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Spring Chill

Across the country there is ice and frost gathering on those colorful Easter eggs.  Here in the newsroom we were all staring at our monitors shaking our heads as we watched heavy snowflakes fall behind correspondents gathered near the President's ranch in Crawford, Texas.  Some parts of the country will see Easter temperatures that are colder than what they experienced at Christmas. A knit cap may be more practical than the traditional bonnets for some tomorrow. We're gathering pictures from around the country for a complete round-up on this strange April weather.

Also tonight, more Americans who were on board that cruise ship that sank in Greece have returned home with some amazing stories.  We're watching that.  Plus we've got two very strong reports tonight on service and sacrifice. A family who has sent three sons to war in Iraq, and the reaction of some National Guard troops who have just learned they're headed back to war zone a lot sooner than they expected.

I hope you can join us tonight.

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Three Brothers in Arms

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."

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How the Brits behaved

We huddled in one office this morning watching the British sailors and Royal Marines talk about their experience. We watched live on MSNBC, and the coverage was followed by a blistering commentary by Col. Jack Jacobs (ret.), NBC News military analyst and Medal of Honor recipient. We'll be airing some of Jack's comments on the broadcast -- his views won't be shared by all -- hear him out, however -- and if you still have trouble understanding the ethos he represents, may I again recommend the best-ever collection of stories about Medal of Honor recipients.

Another decoration is in the news. Purple Hearts were given out today, and while they're given out most days, this ceremony was special. I'm posting here the internal coverage note that our own Washington Producer John Rutherford distributed in our in-house computer system. As you read through his reporting, please pay special note to his final paragraph. He granted me permission to include it in this space.

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Early Nightly is up

It's Friday, and Brian dons a more casual look as he previews some of the stories we're working on for tonight's broadcast. He also asks for a bit of indulgence as he shares a behind-the-scenes look at one of his favorite television programs, 'The Sopranos.' You can watch his report from the Today Show this morning here.

Click here or on the image to watch the vlog.

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Thursday outlook

There may be a bit of a scrum where the lead story is concerned tonight. While there's bad news out of Iraq, there are also other major developments. We're just learning the first details about those captured Brits (in case you missed it, Ret. Col Jack Jacobs, Medal of Honor recipient, leveled some interesting criticism at the British government on MSNBC today for its handling of all this -- and an Army Ranger friend of mine was highly critical of the behavior of the crew), who flew home commercially today on British Airways, in Club World no less. Domestically, I've asked Andrea Mitchell to take a good hard look at this weird week so far. Chrysler is on the block -- and now we may have a case of German parents asking various suitors what their plans are for their "baby." A familiar name entered the potential bidding today for one of the storied nameplates in the auto business. Our long-delayed piece by Mike Taibbi is ready to air, and I promise you an honest and (unintentionally) gripping account of the war in microcosm. Also, Anne Thompson has what might be the most interesting trend story of the evening: the explosion in the number of "office chaplains" across the country -- as faith follows more people (more openly than ever) to work. I highly recommend viewing what Anne has prepared for tonight.

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Early Nightly is up

Brian focuses in the vlog today on two stories he's hyped in this space already -- Mike Taibbi's "On the Line" reports from Iraq and his own visit to the Soprano's set as the HBO series gets ready to end its run. The former will air tonight, while you can catch the Soprano's spot tomorrow on TODAY. But don't take my word for it. He explains it all in the vlog. Click here or on the image to watch.

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The no-headlines war

Editor's note: This is a story you have to see to believe, and you will, tonight, as Mike continues his reporting from Iraq as part of the broadcast's 'On the Line' series.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Babil Province, Iraq -- I looked up at the cold, starlit sky and saw I was bedded down beneath the handle of the Big Dipper. It made me smile to see something so familiar, because nothing else about the night was. 

In a convoy of Bradley tanks and Humvees, producer John Zito and cameraman Bill Angellucci and I had been returning with an infantry company from a frustrating raid on a suspected al-Qaida stronghold in Diyala Province only to run into a nest of IEDs -- the dreaded improvised explosive devices that have become one of the signatures of this protracted war. One explosive had been touched off by Zito’s Humvee, and another, a huge one, literally blew the track off the 37-ton Bradley tank that was next in line, disabling it completely and blocking the narrow dirt road that was our way home. Amazingly there were no casualties or serious injuries, though a piece of flying shrapnel sliced the cheek of one of the Humvee gunners. When help had been summoned, those support vehicles ran into more IEDs -- we counted seven in all and were told later there'd been at least a dozen -- and the decision was made to stay put, keep a rotating watch of soldiers for protection, and wait for daylight when the rescue could resume. 

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Back to the future

If it's indeed true that a week is a year in politics, then the election is still decades away. Nonetheless, the only standards of measurement we use at this stage are polling and fund-raising. On the latter front, we heard today from the Obama campaign -- and the net of it is: the Clinton campaign has company at the top.

Overseas, the "Britain 15" are out. But not before a long, strange news conference by the Iranian president, and not before being forced to wear aggressively bad suits while cameras recorded their understandable joy at being released. No one in an official position is able to speak freely yet -- not until the 15 have departed Iranian air space tomorrow. Once they've left the crime scene, only then will we begin hearing some of the details. What did the Brits say to the Iranians? What other nations were involved? What about the central charge that they were in Iranian waters? Was this all about the Iranian president's "power base" domestically?

It's official: Chrysler, as venerable as any American nameplate, is for sale. Tonight we'll ask: What was that whole Daimler thing about?

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Early Nightly is up

Brian will be in the anchor chair tonight, but NBC's George Lewis takes over today's vlog duties, previewing some of the stories we're working on for tonight's broadcast.

Click here or on the image to watch.

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Rose garden strategy

It was originally billed as a "statement" before the President departed for his Easter break -- then we learned he would take questions, and as we watched, this morning's Rose Garden session with reporters turned into a full-bore, all-out, seating chart-style formal Q&A affair, with the President's comments making news on several fronts. Immediately afterward, a friend who's a general officer in the armed forces called me to contrast the President's remarks with the points about Iraq contained in the "Seven Pillars" article (which I know I've flogged a lot, especially after our last Iraq trip) in Army magazine. He used the words "direct diametric collision" to describe the difference between the author's view and the President's view -- a judgment I happily leave to others.

Not long after the President spoke, Senator Reid was on the board with a quote of his own, and Speaker Pelosi's trip continues to receive a lot of attention. Tim Russert will be with us tonight to look at the state of play in politics. Also tonight, we'll check in on New Orleans -- our task tonight is frankly to sound alarm bells about what's happening there.

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