The first thing you notice upon disembarking at the airport in Moscow is the smell. Or more precisely, the lack of it. The signature pungent odor of rough Soviet cigarettes is gone. At passport control, the pimply-faced, heavily armed teenagers in the ill-fitting uniforms have been replaced by smartly dressed, tastefully made up sulky young women who briskly check your passport and send you on your way.

I last was in Moscow in late 1991 as the wreckage of the Soviet Union gave way to the dubiously named Commonwealth of Independent States. No one could have known then what level of chaos and hardship this country would descend to. Sixteen years later and what seems like at least two lifetimes, I've been given the chance to return for NBC to work on several reports with correspondent Jim Maceda on the state of modern Russia.

I quickly realize that on the other side of the airport doors lies Oz. And the grimy highway that speeds toward the city center is nothing less than the yellow brick road. The intervening years have wrought an amazing transformation - mile after mile of shopping malls, Ikea stores, car dealerships, all with packed parking lots. While we've heard a great deal about the super-rich here, some semblance of a middle class must be doing at least some of this buying.

Along the roads and the skyline is a riot of color and neon - the language of advertising is everywhere. So that's what the words "Always Low Prices!" look like in Russian. Back in the day, advertising came in two colors, red and white, and it was propaganda, not washing machines, that was on offer. "Glory to the 25th Five Year Plan! Peace to the World! All Power to the Soviets!" Repeated ad infinitum. Now Russians are urged to remodel their kitchens, find the best calling plan or check out zero percent financing at the Toyota dealer.But nothing could have prepared me for the eye-popping Euro-style prosperity awaiting in the city center. Glittering stores, a panoply of restaurants (everything from haute French to TGI Friday's) - all await in what my colleague Jim Maceda calls the "Dubai of the North." But more than that surface glamor, there is a level of confidence and self-assurance in the people I see on the cold and icy streets here. People don't walk in the careworn, just-trying-to-get-by manner I remember -- trying to ignore the occasional posh store or restaurant, catering to expatriates, in their midst. Now they patrol the shops and the food courts, enjoying the fruits of the money generated by their country's vast energy reserves.

It's a fascinating time to be here, given the current tough talk from Russian President Vladimir Putin -- about which we'll be reporting -- but it's clear this nation has a robust sense of pride and entitlement - and its people are long past settling for whatever life throws at them.

Photo caption: Clare, yesterday, outside the Kremlin wall. Photo by NBC cameraman Dmitri Solovyov.

Brian anchors the broadcast tonight from New York, where the top story is likely to be the late-breaking lead from last night -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to pull 1,600 troops out of Basra, Iraq.

The vlog also features a pair of special guests -- two students from Riverside Elementary in Riverside, Conn., who are at 30 Rock to interview Brian.

Click here or on the image to watch.

NBC Nightly News approached me to participate in their evening broadcast, as part of their series on caring for one's parents. The topic is very timely, given the graying of America. It will be even more pressing for the children of Boomers, as we will be the largest number of individuals 65 and older even seen in this country. Many times, when one gets well beyond the age of 75, there is a need for additional assistance. This need is often recognized by adult children prior to the individual recognizing the need.

As an adult child of an aged individual, the following tips may be helpful:

1) While your parents are healthy, talk about preferences for advanced directives, durable power of attorney for health affairs, and other end-of-life care issues. As part of this conversation, talk with your parents regarding their wishes should they develop a prolonged illness with associated frailty, or a disability; do they wish to live with you or another sibling? Would they prefer to live in an assisted living facility? Are the finances in place to allow transition into assisted living, or to provide in-home care? What are the preferences regarding nursing home placement?

2) If you have not had the opportunity to have a conversation such as that above, and you are facing a health care crisis with your parent(s), consider having a family conference with the primary health care provider, your parents, and any other siblings and extended family who may be involved in providing support. This can be a very efficient means of coming to consensus regarding care.

3) Be aware that you are not alone. Lots of people face challenges in assisting with the care of their elderly, failing parents. Organizations such as the Alzheimer's Association, the Areawide Aging Agencies, churches, etc., can often provide support and resources that are not readily available within the immediate family.

4) Realize caregiving can take its toll on the caregiver, and take advantage of offered help. Caregiver fatigue can endanger the health of the individual being cared for and the caregiver.

5) Recognize that it is not easy providing care from a distance. It is particularly challenging when parents wish to maintain their independence, and yet it appears that they are not capable of such. As long as they have decision making capacity, their choices must be honored. When they recognize that they need help, the transition to other settings is much more efficient. The challenge is that, unfortunately, sometimes this recognition takes the development of a crisis.

The above headline reflects both our news load tonight and this day New Orleanians (and a whole lot of other folks) know so well -- of partying, celebration, marching, music, beads, doubloons and occasional acts of general debauchery. I've been watching the coverage all day and I wish I could be there. It's as great an American spectacle as there is. Originally, our plan was to broadcast a night or two from New Orleans this week, as Harry Connick, Jr. was kind enough to extend an invitation to my wife and me to ride on his float (a huge Mardi Gras honor), but because of scheduling I had to turn it down. To mark Fat Tuesday in absentia, tonight we'll ask Wynton Marsalis, from here in New York, to "play us off the air" with his glorious horn -- as a musical tribute to his hometown and the struggle they are still facing.

At the top of the broadcast tonight: any number of important stories -- chief among them, in no particular order, today's twin Supreme Court cases, the closing arguments in the Libby case, the unfolding damage control effort at Walter Reed, and the unfolding saga and resulting reforms from the JetBlue meltdown. We'll also continue our series Trading Places -- featuring another story that we learned about from a viewer e-mail. And a preview of tomorrow night's segment: We'll take on the high-interest topic of long-term care insurance -- one that has been under discussion in our house.

About last night's effort: While we were battling some technical gremlins that might have been obvious to sharp-eyed viewers, I thought it was a good dissection of the changing U.S.-led war effort in Iraq -- one that deserves a close watch. It was a luxury to have Jane Arraf on duty there (for a time, she was the only credentialed Western reporter in the bad old Saddam days), to say nothing of the ability to turn to Richard Engel to my immediate left and ask him about the situation.

Viewer warning: There will be no mention of Britney Spears' baldness or rehab in tonight's broadcast, nor will there be any mention of Anna Nicole's "body possession" hearing. 

Despite that, we sure hope you'll join us for our Fat Tuesday night effort.

Brian anchors the broadcast tonight from New York, but Chief White House Correspondent David Gregory delivers the vlog.

Among the stories he previews -- Sen. McCain's trashing of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, closing arguments in the I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial, and another installment in our "Trading Places" series.

Click here or on the image to watch.

Looking out my window, there are no cars on 49th Street at this very moment. That is something you don't often see. Most of the city is off -- we, however, are here and on the job and will bring you some mixture of the following stories tonight.

How did the airline billed as quirky, friendly, agile and understanding... become Aeroflot? The JetBlue CEO will announce his new business plan tomorrow morning on TODAY -- and tonight he will again appear on our broadcast to repeat how ashamed he is of his company's performance. Today they canceled fully 25% of their flights... now comes word that whatever approaches "normal" in the flying business may not happen until Wednesday at JetBlue.

There's news on the war front: a new style of attack just might signal, as our visiting veteran correspondent Richard Engel just put it in our afternoon editorial meeting: "the new war." We'll also look at this new notion of a resurgent al-Qaida. Jane Arraf will participate as well from Baghdad.

The Mt. Hood rescue is underway -- they have found the climbers. There's important news regarding women and heart disease, and there is stunning new (at least newly-released) film of the JFK motorcade just 90 seconds before what happened in Dallas became part of the American DNA. It's almost painful to see the First Lady's pink pillbox hat and the President's sandy hair in the breeze of the moving car on an otherwise perfect day. Pete Williams will show us every frame of the film tonight.

And because our TRADING PLACES series on caring for the elderly was so popular, it continues this week with viewers' stories and financial assistance ideas -- starting tonight with a solution from Kevin Tibbles. Today's e-mail brought a heartbreaking message from an Army Reservist: notified of his third Iraq deployment, he's writing US about a plan to care for his 81-year-old mother. I'd volunteer to care for her myself if I could.

Richard Engel just left my office. Talking with Richard, who I worry about when he's on post like he's my younger brother, is a unique experience. Don't talk about Iraq with Richard unless you have paper and a pen handy -- because Richard is incapable of conversation if he can't draw a map. Several of us have several of them on file. I call them Engels. They are miniature Picasso's by Sharpie -- and I must say this one he left me with today is a new gem. He depicted the turn in the Tigris River (and the dot marking the location of our bureau) in the form of a serpent -- there are blast marks, airport buildings, good guys and bad. He is in town with us for a few days working on a spectacular "reporter's notebook" documentary. More on that as we get closer to the air date. If you watched over the weekend, we're making full use of his visit -- Meet the Press, followed by what will tonight become three straight live appearances on Nightly News. We're so happy to have him, and to see him in the flesh.

We hope you will join us on this President's Day Monday night.

Many of you may have seen NBC's Richard Engel this morning on Meet the Press.  He was in our newsroom this afternoon and I was able to spend some time talking with him about the war in Iraq.  Richard has been covering this story now for the past 4 years... a remarkable feat.  He is one of the few people in the world who has had an up-close view of the war.  Tonight, we will continue our conversation with Richard on NBC Nightly News... as he provides some context to the latest developments.

Today in Iraq... as the U.S. implements its new security plan... there was more violence in Baghdad.  NBC's Jane Arraf is in Baghdad.

Also... NBC's John Yang will have more on the expected fight in Congress over funding the war.

We are covering a new study on autism that suggests there are genetic causes for the developmental disorder.  NBC's Jennifer London reports.

NBC's Martin Savidge reports on the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans.

NBC's Dr. Nancy Snyderman has some tips for those of you who may be taking care of elderly parents.

And NBC's Ian Williams looks at the new baby boom in China.

It's all coming up tonight.  We'll see you then.

Editor's note: NBC's Ian Williams will report from Beijing on the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News.

BEIJING -- Compared with their usual bustle, the streets here are largely deserted. The city is quiet, except for the occasional explosive thud, a whoosh of a rocket, or series of small bangs.

No, this isn't a blog from war-torn Baghdad, but from Beijing on Chinese New Year's Eve. People have left in droves to celebrate New Year with their families elsewhere in the country, and those who remain are priming their fireworks, ready to see in the Year of the Pig, which begins on Sunday.

Nationwide, China's railways are expecting to carry more than 155m people over the New Year period - a record.

The most crowded places in the capital appear to be hospital maternity wards, which are bracing themselves for an expected baby boom, an onslaught of pregnant women preparing to give birth in the Year of the Pig. Those born in the pig year are said to be easy-going, loyal and lucky. What's more, this is supposedly the year of the Golden Pig, which comes around only once every 60 years, and which Chinese astrologers say is twice blessed, giving an even better chance of wealth, happiness and longevity.

In the maternity ward of Beijing's China-Japan Friendship Hospital, one of the city's biggest, Cui Xiaohuai surveys beds lining the corridors outside overcrowded wards. She is chief nurse in the obstetric department, and says that over the next year they expect to deliver double their unusual 200 babies a month. She says the hospital is adding more temporary beds and staff to cope.

"We are already overwhelmed," she says. "Everybody wants a baby born the Year of the Pig."

Although many people now find ways of sidestepping the rules, China still has a one-child policy, and many of those in Cui Xiaohuai's ward were determined their only child be born in what they regard as a lucky year.

"My husband and I planned for it," says Chen Xing, one heavily pregnant mother-to-be, who nevertheless appeared to be cutting it a bit fine.

There was a boom in weddings during the Year of the Dog, which precedes the Pig. Others in Mrs. Chen's ward didn't quite get their timing right, and the hospital's double-decker trolleys were already laden with swaddled babies, hours ahead of the official start of the year.

Across the city there are just 3,800 maternity ward beds and only 3,000 doctors and nurses available to work in them. Beijing's health authorities claim they do have the resources to cope, but last week advised expectant women to steer clear of the city's top hospitals over the coming months.

The scene will be repeated nationwide, with hundreds of thousands of couples targeting 2007 as the year to have their baby. Chinese newspapers have reported that delivery rooms in Shanghai are fully booked until well into March.

Under the Chinese zodiac, there are 12 rotating animal signs - a person can be a rat, ox, tiger,  dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, rabbit, dog or pig. Each is said to have different characteristics. In addition there are five rotating elements - gold, water, wood, fire and earth, of which gold is the most coveted.

At least that's the theory. Some experts quoted in local newspapers this week are questioning whether this year really is a golden year, though with or without the gold, pigs are considered lucky. That said, the population spike that will come this year might undermine some of that expected luck, since it will create more competition for school places and ultimately jobs for this year's boomers in the years ahead.

That's what happening to those born in 2000, the last Year of the Dragon, another auspicious sign. There was a spike in births that year too, and many young dragons are struggling to find places in schools.

Not that any of that will dim the happiness of the mothers-to-be at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital. If anything, there has been a surge in belief in the zodiac and all other manner of fortune telling, once dismissed by Mao Tse-Tung as dangerous superstitions.

It's worth noting that the last Year of the Golden Pig was 1947, two years before Mao took power, and a year that also saw the birth of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elton John and Hillary Clinton. Make what you will of that!

On this Saturday of a holiday weekend we are following several big stories.

One day after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution opposing the President's new war plan for Iraq... Senators are trying to decide whether to debate a resolution on Iraq in the Senate.

NBC's Chip Reid will have the latest from the hill... NBC's John Yang reports from the White House... and NBC's Jane Arraf reports from Baghdad.

Plus... travel troubles.   After the snowstorm in the northeast... some flyers are still stuck in airports this holiday weekend.  Jetblue has gotten the most attention... but other airlines canceled flights too... and some of those passengers are still trying to get out of town.  NBC's Rehema Ellis reports tonight from JFK airport in New York.

NBC's Mark Potter reports on State Farm's decision to no longer write homeowner insurance policies in the state of Mississippi.

We've had an overwhelming response to our Trading Places series looking at the challenges of caring for aging parents.  So tonight... we've asked NBC's Lisa Daniels to take a look at one solution. She found a unique program in Vermont that's serving as an alternative to assisted living.  She'll have that story tonight.

That's the way it stands right now.  We hope to see you tonight.

While the all-time record for incoming e-mails may still belong to a series we did a few months ago on autism, the response to our series called "Trading Places" is without parallel in its scope. I don't think anything we've ever done has received more comment. We all have our own stories about being stopped on the street by complete strangers who feel the need to comment on what they've seen. Yesterday a FedEx box arrived from a photographer in Maine, who saw the segment on my father and wanted him to have some photos of the Maine coast. He was moved to do so, he said, because my father reminded him of his own. He began his letter to me by admitting he normally does not watch the network evening newscasts. He was just looking for local coverage of the impending winter storm! Tonight Tom Brokaw will talk about his mother's new life in an assisted-living facility, which he will contrast (noting, as we all have, that we're fortunate to be able to afford such care for our parents) to the hard life of another American family, raising kids of their own while caring for adult parents. The same quiet struggle is going on as we speak in so many American households.

Our editorial meeting stopped cold when the bulletin alarm went off in all of our computers system-wide -- and Reuters ran a one-line alert about an "explosion" in one of Iran's provinces. There was a burst of implied gallows humor about some sort of an attack by the U.S., which went away as more information came in. Tonight we will cover the House vote a short time ago on the non-binding resolution, as well as the White House reaction. Mike Taibbi will introduce us to a group from the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division. I should say that the 3rd ID is near to our hearts at NBC -- David Bloom died while traveling with them and I traveled under their care in Baghdad starting two days after the initial "Thunder Run" incursion into the heart of the city. Additionally, it was an armored mechanized platoon of the 3rd ID that came to our rescue when the team I was traveling with was downed in the desert when our helicopters were fired upon.  I've said before that I'm not sure I'd be around today without the 3rd ID, and we will get to know members of the next group to go to Iraq.  We will, starting tonight, follow their progress -- in a sporadic series of reports that we are calling "On The Line."

Also tonight: the rumored flirtation between Chrysler and General Motors (or, as one of our senior producers put it: "when elephants mate..."), today's news from the housing market, and ANOTHER of our popular segments that we air each Friday night: "Making A Difference." Tonight will feature a great story that Kerry Sanders posted on earlier.

I should also say it was great to watch the storm of comments touched off by our JetBlue coverage last night. Did anyone else notice that the e-mail that staunchly defended the airline industry was sent anonymously? Kind of like trying to find a gate agent after a cancellation. Apologies from these parts for the grammatical error -- dumb mistakes sometimes happen on deadline, and they are supposed to get caught. Ideally, they're not supposed to happen at all. I also said "steel" when I meant "aluminum," when of course I knew better. See above. JetBlue is certainly having its time in the barrel right now. David Letterman's Top 10 List last night was devoted to them. In fact, we may take note of the various apologies being issued of late, from NASCAR to the NBA to the airlines and beyond.

As we conclude another week, our thanks for your overwhelming response to our reporting this week. We will see some of your stories starting on Monday, and we hope you will join us (or record us) tonight for the Friday edition of NBC Nightly News.

Editor's note updated, 7:35 a.m., Feb. 17: All those inquiring how to help, please visit the Web site of Airline Ambassadors International.

Nancy Rivard is the president and founder of Airline Ambassadors International and the subject of tonight's story, which you've already read about from correspondent Kerry Sanders and producer Mario Garcia. We invited her to blog about her organization for viewers who may interested in helping her make a difference.

In 1993, I delivered my first bag of aid to a refugee camp in Croatia. From this singular act spawned Airline Ambassadors International (AAI). Over the last decade, our members have been at the forefront of a growing movement called "voluntourism." Voluntourism offers a way for caring individuals to become positively involved in the global community by traveling To make a difference. Our members have traveled the globe, helping to lift children and communities out of poverty and, in the process, create lasting bonds of friendship and kindness throughout the world.

It was great to have Kerry and the NBC team join us on this trip to visit orphanages and projects we support in El Salvador ...as usual, everyone fell in love with the kids! Besides the hygiene, school and newborn kits, shoes and soccer balls, we also delivered the complete priority wish list requested by the CIPI orphanage director -- a new TV and DVD player, and furniture for the facility... and by the time we left... we had transformed the place with artwork!

Our team included artists, singers, corporate managers, airline personnel, a nurse, and caring individuals, each of whom contributed something special in his or her own way. Even 7-year-old Adam Mogilnicki brought cards and pictures from his first grade class. When asked what he thought of the experience, little Adam exclaimed, "I'm ready to go again and help more children!"

Going on an Airline Ambassadors trip can teach you a lot about yourself and, especially, about the differences that exist amongst the peoples of the world. Most importantly, however, is this lesson: although we might come from different cultures, we all share in the human condition and we all can help each other in ways we had never imagined.  uth Matranga tied all our feelings together when she shared, "We are not only here to serve others, but it is in the self-forgetting that one finds contentment."

A couple of weeks before the trip, I met a burn victim who had fallen into a pot of boiling water. AAI had arranged for Jose to be flown to the U.S. for medical treatment. However, on the last day of the trip, we discovered that Jose’s situation had become critical. Over the next 24 hours, we were able to work some magic – Shriners Hospital in Boston would take Jose, the Ministry of Foreign Relations expedited his passport and visa, American Airlines offered tickets, and USAirways and JetBlue each offered an airplane. When the planes didn’t pan out due to FAA regulations and Jose’s condition, Shriner’s helped manifest $32,000 to provide an air ambulance and the Chief of the National Police offered a helicopter from the hospital to the airport. Sadly, after everything had suddenly come together, Jose passed away before he could be transported. However, Jose’s legacy will live on, as Airline Ambassadors is now creating a Children’s Emergency fund and has called upon airlines to contribute augment mileage programs (like AA's Miles for Kids in Need) to help children like Jose in the future.

From AAI's staff of international travel experts to our local in-country contacts, we are dedicated to serving the less fortunate amongst us while maintaining a safe and rewarding trip for our members. We handle the logistics of the trip so that you are free to interact with the local community, helping the children and learning about the culture and about humanity. In addition to these AAI branded trips, which range in style and comfort, we also provide aid and logistics for individual AAI member-led trips so you can have the widest possible range of choices. So we urge you to find what is right for you and join us on personal mission of "Turning Compassion Into Action."

Photo captions: Top, Nancy shares a smile with orphans in Croatia. Bottom, Nancy joins Jose Rivas' family at the hospital.

I remember March 19, 2003, the day the Iraq war started. As one of the correspondents in the NBC team heading into Iraq from Jordan, we were perched on the border and waiting for a secure enough opening to begin the race along Highway 10 to Baghdad. Once there, a few days later, we watched in those early weeks as looting and chaos battered the Saddam-less city while the U.S. occupation began to take shape. We drove around freely, worried mostly about avoiding the crossfire generated by the bandits and looters who all seemed armed and eager to shoot; there were stories everywhere.

Now, with the war about to begin its fifth year, those early days and weeks might as well have happened in a different country, so profoundly have the internal dynamics of Iraq and the war changed. NBC News continues to get great reporting from Richard Engel and our other colleagues who have either been embedded with U.S. military units or have risked venturing away from our workspace to find and report stories. One recent example, Robert Bazell, with his gripping reports on emergency medical treatment in the war zone.

But it's also true that our ability to report is frequently restricted by security concerns that are literally issues of life and death. Within those restrictions, often the best we can do is to look at the tape or other material from other news agencies or Web sites and incorporate that material in the body of our own reports. I know. I've been back to Iraq for two reporting tours since that first long assignment at the war's beginning.

That’s why we’re hoping a new series of reports we’re kicking off tonight, called “On the Line,” will find a different way to report the war. A troop increase is underway, what the administration calls a “surge.” Our thought: To let a few soldiers who are part of the troop increase, perhaps a rookie or two being deployed for the first time, along with a couple of Iraq war veterans, serve as key voices to tell the story of the war at this juncture from the time they get their orders, and train and ship out, to the time they arrive in country and begin their mission. In some of my previous war-related reports I’ve called it a “friends and family war,” meaning that only the friends and families of those who serve really have to care about the war and share the sense of risk and sacrifice. Our feeling is that if our viewers come to care about these particular soldiers, and as their stories evolve over time, they’ll seek to understand more about the war and the nuances of a country in tumult. "On the Line" hopes to go beyond the casualty counts and repetitive images of car bombs and street battles.

From the outside looking in, Iraq seems as confused as it is unmistakably violent, its explosive alliances and enmities and probable outcomes open to such divergent interpretations. The soldiers featured in our reports will be entering the fog of that war with their own individual motivations and sense of mission -- and what they hear, learn, think, believe and disbelieve, who they meet, whom they fight and fear -- we'll learn from their voices. Voices we've come to know. Voices you'll want to keep listening to. They're the voices of those who are "On the Line" and our plan is to be there with them, at a time when the policies, tactics and strategies of the war itself are also on the line.  We have no agenda, no intent to cheerlead the war or embolden its critics. Our goal is to just watch and listen, and to let our viewers and readers do the same.

Photo caption: Mike, left, and producer John Zito, middle, talk to 3rd Infantry Division soldiers during their training at Ft. Irwin.

Brian anchors the broadcast tonight from New York, wrapping up an amazing week. Today's vlog focuses solely on our series "Trading Places," which has resonated with so many of you. Click here to watch.

And if you missed any of this week's series, here are some quick links:

Brian Williams

Tim Russert
Ann Curry
Dr. Nancy Snyderman
Tom Brokaw

Editor's note: Mario produced tonight's "Making a Difference" story that Kerry Sanders already blogged about, below. Later this afternoon, Nancy herself will share a little about her experience as president and founder of Airline Ambassadors International.

Spend some time around Nancy Rivard and you quickly learn she is many things. Smart. Kind. Compassionate. And a little crazy.

Just crazy enough to believe that she could actually pull off her plan. Convince major airlines to utilize space on their planes to help people around the world live better lives.

The idea seems simple enough, but common sense is a rare commodity these days. To see Nancy's idea in action is remarkable. Perhaps more remarkable, her energy and her ability to actually make things happen.

As Kerry already posted, as journalists we are supposed to "tell a story." Not be part of it. That was hard when dealing with Nancy and her Airline Ambassadors. OK, in the interest of full disclosure, it was impossible.

Nancy and the many people she has inspired are truly "Making a Difference" in the lives of people around the world. When you are around these folks you quickly get wrapped up in their whirlwind of compassion.

The Airline Ambassadors deliver humanitarian aid personally. They escort ill children across oceans for medical treatment. They travel thousands of miles to simply hold orphan babies who have no one else to hold them.

I traveled with Kerry and our news team to tell the story of these "do gooders." I wound up holding one of those babies. He was small and he was crying. He stopped crying for a little while, but not long enough. It is easy to be cynical in the world we live in these days. It is not easy to be cynical when you are comforting a crying three-month-old orphan.

I think it's fair to say that Nancy and her fellow Airline Ambassadors made it hard to be a "good journalist," but a little bit easier to be a good person.

Thank you, Nancy. Thank you all.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- It's a long way from the comforts of first class, but Nancy Rivard, a veteran flight attendant, found a way to marry her work to her passion: helping the less fortunate.

Rivard, who looks a little bit like the actress who played Wonder Woman, is herself a wonder. I traveled with her to El Salvador where she, and her Airline Ambassadors, are changing lives.

The concept is simple: Use the empty space on planes already scheduled to fly, and deliver aid donated by Americans. I went with her team of a dozen to El Salvador, where she's quietly been working for a decade. It's mostly flight attendants, who use their privileges to fly for free, and then, once on the ground, take the aid and give it to those in the most need. Rivard told me "when I started doing one thing a month that was real, I began to get interest first from flight attendants, and then from airlines."

Convincing the airlines was the hurdle. Her donated aid means added weight and that added weight means great fuel consumption. Her first donation was under the radar. She collected soap, shampoo and other hotel freebies from her flight team and put them in a bag. Then, while on a trip to Croatia, she took the bag to a shelter for abused Bosnian refugees. Small gesture -- huge impact. Airline execs, who had first balked at helping, heard the soap story and realized the potential. First one airline joined, and then another. Today there are a dozen.

What surprised me most was that those who volunteer find the lives they change the most are often their own. Ruth Matranga went on her first Airline Ambassadors trip to El Salvador. She gathered school supplies, and other small trinkets from children at St. Mark Catholic School in Southwest Ranches, Fla. She then took the boxes to orphans.

But as I saw here standing there, holding hands and comforting infants, I realized her greatest gift was not in the bags, but rather that she'd taken time from her busy life to hold a child starving for something we all want: love and attention.

Interestingly, the Airline Ambassadors, who have touched 500,000 lives in 51 countries, are now expanding beyond just flight attendants. They're recruiting folks from any line of work to join their mission.

Tara Hunnewell is a perfect example. She’s a singer and performer. She bought a ticket and joined the Airline Ambassadors in El Salvador. She wrote a song for the kids she met (click here to listen), and she left with what she calls a promise: “to do this again because it’s so easy. All you need is a few days out of your life.”

As a reporter, I usually am detached from what's happening. My role is to report. But in this case, I was sucked into the efforts the Airline Ambassadors are making. I unloaded boxes, held children's hands, talked with them, and even left with a drawing 14-year-old Ruth Abigail Ortega made of me.   

I believe Ruth Abigail's life will be every so slightly different knowing a stranger from a far away place stopped by one day to say, "I care."

All photos by Kerry Sanders. From top to bottom, Nancy Rivard, Ruth Matranga and Tara Hunnewell in San Salvador. Above is Ruth Abigail Ortega's drawing of Kerry.

Editor's note: Later today, NBC News producer Mario Garcia will also blog about this story, as will Nancy Rivard herself. You can watch Kerry's full report in tonight's broadcast, part of our "Making a Difference" series.

Since Nightly News began its "Trading Places: Caring for Your Parents" on Monday, more than 2,500 viewers have shared their own personal stories about meeting the needs of their parents. Hundreds of the messages included photographs and some came with homemade videos. In addition, more than 1,000 viewers have e-mailed us, commenting on the series. This is a large response to an editorial project and a good indicator of widespread interest. Another is NBC station support for the stories.

If you watch KPNX in Phoenix, you'll know that the station has joined Nightly News in focusing on the challenge of caring for aging parents with its own coverage. It has featured  a series about morning anchor Tram Mai and her mother MinhSon, who is recovering from 11 surgeries in the past eight years, three of them related to breast cancer. MinhSon lives in California with her husband and son, but Tram does what she can to assist her mother long distance from Phoenix.

Based on the e-mail KPNX has received, reaction from viewers has been very positive. One good reason may be that Tram is someone from their own community that Phoenix viewers know well.

Nightly's series has been successful, at least in part, because NBC stations across the country have joined us in this coverage. Scores of them have taken responsibility for making sure that their viewers know about the series. They've used the editorial content that we've supplied to introduce the series and provide additional information about the issues raised on Nightly.

In addition to KPNX, here's how other stations have offered a local perspective on care for aging mothers and fathers.

KFOR/Oklahoma City used its own anchors' personal stories to explore aspects of elder care:  a mother passing on to her son what she learned from caring for his grandmother; a family whose religious faith assists them in their caring for an 86-year-old grandmother; efforts by one family to spare their children the burden of caring for them; a father and son who work together (at the station) and their changing roles as they grow older.

KRNV/Reno, Nev., showcased senior communities in its area, resources for families available locally, and what seniors can do to stay healthy.

WMGT/Macon, Ga., recognizing that 14 percent of its local population is 65 years of age or older, did stories that included dealing with loneliness, legal issues, and home safety.

WEEK/Peoria, Ill., focused on services in central Illinois available to caregivers, telling the stories of how three families are coping with Alzheimer's in its various stages.

This local involvement enriches the value of Nightly's coverage to viewers. While Brian Williams and his colleagues explore stories like elder care on a national basis, the affiliate coverage puts hometown faces on the issues involved In some instances, and the stations provide specific information about services available in their communities, which is of immediate value to viewers.

We're grateful for the help that the national broadcast has received from NBC stations this week, and we're sure that their viewers are, too.

With all that technology does for us, it's amazing to consider that with the exception of the Concorde years, commercial aviation, as a means of transportation, is no faster than it was about 50 years ago. And as a slew of passengers learned yesterday, aircraft and jetways might as well be made out of brick. Somehow, some of our fellow citizens were forced to stay locked inside of immobile steel tubes for upwards of 10 hours at a time. The young, the old -- no food, dwindling water, clogged toilet facilities and no circulating air. In the United States of America in 2007. How many times are we going to allow this to happen? Someone has to answer for this, and if we can put a J-Dam through the dome of the Information Ministry headquarters in downtown Baghdad, we can figure out a way to get some air stairs out to a stranded aircraft and unload the passengers who would gladly walk through a foot of snow and whiteout conditions for the warmth, safety and freedom of the always-welcoming terminal at JFK Airport. The CEO of JetBlue just said on CNBC this afternoon that his airline did a "horrible" job. Hear, hear. We will cover the story of what happened to these passengers yesterday, along with the suffering still going on due to weather.

Also tonight: Baghdad, Afghanistan, and the President. And baldness. If baldness is an issue for you, you are going to want to see what Robert Bazell reports tonight about a device the FDA just approved.

And tonight a very special segment: it's about a wonderful man and his wonderful daughter. As part of our TRADING PLACES series, we get to meet Ann Curry's dad. I've had the pleasure. He is a great guy who has undergone something of a wonderful transformation. I am still overjoyed at the response to this series and the stories people keep sending us. We're excited to air tonight's very personal story. Next week we'll hear from some of you who have responded to this series.

Brian anchors the broadcast tonight from New York, where he also delivered today's vlog.

Click here or on the image to watch.

Just short of history. This would have been the day Vice President Dick Cheney walked into courtroom #16 and sat in the witness chair. But that won't happen. The vice president repeatedly said he was ready to raise his hand, take the oath, and testify on behalf of a loyal former adviser, Scooter Libby, who had been Cheney's chief of staff. But that won't happen. Mr. Cheney would have made history as the first sitting vice president to testify at a criminal trial, at least first in the modern day. But that won't happen. However, you can make the case that Cheney's shadow helped shape the jury that will soon sit in judgment of Libby on perjury and obstruction charges in the CIA leak case.

During jury selection, most of the roughly 50 potential jurors were asked their opinions of the vice president and the Bush administration. They heard lawyers ask, "The vice president will be a witness in this case and sit in the chair where you are sitting, can you view his testimony fairly?" Many were questioned to see if they had strong opinions about Mr. Cheney or the Bush administration that might interfere with Libby's right to a fair trial. Those who fessed up to angry feelings or strong opinions were dismissed.

The result: the jury of 12 and two alternates was essentially filtered to prevent picking a group where someone might judge Libby differently or even harshly because of the role he once held in the administration. Finding impartial jurors was Libby's absolute right. But some of those Cheney related questions might never have been asked and the jurors' views might never have been known if Cheney had not been the presumed star witness.

Everything is gray about him now -- his hair, his skin, but not Dad's eyes... full of mischief and sparkling green like a lily pond at sunset, they invite you to jump right in.

I always do, into our intense debates about politics and war and history and inevitably his lessons about life, part of his constant effort to teach me the value of being of some service to others so that at the end of my days I will know it mattered I was here. He started telling me that since before I can remember.

Now 77, as he approaches the end of his days, he has never seemed more alive. A hospital candy striper, health club Tai-Chi teacher, and senior citizens' club ballroom dancer, he is so happily busy that I must check his schedule before I visit.

You would never guess watching his whirling dervish energy that he has both a defibrillator and a pacemaker in his chest, reminders of his nearly fatal heart attack three months after mom died.

They had been married for 53 years, meeting during the occupation of Japan, marrying in the face of racism, surviving 24 years in the Navy, and five children, before losing one in the line of duty. When he lost her too, he asked me how he could go on before collapsing, doctors said, because his heart had enlarged. 

So what gives one in old age the strength to climb from the valleys of sadness and loneliness to a new summit of happiness? For Dad, it was realizing, with encouragement, that he could find ways to contribute.

Just look at him in this photo I took Saturday, after interviewing him for tonight's report in our "Trading Places" series.

Am I blinded by my love for this soul who set the course for everything I am? Or do I really see a youthful glint in the old man's eyes?

Oh, how I wish he could stay forever.

Nightly News Producer Clare Duffy shares what it was like to work on Ann and Bob Curry's story
Ann's father Bob and I were just wrapping up our first conversation, discussing the plans for shooting our story.  I'd been thoroughly entertained by this most gregarious and engaging man, and I could easily tell where Ann gets her good nature. 

"And you, what about your father?" Bob asked.

"Oh, unfortunately, he passed away two years ago," I told him.  I looked down at the date in my notebook.  Two years ago today.  I hadn't even noticed it was January 18, but now I realized why I'd been feeling a bit melancholy about this assignment.  Taking care of elderly parents is something everyone thinks about, and when you've lost a parent, as I have, after a long and debilitating illness, it's easy to look back and wonder how things could have been different.  I miss my father very much, and chatting with Bob Curry made that feeling even more acute. 

We arrived in Oregon last Thursday to follow Bob around, capturing everything this extraordinarily active man does.  The camera crew and I were hard pressed to keep up with him.  Ann joined us on Saturday for our interview.  We squeezed around the dining room table and settled in for a conversation.  Ann and her father have the kind of relationship where it seems they've never stopped talking.  They discussed everything:  love, loss, learning, what it's like getting older, and how to keep one's zest for life.

If there's one thing I'd like to see people take away from this series of reports, it's this:  Do what Ann did.  Sit down with your parent or parents, set up a video camera and start talking. 

Don't do it around a holiday, when there are presents or other distractions. Do it for no other reason than to get them on the record - both the stories you've heard a thousand times, and the things they'll tell you that will surprise you. It might feel strange, but eventually you'll all forget the camera is there. And don't wait.

Photo by Clare Duffy
Ann Curry shows her father, Bob, a digital image on her camera. NBC cameraman Ray Farmer is in the background.

Sometimes New York cab drivers can be the wisest souls. The guy who took pity on me (his "off duty" roof light was on, but he picked me up anyway in blowing snow on 50th Street) last night predicted New York City would NOT be buried in snow, as some were predicting last night. He repeated an adage I've used many times myself: It's the storms they DON'T talk about for days in advance that are the worst. Or best, depending on your point of view. This particular winter storm has largely spared the city when compared to those dire predictions (we have a few inches of something -- I wouldn't call it snow and I wouldn't call it ice -- it's just kind of "there"). Transportation is generally a mess, and it's becoming a classic counter-clockwise Nor'easter. A lot of folks are riding out a bona fide ice storm -- some are riding out a whiteout blizzard, and it's not fun. At the time of this posting, the low is centered right over Block Island, R.I., one of the great gems of New England, where they often take a beating during storms that set up the way this one did.

Also in the news tonight: the President's news conference, which we broadcast live at 11 a.m. EST today -- a number of topics of great interest in the current political debate. David Gregory, who had his own "exchange" with the President this morning, will wrap it all up for us tonight. Chrysler made big news today, and we're lucky to have the services of our "car guy," Phil LeBeau, who covers the industry so well for CNBC and often lends his services to us.

BREAKING POINT
The graphic "banner" on the screen on MSNBC right now reads: BREAKING NEWS... JOE SCARBOROUGH STUCK ON PLANE FOR 8 HOURS.

TRADING PLACES
The deluge continues around here, having nothing to do with our weather. The response to our series on caring for the elderly in our lives has been amazing. We are all reading the e-mails. Every member of the senior staff has read most if not all of the e-mails people have sent in. Some of you have told us your personal stories, some of you have offered solutions. Some have written about the financial angle, which is something I think we've been more than up front about: We realize we are blessed to have the ability to pay for the care that is needed, but we made a conscious decision to "personalize" this issue through our on-air folks -- the people our loyal viewers have come to know. While we are able to pay good people to do the work we can't, we are also so grateful to the folks who help out of the goodness of their hearts. It was Tim who put that reflective tape on his Dad's carpeted stairs, and in the case of my family, it's my wife who handles my Dad's bills and keeps in touch with the assisted-living folks while I'm running around 30 Rock or flying around the country. I'm in awe of the struggles I have read about -- the stories of reflexive and unconditional love and concern, and the heroic sons and daughters, friends, spouses, relatives and strangers who have taken it upon themselves to help someone -- from the farmer in Oklahoma to the woman taking care of her husband with Parkinson's. We will have enough follow-up stories to last several lifetimes. I'd like to fill the airwaves (and we just might) with the stories we have heard, and all that we have learned from those who've been moved to respond.

I just talked to Tim Russert, who called me from Boston where he's spending the day. He said he walked in to a restaurant there today and heard from 21 separate patrons about his Dad and mine. Tim said there were no formalities -- the intimacy of television meant that everyone asked about "Gordon" and "Big Russ" -- just a small indicator of the impact these reports have had. Tonight we hear from Dr. Nancy Snyderman, and we'll see the choice her elderly parents recently made.  Tomorrow night: Ann Curry's dad, a great World War II vet who -- in addition to being blessed with a wonderful daughter who we all love -- is full of life and fully intends to keep it that way. Tom Brokaw will round out our coverage in this series on Friday evening.

LISTENING TO THE PRESIDENT
Because different people listen for different things anytime the president speaks, during his news conference today, in addition to the interesting nuance on the war, on Iran, on North Korea and on Congress -- I found a few things others will undoubtedly pounce on. Letterman fans know that "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches" is a nightly feature. That said: there was a moment when the President paused today and said loudly: "Meet!" In the hands of David's staff, this will come off as "Meat!" instead -- and I'm willing to bet cash money that we will see it soon in that vein. Also, after protesting that he did not intentionally change "Democratic" (as written for delivery in his State of the Union address) to "Democrat" I noted (and have since noted some on the Web are obsessing over) two uses of the latter today. He seemed to have fun with reporters and intentionally swatted a few pitches away into the upper deck behind home plate. As of today, the President now knows what the Web site Politico is, and we now also know that David Gregory is a fan. 

A BIG WELCOME
I'm a big fan of Chuck Todd, and we're lucky to have him. We've just announced that Chuck is joining our team. He has been the Editor in Chief of the Hotline, the electronic bible of Washington politics. He's now coming to NBC News as Political Director and on-air analyst. As political director, he'll be replacing Elizabeth Wilner, who's been keeping us honest on politics for years, in addition to authoring FIRST READ every morning on the dawn patrol.

We hope you can join us for our Valentine's Day broadcast.

Brian anchors the broadcast tonight from New York, where earlier today he anchored NBC News coverage of President Bush's 37th White House news conference. That will be one of the stories we'll cover tonight, along with the winter weather impacting much of the Northeast.

Click here or on the image to watch the vlog.

In unusually blunt language, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy told a Senate committee today that salaries for federal judges are too low, that Congress should not cut the budget of the U.S. Marshal's service, and that the Supreme Court should not be required to allow in TV cameras.

Kennedy's appearance was unusual in several respects. First, justices normally appear only to testify about the budget for the judicial branch, not to comment on other issues. His appearance followed an invitation to the court, sent to the chief justice. Kennedy was the designated testifier.

Second, he gave what is apparently the first public expression about how the court, as a body, views the TV issue. A bill to allow cameras in the Supreme Court has the backing of Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., of the Judiciary Committee.  But in appearing before the committee today, Kennedy said the justices often use oral argument to converse with each other, through the arguing lawyers. "Please don't introduce into the dynamics of our court the insidious temptation of trying to get a sound bite on TV. Please don't introduce that into our inter-collegial dynamics. We don't want that," Kennedy told the committee.

esSome members of the court have indicated in the past that they would favor TV coverage. Others (notably, Justice Souter, who said it would happen, "over my dead body") have been opposed. Today's statement by Kennedy is the first suggesting that the justices have discussed TV coverage among themselves and come to some sort of conclusion.

On salaries, he said that while federal judges certainly earn decent pay, averaging $160,000 a year, that's far lower than what good lawyers can make in private practice. "We simply must face the statistics. I'm losing my best judges, and not getting the highly qualified one at the other end," as young lawyers consider whether to accept judicial appointments.

"My Supreme Court clerks earn more a year after they leave here than I do," he said.

As for the administration's budget plan to cut spending for the U.S. Marshal's service, Kennedy said that's a bad idea, especially given recent attacks on judges. "I'm surprised that in this day and age a cut in Marshall's service would be proposed," he said.

Brian will deliver today's vlog after anchoring NBC News coverage of President Bush's news conference, expected to start in about 5 minutes. If you're at the office and want to watch on your computer, here's a link to our live stream.

I left home for college in 1970, always knowing that I would never move back to Fort Wayne, Ind. I visit often and have kept in touch with most of my high school friends. It is the place where I expected my parents to grow old and die. But one thing I hadn't considered was that my parents would outlive all their friends, and with their four adult children scattered across the country, Fort Wayne grew foreign to them.

Their decision to move to Princeton, N.J., where my husband Doug and I are raising our family, was somewhat quick. As the eldest child, a lot of the family coordinating has fallen to me over the years. Both my brother and I are doctors and the inevitable planning for our parents' health care will be our responsibility. Yet having Mom and Dad in my town means that the day-to-day coordination has already begun. I have scouted out the right cardiologist, gynecologist, ophthalmologist, internist. I have thought about the hospitals. I am on staff at the University of Pennsylvania. Is that where they should go if something horrible happens? Or should I rely on my friends who are cardiologists at Columbia University in New York? What can I handle on my own? And when will I need the help of my own expert network?

And no conversation about such sudden proximity can be truthfully had without the recognition of boundaries. Mom and Dad will be less than 10 minutes away from us. I am thrilled by thoughts of family dinners and shared football games. I can hardly wait to have them see Charlie's school performances and wish Rachel well as she heads off to college.  At the same time, our homes have front doors and telephones. They may be the most literal examples of boundaries, but they are metaphors in the larger context. They are meant to be used... both ways.

So, as it has always been in our family, we talk about these things. And by talking, this transition, at this time, may be one of the best gifts ever given to me.