thieu was our boy. >> but massive power corrupts, and thieu becomes a dictator. >> a catholic presence imposing itself on a buddhist majority, and now they're going after the buddhists. >> soldiers and police broke up the demonstrations and killed nine persons. >> a debate broke out in the american government over whether we should continue to support thieu or not. >> by the summer of 1963, there had been discussions in the cia the in the pentagon about toppling the regime. >> mr. president, has our government in any way been tardy in recognizing the nature of the thieu government? >> we are faced with a problem of wanting to protect the area against the communists. on the other hand we have to deal with the governments there. that produces a kind of ambivalence in our efforts, which expose us to some criticism. >> mr. president, in the last 48 hours there have been a great many conflicting reports from there about what the cia was up to. can you give us any enlightenment on that? >> no, i don't think so. >> okay. >> this is an nbc special news report. the government of south vietnam h

what happened was that when attacking the central highlands town of ban my thuit the thieu governmentnt troops were secretly ordered by president thieu to pull out of the central provinces. >> the withdrawal became a rout, civilians and soldiers fleeing in panic, leaving behind huge supplies of american-made war materials. >> the north vietnamese never dreamed it would result in such a dramatic decision as to abandon the highlands which had been fought over for 12 years so they reconvened their central military committee and determined that the iron is hot, and this is the time to strike. >> president thieu said he would not abandon the city, but the people are leaving anyway. the president said he would not abandon the city, and that city is gone. >> the world witnessed the tragedy of the overrunning of cities, and the next thing you know those of us sitting in saigon are watching our map legitimately bleed red. >> a somber henry kissinger outlined in a news conference what he saw as the choices now facing the united states. >> what we face now is whether the united states not just w

or will you be paying more, even with great thieu tees. >>> good morning, america. new overnight. trump tv, the donald takes on late-night comedy and brings on "the bling." ♪ you used to call me on the cell phone ♪ >> and trump in triplicate. protesters finding nothing funny. how will it play with the voters? >>> a new nfl scandal this morning. graphic photos from dallas cowboy greg hardy's domestic violence case coming to light. adding to the outrage, he's back on the field now. hardy's reaction and what cowboys owner jerry jones is saying this morning. >>> judge gunned down. ambushed in front of her texas home. authorities hunting for clues in this mystery, was she targeted because of her job? >>

or will you be paying more, even with great thieu tees. >>> next on "today in new york," a cab hits and kills a woman on the upper west side. what investigators say about that crash. >>> plus, cheers and jeers. donald trump hosts "saturday night live" amid protests. how he handles his critics. >>> plus a check of the forecast. i'm gus rosendale. >> and i'm pat battle. "nbc 4 news" is coming your way