When asked to write a short blog entry on my experience as a Nightly News intern, I paused to wonder how I might condense all I learned, observed and generally absorbed this summer into a few paragraphs. Maybe the best approach to describe my "Summer at Nightly" would be to acknowledge a key concepts that I have a new appreciation for.

Time. I discovered that it was not unusual to see Brian writing late copy five minutes before air or for a producer to receive a brand new story in the late afternoon and have a perfect package cut just hours later. While this might encourage my habit of procrastination at school, it does reveal the ability of Nightly to piece together 23 minutes of news in the most efficient and intelligent way. The producers and correspondents amazed me with their ability to tell an important story in such short periods of time.

Perseverance. While "I'll try my best" always seemed like an acceptable answer to me, it is not one often heard in the newsroom. Trying your best is assumed; getting what is needed is expected. Producers and researchers valued our intelligence and trusted that we could dig up the necessary information or source for the story. Talking to complete strangers helped me significantly in developing an enhanced set of communication skills. Unexpectedly, many of the individuals I spoke to somehow strengthened my faith in humanity. It seemed many wanted to help in my quest for information and connect to the institution of Nightly News.

Passion. Each member of the Nightly team possesses the utmost love for not just the news but knowledge of the world. The determination of the entire staff to produce a flawless newscast was inspiring; I've never witnessed that dynamic at any other organization. Executive producer John Reiss begins his daily construction of the newscast well before I'm on the train into the city. I remain in awe of Senior Foreign Producer ML Flynn and her extreme dedication not only to topnotch journalism but also to each of her correspondents. She has the uncanny ability to use her motherly-like attitude to calm the members of her international team while also demanding the best from them. A lukewarm fondness for journalism does not cut it at Nightly. It's their ardent passion for informing others, it's their unbelievable aptitude to tell stories and it's their commitment to getting it right that has fittingly placed these individuals at the very top of their profession.

If the passion for the news I describe above is contagious, well, I've been bitten hard. I surprised myself with how quickly I fell in love with working at Nightly. It was astounding to discover I was actually eager to transcribe tapes and even rise at 5:30 a.m. to log the early morning call. Why wasn't I complaining about getting four hours of sleep a night or skipping lunch to research a story? The answer was simple -- I loved it all. Although obviously reluctant to end my internship, I leave with great friendships, clear goals in mind and a definitive ambition (OK, obsession) to be back here one day.

We are sitting in the back of a four-wheel drive with our flak jackets on driving through the mountains of the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. We wound up putting on all of our safety equipment after an Israeli drone targeted several vehicles that were not far from where we were. 

We're along the Lebanese-Syrian border, on the Lebanese side. Earlier on Monday we visited the town of Aaita el Foukhar, which has essentially been completely cut off. An Israeli bombing last night took out the last road in or out of town. We started hiking the last seven miles to the village, but someone spotted us along the way and fortunately picked us up to bring us into town. 

Our journey to the village was really quite difficult. There were huge craters in the road that a Volkswagen could easily fit into. Why did they take the roads out? My guess is because they believe that these roads are being used to resupply Hezbollah with munitions from Syria.   

The town is mourning the loss of Michelle Simaan, a 16-year-old boy who was inadvertently killed by an Israeli bomb. Since the village has essentially been cut off, he was on his way to get some food and some medicine for the village when he got killed. His 14-year-old brother, Peter, was seriously injured in the attack as well. He has a broken arm, shrapnel, and a concussion. His mother, Adel Simaan, and family are all dressed in black, sitting in their parlor, mourning the death of her son. She was inconsolable. One of his cousins, Collette Saliba, 18, explained how she has become a supporter of Hezbollah, even though she didn't support the war to begin with, partly because of the death of her cousin. 

As we were leaving the village, we heard the Israeli drone overhead, and it hit two vehicles. One was an ambulance, and the other was like a farm truck that was essentially empty, except for the driver. They ended up loading the wounded from the farm truck into another ambulance. He looked like he was in really bad shape. That's when we decided that it would probably be a good idea to put on our flak jackets and helmets. No one was killed, but we got some pictures around the ambulance and the truck and then got out of there as fast as we could.

We had actually headed out to places like this village that had been cut off because of the fact that there was supposed to be a suspension of airstrikes today, but obviously, there are still bombs dropping, and some of them are right around us.

On a day like this, I envy my friends in the sports broadcasting business. They are consumed by the trading deadline in baseball, and the new starting lineups that will inevitably come about as a result. It makes this day different from all others for them. Our business reflects our world, and to that end there is no escaping the grim and awful situation in the Middle East. While this is not an endorsement of any position on the issue, I commend to everyone's attention Tim Russert's superb interview with Tom Friedman on Meet the Press yesterday [video link]. While Friedman (a veteran of the region and of the New York Times) represents a certain view, his appearance and message both speak to the enormous investment all Americans have in this conflict. To the extent that we can use this broadcast to drive home that point -- the far-reaching consequences of what we see going on right now -- we intend to.

Picking up on that theme, we have commissioned a special look at this conflict from one of our pros: David Gregory will take a half-a-step away from his usual duties as chief White House correspondent -- to look at exactly what it is Israel is doing here and who is leading that country. David and I spoke before he boarded the shuttle to Washington (OK, full disclosure -- when I turned my cell phone on this morning, there was ALREADY a voice mail from David on there), and he's been in constant touch with our producers here all day. As subject matters go, this one is a minefield. As our responsibilities go, explaining the stakes to our audience ranks way up there. If you see Andrea Mitchell appear on our air tonight: it means news was made on board Secretary Rice's flight home.  Andrea is traveling with her, and they are supposed to land at Andrews AFB about a half hour before our air time. We will have a live satellite truck standing by if need be.

Also tonight, Fletcher and Engel from the region, Don Teague on the domestic heat wave, Plan B (the drug) and gas prices (the whiparound effect). And we'll touch on the near-self-destruction of a major Hollywood figure.

A busy day here: I'm a third of the way through three separate appearances today on three broadcasts other than my own. And a special note: in our chronicles of our summer interns and what they learned during their time with us, watch this space for the next intern essay: the incomparable Casey Dolan, pride of New Canaan, Conn., and Villanova, will finally explain to her parents what it is she did after she got on the train to the city each morning of the summer.

I hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.

A brief follow-up to an ongoing story I've covered on these pages. In an entry last week, I reported that in the month since the National Guard was called in to provide backup to New Orleans police, the murder and crime rate had dropped. It was welcome news for residents concerned about their safety and community leaders concerned about the city's image.

Then this weekend came news that six people were murdered in 24 hours; four died in one shooting alone. Up to this point, city leaders dismissed any notion of a crime wave by explaining that the incidents were not random. They called them "drug-related" and "isolated and retaliatory." Residents would take comfort by saying that they were only happening "in that neighborhood." 

But things have changed.

For one thing, New Orleans hasn't seen multiple killings in more than a decade. This weekend's (involving kids as young as 16) is the second in six weeks. Secondly, they're hitting a little too close to home. The sixth murder happened Saturday night when a 31-year-old man was gunned down just off the busy thoroughfare of St. Charles Avenue. Locals know it as the often-gridlocked artery connecting the business district with Uptown. Tourists recognize it as the tree-lined boulevard that leads cars and streetcars past blocks of architectural gems to the world-class zoo, Tulane and Loyola.

According to the Times-Picayune and local news broadcasts, the man stepped outside a popular daiquiri bar at 8:30 p.m. when someone shot him three times. He died in the middle of the busy street. There were reportedly at least 60 witnesses. Probably hundreds more saw the man's body as they headed down the picture postcard avenue.

The governor has vowed to extend the National Guard's stay. Politicians, police and the district attorney have already held a so-called crime summit. Another one may be in the works. They're very conscious of the fact that the city's recovery depends on how safe residents and businesses feel. And neighbors who often turned their head to the crime problem, refusing to come forward as witnesses, may finally be ready to admit that the problem is everyone's.

After all, crime is hard to ignore when it happens so close to home. I should know. Saturday night's murder is a two minute walk from my own front door.

What levers does the U.S. possess to pressure Israel -- if indeed it wanted to? The list is long --  from weapons deals to direct financing of Israel's military spending to special foreign aid packages.

The authors of a report (.PDF link) issued last week by the World Policy Institute (WPI) lays it out simply: "The billions of U.S. arms and aid it provides every year gives the Bush administration substantial leverage in pressing Israel for a cease fire in its attacks on Lebanon," notes William D. Hartung, a senior fellow at the WPI in New York.

"Without at least discussing U.S. military support for Israel, it will be difficult -- if not impossible -- for Americans to understand the options available to our government in this crisis," argues Frida Berrigan, a WPI senior research associate.

Specifically, they note that during the first four years of the Bush administration, the U.S. provided Israel with $10.5 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and $6.3 billion in U.S. arms deliveries. The FMF, as it's called, is used by foreign countries to buy U.S. military goods.

The FMF is so large, write Hartung and Berrigan, because it includes financing for major arms agreements for which the equipment has yet to be delivered, including a contract for 102 F-16's, the primary fighter bomber used in attacks on Lebanon. That deal alone is worth more than $4 billion.

"When it comes to getting arms from the U.S., Israel has money in the bank," notes Hartung.

The report states what has been well known outside the U.S., that for more than 30 years, Israel had been the largest recipient of U.S. foreign assistance and since 1985 Jerusalem has received about $3 billion in military and economic aid each year from Washington. U.S. military aid accounts for more than 20 percent of Israel's total defense budget, says the report.

In fact, the day after the first Israeli aircraft bombed targets in Lebanon, says Hartung, the Israelis made sure they had a ready, secure supply of jet fuel for its bombers.

"On July 14th... the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency supported an Israeli request for JP-8 jet fuel worth up to $210 million. Although this fuel will not be delivered immediately, it will allow Israel to replace fuel used in bombing runs in Lebanon," writes Hartung.

He also notes the Pentagon's justification, delivered in a DoD press release the day after the first bombing of Beirut airport: ':"The proposed sale of the JP-8 aviation fuel will allow Israel to maintain the operational capability of its aircraft inventory. The jet fuel will be consumed while the aircraft is in use to keep peace and security in the region. Israel will have no difficulty absorbing this additional fuel into its armed forces."

Hartung argues that the U.S. should consider what it did during the Reagan administration when Israel launched its last attacks on Lebanon. "During the last major Israeli incursion into Lebanon, in 1981, the Reagan administration cut off U.S. military aid and arms deliveries for 10 weeks while it investigated whether Israel was using weapons for 'defensive purposes,' as required under U.S. law," he writes. "At the end of that period, then Secretary of State Alexander Haig suggested that one could 'argue until eternity' about whether a given use of force was offensive or defensive, and the ban was lifted. But at least the Reagan administration took some action, which is more than can be said thus far about the administration of George W. Bush."

Brian anchors from New York tonight, and our Early Nightly camera caught up with him after the morning editorial meeting. Click the link to the right (below the ad) to hear him preview the stories under consideration for the broadcast this evening.

Also, for those of you near a television before Nightly News this evening, Brian will be a guest on "Hardball with Chris Matthews" at 5 p.m. EDT on MSNBC-TV. He'll be talking about his recent trip to the Middle East.

Photo by Ann Curry, NBC News

Reporting from this war zone has drawn our news team closer. You can see them in the above photo I took in Haret Hreyk, the Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs that is repeatedly targeted by Israeli warplanes. The smoke still rising from a bombing run just hours before, we were making our way through block after block of multi-storied apartment buildings turned to rubble.

That's producer Justin Balding on the left, sound man Drew Levinson in the middle and cameraman Mike Simon on the right.

Justin is enormously experienced in foreign news coverage. He's also extremely level headed, unfailingly gracious and calm under the most enormous pressure. At one point in Haret Hreyk, we could hear warplanes again overhead, Hezbollah members started shouting in panic, and people started running. Yet in the heat of that chaotic moment, Justin was cool and completely focused on getting his team out safely, even his slow moving corespondent. We are all constantly complimenting Justin on these good traits, in part because any compliment can turn his face a delightful shade of rose.

Mike is a dream news cameraman. Observant of detail and nuance, he is also a news junkie and perhaps as a result, he is gifted at video journalism. His images are capturing the human drama of this conflict with depth and meaning. For example, in an old jail in Sidon, Lebanon, that now houses hundreds who have fled the bombs, Mike brings out the haunting image of a Lebanese child peering through the prison bars into his lens.

Drew, perhaps, has shown the most courage of all of us. Being Jewish in Lebanon and Syria during this conflict creates an extra tension. Yet Drew was still willing to go with us into the heart of Hezbollah communities, where the anger at Israel and the U.S. is so intense, we had to be careful not to start riots. And still Drew's work has been stellar. Not once did he drop the ball in giving voice to the people whose lives may never be the same. Drew also makes us laugh when tensions are high. As we packed our things before heading to the border where Israeli troops are firing heavy artillery into Lebanon, I asked Drew if he had earplugs as well as his helmet and body armor. He said, "Are you kidding?  I ALWAYS wear earplugs. Why do you think your audio is so good?"

In our last meal together, I noticed we are close enough now to take food off each others' plates without explanation, as if we were family. We are tight and highly focused on getting everybody in and out safely. May we bring back something that helps explain this madness.

    There is an odd disconnect between the war we've witnessed from our seaside location here in Tyre in the past, and the one we saw today in the neighboring village of Qana.
  From our camera position along the edge of the sea, we saw the war in deep concussions, followed by plumes of smoke rising from the hills in the distance.  It is the sound of drones buzzing overhead, and Israeli fighter jets orbiting thousands up, sometimes ejecting brilliant flares to lure heat-seeking missiles.
 

The war in Qana has flattened homes, leaving workers lifting slabs of concrete to remove the shattered bodies of women and children buried beneath them.  This war you taste and smell.  You can feel the anguish around you. It is the end result of the same war that can seem so fascinating to watch and listen to from even a short distance away.
   I fell asleep Saturday night to the sounds of bombs and artillery, and was shaken occasionally by larger explosions that seemed closer than most.  Strangely it doesn't take long to get used to them, and to fall back to sleep, comfortable in the knowledge (or delusion) that we are not a target.
  All day I have  wondered which of the explosions I heard last night was the one that ended the lives of those families who were huddling for safety.  In the moments before the bomb hit, were they cowering in fear to the same sounds that I was dozing through just six miles away? Or did they too imagine they were not a target? That the bombs would fall someplace else?
   I'm writing this a few minutes before 11pm Tyre time. The pace of bombing here tends to pick-up after midnight, and I'll be heading to bed shortly.  But something tells me the concussions I hear tonight, won't sound the same as the ones I shrugged off just 24-hours earlier.

Just last night we led our broadcast with "A Glimmer of Hope" headline and the possibility of a plan to end the conflict in the Middle East. A few hours later, the "glimmer" was gone. Overnight, Israel launched an attack in Qana, Lebanon that killed 60 people... many of them women and children.  There was outrage in Beirut as news spread of the attack. Demonstrators trashed the United Nations office in Beirut. The U.N. Security Council responded with a special emergency session in New York. 

Yesterday, it appeared the Middle East was on the verge of a breakthrough.  Now, a new setback, new violence and heightened tensions. 

We're going to have complete coverage tonight. NBC's Beirut Bureau Chief Richard Engel will tell us what he saw when he traveled to Qana after the attack. NBC's Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent will tell us how this has affected the diplomatic efforts of the Secretary of State. Kerry Sanders reports on the outrage in Beirut. Martin Fletcher has the response from Israel. Jim Maceda is covering the refugee crisis in Syria as hundreds of thousands of Lebanese cross the border.
This story is unfolding thousands of miles away. But it is having an tremendous impact in the U.S. and around the world.

As always, we appreciate your thought and comments and hope to see you tonight.

As we begin putting together our broadcast tonight, word from NBC's Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell... traveling with the Secretary of State in Israel... that there may be a plan to try to end the violence in the middle east.  It is just the beginning... but Andrea will report some of the new details that are emerging.  We'll have that story.

Plus, Mark Potter is reporting from the Israeli town of Metula tonight, on the border with Lebanon, where there was more violence today.  NBC's Jim Maceda has the view from Syria.  And NBC's Kerry Sanders reports on the humanitarian effort in Lebanon.
We'll take a look at the heat wave that continues through much of the U.S. and abroad.
And NBC's Dawn Fratangelo tells us about the Orient Queen, the ship that helped rescue so many from Lebanon.
This is another busy news day and we'll have complete coverage of the latest tonight.
We'll see you then.
 

When I first got accepted into the internship program at NBC Nightly News, the truth is, I was thinking about giving up on journalism. I questioned whether the life of a television journalist was really what I wanted. For me, this internship was an opportunity to jump in at the highest level and see if that life was really something to aspire to. Two weeks after final exams ended I quit my job, said goodbye to my family, friends and girlfriend in Texas, and left for a 12-week adventure in New York City.

An old friend told me that when I got to New York I would "catch the bug" and rediscover my passion for the news. She was right. Learning from, and working side-by-side with, the men and women who are the absolute best at what they do has refocused me. I want to be a reporter. I want to tell stories that bring the world to my community.

I couldn't have learned from better people. From my very first day I was amazed at how friendly and helpful everyone was -- from desk assistants on up, even Brian Williams himself. When I was introduced to Brian and told him where I was from, he nodded and told me he remembered reading my resume. The anchor of NBC Nightly News had read my resume. I was floored.

Working primarily in the newsroom at 30 Rock, we interns got to help build stories from the ground up. It was up to each of us to take as much out of that opportunity as we could.

Conducting research showed me how to find the strongest interview subjects and most reliable information. Logging taped interviews and other footage helped me tune my ear for good sound, and my eye for the best video. Sitting in on the daily editorial meetings taught me more about news judgment than I could ever have learned in a classroom. Helping producers and editors scramble to finish stories minutes before air taught me the value of staying cool under pressure. Great producers and correspondents read my writing, and offered direction and criticism. And yes, those daily intern duties like making copies and running errands taught me responsibility. Even the little things matter.

My assignments at Nightly weren't always fun, and I had days where New York absolutely got the best of me, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade what I learned for anything. I know I'm a better, smarter journalist for what I did and saw -- and years from now I'll credit this summer for showing me my path.

The summer's hottest group: Brian and the Interns

Before we get to the news, a word about some folks we're saying goodbye to around these parts starting today. We've been fortunate enough this summer to have a stellar group of summer interns. I cannot remember a group that has had a greater impact, nor do I recall a group that enjoyed each other's company quite so well. Knowing that at least one Web site that covers our industry is trolling for tales of skulduggery -- soliciting the stories of summer interns in the media -- I asked our interns to write an essay, up to 500 words, summing up their experience with us. Starting a little later today, in a column we will call INTERN(AL) AFFAIRS, you'll hear from this great class of college students. They have been an enormous help, and we have profited greatly by having them here. And to the parents of our 2006 interns: You raised your children well. Thanks for loaning them to us.

To the news: We have developments tonight on many fronts, and it will take the reporting of a lot of our folks to tell the complete story. David Gregory has the White House angle, Bush & Blair & diplomacy. From there, it.s off to Messrs Maceda, Fletcher and Engel... who have done astounding work, in dangerous and exhausting conditions, covering this conflict. We'll check in on the heat situation in this country, and we also have a great business trend story tonight -- albeit a trend for those with enough money to buy... their own plane. Also in the broadcast tonight: our popular series MAKING A DIFFERENCE. It has to do with New Orleans. The headline is this: however grim it might be there these days, there will be someone who is someday grateful to those who are chronicling the damage in what passes for New Orleans these days.

To those who have e-mailed us suggesting an hour-long newscast: that has always been our goal and our dream. While telling the world's daily story in 30 minutes has its own unique editorial and visual challenges, all of us would kill for more time. How I envy my friend Jim Lehrer. It would require a re-working of the current balance of airtime as it is shared between the network and our affiliates. Absent that (and given the fact that our Internet outlet has given us a huge repository for our reporting that otherwise would never see the light of day or be shared with the audience), we must work to keep our broadcast the best possible half-hour long summary of the day's news.

As violent weather roars into the New York area, we now set about the task of compiling tonight's broadcast. I'm off to get my photo taken with our interns in the studio. Have a good weekend. We hope you will join us. We'll see you back here on Monday.

Our NBC News team is on Israel's northern border as I write this, and President Bush's joint news conference with British Prime Minister Blair is being aired live on television. The volume is all the way up because every few minutes we can hear the firing of Israeli 155 millimeter artillery into Lebanon a few hundred yards away.

The leaders of two of the world's most powerful nations are voicing their unified position to work for a sustainable peace in the region, before calling for an immediate cease-fire. Their comments seem a touch defensive, given a worldwide outcry over the disproportionate number of civilian deaths in Lebanon.

Just a few hours earlier, Israel reported that Hezbollah has fired its most powerful missile yet, reaching well south of Haifa. As we drove here, we passed the Israel city of Kiryat Smona soon after it was hit again with a Katyusha rocket. Many Israelis there are too poor to evacuate and families are spending nights in bomb shelters for safety.

We unloaded our gear at a modest hotel, with a view of the border, including the U.N. observation post Israel says it accidentally hit a few days ago.

After stopping to watch the President and Prime Minister talk about what they are trying to do to stop the violence, we are told that all night we will hear the sounds of war. We check to make sure everyone has earplugs, but even if they work, we wonder how anyone here can sleep.

Sometimes even secretaries of state get bigfooted. For two days, it has been obvious to all of us traveling with Condoleezza Rice this week that she would end up in Jerusalem this weekend and also deal with the leaders of Lebanon -- but Rice found artful (diplomatic?) ways to dance around committing herself. Today, it became clear why: she didn't want to preempt the boss, and that meant giving President Bush something to announce at his just-concluded White House news conference with Tony Blair. 

Rice's two top Middle East advisors, David Welch and Elliot Abrams, have been in Israel since yesterday in non-stop meetings to lay the groundwork for further talks. They called her tonight (it's now after Midnight here in Malaysia) to give her a progress report. (What is she doing in Malaysia? She'd previously committed to an annual Asian summit -- requiring 30 hours of flying and a detour from Middle East diplomacy.)

While she waits here in Kuala Lampur to go back to Israel -- a return further delayed because Israeli officials cannot hold meetings during the day on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath -- she did a little other business today.

Remember that North Korean missile? (a crisis that is so "yesterday...") Rice organized a regional meeting this afternoon here in Kuala Lampur to discuss the threat from Pyongyang's missiles and nuclear program. The Chinese, key players, were 15 minutes late arriving -- after trying, unsuccessfully, to persuade North Korean officials to literally walk down the hall and attend. Despite Chinese pressure, the North Koreans refused. U.S. officials say it is surprising that the North Koreans would so deliberately insult China again, as they did when they first launched their missile, against Chinese objections. North Korea's behavior prompted America's usually patient negotiator with Pyongyang, Chris Hill, to say: "They are completely isolated and if it's isolation they want it's going to be isolation they get."

Asked here about the Asian leaders' unanimous condemnation of Israel -- (the host, who initiated the statement, is the prime minister of this Islamic country) -- the U.S. diplomat in charge of the stalemated Korean nuclear talks said, "Don't ask me about the Middle East, I have enough trouble." 

That could also be said about the Secretary of State as she reboards her 757 for another 14-hour flight.

It is the first stop for dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians wounded by Hezbollah attacks. But even Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, the largest hospital in northern Israel, cannot escape the daily threat of rockets. Built between two popular Hezbollah targets (an Israeli naval base and the port of Haifa), Rambam has narrowly missed becoming a victim of the violence as well. Three Katyusha rockets landed on its coastal campus in a single day this week. No one was seriously hurt.

As we approached the hospital to visit with wounded soldiers, I warned my colleagues, photographer Brad Houston and soundman Michael Huntting, that we needed to keep our wits about us, listening closely for rocket warning sirens. It didn't take long. Just as soon as we parked, the blaring began. Doctors, nurses and staff members rushed through the front doors seeking shelter. Left behind, a dozen stretchers parked in front of the hospital in anticipation of the next round of victims.

Sixty seconds passed. No explosion. Almost immediately, everyone returned to their routine.

Eight minutes later, another interruption, another warning siren.

Again, fortunately, no explosion. It was unclear where the rocket landed. At least in our neighborhood, everyone was safe.

Eighteen wounded Israeli soldiers were flown by helicopter to Rambam after Wednesday's fierce fighting in southern Lebanon. When we visited the intensive care unit, we met 19-year-old Evyatar Cohen. Doctors were treating him for shrapnel wounds he suffered during a Hezbollah grenade attack Wednesday near Bint Jbail, Lebanon. He smiled when we asked to speak with him. Evyatar's English was good, but his speech slurred from medication relieving his pain. After more than a year in the Israeli Army, this week's ground offensive into Lebanon was Evyatar's first time in combat. He described the unforgettable moment when he came face-to-face with a Hezbollah fighter less than two miles across the Israel-Lebanon border.

"We were both in shock when we saw each other," he explained. "Nobody shoot [sic] nobody. I never saw Hezbollah. Never saw an enemy. This was the first time. I didn't know really what to do."

After a brief pause, Evyatar says the guerrilla fighter disappeared.

"I started to think, I have to shoot him. I have to kill him."

Evyatar started firing his weapon. He quickly alerted the other paratroopers that the enemy was near. The soldiers threw a grenade at the Hezbollah fighter's location. The guerrillas retaliated, throwing one back, he says. Evyatar remembers the second explosion. Shrapnel hurled at him. He still has no feeling in most of his right arm and hand.

His story was so compelling. Despite a decades old conflict between the Israelis and Hezbollah fighters, like many of his fellow soldiers, Evyatar had only seen the face of the cross-border enemy on television. Today, even as he recovers in his hospital bed, he was stunned by the experience that nearly cost him his life.

Photo caption: Evyatar in his hospital bed. Photo by NBC's Brad Houston.

Click the link to the right (below the ad) to watch. As Brian mentioned earlier in the week, he's had a busy morning schedule, so Chief White House Correspondent David Gregory does the Early Nightly honors from Washington. Brian will offer his usual insight later, after the afternoon editorial meeting.

That was the almost universal reaction when the reports of "trouble" first arose this morning with the winner of the Tour de France. I think we all fell for the life story of Mr. Landis -- his Mennonite upbringing, his chronic hip pain, his ability and motivation and humility. All of that may still be true. As test results go, this might be a false positive. As news reports go, it's already been a negative. Even if he is cleared, he now has the Armstrong-esque cloud of suspicion around him, and there's little we can now do about that, as the story is, as they say, "out there." It's a relatively new dynamic -- an often-tragic outcome of our media age.

OVER THERE
The conflict continues, and so does our coverage. Fletcher, Engel and Potter will start us off tonight. Zawahri is back in the news, by dint of his appearance on a tape today... we'll take a look. We'll also have a look at domestic politics from David Gregory, the Landis story from Kevin Corke -- and we'll read back what some of our viewers have been saying (complaining) to us about our coverage of the Middle East... and what we HAVEN'T been covering because of it. Along those same lines: early notice that our Making A Difference report tomorrow night will come to us from the storm zone in the Gulf. Last night's NBC News/Wall St. Journal poll numbers certainly paint a grim picture of our times -- especially the hopes and dreams (or lack of them) among parents wanting to do what parents ALWAYS want to do: leave behind a better nation for our children.

Also, where were you when you first heard: "HEAD ON. APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD (REPEAT TWICE MORE)?" Many call it the most annoying commercial on television. Many also believe it's the most effective. Mike Taibbi will have our look at what the fuss is all about.

We hope you can join us for our broadcast tonight.

In all of the coverage of the Mideast conflict and the city of Tyre over the past few weeks, you may have noticed the odd-shaped peninsula that shows up in the satellite photos that we use. Jutting sharply into the Mediterranean Sea, the spit of land is one of the most notable features of the coastline. What's interesting to note is that it was man-made. In 333 B.C., Alexander the Great marched his army of Macedonians south and laid siege to the city of Tyre. The once crown jewel of the Phoenician Empire had faded a bit over the years, but it was still a major pawn in the conflict between the Persians and Greeks.

As they had in previous conflicts, the citizens of Tyre fled the city on the mainland and crowded onto an island offshore, which until this point had been an impregnable fortress. Enter Alexander the Great, who over the course of seven months dismantled the city and dumped it into the sea, building a huge causeway to the island. Then his troops were able to smash through the fortress walls and complete his conquest. Alexander's army marched onward, but his causeway remained. Now, the cape of Tyre is so big that it's difficult to tell what is island or the causeway.

Just thought you might like to know.

Click the link to the right (below the advertisement) to watch Brian preview tonight's early stories.

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This is the 14th audio or video tape released this year by Ayman al-Zawahri or Osama bin Laden and the ninth by Zawahri. 

Senior U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials tell NBC News that while the production -- and even promotional -- apparatus has grown increasingly sophisticated, the main point of the messages remains the same as it has been for the past several years: Al-Qaida wants to show themselves as relevant within the jihadist movement by commenting on any major event in the Muslim world, whether it be a new French law outlawing head scarves or a war between Muslims and Israelis in Lebanon.

Some in the intelligence community wonder, in fact, if the wave of messages isn't reaching a "saturation point" in that the messages are no longer anxiously awaited, but rather rote recitations of what could be called jihadi conventional wisdom.  And no one believes any longer that whenever Zawahri speaks it's a trigger for an attack somewhere in the world. 

That said, the propaganda remains "a critical part of their jihad... and the more sophisticated the production, the more it gives an impression he and Bin Laden are operational rather than in a mud hole somewhere... and that is what we believe is the main point of the improved production values," said one official. 

Moreover, they want the messages to be first class to make those who watch believe that the organization, as well as its leaders, is a sophisticated operation, although as one official remarked, this could be accomplished "by a laptop with Final Cut Pro" or some other video editing software. 

"They want to let their own rank and file and the public at large know they are still out there, still relevant...and increasingly secure," he added.

A third official said an early production analysis of the tape indicates that Zawahiri is not in some studio, but is "superimposed" over a blue screen or other digital background, again, not outside the capabilities of commercially available software. 

The production values are but one part of a "streamlined" propaganda campaign that is quite different from the past, involving promotion, production and re-purposing of material [words familiar to anyone who works in television]. 

"They are streamlining the process to get it done quicker as well," said a second official, saying while tapes used to take a week to two months to get to air, now the process appears to be telescoped to a point where it can be done in less than a week, post-production included.

Some other differences:

--Unlike tapes from the past, this and others in recent months have been preceded by a PROMOTIONAL campaign, a buildup of interest on the jihadi sites, attempting to build an audience among supporters and tension among enemies. The buildup has included a flashing graphic in some cases alerting the community something important is on the way.
--Tapes now first appear on al-Jazeera or al-Arabiya in a headline form, then a few days later in a more complete form on jihadi Web sites, much like MSNBC.com repackages material earlier aired on Nightly News or Today. 
--Once aired, they are sometimes repackaged on DVDs or CDs for distribution to those who do not have access to the Arab satellite channels.   

"It depends on how long it takes to get the donkey down the mountain," joked one senior U.S. intelligence official, noting that tapes often are brought down from mountains along the Afghan/ Pakistan border by mule and then moved through a network of couriers before showing up on air.

I found myself complaining today about my schedule -- this morning it was meetings, a studio photo shoot and a working lunch -- right up until I met Katie Wagner in the Nightly News studio. Katie was able to get up and walk the few paces from her wheelchair to the front of the NBC Nightly News desk to pose for a photo with me. Katie is here as a guest of NBC Universal Chairman and CEO Bob Wright, via the Make A Wish Foundation. Being here with us at NBC today was her wish. My meeting with Katie was followed by our afternoon editorial meeting, and the wrenching tales from our correspondents in Lebanon and Israel, detailing the suffering they have come across in their travels. All it took was a little perspective.

We'll begin tonight with the Middle East. Fletcher and Engel. Andrea Mitchell continues to shadow the secretary of state, Ann Curry continues to cover the human toll. Tonight we're releasing a new NBC News/Wall St. Journal poll, and it contains fascinating indicators as to the mood of the body politic and how much impact this Middle East violence has had. I've seen the numbers and here's a hint: the voters are in a foul mood. Tim Russert will be along to walk us through the new numbers.

Also tonight, we'll revisit immigration and look at the status of the Mexican border. And we'll ask the question: Whatever happened to summer vacation for kids? They are doing extraordinary amounts of homework these days. Parents complain, kids complain, educators admit it's too much -- yet nothing gets done about it... because our overworked kids with five book reports due by the end of the summer don't have a loud enough advocate on their behalf. Kevin Tibbles will have our story tonight.

The talk of the newsroom? The New York Daily News article on Mrs. Astor today. To the e-mailer who wrote about President Carter yesterday, thank you. I was an intern in the Carter White House (which I hasten to add, for those not familiar with White House internships, is a distinctly non-political position) and I hope other readers found the exchange with Dr. Brzezinski illuminating and thought-provoking. And to the woman who wrote complaining that there was "no news" in our broadcast, mostly weather -- you said you watched the broadcast in Florida, along with your husband, at 6 p.m. We're on at 6:30.

We're about to lose the bulk of our great class of '06 summer interns. We all agree this is the best group we've had, and I've asked them to write short essays, up to 500 words in length, about their experience here at Nightly News this summer.  While I realize this is something of a leap of faith on my part, I'm confident they leave here having benefited from the experience. If they ever want to work in this business, they'll say exactly that in their essays. Kidding. Kind of. It's our intention to publish some of essays in this space. We'll see.

We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast. Katie Wagner will be our guest in the control room during the broadcast.

James Taranto raised a question Tuesday in his blog on WSJ.com about whether Richard Engel had overlooked a story in Sidon, Lebanon.

According to Taranto, one of his readers noticed what looked like uncut sheets of U.S. $100 bills on the ground in Richard's report that aired Monday on Nightly News. Taranto wondered if Engel had stumbled across a Hezbollah counterfeiting operation that had been blown to bits.

Richard explained over the phone from Tyre, Lebanon, Wednesday that the bills shown were not real bills but photocopies. He said the bills were not on currency quality paper and were too small to be passed off as real currency.

He also explained that, often times when people are dealing with a lot of cash, as they would be at a bank, they photocopy the currency as a form of record keeping and to check out that the serial numbers are correct -– to make sure that the dollars they got were real dollars.

You can watch Richard's report from Monday for yourself here.

Covering the White House, I talk a lot about issues like the war, or immigration, or the deficit impacting the president or his party. This week I had a chance to get outside Washington and talk to some voters for a piece I'm working on for Nightly News.

I've been studying our polls and wondering where and why Bush is losing Republican support. My producer Julie Holstein and I went to the Philadelphia suburbs where three Republican congressmen are trying to hold on to their seats in an area of upper income, socially moderate voters -- reliable Republican territory for years but a major battleground this fall. Pennsylvania is also the state with one of the most interesting Senate races in the country featuring Rick Santorum who trails badly in the polls in part because of his close association in voters minds with President Bush.

We found lifelong Republicans seriously considering voting for a Democrat this fall. The issues? The war, high gas prices, even the deficit. One voter I talked to made an impassioned point about how the president has missed the opportunity to launch a real effort to make America energy independent. Overall, I heard the feeling that the president has lost his way as a leader. Also, these voters are in the mood to penalize any member of Congress who acted like a rubber stamp for this president.

The Philly suburbs have been teetering toward the Democratic party for awhile. (The fact that Governor Rendell is on the ballot this fall also helps because he has a get-out-the-vote machine working in the suburbs.)

Lots going on in the world today, but we hope to get this piece on Nightly News tonight. By the way, send me your thoughts on the dynamic in local races where you live. I'm looking for other snapshots around the country that can tell the larger story about the political climate.

My team and I are also watching Bush's travels to Fort Belvoir today with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Wondering what kind of reception they'll get from the troops. More later.

Brian is in New York today at his usual desk camera. A few of you have suggested names -- Pitstop Cam, Chat Cam, Promo Cam -- feel free to weigh in by clicking the "Discuss" button below. You can watch today's edition of "Early Nightly" by clicking the link to the right, where you'll always find it immediately below the advertisement. I'll still post daily when the new edition is live, but since we're not archiving each edition, it makes sense to have one standing link.

If you watch or read a lot of the coverage from the Middle East, you'll eventually run across a lot of good questions being asked by various analysts -- some of which defy easy answers. Last night, a Lebanese politician asked: Why did the Israelis blow up the jet fuel tanks at the Beirut airport if Hezbollah doesn't have any aircraft? Today, a left-leaning American political analyst asked if anyone is struck by the contradiction of the American flag proudly draped over those 40-or-so cartons of aid that arrived today in Beirut -- to be distributed to those who have been displaced by the American-made bombs dropped by American-made jets in an American-sanctioned bombing campaign? Still others routinely ask: Who will pay for the Marshall Plan that is going to be needed to rebuild 80 percent of Lebanon's highways and 95 percent of Lebanon's bridges... not to mention the buildings that have been reduced to dust? And here's another one: How does Israel begin to calculate the width of the "no-go" zone between it and Hezbollah to the north? Based on the range of the Katyushas... or perhaps a longer-range missile? All of these questions come as the coverage now takes on a harder edge, and as the conflict drags on. Required reading on the overall topic includes Tom Friedman's piece from this past weekend (requires TimesSelect subscription), and this week's Newsweek cover story (behind the scenes with the traveling White House), which reveals extraordinary access.

By the way, our analyst tells me the answer as to the fuel tanks has to do with the overarching Israeli attempt at immobilizing Hezbollah: that means by ground and air, and that includes cutting the power grid and even the ability to power generators... even though the generators I'm familiar with don't run on Jet-A.

While the public utterances of the administration have changed since the start of this conflict, today saw a new turn, as Andrea Mitchell will report tonight from the road: a more direct reference to Iran's role (as the administration sees it) than we have ever heard before. And now begins the discussion of this "international force" -- everything to uniforms to area of operation to rules of engagement and beyond. Andrea will of course join us tonight, along with Messrs Engel and Fletcher, and David Gregory on the Iraq front, vis-a-vis today's visitor to the White House. About the Engel piece tonight: it is modeled after the writing he has been doing in this space -- his stories of what he's found on the road in Southern Lebanon are heartbreaking. We will hear one of them tonight. Richard reports there are "outgoing rockets" where he is in Tyre -- that confirms a print report from earlier today, and that would indicate an incoming Israeli round before too long.

Elsewhere in the broadcast tonight: A good piece of reporting on what is happening to home sales, the 19th day of temperatures over 100 in California (and an explanation of the strain on the power grid) and a story that caught our eye in the Washington area, as told by Bob Faw.

About the Early Nightly, our newest addition in this space: It's intended to do what the Daily Nightly does... only with moving pictures and audio, and earlier in the day. Ideally, I will tape something when I'm clear of our morning editorial meeting. Today, for example, I was on an extended shoot outside the building, and David Gregory again did a great job in my place. That is going to happen many mornings -- as my calendar is always quite full, and events call me away from this building at exactly that hour. So, forgive me for handing off to a guest-vlogger from time to time. It will be someone, like David, who is a pro -- aware of our editorial roadmap for the day and/or covering a chunk of it himself. My other goal is to coax some of our notoriously publicity-shy senior-level producers into allowing cameras into their shrouded, secretive lives. They need the exposure. Our readers deserve the transparency. Just who are these shadowy figures behind "NBC Nightly News"?

All kidding aside and back to serious topics: We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.