By Robert Bazell, NBC News chief science correspondent

Yes I was wearing a tuxedo jacket on the Nightly News with Brian last night.  No it is not a new NBC policy of increasing formal dress.  No I am not trying to make any kind of fashion statement.

Here is what happened.  Last night after the show I was meeting my wife Margot at a black tie benefit dinner for the American Italian Cancer Foundation, an excellent organization.  The honorees were two great physician scientists and long time friends.  Dr. John Mendelsohn president of M..D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Dr. José Baselga, of the Vall d'Hebrón Hospital in Barcelona. The third honoree was Joe Torre, whom I don't know personally but I admire even as he leaves the Yankees for the Dodgers.

My office is on the 7th floor of 30 Rock and about a five minute journey from the Nightly studio on the third floor.  I had two jackets on hangers in my office.  The sports coat  I was wearing for air that day and the tuxedo jacket.  Just as I was needed in the studio for the show,  I got some phone calls and had to rush out, of course,  putting on the wrong jacket by mistake.

When I sat next to Brian on the set  he said "is that a tuxedo you are wearing.?"  At first I actually denied it.   I was so unaware.  By the time I realized the error it was time to go on live.  And so it went.

 

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

My favorite item of the day, without question, is on page one of USA Today, below the fold.  The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is asking us to "pack neatly."  They want us to fold our clothing and coil our electronic plug-in wires.  The official advice: "Think layers. One layer of clothes, one layer of electronics."  I admit I'm tired (Springsteen concert in Boston last night) but do these people travel? 

Tonight we'll take a look at the new tenor of the campaign trail, the situation in Bangladesh, in Iraq, and the effect the stagehands' strike is having on the Broadway season.  Ann Curry will be here to follow up on her great reporting last week, and we'll take a look at a notable anniversary in the U.K. 

I hope you all had a good weekend, and welcome back for another week.  We hope to see you for tonight's broadcast.

From Andy Franklin, here is a great and timely reminder:

Seven Score and Four Years Ago…

…an American president visited the site of one of this country's bloodiest battles and delivered a short speech – about three minutes in duration, including five interruptions for applause. It was so short, in fact, that many in the crowd of some 15,000 people missed it entirely. And even those who actually heard it may not have realized that they had just witnessed one of the truly great, transcendent pieces of oratory in human history.

                     
The New York Times, November 20, 1863      President Abraham Lincoln,
                                                                November 8, 1863; 
                                                                eleven days before delivering 
                                                                the Gettysburg Address.
                                                                Photograph by Alexander Gardner.

The president was Abraham Lincoln, the battlefield was Gettysburg, and the date was November 19, 1963 – 144 years ago today. For all those who despair the cautious, often impoverished rhetoric of modern American politics, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is well worth revisiting. The speech did far more than simply dedicate a battlefield. As historian Garry Wills has pointed out, the president managed in just a few well-chosen words to assign a higher purpose to the Civil War then still underway, and actually redefine the mission of the "new nation" which that war sought to preserve. Here is what Lincoln said that day:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
-- President Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

There is a wealth of information and analysis about the Gettysburg Address on the Web. You can see Lincoln's drafts of the speech on the Library of Congress site. There is a fascinating account of what appear to be newly-discovered photographs of Lincoln at Gettysburg. And someone's even come up with a sadly funny Power Point version of the Lincoln's address that reminds us just how far we've fallen in 144 years. 

By Mark Potter, NBC News correspondent

Much of the nationwide reporting on the housing and mortgage crisis involves cold, hard numbers. For example, homes sales in Orlando, Florida are down 45 percent over this time last year, foreclosures have at least tripled, and there are eight times the number of houses on the marketplace now compared to two years ago--and most of them are just sitting there.

Those are the numbers. But, right behind them are the tough human stories of desperation, layoffs, economic loss and increasing business difficulties. That's the side of the housing slump we went looking for in Orlando recently, and it didn't take long to find. It was everywhere.

Just in time for the holidays, an air-conditioning company owner had to lay off nearly half his employees--400 of them--because of a dramatic drop in residential work orders. These are people with families to support and bills to pay. The owner took it hard, saying, "It's never a fun thing. They become family and friends with you." He says he had to do it to save the company.

We also met the owner of a title company who was very successful when the housing market was hot, but who is now barely holding on, because monthly closings have dropped about 75 percent. Another cold, hard number. But the human side is that she is deeply worried about losing the business into which she poured her heart and soul for years. She hasn't drawn a salary in months, and can no longer support most of her employees.

"I don't want to be one of those title companies that closes down," she said, while noting that so many other such companies have already thrown in the towel.

The economic ripple effect is not confined to homeowners and sellers, and those business directed tied to real estate and construction. Restaurants, electronic companies, car dealers, home design companies and so many others are also feeling the pinch of a drop in consumer spending.

There are numbers for that, too, and more human stories close behind. We'll have some of them tonight in our report for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.

Watch a preview.

 

by Lester Holt

Good day. Here in the newsroom we're busy putting together tonight's edition of Nightly News. As Pakistan enters its third week under a state of emergency, NBC's John Yang will look at the Bush administration's dwindling options after President Musharraf rejected the latest call from Washington to restore democracy. The administration has critical interests in Pakistan, especially the security of its nuclear weapons and its role in the war against al Qaeda. From Pakistan itself, meantime, there are signs Musharraf may be weathering the storm. We'll get more on that from NBC's Richard Engel.

The human catastrophe in Bangladesh continues to widen after Thursday's tropical cyclone.  The death toll has already topped 2,000 and as Ian Williams will tell us tonight there are fears it could reach 10,000.  Two U.S. warships are en-route to assist recovery efforts, but Ian reports there are still thousands in need of aid who cannot be reached.

We're taking a look tonight at that extraordinary case of an Illinois police officer suspected in the disappearance of his current wife, and the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of a previous wife.  NBC news spoke today with a private medical examiner whose autopsy on the previous wife has raised even more questions about Drew Peterson. NBC's Rehema Ellis will have that, as well some perspective on why so often husbands become the prime suspects when their wives go missing.

We will also be following up on an interview I did on the TODAY show this morning with the parents of a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide as the result of an apparent Internet prank.  They learned 5 weeks after her their daughter's death that the prankster was not another child, but rather an adult neighbor.  George Lewis will tell us why the girl's parents are now speaking publicly a year after the tragedy.

As always, thanks for stopping by. I hope you are able to join us tonight for NBC Nightly news.

by Lester Holt

Good afternoon. On Nightly News tonight our chief environmental affairs correspondent Ann Thompson tells us about the final report just released by a United Nations panel that has been examining climate change. Ann tells us it's a plea for an end to talk and a move toward immediate action, all against a backdrop of some pretty scary global scenarios.

No story has sparked more conversation in our newsroom today than a move by one Maryland school district to take legal action against parents who fail to have their children immunized from disease.  Most school districts bar children from admission if their shot records are not up to date.

On the program tonight John Yang will explain what is happening in Prince George's County, Maryland, and the reasons why some parents have not complied with the shot requirements.
      
We'll get the latest out of Bangladesh where a cyclone has left over a thousand people dead, and potentially hundreds of thousands cut off from aid.
    
The mortgage crisis that has left many Americans in jeopardy of losing their home may be pushing some of those people into the arms of scam artists.  NBC's Lisa Meyers will tell us how one alleged scam may have cost hundreds of homeowners out of millions of dollars.
   
Rehema Ellis has put together a great spot for us tonight on the changing face of America's volunteer fire departments. She'll explain why fewer young people are joining the ranks.
   
On the subject of changing faces, the ranks of the celebrity chasing paparazzi just got a little younger. Peter Alexander will introduce us to a pair of 14-year-olds now on the hunt for Hollywood A-listers.
   
Thanks for clicking on the blog. I hope you can tune in to us tonight for NBC Nightly News.
   

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

We were apparently guilty of an optical illusion on Monday night.  As you may recall, we were live, on remote, in Cleveland -- in the pouring rain.  Because we were under a tent (and thus bone dry) as the rain poured down behind us, several viewers thought it was somehow an electronic effect that we were projecting behind us. 

Tonight, during a viewer e-mail segment, we will take on the rain -- and the complaints -- and make it right.  Like last night, the top of the broadcast is under contruction.  We will have our usual Friday night Making A Difference segment to round things out.  Please join us -- and have a great weekend before we see you back here Monday night. The following was submitted by my colleague Andy Franklin -- and is a great piece of history.

Storm Clouds

The tug of war between the Bush administration and Iran continued this week with the release of a UN agency report on that country's nuclear program. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran had been partially cooperative; the State Department responded by saying that "partial" wasn't good enough. The question of how to deal with Iran is also becoming an increasingly contentious topic on the campaign trail, as we saw in last night's Democratic debate. Relations between the United States and Iran were very different 30 years ago this week, when President Jimmy Carter welcomed the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran to the White House. But the seeds of the current standoff were already being sown.

The November 15, 1977 arrival of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, was marked by violence. Several thousand Iranian demonstrators clashed outside the White House -- some supporting the Shah, some opposed. More than a hundred people were injured. Clouds of tear gas wafted across the White House South Lawn, directly into the crowd gathered there to greet the Shah -- leaving even the President and First Lady wiping their eyes.

President Carter extended a warm welcome to the Shah, calling his visit "a wonderful opportunity for us…to plan together for the future." That evening, there was a formal state dinner, (the guest list included Andy Warhol, of all people), at which the president declared, "We look upon Iran's strength as an extension of our own strength, and Iran looks upon our strength as an extension of theirs." For his part, the Shah said, "The reassuring words that the president has pronounced tonight will be deeply felt in my country with appreciation and gratitude." In fact, there was a storm brewing back home that would soon topple the Shah and leave U.S.-Iran relations in ruins. 

The meeting with President Carter was nothing new for the Shah. Since coming to power in 1941, he'd met with eight American presidents -- every one of them from Franklin D. Roosevelt on. He had been to the United States at least a dozen times. But that visit 30 years ago would be his last. Fourteen months later, he was forced to flee Iran, one step ahead of an Islamic revolution that wanted his head. Ten months after that, with the taking of American hostages, Iran broke decisively with the United States. That crisis would cripple the Carter presidency, pave the way for Ronald Reagan, and mark the beginning of a dangerous, high-stakes grudge match that is now decades long -- and counting.

By Kevin Tibbles, NBC News correspondent

Editor's note: Kevin Tibbles's Making a Difference report runs on tonight's broadcast.

I remember Joey Juneau very well...lacing up the skates for the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals, and in the end for the fabled Montreal Canadiens.

Yes, Joey Juneau was a professional hockey player plying his trade in the NHL. No Gretzky (or Messier, for you New York types), but a soft-spoken French Canadian kid from Quebec who loved the game.

You just read it correctly. A "soft-spoken" professional athlete in a world of hot dogs, egomaniacs, overpaid babies and jerks.

Well, tonight we're going to show you a story about what happens to the soft-spoken types once they've gotten out of the game.

Joey Juneau's love of hockey, combined with his love of the outdoors have teamed up with his desire to help others.

So today, instead of living the life of a retired pro, and playing golf and driving a fast car, Joey Juneau and his young family have moved north towards the Arctic Circle. He is in the town of Kuujjuaq, Quebec where he is teaching young Inuit kids about hockey--and life.

So many isolated villages are filled with stories of poverty, abuse and sorrow. Here, Juneau instills responsibility and teamwork. If you wanna play on Joey's team, you have to go to school, eat well, stay away from alcohol and drugs, and be a team player.

Scoring big in the far north is tonight's Making a Difference.

By John Rutherford, NBC News Producer, Washington

This is the deadliest year yet for American forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Already in 2007, at least 862 U.S. troops have died in Iraq and 110 in Afghanistan, according to icasualties.org. That tops the previous highs of 849 in 2004 in Iraq and 99 in 2005 in Afghanistan. All told, 3,865 have died in Iraq and 467 in Afghanistan.

Last week, 23 Americans died in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Italy:

1. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin Bewley, 27, of Hector, Ark., once camped out in minus-28-degree Arctic weather to see the Northern Lights. "He didn't need a lot around him to be happy," his brother told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Bewley was killed Nov. 5 by a roadside bomb in Salah ad Din Province, Iraq. "Let me tell you, man, it's hard to bury your boy when he gets killed in Iraq," his father told the Seattle Times. Bewley leaves a daughter, McKinnzie, 4.

2. Army Sgt. Daniel Shaw, 23, of West Seneca, N.Y., was planning to spend Christmas with his girlfriend's family in Colorado, then muster out of the Army next April and move back to the Buffalo area. "He was getting ready to send stuff home," his sister told the Buffalo News. Shaw's family was supposed to close on a house for him and his girlfriend on Nov. 8, but he was killed on Nov. 5 in an explosion in Taji, Iraq. He was with the 2nd Infantry Division.

The following four members of the 10th Mountain Division were killed Nov. 5 by a roadside bomb in Tal Al-Dahah, Iraq:

3. Army Staff Sgt. Carletta Davis, 34, of Anchorage, Alaska, wasn't able to give her husband and three sons a farewell hug when she left for war 10 weeks ago. They had driven from Seattle to Fort Drum, N.Y., to see her off, but they arrived the day after she deployed to Iraq for the third time in five years as a medic. They returned to Seattle, only to learn several months later of her death. They then set out for Alaska for her funeral.

4. Army Staff Sgt. John Linde of New York, N.Y., called home on Nov. 3 to tell his wife, Vilma, and their 8-year-old daughter, Victoria, that he missed them. "We were able to tell each other we loved each other," his wife told the Newark Star-Ledger. Two days later, on Nov. 5, Linde, who had planned one day to become a policeman, was killed. He would have turned 31 on Nov. 11, Veterans Day.

5. Army Sgt. Derek Stenroos, 24, played hockey, sang in the choir, was in school plays, and coached youth hockey while in high school in North Pole, Alaska. "I remember saying, 'This kid's going to be all right, he's going to be a success in life,'" one of his high school teachers told the Anchorage Daily News. Stenroos was in Iraq for the second time in three years at the time of his death. An MP, he had hoped to become an Alaska state trooper.

6. Army Pfc. Adam Muller, 21, liked cars, soccer, baseball, and racquetball growing up in Richmond, Vt. "Nothing you could say about him could be bad," a schoolmate told the Burlington Free Press. Muller graduated from high school in 2004, attended Vermont Technical College for two years, and joined the Army to pay off his college loans. He wanted to become a police officer. Muller is survived by his wife of less than a year, Michelle.

7. Army Spc. Christine Ndururi, 21, of Dracut, Mass., came from a family with a military tradition. Her father was a police officer in Kenya before moving to the United States, and her two older brothers are veterans. "She enjoyed being in the military," her father told the Eagle Tribune. Ndururi, with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, died Nov. 6 in Kuwait of an undisclosed illness while en route to Iraq. She was the 118th female fatality of the war.

8. Army Capt. Benjamin Tiffner, 31, was the son of missionaries, and his family once lived in the Philippines. He was home-schooled in Pigeon, W.Va., and received an appointment to West Point in 1996. "Benjamin received his education at home, which is a miracle regarding getting into West Point," his mother told the Charleston Daily-Mail. Tiffner, with 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), was killed Nov. 7 by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

9. Army Sgt. Lui Tumanuvao, 29, of Fagaalu, American Samoa, was a Toa o Samoa, or Samoan warrior. He deployed to Iraq in late 2004 and again in May of this year. Tumanuvao, with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, was killed Nov. 7 by a roadside bomb in Arab Jabour. "It's a very sad day for us," his father told Pacific Magazine. "My son was a very quiet and kind person." He is survived by his widow, Selia, and their two young children, Fa'aea and Lui Jr.

 

The following two soldiers from the 214th Aviation Regiment and four airmen from the 31st Fighter Wing were killed Nov. 8 in the crash of an Army Black Hawk helicopter during a training mission in northeastern Italy:

10. Army Capt. Christian Skoglund, 31, was a deeply religious man from a deeply religious family. He was a member of Racine Bible Church growing up in Racine, Wis., and graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. "He was a strong, committed Christian," his father told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Skoglund also loved to fly. His family did not know if he was piloting the helicopter when it crashed. He is survived by his wife of 15 months, Elizabeth.

11. Army Chief Warrant Officer David Alvarez, 31, of Manteca, Calif., was an "A" student who had perfect attendance from kindergarten through high school. "You just knew he was going to be somebody," an older friend told the Modesto Bee. "He was so smart and interested in learning." Alvarez joined the Army out of high school, 13 years ago, and was co-pilot of the helicopter. He leaves his widow, Rachel, a nurse he met while in Army training.

12. Air Force Capt. Cartize Durham, 30, was raised by a single mother in Bossier City, La. He spent three years in the Army, got a college degree from Louisiana Tech University, and joined the Air Force. "What motivated him was how he saw his mother struggling," Durham's aunt told the Shreveport Times. Durham is survived by his widow, Shumeka, and sons, 7-year-old Taylor, and one-year-old Christian. "We've lost the best," his aunt told the Times.

13. Air Force Staff Sgt. Robert Rogers of Sierra Vista, Ariz., was born in 1980 in Ulm, Germany, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Army. Rogers graduated from Shiloh Christian School in Sierra Vista, where he was class valedictorian. His father felt Rogers was safe in Italy, far from the Middle Eastern war zones. "It just goes to show you how fragile life is," his father told the Ventura County Star. Rogers is survived by his 5-year-old son, Isaiah.

14. Air Force Staff Sgt. Mark Spence, 24, of Clarence, N.Y., attended the University of Buffalo for a year before joining the Air Force in 2003. He continued his studies in the Air Force, achieving perfect grades while working toward a degree in criminal justice from Park University. "He was coming home in June and was going to take the New York State trooper's exam," his father told the Buffalo News. Spence leaves his widow, Elana, who is expecting their first child in May.

15. Air Force Senior Airman Kenneth Hauprich, 22, of Jamestown, Ohio, always wanted to be in the military. His father is a retired Air Force pilot, and his mother was also in the military. "Even when he went out trick-or-treating as a boy, he went dressed as a little Army man," a former teacher told the Dayton Daily News. Hauprich's sister is currently serving in the military. He is survived by his widow, Kara, and their 4-month-old daughter, Emma.

 

The following five members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team and one Marine from the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center died in a Nov. 9 ambush in Aranus, Afghanistan:

16. Army 1st Lt. Matthew Ferrara, 24, of Torrance, Calif., was born in the United States but held dual New Zealand-U.S. citizenship. That made him the first New Zealand citizen to be killed in action in Afghanistan. His uncle is Phil Goff, New Zealand's defense minister. Ferrara graduated from West Point in 2005. "He really had it together," his mother told the Long Beach Press Telegram. One of his brothers also attended West Point and another is a cadet there now.

17. Army Sgt. Jeffery Mersman, 23, of Parker, Kan., was so anxious to join the Army that he graduated from high school a semester early six years ago. He had already served three tours in Iraq before his deployment to Afghanistan. "He always told me, 'I'll be okay, Mom, I'll be fine,'" his mother told KMBC. "So I took him at his word that he'd be fine." Mersman is survived by his widow and four stepchildren.

18. Army Spc. Sean Langevin, 23, of Walnut Creek, Calif., was an Eagle Scout who graduated from Ygnacio Valley High School in 2002. "I met him at a Halloween party," a friend wrote in legacy.com. "He was dressed as Scooby Doo, and it so fit his happy, playful personality." Langevin is survived by his widow, Jessica, who is expecting their baby daughter in February.

19. Army Spc. Lester Roque, 23, of Torrance, Calif., was born in the Philippines, emigrated to America, and served in Afghanistan. But to him, home was wherever his wife, Leikathryn, was. "I love my honey," he wrote in a Web posting. "My home is where she is, where my life is." He had three months left before he could return home to her. "I'm starting to hate it here now," he wrote her. "I don't wish for you to be here with me, I wanna be there with you."

20. Army Pfc. Joseph Lancour, 21, of Swartz Creek, Mich., loved skateboarding, camping, and fishing. He also played high school football and baseball. "He was kind of a skinny football player, but he'd go out there and play hard," his high school athletic director told the Ludington Daily News. Lancour was home on leave in August when his unit was attacked in Afghanistan. "He said he had to get back for them," his mother told the Daily News.

21. Marine Sgt. Phillip Bocks, 28, of Troy, Mich., acted in school plays and was a member of the swim club in high school. "He loved to act, especially in the play, 'Li'l Abner,'" his stepmother told the Nevada Appeal. He later developed a flair for cooking and worked in several Detroit restaurants before joining the Marines in 2000. In the Marines, he learned to shoe horses and mules and trained Marines to use pack mules in rugged, inaccessible areas.

 

22. Army Spc. Jermaine Franklin, 22, of Arlington, Texas, listed on a Web site that movies were his top interest, "The Godfather" was his favorite movie, "CSI" was his favorite television show, and rhythm & blues was his favorite music. Franklin, who joined the Army out of high school in 2004, was with the 101st Airborne Division north of Baghdad. He was killed Nov. 9 by a roadside bomb in Jisr Naft. He is survived by his parents.

23. Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Kutschbach, 25, of McKees Rocks, Pa., was an all-state volleyball player in high school. He won several championships and was the team's coach for three years after graduating. A Green Beret, Kutschbach died Nov. 10 of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by a rocket propelled grenade and small arms fire in Tagad, Afghanistan. He leaves his widow, Ginger, and one-year-old son, Bastian.

Washington Producer John Rutherford is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He posts a weekly tribute to service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

I want to say a word about two colleagues of mine, at the risk of committing sycophanticide.  First, my friend Ann Curry.  While I've always believed Ann's empathy, compassion and sincerity come across vividly on television, I wish you could all know her as her co-workers do.  She's an extraordinary woman: warm, kind, fearless, committed and passionate.  Her piece from Serbia last night was one example of what Ann has come to stand for.  We treasure her around here.

Now, about Tim Russert.  Last night in the soon-to-be new home of the Newseum in Washington, Meet the Press celebrated its 60th Anniversary before a glittering crowd.  While I could not attend because I was hosting the Ad Council's benefit fund-raising dinner here in Manhattan, we had a strong NBC News turnout to pay tribute to the program and its long-time host.  While Tim and I both see ourselves as temporary stewards of the jobs we hold, (and so lucky to have them) Tim is a special steward, who is remarkably good at what he does.  He occupies a singular place in contemporary American political journalism. I was with Tim and my colleagues in spirit last night.

We've got a full boat tonight with a number of topics in the broadcast: transportation, Bangladesh, Christmas retailing.  I'm off to begin working on it.  We may also mention A-Rod.  I'm sure he'd like that.  Thanks for joining us tonight.

By Janet Shamlian, NBC News correspondent

She's got a smile that could have melted the snow falling outside the Denver gym where we met. Olivia is a cheerleader, but unlike most girls in the sport.. she struggles with the most basic of moves and her timing is just plain off. They're facts she would, cheerfully, tell you herself. Among her teammates, Olivia's Cerebral Palsy is no big deal because every member of the Suns cheerleading squad is, in some way, disabled.

Olivia with NBC's Janet Shamlian and producer Bethany Thomas

Cheerleading is an activity usually reserved for the athletically inclined, but in a growing number of cities across the country the sport no longer belongs only to those who can pull off a perfect handspring. Special needs squads have been created in more than thirty states, offering children with challenges the chance to put on a pretty uniform and perform for an audience. More importantly, experts say, it gives them the experience of being on a team with all that entails; the opportunity to develop social networks and work together for a common goal.

As part of a report on the trend we're preparing for Nightly News, I spent time with two special needs teams in Denver. You couldn't help but cheer. It didn't matter that their jumps weren't as high as the teams alongside them. Hand down, these kids were the happiest in the room.

Click here to watch a preview of this story.

 

By Simran Sethi, contributing environmental correspondent

Editor's note: As cleanup continues on last week's massive San Francisco Bay oil spill, the investigation into what caused it has hit a new snag. You can read the latest

here. Meanwhile, Simran had the rare opportunity to see the damage firsthand.

During our recent "Green is Universal" week, we detailed new ways to fuel our future. This week, an old form of fuel is having egregious impacts in one of this country's great waterways, the San Francisco Bay.

I was ensconced in a hotel in San Francisco, reporting for CNBC at the Coop America Green Business Conference on the growth of socially and environmentally responsible businesses, when a container ship crashed into the Bay, spilling an estimated 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the water.

Buried in the business of green businesses, I wasn't immediately able to get to the Bay Bridge, but on Tuesday, was able to get a better sense of the damage. First, you smell it. Then, you see it: the darkened sand, birds suffocating in coats of oil, and waves of water dotted with gunky blobs.

The fuel that now fills the Bay and has floated into the Pacific Ocean is some of the dirtiest around. It's thick, gooey, bottom-of-the-barrel stuff - what's left over after crude oil is refined into gasoline.

Bunker fuel is a thousand times dirtier than the highway diesel fuel that powers trucks and buses, and contributes to the shipping industry's status as a major contributor to climate change. But the oil is used prolifically because it's cheap.

Oil skimmers have removed about 12,000 gallons of oil from the water, but it hasn't been easy. Bunker oil is tougher to handle than other types of fuels. It breaks down slowly, is hard to clean, and is laden with heavy metals, sulfur and other polluting chemicals.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order banning both commercial and sport fishing until December 1st, or until state health and wildlife officials determine that crabs, herring and other marine life are safe to eat. Marine life is particularly vulnerable in enclosed bays like San Francisco's, because bunker oil sinks into the sediment and can linger for decades.

Still, the Dungeness crab season opened as scheduled today; those aforementioned state officials determined that, because these specialty crabs are frequently caught more than three miles offshore, fishing for them is safe despite the slick. It's the commercial fishermen who are worried; they know that even one contaminated crab could hurt their entire market.

Local officials are trying to determine if the Coast Guard was slow to respond to this tragedy and exacerbated the impact by not alerting the city and citizens of the spill's magnitude. And, at this point, we are limited in how well we can contain the impacts of the fuel fiasco. But we can take steps to limit the use of bunker fuel in the future. Click here (http://action.foe.org/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=816) to sign the petition created by Friends of the Earth as part of their Clean Vessels campaign, or send a note to your Congressmember urging a phase-out of bunker fuels. That way, future spills - which we are sure to have - will take less of a toll on citizens, crabs, and everything connected to the Bay.

Hi. My colleague Barbara Raab suggested I change the name of this blog feature to, well, you can see it above. Maybe the situation isn't as dire as it seems to some of us. (Though some of the some of us are a whole lot smarter and more sophisticated about this stuff than I am). But if you stopped by this space earlier this week, you saw the obsession with what kind of crappy investments might be lurking in your "safe" money market fund was back, front and center. So it was kind of unnerving yesterday when Barron's broke the news that a short-term bond fund (known as an "enhanced cash" fund) run by GE, the very parent company of this lowly employee, broke the buck. Yes, this is not a money market mutual fund. Yes, money market mutual funds operate under stricter rules than short-term bond funds. Yes, it says plain as day in the prospectus that you can lose some or all of your principle. Yes, a short-term bond fund is supposed to provide higher yield and with higher yield comes higher risk. Yes, yes, yes! But in reality, a fund like this is NOT SUPPOSED TO TAKE A 4% HAIRCUT. As Minyanville's Kevin Depew points out (in a stellar post), the main problem is perception and investor confidence. What does this do do both going forward? A lot of smart and sophisticated people are wondering today why GE wouldn't just pony up the $200 million loss (which is spillage.. c'mon this is GE we're talking about) and make the investors whole. If anyone out there can figure that out, please put the answer in comments. It's also curious that outside investors were the ones offered the 96 cents on the dollar cash-out option, while the bulk of the money invested in the fund (which is in large part GE employee pension money) will have to wait out the vagaries of the debt markets to see what kind of return on principle (return OF principle?) awaits. Here's Bloomberg's wrap. 

And while we're perusing Bloomberg, here's today's item that Structured Investment Vehicles' (SIVs.. lurking in your portfolio?) Net Asset Values have falled to 69.7/100, according to ratings agency Fitch. And from the rumor bin, here's one about money market fund collossus Fidelity's SIV exposure.

What to do about all this? Linda Stern wrote for Reuters about the issue of where to park your cash in August. More advice from the Bull and Bear blog. Both are quite sanguine about risks associated with money market mutual funds. But hey if you're ready to stash some of your hard-earned savings in an old-fashioned bank CD, here are a couple of ways to figure out which banks are the safest. 

Broadening out a bit, there's been some credit market fallout in the past couple of days: Citigroup was punished in the bond market; it's time for taxpayers to get ready to eat their share; and all bankruptcies are painful, but this homebuilder BK story seems particularly cruel.

Stepping back even further, Fortune's Shawn Tully had a really well-written piece about the general state of play earlier this week. And can you imagine Ben Bernanke saying what the governor of the Bank of England said yesterday? (The markets are going to plummet!) One of MSN Money Central columinists Jon Markman argues we need a recession and we need it now, and then off-handedly makes the rather startling statement that politicans in Washington are arm-twisting the Fed to keep cutting the fed Funds rate so as to push a recession off until after the next election. But, but the Fed is independent!! (Who's being naive now, Kay?) And FinancialSense offers up some intriguing skeptism on the jobs numbers the government keeps cranking out.

Stock market volatility seems to bring out the craziness in a lot of traders. Market Ticker's Karl Denninger went on a tirade yesterday about the fabled "Plunge Protection Team" which a lot of spooked short-sellers blame for wild market upswings that rig the game in favor of insiders with massive buying DONE BY insiders (with the help of the Treasury Department and the Fed). Denninger argues in his usual understated way (snarf) that there's no shadowy PPT, and if you can just wrap your mind around Fed Open Market Operations you can see how liquidity flows can help create wild market swings, right there in plain sight. But hold on, some guys from a Canadian hedge fund produced a paper back in 2005 which makes a rather convincing counter argument that there are some stark examples of market manipulation in recent years that go beyond the normal liquidity flow boundaries and into the very unusual. We link, you decide. Of course if there was an actual market crash, the PPT/Fed/Treasury/I-Bankers could gyrate all they wanted and it wouldn't work. See this for more.  

And just to show that even Financial Armageddonists have a sense of humor, here's a theme song for the week. Thanks for the inspiration GE!

And finally, my personal guru of geekdom Brett Holey offers up a virtual punch in the gut. And yes ladies, it comes in pink! 

(Nuthin' But 'Net is going home to annoy her family with conversations about credit derivatives over Thanksgiving. See you back here November 27th. And.. Go Pats!)

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

We're just back from the classic American business trip: two cities in two days, late flights, bad weather, grumpy travellers wearing wrinkled suits. The best moment? When the flight attendant on our commuter jet flight from Cleveland to Detroit said she'd soon be "coming around the cabin to collect any remaining service items..." How could we have service items? There was no service on the flight. Not a drop to drink -- nothing. As I pondered that question with my seatmate, I looked down and saw the sequential runway strobe lights -- on the runway where we were supposed to be at that very moment. Just as I realized something was wrong, I felt the extra .5 G-force pull of the acceleration of the jet, which pointed skyward again. A few minutes later, our First Officer came on the PA to sheepishly explain that we had performed a "go-around" -- and said something about air traffic control -- and how it would take "about five minutes" to bank around and re-join the pattern and actually land. And I thought to myself, in the wake of the "service items" announcement, and in the wake of the missed approach: that in the space of 30 seconds we'd been treated to both the absolute inanity...and the deathly seriousness...of air travel in this era.

Back home in New York, we're preparing -- should I say -- a "fluid" broadcast for tonight. The top of the broadcast is what's fluid -- any number of stories could find their way up there -- but we also have some superb reporting from Ann Curry, and an emotional reunion between soldier and son.

How Now, Dow?

Andy Franklin did some research today that reminded me: it's getting to be the time of year when we all focus a lot of attention on the economy. It's the holiday shopping season (formerly known simply as the holiday season), a time when our shopping habits and intentions are scrutinized for clues about the health of the economy, the well-being of retailers, and the general mood of the populace at large. This year there's more uncertainty than usual to stir into the mix: rising oil prices, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and a stock market that "goes from boom to doom on a daily basis," as one analyst observed in today's Times. (The same analyst also noted that "It's an extremely emotional market," and "investors better go to the drugstore and get a neck brace," proving that - whatever his skills as an analyst - he knows how to give a good quote).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average - the Dow, among friends - is the barometer most often used to take our economic temperature (no, wait - that would be a thermometer). In any case, the Dow has traded this year between 12,000 and 14,000 - a range that not long ago would have been considered stratospheric. How long ago? How about 35 years ago today - when the Dow closed above 1,000 for the first time ever.

What was driving the market upwards back then? According to the Times that day, it was "the prospect of peace in Indochina, the re-election of Richard Nixon, the improving economy, and lessening business fears about 1973." Looking back, some of that worked out pretty well, and some of it didn't. But with all that - and with all that's happened in the 35 years since - the Dow has climbed from 1,000 to over 13,000.

Not a bad return, and not a bad perspective. Happy holidays.  We hope you'll join us for the Wednesday edition of the broadcast.

 

By Tom Costello, NBC News correspondent

We've had a lot of good questions about how scientists and environmental groups arrive at their estimates for carbon emissions.  I too have asked this question repeatedly over the past two years.
 
The most recent questions e-mailed to us concern our story on Tuesday's NBC Nightly News about a half-dozen British Airways flights flying empty across the ocean.
Environmental groups expressed outrage at the amount of carbon those empty flights emitted.
 
Scientists argue that carbon's weight increases dramatically when it attaches to oxygen molecules.
 
For our story, we used a conservative estimate that a single empty 747 flying from London to New York would burn approximately 20,000 gallons of fuel.
The DOE estimates that for every gallon of jet fuel burned, 21.095 pounds of CO2 are emitted.
 
The Calculation:
20,000 gallons*21 pounds=420,000 pounds.
That equals 210 tons.
 
Here's where the calculation gets interesting:
The IPCC estimates that in the stratosphere, the impact of carbon is 2.7x greater than if emitted on land.  (Tufts University agreed with that analysis)

But to be conservative, scientists and environmentalists simply double the number.
 
So the impact, say environmental groups, is 400 tons....conservatively.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

We're at the Chrysler assembly plant just outside Detroit tonight, where every 68 seconds, someone's steel dream with a hemi engine rolls off the line.  It's a mesmerizing thing to watch, and we'll talk tonight about a big experiment in the car business: a private firm has taken over Chrysler, and they're trying to transform the way they build cars and trucks in the process.  We'll talk about the economy, the environmental outrage story of the day, as well as Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (and the story that has her back in the news).  We'll also have the story of a very special military veteran. And while we're on the subject of veterans, my colleague Andy Franklin offers the following, on an anniversary worth remembering.

The Wall

Americans these days may be deeply divided over the war in Iraq, but those who do not support the war seldom make the mistake of not supporting the warrior – that is, of supporting and honoring the men and women who serve our country in the armed forces overseas. It seems so obvious, but it's a lesson this country had to re-learn the hard way, during and after the war in Vietnam – a war that to this day offers no shortage of hard lessons.

Sadly, many who opposed America's involvement in Vietnam neglected the actual Americans who went there – those who went through hell and then came back home to hostility or indifference. Passions about Vietnam were so inflamed that it took years for the country as a whole to recognize that an injustice had been done. A turning point in that process – a true moment of healing and reconciliation – took place 25 years ago today, with the dedication of the Vietnam Memorial on the Washington Mall on November 13, 1982.

What made that day so extraordinary was not simply the dedication ceremony itself, but the fact that it was the culmination of years of effort by Americans who came together across political and generational lines to do the right thing. What was even more remarkable was that it worked. There were fears that Maya Lin's controversial design would re-open old wounds: a V-shaped granite gash in the ground, inscribed with the names of America's 58,000 dead. Instead, the memorial almost instantly became a place where Americans – and especially Vietnam veterans – could come together. We touch the Wall, and it touches us. 

25 years ago today, long after their war had ended, Vietnam veterans were given something that had largely been denied them: recognition of their service, acknowledgement of their sacrifice, and finally, a simple thank-you from a country that had sent them to do a dangerous, unpopular job a long way from home. And on that chilly Saturday afternoon a quarter-century ago, they got something else that was too long in coming. Thousands of veterans from around the country who had gathered in Washington for the dedication ceremony got the chance, at long last, to march in a parade, and to hear the air filled with cheers of gratitude and respect. Years after leaving Vietnam, they were finally home. 

We look forward to having you join us for tonight's broadcast.

Hi. It's always unnerving to write about all the doom/gloom in the housing and credit markets on days when the stock market is galloping upward, but wherever the markets end up today, the doom/gloom is pretty hard to ignore. Especially when it comes to a subject that's been harped on in this space since August: the safety of money market funds. And the news today is scary.

It's the subhead to the Wall Street Journal's Bank of America story (with the $3B writedown as the lead) but yikes, they had to shift $600 million in assets to Money Market funds to keep them from "breaking the buck." (Which happens when the Net Asset Value (NAV) falls below 1.) This of course is not supposed to happen. If you're reading this and you have retirement or any kind of savings in a MM fund, do your due diligence and see what debt instruments the fund invests in. As Bloomberg reports, it's not just B of A. Legg Mason also had to pony up. (Hat Tip: FInance guru Scott Gerstein.) Here's some commentary from the Wall Street Examiner.

Lots of news on how banks are being affected by the credit mess: Goldman Sachs repeated today that it's not taking any writedowns (unlike every other investment bank on Wall Street) and is making a ton of money shorting mortgage debt (some of which they had a hand in originating, thereby shorting themselves.) But there may be dark clouds on the horizon marked "Level 3 Assets." Bloomberg reports Goldman's exposure is bigger than Citigroup's or Merrill Lynch's. And Fortune calls the big increase in Level 3 an ominous sign. Bloomberg takes another whack at estimating banking losses from the mortgage disaster: $400 million.  The BBC is in the same ballpark. And analysts at CIBC, whose takedown of Citigroup led to the CEO's departure, said over the weekend that the entire banking sector is in a world of hurt. Speaking of Citi, did they hold back their writedown news for a week? Henry Kaufman, writing in the WSJ asks, where are the regulators? (Hat Tip: FFDIC in CR comments)

From target to taking aim: Citi analysts think e*trade is going b*rupt.  More from Forbes .

Getting more meta, Nouriel Roubini sees a coming U.S. consumption slowdown.  More from SeekingAlpha.  And a Morgan Stanley analyst says the risk of systemic financial shock is alarmingly high.

Gimleteye at EyeonMiami makes the turn from housing bust to political change. (Hat Tip: Patrick.net)

And, hypocrite alert: I'm always railing against this kind of politcal "coverage." Facile, lacking in substance, ultimately meaningless, a waste of time. But I admit I read Rebecca Traister's catty musings on the political spouses all the way through.

By Simran Sethi, NBC News contributing environmental correspondent

Today, Brian anchors from the Chrysler plant in Warren, Michigan, just outside Detroit, where there has been a lot of talk lately about impressive "green" offerings – from muscle cars powered with bio-diesel to luxury cars outfitted with fuel cells. These are inspiring innovations for the future, but how can we maximize our rides today?

For starters, we can improve the fuel efficiency of the cars we have and encourage improved fuel efficiency for models in production. Consider this: Two-thirds of the oil we consume in the United States goes toward powering our vehicles. And poor fuel economy is major contributing factor to pollution and global climate change.

The key to improving fuel efficiency are CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards. Developed in response to the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, CAFÉ standards are the measure of average fuel economy, expressed in miles-per-gallon (mpg) of a manufacturer's fleet of passenger cars or light trucks. Despite skyrocketing oil rates, declining domestic oil production, and global oil shortages, America's CAFE standards have remained fixed at 27.5 miles per gallon for nearly two decades.

The time is ripe for raising CAFÉ standards and encouraging automakers to meet that goal by increasing production of more efficient cars. They've been reluctant to get on board because their most profitable vehicles are the least efficient ones. So it's up to us to encourage them to do better. Bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to safety records or fuel efficiency. Do your homework (www.fueleconomy.gov is one good source). Consider hybrids and bio-diesel conversions. Send a message to the auto industry with your next car purchase.

If you aren't in the market for a new car, you can still "green" your current ride.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Bundle errands so you aren't making multiple short trips.
• Keep your tires properly inflated. It can improve gas mileage.
• Take the empty roof rack off your car. The drag and extra weight can increase fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by up to 10 percent.
• Give your car regular tune-ups.
• Don't idle. The Department of Energy says you don't need to warm up your car for more than 30 seconds, even on the coldest of days.
• Drive 65 miles per hour instead of 75, which will increase your fuel efficiency by 15 percent.
• Use cruise control.
• Carpool, take public transportation, and walk when you can.

Happy driving.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

I used to think Cleveland was a summer resort. It's easy to think that when you are 9 years old and your parents put you on a Greyhound bus in Elmira, New York, and you arrive in this big city a few hours later, still clutching your favorite book on Hank Aaron.  My sister lived here while my brother-in-law managed the cafeteria at Case Western Reserve. They were starting a family, living in a tiny Euclid Avenue apartment on very little money -- and I thought it was the Riviera. I used to walk to the Kroger food store to read the car magazines and spend an hour in air conditioning. We'd go to an amusement park on summer evenings, and life was great.  In the 40 years since, it's safe to say Cleveland has changed and so have I.

In the newsroom of WKYC-TV, our NBC station here in town, we stumbled upon a great story -- an icon of sorts -- and we're posting it on this site.

Tonight we'll also feature the biggest employer here, by one estimate: the Cleveland Clinic.

We have a great broadcast planned for tonight, as we begin a two-day swing through this part of the country, ending up tomorrow night in Detroit (if Northwest Airlines cooperates) where we will look at the auto industry. I hope you can join us.

by Lester Holt

Good afternoon on this Veterans Day, 2007. I took some time out today to watch the Veterans Day parade on 5th avenue here in New York, and was reminded of a time the parade was more history lesson than current events. Now of course along with the World War II, Korea, and Vietnam vets, there were veterans of our current conflicts, Afghanistan and Iraq, taking their rightful place in the parade. I salute them all, and offer thanks for their service to our country.  We'll wrap-up many of the Veterans Day observances around the country, and Tom Aspell will report from Iraq on another sign of an improving security situation in Iraq: a dropping civilian death toll that has resulted in some families returning to Baghdad.

Our big story today, however, is the nervous anticipation over what lies ahead this week at financial markets here and across the world. The soaring price of oil and last week's Wall Street sell off have investors bracing for more shoes to drop. CNBC's Erin Burnett will join me in the studio tonight to tell us what we should be watching over the next few days.

We'll also take a look tonight at President Bush's recent charm offensive with key European leaders to get them on board with economic sanctions against Iran. The results have been far different then what we saw in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq, and NBC's John Yang will explain why.

Richard Engel will update the situation from Pakistan where President Musharraf held a press conference today to explain why he declared a state of emergency.

Our In depth segment tonight comes from NBC's Mika Brzezinski with a look at why this year's Iowa caucuses are more important than ever -- especially for the losers.

Those stories, plus the confessions of Saddam Hussein, when I see you tonight for NBC Nightly News. Thanks for checking-in, and so long for now.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Tonight we're thinking of Judy and Joe Rivnyak, who have experienced what must be a bittersweet loss. Missing from the Rivnyak's property in Shelton, Connecticut is a beautiful, 84-foot tall Norway spruce that has stood there for 75 years. There is no foul play involved, however. The tree was cut down this week with the Rivnyak's blessing, and trucked to New York City. It arrived today, right outside our offices here at 30 Rock, where it will serve as the official Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. 

The tradition of having a holiday tree on the plaza began back in 1931, when Rockefeller Center was still under construction during the Great Depression. As Daniel Okrent recounts in "Great Fortune," his superb history of Rockefeller Center, workers on the site that Christmas Eve raised a "relatively modest balsam," and "dressed the tree in strings of cranberries, garlands of paper, even a few tin cans." The first actual tree lighting took place in 1933 (broadcast nationally over the NBC radio network), and that tradition has continued ever since. Later this month, the Rockefeller Center tree will be lit for the 75th time. Rest assured, the trappings will be a bit more elaborate than cranberries, paper and tin cans. These days, the tree is festooned with 30,000 multicolored lights strung on five miles of wire, and topped with a 550-pound crystal star that is over nine feet in diameter and lit from within by light-emitting diodes. Whew.

The tree is a major tourist attraction every year, drawing enthusiastic crowds from around the world. To be honest, that seasonal sea of humanity does occasionally bring out the Scrooge in some of the people who work in this building, who are forced to navigate the teeming holiday throng for two months every year. But a little inconvenience is a small price to pay for sharing some real estate with the most famous Christmas tree in the world. Thanks, Judy and Joe.

And a personal note: My late mother always loved the tree -- and it was always her dream to somehow, someday own a piece of property big enough to grow a tree suitable for Rockefeller Center. While that dream was never fulfilled, in my backyard today stands a tall, majestic Blue Spruce -- planted well over a decade ago in my mother's memory -- and it's always been my hope that someday it will stand tall over the Christmas crowds outside my office window.

Tonight we're combining franchises on Nightly News: one man who is Making A Difference and our Medal of Honor recipient -- all in one. If you've ever seen Forrest Gump, you'll want to see this story tonight.  It's about a man named (of all things) Sammy Davis.  Sammy is one of the great gentlemen I've ever known -- a warrior and a patriot, who would be among the first in line to go back into battle for his country if need be.  His story was part of the inspiration for Forrest Gump, and in the movie they used the actual footage of Sammy receiving the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon Johnson -- with Tom Hank's face superimposed. Please try to see this segment tonight.  And please visit the web to learn more about the Medal of Honor.  It's an honor to serve these recipients as a member of their Foundation Board.

After last night's story about Medal of Honor recipient Vernon Baker, we mentioned that the Congressional Medal of Honor Society has now instituted a prestigious civilian honor: the Above and Beyond Award. You can submit a nomination of your own by going to their website here. And there's more information on our own website, Nightly.MSNBC.com. Speaking of that, keep your eyes peeled for a bit of a facelift of our website over the weekend. It's just the beginning of a major redesign we look forward to unveiling in the coming months.
 
Have a great weekend and we'll look for you on Monday night.

By Christiana Arvetis, NBC News producer

Offering us hot cider and a home cooked meal, Sam and Dixie Davis welcomed us into their homes like old friends.  Although Medal of Honor recipient Sam Davis relives his harrowing Vietnam experience in his dreams every night, he was willing to sit for hours under hot lights and recount his incredible story.

As an NBC Network News producer for more than ten years, the weight of entering into a person's most private life in order to capture a story I hope will enlighten viewers in some small way, never lessens.

As you will see in our piece this evening, decorated Vietnam veteran Sam Davis is an extraordinary fellow.  We spoke numerous times before he sat down in front of our cameras and on every call I learned something more incredible. Sadly, the story below could not be told in the three minutes we were allotted on tonight's broadcast, so I thought I would share it here instead.

Sam travels across the country and speaks to young school children about the importance of never giving up. "You don't lose until you quit trying!" is his mantra. A simple but important message that has inspired his former army brothers and impressionable school kids who listen to him with rapt attention.

A few years ago, Sam was delivering his inspirational talk in Indianapolis when his precious and very valuable Medal of Honor was stolen from the trunk of his car. "It was like I had let my brothers down. That's the feeling I had," he told us. Four days of hard work by Indianapolis police and fire departments finally led to a break in the case.

A phone tip came in from a twenty-year old man. He knew the Medal was missing because he had taken part in stealing it, he said. But he soon learned the medal belonged to Sam Davis, the inspirational man who visited his sixth grade class many years earlier. He admitted that although the guys he was hanging out with had stolen the medal, he didn't want to be a part of Sam losing what was most dear to him. He told officers they had been planning to sell the medal in order to score drug money. Instead, he stole it back, drilled holes into the briefcase which contained the medal and tossed it into the White River. The man told police they would find the medal at the bottom of the river and the next morning, a rookie police diver found it safely ensconced in its briefcase. Sam's message had remained with that sixth-grader for more than ten years after his speech.

Sam Davis remains a heroic figure in our nation's history. But he impressed me as a warm, kind and ordinary man who continues to welcome new friends into his life and passes on the simple but important lessons he learned from a terrible time in our nation's past. I feel so fortunate to have met him.

By John Rutherford, NBC News Producer, Washington

Despite a recent decrease in violence, the number of American troops killed this year in Iraq is the highest since the war began. At least 853 Americans have died so far in 2007, surpassing the 849 killed in 2004. The military put its best spin on these figures.

"The strategy was to interject our soldiers between the Iraqi citizens and the terrorists," Lt. Col. Douglas Ollivant, chief of plans for American forces in Baghdad, told the Washington Post. "A regrettable consequence of that is your casualties go up."

Among those casualties were 11 of the 15 Americans who died last week in Iraq and Afghanistan.

1. Army Master Sgt. Thomas Bruner, 50, of Owensboro, Ky., liked Christmas so much he even decorated the inside of his garage. "We've always had big Christmases," Jane, his wife of 27 years, told the Lexington Herald-Leader. "He had reindeer, he had lights, a snowman, a sled." Bruner, a member of the Army Reserve, died Oct. 28 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of an apparent heart attack. He was on his second deployment to Afghanistan.

2. Army Maj. Jeffrey Calero, 34, of Queens Village, N.Y., loved to tinker with his 1970 convertible and spend time with his fiancee, Allison. He was an engineer in Manhattan before his National Guard unit was activated in June. Calero, a Green Beret, was killed Oct. 29 by a roadside bomb in Kajaki, Afghanistan. "He was gung-ho about going there," his father told Newsday. "Whenever duty called, he was there."

3. Army Staff Sgt. James Bullard, 28, of Marion, S.C., was home on leave in September for the birth of his son, Kristopher. "He was a family person, a good-hearted guy, an all-around good guy," his brother-in-law told scnow.com. Bullard, with the South Carolina National Guard, was killed Oct. 30 when his unit was attacked by insurgents in Spearwan Ghar, Afghanistan. Besides Kristopher, he is survived by his widow, Amber.

4. Army Sgt. Louis Griese, 30, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., left for his third tour in Iraq about a month after his daughter, Skylar, was born. His mother didn't want him to go. "I said, 'I'm afraid for you this time,'" she told wbay.com. "And he said, 'Mama, I'm afraid, too, but that's my job.'" Griese, with the 101st Airborne Division, died Oct. 31 in Tikrit of injuries suffered in a roadside bomb blast. He leaves Skylar and his widow, Stephany.

5. Army Cpt. Timothy McGovern, 28, of Idaville, Ind., was in charge of a 90-member unit of the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq. "He was able to do his job without sending a note or a letter to a mom or dad," his uncle told the Indianapolis Star. "No one was killed." Until Oct. 31, when McGovern and one of his men were killed by a roadside bomb in Mosul. "For this to happen to him has been very hard to swallow," McGovern's uncle told the Star.

6. Army Spc. Brandon Smitherman, 21, of Conroe, Texas, died in the same bomb blast that killed Cpt. McGovern. He was a third-string defensive end and deep snapper on his high school football team. "He was a great kid who always did what we asked him to do," his coach told the Montgomery County Courier. Smitherman joined the Army in 2005 and was a general construction equipment operator for the 1st Cavalry Division. He was due home in January.

7. Army Sgt. Daniel McCall, 24, of Pace, Fla., was a star athlete in high school, playing football and running track. He came in second in the 400-meter run in the state championship track meet. "He was a happy-go-lucky kid," his high school coach told the Pensacola News Journal. "He could run forever and run fast." McCall and two other members of the 3rd Infantry Division were killed by a roadside bomb in Salman Pak, Iraq, on Oct. 30.

8. Army Pfc. Rush "Mickey" Jenkins liked to wrestle, play the guitar, and shoot skeet growing up in Grassy Creek, Va. He died in the same bomb blast on Oct. 30 that killed Sgt. McCall. It was Jenkins' 22nd birthday. He had been home on leave just two weeks before then. "I just feel like it was God's way of letting us say goodbye to him, letting us see him one more time before it was his time to go," his younger brother told WSET.

9. Army Pvt. Cody Carver, 19, of Haskell, Okla., was remembered for his wicked sense of humor. He liked to tape the kitchen sink sprayer so that it squirted his mother when she turned on the water. "I asked him, 'Son, is the Army going to take away this part of you?'" his mother told the Muskogee Phoenix. "He said, 'No, Mom, you'll always need to be looking around corners for me.'" Carver had been in Iraq less than a month when he died in the Salman Pak bombing.

10. Air Force Master Sgt. Thomas Crowell, 36, of Neosho, Mo., was a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. "He was very, very proud of that," his mother told the Joplin Globe. Crowell and two other OSI special agents were killed Nov. 1 by a roadside bomb near Balad Air Base in Iraq. Crowell, who had been in the Air Force for nearly 18 years, was seven months from retirement. He leaves his widow, Carol, and two children, Eric, 9, and Ian, 2.

11. Air Force Staff Sgt. David Wieger, 28, of North Huntingdon, Pa., died in the same explosion as Sgt. Crowell. "There were two Air Force men at the door," Wieger's mother told KDKA. "I started screaming, thinking if I just keep backing up, I won't have to hear it, but I knew right away what it was." Wieger was remembered fondly at his former high school. "He was a great young man, great sense of humor," a school official told ThePittsburghChannel. "It's tragic, just tragic."

12. Nathan Schuldheiss, 27, of Newport, R.I., was a civilian assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. He was on his way to interview a group of informants when the bomb blast killed him and Sgts. Crowell and Wieger. In a will he wrote before deploying to Iraq, Schuldheiss, who had a law degree, left $1,000 for the bar tab at his funeral. He also asked that his ashes be spread over the Gulf of Mexico, where he loved to sail.

13. Army 2nd Lt. Tracy Alger's passion back home in New Auburn, Wis., was barrel-racing, a rodeo-like event in which horse and rider maneuver around large barrels. "We spent a lot of time together traveling to barrel races," her mother told the Fond du Lac Reporter. "We did everything together." Alger, 30, a transportation officer with the 101st Airborne Division, was killed Nov. 1 in Shubayshen by a roadside bomb. She had been in Iraq two weeks.

14. Army Sgt. 1st Class Johnny Walls, 41, of Bremerton, Wash., joined the Army 22 years ago, right out of high school. "The Army was his life," his sister told the Kitsap Sun. Walls, with the 1st Infantry Division, was killed Nov. 2 in Uruzgan, Afghanistan, by small arms fire. "He was just going to have his birthday [Nov. 15], so we were all getting stuff together to send the day we found out," his sister told the Sun. Walls leaves his widow, Alene, and sons, Brent, Alex, and Bradley.

15. Army Pfc. Dwane Covert Jr., 20, of Tonawanda, N.Y., was cleaning up debris at a base in Al-Sahra, Iraq, on Nov. 3 when he picked up a bomb disguised as a caulking gun. It exploded, killing Covert, a member of the 3rd Infantry Division. "He was due to come home in December because he has a baby on the way," his mother told the Tonawanda News. His widow, Jeanette, is expecting their daughter, Zoe. Covert also leaves a 22-month-old son, Cameron.

Washington Producer John Rutherford is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He posts a weekly tribute to service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

by Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

I made my annual pilgrimage to the Time magazine luncheon designed to narrow down the nominees for "____— of the Year" on the cover of Time.  Forgive the blank, but over the years it's been a noun, a pronoun, a proper noun -- it's been a lot of things.  My nominee was a woman -- a victim of abuse. A strong, resilient woman who is a constant topic of discussion these days: Mother Earth. The undercurrent of the conversation seemed to be the confluence of our burgeoning media age (and the celebration and empowerment of the individual) and our dangerous world -- and all those brave Americans who have volunteered to go fight our battles.

Tonight we're watching the economy, toy safety, politics, the environment, and more.  We'll have a wonderful Medal of Honor profile, and even a celebrity profile. With all the bad news these days, it's important to lighten up on occasion, or so I've learned.

Danger Zone
Speaking of bad news, the news out of Pakistan in recent days is so alarming in part because it represents more instability in an already dangerous part of the world. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the sixth most populous nation on earth. It shares borders with Iraq and Afghanistan -- two countries where America is at war -- as well as with China and India, a country that Pakistan itself has long been at odds with. The lawless tribal area of northwest Pakistan is believed to be the hiding place of none other than Osama bin Laden. But the biggest cause for concern is that Pakistan has something that countries such as Iran, North Korea and Iraq have long wanted for themselves: Pakistan has nuclear weapons.

For those of us who grew up during the Cold War, the nuclear threat seemed pretty much confined to the Soviet Union. When the Cold War ended, many hoped that the threat of nuclear war ended with it. Sadly, that has not been the case. And that draws us back to something an earlier American president said 50 years ago today. On November 8, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicated the new headquarters of the Atomic Energy Commission near Washington, and took the occasion to spell out the dangers -- and the opportunities -- posed by nuclear power, which was then still a relatively recent discovery. Eisenhower's speech that day is no less relevant today. Here's part of what he said:

"When man discovered fire, he found possibly the greatest secret that has ever yet been brought to man's knowledge for his betterment. It is difficult to imagine a world without fire. Yet fire is also used in bombs in war... The discovery itself was good but men can make good or evil use of it... And so in this modern time man has discovered another of the great secrets of nature. What differentiates it from all others is the terrible possibilities it opens for wicked men, people who want to use this new discovery for the destruction of mankind now have placed in their hands a power that certainly should give all of us pause. It should awaken man's conscience and appeal to his common sense. Because not only does it bring a sudden possibility of self-destruction but on the other side of that same coin again we have new possibilities for good... That is the kind of choice that men must soon face up to, and we must do our part to see that the choice is correctly made. Man's judgment and intelligence must measure up quickly to his inventive genius or mankind's future is bleak indeed."
  -- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, November 8, 1957

We hope you can join us tonight for the Thursday edition of Nightly News.

 Tonight, go backstage with Brian as he talks to the legendary Mel Brooks about the high cost of entertainment, his high standards, and taking his cult classic "Young Frankenstein" to the Broadway stage.

Watch a preview.

 

By Bev Chase, NBC news editor

I was probably in the sixth grade when my Mel Brooks education began at home. It started with the film "The Producers" and was a steady diet until I moved out and headed for college. After that - it just became a way of life.

It was my Dad's deep love of movies, comedy and essentially anything that Mel Brooks ever made that was contagious. We'd sit for hours watching the films, laughing until our sides hurt and then would spend the rest of the week trying to "out-funny" each other at any given moment. It was the best kind of competition. When I was voted "Class Wit" during my senior year of high school, my Dad (that's his photo) was the one who took credit for it - claiming that, clearly, I was funny due to the "Mel Brooks Wheaties" that I had eaten as a child.

When I decided to go to film school, he said that it was all because of him (and Mel Brooks). When one of my student films won the Best Short Comedy award at a film festival, it was all because of him (and Mel Brooks). Whenever I did anything exciting at all, his first response when I told him about it was always to misquote Mel Brooks's King Louis XVI from "History of the World Part 1" and say, "It's good to be Bev."

Both of my parents were born in Munich, Germany after World War Two and were children of holocaust survivors. Growing up amidst my family's tragic story necessitated a heaping dose of humor for our own survival, and my Dad always knew where to find it. My parents often spoke Yiddish to each other (usually when they didn't want my brother and I to know what they were saying,) not realizing that most of it had sunk in and we were on to them. Mel Brook's Yiddish injections and Jewish humor took his films to another level with us. It always felt like he was making films with my family specifically as the demographic. What was so interesting to me is that everyone else got it too, bridging a cultural divide that as a first generation American, I sometimes felt.

This summer when word first hit the Chase family that "Young Frankenstein," one of our all time favorites, was coming to Broadway, within minutes the emails and phone calls from my Dad started flowing in. "No matter what it takes." he said. He was so excited about it, and I was incredibly excited too, because whenever my Dad said that he was going to make something happen, he always did. . . whatever it took.

As excited as I was for the idea of the next Chase family outing, there was a small piece of me that suspected that it would not happen. My Dad had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May, and despite the fact that he never let it dampen his spirits, we all knew that time was very important.

On September 17, my Dad, Samuel Chase, passed away at the incredibly early age of 58, and took a big piece of my heart with him. The loss has been far to intense for any of us to comprehend, so we're approaching it the best way we know how and the only way that my Dad would want us to: with humor.

When I found out that we'd be doing this story on Mel Brooks, my first instinct was to pick up the phone to call my Dad and tell him all about it. I have been so lucky to have worked on some incredible pieces here, but he would have been so excited to know that I was working on this one in particular. Just screening the films for this edit, films that I've seen a million times, bring to life the hearty sound of my Dad's laughter that I'll remember forever; and to be able to take this moment to thank Mel Brooks for creating some of my most wonderful memories is profoundly special to me.

My Dad was so proud of the fact that I am an editor at NBC, and would without a second thought, somehow trace it all back to the first time he popped in the VHS tape of "The Producers." I can hear him say it now..."It's good to be Bev!"