and musicians to come play them. rock n roll will never die. how can the plum card's trade terms get your business booming? booming is putting more music in more people's hands. right now on msnbc sunday, america mourns for 30 u.s. servicemembers killeded after a military helicopter is shot down in afghanistan. among the dead, members of the elite navy seals unit behind the raid on osama bin laden's compound. we'll have the latest on the deadliest single day of loss since the afghan war began. new fallout from america's credit downgrade. how markets are reacting in a live report. a demonstration turns violent in london. cars and shops are set on fire. plus a tightrope walker's stunt goes wrong. we'll show you what happened next. good morning.

i'm alex witt. welcome to msnbc sunday. we are learning new details about the deadly helicopter crash in afghanistan that killed 30 u.s. special operations troops. it's the single deadliest attack since the war in afghanistan began in 2001. among the u.s. casualties were 22 navy seals. here's the latest from kabul. >> reporter: the american and afghan special forces were working side by side when the operation took a deadly turn. a senior american official says the team was on its way to a mission not far from kabul. a volatile veej known for its strong taliban presence. their target, a taliban compound housing insurgent fighters. soon the ch-47 chinook helicopter came under fire and crashed, killing everyone on board. in operations like this one, helicopters can be vulnerable. >> this helicopter, like any

helicopter, can go fast in a straight line but when it is over a target area, when it is inserting itself into a target area, it is slow. it is a very easy target for enemy troops on the ground. >> reporter: the 38 people killed include 22 u.s. navy seals, five army air crewebb men, seven afghan special forces and an interpreter. a dog was also killed. the u.s. navy seals were from at least two different units and included some from seal team 6, the unit involved with hilling osama bin laden in pakistan in may. none of those killed was believed to be part of the bin laden operation. president obama was briefed on the attack and expressed condolences to the families of those killed. he said, their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have

served in afghanistan. as the united states draws down its presence in the country, the special forces are expected to become more important. >> the president of the united states says we are leaving afghanistan and we have begun to leave. what are we going to leave behind? special operations forces. >> reporter: although nato deaths have decreased slightly in afghanistan, the latest attack demonstrates how dangerous the country remains. even for the most elite american and afghan forces. >> for more now, i'm joined by barry mccaffery, retired general. thanks for being here. >> thanks, alex. >> we heard some of the u.s. service members were part of the seal team 6, the same unit involved in trade on osama bin laden's compound. we don't believe any involved in that raid were killed. tell me about the navy seal team

6. what is it about this team that would be brought in on a mission like this? >> well, more will emerge over the coming days, i'm sure. as the military does an affirmative action review. we'll find out were there ac gunships in support, where were the apache support helicopters and why were so many on one helicopter. i assume it was a high value target. some reporting is it was a bomb-maker. but there are 10,000 some odd special troops in afghanistan. they bear a disproportionate burden in this extremely dangerous war. 15,000 nearly kildow and wounded u.s. troops so far in the conflict. >> you talk about it possibly being a high value target.

22 seal team members, a total of 30 u.s. service members. does that seem disproportionate or given the terrain, the cover of darkness, is that how many people you need to go after potentially one or two people? >> well, it's a small unit. you get on the ground and in the mountainous areas, the taliban are there in force. they are ferocious fighters and this is a dangerous environment. my question is where was the u.s. air force with the ac-130s, army apache helicopters. but these guys are clever fighters. the navy seals, army rangers. they are used to operating in small units. alex, some of the units have done literally more than 300 raids when they have been on their fourth, fifth combat tours. they are experienced, but that helicopter -- the ch-47 f or g model they are flying is the best helicopter in the world at

high altitudes. but it's going slow. it can do 200 miles per hour. but when they are going to rappel onto a roof it's a station tear target in the dark. the afghans fire a barrage of rpg-7s at them, an anti-tank rocket that goes 1,000 meters. if you hit a helicopter it will go down. >> that's a horrific scenario. with regard to the area you talk about this area which is a taliban strong hold. why is it the u.s. and afghan forces have yet to gain control? is it the topography? what makes it so challenging? >> there are a lot of things. first of all it's difficult terrain just to walk in. the mountain division has been there. heavy force and cover. this is an area that's never been part of a nationwide afghan people. this is a valley with tribesmen in it. they have been fighting the

soviets, fighting us, fighting the afghan central government. they are not going to come you should the control of a central state any time soon. that's the area we are trying to make sure the taliban doesn't move into and take over supported by newly resurgent al qaeda elements. some foreign fighters are in that area. >> general, we will speak with you later this morning. thank you. >> good to be with you. >> u.s. military lead rs and staff called the president to catch david to brief him on the helicopter crash. john harwood is live this morning at the white house. good morning, john. how might this accident affect the white house's strategy for afghanistan? >> i wouldn't expect it to affect the strategy much. we heard from leon panetta that the u.s. would stay the course. they are on track to withdraw 30,000 surge troops by tend of

the next year. the key for the united states now is to try to stabilize the situation, negotiate an agreement with the afghan government on how security will be maintained after we leave. but given the pressures, given the resistance to the american people who prolonging the conflict which has gone on for ten years already, i wouldn't expect it to change much. >> we'll analyze it through the morning. i want to talk economy with you. we know the markets in the middle east are taking a hit. we have been looking ahead to the asian markets which will open up tonight. but with regard to the middle east markets this is the first time they have been open since the s&p downgraded the u.s. credit rating. indications on what the u.s. plans to do next? >> i think what the white house is hoping is that the back and forth between treasury and s&p, the fact that other rating agencies have stuck with the aaa rating will, in effect, downgrade the effect of the downgrade. standard & poor's made

essentially a political judgment. they feel that they can portray it as such. you heard jean spurling, the head of the national economic council talking about the amateurish nature of what the s&p had done. i think that sort of skirmishing is a place where they feel the economic effects won't be great. but we do see some preliminary signs that markets are down. we'll see what happens when asia opens and the european markets open tomorrow. >> many thanks. what have you given up as a result of the roller coaster economy? talk to me on twitter. @alexwitt and i will read your answers today. people demonstrated in fullerton, california because of the death of a homeless man. the homeless man was a 37-year-old drifter named kelly

thomas. his family is getting strong community support to find out what killed him. >> i'm sure they did what they did to my son to try to make an example of him to show other homeless people, get out of here. it was clearly a hate crime against the homeless and mentally ill. >> six fullerton police officers have been placed on administrative leave after the beating. as we look at the weather, violent storms have been part of the story. a tornado in eastern caroline on saturday afternoon. it uprooted trees creating scary moments for residents. >> we could hear it comes like a train. my husband said, i hear it comes. we looked and you could see the clouds. it was white in front of us. around the side it turned black and turned into a funnel. >> there aren't any reports of major injuries in north carolina. what can you expect outside? let's go to alex wallace from

the weather channel. it's muggy in new york. that's for sure. >> you guys are feeling the steam. a lot of the country feeling the same as well. more hot conditions expected. we have showers and storms to deal with. a scattering across the northeast moving its way close to boston. things are improving around new york city. had some rain this morning. things are now quieter. to the south and west, ohio valley. heavy downpours. wisconsin, madison toward milwaukee. south of all the activity with the storms, it's the heat. heat advisories, we have plenty of those stretching from the carolinas working back into the southern plains. excessive heat warnings. the hot areas will be staying hot thanks to the big ridge of high pressure in place. more triple digit numbers. dallas, your streak continues. it's been brutal. even into monday we'll keep the triple digit action going.

wichita falls, 111 for the afterno afternoon. and an update on tropical depression emily. there's emily turning. very poorly organized system. the good news with emily, impacts expected to be min tall to the u.s. as it continues to missouri further away from the lower 48. >> okay, alex. many thanks. it was the deadliest day in operation enduring freedom and the loss of 30 special ops troops is head hilting one community hard. two police cars in london set ablaze. how a peaceful protest turneded violent. republican hopefuls gearing up for the first big test of the candidacy. who will have the winning strategy? i love that my daughter's part fish. 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.

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the straw poll in iowa is just a week away. it's seen as a bellwether in the time when the primaries kick into high gear. >> the warm-ups are over. the preseason is over. this is the kick-off to the formal campaign in iowa. the goal is to win the iowa caucuses in january or february but the ames straw poll is an important benchmark along the way. >> molly, good morning. >> hi, alex. >> we see tim pawlenty there. finished a disappointing sixth. he said they were going to show good progress. does that mean he's trying to lower expectations there? he spent like $1 million already in iowa. >> as your tone suggests even though he's saying, even if we

come in fifth for us, that's progress from being sixth in the poll, no one believes that. if he comes in fifth after spending a million dollars and campaigning almost more than anyone else in iowa there will be serious questions about his campaign. he probably needs to come in first, probably in the top two, or the questions about whether he can get people to support him despite his impressive organization, those questions will come back. >> equivalenten the lead-up, you have to think of the top two in terms of focus and energy, the other would be michele bachmann. she held a rally yesterday. join me in ames in several danes. how do you think she'll do? >> all of her events have been join me in ames in x number of days. she's a perceived front runner and needs a win to satisfy doubts about her campaign. she clearly has the enthusiasm.

got in six weeks or so ago and shot to the frochbt pack. the question is if she can convert enthusiasm into organization. the straw poll is an organizational test. the question will be can she support that level of enthusiasm with an organization capable of getting people to the polls. >> she does have good party planner. what she has next saturday, air conditioned tent, country music performers -- >> randy travis. >> big names. she said, come, stay as long as you like. she's putting a lot of effort into the event on saturday. yesterday when iowa congressman steve king attended the pawlenty rally but then has high praise for another can data. >> the press overlooked the strength of ron paul's campaign. he's been campaigning in iowa more than four years. he has a solid organization. he'll place well. that's the measure the rest of

the candidates are competing dpens. >> talks about ron paul. gunk he could be a serious contender? >> ron paul has a history of doing well in straw polls and basically being dismissed nonetheless. he has a loyal, active hard-core of supporters. he hasn't succeeded in his last campaign or this one in broadening that to a wider share of the electorate. if he wins the straw poll, the ames straw poll is different from any other and people have to contend with him. if he comes in third or even worse, there is probably going to be a tendency to continue to write him off as somebody who has a very narrow but intense base of support. >> i want to get to her man c

man cain. >> i don't believe i need to win the straw poll but i believe i need to finish in the top three. >> how risky is it to set the bar high? in general do you see this as a weed out the field? >> yes. historically it's been a winnowing event. we have seen one or two candidates rocket to the front of the field. people say, oh, maybe they are building something under the radar. and one or two candidates who gave it their all and just fl flopp flopped. -- convince enough people they've got what it takes. if you assume bachmann and pawlenty have the top two, one of the lesser known candidates

placing in the top three will make a statement. >> molly, thanks. >> thanks for having me. >> watch "meet the press" this morning. senators kerry an mccain discuss the crash in afghanistan and the economy. the discussion continues with dr. alan greenspan, austa austan goolsbee, rachel mad maddow and alex castilanos. a fatal police shooting angers a community. that's on the other side of the break.

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two american hikers being held prisoner in iran may found out today if they are free to go home. they have been behind bars more than two years now. we are live in tehran with more. i'm sure they an their families are waiting with bated breath. what's the latest? >> reporter: we were hoping for a verdict today, a week ago

tehran court announced it would deliver a verdict today. the day is wrapping up. it's 5:00 in tehran. we haven't heard from the court whether they will answer calls of leniency from america and beyond. on the positive said yesterday iran's foreign minister said he hoped the trial would end in the freedom and immediate release of the hikers. on the other hand, we mustn't lose sight of the fact that relations with the united states are strained and iran isn't in the habit of doing america favors. there is still everything to play for. hopefully we'll find out today or tomorrow what the future is for the two remaining hikers. alex? >> on a positive note, i know there is a celebration of ramadan that's a positive, peaceful, nurturing time. do you think this happening now might be affected because of that? >> reporter: we did initially think that last week. last week was the first day of ramadan.

traditionally that's when clemency is granted but nothing happened this week. if they are going to grant clemency, it may fall on the back end of ramadan in three weeks when it's all over. i think we'll have solid answers either today or tomorrow as to what the verdict is. >> all right. ali arouzi, we'll wait to hear from tehran. in china a tightrope walker endure it is scare of a lifetime. it's hard to watch. he's more than 300 feet in the air attempting to make it to the other side of a 49-foot steel wire. his tether kept him from hitting the ground. he was able to remount and try again. on attempt two he made it to the other side without falling. speechless. what are you doing?

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approaching the bottom of the hour. defense secretary leon panetta said he's deeply saddened by the loss of 22 members of the navy seals. and the loss of so many service members is hitting close to home in one military community. thanh truong is live in norfolk, virginia. what's the reaction like there? >> reporter: it's hitting close to home, alex. this is navy country down here. places like norfolk, hampton, they all revolve around the navy. they are the place where many navy seals call home and train. one of the seals killed in friday's attack was based in virginia beach, not far from here. >> ladies and gentlemen, join us in a moment of silence. >> reporter: at a baseball game last night this naval community

paused to remember the americans killed in the chopper crash offering prayers for loved ones left behind. >> we lost great, brave americans in the last day or so. it's a real tragedy. our hearts and minds are with the families. i know they are suffering really tough right now. >> reporter: the family of aaron vaughn, navy seal, is mourning his death. his grandmother released a photo calling him a tough warrior and a gentleman. on facebook, a prayer page for vaughan who's survived by his wife and two children, one of 22 navy seals killed this weekend. they are often involved in covert military operations. >> they work in the shadows. the sooner they can step back in the shadows the happier they are. >> reporter: in california where many seals train, hearts are heavy. >> took a while for it to sink in. then i just felt like i was

melting. i didn't know what to say or do. >> reporter: the seals are shrouded in secrecy but the members gained worldwide attention after seal team 6 raided osama bin laden's compound in pakistan, killing the al qaeda leader. military families are no strangers to sacrifice. there is not much that can prepare them for the loss of so many. >> these young men are national treasures. they are irreplaceable. you don't find them everywhere. this was a tragedy for the country. >> reporter: we often hear about how the navy seals are a tight-knit group. after losing 22, they and their families will have to rely on those bonds more than ever. >> thank you, thanh truong. for the latest on the deadly helicopter crash in afghanistan go to msnbc.com. protests saturday in london erupted into a riot in the tottenham section of the british

capital. protesters threw molotov cocktails and looted businesses. martin fletcher is in london with us. good sunday morning. i hear the rally started earlier in the week when a man died at the hands of police. >> reporter: that's right, alex. thursday night there was -- police say they were trying to arrest somebody in a mini cab. there was a shooting. they describe him as a gangster. he's a 29-year-old father of two. the shot hit the policeman on his walkie-talkie which apparently saved his life. they fired back, killed the man. that was thursday night. saturday night, last night there was a protest outside the tottenham police station. people calling for justice for the killing of the young men. 400 to 500 people turned up and things just turned to hell. they were throwing rocks as the police, throwing bottles. escalated into burning two police patrol cars, a bus,

buildings. now today the police fear there could be more trouble tonight. >> pretty profound pictures we are seeing. the crowd behind you, what are they doing? >> reporter: there's just a lot of anger at what happened on thursday. there is anger at what happened last night and the police blocked off the high road. they are treating it as a crime scene. local residents are here talking about what happen, interested by the scene. there is a sense of what may happen this evening. a growing sense that the police need more reinforcements and the young people told me about ten minutes ago that through social media they are talking about more people coming tonight, resuming the fighting, not only here but in a couple of areas nearby like wood green, other areas of of the area here. a very tense situation. >> indeed.

martin fletcher, thank you. michele bachmann is now the 7th candidate to join the strong america now pledge which calls for waste elimination from every government department agency program. she also slammed the president's leadership. >> after we saw the ratings downgrade we didn't hear from the president. he got on a helicopter and went to camp david. i'm calling on the president of the united states to come back to the white house, address the american people bf the markets open on monday. >> rick perry took to the stage at prayer and fasting rally in houston called the response. for those wondering if he'll of jump into the race his speech offered a preview of what the campaign might look like. >> we see discord at home. we see fear in the marketplace.

as a nation we have forgotten who made us. >> for those who are wondering, i think his head is bowed in prayer. meantime the mystery donor who cut a check for $1 million revealed himself. hours after two watchdog groups filed complaints a former executive at the consulting firm bain capital came forward. edward conrad said he wasn't trying to skirt campaign finance laws. congressman steve king of iowa made a surprise stop at tim pawlenty's rally yesterday. he said he wouldn't endorse a candidate until next year but said pawlenty would have a solid showing next week in the iowa straw poll. andrew rafferty is in iowa for us. i know congressman king has high hopes for pawlenty, but what are expectations going into this week? >> what you will hear out of the

pawlenty campaign is they want to show progress. they are polling in the des moines register. sixth in gallup, hovering toward the bottom. they want to show donors, voters, fund-raisers that they are going to show progress. they're got going to say one or two but they want to separate themselves from the pack. >> you know what's interesting? although steve king was there he had nice things to say about another candidate. >> yeah. asked about his predictions for the straw poll he said ron paul has been overlooked for the press citing that he's been in iowa campaigning for more than four years and has a grassroots organization that's so important for events like a straw poll to get people there to vote. he said ron paul would be the candidate others would measure themselves against. >> interesting. give me a read on how confidence

the pawlenty campaign is now. what's the tener of things behind the scenes? >> ron paul has a lot of grassroots organization. but the pawlenty campaign has a lot going on behind the scenes. sarah huckabee sanders helped her dad win the caucuses last time around, is running their iowa operations. they feel they have organization unlike any other candidate to get people to vote, and show what they call forward progress. >> nbc's andrew rafferty in des moines. thank you. we'll check in with the bachmann campaign. jay any novogrod's report next hour. up next, new reaction to the credit downgrading of the u.s. stocks were down in the middle east today. in the asian markets, opening later today. joining me from boston is

economic reporter for slate, annie lowry. let's talk about what wall street will do monday morning. give me your prediction. >> reporter: right now futures are looking down. we'll have a better sense when tokyo opens tonight. futures are broadly down. that suggests that perhaps we'll see a continuation of the now two-week sell-off. >> okay. with further losses in the markets, does that force congress and the president to do something more? >> well, think the decline in stocks we have seen is yus one piece of news contributing to a lot of bad news. there aren't a lot of bright spots in the economy. the united states is obviously borrowing for cheap. the bonds are doing well, but stocks are down. unemployment isn't moving. the economy is growing at a slow pace. in the first six months of the year we saw the u.s. economy grow at a pace of less than 1% per year. there isn't good news anywhere.

it's contributing to the sentiment that things aren't going well. there are troubles in europe. anywhere you look the economy globally is tentative now. >> china, the largest holder of u.s. debt, in essence rapping our knuckles saying we have to overcome our addiction to debt. how is that received? >> you know, the great irony of them saying we have an addiction to debt is they have an addiction to our debt, too. china holds $1.1 trillion in treasuries and hundreds of billions of dollars in other dollar bonds. i would say china doesn't so much want us to stop issuing treasuries as much as it wants the united states to get its fiscal house in order, get back to a growing economy. china relies on the u.s. economy. it wants our economy healthy. i don't think china is worried about the u.s. stopping to pay coupon payments on treasuries. they are worried about the general problems in washington

and the problems economy-wide. >> if not u.s. treasuries, is anywhere else better? where can investors go? >> they really can't go anywhere, alex. if you look at aaa sovereign debt, so the debt that countries issue, the united states issues 60% of it. there just isn't any place else to go. we could buy german bonds but there aren't as many of them. despite the fact that we got a downgrade by s&p, investors haven't fled bonds at all. investors aren't worried about the u.s. defaulting. they are worried about the lack of growth. you will see congress try to bolster the economy perhaps with tax cuts, perhaps an extension of unemployment. bonds are basically a sign that investors are worried about everything else. >> can i ask what's the greater danger? higher interest rates or lack of confidence globally in the united states? >> the two things are pulling against each other. because of a worry about an

economywide slow down and a global economywide slow down investors have been fleeing back to u.s. bonds. the yields have been winnowing and getting lower. the united states is borrowing cheaply now because we are still considered a good bet. that could change in f the united states doesn't get its fiscal house in order and growth continues to be slow. the bond market for now is doing okay. >> thanks. 45,000 unionized verizon communications workers are on strike. the company could not reach a deal by the saturday deadline. verizon is asking workers to contribute their health care premiums to that citing declining revenues. union members call the request harsh and unjustified. verizon said a plan is in place to prevent disruption of service for customers. it's beginning to look like christmas as many states give residents a sales tax holiday. with so many states struggling to stay afloat should the back

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a growing number of young people are living back home with their parents. college-age kids are often moving back in with mom and dad and even older children are becoming part of what's known as the boomerang phenomenon. find solutions to cope with it in "how to raise your adult children."

joining me is gail parent. good morning. >> good morning. >> i'm glad you have the book. we do appreciate the humor with which you write it. it can be a difficult situation for some. in fact the latest census has alarming children on adult children living with their parents. for 18 to 24-year-olds, 55% of men and 48% of women are living at home. doesn't that seem like a large number? >> it does. i can remember, i just couldn't get out of the house. i was so excited after college. it doesn't happen anymore. as a matter of fact, close to 100% of college kids think they are going to go move back home. the parents are part of it. you know, the parents say, "come home," because it makes them feel younger when you can be mommy. >> i understand that.

there is an economic malaise out there. there really are legitimate reasons for bringing the kids back home post college. and at that age, for the 25 to 35-year-olds, 13% of them are living at home. we hope it skews smaller as the kids get older. the question is will these kids ever be on their own? >> you know, you have to train them from high school on. you have to go into college with a major where they can make money and stop majoring in philosophy. they have to be able -- we are talking about jobs. yes, they may not get the job that they really want to have. but there is no working for money anymore. there is no concept of that. there was a chef on television who owns five restaurants. he said, no american has ever come in to get a job.

that's where the problem is. if kids could just work for money until they get their ideal job in publishing, law, whatever they want to do they can sustain themselves and they can get roommates and they can be independent. >> you're insinuating almost that the kids don't know the value of a dollar, that they have been so coddled by parents. are you blaming the parents, in part, for this s? >> yes, absolutely. i'm at fault, too. i encouraged my children to come home after college. it felt good to have the family again. i have to warn you, it's not that cozy. people think, o it will be great. we'll have the whole family again. >> i have to wonder if you have kids coming home from college, do you set a curfew?

how do you deal with it? >> you do set rules. you have to realize that it's your house. they have to comply. they are in college, they can be out all night, they can do whatever they want. they don't have to make their bed. >> there is another thing, too, when your kids are having children and you become the ultimate -- let's drop the babies off at grandma's house. that's another problem. >> oh, yes. exactly. we have that problem in the book exactly. the kids are at your place every weekend and you don't have a life anymore. they do. >> it is a great book. for everyone who wants to read it, "how to raise your adult children." thanks for talking with us, gail parent and getting up early. >> i loved it. it's great. >> thank you.

you have seen them in stores, the back to school sales that have been around for years. with it comes a sales tax holiday but should cash-strapped states be saying no to the breaks? and if you thought the heat was intense, imagine being stuck in a truck for two whole days. we'll have her story when msnbc continues. fliz [ 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. [ male announcer ] it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say.

perdue perfect portions is great on busy nights. five chicken breasts individually wrapped, so you can use what you want and put the rest in the refrigerator. and the best part is it only takes 10 minutes. it's my go-to meal.

a stowaway dog is alive after making a 200-mile journey in the back of a tractor-trailer. the dog jumped onto the truck in south carolina. after spending two days in the trailer in temperatures above 100 degrees, she was discovered when the truck stopped in georgia. by the time animal control picked up the dog, many thought she was too sick to survive. >> the animal control officer thought they might put her to

sleep which we were upset about. i'm glad to hear that something good may come out of it after all. >> the clinic says the dog named carolina is thriving and almost ready to begin a journey to a new home. when the summer winds down, retailers rev up back to school sales and for many that means a sales tax holiday. while a break on taxes is a great way to cut personal costs some critics say they should be suspended for the sake of the economy. jane o'donnell from u.s.a. today joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> don't these seasonal promotions bring shoppers into the stores? >> they certainly do. the national retail federation says they bring them in like no other promotion, but people like myself -- i was thinking of going this weekend to take advantage of the virginia sales tax holiday, but i would be just buying school supplies that i would be buying in a week or two

anyway. it really doesn't increase sales. it just shifts sales to the period when the sales tax holidays take place. >> one of the perks of shopping for school supplies is getting the tax break. it sounds the way some of the policy guys are talking they sound like buying pen krils and notebooks will bankrupt a state with these sales. >> right. some states found it can be many millions in revenue they give up. really, does it make a big difference to the average shop? it's up to a 10% sale. most people wouldn't go to the store for a 10% off sale. it probably won't change much on the consumer side but it makes a difference to the low income consumers. there are other ways they could be benefitted. >> how again with the low income consumers? do they not take advantage of the sales? >> well, what the critics say, a couple of tax policy groups say

because they don't have as much money, they probably work more than one job if they are working and they don't have the discretionary income to say i will shop august 5 through 7. they may have to wait for the enof the month or when they have the money. sales tax credits on tax returns would benefit them more. states looking for revenue could tax online sales which many people are advocating if they are looking for money. >> that makes sense. say you are in a state where there is a tax break. is there any pitfall to watch out for? >> you have to be careful. you do want to look at what exactly is subject to the tax break. some states include computers. some won't. one of the people i talked to suggested some exempt sports apparel. sports-related athletic wear. so many kids wear it to school as school clothes. ask someone at the store or check online to see what's covered and what's not in your

state. >> thanks, jayne. >> my pleasure. >> hold the phones. there is good news for the economy. those with money are spending again as brand name luxury items fly off the shelves. plus, tiger woods loses another sponsor with his weak showing in his latest tournament. keep it here. finally, there's a choice for my patients with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem. today we have pradaxa to reduce the risk

of a stroke caused by a clot. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mg reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin. and with pradaxa, there's no need for those regular blood tests. pradaxa is progress. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have kidney problems or a bleeding condition, like stomach ulcers. or if you take aspirin products, nsaids, or blood thinners. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if pradaxa can reduce your risk of a stroke.