• Pistorius: I felt 'sense of terror' on night I mistakenly shot 'deeply' loved girlfriend

    The Olympic superstar appeared in a South African court Tuesday where he explained that he had accidentally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, because he mistakenly suspected she was an intruder. Prosecutors, however, aren't buying it. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

    Rohit Kachroo, Michelle Kosinski and Tracy Connor, NBC News writes

    “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius said Tuesday that he had heard a noise in the bathroom and felt “a sense of terror” on the night he fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, insisting he thought someone had broken into his South Africa home.

    In a statement read to a court hearing, the double-amputee Olympic and Paralympic star wrote that he loved Steenkamp "deeply." He also said he had received death threats in the past and kept a firearm beside his bed.

    Earlier Tuesday, Prosecutor Gerrie Nel insisted there was nothing to support Pistorius’ claim that he feared there was an intruder in the house when he killed Steenkamp. She was shot dead through the door of a small bathroom in Pistorius’ home in a suburb of Pretoria early on Valentine’s Day.

    Nel said she had "nowhere" to go and her death must have been "horrific," insisting Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder.

    The NBC Olympic and "Rock Center" correspondent spent a week over the summer with Oscar Pistorius and tells NBC's David Gregory that he was a "gun guy" who was worried about his safety and security.

    The claims were made at a bail hearing -- described as a “little trial” by one expert -- that is being held to determine whether Pistorius should be freed pending trial.

    Magistrate Desmond Nair ruled that Pistorius would face a charge of premeditated murder, but the hearing was adjourned until Wednesday morning.

    As the defense and prosecution lawyers argued, the family and friends of the slain model and law-school graduate Steenkamp held a tearful funeral in her hometown.

    As his statement was read to the court, Pistorius sobbed uncontrollably at times, prompting Nair to say, "I know it's difficult. ... I'm going to find it difficult to concentrate. ... Maintain your composure."

    'She died in my arms'
    The statement denied "in the strongest terms" that Pistorius had deliberately killed Steenkamp, adding that the athlete was "deeply in love'' with her, according to Reuters.

    "I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," the statement said.

    According to Pistorius' account, he and Steenkamp had decided to "have a quiet dinner together at home" and by about 10 p.m. they had retired to his bedroom, where she was doing yoga as he was lying down and watching television. After finishing her yoga, she got into bed with him and the two fell asleep, Pistorius' statement said.

    During the early morning hours, it said, Pistorius woke up and went to his bedroom balcony to bring a fan inside and close the sliding glass doors and blinds.

    "I heard a noise in my bathroom. ... I felt a sense of terror. ... I believed that someone had entered my house. ... I grabbed my 9mm pistol," it said.

    Pistorius' statement said contractors had been working at his house and had left ladders outside, and there were no security bars on the bathroom window. The bathroom contained a separate toilet area with its own door.

    “As I did not have my prosthetic legs on I felt extremely vulnerable. I had to protect Reeva and myself. ... I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps,” it said.

    The statement then described Pistorius hearing movement inside the bathroom. "I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted at Reeva to phone the police," it said. "She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance. Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light. Reeva was not responding.

    "When I reached the bed, I realized that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet."

    The statement also described Pistorius trying to open the locked bathroom door but failing, then grabbing a cricket bat to smash open the door. "Reeva was slumped over but alive. I battled to get her out of the toilet and pulled her into the bathroom."

    Pistorius’ statement said that moments after the shooting he “picked Reeva up as I'd been told not to wait for the paramedics. ... She died in my arms.”

    Earlier in the hearing, Nel said Steenkamp had arrived in Pistorius' home sometime between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on the night before she died.

    There was "no possible explanation to support" Pistorius' claim that he thought Steenkamp was an intruder, Nel said.

    And he added that even if Steenkamp had been an intruder, the shooting would still have been the murder of a burglar.

    Nel said Pistorius had armed himself, put on his prosthetic legs, walked to the bathroom and shot Steenkamp several times through the locked door as she sat on the toilet. "She locked that door for a purpose," Nel said.

    "If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person, that is premeditated," he said, according to Reuters. "The door is closed. There is no doubt. I walk seven meters (just over 22 feet) and I kill."

    "The motive is 'I want to kill.' That's it," he added. "This deceased was in a 1.4- (4.5 feet) by 1.14-meter little room. She could go nowhere. It must have been horrific."

    The prosecutor also asked why a burglar would have locked himself inside the bathroom.

    After the shooting, Pistorius carried Steenkamp downstairs, where he met a security guard and a friend, according to the prosecution, and told them that he had thought she had been an intruder.

    Pistorius' defense argued the sports star was not guilty of murder for that reason.

    The defense lawyer claimed other husbands had shot their wives thinking they were intruders and asked, "Where's the premeditation?"

    Following the defense's statements, Nel said he was now "more convinced" about what happened.


    Karyn Maughan, legal correspondent for South Africa news channel ENCA, told NBC's TODAY that if a premeditated murder charge stands, there would be dire consequences for Pistorius.

    “If he can’t prove that her death was unintentional, then it is unlikely he will get bail and he also faces a life sentence in jail,” she said. “He must try to convince the court he shot her in confusion, thinking she was an intruder."

    Pistorius has hired his own high-profile forensic expert to analyze the police reports and post-mortem exam, ENCA reported. His defense team includes lawyer Kenny Oldwage, who previously won an acquittal for a driver accused of killing Nelson Mandela's great-grandchild in a 2010 accident.

    'Why my little girl?'
    Model and law-school graduate Steenkamp's relatives are hoping for answers.

    "Why my little girl?" her mother, June Steenkamp, said in an interview with The Times of Johannesburg, calling her bubbly, blond daughter "the most beautiful person who ever lived."

    "All we have is this horrendous death to deal with ... to get to grips with," she said. "All we want are answers ... answers as to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this."

    Steenkamp's family and friends gathered at a 90-seat chapel in Port Elizabeth, where Steenkamp grew up, for her funeral.

    "She's my little sister and she's gone," her brother, Adam, told ENCA. "There is a big hole there that cannot be filled by anything else."

    Steenkamp and Pistorius had been dating for about three months, and she tweeted a Valentine's Day message hours before her death.

    The track star, who captivated the world when he became the first double-amputee to run in the Olympics at last summer's London Games, was a gun enthusiast who once took a reporter writing a profile of him to a firing range.

    A South African newspaper reported Monday that he nearly shot a friend by accident while handling another friend's gun at a Johannesburg restaurant.

    "I had quite a fright because the bullet hit the ground centimeters from my foot," boxer Kevin Lerena told the Beeld newspaper, according to Agence France-Presse.

    "For some reason it got caught on his trousers, flipped the safety pin and a shot went off. I wouldn't say he was negligent. Days afterwards he was still apologizing."

    NBC News Staff Writers Ian Johnston and John Newland and Reuters contributed to this report.

    Related:

    Mother of Pistorius' slain girlfriend: 'Why my little girl?'

    Agent: Sponsors sticking by Oscar Pistorius

    Oscar Pistorius' agent cancels races

     

     

    This story was originally published on Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:01 AM EST

  • How to watch the Paralympics from the U.S.

  • Finding the ability in his disability

    Kate Middleton handed out medals Sunday at the Paralympics, as American sprinter Blake Leeper, who was born without legs, takes home the bronze in the 200 meters. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

     

    By Aarne Heikkila, NBC News

    The first thing you notice about Blake Leeper is his megawatt smile. The second thing you notice are his prosthetic legs. Leeper was born without feet, ankles and lower leg bones, a congenital birth defect that's set him apart but never slowed him down.

    This weekend, Leeper competes in the 200 meters at the Paralympics Games in London and is a top contender for gold. (He also races in the 100 meters, 400 meters and 4x100-meter relay next week.)

    Although he's only been running competitively for three years, he's quickly made a name for himself.

    Watch the story tonight on NBC Nightly News.

    At the Boiling Point Track Classic in Windsor, Canada, in July, Leeper tied the world record in the Paralympic 100 meters with a run of 10.91 seconds. His motivation, he says, is simple. "Every time I step onto the track, whoever's in the stands, whoever's watching, I'm out to prove to them, and prove to myself that I've done it, I've accomplished something great."

    NBC News

    From left, cameraman Carlos Rigau, Blake Leeper, producer Aarne Heikkila, and correspondent Miguel Almaguer.

    Accomplishing the seemingly impossible is nothing new for Leeper. He played basketball and baseball growing up and seems to get pleasure in proving the doubters wrong.

    "At birth the doctors said I would never even walk," he says with a grin. 

    It is natural to compare Leeper to fellow double below-knee amputee Oscar Pistorius of South Africa, who has blazed trails in competing against able-bodied athletes, most recently at the Olympic Games in London.

    At their first head-to-head meeting at the 2011 Paralympic world championships in New Zealand, Leeper came up short, but his coach, Joaquim Cruz, was impressed by what he saw.

    'Meet the Superhumans': Paralympians burst onto world stage 

    "(Blake) was right there competing with the giant. He wasn't intimated by the world record holder, he just went to compete, and I said, 'I can work with that.'"

    Cruz is optimistic about Leeper's chances in London, but no matter the outcome, he says, Blake's already proven to have the heart of a champion.

    "This is a kid who not too long ago was not able to run at all," says Cruz. "They gave him a set of legs and three years later, he's breaking world records."   

     

  • Instead of gold, pin traders seek Olympic brass

    Sergei Grits / AP file

    Pin collectors chat next to Olympic Park in London, on July 25, 2012. Outside Westfield Mall, at the edge of the Olympic Park security zone, a dozen people set up shop to trade and sell pins from the 2012 games and Olympics past.

     

    By Catherine Treyz
    NBC News

    While athletes in London are set on winning Olympic gold, self-described “pinheads” are focused on collecting Olympic brass. Pin traders from across the globe have gathered in London -- not just to watch the international competition, but to find unique, sought-after pins.

    “Some people are fanatics,” said Don Bigsby, 72, of Schenectady, NY. Bigsby, a retired telephone engineer, is preside­nt and founder of the world’s largest Olympic pin and memorabilia club, the Olympin Collectors Club. “I’m well past that sort of thing.”

    Don Bigsby

    Complete with glass cases and informational captions, collector Don Bigsby has turned his house into an Olympic museum featuring pins, posters, and much more. This particular corner of his collection is designated to the Berlin 1936 and the London 1948 Games.

    Since 1980, Bigsby’s Olympic collection has grown from just pins to include programs, torches, tickets, medals and more. To accommodate all of this he has turned his house into a museum. In 1999, Bigsby spent $150,000 to build a two-floor, 1,700-square-foot addition to his 1,000-square-foot house to hold his memorabilia.  

    “[Because of pin collecting] I know more about the world than I ever learned in school," said Bigsby, who carries a book of flags with him to help him “chase pins” by national colors and symbols.

    At the Games, merchandise and memorabilia are in high demand. Sales at London 2012 shops, according to the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, have increased by 115 percent since the start of the Games. The Opening Ceremony pins have sold out.

    Although certain commercial pins are especially popular, true “pinheads” are not at the Games to buy or sell, but to trade. “Pin collectors, athletes, media people, etc. are really into pin trading, maybe more than ever before,” wrote Bigsby in an e-mail from London. “Every day, the ‘rules’ change for collectors. Where to trade, how many pins to wear ...”

    Don Bigsby

    Hungary's London 2012 athletes pin looks almost identical to Hungary's Berlin 1936 athletes badge, which was made by the Hungarian Mint and is highly-coveted because of its quality and beauty.

    This year, one pin in high demand among niche collectors is Hungary’s athletes pin. Made by the Hungarian Mint, this year’s pins look almost identical to Hungary’s athletes’ pins of the past.

    When a trade is finished, however, returns aren’t allowed.

    “It’s a deal. Move on. Find somebody else to trade with,” said Bigsby said.

    Athletes join in the fun

    Earlier this year, tennis player and gold medalist Serena Williams recently told USA Today that she has been an avid pin collector since Sydney 2000.  Shooter and three-time gold medalist Kim Rhode of Team USA makes her own pins and gives them away on Twitter. She tweeted, “To win a pin I’m going to ask trivia type questions while I’m here @Olympics and the person who responds first with the correct answer wins.” So far, Rhode has given away three.

    Rhode is one of many pin traders who have shared their hobby online. The London Pins website, for example, is dedicated to organizing information about all of this year’s pins. On Twitter, users have expressed their surprise about how popular the hobby is and how surprised they are that they have, too, become addicted. “I didn’t think it would happen but I’ve become obsessed with collecting pin badges #gamesmaker,” one person tweeted. 

    Pins are usually made of metals like brass, copper, and tin. It's the sentimental value, not the monetary value, that keeps “pinheads” trading and inspires more traders each Olympiad.

    “Pins really have no monetary value,” said Navid Khonsari, whose 2007 documentary Pindemonium provides a lens into the Olympic subculture of pin collecting.  “Pins are really a vehicle for people to really interact with one another.”

    Pin trading: where it all began

    Khonsari said most of the American pin traders got their start at Lake Placid in 1980 or in Los Angeles in 1984. Although pins have been a part of the Olympic tradition since the first modern games in Athens in 1896, the Summer and Winter Olympics in the 1980s marked a turning point in the demand for Olympic collectibles with special venues emerging for the purpose of trading and selling commemorative goods. According to Coca-Cola, one of 10 worldwide Olympic sponsors, 17 million pins were traded at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.

    Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters file

    Pin collector Johnny Ioannides of Greece waits outside the Olympic Village in Stratford in east London July 26, 2012.

    Bigsby, who was one of the three recipients of the International Olympic Committee’s Juan Antonio Samaranch Medal for Olympic Collecting this past June, began trading and collecting pins after attending the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. It was the year of the US men’s ice hockey team’s underdog victory against the Soviet Union and Eric Heiden’s record-setting five gold medals in men’s speedskating.

    “How could I not get hooked?” Bigsby said. “I love amateur sports and there I was in Lake Placid in the middle of it.”

    'It's amazing how it just takes over the Games'

    According to Maxine Chapman, marketing director at Coca-Cola, it's an unofficial rule that if you’re wearing more than one or two pins, you’re a trader. “A pin from the Olympics is so highly coveted,” said Chapman, who manages Olympic showcasing for international sponsor Coca-Cola. “It’s amazing how it just takes over the Games.”

    Since the 1988 Games in Calgary, Coca-Cola has opened pin trading centers at the Olympic Games. Khonsari filmed many of his interviews for Pindemonium at the Coca-Cola Pin Trading Center in Torino in 2006. This year’s pin trading centers are at two locations: London’s Olympic Park and Hyde Park. “The response has been very, very good,” said Chapman.

    One feature of this year’s trading centers is a giant map of the world where people tack pins they receive, encouraging Olympic fans to trade with the world.

    In an e-mail update from the Games, Bigsby wrote, “My daughter Calyn and I traded pins with two North Koreans, then three Iranians and had a great time chatting and gesturing a conversation. Made me wonder why everyone can't get along.”

    More from NBCNews.com

     

  • Talks ongoing to allow Saudi judo fighter to compete wearing hijab

    The International Judo Federation ruled one of Saudi Arabia's first female Olympic athletes will not be allowed to wear a hijab in the judo competition. Human Rights Watch advocate Minky Worden reacts.

    NBC News staff and wire services writes

    Olympic and Saudi Arabian officials are in talks with judo chiefs to find a solution after the sport's governing body ruled the Saudi's female competitor would have to fight without a hijab, or Islamic headscarf.


    On Thursday, the head of the International Judo Federation (IJF) president Marius Vizer confirmed Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shaherkani, one of the first two female athletes sent to the Olympics by the conservative Muslim kingdom, would not be allowed to wear a hijab.

    Shaherkani is due to compete in the women's heavyweight tournament next Friday, and her participation could now be in doubt.

    "We still have one week. She is still scheduled to compete, there's no information that she won't compete," IJF spokesman Nicolas Messner told Reuters. "We still have time."

    He said talks were underway between the Saudi Arabian National Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the IJF to attempt to resolve the issue.

    He did not elaborate on how this could be achieved but said there was "very good collaboration."

    IOC spokesman Mark Adams confirmed there had been a meeting on Thursday.

    "It was a positive discussion and we are confident a solution will be found," he said. Asked what that solution would be, he said: "There are a range of options."

    No one from the Saudi delegation could be reached for comment.

    However, a Saudi official had told Reuters earlier this month they expected that the women would have to obey the dress code of Islamic law. He did not elaborate, but other conservative Muslim countries have interpreted this to mean a headscarf, long sleeves and long pants.

    Vizer told reporters that Shaherkani would fight according to "the principle and spirit of judo" and thus without a headscarf.

    The federation makes the argument that wearing the headscarf would be unsafe. But Human Rights Watch's Director of Global Initiatives, Minky Worden, says a number of federations do allow the wearing of head coverings that comply with religious requirements.

    "Many of the judo federations, especially for example the Asian judo federation, which has Malaysia and Singapore, those are women who do compete in headscarves, and there have long been accommodations that are made for religious dress," Worden said.

    Shaherkani, who will compete in the 78 kg (172 pounds) category in judo, and teenage 800-meter runner Sarah Attar were the first Saudi women allowed to take part in the Olympics after talks between the IOC and the country.

    The decision to allow female Saudi athletes to compete at London was praised by IOC President Jacques Rogge at the time.

    "This is very positive news and we will be delighted to welcome these two athletes in London in a few weeks time," Rogge said in a statement in early July.

    Saudi Arabia was one of three countries, alongside Brunei and Qatar, never to have sent female athletes to the Olympics but the latter two confirmed earlier this year that their delegations would include women.

    “This was to have been a breakthrough for women’s rights," Worden said. "It would be a shame to only have one [woman competing]."

    Reuters contributed to this report.

    More world stories from NBC News:

    News on NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

  • A royal rebranding, spurred by the Queen's grandchildren

    The Whitechapel bell foundry, makers of Big Ben and the Liberty Bell, are also casting bells for the Queen's jubilee. NBC's Keir Simmons reports.

    By Keir Simmons
    NBC News

    Dancing, smiling, hugging his way into people’s hearts, Prince Harry’s recently wrapped tour of the Caribbean and Brazil is widely seen as a great success. But it was more than that.

    Speaking with reporters yesterday, the Prince spoke about his laid-back style. It enables him to connect with people, he said. Truly, he is his mother’s heir.                                                          

    “You can’t sit with a stiff upper lip, with crossed arms, and not get involved,” Prince Harry said. “I’ve never taken myself too seriously.”

    His comments are revealing because they show that he is aware of the impression he his making -- he isn’t simply relaxing.

    “I’ve had an amazing time on behalf of my grandmother," he said. "Hopefully everyone is happy.”

    Watch the story tonight on "NBC Nightly News."

    This is no frivolous young man. He has thought hard about his image. For the last few years, Prince Harry, his older brother Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge (the former Kate Middleton), have been changing the way we view the Royal Family. You might call it a royal rebranding. And it’s working. Even the Queen, still deeply traditional, is now described again as fashionable. 

    This year Britain itself is hoping to pull off the same trick. The UK will look to its oldest family to help the entire country put on a new face. With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June, and the Olympics in July and August, it’s going to be a marathon celebration.

    Like the young royals, the country will try to appear both traditional and modern, to show off its history without seeming old fashioned: to display all its pomp and ceremony, without being pompous. Britain will want to say to America’s tourists, ‘Come visit!’ while telling American firms, ‘Let’s do business.’

    The summer festivities will start in June with a flotilla of 1,000 vessels carrying the Queen down the Thames, opening the Jubilee. Great Britain knows how to put on a good show.  But in the months that follow, it must ensure everything is well organized. It needs to prove that it won’t sink under the weight of a big event like the Olympics.

    An Olympics that will cost $17 billion. In these tough times, two out of three British people say is not worth it, according to the polling organization YouGov.

    Perhaps that’s understandable. The British are a naturally skeptical people. We look across the pond with envy at America’s enthusiasm. But secretly, underneath the stiff upper lip, every British heart is hoping that the country does itself proud this year.

    And Britain can look to its royal family to see how an old institution can make itself new again. Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate Middleton have shown the way. Their message is that the country can reclaim a place it has held many times before, at the center of the world stage this summer.  

     

  • Kevin Pearce rides again, thanks to family

    Kevin Tibbles writes

    LUDLOW, VT. – The first time I met Kevin Pearce he was flying high. It was the run-up to the Vancouver Olympics and this young kid from Vermont was poised to take the podium on snowboarding's half pipe for the U.S. Olympic team.

    He was a good looking, quiet young man who seemed to have his head screwed on straight. One of the most memorable things he told me was that his strong family bonds helped him keep his feet on the ground in spite of all the publicity and promotion that comes with being a world-class athlete.

    Then things went terribly wrong.

    During a training run on Dec. 31, 2009 in Park City, Utah Kevin missed a new maneuver called the “Double Cork” – he slammed his head into the side of the icy course and was left in critical condition. The impact was so severe he even cracked his helmet.

    Suffering from traumatic brain injury, doctors placed Kevin in a medically induced coma so his brain could heal. After about a month in critical care, he was moved to Craig Hospital in Denver, a world renowned rehabilitation center that specializes in treating traumatic brain injuries. He suffered severe memory loss, impaired vision and had to learn to walk again.
     
    Today Kevin, 24 years old, says he doesn't remember anything about the accident.

    "From what I hear, I never will remember what happened that day; and that's alright with me," he said during a recent interview back home in Vermont. “I don't think my brain lets me remember it because it doesn't want to remember it.”

    But Kevin has always been a determined young man. From day one, he focused all his resources on recovery. And his family was there by his side every step of the way. 

    Kevin Pearce and his parents on how happy they are with Kevin's recovery. 

    "What he's done in the last two years, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't be inspired by it,” said his father, Simon Pearce, a noted Irish-American glass artist and entrepreneur. "It's pretty easy to support somebody who is really positive and upbeat and determined.”

    Kevin’s three older brothers, Andrew, Adam, and David, who has Down syndrome, have also been vital to his recovery.

    David, who used to be his workout partner before the accident, has been by his side throughout his recovery. “It's been so special for me to be with David and get to learn from David. I feel like I used to teach him so much and after this injury he's been there and teaching me so much,” Kevin said.

    Adam – who is also a snowboarder – even quit his job after Kevin’s accident, not only to help with his rehabilitation in Denver, but to make sure it was “fun and enjoyable.”  

    Kevin’s mom, Pia Pearce, said the support of his brothers is a testament to the strength of family.

    “They really rallied I think to support Kevin in an amazing way, but I think Kevin would do it for his brothers, too,” said Pia. “That's exactly what feels important to us as parents.”

    For Kevin, it’s “indescribable” how important his family has been in helping him recover. 

    “They've kind of been there behind me for this entire time. No one's ever kind of left me on my own,” he said. 

    The Pearces invited NBC to meet up with Kevin two years after his accident, for a reunion of sorts at Okemo Mountain in Vermont earlier this week. Kevin was going to strap on his board and head down the slopes alongside the rest of his family.

    (However, this wasn’t his first time back on the slopes since the accident; that happened to the cheers of friends and fans in Breckenridge, Colo. just last month on Dec. 13).

    Needless to say, he ripped it.  (See the video above).

    Did he ever worry that he would never board again?

    "No," he said. “I knew the whole time I was in the hospital. That was the main focus; to get back up here and riding again."

    See Kevin Tibbles report on Kevin Pearce after his accident during the the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games on Feb.15, 2010.

    He knows the dangers of snowboarding and acknowledges that he will probably never compete on the Olympic level again.  “Snowboarding is at this level, it's kind of gone to a crazy place, and I don't think I can get back to it in a safe enough way to make it worth it… It's just not really a possibility or an option to hit my head again.”

    For the meantime, he is just happy to be on the road to recovery.

    “After seeing what kind of condition… I could be in after such a traumatic injury, to be here doing so well and just having such a good time and loving life so much,” he said. “I feel so lucky.”

    Related links:
    PhotoBlog: Snowboarder Kevin Pearce hits the slopes two years after devastating accident
    Olympic dreams lost, but Pearce stays strong

  • Ripple effect

    By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

    We have all been gripped by the drama of nature today as that massive earthquake spawned a tsunami that has marched from the shores of South America, clear across the Pacific Ocean.

     

    It is hard to imagine an earthquake in Chile could trigger warning sirens in Hawaii. With the grim memories of the horror I witnessed in Port-au-Prince last month, it is also hard to imagine any quake could be more powerful than that one. Today's 8.8 magnitude quake in Chile unleashed roughly 500 times more energy than the one that rocked Haiti.

  • The view from Vancouver

    Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor

    It's been interesting today to watch the live coverage of the health care summit going on at Blair House in Washington—from Canada. That we are here during this story has not been lost on us: tonight you will see a report (since Canadian health care is so often invoked in this debate) on the reality of care here. I've watched most of the proceedings today—I don't see our country's problems getting fixed today. While I believe discussion is always a good thing, if it goes nowhere it's just discussion. Health care is just one problem rolling down the track toward us.

    It's snowing back home—and it might have been our warmest day here in Vancouver, as our trip here nears an end.  We hope to see you tonight from Vancouver.

  • Because I know better...

    Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor

    I will apologize on the air tonight for what was an honest mistake...and several of you were kind enough to e-mail us to bring our error to our attention. We called "midshipmen" "cadets" instead. I was going quickly through the item about the Pentagon allowing women to serve as submariners, and I made a mistake. While I don't look forward to seeing my Medal of Honor recipient pals who are Annapolis grads (all of them can lift me over their heads, all of them went on to BUDS training to become SEALS) and while the worst part is that I know better...there you have it: I'm sorry for the error. I'll fall on my sword...harpoon, whatever...tonight on the air.

    I hope you got to see the story from Today about meeting my doppelganger. It was great fun and he's such a sweet guy. I'm preparing another great story about the 1960 U.S. Gold Medal Hockey team. Do not miss Kevin Tibbles tonight on the Canadian military, or his piece on hockey in Canada. Everyone continues to do great work from here. We hope you can join us tonight from Vancouver.

  • 'Super Sunday' in Canada

    By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

    Good afternoon from Vancouver. I'm back anchoring the weekend program tonight, and I may be the only one in town not wearing some kind of hockey paraphernalia. The local papers are calling it "Super Sunday" because of several key Olympic hockey match-ups including Canada vs. USA later tonight.

    Canada's "own the podium" plan to dominate the medal count in its own homeland Olympics hasn't quite panned out, but the people on this country will not accept anything less than gold in hockey, their national sport.  Tonight's game is so anticipated that authorities have asked liquor stores in central Vancouver to close early for fear of unruly crowds. We're of course covering all the headlines coming out of the games including the rising American medal count and Apolo Anton Ohno's history-making night.

    We'll also head to Afghanistan where Tom Aspell is covering the U.S. offensive in Marjah, and we will walk you through all those new credit card rules about to go into effect.

    I hope you can join us for the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News.

  • Saturday in Vancouver

    Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor

    A word about just how polite and law-abiding Vancouver is: I have not heard a horn since arriving here over a week ago. Not a peep. Not a short burst to alert someone of a car entering a driveway, not a blast of a horn in anger during a traffic jam. They may have had them all removed.

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