trying to make arrangements for the freedom, for the freedom of the other two. i think these two persons will be freed in couple of days. >> nbc news tehran bureau chief joining me now with the very latest. ali, what did the iranian court decide today? >> well, the president has told us that the court has decided to grant them bail. i'm sorry, the president didn't tell us that, the lawyer told us that the court has granted them half a million dollars bail each to be released. i think as soon as that bail is paid, they'll be on their way home. and it's also set a precedent when shaara shourd was released, the half a million dollars bail was paid. it's not exactly sure where the money came from. we know the money was deposited into an iranian bank account and as soon as it hit the account, sarah shourd was on her way home. if that follows the same path, these guys should be back home soon. >> might that timing have

anything to do with iran's president's planned visit here to new york later this month for the u.n. general assembly? >> it's got to be a factor craig. this plays in his mind. we'll we've been following the president around he's been trying very hard to portray a different image of himself. a softer image. he wants to come to the general assembly to address the world's stage. he's going to have a big audience there, so he wants to come across as magnanimous, and this is a perfect way to do it. last year when he was coming to the general assembly, sarah shourd was released around about the same time. so it fits the pattern. correct? >> before i let you get out of here, what do we know, or do we know a great deal about how bauer, how fattal, how they're faring there? >> we don't know how they're faring. and we've had very little information about what their prison life has been like. president ahmadinejad said today that they're being treated incredibly well, that their stay is somewhat like a hotel.

the prison they're staying is is a notorious prison. it's been compared to a lot of things but i've never heard it compared to a hotel. i'm sure when they come out they'll be able to give a little more details of what this two years and three months inside the notorious prison have been like. >> we're all very anxious to see and hear from them. ali arouzi from tehran, thank you so much. appreciate your report. some other breaking international news now, to afghanistan where taliban militants have attacked a u.s. embassy in kabul. police say insurgents coordinated a series of attacks targeting the american embassy, and nato headquarters in the afghan capital there. secretary of state clinton talked about the attacks just a short time ago. >> we will take all necessary steps, not only to ensure the safety of our people, but to secure the area, and to ensure that those who perpetrated this attack are dealt with.

>> nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joining me now. richard, what else have you heard? what else do we know about the attacks at this point? >> i've been speaking with people in kabul, witnesses to this attack, and there are several different phases to this attack. the main body of the attack took place around a 13-story building. and we had initially told as many as 10 militants went into that building. we're now being told it was more like five or six taliban militants went to the roof of this 13-story building that was still under construction. they were carrying many rocket propelled green aids, perhaps even mortars and assault rifles and from this perchtop on this building, they were able to fire down onto the u.s. embassy, and to the nato compound, which are very close to each other. u.s. embassy officials say that no one inside the kountd of the embassy was hurt. >> these coordinated assaults, these are the third, if i'm correct, and you correct me if i'm wrong, the third type of coordinated assault since late june.

what do these types of attacks say about the militants and their ability right now, and what do they say about the ability of afghan forces right now to prevent such attacks? >> well, starting off with the afghan forces. in addition to the main thrust of this attack, there were also different assaults in at least three other locations. all of them suicide attacks on afghan police stations. we've been told that in all, six people so far have been killed. and it does give an indication that security in kabul is still very loose. that the afghan authorities are not able to secure the capital. but this wasn't a terribly successful attack. >> okay. >> it's going to grab a lot of headlines. it was very brazen. but at the end of the day, the militants from kabul were really just firing down from rooftops. weren't able to breach the u.s. embassy, weren't able to breach the nato compound. they made a lot of noise. at least six people were killed, including some of those suicide bombers, but it is the kind of attack that shows instability in kabul.

>> we just got some numbers here. kabul's police chief telling nbc now that the death toll, four police killed, four wounded, two civilians, two civilians are dead, and 12 wounded there. >> that's the six number i was just telling you about. >> richard engel, thank you so much. appreciate your time. meanwhile, president obama about to board air force one headed for house speaker john boehner's home state of ohio. there it is, there's marine one. the president set to take off to ohio on what we -- what we've dubbed as "pass this bill" campaign. the president using that refrain over and over since his address to the joint session of congress last thursday. in about two hours the president will be speaking in columbus, ohio, about his proposal to invest some $25 billion in school modernization and infrastructure. all part of the american jobs act that he formally sent to congress yesterday. >> this is the bill that congress needs to pass. no games. no politics.

no delays. >> no politics? >> this isn't going to pass. now, look, a few variations of that could conceivably pass. >> but the white house says this is pretty much all or nothing. >> we're not in a negotiation to break up the package, and it's not an a la carte menu. >> sending this bill to congress -- >> the president says he's got some backing from the gop. >> so far speaker boehner, and some of the other republican leadership have said that some of the proposals i've put forward deserve serious consideration. >> but republican candidates do not seem to be taking it seriously. >> he had $800 billion worth of stimulus, in the first round of stimulus. it created zero jobs. $400-plus billion in this package, and i can do the math on that one, half of zero jobs is going to be zero jobs. >> job creators tell me that

they're holding back on hiring because the costs of obama care are so high. >> let's head right to the white house and nbc's kristen welker. what's on the agenda today, kristen? >> hey there, craig. president obama is going to tour a high school there in columbus, ohio, and he's going to make the case that schools like it will benefit if the american jobs act passes. he's going to say that 35,000 schools, in fact, could be rebuilt. that will, of course, stimulate job growth. and he's also going to say that $5 billion will go to community colleges. we're going to see him making a lot of trips like this in the coming days. craig, tomorrow he heads to north carolina to a small business there and he'll make the case, again, that that small business will benefit if the american jobs act passes. you might note that these are battleground states. we just talked to white house officials about that. they said, yes, the president is visiting battle ground states. but he will also visit nonbattleground states, if you will, in the coming days.

but all of this is happening while a bit of a battle is grewing here, craig, that's because just yesterday the white house unveiled the president's plan to pay for the american jobs act. it included romming back tax breaks for oil and gas companies, corporate jet companies, as well as eliminating itemized deductions for high income earners. those individuals who earn more than $200,000 and families who earn more than $250,000. now, as you just pointed out, republicans have a bit of a conciliatory tone when they first heard about this american jobs act. that changed a bit yesterday. we heard representatives from house speaker john boehner's office say, look, hearing these proposals to pail for the american jobs act makes us think this president doesn't want to work with us after all. so there was a bit of a pushback on that. now, white house officials make the point that that super committee that has been formed can come up with another way to pay for the american jobs act if they want. but there is certainly a little bit of a battle brewing here,

craig, as the president takes his case to the american people to try to get the american jobs act passed. craig? >> kristen welker from the white house. kristen, thank you. meanwhile, the white house has broken down the impact of the jobs bill on individual states. for example, wyoming would get at least $157 million for infrastructure projects. that could support at least 2,000 jobs there. the state would also receive some $52.5 million to support 700 educator and first responder jobs. it would receive nearly $12 million for community colleges. senator john barrasso, republican from wyoming, joining me live now from capitol hill. senator, good afternoon. thanks for joining me. >> thank you, craig. appreciate it. >> have you read the 155-page plan? >> still working my way through it. want to go throughed fine print and see exactly what is there. but i did see that the president wants to raise taxes on a lot of americans. 90% of this is paid for by impacting individual taxpayers. anyone making over $200,000. >> before we get to that, is

there a part of the plan, or are there parts of the plan, that you believe there can be some common ground reached between the president and you and your republican colleagues? >> i'm looking for common ground. with the president, in the sense that we need to make it easier and cheaper for the private secretarier to create jobs. i agree with the president when he says we have to get these free trade agreements passed, and signed so that then we can continue and hire more people that way. i have concerns with how the president plans to pay for this. the president in his speech the other night said i know 500 reforms that can come forth in terms of the regulations that make it harder and more expen expensive to create jobs but he didn't eliminate any of those in this jobs program. >> let's show folks here really quickly the highlights of the jobs plan that we've been talking about. among other things, 170 billion dollars there in a payroll tax

cut. $70 billion for new investments for employers. another $140 billion for infrastructure, another $62 billion for extending unemployment benefits. we've talked about the cost of the plan. but $250 billion of that, roughly, would go forward employee and employer payroll tax cuts, along with some other tax cuts aimed at helping small businesses. historically, republicans celebrate tax cuts being used as an engine to spur growth. would that be the case this time around? would you guys at least rally around this idea, the tax cut idea? >> we need tax reform in this country across the board. tax reform. craig, in ways that we can close loopholes, make it easier to understand, make it cheaper to comply with the tax laws of this country. we need to get people back to work immediately i've come up with a western jobs plan, a program that i've had a press conference before the president did his to talk about things we could do to help us as a country

become more energy self-sufficient. dealing with our energy security. those are things we need to do. i want to work with the president on this. and you specifically asked if there were things, any parts of this that would good? >> right. you mentioned free trade. >> my concern is that this morning, the president's now had political mandate but axelrod said oh, no this isn't chews here or there. this is a take it or leave it plan. and with the taxes that the president is proposing to increase, republicans and democrats alike, in a bipartisan way, voted against that in the past. so there's actually bipartisan opposition to some of the things in the president's plan, which, to me, i'm not convinced he can get it through the house or the senate. >> wyoming senator john barrasso. senator, thank you. appreciate your time. >> thanks so much for have being me, craig. >> piling on rick perry. the gop candidates go after the front-runner in the latest debate once again. also, check this out. talk about good samaritans. about a dozen bystanders risking

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the republican candidates set their sights on social security at last night's tea party express debate. >> the system simply has to be reformed in order for it to work. >> rather than trying to scare seniors, like you're doing and other people, it's time to have a legitimate conversation in this country. >> the term ponzi scheme is what

scares seniors. >> i'm not particularly worried about governor perry and governor romney frightening the american people. when president obama scares them every single day. >> what i would like to do is to allow all the young people to get out of social security, and go on their own. >> i don't care what you call it, it's broken, and here's my solution. >> you've got governor romney who called it a fraud in his book "no apology." i don't know if that was written by kurt cobain or not. >> a republican conservative from a blue state out there leading the charge on social security. >> let's bring in democratic strategist david goodfreed, a former staffer from the clinton white house. republican strategist and msnbc political analyst joe watkins, served as white house aide to former president george h.w. bush. thank you so much for joining me this afternoon. >> thank you, craig. >> good to be with you. >> a couple hours ago i tweeted out a question, i wanted to know what folks on the internet, who they thought was the most underwhelming candidate at last night's debate in florida.

and just here are a couple of the tweets that i got back here. take a look here. the first one, rick perry, noncommittal. and the second one here, rick santorum, not frothy enough. gentlemen, who was the most underwhelming? david i'll start with you. >> oh. well, i guess i'm going to surprise you with this one. i thought governor perry had so much to lose going into this debate, and he did. he was under attack. he knew he was going to be under attack. and i don't feel that he really showed himself to be presidential material in how he deflected. now that having been said, he leads in the polls. there is no two ways about that. and every time i start to feel glum about the democrats' prospects during this election, i turn on one of these republican debates and i feel great. because rick perry, if he's going to be the nominee, i know how to run against that guy. i think we've got a pretty good shot. i'm sure joe has a slightly different view. >> of course i do.

>> what's your take, who was the most underwhelming? >> i don't know if anybody was so underwhelming. i mean the people who are polling at 6% and 7% who have to make some headway, i don't think any of them made significant headway. i think they all performed well, but i don't think they performed well enough to get themselves out of the 6% or 7% areas where they find themselves right now. i think perry did a great job. i think romney did a great job. those are both candidates who have a very, very good chance against president obama in the fall of 2012 election. and i think they both look presidential. they both answered the question. perry deflected a lot of questions and i thought he did it in a very thoughtful and presidential way. at the same time, was on the attack himself on issues that he thought were he could score points. >> whatever your take is on how perry did, one thing is for sure, the pile-on certainly continued last night. >> oh, yeah. >> take a listen to this exchange. >> there was a big drug company that made millions of dollars because of this mandate. >> the company was merck.

and it was a $5,000 contribution that i had received from them. i raised about $30 million. and if you're saying that i can be bought for $5,000, i'm offended. >> i'm offended for all the little girls and the parents that didn't have a choice. >> so, they went after him over vaccinations. they went after him over social security. they went after him over his record on job creation. yesterday we saw pawlenty endorse romney fairly early in this contest. joe, how real are the concerns among establishment republicans that rick perry won't be able to win over independent voters in swing states? >> well, he got the endorsement of the governor of louisiana yesterday. which i think is a very strong endorsement. it means that certainly among thoughtful, among thinking republicans, that governor perry is somebody who could be the party standard bearer in an election against president obama. i think he's doing fine. i think he's got to continue to not just deflect but tell people what he would do as the nominee for the presidency. and, again, i would say that

romney did a great job, also. i mean, mitt romney did an excellent job in the debate yesterday. he's got to work every bit as hard as he's working to bring himself up right now. there's still about a 10-point gap between him and governor perry in the polls. >> wait -- >> can i ask joe this, because joe i really want your honest opinion on this? it seems to me as though if the republican party were to nominate a mainstream, moderate republican, you guys could walk away with this thing. and yet it's like your right wing is pulling you into the abyss. i predict that if rick perry is your nominee, he's going to be the republican version of george mcgovernor or mike dukakis. your base is pulling your party -- >> is he polarizing -- >> i don't think so. >> you could be walking away with it. >> this is, of course, primary talk. we know that in primaries democrats have to appeal -- >> but here's the thing -- joe when you've got your front-runner out there, spending as much time as he has spent talking about social security, in places like florida, you've got to wonder whether david's got a point here.

i mean, is this the type, or even primary rhetoric that comes back to haunt you in a bad way, come next november? >> i don't think that either governor perry or governor romney have gone so far out in anything they've said to make it difficult for them to be a viable candidate for the presidency in the fall of 2012. i don't think so. i don't buy that. and these are two skillful politicians, people who are very skilled communicators. and right now they've got a lot of momentum. certainly perry has lots and lots of momentum. people see him as somebody who is not afraid to speak the truth. he did a great job of clarifying his position on social security. saying that we've got to be honest with ourselves. and with the people who are coming along who expect to have it. that's what you want in the president. that candidness. that kind of honesty. >> david, last question here. >> well, my former boss, bill clinton, used to say that democrats want to fall in love, and republicans just want to fall in line. and yet, and yet, in this primary lineup not a single republican has a majority. they all have pluralities of one form or another and still

doesn't seem as if the republican party has coalesced around its candidate 14 months out. >> i got to cut you off. and truth be told, we probably should have ended it on fall in love and fall in line. david, gee, thank you so much. we'll talk to you soon. >> thank you. >> an eccentric millionaire and one of the world's most wanted tax cheats. but investigators may be closing in. and wait until you hear how much this guy owes. plus, meet a 61-year-old vietnam vet, with a new career. this guy's a college football player. we'll tell you all about that. ♪ ♪ ♪ when your chain of supply ♪ goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there ♪ ♪ track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that

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ban if voters approve it next spring. north carolina state senate takes up the measure today. it was passed monday in the house of representatives. a utah man who was in a horrific motorcycle accident is alive today thanks to a group of good samaritans. 21-year-old brandon wright was trapped under that burning car after he collided with it on his bike. you can see these folks there actually lifting the car, tipping it away from wright to free him. he is in critical condition in the hospital, but he is, indeed, lucky to be alive. meanwhile, bond was set at $2500 this morning for former major league baseball player manny ramirez. ramirez was in court today after an arest on domestic battery charges. ramirez was arrested and ordered to not have any direct contact with his wife. his wife told police that he hit her with an open hand during an argument yesterday while the couple was in bed around 4:30 in the afternoon.

ramirez, retired from the tampa bay rays back in april. a possible huge medical breakthrough for people suffering with alzheimer's. debails on that straight ahead. plus tracking down one of the world's most wanted tax cheats after more than 20 years. 20 years on the run. we're centurylink... we're committed to improving lives and linking americans to what matters most with honest, personal service ... 5-year price-lock guarantees ... consistently fast speeds ... and more ways to customize your technology.

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[ thunder rumbles ] what is the sign of a good decision? in the world of personal finance, it's massmutual. find strength and stability in a company that's owned by its policyholders. ask your advisor, or visit massmutual.com. welcome back to msnbc, i'm craig melvin. president obama declared a major disaster area for seven counties in pennsylvania. flooding from tropical storm irene devastated the areas. also a former u.s. service member has been arrested in hawaii for threatening to kill vice president biden. justin allen woodward admitted to sending the messages. he was medically discharged from the marines for bipolar disorder. news corp. chairman james murdoch will have to testify again before britain's parliament. other witnesses raised some serious doubts about his account of the phone hacking scandal.

and novak djokovic defeated the defending u.s. open champ rafael nadal last night. it is his first open championship, and third grand slam trophy of the year. we are about an hour and a half away now from president obama's talk in columbus, ohio, pitching his jobs plan. in an exclusive interview with brian williams, the president got pretty specific with the numbers. >> this package, it's estimated, would help the economy grow by as much as an additional 2%. that could mean an additional 2 million jobs. >> former labor secretary robert reich is now an economics professor at u.c. berkeley. he is also an accomplished writer, as well as his most recent book is "aftershock: the next economy and america's future." robert, thanks so much for joining me this afternoon. >> hi, craig. >> i know you've said the american jobs act doesn't go far enough. you said you want to see something between an $800 billion and $900 billion package. but what are the parts of the plan that congress should rally

around, and pass immediately? >> well, first of all, craig, infrastructure spending is extremely important. we have deferred maintenance, which means our highways, bridges, ports, a lot of our piping systems are already crumbling. we ought to get to that immediately. a lot of -- one in five construction workers are unemployed. we can employ them. secondly, another part of the plan, which i think is important, and very good, is to extend unemployment benefits, and also the social security tax break that is now already in effect, may be extended, as well, to employers who agree to bring on new jobs, net new workers, particularly small businesses, and small business tax cut, that's also very useful. >> you wrote a piece a couple days ago, two years and one jeer for the american jobs act. what about this plan did you not like? and you list a number of things. >> craig, it's really not big

enough to deal with the scale of the problem we have. it's very likely that we're already back in recession. or if we're not back in a double-dip, we're very close to being back in a double-dip. for many americans, they've never come out of the great recession. they have still been unemployed. we have a record number of unemployed. long-term unemployed. 25 million americans are looking for full-time work. we haven't seen this kind of an economy since the great depression. and we are, therefore, in need, americans are in need of a much greater boost to the economy. i dare not call it a stimulus, because republicans have so tarnished that word. but let's call it a boost. the economy does need a boost. consumers who comprise, or whose spending comprises 25%, 75%, 70% of total spending, really, are not going to job doing very much. if they're 70% of the total economy, they are not going to be out there doing much because they're so scared. so government has got to be the spend irof last resort. i think the president's plan is

fine as far as it goes, but it's not going to really bring down unemployment rates dramatically. >> let's -- yesterday we found out precisely how the president plans to pay for this thing. he didn't suggest changes to medicare or medicaid to get the revenue. he suggested increasing a variety of taxes. republicans have demonstrated their hard-line opposition to that idea in the past. why would the president go that route this time to pay for the plan? >> well, a very good question. if there were any republicans who were likely to join the president on this jobs bill, they are scurrying away now that they know that the president plans to pay for it with tax increases on the wealthy. i think, the president is right, there should be tax increases on the wealthy. most americans agree that if anybody's going to sacrifice in this economy it ought to be the people, and basically the only people who are doing well in this economy. but nonetheless, from a political standpoint, it is rather curious. the president actually did not make the jobs bill as big as he could have made it, in order to

attract republican votes. but at the same time, he is now coming forward with plans to pay for it by doing things the republicans are very, very against. >> robert, if consumers are so skittish that they won't spend, and businesses have demonstrated that even if they have the cash, they're not going to spend, then what's left to drive the economy? where is the demand going to -- how are we going to create that demand? >> well, exactly. i mean, craig, that is the question we are all asking. government has got to be the spender of last resort. i mean, we know for the last eight recessions, and if you include the great depression, of the 1930s, and include getting out of it by having -- i'm not advocating a second world war, but that is, in effect, that spending got us out of the great depression. every time there has been a downturn in the economy, when consumers and businesses are not able to do it themselves, they'll left us out of the

economy themselves, that downturn. then government has got to be the spender of last resort. that's where the demand has to come from. >> former labor secretary robert reich. thank you. appreciate your time. >> thanks, craig. there's a special election in new york city today to fill anthony weiner's old house seat. david weprin is locked in a tight race with bob turner. if turner wins it will be the first time a republican has ever held that seat. meanwhile in nevada another seat up for grabs in congress. mark amodei and kate marshall vying for the open seat in the second congressional district. the republicans are favored in both races right now. authorities may be closing in on one of the world's most wanted tax cheats. computerland wounder pill yam miller and his wife have been on the run for more than 20 years now. michelle sedona is an investigative crime reporter. she joins me now live. this is one of those stories that had our entire newsroom just scratching our heads. first of all, how has this guy managed to stay on the run so long?

>> you know, i guess it sort of is like we were just talking with one of the producers off air, it's sort of like whitey bulger, just kind of out in the middle of santa monica and hanging out with a lot of money. and this sort of seems to be the case in this particular point. just a lot of money, kind of scurrying around from place to place, from country to country, and then ending up in the grand cayman islands, just a place where, you know, he and his wife just kind of held out, spent some time. the man law firm investigating moving forward in this particular case on behalf of their client has actually hired a team of private investigators, and according to "the wall street journal," actually tracked him down to one of his daughter's christmas parties last christmas, in florida, so that was sort of the big breakthrough in this. and really kind of tracking him down, finding out where he is, and then moving forward from that point. >> how much does he owe? >> well, at one point it was $36 million, and then, because it just went unpaid for so long, it's reported now to be over $100 million.

>> any idea what he's been doing all these years, by the way? >> well, a lot of traveling. apparently moving some -- moving a lot of shell accounts around. moving money around from accounts to accounts, and sort of keeping the enterprise going and moving strong. and, of course, the law firm has been compiling a lot of information. issuing subpoenas. moving forward with this investigation. trying to really kind of nail them down to obtain their money for their clients. >> yeah. >> and it's been extremely difficult. and it's been a very long road, but it looks like they might be at the end of the road at this point. >> michelle sigona. thank you so much. very interesting story. there's some new hope today in the fight against alzheimer's thanks to a promising new treatment that has improved memory in some patients who are fighting the disease. nbc news chief science correspondent robert bazell joining me now. and every time we hear about one of these studies, anyone like myself who's lost someone to alzheimer's become very, very excited.

is this one of those studies that we should be excited about immediately? or -- >> immediately is the key word, craig. this is very exciting. but we have to remember that it is an early, small-stage trial. . >> what we're going to do is i'm going to demonstrate for you -- >> reporter: it could be a dramatic new treatment for alzheimer's disease. >> very promising. we're very excited about it. we'd like to see it move forward into a larger trial. >> reporter: dr. suzanne kraft and her team gave volunteers a daily dose of a special insulin nasal spray, or a placebo. >> relax your leg. >> reporter: the 104 participants had alzheimer's or like john martin, pre-alzheimer's memory problems. after four months. three quarters of the people getting the insulin spray did better on memory tests. >> children saw lions. >> reporter: and on scans showing brain changes that signal memory loss. >> we were surprised by how many of the participants benefited.

>> reporter: why insulin? recent studies show a strong connection between insulin resistance, typical of type ii diabetes and many symptoms of alzheimer's disease. insulin helps the body use sugar. and if that doesn't happen properly in the brain, it can lead to memory loss. the in this experiment the doctors used a special device to get the insulin into the sinuses. >> it reaches the brain very rapidly. likely within a 15 to 30 minute time frame. >> reporter: the experts strongly warn that patients or their care givers should not attempt to treat alzheimer's using the body-wide insulin used to treat diabetes. that could be dangerous, even life threatening. a large, longer-term study should begin in months and reveal whether this hopeful beginning marks genuine progress against a heartbreaking disease that so far has been unstoppable. >> insulin? >> insulin sounds like it's off

base. but it's very closely related with the disease processes that bring on the memory loss, and the brain degradation of alzheimer's. so, this is a new approach in the sense that it hasn't been tried before. but it's based on good science. >> well, i've got you here i want to get your take on the international diabetes foundation. they said a short time ago that they're estimating that some 366 million people now worldwide have diabetes. we knew the problem, we knew it was bad, but did we know it was this bad? >> i think a lot of people were surprised when the numbers add up. i think, if i remember the reports, somebody dies of diabetes every seven seconds. in the world. >> yep. >> now, it turns out there's a lot of diabetes now in poorer countries. the obesity epidemic, which is what causes type ii diabetes in almost all cases, is not just an american or european, or even a wealthy country problem. you know, a lot of places where people have been very poor, when

they start getting good aid, they get these very protein, fat-rich foods and they end up getting fat. and then they end up getting diabetes. and it's a very tragic situation, so that they go -- they have both poverty and diabetes, and a lot of poor people in the united states, because they don't have access to healthy diets have diabetes, as we well know. so it's not a problem just of wealth, or it's a problem all over the world. >> senior science correspondent robert bazell. we learn so much when you come by and visit. >> always my pleasure. >> come by every day. thank you. meet allen moore. not your typical 61-year-old. he's a vietnam vet. he's a grandfather of five. and now, he's also a college football player. really. we'll talk to him. first, though -- meet the miss new universe, the miss new universe -- the new miss universe, there she is. she's from angola. 25-year-old beauty queen pledged to combat hiv and help angola

move past its history of war and impoverishment as well. she also offered up her own beauty tips. among them, you'll appreciate this robert bazell, get your sleep, always use sunblock, drink lots of water, and in case you're wondering, it's been 14 years since miss usa wore that crown, back in 1997. operatic aria )

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two, count 'em, two big football records rewritten this week, and, yeah, you got to just see the videos to believe it. first of all in the nfl last night, check this out sebastian janikowski with a massive 63-yard field goal for the raiders at the end of the first half. that tied an nfl record. meanwhile, in college football, a game-winning kick on saturday by a player whose freshman year was in 1968. that's right.

allen moore is 61 years old. he plays football in montgomery, alabama. he's also a vietnam war vet, and a grandfather of five. allen moore joining me live now via skype. first of all, sir, congratulations to you. this has got to feel great, i'd imagine. >> it feels good. how are you today? >> i'm doing very well. we mentioned your freshman year back in 1968. more than 40 years ago. presumably you took some time off. what made you decide to return to the game? >> i was on a 2009 college football game and just a conversation with some people, you know -- football game. we were just talking about how i thought i'd go back and see if i could try and it went from there. >> and we should note here, you don't just play football there. i mean, you live on campus.

you're taking classes. talk to me about the college experience at the age of 61. >> i learn something new every day. >> i bet. >> i -- just like any other student athlete does, and i stay on campus. [ indiscernible ] -- embrace this, and those things happen, and everything is good about it. and it's very passionate, and i've been -- a lot, and it's just been great. just been -- >> alan moore. i just wanted to have you on there to talk about. we're all very impressed with the feat. we want to apologize to you and some of our viewers as well for that internet connection. so thank you for your time, sir. appreciate you.

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from the battle over obesity isn't just a health issue. it is big business. today, a federal judge will hear a lawsuit that could change the way we buy food. the corn industry claims that high truck toes corn syrup is really just corn sugar. meanwhile the sugar industry says the high truck toes stuff isn't natural and a group of ads has prompted them to sue. >> if you're like me, you care about the food your family eats. i learned whether it's corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can't tell the difference. sugar is sugar. >> cnbc's jane wells is live in los angeles with the very latest

on this. jane? >> hi. the hearing is going on in the federal court behind me. i wish i could say this is about obesity and what's healthy, it's about money. the ads that you showed, the sugar growers in the western part of the state, particularly sugar beet growers, that's where your table sugar comes from, say those things are misleading. they call it a $50 million ad campaign, which is stealing food identity, and basically saying that corn, high truck toes corn shirr up manufacturers are lying to the public that this is a natural product, that this is just like sugar. they want money. they want the advertising to stop. they want money so that they can launch a countercampaign, and they want to be, quote, made whole for any losses in market share that sugar has gotten of high truck toes corn syrup with this ad campaign. what the judge is asking inside is can you prove this is commercial speech? most of these statements are coming from a lobbying

organization. is that an ad campaign, or is that just speech? and can you also sue for an ad campaign, if it is one, that talks about an ingredient, and not a product? a lot of money on the line in there. the corn folks are saying, hey, this is trying to stifle free speech. the sugar people saying hey, you're a bunch of liars. >> what we do know is this is just a testament to what high truck toes corn syrup, just the label itself, how unpopular that has now become in this country. >> it's become a huge flashpoint for a lot of people. i mean, they dominate the soda market in the u.s. not in mexico. but in the u.s. and there's been somewhat of a backlash as people say they want natural sugar, so the corn folks are trying to say, we are natural. there's some debate over whether there's any fda definition of natural. so maybe anybody can say it. >> it is a fascinating case. cnbc's jane wells joining me today from l.a. jane, thank you. appreciate that. i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching.

we will see you back here tomorrow at nine, eastern. 9:00 a.m. out west. up next, my colleague andrea mitchell joining us today from new york. thanks to the venture card from capital one,

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right now on "andrea mitchell reports," under attack. the taliban fires rocket launched grenades at the u.s. embassy and nato headquarters in the afghanistan capital. no americans are injured. but the cia director says civilians, including a small child waiting for visas, were wounded. will they finally get out of iran? in an exclusive interview iran's president tells nbc's ann curry that after two years in jail the two american hikers could be freed in days. we are in encouraged by what the iranian government has said today. we obviously hope that we will see a positive outcome from what appears to be a decision by the government.