. right now on msnbc, pittsburgh pounded by deadly storms. residents swimming to safety. also, job worries. stocks close lower for the fourth week in a row. why there are new fears this

morning of a double dip recession in this country. and president obama is in martha's vineyard with the first family for a summer holiday but the white house says he has not stopped working on a job stimulus plan. details on his working vacation. that is coming up. good saturday morning. i'm melvin. we start this morning with breaking news. msnbc has confirmed that the american hikers detained in iran have been sentenced to eight years in prison. three for illegal entry, five years for spying. they have 20 days to appeal. let's go by phone to msnbc ally who is in tehran this morning. what can you tell snus. >> reporter: that's right. nobody thought that they were going to be let off without a sentence. they were kept in prison here for two years and nobody thought that they would suddenly be let off. but all is not lost. as you said, they have a chance to appeal, which they could reduce the sentence but the main thing they have to keep their sites on here, they may be

pardoned at the end of ramadon in two weeks. this shouldn't be any different. i spoke to their lawyer and other sources who are all confident that they would be pardoned. but having said that, relationships between the united states and iran are not good. iran doesn't want to do anything to help expedite america. >> ali, at this point do we know whether that eight-year sentence including the two year's time that they've already served? >> reporter: that hasn't been announced, but i spoke to the lawyer who said that without a doubt they have the time that they've already spent. he seems to think that they have been given a six-year sentence and the way mathematics is done here, there's a lot more to pray for. >> ali, what do we know, if

anything, about the condition of shame in josh fattal? how are they doing? >> reporter: you know, it's sha rouded in seek kra see. they are pretty much confined in a cell with one another, from what we heard from sarah shourd. they are not in the general population of the prison. it can't be -- it's not the ritz, that's for sure. these guys are in a small cell, in a very notorious prison that's not known for its luxury. even in the best of situations, it's going to be a bad situation for them. >> ali for us this morning in tehran. thank you so much for that report. back here, president obama is on his second full day of vacation on the massachusetts island, martha's vineyard. the administration is making clear that the change of scenery does not mean that he is not working. kristin is joining with the president. she joins us. how is the president framing

this trip? >> reporter: well, the white house is framing this trip as a working vacation. there is r and r but they are certainly making the point that this is no normal trip. counterterrorism chief john brennan briefing mr. obama. [ applause ] >> reporter: and his first public outing took place across the street from where the media was already camped out. a bookstore in vineyard haven, where he, malia, and sasha, bought eight books. then, mr. obama held an impromptu meet and greet. later, no cameras were allowed when the president played golf but nbc news caught a few brief moments of him from afar in a golf cart. >> i think that's why you're going to see him take great pains to show that it's a working vacation, that he's not sort of goofing off. >> reporter: this, after a week that saw a jittery stock market. the president's approval rating

for handling the economy dipped to new lows and job fares across the country that drew thousands of the nation's unemployed. >> i look for a job every day. every day for the past four months and no luck. >> reporter: in the days leading up to the trip, presidential candidates criticized the president for taking what they characterize as a lavish vacation when so many are suffering. >> if i were a president today, i wouldn't be looking to go spend ten days in martha's vineyard. >> reporter: they continue to insist that the staff travels with mr. obama wherever he goes and is working hard on a job stimulus plan and will unveil after his vacation. even members of his own party are calling for more action. the unemployment in the african-american community is hovering around 16%. >> it's all right to take your family on vacation. but now you're the father of the country. you care about the citizens of the country also. >> reporter: despite the political undertones of this trip, many on martha's vineyard

were just excited to share their vacation with the president. >> it's so powerful for my kids to have met him and just to know what it means for kids of color and when they grow up in their future, this is a great possibility for them. >> i was really excited and -- but when i met him i sort of was paying attention. >> i'm 71 years old. the last time i met a president was eisenhower. so needless to say, meeting this president was a real honor. >> reporter: now, at this point we don't know what the president has planned for today. it certainly is quite a nice day. so maybe a game of golf. we'll have to see. we'll be trying to catch a glimpse of him and we can bet, craig, a lot of folks around here will be trying to catch a glimpse of him as well. back to you. >> that is for sure. kristen, thank you. authorities this morning are assessing the damage from deadly storms that cleanaimed at least four lives.

a mother and two children were killed in pittsburgh when their car was submerged in flash flooding. another person is missing and presumed dead. rescuers were able to evacuate people from the water. >> i was standing on my roof of the car and the water was up over like to my ankles. so it was covered. it was completely submerged in the water. >> meanwhile, in wisconsin, one man died there in an apparent tornado. that tornado uprooted trees, damaged several houses as well. are there more storms on the way? bill karins has a look at what we can expect. >> there were fatalities as we look at the storm reports. there was only one tornado but it took a life up there in northern wisconsin with the super cell. also a. lot of thunderstorm act tie, damaging winds and hail rolling through the new england area, mid-atlantic, and through

the ohio valley. flash flooding in pittsburgh. three fatalities. trapped in the water in their cars. so even though we didn't get a lot of big tornadoes, you still could have deadly weather from thunderstorms. that was the case yesterday. the thunderstorms have cleared all of new england. we will see another grouround og storms. if you think it's been wet lately in philadelphia, it has. we've had over a foot of rain in august. almost 13 inches. with the next bought of rainfall expected on sunday, this will become our all-time wettest month. all time. a very significant weather record about to be set in philly. new york is not behind either. 11 inches of rain so far this august. as far as severe weather, near st. louis, central missouri and illinois, on sunday, heading through areas of new england, all the way down to philadelphia, and including new york city. on saturday, it's dry, looks beautiful and warm. on sunday the stormy weather

will return. the rest of the forecast for the country today, kansas city to chicago, hot weather continues in texas. today should be 107 in dallas. back to you. >> a very emotional morning in norway. the month after the massacre of 69 people at a campground. the families of the victims are returning to the island where they died. nbc's jay gray is on that island in norway with the very latest. jay? >> reporter: good morning, craig. it's been a very difficult, very emotional weekend here today hundreds of survivors are returning to the place that just about a month ago they ran from under heavy gunfire, vowing to take back not just this plot of land but also their lives. most of these teenagers made the trip dozens of times. this weekend, their boat ride over is to a place so much different than what they've known. >> it's going to be an extremely emotional day for me as i get

back on the island and it's going to be something that i really think i need. i believe i need to cry. >> reporter: tears that will be shared by close to 500 survivors, returning to a paradise that in just a matter of minutes shifted to a killing field. >> i remember laying there and suddenly i heard him placing his boots right in front of my place. and i could also feel the warmth from the barrel that he was pointing at me. and, again, i was thinking, now it's over. now you got me. everything i could say was, don't shoot. >> reporter: but he kept shooting, killing 69 young campers and forcing hundreds to scramble to safety. >> one girl i know screamed really, really loud in the next room and i was certain that he's -- now he's on his way and into the building. >> reporter: ameal yeah will go back to that building where she hid from the gunfire.

>> i prepared myself that the door is now going to be open. there are going to be shots and i just try to imagine where is he going to shoot. >> reporter: she will remember that shoot. she will mourn those lost but amelia and others insist they will not think back to the man responsible. >> i'm not spending time thinking about the man. mostly i don't want to because i don't think he deserves my thoughts. i would rather that my friends that are not here today get my thoughts. >> reporter: the focus this weekend is clearly on healing. the prime minister of norway who spoke on the island today and others have said, it is time for an end to the mourning, although they are quick to point out that they will never forget what's happened here. that's the very latest. jay gray. craig, now back to you. >> all right. jay gray for us from norway. jay, thank you. gadhafi's worn-torn libya forces are celebrating another major gain.

after a week of fierce fighting, a rebel spokesman says that they are now in control of a key oil port. >> all of this after rebels made gains into the town 30 miles outside the libyan capital of tripoli. for the first time in almost 20 years, the west memphis three are out of prison in arkansas. they agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors head and were released almost immediately. they were arrested back in 1993 with the arrest after the murder of three cub scouts. on friday it ended suddenly. >> still very much in shock, still overwhelmed. you know, you kind of have to take into consideration that i've spent the past decade and absolute solitary confinement. so i'm not used to being around anyone, much less this many people. it's kind of overwhelming. >> damien echos has been on death row. joining me is criminal defense

attorney karen desoto. >> this plea agreement did not come very quickly? >> no, it did not. the unusual part about this plea is that it is an altered plea. somebody pleads guilty but they maintain their innocence. it's a way for a person to enter a guilty plea but not really be guilty according to them. that is really strange and not done in all states but in many states and it's really not that rare. it's done about 20% out of the time. >> what tromted the the plea deal now? >> well, there were multiple appeals going on. and also the dna evidence that was tested and all three of these defendants, none of their dna was found at the scene. the only dna alleged to have been found at the scene was one of the stepfathers of the cub scouts that was murder. >> the families of the victims, what are they saying about this? >> some of them are split.

some of them feel that, listen, they lost their children. there was a confession involved. they feel that they were prosecuted and they were found guilty and, therefore, they should stay in prison and there's other people who say, you know what, maybe the confession was coerced. there's no dna. family members who believe that they are innocent. it goes both way. >> what does karen desoto think? if you were a betting woman, what would you bet? >> it's interesting because this case was on the heels of the mcmorton trial and the dna evidence speaks volume. too bad they didn't have it back then but there was no dna at the scene. when you listen to those documentaries, all three of them seem very convincing. one of the defendant's doesn't have the highest iq. they were 17. they were -- had that goth look and it seemed like they were

singled out. the facts and the evidence don't really add up here. there is a huge question. >> karen desoto, always a pleasure. have a great saturday. rick perry wrapping up his first full week in the presidential race. how is the strategy working? we will talk about that. the weekend political round table next. also, it's one way to get a car wash. how this vehicle ended up in a texas woman's pool. call it a car pool. we're back in three minutes. (telephone ring. pick up) usa prime credit. my name ...peggy. you got problem? ggy? third time i've called, 's time i speak with a supervisor. supervisor is genius...i transfer. transfer! transfer! transfer! transfer! transfer! hello...my name is... peggy? come on!!! hello? want better customer service?

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a tremendous scene in

pittsburgh, pennsylvania, flash flooding that flooded roads. a man is missing and two people died. brandon is joining us this morning. brandon? >> reporter: good morning, craig. this intersection behind me will remain blocked indefinitely. it's the closest that they are letting us get at this time. about a couple hundred yards from where i'm standing, workers are working on search and cleanup efforts less than 24 hours ago this is where water rose so fast it killed three people and another person is also missing. take a look at this video. all of this happened on one road. you're getting a bird's-eye view from our chopper. drivers say they've never seen the road buckle and water rise so fast. at one point, the water was at least ten feet high. crews rescued people inside their cars or standing on the roofs of their cars. the medical examiner tells us the water pinned a woman's car next to a tree and she and her two children did not escape. now, crews say they don't know when the road will reopen. they are also looking for an

elderly woman. we don't know how she went missing. we're working on that right now. we know that the flooding damaged at least 30 homes. reporting live, craig, back to you. >> brandon hudson from wpxi. brandon, thank you. turning to politics now, the congressional black caucus gearing up for another massive job fair. residents will brave the long lines of unemployed people all for the chance to make an impression on hiring managers and business owners. miami will be the fourth city to host the cbc job tours. the unemployment rate for african-americans in this country stands at 16.8%. that's compared to 8.2% for white americans. robert is a washington bureau chief and karen finney is an msnbc political analyst. good afternoon to both of you. robert, nearly 13,000 job seekers have attended this fair so far.

is this about finding jobs or about changing the conversation as well? >> well, i think a combination of both. everybody ds priority and individuals can lift themselves out of poverty and provide for their families. that's priority number one. the second priority is arguably equal as the first priority and try to change the trajectory. we have republicans and democrats, both bickering, if you will, about who has the better plan to get this economy moving again. but when you take a look at the individuals living paycheck to paycheck, they don't care. the only thing they want is a good paying job. i applaud the black caucus for trying to move the ball forward, create this dialogue in the black community. you said 16.2% but some of the statistics that i'm looking at in philadelphia and brooklyn

and -- >> much higher. >> much, much, much higher. 20 to 30%. >> and the numbers that we use, karen, that doesn't factor in the underemployed, the people giving up looking for a job. president obama's job focused on jobs all week. he held town halls in the midwest, in minnesota. but he was not in any of these black communities that had been hard hit. is the president doing enough to help the black community when it comes to jobs? and is he also doing enough to help the perception that continues to linger? >> you know, here's what i think the president should be doing and i think it's unfortunate that he didn't go to latino communities, african-american communities. some would say that the president is the president of all of the people and he should have a job agenda for everybody. i don't disagree with that. but i do think to your point, we have to be willing to look at those -- at that second layer of data that tells us what is

really going on with the underemployed, with the african-american community, with the latino community. look at what is happening with our children. they are the ones in times like these that suffer the most. what i think we'd like to see, certainly what i would like to see is, i'd like to hear the president and the people in his administration when they talk about these numbers, talk about all of it. give us the whole picture. don't just use the top line number. because that would at least send a message that we hear that we are on your radar screen and i really have to say, what the cbc is doing is so brilliant because it's using their resources and their connections to literally try to get people hired and that's what congress should be doing. if they can't agree with each other, which they should be able to do, at least get out there and create jobs. >> and a turn out for those job fairs that has been amazing, 13,000 people have been in just the first week. i want to play some sound here. we've all heard that -- the sound from congresswoman max seen waters reeling against what

the president has done so far. the reverend jesse jackson also chimed in. he said this in our last hour on msnbc. take a listen. we'll talk about it on the other side. >> in some sense, our silence has not helped the president. we've been trapped between protests seen as against him when it is not. our protests empowers him and helps determine the direction of the flow of america's agenda. >> robert, is that true? do protests from prominent leaders in the black community help the president? >> it depends on who you ask. if you ask the white house, i think they would say probably not. they would say, this is just an unneeded distraction, it's democrats talking about democrats. so it's infighting. i think if you ask republicans, they would probably say, where were you all along? where were you two years ago? i have a sinking suspicion, craig, that this is a crack in the dam and all of a sudden if in fact that crack gets wider and wider and wider, you may

have a tsunami of african-american leaders that finally feel like they've taken the mask off and they feel that they can speak their minds and how frustrated they are with the president and r as it relates to the economic situation. >> go ahead karen. >> i don't disagree with robert. it's important as leaders representing any community should be out there doing everything that they can to advocate for their people. that's what we hire you for. at the same time, i don't remember president bush having an agenda for black america or an agenda for hispanic america. >> so you believe this president is being held to a different standard because he's the nation's first black president? >> yes, in part. but i believe we should hold every president so that standard. we let some others get off on it. look, i think this president should be held to that higher standard and that means everybody. >> all right. >> craig, do we have time? can i respond to that? >> ten seconds. not a second more.

>> i will remind her of faith-based initiative in the black community under president bush. >> that's longer than ten seconds and karen, i promise we will start with you next time. >> sounds good. >> thank you so much. appreciate you. >> thank you. a 10-year-old piano prodigy wows the crowd in argentina. that would make any musician nervous. look at her, though. natasha bender playing it like a pro. she belongs to a family of musicians and started playing the piano at the age of 3. when she finished her performance, the crowd roared their approval. ♪ [ applause ] ♪

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a bad start to the weekend for one houston homeowner. police say a woman drove through a garage wall and right into the backyard pool. the driver managed to get out safely. fortunately, no one was hurt. investigators have not released the driver's name and at this point it's not known if she lives at the house. the cause of the accident is still unknown. 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.

now to libya where rebels are now in control of a key oil port. the latest gain in a 48-hour period that has seen the rebels close in on moammar gadhafi from every angle. richard engel is in libya with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. we are on a main road leading to

the center of zawiya. it's 30 miles from downtown tripoli. we've been seeing cars, many moving at high speed, up and down this road. rebels control about 75% of zawiya. the reason that they are moving so quickly, gadhafi forces who holds a pocket of the city has been firing many what sounds like rockets and mortars but we are also hearing for the first time, since we've been in zawiya, nato aircraft in the sky. it seems that nato is trying to give the rebel an extra push, an extra bush as rebels say that they are making their final advances on tripoli. craig? >> richard engel in libya for us. thank you. the search for a missing utah woman has led police to an abandoned mine shaft along the eastern mountains of nevada. susan powell, a mother of two young boys disappeared in 2009 after failing to show up for

work. her husband, josh powell, is a person of interest and police won't say what led to the mine shafts. a criminalogist gave us his take on this. >> her 4-year-old son when questioned allegedly said, mommy is looking for crystals in a mine. and then law enforcement came up with a witness who said that at a christmas party susan's husband josh had allegedly said the best place to get rid of a body is in a minor a mine shaft. i think you couple those two together and that would give most investigators reason to be searching a mine and i think what you'd have to do, the night she disappeared, you'd have to take that time line and say, could josh have driven that distance in a worst case scenario to dispose of susan's body and report her missing. all of this has to come together to make it a logical lead. >> neither susan's parents or

husband was questioned about this lead. they are asked not to share specifics even with the family members. back to politics now. new speculation over the republican nominee for vice president. even though the gop nomination is months away from being sealed, there are plenty of people vying for this. others are being a little coy. politico vying that mitt romney has, chris christie, bob mcdon nel, and florida senator marco rubio. first of all, let's start -- first of all, let's recognize how far out we are. that's not going to stop us from speculating and prognosticating here. >> right. >> what make as good vp nominee and does it depend on the candidate? >> well, good to be with you, craig. it really does depend on the candidate. in a lot of ways, the vp field is more exciting than the presidential field because so many republicans won in 2009 and

2010. there's a lot of candidates to work with. and within those candidates there's two categories. there's the people who add racial or geographic diverse stee and appeal to conservatives and good rapport for the candidates. there's several names on each of those two lists. >> historically, which one of those categories has been more beneficial to a candidate at the top of the ticket? >> in the old days you wanted to have a vice president that helped carry a state that you would not necessarily carry yourself. >> sure. >> that's why john kennedy picked lyndon johnson, the senator from texas. it would help this guy from massachusetts carry texas. that really was the last time that geographic balancing made a difference. you see people like sarah palin, obviously alaska is one of the most republican states in the country. mccain chose her because she was sarah palin, not because she would add something else to the ticket. >> and the thinking that she would have helped him with

social conservatives. >> and women. >> and women. >> let's talk about marco rub ohio. here's a guy getting a lot of press. he's getting a lot of ink. what makes him so attractive to so many? >> there are five things. when you talk to analysts and republicans, the real pros, they say the vp field is down to rubio and someone else. rubio is incredibly good looking hispanic man from florida,. which is probably going to be the king swing state again. he's popular with tea party conservatives but also popular and acceptable with establishment republicans. he's had a great year in the senate and also really good at fundraising. he has a really good looking family. his wife is a former miami dolphins cheerleader, great kids. he's a really great speaker and seen as a young dynamic balance to whoever the nominee is, especially if it's someone like mitt romney. >> what has he said about wanting to be vice president?

he's, what, two years into his senate term? >> not even. he's seven months. >> seven months. >> he was in the florida state legislature. he just won an election last year. that would be even less time than when obama became president and started running for president and that's his real challenge and that's why he has stepped back a little bit. the problem for rubio is that he's an automatic natural front-runner to run for president in 2016. if president obama wins the second term. so why tie yourself to one of these guys who is running this year when you could run for the whole enchillada in four years. >> it wouldn't be a week if we didn't talk with chris christie. run for president, run for vice president. what makes christie such an attractive candidate to so many? >> he's a heart throb for the conservatives who love his confrontational style. they feel like he was on the cutting edge of taking on public sector employee unions before it was sexy, when scott walker did it in wisconsin. they like his style and

attitude. the problem with chris christie is he represents new jersey, which is not going to be a swing state. his popularity in his own state is not very good. he has baggage in other areas, including his health. so le definitely be talked about on the short list. the other problem with chris christie, which he's noted himself, you would not someone local and loud. if you're the president, you wouldn't want him as your vice president. >> all right. appreciate your time. >> thanks, craig. right now, about 2000 people paying tribute to the 9/11 terror attacks. they started their annual trek last night. the group is aware of its effect on traffic but they hope -- they say that they hope the purpose forever the trip is not lost on gridlock motorists. >> i think that the people need to understand that this is not a celebration. this is in fact a solemn

memorial service but americans have a very short memory and we need to remember that this was a tragic event for the country. we need to remind ourselves every year that the world is not necessarily a nice place and we at least need to pay tribute to those people who lost their lives. >> this year's event, just a few weeks from the tenth universe ree of 9/11 is enjoying as many as four times participants as in years past. the cop next door, the mayor's detroit says he has a new way to keep detroit safe. why it's a win-win for detroit's residents. kim kardashian breaking the hearts of bachelors all over the world. that's right, folks. kim is tieing the knot. details on the blowout wedding on the other side of this break. ] anan anthis...is the netwo. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping drive the future of business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn.

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after months of buzz and speculation, and everything from what she will be wearing to who is on the guest list, even how many bottles of wine she will have on hand to help celebrate, the reality of kim kardashian has finally arrived. later today, kardashian will marry kris humpphries. there is a lot of buzz over who is going to be there. >> jennifer lopez, justin bieber, donald trump was invited but he's not showing up because he has a golf tournament and ellen degeneres was invited. i doubt she's going to make it. >> how many people -- do we know at this point? >> 500 guests on the guess list. it's going to be star-studded. also, old friends are going to

be in the house. >> there's a mix of hollywood and music people. >> i have heard a price tag on this thing as high as 20 million. have you heard that? >> i've been hearing figures, 20 to 30 million. >> no way. >> i don't know how that is possible. unless everybody is going home. >> it sounds like the wedding itself is sounding like a nascar race. everything is sponsored. am i wrong or -- >> well, you know the kardashians know how to make money off of anything. "people" magazine has bought the rights to exclusive photos for $1 million. there's a come mem ra tif perfume selling for $100 called love. kim has the books and sketchers out, shoe daz zel. this is just another in a long line of endorsements coming her way. and there's going to be a two-part special airing on "e"

about the extravaganza in october. >> of course. what about the dress? women especially on their seats, what dress is she wearing? >> vera wang. there are three dresses. the dress for the reception, the ceremony, and the shake it on down to the ground dress for the electric slide, of course. >> what flight do we put you on? >> right after this i'm heading out there. there is a dress code, black and white. i'm ready to go. >> lola, come back with highlights. thank you. >> thank you. in detroit this morning, police officers moving into his new home without a mortgage. why the city is more than willing to foot the bill. we're going to talk about that. rick perry, his first week on the campaign trail. can he ride that texas swagger?

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the republican presidential candidates are out on the campaign trail today. texas governor rick perry meeting voters in south carolina which holds an important primary next year. and ali weinberg is with the campaign. i want to start with the david kill kins, also speaker of the house. political royalty. there was word that endorsing rick perry would be a big deal down there. has it happened yet? >> that's right. in fact, david wilkins appeared with him, where according to my

colleague, he called perry one of us and, as you mentioned, this is significant because wilkins was a fund-raiser for george bush in 2000 and as it is well known, there is a lot less. >> governor perry, a number of things he has said that have made headlines. among them most recently his comments about evolution. have they come up. >> there is a high concentration of socially conservative evangelical voters. it is playing pretty well to this crowd. my colleague noted yesterday that a woman came up to perry in greenville and actually thanked him for making his comments on

evolution. so they are playing pretty well. >> greenville county, the most conservative county in south carolina, ali weinberg, thank you. we have lots of first read msnbc.com. back to the economy now. among what contributed to the national association of realtors and the city of detroit has been hit hard and police officers

outside of the city limits, so far less than a dozen have moved in. >> as they start to visit and see the homes that have available in the city, they will make the same kind of decision that he's made. >> joining me now is detroit city council president, charles. let's start with that low number. why haven't more officers moved into homes so far? >> well, you know, it's an innovated process and try to figure out how it works. a lot of times and because of their homes, and schools ironically because of crime and so those are also issues that we

need to work on as a city, improving our schools and reducing crime. we think crime can be impacted by the fact that a police officer has passed into the neighborhood. >> charles, last weekend in detroit, in a 24-hour period, 15 people were shot. what type of impact do you think a program like this and a crime in detroit. >> well, i think that having a police officer living in a neighborhood can help the people who live in the neighborhood feel safe or at least have the perception that they are safer. they can have direct access to an employee department to talk about strengthening that relationship to make sure that the blog club has direct access to the police precinct and are doing things amongst the neighbors to reduce the opportunity for crime in the neighborhood. so i think that knowing that a police officer live on your block at least makes you feel

safer. >> what happens? >> obviously we want more police officers and really other city employees moving back into the city. and we lost the ability to require all city residents to -- i'm sorry. city employees to also live in the city we lost that a little more than a dozen years ago. all city employees, police officers, firefighters, and other employees started to move out. so, you know, once we start to improve city services, fix our schools, reduce crime, then we can incentivize them even more to move back, beyond just giving them downpayment assistance for their homes but also having a comprehensive fix for our neighborhoods. so that will help our bottom line as a city, because we devastated our tax base, thousands of people started to

leave the city. but certainly as we attract more police officers, we will not only improve the perception that people are safe but we will also make the neighborhood safer. >> bank of america has donated a number of foreclosed homes. >> yeah. about ten. >> do we expect more banks to follow suit? >> yeah, we just had chase bank come up with a million dollars. to help incentivize officers as well. so this is a great time for our city because we're having our corporate institution step up and also the foundation is stepping up. and, you know, this is really a good time is place that is safer than we get credit for. how to keep the neighborhood safer, will certainly be a great

by-product. >> it is an innovative program and it will be interesting to see whether this is something that catches on around the country. thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you, craig. sentences handed down this morning for the american hikers held for two years in tehran, so far the details in tehran. we'll have that in a moment right here on msnbc. you know when something's bad -- but you do it anyway? that's me with the blow dryer and the flat iron until i see smoke.

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