By Kevin Tibbles, NBC News correspondent

Tonight's "Making a Difference" report doesn't come with bells and whistles. And, in my opinion, that is what makes it so special. It is a straightforward story about two longtime friends who grew up "without" on the streets of Chicago.

"I don't remember a time when I didn't know Charlie," says George Maltezos, a mental health counselor.

Maltezos and Dr. Charles Martinez are both in their seventies, both retired and both working harder than ever. That is, in part, because this inseparable pair never forgot what it was like growing up in households that could not afford healthcare. "Charlie" even tells the story of suffering a football injury as a kid and worrying about how his folks were going to pay for fixing him up. Sixty-odd years later that story still resonates.

So, after building successful careers in healthcare, neither one wanted to hang it in retirement. Instead, they've opened a tiny community clinic in a working class neighborhood. They treat patients in need, cajole specialists into donating services and badger the drug companies for low-cost prescriptions. And it doesn't cost the folks who come to see them a dime. Thanks to George and Charlie, some four hundred people, who otherwise would likely go without any medical attention, are looked after. Getting a clean bill of health, without the bill.

For more information on the Old Irving Park Community Clinic, go to http://www.oipcc.org/

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Last weekend, I attended Mass at the same church in Rhode Island where John F. Kennedy was married. Having read about the family and the event for years, it was a thrill to sit beneath those old timbers, to inhale the atmosphere and see the interior and exterior, largely unchanged since that day when the young couple exited to huge waiting crowds.  As a history buff, "tactile" history is what I love best: holding a letter signed by FDR, running your finger over the signature and realizing that's as close as you may get to some of our great historical figures.  So: my favorite story in the morning papers -- all of the morning papers -- was this story in the New York Times -- about the places some of us pass by every day that played a role in history. I recently took a drive through London looking for known bullet and explosion pockmarks from WWII -- while it's not for everyone, it's great if it's what you're into.

Right now we're well into preparations for the broadcast.  We hope you can join us.  Tonight: Part two of Richard Engel's great reporting, and a Making A Difference report.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Slate magazine over the weekend posted a terrific remembrance of Michael Jackson and another on the death of Kodachrome.  There's a dark take on life in New York magazine's blog -- some of the quirks of timing through history where celebrity deaths are concerned.

We're also remembering one of my favorites as a veteran talk-show viewer from the '60s and '70s -- Fred Travalena.

Otherwise, we hope you can join us for our Monday broadcast -- as we start another week.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

We've lost a lot of famous names over the past week: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson – and today we were surprised to hear another household name has died, TV pitchman Billy Mays. Like "The King of Pop," he was just 50 years old.

Billy Mays certainly didn't travel in the show business circles of the others, make movies or records, but he had taken his rightful place as a cultural icon. If you've spent any time in front of the television the last few years, you've probably seen his commercials, pitching everything from cleaning products to kitchen knives. Even if the name isn't familiar, chances are his distinctive loud voice is. We'll tell you more about him, as well as a rough commercial airline flight he was on yesterday that could be connected to his death.

We're also reporting new developments in the investigation into Michael Jackson's death. In addition, we'll have my conversation with one of the victims who will speak at tomorrow's sentencing of crooked financier Bernie Madoff.

I hope you will join us for NBC Nightly News.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

I've covered plenty of celebrity deaths – some of them were people I truly admired, and whose deaths filled me with sadness.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

That was the title of Robert Dallek's towering biography of Lyndon Johnson -- but as titles go, it keeps ringing in my head as a way of describing the loss we've been covering, and the life and talent of Michael Jackson.  I thought this was as good a review of his artistry as I've seen today (balanced, maybe a tad passionless) and thanks to Andrew Sullivan's blog, may I suggest this as the best way to remember who Michael Jackson once was.

Our coverage continues tonight. We hope you can join us. 

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

After a long absence due to my workload and travel, I'll soon be updating my music site. Today here at 30 Rock, I interviewed Tony Dekker, the founder and ongoing heart and soul of Great Lake Swimmers. Their music has been described as earnest, airy, sensitive, delicate and restrained. In a word: mellow. But also thoughtful, interesting and carefully crafted.  

My favorite song of theirs is a beautiful song called "Everything is Moving So Fast."
He talks about the song, his life and his music in the discussion we will post early next week.

                      
                                                                    Photo by Subrata De

On the broadcast tonight, we'll look at a surprising Supreme Court decision of interest to so many of us with children of school age. We'll also look back at the life and work of Farrah Fawcett, and much more. We hope you can join us.

 

By Summer Suleiman, NBC Nightly News intern

The emotion that pours from their faces seems to be filled with years of life experience. Although they haven't yet been seasoned with life's trials, the fifth graders in the now nationally recognized PS 22 Chorus sing with a stirring passion. Watching and listening to them perform, it's nearly impossible not to crave their energy.

The group, named after their Staten Island elementary school, gained internet fame when Ashton Kutcher tweeted about them and Hollywood blogger Perez Hilton posted a video of them on his Web site, garnering the kids more than five million views. 

 The interaction with Mr. B, their chorus instructor and musical inspiration, is a testament to the importance of teaching. After performing for Tori Amos and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, among others, and being featured on a Billboard Top 100 hit with band Passion Pit, it's not hard to see why these kids brought tears to the eyes of stars who watched. As they sing hits like Cold Play's "Viva La Vida" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believing," it's hard not to tap your feet to the tunes. 

 

If you're not convinced yet, you will be when you hear what they had to say when asked by producer Jennifer Mulreany about what music has done for their lives. Check out PS 22 online and you'll see why I couldn't stop myself from bursting out in song and dance while they did their smashing rendition of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance."

By Robert Bazell, NBC News chief science correspondent

 

To read the New England Journal of Medicine article and accompanying editorial about a new drug development that has shown spectacular results against certain breast and ovarian cancers, click on the below:
 
Original Article: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMoa0900212
Editorial: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMe0903044

 

The new drugs, called PARP inhibitors, are not yet approved for sale. But people interested in clinical trials of the drugs should know that all clinical trials in the U.S. must be registered on the government website http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.  The specific search that yields results for PARP inhibitors is

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=parp+inhibitor">http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=parp+inhibitorhttp://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=parp+inhibitor  

 

If people cannot find what they are looking for on the web, they can phone the National Cancer Institute's Information service line: 1-800-422-6237. 

 

Astra Zeneca, which makes one of the drug's, also has an information line: 1-877-400-4656

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

While today's news features a story of a politician who got in trouble straying a bit far outside the protective "bubble," I witnessed a unique scene last night in Midtown Manhattan.

Following his invitation-only appearance at a question-and-answer session with Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair exited the venue and walked out onto the sidewalk, to discover a beautiful Manhattan early-Summer evening. Even though his security detail and waiting motorcade were apparently expecting to drive him the two-block distance to dinner, he clearly relished the opportunity to get some air... and perhaps a brief exposure to the wider world. Accompanied by the magazine editor, Blair took off down the sidewalk.. from my vantage point, I could see pedestrians pass him in the crosswalk -- and a large percentage of them recognized the man who led the U.K. for a decade. He loosened his tie and seemed to be enjoying the brief stroll, while two follow-on security agents with lapel pins and earpieces were seen hoofing after him at a brisk rate of speed (Blair had a team of men flanking him already) and the motorcade vehicles, strobes flashing, "shadowed" him, creeping along the street adjacent to where Blair was walking. It was almost a normal walk down the sidewalk.

We have a lot of news tonight -- really important medical news, an astounding political story from South Carolina and big word out of Hollywood. We hope you can join us.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

My boss sent me an email early this morning so I'd hear the news before I saw it on the Today Show. Ed McMahon had lost his battle to bone cancer and other related illnesses.  I last spoke with Ed by phone not too long ago -- it was an "arranged" call -- his assistant called me in advance to say that Ed wanted to pass along a compliment about a segment he'd seen on Nightly News, and she wanted to be sure I'd be around to take the call. Ed knew I'd "attended" (however briefly and unsuccessfully) Catholic University in Washington, where he went to college, and we obviously shared the NBC family tie. He was a sweet man, and a legend around here -- as he was in millions of American homes.  In talking to friends and co-workers today, everyone reminisced about their own favorite memory of Ed.  Chuck Todd wanted to be sure we remembered the years he put in at Jerry Lewis' side on the MD Telethon every Labor Day weekend.
 
Others just remembered Ed's voice as the "gateway" to late night television each weeknight -- in an era where there were few choices and the Tonight Show was the dominant program in the time period, and held huge sway over the national zeitgeist.  Ed was a pro, a great broadcaster and a great sidekick. He played a role, and he knew it. He relished it, he studied his own performance and he perfected it.  He was the best straight man there ever was, and Ed became great in his own right, oddly, by realizing it was always about Johnny. 

My own children only saw the Ed of later life -- the toastmaster and pitchman, the guy in the Super Bowl commercial who was clearly struggling with old age and illness. Today, however, I was happy to be my age -- because it meant my TV viewing years intersected with the golden age of Ed McMahon. He was 86, and he lives on in our hearts and prayers. Please leave me a post on your favorite Ed McMahon memory, if you have one. And please join us for the broadcast tonight.

By Albert Oetgen, Managing Editor NBC News Washington     

 

The Chesapeake Bay occupies a vital spot in the fabric of American history and folklore. Twenty-five years ago, in a State of the Union address, President Ronald Reagan dubbed the Bay a "national treasure."

 

Its strategic position has been the objective of warring nations; its native bounty mesmerized naturalists long before the first Europeans set foot on its shores; its complex social and economic life is the inspiration for passionate essayists and critical novelists.

 

But the Bay is in trouble, and it has been for years. 

 

The physical degradation of the giant estuary, the sources of which are spread haphazardly throughout a 64,000-square-mile watershed, has horrified two generations of Americans who have grown up with the modern environmental movement. 

 

In 1980, responding to 13 years of prodding by the private Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the states in the Bay watershed formed a commission with the federal government to clean up the waterway and its tributaries. Public officials and private activists spent the next few years forging an agreement that outlined specific goals. A pact was in place by the mid-80s.

 

But 25 years later, by many measures, the Bay is worse off than it was when the agreement was put in place, primarily because the scores of local, state and federal boards and agencies involved in the cleanup have failed to coordinate their efforts effectively. 

 

In May, the Obama administration launched a new effort "to restore the health, heritage, natural resources and social and economic value" of the Bay. 

 

Mr. Obama signed an executive order on May 12, and representatives from the affected states met at Mt. Vernon, on the Potomac, to begin the cleanup anew. The order established a multi-agency Federal Leadership Committee, and instructed officials at seven federal agencies to submit preliminary cleanup plans by September 12. 

 

NBC News will follow the cleanup effort and prepare reports between now and September that outline how things got the way they are, with emphasis on specific state, local and federal decisions that have contributed to Bay pollution in the 25 years since the official cleanup effort began. Other reports will focus on cleanup techniques that have achieved varying degrees of success in that same period, and innovative ideas that promise to make things better in the future.

                
VIDEO: "Saving the Chesapeake Bay":  In the first part of our series, NBC's Wendy Reiger reports on the mixed results of 30 years of rescue efforts.

There is no shortage of commitment to the Bay cleanup. Whether the political will to sustain the cleanup is different in 2009 than it was in 1980 is a question left to another generation to answer.

 

But today, a larger issue looms over Bay restoration, and the entire planet: Global Warming. Mr. Obama's order requires federal officials to assess the negative effect that climate change has had on the Bay environment, and develop a strategy to reduce that effect. 

 

Climate change was not part of the Bay cleanup calculus in 1980. A generation ago, worldwide environmentalists had not marshaled the effort that now exists to reverse the effects of global warming. The renewed Chesapeake Bay cleanup can serve as a guide to that larger global campaign.

 

The shortfalls of the first Bay cleanup campaign contain vital lessons for the worldwide community. Without cooperation, coordination and sustained commitment, any environmental cleanup effort will falter and ultimately fail. 

 

For the activists who successfully lobbied for the new Chesapeake cleanup campaign, saving the Bay, this time around, is a model for saving the earth itself.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

This story caught my eye today: The Governor of a major Eastern Seaboard State, a big name in American politics, has disappeared. His wife has no idea where he is. He has put the Lt. Governor in charge, and taken off. At some level, you have to admire that (or is that just a guy thing?) -- but mostly, I'm amazed. He is said to be off "writing" something, but its just unusual. Now...if you don't mind, I'm going to ask my boss who, exactly, my Lt. Governor is. Kidding. If no one around the Governor is concerned, I guess we shouldn't be.

Many of you have expressed an interest in my music site and thank you for it. Sadly, starting with the White House special, I've been neglecting it and hope to get back into it with some fresh selections and playlists very soon. It's not as if there's a shortage of good, new emerging music or artists.

We have a great broadcast planned for you tonight. We hope to see you then.

UPDATES from NBC News:

Frank Adams, a deputy director in the South Carolina Lt. Governor's Office on Aging, tells NBC News that Governor Mark Sanford's chief of staff called over to the Lt. Governor's office within the past hour to say that the Governor's chief of staff has been in touch with Gov. Sanford and that he is fine. He provided no additional information.

In a later email to NBC News, spokesman to Gov. Mark Sanford, Joel Sawyer, elaborated:

"The governor put in a lot of time during this last legislative session, and after the session winds down it's not uncommon for him to go out of pocket for a few days at a time to clear his head. Obviously, that's going to be somewhat out of the question this time given the attention this particular absence has gotten. Before leaving last week, he let staff know his whereabouts and that he'd be difficult to reach. Should any emergencies arise between the times in which he checks in, our staff would obviously be in contact with other state officials as the situation warrants before making any decisions."

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

It seemed nearly every person I met during a brief visit to Seattle this week felt it necessary to tell me they had gone 27 days without rain.  My reply was, "that's ok, I know where your rain went." While Seattle residents have been enjoying a break from their infamous moisture, we here in New York have been treated to an almost daily dose of rain these last few weeks (which, by the way is why they're playing catch up at the U.S. Open golf tournament on Long Island today). Of course New Yorkers, not usually given to complaining, have pretty much had their fill. However, it looks like fortunes have now changed on both coasts. Today, Seattle's dry streak officially ended at 29 days, while here in New York, we haven't seen a drop all day. In fact as I write this the sun just began shining through the window, which drew a chorus of comments across the newsroom. Sorry Seattle.

By Mike Taibbi, NBC News correspondent

I heard about Harry Horgan from a mutual friend, Richard Fucci, a pilot who's paralyzed and who for years has passed along his love of flight to others who are physically challenged. Fooch in turn had shared the helm of a sailboat with Harry during a race series in Newport, Rhode Island. They'd won – the two of them just a touch competitive – but where they really were a match was in their equivalent belief that with the right motivation, and just enough mechanical ingenuity about the craft of choice, a so-called handicapped person could pursue his or her passions as fervently as anyone else. For both Fooch and Harry, if they could do it, they could teach it.

Harry was paralyzed in a car accident just after graduating college, and when he struggled in rehab and would mope and feel sorry for himself his folks would get on him:  'Hey Harry, snap out of it, shake a leg…there's plenty to do!"  Hence, Shake-A-Leg, his amazing non-profit on Miami's Biscayne Bay. Every summer he draws hundreds of kids – kids who are economically, physically or developmentally challenged – and gives them a shot at the healing and life-affirming power of water, specifically, salt water. In modified kayaks and sailboats, he and his staff, and a small army of volunteers, provide an environment of stunning possibilities and inviting independence. Wheelchair-bound kids who can hold fast to a kayak pontoon and, helped by the buoyancy of salt water, "stand" on their own two feet:  children who struggle with the most basic of life's daily tasks, taking a real sailboat through tack after tack, riding the wind and current and getting from here to there on their own.

I liked this story from the beginning partly because I've sailed for 30 years and have always relied on the water to keep me humble and in spiritual balance, but mostly because Harry convinced me in just a few short conversations that his extraordinary accomplishment was never about him, not from the beginning. It was always about recapturing the feeling of liberation and rapture that sailing and boating gave him – after his accident – and about providing that feeling for anyone who came to his slice of shoreline on Biscayne Bay. Not just kids, but also, this year, wounded Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. It helps that the city of Miami recognized a good thing once Harry set up shop some years ago, and helped provide him with shed and office and dock facilities. It helps that even in this crummy economy and without the typical fund-raising events common to most non-profits, there are enough donors fueled by word-of-mouth enthusiasm to keep Shake-A-Leg afloat.

As for me, I got to sail with a 14-year-old kid named Miguel. He was born premature at just over a pound with cerebral palsy. He wasn't supposed to live, his mom was told. But did he ever prove the experts wrong.  With help from Harry (what a role model that man is) Miguel has developed in ways his own mother could not have imagined, aiming for a career as a sportscaster that's surely within reach.  As he and I maneuvered our sloop up the contrary current and wind, I noticed after a while that I didn't have to explain what we had to do:  he knew, his hand on the tiller an experienced hand.  He asked me what I liked best about sailing and when I told him it was the times I had the freedom to cruise, to bounce from one harbor to another and just drop anchor until I decided to visit some other anchorage; he said that sounded great. "You think you might want to try that, some day?" I asked him. "I don't think so," he said almost sternly, his hand firmly on the tiller.  "I know so!  I know so!" 

Wouldn't doubt him for a minute.

For more information about Shake-A-Leg Miami, visit the Web site at www.shakealegmiami.org or call 305-858-5550.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

If you've been following the Iran coverage...and you didn't know what Twitter was before...you've received a Master's degree in it over the last few days. It's been a valuable mode of communication during this crisis. To be fair, life on Twitter goes on -- the ruminations and daily machinations of thousands of users, (including a lot of friends of mine, while I've been able to resist thus far) one of whom wondered aloud to his "followers" yesterday, while ordering a bagel in New York: "I still wonder how they get the cream cheese in those small tubes." So it's not all foreign policy. But I digress. Twitter users, those who have signed up to follow the tweets of others, are quick to pounce when they see fresh material. Here is one such instance. While I make no value judgments about the sender or what set them off, there's some truly inventive material here to be admired.

This is an aside. We continue to cover Iran (we'll hear from Ali Arouzi again tonight from Tehran, and Richard Engel in New York, wanting badly to be in Tehran) and wait for the next developments like everyone else. We have a Making A Difference report tonight, as well as reporting on the mid-air tragedy on today's Continental trans-Atlantic flight. We hope you can join us.

By Lee Cowan, NBC News correspondent

Tim Lewis made a lot of mistakes in his life. And his new-found publicity is forcing him to face some of those mistakes head-on. There's no hiding from them anymore, whether he's on the street or not. But what is remarkable about him is his determination to turn his life around. And there seems to be a glimmer of hope in his eyes that this time, it just might work.

Tim is the first to recognize that no amount of apologies will repair the damaged relationships he has with his several children. It won't get him his job back as a surgical tech. It won't erase his drug or alcohol abuse. 
 
But what he's managed to do is to find something positive he can build his life around, and at the same time, help shape the lives of the young people in his neighborhood.  And in the end, that's really all any of us can hope for; that we make ourselves better people than we were last week, or the week before.
 
Tim's struggles aren't over to be sure. But he's picked himself up, and is moving forward with a strength and introspection we all should strive for, everyday.

          Watch Lee Cowan's related report Thursday on Nightly News.

Editor's Note: Since NBC News first aired its "Making A Difference" story on Compton Little League coach, Tim Lewis, we've been flooded with requests from viewers expressing an interest in helping him. Unfortunately, because Tim is homeless, there's no address or institution that NBC News can independently vouch for, but Tim has suggested anyone wishing to get in touch with him, can best do so through a family friend.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

A number of you have written to us to complain about the name "Swine Flu." I could make an argument that the domestic pork industry, back when this name entered our lexicon, missed a huge and vital opportunity to change it, to "brand" it differently, and to insist on it. While H1N1 exists as the alternative, our own Chief Science Correspondent Robert Bazell noted at an editorial meeting that the U.S. government was referring to it as "Swine Flu," and now it seems hopelessly attached to the illness as a matter of branding.

While we all know it can't be transmitted via pork or pork products -- and while many of us have visited pork producers over the years and appreciate the contribution they make to the American economy -- this is an unfortunate episode. There was, however, a period of several days (I remember making this point, loudly, in our newsroom) when the industry, along with its friends in Congress, could have insisted on calling it something else.

Interesting writing today about Twitter, the challenger in Iran, Bill Clinton, and some good dogs. That should hold you over for a while.

We hope to see you for tonight's broadcast: presented with limited commercial interruption.

By Robert Bazell, NBC News chief science correspondent

 

On Tuesday night we'll report on a research project that is literally allowing blind people to see again. Even though the project has been in progress for two decades, supported by the Department of Energy--first at Johns Hopkins now at the University of Southern California--the results have been limited. But given the enormous challenges, they are still impressive. 

People who were totally blind could at first perceive dots of light that allowed them to avoid bumping into objects. Now, as the system is progressing, they can begin to make out the outlines of faces and other large objects.
 
The system works by taking the signal from a tiny camera on a pair of sunglasses, which then runs through wires that are implanted on the surface of the retina.  These electrodes stimulate the retinal cells to send signals to the brain that are perceived as light. 

You can read about the project in detail including diagrams of how it works here: http://www.doheny.org/research/pdfs/arnvol1no1.pdf

As Dr. Mark Humayan, the project leader, explained to me, the challenges involve both software and hardware.  Even though we often use metaphors of physical objects like video cameras and computers to try to understand how body parts like eyes and brains work, the "software" code is very different for our body than it is for electronics.  Matching the codes has taken almost two decades. 
 
The hardware problem is that electronics are dry, while our bodies are moist and salty. Getting the electric leads to work in the eye is "like throwing a cell phone in the ocean," according to Humayan.
 
For now, the patient must turn so that the camera faces whatever he or she is trying to see. But Armand R. Tanguay, Jr., an electronics engineer, has designed a tiny video camera that will literally fit into the front lens of the eye, allowing the person to just move their eyes to see.
 
Currently the project treats only people with the blinding condition retinitis pigmentosa.  In the future, the researchers  plan to move on to other conditions, including macular degeneration. The waiting list for those wishing to become research subjects is long, but anyone interested should call: (818) 833-5000.

 

More info on "bionic eyes":
http://bmes-erc.usc.edu/research
http://artificialretina.energy.gov/
http://www.usc.edu/schools/medicine/departments/ophthalmology/index.html
http://www.doheny.org/
http://www.2-sight.com/

 

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

I realize I'm on an aviation kick this week, but please check this out especially if you THINK you fly a lot. Additionally, there's this website in case you've ever wondered what it's like to live on board an aircraft. Occasionally in my aviation magazines, I'll see a case where someone has converted a fuselage to a functioning home or restaurant -- but I've found it's better to have...an actual home or restaurant.

Two more things: We'll remember Bob Bogle tonight and perhaps this would be interesting to look at, given what's going on in Iran. It's from the good folks at the Committee to Protect Journalists, where I am proud to sit on the board.

We hope you can join us for our broadcast tonight.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Sometimes while sitting on airplanes -- especially during long ramp delays or long trans-continental or international flights -- we passengers have a lot of time to think about the environment: so many people sharing space (and so little true comfort) on board an aluminum tube speeding (when all works correctly) through the air to a common destination. Relationships are formed, germs are spread, and invariably relaxation suffers -- too often by design.

This article caught my eye today because of its novelty and because it's a great example of American innovation -- taking an existing design and trying to make it better. This would be a revolutionary concept -- isn't it worth trying on a test aircraft or two?

We're happy to be back to start a new week, and we hope you can join us tonight.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

We've been monitoring contrasting images out of Iran today. Cheering throngs welcomed President Ahmadinejad in one part of Tehran, while in others, there was unrest and violent clashes, as angry supporters of rival candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi demanded a new election.

Complicating all this is an Iranian government crackdown on the media, and many communications links to the outside world. Richard Engel, who was in the middle of yesterday's bloody demonstrations, will join me tonight to talk about what it was like. We'll also let you hear what Vice President Joe Biden told David Gregory about the disputed election on "Meet the Press" this morning.

I hope you can join me tonight for NBC Nightly News.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

I found myself in one of those "where were you?" conversations today. You know, the kind we so often have on the anniversaries of major events. In this case, I was with NBC News colleagues discussing how we each learned of, and reacted to, the news that our colleague Tim Russert had died.

While our individual whereabouts on June 13th, 2008 varied widely, we all agreed there was a shared moment of disbelief when we heard the news, and that it is still with us on this one-year anniversary. Tim remains an awfully big presence in our organization, and whenever a particularly juicy political story pops onto the radar, if we're not saying it outloud, one of us is likely thinking it: Tim would have loved getting a piece of this story.

We do have a big political story on the program tonight, but this one is focused on Iran, were anger over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's apparent re-election has sent supporters of rival candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi rioting in the streets. 

Tonight, a great deal of the communication out of Tehran has been cut off, and in a speech to the nation, Ahmadinejad accused the foreign media of instigating trouble. Our chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel has just left Iran, but not before filing a report on today's violence. We'll have it for you on the program tonight.

I hope you can join us.

 By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

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

 By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

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