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Marching On

The war in Iraq continues to makes news this weekend.  In Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Denver and many other cities... thousands of Americans marched against the war.  In Iraq... there was more violence and death.  We have reports from NBC's John Yang in Washington... Jane Arraf in Baghdad... and we'll hear from the wife of an American soldier on his way to Iraq.

Senator Hillary Clinton is on the campaign trail today.  She spoke to a crowd in Iowa today... one of the key states in the 2008 race for the democratic nomination. Potential republican candidate Rudy Giuliani is in New Hampshire.  NBC's Chip Reid will have the story.

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Stories worth hearing

Editor's note: We received hundreds of e-mails regarding Martin Savidge's report on Thursday about the lives of the 12 servicemen and women killed when their Black Hawk crashed in Iraq. We were unable to post the video on MSNBC.com last night because of a restricted photo, but we've solved that problem now and are pleased to give you the opportunity to view the video online. Just click here or on the image to watch. NBC's Jack Chesnutt was among the many producers who worked on the story. He writes about the time he spent with one of the grieving families, below.

In the living room of their suburban home in Colorado Springs, Cleo and Jerry Allgood are surrounded by their children, their family photos, and their memories of their oldest son, Col. Brian B. Allgood, M.D. On the coffee table, there is a print of a digital photograph. It’s a snapshot taken quickly of Brian, standing in a military emergency room somewhere in Iraq. Allgood is in his camouflage field uniform, smiling, and his military haircut is “high and tight.”

“That was taken the day Brian died,” says Jerry Allgood. “It was taken just before he took off in the helicopter.” The elder Allgood’s voice is a bit scratchy. He’s been crying.

Dr. Brian Allgood, orthopedic surgeon, West Point graduate, Army Ranger, avid reader and runner, husband and father, was one of 12 Americans who died last weekend when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Baghdad. Army investigators are trying to determine if the chopper was brought down by a shoulder-launched missile, fired by insurgents.

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At week's end

Some comments the President made today guaranteed his placement at or near the top of tonight's broadcast. The day began with an Oval Office meeting -- the President and Gen. David Patreus (by the way, watch the general's shoulders carefully over the coming hours and days -- as his three stars become four, and he joins an even more vaunted and exclusive group in the history of the Army), who is preparing to take command in Iraq. On another front, some videotape is currently coming into our system from Richard Engel in Iraq, where he's been embedded with U.S. forces. The interesting thing about what we'll show you tonight (judging by what has already come in from him) is that we'll be able to see our guys who are in the fight and on the job -- and we get to hear from some of them. We've been asked not to say anything more than that about locations or the mission. There's going to be some jostling of stories at the top of our broadcast, as work comes in from various correspondents and as we rank it in terms of importance. There's also a potentially interesting story from London that may or may not make our air tonight, and another from the Pentagon.

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$9 million for Syrian-born Canadian

The leader of one of America's closest allies in the war on terror today personally criticized the U.S. for the way it handled a Canadian citizen suspected by the U.S. of having terrorist connections.

Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, today sent a formal letter of apology to a Syrian-born Canadian, Maher Arar, who was detained in 2002 at Kennedy airport in New York on his way home from an overseas trip. U.S. officials determined he was a potential risk and deported him -- not to Canada but to Syria. Because he held dual citizenship, he was deportable to either country.

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Early Nightly is up

Brian anchors the broadcast tonight in New York, but NBC's Tom Costello delivers the vlog.

He previews the story he's working on -- about the possibility of arming pilots on international flights --and a few other stories you'll likely see tonight.

Click here or on the image to watch.

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In Baghdad, the story hits home

In this past week I have seen a lot of horrific wounds and heroic attempts to save lives. I've been with the 28th Combat Support Hospital, the military's trauma center in Baghdad's Green Zone. But yesterday a case almost overwhelmed me emotionally. In the afternoon, two mortar rounds fell a few hundred yards away near the U.S. embassy. Loud speakers and sirens announce "a lockdown" of the heavily fortified area. People are not allowed to leave buildings. It proved a good call; a third round came in minutes later. Then a huge car bomb exploded just outside the Green Zone's gates. The tension level in the hospital rises immediately. Will there be casualties arriving? Within minutes a U.S. Army Humvee speeds to the gate and soldiers carry in a bloody and mangled Iraqi girl. I would guess her age to be 6 or 7 years. The doctors, nurses and technicians immediately start working on her with the same furious intensity they summon when a U.S. soldier arrives. "Two amputations and chest perforations," one of the doctors shouts. They rush her immediately from the emergency room to surgery.

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Beginning with the end

Allow me to first tell you about the last thing in tonight's broadcast. As someone who has spent a good deal of time with wounded American veterans, and as a board member of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, I've been able to see first-hand the great works of the Fisher Houses. What Ronald McDonald House is to the families of seriously ill children, Fisher House is to the families of wounded veterans. The theory is this: With all they have to worry about, they shouldn't have to worry about having a comfortable and supportive place to stay. The recovery of the military member should be their first concern... and that's what Fisher House allows. It is as noble a cause as the calling of our servicemen and women. Tonight I'll be thrilled to introduce Ann Curry's report on Fisher House -- their mission and how they've expanded -- and the challenge ahead. I hope our report tonight floods their phone lines and fills their coffers. I know I speak for Ann when I say that it's gratifying to help shine a light on their good works. And that's how the broadcast will conclude tonight.

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State of valor

On Monday, the day before the president's State of the Union address, I spent an afternoon at The National Naval Medical Center's Ward 5 in Bethesda, Maryland. It's a place where wounds fresh from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan are healed. In tonight's installment of our "Coming Home" series, Ann Curry reports on the Fisher House, where many of these young men and women rehabilitate following their hospital stays.

Lance Cpl. Colt Stovall speaks with one of his doctors at The National Naval Medical Center.

During my visit, I met the young man pictured above, Lance Cpl. Colt Stovall, U.S. Marine Corps, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines Weapons Company. The 21-year-old calls himself a "gun monkey." He's a mortar man, not as big as artillery, he says, but more mobile in order to cover the advancement of his fellow Marines' backs. He served in Afghanistan from June 2005 - January 2006 and in Iraq from Sept. 11 - Dec. 14, 2006, the day he was injured in a convoy northwest of Baghdad.

What follows are snippets and photos from my conversation with Stovall in his hospital room.

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Early Nightly is up

Apologies for the late delivery today... computer problems in New York.

Brian anchors the broadcast tonight, which includes an exclusive conversation with Sen. John Warner, R-Va. Click here or on the image to hear more about the possible lineup.

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The day after

Senator Chuck Hagel will likely dominate the airwaves tonight, as he did cable news earlier today, with his comments on Iraq. Just hours after the President's motorcade cleared Capitol Hill last night, Senators (mostly Democrats, though likely enough Republicans to avoid a filibuster), started talks on acceptable language for one or more resolutions against the President's policy. Last night's atmospherics and theatrics received almost as much attention and analysis as the content of the evening: the stand/sit dilemma, the President's classy and clever opening tribute to the Speaker, the Democratic Response by Senator Webb, and the subdued nature of the evening on the whole. The political atmosphere could not be more charged.

We'll reflect all of it on the broadcast tonight, with the help of Chip Reid, David Gregory, Tim Russert and Ron Allen. We have additional reports on women's health and our returning veterans tonight.

And an aside: I love my job, every day of it, but one writer to this blog in particular neatly summarized the "no-win" nature of the media and political landscape these days:

I noticed today that you were criticized by those on the left for suggesting that Sen. Clinton had changed her announce date because of Obama... and then criticized by those on the right for giving her an easy time on that issue. Save that clip for journalism classes! A perfect example of critics seeing what they want to see and hearing what they want to hear. Guess if you're accused of bias on both sides you're doing a fair job!
Chris in Topeka

My thanks to Chris, along with my thanks to all who watch, read and post, every day. We couldn't do this without you.

We hope you can join us tonight, back home in New York.

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