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Remembering Molly Ivins

Whatever you thought of her politics – or, perhaps more accurately put, whatever you thought of what she thought of politics – you had to appreciate the truly unique voice that was Molly Ivins. Not since Will Rogers or Mark Twain has an American writer or political observer offered such wry and poignant observation (and often rebuke) of our politicians and political system.

That voice was one of the things I admired so much about Molly when I was in journalism school. It wasn’t long after I first started reading her columns that I had the chance to meet her. Molly was in Michigan speaking at a local university, and I was working for the local paper at my very first job out of school. My managing editor had taken the opportunity to set up an informal get-together with Molly and our staff at the local bar -- a regular haunt of many of the paper's reporters and editors.

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FEDERAL OFFENSE(S)

So, it turns out that when you open one of the "suspicious packages" that tied Boston in knots, scared millions and forced the closing of the Charles River this afternoon -- you see circuit boards, flashing lights and a video image of a cartoonish character "flipping the bird."  Nice. As one Boston cop just put it, "I hope they (the hoaxers) know it's a federal offense."

LATE UPDATE: How strange to be watching CNN right now while a reporter was forced to read an apology from Turner Broadcasting -- saying these "suspicious devices" are actually part of a promotional advertising campaign for a cable show on the Cartoon Network! Post 9/11 syndrome has just hit the Bay State. Wolf just said "it looks like a major misunderstanding."

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Thankful to be alive

He's a 21-year-old soldier and amazingly upbeat considering that the right side of his face is peppered with shrapnel and there is a slit in his right eyelid.  His vision is blurred, but fortunately he is not blind.  His other injuries include a fracture of the bone in his right forearm so bad that the bone was sticking out of the skin and there is possible damage to his carotid arteries.

His story is, sadly, a very common one here at the Air Force’s hospital in Balad, the hub for transporting wounded U.S. soldiers to the Army hospital in Germany and then back home for treatment in the states. 

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Early Nightly is up

Brian anchors the broadcast tonight from New York.

Click here or on the image for his daily preview of the stories we're working on at this hour.

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RISING TEMPERATURES

The debate over global warming is heating up. One of the direct consequences of the election is named Chairman Henry Waxman. His committee plans aggressive hearings, and we saw that today. The crux of the questioning: Did the Administration try to squelch, dilute or alter evidence from government agencies pertaining to climate change? I watched much of the testimony and questioning today, and Andrea Mitchell will have the story for us tonight. We'll check in on the Libby trial, and we'll also look at testimony today on the war in Iraq and the latest from Iran. We have promoted a special look tonight at commercial air pilots forced to retire at 60, and Lester Holt has a great feature to take us off the air tonight -- direct from the U.K.

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Anything but temporary

We're at a U.S. Air Force base in Balad, Iraq, 50 miles north of Baghdad and a world away. The 332d Air Expeditionary Wing has assembled here an enormous force of people and machines that looks to me anything but temporary. 

One of the unit’s many missions is the transport of injured U.S. troops “out of theater” to Germany and then on to hospitals at home. Tonight alone, the five beds in the emergency room and the two operating rooms have turned over again and again as waves of wounded U.S. troops and Iraqis arrive by helicopter or airplane. I’ll have lots more to say about the amazing care here online and on Nightly News soon, but back to Balad.

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Early Nightly is up

Brian anchors the broadcast from New York, and the topics likely will range from Iraq to global warming as we track several hearings underway in Washington.

Click here or on the image for his daily preview of the stories we're working on at this hour.

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The jury has a few questions

Weeks before the Libby jury of nine women and three men gets the case and starts deliberations, the group is actively involved and being heard.

Judge Reggie Walton has given jurors notebooks so they can track the evidence and testimony. The notebooks are kept by the court's clerk.

But beyond the note taking to help prompt their memories later, the judge gives the Libby jurors a chance to pose questions in real time at the end of each witness's testimony. We've seen the flash of white note cards pop up in the jury box as they pass them down to the clerk. Sometimes four or five questions appear. Judge Walton reviews the written questions privately with the attorneys in what's called a "sidebar."

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Is Ari Gold for the prosecution?

Today at the trial of a man nicknamed "Scooter," a man named Ari (well-known for years as a staple of television coverage of the Bush White House) joined others in painting a verbal picture of a White House obsessed with a newspaper article, and in media coverage in general. His testimony, arranged through a deal for immunity (which, he pointed out today, does not insulate him from charges of perjury), added to the damage that's seemingly been done already to Lewis "Scooter" Libby's case. At the crux of it is a very simple question: How did Scooter learn that the writer of a newspaper opinion piece was married to an undercover CIA employee? Scooter contends he learned from a journalist. Others contend that he learned the information independently, from within the government, and tried to pass it on to reporters. That's what this trial is all about.  If the jury decides it's the latter, it's trouble for Scooter. We'll cover it all tonight and as it develops.

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Early Nightly is up

Brian anchors the broadcast tonight from New York.

Click here or on the image for his daily preview of the stories we're working on at this hour.

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