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right now on msnbc, protesters and police clash in rome as demonstrators turn out around in world in support of the wall street protests. new numbers are out on how much the presidential candidates have raised. ready for her rescue. a cargo plane is about to pick up an american scientist stranded at the south pole. hello, everyone. welcome to an extra hour of "weekends with alex witt." a march for jobs today in the capital. al sharpton is leading the rally on the mall. they want to get congress together to pass president obama's jobs plan. we'll bring that to you live. it looks like it's a windy by clear day there in washington, d.c. certainly better weather than what they had planned in august when they were booking what became the hurricane irene weekend. today was the deadline for the

presidential candidates to report how much money they pulled in. $100 million went into campaign war chests. so another good day to you, mike. who has the most money in the bank? >> it's interesting. money isn't everything, but in politics it goes a long way. it's very expensive to run a presidential campaign. you have to fly from city to city. you've got to hire the staff. you have to have the organization and perhaps most importantly, and most expensively, you've got to buy the air time to run on those local stations across the map. today is october 15. all the candidates have to report their expenses, including how much they've taken in, put out, how much cash they had on hand by today. leading the pack on the republican side, rick perry, $17 million. mitt romney about $14 million. then a big dropoff to the new

front-runner, herman cain $2.8 million and president obama, there's no one else in the field being the incumbent field, $70 million he raised in the last quarter. that was for the dnc and for his own campaign, $43 million of that $70 million for obama 2012. so a little misleading in some ways. we take rick perry, he was the front-runner. he started raking in a lot of money. that might be diminishing from here on out. mitt romney with the field cleared, a lot of donors were waiting to see what chris christy and sarah palin would do. so a significant development here today. the only perp we're not hearing from at this point is michele bachmann. >> thank you so much, mike. let's go now to the gop field. herman cain, the polls show he's

the front runner. he's attributing much of his success to his straight talking style. >> if you talk to my staff, from the beginning, i made it clear i'm not going to be programmed. i'm not going to sound like a politician. but i'm not going to retract. if i say it and they report it the way i said it, i'll stand up for it. >> today, i offer a plan that will create more than a million good-paying american jobs across every sector of the economy. my plan is based on this simple premise -- make what americans buy. buy what americans make and sell it to the world. >> ron paul is making his strongest appeal for social conservatives yet in this race with a pro life ad he released friday.

>> dr. ron paul, more than 4,000 babies delivered. a man of faith. committed to protecting life. >> this whole notion life not being valuable just is something i was never able to accept. >> and a primary standoff is heating up. but not between candidates. rather between states. new hampshire's primary date -- several gop candidates said they would boycott nevada. >> so i say if you're going to boycott nevada, then you boycott the debate. you do it straight up, you do it fully loaded. we're boycotting the state of nevada when it comes to political events and we'll be here in new hampshire showing our solidarity with the state that has always been the first primary in this country. >> on the national mall in

washington, the number of participants is swelling. for rev rand al sharpton's rally. he will be speaking in a few minutes from now where he's expected to talk about his support for president obama's jobs bill. todd johnson joins me now. what's the latest from there? i have to say it's a gorgeous day. that has to work well in everyone's favor. >> reporter: alex, it is gorgeous. interestingly enough, just minutes before our air here, members of occupy d.c. made their way through the monument and through the crowd, chanting and almost joining forces with the people that are gathered here today. i fried to talk quickly with some of the people in the procession and they echoed some of the same sentiments that people already here said earlier this morning that this makes sense for them to be here united with the group here because of dr. king's legacy. again, i think the theme of today and the theme of all of the media and press leading up

to today and tomorrow, dr. king's legacy is more than i have a dream. more than just an activist for racial equality, but an activist for the issues that are relevant today. a living wage, expansion of the middle class, respect for those who provide the services that really keep this country going. so you'll see occupy d.c. members join forces with folks later today as they march to the mlk monument. >> with the occupy d.c. folks, it's been difficult to really give a singular message from all these global protests, talking about the economic malaise, lack of jobs, any number of issues. but you get a sense they're all very unified, that's the strategy today? >> it's definitely the strategy today. in fact, some of the speakers have said just that, we want jobs now, we want justice now and you heard that from occupy d.c., occupy wall street, occupy

chicago, whatever the case may be. that's the message, it's been yunif unified. to bring it back to dr. king's legacy, a month before he was assassinated, he spoke about folks who were not being respected and not earning enough money to even make a living. he said what does it profit a man to sit at an integrated lunch counter if that man can't afford to buy a cup of coffee? when reverend sharpton takes the podium, i'm sure he'll make references to that same theme, as well. >> todd johnson, thanks so much. we'll hear from the reverend al sharpton coming up at about 12:30 eastern time. stay with us, so we'll take you there when he begins to speak. new details on the occupy

wall street protests. in rome, italian police are firing tear gas and water cannons into a crowd of demonstrators who were smashing bank windows, torching cars and throwing bottles. the london stock exchange, that's the epicenter of a protest here in the uk. listen to that. people were heard chanting there, who's money? our money. wikileaks founder julian assange spoke in the british capital today. and some 4,000 people were marching through the streets of berlin today, calling for the end of capitalism. some confrontation with police there as marchers tried to get too close to government buildings. let's go to new york. with another good day, lots of activity planned in the city today. what about the times square takeover scheduled, what's happening right now, are they on the march there? >> alex, the event happens later this afternoon around 5:00 p.m.

we still have several hours before we expect to see crowds there. but they're not biding their time but not doing anything. they have a full day of events. already we have seen hundreds of marchers leave their base camp here. their first stop is going to be the chase bank. they're headed there to protest what they consider to be corporate greed and economic inequality. and a lot of it they believe perpetuated by banks like chase. they're targeting chase because they feel like they have not used the money that was provided to them because there's still been layoffs that have taken place there. so they're urging people to take their money out of chase bank and put it into community owned banks and the like. they're planning to go to washington square park to meet up with a student group of protesters. they will be stopping at the new york city public library and after that, all of this will culminate in times square will they will continue to rally against economic injustice and wealth inequalities. in terms of the images we're e

seeing overseas, for the most part it's been a very peaceful movement. a few weeks ago there was a rally that drew over 2,000 people and we saw 23 people arrested. during the scheme of things, this has been a peaceful movement and we are expecting the same thing today. the organizers are urging people to be law abiding and respect the police as much as possible. so we're expecting a large gathering. the weather is nice. it's a saturday. we've seen union groups come out to support the march. so we are expecting a big turnout here. alex? >> did you get any idea of numbers? >> reporter: already we have hundreds of people here behind me. and then there are hundreds who left on the march. so already you can estimate up to 500 people are involved in the activities taking place now.

they're going to meet up with a group of students at washington square park and there's another group at the new york city public library. when you bring all of those together, there will be overlap. but i don't think it's unrealistic for thousands of people to come out. >> mara, thank you so much. the big get, the presidential hopeful also be after. the top 12 endorsements worth hag. and a mysterious reward for baby lisa. who offered up $100,000 to anyone who can help find her? we could have gone a more traditional route, but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable.

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a new and intriguing twist in the case of missing infant lisa irwin. a hefty reward has been offered for the safe return of the baby girl. i'm joined by john yang. this is very interesting.

>> reporter: it is interesting. very disturbing, very mysterious case. the baby lisa disappeared almost two weeks ago, and now they're hoping to generate new leads in the case with this new big reward for baby lisa's safe return. friday night, a candle light vigil outside the house where little lisa irwin vanished from her crib nearly two weeks ago. hours earlier, an attempt to shed light on her disappearance. a big reward for lisa's safe return. >> they bring that kid right here, they get $100,000. >> reporter: investigator bill stanton said the money is from an anonymous wealthy benefactor close to lisa's family. >> this person did not want any attention. the idea is not to focus on that but to focus on bringing lisa home. >> reporter: that's the goal of releasing home videos of baby lisa.

cooing at her mother, all pictures taken between january and march of this year. it's bay 12 in the search for baby lisa. on friday, investigators reinterviewed neighbors and searched the area using high tech and low tech methods. earlier they searched with police dogs and re-created how someone might have broken into the house. but still no suspects and no leads. >> you have kansas city police, fbi, you've got really a massive response to the disappearance of this little girl. >> reporter: lisa's parents are keeping a low profile. it's been a week since they last spoke publicly with nbc's matt lauer on "today." >> we just ask that everybody please continue to look for her and pray for her safe return. >> reporter: other family members are doing what they can to keep baby lisa in people's minds, hoping that someone will provide the detail that will crack the case.

>> anything, the smallest thing can bring her home to us. and we're just waiting on that one phone call. >> reporter: a hope still strong nearly two weeks after baby lisa's disappearance. investigator bill stanton is not offering many clues about who that wealthy benefactor is. he does deny speculation that it's a news organization, and he does suggest that it could be someone well known. he says that the person doesn't want to be named because if the name gets out, people will think that the person is just doing it for publicity. alex? >> okay. thank you. nbc's john yang. mitt romney picked up another big endorsement friday, but it's a name that might not be familiar to you. oregon congressman greg walden became the 20th house member to back romney, but more importantly, he's the chairman of the house must be leadership. that follows a major endorsement from chris christie earlier this week. joining me now, james good

afternoon now. >> good afternoon. >> so your latest article paints an interesting picture about endorsements. you have seven people in office, including haley barbour, marko rubio, do you see anyone leaning? >> people want to have the maximum impact with their endorsement. when they jump in, they want to get a lot of attention and buzz and the campaigns want to do it to time it in a way that gets them momentum. there's people who can help in materially states like iowa and new hampshire, south carolina, florida. then there's the people who can help bring in money, someone like rudy giuliani. and then there's the people who are conservative validators, like paul ryan, or haley barbour. they can -- sarah palin even can

bring conservatives on board, especially for someone like romney, who has been winning the silent primary for big endorsements but conservatives are still leery of. someone like marko rubio from florida endorses mitt romney, it's much harder for conservatives to continue staying on the sidelines. >> i want to pick up with two of these former politicians you mentioned. sarah palin, also rudy giuliani. let's add to that list jeb bush, mike huckabee. let's throw in rush limbaugh, as well. of that group, who carries the most clout? >> it depends on who you are. if you're a donor or not and what early state you're in. i think that the -- in florida, jeb bush would carry a lot of weight. if he got behind mitt romney for example, and it seems he gave an interview which he sounded like he wants to, that would be a big endorsement from the bush family, crucial in florida where he's still super popular with conservatives. and it could help romney win in a state that's going to be make or break for him.

>> let's talk about the romney appearance on mike huckabee's show recently. they were very cordial with each other. >> huckabee dislikes mitt romney and rick perry. in 2007, 2008, they constantly trashed each other, they attacked each other in debates. they have a bad relationship. same with rick perry. rick perry endorsed rudy giuliani in 2008 over mike huckabee, a former southern governor. his daughter had also worked for tim pawlenty. >> but huckabee could listen to his daughter. any way, james, good chatting with you. come see us again. >> thanks, alex. protesters around the world march in solidarity with the occupy wall street movement. we have a live report from london next. ♪

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right now a life or death rescue mission is underway for an american scientist stuck in the south pole. just a few hours from now, a cargo plane will pick up a scientist that suffered a stroke back in august. she's been stranded since because of bad weather conditions. >> haven't seep any other human beings here for the last eight months. i still have my vision impairment and the speech impedime impediments. >> after suffering that stroke, she lost after of her field of vision. but the 58-year-old can now at least read if she concentrates on a few words at a time. we're wishing for her success

there. a live look right now at the national mall in washington. people are gathering, right there around one area close to the martin luther king jr. memorial, which will be officially dedicated tomorrow. but today it's about a march for jobs and justice with the reverend al sharpton. we'll take you there live as well here on "weekends with alex witt." kles and make you look older. covergirl and olay floats above lines and makes you look younger. can your anti-aging makeup do that? simply ageless from olay and easy, breezy beautiful, covergirl. and people. and the planes can seem the same. so, it comes down to the people. because: bad weather, the price of oil those are every airline's reality.

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welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." this is a live puck chur of the rally in washington, d.c. a march will begin there shortly. the rev rand al sharpton is leading the rally right now and will be speaking to the crowd shortly. when he takes to the podium, we'll go there live. as many as 3,000 people are demonstrating in london's financial district. police there say that two people have been arrested for assaults on police officers. we have a live report from london. keira, it looks like the

attention has been taken up a notch today. >> reporter: just before we came on air, the police pushed back the protesters that you can see behind me here. so that's some 3,000 protesters now, cordoned off in this area. they have been contained by the police for a number of hours, holding meetings here. and in the meetings, they've been talking about how they would plan to prevent the police from moving on from here, hoping it seems to create a kind of camp if you like, that would be here for days if not weeks. but it does appear that the police are determined to not allow that to happen. as i say, they just moved across this square and are now seemingly closing in on the protesters, pushing them into a smaller and smaller area. and if previous experience is anything to go by, they will attempt to disburse the crowd at some point today.

>> do you think the fact that police would not be willing to let people sort of camp in, is that because they're looking across the pond at the tip of manhattan and seeing that which has developed down there in lower manhattan? when that started, they didn't know where it was going but they sure now see where it is. >> reporter: yeah, and there's a sense with police here i think that they need to get control of things pretty quickly. certainly when you talk to protesters here, they feel they've been inspired by the protests in new york and across the united states. but you know, alex, the police here have had a number of occasions over the years where they've dealt with protests that have seen violence where there have been protesters running around in london in large groups and it does appear rightly or wrongly that the police are taking the view that they will not even contemplate that happening and are trying to contain these protesters before there's any chance of that.

although i have to say just while i'm standing here, i'm watching more police move in, run in to be honest and try and deal with clashes or altercations with protesters. you can probably hear them. they are clearly very upset that the police are operating in this way. >> i think it's safe to say with your description there that tensions are escalating. so let us know if we need to come back to you and we'll do so. thank you very much. as those occupy protests gain traction around the globe, it's business as usual in some parts and business is not always good. blackberry tries to recover from outage outrage. a major retailer is closing the gap and your favorite cereal cartoon characters will remain outside the box. another good day to you. what in the world happened that got us so frustrated with blackberry. >> mine was working. >> mine did not.

>> they don't know what went wrong. the system failed, the backup system failed. we had this global outage affecting millions of consumers. so they're try fog figure out exactly what did go wrong. this is the first time they've had this problem. people are fed up and some people are switching to other products. >> the gap, what's the issue there? they're closing a couple hundred stores in this country and yet overseas, china for instance, doing very well. >> that's where the growth are at. the international -- that's where the action is. here there's nothing happening domestically. in terms of what happened with the gap, the brand has gotten stale. i think they're in a tough position because they're targeting that middle income consumer.

and they're stuck between a rock and a hard place. so they're trying to mix things up and be more strategic. very gland. it's not like it used to be and the advertising isn't what it used to be. we don't have the same ceo, so it's a transitional time for the gap. >> what's the story with cereal manufacturers? people were crying for them to dump the cartoon characters. >> i don't think childhood obesity has anything to do with these characters. what do i know? the government is trying to crack down on this problem of childhood obesity and trying to set guidelines so they're not marketing these junk foods to children. i don't know. i guess they finally changed their tune on that and the cartoon characters get to stay. they're working on other more important initiatives. >> what about the great peanut butter shortage of 2011, what's behind that?

>> we've had hot weather, bad weather, and we're up against the price hikes. prices are up almost 300% in the past year. unfortunately it's going to go up by 25% by november. this is something that affects a lot of people. we spend $800 million on peanut butter every year, we consume 400 tons of it. and kids by the time they're high school age will have eaten 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. >> that was my son's staple for years. >> this is going to put a pinch on the american budget. >> vera, thank you so much. here's what we've been asking you this morning. do cartoon character s dig take what cereal you buy?

>> keep talking to me. my handle is @ alex witt. meantime, the battle with iran. new twist today in a plan to kill a diplomat in the u.s. is iran prepared to spring more plots here in america? hey, i tht these were electric? uh, it is, yeah, it's a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? well it still takes gas to go farther. but you're not getting gas. true. not this time. uh, don't have to gas up very often. so you have to go to the bathroom? no. yes you do. thought these were electric? yes, it's a uh, a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station?

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that you don't have to buy gas? just plug in and go? that make you feel better? well i still pay about $1.50 a day in electricity... on average. you know he's just here to use the bathroom. customers only. no gas, no bathroom. ok, i'll buy gas. [ father ] whoa, what are you doing? thought these were electric? on the national mall in washington, the number of participants is swelling for reverend al sharpton's rally for jobs and justice. he will be speaks in just a few minutes and will talk about his support for president obama's jobs bill. joining me live from the national mall is todd johnson. with another good day to you, how is the crowd fairing and you talked about the folks from the

occupy d.c. crowd coming over and cross pollinating. is that still the case? >> reporter: yeah, it is, there has been this merging of all of these different groups. ault unified by the same cause and the same general area of concern in that this country needs to move in another direction, in a new direction, a direction that incorporates the middle class in this country. you spoke about rev rand sharpton's remarks. he will pledge his support for the president's jobs bill. talking with the people gathered here, it's a sore note, because they know earlier this week, that jobs bill was all but killed by senate republicans and they're just frustrated. there was a dr. john boyd and in the beginning earlier today in the 10:00 hour talking about that frustration that many members of the crowd feel there has been this theme and this undercurrent of obstruction rather than progress. and that's not only a source of

frustration, but also it kind of dampens the mood on an otherwise beautiful day and what organizers say is a beautiful cause in the shadow and it gets in the memory of dr. king. you mentioned al sharpton will be speaking shortly. after his remarks, i believe dr. king's son will be speaking. the organizers and the rally, participants here will march over to the mlk monument, trying to bring all of this together to the person that it's about, dr. king, his legacy. not only for racial equality, but for economic equality. that's the kind of comprehensive activism and legacy that folks here want to remember dr. king for. >> all right, todd johnson, we'll keep a close eye on things. give us a heads up when reverend al takes the podium. we have some new surprising twists for a bomb attack inside the u.s. the suspect is accused of

plotting to kill the saudi arabian ambassador to the u.s. he reportedly had links to iran's revolutionary guard. joining me now, colonel jack jacobs. a good day to you, colonel jack. do we know specifically who in iran gave the go ahead for this plot? >> nobody really knows and that's what makes it intriguing. the mart money is on the qods force, part of the revolutionary guard, responsible for exporting revolutionary islam around the world and reporting directly to the supreme leader, ayatollah khomeini. so if you are going to put any money down, put it on the top of the iranian government. >> more terror plots by iran here in the u.s. how possible is that? and if it is, how many do you think we're talking about? >> i think there are a lot of them, but they're not necessarily directed towards the united states. most of the activity is directed

towards others. as you mentioned, it was a plot to assassinate the saudi ambassador to the united states. if you had people like the qods force make a list of the top ten countries they would like to topple, the united states wouldn't even make the top ten. all would be in the middle east, including israel. egypt, syria and saudi arabia, yemen and so forth. so yeah, plots inside the united states but most probably directed towards foreigners. >> but you have to think if something were to happen on our soil, blowing up a restaurant in new york city, we would be in it. >> they would be perfectly happy to see collateral damage here in the united states. and the two plotters were actually taped talking about that very subject, discussing the fact that it didn't matter, as many americans as they could kill, it was irrelevant.

>> iranian sleeper cells, agents here in the u.s., what is the prospect of that? >> they're always trying to form, but we've got pretty good intelligence. most of the intelligence developed with contacts overseas and what's going on inside the united states. so far we've been good at ferrying them out. but we have 300 million people. anything is possible. but they blunder a lot. it's just astonishing that from a country that's as good as playing the game on the international arena and playing the united states for all it's worth. >> colonel, appreciate your insight. >> you're welcome. >> reverend al sharpton is expected to speak at any time now in washington. we'll bring that to you live when it gets under way. ♪ [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie.

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jobs for justice rally has drawn thousands to washington, d.c. today. it's a very large crowd and they will be marching in a short while to the martin luther king jr. memorial. right now the reverend al sharpton is leading the rally. joining me again is todd johnson. todd, with another welcome to you. i know that al sharpton is scheduled to take the podium just about a minute or so from now. is that what the schedule reads where you are? >> reporter: yes. the schedule is it's filled with speakers and they've been trying to keep it moving throughout the morning. we've been going since about i would say about 10:15, 10:30. so they've gone through a series of speakers. yes, they're saying reverend sharpton is supposed to be on the podium shortly. but we've heard that many times before. >> we're looking at a live picture. i don't know whether you can see it, but that's our labor secretary. and if my schedule is holding true, there will be a brief

introduction after she speaks by the national executive director after which reverend al will be speaking. it is all about jobs and justice, todd. how much do you get a sense of people really suffering in this crowd, people that are dealing with the economic malaise across this country, they don't have jobs, they don't have money and there's a sense of desperation and they're just trying to get something to happen on their behalf? >> you're exactly right, alex. i spoke to a maryland woman. she was 60 years old. she had just got back to work after being on strike for about 20 days against her company for some of the same things i talked about earlier. fair wages, you know, rights, recognition, more specifically for her, she was fighting for her pension, which was in jeopardy of being eliminated, which is the case with many other people i talked to today. in that same vein, there's

always this undercurrent of ceos receiving an excess of benefits which folks in this crowd just don't want to hear about. they don't want to hear about any type of corporate jets or corporate benefits that ceos enjoy. at the same time saying that the company is under financial distress. it doesn't add up and that is another source of frustration for many of the people gathered here. i think reverend sharpton is going to hit on that again as he puts forth his support for the jobs bill. and for the movement and progress. that's the key word is progress, progression. not obstruction. there are many people here that have traveled from different states that don't want to hear about what isn't in president obama's jobs plan. they know it's not all inclusive and they know it's not going to be a cure-all on day one that it is enacted but that it's a start. that's better than spending time and spending weeks obstructing it and blocking it. that's just what people want,

action. >> you talk about the different states he represented. what do you know about the distances people have traveled? >> reporter: i mentioned the woman from maryland. that's nearby. i just talked to a guy that was here from seattle. he was waiting for this march and rally to actually get going and head over to the mlk monument. he was anxious to go over and see it for the first time. so seattle, maryland, philadelphia on the east coast. the midwest is represented as well. illinois, people from chicago. so there's a cross section of states represented. young and old. people have brought their families, their young kids with them. i've met teachers that have their students, a student or two with them. now that it is saturday, they had the day off and they wanted to make the point. this is what we're fighting for. you don't have books in your classroom, you don't have resources. we hear about budget cuts. this is what we're trying to do to solve it.

and we hope that president obama and the administration and someone else is listening. >> yeah. okay. todd johnson, we've been listening to you throughout this day. we'll continue to listen to you as we're also taking an eye and keeping an ear on the secretary of labor. we were just going to go to break, but i think we're not going to do that now. this may be the head of the national action network. no? that's who it's supposed to be. we're going to figure out who's coming up, which should be reverend al sharpton. we'll take a short break and we hope the rev rand al will be there when we come back.

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we're on approach, so to speak, to the reverend al sharpton who is being introduced right now by the president of

the national action network. >> nearly 45 years ago, coretta scott king learned the awful truth that the father of her children had been murdered. hatred and gun violence took dr. king out. but you know what? i'm sure she went home and as we women are strong, what we do is figure it all out. so i'm sure that she walked away and said, how will i support my family? how will i continue to put food on the table? and there are so many of us today that are asking the same question. and when there are no jobs and there is no justice, and violence is plaguing our community, there is no future for our people. but the good news, brothers and sisters, is that we have joined

here today to make sure that rich people cannot be the only ones that live well and have the opportunity to put a roof over their heads and food on the table. so we've got some heavy work to do. we have to continue to be united and we have to continue to march. so i'm telling you, first of all, there's nothing worse than an unhappy woman. and if women in this country are not happy, we will have no peace! when we leave here, after we finish marching, i need you to continue marching. i want you to march in california. march in alabama for immigration. march in new york to get the guns off our street. march wherever you are.

and by all means, march every day right here in washington, d.c. for jobs and for justice. it is my honor to bring before you a man who has picked up the baton and kept the dream alive. this man has done his best to be, as president obama has said, the voice for the voiceless. he has stood strong against a wave of hatred and bigotry. and like all of us, he's been knocked down. but what makes him different is he never stays down, he gets back up. he's a truth speaker. he sounds for the people, no matter on tv, no matter where he is. he is for you! you always remember that. whatever the naysayers say, i'm telling you that reverend al sharpton is our leader. ladies and gentlemen, lete