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soldiers' story

Last week... with the help of Washington Post reporter Dana Priest... we told you the story of the overflowing facilities at Walter Reed that caused military officials to put wounded soldiers in a reconfigured old hotel... with some startling problems.  Since then, the Defense Secretary has launched an investigation into the situation and veterans across the country have voiced their anger and concern.  Now, there is new information about the bureaucratic problems facing war veterans trying to obtain disability benefits from the Army.  NBC's John Yang will have the story tonight.

In Iraq, protests today after U.S. forces arrested the son of a prominent Shiite political leader.  There was more violence today as well.  Insurgents detonated a truck bomb outside a Sunni mosque in the town Habbaniyah 15 miles west of Baghdad.  At least 37 were killed and more than 60 were injured.  NBC's Jane Arraf will have that story from Baghdad.

NBC's Tom Costello takes a closer look at the new x-ray machines that are part of a pilot program at the Phoenix airport... and what TSA employees can really see with these machines.

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The Friday factor

The above "factor" holds that anything could change on a Friday afternoon. I'm speaking of our best-laid plans for tonight, which so far include coverage of Secretary Gates at Walter Reed, coverage of politics, and an update on the Gulf recovery. We'll also offer a true public service tonight as part of our "Trading Places" series -- we hope our piece does what the Department of Veterans Affairs has been unable to do: put out the word about a great program. We'll also preview something a lot of us will be watching on Sunday night. I just completed my Oscar vote office pool ballot this morning, so do let me know if you need to know the winners.

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The envelope, please

Heady issues at today's White house briefing by Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto. Reaction to Iran's nuclear activities, the Senate's possible vote on reauthorizing funding for U.S. troops in Iraq, North Korea, and VP Cheney's comments on Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.

But what amused reporters most was the back-and-forth about the Oscars. No presidential picks today, but a little insight into what he's seen.

Question: What are the President's Oscar picks? And has he screened any of the films? (Laughter.)
Fratto: But you're not interested in whether I've screened them, or my views on them?
Question: ...the President of the United States, for whom you are the assistant and...
Fratto: And film critic.
Question: Has he seen any...?
Fratto: He has. He has. He has seen -- I think for certain he has seen -- of the pictures nominated for best picture, he has seen "The Queen." He has seen "Letters from Iwo Jima." And not nominated for best picture, but a great picture, is "Last King of Scotland," which he saw also. So I'm not sure what else he might have seen.
Question: He saw "Amazing Grace," didn't he?
Fratto: Oh, yes. That was screened here...
Question: Does he agree with...?
Fratto: He doesn't share those with me.

So will President Bush watch Sunday night? No, he's hosting a big gala at the White House with the nation's governors. He can always catch the winners the next morning on the TODAY show.

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Early Nightly is up

It's a jump ball for tonight's lead story, as Brian explains in today's vlog.

Will the jury reach a verdict in the Lewis 'Scooter' Libby trial? Or will the earlier-than-ever Decision 2008 rise to our top story? Brian mentions the war of words between Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. If you missed Brian's appearance on Thursday's "Hardball with Chris Matthews," you can click here to watch.

As for the vlog, click here or on the image to watch.

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$4 for a one-way trip to Afghanistan

Editor's note: Last night's lead story by Senior Investigative Correspondent Lisa Myers revealed just how easy it is to move between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The two NBC producers aboard the bus, Iqbal Sapand and Mushtaq Yusufzai, wrote this post with the assistance of NBC producer Carol Grisanti in Islamabad.

"What’s your name? What’s your father's name?" asked the manager of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Friendship Bus at the dusty bus station in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province.

He quickly wrote down the names and paternal names of more than 100 passengers all trying to travel to Jalalabad, Afghanistan on two separate buses on Feb. 13. We were surprised that we didn’t need to show our passports or any travel documents, but since we had valid visas, we produced them. All that was required was to pay 250 Pakistani rupees, or $4.00 each, to board.

On the bus were many of our fellow Pashtun tribesmen. No one was worried traveling across the border without travel documents. No one seemed to care.

"I make this trip every Thursday," said an old man with a white beard. "I visit my relatives; no one ever disturbs me, why should they?" he asked us.

We had to agree.

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Thursday lineup

We are, shall we say, still ordering the stories at the top of the broadcast. We have some enterprise reporting that we are proud of and that we will feature, in addition to updates on Iraq and Iran and domestic politics. We'll talk education and we'll talk about Prince Harry's future. Also and notably: tonight we read directly from viewer e-mails as part of our "Trading Places" series -- answers about elder care provided by Dr. Nancy Snyderman.

MEANWHILE, ON CABLE
There may be a new benchmark in the annals of self-involvement and self-absorption. It was impossible, from our perch inside a television network, NOT to watch the judge in the "ANS" case in Florida -- a hearing, after all, to decide where burial of a dead woman should take place, which the judge somehow managed to make... about himself. Weeping while reading his own decision... really sealed it. The various legal experts reacting after the fact were not amused, and many have launched some very serious charges about the mismanagement of the hearing and the obvious flaws in the "ruling." He was accused, among other things (and by MSNBC's Susan Filan among others), of asking prurient questions out of sheer personal curiosity. It was a new cultural high point. And to think of all the times when former Chief Justice Rehnquist was able to hold himself together -- without tears -- while announcing decisions in cases that were only slightly more important to the Republic than this one.

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Practical advice about parent care

Your response to our "Trading Places" series has been extraordinary. More than 5,400 of you have sent in letters or photographs telling your own very personal stories. Others have offered advice gleaned from their own experiences caring for an aging parent.

Some of the letters are quite tender -- others have been angry. Some have been very funny -- and many, many have been heartbreaking. More than one letter has prompted many of us to pick up the phone and check in with our own parents -- those of us lucky enough to still have them around.

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Early Nightly is up

What day is it? Forgive Brian if he can't remember... as he explains in today's vlog, it's been a busy news week.

Some of the stories he highlights in today's video -- Hillary vs. Obama in Hollywood, chlorine gas in Iraq and Prince Harry heading to war.

Click here or on the image to watch.

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Going home

The story that broke just before air last night may continue to dominate tonight: the decision by the Brits to bring their superb soldiers home from Iraq, starting with the first phased withdrawal not long from now. While I note that some reports say this is all about keeping Prince Harry out of the fight, something tells me it's about much more than that. We're also on "verdict watch" in the Libby trial, which one of these nights will give us a lead story, I'm quite sure. The fallout continues from the Walter Reed story, and the controversy continues over the HPV vaccination. As I stressed in an editorial meeting today (when I realized I was the only person in the room from the following demographic), this story takes on an intensely personal cast for those of us who are fathers of teenage daughters. Anne Thompson will have tonight's installment of "Trading Places" with her story about the business (and risks and rewards) of long-term care insurance. We'll also have a story tonight on some of the Web businesses that you may see advertised -- the ones that promise cut-rate, easy-to-get prescription drugs. All it took to bust them open was some sleuth work by law enforcement. There are many more out there, however.

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Back, but not in the U.S.S.R.

The first thing you notice upon disembarking at the airport in Moscow is the smell. Or more precisely, the lack of it. The signature pungent odor of rough Soviet cigarettes is gone. At passport control, the pimply-faced, heavily armed teenagers in the ill-fitting uniforms have been replaced by smartly dressed, tastefully made up sulky young women who briskly check your passport and send you on your way.

I last was in Moscow in late 1991 as the wreckage of the Soviet Union gave way to the dubiously named Commonwealth of Independent States. No one could have known then what level of chaos and hardship this country would descend to. Sixteen years later and what seems like at least two lifetimes, I've been given the chance to return for NBC to work on several reports with correspondent Jim Maceda on the state of modern Russia.

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