embraced her daughter and husband. the two journalists got off the plane first, then followed by the man who gauche yatd their release, former president clinton. it was quite the scene as mr. clinton and his former vice president al gore were back together again. al gore owns current tv, the network that employees the two reporters. he was there waiting to hug mr. clinton as they touched down. the women spent time in the hangar reuniting with families who they haven't seen since they were captured five months ago. lick then stepped to the microfoen and talked about when she first saw president clinton in north korea monday night. >> we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our

lives was finally coming to an end. and now, we stand here home and free to our loved ones, friends, colleagues, and to the complete strangers with the kindness of hearts who showed us so much love, we could feel your love all the way in north korea. it is what kept us going in the darkest of hours. it is what sustained our faith that we would come home. >> shortly after the women returned, president obama called former president clinton to thank him for going to north korea. the president praised both clinton and gore for their work. >> we are obviously extraordinarily relieved. my hope is is that the families that have been reunited can

enjoy the next several days and weeks understanding that because of the efforts of president clinton and gore, they are able to be with each other once again. >> secretary of state hillary clinton said that although the united states worked with north korea to free the journalists she considers her husband's mission a private one. >> i want to be sure people don't confuse what bill did, which was a private humanitarian mission to bring these young women home with our policy which continues to be one that gives choices to north korea. they can continue on the path they are on or perhaps they will now beal to start talking to us within the context of the six-party talks. >> nbc's jay gray joins us live from studio city, california, outside the ling family home. great to see you as always.

the journalists have only been home for a few hours. what's the scene? >> david, presumably continuing their celebration here. you know, we talk about the politics involved. we talked about the people but it's about these two families that feel as if they are whole again right now. they tell us they're going to get reaacquainted and spend some quiet time together inside the home here. i'll say it again, it was one of those goose bumps moments as they embraced their families, just so powerful even if you're watching it on tv it, really overwhelmed you the emotions there. we did get a chance to talk with laura ling's sister, lisa, before she moved into the family home here. she talked a little bit about what her sister had experiences and what she's going through right now. >> she has gone through such a crazy sort of mix of emotions over the last few days going from one day thinking they may end up in a labor camp very, very soon to president clinton

just appearing in their detention facility and then now they're home. i mean it's just been an overwhelming sort of sense of emotion. >> overwhelming an emotion that will continue for several days according to members of both families. we're beginning to glean a bit more too about the time the two women spent locked away in north korea. they were sentenced to 12 years hard labor but never moved to a work camp actually. officials did keep them separated and would not allow them to speak to one another for most of their time there. it was a very rough go and needless to say, it's oversimplifying thins to say they are excited and relieved to be back home. >> jay gray in california, studio city, thanks so much. tamron, before we move on, i guess we should make it clear again as you heard from lisa ling there that again the girls were essentially brought to a room. they didn't know what was going on. they had no idea that negotiations had been taking

place, and who's waiting for them in the room? bill clinton. you can only imagine what was going through their mind. >> what is next for bill clinton? until now he struggled to find his right place in the obama administration even if his place maybe it's not politico's john harris writes about it and says this week mashes a curious full circle in the life of bill clinton who until this week was an elder statesman who seemed without a useful role in the obama presidency. a clinton advisor said the former president is ready and eager for more obama assignments. great to see you, thanks for joining us. i got to tell you, you listen to euna lee talking about walking in this room, it's almost as if it was a knight in shining political armor. and that armor, of course, was the silky white hair and the great presence that is bill clinton. think for many people adds to

the legend or lore of what is bill clinton. what does he do next, john? >> well, i think from his vantage point, he is eager to take on this kind of assignment and he would even take on higher profile ones or more sophisticated policy roles if the obama administration is ready to let him do that. >> why do we say if? obviously they knew the value of having him this time around. secretary of state clinton knew the about the process, and it was from all reports kim jong-il wanted to speak with one person, obviously, it would be the president but it turned out to be this president who he was enamored with before. >> nora, ex-presidents have a special kind of aura about them. bill clinton in particular does because he is well regarded on the world stage in most countries. and with the north koreans were looking for was a gesture of respect. that seemed important to them. the united states government didn't want to give them that gesture of respect.

that's why they emphasizes he was on a private mission. but somebody like bill clinton who knows a lot about the world and has the stature of having been president, there's places he can be very useful. i don't think the white house is eager to sort of turn over an all-purpose diplomat at large role to bill clinton. that probably doesn't reflect any and mus toward bill clinton but a sense there's one president at a time. >> john. >> know david wants to get in and ask a question. we didn't hear from bill clinton today. i'm sure that was by design. we heard from al gore. what do you make of him not speaking today? >> i do think they wanted to keep bill clinton's role a little lower key and keep the focus on the journalists. i imagine we'll be hearing from bill clinton in the future. i think also it's possible he's pretty tired from what's basically 48, 72-hour round trip. and i think he also wanted to collect his thoughts a little bit before speaking in detail.

>> john, as you chronicled so many times before, there's no marriage that's more interesting in the american political world than the clintons. what are you picking up from, you've chronicled them for so long. what are you picking up as far as how they're managing that now, and is there any concern about hillary's profile now or was that not a concern at all as far as carrying this out? >> i don't, i don't really think that was a concern. and this is like a fast -- like a complex relationship. one part of it is pretty simple. bill clinton is eager to be helpful and useful to his wife. that was true as when she was a presidential candidate. he felt it so strongly, he often made some missteps in terms of public comments in the 2008 role. i think now that she's secretary of state, he's delighted by that and eager to help her in whatever way he can. but an ex-president is especially one with as colorful a personality as clinton is something that you use sparingly. >> john, it's always a pleasure

speaking with you. thank you very much. and david, i mean, back to what we heard from laura ling about just walking in that room and seeing president clinton there. it takes my breath away when i hear her say that, not because of the president himself but you can't imagine what that must have been like for them to know they were okay. >> such a great moment for all of the friends of the clintons who have had to deal with so much over the years and now to hear the sort of story of bill clinton, the savior there to help these two young women when they had no idea what was coming. such a dramatic change in image for a lot of people and friends say is perhaps long overdo. our other major story at this hour, we're learning more about the man who police say went on a shooting rampage in suburban pittsburgh. police say the gunman blogged about his desire to kill and about his problems with women. three women were killed and nine others were wounded before the man took his own life.

officials say more than 30 people were in the aerobics class when the gunman turned the lights out in the room and fired at least 5 rounds. is he identified as 40-year-old george sodini. police say he was a member. he blogged about years of rejection from women, hatred from his mother and brother. he writes at the time he chickened out. police talked about a note he left in his gym bag. >> he basically says that he complains about he's never spent a weekend with a girl. he's never vacationed with a girl. he never lived with women. he's maybe had sex a few times in his life. and he goes on like this. according to the note, the second note that we discovered, he had practiced runs at the la fitness center. he had been there before. from the investigation, it showed that yesterday, he was

there three times. >> joining us now from the shooting scene in bridgeville, pennsylvania is allison carnival. paint a picture in terms of who was affected and how people tried to react. >> that's right. they did try and react as quickly as possible. it meant there was chaos inside. people were scrambling for exis people trying to help those who were wounded. it's kind of chaos at that time. here throughout the afternoon, it's interesting to note that more and more people have been driving by the location, some have been bringing flowers. they're starting to erect a makeshift memorial and just reflect upon the victims. we've been talking quite a bit about the man who has inflicted this pain but we're starting to learn more about those who are really subject to his wrath. we now have pictures of the three women that he kald killed. those women are heidi overmier, 46 years old and lived in

carnegie. she along with elizabeth gannon who was 49 died here at the scene. also, jody billingsly who was 38 and from the nearby town of mt. lebanon. she died on the way to the hospital. those are the people who were killed. there was also nine others as you mentioned who were sent to hospital. we have learned at least one of those people has recovered enough that they were able to be released and sent home. the conditions of the other people are improving at this time, which gives this community hope, david, that these people aring going to continue to improve and no one else is going to be subject to this madman's wrath. >> nbc's allison card voeld just outside of pittsburgh. thanks for the story. we appreciate it. >> we're following break news out of college park, maryland, these are live pictures. authorities evacuated the main library at the university of maryland in college park investigating a suspicious package found at the library. the police spokesperson for the

university's police department, this is coming from worc, wrc, i apologize, this is where the video is coming to us from -- it says the building was evacuated around 1:00 today after the suspicious package was found outside the library. this was outside the library. the library remains closed right now as they investigate this package. this is in university of maryland in college park. they found a suspicious package outside of the library. they've evacuated the main library. we'll keep you up to date on any developments. you see a huge command center type vehicle and some officers in the middle of the lawn talking. as soon as we get an update, we'll bring it to you. >> just ahead, more from chuck todd's exclusive interview with president beem today. what the president says about the possibility of resetting relations with north korea. >> plus, sarah palin is speaking out. got some new words from her.

we'll hear from the journalist who talked to her just last night and an update on where she is, what state she was spotted in. >> and could gitmo detainees help michigan's struggling economy? at least indirectly? we'll ask governor jennifer granholm. this is the "big picture" on msnbc. cheez-it bakes... so much real cheese in such small bites? ♪ baking complete! well, now you know. cheez-it. the big cheese.

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welcome back to the "big picture." president obama tamron says is extraordinarilily relieved over the release of two american journalists who were jailed in north korea today. >> the president was in elkhart, indiana today to talk about the

economy. he gave an exclusive interview to chuck todd. chuck asked the president about future talks with north korea as well as former president bill clinton's trip to bring those young women home. >> obviously, the families were extraordinarily relieved. i talked to them last night. i think president clinton showed that you know, his service to this country continues. >> no intel yet from him? >> no. >> you expect some though? >> i expect we'll probably have a discussion at some future point. >> the help of him, kim jong-il, knowing what his health it, do you think those are the type of things you expect to learn? >> i suspect president clinton will have interesting observations from his trip and i will let him provide those to me. i won't speculate. >> annen really quickly sshs it fair to say, could this be the start of what could be a bilateral relationship or negotiations with north korea? >> we were very clear that this was a humanitarian mission.

president clinton was going on baffle of the families to get these young journalists out. we have said to the north koreans there's a path for improved relations and it involves them no longer developing nuclear weapons and not engaging in the provocative behavior they've been engaging in. so we wish the people of north korea well. we just want to make sure that the government of north korea is operating within the basic rules of the international community that they know is expected of them. >> and you can watch all of chuck's interview with president obama on our website, msnbc.com, part of msnbc's award-winning elkhart project up. >> next, a horse of a different color. one that can jump over a car? the horse is fine. we'll tell you all about that. >> but first, the fed wants the public's help in finding an illinois bank robber they're

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tamron, there are so many things that could be considered news in this world. >> but there are opal a few stories that make tus say, no way! >> speaking of that, tamron, i can't get enough of this. check out this unbelievable video taken in the holy land in israel. tourists in the northern galilee region, not too far from the sea of galilee, three horses started

galloping down the highway. here's where the story gets really wild. one of the horses tried to jump over a car and ended up smashing into the windshield while trying to climb over. the driver and horse suffered only minor injuries. >> why do you think the horse didn't move? >> that's place for miracles. >> what? >> the place of miracles. >> oh, because of walking on the water. you've been wanting to say walking on the water all day long. it reminds you of that "seinfeld" episode about pigeons in new york supposed to move. there's like an agreement. you've got to move out of the way. what could be cuter, i ask you than -- i know david's cute but i'm talking about five fuzzy duck lings. the group was rescued after being trapped in a sewer drain in altoona. a local police and animal control officers gathered around. two officers had to crawl through the drain lines to find the young duck lings.

all five duck lings were rescued safely. more cute than the duck lings, i love the kids' reactions all standing around. thank goodness it worked out for all those duck lings. >> you and i together need to say ah on the count of three. ready? one, two, three. ah. no, if you are awaiting the an rival of your first child or hope to be parent one day, start sake your pennies, nickles and dimes. it's not secret that raising a child can be costly. what about how about nearly a quarter of a million dollars. a new government report says middle income families with a child born in 2008 will spend about $221,000 to raise that child to adulthood. it's estimated with inflation, the figure jumps to more than $291,000. good grief. >> you need a reality show. that was mean but it ran through my head. >> bravo. up next, mount obama, which

country is naming its highest mountain after our commander in chief. >> plus we're going to hear from the journalist who spoke to sarah palin just last night about the media, her reported memoir and whether or not those ugly rumors out there of a divorce. >> also, could gitmo detainees help save indirectly michigan's economy or at least a piece of it? we'll talk about that and the future of the u.s. auto industry with governor jennifer granholm. that's next. you're watching the "big picture" on msnbc. h, you're up. hold on, i'm at capitalone.com picking a photo... for my credit card. here's one from my prom. oh, what memories. how 'bout one from our golf outing? ( shouting ) i know, maybe one of my first-born son. dad, mom says the boys gotta go. personalize your card by uploading... your own photo at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? ♪

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i'm mike huckman with your cnbc mark wrap. stocks ending lower on wall street today. the dow losing 39 points, the s&p 500 dropping three points and the nasdaq down 18. the obama administration has released the first monthly progress report on the $50 billion program that's meant to help struggling homeowners avoid

foreclosure. it shows only 9% of eligible borrowers have seen their payment reduced with modified loans. ten lenders have not changed a single mortgage. toyota says it's designing a new sports car, one that will be affordable and supposedly fun to drive. the automaker says it will launch within the next few years. officials say the move is designed to return the company to profitability after a period of losses and slow sales. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. now back to msnbc. welcome back. i'm david shuster live in washington. >> i'm tamron hall live in new york. the big picture right now, the president and vice president both on the road today talk about the impact of the economic stimulus. while the president spent time in hard-hit elkhart, indiana, vice president biden was in detroit talking about the city and of course, the auto industry. >> for michigan to recover and for our nation to recover, we have to build on detroit's rich

past. i'm not saying that because i'm here, but i'm saying that because it's true. we also need to have a vision, a vision of what can be a richer, better future. >> the vice president also announced nearly $2.5 billion in taxpayer grants today to develop next generation electric vehicles and batteries which will also create tens of thousands of jobs. much of that money will be going to michigan. >> tamron, now the bigger picture. vice president biden and michigan governor jennifer granholm were embracing today, they are long-time political allies both trying to work together to improve the economy in michigan and the auto industry is huge for that economy. and jennifer granholm joins us now. ask you about an issue involving gitmo. but first, we got word today that it does look like the senate is going to add money to the cash for clunkers program. republicans had called it corporate welfare for detroit. your reaction to their argument and also to the news.

>> i don't know how it's corporate welfare when what this says is actually helped main street. people want to be able to purchase vehicles. it's great for the environment. it's great for citizens' pocketbooks. it certainly helps the dealers, the manufacturers, and it's great, frankly, it's great stimulus for a manufacturing industry in the nation. so i think it's a wonderful policy. it's a stimulus piece that actually works. and i hope they pass it quickly. >> another bit of stimulus might be if the federal government were to decide to go ahead and move the 200 plus gitmo detainees to either kansas or michigan and build a facility and allow your state to possibly hire prison guards. we spoke with a senator from kansas who said flat out, kansas does not want those jobs. what about in michigan you? spoke in your press release today about the importance of creating jobs. will michigan take the gitmo detainees that the federal government is going to send to michigan and give you a lot of

money to hire guards and build a facility here? >> i think i have to hear a lot more from the department of homeland security about the risks associated with taking on people who are convicted of terrorism. we want to create jobs, there is no doubt about. we want to make sure our citizens are safe and that is what i have to hear from the department of homeland security and the department of defense first. >> but aren't the citizens of michigan already safe given the existing prison population? i mean, michigan has some very hard-core murderers and horrible people in michigan. looks like it does a pretty good job of holding them. why shouldn't they be able to hold gitmo detainees especially when they could really use the job of holding them? >> well, i'm not saying at all we wouldn't be able to do it because we have some -- we've got great prison department of corrections employees, its. that's not what i'm talking about. i'm talking about it's a whole other thing when you're talking about terrorism and the level of homeland security threat to the citizens of michigan overall. i don't want michigan to become

a target. i've got to hear from the department of homeland security about that. >> governor, let me quickly get back to the cash for clunkers. a lot of buzz about the kinds of cars. >> what about the battery? talk about the batteries. >> listen, you know what, you stay here the rest of the hour. we'll talk about everything. real quick, there's been a lot of back and forth over the kinds of cars people are buying. there's some concern more foreign cars are being purchased by a slight% and. are you at all concerned again about the american-made cars hopefully electric some day getting in the picture and being on the minds when people think trading in a clunker for something more fuel efficient? >> i want to plead with people. please, buy the cars that are being built by your neighbors. i would love for there to have been a made in america pro vis in there. but the bottom line is for the domestic auto marburies, they're seeing an increase in their sales more than their current market share. so that's very good. this helps the overall industry.

it helps the suppliers. so the bottom line is, this is good for america all the way across the board and certainly good for consumers. can i just jump to the batteries for a second to make announcement? >> yes. >> let me just say we've been focused on diversifying michigan's economy. inside the auto industry and outside of it. we have focused on this battery sector because we believe that the next vehicle, vehicle 2.0, is going to be an electric vehicle and guts of that vehicle are going to be the lithium ion battery and the state ha has that is going to lead the nation to energy dependence. that's going to happen in michigan thanks to the president, the vice president and thanks to the stimulus. >> thanks to you, you know how to sell a car. i would buy a clunker from you. thank you. hopefully we will have battery operated fuel efficient vehicles very soon. thank you. >> tamron, i know none of us can wait for the day when michigan is producing a product that is the best and the most popular in

the world. we hope that day comes very, very soon. >> and that people can believe in. we haven't had this in awhile but it is back. it's time for the latest installment of the palin chronicles. the former governor of alaska lashing out at the media again for what she calls made up stories about a possible divorce between her and her first husband. in a phone interview last night, she said -- i love finding out what's going and in my life from the news. do you want to talk to todd? he's sitting right next to me. palin was in new york visiting her publisher to talk about her mem wars due out next spring. ike allen conducted the interview with the former governor last night. mike, i guess you need to be careful when you ask about someone's personal life. she's right here. what did she say seriously about these divorce rumors? obviously not relevant to her political -- i guess it would be relevant to her political future but she's annoyed by rumors out

there. >> she is. and it's in her interest to keep up a battle with the media. she has a book coming out in the spring and wants to be battling with the media. this call took me by surprise. in fact, sarah palin woke me up. >> she called you and woke you up. >> i had been to a going away party fand i came home and it ws about 10:45. i don't sleep a lot. when i do, i crash. i somehow woke up to my phone and it was one of her aides who said if we put governor palin on the phone, will you only ask her two questions. i said sure. so i was so sleepy, that after she answered the one about the divorce, i for got what the other thing was i was allowed to ask her. she said go ahead, ask me anything you want. i said would you please go on with tamron and dave. they would appreciate it. >> she hung up. >> it was a brief interview. >> listen, seriously, i imagine

like we have been trying to reach out to the governor, inviting her to come on. if you're listening, we would love to have you in the studio, on the phone whatever. mike, did you find it at all strange she's calling you and they try to get a two-question deal middle of the night? >> yeah, well, she was trying to control her mess and and wanted to put to rest some of the things that had been bouncing around on the web. we'd been told by her staff there was no separation but she wanted to be clear to go on the record to say that she and the first dude, as you call him. >> she called him first dude. i don't want to take credit for that. >> are planning the future of their life together is what he they said. so she's going to be workinging on the book. we can expect she's going to do paid speeches. she's going to do appearances for causes and candidates that we like. so we're going to keep seeing a lot of her. she hasn't popped up yet and down the road, i think you can expect her to take some sort of

analyst deal. maybe we'll see her right here on msnbc? >> it shows a certain political sab i have to know to call you even if it's late at fight. what was your impression of how she phrased her answers? was she articulate? did she seem nervous. >> no, she didn't seem nervous at all. she seemed herself, the very have ivaceousness that you hear came through on the phone. she was at dinner at michael's in new york. she talks about the real america. i don't know if michael's in manhattan is the real america. >> michael's is a very high end restaurant in new york. celebrities like barbara walters, a lot of news journalists. it is a place you go to be seen, correct? it's not a place. >> it's not a place i would go to be seen. unfortunately, i'm no relation to the michael that owns the restaurant. >> we wish. >> but she's up there working on her book. she was meeting with her publisher and i think she wanted people to know why she was in

new york so she wouldn't get a spotted in the playbook or in the tabs up in new york, people wondering what she's doing when he she promised to be out in the real america. >> tamron, you know whatever, i want to go somewhere to be seen, i go to wherever mike allen is. >> david and i always have fun. >> we have a confession. that wasn't sarah palin. it was me and david who called you up. >> candid camera. >> make sure it wasn't april 1st. >> it's impressive she called you that late at night. >> let's be glad there's no august fool's. we'd all be in trouble. >> have a great day. >> great interview. bill clinton reboots his public image by bringing those two journalists home from north korea. >> but did he upis taken president obama? what about his wife, the secretary of state? it's today's face-off next on msnbc.

we were taken to a location and when we walked in through the doors, we saw stangd before us president bill clintoclinton.

we were shocked. >> wow. to put it simply, bill clinton is back and in such dramatic fashion at least to those twos journalists. with the two imprisoned journalists now free and back on u.s. soil, the politics of clinton's trip to south korea is the subject of today's face-off. >> did his mission upstage both president obama and his wife, secretary of state clinton and what is the likely fallout if there is any from this dramatic return to the political scene? here bill press and mary kate carrey a former speechwriter for bush 41 and contributing editor for "us news and world report." a lot of people got upset with us yesterday when we brought up the question could it be an unintentional upstaging by the former president? some thought we'd thrown this out there a little too early. sure enough i look in papers and articles, people are asking did bill clinton upstage president

obama and secretary of state clinton? did he? and was that by design. >> this is a moment i think we all ought to celebrate. i cried when i saw those women walk do you want steps of that plane. it was a beautiful moment. we say to the president mission accomplished to president clinton but also to president obama, you know how i'd answer your question? with another question which is how long did president clinton speak today at the airport. >> it was masterful the way it was orchestrated having al gore there. >> probably very hard for him. >> but the reality is, we know that he did not do it alone. we also know from some of the reporting he went over there and he knew that he would be coming back with these young ladies. thank god for that. mary, let me ask you the bigger picture here. we know the former president will talk and through the mystique that is bill clinton, people want to know what's next? what do you think? >> i think he got the easy part today. the feel good, you know, going

over on the plane and getting these two women home safe to their plane was the easy part. the hard work now is ahead waiting for president obama and secretary of state clinton get the nuclear arms out of kim jong-il's hands is going to be a lot more work than it was getting these two journalists home. i think he got the fun part and now they're left with the hard work. >> he knows the hard work very well though. >> he did more than that. i think he pabd the way. look, president obama could not have gone to north korea. secretary clinton could not have gone to north korea. and so he paved the way i think for a resumption of some kind of talks or relationships or dialogue with north korea which could lead to their once again abandoningening this time hopefully for good their nuclear program. to that extent, it's a great service he paid to the administration. >> mary kate, i'm going to give you an opportunity to get some

free advice to the democratic party. at the moment they've done a great job of decoupling his mission from president obama. we know at a certain point president clinton or his friends are going to talk. how should the democratic party deal when she is stories come out about how the negotiations came out and the wonderful role he played and the temptation the white house may have to say waked, we were part of this too? >> i think there's a bigger concern here, too, with in that there's a precedent being set. what obama is going to be very careful about is we have three american hikers being held in tehran right now. and this sends a message across the world. as happy as we all are and how great it is to have these women home, there are implications for american foreign policy of what we are we going to do now for those hikers. it's a very concrete issue that the white house is going to have to take care of and the

democratic party is going to have to. you always want to be in a position of strength going into negotiations like this. and we're not in a position of strength with either one of those countries and i think there's a real concern for the diplomatic crowd to worry about what's the next step after this. >> you get the lavender word. >> let me disagree with that. we've seen the bush policy over the last eight years and things got worse with north korea and iran. all we gave away to get these two americans back, remember two americans back home was probably a very bad dinner in pyongyang and a photo op. if we have to do the same thing in iran and open the door to negotiationses with iran, then i would say all the better. bring the americans home and then start talking to iran. better than the bush policy we had for eight years. >> well, of course, i think we should all, you know, be realistic about going forward here. i just am -- i'm just nervous about this whole thing. these are not friends of ours. we want to get them to the table

within the content of the six nations. >> that is, mary kate, that is a story for another day. today the dramatic story is the story of the clintons. and even i suppose. thank you both so much. tamron, i just want to finish with a thought. never mind the intrigue over the clintons, how about the intrigue over bill clinton and al gore and that hug that those two had. wow. >> what is fascinating how people try to read in when you see a picture and you wonder what is being said. you watch the clouds and you can read their thoughts. there was an embrace and in the end, whatever is happening behind the scenes politically or emotionally between all of these powerful people, you know they were all happy to see these young women home, especially once you saw that little girl clutch her mom. there's going to be more time to discuss the political impact. there will be, david. there will be people who want to

know the back story, who really did call in the former president and what role he'll be playing. that's part of the dialogue for sure. >> the phone lines are burning up, tamron. >> it's like mike allen getting a late night phone call. up next, there's even more. some things we thought you should know today. >> mark sanford back to work and a mountain named after president obama. and then on "hardball" chris matthews talks to bill clinton's former press secretary deidea myers. you're watching the "big picture" on msnbc. chael. chael. and when i come home from my restaurant, i love showing bailey how special she is. yes, you are. i know exactly what you love, don't i? - [ barks ] - mmm. aromas like rotisserie chicken. and filet mignon. yeah, that's what inspired a very special dry dog food. [ woman ] introducing chef michael's canine creations. so tasty and nutritious it's hard to believe it's dry dog food. chef-inspired. dog-desired. chef michael's canine creations.

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there is a lot going on today. here are a few more things we thought you should know. >> yes, david. south carolina governor mark sanford is back at work after another vacation. that one was a two-week european vacation with his family. the governor says he considered canceling the trip after his affair with the woman from argentina came to light but decided against it because the trip was too important to his family. he returned the same day his chief spokesperson leaves to start his own consulting firm. >> this is the trip where he said he needed his kids to contribute to teach them a morality lesson. >> we'll see what they learned. officials in antigua are honoring it president obama in a very, very special way. the island's highest peak has been renamed in the president's honor. boggi peak is now known as mount obama. >> does the face appear like that when you visit? >> only in your imagination.

prime minister baldwin spencer announced his intention it rename the mountain shortly after the election and maybe the job for somebody to cut that into the grass or the stone or whatever they want to do down there. >> like they do with the corn. things we thought you should know. that's impressive. dan mcdorman, he visualized and create that had. >> very creative. >> our line producer i'm being told i know his job. 70 days ago, president obama of mt. obama announced he was nominatinging sonia sotomayor to the supreme court and tomorrow she's almost certain to win confirmation from the u.s. senate and replace justice souter on the high court. >> the final vote will be intriguing. we'll be watching story heading into tomorrow. merck murray, political director for nbc news. what do you have for us. >> that's right. the sonia sotomayor vote is going to take place tomorrow with all democrats and a handful

of republicans set to vote for her. her confirmation is looking assure of a thing as you get in washington nowadays. also tomorrow, secretary of state hillary clinton will remain in kenya before heading over to south africa on her big trip to that continent. and then finally, president obama hits a fund-raiser and also a rally for virginia democratic gubernatorial nominee creigh deeds. that virginia governor's contest is a marquee race in 2009. >> and mark, you know, we've been talking a lot about the return of those american journalists. do we have a timeline? >> i know that wane on your list. do we have a timeline of president clinton and when he might speak? people are clamoring to hear what he might say. >> i'm sure he's going to be the next big get on any type of interview. we didn't hear him speak today. obviously someone like andrea mitchell will have plenty of it stuff on nightly news tonight will probably be your best person to answer that stuff. >> as always, we appreciate it.

tamron. >> that will do it for us. we have a facebook page, tamron hall and david shuster on facebook. check it out. big bill. let's play "hardball." >> good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. we're talking about bill clinton. leading off tonight, the return, that's the story tonight. the return of those two women journalists from north korea. certainly that, but here it is, and here's what's come. the return of bill clinton. that's the story that's going to emerge in the days and weeks and months ahead perhaps years ahead. it's really when you think about it the story of a man and a moment. four and a half months after they were arrested in north korea, two american journalists are back on american soil. and have got a former president to thank for it. laura ling and euna lee had an emotional and teary home coming

with their families this morning at bob hope airport in burbank, california. right behind them was the former u.s. president who allowed it to happen. the north koreans made it clear the journalist release would not have happened without that man. here we are, what a difference a day made. now bill clinton torn part in the last presidential campaign is now right on the political map again. but where on the map? are we looking at a new era in american diplomacy, barack obama, hillary clinton and bill clinton in the entire world isn't happy, of course, about what just happened. neoconservatives who helped march us blindfolded into iraq they don't like it. they don't like any deal that smacks of peace. we'll debate that just ahead. and the group that's been called the most influential religious organization in washington, it's known as the family, the author jeff charlotte says they are dedicated to the religion of power and the powerful. john ensign and mark sanford are among the names associated with that group. we'll talk