lester holt decided to oversleep this morning. so -- fortunately, he made it in on time but a little weary eyed. >> it had to happen. >> had to happen, absolutely, at least once. >> we were going to vacate your chair. a little eastwooding of our own. thanks, jenna. >> enjoy. >>> today a brand new exhibit opened at the zoo called american trails.

our lester holt is in kabul. the last time were you in the region was almost two years ago. does it feel like the situation there has improved in any way? >> reporter: you know, you don't necessarily get the feel but the numbers will tell you that the nato has trained up over 300,000 afghan security forces. what has changed the surge officially ended on friday. that 33,000 number of troops who were brought in late 2009 into

lester holt, nbc news, kabul. >>> you can see lester holt's entire interview with general allen tonight at 7:00. his report live from afghanistan will be on "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. >>> police want to know who stole a flag from the virginia war memorial over the weekend. police there say that that happened between 3:00 and 4:00 sunday morning. a memorial spokesperson said they believe it took several people to cut the rope that held the flag on its pole. there is a surveillance camera watching over the memorial, but it was not focused on the flags at the time of the crime. a veteran has already donated a new flag. he helped put it up today. >>> nbc's third annual education nation summit is under way in new york city now. it's a discussion on how to solve some of the biggest problems in our classrooms. today nbc's andrea mitchell talked with former secretary of state condoleezza rice, who said both her parents were educators and that she is concerned about the disparity in education for poor minorities. >> we can't leave kids in failing neighborhood schools. if they have t

lester holt is in kandahar where he talked one-on-one with the u.s. and coalition forces. >> reporter: brian, good evening, with the war about to enter the 12th year, questions remain about the taliban resistance. but the man in charge of the war says the strategy for america getting out in the year 2014 is on track. it is quickly becoming put-up time for afghan forces and crunch time for the american commander overseeing the transition. >> reporter: what keeps you up at night on this job? >> the time, the amount of time remaining. >> reporter: time between now and 2014? >> that is correct, we have a lot of work to do. >> reporter: the u.s. and nato forces have trained more than 300,000 troops, taking the lead in combat operations. but threatening that, a deadly spike in insider attacks, afghan forces turning on their nato partners, 51 allied troops including 31 americans have been killed in such attacks so far this year. in a meeting today, the colonel acknowledged the existence of a training campaign. >> the taliban recognizes this is an opportunity

i'm lester holt. >> that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> this morning on "early today." road to charlotte. president obama stops off in ohio and new orleans before tomorrow's dnc kickoff. >>> mystery ship. isaac's pounding surf washes up what could be a civil war-era vessel. >>> and, royal seat. england's prince andrew goes to great heights for a good cause. >> this is "early today" for monday, september 3rd, 2012. >> hello and very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. we begin with labor day on the campaign trail. while much of the country has the day off, president obama will be hard at work before heading to the democratic national convention tomorrow. nbc's tracie potts joins us live from charlotte with the details. traci, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. i'm standing in front of the stadium where we will see president obama speak here in charlotte later in the week. but first he is on a campaign trip that he calls road to charlotte. today he'll

i'm lester holt reporting from new york. us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com this president can tell us it was someone else's fault. but this president cannot tell us that you're better off today than when he took office. [ female announcer ] here in virginia, we're not better off under president obama. his defense cuts threaten over one hundred thirty thousand jobs, lowering home values, putting families at risk. the romney plan?

i'm lester holt reporting from new york. us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm lester holt. >> that's all for now. i'm lester holt.>> this morning on "meet the press," the pressure is on as mitt romney stumbles and the president is widening his lead six weeks before the election. where is the debate headed? romney looks for a comeback. washington cannot be changed from the inside. >> he said he can't change washington from the inside. we are going to give him that chance in november, he's going outside. >> romney's worst week of the campaign after the release of the 2011 tax return and the infamous recording from a fund-raiser. our debate this morning about the 47%. taxes and government dependence with two top surrogates for the candidate. devalue pat trick and republican senator from new hampshire kelly. >>> our political round table. under fire. what is the turn around plan? are romney's troubles overstated and what to look for as the candidates prepare for the debate? with us, senior adviser for the republican campaign and host of morning joe, joe scarborough, david brooks and democratic strategist dee dee meye

brian williams, and lester holt will be withu on the weekend. we hope to see you on monday night. have a good weekend. brian williams, and lester holt will be with

i'm lester holt. >>> that's all for now. i'm lester holt.itac -- www.vitac.com >>> this morning, a special hour of "meet the press." turmoil in the middle east creates a flashpoint on the campaign trail. set off by an american anti-islamic video, rage against the u.s. sweeps the arab world. and an attack on the u.s. consulate in libya kills ambassador chris stephens and three others. >> the people of egypt, libya, yemen, and tunisia did not trade the tyranny of a dictator for the tyranny of a mob. >> but in this highly charged campaign environment, new questions about how the obama administration should respond enter the political debate. >> the administration was wrong to stand by statements sympathizing with those who had breached our embassy in egypt instead of condemning their actions. >> this morning, we'll talk to a key member of the president's foreign policy team, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, susan rice. >>> also this morning, an exclusive network interview with a key player in the middle east, the prime minister of isr

i'm lester holt. >> that's all for now. i'm lester holt.nks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> this morning on "meet the press," the direction of the country is at stake in november. and it makes the differences between the parties so clear. so what is the choice? mitt romney has spoken in tampa. arguing the president has fallen well short of his goals. >> president obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans. and to heal the planet. my promise is to help you and your family. >> now it's the president and the democrats who counter in charlotte. the issue, taxes and spending. debt and entitlement programs like medicare, and key voting groups like women, and latinos. making the case for the white house this morning, an architect of mr. obama's first term, now the mayor of chicago, rahm emanuel. also, a special discussionon the politics and strategy of the race. by showcasing ann romney and offering more personal details about himself, did romney forge a new connection with undecided voters? and how will presi

so lester holt on nbc the other night, on "dateline," had a piece where he specifically spent the entire hour with three different families who had always once been firmly affixed in the middle class and they are now completely impoverished, having lost just about everything. but talk to me, as you do in the book, about what poverty has done to the middle class as we know it. >> well, it just turns out that you can just see it in the numbers. we had 31 million poor people in the year 2000; we have 46 million now almost a 50 percent increase, and we've had a 74 percent increase in washington, d.c., where i live, in family homelessness since the recession started. so in the numbers, you can see it everywhere in the country, and it means for the new poor, except insofar as they have savings and so the trouble sort of sets in gradually, but there are issues about food, there are issues about kind of the psychological wellbeing of the children in particular. we see in some of the smaller towns in this country where they've been declining for a long time. they were prosperous farm towns or min

i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. we'll get to comments about lester's dancing, but i was on the rooftop of my apartment building last night and these black clouds came roaring in. you don't see that here in new york city at all. it looked fierce, really fierce. >> and then i got the text of tornado warning. i thought, not in new york. and then, boom, two of them. it takes a lot to surprise people but residents were shocked when two tornadoes touched down, one in brooklyn, one in queens. luckily, no one was seriously hurt. >> they were a part of the severe storms. we'll have more. >>> the trifle a century. o.j. simpson struggling to try on a glove during the murder trial and now a member of simpson's team fires back at allegations that johnnie cochran tampered with the glove. >>> a little girl is recovering after contracting the deadly disease. we'll hear from her and find out how she got it. >>> this week marks the finale of "america's got talent." i had a chance to go behind the scenes of the show. i will catch up wi

i'm lester holt. >> and i'm kate snow. thank you for having me. >> great to have you. >> been a while since you've been up this early in the morning. >> i set the alarm for 3:00 a.m. >> fir time you've been up at this hour on a weekend in the studio. nice to have you here. >> thanks for having me. we have a lot coming up. that crude film about islam has set off protests around the world. now a california man said to be behind it was brought in for questioning. >> officials say he's not under arrest, but they want to know if he violated his probation on bank fraud charges by going online. we'll get a live report in just a moment. >>> also ahead, a very special homecoming for amy copeland, the georgia woman who battled a flesh eating bacteria and won. this morning you'll see how she's overcome the odds with a big smile on her face. >>> chances are by now you've seen the video of a 77-year-old woman dragged out of her car during a traffic stop. now her family wants an apology. the question is did the officer really do anythin

i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc

i'm lester holt. for all le >> you are watching wbal 11 news. live. local.ing.

i'm lester holt.

lester holt is there leading our team this week.ck to education nation, he was first elected in 2009. san antonio may yore julian castro is pushing for improving college access to expanding prekindergarten. he credited education for his own rapid rise. >> i couldn't help but to think back to my classmates at thomas jefferson high school in san antonio. they had the same talents, the same brains, the same dreams as the folks we sat with at stanford and harvard. i realized the difference wasn't one of intelligence or drive. the difference was opportunity. >> joining me now, san antonio mayor julian castro. great to see you. >> great to be with you. >> how in charge of your school system are you? some mayors are direct control. some have rhetorical control. what is yours? >> not at all. in fact, san antonio is fascinatin fascinating. we have 15 different school districts within the city boundaries, and unlike new york or chicago, some other cities, the mayor does not have direct control. but because the districts are so fragments, the

i'm lester holt. her life ended in mystery on a dead end road. a mother of three who had gone missing. for police, the investigation seemed to hit a dead end, too. but they promised this family they would never quit. then a small town story led to a very big break. and to a suspect that surprised just about everyone. here's keith morrison. >> suppose for a minute you were sitting in your car, smack dab in the middle of tuscaloosa, alabama, and you pointed southwest down i-69 and kept a sharp eye out after half an hour or so. you would roll into a sweet little place called moundville. one stoplight, one general store. been around for quite a while. it's a sad truth, as the sheriff says, even here where everybody used to know everybody. >> it's not that way anymore. so many people are moving in from around the world. >> trying to escape the crowds. >> escape the crowd or running from something. >> where have you gone, andy griffith? mayberry has left us. sheriff ellis fights real crime now. >> the cream heime here is the s in any city, just a small

. >> i'm lester holt, and this is "dateline." tonight, as they say in hollywood, the plot thickens. here's josh mankowitz. >> ready, and action. >> ugh! ah! >> action. >> action! action! >> it rank second only to money as the single-most important word in hollywood. and here in l.a. where life and art are often the same thing, there's a real-life drama that rivals any action movie with a plot that includes all the elements of classic film noir. >> cut. >> a mystery featuring an assassin, a femme fatale, a hollywood star, and a stuntman who takes the fall. and as for the money, we'll get to that. let's start with the biggest name on the marquee, joe pesci, famous for his roles as a cold-blooded killer. >> don't move! >> this drama would co-star pesci's ex-wife, claudia harrah, a model and actress who appeared with pesci in the film "casino." >> with the orchestra -- >> the supporting cast includes claudia's brother, manny harrah, not an actor but an actually tough guy who did time in prison. and who harbors a terrible secret in his past. and finally, claudia's second husband, garrett

i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolf. "no easy day" not out until tuesday, yet we're learning so much more about it. we've known the broad outline of the frenzied moments leading up to the raid. we haven't been told the exact details. they're starting to come out. >> we're seeing excerpts from the book written by a navy s.e.a.l. who took part. they've been published in "the sun" newspaper in great britain. the author reveals how close the mission came to being a total disaster. more on that ahead. >>> and battling in the battleground states. president obama and governor mitt romney taking each other on with election day just over two months away and the democratic convention fast approaching. we will go live on the campaign trail with the president. >>> plus, a pretty shocking transformation for actor matthew mcconaughey, who's lost a huge amount of weight for a movie role. he'll the latest celebrity to do it. we'll ask why favorite stars gain or lose so much weight for a role and are they putting their health at risk. >>

that is our broadcast, i'm brian williams, and lester holt will be with you on the weekend. to see you on monday night. have a good weekend. >>> right now it's 6:00. a bay area campus on alert after a violent attack and a new police warning. good evening. thanks for joining us on this friday. >> students at san jose state on edge tonight after an attack on campus. the university tells us a group of men assaulted someone early this morning. nbc bay area's kimberly terry has the new details tonight. >> reporter: students at san jose state university are on alert after a 21-year-old man was jumped overnight. >> i was lal concerned. i was actually out that night at that time. so, you know, it made me nervous. >> reporter: the victim who is not a student, told campus police a group of four or five men, one armed with a pocket

. >> i'm lester holt, and this is "dateline." tonight, as they say in hollywood, the plot thickens. here's josh mankiewicz. >> ready, and action. >> ugh! ah! >> action. >> action! action! >> it rank second only to money word in hollywood. and here in l.a. where life and art are often the same thing, there's a real-life drama that rivals any action movie with a plot that includes all the elements of classic film noir. >> cut. >> a mystery featuring an assassin, a femme fatale, a hollywood star, and a stuntman who takes the fall. and as for the money, we'll get to that. let's start with the biggest name on the marquee, joe pesci, famous for his roles as a cold-blooded killer. >> don't move! >> this drama would co-star pesci's ex-wife, claudia haro, a model and actress who appeared with pesci in the film "casino." >> with the orchestra -- >> the supporting cast includes claudia's brother, manny haro, not an actor but an actually tough guy who did time in prison. and who harbors a terrible secret in his past. and finally, claudia's second husband, garrett warren. a hollywood stuntman an

captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with lester holt and jenna wolf. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >>> and welcome to "today" on this sunday morning. i'm jenna wolfe. >> and i'm carl quintanilla. we told you on saturday lester was on assignment. now we can reveal where he is, afghanistan. it has been nearly 11 years since the war began there and just last week the announcement came the surge is over. did it work? where does that nation go from here? we're going to check in with lester in just a moment. >> plus, we're going to have much more on that bounty placed on the head of the man accused of making that anti-islam film that set off protests worldwide. >>> then, a sweet 16 party gone terribly wrong when thousands of partiers showed up for a big bash. you will not believe how it happened. >> a crazy story. you have to be careful with facebook these days. you post to one friend and post to every single person i've ever met in my life. >> 30,000 rsvps. >> a very thin line. >>> then brat packer andrew mccarthy will drop by. h

i'm lester holt reporting from afghanistan. >> i'm tamron hall. it's almost 11 years since the war there began. it's a time of transition that we're witnessing, lester. >> tamron, indeed it is. the surge troops are gone. 68,000 u.s. soldiers remain. trying to get the afghan troops ready to take control of their country and the fight. how is that effort going? i'll have much more in just a moment. >>> and new details are emerging about actor johnny lewis. police say the "sons of anarchy" star killed his landlord before falling to his death. we'll look at his downward spiral and hear from people who tried to help him as his life was spinning out of control. >>> also, we'll talk with alana stewart. the former model is coming to terms with her past in her new memoir. she talks openly about her famous ex-husbands george hamilton and rod stewart and losing her best friend farrah fawcett. we'll talk with her in our next hour. >>> but first, lester, you've been on the ground now for a week. what is your sense that the troops -- or what are they telling yo

i'm lester holt. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and right back here tomorrow evening.ood night. now. >>> good evening. i'm chris sanchez in for die want dwyer. more americans say they will get away for the holiday and some will have to find an ate nate route. crews are performing

i'm lester holt. for all of >> good evening. i'm kris sanchez. a vigil is under way for a san jose firefighter who suffered a heart attack while on the job. frank ryan is in critical but stable condition in san jose. kimberly tere joins us from the hospital with more on what friends and family are doing in his honor. >> reporter: kris, about 75 people gathered to pray. the 41-year-old remains in critical but stable condition after he collapsed battling a three-alarm fire on thursday at st. patrick's cathedral. he suffered a heart attack. the group gathered to send thoughts and prayers and also to thank all first responders who risk their lives to help others. >> these men and women put their lives on the line for us. you call 911, they're there. we wanted to be there too to show them the love and support they showed us. >> reporter: firefighters say the support from the community has been amazing. they have been holding vigil since the incident happened and some say they will be here until they know ryan is fine. family is declining interviews bu

nbc-universal television >>> from nbc news world head quarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening. president obama is on the campaign trail tonight hitting states that are sure to be hotly contested and sharpening the attacks and talking points that are likely to frame this week's democratic convention in charlotte. that will include the charge that mitt romney and republicans are pushing failed economic policies of the past. as democrats prepare to take center stage they'll face the challenge of convincing undecided voters that the president's policies are healing a sick economy. it's a debate that was on full display and our white house correspondent kristen welker begins our coverage from boulder, colorado tonight. >> reporter: good evening. in 2008 president obama became the first democrat to win colorado in 16 years. now that winning coalition isn't as strong so he is aiming to get women and young voters like the ones on this college campus to turn out in force. >> hey, guys. hello everybody. >> reporter: in boulder, president obama took his case to voters o

i'm lester holt. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and then right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> good evening, i'm kris sanchez. another nhl lockout is looming. this were no formal talks between players and league official, and the deadline is less than three hours away. that now sets the stage for the league to impose a lockout when the collective bargaining agreement expires at

inside studio 1a, i'm jenna wolfe alongside lester holt.just double-checking, just wanted to make sure. it's early. >> amazing they slip in these alternate anchors at weird times. >> believe me. >>> coming up in this half hour, a maryland state trooper really lucky to be alive. >> we've seen too many things like this. this is tough to watch, this video taken on his dashboard cam. he was hit during a traffic stop and we'll see how he's doing and why he thinks drivers need to be more careful, although i think the picture illustrates why people need to be more careful. >> that was a hubcap. >>> plus, have they have their last laugh as a couple? more on amy poehler and will arnett separating after nine years of marriage. >>> then, take a look at a bunch of high school performers and ask them to put on a musical in five days all while competing to be the best, and what do you get? some pretty high-intensity drama both onstage and off. we'll tell you more about this. lots of tears, too, coming up. >>> then, olympic soccer gold medalist alex morga

i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. 59 days until election. here we go, the race is on. speeches are over, balloons have dropped. it's now time for barack obama and mitt romney to make their case to the nation as to why they deserve to be president for the next four years. >> each trying to work with the respective bounce in the candidates. both candidates campaigning in key battleground states this weekend with romney in virginia, the president in florida. and big question looming over all this, will friday's dismal jobs report blunt any momentum the president had coming out of the convention? we're going to discuss that and much more coming up in just a moment. >>> then, a new twist in that bomb hoax that forced a passenger plane headed to texas to return to philadelphia. this morning, why investigators are saying a love triangle may be to blame for that. >>> plus, a piece of video we first showed you on friday, and a warning, it's pretty tough to watch. it's a maryland state trooper hit by a semi. good grief! while he was making a traffic stop. amazingly, he survived

nbc's lester holt is in kabul this morning where he talked to the top commander of the u.s. and coalition troops there. lester, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. this is a critical juncture in this war. there are 33,000 fewer u.s. troops here now that the surge is over, and as the u.s. hands over more and more combat operations to afghan forces, these infiltrators who are carrying out insider attacks are raising lots of questions about the future of the question, questions i put to general john allen in an exclusive interview this morning. >> the nature of this campaign is not ultimately for us to defeat the taliban. the nature of this campaign is for us to give the afghan national security forces the wherewithal ultimately to create security in this country so that governance can take root, rule of law embraced and economic development and opportunity can move forward. >> reporter: you are at a critical moment, and yet, as you know, this has been a horrible year for insider attacks. the very people that you're training to take over this mission are i

nbc's lester holt is in kabul this morning where he talked to the top commander of the u.s. and coalition troops there. lester, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. this is a critical juncture in this war. there are 33,000 fewer u.s. troops here now that the surge is over, and as the u.s. hands over more and more combat operations to afghan forces, these infiltrators who are carrying out insider attacks are raising lots of questions about the future of the question, questions i put to general john allen in an exclusive interview this morning. >> the nature of this campaign is not ultimately for us to defeat the taliban. the nature of this campaign is for us to give the afghan national security forces the wherewithal ultimately to create security in this country so that governance can take root, rule of law embraced and economic development and opportunity can move forward. >> reporter: you are at a critical moment, and yet, as you know, this has been a horrible year for insider attacks. the very people that you're training to take over this mission are i