good morning. i'm chris jansing and the heat wave that is blistering large parts of the nation's midsection and east coast is so bad today, well, maybe a health expert put it best. it's not just about discomfort, it's about survival. in fact the combined heat and humidity could make it feel like 115 degrees through saturday for many areas. cleveland was punished by the hottest day it's seen in 16 years. temperatures topping out at 96 degrees. >> we feel nasty, which is sweaty and nasty. >> some businesses are using social networks to advertise

deals that sold out via twitter and facebook. let's go live now to washington, d.c. and the weather channel's chris warren. chris, who's going to feel the worst of it today and i guess into the weekend? >> it's going to be the mid-atlantic and the northeast, really going to be feeling it. it's not just the temperatures, chris, it's also that humidity. so what we talk about all the time is what it feels like. it's the heat index. when you have all of this humid air, you sweat and the air doesn't want any more water because it has so much in it already so it doesn't evaporation. it's that evaporation process of the sweat that cools you down. so when you're sweating and it's not evaporating, you're not cooling off and that's why it gets so dangerous. there's an excessive heat warning in effect for washington, d.c., today from 10:00 to 10:00 and then again tomorrow. so we are in this. it started yesterday with temperatures well up to around 100 degrees. more than that in some cases.

once we finally do cool down, we're cooling down back to normal, which is around 90 degrees. this is still the hottest time of the year but also because we have this extraordinary heat wave with us right now, these extraordinary temperatures, it's dangerous. with that excessive heat warning, that means heat indices, again, what it feels like to you could be up to 115 or 120 degrees. so this is some dangerous heat we're dealing with and it's going to be a few days before we get out of it. also keep in mind the overnight lows don't really cool off either, chris. we had temperatures this morning before sunrise in the mid-80s and it felt like it was hai90 degrees. it's going to be like this a couple more days so hang in there. >> chris warren, thank you so much from the weather channel. well, already more than two dozen people have died from this heat wave. in fact heat kills more people in the u.s. than hurricanes, tornados, lightning, floods and earthquakes combined.

so we thought we'd take a moment to show you the warning signs and exactly what you can do to stay safe out there. take a look, if you will. high body temperature is a sign of heat stroke. 103 degrees and above, you're going to have red, hot, dry skin. no sweating, but rapid, strong pulse. that's really bad. if you have those symptoms, you ought to get to a hospital. heat exhaustion, you're sweating heavily. your skin gets pale, your muscles start to cramp and you're just, frankly, exhausted. get in, cool down. now, how to avoid that. i know you hear it, but it's really important. you can't drink too much water. drink plenty of fluids before you go out into the heat, but not alcohol, not caffeine. as good as thatized margarita sounds, bad idea. wear lightweight, light-colored clothing. the best idea especially, if you can, stay inside from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. that even includes the weekend when you're not working. that's a bad time to be out. and don't be exercising in this

extreme heat. we're going to keep continuing this story, which is the heat, but we have a lot going on in washington as well, including the key question this morning. deal or no deal? one minute it looks like it's done, the next they're not even close. >> the breaking news report that you all probably received is incorrect. there is no deal. we are not close to a deal. >> there is no deal. no deal publicly, no deal privately. >> no deal. 11 days until the august 2nd deadline to raise the debt ceiling. right now no one can predict all all this will end. the senate is about to vote on cut, cap and balance this morning, but the republican plan will most likely fail. and in just about an hour, president obama will talk about the debt at a town hall meeting at the university of maryland. let's start the conversation today with mike at the white house and kelly o'donnell on capitol hill. i notice that it's mike that's out in the heat. let's start with you.

>> put up the list of symptoms again for mike. >> what was that about lightweight clothing and dark-colored clothing? >> yeah. somehow you didn't get the no tie on friday thing. let's start with all these reports that the president says obama and the speaker, john boehner, no deal. what is going on then? >> you know, chris, it's one of the cliches of washington. nothing is done until everything is done, and it's really never more true than what we've seen play out over the last couple of weeks. a grand bargain on the table, a grand bargain off the table after john boehner, the republican speaker, pulled the plug. off the table again. the fallback plan everybody hated coming out of the senate and now on the table again is a grand bargain. and the focus for the most part has been on what would house republicans do, how would they react, would they have the votes there. the last 24 hours that paradigm has been turned on its head. democrats outraged over some of the entitlement cuts and concerns that they're not going to get up front in terms of raising taxes on the wealthy. >> kelly, expand on that.

what's the hold-up here? >> well, what mike just touched on really blew up in an afternoon luncheon with the president's budget director and senate democrats who had learned about this and were saying why didn't we know, why weren't we at the table? it was so upsetting. volcanic was the term one senator used. that prompted a meeting that went about two hours, leadership meeting with the president to calm things down. this morning harry reid got on the floor and said the president and speaker boehner are having talks. i wish them well, which is probably true but also a little passive/aggressive. and he said they should be cautious, because he's still concerned there will be too many cuts in the things that democrats hold dear and not enough in terms of revenue on the front end. what we're hearing with all these rumblings is there would be cuts and there would be a tax plan that would not have immediate tax increases but a changing of the tax code, which does two things. it could get rid of some very popular deductions, anything from like home mortgage interest

to corporate loopholes and things like that, but it would lower rates, which certainly republicans like. so that's kind of what's going on now. there are some bruised feelings. >> my question about that as it's outlined, kelly, is the problem that democrats have is you're cutting home mortgage tax deduction, which millions of americans count on. it's one thing that they have been able to count on, even in these tough economic times, and yet where's the closing of the tax loopholes for the rich? and what about those entitlement programs? >> well, entitlements would certainly suffer. we don't know the details about what kinds of deductions would be reduced and home mortgage is the one that gets talked about a lot but as you point out that is sacred and certainly has an impact in the housing markets, which affects the economy. so we don't know the details there. but the idea is if you broaden the amount of income that can be taxed, the revenues for taxes go up and that certainly affects

the rich as well. if you eliminate loopholes and that's part of how you do that, you bring in more money which democrats want to see and you lower the rate which republicans could be able to sell. really what this comes down to is the president and speaker boehner are in this. their political futures are on the line, their ability to sell this to their various parties are so important and that's what we've got to watch now. >> well, the president said last week that he wanted a deal by today. any hope of that at all? >> they have blown through so many of those deadlines. they show up two weeks ago with your bottom line proposals. okay. i think it was last friday we really have to know where we stand and what's going to be possible. another cliche of washington, i'm full of cliches this morning, is nothing gets done until they are seriously under the gun and that appearance to be the case once again. let's not lose track of the bottom line. we're 10, 11 days away from what many people both here and outside government independently are saying is a financial catastrophe, an armageddon

that's going to have ripple effects across the global economy. so we're getting a little bit in the weeds, but it's important to talk about this stuff so people understand how close or not close they are. and the sticking point here as far as democrats are concerned, touching on what kelly said, we're not going to do this on a kiss and a promise to raise taxes on the wealthy or simplify the tax code. if we're going to put entitlements on the line, we're going to have to have something much more concrete out of republicans. >> mike, kelly, hey, mike, never let them see you sweat. thank you both so much. if leaders there in washington don't reach a deal on this, a debt ceiling, economists are warning what you just heard mike talking about of a spiral, particularly in the bond market. it was the subject of that closed door meeting between credit rating agencies and some house republicans yesterday. democratic congressman peter welch from vermont and republican congressman joe walsh from illinois join me now. good morning to both of you. congressman walsh, let me start

with you. what if congress doesn't act by august 2nd? >> chris, i'm not obsessed with august 2nd. we're obsessed with getting this right. we met with standard & poor's yesterday and they walked us through various scenarios. they made a couple of things very clear. they may downgrade our credit rating even if we raise the debt ceiling. what they told us -- >> well, the chances would certainly increase, wouldn't it, congressman, if this doesn't get done? >> what they told us for certain was if we raise the debt ceiling without real fundamental structural spending reform, serious reform, we still risk having our credit rating downgraded. so we have to make sure we do this right, whether it's august 2 pd, 3rd, we all want to get this done as soon as we can. but clearly what we heard yesterday was we have to do this right. >> congressman welch, what would doing it right be? these reports we heard about there would be some delay about closing some of these tax

loopholes, that entitlements are on the line, potentially the mortgage tax credit could go away, are you comfortable with that? >> i'm not. there's two things. first of all, we have to pay our bills and i actually do think if we default on august 2nd, it's a disaster. whether you're eric cantor wanting tax cuts or nancy pelosi wanting to spend more money on infrastructure, we have to have $140 to $150 billion more in debt service at the expense of the taxpayers. that's bad for both sides. we just cannot default. joe is right, we need a long-term plan. the long-term plan in my view is reasonable cuts and reasonable revenues and they ought to be linked together. the reach i think that is there's a lot of room to get revenues pie cleaning up the tax code. we could possibly lower rates. there's some common ground there. why not get rid of the s & l tax credit. i think we should go back to the clinton rates for the higher income folks who have been doing quite well. that will put the biggest dent in this deficit with the minimum drag on a very fragile economy. so it's a balanced approach that

can get from us where we are to where we need to be. >> let's talk about what's going on right now. it's other on the senate side but they're voting on cut, cap and balance. let me play for you what harry reid said just a short time ago. >> this is an effort to move this piece of legislation off the floor. it's interfering with the negotiations between the white house and the house of representatives, and it is without merit, this legislation. >> congressman walsh, should this kind of stuff be going on? is this is the deal that republicans want, do you have a responsibility to work with the democrats and make some compromises? >> i'm almost amazed with what harry reid just said. there's only one plan that's passed out of the house that meets the criteria that standard & poor's has given us, and that's cut, cap and balance. and there's great momentum behind this idea. it's common sense. make cuts, cap spending and balance the budget. pass a balanced budget

amendment. this has great mow meant ul. the senate is going to vote on it today and i don't think harry reid can get in the way of this. >> so congressman welch, how does this get done? does it get done? >> right now it's in the hands of the president and mr. boehner. >> are you comfortable with that? >> i'm actually not. i mean they're going to do their best. but since we've linked it up with this august 2nd deadline, it means neither joe nor me will have an opportunity to really kick the tires on this, to talk to folks back home, to be comfortable that it works. so it's filled with challenges once they reveal what the details are. so it's a long way from here to there and i'm anxious about it, to be hahn wes you. >> joe walsh, peter welch, very good of you to be with us today. we are following some breaking news. we're just getting this out of norway. look at these new pictures. after a loud explosion shattered windows at the government building in oslo.

several people are reportedly hurt but the norwegian news agency says the prime minister is safe. we don't know any other details about this but we'll keep you posted as they come in here on msnbc. that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage. brought to you by the men and women of the american postal workers union. ♪

some new accusations this morning that news corp. executive james murdoch lied before parliament about the phone hacking at the "news of the world" newspaper. >> when you signed off the taylor payment, did you see or were you made aware of the transcript? >> no, i was not aware of that at the time. >> now a former legal adviser and editor claimed that's not the case. they say james murdoch was well aware of the contents in that e-mail, which suggested

eavesdropping was more widespread than the company led on. now a british lawmaker says he will ask police to investigate. i'm joined now by nbc news national investigative correspondent, michael isikoff. michael, i want to read for you, if i can, news corp.'s response to all of this. they said simply one sentence. james murdoch stands by his testimony to the select committee. where does this go from here? how serious could this be? >> well, we have a direct contradiction. what's interesting is one of the contradictors was the long-time lawyer, british lawyer for "news of the world," defended the company in court. he has indicated over the last couple of weeks that he's not going to be the fall guy in this and i think we're seeing the first indications of that right here. you know, is he the john dean in this story who's going to blow the whistle directly on corporate chiefs?

that's the question here. so this is a significant development, no question about it. >> and the other significant development potentially that people have been waiting for is whether or not there are -- there's any substance to allegations that there was a news corp. phone hacking here in the u.s. you've been looking into this. what can you tell us? >> right. new developments on that front on a couple of levels. we reported last night that the justice department has expressed interest in a 2004 case in which news america marketing, the major advertising arm of news corp., was accused of computer hacking, breaching the computers of a rival competitor and stealing information for competitive purposes. that led to a $29 million settlement, out of court settlement in a civil case a couple of years ago. but just this week, the u.s. attorneys out of new york and

the fbi contacted the lawyer as i reported last night and asked them for information about this. we also have the "wall street journal" reporting this morning that the u.s. attorney's office is preparing subpoenas in the phone hacking case -- look into phone hacking allegations in the u.s. we still don't have any hard evidence it took place, but clearly it's being taken seriously by the justice department. >> nbc's michael isikoff. thank you, michael. have a good weekend. >> thank you. do we finally know who might write that definitive tell-all book about tiger woods? and maybe it's not one of the women he's been associated with. this could come from steve williams. he's the 47-year-old caddie for tiger woods, unceremoniously fired by him after more than a dozen years of loyal service. word is he's very unhappy about it. we'll be right back. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. new citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d

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some sad news to tell you about. the body of a west point cadet

was found in a field. it's presumed he died as a result of this oppressive heat. he is 18-year-old jacob bauer of fairmont, west virginia. he was found unresponsive during field training last night. an autopsy will be done to confirm the cause. now let's go to washington, of course, continuing the budget negotiations and what to do about the debt ceiling. speaker john boehner taking some questions. >> and we have to have a serious down payment on reducing our budget deficit and our debt. >> mr. speaker, given the stakes here, are you willing to make the kind of tough choices if you have a chance to get a deal and really accomplish something, the kind of tough choices that could put your speakership in jeopardy? >> i've been pretty clear all year. we would not increase the debt limit without serious cuts in spending and serious changes to the way we spend the american people's money. i'm just assure you that whatever comes to the floor will

meet that test. >> mr. speaker, can you walk us through a little bit in this negotiation -- >> you know, a lot of democrats have been furious over the latest plan on the debt ceiling. in fact a senator from maryland called the reaction to it volcanic. at the heart of the revolt by the democrats, a report that the deal does not include tax increases for the rich now, but it does cut key programs immediately. joining me is msnbc contributor and nationally syndicated radio talk show host, michael. always good to see you but nice to have you here in person. >> thank you for having me. >> i'll just read how the "l.a. times" described. >> throughout the day they tried to tamp down a simmering revolt, insisting that obama had not agreed to forgo an increase in revenues, but at least for a time he was in danger of losing support of his own party, including the democratic-controlled senate. where does this leave the president right now, michael?

>> for the last couple of weeks i thought the force in all of this would be those very conservative gop members of the house, those who were there, the 60 to 80 with hard-core tea party support. now as we get down to the wire or so it appears that perhaps that's shifted to the democratic side of the aisle where people are perceiving this plan as one that won't raise revenues through a tax increase and it's all about the cuts. so it will be interesting to see whether they fall into line, because i think the gop it seems got what it wanted. >> you know, there are a lot of the people, the democrats who are upset, are upset frankly because the president is holding all the cards. he's doing the negotiating, which is of course what the republicans called for him to do. i just had a congressman, a democratic congressman on and asked is he happy about the president doing all the negotiating and he was not happy. >> i think he is playing it right. when i look at what transpired with health care and how much time went off the clock because the president stayed out of the

fray, this i think by contrast shows him exerting some leadership. i found it interesting in his piece that he penned, the final line was for a plea for people to get on board but also people of no party. this is significant because independents are the single largest voting group that is growing in the country. you don't often hear an appeal that's made to independents. >> you think what he's doing now plays well to the independent voter? >> i do. yes, i do. >> why? >> i think that it shows in this contentious atmosphere where it's so vitriolic that he has stepped in, asserted some leadership and is getting the deal done. i don't know how it sits with eric cantor, vis-a-vis john boehner acti boehner, there's so many d dynamics here, but i think this will sit well with independents. >> michael, thanks for coming into the studio. will arnold schwarzenegger pay child support, battling

that, and also battling a snowstorm, if you can believe it. and cnbc's nicole lapin here with a story about something general motors is doing they haven't done since the 1980s. keep it here. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day

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to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. up dating you on our breaking news out of norway where several people have been nu hurt in a huge explosion that rocked government buildings in oslo. martin what, do we know. >> reporter: well, it was a huge explosion, as you say, in a part of town with many government buildings, cafes, shops. eyewitnesses described chaos as people fled the area, they were afraid of a second bomb. the prime minister is reported to be uninjured. windows of the whole government building 17 stories high were blown out and the damage extended over a half-mile area. apparently the oil ministry was set on fire but it's not clear how extensive that fire was. there are a reports of a number of injured, no reports of any

deaths so far. in a sense today is a national holiday so the city center was much less crowded than usual. there's been no claim for responsibility but earlier norwegian police arrested three people suspected of planting bombs in oslo and they were said to have some connections with al qaeda but that's not sure and there's no details about who placed this bomb today in oslo. >> martin fletcher, thank you so much for that update. we'll continue to follow that breaking news. meanwhile a devastating crash between a tractor-trailer and a tour bus on the new york state throughway. one person confirmed dead, 20 people were hospitalized. both vehicles were destroyed by the fire halfway between rochester and syracuse. it has been a bad year. 32 people have been killed in 17 tour bus accidents. pentagon leaders reportedly set to tell congress the military is now ready to carry out a repeal of don't ask, don't tell. according to published reports, the move means a formal repeal would go into effect in 60 days.

the defense secretary and the joint chiefs chairman are required to certify the policy change will not affect military preparedness. some new court documents show arnold schwarzenegger does not want to pay his estranged wife, maria shriver, spousal support or attorney fees as they end their 25-year marriage. the dispute is expected to have little impact on the divorce since the couple is expected to reach a confidential out of court settlement. shriver filed for divorce earlier this month after schwarzenegger confessed to fathering a child with a maid in the family more than a decade ago. lindsay lohan back in court for the sixth time this year. to make matters worse, the star was reprimanded again. she appeared on thursday for a progress report on her probation but the judge was less than satisfied for lohan's attempts to complete the 480 hours of community service she's been ordered to perform. >> i will not take into consideration, sorry, couldn't do it, i was on the set on the john gotti movie. >> lohan has been ordered to

seek psychological counseling within 21 days. look at this, a new royal tourist attraction in england. it is kate middleton's wedding dress on display and we'll tell you where in just a few minutes. more now on the oppressive heat that's gripping much of the country. the weather channel's maria la rosa joins us now. maria, what can you tell us? >> all right, chris, i have some good news and some bad news. the good news is for many people experiencing the oppressive heat today, it's at its worst today and will get better rather quickly. here's the line that's going to divide and conquer. we have a cold front coming through. the feels like temperature, feels like 104 in d.c., new york already with a heat index of 105. over the next few days, this warm air and high pressure will get scooted off the couast. what that means for places like pittsburgh, philadelphia, d.c. out to new york and boston, we'll kick those temperatures back towards normal. 70s for boston, new york back into the 80s. we're talking sunday into monday

it is going to start to feel like a whole different air mass in place and, chris, that is great news. >> it is indeed, maria, can't come soon enough. thank you. you know, there is more than one way to cover a story and reporters across the u.s. have mainly been tripping over themselves to explain just how hot it is out there, which makes for some interesting weather-related stunts. fried eggs just the beginning there. it's something nbc's jeff rossen knows a thing or two about. i don't want to eat those eggs on the pavement but it's interesting. >> this guy knows about frying eggs on a sidewalk. >> it's so hot outside, 103 in new york city, the heat index about 111 and we're on television so it is our job to show you just how hot it is. the problem is, the heat isn't that visual, aside from some sweating. you never sweat, of course. angel angelic. but most of us humans do and you can't really show it. that's when reporters get creative.

when it snows, that's easy. we just show the snow. >> you physically can't get a car through here or even an ambulance through here. >> reporter: in hurricanes, just point the camera, instant tv. >> right about now -- oh! >> are you okay? >> we're okay, we're okay, we're okay. >> reporter: sorry, al, but during a heat wave, how do you show it? people drinking water, sweating. it's not exciting. so cue the stunts. in minneapolis, nbc affiliate kare baked cookies on a dashboard. yummy. in detroit, wdiv's reporter hopped in a hot car. >> i'm going to sit in here, see how long i can last and we'll check back in ten minutes to see how hot this car really gets. so wish me luck. >> reporter: ten minutes later -- >> i felt light-headed, i felt claustrophobic and had to get out. >> reporter: in tulsa, oklahoma, they broke out the thermometer. >> between 130 and 135 degrees out here on the sidewalk. so it is a little on the

scorching side out here. >> reporter: it's not just local reporters. here at "today," we love the visuals too. >> can you really cook eggs on a street? let's see. you like yours overeasy? coming right up. >> reporter: we also bought a frozen mac and cheese dinner and a frozen pizza. would they cook on a new york city sidewalk? >> your experiment is great. i hope the eggs win. >> reporter: fast forward two hours, we check back. >> should i try it? it's cooked. the mac and cheese is cooked, the noodles are soft. >> reporter: and our pizza, nbc intern alex joined me. >> i'll taste the pizza. the pizza is actually fully cooked. >> reporter: and finally, ah, the eggs. >> here's the finished product. i don't know, what do you think? is that cooked? >> yes. >> reporter: would you eat this? >> no. >> reporter: you wouldn't. would you eat this?

>> no. >> reporter: you wouldn't eat it? >> i wouldn't eat it. >> you know you're doing something wrong when you're being ridiculed by the entire staff. today will feel like the worst day of the week. heat index in boston, 104. in philly, 116. baltimore, 118 for the heat index. so reporters will be out again trying to do this all over again. show them a little love. give them a little water. >> for what you went to college. >> yeah. >> i know you'll be in the pool this weekend. thank you so much. don't adjust that dial, that is not old video, chile is struggling with snow. the government declared eight cities disaster areas, all of them blanketed with eight feet of snow that cut power. government workers are trying to clear roads so they can get to people stranded high in the mountains. miserable. there's a silly way a lot of people are losing their smartphone contact. it's embarrassing and pretty easy to avoid. we'll tell you about it in 20 minutes.

nearly 2,000 people arrested, more than $60 million seized. the drug enforcement agency has announced a massive nationwide bust of a major mexican drug cartel that supplies most of the methamphetamine to the united states. it is a major victory in fighting the war next door. and joining me to talk about it, telemundo anchor, jose vilasrd. how is it down there in miami? >> it's chilly compared to where you all are. >> let's talk about this stunning strike against the cartel literally called the family. what can you tell us, jose? >> this is what the dea does so well, which is infiltrate these narco-terrorist organizations that are based in mexico, but that exist to supply drugs into the united states. but the big bust occurs here in the united states. as you say, think about this, friends, $60 million in cash. but let's talk about some of the drugs that authorities were able

to take off the streets. meth, 2,773 pounds of it. almost the same amount of cocaine. marijuana, 14,800 pounds. and what this does is strikes a very massive blow to the operation of distribution of drugs from mexico into the united states. chris, you and i were talking with this last summer. when they got one of these thugs, his name was the barbie, they asked him, hey, how do you get all the cash back to mexico? he said well, they bring it in on tractor-trailers, you know, 18-wheelers full of cash. think about this. this is a cash-only business. they got $62 million worth of it that would go right into the coffers of these drug cartels. and it's a massive blow to these organizations, especially the distribution level of it. >> look, not to rain on the parade, because obviously this is huge and what they have done is pretty incredible when you look at this being the number

one supplier of meth. having said that, in the big picture, who's winning here, the good guys or the bad guys? >> well, look, it's a daily battle. i'm going to tell you, any day you get $62 million worth of cash that goes into the coffers of these killers, it's a good day. and, you know, we talk about meth, we talk about heroin they also got and also cocaine. but what is the biggest drug they caught, dea, marijuana, because marijuana continues to be the largest cash cow for these drug cartels. and once again, a reminder, what they do is all they do is serve the american drug consumer. all the blood, toil, sweat and tears that occurs in mexico because of this drug war is because these organizations are catering to u.s. drug consumers. >> jose diaz-ballart, always great to see you. >> come on down to miami, it's warm and cool at the same time. >> he is, you know, a great

spokesman for his city. he is tonight as well as this sunday on their really great public affairs show. you'll want to catch that. well, it didn't take long. gas prices are surging again and that's raising new concerns about the economy. after dropping to around $3.54 a gallon just a couple of weeks ago, aaa says the national average is back up to $3.70 a gallon. and with prices like these, general motors hopes americans will take another look at fuel-sipping diesel engines. now, gm has confirmed it's going to sell a diesel version of the chevrolet cruze, the first diesel car out of detroit since the '80s. nicole lapin is here with what's moving your money. it seems like a little bit of a risky bet. is it? >> it's a little bit risky but think about the positives. they get better fuel efficiency by 40% but diesel fuel is still much more expensive. we saw the prices. diesel fuel costs 5% to 10% more

than regular unleaded and it's harder to find. you can't find it at every gas station. then there's that perception issue. this is some day a great thing but maybe too early for mass consumption because there's still a perception that diesel is smelly, it's sooty, it's certainly not the case anymore, but people think that way. >> can we talk about the wink elvoss twins. they have responded to larry summers' comments. he said some unkind things about them. what do they have to say about it? >> they wrote a letter back as tit for tat continues saying that the comments by a former president have them a little bit betrayed. they were looking for advice and guidance. they say, quote, we are further understanding why our meeting was less than productive. someone who does not value ethics with respect to his own conduct would have little interest in this subject as it is related to the conduct of others. perhaps there is a variability

of aptitude for decency and professionalism among the university faculty. >> a variability of aptitude. >> touché. >> okay, thank you. always good to see you, have a great weekend. stay cool. a three-week ordeal for a black bear in tennessee has ended. there he is, the black bear rummaging through some garbage and a jug got stuck on his head. before wildlife officers could respond, it took off and he couldn't be found. but tracked down, tranquilized and rescued. the bear is 85 pounds lighter. obviously couldn't eat. otherwise okay and he's been released back into the wild. happy ending. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions.

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looking at the diets of 5,000 adults and where they lived led researchers at the university of north carolina chapel hill to a link between low income levels and fast food consumption, especially among those who lived closer to fast-food restaurants. >> hi, everybody, i'm thomas roberts. next hour live on msnbc, president obama's town hall in maryland on the very day the white house has repeatedly said that a basic debt agreement must be reached to avoid default in 11 days. also the executive director of a gay conservative group is assaulted in a hate crime. go proud's jimmy lasallevia will join us to explain what happened and why they don't support hate crime laws. and a u.s. congressman fighting off an armed robber to protect his family during a home invasion. leonard boswell will tell me exactly what happened. we'll see you at the top of the hour. now back to chris. >> thomas, thank you. let's get you caught up on that breaking news. devastating pictures here. os

oslo, a huge explosion rocking government headquarters there, including the prime minister's office. several people have been injured and now we want to tell you that we are getting some confirmation at least from public broadcasting there that says one fatality has been confirmed. the question is who's responsible for this blast? norway has been grappling with some homegrown terror prauts li -- plots linked to al qaeda in recent years. we'll keep you updated. it is the final chapter here in the states for borders books. nearly 11,000 people will soon be out of a job. they have a liquidation plan and going out of business deals will start today. at the white house jobs topped the agenda in a meeting between president obama, the naacp and the urban league yesterday. african-american unemployment we've told you this before, more than 16%. national urban league president mark moreel sat in that meeting. what was your message to the president? >> our message was twofold.

number one, any debt reduction or deficit reduction deal should not be done on the backs of the most vulnerable citizens. so job training, education, housing and community development programs should not be emass can you latd to get a debt deal. >> did he give you any promises on that. >> he had a great deal of concern and compassion for that. >> concern and compassion, no doubt about that. >> i think there was a commitment on principle. >> not necessarily in reality. >> because there's been so much of a shroud of secrecy over the details of this, quote, deal that's being cooked up, we've got to wait to see the deal before we can determine exactly what our feelings and what our position is going to be. the second thing we emphasize with the president is a need for a new emphasis on job creation. a new kba sisz on job creation

on cities that will affect those unemployed, many african-american and latino. the president indicated a concern about that but also a commitment to work on that as soon as he gets the debt ceiling -- >> but they're interwoven. if you're going to have massive cuts in the trillions of dollars, and this is a long-term deal. the question is where will the money come from from those kinds of programs, do you feel confident he'll go to the mat for them? >> let me tell you this, i'm going to keep my eyes wide open with respect to what may go down. i have great confidence in the president's commitment, but the devil is in the detail and he's been pushed very hard by the tea party, by conservative republicans, who in my view have artificially linked a debt ceiling vote with the idea of a deficit reduction plan. my real view is that they ought to be decoupled and the debt ceiling should not be played

around with. should not be a political tool in connection with long-term deficit reduction. that being as it is, we are going to stand very strong for the most vulnerable citizens. let me give you an example. state and local government have lost jobs for six months straight. if budget cuts are extreme, it's going to cause more layoffs than that, so i think the urban league along with my colleague at the naacp yesterday wanted to send a strong message. i felt very positive about the meeting, but again, none of us know today as we sit what the details are. >> marc morial, i always still call you mayor, always good to see you. thank you so much. >> thanks, chris. we've been talking about this huge explosion at government headquarters, including the prime minister's office in oslo, although he's said to be okay. glass and debris all over the square downtown. we know several people are hurt. now reports from television there that one person has been killed. we'll keep you posted up on what's happening. stay with us here on msnbc. i love that my daughter's part fish.

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following the breaking news out of norway, learning that one person is confirmed dead after that huge explosion that rocked government headquarters in oslo. that is according to norway's public broadcaster. witnesses say been injured. let's get the platest from martin fletcher in our lopd bnd bureau. what have you found out? >> reporter: the main government building had almost all the windows blown out. the office of the prime minister was damaged but he wasn't hurt. at least eight people are injured and one death reported so far. the city said an area of office buildings, cafes and shops, damage spread over a half mile. it hasn't been confirmed yet it was a bomb and no one has claimed responsibility. chris. >> thank you so much, martin fletcher. that wraps up this hour of janz a -- jansing and company. thomas roberts is next. our doing clothes

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