May 2009 - Posts
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Today's shooting death of a Kansas physician who performs abortions exposes the raw nerve that represents the social issue of our time. Without a doubt, it will lead to some passionate conversations and exchanges in the days to come. On our broadcast tonight, we will tell you what we know about today's attack in Wichita on late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, who survived another shooting attack back in 1993. We're also working to learn more about the suspect who was taken into custody hours later.
We'll also take you through how tomorrow's bankruptcy filing by General Motors is likely to proceed, and what the broad impact of this might be across the American landscape.
Also, our chief science editor Robert Bazell is coming on with me tonight to share some news from a major cancer conference that you’ll want to hear.
Thanks for checking in, I hope you'll watch the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
I traveled to the Secret Service training facility in Maryland last week to tell the story of the men and women behind the dark glasses who put their lives on the line for the president and others. Before we pulled out the cameras they asked us to watch a video briefing about the agency, and I had to smile when I realized the voice in the narration was none other than Clint Eastwood. I figured it said an awful lot about how they must regard his performance as a Secret Service agent in the 1993 film "In the Line of Fire."
Before long, I saw for myself what it takes to prepare agents and uniformed officers for what is arguably one of the most important jobs in law enforcement. After all, they protect the leader of the free world. We witnessed agents training on firearms, officers demonstrating explosive detection, the versatility of their canine units, and toured a virtual city where sniper attacks, explosions and car chases are all in a day’s work.
The highlight for me was playing the role of a "protectee" stepping off an Air Force One mock-up, flanked by agents and met by a crowd gathered along a barricade line. I had pretty much guessed this little demonstration would feature some kind of a simulated threat, and I was not disappointed. You'll see what happened on my report tonight on Nightly News, but for now, suffice to say, the swiftness and precision of how my protective team reacted in this training demonstration took my breath away.
I hope you'll join us tonight for that, plus what President Obama told Brian Williams in an exclusive interview about General Motors as it prepares to enter bankruptcy on Monday.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
All of us in the newsroom are getting vicarious enjoyment out of the dispatches being sent in from our NBC News team chronicling President Obama's day for next week's special "Inside the Obama White House: Brian Williams reports."
I particularly like the "tweets" about first dog Bo's interaction with staff and visitors. And how about the president making a burger run to Five Guys with Brian and our guys in tow. Our folks are getting some rare and fascinating access to both the light hearted and weighty sides of life in the White House. I can't wait to see it. It airs next Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Meantime I'm holding the fort here in New York tonight, where among other things, we will address the difficult question that hovers over the Chrysler bankruptcy and the anticipated GM re-organization as well: who will buy a car from a financially fragile car company?
I hope you can tune in tonight for the Friday edition of NBC Nightly News.
Follow NBC News crews as they spend the day inside the White House for NBC News' special 'Inside the Obama White House: Brian Williams Reports,' which airs next Tuesday and Wednesday on NBC.
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By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
By now we've all come to understand this recession has many faces, and stages. We're drilling down on several economic stories tonight, including the new face of home foreclosures in this country. What began as the fallout from sub-prime loans has now claimed another category of homeowner.
There are signs that bankruptcy for Chrysler and GM could be short lived. We'll have a late update this evening.
And the competition for scarce jobs in this country is pitting some unlikely competitors against each other.
By the way, if a hug is your way of finding comfort in the face of all the bad economic news -- wait until you hear what some schools are now saying about hugging. Chris Jansing is embracing the subject for us and will report on tonight's broadcast.
Brian is off tonight. I'll look for you tonight on NBC Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
I glanced by this yesterday but wanted to draw your attention to it. "A Day In The Life Of The White House" has become a network news institution over the years, and I'm honored to be doing the reporting for the next one, airing next week. While the elaborate preparation will take some of my time and attention away from Nightly News, by the time it airs on two successive nights in prime time next week, it will be the most extraordinary glimpse inside the White House to date, say nothing of the Obama Administration and their life and work inside.
It will take something like 20 cameras and over 100 people, and I'm quite sure that by the time it’s over, they will be sick of us in the West Wing. It will require many days and hours and shuttling between New York and DC, but as you'll see: it will be worth it.
In the meantime, I hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
If you've been following this space, then you know Judge Sotomayor was an early favorite of the analysts -- and you also know this piece was an early dissenting voice. I can safely report that the story got the attention of White House staffers, and it was quickly followed by this update by the author -- including an apology for the original headline, and now the original piece is under great scrutiny, as is the author's possible motives. On another front, the New York Daily News has tried to clean up a biographical/geographic error that journalists keep making in profiles of Judge Sotomayor. Now we all get to watch it play out in the Senate, and the nomination will be among the background issues that the White House will be dealing with during our upcoming extended visit there.
After a Friday off for travel (my thanks to Lester) and a Monday off for the holiday (my thanks to Carl) I'm back on the job, and we hope you can join us for our broadcast tonight.
by Carl Quintanilla, NBC News
It would be nice if, on this Memorial Day holiday, Americans could focus simply on the generations of soldiers and military personnel who've fought for their country -- and the freedoms we enjoy.
But it's never that easy. The tumultuous events around the globe don't take a holiday. And so, the news that North Korea launched a powerful nuclear test on Monday was a reminder of the geopolitical troubles that President Obama faces. Although the move was condemned by governments around the world, there is still no clear policy on how to deal with the North Koreans. Tonight, our Jim Miklaszewski walks us through what happened, and our Andrea Mitchell tells us what it means.
Normally, North Korea would be big enough news, but there continues to be fallout out of Iran tonight over the western proposal for that government to halt their nuclear research in exchange for no additional sanctions. Tonight, Ann Curry is in Tehran and speaks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is refusing that deal -- even as he faces a challenging re-election season, himself.
We'll pay attention to the homeland, too, with pieces on Memorial Day remembrances around the country, and we'll spend part of this holiday with the 150 soldiers of Viper Company, who are fighting in the most active battlefield in Afghanistan.
Finally, we'll close with a piece by our Jim Maceda, who looks at an entire generation of U.S. soldiers -- who served at Normandy and Iwo Jima -- who've been denied appropriate remembrances for years because of one reason: they were black. That longstanding oversight is finally being remedied. We'll explain how, and hope you'll join us tonight.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Welcome back to the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis. It was great to see them finally make it safely back home – albeit to an alternate landing site in California – after weather in Florida extended their mission for a few extra days.
If you were watching the Sunday talk shows today, you know that the guessing game over the next Supreme Court justice is about to kick into high gear. In the interview he gave to C-SPAN this weekend, President Obama painted a fairly detailed picture of the kind of person he plans to name to replace Justice David Souter on the bench. Many have taken that picture to be a woman. NBC's Mike Viqueira will tell us what we know about the expected timing of the President's pick, and the ideological battle lines already being drawn between the right and left.
Leaving the TODAY studio this morning I noticed a police officer on 5th Avenue waving-over drivers who did not have their seat belts on. You've may have seen something similar in your community this weekend. On the newscast tonight, NBC's Tom Costello will tell us what's behind a nationwide seat belt crackdown underway this holiday weekend.
Finally, as I write this, it is evening in Great Britain, where television viewers are watching Susan Boyle's return to the stage on the program "Britain's Got Talent." She's the self-described "spinster" whose surprising performance of "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables earned her international acclaim and turned her into a must-see internet sensation. We've asked Dawna Friesen in our London bureau to come on the program tonight to tell us how her follow up performance went.
Thanks for checking in, I hope you can join us tonight for the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Good afternoon. I hope you are enjoying a restful holiday weekend – and a dry one. The rain is not only watering down the plans of millions of Floridians, it is also leaving the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis in orbit for yet another extra day. The plan now is to try to bring them into the Kennedy Space Center, or Edwards Air Force Base tomorrow, weather permitting of course.
In the meantime, NASA is facing some much bigger crossroads in the next couple of years, and we learned today it will do so under the leadership of Marine Corps veteran and former space shuttle commander General Charles Bolden. The president is naming Bolden as NASA administrator, and he will be the first African American to hold that position. He has quite a story to tell of rising from segregated South Carolina, through the top tier of the military ranks, and into the space program. NBC's Tom Costello will have a lot more on General Bolden on the broadcast tonight.
We're hearing that President Obama's pick to replace retiring Justice Souter could come soon. We'll chat with “Meet the Press” moderator David Gregory about that.
We've also got one of those stories that has many of us asking "what would you do?” Well, what would you do if the bank mistakenly applied several million dollars to your bank account?" It happened to a New Zealand couple – who apparently had little trouble deciding what to do.
And on this Memorial Day weekend, we will share a great story about the efforts one organization is going through to make sure some World War Two vets get to see an honor to their service that was a long time in the making.
I hope you can join us tonight for NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Greetings on this getaway Friday. The price of gas is going up -- though isn't anywhere close to last year's eye watering highs, and so a lot of folks will be back in their cars this Memorial Day weekend. Flying has also become a reasonable option with plenty of bargains, and cheap hotel rooms to be had. The only fly in the holiday ointment (or barbecue) may be the weather. It could be a show stopper in some parts of the country. Tom Costello will wrap up the holiday travel picture tonight.
President Obama, who yesterday vigorously defended his plans to close the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention center, followed up today with another speech on national security. He spoke to graduating cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy today. Our Chuck Todd will have more on that.
And we've got a great story tonight from Jim Miklaszewski about a program that is giving badly disfigured war veterans a chance to live a more normal life.
Brian is off tonight. I'll look for you this evening on NBC Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
...It must be time for another broadcast, prior to a quick trip to the West Coast to take my honored position as one of Jay Leno's final guests before he hands the baton to Conan O'Brien. From Los Angeles, I hope to post an update on music before the holiday weekend is upon us. May the weather, where you are, be as sparklingly beautiful as it was today during a brief visit I paid this morning to my home town on the Jersey Shore. It might have been among the top ten days of all time. We have a great broadcast planned for tonight, ending on a Making A Difference report that came from a Nightly News viewer. We hope you can join us.
By Mara Schiavocampo, NBC Nightly News digital correspondent
Michael Vick was released from prison to home confinement today after serving 19 months of a 23-month sentence for financing a dogfighting ring. I'm sure many of you still remember the horrifying details of the 2007 case: dogs hanged and electrocuted for not being good fighters, rape stands and, of course, brutal dogfights.
You'd think the dogs rescued from Vick's facility would be violent monsters incapable of ever integrating into normal society. But the reality couldn't be more different. This week I spent time with three of Vick's former dogs, two at an animal sanctuary in Utah, and one with a non-profit group in Northern California. The dogs behaved like run-of-the-mill house pets. They licked my hand excitedly when we met. They rolled over for belly rubs. The barked at my cameraman.
Mara and cameraman Aaron Sasson with Georgia, one of Michael Vick's former fighting dogs, and her caretaker John Garcia of the Best Friends Animal Society. Georgia is climbing on Garcia to steal some extra kisses. (Photo courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society)
The two dogs at the Best Friends Animal Society in Utah were among the most traumatized. Georgia has absolutely no teeth; her caregivers can only guess why they were all removed. Lucas' face is covered with scars. The dogs are great with people (fighting dogs often are, they're not trained to fight people but other animals) but have to learn a lot of socialization. The caregivers hope they can be adopted one day but they may have to live their entire lives at the sanctuary.
They certainly can never live with any other dogs.
Leo, the dog in California, with Our Pack Inc, is doing remarkably well. He works as a certified therapy dog, visiting cancer patients at a treatment facility, wearing a rainbow colored clown collar. While I was with Leo an annoying fly buzzed around his eye. He moved his head slightly but didn't snap at it. He couldn't even bring himself to hurt a fly, literally. Leo lives with several other dogs and his caretaker says she's never seen any signs of aggression from him, towards people or animals. She said Leo's biggest problem when he arrived was a lack of manners, calling him a "caveman at a tea party."
And what of Vick? I asked many of the dog's caretakers what they think of him. No one had any overtly negative things to say about the former NFL star. It seems they're waiting to see what his actions will be now that he's out of prison and if they reflect a true commitment to preventing animal abuse. One man put it best, saying that Vick's dogs deserved a second chance, and maybe he does too.
Click here to watch the Nightly News video, "Michael Vick's dogs get another shot."
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Newsrooms aren't like a normal workplace. While we have friends and co-workers who help us function and buy supplies, it would never occur to most of us to have any "systems" in place. So it's rather amazing, in a business known for short institutional/collective memories, that we have so consistently and diligently covered all of the "Making a Difference" stories that have come our way. In doing so, and in the day-to-day effort of getting the broadcast on the air, we've forgotten to ask for more nominations! So consider this another formal request -- ask the folks you know to nominate their stories of those who are making a difference in the lives of others, and post them here, please. I can't tell you how much we get out of reading, covering and airing these stories. And we have another one for you tonight -- we'll see you then.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
If you thought you knew all there was to know about White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (or if you know nothing about him), there's this -- following his decision to deliver a very personal commencement address this weekend in Washington. If you're following the search for a Souter replacement on the Court, there's this and this. And as for this reporter, our NBC Affiliates are in town -- my elective time is devoted to them, and so today we'll have to keep this short. I hope you can join us for the broadcast tonight...especially our final story. We'll see you then.
by Robert Bazell, chief science correspondent
With great fanfare, New York's Mayor Bloomberg and others today unveiled a model of a 47-million-year-old fossil of a baby monkey-like creature at the American Museum of Natural History. The unveiling was part of a promotion effort by the History Channel and Little, Brown Book Group, which are producing a documentary and a book about the discovery.
There is no question that this is an important scientific finding. The fossil purchased by scientists at a market in Europe is exceptionally well preserved. But the documentary is titled "The Link: This Changes Everything," and the press kit for the event declares that reporters are about to "witness the most important find in 47 million years."
So I phoned Dr. Tim White at the University of California, Berkeley. White is a renowned paleontologist who played a key role in the discovery of "Lucy," the first ape-like creature to stand erect and many other important findings about the evolution leading to humans.
"Three words," he said. "Over the top."
The people who promoted this event make a big deal out of the possible place this newly discovered fossil plays in the evolution leading to humans. But if you read their actual scientific paper in a respectable peer-reviewed scientific journal (http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0005723) the scientists make no such claim.
The big question about this finding, White said, "is whether it is the 'Mother of All Monkeys?' and that is not even resolved. With years of study the scientists will learn whether this is the creature that stands at the intersection of one group of primates that went on to be best represented by lemurs today or another group that went on to be chimps and humans. But they don't know yet."
The event organizers do seem to know, however, the potential value of hype.
Click here to watch Robert Bazell's Nightly News report, "Fossil Frenzy."
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Normally tonight, with a few minutes remaining in the broadcast, we'd show a clip from the commencement today at Wake Forest in North Carolina. The speech was supposed to be given by Tim Russert. Those of us who loved Tim are, I think, still unable to believe that he isn't here to give it -- that we can't call him up to see him or talk to him about politics or Washington or his family. Today Vice President Joe Biden gave the speech instead, and his remarks about Tim were so affectionate -- and captured him so well -- they were almost hard to read.
That's where my thoughts are as we begin another week. I presided over the Peabody Awards earlier today, and got to present one to Richard Engel. Tim would have been so proud of the entire scene. He made everything better simply by being a part of it. My congratulations to Richard, and we'll look for you tonight.
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
President Obama has waded smack into the middle of the controversy that has surrounded his speech and receipt of an honorary law degree today at the Notre Dame commencement. In his remarks, interrupted at one point by hecklers, he spoke directly about the criticism and used the opportunity to encourage respect for those with differing opinions on abortion. The issue does not lend itself to compromise, and the president certainly did not soften his support of abortion rights. The question going forward is whether he can successfully change the tone of the abortion debate, especially as the nomination of a new Supreme Court justice draws closer.
We'll have two reports from Notre Dame tonight covering the president's remarks and the protests that resulted in the arrest of Norma McCorvey. You may not recognize her by that name, but as "Roe"--she was the plaintiff in the landmark Roe vs. Wade abortion decision.
There was an interesting comment today from the president's budget director about the recession, and whether we have reached the bottom. We've asked CNBC's Maria Bartiromo to come on tonight to talk about that as well as signs to look out for this week that may tell us if the worst days are indeed behind us.
Thanks for checking in. I hope you can join us later for the Sunday broadcast.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Driving into downtown Merced -- deep in California's central Valley -- my neck immediately began cranking for signs I was nearing a university campus. A coffee house, campus book store, music shop. Anything that said "college town." The last time I visited Merced, about ten years ago, the University of California at Merced didn't exist. This time the rental car GPS seemed to be pointing me straight through and then out of town. By the time I started passing empty fields and orchards I was sure I must have punched in the wrong address. Then suddenly as I crested the hill, there it was -- a small collection of stunning modern buildings surrounded by nothing. That was Thursday. Today, this little known 4 year old University, with an enrollment the size of a suburban high school and far removed from just about everything, is firmly on the map thanks to First Lady Michelle Obama. I traveled to Merced this week to learn the fascinating back story of how the students managed to land one of the most famous women in the world as their commencement speaker. The roughly 450 seniors graduating today represent U.C. Merced's first full graduating class, and they were determined to make a statement. They orchestrated a charming, creative and tenacious campaign that included everything from Valentines and e-mails sent to the White House to a You Tube video, all designed to convince Mrs. Obama to speak at their graduation. Over spring break they learned she had accepted. The best I can tell virtually every student and faculty member was in some way instrumental in the campaign, and so it is not just the class of 2009 celebrating success today. It may be a small school, but they think BIG. And isn't that what higher education is all about?
I'll have more on what went into bringing the first lady to Merced on our Nightly News broadcasts this weekend.
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
There were no illusions that the remaking of the American auto industry would be without pain. Still, today's confirmation by General Motors that it is cutting loose 1,600 retail dealers is sending shockwaves through many communities today. Coupled with a similar announcement by Chrysler yesterday, 100,000 auto industry jobs are now in jeopardy.
We're covering the impact of that, along with another bit of shocking, but perhaps not entirely unexpected, news about the spread of swine flu in this country, and why it may be with us for quite some time.
I will be in for Brian this evening and hope to see you later for NBC Nightly News.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
There is a strange and poignant sidebar to the ongoing hearings into the Colgan Air commuter prop plane crash in Buffalo this winter: you may have heard in our reporting the "sterile cockpit rule", meaning all conversation in the cockpit below 10,000 feet should be germane to the flight that is underway. The rule came about in large part, apparently, because of the crash that claimed the lives of three members of Steven Colbert's family back in 1974, as chronicled in Vanity Fair and the New York Times.
Excerpt below from the July 17, 1975 New York Times report by Richard Witkin
The stories we're preparing for the broadcast tonight are a diverse selection: from air safety to car dealers to food safety to Making A Difference, and we hope you can join us.
Kelly Venardos, Producer, NBC Nightly News
Every so often you come upon a story that stays with you. After working at NBC News for more than 16 years, I have a few of these gems tucked away in my memory. They sustain me through the news stories that aren't necessarily pleasant or positive. Frequently, these stories involve children. This is one of them.
Ten-year-old Katie Stagliano is different than most kids her age. You know this almost immediately, because she's thinking about and devoting a lot of her time and energies to issues that most young people don't give a second thought to. Katie is worried about hungry children across America, and how she can help them.
Katie lives in Summerville, SC, and after entering a charity t-shirt design contest (http://www.amazing-kids.org/lmdtcontest08.html), her design was chosen as the winner. Katie was inspired to create the "No Hungry Children" campaign by one little cabbage seedling that she planted in her backyard -- a little plant that grew to a whopping 40 pounds! Katie knew that it could feed a lot of people, and with the help of her parents, donated the giant cabbage to a local food bank. That one cabbage helped to feed over 250 people. And it got Katie thinking... if just one cabbage could feed that many people, think of what a whole garden of vegetables could do.
Click here to watch the Nightly News report on Katie's "cabbage patch"
Taking that "seedling" of an idea a step further, she organized her classmates and started a garden on her school's property. With teachers, students and even a Master Gardener volunteering to help, Katie has launched a garden that will soon yield enough food to feed hundreds of people. From peppers and tomatoes, to herbs and corn, there will be plenty of nutritious food for the food bank come harvest time.
After our story aired, Katie received lots of calls from people and organizations that want her to spread her good ideas in their part of the country. She's headed to Florida next month to be a part of a "Hope for the Future" black-tie banquet that will honor her work.
Just last week I received a package at my desk. It was a huge poster-sized card from Katie, thanking NBC News for coming down to South Carolina and telling her story. With her abundant creativity, the card reflects an inspired young lady who's trying to do her part to make the world a better place. I've shared the card with my colleagues, and hopefully it will soon find a place here in our newsroom, for all to see.
I'll be watching and following Katie as her garden (and her dreams) continue to grow. And I definitely want to be around when her dream comes true. I know it will. And to think... it all started with one little cabbage seedling.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
"The Left Seat" is the title of a long-running column in Flying magazine. Among pilots, the left seat is shorthand for pilot in command -- in a two-seat cockpit configuration, that's where the pilot sits, unless the adjacent first officer is flying that leg of the flight.
If you're like a lot of us, when you board a plane you find it somehow comforting to see the pilot -- to make eye contact with him or her, as if there is some determination our lay eyes can arrive at -- as if that brief visual relationship will guarantee a good heart, a good soul, ability and bearing -- and a safe flight.
Please read the accounts of today's hearing in Washington -- read about the young First Officer on the Colgan Air flight in Buffalo that claimed 50 lives -- read about the crew and realize what's going on here. This accident may result in enough consumer outrage to lead to re-regulation of aspects of aviation -- an area where both Government and industry may have some explaining to do. To read the transcripts of the cockpit conversations, and to hear the testimony in this case so far -- is a harrowing experience for those of us who fly or have loved ones on airplanes...and those of us who love aviation.
For those following the Supreme Court vacancy, the AP has received a leak/information dump on just who the President is considering. Interesting.
We hope you can join us tonight -- our Making A Difference series continues, and a lot more.
By Janet Shamlian, NBC News correspondent
"Like a marriage"--Stephanie Rankin doesn't mind that her husband uses that phrase to describe another relationship. And she admits her spouse of 25 years spends far less time with her than he does with a different companion.
Sergeant Clay Rankin was severely wounded during combat operations in Baghdad. He has a brain injury you'd be hard pressed to detect and physical wounds evident with his every move. Doctors told
him he'd have to live out his days in a wheelchair, a decision he was unwilling to accept.
A service dog might keep him on his feet, he was told, but they were hard to come by. Some groups charge tens of thousands of dollars, others ask veterans to solicit friends and family for donations. A Texas woman does neither.
Working on a shoestring budget and sometimes using abandoned pets, Lori Stevens loves and trains them -- before giving to disabled veterans who will love them even more.
That's how an 8-year-old black lab named Archie came to move from the plains of Texas to the mountains of West Virginia and, in the process, changed the life of an American soldier. Clay says there are no words to express his gratitude to Lori. There are, however, pictures. Tonight, in our Making A Difference report, you'll meet the woman who helps man's best friend live up to that billing.
Sgt Clay Rankin, Archie and NBC's Janet Shamlian
at Rankin's home in West Virginia (photo courtesy
of Stephanie Rankin)
For more information about the group profiled in Janet's report you can go to their website: www.patriotpaws.org
By Michelle Kosinski, NBC News correspondent
Life's simple pleasures…are NOT so simple, when life has been hard. Not so easy to sit back and soak in the notes of a musical performance, or a quiet day in nature. Or to simply express yourself by putting what's INSIDE--out there. To be honest, that can be tough for any of us. It can be a challenge to just live in those little moments that are somehow good for our spirits.
I have to admit, when I heard about this story, it sounded sweet, but a lot like something I had heard and seen many times before: using the arts to help, for this group or that. A wonderful concept, but it didn't really register as something unique.
CONTINUED >>
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
We're quite proud of the slight twist on our popular "Making A Difference" series this week -- we've selected five specific women to highlight. Last night's story was about Marie Nevins, my new friend here in New York. Tonight's story originates in Miami -- and there are three more to follow.
If you are among those who cannot watch us in real time, please make it a point to view the individual segments on our website. Here's what I love about our viewers: many people have already made donations to Marie's foundation after seeing last night's story. That means several thousand dollars will now go to people who need the money to keep a roof over their heads. Thank you.
On another topic in the news, I also wanted to pass along, for those interested, this portrait of the new man in charge of the war effort in Afghanistan.
We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
A lot of journos are watching this story, and I can't help but think it all goes back to NASCAR. Toward the end of a race, you often need to partner up with another driver to win (there's something called "bump-drafting" -- don't try it at home -- where the driver behind you can "push" you to the front, while taking advantage of the vacuum of the leader's car to bring him to the front -- it works), and its often a matter of finding someone to "go with you" if you're planning a bold initiative. The Wall Street Journal is apparently planning such a bold initiative, during a dire time for professional journalism. It will be interesting to see who goes with them.
And a great piece of journalism today: of all things, its an obituary in the New York Times. A story from history that might have been lost had they not chosen to write about it today.
And so we begin preparing for Monday night's broadcast -- we hope you can join us.
By Mara Schiavocampo, Nightly News Digital Correspondent
I just returned from Iowa, where I was reporting on the effects of the swine flu on the pork industry for Nightly News. I visited a hog farm in Collins, Iowa, about 40 minutes outside of Des Moines.
I was prohibited from interacting with the hogs. Some were kept in an open-air pen, and I was allowed to watch them from the other side of a fence. I was allowed no access to those in a closed barn. Why? For health safety reasons. But it’s not what you might think.
Below is my exchange with farmer Dave Struthers:
Schiavocampo: Can we go in here and interact with some of the pigs?
Struthers: With the concerns with the flu basically, just to try to control traffic, human traffic in and out of the facilities. Not that I’m too leery of it but you came from New York and you’ve got the flu in New York.
Schiavocampo: You’re worried about me making the pigs sick? Not them making me sick?
Struthers: I’m not worried at all about my pigs making you sick.
Schiavocampo: And is that industry protocol right now?
Struthers: It is.
Apparently, concerns about swine flu infections go both ways.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
As I slog through a long Friday at the office -- and perhaps because I was up late writing the Rescue One/Making A Difference story that will air Monday night, I have these few items: first, since we ran the original article on a possible replacement for Justice Souter, and since the author has since amended his work (and reacted to a strong response) I thought we owed him a link here.
Also: a nice piece by Peggy Noonan on Jack Kemp, who was remembered today in Washington. And a piece from Time.com that says a lot about where journalism is right now.
We sure do hope you can join us tonight. Have a great weekend and we'll see you again on Monday.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Today I visited Rescue One in Manhattan for a Making A Difference story that is airing next week. In the FDNY, the Rescue Companies are the specialists. They carry no water, no hoses. As they like to say,"firefighters fight fires...we rescue firefighters." Their "elite" status, of course (as scuba divers and climbers and the like), is fodder for all the derision and sarcasm that rival firehouses within the FDNY can muster. If you've heard the North Dakota vs. South Dakota jokes, then that will give you some idea. But at the end of the day, they are all one team. Rescue One lost 11 members on 9-11. Having coffee in their kitchen this morning, it all felt very close. The photos, the names, the memories are very much alive and so vivid, just like the guys standing before you who, by luck or by quirk of the schedule, survived that day.
As I told them today, when I was a volunteer firefighter in Jersey, FDNY members were like the Yankees to us--the pros--the top of their game. They always were and still are. Rescue One, as firehouses in this country go, is the stuff of legend. So are all the names on the wall, and the guys on the rig. If you're ever in midtown Manhattan and see a firetruck go by, look for their markings. While "Rescue 1" is clearly visible from several angles, there's something else to look for: across the hood in gold lettering, it says, "OUTSTANDING!" That was the motto of Captain Terry Hatton, who never made it out of the World Trade Center. The rig was his design, his pride and joy. He rides along with it every day, to this very day.
My thanks to everyone at Rescue One.
We hope you can join us tonight.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
For music fans, a new suggestion: Camera Obscura. Actually, they've been around for a while -- but some new cuts on their latest effort named "My Maudlin Career" deserve a listen. Specifically, "The World Is Full Of Strangers," "Swans," "Away With Murder" and "The Sweetest Thing." Among my fellow Dylan fans, consensus seems to be that "Forgetful Heart" is among the best efforts from his new "Together Through Life." If you haven't heard Dylan in a while, here's a hint … he sounds … like a much older Bob Dylan. Looking for something ephemeral? Try "Floating" by Julee Cruise, a standby for me. It's good when you're trying to fall asleep on an airplane. If she sounds familiar, she did the theme song for "Twin Peaks" a few years back.
Okay. I'm out -- from the music business we turn our attention back to the news business. My thanks to Ann Curry for allowing me some time off. We hope to see you tonight.
By NBC's Ann Curry
In for Brian tonight so he can get some r and r. Rest, Brian.
Our top stories tonight:
FINALLY hopeful economic news. Fed chief Ben Bernanke today said the economic downturn is close to bottoming out, though he warned more significant job cuts will come before it does. Is Bernanke being optimistic, or does he know something? Trish Regan will report.
Pakistan is spiraling further as thousands are leaving the Swat valley amid battling between the Taliban and the Pakistan army. Richard Engel will join on set.
Chuck Todd will report on a meeting tomorrow between Pakistan's President Zadari and President Obama at the White House.
Growing swine flu numbers are now not being attributed to the disease spreading, but test results are being tabulated. Also, the official recommendation now is that schools no longer need to be closed.
There's more, but we are distracted by the popping champagne bottles for researcher Garrett Haake, who is getting a cake and bubbly from the Nightly team because he's getting married. He looks too happy to be convinced otherwise.
Don't worry, I won't drink champagne until after the broadcast.
Brian's back tomorrow.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Because of my Souter departure obsession, today I want to share with you some interesting writing I found over the weekend...starting with a former Souter clerk (a familiar name from American history) and a great essay by a journalist who covers the court. My favorite (provocative) essay is on the subject of who should NOT be appointed to the court (sorry, Harvard and Yale) and there is a very tough examination of a current favorite for the court.
We're back with our Monday night broadcast tonight, and we hope you can join us.
By Mara Schiavocampo, Nightly News Digital Correspondent
It’s the start of the work week for most of us. But thousands of Chrysler employees are home, forced to take a temporary break while the automaker goes through bankruptcy proceedings. On Nightly News, I’ll take a look at what that reality is like for two Chrysler workers. You can read part of their stories below:
Kenneth Mefford, 47
Inspector, Warren Truck Assembly
"My boss just came by and said, 'Clean up your areas and go home.' He just said that some of the bondholders had held out and they’re declaring bankruptcy and that’s it. All the rest of Chrysler’s shut down.
'See you in five or six weeks. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.'
I’m a Gulf War vet. I was in Saudi. When somebody just walks up and says put down your stuff, have a nice day and go home, and the next thing you know your company is bankrupt, nobody can prepare you for that. The last feeling I can compare it to is when I got off a C-130 and they handed me a rifle and said ‘Welcome to a combat zone.’
My grandfather worked at River Rouge at Ford, retired after 40 years. My dad did 30-plus and retired from Mound Road Engine, which is now a parking lot. So this is pretty much all I know. I’m 47, I have six years in the Army, 15 years in a factory and a high school diploma. A house note and a car note. What am I supposed to do?"
Aric Holloway, 51
Inspector, Warren Truck Assembly
"They actually told everybody ‘You’re going home’, and ‘We’ll see you in four to six weeks’. They even said, ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you.’ I was shocked the way we got it. Because normally we get an FYI from the union or from the company. We didn’t get [any information].
You had to go on the Internet or talk to your own friends. They didn’t tell us nothing.
It’s affecting my life and my family a great deal. Because I had a son that was in college, he had to come home. I’m worried about the bankruptcy. I’m very worried about it. I don’t know how they can do, what they can do to make it better."
By Jay Blackman, NBC News producer
They say it's the small things, but when it comes to mothers, the small things really do add up. Whether it's driving to karate, making doctor appointments, or paying the bills, Mom's job is never done--and she does it all for free.
For the ninth year in a row, compensation experts at Massachusetts-based Salary.com have figured out just what mom's time is really worth. They take the top ten jobs mom does--from van driver to cook to laundry machine operator--and calculate the value of the job how much time a mother spends on it and how much you would have to pay if you hired someone to do all that work. The average stay -at-home mom works a 40-hour work week, plus an additional 56 hours of overtime, while the working mom works 40 hours a week for her employer, 40 hours a week at home and puts in another 17 hours in overtime.
Researchers say the downturn in the economy also means more work for mom. Their survey has found that jobs that used to be outsourced are increasingly being added to mom's to-do list to save money.
Salary.com has a calculator on their website at mom.salary.com which allows you or mom to figure out how much her yearly salary would be. So when you see Mom on Mother's Day, give her a little bigger hug. She deserves it.
by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Greetings from Los Angeles. I'll be anchoring the program from the NBC News bureau here tonight. I came out to southern California for my oldest son's college graduation – a beautiful affair held yesterday on a rolling lawn perched above the Pacific Ocean. For four years I've wondered how anyone could study or get any work done in such a gorgeous location. I'm happy to say he somehow managed, and I'm an awfully proud dad as I now watch him move on to the next chapter of his life. To parents of younger children I offer only this advice: enjoy every minute of them. This growing up thing happens a lot faster than you can ever imagine.
As far as tonight's broadcast is concerned, it's hard to imagine it was just one week ago we were reporting the headline that a public health emergency had been declared in response to the flu outbreak. Experts have learned a lot about the disease in that short time, and are now expressing some guarded optimism. That said, NBC's Rehema Ellis will report this evening that there are still some troubling and unanswered questions about the next chapters in this outbreak.
We've also got a look back at the life of former congressman and VP candidate Jack Kemp. Plus, billionaire businessman Warren Buffet sat down with our colleague, CNBC’s Becky Quick, to talk about the economy and how the administration is trying to fix it. We'll have some of that conversation for you tonight.
Thanks for checking in, and I hope you'll tune in later for NBC Nightly News.
By Robert Bazell, NBC News chief science correspondent
An official at the Centers for Disease Control emailed me today that “the whole name thing is comical.” He was referring to the government’s first referring to the new influenza virus as swine flu and then calling it “A H1N1”—in response, I have on good authority, to enormous pressure from the pork industry.
In my opinion it is not comical at all. At a time when we need the most precise information, the naming of the virus was beaten out only by the Vice-President’s quickly retracted words about travel as a source of confusion.
“A H1N1” is a large family of flu viruses. The regular seasonal influenza that is circulating this season is A H1N1. So is the new virus that seems to have started as an outbreak in Mexico. And there are big differences. The vaccine we have now protects against the seasonal influenza, but there is no vaccine for the new one. The new one can be treated with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, but the seasonal variety is resistant.
In its own literature the CDC refers to the new virus as "swine-origin influenza A (H1N1)". When I asked how they could use the term “swine” in communications to doctors and scientists but not the public at a CDC press conference, I got a big dose of pure bureaucratic evasion:
“Much of our work,” the CDC official replied, “ is very technical, very scientific and not very easy for the public to understand. And sometimes we use terms that have unintended consequences. So I would say that we're in a transition state where we're trying to get away from the word swine, because we know that isn't -- it's not exposure to swine that is the way that people in the United States are getting this infection. And that that has caused some confusion..”
We in the media and the scientists have said repeatedly that eating pork does not cause swine flu and people understand. A poll out today from the Harvard School of Public Health showed that only 13 percent of Americans think eating pork might give them swine flu. The poll also find that 55 per cent never heard the term “H1N1” virus –and only 20 percent think it means the same thing as swine flu.
It used to be that viruses were named for places. The 1918 pandemic was called “Spanish Flu.“ Such names lead to discrimination. But I think we can stop worrying about this outbreak of swine flu bringing discrimination against pigs.
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
David Souter is not of this world. At least not the world many of us living in this nation's population centers experience on a daily basis in 2009. His intellect is the stuff of folklore, and so is his personal life. He's been described as an almost Victorian figure, straining to maintain the lifestyle he prefers while the world changes around him. That he drives an automobile remains something of a wonder -- his concession to changes in modern transportation -- given that other aspects of his life and mindset seem borrowed from another century, and not the last one.
Souter was to President George H.W. Bush what Justice William Brennan was to President Eisenhower. Bush wanted a predictable conservative jurist without a paper trail. He got half of that, just as Ike did when trying to select a solid judge who agreed with his philosophy.
Immediately after his appointment to the court, those who ventured to Weare, New Hampshire in search of clues that would shed light on the nominee found a rather dark cabin filled with books. Stacks of them.
Peering through the windows as reporters do, they could not see a television inside the house. There wasn't one. There wasn't anything David Souter needed to know that he couldn't read about, or so the theory went.
Washington journalists, in requisite khakis and blazers, braved the blazing summer heat of New Hampshire to gather information on the taciturn, enigmatic, intellectual New Englander. Former high school classmates talked guardedly about their bookish, smart friend with the throwback charm. I was among those who read all of his available opinions to date back then, and I decided my favorite was the case, as I remember it, of the hippie couple who sued New Hampshire because they didn't feel they should be forced to ride around in their van fitted with license plates bearing the New Hampshire State slogan, "Live Free Or Die." They lost.
It didn't take long to realize President Bush had lost a big bet.
He'd been famously assured by then-Republican Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire that Souter would be a "home run" for the right, a lock-cinch, dependable Yankee conservative on the court. Souter morphed before their eyes into a Yankee liberal -- or what passed for one, as the court was in the middle of a decided right turn during the Souter years. Bush's other pick, Clarence Thomas, did not disappoint.
Years later, Souter was reported to be profoundly disappointed at the Court's decision in Bush v. Gore, which effectively awarded the election to the son of the man who appointed him to the court. He was part of the four Justices in the minority.
During the Court term, Justice Souter works 12 hour days and lives in a small apartment not far from the Court. He has never liked the city.
For that matter, he's never been much for computers, cellphones or other trappings of modern life. He writes his opinions longhand, in fountain pen, as John Marshall did in the early days of the Republic.
Meantime, back in the electronic world of 2009 America, an internet headline on a major website, posted within hours of the first report that he was retiring, breathlessly and incorrectly reported that Souter's departure will lead to a "shakeup" on the court. Because Souter must be considered a dependable member of the court's left-of-center minority, President Obama's choice to replace him will not amount to any sort of net gain for the left -- nor would replacements for what are generally considered to be the next two justices to depart, Stevens and Ginsburg. But the quiet man from New Hampshire has accomplished one thing with his planned departure: he's proven once again that attempts to predict the behavior of the court and its justices can be a dicey business.
Perhaps it all goes back to "Live Free Or Die." When David Souter aims his car north to his beloved New Hampshire at the end of the court term, he will be, entering his eighth decade, a free man once again.
We hope you can join us for the broadcast tonight. Have a great weekend.
