jim miklaszewski joins with us more on that story and the black ha crash yesterday in afghanistan.'s begin with that. the taliban said they took that plane down. others y, no, they didn't. what is the latest? >> reporter: the u.s. military hasn't released the exact cause of the crash but it is believed to have been an know as four navy seals and five army, perhaps special operations forces, that were involved in a nature time mission that was launched at 4:00 a.m. against the taliban target there in south eastern afghanistan. somehow crashed as it landed on he target si in trying to carry out that mission. so the four navy seals have now been identified. the five army soldiers have not. and whilehe cause of the investigation, the cause of the crash is still under investigation, u.s. military officials say there is no sign whatsoever that it was brought down by hostile fire. >> unusually intimate details about conversations in the white house leading up to the surge in troops in afghanistan. is that unusual? what is the reaction in the pentagon? >> i think i would hav to agree. we'v

nbc pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski joins us now. describe his actions that brought him to the recognition of superiors. >> reporter: contessa, sergeant j unta's story leaps off the pages. he joined the army straight out of high school in cedar rapids in the heart of the nation's farm belt and three years ago he was involved in an action, platoon was on patrol about midnight on a bright moonlit night and they were ambushed by taliban fighters. he himself was knocked to the ground knocked in the chest by two enemy bullets and leaped to his feet to run right into the hail of gun fire. throwing grenades and shooting all the way. he found one of the fellow soldiers wounded being dragged away by two taliban fighters. he killed one of those taliban the other taliban made a flight away. and then he temporarily dragged that soldier to safety. unfortunately, that soldier later died and another soldier died in that action but for his heroics, the white house announced last week that sergeant giunta that joined at 18 years old would be awarded

jim miklaszewski is nbc's chief pentagon correspondent. and mik, okay, a lot of this has to do with senate process today. it may not actually take the correct temperature of whether there really is 60 votes to get rid of don't ask, don't tell, but tell us what we're going the see today and what we could see later this week? >> well, gay rights advocates believe that this is a do-or-die vote for the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. as the senate tries to muster 60 votes to override a threatened filibuster from republican senator john mccain, democrats are so desperate that they've really been putting pressure on the two republican senators from maine, olympia snowe and susan collins, who are generally in favor of the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, and it got so serious that even lady gaga, and in my wildest dreams, i never thought i'd refer to lady gaga in a pentagon story, but she was up in maine yesterday holding a rally to get enough votes to stick this amendment into the defense authorization bill, which will be voted on about 2:30 th

jim miklaszewski joins us. what happened here? >> when u.s. military officials warn that despite the end of formal combat operations in iraq, at the start of this month, there could still be some u.s. casualties. they never thought in their wildest dreams that this would involve soldiers shooting their own fellow soldiers. what happened here in fallujah, one of the deadliest areas of the war for u.s. military, is that an argument broke out apparently between four specialists when one of them allegedly picked up his weapon, shot and killed two others and wounded the third. he's been taken into custody. it is specialist neftali platero who is charges with killing jebron noonan of waterton, connecticut and another soldier. given the circumstances in iraq and afghanistan, one has to wonder why these things haven't happened more often. after all you, have young people in some of the most intense, dangerous situations with weapons all around them. and u.s. military officials say that it speaks highly to the discipline, not only of the force, but the

our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski has learned tonight they were reportedly trying to take pictures of each other's helicopter. $33 million helicopters hovering just above the lake surface on their way home from an air show, when something went wrong, as you see one of the choppers apparently misjudged the proper hover altitude. what they didn't know, a tourist was rolling on all of it, took the videotape, posted it on youtube. that got both pilots grounded. >>> now to the economy and a big sign of the times. consumer borrowing, buying things on credit. we learned earlier this month it's down for the 23rd month in a row. and even as interest rates have fallen nearly everywhere, credit card rates are still sky high. it's led a lot of people to believe it or not, pay cash. nbc's kristen welker has our report from glendale, california. >> oh, my gosh, the grapes are expensive. >> reporter: every cent counts when sarah and david go shopping. >> $3.54 for 18 ounces. >> reporter: the young parents are always looking for discounts and learning to live within their means. >> we stopped usin

. >> now nbc' chief pentagon correspondent, jim miklaszewski, will join us at 6:00 with more on the afghan strategy and woodward's new book. >>> president obama went to virginia to show case the benefits the health care act he signed into law six months ago. he held a discussion in the backyard of a resident's home in falls church there were about 20 people there. the preside announced that more provisions of the new health law kick in tomorrow. one provision lets children stay on their parents' insurance policies until they turn 26. another provision requires that insurers cover children with preexisting conditions. many of the people at today's events described how they have personally benefited from the health care changes. >>> we now know en d.c. school's chancellor michelle rhee and vincent gray are scheduled to meet. the "washington post" reports the lo-awaited meeting will happen tomorrow at noon in gray's office in the wilson building. rhee has come under fire by some, praised by others for firing teachers and principals the district. gray has said he will continue to pursue aggres

jim miklaszewski with the latest on those two cases for us. >>> general david petraeus says taliban leadersed out seeking reconciliation. and a second chef featured on gordon ramsey reality tv show was found dead in an apparent suicide. >>> plus, ben & jerry's ice cream is making a big change. >>> brian kurt of portland, oregon, is the founder of vocation vacations. he pairs individuals up with existing small businesses, giving the vacationers a two to three-day crash course to test drive a different career. it's an intensive learning experience for perspective entrepreneurs. hey, guys, i know i've been bad at this in the past, so i've come up with some mnemonic devices to help me learn your names. hello, a "penny" saved is a "penny" earned. oh, that's 'cause fedex ground helps you save money. that's right, penny. do you know ours? heavens to betsy. dwayne the bathtub. magic wanda. yeah! what's mine? uh, you're a dan fool. oh. it's just a device, dan. you can't take it personally. yeah, i suppose. [ male announcer ] we understand. you need a partner who helps you save. fedex ground. >>> wel

jim miklaszewski joins us break down the video and also the status. hat's the status of the investigation? >>> the reaction of everybody who sees this video,icallying those in the military, is, whoa! these helicopters are not designed to do this. and navy officials say this was definitely not any kind of training mission that, as you say, apparently the two crews decided they wanted to get some happy snaps of these helicopters hovering over the placid lake tahoe with the majestic mountains in the background when something went wrong. exactly what is up to the mishap go board to determine. they were trying to hoover when the weight of the helicopter forced the helicopters down into the water. that still is a big question mark because some are questioning in the video whether these pilots intentionally dipped their helicopters into the water, which, of course, would be extremely dangerous. intentional or not, it's very likely that these -- the flying careers of these two crews will probably be over, no matter what happens because those helicopters shun h

nbc's jim miklaszewski is at the pentagon for us. jim, it's like 100 vehicles that are backed up. what is the latest and give us an idea on why this is so significant. >> nato happens to be changing its story as we speak. they first denied that nato helicopters had crossed into pakistan and now in a news conference that may be under way now as we speak, they're in kabul. it appears that those nato helicopters did cross the border into pakistan. it's not the first time and it's not the first time that pakistani soldiers have been killed, but it is the first time that pakistan has take on the drastic step of shutting down the borders to those vital nato convoys carrying food and water and other supplies into afghanistan. food and fuel into afghanistan for u.s. and nato forces. now, according to u.s. officials, what happened in this case is that those nato helicopters were pursuing militants into pakistan when some pakistani soldiers at a guard post decided to take warning shots at the nato helicopters, not a good idea. the helicopters returned fire, killing three of the pakistnis an

nbc pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski joins us live.ieve that throughout iraq and afghanistan there is no living medal of honor recipient but what he did was really extraordinary, mik. >> it was extraordinary and sergeant could be the poster boy for the u.s. military, actually. he joined the military, the army right out of high school in cedar rapids, iowa. and three years ago, as you said, he was with his platoon on patrol in the valley when he and his platoon were ambushed. he was knocked to the ground when he was struck twice in the chest by enemy fire. his body armor saved him and he leaped to his feet and ran into the heart of the fire and rescued one of his fellow soldiers who was wounded and being dragged away by two taliban fighters. unfortunately, that soldier and another were killed in the action. but as of last friday, president obama, the white house announced, that he would be awarded the medal of honor for his valor and, typically hummable as we see many of those, these soldiers are. sergeant junta says it's not his medal