By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

What a strange sight just now to be in our NBC News London Bureau watching live coverage of the (still relatively new) American President set foot on British soil for the first time.  He arrived at Stansted Airport and immediately boarded a white-topped Blackhawk helicopter (the choppers in the White House fleet are called Nighthawks) for the short flight to London proper. 

And if you think the "naming rights" craze is limited to only the United States, consider that the G20 meeting will be held at London's "ExCeL Exhibition Centre" and the President's chopper will use something called the "Red Bull Landing Zone" to come and go. The British press have devoted insane amounts of coverage to the Obama's visit -- and Michelle Obama especially.  This will be interesting to watch, especially if any of the predictions of massive protests and disruptions by anarchists come to pass.  About the auto crisis back home in the U.S., there was much talk about this particular take, which was published while we were in the air.  We'll do our first of several broadcasts from here tonight -- we hope you will join us for our broadcast from London this evening.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

We are back at it here in New York, before travelling to the G-20 Summit -- we will see you from London tomorrow night.  I stumbled across this about the GM situation, and my favorite story of the day, from Philadelphia. We continue to be amazed by the response to our request for good news, and we have reports in the pipeline to air all week, in addition to your emails. Travel preparations await. We'll see you from New York tonight, and then it's across the pond.

by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

It's a busy Sunday in the newsroom. We're gathering information on a shooting rampage at a North Carolina nursing home that has left at least eight people dead.

by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

I just finished anchoring coverage of the space shuttle Discovery's successful landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. No matter how many times I cover andings and launches, I still find myself in awe, and even a little anxious. We keep hearing that the space shuttle concept is outdated technology, yet the idea of a "space plane," still seems cutting edge. There are fewer than ten shuttle missions planned before the fleet is retired for good. Despite the early promises that the shuttle would someday make space flight routine, the ungainly spacecraft will end its run as it began – as a technological marvel.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Before we run off for the weekend, please watch (if you haven't already) Chuck Todd's package of reporting this morning on Today.  Its important stuff, and its a story we'll be re-visiting this weekend. There's also this story, which started to get some traction on the web this past week.

And so with that, we invite you to watch our broadcast tonight. We have a great Making a Difference report -- big Olympics news -- and a loss in our own family here at NBC News. We hope you can join us, and we hope you have a good weekend. Don't forget to watch Lester this weekend. We'll see you again on Monday night.

By Amber Payne, NBC Nightly News Producer

Every Monday for the past month, Joyce Deliyiannis, a master stylist at D'Spa by Dellaria in Burlington, MA, has come in  on her day off to offer free haircuts to clients who are cutting back on expenses due to layoffs. Some need a touch-up for an upcoming interview. Others just relish an opportunity to get out of the house for a little while.

"It may seem like a small thing, but when it's needed, it's big," says Joyce, who has set no expiration date on the recession special and offers the free service to her clients' family members as well.

As Joyce's client Ilene Sapienza put it,"It's more than a haircut -- it's therapy. When you lean back in her chair, she makes you feel important. Her vibrance and energy leave every customer feeling uplifted."

                      
Click here to watch the NBC Nightly News Making a Difference report about Joyce Deliyiannis (above, left).

After their haircut, each client writes in Joyce's journal. Some share words of wisdom and encouragement.  Others leave their contact information in hopes that the next person in the chair will read about their situation and be able to help.

Joyce's generous sprit has caught on and has motivated others in the community to give what they can.  Some clients are paying it forward by donating their own free services ranging from real estate consultations to baby-sitting to computer training. And in a matter of just one afternoon, friends and clients brought by $170 to contribute to the Burlington Community Food Pantry in Joyce's name. 

Roberta Damelin, director of the pantry, was overwhelmed with gratitude. Damelin does her part to stretch every dollar that comes in, spending hours bargain shopping and clipping coupons, but with 50 new families to feed in the last six months, she's seen the need for donations grow in these tough times. "We don't turn people away," she says, "but we're overwhelmed."  

For more information on the pantry, or to volunteer your time: http://peoplehelpingpeopleinc.org

DSpa by Dellaria Salon
http://www.dspabydellaria.com

Burlington Community Food Pantry
http://peoplehelpingpeopleinc.org

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

The talented folks at the Onion have put together a reminder of a time long ago -- a simpler time -- and it is must-viewing.

We are focusing more and more attention on the Red River -- it is crunch time for the folks who live along its banks -- and we received an email today from a viewer asking us to request prayers on the air -- it was further proof that the situation there is getting dire.

We'll have an update again tonight -- and all the rest of the day's news -- including an uplifting and terrific "Making A Difference" report sent to us by a Nightly News viewer in Massachusetts. We hope you can join us.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Please take a moment to read about my friend John Finn. John was the first Medal of Honor Recipient of WWII...in fact, when he performed his heroic action, it wasn't yet clear we were IN a World War. He stood at a gun and fired at incoming Japanese planes in Hawaii for two hours despite suffering over 20 wounds.

John turns 100 this July -- and with the help of a cane and some fellow Recipients, he rose from his wheelchair and stood at the President's side today at Arlington for the laying of a wreath.

                
                                                                                 AP photo

Later today, he will visit the White House for the first time. You see, John never got his Medal directly from the President, as many Recipients do. FDR never got to Hawaii, and John never got to Washington during the war -- so Admiral Chester Nimitz gave John the Medal on behalf of a grateful nation. Today President Obama will try to correct some of that history by hosting John in the Oval Office. Those of us lucky enough to know John are thrilled for him beyond our ability to express it. What a man, and what a day in his life.

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

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Today's U.S. Census Bureau estimate tells us there are 306,073,676 people in our country. Of that number, there are 98 living recipients of the Medal of Honor. Of that number, 38 recipients are here in New York for tonight's gala annual dinner at the New York Stock Exchange. 

We all gathered last night at a more casual dinner, and I've just returned from a meeting of our Medal of Honor Society Foundation Board at a Midtown hotel here in New York.  Because President Obama called a news conference for tonight, and because of our live coverage and the need to do a special live feed for the West Coast at 9:30pm ET, I won't be able to attend tonight's gathering, and won't be able to perform my usual emcee duties. This is to publicly thank Lester Holt, who will so ably substitute for me tonight. He gets to be in the company of genuine heroes -- and they get to enjoy the company of my friend Lester, who is no stranger to that group, having served in this role before. In the meantime, we will compile tonight's broadcast and get ready for the news conference. We hope you can join us tonight.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

My thanks to David Gregory and Natalie Morales for allowing me to steal three days away with my family. I came back today to find a great item of interest to fellow court-watchers, and another item on aging and the things we use each day. I'm still getting back into the daily routine -- so off to the newsroom I go. You'll love tonight's Making A Difference report...after tonight, we will be able to boast that we are the only network evening newscast with a Medal of Honor Recipient as correspondent. We hope you can join us tonight.

By Mark Potter, NBC News Correspondent

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- For more than a year, the headlines from this historic city just south of El Paso, Texas, were horrifying. Drug-related violence, including torture and beheadings, had consumed the area, forcing many citizens, police and local officials to live in fear for their lives.

Last year alone, 1,607 people were killed in Juarez as rival Mexican drug cartels fought among themselves and against the authorities for control of the lucrative smuggling routes from Mexico to the United States. Last month, the average murder rate had climbed to as high as 10 a day. But a tipping point was reached recently when the brazen traffickers forced the Juarez police chief to resign. They did it by following through on a threat to kill a city officer every 48 hours until the chief stepped down. The assassins also posted signs in town saying the mayor was next.

That last threat is where the traffickers seem to have made a critical error. Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz (pictured below) wasn't backing down and wouldn't go away. Instead, he fought back.With his city spinning out of control, Mayor Ferriz called for help and got a quick response from the federal government in Mexico City. President Felipe Calderon ordered 5,000 military troops to head immediately for Juarez, reinforcing 2,000 more soldiers already in the area.  Some 2,000 federal police officers were also sent in.  Their first mission was to take over the local police departments, where corruption ran rampant and more than half of the 1,700-officer force had already been fired and replaced.

                           
                                                               Photo by Carlos Rigau
Click here to watch Juarez Mayor Reyes Ferriz and University of Texas El Paso Professor Howard Campbell discuss the drug war being fought on the streets of Juarez, Mexico and the drastic measures being taken to stop it.

Today, the city is under virtual military occupation, but is also a much safer and quieter place. A retired military commander has taken over the police forces and his troops are everywhere, patrolling the streets day and night.

During a visit to Juarez last week, photographer Carlos Rigau and I met with the mayor at his heavily guarded office at city hall.  We, along with his bodyguards, also watched as Mayor Reyes talked with residents at a city bus stop downtown.  The feedback Reyes got from those commuters was that they felt more at ease now, freer to go about their business without fear, especially at night.

The numbers tell an interesting story.  As noted earlier, the average murder rate has skyrocketed to 10 a day. But, according to the mayor, as soon as it was announced the troops were on their way, the killing rate plummeted to one a day, and after the soldiers arrived two weeks ago, there has hardly been any killing at all.

While there is much to celebrate about the violence being ended, there are also many concerns and questions to answer. First and foremost is the fact it took military force to bring order in a neighboring democracy. The situation in Juarez was so out of control and the corruption so widespread that civilian authorities and the criminal justice system had been rendered powerless. 

                      
                                                           Photo by Mark Potter

There are also worries that soldiers often don't make the best policemen, because their training is for a more brutal mission. Human rights activists are on alert. 
Mayor Reyes promises the troops will be in Juarez for no more than a year, serving there only until the local police department can be retrained and doubled in size.  He argues that it was absolutely necessary to regain control of the city and to reduce the violence--a mission that only the federal government and the military could have performed.

Today there is a calm in Juarez and a sense of relief. There are also grave concerns about how long it will remain quiet and about what happens when the troops finally pack up their weapons and leave town.

Watch Mark Potter's related Nightly News report, "Mexican government takes hold of Juarez."

By Colonel Jack Jacobs, NBC News military analyst

We have heard many unhappy stories about our wounded warriors, selfless Americans whose sacrifices have not always been matched by the medical care they deserve.

We already know about the young, disabled troops who must cope not only with their debilitating wounds but also with a frustrating bureaucracy. But on Monday evening's "Making a Difference," I will take us inside an extraordinary facility where our disabled troops don't have to deal with maddening paperwork--they spend all their time getting better.

The VA hospital in Augusta, Georgia, is unique: it is the only one in the country that has its own military unit, composed of wounded troops from Eisenhower Medical Center, the military hospital at nearby Fort Gordon. Rather than having to find their own way through the rehabilitation maze, these troops receive continuous care because of the seamless cooperation between the two hospitals.

Among others, you'll see Army Master Sergeant Morrissey, shot eight times with an AK-47 rifle, whose arms and legs were saved from amputation with the latest surgical techniques. But his rehabilitation was also the result of the intense rehab he received and the care of expert VA staff.

The bad news? There aren't more of these facilities around the country to treat the thousands who need it.

by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Any cop will tell you there is no such thing as a "routine traffic stop."  Whenever they approach a stopped car, they are approaching a stranger who may simply be their way home from work – but they may also be on their way home from committing an armed robbery. This weekend there was a stark reminder of what police officers put on the line everyday as they uphold their duty to protect us.

Three police officers are dead, and another was left brain dead following two shooting incidents in Oakland. It is a dark day not only in Oakland, but for men and women in law enforcement across the country, and many of us today mourn with them. NBC's George Lewis is working the story and will have the latest on tonight's program.

We'll also look ahead to the Obama administration's expected announcement this week on how it plans to unsaddle the nation's banks of all those bad loans. CNBC's Steve Liesman will join me tonight to explain how it will work, and how the government plans to protect taxpayers from more unpleasant surprises like those AIG executive bonuses.

Finally, I had the chance to speak with a remarkable young woman this morning on TODAY. She suffers from a rare disorder that is slowly robbing her of both her sight and hearing. Peter Alexander will have her story and explain what the disorder is, and how doctors are racing to develop a treatment. For Peter, this all hits extremely close to home – that woman is his sister. I hope you are as inspired by their story as I am.

Rebecca and Peter Alexander

By Peter Alexander, NBC correspondent

This is the most important story I've ever told. It's also the toughest. My sister, Rebecca, is smart, kind and hysterically funny -- truly, the most remarkable and impressive woman I've ever met. She works as a practicing psychotherapist and to make ends meet she teaches 15 spin classes a week. She does all of it despite a disability that's robbing her of her vision and her hearing all at once.

Stop for a second -- think about that! Doctors have told my sister she will likely go completely blind and deaf within the next 10 years. As my sister describes it, "It's like I am slowly being taken from the world around me -- like the end of an old Warner Brothers cartoon on TV where the picture becomes an increasingly smaller hole until it finally fades to black."
 
Rebecca, 30, has a rare genetic disorder called Usher syndrome, type III. It is among the cruelest of disorders -- progressively stealing normal life away from roughly 16,000 people nationwide. And, currently, there is no treatment or cure. Rebecca lives courageously each day with the hope that a cure will be found before it's too late. My family and many others are determined to help through our involvement with the following organizations.
 
An extraordinary research effort is already under way through the "Usher III Initiative" at Hope for Vision where a dedicated team of scientists is focused on Rebecca's specific disorder.  I recently spoke with Dr. David Saperstein, Scientific Director of the Usher III Initiative, who says their researchers are working on a multifaceted approach to slow or halt the disease's progression, including the development of a targeted drug and gene therapy.
 
In addition, the Foundation Fighting Blindness funds research on a broad spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases, including Usher syndrome, and was involved in the important early work that helped characterize the gene that causes Usher syndrome, type III.
 
I asked my sister to share some personal stories about her experience living with Usher syndrome, type III -- her fears and the challenges she faces:
 

There isn't an hour that goes by where I am not reminded or challenged by my loss of vision or hearing, but this is my life and these are the cards I was dealt. I'm not frightened by the progression of my condition, but I am saddened by the things I can no longer hear or see.
 
I have the same hopes and dreams as any fully-sighted and hearing person and my dreams haven't faded with the progressive loss of my vision and hearing, but my disability has made me more driven and eager to take on each day.  When I began to lose my hearing, I learned sign language and have found a sense of belonging among the Deaf and hard of hearing community. When I started coming to terms with the idea of going blind, I sought out a mobility specialist to teach me how to use a cane so when the time came that I needed it, I'd be ready.  I don't have time to sit around and think of all of the possible things that could happen to me. I simply don't have time.
 
I have always insisted on living my life independently. So, it's been a challenge to ask for help from others. However, as my vision and hearing have continued to decline, I have become more comfortable asking for help. In fact, it's felt very liberating. It has allowed me to really connect with others and has enabled others to become more comfortable and open with me about their own lives. I'm incredibly lucky to have a wonderful, loving family and very loyal, close friends. The more I have come to accept myself and face my own challenges, the stronger my relationships with others have become. What I have learned is that we cannot live life on our own. We all need each other for support in so many different ways.
 
Sadly, many of my biggest fears already have been realized. I've been rejected by people I've dated when they found out about my disabilities. I've been left alone in a really loud and very dark bar by people who didn't understand that I needed them to stay by my side. I've even been hit by a cab. You name it; it's likely happened to me!  But I can't stop living my life because of the obstacles I face each day. My disabilities have made me passionate and energized to live my life to the fullest.

by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Good afternoon – we have a wide-ranging newscast on tap tonight. We'll be covering everything from new questions regarding the size of those AIG bonuses, to why suppliers of medical marijuana may have reason to breathe easier tonight, as well as the painful decision more Americans are making to part with a beloved pet in the face of their personal economic crisis. 

By Natalie Morales, NBC News anchor

Good evening, I'm Natalie Morales in for Brian, who continues to enjoy some time off. 

On the broadcast tonight, fresh off his west coast trip, the President is calling for a new beginning and reaching out with diplomacy to Iran-- a nation once labeled by the Bush adminstration as part of the "Axis of Evil."  In another historic move, the President broadcast his message to the Iranian people in a videotape subtitled in Farsi, urging both nations to come together, after decades of strained relations.  Andrea Mitchell will report on the significance of this change in foreign policy and how the President's message is being received in Iran and the rest of the world.

By David Gregory, NBC News anchor

Listening to the President speak this afternoon in California, he promised Americans that "brighter days are ahead." The President has had a lot to say about the economic crisis which poses political challenges to his presidency on numerous fronts. He has an appearance on Leno tonight and a press conference Tuesday. All that underscores the personal obligation he feels to carry the economic message for the administration. He may be his best advocate, but the sales pitch has become much more difficult in light of the outrage over AIG this week. That's where our White House correspondent Savannah Guthrie picks up the story tonight. We also have the latest on the AIG bonuses and efforts to disclose the identities of those receiving the big checks. From the outrage, to the pain and anxiety about this recession. It's captured in a web video from high school students who met the president about their fears and their question: is anyone listening. You will want to see our report from George Lewis. We hope to see you for Nightly News tonight.

By David Gregory, NBC News anchor

"The buck stops with me." That was not a quote from AIG CEO Edward Liddy, but from President Obama. The president, after admonishing congress weeks ago "not to govern in anger" has, himself, let his emotions show saying today he isn't interested in quelling the anger about AIG bonuses. There are multiple angles to this story and we are following them all tonight as I sit in for Brian: CEO Liddy's testimony on Capitol Hill, the question of who in the government knew about the bonuses and when and lastly what this means politically for the president. Mr. Obama has left the furor in the capital for California where he will stage a town hall meeting. He leaves behind a series questions about the effectiveness of his secretary of Treasury and what all of this does to his efforts to save the banking system which still needs a great deal of money. Has AIG used up what remained of the president's political capital? Steve Liesman also brings up to date on a dramatic step the Fed took today to help the housing market. And finally, would you go see a classic Broadway story...in spanish? We hope to see you later for Nightly News.

by NBC's Ann Curry

Major news about Darfur:

Andrea Mitchell is reporting: "NBC News has learned President Obama will announce tomorrow (Wednesday) that he is appointing a special representative for Sudan," to deal with Darfur.

He is Retired Air Force Major General Scott Gration.  A senior administration official says that Gration is a close personal friend, who first met then-Senator Obama in 2006 and traveled with him to Chad on a tour of refugee camps. Gration is the son of missionaries who grew up in the Congo and whose family was evacuated several times during successive crises there.  He campaigned actively for Obama - even after having been on the Pentagon's Jt Staff during the Bush administration.  Gration was in the Pentagon on 9/11 - and later served on the planning staff for the Iraq war.  Most recently, he was CEO of the NGO "Millenium Villages."

Okay that's one impressive resume. So is Gration the man for the job?

Appointing an envoy to Sudan is what Darfur activists, most notably George Clooney, have been calling on President Obama to do.  And the president's decision to do so comes just as some were just beginning to publicly question how the campaign rhetoric about Darfur measures up to the administration's muted response to the spiraling crisis.

Recently, in reaction to his indictment for Crimes against Humanity in Darfur, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir kicked 13 international aid agencies out of Sudan.  He also threatened to force all foreign humanitarian groups out within a year.

If you could see what the survivors of Darfur's war are now enduring even with humanitarian aid, it would stop you cold.  There are more than a million of them still in Darfur, forced by rape and murder and the burning of their villages into sad, desperate camps, where they survive on 800 calories a day, without proper homes in more than 110 degree heat.  And they are dying by the thousands under these conditions according to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor. 

NBC News | Ann Curry
Photograph for Darfurian refugees taken inside a camp building.

Is it really possible a new horror could be unleashed on these suffering souls?

As U.S. Envoy to Sudan, Major General Scott Gration can become a lifeline for people who have waited six years for one. 

Many outsiders who have struggled to understand how to stop Darfur's tragedy are distracted by all the moving parts. They focus on the chaos that comes when any war lasts this long, on the many rebel groups it has spawned, and on whether global warming is to blame. 

But they often fail to see it clearly and compassionately through the eyes of its civilian victims, members of three black African tribes. If they could, outsiders would see a people feeling threatened with extinction. And they would hear that the way to stop this tragedy is to make protecting civilians priority one. 

General, they, more than anyone, are wishing you success.

Click here to see more videos and photos of Ann Curry's reporting from Chad.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Wait til you see tonight's closing segment by veteran correspondent Roger O'Neil. It's about all the Making A Difference stories that we aired last week. Here's how this has come full circle: You sent us the story ideas, we covered them, and then many of you made contact and donated money to the people and organizations we profiled -- so now, everyone is doing better and able to help more people...because of people like you.  How could my job be any more pleasing?

Newspapers from Australia to Zimbabwe to London have done stories on our idea (one London paper used the story to ask their own readers for similar "good news" stories during the economic downturn in the U.K.) and it's been startlingly successful.  And another measure of its success is watching as similar segments show up on other broadcasts--nothing wrong with that--as long as those who are hurting get help.  We hope you can join us tonight.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Two great things from the smart folks at the Onion: One on a tree, the other should be seen by all fans of You Tube.

To more serious matters: we received the following viewer email from Kathryn M. in Yuba City, CA:

"There is a teacher at my son's school who buys groceries for her homeless and hungry students. She doesn't make much money and I'm sure she spends more on her students than she does her own family. She says she just can't sleep at night knowing that her students are hungry and she knows they can't focus if they're hungry. Thank goodness for people like her."

Kathryn's email (which we will feature on the air tonight) reminded me of the story of young Lyndon Johnson, whose first paid job was as a teacher in Cotulla, Texas, north of the Mexican border. He was horrified to learn that many of his young students were arriving at school in the morning not having eaten breakfast.  Folklore has it that Johnson brought food to the classroom, and quickly noted how much their energy improved. He later said that experience was the motivation behind a Federal program to supply breakfast in schools. 

There is history in everything if you look hard enough.

My thanks to Ann Curry for allowing me to spend some time with my family on Friday.  I hope you had a good weekend. We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.

By Kevin Tibbles, NBC News correspondent

There are a lot of small towns in America that depend on one or two main employers. Some might called 'em 'One Horse Towns'.

I, on the other hand, like to refer to them as this country's backbone. Tiny Humboldt, Kansas is one such place;  a couple of thousand hard working residents who send their kids to school, pay their taxes and depend on B and W Trailer Hitches for their livelihood.

The company makes truck beds and trailer hitches; and in today's challenging economy B and W is struggling to make ends meet.  After all, when folks stop buying RV's or trailers they aren't going to be needing trailer hitches.  A simple scenario right?  Depressed sales naturally lead to layoffs, which would lead to fewer people shopping in town, which would lead to local shops and restaurants closing, which would lead to another small town in the American Heartland going broke.

Joe Works, who owns B and W and whose claim to fame is a patented hitch with a hideable 'turnover ball', could see hard times on the horizon for his beloved home town.  He also remembered tripping over one of the rusted out metal grates in the center of Humboldt.  Repairing the grates with scrap metal from the factory was a no brainer, so he dispatched a few workers.  Soon the idea grew.  Why not dispatch employees to spruce up Humboldt in other ways, repair the local baseball diamonds or paint the churches?

Instead of laying his skilled and loyal employees off,  Works continues to pay them to do the work of good neighbors.  In tough times, Joe says he's taking an additional 10 percent financial hit as a result…but he is quick to add… "I did go through a lot of lean years. I know what it's like; and I think my employees appreciate the fact that they know that I know what it's like."

By Janet Shamlian, NBC News correspondent

A friend summed it up when she said 'bartering is the new black.' Trading, swapping, however you describe it -- the exchange of goods and services has been around for ages, but it's seeing a tremendous resurgence during this recession. Log on to your local Craigslist and you'll find hundreds of people hoping to trade the skills they used to get a weekly paycheck for; a Houston pool cleaner offering to swap his services for dental work or a Chicago maid who says she'll clean the home of a plumber who can help her with water leaks.

Tonight, in our Nightly News series of reports on "Seeking Solutions", we'll look at the ways people are bartering during these tough times, and we'll talk to an expert who has advice for those new to the game. If you've got a skill or something you'd like to trade, here are some websites to help launch your effort.

www.craigslist.com

www.u-exchange.com

www.swaptree.com

www.favorpals.com

www.swapstyle.com

by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Lately, weekends have become a time to decompress and recover from the litany of bad financial news; not this weekend.  A stock market rally, positive retail sales numbers, an uptick in consumer confidence, and news that some big banks are back in the black, was plenty of reason to put just a little spring in our step. No one is calling it a "bottom" or a "recovery," but it beats the alternative.

By Ann Curry, NBC News anchor

Ann Curry in for Brian tonight when finally, what some see as a glimmer of hope from the stock markets, seems to be resonating.

Again today, US stocks did not plunge, ending up 54 points, after European and Asian stocks also mostly rose again, buoyed by positive US economic data.

What a difference a year can make in how we define good economic news.

Today the President's Chief Economic Advisor said fear is the enemy, reminding us of a President who led us through another troubled time.   It is the latest in the administration's repeated assurances that it's engaged on the economy.

After all the ups and downs of this crazy ride, we seem to be like a ferris wheel about to roll again, hoping that the next part is fun, but sort of knowing that we will need courage.

On this Friday before the weekend we all hope will let us breathe a little deeper, we will hear the latest from the President, consider Bernie Madoff's new plea for bail, wonder if the 100 billion in stimulus money for America's schools might inspire our children to fix what we have not, find out how Barbara Bush is doing, and glimpse at a basketball game that lasted so long, neither side really cared who won.

Taken together these stories tell us something about what we stand for and against, and our wish from here.