overwhelmed by that and that he felt he had to reconsider. i'm told he was getting letters from voters around the country, farmers in nebraska who were actually writing to him directly. they had gotten his home address. and i'm also told that political operatives were making a very compelling case to christie and that actually he came very, very close to getting in. but at the end of the day, he decided for exactly the same reasons he's been giving for the last year that he wasn't ready. that he owed it to new jersey to finish out his term. that he would not run. and i'll tell you, there are several republican candidates breathing a big sigh of relief right now. you know, however christie might have actually done if he decided to get in, the other campaigns were worried about him. and they felt he could raise a lot of money and get a lot of attention. >> jamie, are you hearing -- are

you hearing anything about whether christie may endorse a candidate today? or is this too early for someone like that? >> i'm told that it's too early. that he will not do that today. that that's sort of the next thing down the road. but not -- i don't think we should expect that today. >> jamie from d.c. for us this afternoon. thank you so much as always. >> thank you. let's try to break down what chris christie's decision will mean for the race for the republican nomination now. we have nationally syndicated talk show host and msnbc contributor michael smerconish. also democratic strategist richard goodstein as well. gentlemen, good afternoon to both of you. >> hi, craig. >> you just heard there, michael, jamie saying her sources expecting christie to announce he is not running. we are assuming this is true, that he's not going to get into this thing. is this a rise choice for him right now? >> i think it probably preserves

the isstatus quo for mitt romne. romney doesn't need to win the primary process. a lot are dubious of his credentials. he needs to survive. he's surviving a the a time when i think governor perry is all of a sudden on a slide. good news for romney is my take away. >> richard goodstein, who benefits most from christie not getting in this thing? >> well, look, the fact of the matter is he was going to take up a lot of political space early. donors, staff and now those people have to decide, all these people that have been beseeching him have to decide are we serious about getting in or still going to hold out? if so, for whom? i think the answer is, i think it helps romney. had they had two northeastern governors, one a former governor, vying for roughly the same vote as christie to finally say not the crazies, the people that put him on.

presumably that's not who he was going to be going after. romney doesn't seem on most days to be going after the crazies. so you think it helps romney. and i think the coast is kind of clearer for perry for all his pitfalls so far to be able to say, look, i'm the guy who's the straight talker. >> to this point in the race, a lot of that straight talk from perry doesn't really seem to be resonating a great deal with the base. we've seen his support slide, according to a recent poll his support slide about 50% since he got into the race. >> no question. no question. it hasn't served him well. his debate performances have been pathetic. frankly what he's doing on the stump is no better. but i think what you have to hope for is that, think about it, everybody who supported christie and o'donnell in delaware, those people are in new hampshire, iowa, they're in south carolina. it's not crystal clear those people are being sampled all that well in these polls. they're the people perry's counting on to say, i don't care about all the niceties, i want

that straight talk i'm getting from you. >> michael, one would assume at this point that chris christie becomes the king of king makers in the republican gop field right now. how much influence do we suspect he will have over primary voters who are still trying to decide on a candidate? >> i often think those endorsements are overvalued. it will certainly be interesting. we're going to have a lot of fun speculating about what he will be for and whether he now becomes vice presidential timber. given that he won't go for the presidential race. craig, you know, this was never the guy that the conservatives envisioned him to be. i think the further they got into this, the more they would have recognized how moderate he is on a whole host of nonfiscal issues. for that reason, for that reason, i'd be very curious to see who he supports. >> issue you just raised is an issue we hear a fair amount. there were a lot of republican primary voters and pundits and

pollsters who were projecting a lot of their images on to chris christie. is that because right now there is no one on the field who represents a lot of those values or was there something else at work, michael? >> i think the grass is always greener on the other side. you look at that stage with the eight or nine who are debating. frankly, whatever you might be looking for, i think you can find it. i am still of the opinion that jon huntsman stands a shot in new hampshire. >> really? >> yep. his numbers are climbing there. i think people looking for sanity. people looking for moderation are going to take a hard look at him. in a matter of weeks, come january the whole thing could flip on a dime if he has a strong showing. >> michael smerconish, for the record, we're saving this tape. >> i don't think for the evidence -- normal people are voting in the primary in new hampshire. with all due respect. i don't see the new hampshire voters. we'll see. >> michael smerconish, goodstein. thank you so much. i also want to remind folks,

again, 1:00 eastern right here on msnbc, new jersey governor chris crist krischristie expect that announcement. again, based on everything we're hearing from all of our sources, he's not going to run for president. this time. the other huge headline today. amanda knox arriving back on u.s. soil in just hours. cameras captured the american student smiling as she prepared to depart italy. after she was just released from prison. >> for her this was the end of a nightmare. the end of a tunnel. and she almost collapsed, yes. >> escorted from the courtroom for the last time, knox had to be supported by prison guards. >> we are thankful to the court for having the courage to look for the truth and to overturn

this conviction. >> until the truth comes out, we can't forgive anyone because no one's even admitted to it. >> meredith kercher's family is basically saying they feel she's been forgotten. >> back to square one. the search goes on to what really happened. >> to the extent the prosecution was sloppy, the police were sloppy. i look at the kerchers of victims all over again. >> i spoke earlier, a few moments ago to the prosecutor. he said it's beyond any doubt in his mind that he will appeal. >> if that happened, we would be ready to defend and support our client's rights also in front of the court. we're not worried. we're ready. >> tom wright is a knox family friend and started the group friends of amanda. tom, i understand you actually spoke to amanda knox yesterday after the verdict was announced. what was her reaction? >> i did not -- well, her reaction per her family members, craig, is great relief, great

gratitude that this nightmare can finally be over and make it home. she'll be back here in a matter of hours. >> you spoke to a family member yesterday, not amanda. we want to clarify. >> that's correct. she's been in transit. we haven't spoken to her directly yet. she'll be here shortly. >> what are you guys plans to do out there in seattle once she arrives. >> well, we're going to follow the lead of the family, as there's plenty of time to celebrate. this is a transition for her. we're going to see how she feels and what she wants to do. it's been a long haul, four long years. and really it's a somber occasion because there's a death of a young lady that took here four years ago that amanda had nothing to do with. and she's looking to begin a normal life again. >> let's talk about that word you just used there. normal. what will a normal life for amanda knox resemble? >> well, this was a, as people probably saw, this is a courageous young woman. she had great character. before she went to italy, she

was well liked, very popular, very successful student. she was an athlete. and she was going to italy to have a time abroad and time of study as many students do in their junior year. this nightmare began for her when her roommate was murdered. they have the perpetrator, rudy guede. he's been convicted. he's serving his time. there could be some measure of resolution to that. i think when she gets home she'll take her time. she'll reestablish some things that she enjoys doing and reengage with people that care about her. >> so we assume here she's going to continue school there in seattle, continue pursuing a degree of some sort? >> i think that's a safe assumption. i understand she continued her studies while she was in italy and is very close to getting her degree she would have gotten anyway. >> you mentioned guede. of course, that's the man who is currently still in prison. the prosecution still maintains

there were other people involved. what do you think? and what has the family said about guede and the role that amanda and her boyfriend had at all? >> well, they had no role whatsoever. i can't speak for the family with regard to how they feel about guede. i can tell you this. i think the actions of this prosecutor are going to be looked at very, very closely. we know there are a lot of questionable activities he engaged in and he's a man who has been convicted in another case and sentenced to 16 months. and for some reason he's still practicing as a prosecutor. hopefully not for long. >> tom, last question here. we know the trial has taken a huge financial toll on the knox family. we've heard as much as $1 million. a number of family members have had to mortgage their homes. do we think at this point amanda writes a book, do we think the family does something here to defray the costs? >> well, as a friend of the family, we tried to have

fund-raisers, but it's just a drop in the bucket. it wouldn't surprise me if amanda wrote a book. she's quite capable of it. she's an excellent writer. if you heard her speech in court, she wrote those words herself. when she expressed herself, she's very good at it. >> tom wright. thank you. appreciate your time. >> thank you. day six of the michael jackson death trial due to get under way any minute now. according to "the los angeles times," three of the women in dr. conrad murray's life are due to testify today. an actress who's the mother of murray's toddler son, a cocktail waitress who was on the phone with murray the morning jackson died. and an exotic dancer who got a text message from murray. that same morning. monday, jurors heard from the two e.r. doctors who tried to revive michael jackson. the cross-examination, they both schooled the defense attorney about proper procedure. >> in my mind, as i am running the code, i am thinking of all the causes for why a 50-year-old

male would be suddenly dead. >> propofol to my knowledge is never used outside of the hospital setting, and i think this is the third time i mentioned this. >> nbc's kristin dahlgren live outside the courthouse this afternoon. kristin, what can we expect to hear today? >> reporter: craig, well things just getting under way. a little bit late this morning. the judge just started and said there was a minor transportation issue. so still no witnesses on the stand, but everyone paying attention to these three women who could potentially be on the stand later today. self-described girlfriends of dr. conrad murray. the one perhaps getting the most attention is nicole alvarez. she is the mother of dr. murray's toddler son. she also lived in santa monica and it was to her address dr. murray had multiple shipments of propofol sense during that critical time and did that after

telling a pharmacist he was setting up a clinic in california and not treating just one single patient. we'll hear from her. she also testified in the preliminary hearing that dr. murray paid her $2,500 in rent. we'll also hear perhaps today from sade andig. she said she was on the phone with dr. murray during the critical time, 11:51 a.m. the day michael jackson died. in preliminary hearings she said she was having a conversation with dr. murray and the phone went blank. she heard a commotion and tried to ask him, are you there, are you there? prosecutors say that must be the time dr. nmurray noticed something was wrong with mr. jackson. we're watching today to see if the women do take the stand. >> kristin dahlgren outside the courthouse in los angeles. joining me in the studio, rickie cleemen, former sex crimes

prosecutor. let's talk about yesterday. from your vantage point, what was the headline? >> well, i think the headline yesterday is propofol is not e used anywhere except a hospital setting. i think that that really is what we come away with is that why in heaven's name was it being used in a house? >> one of the things that still continues to strike me. this appears to be the strategy that the prosecution is going to use today as well. here is dr. murray administering this propofol which is not supposed to be administered outside a hospital setting and he's texting. he's on the phone. according to the time, 46 minutes of the final hour on the phone. >> not only a phone. he's on two phones, craig. he has two phones. on the one hand he's dealing with people as well as his girlfriends. on other hand, she's receiving

messages. it shows a dokctor who was not paying attention. what we're looking for from the prosecution's point of view -- you keep hearing this word they want do insert into the trial because they're wise, and that word is abandonment. you're also in abandonment of your patient when you're doing this on the phone. so that's a problem for dr. murray. >> want to note here on the stand right now, dr. murray, and i think we just had a shot there of her. right now appears to be the first wrns witness of the day on the sand. this is dr. murray's assistant on the stand. the women set to testify in addition to the assistant today, how damning could this testimony be? >> the most damning clearly is nicole alvarez, the girlfriend who happens to be the recipient of the propofol. one thing we know is probably conrad murray could not get propofol when he was going to london. so obviously he was stock piling it. so he was using her address in

order to get it in california so they could take it to london. >> before i let you get out of here, let's quickly, the ammand knox case. what is it about the case that had the entire country captivated yesterday afternoon when the verdict came down? >> it's everyone's worst nightmare. your daughter, your sister, your friend goes off to college in a foreign country to have a life of promise and the next thing we know is that she's arrested for the murder of her roommate and spends four years in prison when she's innocent. i mean, that is a horror story. and everyone was rooting for her. and it became a fact of americanism. this is one of ours. >> rikki klieman, always a pleasure. thank you so much. one of the most popular football jingles yanked off the air because of what the singer said about president obama. what hank williams jr. is saying

now. first, though, a quick look at the boards. the dow down about 62, 63 points. s&p, nasdaq barely up. also straight ahead, protests. >> reporter: now that big labor has joined the occupy wall street protesters, what does the movement have planned next? i'll have the latest details. ta. [ female announcer ] and with charmin ultra soft, you can get that same cushiony feeling while still using less. its design is soft and more absorbent. so you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. ah. [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft. so to save some money, i trained mathis team of guinea pigs to brrow this tiny boat. guinea pig: row...row. they generate electricity, which lets me surf the web all day. guinea pig: row...row. took me 6 months to train each one, 8 months to get the guinea pig: row...row. little chubby one to yell row! guinea pig: row...row. that's kind of strange. guinea pig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: there's an easier way to save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you

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to protests against wall street enter their 18th day today and gaining momentum. demonstrations spreading around the country now in cities from los angeles to boston, to chicago. thousands are pointing the finger of blame at wall street for the nation's economy troubles. nbc's mara sjoining me.

>> the group here has been marching and doing this every day since they started here. this is day 18 again of this protest. this is a pretty routine march, going from that they're based here to wall street just a couple blocks away, marching around in front of the stock exchange. this is something they do two times a day at 12:00 and again at 5:30. other than that, today is pretty much a planning day. there are no official leaders but there are a lot of de facto organizers, working to organize the day's events and schedules in the like. today is about logistical plannings, meetings and the like in preparation for tomorrow. tomorrow they are expecting a very big day. they are plans a rally here with a lot of speakers and they are also hoping for a march and they're hoping to get thousands of participants down here and one of the reasons for that is that they now have the support of big labor. several unions are supporting the protesters here. including the united federation of teachers and the transit workers union. now, we do have one of the de

facto organizers that's here with us. she's going to talk to us a little bit about the plan for tomorrow. if you could just step up here. this is victoria soble. she's a student who's taken time off from school to be here. tell us what we're expecting to see tomorrow. >> tomorrow we're going to have a really large march. probably the largest we've had so far. the largest amount of people was last week, 10,000 to 15,000. we're expecting more than that. this is a permanent march. we're expecting that at 3:00 p.m. herein. >> reporter: these protests started out here locally and spread all over the country to small cities and all over the world as well. how are people organizing this without official leadership? >> well, again, social media is very, very important and instrumental in how these are being constructed and organized. people are using media in ways outside of the radio and tv.

we're doing live streaming. that's how we communicate with people. we're exon staconstantly on the. we're sharing open source documents on people can proceed and prepare themselves to do something like that. >> victoria, thank you so much. this is a student who's taken time out of her life and come out here and help organize these events. tomorrow is expected to be a big day for them as big unions come out to support the protesters here in their goals. craig, back to you. >> mara live near wall street. thank you. a family attacked by a 300 pound bear. you won't believe where that attack happened. we'll talk about that. plus apple getting ready to talk about the iphone 5. but what will apple say about the iphone 5? ♪ something to talk about we know a place where tossing and turning have given way to sleeping.

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and welcome back to msnbc. i'm craig melvin. some air travelers will have an easier time getting through security checkpoints at four major u.s. airports today. in exchange, those passengers will have to provide some personal information to the government. jury selection starts today in the trial of the nigerian man accused of trying to bring down an airplane with a bomb in his underwear. in court, the suspect said that anwar al awlaki, a top al qaeda cleric killed by a u.s. air strike last week, is still alive. according to a government report, fannie mae knew about improper foreclosure practices in 2003 but did nothing to stop them. the mortgage giant hired a law firm to investigate the claims two years later. a sign of rebirth in new orleans. another sign. luxury car maker mercedes-benz is buying the naming rights to the superdome, the site of the

2014 super bowl. president obama handicaps himself for the presidential election and the public seems to agree. i'm going to talk to a high up congressman, dennis kucinich, right after this. the postal service is critical to our economy--

delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains 5 billion a year from post-office revenue while the postal service

is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it. the tea party can rocket on unknown politician to overnight fame or be the thorn in a side of a republican incumbent. it's an undeniable force to be reckoned with. here to talk about the tea party's focus toward next year's election, ailmy cramer. good afternoon to you. >> hey, craig, thanks for having me on today. >> let's start with the big story on this tuesday. chris christie expected to announce here in 30 minutes he is not going to run for president of the united states. who, if anyone in the current crop, gets a boost from this? >> well, you know, i think that it just -- obviously the field is going to be set. i don't think governor palin is going to get in, and so herman cain is, you know, climbing to

the top. over the past couple weeks. and that's exciting to see. and so i think he's going to continue to climb. >> all right. so you say palin's not getting in. i think pretty much all observers would agree. let's talk about herman cain. here's a guy who has won two straw polls and his most recent over the weekend. he met with donald trump here yesterday. we're seeing him a lot more. do you think herman cain has a legitimate shot at the gop nomination? or do you think much like rick perry he's going to be a flash? >> you know, craig, i don't know. i think the field is still very volatile, but, you know, you can't deny that the sentiment out there among the american people right now is anti-establishment. they want somebody that has actually worked in the private sector, in business, understands that you can't spend your way out of debt or spend your way into prosperity. and herman cain has been a very successful businessman. he's a straight talker.

that's what people like. that's what they're looking for. i think at this point anything's possible. but at the same time, i mean, don't count anybody out. rick perry could come back. michele bachmann could come back. you just don't know -- >> you just said private sector business credentials is an essential prerequisite. that sounds like it would disqualify texas governor rick perry. >> well, you know, the people -- the american people are going to have to make up their mind. when people go to the polls, they usually vote on one issue. last election cycle it was the economy. i believe here, again, it's going to be the economy. and people have to determine who do they think is the best candidate that has the ideas and solutions to get us out of this current economic mess that we're in? >> who do you think is the best candidate to do that? >> oh, craig, i know you were going to but me on the spot. you know, i don't know yet. i really don't know -- >> come on, you don't know yet? >> i really do not know. >> of the candidates who have

been presented so far. of the candidates presented so far, if you had to pick one, who would it be and why? >> i really, craig, honestly i am waiting on the field to narrow down so we can be laser focused on the issues that are important to the americans across the country. >> amy kremer, chair of the tea party express. thank you so much. do come back, please. >> thank you very having me. >> thank you. you know it's bad when even the president admits the odds are against him in his re-election efforts. >> are you the underdog now? >> absolutely, because, you know, given the economy, there's no doubt that, you know, whatever happens on your watch -- >> you embrace that pretty quickly. >> you know, i don't mind. i'm used to being an underdog. >> in the latest poll numbers bear out the president's concerns. a new "washington post"/abc news poll says 54% do not approve of the president's job performance. while only 37% of those polled say that they expect the

president to win next year. and in no state is the president's fight to stay in office more apparent than the swing state of ohio where the president and vice president have visited four times since labor day, alone. joining me to talk about this battleground of battleground states, congressman dennis kucinich, democrat of ohio. congressman, good tuesday to you. let's start with what everyone's talking about. chris crikrischristie not getti this thing. what, if anything, does that do to the president's chances in ohio? >> i think that it's important for the president to focus on creating jobs. he may now say that he's an underdog. in ohio there's over a million underdogs. we have 9.1% unemployment. we have many people that are faced with the prospects of losing their homes. we need to have a powerful economic message coming from the white house that's on the scale of what fdr did in proposing a new deal that puts millions of

people back to work. ohio needs a new infrastructure. states across the country need that. >> congressman, do you think the president's jobs bill was sufficient? and we should note here that based on everything i'm hearing and reading, it looks like that jobs bill, as a whole, is not going to pass. >> well, first of all, what the president has proposed in the past, the recovery act. that created some jobs but not enough. and if anything, we've had what i call a minimalism here that has put the administration on a track where they haven't been able to get the economy started. they need some grand plans. they shouldn't be making any small plans here because we need to get millions of people back to work. there are 14 million americans out of work. we have to focus on that as members of congress, but if for some political reason it's not moving forward, it's up to the president to take the case to the american people with a plan that says i can create millions of new jobs. >> congressman, the american people can't vote on the plan, and what you're saying is what we've heard a lot of folks on the hill say the president

should do more and the legislation should be bigger. when you talk about political feasibility, what could the president get through congress that would jive with what you're saying and would also jive with political feasibility? >> this is the problem in the white house right now. they're looking at the republicans saying, well, what will they go for? now, you have to summon the collective support of the american people for a jobs program and then when you gather the people's support, then you go to capitol hill and capitol hill has to follow. right from the very beginning, look, i was at the inauguration. i saw 2 million people spread out across the capital ready for the marching orders on a whole new economy. and so, you know, the american people still have that energy that says we want some big plans. we want to move the country forward. we want to put everybody back to work. if the president ceases on that, though he feels he's an underdog, if he takes the case to the american people with a grand program on jobs, he can sell it on capitol hill.

it has to be big, rebuild america's infrastructure, our roads, put america back to work. >> you've been fairly critical to the president when it comes to free trade with south korea, with colombia, with panama. those pacts look like they're expected to pass now, right? >> i don't know. remember, if we go back to nafta, we were told during nafta we were going to create millions of jobs and that didn't happen. we lost many jobs. i think the measure of any trade agreement has to be, where are we right now? what's been our experience with the trade agreements in the past? why haven't we been able to get workers rights, environmental quality principles into the trade agreements? i don't think this debate is over. >> congressman dennis kucinich. i'm sure you know by now ron paul has you on his short list for cabinet position if he picks up the nomination. >> ron paul and i work closely together to try to stop the wars which is a major drain on our nation's morale, spirit,

economy. i'm proud to work with him on that. he's a good american. >> congressman dennis kucinich from ohio. congressman, thank you. >> thank you. breaking news now. an amber alert for a missing 10-month-old girl in kansas city, missouri. here's her picture of lisa irwin, last seen sleeping in her crib around 10:30 last night. at this point, police say it appears someone entered the home through a bedroom window and abducted the child. she has blue eyes, blond hair, 30 inches tall. she weighs 26 to 30 pounds. at this point police are asking anyone with any information to call the tips hotline. hank williams jr. explaining the comments that got him in hot water with espn. >> are you ready for some football? >> the network yanked that famous theme song from its monday night football broadcast last night after williams made

an analogy to hitler while talking about president obama's golf outing with john boehner this summer. >> come on. come on. that would be like hitler playing golf with netanyahu. okay? >> okay. >> not hardly. you know, they're the enemy. they're the enemy. >> who's the enemy? >> obama. and biden. >> hank williams jr. now says his analogy was extreme, but it was to make a point. he says, i was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me how ludicrous that pairing was. i have always respected the office of the president. a pennsylvania man is recovering from a bear attack that took place inside his own home. the bear followed richard moyer's dog into his house and then it jumped on him and his wife. >> just hear the bear chomp on the back of your head and pulling the hair out of the back of your head. just pulling. you're just like, this is

unbelievable. i realthy thought this was it. i'm thankful it stopped. if it didn't stopped, i might be on rocks right now. >> moyer now has more than 70 stitches and staples in the back of his head. the pennsylvania game commission has also set up a bear trap in moyer's yard. we continue to keep our eyes on the clock here. governor chris crist te krischrd to announce his 2012 intentions in 20 minutes now. that's not the only big news happening at the top of the hour. apple, their big announcement on the iphone. [ male announcer ] this... is the montrose pet hospital -- montrose, california. ♪ in here, anarchy meets order. working with at&t, doctors set up a broadband solution to handle data and a mobility app to stay connected with their business. so they can run the office... even when they're not in the office. it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. call at&t and see what we can do for your business.

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yeah, maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. v8. what's your number? children who go to bed early and wake up early are healthier than their night owl peers. a new study finds early to bed, early to rise kids weighed less and exercised more than nothose

who went to bed late and woke up late though they got the same amount of total sleep. mornings are more conducive to exercise versus nighttime. i'm andrea mitchell. coming up on "andrea mitchell reports" new jersey governor chris christie takes a pass. he'll explain his reported decision at the top of the hour. we'll bring it to you live. plus analysis with nbc's chuck todd, mike halperin and politico's jim vandehei. as president obama heads to the lone star state, we'll talk texas politics. we'll see you in 15 minutes right here on "andrea mitchell reports." >> we're 15 minutes away from apple's much anticipated announcement about the iphone. the tech giant expected to unveil a new more powerful version of its wildly popular smart phone. cnet.com editor in large joining me now. rumors flying about what exactly what this announcement will

entail. what do we know at this point? >> we know apple is going to announce a new phone at this point. we don't know which one, if it will be one phone or two phones. could see an iphone 4-s. we could see the iphone 5. the slimmer bigger phone that a lot of the geeks are really hoping for. >> since apple unveiled its most recent iteration of the iphone about 15 months ago, they have -- there's been some competition in that market. there's been some heated competition. especially when you start looking at the androids. >> yeah. android is a very serious platform to compete with the iphone. there are dozens of android products out there. they're on the whole less expensive than apple's iphone. so they are taking a lion's share of the market. they're going for a different part of the market. apple still gets the high end. apple is the porsche of phones and the android products are taking more of the rest of the market. >> i guess that would explain why apple absolutely refuses to lower the cost of their iphones

with each new unveiling. >> well, they always come up with a high-end product and then there will be versions with less memory, and then the previous version as they've had in the past might be for a little less money. we'll see. there will always be the premiere product apple is known for. >> also rumors today sprint is getting b inting into the iphon. do we know which carriers will have immediate access? >> in the u.s. we expect at&t and verizon to be using the new phones as they are right now. the big rumor is sprint is getting into the mix investing $20 billion in buying a lot of iphones. so they can also be there. one thing we are not expecting, the rumors are saying we will not be getting 4-g or super high speed cellular iphones with the division which will be a letdown if it's true. >> all right. thank you. sidebar now. mitt romney may be in the lead in the polls in the republican nomination but he has a new

number two to fend off. herman cain. the ex-godfather's pizza ceo is tied for second nationally with governor rick perry in the new "washington post"/abc news poll. cain and perry tied with 16% each. mitt romney still leads with about 25%. the amount outside groups are paying to fly congress around the world has hit a new record. "roll call" reporting in august alone outside groups spent $1.5 million for members of congress and their family members to travel. "roll call" says it's a new record for one month. about 50% more than the previous record. and the other name for republican party, is the gop, of course. what do those letters stand for? do you know? new poll from "vanity fair" and cbs say only 51% of republicans know that it stands for grand old party. still, that's better than the 38% of democrats who got it right. the two next most popular

responses according to the poll, government of the people and grumpy old people. meanwhile, david letterman still having fun at rick perry's expense. >> ladies and gentlemen, i'm so glad you're here. it's time for a brand new segment. it's called the rick perry governor of texas. the rick perry zinger of the night. take a look. >> mitt needs to get a position and stick with it. i mean, he's -- he's looking more than that great movie star flipper. easy without gravity. with olay challenge that. regenerist day and night duo. the uv lotion helps protect skin and firms during the day. the cream hydrates to firm at night. gravity doesn't stand a chance. regenerist, from olay.

a lot of people on twitter and facebook had a lot to say when word came that new jersey governor chris christie had an announcement to make at 1:00. a asked folks what they thought on twitter, on facebook. zach lam tweeted me back, said, i don't think he'll run.

venue choice says he's committed to the people of new jersey, perhaps an endorsement of romney or huntsman. michael said on facebook, i think he will run, but with all of the other 50 candidates he'll be just another one. candice carter allen said, if he does run, he's going to look disingenuous for saying over and over again that he wouldn't. but then again, he's a politician. i guess that comes with the territory. thanks to everyone on twitter and facebook who hit me back today. we're minutes away from chris christie's 1:00 news conference. as we have been reporting. it looks like he will announce that he will not be running for president. let's head right to trenton where nbc's ron allen is standing by with that announce, set to be made here in just a few moments. ron? >> reporter: how are you, craig? you're right. every indication is that he is going to say that he is not going to do this. one of the people who facebooked you gave the best answer

perhaps. he has said over and over again he is not going to do it. more importantly, he has also said he is not ready to do this. not ready for a lot of reasons, perhaps. not ready for the scrutiny. not ready to go out and raise the money. not ready for all the travel this would involve. and perhaps most importantly beyond that, there are indications he really doesn't feel the desire to do this. there was that moment at the reagan library last week where a woman implored him from the audience to run and she was very passionate. you'll remember that his response was, because you care so much about this doesn't give me a reason to do this. which seemed to suggest he's really just not feeling it. so there are some practical obstacl obstacles. there are some emotional obstacles. the reality is he has been governor here for about two years. you talk to people here in trenton, some state workers who are out for lunch, and some of them are puzzled that he would even be considered for this. of course, there was some strong sentiment in the republican party from some donors who wanted him to get in.

that may have said more about the feel than about him. a lot of people like his in your face style. they like he took on the unions. they like he has really cut spending here, capped property taxes. they like his personality. again, every indication he is not going to do this in nbc's ron allen in trenton where we expect to hear from chris christie. i'm craig melvin. see you back here tomorrow. up next, andrea mitchell reporting here in new york today. i would imagine we'll hear lots about chris christie at the top of the hour. >> indeed, craig. thanks so much. we will bring you chris christie's official announcement live at the top of the hour. how will the perry and romney camps respond to christie's position? is the president an underdog in the latest polls? we'll break down those numbers next right here on "andrea mitchell reports."

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and breaking news right now on "and rea mitchell reports." after weeks of speculation, chris christie will not enter the republican race for president. christie is expected to make it official at a press conference in trenton. we'll bring it to you live. plus, what impact will his decision have on the republican field? does rick perry get a second chance to prove himself? is this mitt romney's chance to win over the holdouts? good day. i'm andrea mitchell live in new york. let's go right to the breaking news. chris christie is ending a guessing game about a potential white house run. the republican governor is set to address the media moments from now in trenton. nbc's ron allen is live at the statehouse in trenton, new jersey. ron, set the scene for us. >> reporter: well, it's been a long time since trenton, new jersey, has gotten this much attention. there are literally dozens and dozens of reporters lined up waiting to get in to hear what chris christie has to