bickering, lawmakers joined together to cheer the return of congresswoman gabrielle giffords as she cast her surprise vote on the hill. her good friends d & c chair joins me to talk about what's next. will she run for reelection? cause of death. an autopsy is being performed on the body of an 11-year-old girl to determine what killed her. police suspect foul play. d.b. cooper mania. an fbi lead is sparking new fascination with the man behind the only unsolved airplane hijacking. hi, everybody. nice to have you with me today. i'm thomas roberts. we're keeping a close eye on capitol hill. senators are wrapping up debate on the legislation and we are expecting a vote at the top of the next hour, followed by a live statement from president obama. senate leaders stress some of the positive this morning. take a listen.

>> this bill makes a serious and significant down payment in spending cuts. >> finally, washington is taking some responsibility for spending money that we don't have. >> all right. so washington got there thanks to the 216 house members. not before one of the most heart warming moments in the history of the capitol. [ applause ]. surprising everyone, gabby giffords returned to cheers and tears last night, saying she had to be there to vote and prevent a default that would, quote, crash our economy. luke russert has the latest on the hill. luke, what we're seeing that moment last night that was so sweet in the house, their work is done. so let's talk about what the senators are doing now and how many need to go ahead to support the bill. >> that's right, thomas. last night the house passed its debt reduction plan. it played an overwhelming

margin. about 269 folks voted for it. 95 democrats. john boehner delivered. he delivered 161 republicans. now the united states senate where we expect, according to john cornyn, republican leadership members told chuck todd this morning about 70 to 75 senators will vote for this. it was originated between leaders. so there should be no problem this going to the united states senate and all the way down to pennsylvania avenue to go to the desk of president obama where he will sign it into law today or tomorrow. now, on the moment you mentioned last night about gabrielle giffords, absolutely heart warming moment. i was privileged enough to be in the gallery walked in. nobody knew it. she announced it on twitter. really the only people that knew about it were the white house and nancy pelosi and her good friend debbie wasserman schults.

it was the best kept state secret in washington. in fact, it was. mazing surprise. there is not a dry eye in the house. specifically john lewis, congressman from georgia, went up and gave her a hug. and then he started crying. a fellow congressman from arizona kept pointing at her saying it's you, it's you, it's you. the real story out of the house is gabrielle giffords's return, which brought everyone to a state of happiness, thomas. >> in a town known for loose lips it's nice that some things can remain a secret. >> thank you. >> in a few minutes we will speak with gabby giffords's good friend, and speak about how her recovery is going and might return to work full time. once again, president obama is expected to speak shortly after that 12:00 p.m. vote in the senate. and he's had a hard time convincing some of his own party to support the bill.

delaware senator chris kuhns is a member of the budget committee. senator, explain to all of us this morning how close, how likely are you to vote in favor? >> thomas, now that i have had a chance to look at the details i am going to vote in favor of this very difficult team diehl. i am not happy with all the details of it. i certainly wish we had done a bigger, stronger, more bipartisan deal. and i certainly wish we hadn't run it up against this deadline. but at the end of the day we are who we are as democrats because we're going to do the right thing for the country. i'm convinced that defaulting on america's mortgage, which would happen if we don't pass this today, would have long and difficult consequences for all of our working families, small businesses, local governments for our national economy. so i think i really am compelled to vote in favor of this refuse hewn bipartisan deal that gave away far too much in my view, but vote to go preserve our aaa bond rating, voting so we can

get back to focusing on jobs is in my mind the right thing to do. >> sir, it's coming down to the wire. it's less than an hour to this vote. many in your party are still dragging their feet, not as supportive as you had just said. what would you say to colleagues that need to get behind this? >> well, frankly we should have been focusing harder, earlier on this. we would have benefited from some leadership, some willingness to compromise on the part of the house earlier. what i had expected would be a high stakes game of poker as we move towards this deadline, it turned into a game of russian roulette. once the tea party folks in the house picked up a the gun it became a hostage crisis. they were more determined, more willing to refuse the compromise than we were. so to folks in my party coming up today at noon i'm urging them to do what i think is the responsible thing and avoid any risk of default. the good parts of this deal are we get certainty for the markets

through 2013. we do begin to make a down payment on reducing discretionary spending. but frankly there's very big, very hard work undone. it is my hope that the bipartisan committee that's going to be formed in two weeks will take a serious look at revenues and entitlement reform in a balanced way that moves us forward when their proposal comes back to the senate in thanksgiving. >> let's talk more about the super committee. it needs to be formed in two weeks. who do you think specifically should be on it to reach the accomplishments that you feel the country needs to make? >> well, on the senate side, i would be hopeful that some or all of the six senators who worked so hard to hammer outation compromise that ultimately took the simpson framework and moved it forward would be included because they have already spent months and months together going through the details, figures out the levers to make progress. i rely on dick durbin who is a

part of the working group. conrad, chairman of the budget committee knows the budget inside and out. and former governor of virginia who is business savvy. those were the three democrats part of the so-called gang of six. i would highly recommend their continuing in this constructive role so we don't go back to ground zero. my hope is that the leadership in both houses will appoint constructive folks who are eager to get something done. because the conscious consequences of the so-called sequester which kicks in at the end of the year if we don't pass a bigbie partisan package would be very difficult. >> it's to nice to have you on this morning. thanks for your time. >> thank you. >> complete coverage live in the rose garden. nbc political director chuck todd will host our special coverage at the top of the hour. 430 members of congress voted on the debt deal last night but only one of those casting members united the entire chamber.

[ applause ]. there she is. as we mentioned, congresswoman gabrielle giffords returned to the house floor to cast her fitter vote since she was shot in arizona seven months ago. both sides of the aisle giving her an extended standing ovation. a short time later nanciy pelosi praised her friend and colleague. >> we are all privileged to call her colleague. some of us very privileged to call her friend. 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. >> joining me now is florida congresswoman debbie wasserman

schultz. it's nice to see you. >> you too, thomas. thanks. >> i understand you and representative giffords really treated this as a state secret. when did you first learn that she would be coming back and want to be casting a vote, a pivotal vote in what the nation has been watching with the debt ceiling? >> well, her husband mark called me on sunday night and said gabby had been following the debate closely, had been following the negotiations, felt it was very important that if her vote was pivotal that she come to washington and be able to cast that vote to prevent the nation from defaulting on our obligations for the first time in history. then really after some more hours went by in the morning she decided, you know what, this is probably the most important bill that we'll vote on this whole congress and it's important that i record my constituent's voice and decided to cast her vote regardless of the outcome. it was a triumphant moment. >> i have to tell you the truth,

i was cooking dinner at home when i walked into the news and i got goosebumps when i saw this. no matter where you stand politically, to see this woman return, especially at a time when the nation seems to divided, really it was bipartisan support around the board for this. >> it was. >> what was it like on the house floor? you were to her right, if i'm remembering correctly. >> yes. it was a moment that congress needed, that the nation needed. you know, we've been so grizzled and hardened leading up to this compromise on the debt ceiling hike. gabby's visit, gabby's vote, and coming into the chamber was timed perfectly to be able to set the stage for the next step in the process, which is to have that commission sit down and come up with a balanced plan that can address our deficit long-term, that can also make sure we can generate the

revenues. but at the end of the day gabby giffords stood up for her constituents and showed her and the country why they did the right thing in electing her, and it was the conscious mat representative they sent to washington. it was a beautiful and believable moment. >> does it mean we should expect to see her coming back to work more often and is it true she's going to be running for reelection? >> the answer to the first question is not yet. she has to go back. she has a long way to go in terms of her recovery. she's made significant progress, enough to be following the debate and to know that she wanted to come and cast a yes vote. but she has to go back and focus on her speech and occupational and physical therapy so she can come back, be there full time. and all of her friends in congress and around the country and in arizona especially are helping her raise money and strengthen her campaign so that when she does have the opportunity to run for reelection she's not starting from scratch. so we've got her back. >> congresswoman debbie

wasserman schultz it was a real honor to watch her return. and thank you for taking time to talk to us. >> the honor was mine. thank you. >> congresswoman giffords said i strongly believe that crossing the aisle for the good of the american people is more important than party politics. i had to be here for this vote. i could not take the chance that my absence could crash our economy. and the congresswoman's staff tweeted people's messages inspired her and said to keep them coming. well, in other news for you today, the body of 11-year-old celina cass found in a river near her home. very sad story. we take you live to the small town where authorities are calling it a suspicious death, and they aren't ruling out anything at this point as to what happened to her. do you remember this story from nearly 40 years ago? >> law officers in four western states this evening are searching for a man who was perhaps the most clever and

certainly the most audacious airplane hijacker of all time. >> a miss tear yann man known as d.b. cooper vanished with nothing but a parachute and $200,000 in cold hard cash. [ male announcer ] in america, we believe anyone can be a hero. kraft singles. we're rich in calcium to help build 'em up strong. ooh, watch out, bad guys. kraft singles. the american cheese. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

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welcome back, everybody. u.s. stocks are treating some ahead of the 12:00 p.m. to raise the nation's borrowing limit. red arrows across the board. dow down roughly down 91 points. we want to show you what's going on at capitol hill. a live look as we are waiting for that pivotal vote to come later today at 12:00. the president is going to speak roughly at 12:15 within the rose garden. this is coming up in the next

hour. stay with us as we continue to bring you all the details out of washington, d.c. in other news, investigators hope an autopsy today will shed some light on how 11-year-old new hampshire girl died. divers found the body of celina cass in the connecticut river on monday, a quarter mile from her home. this is just one week after she went missing. it was heartbreak to say the least to end this massive multistate search. and right now authorities say they do suspect foul play. >> again, i will tell you that this investigation will remain ongoing. 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. >> nbc's michelle franzen is in new hampshire with the very latest on this. so, michelle, when could we get word on the ruts in reference to the cause of death? >> well, thomas, the autopsy results could come any time

today or it could take longer depending on what the medical examiner will have to determine the cause of death. and investigators say that they are waiting for more information from that autopsy and how they will proceed. they are following up on many other leads. 500 tips came in over this past week. now they have another focus. since they have recovered that body, they are doubling back. they're going to be interviewing certain witnesses again. and they're going to be focusing on the area where celina cass was last seen. that was at her home here in west stewartstown. crime scene tape now marks that area off. the family is not there. in the meantime, no one is being called suspects at this time. and the town is certainly saddened by this. they have shifted gears to mourning the loss of this 11-year-old girl. thomas? >> nbc's michelle franzen. thanks so much. we'll talk more now about the investigation, the ongoing and

criminal investigation. for that i want to bring in nbc analyst and fbi profiler clint. clint, knowing what we have heard so far, the limited details of this case, what are your instincts telling you? >> one of the first things investigators has to do is clear anybody who was close to the victim. in essence, who was living in the house with her at the time. one of the people they're looking at, no matter what we call him, her stepfather, whose behavior appears somewhat bizarre. seven years ago he was charged with assaulting a girlfriend. he's been diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. you take that behavior and the proximity of the victim you have to exclude him first. just like you throw a rock in a pond and the ripples start to move away, you move away from the victim's residence. but as you report she was found only within a quarter of a mile from her house. how did she get in the water?

did she fall? if she was placed there by an assailant it was to get rid of any evidence. >> as we're hearing from michelle, we could get results from the autopsy at any time. when we talk about when she was last seen, her mother and stepfather were the ones to see her last. >> they were the last one toss report seeing her working on her computer july 25th. the question is what happened after that? you know, did she leave the house of her own volition? they have to look at the relationship between her and the residents at the house, who is nearby. and thomas, having worked these cases, every time you go into a little community like this and you start turning rocks over, you find registered sex offenders. within the 500 tips they have to account for every nearby registered sex offender. >> there's another story we're looking at that has frustrated the fbi now for decades

involving the legends of d.b. cooper. >> sure. >> it all happened in 1971. this is when a man allegedly boards a passenger jet, parachutes out of the plane with $200,000 in ransom and is never seen again. there's word that the bureau said it's following up a credible lead that cooper may have died some 10 years ago. so, clint, what do you think about this one? how credible would it be he may have passed a decade ago? >> i was in the fbi when this case was worked too. people really liked d.b. cooper. in fact, he really signed his name dan cooper, not d.b. some reporter got it wrong and the legend has continued. this was so long ago they have cigarette butts because the hijacker was smoking on board the aircraft. they have potential part

fingerprints. they know somebody over washington state or portland he jumped out of the back of the plane never to be seen again. some people suggest there may still be a bar in rural oregon or washington state where d.b. co-oper and big foot sit around and have a drink and last about the investigation that's still ongoing. >> i guess the reason why they want a to crack it is it's the only unsolved plane hijacking that exists in our american histo history? >> absolutely. this has been a challenge for the fbi over the years. today it would be unfathomable we would give a hijacker money, pair surachute parachutes, let him take command of a plane. i guarantee you after generations of fbi agents short of the union bomber case or something like this, this is one of the most infamous unsolved cases. we want to know who this guy

was, even if he is now dead. >> by now he would have burned through that 200 grand long ago. >> he would have burned through that and a lot more. thomas, a lot of people have made death bed confessions. the fbi looked at hundreds of suspects, people who claimed they were d.b. cooper. friends and relatives who said i know who he is. but right now they've got a name. and, again, we have dna now. we have a hair strand from back in the days. partial latent fingerprints. we have the maybe if we get lucky to make an identification. but of course it will take the comparative standard from some suspect and realizing that was 40 years ago and he was supposed to have been 35 at the time. that puts him 75 or 80 years old. i don't want to write off anybody 75 or 80 because i'm going to be approaching that soon but a lot of the suspects the fbi has looked at are now since deceased. but that's still an open case. and dan cooper was indicted

within five years. so if he's found alive today, he can still be prosecuted in federal court. >> 75 is the new 65, clint. >> amen. i'll vote for that one. >> good to see you, buddy. >> good to see you, thomas. >> casey anthony's whereabouts are a mystery to everybody but a judge says she has to return to florida. will she? a police officer thrown in the air as he tries to stop a suspect. incredibly, he survives, gets up, and he nabs the guy. [ male announcer ] this is the network. a network of possibilities. excuse me? my grandfather was born in this village. [ automated voice speaks foreign language ] [ male announcer ] in here, everyone speaks the same language. ♪ in here, forklifts drive themselves. no, he doesn't have it. yeah, we'll look on that. [ male announcer ] in here, friends leave you messages written in the air. that's it right there.

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just a reminder, next hour president obama will speak shortly after that crucial vote on the senate and the debt deal. aides have been working the debt deal.

kristin welker has more for us. this has been a tough sell for the president. >> hi there, thomas. you're absolutely right. it has been a tough sell for the president when he speaks a short while from now, we expect the comments to be brief lasting 10 to 15 minutes. we expect to hear the president talk about why this deal is good for the american people, why it's good for the economy, why it's good for job growth. we might hear him read or reference some letters he got from the american people talking about the importance of job growth. this has been a tough sell. some members of his own party. democrats saying they're not happy with this deal. they say there's too much slashing of government spending and no new guaranteed revenues through taxes. president obama pushed back saying well, this is what compromise looks like. this deal increases the debt ceiling through the 2012 election. he has been adamant that he

wanted this deal to be worked out in that way so we wouldn't redebate this during an election season. here's what he had to say earlier this week. take a listen. >> i've said from the beginning that the ultimate solution must be balanced. big corporations and the wealthiest americans shouldn't be exempt from kicking in. that's just fair. >> after the senate votes on this bill today and we do expect it to pass through the senate, it will then go to the president to be signed. we don't expect a public signing ceremony at the present time. but this entire week has been pretty fluid. so really anything could happen. as you say, this has been a tough sell. when the president takes the kwroed yum a short time from now he will argue this deal is indeed a good compromise. >> expect the unexpected is the way to goment kristen, thank

you. she disappeared from public view after being acquitted for murdering her 2-year-old daughter. requiring casey anthony to return to orlando. kerry, it looks as though casey was a free woman after the acqu acquittal. this has more to do in terms of the check fraud. >> yes. that was 16 months earlier than what everybody has a much fresher memory of when she was sa quitted on those charges of murdering her daughter. the judge has ordered her to return to orlando. she has to return to orange county. and the deadline is by tomorrow evening. she needs to be here by wednesday at 5:00 p.m. she needs to meet with her probation officer. as you stated, everyone thought initially she was a free woman. but now the judge has made it very clear he expects her to

serve this one-year probation and to serve it right here in orlando. two weeks ago when casey anthony walked out of jail a free woman, orlando attorney richard hornsby said how could she simply disappear when she still has to serve a year's probation? he had been a legal analyst during the eight-week-long trial. >> it's interesting to see how jeff comes at him. >> 16 months ago she pled guilty to passing bad checks. >> are you entering this plea freely? >> yes, i am. >> she bought sunglasses, clothes, even the blood hoodie she wore when she was arrested. >> i'm sorry for what i did. i take complete and full responsibility for my actions. >> this sentence in the check fraud case handed down by the judge called for a year's probation. >> has anybody forced you or coerced you into doing this. >> yet somehow she was given

credit for that probation while in her jail cell. >> i felt she was getting a significant break that the average joe would not have gotten. >> on monday the judge issued a clarification of the sentence and ordered casey anthony, you shall report within 72 hours to the probation and parole office in orange county, florida. >> casey, who was declared indigent, is in hiding. it's unclear where she would live. maybe at her parents's home where she once lived with daughter kaley. some paroled kweubgts forced to provide an address choose to live under bridges in homeless camps. >> every offender must give an address where they are going to be so we can supervise them. that may be a human, a hotome,

parking lot of a probation office. >> under florida law, that address would be part of the public record. it would even be posted on the internet unless an exception is made. casey anthony's attorney indicated that within the hour they plan on going into the courthouse here in orlando and they will file a motion to have judge strickland taken off the case. they hope in the process of removing him from the case it will vacate his order requiring her to return to orlando. >> kerry, that means that she either has to go to that -- the clock is ticking on the 72 hours. >> yes. >> this motion they're trying to ward that 72-hour clock. if they can get a judge to take strickland off? >> yeah. filing a motion doesn't mean it will be taken up on the court cal hrar quickly. here's what happens. if she does not report by

tomorrow it goes back to strickland who would issue a bench warrant for her. once that bench warrant is issued it's shared with law enforcement across the country where she could potentially be picked up and returned to orlando. clearly her attorneys are trying to work something out to prevent that from happening. >> nbc's kerry sanders in orlando for us. thanks so much. we are waiting, we are watching, seeing what the senate is doing right now, waiting to see them pass the debt bill after months back and forth. where the folks has been on the works across the political aisle. one group has been forgotten in the debt discussion. we're talking about american workers. progressive congressman on why putting people back on the job should now be washington's priority number one. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

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sting to geico reon car insurance? or more host: do people use smartphones to do dumb things? man 1: send, that is the weekend. app grapgic: yeah dawg! man 2: allow me to crack...the bubbly! man 1: don't mind if i doozy. man 3: is a gentleman with a brostache invited over to this party? man 1: only if he's ready to rock! ♪ sfx: guitar and trumpet jam vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. while the details of the spending cuts remain unclear, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle stressed the need to cut so-called discretionary spending over the next decade.

they fear these cuts will disproportionately affect the nation's poorest citizens. there's concern that it could inflict more fiscal pain on local states and deposits. co-chair of the progressive caucus joins me from capitol hill. sir, it's nice to see you this morning. how satisfied are you with this plan as a whole as it stands right now? does it do right by the country's workers, seniors, and children? >> no. i think it's pretty clear that it doesn't. i think the best thing you can say about it is it's the best deal that president obama and congressional democrats could cut under very adverse and extreme conditions with some most unreasonable tea party republican negotiators on the other side. but to say that it does well by us i don't think it does at all. as a matter of fact, this bill probably will lead to significant cuts in transportation spending. that's an important job creator. and it will cut into funding

student loans. now, these loans help to pay for student's education who are the future scientists, educators and engineers. that's not going to be good. let's not forget things biclike head start, youngest americans trying to get a foot. they will be setback too. this is absolutely the wrong direction. it's retractionary in 9.2% unemployment, which is bad. >> predominantly raising the jobless rate. >> he's it's. >> how worried are you about jobs in your district in light of this deal? >> i'm desperately worried about jobs in my district over the course of this august i'll be making jobs my primary focus. but let me just tell you, the progressive caucus, we have gone on a 12-city job tour. we have talked to over 7,000 americans who talked to us about

their job struggle. right now we're not only 9.2% unemployment. it takes an average of nine months to find a job after you lose your job. this is really, really difficult and absolutely not what we should be doing. america has a lot of needs. we need to rebuild our infrastructure. a bridge fell down because of inadequate maintenance. we have lots of needs and we have lots of people out of work. and we have $2 trillion in corporate profits they're sitting on. we need to put money, people and work together. and that's not what this deal does at all. i'm hoping the president will make that his focus. and i do remain an ardent supporter of president obama. i'm urging him and the white house and really all of to us push jobs. ultimately we need a pro job majority in this congress.

>> salt of bills, my progressive caucus members have put in. but it's got to be a pro job majority in congress. people who are all fixed on making sure americans are working. you know, if we cut the unemployment rate down to 5%, this deficit and debt debate would be much, much less significant than it is right now. the only reason that we have to focus on debt reduction is because people aren't working. we don't have enough tax payers. that's what we should be focusing on, putting america back to work. >> nice to see you. thanks for your time. >> thank you. >> we'll talk more about the country's credit rating. ron is standing by for us to talk more about this as we take a peek at our national debt clock. it makes me nervous to look at it. let's talk about the credit rating. and the powerful control these rating agencies have. where does it stand right now? >> it's up in the air.

i'm not sure any ratings agency is willing to cut the aaa rating of the united states given that this deal has been cobbled together such as it is. standard & poor's said it would like toe to see $4 trillion in reduction to keep its rating where it is. they may put us on negative credit watch, something like that. >> right. >> but it seems at the moment, the markets are much more worried about the economy than our credit rating right now. >> what do we see? i know we had red arrows across the board at the top of the hour. >> yeah. >> and the dow is continuing to go down. >> yeah. we've got from debts and deficits to double debt. it was reported this morning that the poor gdp numbers and unemployment numbers coming up at the end of the week. instead of a soft patch we might be in a mud pit. if that is the case the stock market has some trouble. and the real indication that the market is worried more about the economy than our debt rating is interest rates are going down.

unlike europe where credit ratings are cut. >> right. >> their interest rates are cut. ours are going down. the market is much more word about growth than debt, deficits or downgrades. >> contributor ron. great to see you. >> thanks thomas. tropical storm emily is picking up steam, getting stronger as it approaches the dominican republic, packing 40-mile-per-hour winds. the u.s. coast guard is strongly urging swimmers and boaters to avoid the ocean. emily is expected to head toward cuba before hitting florida in the next few days, bringing mud slides and flash floods to those areas. and this police officer is being held a her rhee in england. he was struck by a thief in a stolen car, sent flying across the highway. the officers jumps up, pursues the driver on foot, eventually catching him and arresting him >> breaking news to pass along to you this hour from plain field, p.a. a five-alarm fire is under way the a plastics plant in

northampton county, pennsylvania. look at the smoke. few details are known at this time. 150 to 175 firefighters and emergency workers are on the scene. there are no reports of injuries as of yet. we'll keep an eye on it for you. back after this. worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

welcome back. a deal is on the table in a senate vote is set to take place just minutes from now. the debt crisis remains unsolved. how to bring back jobs to those who need it the most. can we finally get to that. a columnist for the nation. melissa, is it possible to get on track, to get the jobs issue back to the forefront and really hammered out when it comes to what our political leaders are doing in d.c.? >> at this moment it's not clear to me what's possible. it's obviously necessary that we do this. but the fact is this debt deal that looks like we have just made collectively as a country

will actually make things much harder. i mine, one thing republicans are absolutely right about, the government has a relatively limited role to play in the creation of jobs. it can really do sort of two things. it can either invest in human capital through education and provide a more educated workforce that is more employable, or it can create jobs directly through infrastructure development and physical capital. the fact is this debt deal keeps us from doing either one of those things. >> i think one thing is short the partisanship is in full swing on capitol hill with the three-party system we have going on now. republicans don't have much control over their own complete caucus because of the tea party and the stronghold it presents. up against what people want to do when it comes to government. but when we look at the numbers, and let's show these to everybody, just how bad the situation is when it comes to unemployment rates. 9.2% nationally. unprecedented among the average american community at 16.2%.

after a deal like this has been cut, how can the possibilities of getting the conversation back to jobs really be cemented. because as we were talking with representative ellison, they have been putting together deals. the republicans have been in control of the house since 2010. >> this has been the difficult thing. the thing is american voters really since 2008 have been crying fought or a better economy. president obama won in part on the sense of the economy crashing behind the bush years. the sense that perhaps a new democratic majority would take us to a new economic place. but then in 2010, because we hadn't quite gotten there yet, many people came off hoping republicans could do it. you have the sense that the american public keeps calling out for something on the left and on the right that is simply not happening in washington. there's some clarity that in a consumer culture they must have money to buy the products that

we make. people must have jobs in order to support themselves and their families. and we cannot solve the deficit without jobs. look, the image image of a britn getting hit and then -- i feel that's where our economy is right now. it can just crash. i hope we can pursue. >> that guy's got job security. he's going to take down the criminal. when we talk about president obama's policies tnd the fact he doesn't have a lot of can country support when it comes to policies that have been constituted, how does it gain that back? >> the one thing about this debt crisis this puts this ceiling vote behind us. both parties are going to begin in earnest running for president. the question for both of them is who can truly convince the american people that this time there's a solution to the economic problems starting with jobs. >> great to sue see you. >> thanks. >> as always. a busy day a lot happening

around here. here's what we're watch manager the live feed. minutes away now from that vote in the senate. they are expected to pass the emergency legislation needed to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. president obama plans to make it official this afternoon and will make remarks in the rose garden following the vote at 12:15. then finally at 3:15 the president gets a break from the debt, oh, say it isn't so. he welcomes the crew of the space shuttle endeavour to the white house. we're back after this. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day

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welcome back, everybody. now to the flip side. as we wait on the vote on the

debt bill, a lot of heated debate. lately lawmakers have been trying something new to get their point across. food metaphors. we had this culinary line. >> on the surface it looks like a satan sandwich fch you lift the bun, what you see the ant thetical to everything the great religions of the war teach. >> minority leader pelosi agreed with the description but said her party would have to eat the whole meal anyway. >> with some satan fries on the side. nonetheless, it's something that we have to do. >> throughout the talks president obama tried to cast himself as the adult in the room. who could forget him enkshlging lawmakers to do the difficult work and eat their vegetables. >> we might as well do it now. pull off the band-aid. eat our peas. >> according to john boehner negotiating with the president was somewhat less than new trishs. >> dealing with the white house is like dealing with a bowl of

jell-o. >> so with a whole new round of supercommittee negotiations on the way, we're going to see what appetizing analogies they come up with next. that's going to do it for me. chuck todd picks up our special coverage of the senate vote to raise the debt ceiling and the president's statement right after. you're watching msnbc. the place for politics. [ male announcer ] succeeding in today's market requires decisive action. i go to e-trade and tap into the power of revolutionary mobile apps to trade wherever. whenever.

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well, with less than 12 hours to go before what could have been a default, a vote to raise the debt limit finally finds its way to the senate floor. it's happening right now. it follows what was weeks and sometimes months of bickering, some name calling. last-minute back room dealing. here's some of the debate from the senate floor this morning. >> this is a change in behavior. from spend, spend, spend, to cut, cut, cut.