The Daily Nightly began on May 31, 2005. As Brian wrote in his first post it aims to provide a narrative of the broadcast day and a window into the editorial process at NBC Nightly News. Brian weighs in every weekday and NBC News correspondents and producers post regularly.
Brian Williams became the seventh anchor and managing editor in the history of NBC Nightly News on December 2, 2004. Read his full biography.
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In choosing the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., to launch his run for the White House, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney selected a backdrop that had deep personal and symbolic meaning.
Romney is a native Michigander. It is where he met Ann, his wife of 37 years, and it is where his father George served as a popular governor for six years.
That explains the Michigan part. Now for the Ford Museum.
Romney explained that as a child he and his father would talk about cars and how much that cemented their relationship. Indeed, the Ford Museum is an awe-inspiring house of car worship -- with machines that moved us physically and emotionally.
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Link to thisWho knew?! The President, the Commander-In-Chief, the leader of the free world was such a fashionista? Or is it fashionisto?
Today during his press conference in the White House Rose Garden, Mr. Bush had kind words for your humble correspondent, specifically about my suit.
"If I might say, that is a beautiful suit," said Mr. Bush, noting my brushed, slate gray suit, subtly accented by cobalt pinstripes and off-set by a cardinal tie-pocket-square combination. He continued, "And I can't see anybody else that even comes close."
How about that, Presidential plaudits... Dap from Dubya!
VIDEO: Watch President Bush's exchange with Kevin at Wednesday's press conference.
All this comes just a couple of months after Mr. Bush displayed his wicked sense of humor when he absolutely buried Cox newspaper White House correspondent Ken Herman for wearing a brown seersucker suit at a similar news conference. Three times that day, Bush poked fun at Herman's gear calling it a "ridiculous-looking outfit."
Today, I humbly thanked the President for his compliment and offered to put him in touch with my tailor (his name is Kurt Sayce).
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Abby poses for a picture at Crawford Middle School, aka the White House filing center. Photo by Shawna Shepherd, CNN
Traveling to Crawford, Texas, with President Bush is nothing if not fetching. It is a cacophonous world of non-stop chatter, live reporting, news conferences and source calls; delightfully counterintuitive for a town that boasts a mere 749 residents and one Leader of the Free World.
Fitting then, that a place used to noise -- Crawford Middle School's gymnasium -- would for several weeks a year host scores of journalists, most steeled by years of surviving the high stakes game of White House coverage.
And it was there, just a few feet from the Pirates logo at center court, I uncovered an unlikely scoop. Beneath the curmudgeonly veneer of the venerable White House press corps lies a genteel nature, a remarkable softness, brought on by Crawford's Belle of the Ball.
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Tracy, left, and Lanny Barnes strike a tough pose with Kevin. Photo by NBC's Tina Cerbone
If you ask anyone who is a twin or even knows a twin, the question invariably comes up. Are you the good twin or the evil twin? So when I asked twin U.S. Olympic biathlon teammates Tracy and Lanny Barnes during a chat in Bardonecchia, they predictably answered in unison. One said, "I am," while the other agreed, "Yeah, she is!"
Now I'm sure you're wondering which is the so-called evil twin, but before I tell you which one claims the distinction, you should know that you don't have to be evil to compete in the biathlon, but you do need to be tough. Biathlon features a nine mile cross-country ski race and requires unrelenting marksmanship, like shooting at targets the size of playing cards over half a football field away!
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The U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team, photo by NBC's Tina Cerbone.
After spending a few hours with the U.S. Olympic Snowboarding team in Bardonecchia, you can't help but feel as if you're watching a real life version of the film "Napoleon Dynamite." You'll never meet a more eclectic, interesting and humorous group of young people. They listen to hip hop, rock and reggae while they board. They sleep late whenever possible and eat everything from tofu to (as Napoleon's grandma calls 'em) dang, quesa-dilluhs!
Gossssshhhh.
Discuss (3 comments) Email this | Link to thisOk, I admit it. Unless you really - and I mean really are into this stuff - the hearings today have been an especially tough watch. But it is not so bad if you're inside the room.
In fact, if it were possible, I'd propose they install twice as many cameras, so viewers at home could see more than just the committee and the occasional wide shot. I'd show them the gallery and all the interesting faces from school-aged children to "seasoned" citizens, the movement inside the room from the steady stream of fresh-from-college staffers with their reams of memos to the constant jockeying among the photo corps on the floor.
Discuss (3 comments) Email this | Link to thisThe lunch break is over, which means it is time for the seemingly endless parade of witnesses, who will, in some measure or another, praise or assail the ability of Judge Alito. In many ways, this is better theater than what we've seen before, because unlike the committee members who have spelled out over four days just where they stand, these people are relative unknowns.
They may come in with an idea of what they want to say, but they could say or do something completely unexpected, so I'll be listening.
Discuss (2 comments) Email this | Link to thisAfter a day of sprinting (okay, walking and riding the subway) between Russell, Hart, Dirksen and the Capitol for television, radio and blogging responsibilities I'm back in the hearing room today.
Mrs. Alito, who yesterday made headlines when she broke down in tears after her husband endured a difficult day of questioning, today appears relaxed and composed. She's wearing winter white with a scarlet blouse that matches perfectly with her husband's tie. Her choice of clothing has been the subject of off-handed snipes this week, but today that's not the case (as if she hasn't been through enough this week!).
Discuss (6 comments) Email this | Link to thisThough two dozen of them have been sprawled out on the floor of Hart 216 throughout the Alito hearings, chances are you've haven't so much as taken a second to look at any of them. Photographers here have become that ubiquitous.
They, like many of you, live in a world of high stress, high cost and intense competition. But what they do to get "the shot" that ends up in your morning newspaper or news Web site might surprise you.
50-year-old Christy Bowe has photographed an assortment of saints and scoundrels during her 15-year career -- from presidents and prime ministers to communists and everyday commuters. Her photos have been used in GQ, Time, Newsweek, Vanity Fair and People magazine. She says while the gear has changed over the years, one thing remains constant -- you've got to shoot a lot to get "the shot."
Discuss (1 comments) Email this | Link to thisUnless you're really into politics and the law like I am, there's little chance you've watched every hour of MSNBC's coverage of the Alito hearings.
But when you're the spouse of the judge who is facing the committee, you're expected to do your best to sit up straight, look attentive and fight off the boredom (and drowsiness) that can sneak up on you after 7 or 8 hours of non-stop talk. Today, the bug of boredom -- the dirge of drowsiness -- got to Martha-Ann Alito. Sort of.
Right around 4:30 p.m. ET, Mrs. Alito let her heavy eyes close for about seven seconds. She did so a few times. Poor form? Not at all! Just a little embarrassing when there are cameras everywhere.
In her defense, they stopped selling coffee here at 4 p.m.
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