NBC NEWS TO MARK BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING ANNIVERSARY WITH SPECIAL CROSS-PLATFORM COVERAGE

NEW STORIES OF THE SURVIVORS, THE INVESTIGATION, AND THE PREPARATIONS FOR THIS YEAR'S MARATHON BRIAN WILLIAMS ANCHORS PRIMETIME HOUR THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 11, AT 8/7 CENTRAL NATALIE MORALES RUNS 2014 MARATHON IN HONOR OF BOMBING VICTIMS

APRIL 8, 2014 -- Over the next two weeks, NBC News will mark the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing with far-reaching coverage across all broadcasts and platforms, featuring personal stories of survival and recovery, new details behind the investigation, and previews of the preparations for this year's marathon.

Planned coverage will include:

· On Friday, April 11 at 8pm/7 Central, Brian Williams will anchor a primetime special, "108 Hours: Inside the Hunt for the Boston Marathon Bombers." (See full programming details below)

· Leading up to the anniversary, "NBC Nightly News" will feature new reporting and analysis on the latest in the investigation and the case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

· In addition, "TODAY" and TODAY.com will share uplifting stories of survivors' remarkable recoveries and the strength of the communities that came together following this tragedy.

· On Sunday, April 13, "Meet the Press" will host a unique panel discussion about the bombing, the investigation, and security in America.

· The NBC News investigative unit, along with Justice Correspondent Pete Williams, will continue to drive in-depth reporting and analysis for all platforms on air and online, including a profile of first responders at the scene of the bombing, a deep dive on the intelligence behind the investigation, and an inside look at security preparations for this year's marathon.

· NBCNews.com will feature additional original reporting and multimedia, including a photographic series of portraits of survivors. The site will curate all coverage under a storyline, creating a single destination for the multi-platform coverage of resilience and remembrance.

· On Monday, April 21, Natalie Morales will run the 2014 Boston Marathon with Carmen Acabbo, whose sister and niece, Celeste and Sydney Corcoran, were badly injured in last year's bombing.

NBC News primetime special details:

"108 Hours: Inside the Hunt for the Boston Marathon Bombers"

An NBC News Special -- Brian Williams Reporting

Airs: Friday, April 11 at 8pm/7 Central

108 hours. That's the time that elapsed between the start of the 2013 Boston Marathon and the capture of the second bombing suspect. For most of those 108 hours, a major U.S. city was on lockdown as authorities worked to identify, track down, and stop the men who carried out the attack.

Through a series of rare and exclusive interviews, Brian Williams goes inside the hunt for the bombers and reports exclusive new information about how the investigation came together:

· Now-retired Boston police commissioner Ed Davis sat down for his first extended conversation about that incredible week -- particularly, what went right and what could have been done differently in the manhunt and investigation.

· Rick DesLauriers, the former Boston FBI Special Agent in Charge who oversaw the counterterrorism investigation of the bombings, speaks candidly about the intense and challenging investigation and search for the perpetrators.

· Watertown, MA Police Chief Ed Deveaux and North Metro SWAT team Chief Joe Cafarelli retrace the details of the final day -- revealing the inside story from the scene of the firefight where officers shot and tackled Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the moment his younger brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was pulled out of the boat and captured.

· In a television exclusive interview, the nurses of Beth Israel Deaconess hospital, who treated dozens of victims in the immediate aftermath of the bombing and treated Dzhokhar Tsarnaev days later, open up publicly for the first time about the carnage they witnessed first-hand and the moral dilemma of treating one of the bombers.

· Williams also reconnected with survivors Jeff Bauman and Celeste and Sydney Corcoran, who each underwent amputations from the bombing damage. They recall the events that changed their lives forever and discuss their year of recovery -- sharing their struggles, triumphs, and hopeful plans for the future.

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