A run for the ages
Posted: Sunday, July 19, 2009 5:31 PM by Ian Sager
by Carl Quintanilla, NBC News
Two major stories have caught our eye tonight, and they both come out of Washington. The first is that of an Army private captured by the Taliban, now featured in an emotional video posted online. His name is Bowe Bergdahl, a 23-years-old, Idaho native who's been serving in Afghanistan since February.
There are questions tonight about just how Bergdahl was captured, and the Pentagon isn't talking. But either way, the video is a signal that the escalating war in Afghanistan may be taking a potential turn, one in which the Taliban heightens its use of propaganda. We'll check in with NBC's Jim Miklaszewski tonight.
The other story hits here at home, and that's health care. The Obama administration is under pressure to build support for its reform plan. But Republicans (and some moderate Democrats) are ratcheting up their criticism of some proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy, among other things. Can the administration get the House and Senate to pass bills before the August recess? NBC's Mike Viqueira and CNBC's John Harwood will spell it out for us.
Finally, if you're like me, you spent much of the weekend watching – and hoping for a Cinderella ending – as 59-year-old Tom Watson played at the British Open. We think the amazing run he had this weekend serves as a lesson to so-called "older" athletes that success can come at any time, and in many forms (some of his closest competition this weekend was two years younger than his daughter). NBC's John Yang will take a closer look at Watson's weekend.
In case you didn't get to watch the third round today, I won't give away the ending. But suffice it to say that Watson has a new generation of fans, and showed us how to perform on a high stage with style and grace.
We hope you'll join us tonight.
