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.

tonight, lester holt is in afghanistan for this weekend's broadcast. 's at bagram airfield tonight. lester, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. the 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 weeke

nbc's lester holt is spending part of this holiday with the troops on the front lines and has our reportrom 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. >> hi, landon. >> reporter: when this war started in 2001, there was no skype. >> what are you doing? >> reporter: now video chats help close the distance with home, providing virtual family get-togethers. >> love you. >> i've been gone for seven months, and so i think right now he thinks i live in the computer. >> reporter: mail from home helps a lot and the holiday volume is already picking up. >> makes me feel good because

lester holt is in afghanistan tonight where he's spending time with americans in the fight. for them, it's their liv and their comrades mean everything. that means they're willing to do just about anything when trouble breaks out. 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

let's go back to lester holt with our servicemen and women in afghanistan. ne day, 10 day mission this has been. walking with marines in marjah and been with marines in helmand province, a terrific day getting to know these fine individuals. i'm standing on something i have no idea what it is. everything in the military is initials acronyms. >> what is this? >> mwrap. >> what does this stand for? i don't know. something that does doesn't blow up easily. >> hello, missouri family. say hi to joseph and savannah. my children are in maine. >> anybody watching at home? >> yes, sir. my wife, christie and my son, and daughter, elizabeth. >> from maine? >> hi, mom. >> i hope they're watching. i should tell you if folks and family are watching, this will be played on todayshow.com. i want to get as many people. can you get the camera around here? there you go. get as many people as we can, they've all come out here, a lot of them still waiting in line to get the thanksgiving meal. it's been our honor and privilege to spend this holiday with them. we hope if we have lo

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 arrestor some 15 years. the big questionnow, how much freedom will she actually get? we'll have the latest on this coming up. >> also, sarah palin. e'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 withommon 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 danny par

nbc's lester holt is live at bagram airfield in afghanistan this morning. lester, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. whether it's 2011 or 2014 for this transition or whatever phase it is to transfer security controls to afghan troops, the soldiers and marines and airmen i talked to here, it's business as usual. and that's the deadly business of taking on the taliban, so while the president and nato allies have their discussions in lisbon right now, this war continues at a hectic pace. i just returned several hours ago from a trip into helmand province at camp leatherneck. i was met by major general richard mills, who is the commander of the battle in that part of the world. he took me by helicopter to the community of marja. you may recall earlier this year there was a pitched battle there. it was a major marine offensive to take the town, wrestle the control away from the taliban. the general wanted to take me there to show me the signs of progress, which are working with afghan troops. in many ways the transition we've heard so much

>> 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 a

. >> nbc's lester holt is there live in afghanistan.ith a good day to you, what steps are we taking to make that 2014 goal a reality? >> well, there is a transition process that's been under way for quite some time where the president's proclamation, it has been filtering around here at bagram airfield and around afghanistan. soldiers and commanders all trying to make some sense of what this means for them on the military standpoint. major john campbell, head of the 101st airborne division says they're on good pace, that four years from now doesn't worry him at all. he says they continue to make very good progress here on the military front and also on the front that probably doesn't make the headlines as much and that's the building of relationships in communities. they have these district plans where they go through town, try to build bridges with local leaders and work against the taliban a in that way. in terms of soldiers, many are trying to figure out what four years means in terms of another single deployment before this ends. i

. >> i'm carl quintanilla in for lester holt. if you're staying home, consider yourself lucky. >> some 40 million americans travel during the thanksgiving holiday weekend and today is believed to be the busiest travel day of the year. will the weather make the trip back tougher for you? we'll let you know in a moment. >> and get ready for cyber monday, the online shopping version of black friday and retailers are promising bigger bargains on the web. what are the best internet deals? that's ahead. >> i have to get on that. i say i'm going to do cyber monday and then it's january. did i miss cyber monday? >> they say log on tonight at midnight. >> now i know why i never get on that. that's why. >>> and we are going to switch gears to the former "survivor" producer accused of killing his wife. she was killed during a family vacation to cancun this year. the victim's husband is in a los angeles jail and has a hearing tomorrow. we'll have the latest on that. >> also, prince william is ready to be married but is in no rush for the thr

mike is live for us at the white house and lester holt is live for us in afghanistan. 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 througho

i'm amy robach along with lester holt.oming up a story that has shocked the country. will it be life or death for a home invasion killer? >> a connecticut jury is going to resume deliberations this morning. they must decide if steven hayes should be given the death penalty for murdering a mother and her two daughters after a home invasion. we'll be live from the courthouse with more. >> then defending her son. a 5-year-old boy wanted to dress up as daphne from scooby-doo for halloween and she said other parents bullied her about his decision and she wrote about it in a blog that has ignited a firestorm. we're going to talk live to that mom in just a moment. >> and it's one of the most talked about movies the holiday season. it's called 127 hours. it's the true story of aaron wallsteen and what he had to do to free himself after his hand was trapped under a bolder for five days. we'll hear from him. >> looking forward to that. first we begin this half hour with the hunt for a mystery sniper. this unknown gunman has been tar

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 holt will be here with you this weekend. we hope to see you right back here on monday night.the meantime, have a good weekend. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . >>> this has the got to be the most despicable day in oakland. >> outrage, the rally begins after the sentence. johanas mehserle will be out of jail in less than a year. good evening, everyone. i'm tom sinkovitz.

lester holt reports from kabul. >> reporter: duty called on this thanksgiving as it does every day in the war zone. for these soldiers in kabul, the holiday would have to take a back seat. >> going out every day is the normal thing. >> hi, mommy. >> reporter: when this war started there was no skype. >> what are you doing? >> reporter: now video chats provide virtual family get togethers. >> i love you. >> i think he thinks i live in the computer. >> reporter: mail helps a lot. >> makes me feel good. everybody is looking for me. >> reporter: thanksgiving is an american holiday but a universal sentiment. >> this has candy, snacks. >> reporter: the care packages have helped create a thanksgiving tradition. troops bag up the goodies for delivery to a kabul orphanage. >> it is a chance to give back to those in need. >> reporter: another camp edgar's tradition, the early morning turkey day run. in dining halls, troops enjoyed the true taste of home. >> happy thanksgiving to everybody. >> happy thanksgiving. >> reporter: it is not just those at home on their minds. >> i'm thinking about the

lester holt is live in afghanistan with a progress report on the war and a special family reunion for one mother stationed overseas. >>> and matt lauer goes one-on-one with basketball superstar lebron james. >>> and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. happy thanksgiving and have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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 g

i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today," then right back here tomorrow evening. good night. captions by vitac www.vitac.com >>> good evening, i'm diane

i'm lester holt reporting from new york. from all of us here at "nightly new york.rom all of us here at "nightly news," good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com me and the lads earn wards just for everyday banking. like writing checks. i fnd youproblem. thank you. getting cash from the drive thru earns us rewards. here's the twenty i owe you. so does paying our bills online.

i'm lester holt reporting from new york. from all of us here at "nightly new york.rom all of us here at "nightly news," good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

. >>> nbc's lester holt spent the day with u.s. soldiers at camp eggers in kabul, afghanistan. the military tried to give troops a small taste of home even though they are thousands of miles away. >> reporter: well, the lines have been long all afternoon here at camp eggers where they are being treated to a full thanksgiving meal. turkey, roast beef, corn on the cob, you name it. all of the trimmings. great pies here. i asked the manager of the dining hall here, how many people are you going to have? he said i don't know, maybe a thousand. camp eggers is an important base here in kabul. it basically handles the training command for nato, trying to train afghan forces to get up to speed. you'll find troops from marines, navy, air force, army as well as nato troops. here are the guys and ladies all chowing down. how's the food? >> today was great. really enjoyed it. >> who's watching back home? >> well, my wife michelle is with my mother in pittsburgh visiting. my two daughters. >> there they are. >> and katie, she's become a little chef at home. she made some brownies which was

i'm lester holt, reporting from afghanistan, and for all of us here at nbc news, good night.

. >>> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt, substituting tonight, natalie morales. >>> good evening. we begin with a developing story at this hour as we are getting our first look at some of the details being revealed in hundreds of thousands of classified and secret documents from the state department obtained by the online wikileaks. it was set to release those documents this afternoon defying u.s. government demands when wikileaks said it experienced a cyber attack. news organizations around the world, including "the new york times" are publishing the leaked diplomatic cables. meanwhile at the state department it's been a long weekend of damage control with secretary of state hillary clinton working the phone lines to warn foreign governments of the potentially damaging and mostly embarrassing documents. we begin tonight at our washington bureau where jim has been pouring through the documents. let's begin with what's in the cables that's most damaging. >> reporter: quite frankly, natal natalie, you can take your pick. there's so much embarrassing information contained in these h

lester holt will be with you this weekend.we leave you tonight, take a look what showed up in our backyard today. a 74-foot norway spruce donated from the backyard of one of new york city's bravest, an fdym firefighter. the lights get turned on november 30th. until monday, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm lester holt reporting from bagram airfield in afghanistan.you tomorrow morning on "today." then right back here tomorrow evening. good night, everyone. i just love 'em; we have a great relationship. it really is great. it's good. it really is. it totally is. we go everywhere together. i don't go anywhere without her. car pooling to work... mmm hmm. ...shopping. it's great! and, when we need gas... i love gas.

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

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 --

i'm lester holt reporting from bagram airfield in afghanistan.you tomorrow morning on "today." then right back here tomorrow evening. good night, everyone.

lester holt will be with you this weekend.we leave you tonight, take a look at what showed up in our backyard today. a 74-foot norway spruce donated from the backyard of one of new york city's bravest, an fdym firefighter. the lights get turned on november 30th. until monday, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> especially for the kids. >> a hard holiday season ahead for a neighborhood still in shambles. how the san bruno community is coming together, dealing with lawsuits and heartache. good evening, i'm lisa kim. >> i'm jessica aguirre. it's been just ove

but first, amy robach and lester holt is here to tell us what is coming up this weekend on "today." >oing to bring us live reports from the war zone including interviews with troops, and with the commander of u.s. nato forces in southw t southwestern afghanistan. >>> we're going to have the latest from london. >>> also access granted. a rare and revealing look inside o magazine, it's oprah's favorite things edition, her biggest issue ever and we're taking you behind the scenes to show you how oprah and her staff put it all together. and we're calling it a willie geist thanksgiving, we gave him a challenge to see if he could make a complete turkey dinner in under two hours. how did willie fare? we'll show you this weekend. >> that doesn't include the turkey, does it? >> that's part of the meal. >> deli counter turkey. good morning.heck of the the sun is out. temperatures are starting to climb to the 40's 3 unsettled weather stays north of us. plenty of sunshine >> and don't forget, sunday, this is truly a big one. this is for all the marbles. if marbles were, say, a football game. >> o

lester holt reports from afghanistan. >> reporter: the president and nato leaders meet in lisbon. here on the ound, marine, airmen and soldiers i talked to are not thinking about 2011 or 2014. they've got a job to do and the pace here continues. we spent some tim at camp leatherneck in helmond province. we traveled to the scene of a major marine offensive earlier this year. they now believe they control a large part of the downtown area that people can come and go frly. if there is some security there. their goal is to continue to push the taliban north. they believe it is a great example of not only what they can do in terms of a offensive but in terms of the notion of transitioning to afghan control which is what this asking you in lisbon is about. already marines are traveling and patrolling with members of the police and afghan national army and they said they're getting better and believe they could hold security there on their own at some point. also, i was told by major general richard mills who commands hmond province forces, he says this talk of a low in the fighting duri

i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. they are calling him the best fighter ever. he was called that before last night's match. >> he's not a big guy, but he packs a punch. more than 40,000 fans on hand at cowboys stadium. a million tuned in. some call it one of the greatest bouts of all time. we'll show you what happened. >> fun to watch as well. >>> also, vanished. a mom, her two kids and a friend in ohio have been missing for days. investigators suspect foul play after blood was found in her home. this weekend, the search is on. >> later, i'm no top gun but after seeing your flight with the blue angels i'm not sure i want to sit next to you on an airplane ever. >> no, lester. this is real. it was very raw. it's not always pretty, but it was the thrill of a lifetime for me. let's just say i'm very ready to be back on solid ground after my ride with the blue angels in the f-18. you did it far better than i did. it was terrifying. >> you never throw up if you don't know which way up is. >> exactly. >> of all the beauties, that's the one lester picked out. >> you re

. >> and i'm lester holt. amy, i've come to afghanistan to be here at a critical juncture in this war. as you know, thousands of miles away from here, president obama and nato allies are meeting to figure out a way forward. an exit strategy. howo turn over security of afghanistan to afghan troops. all of this while nato warplanes are launching fm this base, bagram air be in support of the r effort. also, how is that effort going? what about the surge? later in this show i'll take you to the battlefield to a se of a major battle that marines waged earlier this year to drive out the taliban. how did they do? i'll show you when i talk to the top general on the scene there, amy. >> all right, 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 te

by nbc-universal television >>> from nbc news, this is a special split edition of "today" with lester holt, live from baam airfield in afghanistan, and jenna wolfe, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >>> and, welcome to "day" on this sunday morning. i'm jenna wolfe. lester it looks like you not only went to afghanistan you took half of our "today" crowd with you over there. >> i only took the ones that wore camouflage and these were the on that showed up. they must shop at same place, jenna. what a great crowd. good morning from bagram airfield in afghanistan. we are with members of the 101st airborne division and we couldn't be prouder to be with them. big news on the war front this weekend, president obama declared he wants americans here to be done with major combat by the end of 2014. is that a realistic deadline? we're going to get reaction from the troops and talk with a top commander here coming up. and we're also going to have fun a bit later with our hosts who are no doubt missing tir families this thanksgiving week. a real treat coming up, jenna. >> we'll look forward to t