Lester Holt
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
With the president apparently poised to announce his new Afghanistan strategy next week—likely tens of thousands of additional troops—we are going to examine what it means to American servicemen and women and their families, the political risks, and we'll get the view from the ground on what those additional forces will be facing.
A lot of you have been hearing about a massive safety recall of certain baby cribs. We will have a full report tonight with the information you need to know.
We will also preview tonight's lavish White House State Dinner in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It's the first such dinner for the Obama's and is bringing together an impressive list of guests, including our own Brian Williams. I'm sitting in for Brian on the broadcast tonight. I hope you can join us.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
The road to health care reform approaches a shaky bridge tonight. Democratic leaders will test the strength of the underpinnings of that bridge – their 60 seat majority in the US Senate – in a vote over whether to allow debate on a health care bill. It will mark the second Saturday night this month that critical votes on health care have taken place on Capitol Hill.
Although tonight's vote is strictly procedural, as GOP Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire told me this morning on TODAY, as far as Republicans are concerned "the gun is loaded," meaning they consider a vote in favor of allowing debate, likely a vote in favor of the bill itself. No Republican is expected to vote yes. At this writing, Democrats believe they have secured all 60 votes they need to open debate. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell is on the hill and will update where things stand when we come on the air.
On tonight's broadcast we will also show you an anguished plea for help by a British couple hijacked at sea by Somali pirates. Their captors have released video of the couple speaking on camera as menacing young men surround them with guns. Of course the pirate's intent is to raise pressure on British authorities to pay ransom for their release. We'll get reaction from London.
Walking through Manhattan's famous shopping districts these days, two things stand out. Holiday decorations are up, and the number of empty store fronts has exploded since last Christmas season. With that said, NBC's Rehema Ellis will report tonight that retailers may be turning the tables on shoppers who be thinking they can once again cash in on bloated store inventories.
Thanks for reading the blog. Please join me later for NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
The American approach to Islamic terror is changing on many levels. Tonight we'll show you what may soon become the American prison for Guantanamo Bay detainees, on a day there was more sharp reaction over the 9/11 terror trials to be held in New York.
Our chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel is in Afghanistan, and he will have the latest from the battlefield on this evening's broadcast. Meantime, White House correspondent Savannah Guthrie is traveling with the president in Shanghai. She'll tell us about the changing dynamic between the U.S. and China, as well as the decision still hanging over the president about the way forward in Afghanistan.
I recently spent a terrific day over in Queens, New York with singer Tony Bennett and his wife Susan. They toured me through a new school of the arts they founded. It's a New York public high school that demands excellence on not only the stage and in the studio, but in the classroom. We'll have some of my conversation with Tony about the school and his career tonight on NBC Nightly News. I hope can join us.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
We have just gotten hold of a copy of Sarah Palin's new book "Going Rogue," thanks to the dogged and resourceful work of our Nightly News interns and production assistants.
The book is not being released until Tuesday, and copies have been very hard to come by. That of course hasn't stopped endless speculation about what's in it. We'll be speed reading through it here in the newsroom this afternoon, and will have more about it, along with the endless fascination with Palin, on tonight's program.
Also this evening we'll bring you up to speed on the deal President Obama is trying to forge with Russia's President Medvedev over nuclear arms. They're both in Singapore at a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders. As the president focuses on one of the major hold over issues from the Cold War, a decision on what to do about the current war in Afghanistan looms large. NBC's Savannah Guthrie will have more from Singapore this evening.
For a guy who a lot of people love to hate, convicted swindler Bernie Madoff is drawing a lot of interest from memorabilia seekers. Jeff Rossen will report on a government auction of Bernie and Ruth Madoff's belongings, and the stunning amounts of cash it’s generating on everything from his New York Mets jacket to his wife's jewelry.
I hope you can join us tonight for NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
My apologies for skipping the blog on Saturday. I was making my way back to New York after covering the shooting at Fort Hood, and didn't arrive in the newsroom until shortly before last night's newscast.
We are of course following up on the latest developments from Fort Hood on tonight's broadcast.
We're also tracking the progress of Hurricane Ida, which looks like it could hit the Gulf Coast sometime this week. In fact, Louisiana Governor Jindal has just declared a state of emergency. We'll get a live update from our colleagues at The Weather Channel on our broadcast this evening.
The big story out of Washington is the passage last night of a health care reform bill by the House of Representatives. It's a big deal for Democrats, and the president, but all roads now lead through the U.S. Senate. We're going to break it all down.
Thanks for checking in. We'll look for you tonight on NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
All day I've been thinking about what happened to that extra hour we supposedly got this morning. I actually used mine, plus an additional 90 minutes staying up to watch some of the rain-delayed World Series game last night. So in reality I'm an hour and a half in the hole.
Every year I manage to rationalize the time change to the point of getting less sleep, not more. Isn't it too bad they can't just surprise us with the return to standard time? Maybe magically set our clocks back an hour as we sleep on some random fall night so we really do get to benefit from that extra sack time?
On the broadcast tonight we're covering the fallout in Washington from the aborted runoff election in Afghanistan that leaves Hamid Karzai as president for the next five years. The White House had been holding off a decision on whether to commit more troops there until after the Afghan election was decided. So what happens now? We'll get reports from Kabul and the White House on tonight's Nightly News.
There's new information about the bodies found in the home of a Cleveland sex offender, and how they died. We'll have the latest on that.
We'll also hear from the skipper of that American cargo ship who was held by Somali pirates earlier this year. I spoke to Captain Richard Phillips earlier today about the British couple who were captured at sea more than a week ago, and what they may be facing.
I hope you'll join us tonight for NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
The White House is reacting to a new development in Afghanistan today that could affect how and when it decides whether to commit more American troops to the war. President Hamid Karzai's election rival, Abdullah Abdullah, is now expected to drop out of a runoff election as soon as tomorrow.
Whether he does it gracefully, or in effect boycotts what he has previously labeled a fraudulent election process, is the burning question. Clearly Washington would like to remove any stain of illegitimacy from the election before deepening American involvement in the conflict. Our Richard Engel is in Kabul and will bring us the latest from there. We'll also get the early reaction from the White House.
We're also covering an unsettling discovery at the home of a convicted rapist in Cleveland.
That case of a Northwest Airlines crew who overflew their destination last week has stirred up discussion about fatigue in the cockpit. Ron Allen looks into the problem.
And by the way, for those of you who watched TODAY this morning, I can promise there will be no encore tonight to our little Halloween musical (ok, lip-syncing) performance. It will be suit and tie the whole way this evening. I hope you'll join me for Nightly News, and in the meantime have a safe and enjoyable Halloween night.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
The government's decision to declare the H1N1 flu outbreak an "emergency" is meant to break through some of the usual bureaucratic red tape that could hinder the ability of hospitals to respond to a big surge of flu patients.
Unfortunately it does nothing to speed up the flow of flu vaccine, which so far, is available in far fewer doses than was originally promised. While the production back log is expected to be fixed soon, the health care system is racing against a clock it can't see. Meaning experts can't say when the outbreak will peak, and when or whether the virus will mutate. On Nightly News this evening we'll have a lot more on what this emergency declaration means and when the flow of vaccine will increase.
I'm getting on a red eye flight after the broadcast tonight, and I'll be thinking a lot about what's going on the other side of that locked cockpit door. The flying public deserves answers quickly about why that Northwest Airlines flight overshot its destination and was out of radio contact for over an hour last week. Tonight we'll let you hear what one of the pilots from that flight has to say about what didn't happen, and what's being done to get to the bottom of it.
I hope you'll join me for those stories and all of the day's important stories on NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
Many of us would have been just as happy to see that little Colorado balloon adventure turn out to be an innocent misunderstanding so that we could all move on to other things. We learned today, however, that apparently isn't the case.
Colorado authorities said today that they were duped – and so were all of uswatching that balloon careening through the sky while silently praying for a little boy we were told was in it. Sheriff's investigators say they plan to file charges against the parents that could lead to jail time. Toying with a country's emotions is not a crime, but intentionally leading rescuers on a wild goose chase is. Tonight on the broadcast, we will tell you why authorities now think the whole thing was a hoax and what was behind it.
We'll look for you later on NBC Nightly News.
By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor
From the open window of my Rockefeller Plaza office I am enjoying the crisp and coolish afternoon air, the sounds of drums and music from the Spanish Columbus/Hispanic Day parade making its way down Fifth Avenue, and just below me, tourists are skating on the newly re-opened ice rink. It's a feast for the senses, and a reminder of why I love fall in New York City.
In the meantime, we're busy preparing tonight's broadcast, which will include coverage of today's massive gay rights rally in Washington, where some of the spotlight is on president Obama and his so far unfulfilled pledge to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
We will also tell you why Wall Street is now getting into the business of investing in death - or to be more specific, life insurance policies.
Plus, what a newly re-discovered mummy in Miami is telling scientists about life 2,700 years ago.
Thanks for checking in. Please join us later for NBC Nightly News.
