our chief foreign correspondent richard engle saw the effects close up in kabul. >> reporter: kabul's main trauma hospital may be the best place to diagnose the problem. the symptoms don't look good. civilian casualties of war, up 45% across the country over last year of the in some areas, hospital officials say 80%. children like this one hit by shrapnel, this one shot in the face. and this one on her way home from a wedding when a bomb exploded by the family car. her nails still painted for the party. what happened to this one? >> this man came with a gunshot wound. >> reporter: the chief surgeon has worked for 11 years run by an italian charity. >> the number of workers -- >> reporter: they're setting up new clinics to cope with rising demand. because as american troops are leaving, the taliban is making a come back. and this is the hospital add n minnesomen straighter. >> this 12 year old lost both of his legs when a mortar hit his house. taliban fighters were near by. >> translator: i looked down, and my legs weren't there. >> reporter: he lost his sister and brother too. at the

. >>> a few days back we brought you a report from richard engle in afghanistan, the story of a younged in a bombing. his home is far from his school, and his family have no way to get him to school in his wheelchair. thanks to the generosity of a nightly news viewer, that young man can now continue his physical therapy while attending the international school of kabul. >>> and richard engle is planning to be with american troops in afghanistan. the pentagon is supplying 45,000 meals, trying to make shower that everybody who is deployed gets a hot meal. we hope you remember them all at your own thanksgiving table. >>> turkeys are in the news generally tonight. starting with the annual turkey pardon at the white house. the turkeys chosen to be spared g get to live their lives out on a farm. just like the americans eating them, turkeys have gotten bigger over the years. in 1980, the average live bird weighed 19 pounds, now they've ballooned closer to 30. the pizza industry reports that tonight is the second biggest day for pizza sales behind super bowl sunday. >>> a charity last night.

having just returned from the region, i'll talk live in studio with the one and only, richard engling planes don't fly any faster. but it sure feels that way. because with power ports... and wi-fi... and in-seat entertainment, for everyone on board, now when you fly, time flies too. (flight attendant) sir, we're about to land. (vo) we're adding a brand new plane, with all this, every week. it's just one way we're building the new american. so ally bank has a that won't trap me in a rate. that's correct. cause i'm really nervous about getting trapped. why's that? uh, mark? go get help! i have my reasons. look, you don't have to feel trapped with our raise your rate cd. if our rate on this cd goes up, yours can too. oh that sounds nice. don't feel trapped with the ally raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for her, she's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with her all day to see how it goes. [ claira ] after the deliveries, i was okay. now the ciabatta is done and the pain is starting again.

richard engle, thank you so much. new clashes broke out monday night in ukraine's capitol between demonstrators and riot police. it came minutes after ukraine's president took to the air waves to explain his decision to reject trade pacts with the european union which he says was forced by economic necessity. >> president obama urged them to act on reform. a protestor behind the stage interrupted him demanding obama stop deportations. take a listen. and most importantly we will live up to our character as a nation. >> our families are separated. i need your help. there's thousands of immigrants. >> that's exactly what we're talking about. >> every single day. >> well then another activist on stage joined in the heckling. secret service agents attempted to remove the protestors but the president said they could stay. >> 10 former nfl players filed a lawsuit against the league claiming it hasn't done enough to protect players from concussions. the lawsuit seeks damages to be determined at trial. they're also seek court

nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engle is in cairo joining us with more. good morning. >> reporter: this is an awkward visit for president maliki coming to the united states effectively hat in hand asking for help because his country is back in a civil war. the u.n. said around a thousand people are now being killed in iraq every single month. prime minister maliki wants the united states to supply more weapons, to supply drones, and to generally get reengaged in iraq's security. and the level of violence overall in iraq is now returned to roughly 2008 level. now, that's a significant statement, because it means the gains of the u.s. surge have been effectively wiped out and that would mean a great deal for all of the americans who served there working so hard to bring the country some degree of stability to see it go back to where it is right now. >> richard, we are also getting more details this morning about a u.s. drone strike that killed the leader of the pakistani taliban. what do we know at this point? >> reporter: ma sued, he was the leader of the