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tv   MSNBC News Live  MSNBC  August 6, 2009 11:00am-12:00pm EDT

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out. the question is, does the fighter get off the floor or just keep laying there. >> i want to talk about cash for clunkers. of all the $800 billion, maybe that was the most effectively spent. president barack obama's approval levels now below levels since inauguration day. quinnipiac poll shows it down since july. >> hello. >> i keep hearing polls the president is down in the polls, does the white house feel politically there's still an option to move forward significantly and create a rebounder during the recess. or are they saying we're going to muddle through the recess and on the other side we'll move things forward. >> they are ever optimistic here. they will always say publicly, when the president or senator obama was down in the polls a year before the election, nobody
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got too down and look how that turned out. worked out pretty well. he's now the resident at 1600 pennsylvania avenue, of course. in a few minutes we are going to see marching down this driveway, presumably one driver way or the other the so-called gang of six senators who have been ensconced behind closed doors for weeks in the senate office building where max baucus has an office. the senate goes out of session not to return until after labor day. they leave on friday. the question is, what will these senators come up with? all eyes have been on this negotiation. not the least of which the reason is there are republican here, influential republicans like chuck grassley, olympia snowe. if they can somehow bring these republicans in, key republicans, these are serious people. these aren't just people they can pick-off and call it a bipartisan bill. if chuck grassley signs into what senate comes up with on health care reform, health insurance reform as they like to
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call it around here right now, there is a great deal of hope. we saw last night the president told our nbc chuck todd, the white house correspondent here, that perhaps they might have to go it alone, use that 60 vote majority. they have special procedures in place that would not require them to get 60 votes on many major components of this health care reform bill. they have a deadline of october 15th deciding whether or not to pull the trigger on that. that hangs over these negotiations as we move through august when congress is on recess and into the fall. so a lot riding on this meeting here today. nobody is quite sure where this is all going to go. one thing, carlos, one final thing is, it appears that what is emerging from these senate negotiations is a plan without a public option. how they are going to thread the needle with the house of representatives eventually. nancy pelosi's democrats are going to insist on that public option, that's something that i am really dying to see as we move into the fall here. >> i'm here with jon hillsenenr,
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ath. several republicans, not just liberal, chuck grassley of iowa, that's interesting to me. i would think ultimately a real struggle for those republicans when all is said and done to really cooperate with the president on this legislation. i hate to say the republicans have to blunt his popularity, defeating his health care proposal. >> they have cap and trade, another one of his big proposals that's going to come back to the senate next month. they have the financial reform plan. on all three of them obama has struggled to make progress. i think you're right. there's also the point on this is a case where republicans have principles they can stand behind, too. they don't like the direction these health plans are going in. but then there are moderates in potential swing states that want to show -- >> i don't know they have an incentive to move fast on this. the sense i'm getting, maybe everyone is going to try to slow
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this process down and do things in smaller bits and pieces if they can't get a giant package through. >> mike, how much concern is there about what jon is raising, the idea republicans, even some of the ones you mentioned are going to talk but still stone wall this process and that will end up with what harry reid, the democrat said a few days ago, we will get something but it may not be until the end of the year. >> yeah. the prevailing wisdom, i'm glad you brought that up, the president and democrats will get something even if it doesn't amount to a fig leaf, the stakes are too high. congressional democrats understand their political fortunes rise and fall with that of the president. we started out talking about the poll. there's probably a lot more concern among democrats in the house of representatives about those polls than there is at the white house simply because they have to run every two years and they are up again next year. i think when you look at some of the options that are on the table, it's hard to see how they
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are going to reconcile with the senate, the direction they are going in and the direction the house is going in in terms of public option and major components of this. it's a fig leaf at the end of the year. i don't think that works for democrats to be honest with you. >> mike, i appreciate it. in fact you set up my next conversation perfectly. i'm going to talk to one of those influential members of the house and find out whether congressman elijah cummings believes you can reconcile those views. thank you for coming. the president isn't willing to wait for on a by partisan bill on health care. in september he may give the party the go ahead to get the bill passed by any means necessary. is it the right thing to do. democratic congress from maryland joins me now. good to see you. >> carlos, good to see you. >> i don't know if you heard the preceding conversation with mike?
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>> i did not. >> you did not. one of the questions, forget whether democrats should work or could work with republicans. can house democrats work with senate democrats ultimately to get something rec-sized sild? what are your thoughts given there are fairly divergent views on health care. >> absolutely we can work with our senate colleagues to get this done. carlos i get tired of people sitting on the sidelines throwing spit balls at the process. one of the things they have to keep in mind, this is an effort that's been under way for 40 years. whef a president, barack obama, who brought us in six months closer than we've ever been to having major health care reform. that's the way i look at it. we're going to get over this hurdle. we can't afford not to. we don't have any choice. our health care program, because of of its cost and inefficiencies will harm everybody in our country. >> i want to bring in my guest
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co-host, jon hillsenrath. >> this is a process for 40 years, it begs the question why not take this slower. why does it have to be done in six months? why can't congress take pieces of this now and keep the process going later in the president's term? >> to be frank with you i think basically what happens, and i think you know the answer to these questions but let me tell you. we slowly go along -- what i've learned in congress after being here 16 years that delay means never. some kind of way, you have to have somebody with the urgency of now. especially when women in my district, for example, are finding that they are being eliminated -- men and women, can't get insurance. lady came to me, had $100,000 and couldn't get insurance because of pre-existing conditions like breast cancer. those are urgent matters. urgent matters when premiums are going up steadily.
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we have got to have -- one of the things i like about president obama is he's serious about the urgency of now. people are suffering. we have to address that. we have to do a better job. if you look at some of the concessions the insurance industry has already talked about making such as getting rid of the pre-existing conditions situation, not going up on people's premiums because they are ill, doing away with gender bias. now it costs about 45% more to in sure women than it does men. all of those things are very important. i think the insurance industry understands they have to do something. that's why we have the perfect situation here. all the stars are aligned, the president, industry, pharmaceuticals, some of the doctors, got a congress that seems to be moving in that direction, this the time to do it period. we can wait around and we'll be having this conversation 20 years from now. somebody will be sitting in our place saying, well, congressman, why don't we go slow. >> congressman cummings, i've got to move on to another topic. >> sure. >> i had dinner last night with
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a number of wall street bankers. they said something interesting and i thought where else have i heard this said? i've heard congressman cummings say it. they say the only time they turn up the tv on the trading floor is when someone talks about executive compensation. they say absent that we're not changing our behavior at all. they say if you're frustrated about the last, get ready for the next one. we're going to go as fast and do as much as we can until someone puts limits on it. in your mind, where do we stand on that kind of compensation, transparency. is anything meaningful going to happen? >> look, carlos, i just filed a bill basically that would say if you get over $30 million from the government you have to file a disclosure saying exactly whether you have conflicts getting your background whereas to finances. i've got to tell you, we have got to get ahold of this situation because, you know, we talk about trying to bring this economy around, the people that
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i live -- the people that live on my block, they are very, very upset. they are upset in that they are seeing tax ballots used, people that get the tax ballots won't tell them what they are using them for. >> congressman, do you think we actually get anything done? i hear you and other folks bring it up. i feel like over and over again bring up aig the bonuses, people still get the bonuses and get to keep them. in fact they are more than we originally heard about. we hear frustrations about t.a.r.p. funds, same folks handing out bonuses and say they will. do you think anything will happen or is the fix in? >> one of the things you have to throw into the mix is the unintended consequences. there's a lot of talk about executive bonuses at aig a few months ago, everybody -- there was a lot of blowback on wall street about participating in
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some of these government programs, because they didn't want their own pay reigned back. they didn't want to participate in the programs where the private sector works with the public sector because they don't want the money touched. >> i have to leave it there. congressman, please promise you'll join us again soon. >> i'll be happy too. >> on the website, twitter.msnbc.com, you'll see my picture there. click it, follow the ling to my twitter page. coming up next, bill clinton returns to high-profile diplomacy. was this a one and om for the obama administration or is it the beginning of the blossoming of a relationship. why is john edwards former mistress heading to court in north carolina? you're watching "msnbc live." i'm carlos watson. >> is it that they are free, back home, reunited with their families? no. that is not our top story
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welcome back to "msnbc live." i'm carlos watson. stepping back onto international stage former president bill clinton helped secure a pardon for two u.s. journalists and bring them home from north korea in dramatic fashion. but can two political heavyweights that presided in the oval office eight years apart bridge their difference to make progress. robert rice served as secretary of labor for bill clinton, author of super capitalism. secretary rice, it's very good to have you on the show. >> hi, carlos.
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>> secretary rice, want to talk a little about the obama years, obama's first year versus clinton. you were in the clinton cabinet during that first year. the summer got rocky. they reached an inflection point, not dissimilar from the inflection point obama finds himself at. ultimately as you know, president clinton's numbers dropped, he struggled to get health care through. you wrote yesterday you don't think this is '93, '94 all over again. why are you confident obama won't have to na centrist moves in the presidency. >> carlos he's already made centrist moves in terms of moving health care to the center. obama has let congress make most of the detailed decision on health care. health care moving to the center. the same thing is true with regard to the other policies and obama and obama's political advisors are very sensitive to
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these poll numbers. now, leadership entails not being overly sensitive to health care. other things obama wants to do like cap and trade he won't suffer the same problems bill clinton suffered. just one other thing and it's very, very important to understand all of the background. in 1994, remember, republicans really had their eye on taking back the house and senate. they use the defeat of health care as a vehicle for basically painting the clinton administration and democrats in congress as incompetent and untrustworthy. they are not going to be able to do that this time. partly because there's enough momentum behind health care, partly because the public is much more ready to do something about health care than they were in 1994. >> but secretary rice, you say that even though we see what's happened to the president's poll numbers both his own poll numbers and specific numbers on health care just over the last
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two or three months, clearly there's been a meaningful dip in the president's individual numbers and on health care. i guess i'm not as convinced that republicans can't use this as a galvanizing fight as they look to regain some momentum. >> they will definitely try to do that, carlos. remember, the republican party today is very, very defensive. their major spokespeople are people like dick cheney or sean hannity, rush limbaugh. they don't have the stature they once had. they don't stant stand with anything. they haven't come out with their health care plan. sarah palin is looking to be the republican candidate for president next time around. for many republicans that's a nightmare because she is a loose cannon. so they have a republican party that really is looking for issues, looking for ways of reasserting themselves. a defeat on health care would be a great way of giving the obama administration a black eye. they are not going to be able to do that. again, 51 votes is all the
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democrats need to get health care or a significant part of health care through the senate this fall. >> secretary rice, i want to bring in jon hillsenrath, my co-host. i don't know if i should call you professor or secretary or professor secretary rice. >> your highness will be fine. >> the job market, isn't this a political impediment for president obama right now? it seems to me he's going to have a challenge in the months ahead making his argument as long as the unemployment rate is in the nine plus percent range. where is that going to go and what's it going to take to get it down? >> i think that's going to be the biggest problem for not only obama but the democrats this fall and going into 2010, that midterm election year. if the unemployment rate does get into the double digits, and we all expect it's going to be
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in double digits and unemployment stays very high, an again we almost all agree it's going to stay high through probably 2010, you're going to have some big political problems for the democrats and for obama unless they come up with some new initiative to try to bring unemployment down. >> secretary rice, anything you've seen that makes sense, for example. i've been intrigued to see the perceived impact of cash for clunkers. any other particularly interesting programs in your mind and a ha mind? >> carlos, it's got to be bigger than cash for clunkers. that worked. it's good for the auto industry. it's going to be something, if not a second stimulus package, many say we ought to have one, others say it's too slow, first one barely out the door, second one is not going to do that much good. we may see, if unemployment stays stubbornly high, going into a midterm election year, we may see some by partisan, i use
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that word bipartisan movement towards something like a tax cut, temporary tax holiday, maybe exempting the first $15,000 of income from payroll taxes for a year. something like that that gets money into people's pockets very, very quickly so people can turn around and buy things and jump-start the economy. a lot of republicans are in favor of that kind of mechanism. a lot of democrats would be in favor of it if it's a one-year temporary tax holiday from the payroll tax up to $15,000 of income. that could be the kind of thing -- basically it helps generate an economic turn around, if not a recovery -- >> wallet ready instead of shovel ready. >> wallet ready stimulus. >> secretary rice, thank you very much for joining us. look forward to having you on the show again. >> thank you, bye-bye. >> wall street getting away with murder? they want to strip housing
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giants fannie and freddie of bad assets. don't expect the same courtesy to those facing foreclosure. straight ahead on "msnbc live." i'm carlos watson. ♪ (announcer) regular kool-aid. goes almost three times further than soda. kool aid. delivering more smiles per gallon.
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there's an app for that too, because there's an app for just about anything. only on the iphone. welcome back to "msnbc live." i'm carlos watson. the obama administration is considering a major overhaul of mortgage giants freddie may and fann fannie. good to see you. >> reporter: and you, carlos. >> are you surprised or is this another in the multitell step of trying to free some companies and other groups to move forward
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in economic revitalization. >> listen, fannie and freddie are extraordinarily active as they historically had been until that key period of 2003-2006 in the secondary market for mortgages buying them along with fha. we own them. don't forget that. u.s. taxpayer owns 79.9% of the companies. they are fully owned by the government. not a surprise the government is trying to use its will there and its power to get them to do some things it hopes will enhance the housing market's prospect in the future, carlos. >> anything you're seeing in terms of loan foreclosure prevention? i had maxine waters, the congresswoman talking about that. president obama talked about that. feeling like the banks won't move quickly enough. do you see anything new or different, if you're someone under water, behind in your payment, there's more help under way? >> it seems it's a mixed
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picture. i know a number of banks, of course, have gone out of their way to say we've done a great deal of mitigation on various loans, home loans that are out there. nonetheless, it doesn't appear that it has been as effective as many had hoped, that the banks are doing as much as perhaps they said they would initially. so again, a mixed picture. that's really what it comes down to in housing overall at this point. we've got signals the market has taken as a positive. probably too early to get a real sense. but overall on foreclosures, unfortunately given where the unemployment rate is, those would continue to mount. so that ability to mitigate mortgages will become more important. >> david i'm sitting with jon hiilsenrath from the wall street and talking about your recent trip to china. i thought it was interesting where you were heading with that. >> when i think about where the
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next bubble in the economy will show up, china. when i think about the money we've pumped in, the chinese has been aggressive because it's a command control economy, they are good at getting banks to loan when they want them to. did you see any signs that economy would overheat. great second quarter numbers. >> huge gdp as you well know. jon, what i saw was a lot of people employed. people working on roads, picking up litter, a government obviously that is spending as much as it can on public works as well. no real signs at this point. hard to tell when you walk in beijing or walk down the south hard to tell what's ultimately going to happen there. as you said, the banks this year are going to lend 60% of gdp, an astounding sum. one has to wonder if that is
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ultimately going to result in a bubble that's going to end in who knows when. at some point end badly. >> david favor of cnbc, thanks for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> check out more of what's hot on our show at carloswatson@msnbc.com. please go to twitter.com/carloswatson, let us know what you think. republicans vow to vote against sonia sotomayer? some critics say the decision will come back to haunt them in the ballot box. some say it's smoke and mirrors, republicans won't be hurt by that. we'll talk about that straight ahead. you're watching "msnbc live." i'm carlos watson. mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic signal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you.
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at legalzoom.com we put the law on yoe re/max d its doors back in 1973, we've helped millions of families buy or sell a home. through good times and bad, including five previous recessions, re/max agents have provided the kind of experience america relies on to get the job done. today, in the worst housing market most of us have ever seen, that experience is more important than ever. find out what re/max can do for you. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. welcome back to "msnbc live." i'm carlos watson. the senate is expected to cap its vote on supreme court nominee sonia sotomayer later
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today. if confirmed she would become the first hispanic to sit on the high court. kelly, always good to see you. >> reporter: thank you, carlos. good to see you. >> what should we expect, any surprises, twists, turns? >> reporter: there's one cliffhanger left. that is republican of ohio george voinovich. he's the only one that hasn't said whether he'll vote for or against the judge. he's not seeking re-election and has a more moderate. he might vote for. eight have said they will, 32 against. with those numbers, the judge will be, barring any complete and total surprise, will be confirmed and the first latina on the high court. what we're going to see now is ongoing debates where members of the senate get to talk about their views and why they want to either see her get this opportunity or why they are arguing this case against.
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that will happen at 3:00. then the big vote. that will be a piece of history of the senate very conscious of that sort of thing. founders really take seriously their role to advise and consent when a president makes a nomination like that. so there's a real feeling in the air here about how important this is. certainly for democrats as they see this as a very big moment for the obama administration as well and for republicans arguing some of their traditional conservative points where they have some doubts about the kind of justice she might be. carlos. >> kelly o'donnell, thank you so much. the only hispanic democratic senator robert menendez of new jersey says republicans will, quote, pay a price for voting against supreme court nominee sonia sotomayer. will republicans who oppose sotomayer spark a backlash? good to have you on the show. >> reporter: thank you, carlos. >> republican of arizona john
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mccain, running in a state with a meaningful hispanic population ultimately decide to vote against or say he's going to vote against sotomayer. will he pay a price or will voters say that's one of many decisions he's made? >> i think there's no doubt this is a proud and historic money for the hispanic community. it's a yardstick vote. there is a measure i think latinos will take away from this vote as to how they believe senators regard our community overall. i think there will be a factor that will contribute overall to the relationship that republicans have with our latino community in the long run. i think a vote for sonia sotomayer would be a positive step in the right direction for our latino community and the republican party. >> actually want to talk about that positive step. what kind of ripple impact will
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sotomayer's likely confirmation, her elevation to the bench have? are there things we may not expect again beyond just having one very important voice on the supreme court that you think will be the result of her nomination and confirmation? >> let's completely understand that we are making a significant -- this is a significant moment in history for the country and the latino community. she will be the first hispanic and only the third woman to serve on the supreme court. there's no question that her presence will have an impact. there's also no question that in terms of her hearing, she proved that she was more than capable to serve in this role, that she would be faithful to the constitution. and her role will absolutely make a difference. she is absolutely qualified but she will, i think, bring a different perspective that will end up making a huge difference for many across the country. >> i want to actually bring in
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jon hiilsenrath who is jong me today to think about this. your thoughts as you hear this conversation. >> i want to show a question at you, i should say i'm an economics reporter not a political reporter. as we're sitting here talking, do latinos vote as a bloc on issues like this. i think about cubans in miami, mexicans in l.a., puerto ricans in new york. i'm wondering, these seem like different constituencies with different interests. i'm wondering if they really would take something like this as a call to arms on broader political issues. >> you're right. we are not a monolithic group. we have diversity in our community, all subethnic groups you pointed to. what's remarkable is that all of these groups, our community has been unified and galvanized by this nomination. there are folks to ho support
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this in east l.a., bronx, miami and even in kansas. as a kansas latina, i'll tell you that. so i understand that we are not a monolithic group. that's what's so remarkable about this nomination. it has unified our community and everyone is supporting this nomination. and i believe that it is a vote that will be long remembered not just in the history books but in the hearts and minds of many latinos across this country. it is a remarkable milestone for the country and for our latino community. >> janet from the national council, look forward to having you back very soon. >> carlos, i would welcome it. thank you. >> looking forward. do you think republicans will face a backlash over the sotomayer vote? want to hear from you. head to our website, twitter.msnbc.com. follow the ling, see my picture there, click on it. let me know what you think. we'll read some of your tweets in a few minutes.
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let me know what you think. straight ahead, a florida newlywed hired a hitman to kill her husband. how her plot unraveled. you're watching "msnbc live." i'm carlos watson. but there is a light beginning to shine again. the spark began where it always begins. at a restaurant downtown. in a shop on main street. a factory around the corner. entrepreneurs like these are the most powerful force in the economy. they drive change and they'll relentless push their businesses to innovate and connect. as we look to the future, they'll be there ahead of us, lights on, showing us the way forward. this is just the beginning of the reinvention of business. and while we're sure we don't know all the answers, we do know one thing for certain, we want to help.
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welcome back to "msnbc live." i'm carlos watson. former presidential candidate john edwards former mistress and at a federal courthouse today as investigators examined edwards finances. rielle hunter walked into the building through a back entrance carrying a child. edwards admitted to an affair with hunter but denies he's the father of her child. you see hunter in the pictures. a closer look at how edwards used campaign funds as political action committee paid rielle hunter's firm for work in 2006. take a look at this video before a woman being told by police her husband was murdered. don't be fooled, the cops say. nbc's mark potter in miami.
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what in the world is going on with this case. not pretty. >> reporter: not pretty and quite unusual. they learned from police a 26-year-old woman named dalia dippolito was wanting someone to kill her husband. they brought into the scheme a supposed hitman, actually an undercover officer with the boynton beach police department. police say this woman offered to pay $4200 to have her husband killed. she also said she was 5,000% sure she wanted to do that. she also allegedly said she would be very happy when this was done and also allegedly provided pictures of her husband and the house for the purposes of it. yesterday when the murder was supposed to occur, police actually called her at the gym to come home. there they told her her husband had been murdered. not aware it was a fake and that the police were in on it. she began to sob uncontrollably. she could not be consoled. she was taken to the police
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department and there stood the undercover officer and her husband was in the next room and she suddenly realized what had happened. she's charged with solicitation to commit first degree murder, carlos. >> mark, i want to bring in msnbc analyst and former fbi profiler clint vanzandt to join the conversation. clint, good to see you. >> hi, carlos. >> a bunch of crazy things going on, mark teixeira -- >> should be two words for her, divorce or annulment. the honeymoon is over, baby, but move on. >> i'm taken aback that mark -- maybe i missed this, why in the world get married in the first place. what did she say about that? >> looks like we lost mark for the moment. >> i'm taken by that as well, the fact this newlywed was looking to off her husband and such. but i want to talk about an even more tragic case, which was the
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shooting near pittsburgh at an la fitness club where a man walks in, kills three women, ultimately kills himself. take a listen to this online video diary he shared today. actually we don't have it at the moment. in it it talks about his troubles. in his online diary, seemed to foretell what he was going to do. why do people not act on this, clint? >> the question is did anybody really see it? i think it's up in the air, carlos, was this diary that i've read, you've read and others have, was it actually posted month after month. realize this guy in his diary said he started planning this last summer. he's been planning this for a year, even though he started his diary in the fall. it seems like he may have just posted this whole thing on the net before he committed this terrible act. you know what this reminds us of, carlos, the shooter at virginia tech who sent videos and letters to nbc after he died
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because in cho's mind and in this shooter's mind, too, i think he was looking for a way that the myth would continue, that his story would continue. he wanted the media to pick this up. make how he paints himself as the victim instead of the women who were killed and injured when he committed this terrible act. >> absolutely a nightmare. cliff vanzandt, former fbi profiler, msnbc analyst, thank you for joining us. >> thanks, carlos. up next, a provocative daily topic. was president clinton's rescue mission to north korea actually all just a big mistake. first, we just couldn't resist. you know how baseball fans enjoy taunting the players? how about taunting the police? this oakland fan learned the hard way with a taser. you're watching msnbc. i'm carlos watson. don't taser me, bro. a great deal gets even better. let us recycle your older vehicle and you could qualify for an additional $3500 or $4500 cash back
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welcome back to msnbc live. i'm carlos watson. what's the north korea deal to bring home the u.s. journalists a mistake. and did clinton's mission amount to a propaganda mission for the rogue state. general mccaffrey joining us to discuss it. i understand you're a little bit dubious to what president clinton did and if that, in effect, amounts to recognizing a rogue regime. >> obviously, we're all thrilled we got these two young women home. they were trying to report on what, in essence, is a criminal regime and their abuse of women inside north korea. and i'm a great admirer of president clinton, as you know. having said that, look, these were two hostages that we recognized with the former president of the united states. it's like dealing with the barberie pirates with these people. they murdered a million of their own people, they've got three to ten nuclear weapons. they've probably got a quarter of a million people in concentration camps.
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so we have lots of national security and human rights concerns that we don't want to throw off track. >> but is the argument that we have not successfully gotten china, their neighbor, and arguably, the country that's got the greatest influence on them, we have not successfully gotten china to in any way slow down their nuclear ambitions or change their human rights approach. so we've got to try something different. the same thing's not working, didn't work for clinton administration, not working for the bush administration, and obama and the folks are saying, we've got to throw a long ball, got the try something new. >> i think that's a very sound argument. i think you set it up quite nicely. that's why i said, i'm dubious, i'm skeptical. but on the other hand, we didn't need to use two hostages as the point of contact. we could have sent $10 million worth of brandy and luxury goods through the cia and probably gotten the two young women back. but i think that is an argument. i hope we can exploit this in
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some positive way. but what we really want, and i think you suggest this, is the six-power talks to be the primary means for dealing with these people. china, japan, south korea, everyone has a legitimate concern to them being a threat with their missiles, counterfeit money, methamphetamines exports, heroin, counterfeit cigarettes. this is a criminal regime. we want the allies to deal with them also. >> general mccaffrey, i'm joined today by john hilsenrath from the "wall street journal" and we've been talking about this north korea topic off and on throughout the morning. your thoughts? >> general, the united states weakened the soviet union by working on its civil rights abuse as it weakened in the world view internally. why isn't that more of a focus of u.s. policy towards north korea? and if it were, could that help to weaken the north korean regime? >> i couldn't agree more. we should stand on our principles. again, we think they've got
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250,000 starving prisoners in their country. they murdered 1 million or more in the gulags. they abducted hundreds of japanese and south korean citizens and hauled them off to north korea. human rights should be a primary objective of u.s. foreign policy. i think what we've done is we recognize a sociopath running the country, trying to thunder this into a dynastic regime. >> general mccaffrey, thank you so much for joining us. that's it for today. i'm carlos watson. want to thank john hilsenrath for joining me. look forward to seeing you again soon. unfortunately, could not read your tweets today, because there's been a major attack against twitter and we have not been able to get online. that's it for now. dr. nancy snyderman picks up our coverage from now.
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what do you have coming up? we'll take a look inside the man of that killer, the man that went on that killing spree outside pittsburgh. also, the birds and the bees. one school district is offering to test all high school students for sexually transmitted diseases, something you and i talked about yesterday. we're going to look at that rising concern among teenagers. and obviously, the parental concerns. also, we're going to talk about doctors, whether they should be have salary caps, be on salary, as a matter of fact. could that be a part of the health care reform debate? we'll talk about that when we make rounds. it's almost noon on the east coast. the doctor is in. mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic signal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you. you okay?
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connect people with people. because when i'm 10 to 20 years older than she is, you know, she has to feel good about this thing. >> the mind of a killer. words from the man who went on that shooting spree near pittsburgh. we're going to look at the video left behind and talk to a criminal profiler about the clues that were missed. and the drug that might have killed michael jackson. a medical group issued a warning about propofol just days before the pop star's death. teens and sexuality. sexually transmitted diseases, to be exact. one school district says all high schoolers should now be tested, stirring a controversy. a debate on what kids should know about sex and when. and as the health care debate revs up, one focus is on how much doctors get paid. should we all be on salaries? we'll discuss it right ahead on "dr. nancy." hi, everyone. i'm dr. nancy snyderman. first up this hour, a vigil is planned tonight to remember the three women and nine women who
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were injured in that shooting rampage outside of pittsburgh at the pittsburgh area fitness club. we're learning more about the three women who lost their lives and about the man who killed them. george sodini posted two videos on youtube. take a look. >> it is easy for me to hide from my emotions for one more day. take a long drive in the car, listen to some music, daydream. >> nbc's brian mooar is live in bridgeville, pennsylvania, where the shootings took place. brian, how are the nine women who were injured doing? >> reporter: well, three of them are actually still in the hospital and they are recovering from their injuries. some of them are getting out. of course, they are the families of the three women who were killed are basically getting ready for funerals and coming together with this very small, very tight-knit community. and really, they're trying to focus on the way these women lived, nothe

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