Good evening, Brian! And a very happy Friday to you!

As a Virginia native, I'm dying to know what the title of your post means! I'm guessing we'll hear tonight. I was just talking to my Nana about this news. It's such a shame that one person could ruin such a beautiful tradition. You're very good at giving your young viewers fair warning!

You know, sadly, I don't think I ever knew you could actually write a letter to Santa. But I hope this tradition will carry on so that when I have kids they can stay up writing their own letter! Speaking of writing letters, I saw not long ago that you not only wrote a letter to Santa, but that you wrote a letter to President Lyndon B. Johnson...and at such a young age. That would be like me writing a letter to President Clinton, but probably not a good year at the time...

Looking forward to the broadcast, Mr. Williams!
Have a great weekend, and we'll see you back on Monday!
-Cary

Also, not that you have time to go run around and find one, but I hope you'll be wearing a red tie tonight for R.E.D Friday. (Remember.Everyone.Deployed)

-Cary

It would have been nice to have a little warning prior to this story last night.  My three year old heard it and got very upset. He thougt Santa was gone forever.  I can't say it made for a good evening.  Thanks alot Brian Williams!

Brian:  Please know that we at GE Infrastructure in Schenectady, have also been helping with this mission for years.  Our Zip Code is 12345-6000 so we get and reply to hundreds of letters every year in a community volunteer effort!
Regards,  Chris Schmitt
Manager of Technical Operations

Mr. Williams,

I have to admit last nights broadcast was depressing, filled with mostly sad news. I am hoping that sometime in the near future you(the staff and crew at NN) can do 1 entire broadcast full of nothing but good and uplifting stories. I know that bad news is more abundant than good these days, but maybe the amazing people at NBC News can fill an entire broadcast with entirely amazing stories.

- Matt

Has Santa also considered installing high-speed internet at the North Pole and creating a TWITTER account??  Just take the Postal Service out of the equation. That way children around the world could follow Santa's 'tweets' and send him, and his on-line helper elves, their wish-lists via the web.  And elves who 'work from home' could be recruited world-wide to help read and respond to the children who write.  
Aspiring Elf, standing by and ready to help via the magic of our new social networks!!

I thought that it was very cool to see you report that Santa hasn't given up yet on a serious news network. Good, happy news such as this makes it more bearable to watch the news that isn't very good. Thanks for making my day!

Lee Cowan's story on Twilightmania has a latent use:  red light camera in Forks, Washington (check the speeding log truck).

Hi Brian,

With all the changes regarding "federal guidelines", I'm happy to find out that I'll be able to keep my private insurance. One may have nothing to do with the other, but I really think things are going to change for a lot of women, with or without private insur. I realize that I'm very fortunate.

I need to catch up on my vampires. I haven't seen one since Lestat (Ann Rice novels). I'll sneak a romantic weekend in with my husband via a copy of Twilight. He won't know what hit him. Then I'll see if Mama wants to see New Moon. I'm sure things have changed since the Christopher Lee days. Younger women: He was THE vampire in a lot of "B" rated movies. Yum!

I thought I was going to die when a bully told me that Santa wasn't real. Of course he was wrong. That said bully probably grew up having to go from door to door trying to sell vaccum cleaners with every other door being slammed in his face. But I'm glad North Pole, Alaska is able to continue helping Santa. They are doing some very important work.

Brian, the best Making a Difference segment I've ever seen (I've seen a lot), came tonight. I'm sure the kids will enjoy Callie, the tiger cub just as much as I would. Whoever came up with the idea is a genius. Hopefully other childrens' hospitals as well as the ones for adults can have the same setup. It's amazing.


The view from N.Y is simply beautiful. I don't know how else to describe it. You guys are so lucky. Remember that on those rainy days when you're trying to flag done a cab! It's been a great week of broadcasts despite the conflicting health news. Have a nice, relaxing weekend and I'll see you Mon. night.

Good evening, Brian!

Thank you for another wonderful broadcast to end our week.

First off all, I feel like an idiot. You meant Virginia as in “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”! I should have known. Regarding the letter, it is so fun to read! http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/ I loved how you played along for the kids tonight! That was pretty sweet. I'd love to see their little faces after that.

The tribute to Tim Russert that opened today is an incredible way to remember him, and shows the public what was closest to him in his life. It's also an amazing thing for his family to allow the Newseum to put all of his personal things on display for everyone to see. We all miss Tim so much, and are so proud of his son Luke. I look for him to be filling in his dad's old desk at Meet The Press one of these days. Speaking of the Newseum – I was very inspired by it during my visit on July 4th, a really incredible museum! I hear that you will be visiting it for the screening of “Absence of Malice” on January 12th. I wish SO much that I could make it up to Washington that night, but I'm afraid I might have classes that day. Plus, it's on a Tuesday! (Apart from finally seeing him this past spring, it's just like every time I saw that Bruce Springsteen was playing nearby it was on a weeknight!) Since the movie sounded so interesting, I went ahead and rented it anyway.

I will be watching the news Saturday night on the Health Reform vote this time, all while hoping it's over in time for SNL.

Sarah Palin is coming to town. She's coming to Roanoke early Sunday morning, which is (in my opinion) bad timing for this small town of folks that are likely to be in Church Sunday morning, (all after watching Meet The Press of course). If it were on a week day I would have loved to have gone and met one of the NBC News reporters on the scene, if they happen to come to town.

Tonight's Making A Difference report was very sweet, and such a great idea for children in hospitals. I hope more children hospitals will take notice of the impact this idea, and bring it into their own hospitals.

Thank you SO much for letting us see that absolute gorgeous view of the sunset across the Manhattan skyline! I am always in awe of the beauty of that city, and cannot wait to step foot on it's pavement. My aunt will soon beat me to it during this beautiful holiday season – it will be her first visit to the great city.

Thank you for your work on what has been another long, eventful week. And of course, our thanks to the wondeful Ann Curry for filling in for you Wednesday night.

Take care, and have a terrific weekend! We love you, Brian!

-Cary

P.S. Shout out to ALL the viewers. (Specifically Lisa, Laurel, and Lori) You guys aren't so bad either. ;)

Good Evening Mr.Williams,Another fine broadcast this evening. I remember writing my letter to Santa and picturing him reading it. Also, looking out the window on Christmas Eve after I went to bed to try to see Santa and his sleigh with eight reindeer and Rudolph. Nine reindeer! Santa lives in everyone's hearts that believe in good things.

Now on to the broadcast. First of all the report by Dr.Nancy Snyderman concerning when women should be tested for cervical cancer which has pushed back the age to 18yrs old instead of 21yrs old. Seeing all the ages listed with all the things to be tested seems mindboggling and does give one anxiety. Yet, individualized medicine is good the take the right preventive measures.

The report by Mr.Truong from Westpoint, Georgia concerning the Kia company coming to the city seems to be bringing much optimism to the people living and working there. The businesses have seen as rise in sales like the shoe store and new businesses are opening like the coffee shop. This is encouraging news in these tough economic times. I hope the town continues to flourish with the jobs created and the rise in business due the Kia coming to the city.

The office of Tim Russert being on display at the Newseum in Washington is so wonderful and a fine tribute. All the things assembled just at Mr.Russert had them is nice and touching to see. He was a fine man and is greatly missed.

Your mentioning about Santa contacting NBC saying that he is receiving letters at his workshop in the North Pole is so heartwarming! Also, the instructions on the NBC website about writing to Santa. So wonderful to hear!

The "Making A Difference" segment by Mr.Rossen about the children's hospital that has the zoo channel on the televisions in the children's rooms was so touching and sweet. The children seem to really enjoy watching the animale on the tv's which takes their mind off the treatment they are receiving. The smiles on the children's faces was wonderful to see! The animals were so cute! A very nice idea at this hospital! Good Piece!

Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Have a wonderful weekend! See you on Monday! Peace to You and to All!

Lots of Love to Laurel,Jackie,Stephanie,Claudia,Celine,Anna,Lori,Cary and Matt!
Be Well Always!
Stay Extra,Extra Safe and Well Richard!
XOXO

Mr. Williams,

As a proud employee of the United States Postal Service, it truly is a blessing to have people like the folks in North Pole, Alaska, to help Santa with his letters.  As a parent, it is an experience that will never be forgotten when your child receives a letter from Santa.  I have a friend who's child had written several letters to Santa and asked me why they had never gotten a response from Santa.  I told her that like everything else, Santa is often so busy that the sooner she sent her letter the better.  Well, she did.  She sent her letter the week before Thanksgiving and sent a self-addressed stamped envelope to help Santa out.  Her Mom told me that the look on her face when she got her envelope back with a letter in it from Santa was worth more to her than the actual presents she received on Christmas.  If your child sends a letter to Santa and gets a response back, how about sending a "Thank you" to Santa's helpers for all the volunteer time and effort in reading, answering letters.  P.S.  A lot of Post Offices have Santa helpers during the holiday season!!  How wonderful to see the simple beauty of the Christmas season through the eyes of a child and to be reminded of what the season really is all about!!

Good to hear Santa is back in the House for the kids. I remember my kids wrote Santa and really believed he wrote them back. Those were the days I miss.

I loved the movie New Moon and there no empty seats. I did read the movie and the movie stuck to the book.

I saw Sarah walked out on the book signing as she did as Govenor of Alaska. It made me remember when I stood in line for Bill Clinton's book and he stayed over 2 hours to make sure those of us in line got our books signed. Well Sarah did say she was only interested in making money.

Anna: I saw Oprah interview Sarah. Sarah still messed up and those lies just keep on flying. I guess Sarah might think she can get Oprah's fans like she thought she could get Hillary's voters. Now Oprah is really smart as she will be going big time on Cable and she already has three successful show's she produces on TV stations. I don't Sarah understands the differnce between a Host who owns the show and one who works for the station. Oprah and David Letterman own their shows while Jay Leno is an employee. The Twilight books have sold over 70 million copies and don't ask me about JK Rowlings books. Sarah's book will be a the 99 cent store in a week as many book stores are selling them.

I saw the flood in the UK and it reminded me of Katrina with people on the roof of their homes. Unlike the US the UK got all the people to safety.

Have a great weekend all

We live here in North Pole Santa Claus House isnt far and I love taking my family there.We get our chance to see the BIG GUY and Mrs.Claus.While there we read lots of letters they hang all over the place from kids all over the world.We each get a new tree ornament every year. Just wanted to share that. Thank you and God Bless

To Cary Skelton of Roanoke, Virginia.

Being 20, it's unlikely you've heard of this, and I'm sure Brian doesn't have the time to respond. Virginia refers not to your state, but to a young girl named Virginia O'Hanlon who wrote a letter to the New York Sun newspaper in 1897 asking whether or not there was a Santa Claus. The editor, Mr. Francis Pharcellus Church, wrote a very famous philosophical  editorial answering the question. It has become known as "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." You can find out all about it by typing that phrase into Wikipedia or any search engine. There's also a copy of the whole letter at newseum.org/yesvirginia.

A Wonderful Story! Thanks for switching to parent mode!

Brian,
Please put an easy link for your email so we can ask you questions about other topics like, Pensions: The Broken Promise when in 1970 NBC did an hour long show on it which lead to the ERISA (Employee Retirement income security act) act of 1974.
In which congress tried to protect an employee's life savings from the company they worked for, but what it does not cover is when it is the spouse that can not be trusted.
My father was married for 20 plus years to my stepmother and the last 2 years of his life was a living hell when in Sept,2006 he was placed into a nursing home because he could not walk anymore and his wife after less than a year walked into the nursing home with her lawyer and asked him for a divorce because as "a good Christian woman she knew he was not coming out of there and she wanted to go and live what little life she had left".
My father being bed ridden reached out to me in Colorado for help and assistance, Trying to get control of everything he had ever worked for and tried to change the beneficiaries on all of his assets to no avail because we had no money to hire lawyers to help.
Because of federal laws and the law in general no one could help my father in this situation, the nursing home refused to help us get a POA that GE told us we needed to get or to change his will or to help with a lawyer and when my father filled out 3 different beneficiary forms for GE they responded that he needed her signature to change it or they needed to be divorced because of ERISA.
ERISA needs to be amended to allow pensioners to change it at will , like a life insurance policy.
As millions of Baby boomers start to retire and divorce rates are staggering to say the least, an employee who has worked their entire life and wants to choose someone else to receive their benefits, should have this choice or at least know all of the facts in which I did not until it was to late.
As by now you must know that my stepmother never filed for the divorce that she asked for in Aug of 2007 undoubtedly because her attorney told her to wait for him to die and she would get everything by law and my father passed away in Dec of 2008 from pneumonia when she ordered a do not ventilate do not resuscitate on a man with no living will that stated so from a wife that had not visited him in over a year.
The doctors said it was her right as his wife to do so and unless I had a POA, their was nothing I could do.
But wait! there was a DPOA that named my stepmother and myself as fiduciaries that know one ever told me about and I found when searching the public records.
A DPOA that was drawn up when my father first went in to the nursing home in Oct,2006 and was recorded by my stepmother just days before she walked into the nursing home and asked for a divorce from my father with the same attorney that had drawn up the DPOA.
I have gone to every state agency that I can think of and no one seems to care about this and states that it is a civil case.
We are now in the Federal Court System and by the time we actually get to court,(inter pleader over life insurance) ALL will be lost and the only good that can truly come from this is that someone else dose not have to go through it.
Please warn the baby boomer population about this clause in ERISA and what they must do to keep their families estate in their family when something like this happens.
NBC reported it in 1970 and now you need to inform the general public about what has come from it.

Thank you for making my son believe even stronger he is 8 and at the age where everyone is doubting Santa exists. He was with me when your broadcast came on and his eyes got big and we have been talking all day about how many days there are until Christmas.
It made out Christmas!
Ginny St. Denis Fairport, New York

Reply to Cary in Virginia--

The reference to Virginia in the title is not to the State of Virginia, but to a famous editorial written years ago in the New York Sun. A young girl, Virginia O'Hanlon, had written the paper asking if there really was a Santa Claus. Her father had deferred the question to the paper and said, "If the Sun says it, it's so." The response by the paper was classic. "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy."

The phrase became a classic part of American culture and the full story is available on many web sites such as newseum.org/yesvirginia.

They will answer kids letters in Santa Claus, Indiana 47579.

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