Nothing will bring back the souls who were lost in Japan.  We can only hope that their remains can be found, so that their loved ones may remember them and say their farewells with dignity.  Sadly, that won't be possible in all cases.  What a towering tragedy -- and now it is developing into a full-scale nuclear emergency. Think of the pace of world events in terms of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: This week she meets in Paris with the Japanese Foreign Minister, then jets off to Tunisia and Egypt, both nations having just gone through a revolution.  Bahrain is currently in play, the Libyan military is grabbing back some of the territory occupied by the rebels, and yet the world must pause and respond to these awful scenes we're watching from Japan. History has taught us (especially those of us in the news media) where nuclear accidents are concerned: the truth is always worse than what we're being told at the time. Let's hope that is not the case in Japan.

We are in close touch with our team on the ground there, and we hope you can join us for our comprehensive coverage from there tonight.

From AFP:

GENEVA — The international and Japanese Red Cross on Friday set up a website to help thousands of people who have lost touch with relatives or friends in quake and tsunami hit Japan.

People both in Japan and abroad looking for family members will be able register names on the website or consult the list, while those in Japan can inform their family and friends that they are safe and provide their contact details.

"Thousands of people in Japan and elsewhere have lost contact with family members because of the earthquake and tsunami," the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement.

The main areas affected are the prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, Tochigi and Ibaraki, it added.

The English version of the website was being set up at http://www.icrc.org/eng/familylinks-japan

Several organizations are helping victims of the Japanese quake. Here's how you can help:

• The American Red Cross. Using your cell phone, you can text-message donations of $10 to the agency. Text the letters REDCROSS to 90999 to make the $10 donation, or visit the organization's website.
• The International Medical Corps is putting together relief teams, as well as supplies. The organization is in "contact with partners in Japan and other affected countries to assess needs and coordinate our activities,” said Nancy Aossey, IMC president, on its website. You can donate here. Or, you can text MED to 80888 to donate $10 to emergency relief efforts.
• Save the Children is accepting donations for its Children's Emergency Fund. "We are extremely concerned for the welfare of children and their families who have been affected by the disaster. We stand ready to meet the needs of children who are always the most vulnerable in a disaster,' said Eiichi Sadamatsu of the organization in a statement. You can also text “JAPAN” or “TSUNAMI” to 20222 to donate $10.
• GlobalGiving, based in Washington, D.C., is providing relief and emergency services to victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Text JAPAN to 50555 to donate $10.
• The Salvation Army, which has had a presence in Japan since 1895. In Tokyo, the Salvation Army "opened its main building to help shelter commuters who were unable to reach home. They served hot drinks and packed meals," said a spokesperson. You can text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to make a $10 donation to the Salvation Army’s relief efforts.
• Mercy Corps  is "accepting donations to help survivors of Japan's earthquake and tsunami through our longstanding partner, Peace Winds Japan." Donations will go to meeting the "immediate and longer-term needs of the survivors," a spokesperson said. You can text “MERCY” to 25383 to donate $10.
• World Vision, with a staff of 75 in Japan, is a Christian humanitarian organization focused on easing the emotional and psychological stress that children face during disasters. Visit the website to donate, or call 1-888-562-4453. You can text “4JAPAN” or “4TSUNAMI” to 20222 to donate $10.
• Doctors Without Borders, an international group, already has teams working in Japan. The groups notes it is "drawing on unrestricted donations" given to it to fund its efforts, and "we are not accepting donations specifically earmarked for the recovery efforts in Japan. We greatly appreciate your generosity and encourage your support of our work. We will continue to post updates on our homepage, Facebook and Twitter as new information becomes available." To donate, call 1-888-392-0392.
• Habitat for Humanity; donations accepted at website, or phone donations can be made by calling 1-800-HABITAT.
• The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is raising funds to help children in Japan. Donations accepted at website, or by calling 1-800-367-5437.
• AmeriCares has dispatched a disaster relief expert to the region to assess the health care needs and is prepared to send medicines, medical supplies and humanitarian aid as necessary. Phone number for donations: 203-658-9500.
• International Rescue Committee, based in New York; Phone donations to: 1-877-733-8433. The organization is "dispatching IRC relief experts from our Thailand program to Japan to see how we can assist Japanese authorities in responding to the earthquake/tsunami disaster. We recognize Japan’s significant emergency response expertise, but will offer direct technical assistance and other emergency support."
• Baptist World Alliance/Baptist World Aid. To donated by phone, call 703-790-8980.
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a humanitarian assistance organization that also helped in Haiti and in countries affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami. The relief group "worked in Japan before the American entrance into World War II when the organization helped support Jewish refugees — including renowned religious leaders and yeshiva scholars — in Kobe, Japan who fled Hitler’s Europe. Today, several thousand Jews live and work in Japan." Phone: 212-687-6200.
• Catholic Relief Services is "providing assistance through our sister agency, Caritas Japan. CRS has programs in the Philippines and Indonesia and works with Caritas Oceania that is active in numerous islands in the Pacific that might be affected." For donations by phone, call 1-800-736-3467 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET.
• Adventist Development and Relief Agency can be reached at 1-800-424-2372, or text the word SUPPORT to 85944 to make a donation.
• Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, based in San Dimas, Calif., "has activated its Disaster Coordination Center in Tokyo ... Right now, Tzu Chi offices in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan sustained minor damages," but the two offices are open as service centers. To donate by phone, call 1-888-989-8244.

There are several animal rescue groups that are also involved. Among them:

• The International Fund for Animal Welfare has information about efforts to save animals in Japan. To make a donation by phone, call 1-800-932-4329.

And various other efforts are underway:

• The mGive Foundation, which helps with mobile donations, said these groups are also accepting text-based donations: Convoy of Hope, text TSUNAMI to 50555 to donate $10; World Relief Corp. of National Association of Evangelicals, text WAVE to 50555 to donate $10. "When prompted, mobile donors should reply with YES to confirm a one-time gift," the foundation says. "The $10 one-time donation will appear on the donor’s next mobile bill. All donations are tax deductible and receipts may be printed" from the mGive site. "Message and data rates may apply."
• Facebook has a Disaster Relief page with lots of good information about organizations that are offering aid, and that you can help, in turn.
• Microsoft has a Disaster Response Effort underway. "We are taking a number of steps, including ensuring the safety of our employees and their families and proactively offering customers, partners and local response agencies technical support to help ensure business continuity," the company said. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

To help you make decisions about donations, the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance offers tips on "Giving to Earthquake Relief Efforts in Japan." And another good website to check is Charity Navigator, a non-profit organization that has information on more than 5,000 charities and evaluates the groups' financial health.

And while giving is good, beware of those out there who are not good and are trying to scam you by taking your money over the Internet and using e-mail. For more information, read "Tips to avoid Japanese earthquake phishing scams."

David Broder of the Washington Post listens on NBC's "Meet the Press"

Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey are filming a scene for "30 Rock." Surrounded by 500 people holding cellphone cameras aloft. The production manager (assisted by a few 30 Rock security guards and NYPD officers) is trying to convince the crowd to be quiet so they can roll sound.

In other news: The world of journalism is now without David Broder. When I was starting out in Washington,my father would send me an envelope every week, bursting with clippings of newspaper articles I "needed to see"-- always including those of Anthony Lewis, George Will...and David Broder.  By the hundreds.  I never dreamed that years later, when first substituting for Tim Russert on Meet the Press, I'd work alongside David and come to know "the dean" of Washington correspondents and columnists.  He was 81 years old. My condolences to his family and friends.

We hope you can join us tonight.

The story out of Libya is changing, rather quickly—but not permanently. The latest development is a kind of "house arrest" for our correspondent, Richard Engel, inside his hotel in Tripoli. Today guards threatened to shoot him if he took pictures, and he is stuck inside the hotel with all the other foreign press. Our other correspondents who are outside Tripoli have more freedoms, but because the momentum has shifted away from the rebels for the time being (with the help of the Libyan armed forces), these are dicey times for all of our folks there. We will continue to bring you everything we can from there—and in cases where we are prevented from gathering or taping what our folks find in Libya, they will pass along the facts to us and we'll report it outside of their sphere so they won't be endangered.

We hope you can join us tonight.

Today started with a meeting of the Board of the Committee to Protect Journalists -- a group that has never been as vital as it is right now. During the meeting, I couldn't help but think of Richard Engel, Jim Maceda and Stephanie Gosk, who all were, as we spoke, working in dangerous places. And of course there was great concern at the meeting for our friend, colleague and fellow board member Lara Logan of CBS News.

NBC News

Brian Williams and singer/songwriter Lia Ices.

From there it was back to 30 Rock briefly, and then to Brooklyn (insert artisanal cheese joke here) for an interview you'll see in a few days on my music web site, BriTunes. Today I got to meet Lia Ices, an enormously talented 29-year-old singer/songwriter. Her newest release, "Grown Unknown", got me to Egypt and back on this last trip -- it had been the last full collection I'd downloaded before the long trip. She writes and sings with a maturity and feeling that is many years her senior. There's one particularly powerful song that I've shared with family and friends. "Little Marriages" is a light-as-air, lovely, mournful, addictive song. If you're in the right frame of mind and if it matches your time and taste, it can be something of a life-changer. Today I learned her story -- and learned what I didn't know about the song -- all her songs -- and how this modest, thoroughly approachable and talented young woman approaches her work. I can't wait until we can bring her to you, once we edit together today's 3-camera shoot, complete with a live performance. I have a great job, and days like this one make up for the bad ones.

We hope you can join us for tonight's broadcast. Have a great weekend.

We talk all the time around here about how smart our viewers are. We think we air smart stories everyday, and we've obviously found and maintained a robust audience. Not only are our viewers smart, they are sharp-eyed. I am speaking, of course, about Tiegate.

Yesterday I taped our opening "headlines" segment (the portion at the top telling what's coming up on the newscast) early because of another obligation. I then ran upstairs for a shoot with Jimmy Fallon, before running back downstairs to finish writing before airtime. In transit, I spilled soda on what we'll call "Tie #1," a blue-on-blue striped number. It was no longer an on-air option. I grabbed what is now submitted into evidence as "Tie #2" from the back of my office door and went out to do the newscast. The on-air result: The tie I wore while I was telling the audience what was coming up on Nightly News bore no resemblance to the tie I wore (seemingly seconds later) to anchor Nightly News.

At about 11 minutes to air, I realized what my mishap would mean on-air. Our executive producer, Bob Epstein correctly predicted it would be noticed -- and it was. The first tweets arrived while we were on the air. I asked senior producer Subrata De to tweet out a response (because otherwise I would have had to tweet...just imagine...) while we were on the air. I gather this was a major event among a small number of people who count themselves as a subset of the tie community. I promised a full explanation, and there you have it.

Can we go back to talking about the news now? We have a 3-member on-air team covering the Libya story in the field, and we had news to cover from the White House today, among other stories. We hope you can join us tonight.

I've decided to spend as much time at the Apple store as possible, so I can be there for the product upgrades. Take my Soviet-era, coal-fired iPad, for instance -- I see the environmental damage it does, I see it taking up to 1.5 seconds for some websites to come to life in 3G, and I know there have been new versions weekly since I bought it. Steve Jobs unveiled the newest version today -- it's basically the same thickness as a copy of Newsweek, and it's so light there's a danger of people tossing them across the room when gesticulating, because they're unaware it's in their hand. Forgive me -- I'd love to chat, but I have to go to the Apple store and get in line for the new one. I'm not talking about the one they unveiled today (antique sale, anyone?) I'm talking about the one being unveiled Friday. They say its gonna be great.

We hope you can join us tonight.

Rehema Ellis writes:

Often when people send their children to private school they cite the benefits of smaller classes as one of the top reasons.  They also say they expect there are better teachers, better facilities, and overall, a better learning environment. 

While preparing to do the story on the merits of class size I spoke to one public school  teacher who told me it's important to consider all of those factors and more when evaluating whether smaller is better.  She said, think about it: Are children coming to school hungry, scared, tired, anxious, or excited about learning?  Are they encouraged at home and in school to do their very best?  Does the community value education? Are children absent and tardy more than they are present and on time?  How much help does a good, or mediocre teacher, get to manage a large, or small, class of unruly students?  How much time do teachers spend keeping order instead of teaching? How much extra support exists to help struggling students to make certain they don't fall behind?

It seems to me that these are all important questions. Some of them are even emotional.  Many of the answers to these questions may also impact the data on the merits of class size.

I had to fly to Washington -- and back again this afternoon, in order to give a speech on Capitol Hill. So...due to two ground holds at two different airports, waiting in line to do the full-body scan pirouette, traffic from LaGuardia to Midtown and the fact that I've arrived in the newsroom late:  I won't have a shred of anything of consequence to say in this space tonight. But wait until you see it later this week.

We hope you can join us tonight.