right now on msnbc saturday, new information on a deadly highway crash that killed eight. now witnesses are coming forward to tell what they might know. a new message from the president on health care reform. this as town hall meetings across the country get more heated. and later the frustration for fans of a brand-new baby panda. a very good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. we're going to have all that plus why owners in south florida are on edge. we're going to get to that in this hour. we begin with the very latest on that deadly wrong-way crash here in new york that claimed eight lives. this morning, a time line is emerging about what the long island mother was doing in the hours before she plowed right into an suv after driving nearly two miles in the wrong direction. nbc's jeff rossen has the very latest. >> the tragedy that ruined so many lives just took another turn. witnesses now tell police zion schuler stopped at a mcdonald's

that morning and seemed fine. so if she was drinking, when did she start? and if she was smoking marijuana, when did she light up. long island mother drove the wrong way on the parkway killing her own daughter, three nieces, three men at another car, and herself. but something had to happen, this is not a woman who would jeopardize five children. >> but police say the toxicology report doesn't lie. it shows her blood alcohol level was 0.19%. twice the legal limit, and she was high on marijuana. the family attorney says diane schuler may have been disoriented because of medical problems. >> one of them was an abscess which was almost two months old. she had diabetes at various levels. >> reporter: but the crime lab has ruled out a stroke, heart attack or other medical condition. the family's legal team also has a new theory about a bottle of vodka found at the crash scene. and they laid it out on "today." >> they were known, because they

were not drinkers, to carry the same bottle of vodka for the whole season back and forth because daniel liked to have a drink every once in awhile at home. >> reporter: according to "the new york post," one of diane's friends said, quote, her marriage seemed a bit rocky. i wouldn't say she was an alcoholic. but she liked her drink. her husband says that's not true. >> i go to bed every night knowing my heart is clear. she did not drink. she's not an alcoholic. >> reporter: fbi figures show a disturbing trend. the number of women driving under the influence has spiked. 29% from 1998 to 2007. while the number of men arrested has dropped by 7.5%. >> a lot of people with addictions lead a secret life. they keep it from those people that are closest to them. and at times they probably even keep it from themselves. >> reporter: child protective services has launched a full investigation to figure out exactly what happened and how much daniel schuler knew about his wife's drinking and driving.

>> the suv questioned how schuler's family could have been oblivious to an alcohol abuse problem. they are consulting with prosecutors. health secretary robert gibbs calls the shouting matches at town hall meetings shocking. opponents are voicing their concerns across the country. >> you work for us! you work for us! you work for us! you work for us! >> conservative activists are vowing to keep up their fight, insisting they are part of a ground-level movement that represents real frustration with government spending and growth. meantime, president obama's defending the plan this morning in his weekly address. >> so let me explain what reform will mean for you, and let me

start by dispelling the outland beish rumors that reform will promote euthanasia or cut medicaid or bring about a government takeover of health care. that's simply not true. >> joining me live now from washington, d.c. is erin billings, deputy editor for roll call. good morning. >> good morning, alex. >> are the president's words going to be heard over the angry cries at the town hall meetings? >> well, i mean, certainly these town halls are captivating and they're capturing the media attention and the american public's attention. however, the president has the bully pulpit and he's going to go out on the road again and he's going to be talking about his health care reform plans and now what they're calling health insurance reform plans. and so certainly he does have an advantage. i mean, the media will focus on him, and i think he has an opportunity. it's a matter of whether or not he takes advantage of it and sees how far he can convince the american public that what he's doing is right for them.

>> how well has the administration gone about explaining it, and clarifying the misconceptions? i mean, i don't know, give a grade that might be gimmicky but talk about how you feel about that? >> well, i didn't ever want to be a teacher alex, so i'm not going to give any grades. but i will tell you that i don't think that they have done a great job. and i think they've acknowledged that. i think democrats in congress have acknowledged that. and i think that's what you're seeing right now. i think the next four weeks during this august recess, congress is out of town, they're going home, and they're going to try and dispel what they think are, you know, misconceptions, misinformation, the republicans have done a pretty good job of framing the debate here and they're going to try to reset this whole conversation. and what you're hearing are a few kind of catch words. we're no longer hearing health care reform from democrats. now it's health insurance reform. democrats have decided now to go after the insurance companies. because, as you know, next to journalists and lawyers the insurance companies are probably right down there with us. so, you know, i think that they're looking to try and, you

know, shift the debate a little bit and try to get some positive footing. so when they come back in the fall and actually get to the hard work of legislating this policy, they will be in a strong position to do so. >> erin billings. >> i love you, alex. >> i love you, too, erin. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. eunice kennedy shriver is critically ill. family members are gathering at her bedside in a massachusetts hospital. of course the sister of president john f. kennedy has suffered a series of strokes in recent years. a spokesman for governor arnold schwarzenegger, the husband of shriver's only daughter maria said the california governor is also there in cape code. 88-year-old shriver is a longtime champion for the disabled and perhaps best known for her work to establish the special olympics. in just an hour or so from now, sonia sotomayor will be sworn in as the newest justice on the u.s. supreme court. judge sotomayor becoming the first latina and only the third woman to sit on the court. joining me live, nbc news

justice correspondent pete williams. once again, pete, this is going to be historic in that we get to watch the supreme court justice taking the oath live, but it's the supreme court. it's the location that's different, right? >> right. live at the supreme court. we've never seen this before. and the reason is that usually, they take one swearing-in in private at the supreme court. they have to take two oaths. the other at the white house. this time they're doing both at the court and televising one of them. she'll have some supporters on hand to watch this, and both the white house, and the courts say the reason they're doing this is that it was president obama's idea to make the point that justices are supposed to be independent, and not beholden to the presidents who nominate them. and to make that point, he'll even stay away from today's swearing-in. we will be able to see it live on television. not from the courtroom at the supreme court building, from one of the conference rooms. she will take her seat on the court then in september to actually be on the bench the court is hearing a hold-over

case in a rare summer session, alex. so she's got her work cut out for her. it's a big, important case because it raises at whole question about what role corporate money should play in political campaigns. it started out as a little narrow question about that. and now has the potential to be much broader and could vastly change the way campaigns are funded. so it could be a very big case, and it calls on her to make a very serious, difficult decision on an area that she hasn't had much experience in judging. >> which means you can bet she's probably already started her research and her homework into this. pete, with regard to what else will be on the docket for her, the entire supreme court in the fall, any big cases that you know of that people are really tuning their eyes to? >> oh, yes, there's another case this year about separation of church and state that has to do with a cross that's been on public land, and then it was private land, and there's a question about whether government money is supporting it. so once again, the role of religion in public life.

we'll hear cases about whether people who do testing on evidence have to testify in court or whether it's good enough for them just to fill out a form. criminal rights, civil rights, she's going to have a whole big docket ahead of her and she's already starting to read up on all the briefs. and that doesn't include the ones that have piled up over the summer from people asking the supreme court to take their cases. >> okay. pete williams, always good to see you on a saturday. thanks for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> the widow of tv pitchman billy mays says she's anly over the quote speculative conclusions of the florida medical examiner's autopsy report. that autopsy released friday found that cocaine use contributed to the heart disease that suddenly killed mays. the family also said they're considering getting independent analysis of the autopsy. billy mays died of a heart attack in his sleep on june 28th. let's go to the weather and a live look outside at new york city across the big apple. a sigh of relief. you just heard from bill karins right there.

a sound effect because we had heat wave like conditions earlier, too. today it's really nice. i know down the road maybe not so much. let's get the national forecast. >> good morning to you, alex. it's perfect outside. i know you haven't been out there yet, but it is gorgeous, trust me. let's talk a little bit, our friends in hawaii. the top weather this story has been hurricane felicia. this storm at one point was a category 4 storm. now 950 miles from the big island of hawaii, but it is weakening. and expected to be really only a tropical storm. by the time it gets there late monday night into tuesday morning. we'll keep an eye on it. it looks like it will be a story but not a huge story. shouldn't really do too much damage. as far as the weather story today, it is a washout. wisconsin, minneapolis-st. paul area, all through michigan. a lot of heavy rain. that's starting to shift south from milwaukee along lake michigan. look at northern michigan and central michigan from grand rapids to detroit. just a drenching day.

some areas could deal with flash flooding. either you're wet in the northern plains or in the steam. kansas city to st. louis, 97 for both of you. hot in texas, what else is new. alex, today notice d.c., 87. cloud mix. by the time tomorrow rolls around, d.c. hits 95. some of that heat will sneak up into new york and new england on monday. >> oh, no thanks. hot, humid heat. >> only one or two days though. that's it. >> we'll have to deal. thank you very much, bill karins. coming up next, more on the heated town halls and what's fueling the frustration. the town hall meetings. and later the search for a killer who's breaking the hearts of horse lovers in south florida. we'll have a live report on a very disturbing story on msnbc saturday. - ( microphone feedback ) - whoa. hi, i'm john. all: hi, john! going to college and need a laptop. what do you got? you, in the top corner. our next class laptops could be perfect for you. we got student feedback and designed them specifically for college. are they legit brands, though? boom! we partnered with hp, toshiba, sony and dell.

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lawmakers continue to face angry protests. they hold town hall style meetings in their individual districts. an all-out street fate broke out near st. louis. joining me now live, msnbc political analyst pat buchanan and democratic strategist julian epstein. >> hello, alex. >> good morning. >> pat i'll begin with you. do you see these angry crowds, "a," is this for real? and "b," when was the last time you saw something like this? >> well, we saw a movement like this in the early 1990s where middle america, the middle american radicals, if you will, came out in great numbers, outraged by budget deficits and things like that, nafta, gatt, the world trade organization. but in this one, this is a crucial battle here, and

passions and emotions are high. cable news, we've been consumed by it. the other shows have, talk radio has. when you get out hundreds, maybe 1,000 people in august for the congressional and senatorial town meetings i think what you've got is a great debate going on in this country, alex. those folks, especially the blue dog democrats, when they come back, they're going to decide whether this thing goes through or not. i think they're assessing who these folks are. >> julian, some democrats, they're trying to dismiss these angry crowds as the minorities pushed there by conservative groups. is that fair? >> i think it's hard to tell. and i think there's nothing at all wrong with conservatives, with republicans, with even the health insurance industry trying to generate support for their position or the grass roots. there's nothing wrong with that at all. that's part of the democratic process. but that's not really what's going on here. what's happening with these health care protesters is that they are seeking to disrupt the democratic process.

they are seeking to stifle free debate. they go in to these meetings with the intent, and with the purpose of disruption. not of debate. and they're taking away the rights of other people to either participate in the debate or listen to the debate. and it's unfathomable to me for republicans, i don't see how this works for their long-term strategy. if you think of what '09 has been for the republicans, we first had the tea baggers, now we have these health care protesters, and only one in five americans identify themselves as republicans right now. it's hard for me to see how this is going to make the republican a party more attractive to people with these kinds 6 tactics. >> hmm. >> let me say, if, look, if people are going in there deliberately to disrupt, i think they are going to hurt themselves and there's going to be a back lash. but that man down there in florida who got beat up, he was there with his wife to argue against the proposal and it was the union thugs, the seiu characters in there. you get people fighting in the

street. it's not simply t.e.a. baggers, they may be one party to it. there's such passion and fire in this thing. look, the obama proposal is under water. he's at 39% in quinnipiac in his approach to health care and 54% oppose it. it is one-sixth of the american economy. and i think a lot of the fire and injury is justified but the people are going to decide whether it's actual passion. or the congressmen themselves, ahead of that hall, and when they come back, especially blue dogs, they're going to decide it. >> you know, pat your question, it's only 52%, you said 54. i'll make the point, julian. >> well, two points. first of all, you know, leaders of the conservative movement like pat ought to be condemning to the extent that these row kurring on the republican or conservative side, overwhelmingly occurring on the republican side. republican leaders ought to be done kemping them.

if they occur on the democratic side i would condemn them. people have a right to debate. what's happening here is that protesters are trying to disrupt the process, and the democratic process in particular. secondly with respect to the polls, one poll shows that the obama health care plan is under water. but still, obama's approach to health care is -- he has a 20-point advantage over what republicans are proposing. what the public sees republicans doing right now is obstructing the process and offering nothing in return. what the public still, even though we have the one quinnipiac poll showing that obama's losing significant ground, you have other polls showing that that's not, in fact happening. in fact, again, democrats have a substantial advantage over republicans right now in trying to fix the two prongs of health care. one of which is the runaway costs, and two is that you've got 47 million, 48 million americans uninsured. >> but pat, i want to ask something, because i spoke with representative john dingell in the last hour, and there was a very notable situation during which time one of his

constituents pushed forward his son with cerebral palsy in a wheelchair and the representative said that man had to be removed from the town hall forum because he was shouting and wouldn't get the congressman get word in edgewise. he explained the situation almost particularly to that man as an individual. i mean, the process, i mean, is the gop being obstructionist by putting force this doctrine, get out there, disrupt the meetings, make your noise. it doesn't allow for the proper discussion, intelligent discussion. >> let me say, i've been shouted down at the enough universities to know this is outrageous. isn't the spirit of the town hall meeting at all. i saw that gentleman. i don't know that anybody put him up to it. his son had cerebral palsy, i believed, pushed him right up in front of the congressman. and i think you've got to remove him, even though the situation is very dire and i would agree with julian. look you do not go in there and disrupt. but i do believe that you go to these meetings and let your

views be expressed, people are going to fall on one side or the other. secondly, these lobbyists in town, they can write checks, they can't get out ten people. a lot of these conservative groups in washington, d.c., let me tell you, they're miffed. they're all chiefs and no indians. very, very few of them can get people out. i tell you what's getting them out, probably talk radio and cable tv, and everybody, you know, alex, we have been consumed with this, the arguments get heated here. and i think that's reflected there. but, again, you know, congressmen ought to decide what is best for the country and then you ought to say what do my constituents believe? what do they want? are they right? are their concerns justified? and he can get ahead of that room. and he knows that this is organized nonsense. >> okay. i've been told to wrap. julian, if you can hold onto your thoughts i've got you back in just about seven minutes or so. that man pushing his son pushing his son was put up to anything that's a man who's got some passion and understandably so.

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as the 11th supreme court justice. and then comes the hard part. judge sotomayor is already hard at work preparing for a chevy work load of tough cases we will very soon hear. joining me live is patricia millate. and good morning to you. >> good morning. >> just over a month from now judge sotomayor will be hearing her first case, the case on election law. what is she going to be doing between now and then in terms of preparation? how tough a job is that? >> it's an incredibly difficult job for someone even starting on the usual first monday in october. and she's got a much shorter time to get ready, as you said, for a very big and important case on september 9th. she's going to be getting her law clerks assembled, chambers set up, moving everything in. she's also going to be meeting the other justices and she's going to spend a lot of time reading and studying new cases. she's got -- it's a very important speech case involving campaign donations and campaign

speech by corporations, and there's a lot of briefs filed in the case. she's going to have feet of briefs to read. >> she'll be inside. no one will be seeing her as she's doing her reading. now, sotomayor may be the first latina to sit on the supreme court, but if she's feeling overwhelmed right now she's certainly not alone in that distinction at all. if we look at clarence thomas. here's what he had to say as first day at supreme court justice, i quickly calculated that i would need to read several thousand pages of petitions, briefs and materials over the next two weeks. what i needed was a vacation, not another marathon. justice stephen breyer said i was frightened to death for the first three years and justice souter said it's like walking through a tidal wave. if you see these potential differences for her as how she'll approach the job, even though she's been a judge for so many years? >> it is very different. i mean obviously it helps that she's been a judge for a long time. but the magnitude of your decision, on september 9th she's going to be deciding with the

other eight justices, you know, what the first amendment means and she's going to be the last word now. she's not going to be applying supreme court precedent or bound by it. she'll certainly look to it and adhere to it. and in that case they're deciding whether they should overrule a prior supreme court decision interpreting the constitution. these are decisions of enormous magnitude and there isn't a big orientation program at the court. you're sort of thrown in and left to learn on your own. >> you actually have even more under your jurisdiction as a junior judge, as opposed to everybody else because she will definitely hear all the court cases like everyone else, but i understand one of the interesting roles she's going to have to take on the junior justice speaks last at the members-only private conferences in which the court decides what kind of cases to take. she takes the notes. she records the votes. and answers the door if someone approaches. i mean, what do you make of this sort of new kid on the block dynamic? >> she's supposed to make the coffee, too. we'll see if that holds up.

it is a lot of pressure. on the other hand, she's someone who has shown she's a very, very diligecareful worker and so i suspect she'd be a heavy note taker under any circumstances and maybe you're happy to speak last rather than first in a situation like that. but there is, your comments noted, you're adjusting not just to the workload but to a whole new environment, customs, it's a creature of very much bound by custom, the supreme court is. and very, very strong personalities. i mean i think she'll find friends and support particularly in justice ginsburg, who will be very happy to have another woman there at the court again. but it is a lot to, i think, for any person to digest and certainly to do it in a month before a monumental first amendment case. >> and you have a unique perspective, or i guess a highly revered perspective having argued hurself more than two dozen cases in front of the supreme court. where do you think her vote will make the biggest difference? >> i think, either the short-term or long-term, because everyone says she won't --

she'll be placing another sort of moderate to liberal justice and so there won't be a lot of impact in the short-term. but she's going to be there presumably for a decade. long-term impact is very hard to prognosticate. i think one place we may see a lot of difference, and this term, is in criminal law. she has a background as a prosecutor. and that may well -- and was a, you know, sentencing judge. and so she may well be more conservative on criminal law issues than justice souter was. and they're going to have a case this term about evidence and rules protecting procedure for evidence introduction in criminal cases that she may very well take a different turn from what the court did last term, on a very similar issue. so we could see a lot of influence in that area. >> all to be revealed. patricia millett, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> you can watch coverage of the swearing-in of judge sotomayor. we're going to bring that to you at the top of the hour.

should go off right around 11:00 eastern time. meantime more on the condition of eunice kennedy shriver said to be critically ill. family members gathered by her bedside. the sister of president john f. kennedy has suffered a series of strokes in recent years. whdh reporter victoria block joins us live with the very latest prp good morning to you. what do we know about the condition right now of eunice kennedy shriver? >> nothing really has changed here. it has been a long night at the cape cod hospital in hyannis but the good news is that there are no reports of any condition changes for eunice shriver. she is 88 years old. she just celebrated her birthday on july 10th. she is one of, now the only two surviving children of rose and joe kennedy. she has been here for a week, but we haven't been told why, or when the family started to gather here. her daughter maria shriver and her husband governor arnold schwarzenegger were in and out of here a few times yesterday. they finally left here through the emergency room at 10:30 last

night. a statement was issued by the family late yesterday, simply saying eunice kennedy shriver is in cape cod hospital in intensive care in critical but stable condition. her entire family is with her. her husband, all her children, and her grandchildren, the family is grateful for the prayers of her many friends. that is all that it says. now the statement was issued by the shriver family but late last night, somebody from the hospital did come out and say that the only people who would be speaking on her behalf are people from the special olympics which as you know she created decades ago, changing the lives of millions of people with disabilities, intellectually and physically. and so now pretty much they have circled the wagons here at the hospital. most of the people appear to be staying down at the compound or near it in hyannisport. and at this point we have no idea what she is suffering from or her prognosis. >> all right. thanks for giving us what you do know from whdh victoria block.

thank you so much. a growing concern for parents as they get ready to send their kids back to school. the government is giving new guidance about the swine flu. the centers for disease control and prevention are urging most schools to try to stay open this fall and winter even if they have cases of swine flu. new research shows someone should stay home only 24 hours after a fever has subsided and not seven days, as recommended months ago. >> it is now clear that closure of schools is rarely indicated, even if h1n1 is in the school. but you also increase the number of kids who may be unsupervised. you may add social stresses in the community. so there's a definitely balancing in decision of whether or not to close a school. >> and as far as a vaccine goes the first trials are just beginning and researchers should know more about its effectiveness in about six weeks. if all goes well the swine flu vaccine should be available by mid-october. up, up and away. more than 70 hot air balloons took to the sky friday during a festival in southwest england.

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not a lot of activity. you read the news. and yet, some people need to sell and other people want to buy. this is a moment of challenge and opportunity. fortunately, re/max agents have the experience to help you meet the one and recognize the other. thanks. because the future's counting on us. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. hope today for the new economy. new numbers show there's been a slowdown in the massive layoffs across the country. the july jobless rate dropped from 9.5% to 9.4%.

and that raises hopes that an end to the recession could be near. let's get the latest from our residential silver lining girl, vera gibbons. i always look for you on this. >> i know. the market rallies on the strong july jobs report. is this that sign that the recession is coming to an end? >> some investors see it as a sign that things are sort of bottoming out here. but, and we are coming, we're a long ways up from where we were. in the first quarter of the year we were losing 700,000 jobs on average. but here's the thing, the unemployment rate drops from 9.5% to 9.4%. one of the reasons is to get people stop looking for jobs. i wouldn't read too much into this if you see a couple months of solid jobs we have a trend here. >> how about the dow? that average rose 114 points to cap off its fourth straight week of gains. how long does this last? >> that's a good thing. the 401(k)s are probably looking a lot better if you're opening your statements. >> yes. >> i think we're starting to again because things have been

improving. here's the thing with the rally. yes, things have been moving along. maybe it's sustainable. maybe it's not. we do have a slew of economic data out tomorrow. we've got retailers out with some bigger numbers, walmart, jcpenney, macy's, so that will show us whether the consumer still has a pulse, if what they're doing. right now they're not doing much of anything. we're not borrowing, not spending, not doing much of anything. >> that's what you've got to have. how much is this drop in unemployment, you seem to emotionally spur on consumer spending. that helps the economy recover. >> that's an important point. if anything this has given us more confidence. maybe when confidence comes back we'll go to the malls, be more readily there to open our wallets. but we're not at that point yet. analysts are saying that perhaps we'll start opening our wallets towards the end of the year. but unemployment still could rise. still could rise into double digits. just because we had this slight dip i wouldn't read that much all into it. >> appreciate that, vera gibbons. the post office could be in big

trouble, everyone. the u.s. postal service is on track to lose a staggering $7 billion this year. the losses can be in part pa tributed to the recession. but is the service referred to by many as snail mail simply becoming obsolete in an internet age? jonathan allen is a reporter with cq politics.com. >> dpoerm. >> the snail mail versus the internet age. is that part of what's contributing to the losses? >> that's very much part of what's contributing to the losses. the big thing they've got is huge liabilities for retirement for postal workers. there was a big law a couple years ago to try to reform the postal service and make it more competitive with fedex and u.p.s. and others and they put in place a powerful regulatory commission and they said they're in a death spiral where fewer and fewer people are using the mail, so they have less revenue. less revenue and ultimately this law doesn't have appear to have quite righted the ship yet. >> how about recession?

how much is that responsible for the problem? >> it's hard to tell exactly how much the recession has played into it. but it's clearly some of it. but the postal service has some real structural issues. now we're seeing them talk about possibly not delivering mail on saturdays, closing post offices. which, by the way, would make constituents go postal which is why you haven't seen that happening already. and also, of course, the possibility of further rate hikes which is not particularly popular. >> so, again, ways they want to save cash, stop saturday delivery, close post offices, and raising rates. i mean is there anything else they're considering? because that's going to only do so much. we're talking $7 billion this year alone. >> well, if they could find a way to lay off some of the responsibility that they have for retirement benefits, they were able to do that with retirement benefits for military retirees who then become postal workers, which is actually a fairly large class of people. they're able to lay some of that off on the treasury department a

couple of years ago. i don't know what they can do about their current structure. maybe reduce benefits for postal workers in the future. a commitment from the government to them. i'm not sure. but none of the options right now look particularly good. and let's face it, if you use the mail, most of what you get isn't stuff you were looking for. i just send out thank you notes by mail now. i mean, almost nothing else, bills are all done online. >> well, our respect for having you on. >> of course. >> i'll be thanking you, on record, jonathan allen. no, no, thank you. a developing story out of south florida this morning. horse owners are on edge. they're worried that their animals could be killed because someone is targeting horses in miami dade county, slaughtering them for their meat. 18 have been killed so far, and today authorities are pursuing a new lead that could help stop the killings. let's go live to jeff burnside. jeff, another good morning. what is the motive behind all this carnage? >> it's horse meat. horse meat for human

consumption. a couple of years ago, the federal government banned the commercial trade of horse meat. that opened up a small fledgling black market. it's popular in many cultures in other countries, belgium and ecuador and cuba and france. and some people here believe that what we call in south florida new arrivals might be responsible for this. people who are used to having horses as part of their diet, and economic times are tough. they can get a lot of money for that meat on the black market in south florida. >> okay. so all these owners that are gravely concerned about what's going on, what can they do to keep their horses safe? >> those people are just devastated. in fact, we talked with one woman in the morning who was still looking for her horse and by that same afternoon the carcass of her horse had been found about a mile and a half away. buzzards flying overhead. she was just devastated. it's happened to 18 people. probably more than that. in fact, my photographer pedro and i went to one remote intersect and found at least six skeletal remains, too decomposed

to include in that 18 total. clearly much more than that. horse owners are putting in extra security from cameras to gates. remember, a lot of times the stables are not where the people live. even miles away or even just yards away. the horse thieves are striking in the middle of the night, usually on the weekend. they take the horse out of the stall and lead it down the street and that's where they slaughter it down there. it's clear to tell that they're taking it for the horse meat because certain cuts of meet from the spine, from the rear end and of course they leave the carcass behind. >> horrible story. i want to thank you for making us aware. really quickly, if a viewer is watching, what can they do to help? >> there is a website that the south florida society for prevention of cruelty to animals is called the safethehorses.com. maybe that's helpthehorses.com, that's what it is. and they put up a reward as well as the humane society of the united states. people can help there, $5,000 reward. judge jeff burnside thank you very much from wtvj.

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the latest now on what could be a major development in the war against the taliban. it's believed the taliban's top commander in pack tan is dead. both the u.s. and pakistan believe a u.s. drone missile attack on wednesday killed baitullah mehsud and his wife. mehsud is blamed for a wave of suicide attacks, beheadings and assassinations, including the 2007 assassination of former pakistani prime minister benazir bhutto. joining us now to talk about it from our nbc news bureau in washington is "washington post" national security reporter. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> as you know there have been these reports coming in to us. any validity to those that say out of pakistan that mehsud is still alive?

>> yes. definitely the taliban is backtracking on what they were saying yesterday. yesterday they were saying yes, our leader is dead. he was killed by a missile. and we actually buried him. and today there seems to be this concerted campaign to call western media and say oh, no, no, he's still alive but we can't put him on the phone, he's not available. it's hard to know what to make of that. >> why would the turnaround be that way for the taliban? >> well, they apparently see a propaganda value in creating some confusion about this. but the pakistani officials we talked to, and u.s. officials are as confident as they can be of the circumstances that they did get the guy. there's pretty good evidence. obviously they don't have what they call forensic evidence because they can't get the bodies. can't just drive up to these areas and examine remains. they're pretty confident they got him. >> you also write in today's "washington post," i guess, the cia would be happy were it to turn out to be true because this man had become something of an obsession for him. how so?

for them, rather. >> yes, because once you get beyond the bin ladens and the al zawahiris and al qaeda, this guy was the superstar. he brought together, pakistan's very diverse and track uous taliban groups. mostly tribal based. he brought them together and said as a group, we ought to get some things done. what they wanted to do was essentially beat up on pakistan government. they were behind a whole bunch of suicide attacks, the marriott hotel in islamabad, and this guy in particular was the one they think that killed the prime minister benazir bhutto a few -- back in '07. >> yeah. joby, if he's dead, how long until they replace him? >> he could be replaced pretty quickly. there are a number of deputies to mehsud that are in the wings, essentially going to be taking his place any time. the bigger question is whether they'll be effective in holding this coalition together? because a lot of this did really -- the way they guy

controlled the operation, and was in charge, it's going to be hard for somebody to walk in and do exactly what he did. and also, you know, when you have a take-out like this, it throws all kinds of suspicion and fear among the followers. they're worrying about was there a file in the inside, who's going to be next? it can disrupt operations for a long time. >> thank you very much from "the washington post." joby warrick, good to see you. >> thank you. still ahead the swearing-in ceremony of sonia sotomayor in just a few minutes. she officially becomes the supreme court's first female hispanic justice and we're bringing it all to you live. applebee's 2 for $20! it's real food at the right price! this is the primo stuff. choose one appetizer and two premium entrees. just twenty bucks-every day. start with our spinach and artichoke dip or boneless buffalo wings. then two signature entrees, like our seven ounce house sirloin or oriental chicken salad. genuine food. generous portions. genius price.

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good morning, everyone, i'm alex witt. our top story this hour, the nation now has its first hispanic supreme court justice. chief justice john roberts swore in sonia sotomayor in a private ceremony just a short time ago.

and at any moment now she will be taking the oath publicly. sotomayor is the third woman to sit on the bench and the 111th justice. i'm joined right now from washington by nbc news justice correspondent pete williams to weigh in on things. i think we probably have less than a minute to go. but very quickly, what are we seeing here? >> this is 9 court's east conference room just down the hall from the main courtroom. justice kennedy is the man you can see in the left part of the picture, right by the flag with the gray hair looking forward. he's sitting next to soon-to-be justice sotomayor's mother and her brother. they'll hold the bible during the ceremony when chief justice john roberts walks in on that door that you'll see on the right. and she won't be a justice until she takes the second oath. there's a curious thing about judges under the federal system. they take the constitutional oath, the one required by the constitution for all federal officials, but then a separate federal law requires all federal judges and supreme court justices to take what's called

the judicial oath. and you see the door opening now with john roberts. he'll walk in first. there is soon-to-be justice sotomayor, and now the chief justice of the united states, john roberts. >> good morning and welcome to the court. judge sotomayor will be invested as a member of the court on september 8th in a special session of the court. we are administering the oath this morning simply so that she can begin work as an associate justice without delay. now i'd like to invite mrs. sotomayor, the judge's mother, and her brother dr. sotomayor to come forward. judge sotomayor, are you prepared to take the oath? >> i am. >> please raise your right hand and repeat after me. i, sonia sotomayor do solemnly swear. >> i sonia sotomayor do solemnly swear. >> that will i administer justice without respect to person