lester? >> pretty remarkable pictures there tonight, anne, thanks. >>> beyond the roads, today was a travel nightmare in the new york area for anyone who had planned to fly or take the train. nbc's rehema ellis is at laguardia airport with more on that. rehema, good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening, lester. new york airports are getting back to the business of flying. but air travel is still far from normal tonight. there were more than 1800 cancellations at new york airports alone over the past few days, because of the storm. at one laguardia airport, about 20 stranded passengers spent the night sleeping on cots provided by the airlines. a few others camped out on the floor. the airport was virtually deserted. today, crews worked to dig out from under nearly a foot of snow at laguardia to get some flights operating again. amtrak passengers traveling between new york and boston, however, had no luck at all. as train service on that route was shut down again today. passengers we spoke

lester? >> janet shamlian in florida for us tonight, thanks. >>> the president of afghanistan today ordered all u.s. special operations forces to leave an embattled area of that country within two weeks because of torture and other allegations against afghans working with the americans. the area is wardak province, not far from kabul. for more on this, we turn to nbc pentagon correspondent, jim miklaszewski. jim, what is this all about? >> lester, this order today shocked u.s. defense and military officials, taken totally by surprise. military officials strongly deny u.s. commandos condone or took part in any kidnappings, torture or murders of afghan civilians or suspects. now, in the past, president karzai has taken the u.s. military to task, in part, to show the afghan people that he's in charge. but wardak province is a taliban stronghold, one of the hottest combat areas in afghanistan. so if karzai's playing politics here, it's an extremely dangerous game, lester. >> could this derail the

lester? >> miguel almaguer in los angeles tonight. thanks. >>> here in the northeast, lots of digging out still going on after that blizzard dumped three feet of snow or more on some areas. and it's very much a case of the haves and have notes. most have power back, almost 300,000 homes and businesses still don't have it. public transportation is back in many areas. others it's still suspended. nbc's ron mott is following all this from boston. ron, good evening. >> reporter: hey, lester, good evening to you. the big dig is taking on a little different meaning here in boston tonight, what with nearly 25 inches of snow on the ground. getting things going again is easier said than done, but we can report forward progress is under way. it was a snow-stopper of a storm, and more than 24 hours after the last flake settled, people are anxious to get going, however long it takes. across new england, boston's south station to hartford, connecticut, today was all about moving on. >> we've been trying t

listen, lester. they said lester would be upset. it was a whole thing.want it. i took the heat and i took the cold obviously. >> i like it. >> next year, your getting dunked. >> very nice. >> well, next year, we'll be in new york as dylan pointed out. it will be a little cold. >> that will be lovely on the plaza, four jugs of gator aid >>> from gator aid to sandwiches, time for today's kitchen super bowl style. no matter which team you are cheering for, we are going to find out whether san francisco or baltimore will win in the battle. here to help us do that, pit master, kenny cal abegan, executive chef. >> what makes these sandwiches unique representatives of their perspective cities? >> san fran versus baltimore. san francisco is famous for bread and green goddess dressing. this is my take. it is like a grilled cheese on steroids. >> how can you go wrong with that? >> this is the green goddess dressing. you can scoop some africa g anchovies. >> i never realized that was in it. >> it gives it a little salty flavor. >> you can help me assemble the sandw

bill lester is down pon hissluck..ill lester, hit-and-run iccim::it's been a rough year. it's really been a rough year or me..nine months oo bbd luck conninued hit--nd-run victim:"a car arm--and makessa hit-and-run." yep. a brokennarm.bbll lester, & hit-and-run victim:"i never thought in a million years i'd ever get ii by a car, you know what i mean?"let's backtraakktt thursday... bill was on is way iito work. he stopped at thhs giant in &pcolumbia.bill: "i went back tt my ar, and my car wouldn't staat."bill was about a mile and a half ffom howard counny generrl hospitaa, where he works as a pharmacy technician. so, hh started walking.paul gessler, reporter: "that mile and a alf walk turned tricky sidewaak ran out on cedar lanee another block or so down, heedeeided he wanted to &pswitch sides of the street. right when hh turned, that'' when he was hit..bill lester, hit-and-run victim:"no, i didn'ttsee the ccr coming behind me. it happened all 3 victim's wife:"why wouldn't 3 least take him to the hospital or somethinn."bill says it as p green or blue car... ccn't quite rem

lester? >> michelle kosinski tonight, thank you. >>> back in this country, the bipartisan effort to craft a way forward on immigration reform hit a bump in the road today when a story hit saying that the obama administration had already written up a plan of its own. that upset many republicans and sent the white house and democrats into damage control. nbc's kristen welker is in port st. lucie tonight with more on that. kristen? >> reporter: lester, good evening. president obama has long said if congress can't come up with an immigration reform bill, he will submit his own proposal to the hill. but now that leaked copy of his plan is inflaming an already heated debate. while president obama vacationing in florida hit the links with tiger woods in this palm city community, the immigration debate got a fresh jolt when "usa today" reported on a leaked copy of the president's immigration proposal. according to the paper, the draft bill would create a new lawful prospective immigrant visa that wou

lester? >> john yang, thanks. >> now, here is erica. >> turning on to the aftermath of a huge blizzard here in the northeast, the cleanup and the travel nightmare. we have two reports this morning. with we begin with al roker in hard-hit boston. al, good morning. >> erica, good morning to you. things have finally calmed down. the winds have died down. it is really a winter wonderland now. the work of cleanup goes on while this storm system didn't reach all the height that it might have as far as snowfall right here in boston. it still did dump 21.8 inches of snow, good enough for number five on the record books. this is going to be one people will be talking about for years. >> it's day two without power for hundreds of thousands across the northeast. >> we are working pretty hard. >> dipping to the single digits overnights, repairs can't come fast enough. >> i would like it to happen now. i understand it is going to take some time. >> for others, it is all about digging. digging and more dig

i'm lester holt in central park. and erica hill warm inside studstud studda studio 1a. >> forecasters warning us this storm would be a powerhouse. right on target. not very far from studio 1a, a look at times square. crews hard at work cleaning up the snow, and also new jersey, strong winds and surf on the jersey shore. i have to point out, lester, when we first came in and you saw the shot of rockefeller plaza and you didn't see snow, that is because they have been up since the wee hours clearing the white stuff it looks like there was no storm outside studstud studda studio 1a. >> one person reported dead after a traffic in upstate new york. the snowfall totals across the northeast are substantial. in parts of connecticut, nearly 3 feet has fallen. boston and portland, maine, reported snowfalls of up to 25 inches. here in new york city, up to about a foot of snow. power has been knocked out to nearly 650,000 customers, most of them in massachusetts and rhode island, and more than 1,800 flights canceled so far, that

>> lester. >> lester? lester the foal?te upton, horse commercial. >> there's no competition there, right? lester. >> all right. >> thanks. >> thank you. >>> dylan dreyer has our check of the forecast. >> you know, the groundhog has proved me wrong yet again. he did see his shadow. it's this ongoing battle i have with him. he did see his shadow -- no, he did not see his shadow. now we are going to get -- see, he messes me up. we are going to get spring early. that's all you need to know. winter will end six weeks early this year according to him. we are looking at pretty cold temperatures. we've got temperatures below zero and well below zero across minnesota. we have temperatures only in the 20s in the northeast. the warmest is across the south coast where we'll see temperatures close to 80 degrees. we are going to also have to deal with a little light snow through ohio. that will move into west virginia later this afternoon. we'll pick up two to four inches. west virginia and the mountains could have three to six. >> we h

we'll head back out to lester. >> yeah. certainly lived up to its billing. it has pounded the northeast. the snow has virtually stopped here in new york. as we move north in new england, it's still tough going. overnight, up to 100 cars stranded by the snow on the long island expressway. that's just the tip of the iceberg with 25 million people here in the northeast virtually snowed in. the new york-to-boston corridor overnight ground to a halt. 25 million people snowed in. before it's over, boston could be buried under a near record two feet. so bad that driving across massachusetts banned. >> i have now signed an executive order banning vehicle traffic. >> the same goes for rhode island. >> i'm here until they say we can go home and the roads are clear. >> reporter: believe it or not, there's a road just behind this reporter in smithfield, rhode island. airlines canceled flights from philadelphia to boston. up to 3,500 all told, causing a ripple effect across the country. along the new york and new jersey coast, the storm

>> lester. >> lester? lester the foal?te upton, horse commercial. >> there's no competition there, right? lester. >> all right. >> thanks. >> thank you. >>> dylan dreyer has our check of the forecast. >> you know, the groundhog has proved me wrong yet again. he did see his shadow. it's this ongoing battle i have with him. he did see his shadow -- no, he did not see his shadow. now we are going to get -- see, he messes me up. we are going to get spring early. >>> good saturday morning. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. there's bright sunshine out there this morning. local groundhogs are likely to see their shadow, even though punxsutawney phil, fortunately, did not. current temperatures, winter cold for sure. upper teens to around 20 degrees right now. a real bundle-up factor this morning. high temperatures this afternoon, just barely above the freezing mark. clouds are on their way back, and there's a chance for light snow this afternoon and this evening and a little more light snow possible >> and that is your la

lester? >> all right. kristen, thank you. >>> in alabama tonight a man with a gun continues to hold a little boy hostage in an underground bunker after allegedly shooting to death the driver of the school bus the boy was on four days ago. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in midland city, alabama, with that story. gabe, good evening. >> reporter: lester, so far this standoff has lasted more than 97 hours and there's no end in sight. just up the road behind me police say the suspect has a heater, blankets, and plenty of supplies in that bunker. the delicate and tense standoff has police here in southeastern alabama on edge. s.w.a.t. teams and hostage negotiators focused on an underground bunker, where police say jimmy lee dykes has held a 5-year-old boy for more than four days. >> i want to thank him for taking care of our child. >> reporter: police are choosing words carefully as they talk with him through a ventilation pipe attached to the bunker. they would not say whether he's making any demands. dy

lester? >> kristen, thank you. for more on how all this is playing out we're joined by cnbc's chief washington correspondent john harwood. if we get to friday, they don't make a deal, do these cuts all play out at once or do they transpire over a series of weeks or months? >> they'll play out for a while, maybe not for a long while. even though both parties seem willing to let the sequester go into effect there's a lot not to like for both sides. if we see the effects like longer air travel delays you're going to see increasing pressure from their constituents to negotiate some sort of alternative. >> for the last couple of years we've heard about the so-called grand bargain. is that just a dream or is it something we could see happen to solve all this? >> it's hard to be optimistic after all we've seen. but a republican member of congress told me this week that it's still possible that republicans would accept more tax revenue in the context of tax reform if democrats give ground on entitlem

lester?> kristin welker this morning. thanks. >>> here's erica. >> lester, thank you. turning now to south africa where former olympian oscar pistorius is spending his first full day out on bail. michelle kaczynski is in pretoria with more. good morning. >> reporter: hi, erica. oscar pistorius went to his uncle's house with his family after being released on bail. one of the condition of which is he can't go back to his own home. the scene of the alleged crime. he has to turn in his passports, guns, can't use drugs or alcohol, needs permission to leave town, and has to check in with police twice a week starting monday. he may even start training again monday even though his agent canceled all of his upcoming races. his coach says he thinks that might be the best thing for him now to clear his mind. but when asked, well, isn't training the last thing on pistorius' mind after losing his girlfriend, the coach didn't comment. pistorius sobbed, his body shaking as that ruling was read yesterday. t

ann, good evening. >> good evening, lester. people packed st.s square today to say good-bye to pope benedict. he told the crowd that by retiring he was not abandoning the church, but, rather, that god had called him to a life of more prayer and meditation. the crowd, in turn, in song and with signs and in many different languages said thank you to the 85-year-old pontiff. as that was happening, there were new charges. there were charges being brought against a scottish cardinal, one of the men that will vote for the new pope, three priests and one young priest accused him of inappropriate behavior. lester. >> ann thompson in rome tonight. thank you. >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. i'll see you short loyel

lester and erica? >> congratulations, as well. dylan, thanks. >>> still to come, david beckham signs with a new team. it's his plans for his paycheck that have people talking. >>> and too sexy for its own good? critics say there's too much sizzle in this car ad featuring supermodel kate upton. yes, we will continue to show it and speak with her about it after this. ♪ this is amazing, how did you find us? i thought we might be related, so i had a fiber analysis done and sure enough, we're family. but you're not even shredded. you're...crunchy?! that happens sometimes. and you help keep people full with whole grain fiber? just like you guys. [ female announcer ] they're different, but the same. new frosted mini-wheats crunch. a tasty square packed with a crunch... [ crunch! ] ...of whole grain fiber that helps keep you full. it's a big breakfast... [ crunch! ] ...in new a little biscuit. smile! ohhh bring it in! ooohhhooh! we gotta time this just right. okay. ready... mm-hmm. happy valentine's day. [ female announcer ] save 30% on t

i'm lester holt reporting from new york.n the morning on "today" then right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

lester? >> richard engel, thanks. >>> now to the situation in mali. one day after the french president was cheered for liberating the ancient city of timbuktu from militants, french forces in action again in the northern part of country. nbc's reporter is on the ground in timbuktu tonight. >> reporter: french fighter jets pounded arms depots and jihadist training camps, another major operation in this three-week long assault against al qaeda militants in the north of mali. 30 aircraft were involved in this operation to the north of key town. last time four somalians and french force. meanwhile, here in the legendary city of timbuktu, west african troops have been pouring in during the day to help to secure the outskirts of the city. meanwhile, the french troops have been moving out further into the desert. some were cheered as they went. at the end of this, the first week of freedom for the people of timbuktu for many, many months. lester? >>> new details emerging tonight in the story of sara

lester? >> thanks. the ordeal on the carnival "triumph" was difficult for everyone on board. for some, it did become a dire emergency. our chief medical correspondent, dr. nancy snyderman, has a story of one family's dream cruise that turned into a hair-raising evacuation on the high seas. [ cheers ] >> they're safe! >> thank you. >> reporter: their trip was supposed to be a birthday party and family reunion at sea. planned for more than a year and including 31 relatives. >> for me it was the most scariest part. i thought they're here for my birthday. >> reporter: this trip of a lifetime was ruined when at 5:30 last sunday the ship's p.a. system sounded alarms. their thoughts instantly turned to one member -- rachel alderett, 54 years old and suffering kidney disease. she needed regular dialysis to stay alive and was due for a treatment on tuesday. the crew engineered a harrowing transfer off the ship. there was another woman also evacuated, as seen in these images captured by another passeng

lester? >> michelle kosinski in south africa. >>> and a fall from grace in this country involving a woman who made history as the first female mayor of san diego. maureen o'connor admits she stole millions to support a decade long gambling addiction that may have led to more than a billion dollars in losses. her story tonight from nbc's mike taibbi. >> reporter: maureen o'connor is 66 now. her health is frail, her fortune gone, her humiliation deep. >> i never meant to hurt people. >> reporter: what the former san diego mayor admits she did was to steal millions from the charitable foundation of her late husband robert peterson, the founder of the jack in the box restaurant chain, to help fuel a gambling obsession of mammoth proportions. >> her winnings were over a billion dollars. unfortunately for her, her losses exceeded even that. >> reporter: o'connor cut a deal to avoid jail time for wire fraud, pay back the charity, and fully admit her wrongdoing. but she said a brain tumor that was re

lester. >> kristen welker. thanks. here is erica. >>> turning to south africa, where former olympian oscar pistorius is spending his first full day out on bail. michelle kosinkski joins us with more. >> reporter: he went to his uncle's house after being released on bail. he can't go back to his own home, the scene of the alleged crime. he to turn in passports, guns, can't use drugs or alcohol. needs permission to leave town and has to check in with police twice a week starting monday. he may start training again monday, even though his agent canceled all upcoming races. his coach says that may be the best thing for him right now to clear his mind. isn't training the last thing on pistorius' mind after losing his girlfriend? the coach didn't comment. pistorius sobbed, his body shaking as the ruling was read. the judge said he had problems with pistorius' account about what happened that morning that reeva steenkamp was killed. why derush into the danger that he claimed was so terrifying? why didn't he ask who was in the

lester? >> all right, dylan. thanks. to washington, where 3rez obama's choice for defense secretary remains in limbo. chuck hagel's nomination so hold for a week while congress is in recess. what's all the drama involving this vote? david gregory is moderator of "meet the press". good morning. >> good morning. >> a republican standing against his nomination here. i think we're used to republicans standing up against the president. why in this case which it seems to be a foregone conclusion that he will eventually get through? >> a lot of republicans don't like him. don't take my word for it. that's what john mccain said on thursday, saying there's a lot of ill-will over republicans over hagel's criticism of president bush and iraq and the surge and all the rest. and as a result they're jamming them up. i don't think it ultimately keeps him from being defense secretary. but it does weaken him, as well as his own performance at his confirmation hearing, which left a lot of people disappointed as well. >> and there is some

million people, 144,000 of them are named lester, which means .05% of people are named lester. there are a two election cycles esterland. in electil the general election, all citizens over 18 get to vote. here is the trick -- in order to run in the general collection, you must do extremely well in the lester election. do not necessarily have to win. what can we say about this picture? we can see the people in have influence over officials, but only after their way withwi canada's. number two, we can say dependent on the lesters, we will produce a spending to keep these lesteres happy. number three, or for that anchored the lesters is highly unlikely. that is the picture of lesterland. problem in our government is not citizens united. i want to suggest the problem is lesterland. number one, the united states is lesterland. the united states has to elections, when is the general collection, the other is the money election. in the general election, citizens get to vote, and in the money election it is the founder who gets to vote. the same catch to run in the general election, one

i'm lester holt in tonight for brian. the sky is not falling, but you would be forgiven if the thought crossed your mind after kpro spectacular but apparently unrelated cosmic close encounters today within just hours of each other. this morning in a remote part of russia, some thought the world was ending when a ten-ton meteor, five stories tall, hurtled to earth and exploded, causing a lot of injuries and doing a lot of damage without actually hitting anything. its fiery descent was captured in vivid detail by numerous cameras. >>> and then this afternoon there was a very close call with a massive astroid that whizzed by just 17,000 miles from our planet. in sell celestial terms, that's a narrow miss. nbc's tom costello reports. >> reporter: the video from russia is incredible. a massive meteor traveling at 33,000 miles per hour, trailing a brilliant quite con trail, hitting the atmosphere and exploding with the force of an atomic bomb. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the shock wave over the town damaged thousands of building

. >> and i'm lester holt. we'll have more on oscar buzz coming up. but we have serious news, including the scary crash at daytona. a crowd went flying into the wall during the final lap. 33 people hurt. crews working throughout the night to get the track ready for today's daytona 500. a live report in just a moment. >>> also this morning, yet another round of gridlock. we're just five days away from sweeping spending cuts that could impact everything from your food to your paycheck, and they could be just the beginning. coming up, why lawmakers can't reach a deal. >>> former notre dame linebacker manti te'o speaks out for the first time since the scandal over his fake girlfriend. he hopes to close the door as he looks forward to a future in pro football. >>> we did a little digging in the family photo albums to find some favorite childhood photos. >> that's erica. right there. d dylan. there is lester. >> we're recreating the pictures. >> the pictures i was looking for, unfortunately, i didn't have my bonnett on. you did get a dress out of the deal.

. >> reporter: lester, good evening. almost 24 hours after the cruise ship docked, most passengers are finally home tonight. and along the way, they shared stories of a week they will never forget. the crippled cruise ship was towed away from the terminal this morning, where hours earlier passengers couldn't get off quickly enough. >> definitely. first and last cruise, yeah. never again. never with carnival. never again. >> reporter: anger mixed with relief. many happy, simply to be back on dry land. >> i am so excited just to be back home and to know that, you know, i could go take a shower in a little bit. i can go to the rest room in a little bit and not have to worry if there is water or not. >> reporter: 2,000 boarded buses for what sounded like heaven. clean hotel rooms in new orleans. but it seemed like a cruel joke for one group. halfway through the trip, their bus broke down. clark jones tweeted a photo. >> i don't know. life gives you lemons. i guess you have to eat the lemons sometimes. >> reporter: with cell

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i'm lester holt. join us again for "dateline" sunday, 7:00, 6:00 central. next, stay tuned for "rock center" with brian williams at its new time. you'll see my report of the unbelievable emergency in the air and the hero pilot who saved the day. "rock center" starts right now. . >>> ladies and gentlemen, this is the national broadcasting company. >> tonight on "rock center." >> get ready. get ready. get ready. >> i couldn't breathe. >> people were crying, bracing for impact. >> get off this plane. >> a cat strofk failure in mid-air with 231 lives in the balance and the only chance for survival had never been tried before. tonight lester holt goes moment by moment inside an unprecedented crisis and a pilot's heroic actions that reminded all of us of something we'd seen before. also tonight. >> come in like a champion. >> before you judge parents who would allow their young daughters to compete against adults in grueling races to the point of tears, perhaps hold off on that judgment until you've seen kate snow's report here tonight. >> some people who watch t