good morning, everybody. i'm contessa brewer in for chris jansing. the whole messy debt debacle could be over today. the senate is scheduled to vote just hours before the country would have defaulted. the house passed that same bill last night, 269-161. but after all the bitter pattersonship, an partisanship,

an amazing moment. [ applause ]. >> congresswoman gabby tkpweufrdz returning to the chamber to pass her vote in favor of raising the detective ceiling. her colleagues gave her a standing ovation as they cried and cheered her comeback. it was the first time she was on the floor since she was shot in the head. >> it was most exuberant, exhilarating -- i mean, we were all crying. thrilled. we just knew she would make a triumphant return. >> kelly o'donnell is live on capitol hill. kelly, we're expecting a dramatic vote in the senate today. take us through the timing. >> well, there's still a lot of buzz and excitement even on the senate side for what everyone saw with congresswoman gabby gifford. it won't have the emotional punch of what we saw in the house. but it's expected at noon today

that the senate will vote. and it's expected to pass, although there will be votes in both parties against this plan. it brings us to the end of what has been a longer than most people wanted or expected ordeal, to get to here we are at deadline day for avoiding default. it's expected once the senate passes this, assuming that goes as planned, it can get sped over to the white house once they get the paperwork ready for the president's signature. so what's the reaction on the senate today? well, they're on the floor now. they're already debating it. you hear a lot of what have been talked about before that emotional moment of both the vote going through on the house side where a lot of people who worked hard on it, pushed it across the line, as well as the emotion of those who were not happy. some of that today. you had cuts to spending programs, who would be most impacted by that. and we're hearing from republicans who say this deal doesn't have all of what you might expect it to have if you're dealing is dealing with the long-term deficit reduction and spending cuts.

we heard from who senators today. here's what they had to say about this deal. >> i don't expect the committee to come up with anything, number one. we're going to be in worse shape because of this not better. >> if you want to see a bigger, more robust solution, yes, you're going to be disappointed f. you're someone like me who doesn't like the whole joint committee process and the triggers, you're probably going to be disappointed. >> and a joint committee is getting a lot of talk. we've been calling it super committee. the reason for that is it is a committee evenly split between the parties, not proportionately split. that's an important difference because they really have to work together. it will have broader jurisdiction. and whatever they will decide on, if they find up to 1.5 trillion cuts by november, the rest of congress would have to vote on it as is, up or down. no amendments. that's why people are putting so much focus this committee. this group of 12, six and six between parties, would have a

great deal of power and a lot of responsibility on them. that will be the story for us in the fall. >> kelly, thank you. house democrats are furious about this deal, insisting the president caved. >> all of the cuts come from people who have already sacrificed so much. >> and i don't want to see the key party succeed in its campaign to kind of degrade our capacity to work together. >> congressman chris man hullen is top democrat on the house budget committee. okay. so first of all, you're looking forward to the senate voting confident that's going to go as planned? >> i am confident. as you indicated, we had a bipartisan vote in the house. there's a lot to dislike on both sides of this package. it went through, i'm confident, through the senate too. >> when in fact, we've heard a lot of criticism of the tea party and its ability to, as some people put it, hijack the process.

the vice president even reportedly called the tea party terrorist. you said in the past they are unfit for governing. but didn't they accomplish what their voters sent them to washington to do? >> well, i don't think their voters sent them to washington to put the united states creditworthiness at risk to threaten the entire economy unless they got # # 00% of what they wanted. at the end of the day what they did was put the economy at risk, probably did long-term damage to our credit worthiness and they did not get the cuts they wanted. they wanted to end the medicare guarantee, splash medicare over 10 years, gut education. they didn't get any of that. but what they did get was putting this country in jeopardy, and i think the american people looked at the spectacle and said there's a reason we have never done this before in our history and we don't want to do it again. >> you had democratic colleagues, though, who voted against this.

do you see their vote differently? >> i understand why our colleagues voted against it. because we believe that any long-term solution to the deficit issue has to take a balanced approach. you've got to get rid of these special interest tax breaks, whether they're for big oil companies, corporate jets. you have to ask the folks at the very high end to go back to the rates they were paying during the clinton administration. it will be part of the great debate in the next election. >> congressman, i know that you are friends with congresswoman gabby giffords. can you explain to me last night what it was like to see her coming onto the house floor? >> it was a very emotional moment for many of us. tears welled up. everybody wanted to give gabby a big, big hug. i said god bless you, gabby. we love you. it was great to see her back on

the floor of the house. we miss her and we're looking forward to her permanent return. >> congressman, good to see you. thank you. >> thank you. >> coming up at the half hour, nbc andrea mitchell takes a closer look at congresswoman gabby giffords dramatic return to capitol hill, a half an hour from now. >> the partial shutdown of the faa which could last another five weeks. republicans blocked a bipartisan senate plan to end the partial shutdown. it led to the furlough of 4,000 workers and delayed more than 200 construction projects. and if lawmakers go on recess without reauthorizing the faa, the government could lose more than a billion dollars in uncollected taxes. i'm joined by transportation secretary ray lahood. let me ask you here, when we're

talking about the impasse over the faa, what are the options at this point? >> the options are for congress to pass an extension of the faa bill as they have done on 20 occasions to put 70,000 construction workers back to work so the government can continue to collect the tax that they're not able to collect. and so that 4,000 faa workers can go back to work. right smack dab in the middle of the construction season. 70,000 construction workers are out of work. this is one of the highest sectors of unemployment. for all these congressman and senators who love to talk about creating jobs, send these construction workers back to work on these important jobs at airports. send the faa employees back to work and let's get the faa back in the kind of operation that it should be. >> okay. so the house has already passed a short-term extension that eliminates subsidies for rural air service. it's sort of been a sticking point on the short-term resolution for the senate. do you think there's any way

that the senate just says, okay, we'll match those cuts, which is a little bit more than $16 million just so we can pass the house, the version that the house is on. >> we're urging congress to pass the bill that extends the faa so that our employees can receive paycheck checks. but as important, 70,000 construction workers are out of work. and there could be up to a billion in taxes that will not be collected. so, again, for mechanics of the house and senate who decry the debt and deficit, they're not allowing this money to go in the coffers and not allowing construction workers to go to work. congress should pass a bill today to send 70,000 construction workers back to work. 4,000 faa workers back to work. let's get the faa running again. >> secretary lahood, someone on twitter is asking if you can clearly explain which part of the faa is affected by this?

>> the people working on next generation technology, the people working on research, the people that are helping us get us into the next generation of guiding planes in and out of airports. safety is not compromised. never has been. never will be. the traveling public's travel will not be compromised. what is compromised are 70,000 construction workers right smack dab in the middle of the construction season. they can not afford to go without a paycheck. and 4,000 of our own workers. this is not the best way to run the best and safest aviation system in the world. we shouldn't be doing this. >> is there a safety issue here? >> there is not a safety issue, not at all. >> i know that you're a former congressman. when you're looking at the impasse, the standoffs we're seeing on capitol hill, can you ever recall a situation where the dysfunction was so clear? >> congress has always had a rich history of compromise. that's the only way that we solve our country's problems.

and that's the only way that congress can really get at important issues. compromise has to happen in order for the country to solve its problems. and this last period hasn't been a very highmark for compromise. i would say that. >> transportation secretary ray lahood, thank you, sir. i appreciate your time today. >> thank you. >> a rough day for the auto industry. ford recalling 1.1 million pickup trucks because of a defect that can cause gas tanks to fall off and potentially catch fire. one person was injured with first and second-degree burns as a result of the defect, which has been blamed for eight car fires. and setback for the redesigned civic compact. consumer reports is not recommending the car. it scored poorly on road tests. the civic was supposed to mark a comebam for the japanese automaker since the earthquake and tsunami in march. i love that my daughter's part fish.

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we're watching the senate floor right now where the crucial vote to predent default will take place at noon. the house approved the debt ceiling deal last night. one of the members voting david wu. he promised he would resign after allegations surfaced he had a sexual encounter with a teenage girl. but check out the youtube video he put out just before the vote. >> this is a crucial vote. it is likely to be my last vote. and i want to thank the people of oregon for giving me this, this seat in congress temporarily which is the greatest honor that an immigrant child can ever have.

>> and here's a hint. rick perry is getting into the presidential race. a former perry aide sent an e-mail inviting an exclusive group to have dinner with the governor as he gets closer to joining the 2012 race. the exact language, the texas governor is, quote, poised to enter the presidential race, but it could be weeks before he makes a decision. casey anthony's lawyers are head to go court in less than an hour to try i to stop a judge from forcing the florida woman to turn herself in. she has to meet with a parole officer by tomorrow afternoon to start serving a year of probation for check fraud. nbc's kerry sanders is in orlando. why is this coming after? >> the judge is here in this courthouse. as you remember, 16 months before the trial when casey

anthony was acquit odd all charges of murdering her daughter, when she was acquitted of those charges there was still an order by the judge in a previous case for check fraud, which you mentioned. and that order required one year's probation. now, the error was that they determined that the probation was being served while she was in her jail cell waiting to stand trial for allegedly murdering her daughter. so she's released, goes off and everybody thinks she's free. and that's it. yesterday, the judge who had ordered that one-year probation sent out a clarification explaining what he meant. and he said he meant that she had to spend one year probation here in orange county in florida. right here in orlando. and said she had 72 hours to report to the department of

corrections. so that would be tomorrow afternoon. now her attorneys are planning to come to court to say they would like to disqualify the judge and in the process vacate his order. they believe casey anthony has satisfied all of the requirements and that she is now a free person to live anywhere she wants to, not being ordered to come back to orlando. we'll see how it all plays out. >> kerry, thank you. let me bring in a civil attorney, former prosecutor here. so the judge actually wrote the defendant is to report to probation upon release. in a corrected probation order, the department of corrections apparently thought in the original sentence dating back to january 2010 that she could serve her probation while she's in jail awaiting trial. now the judge is going back and inserting the language. is that common? >> probation means your terms, your conditions of release after

incarceration. so she still has a year of probation. this could be very strict. they will have imposed drug testing, alcohol restrictions, employment, the whole bit. >> even with the more specific language that the judge inserted retroactively, should the department of corrections have known that's what the probation order is for not while you're in jail. >> a lot of people should have known. this was the most watched incarceration and subsequent release i can think of. not only the department of corrections but, you know, the judge and judge's secretaries, the lawyers, the prosecutors, the media, everybody was scrutinizing calculating days until they got out. >> does it affect at all the judge's decision or should it if she returns and she's on probation, her address would be a matter of public record. >> she has to give an address and has to report to a probation officer and report every two to four weeks. she's not going anywhere now.

they will have a tight on her. rightfully so. she was ordered to abide, and show she can stay out of trouble for a year. >> are there any grounds for mason, her attorney to, get the judge disqualified? >> i don't think so. because the sentence was already imposed. there was no issue of his disqualification at the time the sentence was imposed. it's not going to change right now. >> all right. john, thank you. >> thanks. >> we're just getting a note that the president of the united states plans to talk to the press in a rose garden meeting coming up at about noon. so about an hour and a half. we're expected to hear from the president, likely to address the media. we'll be keeping our eye on that. quick break here. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] now, give dry, damaged hair a whole new life!

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a missing girl mystery has turned into a criminal investigation that's rocking a tiny new hampshire town to its core. an autopsy is planned today on

11-year-old celina cass, whose body was pulled from a river yesterday exactly a week after she disappeared. >> until we determine the cause and manner of her death, we are just going forward as a suspicious death but we are treating it as a criminal investigation. based on what we know at this juncture. >> michelle segona has been looking into the case. what evidence would police find with her body that would let them know she didn't just fall in? >> her clothing would be a key clue. if she took anything with her. possibly maybe some of the footprints near the area going into the water. they're going to really kind of take as much of that land as possible, scoop it up to a lab and away they'll go from there. >> what other evidence might they be looking at at this point to try and determine a sequence of events? >> just like we spoke earlier, contessa, the computer is going to be key in this case.

because a parent said, look, we saw her on the computer prior to went missing. who was she talking to? who were her conversations with prior to that? and was the computer turned off? was it logged on? was it logged off? did anyone see her leaving that area? things of that nature. >> it's been a week since she disappeared. wouldn't they have gone through that with a fine-tootheded comb and gleaned all the information? >> absolutely. i do think they have done that. i think they have the information they need and are building the case at this point. >> are you getting any indication of what led them to that dam, that particular area where her body was found? >> it's so to my understanding, and i just spoke with the attorney's office again, to james there, and he said the investigation will continue today. it's my understanding that the searches were just going on throughout the area and it just so happens they came across her body. it wasn't a tip necessarily that led them to this particular point. >> investigators say her mom and

stepdad are cooperating. >> that's right. >> at this point they're not suspects. we have seen a lot of strange behavior from her stepdad. it was caught on nbc cameras. he comes out, lays down on the driveway for a period of time, gets up, goes inside, comes back out, lays down. finally he ends up in the hospital. >> right. >> what kind of information or scenario might you glean from his behavior? >> you know, i've worked on hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of these cases. families act out in different ways. and so this could possibly be at that moment where maybe they received some information that there could have been someone found in the water. they weren't sure. and he came out and didn't know how to react to that. it could be him just overwhelmed with stress. it's just -- you know, again, folks in these types of situations act out in different manners, especially when a missing child is involved. and this is just a very sad case

and something we'll be watching as the investigation continues. the autopsy will be performed today. we should know a little more before the end of the week. >> michelle, thank you for coming in. appreciate that. new information on a man carrying out a massacre in norway. the lawyers say his client is presenting a long list of demands, including the resignation of the government and that his mental condition be investigated by japanese specialists. in exchange, he promises to give more information on the two supposed terrorist cells he mentioned during questioning. his lawyer characterizes the demands as unrealistic. you think? we'll be right back. maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. [ male announcer ] get five dollars in money-saving coupons at v8juice.com. riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know,

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104 in wichita. 107 in little rock. 109 again in dallas. and sliding a little farther east on thursday, getting up to about 99 in macon and 100 in columbia, south carolina. so not much change there. on the north side of the ridge we're seeing these complexes of storms coming through. a stormy day for michigan today. in fact, severe weather possible from denver through the lakes. pittsburgh later on this afternoon. big story we're following today in the tropics is tropical storm emily. right now it's a minimal tropical storm. it is now moving west at 14 miles per hour. 40-mile-per-hour wind. dry air. there's going to be increasing sheer. it will tangle with hispaniola which could mean very serious flooding. so we don't know what will emerge getting into friday. it will have an opportunity once again to restrengthen as it gets very close to florida and the southeast coast. we may be dealing with a strong

tropical storm or hurricane, contessa, by the early part of next week. back to you. >> all right. here's a look at some of the other stories people are talking about right now. a new report report the navy seals never intended to take him alive. a special operations officer with knowledge of the raid said an unarmed bin laden was shot once in the chest and a second time in the head. the report counters the claims by theous wo us that bin laden would not have been shot had he immediately surrendered. syrian security forces are tightening their siege taking up new positions near homes, sending the people who live there fleeing for their lives. the move comes from one of the government's bloodiest crackdowns. they are reportedly killing 100 people over the last two days. the latest bloodshed brought a fresh wave of international pressure as the italy became the first european nation to recall its ambassador to syria today.

alabama's new immigration law has been described as the toughest in a nation. according to a complaint filed yesterday the law conflicts with federal statutes. it is set to take effect september 1st. former detroit mayor kwame kilpatrick served 14 months for violating his probation. he faces a federal corruption trial that could send him back to prison. he failed to disclose assets that could have been used toward the $1 million restitution he was ordered to pay to the city of detroit. one town dealing with its own debt crisis makes a bold move to save itself. word from the white house, president obama will make remarks in the rose garden at 12:15, that's just after the scheduled noon vote in the senate on the debt ceiling deal. we will of course have that for you live on msnbc.

also right nye orrin hatch announced he will vote no on the debt ceiling bill. he said it did not provide a real solution to debt issue. one sign of unity to come out of all of this bitter debate is the moment everyone is talking about today. congresswoman gabby giffords returning to the house floor for the first time last night. her colleagues gave her a standing ovation. there were tears, hugs, and even a couple i love yous. the triumphant return by andrea mitchell. andr andrea? >> good morning, contessa. if ever washington needed an inspirational story it is now. she was walking and conversational, clearly remembering names and faces. >> it was a moment of personal triumph so transforming, so exhilarating for a time it even swept away the bickering and ill will.

as gabby giffords made her entrance on the house floor to vote. a spwopb taeuontaneous standing lasted 150 minutes. gabrielle has returned to washington to support a bipartisan bill to prevent economic crisis. john lewis went. another colleague took her face and said it's you, it's you. the vote was so important she said she wanted to be there to help. >> the room explode. it was electrifying. members were crying. this has been such a tough few days. and to see her triumphantly walk back into the chamber, as friend, girlfriend, it was an mazing moment. >> she tweeted the capitol looks beautiful and i am honored to be at work tonight.

later she explained i had to be here for this vote. i could not take the chance that my absence could crash our economy. the miracle of giffords's return is it comes barely seven months after she was shot through the head, gunned down at a con teufp swep constituent event in tucson. a squeeze of her husband's hand, the movement of an arm, a smile. she moved to houston to continue her rehabilitation. by february, a major breakthrough, she began to speak, asked for toast. by april she was able to fly to florida to watch the launch of the space shuttle "endeavour" commanded by her husband mark kelly. >> she's doing really well. >> by june her office released the first pictures. her hair cropped close and darker but flashes of her signature smile. she could finally stand on the house floor and cast a critical

vote. >> throughout america there isn't a name that stirs more love, more admiration, more respect, more wishing for our daughters to be like her than the name of congresswoman gabby giffords. thank you, gabby. >> aided by her husband, surrounded by friends, the congresswoman departed as quietly as she had arrived. leaving her colleagues, who had been bruised by months of political battles, sharing welcomed tears of joy. >> there's so many doubters but never doubt gabby giffords. this is the first of many votes she will cast. >> nothing could have done more to heal congress's wounded spirits than seeing gabby giffords back on the job, even for one vote. and today mark kelly and his fellow astronauts will be at the white house to be thanked and honored by the president. contes contessa? >> thank you. debbie waser man shuttle will talk at 11:00 a.m.

let's take a look right now at the dow jones industrials off by 56 points on a troubling report on consumer spending dropped for the first time in nearly two years. nicole lap inis here. it seems for several weeks we were so focused on the debt deal. even beginning yesterday we saw a manufacturing report and consumer confidence. >> we are back to basics now. and yet we're almost very add in terms of what's moving our money now. we were so focused on this debt tkaoefplt we have europe to deal with. our own economy to deal with. this is as the stimulus is retreating. the fed had our back. >> the fact that the gdp has grown so slowly. >> right. >> are we looking at a slowdown in our recovery? >> absolutely. and we're looking specifically at the jobs every single week we

almost hold our breath. tomorrow jobless claims aren't coming out. that's expected to not do very much. >> a couple weeks ago we were talking about this fake apple store in asia. now it looks like we have a fake ikea store as well. >> look at this. this is a fascinating trend. a trend has long been known to knock offhand bags and shoes. this looks like what? the ikea store that you go to. they replicate the maze that you have to go about, the cafeteria inside the ikea store, all the model homes there. so bloggers are coming out and saying, uh, hello, this looks a little bit -- >> you know what they can't replicate? swedish meatballs. >> what are they serve something pork and eggs. >> all right. nicole, nice to see you. >> thank you. the motto for central falls, rhode island is a city with a bright future. but that future looks dim at the moment. now that the town has taken the extremely rare step of filing

for bankruptcy protection. like many cities and state government central falls got clobbered by the recession and has struggled to raise enough taxes to meet growing union pension and health benefit demands. i'm joined by the general treasurer for rhode island. gina, good to see you today. >> good morning. >> so i understand that the state took over central falls's finances last year. explain how the bankruptcy works and what happens next for this town. >> well, the governor and the receiver have been in charge of the bankruptcy process. and my office has not been involved in that. but the city filed for bankruptcy yesterday. you know, obviously this is devastating. it is difficult for the town. but we are hopeful that they will be able to begin anew and

look forward to a more prosperous day and begin the hard work of rebuilding the city. i think the message for all of us in this is that these fiscal problems are challenging, they're difficult, and they don't go away. and they don't fix themselves. and unfortunately this town, this city had to file for bankruptcy. i think the message to other state and city leaders is it's time to stand up and take action to fix these fiscal problems so they don't get out of hand like they have been here. >> central falls owes $80 million in pension and benefits. it's looking at $5 million in deficits over the next five years. what's the concrete consequence for retirees who put in decades of service for the city? are they going to get their pension checks? >> at this point that is uncertain. but as i said, bankruptcy is a great deal of heartache. and it's the most extreme option. in central falls now the

unfunded pension liability is approximately five times the size of the city's total tax revenue on an annual basis. so clearly decades of avoiding tough choices around fixing the pension have resulted in this bankruptcy and as a result retirees are going to be asked to take, in some cases, as much as 50% reduction in their retiree pension benefits. >> rhode island state senator elizabeth crowley called the bankruptcy filing premature. was there any other option? >> i don't know. again, the governor made this decision. and this has been in refership for a year. clearly it wasn't a decision that was made lightly. and at this point the government and the receiver made a decision that this was the only option. >> thank you for your time today, gina. appreciate it. >> thank you. center star jennifer lopez is breaking her silence for the

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it urged them to consult their doctor. fewer than half did. hi, everybody. i'm thomas robertson. the next hour on msnbc, down to the wire. the senate votes at noon on the deal to raise the debt ceiling just hours before the nation would have defaulted. debbie wasserman schultz joins me. will the conversation turn in washington to job creation? a soundoff on where is the j-o-bs? see you at the top of the hour >> 80s taking on average about nine months to find a job. after several frustrating months of sending out resumes, our next guest decided he needed a new approach. matt perkins and miss tammy embark odd a cross country road

trip in search of a new job. matt perkins and his wife are back in walla walla, washington with kyly, ryan and dalan. >> thanks for having us. >> matt, did you get any good leads by hitting the road? >> i did get good leads. nothing is solid yet. i definitely did get good leads while we've been on our trip. >> given that gas prices are up, that it's expensive to take road trips, why did you think that might be a more fruitful search than being online or talking over the phone or skype. >> i've been applying for jobs for six months. after applying for jobs online i had two prospects. i talked to my wife and said, you know what, we need to try something different. maybe getting face-to-face time with employers would be a better

option. gas is definitely expensive. the trip wasn't cheap. we figured that was a way to get a job and that's something we were willing to do. >> rachel, why in the world would you agree to take three kids on a month-long job search road trip? >> it took a while for him to convince me. but finally he said that i could go and visit my family in houston, texas. so that's what got me. >> and then, matt, you were a city manager. did you just go in and introduce and say, hey, i'm a city manager from washington state. can i talk with you? >> i was a city planner. >> city planner. >> that's correct. that's where most of my experience is at. but at the same time i'm open to other provisions. i think the skills and abilities i have would translate well into other provisions and fields. i did talk with quite a few cities to see if they had any positions available in city planning and i also looked at other positions as well.

>> kiley, what would you guys do to have fun? >> playing. >> ryan, what was the best part of the road trip for you, buddy? >> the zoo. >> oh, where did you go to the zoo? >> a couple places. >> were you hoping your dad would get a job at the zoo? >> no. >> matt, at this point what do you do? you're back from the road trip. you had some good leads. but now what? >> the first thing i'm doing. we just barely got back here to walla walla. i've been falling up on some of the leads, and i'll continue to do that. at the same time i'm still going to be applying for jobs online. hopefully one of the leads will work out and something else will happen. there are jobs out there and i'm confident i'm going to find one. >> i think it's an unusual step and i think, you know, in these days being creative about a job

search is typically what lands you in a very different field. and i'm wishing you the best of luck. i hope that the road trip pays off. at the very least there was the zoo and the family in houston. rachel, matt, kids, thank you. >> thank you. >> thanks a lot. >> thanks a lot. i've never been thanked like that by a little kid. today's tweet by stephen colbert. it's president obama's birthday this week. unless the republicans made him give that up too. coffee doesn't have vitamins... unless you want it to. new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination

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