He is not escaping us.
I mean, this is a guy who three months ago was in control of a country.
Now he's maybe in control of a cave.
But the president admits, intelligence shows bin Laden and his followers would like to strike again.
And despite nearly three months of war, it's impossible to say whether al-Qaeda's leadership is still functional.
We don't know, David, whether or not he's given any orders to any of his soldiers.
But we take nothing for granted. And so our country still remains on alert.
With bin Laden on the run and the roundup of Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners still underway in Afghanistan,
the president predicts that U.S. troops will remain in that country for, quote, a long period of time.
The world must know that this administration will not blink in the face of danger
and will not tire when it comes to completing the missions that we said we would do.
Also today, the president spoke out on behalf of one of his secret service agents, an Arab American,
who was removed from an American Airlines flight Christmas night because the pilot questioned his credentials.
The airline claims this was not an example of racial profiling, but the Secret Service is investigating the incident.
If he was treated that way because of his ethnicity, that will make me matter in heck.
The president is on vacation here in Crawford, which means daily jogs, brush clearing, and reading.
But he is also modeling two very important decisions, which war prisoners to subject to a military tribunal
and what charges to bring against that American Taliban soldier, John Walker Lynn. Brian?
NBC News White House correspondent David Gregory tonight at the Western White House in Texas. Thanks.
Where the U.S. military effort is concerned tonight, we just might be seeing the start of a new attempt to manage expectations.
As the Bush administration tries to warn the American people, this war means digging in and for the long haul.
Next we go to the Pentagon, and NBC's Fred Francis.
General Franks confirmed NBC News' report last night that a missile was aimed at his flight of helicopters
near Kabul last weekend, and he used that incident as a measure of how long it will take to get the job done.
We have pockets of Taliban still in that country, and that's one of the reasons that we're going to stay there until we have mopped all that up.
With winter closing in on much of the country, it will take at least that many months to root out armed factions and wanted leaders.
When those people are caught, they'll be processed by soldiers of the 101st Airborne,
getting ready to ship out from Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Today, NBC News learned that parts of the Army's 101st will replace the U.S. Marines,
a transition that indicates the U.S. plans to stay much longer in Afghanistan.
The 101st is the most mobile unit in the history of warfare.
It primarily moves by air, takes a tremendous amount of firepower.
The Army will take control of Kandahar Airport and begin processing Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees, and that alone may take a few months.
We will take care of the screening and the work that needs to be done with all these detainees,
fingerprinting, DNA work, photography, screening, interrogation.
Interrogations, that the administration hopes, will lead to bin Laden, though many feel bin Laden is no longer important.
Whether it's in Pakistan, which is possible, or more likely dead or fleeing in Afghanistan, is almost a moot point.
The point, say officials, is making sure that Afghanistan is never again a haven for terrorists.
And toward that end, another significant sign today of a longer presence and more firepower.
Quietly, the U.S. is readying a base in Kyrgyzstan, certainly not needed if the U.S. plans to leave the region anytime soon.
Fred Francis, NBC News, The Pentagon.
There's a problem. The wild card in those U.S. military plans became even more unpredictable and dangerous today.
The growing threat of all-out war now between India and Pakistan.
Both are U.S. allies. Both have nuclear weapons.
And the stakes for the U.S. could not be higher, nor could the situation be more tense than it is right now.
NBC's Keith Miller is in Pakistan's capital tonight.
They are already fighting. Pakistani and Indian troops exchange artillery and gunfire overnight in the disputed region of Kashmir.
India has moved troops, tanks and ballistic missiles to its border. And the Pakistani army is reinforcing.
Pakistan has only deployed such forces that ensures Pakistan's defense.
Tonight, the U.S. is pleading with the Pakistani government not to pull the troops currently helping the Americans along the border with Afghanistan.
The military buildup, the biggest in 15 years between these two nuclear powers, follows a suicide attack earlier this month on the Indian parliament.
India claims Islamic militants based in Pakistan carried out the attack and accused the government here of not doing enough to stop terrorism.
Pakistan responded by arresting the leader of one radical group and freezing the assets of another.
Pakistan's response is getting praise from President Bush.
I'm pleased that President Musharraf is responding to the Indian requests to round up those who would do harm to others and incarcerate them.
Tonight, President Musharraf had a dinner celebrating Christmas. He thanked Washington for its efforts to defuse the crisis.
We do not want war. We want peace in the region and we want peace on the borders.
But along the border, thousands of civilians are packing up and getting out.
And Americans operating out of Pakistan in the Hanfar, Osama bin Laden, could get caught in a crossfire.
We've got thousands of Americans as military as well as civilian in Pakistan.
Both sides say they don't want war, but with so many troops massed along the border, a minor miscalculation could lead to a major confrontation.
Keith Miller, NBC News Islamabad, Pakistan.
Tonight, a clearer picture is emerging of just what could have happened if that man with the explosives in his shoes on board that American Airlines jumbo jet had been successful, if those explosives had gone off.
For the very latest on this story tonight, we are joined by NBC's Virginia Cha in Boston, Virginia.
Brian, a federal magistrate ordered Richard Reed held without bail today after an FBI investigator testified Reed could have crashed an airliner into the Atlantic Ocean.
Under heavy security, the accused shoe bomber arrived in court today for his bail hearing. He's charged with assaulting and intimidating a flight crew.
FBI Special Agent Margaret Cronin testified homemade bombs in Reed's sneakers would have blown a hole in the plane at his seat on Flight 63-29A right next to the window.
Prosecutors noted Reed's criminal record of at least 10 prior convictions and argued his violence against two flight attendants makes him a flight risk.
He has no roots in any community in the world.
Authorities say they are still investigating whether Reed acted alone and have questioned the credibility of al-Qaeda prisoners who reportedly identified Reed as having spent time in Osama bin Laden's terror training camps.
There's no credible evidence to suggest that there was an accomplice on that flight.
FBI analysts say one of the explosive ingredients in Reed's sneakers was a homemade chemical compound called TATP.
The substance has been a signature explosive for Middle Eastern terror groups since the 1980s, investigators say, and was part of a bomb that tore through a Tel Aviv disco last summer, killing 21 people.
Investigators also say Reed traveled extensively this year to the Netherlands, Pakistan, Egypt, and Israel, where authorities believe he was testing the ultra-high security airline El Al.
In England, Reed's mother said that she had tried to locate her son last summer when she learned he had traveled to Pakistan.
I'm obviously deeply shocked and concerned at the allegations being made against Richard.
Meanwhile, Reed remains in a holding cell outside Boston under a suicide watch.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is considering additional charges and has 30 days from Reed's first court appearance last Monday to file them.
Brian?
Virginia Cha in Boston for us tonight, thanks.
And we've learned a footnote to this story tonight. When Reed flew on El Al, the Israeli airline, last July, officials there say because he appeared to them at the time to be a top security risk, they seated an armed undercover sky marshal right next to him in the second to the last row, far from the cockpit.
Still ahead as we continue from New York this Friday night, the land of the free.
When you're standing there, you're looking right at the family. You're up front and it's tough.
In his own words this evening, the leader of the bagpipers who have now played at literally hundreds of emotional firefighter farewells in this city.
But first, NBC News in depth. What you can do right now if you move quickly to lower your tax bill later on.
And our nightly news question tonight, what is the most common error on federal tax returns will have the answer in our in depth report when we continue.
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If you've had a heart attack or a stroke. The last thing you need is another one sneaking up on you. After all, you've got better things to do.
I know in my case I had a stroke. That's why Bert and Eileen Moskowitz learned it's not too late to turn a grim year in the stock market into tax savings. Take three thousand this year and then you can take three thousand next year.
How? Sell some of those losing stocks. We lost about fifteen thousand dollars and we decided to sell it now because there were two reasons. We didn't think it was going to get any stronger and also could offset some of the gains we had some of the capital gains.
Experts call it harvesting losses. You really want to get rid of your dogs anyway and go into next year not having some of those losers in your portfolio. At the same time those losers can be tax deductions up to three thousand dollars.
Another strategy accelerate deductions. Pre-pay some of next year's real estate taxes, state income taxes, mortgage, even gifts to charity so you can deduct them from this year's taxes. And especially good strategy this year because tax rates drop slightly in January.
So the deductions are actually more valuable this year than next.
Experts say if you don't have the money today but will have it in a couple of weeks use a credit card to make those payments before the end of the year. Then pay off the credit card in January.
One payment you may want to delay, college tuition. Starting in January a new deduction, up to three thousand dollars a year in tuition costs for most taxpayers. Also big changes next year on retirement tax savings designed to help millions like the Moskowitz who seem their nest egg shrink.
Last year was a little, a little lost but this year was worse.
Experts say to contact your company now to take advantage of higher retirement contribution limits. For 401Ks the new limit is eleven thousand dollars. Twelve thousand if you're over fifty. For IRAs it's three thousand dollars, thirty five hundred if you're over fifty.
It makes it possible for most rank and file workers to do all the savings that they can practically do through a qualified retirement plan.
All of which may ease the ache of what many taxpayers say has been a financially painful year.
Lisa Myers NBC News Washington.
Trading's been light on Wall Street but today the Dow was up almost six points. The Nasdaq almost eleven after the first uptick in consumer confidence was reported in six months.
For the week by the way the Dow picked up more than a hundred and one points in all. The Nasdaq was up forty one. Coming up next our Lifeline report why so many more people are having a harder time getting a good night's sleep these days and what to do if you are among them.
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Sunday. Tom Daschle. Don Nichols. On the President's agenda. The Democrats' response. Plus a look ahead at the coming New Year. If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.
A mother and child reunion to report tonight and a story that became of huge interest in the Chicago area. 16 month old Jasmine Anderson kidnapped from a Chicago bus station on Christmas Eve.
Back in her mother's arms tonight, police found Jasmine in West Virginia yesterday unharmed. They say the woman charged with the kidnapping pretended she was her own child after telling her boyfriend she had given birth while he was in prison.
In Buffalo, New York, a white Christmas for the record books has now become a state of emergency. The government governor is sending the National Guard to help dig out from seven feet of snow in just five days in some spots.
Tonight's forecast calls for another foot before the weather system moves off to the south. In our Lifeline report tonight, the topic is sleep and the growing number of people who say they are not getting near enough of it.
These days, sleep deprivation can cause depression, anxiety, traffic accidents, trouble on the job to name just a few. And as NBC News chief science correspondent Robert Buzell reports tonight, experts say they're seeing a lot more sleep deprived patients since September 11th.
Barbara Goulet owns a travel agency in New York. She lost close friends on September 11th and her business dropped dramatically. Her sleep became increasingly disturbed, making it difficult to get up in the morning.
It's never feeling great in the morning. I think it's probably the most difficult.
Goulet tried to ignore the problem for a while, and so have many others, according to Dr. Gary Zammet, a sleep specialist at New York's St. Luke's Hospital.
It's only now, a few months after the event, that we're beginning to see greater numbers of people come in with the problem of insomnia or sleep disturbances or nightmares or other kinds of difficulties.
Even before the terrorist attacks, experts say, lack of sleep was a major health problem.
Studies find that more than half of adult Americans have occasional difficulty sleeping, but more than 30 million have persistent insomnia, and that is associated with a wide range of physical and mental problems.
And the attacks only increase the number of sleepless nights. A survey in the days after September 11th revealed that 44% of Americans reported symptoms of stress, including sleep trouble.
Experts say there is a big danger that for millions, the temporary sleep loss can become permanent.
They become increasingly concerned about their inability to sleep, such that they can't sleep, and over time this builds up and you end up with a cadre of people that cannot sleep at night.
Barbara Galay realized her insomnia was not going away and sought help from Dr. Zammat.
He used a behavioral approach, helping her relax, going to bed only when she is sleepy, and keeping a nightly record of her sleep.
Was it at the beginning of the night, middle of the night, or tail end?
The end.
For others, sleeping pills can be a big help. A new generation of pills causes fewer side effects.
I don't think there's much doubt that you get less daytime drowsiness with the newer medications.
With the behavioral therapy and an occasional pill, Barbara Galay is sleeping again, and experts say millions of others should seek help if their difficulty sleeping persists.
Robert Buzell, NBC News, New York.
Next as we continue our special series, Land of the Free, a man who has played so many sad songs so many times since September 11th for firefighters who were killed.
November 11th, as part of the legendary FDNY Emerald Society, the department's precision pipe and drum corps, his story resonated with so many people who saw it that we caught up with him once again.
He describes his feelings now, several weeks and so many funerals later, in his own words.
I've been close to 60, but I forget the exact number.
My knowledge, the band has played at every single funeral, which is at this point about 320.
There was one Saturday, I think there was like 24 funerals.
I don't think it got easier. When you're standing there, you're looking right at the family.
You're up front, and it's tough. I try not to catch anyone's eye, so you don't get choked up.
I actually met someone yesterday who was a cousin of one of the firefighters, and she recognized me from the backpipes.
And she thanked me for playing at her cousin's funeral.
It made me feel like I was helping out in some way, and that the family appreciated it.
One of the fellows, his nickname was Bronco. His name's Darrell Pearsall.
He worked in Rescue Four. Everyone chipped in, all the firemen between the football team, the band, and Rescue Four,
and put together a nice service at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
I'm an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn. The DA here in Brooklyn, Charles Hines, was very good to me.
He gave me a leave of absence to go play with the band for a month.
It's not like it's over yet. And until it's over, I don't think the band will be quite back to normal.
I think until the last fireman's buried and the band plays back at that funeral, I don't think there'll be a sense of closure yet.
That is nightly news for this Friday night.
Don't forget Dateline this evening at 9, 8 Central on NBC, tonight at Consumer Alert.
I hope to see you later on for the news on MSNBC, beginning at 8, and again each evening on CNBC at 10.
I'm Brian Williams reporting tonight from New York. Good night. Have a good weekend.
Nope, calidad.