going to commit suicide with guns and we're not going to walk away from those efforts. i know i speak for all of the close to 1,000 mayors in the mayors coalition against guns. this is a scourge in the country we have to make sure we get under control and eliminate. >> last night in chicago, a city that's been racked by gun violence, president obama talked about his fight to pass universal background checks. >> we know that if we have some common sense laws that check to see if we're keeping guns out of the hands of criminals or folks who have significant mental illnesses, we know that that can reduce some -- some deaths. and we know that 90% of the american people and 80% of gun owners agree with us. why aren't we getting that done? >> speaking of agreement, there's a new poll out that shows the majority of voters in three conservative southern states, georgia, tennessee,

arkansas, support expanded background checks. let me bring in the "washington post" ann cornblut and susan page. good morning. >> good morning, chris. >> these letters obviously have brought attention back to the gun debate, although i think for people who are involved in it very closely, ann, it hasn't gone away. i guess the question is, has anything changed? where does this fight stand right now? >> well, i mean it's really not going to at this point go much further when there are so many other things on the president's agenda. i think it was obviously a very disappointing defeat that he suffered before. they're not going to let it go re torically. but i think point it's not going to take precedent over what he's got in front of him, namely immigration. >> one of the places that we're seeing some of this conversation going on, susan, is in arkansas with senator mark pryor who was one of four democrats who voted against background checks. mayors against illegal guns was running ads against him there.

a conservative superpac is running ads against him and now he's running his own ads. if he's ousted in 2014, is it more likely that states get someone, say, even more conservative? will this have any influence at all? >> you know, i think it's interesting. clearly anne is right, this is an uphill fight and immigration is a bigger priority, but i don't think you can count the gun debate out quite yet. the handful of senators who prevented background checks from passing in the u.s. senate have taken some flak for it. kelly ayotte in new hampshire is a good example. you wonder when advocates like senator joe manchin vow to continue pursuing this maybe to get those additional few votes on board, i don't think it's impossible that this could go somewhere this year. and i wonder if the politics of gun control have shifted at least a bit. we know the nra and gun rights advocates have had the upper hand for a long time.

i just sense maybe some of the ground shifting on this issue. >> let me bring in shannon watt, the founder of moms demand action for gun sense in america. it's good to see you. good morning. >> good morning. >> i want to ask you about where we stand in this battle over gun laws, but let me first get your reaction to the ricin letters sent to mayor michael bloomberg. >> you know, that just shows that there is a lot of fear around this issue. the gun lobby in this country has done a great job of making people afraid that their guns will bow taken away or that the second amendment will be affected. the reality is that is not what anyone wants. what we want are common-sense gun laws put in place now. threats and intimidation and bullying will not stop that from happening. >> have you been worried? have you ever received any threats as a result of your activism? >> you know, i get interesting e-mails and calls and go to rallies where men show up with loaded assault weapons to protest our rallies, but again, this is about change, and change

is never easy. and so i'm not going to be intimidated or bullied by anyone. i'm going to protect my kids, and that includes being an activist for common-sense gun laws. >> so what's the strategy now? how do you get your voice heard? we had talked for a long time about how 90% of the american people were in favor of background checks, for example, and we heard the president talking about it last night. now you have this new poll that shows even the majority of people in three southern conservative states support background checks and yet it couldn't get through. where do you go from here? >> well, you know, we were all disappointed with the -- obviously the vote by the senate in april, but congress locked the door, so moms are going to go in through the window. what we're going to do is continue to pressure congress, but we're also going to look at state legislatures across the country. there are many that are making great strides towards common-sense gun laws and we're also going to pressure american businesses to say it's not okay to allow guns in your stores. it's not okay to sell weapons marketed to children. and it's not okay to sell

assault weapons. for example, i don't think a lot of moms realize that if you go to starbucks, you could be standing next to someone with a loaded weapon. and so what we're saying is, please, starbucks, please be more like pete's tea and coffee and don't allow weapons in your stores. >> do you have an ongoing dialogue with some of these stores? have you made any progress? >> you know, we have just launched our campaign and sent thousands and thousands of e-mails and tweets to these companies. the next step is to reach out and start meeting with them as moms and to say, please, understand that we make 80% of the spending decisions in this country, moms do. we're asking you to make sure that when we spend our dollars at your business, that we're safe. >> let me ask you about what you said about the states. just last night california advanced a dozen gun control measures, including background checks. but considering it is obviously so hard to get something done on the federal level, are you feeling more positive about the

possibility of going after this on a state-by-state basis? >> yeah. i believe the state laws will change the way congress thinks about making laws and vice versa. and we're seeing some very brave democrats and republicans alike voting for common sense gun laws, whether it's in the state of colorado or maryland. i mean these governors are doing the right thing and they are protecting their citizens. and they're saying we understand that we need to do what the american public wants. 90% of americans want background checks. why congress isn't seeing that? well, i'm assuming it's because the gun lobby is making more noise there than we are. but in the states we're making a lot of noise and we're also going to focus on congress and american businesses going forward. >> shannon watt, thank you so much for coming on, i appreciate it. >> thank you. let me bring back anne and susan and switch gears a little bit and talk about what's going on with eric holder and those two investigations his office is handling, which of course the

irs and the journalists and leaks. first the irs. new poll shows americans overwhelmingly favor appointing a special prosecutor, but susan, is that likely to have any impact on the way the obama administration handles this? >> well, we know that the irs scandal, this trio of scandals or controversies may be a better one, the irs one is the most concern to americans, it's the easiest to understand. we know, though, that the administration will resist a special counsel. the history of special counsels and white houses is a pretty sorry one, just ask bill clinton about how special counsel investigations can go. the thing that i thought was most important in that quinnipiac poll, three out of four americans said they care more about handling the economy than they do dealing with these scandals and that is the message i think the white house is hearing. >> i wonder about that, and i think to susan's point, when you looked at these polls, anne, it was the irs, far more, overwhelmingly more than benghazi or the a.p., which i

think confirmed what most of us thought. but does it seem like, you know, people already didn't particularly care for the irs anyway? >> well, yeah. >> and maybe -- maybe it's not the administration that it's going to cause a problem for as much as it is, you know, the ongoing concern about the economy? >> well, i think the irs had an uphill fight going into this. i think if you just said the words irs without mentioning the controversy, it might have been still registered the same way. obviously benghazi is harder to understand somewhat. you're talking more about a cover-up than you are in addition to the lives that were lost there in libya. so i would say that obviously the economy, there are signs of improvement and that's important. i think the white house -- that's why you've seen president obama going out and talking about the economy. but that doesn't mean that any of these three situations is going to go away for him. >> neither does it mean that the criticism of eric holder is going to go away, susan. obviously, if you saw the headline today on the hill, it

said "attorney general holder on the ropes, republicans are asking if he lied to the judiciary committee when he said he was not said he was personally involved in the prosecution of reporters under the espionage act. is he in trouble? >> eric holder has not been a popular figure. holder said that he thought criminal prosecution and pursuing journalists was a bad idea, but republicans now note that he did sign off on the action taken against james rosen, the fox news reporter, who's named as a potential co-conspirator in an effort to grab his phone and other records. this came up at the white house briefing yesterday and the white house is trying to say, well, he never intended to pursue criminal proceedings against james rosen. but it is a question, i think, that attorney general holder is going to have to answer to kind of square the statement he made to congress with the action he

took at the justice department. >> our apologies to anne because she lost our ability to hear us. let me ask you, susan, one more question about eric holder. when you look at his approval rating in this poll, 23%, we also know he's scheduled to meet with some members of the press today. nbc news was invited, the new york times, the archl.p. have declined to go. are we the only ones that care about this? >> i think the press cares about what happens with the press and americans care about what happens with jobs and housing prices. and i do think the approval rating for the attorney general is not a very relevant statistic. he really has an approval rating waurnd person, the president of the united states, who seems to be behind him. >> i just got handed something, jonathan who has been following the threats made against michael bloomberg has gotten the letter. here is -- let me read to you what he is reporting what this letter to bloomberg said. "you will have to kill me and my family before you get my guns. anyone wants to come to my house

will get shot in the face. the right to bear arms is my constitutional god-given right and i will exercise that right until the day i die. what's in this letter is nothing compared to what i've got planned for you." so going full circle and coming back to this topic, anne, it obviously is this letter sort of reigniting at least part of the conversation, but there also was an even bigger conversation, obviously, after newtown. after you heard -- and i hope you could hear what our guest had to say, one of the many groups who are trying to get new gun legislation passed, do you think that conversation can move things, if not on a federal level, on a state level as she thinks there may be a better chance? >> i think probably her grassroots organizing and people like her is the best chance that people on that side of the issue are going to have for pressing it forward. the nra has worked through the grassroots for a very long time. it's not just a top down effort.

so i think that her mobilization, what she mentioned about going to individual businesses is the kind of thing that could -- individual people could do in their own states and obviously appealing to the legislature. so i wouldn't be at all surprised to see that be one way that the direction moves. that letter that you read from is obviously very disturbing and very threatening and i'm sure it will be fully investigated. but i also have to say it's probably fairly standard issue for people who protect officials, both at the state and federal level. i wouldn't be at all surprised if the nypd has seen something like that before. >> anne cornblut, susan page, you looked like you wanted to get in there. >> it's probably not fair to taint the entire gun rights movement with the action of this disturbing letter because there is a serious debate and two sides to it when it comes to the issue of guns. >> it's unfortunate that for a few it comes to this. susan, anne, thanks to both of you. >> thank you, chris. president obama meantime is expected to nominate james comey to be the next fbi director. he was the number two at justice under president george w. bush

but famous leo posed that administration's efforts to authorize a warrantless wire tap program back in 2004. now, the nomination could be seen as a bipartisan move by the president, but the top republican on the senate judiciary committee has already said comey will face tough questions about his ties to wall street. we went out and asked people a simple question: how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed much is the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years. ♪

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an arizona woman being held on drug charges in mexico is pleading for authorities there to set her free. >> this is like a dream, a bad dream that i'm living, you know. so i just hope that this gets resolved for the good so i can go home. i'm worried for my kids.

they need me there. >> she is a mother of seven, arrested by the mexican military after they said they found 12 pounds of marijuana under her bus seat. her family says she was set up. miguel almaguer is live in kn nogal nogales, arizona. what else is she saying and how is she holding up? >> reporter: certainly jail conditions aren't ideal anywhere, but particularly in mexico where overcrowding is such an issue as well as violence. she's in one of the more notorious women prisons or women jails in this area. it's known for some of its long-lasting problems in that region. she says she is holding up but of course she'd much rather be at home. we spoke to yanira just yesterday and here's what she told us. >> my spirit is good, it's better right now, but i get concerned too because i just

want to go home. i want to be free. i just want to be back home with my family and my children and my loving husband. >> yanira moldonado breaking her silence speaking to media because she said she has nothing to hide. she wants to get her message of innocence out there. she of course has many supporters on this side of the border from state lawmakers who have been in touch with her as well as the u.s. state department who's closely watching this case as well, chris. >> what happens next in the legal process? >> reporter: there is a hearing today that will be happening behind closed doors. the judge will be reviewing the evidence. the judge will have until tomorrow to make a decision as to whether or not maldonado will be set free or whether she'll be held for trial. that decision could come at any moment, but of course the deadline is tomorrow, chris. >> miguel almaguer, thank you so much. joining me now, usa today

columnist, raul reyes, who also happens to be an attorney. listen to yanira maldonado's husband who was asked about the situation. listen. >> it's just so bizarre down here and so different that we don't -- we're not used to it, this process. it's just -- we just want it to be over. we're thankful for everybody's support. >> look, jail is scary any time. >> right. >> but in mexico, you say there's actually two types of justice in mexico. >> right, right. i would say -- and i want to say first off my heritage is mexican, so i'm not disparaging mexico, this is just the way it is. there are basically two types of law. the law on the books and the way the law is actually applied. now, you have to remember the mexican system, they're our next-door neighbor but their system is radically different from what we saw often take for granted. in mexico, there is no presumption of innocence. in mexico, there are no jury trials. for someone who's a suspect, basically the only thing standing between you and a prison sentence is one judge.

in mexico, trials are closed. sometimes you can't even examine the evidence used against you until the trial is over. also in mexico, when you are assigned a sentence, given a sentence, you serve it. >> did she get a defense lawyer who gets to argue on her behalf? >> yes. but in our justice system all of the things she might help her case, she is a mother, she has seven children, she was a mormon, she was just there for a funeral, all of those mitigating circumstances probably won't even be admitted in court. the judge will just look at legal documents and rule on it. something that's very sobering for people to think about, especially people maybe going to mexico, is that a very respected think tank in mexico, the senate for investigative development, their research shows that 85% of the people in mexico who are arrested, they are convicted. basically once the police have a suspect, the criminal investigation is over. so in this country, for example, if you were a suspect, you always have the hope that they might find the actual perpetrator of the crime, that they might find that other person who did it as the

investigation continues. that will not happen in this case, that doesn't happen in mexico. once police arrest someone, the case is done and it moves on to the court system. so she's in a very bad spot in that sense. >> and they have gone to their local congressman and asked for help, but not a great time, right? >> not a great time, because mexico being right next door to us, we have sort of this dysfunctional sibling relationship at times with the u.s. as the big brother. mexico is very touchy about sovereignty. so things that might help in other countries with even the president getting involved in, mexico that can back fire because the mexican administration, they do not like being told what to do. they resent outside pressure from the u.s. and the new president of mexico has been pushing back against american involvement in what they consider their own internal affairs. so it's a very sobering future from this point for miss maldonado looking ahead.

>> we'll keep watching it. raul, always good to have you here, thank you. >> thank you. a grandmother found more than just prehistoric creatures while riding the dinosaur ride at disney world. the woman and her grandson found a loaded semiautomatic pistol and handed it over to security. minutes later, the gun's owner came back saying he forgot he had the gun in his pocket and it slipped out during the ride. he apparently did have a concealed weapons permit but disney does not allow guns on its property, although visitors don't go through metal detectors or patdowns. this news comes after the evacuation of toontown at disneyland california due to a small explosion caused by dry ice. anaheim police have just arrested a 22-year-old employee in that case. [ male announcer ] erica had a rough day. there was this and this. she got a parking ticket... ♪ and she forgot to pay her credit card bill on time. good thing she's got the citi simplicity card.

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governor wants to switch parties. lincoln chafee has already gone from a republican to an independent. now he wants to run for re-election as a democrat. he could face a very crowded field. his friendship with the president, though, could help him. turns out lap band surgery is changing chris christie's diet. well, just a little. the new jersey governor doesn't feel the need to eat breakfast anymore and says he's always favored a mug full of milk over coffee or diet coke. he always told "people" magazine he still doesn't like to eat his veggies. he'll only eat green beans, lettuce and cucumbers. this video was unveiled by the first lady at a dnc lgbt gala last night. it's six minutes long and highlights the president's work for gay rights. these four members of congress, the target of the heritage action fund over the farm bill. the radio ads opening line says, you can put a tuxedo on a pig and call it steve but it's still a pig.

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ted cruz is trying to turn the line that may well have cost the republicans the white house to the gop's advantage. he was at a new york fund-raiser last night and the texas senator suggested that the last election could be explained in two words, 47%. that mitt romney essentially sent the message to all those

americans, republicans don't care about you. >> we don't have to worry about you. that's what was communicated in the last election. i've got to tell you, as a conservative, i cannot think of an idea more opposite what we believe. i think republicans are and should be the party of the 47%. >> joining me now, nbc news political analyst and former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and msnbc contributor and former bush/cheney senior adviser robert trainham, good morning, gentlemen. robert, is it plausible that someone who voted against aid for superstorm sandy, who mocked wall street reform, who had immigration protesters outside his speech last night, is this the guy that's going to bring the 47% to the gop? >> i'm not sure that i would say that, but it's a right step in the right direction that the senator is saying, you know what, the republican party is not just about the rich and the upper middle class, it's about all people.

it's about people living paycheck to paycheck, it's about people learning english for the very first time, it's about people that look like me. it's about people that are lbgt. so at least he's trying and acknowledges the fact there were some major structural problems from a messaging standpoint and a political standpoint that mitt romney had during the last presidential election. at least acknowledging that and moving forward and saying we want to do better and we can do better. that's a step in the right direction. >> he does have some other things going for him. he holds law degrees from harvard, princeton, great debater. he is the son of a cuban immigrant. is he someone that could expand the republican party? >> first, chris, i don't mean to be picky but 47% is three words, not two, that's number one, sorry. number two, it's not about messaging. ted cruz is wrong and even my good friend robert is wrong, it's not about messaging. you can't say we're for the 47%

and, as you pointed out, take steps to clearly indicate that you have no interest in helping that 47% to get opportunities up the ladder. you're not interested in guaranteeing them health care, you're not interested in extending unemployment comp, so it's actions that the republican party needs. you look at ted cruz's vote and it's ludicrous that he's going to be the standard bearer to convince the 47% that the republican party cares about them. >> one thing he did do last night is he didn't bring up any hot button issues, but he did provide a laundry list of who he believes are the future leaders of his party. take a listen. >> you sit back and you list who are the brightest stars of the republican party? who are the most effective advocates for free market principles? you come up with names like marco rubio, like mike lee, like rand paul, like pat toomey, like scott walker. >> not necessarily, robert, the people who are winning over middle america right now. as we mentioned, he's not a fan of marco rubio's signature piece

of legislation on immigration. earlier this week peter king said he would skip last night's dinner because of that superstorm sandy no vote. and now chet connelly, the chairman of the south carolina republican party says, well, conservatives think he's a rock star. when you look at those disconnects from other members of the republican party, is that basically a microcosm of the divide in the gop? >> yes, there's no question about it, that the republican party has a very diverse set of ideas and opinions about where the party should go moving forward. do we stick with the inflexible, intolerable party of the 1950s or do we move forward to a dynamic, very inclusive party for the 21st century. what's interesting about what senator cruz said last night in reference to the future of the republican party, say whatever you want about the politics of those people that he mentioned, they're at least putting forth ideas. they're at least putting their thoughts to paper and saying, you know what, i may not have the best solution to the problem, but at least i'm coming up with some solutions to the

problem. please meet me halfway with some of your thoughts and ideas. you at least have to give them that. >> i just got this over urgent, completely different topic but we mentioned it earlier about lincoln chafee, governor rendell. he has now officially switched over to the democratic side. we said he was a republican who became an independent. now he is an independent who's become a democrat. is this significant? >> well, it's significant in rhode island and new england. i don't think it has any national significance. look, lincoln chafee has always been a progressive. he really belonged in the democratic party. he became an independent to win for governor because he didn't want to make the switch entirely. maybe out of a nod to his great father, the great john chafee. but i have no doubt if john chafee were alive today, he'd be a democrat. >> he would be? >> no question. >> ed rendell, always great to have you on the program. robert trainham, have a great day. >> three words, 47%. check the news feed. we've got several new developments out of syria today.

syria's main western-backed opposition group says it will not participate in u.s. and russia-sponsored peace talks. that's a major blow to international efforts to end that civil war. and it comes as syrian president bashar assad claims his regime has received the first shipment of air defense missiles from russia. and its foreign minister says assad will remain in power at least until the elections in 2014 and may even seek another term. the army staff sergeant accused of murdering six teen afghan villagers last year has agreed to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty. an attorney for staff sergeant robert bales tells the associated press that his client was, quote, crazed and broken when he carried out those attacks. a judge and commanding general must still approve any deal. a tragedy in upstate new york overnight. four young children and three adults were killed when a tractor-trailer collided with a minivan just outside of syracuse. police say the trailer separated from the truck and then hit that minivan which was traveling in the opposite direction.

the council on american islamic relations is calling for a civil rights probe into the shooting death of ibragi ibragim todashev. she w he was being questioned about his ties to one of the boston marathon bombing suspects. despite reports to the contrary, todashev was unarmed at the time. another threat of severe weather today for some major metropolitan areas, including oklahoma city, kansas city, omaha and wichita. flooding is also expected to be a major problem from the eastern plains through the lower great lakes. no major tornados yesterday, but take a look at what happened when the grounds crew tried to pull the tarp out onto the ball field at rangers stadium in texas. they struggled with that tarp for about 20 minutes in the wind and rain before they finally got the field covered. and then watch what happens when floodwaters crash through the doors of a building at carl sandburg college in illinois.

heavy storms brought 4 inches of rain into that area in less than an hour. classes are cancelled through friday. demolition is expected to begin next hour on what's left of the plaza towers elementary school in moore, oklahoma. seven people lost their lives when a tornado ripped through moore last week. last night a benefit concert for tornado victims aired on nbc. ♪ >> that, of course, country singer miranda lambert who had trouble getting through her song at that star-studded event that was organized by her husband, blake shelton. the national weather service is upgrading its supercomputers to help predict storms. money for the $25 million upgrade is part of the hurricane sandy supplemental bill that was recently approved by congress. sandy revealed a potential weakness in the american system when weather computers in europe more accurately predicted the

path of that storm. and we're getting a first look this morning at the medals for the 2014 winter olympics in sochi, russia. they feature a patch work motif. about 1300 metals will be made for the games. it begins february 7th, 2014, on the networks of nbc universal. including right here. cell phone pioneer motorola says it's going to make the first smartphone that was ever assembled in america. cnbc's michelle caruso-cabrera is here with what's moving your money and motorola's big announcement means jobs for texas. >> 2,000 of them in ft. worth. they're going to make the moto-x at what used to be a nokia facility, not used anymore. the nokia facility was used for presmartphones, you remember what those were. when we were little, they didn't e-mail each other. >> i used to have one. >> exactly. and this highlights a trend that we have seen apple starting to manufacture here again because labor costs have started to rise in asia.

they are lower here in the united states because of the issues that we've had with our economy. and so it makes more economic sense sometimes to actually do some manufacturing here. >> all right. that's good news, again, for texas. in the meantime, one of the biggest best-known sellers of lingerie and bathing suits in america, of course victoria's secret, has got into a bit of a tiff with supermodel kate upton. she is furious. what about? >> she's furious pause they just printed some photos they took of her back in 2011. they hadn't used them. you might think she would be happy. there you see her. i'd think anybody would be happy if they looked like that. >> i do too. except apparently last year "the new york times" enter veed super bowl who hires models for victoria's secret and this person said we would never use kate upton. she looks like a footballer's wife with the too blonde hair and the kind of face that anyone with enough money can go and buy. who says that out loud? >> footballer's wife would

suggest whoever that person was might be british. >> or good-looking. >> but come on. >> that's mean. mean, mean, mean. >> yeah. and you know what, kate upton is crying all the way to the bank. >> exactly. >> cnbc's michelle caruso-cabrera with that important piece of business news. >> it's publicly traded. >> how's it doing, can you see? of course not, no computer. we'll get that important information to you later. speaking of models, forbes, this is unbelievable, they compiled the list of unusual jobs that pay a lot of money. one of them, a body part model. so if you have great hands or great feet, great legs, you can make up to $1,000 for just an afternoon. that's not bad. an ice cream taster or food scientist, as it's officially called, can make $56,000 a year. a virtual head hunter can make $10,000 per referral. if you like to shop, turn it into a career.

personal shoppers often make up to $100,000 a year. and get this, hot dog vendors in high traffic areas, i assume like new york city, again, make up to $100,000 a year. and my crack team tells me that victoria's secret stock is up slightly so far in trading this morning. we'll be right back. helping wits expenses while he can't work, he can focus on his recovery. he doesn't have to worry so much about his mortgage, groceries, or even gas bills. kick! kick... feel it! feel it! feel it! nice work! ♪ you got it! you got it! yes! aflac's gonna help take care of his expenses. and us...we're gonna get him back in fighting shape. ♪ [ male announcer ] see what's happening behind the scenes at ducktherapy.com. what makes a sleep number store different?

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♪ [ agent smith ] ge software connects patients to nurses to the right machines while dramatically reducing waiting time. [ telephone ringing ] now a waiting room is just a room. [ static warbles ] new numbers out showing more improvement in the housing market, but may add to recent concerns of another real estate bubble as well as concerns about the return to house flipping. now, we just learned that homes under contract to be sold, known as pending home sales, were up slightly last month, but up 10% from a year ago. that's the highest level in three years. and it's even though mortgage rates are at a one-year high. a new report just this hour shows rates have climbed to 3.81%. let me bring in dolly lens, who has sold more than $7 billion

worth of real estate, so you know a little bit about it. so clearly the market is heating up but the question people have, is it too much too fast? what are you seeing? >> i think it's not too much too fast yet, but we have to watch. if mortgage rates continue to climb, we may have a problem unless we get a huge surge in employment, which could solve all our problems. >> we still have a lot of problems beyond the housing market. are you skernconcerned that we n the verge of another bubble? >> i'm watching very closely but i'm not concerned. my bigger concern is for first-time home buyers. first-time home buyers are completely being priced out of the market. they only make up 29% of the current buying market versus 40% historically. i'm really concerned they're going to be priced out for a very long time, possibly forever, and have to pay higher rents in addition. so that's horrible. >> and even though, you know, we're saying that interest rates

have climbed up to 3.81%, i don't even want to tell you what the rates were -- they were double digits when i was first looking to buy a house and i truly was priced out. is some of this relative or is this real? is this real that they're getting priced out? >> they are getting priced out. you know, the problem is, they are the forefront of everything, right? if they're not buying, that means a trade-up buyer can't buy so it really kills the entire market. that is my greatest concern as of right now. >> let's talk about house flipping as well. we saw this report out. home prices jumped nearly 11% in the top 20 cities in the past year, but in some places, san francisco is a good example, it was up more than 20%. this is in walnut creek. i know this area, it's not far from -- it's in the bay area generally. pretty modest four bedroom, two bath ranch was listed at $616,000 in march. it sold last month for $665,000, nearly $50,000 over asking price, but then we dug a little

deeper. look at this house. we were shocked to find that the owner bought it for $445,000 just last october. so they got a 49% return on their investment. >> the san francisco market is on fire. i just came back from san francisco. i toured properties with the top brokers in the area. i have to tell you, every open house we went to, there were bids. bid after bid after bid. and it does concern me because what if the blackstones of the world, who just bought all this distressed property, what if they start putting stuff on the market, right? i mean that really concerns me. when they start to dump is going to be another problem for us. >> and in the meantime, as we were mentioning, interest rates still comparatively, historically low, but at what point does it get to be really concerning, and is this -- is there going to be a push, because, you know, people are obviously going to be concerned that mortgage rates are going up even more? where do you see them going? >> oh, i see them definitely going up, but i think they're

going to go up slowly so we won't necessarily feel all of it, and it may get people back into the game of buying because they'll be afraid to totally miss the market, right? so that little bit of inching up is actually good in general for buyers. >> and i guess the final piece of all this puzzle, and it applies obviously a lot to first-time buyers but in general, are mortgage lenders easing up a little bit? >> mortgage lenders are easing up a little bit and appraisers, which was a big part of the puzzle, are actually able to appraise property where it needs to appraise to get the deal done. that had been the biggest problem we had over the last year. so that problem is almost gone. over the next 12 to 18 months, i think it will be eliminated totally. >> all of it such a significant part of where the economy is going. dolly lenz, thanks for coming up. today's tweet of the day comes from the "huffington post" which tweeted out a roundup of this month's best celebrity real estate, including vineyards shown here at rupert murdoch's

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this news just into us, the death of a prominent american. the reverend andrew greeley. he was an outspoken roman catholic priest and best-selling author who wrote more than 50 novels, many of them international mystery thrillers. he also wrote a weekly column on religion for the "chicago sun-times" and was a vocal critic of the bureaucracy. reverend greeley was 85 years old. tax reformers in washington are armed with a new report that finds more than half of the biggest tax breaks go to the richest americans. richard louie with a drilldown of the new cbo report on all of this and it really is interesting. >> it's very interesting. 19 pages here, chris. there are over 200 tax breaks costing the government $925 billion just this year. who gets the lion's share?

the top fifth of income earners who make about $101,000 or more, according to the census. this group gets 51% of all tax breaks, says a report from the nonpartisan congressional and budget office. now, the bottom fifth of income earner, who make $20,000 or below, they just get 8% of all the tax breaks. now the main tax breaks also have the lowest costs. one is the child tax credit. on the flip side, the big cost tax breaks benefit top earners the most. employer sponsored health insurance, the largest tax break, most going to top earners. lower rates on sales of short and long-term investments or capital gains is another. senator bernie sanders said this is an opening for tax reform. >> we are seeing more and more income and wealth inequality in america, so that between 2009, 2011, all of the new income

created in america went to the top 1%. >> well, chris van hollen, the democrat who requested the report said the top 1% get 17% of all tax breaks. douglas holtz-eakin responding tweeting cbo report potentially a distraction from actually solving the spending problem. republicans may look at the report this way. the amount of dollars in paychecks for bottom earners, almost 12% comes from a tax break. for tax earners, just under 10% come from tax breaks. low income earners reap tax benefits as well, just not in the same extremes. >> we've been talking about reform of the tax system for a long time, but nothing so far. thank you very much, richard. that's going to wrap up this hour. i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next. hello, thomas. good morning, everybody. our agenda next hour, poisonous plot. new york city mayor michael bloomberg ricin-loaded letters and what they say about the

fight over gun control in this country. we're talking with dan gross and carolyn maloney of new york. the mom jailed in mexico for allegedly smuggling pot is breaking her silence. we talk with an arizona lawmaker trying to help her get home safely. michele bachmann may be out of the business but her tea party legacy will move on. who takes it up? our agenda panel weighs in on that. ann romney speaking out about what sunk her husband's campaign and the scandals plaguing the white house. that and much more at the top of the hour. come here, boy. ♪ there you go. come on, let's play! [ male announcer ] there's an easier way to protect your dog from dangerous parasites. good boy. fetch!

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the letter was obviously referred to our antigun efforts, but 12,000 people are going to get killed this year with guns. we're not going to walk away from those efforts. >> new york mayor michael bloomberg targeted, threatened over his nationwide gun control campaign. this morning the feds are trying to track down who sent two letters containing traces of ricin to mayor bloomberg and to the gun control group he founded. hi, everybody, good morning.

i'm thomas roberts. it's the news topping our agenda today, poison plot. in the last hour we learned more about the message contained in the letters. the letter was intercepted at a mail sorting facility here in manhattan, the other opened by the president of the mayors against illegal guns at their office in washington, d.c. everyone who came in contact with the letters have either been checked and treated, listed as okay now, but those letters have louisiana postmarks. both were identical in content, containing warnings that arrived for bloomberg and his group that directly called them out for the gun control debate and their interference with gun reform. now, sources telling our affiliate wnbc the letter said in part, quote, what's in the letter is nothing compared to what i've got planned for you. >> i'm not angry. there are people who i would argue do things that may be irrational, do things that are wrong, but it's a very complex world out there and we just have to deal with that. >> president obama