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monster storm

That nasty storm system that has dropped snow in the plains and spawned violent weather in the south is about to curve up the east coast and form a good old-fashioned "Nor’easter."  The storm has already left five people dead, and here in the northeast officials are bracing for massive flooding and high winds.  With the help of our colleagues at NBC Weather plus and our correspondents on the ground we'll be reporting the very latest damage on Nightly News tonight, and of course update the storm's track.

Also tonight, its population is down and its murder rate is up.  NBC's Martin Savage has an eye-opening story on the flood of guns now inundating New Orleans as those who have chosen to remain are taking extreme measures to protect themselves and their property.

And if you're about to buy or re-finance a home you won't want to miss Trish Regan's report on lenders suddenly becoming a lot more selective about who they issue mortgage loans to.  People who thought they would easily qualify for a new loan are in some cases getting a rude surprise.

Please join us this evening for NBC Nightly News.

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The end is near

...and by "the end" I am referring to this eventful and emotional week around here. No more sweeping statements of policy from this corner. Of all the e-mails we've received over the past few days, both nasty and nice (hundreds have been rejected by our editors for truly offensive and hateful content), I guess my favorite was one that arrived after last night's broadcast, in which the writer came out strongly against "racial epitaphs." I couldn't agree more.

Speaking of e-mails, they are at the heart of an expanding story in Washington. We'll have that for you tonight. Among the other hard news stories of the day is a horrifying chain of events on the Garden State Parkway. Even more than the Jersey Turnpike, the GSP just might be Jersey's "central artery." For years it had the reputation of the safest highway per passenger mile in the U.S. Last night the SUV carrying New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (seated in the front seat, apparently without a seat belt) was involved in a bad accident -- and the governor is in very bad shape. He was en route to the meeting between Don Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team.

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Early Nightly is up

Brian previews some of the stories we're working on for tonight's broadcast, including the weather, which could turn out to be pretty bad this weekend for a large chunk of the country.

Click here or on the image to watch the vlog.

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Hearing for the first time

Editor's note: This piece was published in our blog a few weeks ago when Peter's segment was scheduled to air. It did not appear on the broadcast as planned that night, but will tonight, so we offer Peter's piece again.

Hearing is something most of us take for granted. But what if you couldn't hear? What would it sound like to hear for the first time? In tonight's "Making a Difference" story on Nightly News, we'll show you.

Last week in Mexico, we were invited to witness that moment for dozens of people. It's powerful and moving. For the children, that first sound, amplified by hearing aids, can be terrific or terrifying. Four-year-old Hector Murillo Ozune squirmed in his seat and grimaced, trying to pull away as volunteers raised the volume in each of his ears. Standing there, I wanted to comfort him and promise it will change his life -- but how do you say that to a boy who cannot hear?

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Don Imus

Over these past several painful days, I've largely stayed away from commenting on the man or the topic. I've been watching it all, reporting on it, and listening to a lot of it. I've been listening to my co-workers, people I care about, people of great intelligence, empathy, emotion... and anger. In the end, it was the employees of NBC -- the members of our own family -- who decided the fate of Don Imus at NBC. Last night I left this building after a second live feed of Nightly News, and I went to a dinner at a Midtown Manhattan hotel for our visiting NBC affiliates -- and I announced to them the decision that NBC News had made official on our broadcast 90 minutes earlier: our relationship with Don Imus has ended.

We have covered this story, appropriately, as a news story. Some say we've devoted too much coverage to it. I wanted to err on the side of over-covering this story as opposed to under-covering it.

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Duke rush to judgment -- a crowded field

Even if you believed all along those three young men were innocent, yesterday's ruling by North Carolina's Attorney General was stunning. Stunning because in the real world, especially the real legal world, seldom are the outcomes so clear-cut black and white outside of a courtroom.

The charges were dropped and they were innocent -- the accuser was excused for reasons hinted at but not made clear, and the District Attorney, Mike NiFong was guilty of "a tragic rush to accuse." Professionally in his position that is inexcusable, but when it comes to the rush to judgment in this case, it was a crowded field.

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Early Nightly is up

Brian talks about NBC's decision last night to sever its relationship with Don Imus. He also touches on the news of the day and how tonight's broadcast will likely shape up.

Click here or on the image to watch the vlog.

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All at once

Our NBC affiliates are in New York for their annual visit, and having just returned from addressing the gathering this will have to again be truncated. Two stories have come together on live television this afternoon that will both receive prominent placement on tonight's broadcast: as I write this, the news conference is underway in Durham, N.C., following the announcement that the charges -- all of the charges against all of the young men -- in the Duke "rape" case have been dropped. Minutes before this started, the announcement was made by the Pentagon that all Army tours will be extended in the theaters of Iraq and Afghanistan. Two dramatically different stories: one relates to a theme we've been talking about this week, the other relates to an enormous and ongoing nationwide military and civilian sacrifice. We'll report on both thoroughly, at or near the top of the broadcast.

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Early Nightly is up

Race, assault charges, cancer and food safety -- they're among some of the topics we'll likely touch on in tonight's broadcast, as Brian notes in today's vlog.

Click here or on the image to watch the vlog.

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A suicide bomber's motive

Maha didn’t sound like the murderer she wants to be.

The 20-year-old sounded polite and soft-spoken as she told me about her plans to become a suicide bomber. Her motivation, as she told me over the phone (she was too scared to meet in person), is not political, patriotic, religious or even, like some male suicide bombers, bizarrely sexual; for her there would be no 72 houris, the dark-eyed female attendants some Islamic teachings say care for male martyrs in paradise.

Our talk took me back to a trash-filled street in Cairo where in 1997 I spoke with a group of young men, all poor, unmarried, undereducated Islamic radicals who were trying to convert me. They repeatedly stressed how virgins would dote me on me in heaven.  One of the men pulled a cigarette lighter from his pocket and held the yellow flame under my outstretched palm.  I pulled back my hand in pain.

"Does that hurt you?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

Read more in our sister blog, "WorldBlog"

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