almost 11 hours after her release do you know where casey anthony is? up next, a live report on her getaway. and a look at the legal troubles that continue to dog her. also ahead, the search for a deal on capitol hill. there are discussions this weekend about cutting the debt. but what are they accomplishing? plus, a scorching sunday in many parts of the states. is there any cool comfort anytime soon? and how could the internet have mind-numbing effect on your brain? we'll explain. good morning. i'm richard lui in for alex witt, and welcome to "msnbc sunday." it's 11:00 in the east, 8:00 in the west now. here's what's happening for you. topping the hour, casey anthony is free. the 25-year-old acquitted of murdering her daughter, left the

orlando jail just after midnight eer eastern time about 11 hours ago. protesters and a few supporters were waiting for the 25-year-old as she made her way from the jail to a waiting suv outside. >> i'm here for the baby. i'm here to protest her getting out. she should have spent the rest of her life in jail. >> she's had her trial. she's been found not guilty of any violent crimes against her daughter. she's done her time for the crimes she did commit. and that's just the way it is. and people need to accept that. >> reporter: nbc's lilia luciano is live in orlando. and perhaps now here lilia, orlando will quiet down a bit. >> reporter: hopefully, for all of the residents around. we've been going, of course, to restaurants for all the months we've been -- or weeks we've been covering this story. restaurants, people working at the hotel, valet parking. we've been talking to so many people who have said we are tired of this, we really want to get our orlando back and have people focus on i guess the happier places in orlando than that orange county jailhouse.

now, today, richard, casey anthony's being called by "time" magazine the most watched defendant to walk free after o.j. simpson. but as you know, o.j. had far many more fans than casey anthony. so there's a great deal of animosity still in the air. we saw protesters like we just heard outside that orange courtroom as casey anthony walked free, escorted by two deputies armed with rifles and by maybe her only pillar of strength and support, jose baez, or at least one of the few. we saw her successfully disappearing into the night after helicopters followed her into an office building where cheney mason, another of her defense attorneys, has his office. the car in which she left the jail went into the parking garage, covered of course of this building. and then after that we really have no way of tracking down where casey anthony. she could have been on a plane that departed the orlando executive airport. there was heavy security over there. police were barricading the

area. there was some type of activity, police activity there. but we have no way of confirming whether or not she was on the plane that left there at around 1:00 a.m. and landed in ohio just before 3:00 a.m. and officials at the airport said that it was just golfers who boarded that plane. so we really have no way of tracking where casey is by now. >> lilia, 12:10 a.m. is when she walked out of that facility, about 11 hours ago. what was it like? >> reporter: it was very active. i have to say that protesters -- i guess people have been holding all of this -- all of this fear and anger that she actually walked free. i guess most people out there, and at least the ones that have voiced out their opinion still think that casey anthony is guilty of murdering her daughter. certainly the ones we saw here as there was only a handful of people supporting casey anthony with signs saying just let it be, she walks free, she's not guilty.

most certainly were aggravated. even this morning we saw manifestations. there was an impromptu religious service that went on here, all remembering caylee. so people are still aggravated. i mean, orlando's not back to normal yet. i'm seeing people walking around and social media as well, posting angry comments. hopefully, her defense team will take care of providing the proper safety for casey anthony. >> i know you had protesters even at your live shot location all the way up to around 8:00 a.m., up to three hours ago, as you were reporting to us. she also, as she left, she received some money. >> reporter: she did. she does, as i said before, have fans across the country. she was getting private donations from mostly men, who also sent her fan mail and even love letters throughout her time in jail. her account was up to $540, just actually $537.68 is what she walked out of jail with. that is everything she has as of now. but we do know that there are offers pending. there's one producer who's said that he's willing to offer her

$1 million, he has investors, in order to get an interview that he plans to syndicate abroad internationally. however, casey anthony is facing the possibility of having to bear the costs of her not only investigation but also the prosecution. the state of florida has filed a motion to have her pay all of the special costs involved in investigating caylee's disappearance and then in prosecuting her, especially because they claim that she lied throughout the time that caylee was missing. but this is not the only costs she might have to pay as there have been a number of civil lawsuits claiming that independent companies searching for caylee in 2008 spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the search while casey anthony knew that her daughter was already dead. there's also another lawsuit pending by a woman named zenaida gonzalez. as you might all recall, this is the same name casey anthony used to say that a nanny had kidnapped caylee.

so she blamed the supposed kidnapping on a woman by the same name. and this woman is now suing her for defamation. so she might have to spend some of that money that's being offered now for her story. >> lilia, thank you so much for your reporting. lilia luciano in orlando. coming up we'll take a look at the legal battle that casey anthony is still facing at the moment. and you can keep up with the latest developments surrounding her release by going to our website at msnbc.com. we'll take you to politics right now on this sunday. the white house budget director saying he's confident lawmakers know how high the stakes are in the debt debate. >> what is encouraging is that the leaders in congress seem to all agree that we can't push to a default, that we need to have a path to make sure that the united states can keep its obligations and pay its bills in august. >> nbc's mike viqueira is live at the white house. so vic, as we take a look at this, and everybody's hopeful, does this mean a deal is around the corner? >> reporter: well, we can't say

that for certain. we know that all the leaders do agree on the urgency of getting something done before a possible default, really the first one in american history. and of course that would be on august 3rd. everybody knows that august 2nd deadline by now. but what the leaders can't agree on is how to get there. the same stumbling blocks remain, richard. tax principally. you heard the president call for shared sacrifice. he says that he's willing to suffer a lot of political pain from his side of the aisle and his willingness to change entitlements, perhaps raise the retirement age, means test, reduce the cost of living adjustments within social security. republicans have steadfastly refused to raise taxes. but they are still holding out hope. at least they're paying lip service, richard, at a very minimum, asking for that big deal, that grand bargain that we've heard so much about, and the president says he's still pressing for it. his omb director, budget director jack lew, had something to say about that this morning as well. >> he wants the largest deal possible. he wants to do the most we can to reduce the deficit. that would be the right thing to do for the american people.

he made it clear he's willing to go into areas that he's not in the past been comfortable going into. i think that one can see a path to getting well over a trillion on things that we should be able to agree to. >> so richard, we're essentially in a holding pattern here. what's playing out are politics within each conference and caucus on capitol hill between republicans and democrats, between house and senate. republicans for their part this week are going to push forward an amendment to the constitution requiring a balanced budget. they say this is what's needed. even if it were to be ratified, which is considered a long shot, obviously it would do nothing in the short run to avert a default. but this is something they really want to promote. here's jim demint, a tea party favorite conservative senator from south carolina. >> the only plan on the table that'll keep us from default and will keep us from falling to a negative rating is the cut cap and balance plan. folks can say it's outrageous to balance our budget. but over 70% of americans think we need to. >> the president has put on the

table a reasonable list of alternatives that can bring us to $4 trillion in deficit reduction. and we don't have to wait for the states to ratify a constitutional amendment. let's get our job done now. >> so we are in that holding pattern here, richard. the president, along with his family, the first family, leaving the north portico just about half an hour ago, taking a walk across lafayette park. it's a beautiful if a little muggy day here in washington. the first family attending sunday services at st. john's church across lafayette park. we do not expect a meeting today with republican leaders or any other leaders for that matter. you know they've had six. the action now moving on to capitol hill, trying to see what's possible up there in the coming days. richard? >> so i guess pick your favorite alphabet -- letter in the alphabet and there's a plan for you. >> reporter: exactly. >> mike viqueira, thank you so much. >> reporter: okay. breaking news at this hour from london, itn sources confirm that rebekah brooks, the former ceo of rupert murdoch's corporation in britain, has been arrested in the hacking scandal. brooks resigned last week.

she was formerly the editor of the now-defunct "news of the world" newspaper. brooks is the tenth person arrested by british police in their investigation of phone hacking by newspapers and allegations of police bribery. california senator barbara boxer was the target of alleged death threats. the threatening messages were left on voicemail, and police say they were able to track them back to a 47-year-old suspect who lived north of san francisco. he was arrested and faces arraignment on tuesday. they touted it as a traffic nightmare from out of a disaster film, all because of a construction project near interstate 405 in southern california. but despite fears of a so-called carmageddon, drivers seem to have been spared that drama. officials credit warnings on social media sites like twitter with helping keeping -- helping to keep people off the roads. the 405 is expected to reopen between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. local time on monday morning. so about 20 more hours of work. scorching heat is also making much of the midwest sizzle like it's in a frying

pan. forecasters say that temperatures are running 15 degrees above normal highs for this time of year. even hitting triple digits in some states. so how much longer will that last? weather channel's alex wallace has more for us. and good morning to you, alex. >> well, good day to you, richard, indeed. the middle of the country really baking with the heat. not just for today but we're going to be dealing with this for the next several days, all the way through at least the middle of the week. big ridge of high pressure centered in the middle of the country. that's going to bring us 90s and trim-digit heat today and through the weekend. notice it starts to spread on off toward the east. some areas in the ohio valley, in the mid-atlantic. not so hot right now. we're going to feel the brunt of it as we work our way into the middle and end of the week. for our sunday hundreds from san antonio all the way up toward rapid city. the heat doesn't stop there, continues to build for monday. 96 in st. louis with 90s showing up around detroit. by the time we head on into -- still very hot. it's not going to be leaving us behind anytime soon here. the core of the heat, though,

right in the heartland of the u.s. now, in terms of any storm action out there for us, really not going to help us cool down much at all as we work our way on through this early part of the week. we do have the risk for some storms, though, in the upper midwest for our sunday, working across the upper midwest. maybe an isolated storm around minneapolis. then by the time we get into tomorrow or monday, cold front begins to work its way through the great lakes and the northeast. that's where we actually have a great chance for seeing some strong to severe storms. but again, the heat's really going to be the main story for us over the next several days. richard? >> alex wallace, thank you for that. now to the women's world cup, where the big game is just hours away. the u.s. team has this nation buzzing with its electric play. and today it has a chance to bring the cup home for the first time in 12 years. in the way, in front of them, japan. nbc's anne thompson is in frankfurt with the latest on the big game. and anne, of course the u.s.

team, have they finished their preparations? are they ready to go? >> reporter: they are. they're relaxing. you know, just taking it easy now as they prepare for the game that's actually going to be played tonight here in frankfurt. and i'll tell you, richard, if you could send some of that heat that you're all dealing with on that side of the pond this way, we would appreciate it. because the temperature has dropped some 20 degrees here. it's only in the low 60s today. it is very windy. and we've been dealing with scattered showers throughout the day. so one of the questions we don't know about the game, aside from the outcome, is whether or not they're going to close the roof of this stadium. they have the ability to do that if the weather gets really bad. but the u.s. team is pumped. they're psyched. they're ready to go. alex morgan, who scored the final goal in the semifinal against france, tweeted early this morning that today it was going to be a great day because she said this was going to be the dawe that her dream would come true. on twitter in the twitterverse

the team is getting lots of support from their diehard fans, including celebrities like justin timberlake, lance armstrong, and the president of the united states. barack obama took some time this morning to send them a tweet encouraging them to victory. now, if the u.s. women's team wins, they're going to make history in a couple of ways. first of all, it would be the third u.s. squad to win the world cup. they did it in '91. they did it in '99. and the question is now will they do it in 2011? but they would also make history because the u.s. team would be the first team to lose in the preliminary round of the world cup and win the championship. but before any of that happens, they have to defeat japan. a small but very skilled team that's not going to go down easy. richard? >> and anne, as we have both been talking about over the last couple of days, the u.s. women's team meaning so much for people

across the country, really rooting them on and really bringing people together. but that's also true of the japanese, isn't it? as they have had a very difficult year. >> reporter: oh, they've had a horrible year. i mean, you have the earthquake, then the tsunami, and then the disaster at the fukushima nuclear plant. and in fact, before one of their games their coach actually showed pictures of the tsunami and the devastation to psych the players up. and they took that out on the field. and they have been a very surprising force in this world cup. for americans it has been a crummy year as well. we don't have the physical devastation of the tsunami and the earthquake. we've had tornadoes, though, to deal with. we've got the debt ceiling. and on the sports scene it's been lousy, too. you've got a roger clemens mistrial. you've got the lockouts in the nba and the nfl. and so finally, this team has given america something to cheer about. and i think that's another reason why people are so excited. >> yeah.

they can forget about the jobs or the unemployment rate for just a moment and enjoy a great game coming up. >> reporter: oh, you could go on and on. >> that's right. anne thompson, thank you so much. live. enjoy the game. and we will be looking forward to your report later on. still ahead, the politics of the debt ceiling, speaking of which. that fight continues. who's bound to come out a winner and who's going to be a loser. and believe it or not, alex witt, she is braving carmageddon. [ cat meows ] ♪ [ whistles ] ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ ting! ] [ male announcer ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage or visit travelers.com. helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating.

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anytime there's a big fight in washington like the one about the debt ceiling, people are often left wondering where the issue ends and the politics begin. lawmakers on all sides agree the u.s. is in big trouble if it defaults on its debts next month. but with the 2012 race already on the radar in front of everybody, it is safe to bet

many of them are thinking about appearances as well. a.b. stoddard is associate editor and columnist with "the hill" newspaper. joining us for a look at the political fight. so a.b., good morning to you. is anyone looking good so far in this debate as they look toward 2012 and they have the debt ceiling right in front of them? >> well, i actually think that the president really retains the upper hand, at least at this hour. the president really -- he abandoned entitlement reform after his fiscal commission released a report in december. he did not produce a budget, didn't mention -- and there were no plans this winter to deal with that issue. now that he's come out with a willingness to tackle something that is so sacred to his base, he really looks like he is engaging in this shared sacrifice he keeps talking about, while republicans refuse to budge on taxes and the president paints them as my way or the highway republicans. so at this point he looks like

he has the upper hand, that he's willing to cooperate and that they are not. >> what about speaker boehner? >> speaker boehner has a very, very tough job. he has worked very hard, and i give him so much credit for staying in the dialogue with the president and his administration and democrats, trying to come up with a grand plan. he has a conference that is not going to vote to raise the debt ceiling if there are any tax increases. and in addition to that, beyond that, spending cuts so deep that democrats probably and the president wouldn't agree to. that would be the only way they'd increase the debt ceiling. so even 1.5 trillion in cuts, that's not enough for the most conservative part of the republican conference to vote to raise the debt ceiling. so john boehner has a conference he just can't lead. and that's why his job is the toughest. >> a.b., now for the blame game. we've got some poll numbers to go through. it shows that 48% of people say they will blame congressional republicans if the debt ceiling is not raised.

34%, as you can see there, blaming president obama. so i guess in your balance of politics there president obama looking good, even to those who were out there looking at 2012 as voters. >> richard, right now he looks like the great compromiser. the problem is if the u.s. defaults on its debt obligations there will be such -- there could be such an economic crisis on top of the fragile economy that we have now that ultimately i do believe the president would share the blame with republicans. i don't think that's really, you know, a guarantee that republicans would be solely to blame. and so he knows that the biggest threat to his re-election is default. and that's why i think he's in the end going to probably compromise even more, so that he makes sure that we avoid it. >> it's not binary. it's not white or black. it's not 1s or 0s. it is a gray space they would all face some blame if that happened is what you're saying. >> probably. >> a.b. stoddard, thank you. >> thank you. it's hot in many parts of the country. and yes, there have been

hundreds of record high temperatures. but do we need to be alarmed about that? that's next on "msnbc sunday." vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve.

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it has been a scorching month of july with 800 record high temperatures, either tied or setting across -- or set, rather, across the u.s. the temperatures are about 15 degrees above normal this weekend with readings over 100 degrees in many places and the extreme heat is causing the worst drought conditions in more than ten years. i'm joined now from burbank by -- burbank, california by reese halter, conservation biologist. good morning to you, dr. reese. when we see these heat waves, we always say what is making this happen right now. how is this different than past years? >> well, richard, good morning. this is epic because what's happening is from georgia to florida all the way to arizona and particularly texas and oklahoma are beaten down. we're going back to 1895. we're talking about $3 billion,

or 30% of the wheat crop that's going to be forgone in texas. and we're talking about culling hundreds of thousands of cattle here. and you know, it goes deeper and gets thicker than that. we've got billions of trees that are dying. now, trees are the life force, providing oxygen and fresh water. and if we go back to 1970, every decade across the west, temperatures have gone up at least a degree. we're talking about 3 1/2 degrees, richard. and when the trees start to die, that's a very bad signal here. >> dr. reese, as we see this cycle of extreme heat right now, which has gone on for the better part of two weeks, is it just a normal cycle that we are seeing every decade or every period of time? >> well, as the earth warms up, the models that i'm looking at and we're looking at are predicting that these droughts are getting deeper and harder.

and you know, the viewers, they might say, oh, well, it's just a summer drought. but here's the rub. our food prices with the culling of the cattle, with the failure of the corn crop, and with a diminished wheat crop are set to rise and in the fall and the winter. and there was big news this week, richard, and that is over in australia per person they are the highest carbon polluters in the world. and you know, america is the second largest carbon polluter. and australia has vowed to put in a carbon cap coming down 80%, to the 2000 levels, by 2050. and you know, with temperatures rising, bees and trees dying by the millions, billions, and the price of food set to rise, we've got to lend a helping hand here and bring down our carbon pollution because failing to plan is planning to fail. and that is not an option. >> dr. reese, thank you so much.

of course, we hope that the heat does subside in many parts of the country, and we hope it does not get worse in the coming days. thank you so much. here's one way to beat the heat, by the way, and that's ice cream. but which flavor do you prefer? there's a new rasmussen survey of adults showing vanilla and chocolate, yeah, vanilla and chocolate are by far the country's favorite flavors. each receiving 23% of the vote. butter pecan was next with 9% giving their thumbs up. strawberry and cookies & cream came in in the top five, both receiving 8% of the vote. by the way, today is national ice cream day. so you can go ahead and indulge with -- i've even been supplied a free piece of ice cream myself. not sure if i'm going to eat it. but enjoy national ice cream day.

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welcome back to "msnbc sunday." i'm richard lui in for alex

witt. 12 days after she was acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter caylee, casey anthony is a free woman this morning, released from an orlando jail more than 11 hours ago. you heard it right there. protesters screaming at casey as she walked from the jail to a waiting suv accompanied by her attorney, jose baez. but it's not known where she was taken after her release. joining me live now is criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor jay fahey. jay, she doesn't have a lot of money. >> she has basically no money. >> yeah. something like $537 is basically what she was given when she walked out of that jail. what is she going to do for money? >> i think what she's counting on is for jose baez to make some sort of a deal with -- deals for photographs, deals for her story, deals for video, deals for a movie. there's one person that's already offered a million dollars if she'll tell her story. so the money will come eventually, i think. >> will she get an agent or will

she work with her lawyer? >> i think right now baez is acting as her agent. and i think that that's probably the perfect person to do it because she trusts him. he hasn't made any money on this either. he's been working on this case for the past three -- >> will he cut a deal? will he get a percentage of this? >> i'm sure he will. and that's totally legitimate. a lawyer or an agent should be getting a percentage of it. so this is his pay day also. >> 20%, 30%, who knows what he might get. >> i would say at least in the neighborhood of 20% plus there may be legal bills she feels on theed to pay him. >> and there might be legal bills with the civil suits we've been talking about so far, so many we can't really enumerate at the moment. as she's looking at this amount of money she has to cash in now, doesn't she? >> she does. now she's the hottest piece of property that there can be. i suspect she's going to be making a deal within the next two weeks, two to three weeks, something like that. >> does that work against those civil suits, though, because she's in the public? >> the answer is it does but there's no way to stop it. these civil suits, she can ignore the civil suits if she wants to. a judgment will then be entered against her. now, the issue then is

collecting on the judgment. once she makes these deals with whatever group, that judgment will then -- they'll try tone force that judgment, get a percentage of that money or get all that money. >> so you're representing her. you put her in the public. you break these -- you make these deals in the next two or three weeks. she'll do them for maybe the next six months or so. >> something like that. >> something like that. then what do you do? >> then i would still -- i'd try to put her in a place where she's not exposed to a lot of people so she can ease back into society. she's been out of the picture for three years. i don't think she realizes how much she's hated by a lot of people in this country and the disdain they feel for her. >> well, it becomes real, face to face. >> now it becomes real. again, she's been in jail for three years. so once she starts to see that, and i'm sure baez is slowly educating her on you've got to be very careful here, there are legitimate death threats against you, et cetera. >> jay, you've represented politicians. you've represented folks when they needed to dot very same thing, sort of disappear into the woodwork. what did you do with them? >> with my clients it wasn't death threats. they weren't this revooild.

but what i suggested to them, go someplace, go way for a couple of weeks, and then slowly start to get your public persona to the way it was. >> a year? >> i would say in her case probably about a year. she should cash in and then just go to europe, go someplace, and then slowly, slowly get back into mainstream. that's the only way -- >> so probably not some big city so she can disappear amongst the masses. >> that would be a smart thing. >> jay fahey. don't expect a family reunion by the way, anytime soon. the website tmz saying casey does not intend to visit her parents, at least not right now. the lawyer representing george and cindy anthony tells tmz that casey's attorneys have made it clear here that casey does not want any contact with her parents. cindy attempted evidently to visit her daughter in jail last week, but casey refused that request. casey anthony's release is the top search on google right now too. and you can keep up with the latest developments surrounding anthony's release by going to our website at msnbc.com.

when it comes to fixing the debt problem, we've heard lots of grand statements from lawmakers on where they stand, but in a week or two a plan will be on the table requiring a yes or no vote. both parties want political cover so they can tell voters they stuck to their guns. for a look now at what lawmakers really want, we're joined now live by democratic strategist crystal ball and republican strategist ron christie. ron, let's start with you. you know, republicans have said time and again they won't budge on the tax issue. and some of them would like to be on record saying they did not vote for the debt ceiling. when you look at this, is this realistic? >> i think it is very realistic, richard. i think there are a lot of republicans out there that are looking at the crushing debt we have in this country and say 14 trillion is enough. we don't knee neneed to increas, we have a spending problem. but at the same time in a short-term fix we can raise the debt ceiling but we're not going to give the president 2, 3 trillion dollars because that's only adding to the spending addiction. >> crystal, on the democrats' side the debate is really back

on the hill at this point away from the white house. so we're hearing at the moment. there's some criticism that the president came to this debate a little bit late in the game. what do you think needs to happen right now in terms of political cover on the president's side as well as from the democrats? >> well, if you look at the polling, right now the president really has the upper hand. richard, as you cited earlier, 48% are likely to blame republicans to 34% to obama if the debt ceiling is not raised. we also have seen just how far out of the mainstream the republican position is. only 26% of republicans in the latest gallup poll said that they support the republican position of tying the debt ceiling only to spending cuts. so americans realize that this isn't just a spending problem, it's a spending problem and it's a revenue problem. we have to approach both. and the other thing i'd throw out there is by a huge margin, 62% to 32%, americans say that the unemployment issue is our

number one issue over the deficit. so they really want to see us getting back to talking about jobs and dealing with our deficit, yes, but that's more a medium to long-term priority. >> but ron, to you, if this deal does not go through, if a deal does not go through and we default on our obligations, won't they all be at risk here of taking a hit? >> well, i don't think it has to come to that. i think the house of representatives has been very responsible in their leadership. next week the majority leader eric cantor has indicated that they're going to bring the cut, cap and balance bill to the floor. house republicans will pass that. senate democrats and the president will have to decide do they want to play politics on the issue or do they want to have a responsible vote on a bill that will allow the debt ceiling to rise -- >> and ron, most likely that will not pass, right? >> well, again, the senate democrats haven't produced a budget in over 900 days. the house democrats when they were in leadership didn't pass a budget amendment. so the republicans are leading. the republicans are taking the deep votes. and the republicans are putting the specifics on the table. >> you know, that's --

>> for all the talk that the democrats have, the president and the democrats in the senate, they refuse to put their views in writing. let's see what they have to say and let's vote on it. >> the democrats have absolutely bent over backwards to make sure that we don't default on our obligations. we're talking about a 4-1 ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases -- >> do they have it in writing, chryst'll? >> but because republicans have pledged their whole lives and the future of the nation apparently to grover norquist and his anti-tax pledge, they are pursuing an ideological agenda at the expense of this country and the american people. >> krystal, one question to you. do they have that in writing? does the president have his plan in writing? and do the senate democrats have their plan in writing in if so where can the american people see it? >> we're talking about negotiations -- >> the house republicans have put a budget out there for the american people to see. >> and the american people didn't like it very well. >> let's see what the democrats do. >> so we're talking about a good faith effort for the leaders of the republican party and the democratic party to come together. the president has put forward a $4 trillion plan that tackles democratic sacred cows like

medicare and medicaid, social security. where have republicans put forth any good faith effort to make this happen? >> actually, i'd point to the paul ryan plan that actually responsibly increases the amount of spending while reducing it. president obama has not put that $4 trillion plan in writing. you can't see it in writing. the democrats lack the courage. they only snipe at republicans who are responsible and put it in writing. they don't have the courage of their convictions to actually show the american people in writing where they stand. >> krystal, one last question here before we have to go to a break. >> sure. >> it has been said at least in discussions earlier today on this program that we're really not going to get any real plan until later on next week. that means we're going to have another week of posturing, shall we say. so isn't it really both sides that have not done what they need to do and that's really sort of roll up their sleeves and get something done here? >> well, i think that's right. and i think if we fail to raise the debt ceiling, which i

personally think is a real possibility, i do think both sides are going to suffer. but what it's looking like is going to happen is some smaller deal will be cut, some fallback plan, and then we'll be looking at a larger grand plan over the next year to two years to put something together that will responsibly tackle our debt and deficit problem. >> krystal, ron, thank you very much on this sunday for your time with us. >> happy sunday. >> thank you. happy national ice cream today. >> i'll enjoy my ice cream. you two too, by the way. if you think the internet is making us smarter, you'd better think again. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪

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my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ]

with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. it's a great modern learning tool, but a new study says the internet could be doing damage to our memory. a team of researchers at columbia and harvard university as well as the university of wisconsin say repeated online exposure affects the brain's ability to retain information. the women who -- the woman, rather, who led that study is dr. betsy sparrow of columbia university. so betsy, when we look at this, we all use the internet. >> right. >> we use search engines each and every day. are we losing our memory here? >> i don't think so. i think what we're doing is just

reprioritizing what we remember. so we tend to remember where we find things over the things themselves. and i'm not actually sure that's damage, the way you put it. i think that it could be taking away the emphasis on memorization could be allowing us to understand conceptual things and allowing us to apply them to new situations and stuff like that. so those are the implications i'll be looking at. >> like learning how to fish, shall we say, as opposed to each and every fish. >> but also what to do with that fish. even if you don't remember all the details you get the underlying point possibly. >> does this mean we're more creative then? >> we don't know yet. that's the next step i'm working on. >> what's your hypothesis? >> i'm hoping so. >> you're hoping we're more creative. those are the early indications. is this good or bad? >> i don't think it -- it's not clear. some people don't see it as such a good thing. but i've never equated memorization with intellectual ability anyway. so i don't necessarily see it as such a bad thing personally. >> so if you look at this long-term, and i know you're still early on in your research

of this, what does it mean long-term from what you think? >> well, what i think it means is that we're doing with the internet what we've always done with other people-s we've always used other people as information sources. and we're just using the internet more and more. and when you think about it the internet is really just an interface with a lot of other people. so what it's doing, it's allowing us to have this big network of external minds, you know, so to speak. so you just -- >> interesting. >> -- have a lot of information available to us and we just can't remember it all. >> this is interesting. you know what i'm going to do after this interview? i'm going to go google the study. thank you very much, betsy sparrow, for your time today. >> thank you. an automobile logjam of apock liptic proportions in and around los angeles turning out to be not so apocalyptic. the so-called carmageddon traffic event officials predicted would tie up the 405 is a lot lighter than expected, and if anything motorists are avoiding the highway in droves except for one. joining us by phone right now to give us the lowdown on the

driving is the anchor of this show, of msnbc weekends, our own alex witt. what are you doing on the 405 right now? >> i'm speeding. i tell you something. richard, it's unbelievable. all the build-up, all the news, all the print coverage, every single signage on the freeway for months now talked about july 16 and 17 and the closure. but you know, honestly, it turned out to be a great thing because there just have not been many problems. people heeded the warnings. and here i am talking to you, anticipating bumper to bumper traffic and having a real story, and really the only story is i'm going 70 miles an hour northbound on the 405. >> amazing. you are a native of the southland -- >> i am. >> you know these freeways. you know this traffic. how odd is it? how different is it right now? >> it's so different, richard. and you talk about being a native. you know, i'm here on vacation

this week. and i had gone through all manners of different ways to get to where i needed to go this morning from the orange county area back up to los angeles county. you know, i had all these different ideas and different freeways, that connect from one to the next. no need for that whatsoever. and in terms of traffic, i have to say, the thing i miss least about southern california, having moved to new york is the traffic because every time i come home to visit my family it's just -- it is a nightmare. this, though, reminds me -- and i know you've heard it before. but of the 1984 l.a. olympic games, when there were prophecies of gloom and doom for two weeks and it turned out to be like motorway nirvana. and i'll never forget that. people heeded the warnings, and they did it again. >> what's the perspective there from your family about -- you're the journalist in the family. you're the host and the anchor of this show. and we've been reporting on carmageddon. they say, you know, alex, i'm

not so sure, you guys may have gone a little too far with this. are they saying that? because it's been so clean and clear down there. >> well, you know, it's like anything. you build build up to something you know, you think was it overkill? hindsight will be 20/20. will people think it's overkill? well, maybe because everything seems to have gone so well. had journalists in southern california particularly not warned people about this, then it truly could have been a nightmare. >> right, that's true. >> so, you know, i think -- i mean, the coverage today -- isle be honest, i was watching your show/my shoe this morning. you're doing a great job, by the way. they were all over this. was i getting a little bored? yeah. and you know, a good point on knbc today, it is not over. >> that's true. it's not over. alex witt, thank you so much.

the host of this show, msnbc weekends. >> let me just say you're doing a great job and looking mighty fine and comfortable, richard. i'm back next week so don't get any ideas. >> your boss is telling me we've got to go. we miss you. all righty, now here's something you just have to see. check out this fan at safeco field. dancing. hands in the air, but he really enjoyed himself here. and so did that young girl watching him saying what are you doing. the question is, would they have danced that way if they knew they were on tv? you're watching msnbc sunday learning these dance moves with us. we set our goals higher than anyone.

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the u.s. women's soccer team will be trying to reach its ultimate goal. world cup champions will be taking on the champions? germany. christine lily was on the team

in 1999. that team appeared in five world cup, she has. she joins me now via skype. and it's a very exciting time for you. i know that you can't wait. >> it is. it's very exciting. just thinking about what the girls are going through today getting ready for the game is great they've done such a great job and the support we've gotten over here from the coverage to the fans has been amazing. >> who do you think is going to win? >> well, i would like to say the u.s., but the problem is, i've been making these predictions against japan. i thought germany would beat them, sweden would beat them. i'm going to let the game make its course and hopefully the u.s. will pull out on top. . >> why do you think we're seeing so much interest this year? >> well, i think the coverage has been incredible. i think espn has done a great job covering all the games, not just the u.s. i think the papers, all the media outlets, twitter, everything, facebook has done an amazing job of connecting people

and telling people what's going on. and you have a great bunch of women to look up to. hopefully young girls are watching this thinking you know what, i want to do that. >> hope sole low, the followers on her twitter account went from 10 to 100,000. we have three hours to the game, what's the game plan right now. what shall they doing? >> you're just going through a regular routine. they probably had a pregame meal 3 1/2 to four hours before the game. they're kicking back in their rooms. some chatting, some reading, whatever. probably just going through the normal routine just like it's a normal game, which it is. >> is the coach singing them right now. >> she's probably singing something. just to make them all smile and relax a bit pl but it's an interesting time. it's anxious. they're going to be nervous. but they're going to be more excited than anything. >> i wish we had more time. again, you appeared in five world cups. also part of that '99 world cup championship team.

thank you so much and good luck to team usa. alec witt will be back next sunday. have a good day. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? isn't it time you talked to your doctor about viagra? 20 million men already have. with every age comes responsibility. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects may include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing.

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