Phyllis Parsons often avoids watching television news or even reading newspapers. With three sons serving in Iraq, she knows that when there is a big operation; like the one currently in the city of Baqouba, usually one of her sons is involved. This week has been especially difficult for Phyllis and her family.

In the Associated Press Tuesday, her eldest son, Capt. Huber Parsons III described how members of a Stryker brigade from Fort Lewis fought in the city 35 miles northeast of Baghdad: "Al-Qaida had months and months to run rampant because we didn't have the forces available to come in here until now," Parsons said. "They controlled this neighborhood, but they don't anymore."

For a mother it is chilling to read descriptions like, "insurgents fired mortars and popped out of windows with rocket launchers... tanks and infantry blasted at buildings, killing more than a dozen attackers... at one stage Parsons moved three of his platoons on foot. All three came under fire. The day ended with a 30-minute firefight at dusk in which rounds ripped through palm groves."

April 7 on "Weekend Nightly News," Correspondent George Lewis told the story of the Parsons family that we called "Brothers in Arms." [Video link] On Thursday I received an e-mail from Huber R. Parsons Jr., the family patriarch. It was chilling for me to read and I asked him if I could share excerpts with you.

Subject: CPT Huber Parsons III a Casualty but Alive
Huber's Stryker was hit earlier today by a deep buried IED... Huber has a broken right leg and right ankle.  All other personnel in the Stryker were injured but none, thankfully, as seriously as Huber. He can feel his toes and wiggle them. Praise God.

Huber has now had surgery on the leg... the docs, nurses and other medical personnel have been great. His brothers are getting a helo ride to go up to see him. Huber will be flown to Germany... where he will spend some days. Thereafter, he will be flown to the USA.

When Huber called, I immediately told him that we are so joyful he in alive. He said "I am, too."

Huber's Company has now had 7 KIA this week; and it has had 5 of its Strykers destroyed...

Angela is shaken but OK. Phyllis is shaken but OK.

We are but man and only know in part. But we know we have a great God and give Him praise in all things. Yes, even this. We especially praise Him that Huber is alive and that he can feel and wiggle his toes. Huber has really ugly and probably these days really dirty toes... but they have never, never looked so beautiful as today.
Huber R. Parsons Jr.

I know I will pray for the Parsons family, an incredibly strong, compassionate family who are concerned above all with the well being of others. I spoke to the younger twin sister Christine Thursday night who told me "He (Huber) is going to be OK."

At dinner Thursday night, Frieda Morris, bureau chief for the NBC News team covering this awful tragedy, was comparing the arc of this story to the coverage of the Columbine High School Massacre, eight years ago Friday.

"Four days into Columbine," Frieda said, "most of us hadn't had a substantial catnap, let alone a full night's sleep; it was nonstop."  All of us at the table at what was essentially a team dinner knew what Frieda was talking about; during the day -- the fourth day of so similar a story of immeasurable grief following an act of madness -- there was a sense both in the press corps and across this vast university campus that the main storylines of the Virginia Tech massacre had been identified, explored and broadcast or written.

Read the complete posting on our special blog from Blacksburg, Va.

Parsons Band of Brothers 2006 in Iraq (L-R): Lt. Charlie Parsons, Capt. Huber Parsons III, Capt. Bill Parsons (courtesy photo)

All three brothers are members of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, a Stryker Brigade Combat Team from the Army's Fort Lewis, south of Seattle.

The elder twins are Capt. Bill Parsons and Capt. Huber Parsons III and the younger brother 1st Lt. Charlie Parsons, who also has a twin sister, Christine, a teacher in Jackson, Miss. "I think the most important thing as a sibling of a soldier or multiple soldiers in Iraq is just we need to be supportive of them and let them know we're thinking about them, said Christine, "the best way is by e-mailing them, writing them letters, encouraging them, to know they are not alone we support them and we support their decision of serving their country."

Though the Parsons are in the same brigade, they have little opportunity to see each other. All three brothers attended West Point. Bill graduated No. 1 in his class.

Does the military have a rule that siblings cannot serve together in a war zone?

According to Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek; the army does not have a policy against siblings serving at the same time and doesn't keep a database. Piek adds that families usually make the decision to not be in the same location of their own accord.

Huber R. Parsons Jr. is very proud of his three sons. "We're happy that they are doing what they want to be doing, we're also praying, a lot," he says.

The Entire Parson Family (courtesy photo)

The family has already endured several of the twins' deployments. Huber Parsons III spent a year in Iraq in 2003 and Bill Parsons was in Kosovo on a peacekeeping mission around 2002. Bill Parsons then deployed twice each to Afghanistan and Iraq on three-month missions. This is Charlie Parsons first deployment.

Earlier this month Capt. Huber Parsons III was quoted in news accounts from a big battle in Baqouba a Baghdad suburb. "They threw everything at us --- RPGs, mortars ---and a guy even tossed a grenade just in front of my vehicle. "

That has to be chilling reading for Phyllis Parsons, the mother... "I'm thinking of all three of them, and I know they are in the same area, and sometimes I watch the news and I read the newspaper and then I go for days and I don't read anything. They told us that anytime there's an operation going on in Baghdad that usually one, two, or all three are involved in it. "

Tonight NBC's George Lewis will report from the home front where the Parson's family waits day-to-day for the day when the family can all be together again.

Until then, if the NBC News team in Iraq meets the brothers, Phyllis sends this message: "Just tell them that we love them, that we are praying for them and we're looking forward to welcoming them home later this year." 

And Dad Huber adds:  "I would say to our sons to do their best, accomplish all their missions with honor and to bring back all of their men. "

Twin sister Christine knows she is unique to have three brothers at war but feels she is not alone." My brothers aren't the only ones over there in Iraq there are thousands of other soldiers there doing the same thing, so I think its important to know as a sibling I support all those other families going through the same thing." 

Editor's note: "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" recently won eight National Headliner Awards. You can read more details here. Mike Mosher produced one of the stories, part of our "Making a Difference" series. The spot introduced viewers to Michael Reagan, a Vietnam vet who sketches portraits of servicemen and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can read and watch the award-winning story here.

Awards are special, but what really is overwhelming are thoughts like a note I received from a mother touched by Michael Reagan's work. I cannot stop looking at this photo of Cheryl Lee Patrick-Nussberger standing beside the portrait of her son Patrick. It's beautiful. And it's really true that pictures do tell stories words cannot begin to describe. I asked Cheryl to share the photo and the e-mail message she sent me after she heard about the National Headliner Award.

Dear Mr. Mosher,
Congratulations on the National Headliner Award for the George Lewis piece on "Making a Difference: Portraits of War" featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. I am the mother of fallen soldier SSG Patrick Lee Lybert, KIA 21 June 2006, Gowardesh, Afghanistan. Mr. Reagan gifted me with a sketch of my son. I cannot tell you the emotional impact. I am so happy the NBC News media family received recognition for spreading the word, giving attention to this wonderful man, and our fallen heroes. My son's portrait hangs central to our home, just past our main entrance. He watches over those coming and going, and I talk to him many times during the day as I walk by. Many tears, but much love.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Lee Patrick-Nussberger
Mother of SSG Patrick Lee Lybert
3-71 CAV 10th MTN DIV

Since our story aired on Nightly News in Sept. 2006, Michael Reagan has drawn more than 170 additional portraits, pushing the total number in his Fallen Heroes gallery to more than 600. Reagan has an e-mail list and I indirectly meet so many wonderful people on it. It is truly a labor of love. He tries to draw two each day. Now that the word is getting out he's receiving lots of requests. But he promises to sketch them all and would love to hear from interested families. Click here to visit his Web site for more information.

Roger Wroley is ready to sell his 1972 Dodge Challenger (10:1 compression ratio, 281 cam, 470 lift). Wroley's put years of tender loving care into this HEMI replica that originally cost $3,800. At auction, he thinks he might get $60,000 for it.

But he's up against some pretty stiff competition at the KRUSE Vintage Car Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. The fairgrounds are packed with American icons of an era past. There are the ever popular '57 Chevys and a 1956 Oldsmobile with only 21,000 original miles. There's a Super Bee, a Dodge 1970 Coronet, and the pink 1957 Thunderbird convertible is getting a lot of second looks.

Mickey Weise, the former race car champion, wants to add to his collection. He's got his eye on a BOSS Mustang. The bidding will probably start at more than $100,000 for this jewel.

But Roger Wroley may have a secret strategy to sell his Challenger.

Click here or on the image to watch it all unfold on video.

And watch the broadcast tonight for more from correspondent Kevin Tibbles on why these very hot wheels are going for unbelievable prices.

Editor's note: Mike took you inside the smoke-filled Speakers' lobby in a post on June 27, 2006, which as he updates below, is history after less than a week of the 110th Congress.

New Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that smoking will no longer be permitted in the Speakers' Lobby, the anteroom of the House chamber that had previously served as a smoking sanctuary for members of Congress. The move comes 10 days after a smoking ban went into effect in Washington, D.C., bars and restaurants, and years after smoking was banned in executive branch buildings all over town.

Members will still be permitted to light up in their private offices, however.

Editor's note: Our sister blog about politics, First Read, is eating turkey until Nov. 27, so Mike offers this to The Daily Nightly, which I gladly accept.

Nancy Pelosi has decided to pick up and move her suite of offices across National Statuary Hall to the space now occupied by GOP Speaker Hastert.

Democratic speakers and leaders have been in the suite where Pelosi is now situated for years. Pelosi herself has often marveled at how she finds herself in the same office used by one of her personal heroes, Tip O'Neill.

But construction on the Capitol Visitors Center has shrunk the space considerably, and though Pelosi was known to harbor desires to stay where she was, her staff was insistent. Plus, the Hastert space on the west side of the Capitol has a balcony that affords a dramatic view down the National Mall.

So it turns out that she really will need to measure the drapes. One thing that will definitely have to change is the motif. Speaker Hastert's office is done in all red.

I have to admit that when I woke up on Nov. 7, the day I was scheduled to have a Spiral CT (Computed Tomography) scan for lung cancer, my first thought was thoroughly melodramatic: Will I ever again begin my day free of any concerns about a serious health issue? I was lucky enough to never have been seriously ill, but the scan, I knew, was merciless. If I had a cancerous lesion or nodule tinier than a grain of rice, if I had evidence of emphysema, it would be right there on the screen in front of me. A specialist who knew what she was talking about would give me the bad news.

That specialist was Dr. Claudia Henschke of the Weill Cornell Medical College in Manhattan. She co-authored the report on early CT scans for high-risk smokers and ex-smokers. I certainly qualified -- 40 years of a pack of unfiltered Camels a day, but it took me 14 months after quitting smoking to decide to get tested. Without question I was afraid of what I might learn; and, too, I felt so good! Still strong, no symptoms at all of any lung issues. I could play hard, fast tennis against young guys, walk 36 holes on various golf courses, single-hand my 14-ton boat in heavy weather. But as the months went on, even though I wasn't tempted to smoke, the questions wouldn't go away: Had my decades of smoking set a time bomb in my chest? Had it already been ignited? Should I take the one test that could at least answer that last question?

Then, in late October, I watched a report by our Chief Science Correspondent Robert Bazell, whose office is a few steps from mine. It was about the publication in the New England Journal of Medicine of Dr. Henschke's study of 31,000 patients worldwide who'd been given spiral CT scans. Dr. Henschke's conclusions were intuitive, logical and borne out by her numbers. Of the 484 cancers found by the screening, eight patients declined treatment and subsequently died. Of the rest, with their cancerous lesions found early, 88% survived with a projected 10-year survival rate. I read those numbers, then read them again: I knew from prior research that the 5-year survival rate for those diagnosed with lung cancer without early scanning was only 15%. Dr. Henschke claimed that if the screening were available to all high-risk smokers and ex-smokers, fully 80% of the 160,000 lung cancer deaths each year could be prevented. Others in her field dispute that, and call the estimate "unbelievable" and "outrageous" because her study did not include a non-scanned control group as does another study due to be completed in 2010.   

2010? I wanted some answers now, wanted to take charge of this aspect of my personal health now! Dr. Henschke said that's exactly what I would be doing. And it would only take a few minutes. That did it. I booked the next available appointment.

You put the stupid gown on, and of course you're nervous. If you're lucky as I was, your spouse shows up for support. You're in the machine, listening to a recorded voice tell you when to breathe in, hold your breath, breathe out... and in less than a few minutes, as promised, it's done. You were sweating before, overheated -- now it's chilly and you're shivering. You're even more nervous, because in the next room images of your lungs, nearly 300 ultra thin slices, are being downloaded into Dr. Henschke's computer so she can sit you down and tell you the facts you asked her to find. It only takes minutes, but the minutes feel like hours.

You sit in a chair, next to hers, both of you facing the screen. She turns to you and says:

Dr. Henschke: First of all, you're fine.

Me: I'm fine.

Henschke: You're fine.

Me: Completely fine?

Henschke: You're completely fine. Nothing to worry about, OK? But we want to see you again next year, because you just stopped smoking a year ago and you really remain at high risk for lung cancer. But I'm going to go through all the different parts. First of all...

Me: Can you say that again? I'm fine?

Henschke: You're fine, OK? You're fine.

Me: All right.

Of course I was happy. I'd learned I didn't have lung cancer, not a hint of it... yet. And no evidence of emphysema... yet. Or coronary artery plaque... yet. And that's all I learned for certain. What I had was a baseline, a first scan to be used as a basis of comparison for the future scans that would be part of my annual physical.

Because I smoked, for 40 years. Because that means I'm 20 times more likely to get lung cancer than a male non-smoker. I wanted to know my current status, and now I do. And because I work for NBC News, I decided to bring a camera crew and producer Clare Duffy along, so the viewers of Nightly News with Brian Williams and the Today Show could know what I know, and why I felt it was important and useful information. For 45 million American smokers and their families; and for the millions of ex-smokers who are now in the majority of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients. 

Ex-smokers like me.

Editor's note: Mike also shared with us the story behind why he quit smoking. You can read that here.

Two lessons that  authorities have included among the first to impart to the 54 new members of the U.S. House of Representatives: how to cover your (rear end), and to how to duck and cover.

Newly elected members, some wide-eyed in awe of the their surroundings, are here on Capitol Hill today for freshman orientation. The morning portion of the program was devoted to advice on how to run an office and an organization within the ethical boundaries of the House.

On the way into the closed-door confab, congresspersons-elect were handed a pamphlet from the Hill's Office of Emergency planning that featured instructions on how to cover your head with a bio-hazard mask in the event of attack, replete with photographs of smiling models with the plastic sheaths over their faces.

"It's fine, especially if I were having a bad hair day," said member-elect Nancy Boyda, D-Kan.

Editor's note: Portions of Mike's analysis were excerpted in First Read, the NBC blog that covers politics 24/7. Here's the rest of it.

Many aides and lobbyists believe that President Bush and Democrats -- should they take control of the House -- will have at least a few areas where compromise is possible over the next several months before the 2008 fight begins in earnest. The following is gleaned from several conversations at the end of last week.

To the extent that Democrats will have a "mandate" should they win control of one or both houses of Congress, surely it would be to do something to force the president's hand on Iraq policy. To a lesser extent, if Democrats try really hard they might be able to read a rejection of Bush's Social Security plan into the election results.

But this appears to be a protest election... more a rejection of President Bush than an endorsement of Democrats. As such, Democratic "political capital" won't be available to be squandered. So the president and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will essentially be faced with the same choice over the next year, before the 2008 race overwhelms everything: they can start that battle now, pick fights to fire up the base and "win by losing" legislatively. Or they can find some areas of common ground and "triangulate" to pass a few high profile items.

Several top Democratic aides and lobbyists polled last week think it will be a bit of the former, but more of the latter. For the president's part, what do he and his legacy have to gain by politics as usual? Why not take what chance you have to avoid the grim prospects of spending the next two years ceding the limelight to presidential hopefuls in the Senate while your agenda languishes?

For the Democrats, those in-the-know see a third message from voters come Wednesday: We are sick of partisan gridlock. If true, then the time is right for compromise.

So what issues constitute the middle ground between the president and Democrats? One obvious issue is immigration policy, where the votes will certainly be there to pass the president's goal of a path to citizenship and a guest worker program. Another might be extension of some of the tax cuts passed in Bush's first term that are set to expire after 2010, the $1,000 per child tax credit and "marriage penalty" relief, for example.

The Democratic caucus is likely to remain about 70% liberal, and the base that they represent will be calling for payback for 12 years of oppression at the hands of the GOP. But don't expect people like Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who is in line to head the premier investigative committee in the House, to overreach. Every Democrat that I spoke with on this topic over the last days has mentioned the name Dan Burton, by way of illustrating what they would like to avoid: turning the committee room into a circus. Having said that, investigations into Halliburton's Iraq contracts is an obvious and likely place for them to start, given the amount of attention Waxman has given to this topic over the past three years.

Neither base will be happy with Bush and Pelosi making nice. But as a matter of politics and strategy, this is what many smart people both on and off the Hill are expecting for the coming year.

Editor's note: Producer Mike Viqueira, who covers the House of Representatives for NBC News, contributed the following to our sister blog First Read. It's too good not to post here, as well. But just a reminder that you can get your political blog fix any time at www.FirstRead.MSNBC.com.

Let's be clear about what is at stake here on Tuesday. When you're talking about holding the majority in the U.S. House, you're talking about being in utter control of everything from how, when, and what is actually debated on the floor of the chamber to what is served for lunch in the cafeteria.

"The job of the minority is to make a quorum and to draw its pay." Words spoken by House Speaker Thomas Reed in 1890 that perfectly describe the sweeping hegemony of the majority party -- and emasculation of the minority -- that is as evident today as it was 116 years ago. The majority here controls every step of the process, and when you control the process, you control the substance.

It's not too much of an overstatement to say that the most oppressed minority in America is the minority here in the "lower body." If you're a member of the party out of power -- for the last 12 years, of course, the Democrats -- you typically are not permitted to have your bills considered in committee or on the floor; you can't get your amendments debated and voted on (especially the ones that have a chance of passing); you even have to go hat in hand to the majority staff in order to get a room to meet in. In short, you take it in the neck every time. This isn't "Schoolhouse Rock" and it never has been.

It's been this way since the time of Henry Clay, and through the years it has more or less held true regardless of which party is running the place. The Senate, where any one random member can raise his hand to object and gum up everything, is a completely different animal. But the House was designed to be more responsive to public sentiment (though the Founders were against the idea of a two-party system in Congress (Federalist #10, if you really care), and over time the majority has established rules and procedures that make it easy to exercise its will and run roughshod over those out of power. It's what the legislative geeks call a "majoritarian institution."

Yes, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Calif., has pledged to afford more rights to Republicans should Democrats take control come January 3. Just how much leeway she is willing to grant, however, might depend upon just how big a majority she holds. Tighter margins likely mean tighter controls. But whatever the case on the floor, Republicans would have minuscule staff on committees. Democrats holding the gavels would be the ones deciding what hearings to call, what oversight to conduct, and what investigations to undertake.

This is all about the House, of course, and its legislative product. The White House, and perhaps the Senate, will still be controlled by Republicans, which opens the door to an entirely different discussion about politics and strategy. We'll try that next time.

"He captures their eyes." That's what family members say when they look at the portraits Michael Reagan sketches of their loved ones who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reagan is a Vietnam War veteran who took up drawing as a hobby during the war. It later became his profession. His home studio in Edmonds, Wash., is stacked with signed drawings of some of the 1,500 celebrities, athletes and presidents he's drawn.

Two years ago, Reagan drew a portrait of a serviceman killed in Iraq and presented it to the man's wife. Her reaction was so powerful and positive that Reagan realized he wanted to close his art studio, retire and draw for the families of all the fallen heroes.

Photo caption: Pfc. Sam Williams Huff, 18, of Tucson, Ariz., died on April 18, 2005, from inuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near her vehicle in Baghdad. Drawing courtesy of Michael Reagan.

Reagan begins work each day at 2:00 am and usually completes two portraits a day; each one takes him about five hours. When NBC cameraman Geoff Nelson arrived to shoot the story that will air on tonight's broadcast, he could see Reagan through the window, alone, sketching in the pre-dawn light. Reagan talked to us as he drew, and in his way he communicated with the pictures he was drawing, showing his tremendous respect for the veterans of this war. 

Reagan's wife Cheryl has made scrapbooks of all the cards received from family members of the fallen soldiers. She read for us from one card: "Dear Mr. Reagan, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the incredible drawing of my husband, the resemblance is very striking and the drawing has so much life in it, you captured the life in my husband's eyes so much I actually talk to the drawing, like I was talking to him."

There are hundreds of such notes. And there are more than 430 sketches of the fallen in Reagan's beautiful scrapbooks.

Michael Reagan's story is one of goodness, sadness and love. He respects and honors soldiers and their families more than anyone I've ever met. And he's committed.

"Any family that contacts me and wants a portrait, they'll get it," Regan told me. "Free of charge. All they have to do is get me the photograph. I'm paying the postage. We're covering the cost of everything that's associated with this because they've given up enough."

Visit his Web site for more about the fallen heroes project and a gallery of images and click here to e-mail Michael Reagan directly.

Photo caption: Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Savage, Tenn., killed in action on May 12, 2004. Drawing courtesy of Michael Reagan.