good afternoon, i'm tamron hall live in new york. hey, david. >> i'm david shuster, live in washington. we've got some intriguing news that's breaking in honduras. just moments ago ousted president manuela marched up to the border office. watching an exiled leader march back in is always intriguing. zelaya has returned to a waiting crowd and is continuing to attempt to negotiate by cell phone. it is the second time he's tried to return since being forced out in a coup on june 28th. the last time he was turned back by the military the de facto honduran government has accused him of a long list of crimes. we'll continue to update this on this bizarre and intriguing situation. the closing bell on wall street where stocks continued their big gains from yesterday. you will recall it was just

yesterday the dow finished above 9000. that the first time since january, and right now the dow is sitting at 9093, up 24. so another big day there. tamron, the big picture this hour, president obama spoke out this afternoon about the arrest of harvard scholar henry louis gates, jr. in an impromptu aperp rans at the white hou -- appearance at the white house press briefing. mr. obama called crowley an outstanding officer. he commented on his earlier remarks referring to the came rid -- cambridge police department's actions as stupid. >> to the extent that my choice of words contributed to more media frenzy, i think that's unfortunate. there are some who say as president i shouldn't have stepped into this at all because it's a local issue, i have to tell you that that part of it i

disagree with. the fact that this has become such a big issue i think is indicative of the fact that, you know, race is still a troubling aspect of our society. >> nbc's mike taibbi joins us live from cambridge, massachusetts, and how are the president's remarks going over in cambridge? what's been the reaction? >> reporter: well, the president is right in this respect, it certainly is the topic of conversation in the newspapers and the talk shows and wbur. i was listening to a while back. passions really ignited about this. we're waiting right now for another comment by police commissioner paul hsass of the cambridge police department. the president's remarks today seemed to be an attempt to lower the temperature.

of course sergeant krcrowley's colleagues standing up for him, including one african-american cop who was on the scene. basically the president lowering the temperature and saying both men, professor gates and sergeant crowley shared responsibility for turning a tense situation toxic. >> i continue to believe based on what i have heard that there was an overreaction in pulling professor gates out of his home to the station. i also continue to believe based on what i heard that professor gates probably overreacted as well. >> nothing new from professor gates today. the president did say let's make this a teachable moment and he

said maybe we should have the two of them to the white house where they can have a beer. also a lot of talk about finding another way through conflict resolution to get the two to shake hands because they both have terrific reputations. one a world famous terrific reputation and the other, sergeant crowley, a reputation people are just learning about right now. >> mike taibbi reporting live from cambridge. thanks for the report. to the bigger picture, how professor gates' arrest has ignited a national debate. melissa and dr. watkins, a resident scholar at aol black voices and clint van zandt a profiler and the author of "facing down evil." he's also an msnbc analyst. melissa, i would like to start off with you. the president said something today about a teachable moment. at this point have we learned anything, the media and the viewers at home, from this?

>> well, i'm not sure. i actually think this is a painfully familiar narrative that is emerging. in other words, we have here a situation where law enforcement, in other words a representative of the state, someone who is armed and in an official position does something to a citizen and then somehow the story becomes as though they are both equal, that gates was doing something bad to the police officer and the police officer bad to gates, but i think we have to keep ourselves carefully focused on the fact that the police officer, sergeant crowley, was a man who was at work, whose responsibility it was to defuse the situation, whereas professor gates was in his home. so although i think it's great that we are using this as a way to talk about race, at this point i haven't seen anything different because the narrative is still emerging as though it's all just equal. >> dr. watkins, you had an article on grio and you said, quote, i might be clicked out of

the black scholars club for saying this, but the truth is i don't feel sorry for henry louis gates. why those comments? >> well, the first thing i'll say is that i respect and support professor gates in the work that he does, but when i saw the situation, one of the things i didn't do was i didn't want to rush to judgment. i didn't want to assume this officer misbehaved or he misbehaved due to race. i needed to see the evidence, and so my feeling was that when you talk about this situation, i didn't see this as much of a race issue as a class issue, and i think that that was accentuated by the fact that president obama stepped in, and i don't think he would have stepped in if he weren't referring to a buddy from harvard, and this is white or black. i think that what happened though and what made the situation worse was that when these words came from our president, whom i respect tremendously, that really put that pressure on this police department and so they come out with sticks out and they're

defending themselves. on the gates' side you have them defensive as well. it becomes he said/she said. there was a misunderstanding between two people who are proud men. i think we need to look at the facts and move forward. >> clint, professor harris brought up whether these people are equals. the officer was on the job. what's your comments to what the professor brought to the conversation now? >> well, i think the challenge was the professor's initial conversation with the officer, you're doing this because i'm a black man in america. all that did, unfortunately, was challenge the officer's authority and serve to kind of bait him. then the officer compounded because he took the bait, and the last thing from what i know is that an arrest should have been made. what should have happened even if the professor was ranting and raving, calling the officer and his mother names or something

else, once the officer established that the professor belonged there, he should have said, sir, i will search your house if you want me to help in case anybody is here. if not, here is my name, badge number, here is the number of my police department. if you want to make a complaint, call my office. otherwise, have a good day and he should have walked away. i don't think we should have got to the point where they put handcuffs on that man. >> professor harris, we've got this note in, the president has spoken with professor gates. apparently they connected. they had a conversation. he informed professor gates of his conversation with sergeant crowley and the president has invited gates and now sergeant crowley to the white house in the near future. the president said he wanted to elevate this conversation today and kind of be the mediator. how ironic is this, the first african-american president and now we have this issue where he's mediating i guess the conversation black people have probably all the time about the perception of police officers of them and the black opportunity's perception of officers,

particularly white officers. >> sure. well, i mean, i also think it's particularly ironic not only that this is a case of our african-american president having this conversation, but that henry louis gates, jr. this professor at harvard who many of us in the black scholars club know as someone who is certainly interested in black issues, but is generally pretty apolitical, the idea that's a flash point around this kind of very traditional racial moment is incredibly ironic. this is a man who, you know, vacations at martha's vinyard and says he feels comfortable in harvard yard and generally lives an exceptionally integrated, element post-racial lifestyle. so it's every bit of this is in fact ironic. >> i wish we had more time. we could talk about this on and on. thank you all. were fesser harris, dr. watkins,

and clint van zandt. thank you. this has been a day of events. health care affecting all of us, but so does race and how we interact with one another. >> we tend to forget this kind of situation happens every day in every city of america, these sort of tensions and perceptions that have to be sorted out, and to the extent that all of us and police officers and people who see police can learn from something like this, i think we also benefit. putting aside that, just the pure politics of it all as well. we talk about that so much, the way the white house tries to handle this to tamp down the controversy and make sure the president is on sure political footing so he can get back to health care. >> still ahead, the day's other news, including the latest developments in the death investigation of michael jackson. what investigators are now saying about his personal doctor and could some kind of charges be coming in days? plus, democrats kick the can down the road on health care, a

the least to a couple months. when will we finally see a plan and a vote? and then there's this -- >> that's all you got to do is to lie a few marshmallows out and then put a marshmallow or two in the trap cage, and you will catch those suckers. well, that's what washington is doing to the american's liberty. >> huh? we'll explain what that senator was talking about on the floor of the united states senate. this is msnbc, the place for politics.

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welcome back. new details today in the michael

jackson death investigation. >> david, the doctor who reportedly tried to revive the pop star on the day he died is now the main target of manslaughter probe. dr. conrad murray has not been arrested, but investigators have searched his office in houston, texas, and police are still waiting for results from the coroner's office. joining us with more, courtney hazlett from msnbc.com's the scoop. courtney, a lot of reports swirling that maybe we are days away from someone being charged here. >> i think what's more accurate is we're probably days way way from getting the cause of death and the toxicology report and things like that. the charge, if there is one, will certainly follow from that. they're not going to charge anybody, i don't think, until they definitely know why he died. that's really clutch in this situation. one of the interesting things i'd like to point out is what they took from this seizure that took place yesterday in houston. a lot of things you'd expect, but what was surprising was this

vi vial. if you remember fen fen, the weight loss drug and appetite suppressant that the fda removed from shelves in 1997, this drug is one half of fen fen. if it's abused or misused, taken more than it should be, it can result in all those things we have been hearing about, sudden cardiac arrest, very interesting that was there. the dosage is interesting, too. 37.5 milligram pills were found in the one vial. that's the exact size pill that can be obtained over the internet, sometimes even without a prescription. so all these pieces of the puzzle are sort of beginning to come together. >> i guess that tribute concert, the jackson brothers were supposed to get back in honor of their brother is canceled. >> that's right. yesterday i received a phone call late in the evening from one of the organizers of the tribute concert who is also one of the organizers of the 50-date cure at london's 02 arena.

he was absolutely shocked. he said i can't believe this is what's happening. it was all part of the deal that was struck between aeg and sony. they said that we want this film to come out that will have the rehearsal footage, that film due in late october, and so that we don't cheapen the impact of that somewhat, we're not going to do any tribute concerts prior to that. so there are a lot of people who are very upset about this, not even just the people who had tickets to the 02 concert and thought maybe that would get them into the tribute show, but all the vendors who laid out money, sometimes out of their own pockets for the initial concerts and then the tribute show. the lawsuits will just continue to come after that. >> and still no official burial site for michael jackson. >> no. >> we know that. but what about the kids? how are they? >> i just spoke to somebody a little bit ago who is in contact with the kids as recently as yesterday. he said they're doing okay, as okay as can be expected. they spend a lot of time with katherine jackson prior to the death and their cousins and

rebbie who is their aunt, and that has continued. in a lot of senses it's not like they've been uprooted significantly. what they're dealing with is the significant loss of their dad. >> great talking to you. >> thanks. david, you might remember there was a big legal battle with james brown, a hero of michael jackson. they didn't bury james brown for almost a year. and now you have this michael jackson controversy over what his family will do with him. it's just getting stranger and stranger. >> it's so strange and, tamron, i sort of feel like it's groundhog day. every day it's another bizarre repetition of confusion. >> as courtney points out, next week will perhaps be a big week in this death investigation. up next, "crossing the line," the man in jail charged, indicted for threatening telemarkets. >> it sure beats "here comes the

bride." a youtube video shows the wedding party getting down as they come down the aisle. time for your business small business advice. here are ways to market your brand and product for free. cross-promote with complimentary businesses. comment on blogs relevant to your business, and make sure you link to your own website. and volunteer to speak at local events where you think your expertise would be valued. for more, watch your business sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. two medium cappuccinos, you're ready for the mid-morning rush thanks to a good breakfast. one coffee with room, one large mocha latte. medium macchiato, light hot chocolate hold the whip, and two espressos. make one a double.

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there are a lot of things that could be considered news in this world. >> but, david, there are only a few story that is make us say -- >> no way! >> no way! >> oh, like this little ditty. a transgendered mayor in the small town of silverton, oregon, a accused of showing up to meetings in an outfit that was too revealing. a community group says the outfit violates the dress code. stu rasmussen defends the outfit saying the dress code is too strict. he also says the person who

filed the complaint ran against him in the last election. that is leggy for a city council meeting. >> that's a mayor who is a man who wants to dress up as a woman. >> no, no, he's transgendered woman now. he's a woman. but that outfit is sexy. that is a little sexy for work. >> okay. tamron, up next, back to familiar territory, comic-con for sky at this geeks and comic book nerds it's like the super bowl and christmas rolled into one. it's where the they gather to soak up comic art films. this marks the 40th year of the event. that looks fun. we've all seen those unique wedding entrances that turn into youtube sensations. >> you may remember the wedding video of a british couple during their first dance that took the world by storm.

they danced their first dance to the theme song from dirty dancing. they even performed the big lift at the end of the song. that british couple has some competition from newly wed kevin hinds and jill peterson. they got the party started at the ceremony with members of their bridal party. this is even before they said "i do." watch. ♪ >> wow. shake it. >> what's that called? what's that move? here comes the wedding party and i think that's the groom who does the double flip. look at him straighten the tie. okay. >> nice sunglasses, groomsmen. >> right. >> see the grandmother behind who is just looking -- there's the bride. >> look at the bride. she's working it. she's cute. do you think they planned these dance moves because they look

like they're freestyling. that's what they like to call it. >> took them apparently five minutes. and look at the grandmother there. i think she's sort of into it, sort of. >> does this give me any ideas on what, david? >> well, you know, when the day comes for you to get married, you know, i'll be one of your groomsmen dancing down the aisles and tamron is getting married. >> well, you got a long time to practice your moves. not really, soon, i'm sure. anyway, let's stop all marriage talk and let's get -- are you kidding me? >> i'm ready for you, tamron, i'm ready. >> okay. this is a great wedding video. can we stop talking about weddings? >> yeah. >> thank you. this is the one time i really love the moniker, the place for politics, so we can stop talking about weddings. coming up, that was pretty funny, what does health care reform, i ask you, have to do

with beau the dog? that's apparently how a republican talking point has come out. it's a weird one. we'll explain. the doctor diagnosed arthritis in my right knee.

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i'm rebecca jarvis with your cnbc market wrap. stocks ending mixed on wall street today. the dow gained nearly 24 points. the s&p 500 added about 3, and the nasdaq lost about 7 points. fed chair ben bernanke faced off against treasury secretary timothy geithner on capitol hill today. at issue, who should be the nation's top consumer watch dog. geithner wants to strip the fed of its consumer protection responsibility and give it to a new federal agency. microsoft's earnings took a big hit for the first time since going public in 1986. profits there plunged 29% in the last quarter. that was well below analysts expectations and it was due in part to weak computer sales. and toyota says it wants to

sevener ties with general motors. the japanese automaker wants to liquidate its stake in a california manufacturing plant it jointly operated with the old gm. that's it from cnbc, we're first in business worldwide. now back to msnbc. welcome back. i'm tamron hall live in new york. >> and i'm david shuster live in washington. the big picture at this hour, health care negotiations have broken down again between house leaders and a group of conservative democrats known as the blue dogs. blue dog congressman mike roth said after a week of talks no agreement was able to be reached between the blue dogs and some key committee leaders. conservative democrats say they're concerned with the cost and scope of the current health care legislation that has been proposed to them in these meetings. the full house has been trying to schedule a vote on some kind of bill next week. meanwhile, in the senate they're still holding talks. senate majority leader harry reid and max baucus, the

chairman of the finance committee, met with president obama today to talk about some of the democratic differences on the senate side on health care legislation. majority leader reid says a vote in the senate will not happen until after the august recess. and once again today house republicans said president obama's trying to rush this legislation through congress and they said they need more time to negotiate a bill. >> it took the president six months to decide how long and which puppy he was going to have, and to expect congress to do something on major health care reform in six days is totally irresponsible. >> well, now the bigger picture, what about the gop plan? republicans are unified in their opposition to the president's health care plan, but do they have a plan of their own? congressman roy blunt used some props today to prove that republicans do have ideas. at least 17 boxes of them. take a listen. >> in the 17 boxes of amendments setting in the commerce committee waiting to be offered

if they'll ever have a hearing. you can't offer your ideas if there's not a forum, a legislative forum to offer your ideas. >> kelly o'donnell is nbc's capitol hill correspondent. i guess you never thought beau the dog would be compared to health care reform. you have these boxes, tell us more about what republicans were trying to illustrate by bringing out the huge boxes. >> well, we all love puppies and visual aids so we got both with that. republicans are trying to point out they feel they're at a real disvage. we know they're in the minority so that puts them at a disadvantage in procedure big time on the house side, and because they have been criticized for not coming forth with ideas, they are complaining they have not been given a proper way to do that. so the 17 boxes of ideas as described by congressman hunter -- or blunt, rather, are really trying to point out that they don't feel their voices are being heard. now, we heard the president the other night talking about

republican ideas being included, and there's been some pushback from republicans on that saying that many of the things he was referring to were also more technical in the bill writing. whenever we talk about things here in congress, there's a lot of politics but then there's also the nitty-gritty of how things get done in procedure and using those rules is how these parties exert their power. the democrats, who consider themselves more conservative than most in their party on issues of fiscal decisions and national security, the blue dogs, who are getting a lot of play, they say the talks on that committee they belong to have broken down, and that is significant. we've been looking so much at what was happening on the senate side, and here today the house members again tried to make some news. >> kelly, thank you very much. nbc's kelly o'donnell. great seeing you, thank you. many people are trying to categorize if this is a big blow to the president's plan, and if this might continue, if we might see little notches at health

care reform and eventually maybe not see it. >> well, tamron, it certainly is true it's easier to kill something than actually produce something in a complex environment like congress, but one thing that's starting to come out is some of the idea that maybe the long they are went on the worse it would get for president obama. i suppose it could be true, but it's also true if the economy continues it get better, the market continues to rebound and some of these other issues do better, than you could also argue, make a case that the president's hand might be strengthened somewhat. we'll see what happens when lawmakers come back from the august recess. meanwhile, california governor arnold schwarzenegger, remember him? he says he supports president obama's effort to reform health care. the governor, who is a republican, a moderate one though, he sat down with cnbc's john harwood and said he could get behind universal care as long as everyone has a stake in the outkonl. . >> if it's done the right way, like i said if you sprinkle the responsibility, financial responsibility all over so that everyone is responsible,

including the person that has very little money, that person also has to pay for health care, you can't give anyone anything for free because they will never appreciate it. everyone has to have a stake in the whole thing. even if it is $2. >> schwarzenegger just reached a hard-fought budget compromise in his ohm state. he was forced to slash spending on schools, welfare programs, and public works and parks. he says that will help close a $26 billion budget gap. clearly he has some strong opinions on health care as well. utah senator orrin hatch now says he will vote against the confirmation of judge sonia sotomayor to the supreme court. republican hatch issued a statement today saying sotomayor's record and her statements during the confirmation hearings are, quote, too much at odds with the principles about the judiciary which i deeply believe. hatch joins republican senator john cornyn of texas who also said he will vote no when the judiciary committee meets next week for the vote. one republican on the committee, senator lindsay graham has

signaled he will support her. there's about to be a joint news conference after maliki hinted he may be open to u.s. troops remaining in iraq beyond the withdrawal deadline of december 2011. the u.s. is turning over more of the security and the military authority to the iraqis in advance of the drawdown of american forces who have already pulled out of the major cities there. a reminder secretary of state clinton will be david gregory's guest for the full hour this sunday on "meet the press." it will be a great show to watch. and in today's "crossing the line" normally in our first hour, but it's in this one, it may be hard for you to believe but there's a debate over whether a death threat was an actual cross of the line. the debate is because the alleged victim is a telemarketing company and its employees. 43-year-old charles says he received a mailer about a car

warranty expiring. he allegedly called the telemarketing company to straighten things out. the call turned ugly to say the least. authorities say he threatened to burn down a building and kill employees of the local telemarketing firm. he was indicted for making a terrorist threat. if found guilty he could spend four years behind bars. some people jumped into the debate in defense of him calling him a hero of all these people tired of being bombarded with phone calls, e-mails, and letters. one person said the man, quote, should be alluded and a medal hong on his chest. in an interview his attorney said if they're saying my client picked up the phone and called them out of a blue, i don't think a jury of 12 grown-ups is going to believe that. the company in question was

recently accusedby the better business bureau of sending out mailers providing false information about vehicle's warranty status. in an agreement the company wants to continue sending out the mailers. this has yet to go to a jury. the recorded conversation yet to be released. four years of possible prison time? is that crossing the line? you tell me. twitter.msnbc.com. we have a lot of tweets on everything from the big debate on the arrest of that harvard professor to the video of the transgendered mayor and obviously we'll get some things on this one. you're on the move and you're already up to a thousand yards in just half an hour. that's why you need a diaper that flexes in all the right places. cruisers with comfort flex. it flexes to fit in high motion areas, especially around the legs and waist. it's our best fit ever to help stop leaks no matter how much you move.

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om some breaking developments volume the terror detainees being held at guantanamo bay. a second detainee is going to be brought to the united states for a criminal investigation and trial. this would be the second one who has been held at guantanamo who will be brought to the united states. he allegedly threw a hand grenade at a jeep in iraq. there's some question about a confession he made because it was apparently under torture from afghan authorities. the obama administration decided to bring him to the united states for an investigation and a trial. president obama created quite a firestorm today by commenting -- actually created a firestorm a couple nights ago yi

commenting on the arrest of a black harvard professor. he was being bombarded by criticism for sighing the cam bridge police acted stupidly. this morning the cambridge asked the president to apolapologize. >> he said the act was stupid and linked the event to a history of racial profiling in america. the facts of this case suggest the president used the right adjective but directed it to the wrong party. >> president obama made a surprise visit to the white house press briefing room. here is what he said about his controversial comment. >> i want to make clear that in my choice of words i think i, unfortunately, i think gave an impression that i was maligning the cambridge police department or sergeant crowley specifically, and i could have calibrated those words differently. >> should the president have issued a more formal apology?

how will the politics play out? josh a democratic strategist and joe watkins is a republican strategist. joe, your view on how the president has handled this and what it means now. >> well, i was just shocked the president even made a comment in the first place other than to say he wanted to know what the issue -- he would find out at some later date what the real details were and not comment, but for him to comment and to disparage the cambridge police was an unfortunate move. i think what he said today helped a little bit, but it wasn't a full-blown apology. there are lots of people who put their lives on the line every single day for all the revs st us and it's discouraging to them that the president thinks they handled their job stupidly. >> i think the president put a big bucket of water on a growing fire. he handled it perfectly. obviously when he wanted to be talking about health care, he was embroiled in something the white house didn't want to be talking about.

the president did the right thing. he said he should have used better words. he spoke to the sergeant and said he was a good man and then talked about the bigger issues -- >> but he didn't apologize, josh. he didn't apologize. he could have said i'm really sorry, i hope i didn't offend the officer, and he called him an outstanding officer but he stopped short of apologizing. >> people apologize for all kinds of things. does it mean they mean it and it doesn't magically make it go away. >> you can apologize -- >> joe, joe, apologies are cheap -- >> he can apologize and also raise it to a higher level. i think it's great to bring people together, but it's also good to apologize and say, you know what? more so even than saying about what he did say, he could say i shouldn't have said that. i shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. >> joe, you will probably never be satisfied, but what he did today was he was -- >> no, i can be satisfied, josh. >> he came out.

he said he should have picked better words. he talked about the issues at hand and praised the officer and the police department and what they did. you know what? he said both sides probably should have taken a step back and thought a little bit more. >> somebody who is not taking a step back certainly is rush limbaugh who seems to be throwing fuel under the fire. ear wh here is what rush said on his show today. >> you have a black president trying to destroy a white policeman when obama is faced with a political setback, even one of his own making rtion , h the race card. does the name nifong ring a bell? mike nifong, the prosecutor in the duke rape case. this is the same situation. prejudging without the facts based on stereotypes and bias. >> last night rush limbaugh said of obama, he's angry at this country. he's not proud of it. let's face, it president obama is black and i think he's got a chip on his shoulder. what is rush limbaugh doing?

>> rush limbaugh is telling americans what he thinks, and he's got 20 million listeners who listen to him because he's brave enough to say what he thinks, whether people like it or dislike it. >> isn't he also perpetuating some racial stereotypes? >> and how is that bravery. >> everybody in this country knows there's a problem. >> how is it bravery in what he's saying? >> well -- >> like you said the officers who put their lives on the line every day, that's bravery. how is what rush limbaugh does bravery? >> he's willing to say things that may not be politically correct in the sense of political correctness. he's willing to say what he thinks and what he believes and whether people agree with it or not, he's willing to say it. >> joe, do you believe that because barack obama is a black man, that he has a chip on his shoulder? do you believe that? because rush limbaugh does.

>> let me say this, i agree with what bill cosby said last night. bill cosby was confounded that barack obama, who is somebody that he happens to admire, would wade in this issue the way that he did, and the fact that the president of the united states who normally is so careful, so measured with his words, would actually not be measured with his words and make the statement that the cambridge police without knowing all the facts acted stupidly really upsets i guess a bad precedent. >> do you think the president is a black man with a chip on his shoulder, what rush limbaugh said? do you agree with that? >> i wouldn't say that president obama has a chip on his shoulder. the fact he would inject race into it is a challenge for all of us. the president of the united states has done a great job of winning elections because he has been not a black candidate, but a candidate for the presidency who happened to be a democrat. and injecting race into this

issue without knowing all the facts suddenly makes him an african-american president. he's the president of all americans, black and white, red, yellow, and every other color that exists. he's the president of all the people, and thus far it has been his ability to relate to americans as the president of all the people, not as a black president. >> i guess the strength of rush limbaugh is his ability to infuriate people and somehow make that entertaining. joe and josh, thank you very much. >> thanks. tamron, up next -- >> yes. >> some of the things we thought our viewers should know. >> yes. there's even more that you should know on this friday. president obama talking about a perfect game and u.s. senators talking about armadillos, which by the way there's nothing wrong with armadillos. then chris matthews, "hardball" coming up. this is msnbc, the place for politics. my biggest pain's really in my lower back.

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there is a lot going on today, tamron. here are a few things we all thought you should know. >> this is a good one. mark buehrle is in the record bocks after pitching the 18th perfect game in major league history. it was a team effort. the center fielder robbed gabe cap ler of capler of the hometown. >> i guess today everybody is a white sox fan. that was extraordinary.

i told -- i spoke to buehrle on the phone, on air force one. that's one of the privileges of presidency. you can call up a guy after he pitches a perfect game. i told him that he had to buy a big steak dinner for that center fielder because he saved that perfect game. >> mixing a little sports and politics. what, david, what? >> we should clarify we did not show the center fielder. we know the difference between a shortstop and a center fielder. >> i couldn't see the video because i was reading. >> yeah. i hear you. you know, but it was a great catch. by the way, what do armadillos, mash sha march mallows and american liberty have in common? watch. >> i trap armadillos on my yard. they come in and they'll ruin a

good yard because they like grub worms, and so all you got to do is to lay a few marshmallows out and put a few marshmallows in the trap cage and you'll catch those suckers. that's what washington is doing to american's liberty. there's two things i do with those armadillos, one of two things. i either put them in the back of my pickup and take them 10 or 15 miles away from my property or i shoot them. that's exactly what's going to happen to us. >> you know, tamron, we learn more about senator coburn's views of armadillos than we learned about the advice he gave to senator ensign at the c street house. it's really strange. >> you are wicked this friday, mr. schuster. wicked i say. thank goodness there's church this weekend for both of us. those are the things we thought you should know. but i don't know why he thought he had to kill the armadillo.

there's only two things to do with them? well, you know what? almost a year after taking the republican party by storm, a favorite of the conservative party, alaska governor sarah palin about to step down. although her favorability certainly in question. >> it's down in a big way. just one of the storying we'll be watching heading into tomorrow. now mike viqueira joins us. that is the white house, right, mike? >> you know, i was wondering what toes puffy white things were -- >> an armadillo with a marshmallow. armadillo bait. world's greatest deliberative body, united states senate. amazing the things you will learn. july 3rd, do you remember it? we were working when sarah palin dropped that bombshell, not only was she not going to run for re-election as governor of alaska, but she was going to quit altogether. at the time of the festive annual alaska's governor's picnic. there will be three of them starting today actually, today, tomorrow, and culminating in fairbanks on sunday when they will formally hand over the reins of the governorship of

alaska to the lieutenant governor sean parnell. also next week in the senate judiciary committee they will get around to voting on the nomination of sonia sotomayor to be the next supreme court justice. it's assumed that she will win that vote with people like lindsay graham voting on her behalf, orrin hatch being against it notwithstanding. then onto the senate floor the next week before the recess, and president obama continues to stump and continues to try to pull out all the stops as things are not going very well on the hill for his health care reform bill. that notwithstanding, he travels on wednesday to raleigh, north carolina, and then to a yet to be determined or announced city in virginia to stump for health care reform, david and tamron. >> nbc news white house correspondent mike viqueira. check out first read first thing every morning. >> that will do it for us. thank you very much for

following us all week long. two hours a day i'm tamron hall. >> and i'm david shuster. up next "hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. can't we all just get along? let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, let the peace making begin. from the moment president obama said at his news conference that the cambridge, massachusetts, police acted stupidly in arresting henry lieutenant gates, he guaranteed that the story, both the arrest and his comment, would become larger than life, and it has. in fact, it has trumped efert e everything, including health care, which is what mr. obama wanted to make news about this week. so this afternoon the president made a rare appearance in the white house briefing room, and though he never said the words i'm sorry, that was clearly the message.

>> in my choice of words, i think i, unfortunately, gave an impression that i was maligning the cambridge police department or sergeant crowley specifically, and i could have calibrated those words differently. >> well, the president says he still believes that sergeant crowley overreacted, but he also believes that dr. gates overreacted as well. the president seemed open to having a beer at the white house with both the sergeant and the professor. we'll have much more on the president's latest comments in a minute. for his part, sergeant crowley says he does not want people to see him as a monster or a big got. gates gave no choice to him but to arrest him, that's what he says. gates says the incident was a battle of wills on his part and he said a series of unspoken slits, the words of the professor, he saw them in the way that crowley treated him that evening. also, we'l