Williams apologizes for bogus Iraq story
NBC “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams apologized Wednesday for incorrectly claiming as recently as last week that he rode on a helicopter that came under enemy fire when he was reporting in Iraq in 2003.
Instead, Williams said, he was in another helicopter trailing a Chinook that actually was hit. He apologized on “Nightly News” for getting it wrong.
The embarrassing admission came after a story in the Stars & Stripes newspaper pointing out the discrepancy. Williams had made the claim on the air Friday during a story about Tim Terpak, an Army officer who he had befriended when Terpak was assigned to protect the NBC crew.
Williams reported on “Nightly News” that he had gone with Terpak to a New York Rangers hockey game. They were introduced to the audience by the public address announcer, who also repeated the claim that Williams’ helicopter had been hit.
“This was a bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran and by extension our brave military men and women, veterans everywhere, those who have served while I did not,” Williams said on the air Wednesday. “I hope they know they have my greatest respect and also now my apology.”
The newspaper said Williams’ helicopter traveled about an hour behind the aircraft that actually took fire.
In a Facebook response to service members who had pointed out the mistake, Williams said, “I spent much of the weekend thinking I’d gone crazy.”
NBC noted a “Dateline NBC” story in 2003 correctly reported that Williams learned after his helicopter had landed that “the Chinook ahead of us was almost blown out of the sky.” Williams said he also wrote about the incident correctly in 2008.
“Because I have no desire to fictionalize my experience … and no need to dramatize events as they actually happened, I think the constant viewing of the video showing us inspecting the impact area – and the fog of memory over the years – made me conflate the two,” Williams wrote.
Father disputes Brown’s ‘marriage’
Whitney Houston’s daughter has frequently declared her love for the man she calls her husband, Nick Gordon, since announcing their marriage a year ago. But a lawyer for Bobbi Kristina Brown’s father, R&B singer Bobby Brown, said that’s not true.
“To correct earlier reports, Bobbi Kristina is not and has never been married to Nick Gordon,” said a statement released Tuesday by attorney Christopher Brown.
Legal authority over Bobbi Kristina’s health care and money could become a critical issue for the fractious Houston-Brown family, which has said Bobbi Kristina “is fighting for her life” after being found face-down in her bathtub Saturday.
The birthday bunch
Actor David Selby is 74. Singer Cory Wells (Three Dog Night) is 73. Actress Laura Linney is 51. Actor Chris Parnell is 48. Singer Bobby Brown is 46. Actor Michael Sheen is 46. Country singer Sara Evans is 44. Actor Jeremy Sumpter (“Peter Pan”) is 26.