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Tonight's broadcast

Good afternoon from New York. Brian has the day off and so I'll be anchoring the broadcast tonight.

Here in the newsroom we've just watched embattled Durham, N.C., District Attorney Mike Nifong -- the man who pressed the rape case against those Duke lacrosse players -- offer an apology and announce his intention to resign his office. Nifong today faced a Bar Association disciplinary panel today over his handling of the case. Today's hearing included tearful testimony by Reade Seligmann, one of the players who was once charged with the rape of an exotic dancer. The case was ultimately dropped against all of the accused players, and so today it was Nifong on the hot seat. A seat apparently hot enough to force this afternoon's announcement. Ron Mott is covering today's surprise development for us.

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Rock Star

All of us can occasionally benefit from a change of scenery.  Perhaps no one more than President Bush.  Battered by low approval numbers at home, and a Democratic Senate with which he rarely sees eye to eye, he had to be looking particularly forward to at least one stop on his current European tour.  The video out of Albania today says it all.  The President was literally swept into the arms of crowds who lined the streets of Tirana eager to greet the American president as a hero.  The Reuters wire service described it as an "ecstatic rock-star reception." Remarking on Albania's communist past, the president called Albania a society that had "known tyranny" and overcame it.  Our Kelly O' Donnell is traveling with the president and will have a full report on his welcome, and what he said there about independence for Kosovo.

John Yang will report on the tough week facing the president when he returns to Washington, including a no-confidence vote Senate Democrats plan to hold regarding Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, as well as Mr. Bush's visit to Capitol Hill to try and persuade Republican senators to get the derailed immigration bill back on the tracks.

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new front?

Good Saturday afternoon to you.  Thanks for checking-in.

We've got a lot planned for tonight's broadcast including a hard look at what's been taking place on Iraq's northern border this week.  The Kurdish-controlled northern part of the country doesn't generate much in the way of headlines because it has remained stable, peaceful and prosperous while other parts of the country are engulfed by civil war.  This week, however, the Turkish army has shelled positions inside Iraq, trying to hit Kurdish rebels it accuses of taking refuge on the Iraqi side of the border.  The raids have set-off diplomatic alarm bells from Baghdad to Washington, and fears of an impending Turkish incursion.  We've asked NBC's Jim Maceda to look at what is at stake and whether we are watching the beginning of a potential new flash point in Iraq, or just a minor side show.

We've got two different perspectives on the challenges President Bush is facing at home and abroad.  NBC's Kelly O'Donnell is with the president in Rome where he met with Pope Benedict.  The two have not seen eye to eye on Iraq, but today they managed to find some common round on humanitarian issues.

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home grown trouble?

Greetings from New York where the skies are growing a bit dark in advance of showers from what had been tropical storm Barry.  No one around here is complaining.  While we're not experiencing the kind of drought those of you in the southeast are dealing with, we're mindful we haven't seen a whole lot of rain up here this spring, so a soaking will do us good.

For tonight's broadcast we're taking a closer look at the alleged terror plot to blow up JFK airport announced by the FBI yesterday.  There have been several so-called "home grown" terror plots disrupted over the last year or so, from one targeting Chicago's Sears Tower, to a planned assault on Ft. Dix in New Jersey, to the subways and now JFK targeted in New York.  Does this mean we're winning the war on terror? We'll look at what is behind these apparent law enforcement success stories and why none bears the fingerprints of al Qaeda.

It's a big politics weekend.  As you may have heard it looks like former Republican senator and actor Fred Thompson is jumping into the race.  He is folksy, plain-talking, conservative, and from the south, not to mention with some impressive TV and movie credits, Kelly O'Donnell looks at where someone with that profile will fit into the current Republican field of candidates and why many believe he will automatically move to the top tier.

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Terror Plot

Good day from New York on a very busy news day.

Today's announcement from the FBI that it had broken-up a plot to blow-up the aircraft fuel supplies at New York's JFK Airport was another one of those reminders of what an attractive terror target New York continues to be.

Living here you become used to police occasionally checking your briefcase for explosives as you head to the subway turnstile.  Most of us no longer do a double take when police anti-terror squads in helmets, flak jackets and automatic weapons in their hands suddenly appear in front of popular tourist attractions.  Even the regular convoys of 25 police cars that criss-cross the city with lights and sirens massing on high-valued "target" are more an object of amusement then anything else. My wife and I call it "cops on parade."

Intellectually we all understand that there is a good chance we will be hit again, but yet we tend sometimes to live our lives in a collective sense of denial.  The alternative: dwelling on the possibility of another day like September 11th, 2001, would be crippling.

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Visiting billy graham's library

Shortly after you leave the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, N.C., you swing onto The Billy Graham Parkway. He is arguably this city's favorite -- and certainly most famous -- son. So it is no surprise that today's dedication of the Billy Graham Library is earning live television coverage here.

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to tour the 40,000-square-foot library with Franklin Graham who now heads his father's ministry. As you walk beneath the 40-foot cross that frames the entrance, you are first struck that there are no statues or busts of Billy Graham.  Though in many ways it is similar to presidential libraries, the elder Graham insisted this would not be a monument or tribute to him, but rather an instrument with which to further his life-long message about Jesus Christ as a path to salvation.

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memorial Day

Good afternoon from New York.  I'll be at the anchor desk tonight as Brian takes the night off.

The big story today is the historic face to face meeting between American and Iranian diplomats in Baghdad. The focus was narrow.  There was no discussion of Iran's nuclear programs, only ways to end the violence in Iraq.   We'll have a full report tonight on the outcome and expectations.

We will of course be framing our war coverage around the day's Memorial Day observances.  We are reminded on a day like this of the names, faces and stories of the individuals who so often are reported only as troop deployment or casualty numbers.  Tonight you'll get to know some of the Army dads who recently watched their sons and daughters graduate high school in Texas via a video-conference hook-up from their bases in Iraq.  It's a nice story about keeping families connected, and I'm happy we can share it with you.

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iraq raid

Good afternoon from New York.  There are a number of developments coming out of Iraq.   On Nightly news this evening we will be reporting on today's raid by U.S. troops on what they're calling an al Qaeda prison in Diyala. Dozens of prisoners, some showing apparent signs of torture were set free in the raid.  The operation is of particular significance to U.S. commanders because it was the result, they say, of Iraqi citizens stepping forward and speaking out against al Qaeda.  It's the kind of progress the Bush administration is eager to highlight. In fact our John Yang will report that more of the pressure for success in Iraq is coming from Republicans.  All sides are eagerly awaiting that progress report expected to come out in September.

If you watched the broadcast last night you no doubt heard rapid gunfire threatening to drown out Richard Engel's live report from outside a Palestinian refugee camp in Tripoli, Lebanon.  I'm happy to report Richard is safe and he will update us on the fighting there between government troops and Islamic militants that has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes.

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Troop Levels

Good day from New York.  I hope you are enjoying a safe and healthy weekend. Tonight on Nightly News we are taking a closer look at reports the White House may be looking to actually reduce the number of troops in Iraq beginning next year.  The White House reminds us that not all the reinforcements identified as part of the troop surge have even arrived in Iraq. Still, if you listen carefully to the President's remarks from this week's news conference he may have opened the door to some kind of a troop draw down. A New York Times report today suggests such discussions are in fact underway.  Our John Yang is working the story and will have more on the broadcast this evening.

Also on Nightly News, how much would you spend for a vehicle that breaks down every four-and-a-half hours?  The US Marine Corps spent over 1.5 billion on a new amphibious assault vehicle that is apparently spending way too much time in the garage.  Our senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers has the story.

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violent surge

Good afternoon from 30 Rock in New York, where we are busy preparing the Sunday edition of Nightly News.

The last several days have proven to be extraordinarily costly to American troops. Our Ian Williams will report from Baghdad that at least 21 US soldiers have been killed since Thursday. Tonight we will ask is this the inevitable cost of the "surge" -- the recent build-up of American forces on the ground?

We also will report tonight on an unusual window that has opened-up via the internet into the lives of average Iraqis, and how they go about the daily rituals of life amid the violence swirling around them.

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