By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Today it appears Wall Street paused to light a cigar while Rome itself is burning. We're covering the bailout crisis -- which has hardly gone away -- and still tallying up the damage from yesterday. Almost lost in yesterday's news -- the 777-point dive in the Dow, and the "no" vote on the Hill -- was the fact that the nation's 4th largest bank vanished. And almost lost amidst the financial losses: was the death of an American icon.

Paul Newman died on Friday, and we learned about it on Saturday morning. Because of this quirk of the timing of his departure, the coverage of his death trickled out. Of a possible six total network evening newscasts over the weekend, there was only one (due to sports pre-emptions), and because word of his death came during the weekend, Paul (who had some very strident and well-known opinions about television and the news media) was spared the entertainment show-style dissection of his life and the blanket cable coverage that his death would have received during the week.

Please forgive the following first-person references (normally grossly inappropriate in eulogies and remembrances), as they are meant merely as a statement of blessings: I got to see his last race as a driver and his last stage performance as an actor. I was present as he climbed out of the car in the pits, and I was present when he climbed down the stairs off the stage.

In both cases, Joanne Woodward, his wife of 50 years, was there to greet him, which was perfect. Listening to David Letterman's beautiful, personal and emotional tribute to him last night, I was reminded that he lived a great life -- he had fun, he worked hard, he left a pile of great work behind, he insisted on enjoying himself, and he dedicated himself to helping others. So many lives were altered by his life. He actually left the world a better place. How many people can say that? We've lost a great man. At least we knew we were in the presence of greatness, every moment we spent watching him, no matter what he was doing.

I hope you can join us for our broadcast tonight.

By Robert Bazell, NBC News Chief science correspondent

Tonight we begin a series on allergies which have been on a sharp increase in the United States and many other parts of the world in recent decades, especially among children.  In tomorrow's report we will look at the possible reasons for the rise. Wednesday's segment will focus on food allergies. Today we speak with Dr. Michael Rich of Children's Hospital in Boston and Harvard who began his career as a film maker and brought those skills to his medical care.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

It's yet another Sunday on which we've witnessed major news break regarding the U.S. financial system.  Today's headline however, may be the most critical of the bunch. Congressional negotiators say they've agreed to an emergency financial rescue package with the intention of pulling the economy back from the edge of a deep recession. 

The House and Senate still have to vote on the bailout, and that won't happen today. What we're bracing for is the immediate impact this deal could have on the world financial markets

The agreement includes a few changes from the original proposal, but the price tag — $700 billion, remains the same. Tom Costello will break down the details of the plan. In addition, we've asked CNBC's Maria Bartiromo to join us. Maria will offer some insight on what supporters and critics are saying about the deal.

We'll look for you tonight on the NBC Nightly News.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Paul Newman had many passions: acting, car racing, and helping others. Whether you watched his films, or used his food products – which earned millions of dollars for charity – you shared in those passions.

Newman lived life to the fullest, and as his friend Robert Redford wrote today, "this country is better for his being in it." On Nightly News tonight we'll take a long look at the life and career of Paul Newman, as well as the lasting legacy he built.

With regards to our other big story, there is a growing sense of both urgency and optimism coming from members of Congress working this weekend on a financial rescue plan.  Even though there are still points of disagreement, all sides acknowledge it needs to get done before the Asian financial markets open tomorrow evening, so we are looking for word of a deal to come at any time between now and then.

Finally, because of sports programming some of you in the eastern part of the country won't see the broadcast tonight, but for the rest of you I hope you'll join us later for NBC Nightly News.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

We are on the beautiful... and historic campus of the University of Mississippi for tonight's first Presidential Debate. For our team, its been a 3-day odyssey from Texas to Washington to Mississippi, all the while juggling the mammoth stories we've been following: the titanic struggle going on in Washington, the sense of suspended animation in the credit markets, and the dwindling number of days remaining until Americans make their choice for President. We are preparing our debate preview for tonight's broadcast, then we'll be back on the air for the real thing at 9pm Eastern time tonight. Thanks for being with us tonight -- what's a week without at least one multi-city road trip? Have a great weekend.

By Mike Taibbi, NBC News correspondent

Editor's note - watch a preview of Mike's segment featuring Mike and Nightly News Producer Clare Duffy.

Dan Cook said to me, "99% of the enjoyment is what happens before you catch a fish." I took him at his word, because Cook, a 37-year adventurer who made a pile as an energy trader before quitting to follow his passion for fly fishing around the world, obviously knew what he was talking about. 

So I learned to tie the blood knots and Albright knots needed to fashion a leader with an Atom fly at the end, got that casting motion down, and settled in to enjoy a couple of days on Utah's Green River... one of the great fly-fishing trout rivers in America. 

Our story wasn't about the river or about fishing, though;  it was really about Cook, and his decision to share the peaceful pleasures of his chosen passion with wounded Iraq and Afghanistan war vets still battling pain and depression.  A few at a time, maybe a hundred over the next year as Cook's "Rivers of Recovery" program expands.  And, the four veterans on the same weekend with us were clearly thrilled to be there, all expenses paid.  They all caught a lot of fish... two guys in one boat caught 30 on the second day, and I raised a half dozen fish on dry flies and actually got two lovely rainbows to the boat, while producer Clare Duffy caught and released one of her own.  Cook's been able to convince outfitters, guides and resort owners to donate services for the wounded warriors who participate and, perhaps best of all, the program isn't irretrievably locked to Cook himself or to the Green River.  The model is transportable, on any river where the fish are known to bite;  Cook expects the program will take hold elsewhere.  And for soldiers suffering PTSD or TBI (traumatic brain injury), the experts who've monitored the program say that at least anecdotally the act of hooking into a three day experience in the zen world of fly fishing makes a measurable difference in the chances for recovery.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

After waking up in Texas, now I'm in Washington -- where there is a "crisis atmosphere", as they say -- a genuine one -- and where the focus now shifts to the White House from the Hill. I'll be speaking with both John McCain and Barack Obama before the day is out, and we'll have that for you on Nightly News tonight. This is a rare moment in Washington. Tomorrow we fly to Mississippi as the focus shifts yet again. Off to prepare for the broadcast. We hope you can join us.

By Les Kretman, NBC News White House producer

It's a cluster of umbrellas ( not beach), technical equipment and video cameras lined up along side the west side of the White House grounds. This is where the television networks and cable outlets from all over the world broadcast their White House reports. And during this time of economic crisis - Pebble Beach has been packed --- kind of like Coney Island on a hot summer day.

The presence of so much media now is a barometer of how important the meetings are today with the President, members of Congress and the two Presidential candidates Senators Barack Obama and John McCain.

Last night during the President's speech the story was much the same - besides NBC's live camera here - CNBC did all of its coverage from Pebble Beach....so did MSNBC....and everybody else.

This is a big change from the summer when the President was out of town and all the White House gear here was shrouded in heavy green protective covering. And, all attention was directed toward the political conventions and the daily movements of the candidates

The green is now gone ---- the beach is very much active. Time to swim.

By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington

Marine 1st Lt. Nicholas Madrazo was one of three Americans whose Sept. 9 deaths in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan left three grieving mothers back home in this country.

Madrazo, 25, of Bothell, Wash., was buried Wednesday afternoon with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery. His mother and other family members dabbed at their eyes as a chaplain conducted a graveside service and a Marine band played "Eternal Father, Strong to Save."

"I'm sure he's in heaven and I can be there someday with him," his mother told KING-TV earlier.

Madrazo graduated from Seattle Pacific University and thought about becoming a firefighter after he left the service.

A similar Arlington service was held a week earlier for Marine Capt. Jesse Melton III, 29, of Randallstown, Md., who also died in the Sept. 9 bomb blast. His mother, dressed all in white, saluted a Marine officer who presented her with a folded American flag from her son's casket.

Melton, a graduate of Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., served one tour in Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan in March.

"He said, 'I may not come back home,'" his mother told WBAL-TV. "I kind of cried when he first told me that."

Melton's mother also attended Madrazo's burial Wednesday to lend her support to his tearful family. She stood behind them with her hands on their shoulders during the ceremony.

Services were scheduled this Saturday in Washington state for a third American casualty of the explosion, Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Eichmann Strickland, 23, of Arlington, Wash.

Strickland's goals were to become a physician's assistant and to join a medical mission to Africa.

"He gave his all," his mother told the Everett Herald. "A very quiet boy, never in trouble. He always smiled. He was that kind of person."

Lt. Madrazo, Capt. Melton and Corpsman Strickland are among at least 130 Americans killed so far this year in Afghanistan, eclipsing last year's record total of 117 fatalities.

(AP photo: The parents of Marine 1st Lt. Nicholas Madrazo receive a folded American flag at his burial Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery. The mother of Marine Capt. Jesse Melton III stands behind them.)

Click here to view tributes to the 396 service members who have died this year in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the following 25 casualties from last week:

1. Army Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson, 24, of Pensacola, Fla.

2. Army Sgt. Wesley Durbin, 26, of Hurst, Texas.

3. Army Lt. Col. Ralph Marino, 46, of Houston, Pa.

4. Army Chaplain (Col.) Sidney Marceaux Jr., 69, of Beaumont, Texas.

5. Army Pfc. Leonard Gulczynski, 19, of Carol Stream, Ill.

6. Army Capt. Darrick Wright, 37, of Nashville, Tenn.

7. Army Sgt. Joshua Harris, 21, of Romeoville, Ill.

8. Army Capt. Bruce Hays, 42, of Cheyenne, Wyo.

9. Army 1st Lt. Mohsin Naqvi, 26, of Newburgh, N.Y.

10. Army Sgt. Jason Vazquez, 24, of Chicago, Ill.

11. Army Lt. Col. James Wiley, 46 of North Bend, Ore.

12. Army Chief Warrant Officer Corry Edwards, 38, of Kennedale, Texas.

13. Army Sgt. Dan Eshbaugh, 43, of Norman, Okla.

14. Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Mason, 37, of Springtown, Texas.

15. Army 1st Sgt. Julio Ordonez, 54, of San Antonio, Texas.

16. Army Chief Warrant Officer Brady Rudolf, 37, of Moore, Okla.

17. Army Cpl. Michael Thompson, 23, of Kingston, Okla.

18. Army Cpt. Robert Vallejo II, 28, of Richland Hills, Texas.

19. Army Staff Sgt. Brandon Farley, 30, of Grand Prairie, Texas.

20. Marine Sgt. Jerome Bell Jr., 29, of Auburn, N.Y.

21. Air Force Maj. Rodolfo Rodriguez, 34, of El Paso, Texas.

22. Navy Cryptologic Technician Third Class Petty Officer Matthew O'Bryant, 22, of Duluth, Ga.

23. Army Staff Sgt. Nathan Cox, 32, of Walcott, Iowa.

24. Army Pvt. Joseph Gonzales, 18, of Tucson, Ariz.

25. Army Capt. Bruno Desolenni, 32, of Crescent City, Calif.

Washington Producer John Rutherford is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He also posts stories on the military at www.fieldnotes.msnbc.com (click on "John Rutherford" under "categories") and at http://john-rutherford.newsvine.com. The tribute gallery can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22802019/.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

There's a great scene in "Crimson Tide" when Gene Hackman, the veteran Captain, calls a weapons drill during a fire in the galley on board a nuclear submarine. As his X.O., his number-two man, Denzel Washington questions his judgment -- and is told in no uncertain terms that an on-board emergency is EXACTLY the time to call a drill, to assess the capabilities of the team.

Well, our day so far feels a bit like that scene. We're in Houston tonight, to fulfill a pledge to the folks of this area to cover the damage and recovery since Hurricane Ike. There is news happening all around us -- a lot of it in Washington -- and so tonight, you will see what this great team is capable of. We have it all covered and will see you from Texas this evening, prior to coming back on the NBC Television Network at 9p Eastern Time for the President's speech from the White House.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Picture all the heads of State and ambassadors visiting New York for the United Nations General Assembly, then picture them all with motorcades. The really important among them get their own blocked-off hotel entrances, even blocked-off streets. Then picture trying to get around Manhattan! Its not for the meek. We spent time in the building today with the President of Georgia, who swept in with his own motorcade and Secret Service detail. As for my car: it has a bag packed and in the trunk. While I don't know exactly when I'm traveling to Texas -- we'll show up on the air from there tomorrow night.. and we'll finish the week in Oxford, Mississippi for the first of the Presidential Debates. A kind of advance parlor game has already started: predicting how long the candidates themselves will allow the topic of "foreign affairs" to dominate -- before injecting their policy view of the current state of the domestic economy.

That's where things stand at this hour at 30 Rock -- we hope you can join us tonight.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Watching the last Yankee Game from Yankee Stadium on ESPN with my son last night -- felt vaguely like the financial news these days. Nobody asked for what's happening right now in the financial markets. Taxpayers weren't asking for the burden they've just taken on. Likewise, as they were panning the sad faces at the end of last night's game, marking the end of the House that Ruth Built, I was thinking: these fans didn't ask for this. No Yankee fan that I know was begging...or even hoping...for a new stadium. Bathrooms from this century? That would be nice. An industry-standard jumbo video screen? Great. A few more of the amenities baseball fans have come to love at some of the newer parks? Sure. But the new stadium isn't about the fans (fewer seats at higher prices) as much as its about the team...player salaries...the owners. But as one sportswriter put it, "we are the only nation that tears down our own cathedrals." Aint it the truth.

We are busy preparing tonight's broadcast -- having enjoyed a weekend off, while we prepare for our trip to Texas Tuesday night. We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

It's hard to believe that a week ago tonight we were reporting on tense negotiations to find a buyer for troubled investment house Lehman Brothers. As we now know, Lehman turned out to be one portion of a house of financial cards that came tumbling down last week. Tonight we'll report on where lawmakers stand as they try to finalize a proposed $700 billion bailout plan.

The financial crisis continues to drive the talking points of the presidential campaign. Lee Cowan will wrap things up from the campaign trail.

My colleague Ann Curry will be with us tonight from Islamabad with more on Saturday's Marriott Hotel bombing. In addition, we'll get a progress report on recovery efforts in the hurricane zone, as millions continue to seek normalcy after Ike's devastating visit a week ago.

By Ann Curry, NBC News anchor

After covering last night's massive suicide bombing at Islamabad's Marriott Hotel, I am haunted by what we saw and heard.

On the scene, as the hotel was engulfed in flames with hundreds of people still inside, the wail of the ambulances and fire trucks was too distant, given the intensity of the disaster. As the fire roared red and out of control, with some flames a gas-fed blue, we could see people struggling to climb to safety.

By Amy Robach, NBC News Anchor

When I walked into work this morning, it was not your typical Saturday. Breaking news was on every television screen, and for the first time in days, the economy was not the only big story.

NBC's Brian Williams has a big fan in a little red monster. Watch the clip from the Bonnie Hunt show.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

What a week this has been. MSNBC's Mike Viquera just said on live television, "gloom and doom has consumed Congress." Senator Chris Dodd said last night's briefing by the nation's financial leaders was the most sobering briefing -- of any kind -- he's ever attended. The visitors to the Hill last night (from Treasury and the Fed, chiefly) described "the imminent collapse of the nation's financial system." You only need to hear that kind of thing once in your life. It gets your attention. We got such a good email question from a viewer in Kansas today -- we're going to ask it on the air of one of our experts.

And as I keep saying: while we're covering this story, others go on. In a world absent this financial meltdown, we'd likely be bringing a week's worth of coverage from Texas to an end tonight. We'd love to find a way to go cover it and bring whatever attention we can to their plight -- but now we're running up against another busy period in the race for President -- a new week that ends with perhaps the most important debate in the series of four. Last night I spent some time by satellite on the air at our Houston NBC Station, KPRC-TV -- talking to the anchor team and those viewers at home with power. There was little else I could do aside from telling them...assuring them...we are following their plight, covering the story, and they remain in our hearts and prayers. Please keep them in yours.

I hope wherever you are you're able to enjoy something of a good weekend. I hope you can join us for our Friday night broadcast.

By, Les Kretman, NBC News White House producer

Just another day at the White House ---- first the Kuwaiti Prime Minister for a quick meet and greet in the Oval Office ---- this happening as the President tries to see as many foreign leaders as possible as his second term quickly winds down.

Then the statement in the Rose Garden by the President as the government announces it's creating a plan to rescue the nation's troubled banks. Accompanying him - Treasury's Hank Paulson, the Fed"s Ben Bernanke and the Securities Exchange Commissioner Christopher Cox.

And, then what better way to wrap up a turbulent week than an appearance in the East Room by the President with basketball's world champion NBA Boston Celtics.

So was this a week for the White House with a victory in double overtime? Or is this just the beginning of the playoffs....

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

With permission, today I want my post to be the words of someone else. Yesterday I got an email from Skip Valet, Vice President and News Director of our terrific NBC Television Station in Houston, KPRC-TV. They have been going, around the clock, since well before Ike made landfall. They are still going. And Houston and Galveston are hurting badly. He wrote me to make exactly that point. His words are so strong that I asked for his permission to share some of them with you. As I told Skip and as I said on the air last night, the situation in Texas would be our lead story -- for days -- were it not for this financial meltdown. Here now the view from Texas:

Hello Brian,

I have spoken with affiliate relations, but I wanted to reach out to you directly.

I want to appeal to you to consider bringing Nightly News to Houston/Galveston for a couple of days.

Here's my pitch, Houston Mayor Bill White is the man who opened our city to 150 thousand of New Orleans evacuees. Many of those people now call Houston home. I'm a native Floridian, and I've been covering hurricanes now for 26 years. In my opinion this will be the longest, slowest recovery I've witnessed. The issue is the sheer number of people affected.

Brian, as you know Ike was a major hurricane. It may have been a cat 2 as far as wind intensity, but it was a cat 4 for storm surge. Galveston will take years to recover. Some neighborhoods there did surprisingly well, others are devastated. The historic "Strand" had more than 7 feet of water flowing down the streets and into the shops and restaurants. It is a mess. Houston (4th largest city in the U.S.) is in a bad way with 1.4 million homes still without power nearly 5 days after landfall. Things are orderly here, but its been tough with little power, gas, food or water available. All this in the city that produces most of this country's petroleum products. It is imperative that Houston recovers as quickly as possible.

Texans are tough, and no one's complaining. But I'm hearing from friends around the U.S. that surprisingly little information about Ike is being broadcast or printed. Our web-site is averaging 5 million page views a day as people watch all of the wall to wall coverage being live streamed.

I think Houstonians and Galvestonians would like some national attention paid to this crisis.

Please call me if I can help you in any way.

Sincerely,
Skip Valet
VP/News Director
KPRC Local 2

Our thanks to Skip Valet. The people of Southern Texas are in our hearts and prayers. We hope you can join us tonight.

Editor's note: Watch KPRC-TV's coverage

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

On an interior page of this morning's Wall Street Journal (which I am reading with a new zeal these days) is an indicator that times are changing faster than type can be set: on a page facing the giant jump article on AIG are two ads, above the fold: one for private planes (albeit prop, not jet) and another for a ticket broker -- the tickets for concerts and athletic events that the monied types buy through brokers for large amounts of cash. Will both ads be there, similarly positioned, a month from now?

With thanks to my wife for finding this next item, I wanted to pass along a sparkling, evocative piece of writing from NPR. It certainly spoke to me -- as I hope it speaks to all of you -- it's an essay that reads so much like the extended family I grew up in, and it so perfectly speaks to the philosophy of so many of the folks I've encountered and come to know in Texas and Louisiana.

I just spoke to a former managing director of one of the big Wall Street investment banks currently said to be "in play" -- who said he views this financial meltdown as "Wall Street finally sinking to the depths of our very sick national economy." Whether his assessment is correct or not can and will be debated -- for all of us huddled around CNBC's coverage here today, it's been another dicey day for this nation's financial underpinnings. By the way: congratulations on being the new owner of an insurance company!

We hope you can join us tonight.

By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington

Arlington National Cemetery buried its 500th casualty of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan last Friday, one of five soldiers and a sailor laid to rest at the cemetery on a late summer morning.

At 10 a.m., a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" for over 300 mourners at services for Navy SEAL Joshua Harris, 36, who drowned Aug. 30 in Afghanistan while crossing a river during combat operations.

"He was a brave warrior, SEAL role model, mature and reliable teammate, and an absolute great American," his commanding officer said in a statement.

Harris, the son of a doctor, grew up on a dairy farm outside of Lexington, N.C. He majored in studio art at Davidson College and studied for a master's degree in architecture at UNC Charlotte. He lived for a time in New York City and had his drawings and sculptures displayed at Lincoln Center. Harris joined the SEALs just before turning 29, the cutoff age for eligibility.

About an hour and a half after Harris' graveside service, an Army band struck up "God of our Fathers" and four Black Hawk helicopters flew over group burial services for five soldiers killed May 30, 2007, when their Ch-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down over the Upper Sangin Valley of Afghanistan.

The five were Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Rodgers, 29, of Carson City, Nev., Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Allgaier, 33, of Middleton, Wis., Staff Sgt. Charlie Bagwell, 28, of Lake Toxaway, N.C., Sgt. Jesse Blamires, 25, of West Jordan, Utah, and Sgt. Brandon Hadaway, 25, of Valley, Ala.

"Their courage and dedication will never be forgotten," their commander said earlier.

Rodgers was one of the chopper's co-pilots. He graduated from high school, married and enlisted all in the same year, 1997. He served four years in the infantry, then two years as a civilian corrections officer before re-enlisting as a warrant officer. He is survived by his widow, Casey, and his "three princesses," Madison, Autumn and Ashlyn.

Allgaier, the other co-pilot, also leaves a widow (Jennie) and three daughters (Natalie, Gina and Joanna). Jennie received flowers and an anniversary card from her husband three days after he was killed. Allgaier earned a degree in aeronautical administration from St. Louis University in 1995 and a master's degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle University in 2001.

Bagwell was a crew chief aboard the chopper. He had been a high school football and basketball player back home in North Carolina and was voted his school's best athlete his senior year. He worked briefly as a carpenter and then joined the Army. He is survived by his son, Preston.

Blamires was one of six children growing up in West Jordan, Utah. He enlisted in 2003 and had recently been promoted to crew chief. He hoped one day to go to officer school and become a pilot, possibly even an astronaut. He leaves his widow, Kimberly, and daughters, Kalli and Danika.

Hadaway served as the helicopter's flight engineer. He was a jokester and "big ol' teddy bear" who went by the nicknames "Bama" and "Soupbone." He enlisted in 2002, a year after graduating from high school, and planned to get out of the Army at the end of the year. He leaves his widow, Rachel, and three sons, Hunter, Levi and Dillon.

Click here to view tributes to the 371 service members killed this year in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the following nine casualties from last week:

1. Marine 1st Lt. Nicholas Madrazo, 25, of Bothell, Wash.

2. Marine Capt. Jesse Melton III, 29, of Randallstown, Md.

3. Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Eichmann Strickland, 23, of Arlington, Wash.

4. Army Spc. Marques Knight, 24, of San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

5. Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Sexton, 53, of Wentzville, Mo.

6. Navy Senior Petty Officer John Wayne Marcum, 34, of Flushing, Mich.

7. Navy Chief Petty Officer (select) Jason Freiwald, 30, of Armada, Mich.

8. Army Chief Warrant Officer Michael Slebodnik, 39, of Gibsonia, Pa.

9. Army Pvt. Michael Murdock, 22, of Chocowinity, N.C.

Washington Producer John Rutherford is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He also posts stories on the military at www.fieldnotes.msnbc.com (click on "John Rutherford" under "categories") and at http://john-rutherford.newsvine.com. The tribute gallery can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22802019/.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

While the news hasn't changed much (still two major stories, a still-grim economic outlook, and the still-grim situation in Texas) we now prepare for another night's broadcast, and apologies for last night's post: it was a mix-up due to being in transit to CNBC Headquarters. I thought last night's broadcast went well, in that it did exactly what I set out to do: we were able to tap into the expertise of our friends at CNBC who cover the economy and markets for a living. The markets settled down a little bit today, but the story remains, as CNBC put it this past hour, "The battle to save AIG" -- the insurance giant with tentacles throughout the U.S. economy. In fact, that's the subject of two pieces of note this morning on the New York Times op-ed page -- the other was David Brooks on Palin. My other favorite story of the day has to do with a false alarm -- the news this morning (we heard about it on our morning conference call) that a great find from Civil War history might have been discovered. Can't win 'em all. We're back at it from our home studio tonight -- which reminds me: our director, Brett Holey, did some research...it shows our travel schedule this summer (so THAT'S what happened to this Summer!) has been so grueling that we haven't done a full week's worth of broadcasts in our studio here in New York since June 23rd. Further, with four debates on the schedule, it will likely be a full 5 months until our next 5-day week of broadcast from "home base". As Hyman Roth once said: this is the life we have chosen.

We hope you can join us tonight.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Editor's note: This entry, posted this morning, is about last night's broadcast.

Nightly News will look a bit different this evening, but not much. I made the decision to locate our broadcast from the Global Headquarters of CNBC -- since our business network is best at covering this, I thought we'd go to where the experts are, instead of having them come to us. They are the finest experts on our lead story tonight: what's being called the closest thing we've seen to a financial and banking meltdown since the Great Depression. There are apparently more components to come -- AIG is in play. These are big names, these are real people and this is real money. And as I write this, the Dow is on a run to the south in a hurry.

Our attention is torn between two giant stories -- both involving suffering and destruction, but of an entirely different kind. We have a slew of correspondents and camera crews in Texas -- and naturally we felt a strong tug toward that story as well. The damage in Galveston is unbelievable, and the desolation in downtown Houston is striking. A whole lot of people are suffering as a result, and our hearts are with them.

So in a few moments we'll depart our 30 Rock headquarters for CNBC headquarters and continue working on tonight's broadcast.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

As Hurricane Ike dissolves into a nasty tropical depression, its impact only seems to grow. The drama of yesterday's hurricane force winds and pounding surge has given way to rescuers racing against the clock. Our correspondents are out and about in Galveston beaming back incredible pictures of damage. Most ominous of all is the city's west end, where flood waters have prevented rescuers from reaching those who may be trapped. Already, 2,000 people have been rescued, and many of them are the same people who last week thought it wasn't necessary to evacuate. Officials say Galveston is simply not habitable at this moment.