By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Today's shooting death of a Kansas physician who performs abortions exposes the raw nerve that represents the social issue of our time. Without a doubt, it will lead to some passionate conversations and exchanges in the days to come. On our broadcast tonight, we will tell you what we know about today's attack in Wichita on late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, who survived another shooting attack back in 1993. We're also working to learn more about the suspect who was taken into custody hours later.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

I traveled to the Secret Service training facility in Maryland last week to tell the story of the men and women behind the dark glasses who put their lives on the line for the president and others. Before we pulled out the cameras they asked us to watch a video briefing about the agency, and I had to smile when I realized the voice in the narration was none other than Clint Eastwood. I figured it said an awful lot about how they must regard his performance as a Secret Service agent in the 1993 film "In the Line of Fire."

Before long, I saw for myself what it takes to prepare agents and uniformed officers for what is arguably one of the most important jobs in law enforcement. After all, they protect the leader of the free world.  We witnessed agents training on firearms, officers demonstrating explosive detection, the versatility of their canine units, and toured a virtual city where sniper attacks, explosions and car chases are all in a day's work.

The highlight for me was playing the role of a "protectee" stepping off an Air Force One mock-up, flanked by agents and met by a crowd gathered along a barricade line. I had pretty much guessed this little demonstration would feature some kind of a simulated threat, and I was not disappointed. You'll see what happened on my report tonight on Nightly News, but for now, suffice to say, the swiftness and precision of how my protective team reacted in this training demonstration took my breath away.

I hope you'll join us tonight for that, plus what President Obama told Brian Williams in an exclusive interview about General Motors as it prepares to enter bankruptcy on Monday.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

All of us in the newsroom are getting vicarious enjoyment out of the dispatches being sent in from our NBC News team chronicling President Obama's day for next week's special "Inside the Obama White House: Brian Williams reports."

I particularly like the "tweets" about first dog Bo's interaction with staff and visitors. And how about the president making a burger run to Five Guys with Brian and our guys in tow. Our folks are getting some rare and fascinating access to both the light hearted and weighty sides of life in the White House. I can't wait to see it. It airs next Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Meantime I'm holding the fort here in New York tonight, where among other things, we will address the difficult question that hovers over the Chrysler bankruptcy and the anticipated GM re-organization as well: who will buy a car from a financially fragile car company?

I hope you can tune in tonight for the Friday edition of NBC Nightly News.

Follow NBC News crews as they spend the day inside the White House for NBC News' special 'Inside the Obama White House: Brian Williams Reports,' which airs next Tuesday and Wednesday on NBC.

Follow 'Inside the Obama White House' on Twitter

Follow NBC Nightly News on Twitter

More on the NBC News special

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

By now we've all come to understand this recession has many faces, and stages. We're drilling down on several economic stories tonight, including the new face of home foreclosures in this country. What began as the fallout from sub-prime loans has now claimed another category of homeowner.

There are signs that bankruptcy for Chrysler and GM could be short lived. We'll have a late update this evening.

And the competition for scarce jobs in this country is pitting some unlikely competitors against each other.

By the way, if a hug is your way of finding comfort in the face of all the bad economic news -- wait until you hear what some schools are now saying about hugging. Chris Jansing is embracing the subject for us and will report on tonight's broadcast.

Brian is off tonight. I'll look for you tonight on NBC Nightly News.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

I glanced by this yesterday but wanted to draw your attention to it. "A Day In The Life Of The White House" has become a network news institution over the years, and I'm honored to be doing the reporting for the next one, airing next week.  While the elaborate preparation will take some of my time and attention away from Nightly News, by the time it airs on two successive nights in prime time next week, it will be the most extraordinary glimpse inside the White House to date, say nothing of the Obama Administration and their life and work inside.

It will take something like 20 cameras and over 100 people, and I'm quite sure that by the time it's over, they will be sick of us in the West Wing.  It will require many days and hours and shuttling between New York and DC, but as you'll see: it will be worth it. 

In the meantime, I hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast.

Tuesday and Wednesday, June 2 & 3 at 9 ET, Williams to take viewers Behind-the-Scenes for an Insider's Look at a Day in the Life in the Obama White House

Broadcast to include a One-on-One Interview with Williams of Obama on the Eve of the President's Trip to the Middle East and Europe

NEW YORK - May 26, 2009 – On Tuesday and Wednesday, June 2 & 3, 9-10 PM ET, NBC News Anchor and Managing Editor Brian Williams will take viewers "Inside the Obama White House," for an exclusive, wide-ranging look at what happens throughout the White House and the West Wing during a day in the life of the Obama administration. There will be more than a dozen crews and cameras strategically placed throughout the White House, capturing nearly ever aspect of the day. This unique documentation will consist of behind-the-scenes footage, as well as interviews with key administration players and those who make the West Wing work.

For more than forty years, NBC News has made it a tradition to offer viewers a unique vantage point into a new president's White House with a day-in-the-life program. This seventh installment will be taped on Friday, May 29. On Tuesday, the eve of President Obama's trip to the Middle East and Europe, Williams will tape a one-on-one interview with the President that will air as part of the broadcast. "Inside the Obama White House" will be shot and broadcast in high definition

"This is one of the greatest traditions in all of broadcast television," said Williams. "We will show aspects of life in the White House -- the Obama White House -- that no one on the outside has ever seen before."

"It is an honor for our news division each and every time we produce a broadcast of this caliber," said Steve Capus, President, NBC News. "These richly detailed portrayals of the West Wing at work are only possible because seven presidents have placed their faith in the men and women of NBC News to document these important moments in time."

Information about the special, video blogs, extended interviews, and Web exclusive videos will be available on http://WhiteHouse.msnbc.com . Msnbc.com will also have special slideshows and an interactive of the White House that allows users to take a closer look at the complex and explore some of the historic rooms.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

If you've been following this space, then you know Judge Sotomayor was an early favorite of the analysts -- and you also know this piece was an early dissenting voice. I can safely report that the story got the attention of White House staffers, and it was quickly followed by this update by the author  -- including an apology for the original headline, and now the original piece is under great scrutiny, as is the author's possible motives. On another front, the New York Daily News has tried to clean up a biographical/geographic error that journalists keep making in profiles of Judge Sotomayor. Now we all get to watch it play out in the Senate, and the nomination will be among the background issues that the White House will be dealing with during our upcoming extended visit there.

After a Friday off for travel (my thanks to Lester) and a Monday off for the holiday (my thanks to Carl) I'm back on the job, and we hope you can join us for our broadcast tonight.

by Carl Quintanilla, NBC News

It would be nice if, on this Memorial Day holiday, Americans could focus simply on the generations of soldiers and military personnel who've fought for their country -- and the freedoms we enjoy.

But it's never that easy. The tumultuous events around the globe don't take a holiday. And so, the news that North Korea launched a powerful nuclear test on Monday was a reminder of the geopolitical troubles that President Obama faces. Although the move was condemned by governments around the world, there is still no clear policy on how to deal with the North Koreans. Tonight, our Jim Miklaszewski walks us through what happened, and our Andrea Mitchell tells us what it means.

Normally, North Korea would be big enough news, but there continues to be fallout out of Iran tonight over the western proposal for that government to halt their nuclear research in exchange for no additional sanctions. Tonight, Ann Curry is in Tehran and speaks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is refusing that deal -- even as he faces a challenging re-election season, himself.

We'll pay attention to the homeland, too, with pieces on Memorial Day remembrances around the country, and we'll spend part of this holiday with the 150 soldiers of Viper Company, who are fighting in the most active battlefield in Afghanistan.

Finally, we'll close with a piece by our Jim Maceda, who looks at an entire generation of U.S. soldiers -- who served at Normandy and Iwo Jima -- who've been denied appropriate remembrances for years because of one reason: they were black. That longstanding oversight is finally being remedied. We'll explain how, and hope you'll join us tonight.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Welcome back to the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis. It was great to see them finally make it safely back home – albeit to an alternate landing site in California – after weather in Florida extended their mission for a few extra days. 

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Good afternoon. I hope you are enjoying a restful holiday weekend – and a dry one. The rain is not only watering down the plans of millions of Floridians, it is also leaving the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis in orbit for yet another extra day. The plan now is to try to bring them into the Kennedy Space Center, or Edwards Air Force Base tomorrow, weather permitting of course.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Greetings on this getaway Friday. The price of gas is going up -- though isn't anywhere close to last year's eye watering highs, and so a lot of folks will be back in their cars this Memorial Day weekend. Flying has also become a reasonable option with plenty of bargains, and cheap hotel rooms to be had. The only fly in the holiday ointment (or barbecue) may be the weather. It could be a show stopper in some parts of the country. Tom Costello will wrap up the holiday travel picture tonight.

President Obama, who yesterday vigorously defended his plans to close the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention center, followed up today with another speech on national security. He spoke to graduating cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy today. Our Chuck Todd will have more on that.

And we've got a great story tonight from Jim Miklaszewski about a program that is giving badly disfigured war veterans a chance to live a more normal life.

Brian is off tonight. I'll look for you this evening on NBC Nightly News.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

...It must be time for another broadcast, prior to a quick trip to the West Coast to take my honored position as one of Jay Leno's final guests before he hands the baton to Conan O'Brien. From Los Angeles, I hope to post an update on music before the holiday weekend is upon us. May the weather, where you are, be as sparklingly beautiful as it was today during a brief visit I paid this morning to my home town on the Jersey Shore. It might have been among the top ten days of all time. We have a great broadcast planned for tonight, ending on a Making A Difference report that came from a Nightly News viewer. We hope you can join us.

By Mara Schiavocampo, NBC Nightly News digital correspondent

Michael Vick was released from prison to home confinement today after serving 19 months of a 23-month sentence for financing a dogfighting ring. I'm sure many of you still remember the horrifying details of the 2007 case: dogs hanged and electrocuted for not being good fighters, rape stands and, of course, brutal dogfights.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Newsrooms aren't like a normal workplace. While we have friends and co-workers who help us function and buy supplies, it would never occur to most of us to have any "systems" in place. So it's rather amazing, in a business known for short institutional/collective memories, that we have so consistently and diligently covered all of the "Making a Difference" stories that have come our way. In doing so, and in the day-to-day effort of getting the broadcast on the air, we've forgotten to ask for more nominations! So consider this another formal request -- ask the folks you know to nominate their stories of those who are making a difference in the lives of others, and post them here, please. I can't tell you how much we get out of reading, covering and airing these stories. And we have another one for you tonight -- we'll see you then.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

If you thought you knew all there was to know about White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (or if you know nothing about him), there's this -- following his decision to deliver a very personal commencement address this weekend in Washington. If you're following the search for a Souter replacement on the Court, there's this and this. And as for this reporter, our NBC Affiliates are in town -- my elective time is devoted to them, and so today we'll have to keep this short. I hope you can join us for the broadcast tonight...especially our final story. We'll see you then.

by Robert Bazell, chief science correspondent

With great fanfare, New York's Mayor Bloomberg and others today unveiled a model of a 47-million-year-old fossil of a baby monkey-like creature at the American Museum of Natural History. The unveiling was part of a promotion effort by the History Channel and Little, Brown Book Group, which are producing a documentary and a book about the discovery.
 
There is no question that this is an important scientific finding. The fossil purchased by scientists at a market in Europe is exceptionally well preserved. But the documentary is titled "The Link: This Changes Everything," and the press kit for the event declares that reporters are about to "witness the most important find in 47 million years."
 
So I phoned Dr. Tim White at the University of California, Berkeley. White is a renowned paleontologist who played a key role in the discovery of "Lucy," the first ape-like creature to stand erect and many other important findings about the evolution leading to humans.
 
 "Three words," he said. "Over the top."
 
The people who promoted this event make a big deal out of the possible place this newly discovered fossil plays in the evolution leading to humans. But if you read their actual scientific paper in a respectable peer-reviewed scientific journal (http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0005723) the scientists make no such claim.
 
The big question about this finding, White said, "is whether it is the 'Mother of All Monkeys?' and that is not even resolved. With years of study the scientists will learn whether this is the creature that stands at the intersection of one group of primates that went on to be best represented by lemurs today or another group that went on to be chimps and humans. But they don't know yet."
 
The event organizers do seem to know, however, the potential value of hype.

Click here to watch Robert Bazell's Nightly News report, "Fossil Frenzy."

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Normally tonight, with a few minutes remaining in the broadcast, we'd show a clip from the commencement today at Wake Forest in North Carolina. The speech was supposed to be given by Tim Russert. Those of us who loved Tim are, I think, still unable to believe that he isn't here to give it -- that we can't call him up to see him or talk to him about politics or Washington or his family. Today Vice President Joe Biden gave the speech instead, and his remarks about Tim were so affectionate -- and captured him so well -- they were almost hard to read.

That's where my thoughts are as we begin another week. I presided over the Peabody Awards earlier today, and got to present one to Richard Engel. Tim would have been so proud of the entire scene. He made everything better simply by being a part of it. My congratulations to Richard, and we'll look for you tonight.

by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

President Obama has waded smack into the middle of the controversy that has surrounded his speech and receipt of an honorary law degree today at the Notre Dame commencement.  In his remarks, interrupted at one point by hecklers, he spoke directly about the criticism and used the opportunity to encourage respect for those with differing opinions on abortion. The issue does not lend itself to compromise, and the president certainly did not soften his support of abortion rights.  The question going forward is whether he can successfully change the tone of the abortion debate, especially as the nomination of a new Supreme Court justice draws closer.  

We'll have two reports from Notre Dame tonight covering the president's remarks and the protests that resulted in the arrest of Norma McCorvey. You may not recognize her by that name, but as "Roe"--she was the plaintiff in the landmark Roe vs. Wade abortion decision.

There was an interesting comment today from the president's budget director about the recession, and whether we have reached the bottom. We've asked CNBC's Maria Bartiromo to come on tonight to talk about that as well as signs to look out for this week that may tell us if the worst days are indeed behind us.

Thanks for checking in.  I hope you can join us later for the Sunday broadcast. 

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Driving into downtown Merced -- deep in California's central Valley -- my neck immediately began cranking for signs I was nearing a university campus. A coffee house, campus book store, music shop. Anything that said "college town." The last time I visited Merced, about ten years ago, the University of California at Merced didn't exist. This time the rental car GPS seemed to be pointing me straight through and then out of town. By the time I started passing empty fields and orchards I was sure I must have punched in the wrong address. Then suddenly as I crested the hill, there it was -- a small collection of stunning modern buildings surrounded by nothing. That was Thursday. Today, this little known 4 year old University, with an enrollment the size of a suburban high school and far removed from just about everything, is firmly on the map thanks to First Lady Michelle Obama. I traveled to Merced this week to learn the fascinating back story of how the students managed to land one of the most famous women in the world as their commencement speaker. The roughly 450 seniors graduating today represent U.C. Merced's first full graduating class, and they were determined to make a statement. They orchestrated a charming, creative and tenacious campaign that included everything from Valentines and e-mails sent to the White House to a You Tube video, all designed to convince Mrs. Obama to speak at their graduation. Over spring break they learned she had accepted. The best I can tell virtually every student and faculty member was in some way instrumental in the campaign, and so it is not just the class of 2009 celebrating success today. It may be a small school, but they think BIG. And isn't that what higher education is all about?

I'll have more on what went into bringing the first lady to Merced on our Nightly News broadcasts this weekend.

by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

There were no illusions that the remaking of the American auto industry would be without pain. Still, today's confirmation by General Motors that it is cutting loose 1,600 retail dealers is sending shockwaves through many communities today. Coupled with a similar announcement by Chrysler yesterday, 100,000 auto industry jobs are now in jeopardy.

We're covering the impact of that, along with another bit of shocking, but perhaps not entirely unexpected, news about the spread of swine flu in this country, and why it may be with us for quite some time.

I will be in for Brian this evening and hope to see you later for NBC Nightly News.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

There is a strange and poignant sidebar to the ongoing hearings into the Colgan Air commuter prop plane crash in Buffalo this winter: you may have heard in our reporting the "sterile cockpit rule", meaning all conversation in the cockpit below 10,000 feet should be germane to the flight that is underway. The rule came about in large part, apparently, because of the crash that claimed the lives of three members of Steven Colbert's family back in 1974, as chronicled in Vanity Fair and the New York Times. 

Excerpt below from the July 17, 1975 New York Times report by Richard Witkin 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
 
The stories we're preparing for the broadcast tonight are a diverse selection: from air safety to car dealers to food safety to Making A Difference, and we hope you can join us.

Kelly Venardos, Producer, NBC Nightly News

Every so often you come upon a story that stays with you. After working at NBC News for more than 16 years, I have a few of these gems tucked away in my memory. They sustain me through the news stories that aren't necessarily pleasant or positive. Frequently, these stories involve children. This is one of them.

Ten-year-old Katie Stagliano is different than most kids her age. You know this almost immediately, because she's thinking about and devoting a lot of her time and energies to issues that most young people don't give a second thought to. Katie is worried about hungry children across America, and how she can help them.

Katie lives in Summerville, SC, and after entering a charity t-shirt design contest (http://www.amazing-kids.org/lmdtcontest08.html), her design was chosen as the winner. Katie was inspired to create the "No Hungry Children" campaign by one little cabbage seedling that she planted in her backyard -- a little plant that grew to a whopping 40 pounds!  Katie knew that it could feed a lot of people, and with the help of her parents, donated the giant cabbage to a local food bank. That one cabbage helped to feed over 250 people. And it got Katie thinking... if just one cabbage could feed that many people, think of what a whole garden of vegetables could do.

                   
            Click here to watch the Nightly News report on Katie's "cabbage patch"

Taking that "seedling" of an idea a step further, she organized her classmates and started a garden on her school's property. With teachers, students and even a Master Gardener volunteering to help, Katie has launched a garden that will soon yield enough food to feed hundreds of people. From peppers and tomatoes, to herbs and corn, there will be plenty of nutritious food for the food bank come harvest time.

After our story aired, Katie received lots of calls from people and organizations that want her to spread her good ideas in their part of the country. She's headed to Florida next month to be a part of a "Hope for the Future" black-tie banquet that will honor her work.

Just last week I received a package at my desk. It was a huge poster-sized card from Katie, thanking NBC News for coming down to South Carolina and telling her story. With her abundant creativity, the card reflects an inspired young lady who's trying to do her part to make the world a better place. I've shared the card with my colleagues, and hopefully it will soon find a place here in our newsroom, for all to see.

I'll be watching and following Katie as her garden (and her dreams) continue to grow. And I definitely want to be around when her dream comes true. I know it will. And to think... it all started with one little cabbage seedling.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

"The Left Seat" is the title of a long-running column in Flying magazine. Among pilots, the left seat is shorthand for pilot in command -- in a two-seat cockpit configuration, that's where the pilot sits, unless the adjacent first officer is flying that leg of the flight.

If you're like a lot of us, when you board a plane you find it somehow comforting to see the pilot -- to make eye contact with him or her, as if there is some determination our lay eyes can arrive at -- as if that brief visual relationship will guarantee a good heart, a good soul, ability and bearing -- and a safe flight.

Please read the accounts of today's hearing in Washington -- read about the young First Officer on the Colgan Air flight in Buffalo that claimed 50 lives -- read about the crew and realize what's going on here. This accident may result in enough consumer outrage to lead to re-regulation of aspects of aviation -- an area where both Government and industry may have some explaining to do. To read the transcripts of the cockpit conversations, and to hear the testimony in this case so far -- is a harrowing experience for those of us who fly or have loved ones on airplanes...and those of us who love aviation.

For those following the Supreme Court vacancy, the AP has received a leak/information dump on just who the President is considering. Interesting.

We hope you can join us tonight -- our Making A Difference series continues, and a lot more.

By Janet Shamlian, NBC News correspondent

"Like a marriage"--Stephanie Rankin doesn't mind that her husband uses that phrase to describe another relationship. And she admits her spouse of 25 years spends far less time with her than he does with a different companion.

Sergeant Clay Rankin was severely wounded during combat operations in Baghdad.  He has a brain injury you'd be hard pressed to detect and physical wounds evident with his every move. Doctors told 

him he'd have to live out his days in a wheelchair, a decision he was unwilling to accept.  

A service dog might keep him on his feet, he was told, but they were hard to come by. Some groups charge tens of thousands of dollars, others ask veterans to solicit friends and family for donations.  A Texas woman does neither. 

Working on a shoestring budget and sometimes using abandoned pets, Lori Stevens loves and trains them --  before giving to disabled veterans who will love them even more.

That's how an 8-year-old black lab named Archie came to move from the plains of Texas to the mountains of West Virginia and, in the process, changed the life of an American soldier.  Clay says there are no words to express his gratitude to Lori.  There are, however, pictures.  Tonight, in our Making A Difference report, you'll meet the woman who helps man's best friend live up to that billing. 

                 Sgt Clay Rankin, Archie and NBC's Janet Shamlian

                 at Rankin's home in West Virginia (photo courtesy

                 of Stephanie Rankin)

For more information about the group profiled in Janet's report you can go to their website:  www.patriotpaws.org