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Civil War?

There was more violence in Iraq today... after one of the bloodiest weeks in this war so far.  What can Iraq and the U.S. do to stop the violence?  NBC's Tom Aspell has the latest tonight from Baghdad.  NBC's Kevin Corke will take a look at whether this conflict is now a "civil war"... or what would it take to make it a "civil war?"

We are also following the numbers this big holiday shopping weekend.  NBC's Rehema Ellis will have them and explain what they mean for retailers.  Plus, if you're shopping for one of those new flat-panel high-definition television sets, we'll tell you why their prices have dropped so dramatically and give you advice on what to look for.

Plus, the new English language version of Al Jazeera debuted 10 days ago.  But it's not getting a warm welcome here in the U.S.  Why does this channel spark outrage among many Americans?

And CNBC's Jim Goldman tells us why bird watching has become big business.

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

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A teacher truly making a difference

Editor's note: This profile will air tonight, Fri., Nov. 24, so I'm elevating Al's post from last week.

Every so often while I'm out on a story someone will ask me, "Who are the best people to interview?" I've done thousands of interviews, with people from all stations and stages of life. I have a special place in my heart for "ordinary" people, the folks who live off the beaten path, anonymously for the most part, because they usually don't hide their passions from anyone.

Once in a while, you find a real gem. Don Teague and I will bring you one such story tonight.

Deep in the piney woods of east Texas, we found Betty Lewing in Lufkin. Through a frankly horrible set of circumstances, she teaches remedial reading to those students who fell through the cracks of our education system. Seven years ago, her daughter was kidnapped and raped. While dealing with the pain and hurt, Betty was offered a job teaching reading to inmates in the Texas prison system. She took it, and soon discovered that many of the issues that put people in prison could be traced back to their lack of reading skills.

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What Holiday weekend?

I've worked the Friday after Thanksgiving as long as I can remember. And as long as I can remember, it has always been a struggle to fill the half hour with news. Not tonight.
                                                                                       
First, there's the news from Iraq and the ongoing, deplorable violence there. I found it interesting to learn that in an attempt to restore calm after yesterday's awful massacre, it was reported that Iraqi television aired some of the favorite shows from the past -- dating back to the Saddam era -- in hopes that they would have a "soothing" effect and help to assist in the mourning process and restore the peace. Sadly, this new day brought new violence almost too deplorable to report. We will have two reports tonight.

We will also report on the spy story from London which has ended in mystery. Domestically, it's Black Friday for retailers (even though it's no longer the biggest retailing day). We will also cover a Congressional election in Florida that is far from settled. And with the movie "Bobby" now in theaters, we have a great story about the legendary Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

And we have a great MAKING A DIFFERENCE segment this Friday night.

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Thanksgiving Eve

In my experience, I've found that our viewers are very savvy, and any veteran viewer could easily tell me at least one story they will see on tonight's broadcast: the Thanksgiving Eve Getaway! We're covering it a bit differently this year, but have no fear -- it will be there! We're also following two Iraq story lines (and will add our Thanksgiving mention of those fighting overseas), one of which involves the Marine Corps.

Also tonight, we will continue our reporting on the US Airways incident involving those Muslim passengers this week [Editor's note: this item was dropped from the broadcast lineup at 5:30 p.m.], and we have an interesting surveillance story from our own Lisa Myers. We will continue our week-long series "What Works" tonight with an aggressive and constructive anti-drunk driving effort.

And attention to all fellow parents of college students: We'll have a special item tonight of significance during Thanksgiving break.

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Early Nightly is up

Brian is back on the vlog today and previews a few of the stories we're working on. Click here or on the image to watch.

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Real to Reel: JFK Assassinated

On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. It is difficult if not impossible to offer new information on this historic incident -- a behind-the-scenes glimpse of one the most notorious assassinations in modern history. Yet, in spite of the depth and breadth of knowledge surrounding Kennedy's death, the intrigue remains.

Perhaps it is due to conspiracy theories that still abound; perhaps it is the pondering over the years about what could have been had Kennedy survived. More than four decades later, one thing is certain: Kennedy's assassination was a defining moment -- a tragedy experienced on a scale, and received at a speed, previously unknown.

Here, NBC News Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss offers his reflections upon the assassination and the days that followed, and discusses how Kennedy's murder became not just an infamous moment in history, but a turning point for the way news is delivered and consumed:

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Measuring the drapes

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.

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The world is a bit more dangerous

That seemed to be the sub-theme of our afternoon editorial meeting, in light of the assassination in Lebanon and the talks this coming weekend between three powers in the Middle East... not including the United States. Richard Engel and Andrea Mitchell will team up to tell this story for us. The story of the Muslim imams and the US Airways commercial jet (which I note stirred so much comment following Pete Williams' posting here) will be covered by him tonight. Also on the topic of aviation, we'll air our previously-planned piece on the skyrocketing number of lost bags in this era of "restricted liquids" allowed on planes. Also tonight, we continue our series called "What Works." 

There has also been an incident involving the President's motorcade in Hawaii -- sadly, these are more common than people might think. I recall a similar incident in a motorcade I was in, back when I covered President Clinton. For the local police and volunteer motorcade drivers, it's always a jittery assignment to drive anywhere near the President -- and there are special risks to members of law enforcement when tensions are high and drivers get spooked. The early tape pictures show a motorcycle officer down. Also, a fourth student has died from the bus accident in Alabama, when the vehicle plunged off the highway ramp. What a horrible story -- our hearts go out to those families.

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Early Nightly is up

Brian anchors the broadcast tonight, but as he mentioned in yesterday's post, he spent the morning at Ed Bradley's memorial service.  So we tapped NBC's Tom Costello for the vlog again today. He previews his story on the rise in lost luggage and mentions a couple other stories we're working on for the broadcast.

Click here or on the image to watch.

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Fear or ignorance in the sky?

Was it ignorance of Muslim tradition or legitimate concern that resulted in the delay of a U.S. passenger plane last night? Federal officials are trying to answer that question today, and an Islamic group is calling for an investigation into why the actions of six Muslim clerics resulted in the delay of a US Airways flight yesterday. 

Flight 300 from Minneapolis to Phoenix was held on the ground more than three hours last night, after a passenger expressed concerns about the actions of the men to a flight attendant who, in turn, notified the pilot. In the end, passengers were removed from the flight, re-screened, and allowed to board again. Scheduled to leave at 5:15 p.m., the plane instead took off at 8:29 p.m. --  without the Muslims on board.

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