Obama got a new jacket not found in stores. And about our dwindling list of Presidential perks not yet enjoyed by the new President: on Saturday, the First Family is going to Camp David. Wait 'til the President discovers the driving range -- with the cool mechanism that automatically feeds you a new golf ball from underground each time you hit one. Not to mention skeet shooting, cabins each named after a different kind of tree, and extraordinarily crisp and attentive U.S. Navy and Marine personnel to cater to your every need. It’s a cool place.
It’s been an eventful week, and we'll bring it to a close with tonight's broadcast. We hope you can join us. Have a good weekend.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
As you know, as I've pointed out in this space, I've been tracking the accouterments the President hasn't yet taken advantage of. The big three: Marine One, Air Force One, and Camp David. By the end of this day, two will be off the list. He's taking his first trip outside Washington tonight to Richmond, Virginia. That means two flights on the helicopter (White House to Andrews AFB and back) and two on Air Force One (Andrews to Richmond and return). Sadly for us, it happens right around our airtime tonight -- so any press pool video will take a while to get on the air. If the press of news tomorrow night doesn't crowd it out, we'll try to revisit it. In the meantime, we'll be watching. We are crammed with news tonight: from Sully to Obama to Springsteen to Bill Gates -- and we hope you can join us for the broadcast.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
One of our trips to Iraq was near the height of the insurgency. I remember visiting U.S. Army outposts in the countryside -- and seeing all the various inventive, ingenious and ultimately tragic ways that our troops were forced to defend their own vehicles against IED's and incoming fire. I saw Kevlar vests used as makeshift armor on the doors of "thin-skinned" (non-armored) Humvees. I saw the sandbags and steel plate that some units were placing around the roof gun turret -- which made our machine gunners such easy, inviting targets. When you go back to Iraq these days, you see the "up-armored" Humvees, the M-Raps, all the steps D.O.D. has taken to save lives since the gruesome lesson they learned in the insurgency. Today these memories were triggered by this report in USA Today. It brought back two quotes I remember from the war. The first was from Lt. Gen. William Wallace, who I accompanied to one of Saddam's palaces just two days after the fall of Baghdad, and who famously said of the Iraqis who were shooting at the invading Americans, "The enemy we are fighting is different from the one we'd war-gamed...we didn't know they would fight like this." Talk about living in infamy.
The other quote came from my late friend and retired 4-Star U.S. Army General Wayne Downing -- who secretly relished the time we spent stranded south of Najaf early on in the war, on board a grounded Chinook helicopter. Wayne said then and often, "there's no one more resourceful than an infantryman." Wayne no doubt made those remarks while fashioning a high-frequency radio transmitter out of a used MRE pouch and a roll of duct tape. The USA Today article gave me reason to remember all of this today, just as I make a point each day to remember the Americans in uniform who serve there...and elsewhere...every day.
Back to present day: We heard from Dick Cheney today and Joe Klein promptly told him where to go. Obama's battles continue, and we'll have all of it tonight. We hope you can join us.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
It is a hallway I first walked down in 1979 as a White House intern. I have visited during all the administrations since, and again today the walk from the West Wing press room to the Oval Office felt different -- it already bears the stamp, the mood, and the temperament of the new administration.
The Oval Office doesn't appear to be "lived in" yet. While it was taken over by television technicians and aides, the President's desk had been swept of papers, there are no trinkets, none of the traditional family photos on the top of the credenza behind the desk.
A visitor is left with the impression that the room is used for meetings and official business -- but I'm guessing the President has come to prefer either his upstairs office or the "hideaway" suite that adjoins the Oval Office. It is clear that the press of business has prevented a whole lot of "settling in." Entering his third week as President, he's yet to fly in the helicopter, on board Air Force One... he's yet to see Camp David. Purely as a study of varying styles over the years, it was interesting to watch him move down the hallway, past the Oval to the Cabinet Room, then back into his secretary's office -- along the way making comments to his ever-present aides.
It was interesting as well to see how the tenor of the place has affected the bearing of the Secret Service agents on post throughout the West Wing -- both uniformed and plain-clothed. This is the first time I'd seen the President (to speak to him) since he'd become President -- the first time I'd seen his old campaign aides since they've become White House Aides. Today's twin departures were an unwelcome development and the President reflected that in his comments to me. He took the blame directly. We will air it tonight from Washington. We certainly hope you can join us.
VIDEO: Click to watch the full interview
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
For the second year in a row, the Super Bowl was actually a great football game--and congratulations to Steeler Nation.
As for my cursory review of this year's commercials: you could tell we're in a recession. I thought the Avon commercial before the game was an absolutely brilliant appeal to entrepreneurial women in a bad economy. It's a company I remember from my childhood (my mother buying products from the "Avon Lady" down the street) that has kept changing and modernizing and has found a way to market itself in this climate. Our small focus group liked the Pepsi "Forever Young" spot--and I laughed out loud at the Diet Pepsi "I'm Good" counterpart. The E-Trade talking baby was huge again this year. Since I loathe the current trend of trying to copy the feel of the great NBC show "The Office," I thought the Doritos crystal ball ad needed to find a theme of its own. Danica was...interesting. Always is. The Clydesdales are always interesting. The whole 3D thing left our family feeling like we'd missed a memo somewhere. Does every household have a pair of 3D glasses sitting around in the kitchen drawer? Where were we supposed to get them? Bruce proved again why he's the hardest-working man in show business with a great 12-minute concert at halftime. No one on E Street has lost a step since we first got to know them. It's always a great American tradition, and last night was a great show. Since Monday means returning for work...so it goes. I hope you had a good weekend, and we hope you can join us tonight.
