because we can improve medicare without making seniors pay more. on our broadcast tonight -- bearing witness. the president appears in the middle of the night to be there as america's war dead return from afghanistan, something he says he'll consider as he makes a big decision about this war.

line of fire. the american contractor credited with saving innocent lives here in kabul goes back with us to the scene of that brazen attack. the economy back home shows a sign of life it hasn't shown in a year, but how real are these new numbers? and another change in plan. something new that parents need to know about helping their kids through the swine flu. also and to ttonight the ex measure some women here in afghanistan have turned to. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good evening from kabul in afghanistan. in the middle of the night last night, the president of the united states went to dover air force base in delaware and he stood right where countless family members and dignitaries have stood during the eight years the u.s. has been at war. and last night he did what they

have all done, he watched as the american war dead came home. and he saluted them, all 18 of them. by the time he returned to the white house, it was well past 4:00 in the morning. and today he talked about the experience, especially in terms of the big decision he has to make about the war here in afghanistan. >> it was a sobering reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices that our young men and women in uniform are engaging in every single day. the burden of that what both our troops and their families bear in any wartime situation is going to bear on how i see these conflicts. it is something that i think about each and every day. >> the president's day was then off to a somber start, but there was more than this conflict on his agenda. topping domestic matters, an

aparn the turn in the u.s. economy, but it's all based, of course, on new numbers and our white house correspondent savannah guthrie has taken a look at them tonight. savannah, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. this is the milestone economists and the white house have been waiting for. the economy grew last quarter 3.5%. that's the first growth in a year. but with the jobs picture still so bleak, many economists are saying, take all of this with a dose of caution. >> it's been the longest -- >> reporter: standing before small business owners, the president's tone was hardly triumphant. >> this is obviously welcome news and an affirmation that this recession is abating and the steps we have taken had made a difference. but i also know we have a got a long way to go. >> reporter: dispatch add cross the airwaves today to herald the growth. >> it's good news. >> reporter: the president's aides tread carefully. >> we're nowhere near mission accomplished. >> reporter: with unemployment at 9.8% and climbing, and personal incomes down, advisers know that's the economic

indicator that matters most to middle america, jobs. >> for every person out of work, the recession remains alive and acute. >> reporter: still, wall street was boynant. the dow up nearly 200, after four straight quarters of decline, the 3.5% growth was better than expected. but behind the numberers, lingering questions. more than half the gains came from government programs and $8,000 home buyers' tax credit, which helped spur home building. and cash for clunkers, which drove up auto sales this summer temporarily. >> we're still on life support. and, frankly, it's unclear whether or not the economy will stand on its own without that government life support. >> reporter: but aides say it's not a phantom recovery. >> i don't think it's all artificial, but now we do have the foundation for economic growth that we didn't have before. >> reporter: meanwhile, with much fanfare, the house today unveiled its version of health

care reform. an $894 billion plan over 10 years said to cover 96% of americans. >> and now universal quality affordable health care for all americans. >> reporter: but republicans made a show of the bill's mammoth size. >> 1,990 pages. that's about four reams of paper. i would say the people who are getting reamed are the american people. >> reporter: and the president hailed the house bill as a milestone, but behind the celebrations, a big issue brewing. the house and senate bills pay for reform in very different ways. in the senate bill, to tax high-end insurance plans can't pass the house. the house's plan to tax high earners can't pass the senate. so one of the very contentious battles brewing ahead, brian. >> all right, savannah guthrie from the white house lawn this thursday night. savannah, thanks. so far on this trip to this region this week, we have moved from a moun tun outpost in

eastern afghanistan to bagram air base to kabul, where we are tonight. and this city not far from here, in fact, was rocked yesterday by a rare and brazen daytime attack by the taliban. they attacked a u.n. guest complex and a hotel. 11 people were killed in it all, including one american. but another american, also apparently played a major role in keeping innocent people safe. american contractor chris turner of kansas city, in fact, who works here to shuttle supplies mostly to u.s. troops along some very dangerous routes. that's his day job. yesterday he grabbed his weapon and went in to action. today we took him back to where it happened after the bomb and the fire and the shooting was all over. >> they came over that way, and then entered here. and let's walk inside, and i'll show you. prior to the fire, this was all sealed off. this was not the entrance. this was actually the entrance.

>> the bomb went off. >> we set all of that area ablaze. it started filling with smoke immediately. when i came down -- let's go up the stairs and i'll show you. it's a -- counting this floor, it's four floors. this is my -- this is my room. >> all your clothing, all your belongings? >> yeah, everything's -- everything was toast. >> have you been back here since? >> yeah, i came back and tried to salvage whatever i could. there was nothing to really salvage. >> oh, my gosh. >> you can see this. this is 5:45 when i heard the first shots. >> you say you got your gun. >> 5:45. >> what kind of weapon? >> ak-47. >> you carry an ak-47? >> yes, i carry an ak-47. everybody was going down the steps. i was the last one down. instead of running out the front when i got down, i then went out the back because of the fire and everybody was behind in a -- in the maid's quarters or washroom

behind us, and there's an open courtyard there. >> in this charred, burned-out structure, it's probably as good a place as any to ask you, given all that you see in your line of work as a contractor, what has happened to security in this country in the last six months? >> oh, it's deteriorated extremely in the last six months. and i think we've -- i don't know why, but i think we've lost the minds and hearts of the people, you know. i think they've turned against us, and i think our task here is very, very difficult, if at all possible. >> used to be taliban didn't come to kabul. >> yeah, yeah. kabul was a safe haven. people walked the streets without fear. now, as you can see by what's around us, it's not a safe haven anymore. >> do you fear we look back on this, on this building as a turning point, kind of a new tributary in this conflict? >> you know, they seem to be focusing on private contractors

and u.n. people, you know, instead of the militaries. in the past, unfortunately, it was dead afghans. suicide bombers affected them much more than the foreigners. but this was obviously directed at foreigners. i'm just thankful that as many people survived as did. >> you've lived a hardened life over here. >> yeah, it's a rough life. and the afghans live it every day. we're the lucky ones. we can leave. they can't. >> and yet you -- you proclaim your love for afghanistan often. >> oh, the people are the kindest, sweetest people i have ever met. i can't say enough about them. everyone i have met here as treated me so well. i'm -- i'm privileged to have afghan friends. >> even after all of this? >> oh, of course. >> by the way, to say that the contractors you meet when you're over here are as a rule rugged individualists is a gross understatement. our talk today with chris turner, formally of kansas city, missouri. we were back at the scene of yesterday's violent attack, again, not far at all from our base here in kabul.

meanwhile, next door to us in pakistan, secretary of state hillary clinton had some very tough words today for the pakistani government. they play a huge role in all of this. but she also got plenty of blowback from pakistani audiences asking why the u.s. should be trusted at all. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell, traveling with secretary clinton. she's with us again tonight from islamabad. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. tonight hillary clinton met with pakistan's top general and with the head of its intelligence services. even as she complained about pakistan's past failures to go after al qaeda. today pakistan struggled once again with the consequences of living and dying with terrorism. in peshawar, workers dug through the rubble of pakistan's worst bombing in two years. the death toll rose to 105. in several cities, markets were closed. in lahore, a near total security lockdown for secretary clinton's tour of religious and culture

sites. the tension across the country was palpable. at a town hall, university students challenged clinton asking whether they could trust america. one student confronted her saying, the u.s. is pressing pakistan to do what it doesn't want to do, reclaim tribal territories from extremists. >> that's up to pakistan. i mean, if you want to see your territory shrink, that's your choice. but i don't think that's the right choice. in fact, i think that's a very self-destructive choice. >> today america's top diplomat had a blunt message for pakistan. with no cameras present, she told newspaper editors that al qaeda has had a safe haven in pakistan since 2002. adding, "i find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to." clinton said she didn't believe in dancing around difficult issues, but many pakistanis were stunned by her directness. experts said people would be outraged. >> in this climate, i think to raise an accusetory finger is

probably not the right thing to do. >> reporter: it also surprised some american experts. >> she's challenging them. this is a risk, i will be honest with you. it's a high-risk strategy to play this out in public. >> reporter: and tonight pakistan's military and intelligence officials didn't dance around the issues either. they complained to clinton that the u.s. isn't doing enough with its military to control afghanistan's side of the border. brian? >> andrea, we're both covering interesting sides of the same story. andrea mitchell in pakistan tonight, thanks. and when our broadcast continues on a thursday evening, another change in plans. another shortage in the fight against swine flu, and the surprising invites today from the experts in the u.s. and later, more on the war here in afghanistan and what's at stake right now. no matter what life throws at you, you can take the heat. until it turns into... heartburn. good thing you've got what it takes to beat that heat, too. zantac. it's strong, just one pill can knock out the burn.

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or with some other medicines including aspirin, tell your doctor before planning surgery or taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. some medicines that are used to treat heartburn may affect how plavix works, so tell your doctor if you are taking other medicines. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. a rare but potentially life-threatening condition reported sometimes less than two weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. (male announcer) if you take plavix with other heart medicines continuing to do so will help increase protection against a future heart attack or stroke. feeling better doesn't mean not at risk. stay with plavix. we'll be back with more from kabul in just a moment. but there's other news of this day. and to get to that, david gregory is in our washington

newsroom. hey, david, good evening. >> good evening, brian. thank you. we begin with news about swine flu and yet another new challenge for parents whose kids do get sick. as our chief science correspondent robert bazell explains, there's a new shortage that is forcing some pharmacists and even some parents to be creative. >> you know what i need to know, what are you going to do for halloween? >> reporter: pediatrician laura popper is using more of the antiviral drug tamiflu to treat flu in her practice. >> we found that the duration of the illness is cut very short if you do it within the first 12 hours. >> reporter: other pediatricians are doing the same. and now there are spot shortages of the liquid form of tamiflu for children. but there are plenty of tamiflu capsules for adults. >> let's order 24 of each. >> reporter: to fill the needs, specialty compounding pharmacies like cherry's in new york, mixed the content of adult doses with syrup for kids. >> practitioners should specify the dosage in milligrams because

the concentration of the compounded version is slightly different than the manufactured version. >> reporter: despite such complications, a cdc official said today that parents at home can open tamiflu capsules and mix the contents with syrup, but only when they are carefully following doctors' instructions. >> we do not want parents to have to become pharmacists. you've got a full-time job being a parent. >> reporter: cdc officials admit there's message is about when to use the antiviral drugs have been changing and are, quote, tricky. most patients don't need them but some do as quickly as possible. the fda today posted the tamiflu compounding formula on its website for pharmacists, because as long as vaccine is in short supply -- >> yeah! >> reporter: -- the antiviral drugs remain a very important tool for fighting the flu. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. in the denver area, they are digging out from under more than two feet of snow as a

slow-moving storm system brought the biggest autumn snowfall in 12 years. roads and schools were closed and hundreds of flights in and out of denver international airport were canceled. politics in the news tonight. excerpts from a new book by president obama's campaign manager, david pluff, showed hillary clinton came closer to being chosen as the vice presidential nominee than many pm thought at the time. in the end, there were too many complications, including former president clinton himself. pluff quotes obama as saying, quote, if i picked her, my concern is there would be more than two of us in the relationship. you can hear more from david pluff sunday when he joins me for his first interview about the book on "meet the press." we'll also have an exclusive conversation on the economy with treasury secretary tim geithner. and it was harvest time at the white house today. first lady michelle obama and several dozen washington, d.c. schoolchildren filled a wheelbarrow with produce, part of what was planted back in march to draw attention to home gardening and healthy eating

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with thanks to david gregory, we're back here in kabul. tonight we have a powerful and emotional story about the role of women here in afghanistan. in a word, it's tough. it can be brutal. in some cases, it's a life of desperation. some women are driven to extreme

measures because of a life they see without hope, but for now, for the first time, they may have a refuge, and this is a rare look at just that. our report tonight from nbc's adrian among. >> reporter: they're mostly little children, with superficial burns, injuries from accidents. and then there's reza ghoul, at 13 still a child. but her wounds were self-inflicted. she told us she set herself on fire a year ago to escape an abusive husband almost 20 years older. he beat her when she didn't finish the housework. at this clinic in herat, the doctors trained by the humanitarian organization international said every year they see hundreds of girls like reza ghoul. >> the first marriage is the best reason and the important reason. >> reporter: where young wives are at the mercy of their husband and in-laws.

>> she's there only to wash, to clean, to give baby because in afghanistan, it's very important to have children. and nothing more. >> reporter: reza ghoul suffered burns below her stomach. her kidneys still ache. shiran was a child bride, too. married two years ago when she was 15. last week she was brought to the clinic with 90% of her body covered in third degree burns. her mother-in-law insists it was a kitchen accident. but shiran told the doctor she burned herself deliberately after fighting with her mother-in-law. her own mother, still in shock, doesn't understand. she says shiran is a happy girl. but all too often is the reality is girls like shiran feel trapped and desperate. >> to be considered like nothing, like nothing, it's very -- it's very, very difficult. >> reporter: shiran is one of 51

girls who set themselves on fire and ended up at this clinic since march. only 13 have survived. >> reporter: six hours after we first meet shiran, her mother and uncle rush into her room. shiran has died. across the hallway, reza ghoul is about to have physical therapy. she's expected to fully recover, and in many ways she already has. she's divorced her husband. her father's welcomed her back home, and her future is about to begin again. adrienne among, nbc news, herat, afghanistan. and when we come right back, one of our veterans is back here in afghanistan along with us, a familiar face joining us to help explain what is going on here. y that creates new jobs. being the number one manufacturer of wind turbines in america. and developing lower emission,

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years of wars going on involving the united states. he's here with us on this trip. we thought we'd ask him just what is going on here. richard, you toured the aftermath as we did today. a violent attack. a game-changer for kabul? >> it could be a game-changer for people who live and work in kabul. for years we have been able to operate as if the war was outside of the city, and now it is clearly come into the city, and many people at the u.n., other aid agencies, are worried that they're not going to have the kind of access to the streets that they've had before. it could be a game-changer. >> i was standing on the flight line last night, bagram airfield, watching the continuous 24-hour operations, takeoffs and landings, thinking, came over here after september 11 to go get al qaeda. we're fighting al qaeda and the taliban. what these days is the difference? >> they are a lot more similar now than they were. after 9/11, the al qaeda organization was the paramilitary organization that

attacked the united states hosted by the taliban. the taliban controlled the land. they controlled this country. but the two organizations have been fighting and dying and cooperating together very closely for the last eight years. so while there were big differences eight years ago, now probably not so many. >> now think of all of your work, which we have called tip of the sphere in korengal valley, where this is daily grind of dismounted infantry fighting, fire fights every day to get a few yards in some instances. what if the president decides we're going to concentrate on the population centers? what happens to that side of the war or the food giveaways we witnessed two, three days ago? >> if the strategy is to not worry about the remote valleys where very few people live, then there would be no point in having outposts like the ones in the korengal valley. and there have been some commanders who have said there is no point in securing an area where nobody lives. and to focus instead on what you saw, which is the food

giveaways, which you can do more effectively in populated areas. in the korengal, they're not giving away much humanitarian assistance. it's hard enough to resupply to soldiers themselves. they don't have anything to give away. but if you focus on the big cities, then you can try and work that part of the complex. >> and to top it all off, while we were here this afternoon, an earthquake struck. a rock 'n' roller, about 30 minutes here from kabul, centered many miles away from here. for richard engel, i'm brian williams. that's going to be our broadcast tonight from kabul. we hope you can join us again tomorrow evening. goon the from here for now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com