lester? >> chuck todd with the president in lisbon for us tonight. chuck, thanks. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is here with me at bagram airfield. richard, you watched the drawdown in iraq. you've covered this war. what does this mean for u.s. troops? >> four more years of combat operations, lester. that means for many troops, at least one, possibly two more combat deployments, and after that a relatively open-ended training operation. it means four more years in afghanistan, just to get where we are in iraq today. >> all right. nbc's richard engel. richard, thanks very much. we'll note you'll be back later in the broadcast with another story for us. >>> we want to continue here tonight, earlier i took a chopper ride with a top marine in helmand province. major general richard mills. we went to the town of marjah where coalition forces and the taliban engage in one of the fiercest battles of this war. months after the massive offensive began, mills and his troops continue to

lester? >> lee cowan in mumbai tonight, thank you. >>> the president's asian trip takes him to indonesia early next week. that country has been suffering from a pair of deadly natural disasters. a devastating tsunami last month, and the continuing eruption of the mt. merapi volcano. which has killed more than 100 people and driven thousands from their homes. now dangerous ash has brought air traffic in the region to a halt. nbc's pierce simmons reports. >> reporter: even from a distance, its awesome beauty betrays a fearsome power. and this is the power of the mt. merapi volcano close up. hot gas, rocks and debris torching houses and trees on friday. more than 130 people have been killed. many more injured. little wonder that now the danger zone around the volcano has been expanded to 20 miles. already since its eruption ten days ago, thousands have fled. people of all ages are crammed into shelters. those that can barely cope with such conditions, and many who simply cannot cope at all. the

>> reporter: lester, good evening to you. the talk is whether in fact all of this concern about passenger outrage may have been more hype than reality. behind me, we have smooth sailing at this tsa checkpoint. same thing at checkpoints across the country. very few people opting out. and very little in the way of a slowdown at any checkpoint. >> you can opt out. you can say no. >> reporter: despite sporadic calls for passengers to take a stand against the tsa's new procedures, travelered today seemed more interested in getting home for thanksgiving. >> doing what i have to do to see the folks. >> people are moving through briskly. >> reporter: checkpoint wait times across the country have been running below average. >> remove all jackets, coats, sweaters. >> reporter: very few passengers opting out of the scanners. nbc correspondents have also been watching the travel day. >> i'm at laguardia airport in new york where the tsa has said nobody has opted out of full-body scanning and there's been almost no wait at security all da

i'm jenna wolfe here with lester holt. would say hello to this beautiful woman from north carolina. dnd i do it? i never make a promise i don't keep. >> do you know who like it is weather? thousands of runners in the new york city marathon. a lot of friends and family are the smart ones, not running. no, it's cool. they get up early, take the bus to staten island. >> they come dressed warm and as the race starts they shed the clothes, so you see thousands of sweatshirts and sweatpants as people warm up. >> we have good friends running. al roker and meredith vieira are running. we wish them all the best. [ cheers and applause ] >> still to come this morning we'll talk about the final farewell in colorado for david hear hartley, allegedly murdered by pirates. a service will be held today. his wife tiffany sat down with me. >> plus, we'll talk about college-bound tips. this is the time of year where seniors are getting ready. millions of high school seniors and their parents decide which school is the best choice for them. be

lester, thanks. here at home this morning, it is a busy travel weekend. we're following the latest on those pat-down searches at airports. passengers and pilots consider them highly offensive. and an invasion of privacy. it seems like the government is responding to the oury and has new screening procedures. we're going to tell you what they are in just a moment. also, a hollywood murder mystery. a prominent publicist to the stars was gunned down as she drove her mercedes in beverly hills. who wanted her dead? we have new developments on the shocking crime. >>> and then, oh, baby. we take you inside o magazine's favorite things edition. we were able to get unprecedented access on how the issue was put togetr and we'll bring that all to you. but first let's hea back to bagram airfield and lester. amy, thanks. i've been in the country five days. i met some remarkable people and each time i learned how many different ways americans are putting it on the line here. let me give you an example. this is the

you did. >> lester! >> then my interview with the one and only bob newhart celebrating 50 years in show business and he's funnier than ever. two hit sit coms and one-sided phone conversations. >> still funny? >> still funny. >>> first a british couple was seized from their yacht by somali pirates and now they are free. here's the story. >> reporter: this was the moment the chandlers reached relative safe safety. custody of the men who vowed to secure their freedom. they were exhausted after an overnight road journey from the remote bush in somalia where they have been held for over a year. as basic medical checks were carried out, their delight and relief was obvious. >> i'm used to being swelteringly hot. >> reporter: the couple were told by pirates three days ago they would be released but didn't believe it. >> you have to keep hope. >> yes. >> it was difficult, you know. we were kept separate in solitary confinement. that was very difficult. these are not nice people. >> reporter: paul and rachel were

. >> reporr: gooevening, lester. as the public outcry over t new security measures continues to grow, the head of the tsa is now saying there may be room for flexibility. this as 1.6 million people prepare to fly this holiday week. as airports around the nation begin to swell with holiday travelers, debate mounts about the new security measures. >> if one of u is asked to go through a full body scanner, we will simply turn around and leave the airport and go to amtrak. >> i think it is just another safety level that we have to go throh so that we fly safely. >> reporter: just this morning, john pistole, head of the tsa said new procedures, full body scans and pat downs will stay in place. >> no, we are not changing the policies. >> reporter: this afternoon a clarification. the head of the tsa released a statement which reads in part -- this has always been viewed as an evolving program adapted as conditions warrant and we will work to make them as minimally invasive as possible. pistole's words after growing public f

nbc's lester holt is spending part of this holiday with the troops on the front lines and has our report from camp eggers in kabul. lester, good evening. >> reporter: carl, long lines for the thanksgiving meal here at camp edgars between afghanistan and iraq, nearly 150,000 americans are spending this holiday in harm's way, some have been able to enjoy the traditions of the holiday. others, however, have had to continue with the business of war. duty called on this thanksgiving as it does every day in the war zone. you guys all set? for these soldiers in kabul, the holiday takes a back seat. >> going out every day is pretty much the normal thing for us. >> hi, mommy.

i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. one of the world's most famous political prisoners is finally free. >> aung san suu kyi has been under house arrest for some 15 years. the big question now, how much freedom will she actually get? we'll have the latest on this coming up. >> also, sarah palin. she's everywhere, promoting a new show, pushing a new book. but is she poised to run for the white house in 2012? we're going to have much more on all things palin ahead. >>> plus, if you like chocolate, you better check what kind of prescription drugs you are taking. because chocolate and other foods like grapefruit could have adverse reactions if combined with common medications. we've got some important health facts that you need to know. >> and then, come on, get happy. we'll start a new series this morning about the pop culture icons who influenced our lives. for lester it was "the partridge family." >> maybe it was the music, the bus, the bell-bottomed pants, but it's why i picked up the bass guitar as a teenager because da

. >> lester, we may know more late thursday about the ouome of that tax cut debate. that's when the president has invited all congressional leaders, democrats and republicans, house and senate here to the white house for a meeting and he takes them upstairs for dinner t talk things through. lester. >> thks. >>> we woke this morning to word that the long ordeal of a retired couple held captive by somali pates for more than a year was over. they were hijacked aboard their sailboat and captivated people around the world. few can fget the video images of the british husband and wife pleading for their lives as their captors pointed wpons at her head. their freedom likely came at a hefty price. >> reporter: free at last. >> happy to be free and here and desperate to see our family and friends. >> reporter: a day of high drama after more than a year in captivity. it was during medical checks. >> we were kepteparate in solitary confinement. >> reporter: delighted and relieved to be released. >> we're absolutely over the moon to be free. to be away from those people. to be a

here i go. >> sorry, lester and jenna. people are from my high school in columbia, south carolina. hi again. do i have a shirt? look at how cute you are all tresed in your caroline shirts. the rockefeller >>> all right. good morning to you. happy sunday. hope you enjoyed your saturday. had some 70s out there. we have more of them in the forecast today. temperatures up about one to three degrees in some cases around the bay area. plenty of clear conditions, nice sunshine today at the beaches and well inland. the big story again is going to be some wind at times. you will have some gusty winds through the hills and canyons as well. this will happen through tomorrow morning. notice what happens as you go into wednesday, gets cold especially into next weekend. >>> well, tonight, you can keep getting your football fix on nbc, football night in america. sunday night football and i think we have a graphic, don't we? no, i guess we don't. anyway, i think new england will be at pittsburgh playing the steelers and there might be an

first, back to lester at bagram air feel. lester? >> all right.helicopter. this is part of the rescue squadron. they rescue those injured on the battlefield. we're shooting a lot of stories and one those late in the week, i went out on a mission with them today. we've got pictures. their hallmark, they find fast, fly low and avoid enemy fire. i sat in the open doorway with my feet dangling out, strapped in, we went out a little past the airfield itself and got a look what the they do, how they get in and really hostile territory to pick up those wounded. if you're a soldier on the battlefield and hurt, you know the army folks are going to be coming to get you in a helicopter that looks very much like this. great job to them. we'll be sharing that story in our journey here in afghanistan. we want to send it back to new york and the newsdesk for this update. >>> hi, lester. portugal, nato summit, president obama and leaders are discussing troop patrol in afghanistan. nbc's chuck todd is in lisbon. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, thomas. thi

lester? >> thanks. to believe this is the 10th straight year americans have lined up for thanksgiving dinner in afghanistan. the war has been going on almost a decade. ed a tuds toward it are certainly different on the home front compared to what you will here on the ground. i had a chance to talk to high school students and a marine sergeant to get a sense of how they each see the war through their eyes. it was considered by most americans a war of necessity, a direct response to september 11th, an attack on al qaeda's safe haven. >> translator: on my orders the united states military has begun strikes against al qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the taliban regime in afghanistan. >> reporter: the country swept by a wave of patriotism saw many of its young men and women rush to join the military and fight terror. in nine years, the faces of those who carry on this war have slowly changed. and in some ways their motor vision, too. >> i was not motivated by terror. >> reporter:

lester is in kabul again this evening. lester, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. you want to get a sense of how intense the fighting has been. ask the men of the 33rd rescue squadron. they are a combat soldier's 911. >> there it is right there. that's the ak-47 hole. >> reporter: the hole is in the boom of a helicopter. the inscriptn he wrote next to it says it all. >> almost got me. that's the de, my new alive birthday. the bullet struck the bottom of the aircraft and part of the pieces went right over my sunglasses and right underneath my helmet here. >> reporter: just five stitches and one day later, he was back in the air. sergeant jimmy saddle is a p.j., a combat paramedic with search and rescue squadrons. it's a well-oiled team from the ground to the cockpit. the pedros as they're known here can scramble within minutes of a call for help. their motto is that others may live. >> it's all about the guy on the ound and we're there to support them. >> reporter: waitingor a mission, they trained in th

and now here's lester. >> amy, thanks.icut jury will resume deliberating the fate of a home invasion killer who murdered a mother and her two daughters in the crime that shocked the country. nbc's michelle franzen joins us now from the courthouse in new haven. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, lester. the jury returns on a weekend day, no less, to resume deliberations. seven women and five men who must decide if the man convicted of killing a connecticut mother and her two daughters should die by lethal injection or face life in prison. he is the lone survivor in the gruesome triple murder case in connecticut. dr. william petit shown walking in new haven yesterday on the first day of jury deliberations to decide if convicted killer steven hayes should receive the death penalty. his wife jennifer, and two daughters, 17-year-old hayley and 11-year-old mikayla were murdered inside their home in 2007. the girls, tied to their beds before the house was set ablaze. their mom, sexually assaulted, and strang

we're going to head back to afghanistan and lester. >> all right. jenna, thanks. >>> at the nato summit in portugal this weekend president obama said 2014 is the year when u.s. and coalition forces start handing control over to the afghans. joing me is john campbell commanding general of the 101st airborne division. thank you for being here. >> thanks, lester, thanks for ving me. >> what a great group of individuals you here, have been terrific hosts of the today show and we appreciate. >> >> thanks. >> 2014, is that realistic? you command the eastern part of this country, including the pakistan border, the porous border, is four yearsenough? >> every single day there's progress made in afghanistan. the afghan national security forces, the police, the border patrol and the army continue to get better as we partner up wh them. in the time that we're here we're going to see great improvement. 2014, i can't really go into that date. i know people are talking 2011, before that. we're making progress every single day here. i think time wl tell. >> it's p

lester, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening.he marines are bringing in 16 m 1 a 16shgs battle manks. the marines tay this gives the commanders on the ground more flexibility to strike start and fast and not wait for attack aircraft. meantime, i just returned from helmand province earlier today where i had a chance to visit with the general in charge of operations there, general richard mills. he took me to the town of marjah, which early this year was the scene of a major marine offensive. they took the town back from the taliban. we were able toalk around the central parts of marjah safely. the edges of the town still having problems, still ied attacks. but they claim success in the center of the town. and to underscore the arrival soon of those big tanks, major general mills told me there could be no letup in the winter fights. in his words, the taliban will get no rest. >> lester holt in afghanistan. we'll look for your reporting all weekend. >>> our interview with prince charles airing tonight on nbc is making big headlines

i'm lester holt reporting from new york.rrow on "today" and then back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

lesters program. everybody talks about robust and adaptive. i will tell you the programs we invest in, we'll get fired if we under invest the point of the matter is we have to invest in something. we filled our first waste water plant. you build one that sat there waiting for the population you would get fired and that thes terminology we have to use. we invest the things to day that become the solution for tomorrow and the state has the resources now and probably in about a year or a year and a half we can't do more studies we have to move on action steps not only for the global warming but the endangers species questions nor owe and we can make those decisions and i don't fear them because i think we have good enough engineers and solutions and coupled with what lester concluded with, we have to get a level on thecs 2 gas emissions. i don't care if people are worried about global warming or not. you can get them into arguments. while we're doing some thing about it it's going to be more volatile and cause problems. what am i doing? i started

we'll go long distance, lester, and begin with you. how would you size up the implications of today's nato agreement? >> well, i think it val dates what we have seen here on the ground, alex, and that is the fact that there are afghan forces taking on greater and greater roles. the transition has been taking place here. we want patrol with u.s. marines in marja the day before yesterday. i'm losing track of times. and there were afghan soldiers along with them as well as afghan police. we're going to be going up in a resupply air drop and we'll be supplying, we're told, with an afghan pilot. so it is already happening and the troops here are quick to point that out. that said, the u.s. is still taking the brunt of the xwant combat and there is a lot of heavy combat going on in this country, a lot of heavy casualty peps this particular base houses a lot of nato assets, most of them air force, usair force, but certainly there are a lot of nato members and these planes come and go throughout the night. we're standing here at the 33rd rescu

public engage meant so, what i'd like to do right now is say, let's follow up on the comment that lester snow made about getting a communications plan going. one of the things to kick that off today i'd like to say the san francisco public utilities commission will be able to pledge one hundred thousand. my budget, well we have one vote but i think we can get unanimous support for that. but get a hundred thousand for our agency and what i'd like to do is see some west coast and east coast for too emily, california, or gone , colorado, each of us pledge a hundred thousand dollars to this public outreach to educate people about how climate change leafy fekt one of our most precious resources, drinking water. and how it will effect waist water. real life things to educate people. i think all other major agencies - the larger agencies should pledge a hundred thousand dollars. i know everybody likes to think of themselves as the big kids but smaller agencies can pledge 50 thousand. then what would be great, lester , is for the state,dwr, is match the collection of the different agencies. [app

>> lester holt in kabul, thanks. >>> thousands of american troops spent this thanksgiving in iraq asl. among the first members of the 1st infantry division enjoying dinner at camp taji near baghdad, on this day in kirkuk, it also included the presentation of purple hearts. the captain tony smith of minnesota and private first class matthew gray of michigan. >>> as we were reminded this week there are nearly 30,000 u.s. troops in south korea, an outpost for american forces since the korean war began 60 years ago. the "uss george washington" will take part in military exercises off korea next week. this follows tuesday's attack by north korea, which rained artillery fire on an island near the border killing four including two civilians and triggering an international crisis. nbc's ian williams made his way to that island today for a firsthand look. >> reporter: we traveled on one of the first ferries to resume service since tuesday's attack. to the very edge of north korean waters where the rocky island of yeonpyeong sits just a couple of miles from the disputed sea border. the militar

lester holt will be following all those numbers all night long. lester, good evening. >> we've got some amazing storylines we'll share throughout the evening primetime coverage. i want to frame what this election is all about in the minds of most people. almost nine out of ten say it's the economy that's not in good shape. a no-brainer. about the same number are worried about the future. a lot of people are telling us this because it hits home. they know the story personally. 30% have had a job layoff in the family. 42% say their finances are worse than they were the last time they went to the polls two years ago. what does that translate into? anger. folks are mad. we've been hearing it throughout the campaign. 26% of voters say they're angry at the government. nearly half are dissatisfied. less than a quarter say they are satisfied or enthusiastic. when you consider all the negative feelings towards government, it's probably not a surprise that a solid majority think government is doing too much, too much, 56% in all feel that way. 38% want the

>> all right, lester holt, where the action is in afghanistan. lester, thank you. and a programming note, lester anchors live from bagram air base this weekend on the "today" show and "nbc nightly news." >>> it was about 20 minutes until the opening bell, the big question today can wall street extend its rally into friday? cnbc's becky quick is here with a quick look at what is driving the market. good morning. >> it looks like the stock market will open down about 30 points this comes after the dow was up 170 points yesterday. what's happening this morning is really all around china, china coming out today and saying it will be raising the reserve requirements on the banks in china. this is the second time it's happened in the last two weeks, it's the fifth time this year, and china is doing this because they are trying to tamp down inflation. they've been watching food prices skyrocket and that's a big concern for the administration or the government there in china, it also shows the dichotomy between china and here in the united states, in the united states we h

lester got my question. >> lester had your question? now that -- that's news. can i just say -- in the spirit of completely bipartisan cooperation and in the spirit of -- >> i read his paper. >> and you believe, consequently, everything that's in it. >> no, no, no, i won't say that. >> lester, i don't -- i think he's -- you seem to have some -- i thought a minute ago -- can i see the transcript of that? i thought you said that -- >> you have to be selective. >> so the selectivity is based on what? >> on what seems to be accurate. >> what seems to be accurate. >> and what seems to be inaccurate. >> i see. and how does one determine that? >> by using your judgment. >> it's interesting. >> robert, can i blow a whistle here? because i do have a question. >> i don't know, i got to tell you, i thought the last -- i thought this was fairly fascinating, but -- >> i'm sure yours are much better than mine, but i do want to come back to tax cuts because you were making a distinction this morning between temporary and permanent tax cuts. i gather the president is still ada

i'm lester holt reporting from new york. brian williams been here tomorrow night.of us at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com and like baseball peoplee -- love their stats. i started bringing my lunch to work. 50 bucks a week in my pocket. here's a good one --

him lester rain however, and your probably really sick of hearing that, so, next slide. what i'm going to do is talk a little bit about - not the science or impact which i've worked with quite a bit - but rather resources for managers to try and close some of the discussions. you heard this and this is a conclusion from years back from the water assessment approach. the people are chaning. and it's effecting society and water sources are now unavoidable. again 7 years back, and by no means i went back to my records and congress don edwards some of you may remember, held a hearing in 1987 on impacts of climate change on san francisco bay area and that was years back but it's getting a lot of attention but not a new issue. this graph could be temperature over time or green house gas over time. population. but what it is, actually is the number of publications scientific publication addressing climate change and water resources globally from 1950 up until the present and mike is still here. he was the lead author on this article it came out in the journal of climate change,

>> lester holt, thank you so much. lester will host "nightly news" live all weekend. >>> for the first time in 37 years the house ethics committee voted to censure one of its own members. a devastating moment for a tearful charlie rangel. war hero and activist. >> i hope that you can see a way clear to make it that any action taken by me was not with the intention to bring any disgrace in the house or to enrich myself personally or to, or consider by council to be corrupt. >> rangel was found guilty of 11 ethics violations, including improper fund-raising, failure to pay taxes and failure to report personal income. now, the full house is expected to approve the committee recommendations and then rangel would have to stand in the house while the speaker reads a resolution rebuking him. >>> america meet your newly elected officials. this is the picture. incoming freshman class of the 212th congress. the new senators and representatives said cheese on the front steps of the capitol this morning. >>> when and where. those