the crowds, chaos but not a

lot of logical arguments. presentation of facts. not even a clear debate over health care reform. what gets accomplished by shutting down the exchange of ideas? sarah palin is now calling for stability in the health care discourse. but how civil is it when she's comparing health care reform to a panel of death? rush limbaugh compared it to naziism. is sarah jumping on rush's bandwagon? more lawmakers jumping on the bandwagon. the president asked for the money for four jets. congress double down, decided to allow enough money for eight. recession? deficit anyone? and here's a shocking plane story, a continental flight packed with passenger forced to divert because of rotten weather as if that's not enough of a headache, the people were trapped on the plane overnight at the airport. not allowed off. we're going to talk to one of those passengers. good morning, everyone. i'm contessa brewer. the big story we're watching, divers are in the hudson river

trying to recover the bodies of two victims still mising from saturday as mid air collision. nine people in all were killed when a private plane and a sight seeing helicopter collided over the hudson. the bodies of seven people have been pulled from the river. earlier new york city mayor michael bloomberg addressed concerns that crowded airspace should have more restrictions. >> sadly, you know, sometimes people make mistakes. and i don't know in this case who made a mistake. that's for the ntsb to decide. >> nbc's ron allen is in hoe boeken, new jersey right now. ron, i understand the ntsb is expected to give a news briefing. are they learning anything new about why this happened? >> reporter: not as of yet, contessa. the search has been suspended temporarily we believe for the debris and two bodies they're still looking for because of the conditions some 60 feet deep in the hudson river where the debris is believed to be. the searchers think they found the plane or at least most of

it. it is marked by bouies behind me. they're small from this vantage point. but they do sewn ar to do that. they have not attempted to bring it up. there is a crane on a boat hovering through the area mostst morning which could be a sign they may attempt to bring it up at some point. they already brought up the wreckage of the helicopter. that happened yesterday. once they get those two things on land, they'll start looking at them to see if they can determine how the accident happened. for example, the leading theory now seems to be pilot error. the helicopter was taking off. the plane came up and hit it from behind. that caused the accident about 1100 feet. but the other big issue now is about what happens in this airspace going forward. you were referring to mayor, michael bloomberg, who has been essentially pushing back at calls for restrictions or more restrictions on the airspace. out of concerns about the commercial impact that could have on the city of new york, air tours and the heliports

used. there's a lot of activity that generates a lot of commerce. but from areas around here, there are those who are adamant that there needs to be restrictions imposed on flying through this corridor. there are several busy airports. there is a lot of traffic in this corridor that's about a mile wide and as much as ten miles long from the statue of lib torte george washington bridge. and there could be as many as ten to 20 aircraft in that area at any given time. there are some members of congress that call it the wild, wild west, for example, giving you some indication of how concerned they are about that. so that is the issue going forward as well as what hatches here on the bottom of the hudson. the search for the plane continues. they think they have found most of the helicopter and there are still two bodies yet to be recovered. contessa? >> ron, thank you. we'll be watching for the ntsb briefing that happens at 3:00 p.m. eastern. thanks to a judge's decision in los angeles, we'll see michael jackson perform one more time at least digit alally.

>> they approved a $60 million deal between jackson's estate and columbia pictures. jackson's mother did not object to the deal. msnbc.com columnist joins us outside the courthouse. there are a lot of issues that go into the court hearings. they're looking at this deal with columbia and aeg. what else? >> reporter: well, you made a goint. you said that the mother did not object to the deal. what we did hear is there are objections inside the courthouse about the language of the deal, specifically the confidentiality clau clauses in there. the judge doesn't want her talking about the confidential terms of the agreement without approval f i want to tell law enforcement about this aeg deal, i don't want to have to ask you for permission which raises a lot of red flags. the judge is saying why would this be the case? you need to make this very clear to me to agree to that. and it also raises the question, contessa, about how the jackson family reportedly feels about

michael's death. and that somehow they allege that there was more foul play than we've even heard about, maybe that he was worked to death or something along those lines. so that's what her objection basically means at this noint time. >> let me ask you about these -- just seems like people are coming out of the wood work now to claim an interest in the children's lives. claiming that they could be the parents. is there any indication that there will be dna tests to once and for all decide who biologically the parents are of michael jackson's children? >> reporter: until there's indication that some of these people coming out of the woodwork have plans to rewrite california family law, no. there's not. because in california, after two years pass, you can't -- you can't require someone to take a dna test or a blood test to prove paternity. so under california law, the answer is, no. but however, contessa, mark lester's claims of anyone holds the most weight. what he is asking is just to be

able to see the kids. he hasn't been able to see them. he is their godfather. he had a relationship up until this point. that's all he's asking for. >> thank you. violence sweeping across iraq today. 50 could be dead. a double truck bombing tore through a shiite neighborhood. more than 250 people have been hurt. and u.s. military officials are warning that insurgents are stepping up effort to reignite seg takerian violence as the u.s. scales back the troops. there take a look at this it's the remnants of a house in lansing, michigan. police say it was firebombed. witnesses say a car pulled up to the house, someone rang the doorbell and then threw in an explosive device into the home. it started the fire. today police are continuing to investigate. and we're watching the big story right now out of the white house. the white house taking a new approach to quiet those angry town hall protesters. it launched a new website today calling it a fact check for the overhaul plan.

with me now is ann cornbluth. great to see you today. how effective can this be if you have a bunch of people, most of whom probably are not going to white house.gov to get their information? >> well, some of them may not be. but we certainly are. and i think this is as much a media push as it is a grassroots campaign. what we're seeing the white house do is what they did best during the campaign, turn this into a political push. give reporters somewhere to go to fact check the stories out there and try to drive the message. that's what we're going to see them doing all this week even though the congress is in recess. >> president obama president obama is in mexico meeting with the president and canada's prime minister. he was asked about the discussions about health care. let me play what he said. >> i suspect that we're going to have continued vigorous debate. i suspect that you, canadians, will continue to get dragged in

by those who oppose reform even though i've said nothing about canadian health care reform. i don't find canadians particularly scary. but i guess some of the opponents of reform think that they make a good bogeyman. >> you are going to expect to see president obama on the offensive or the defensive tomorrow when he goes to his town hall in new hampshire? >> certainly on the offensive. it's an event that our understanding has maybe 1,000 people or more. but he's also been fairly decent at answering hostile questions. i don't think we'll see the town hall meeting we've seen in other parts of the country that got out of control. i think we'll see him trying to reclaim the message and really define it on his own terms. >> any idea who they're giving those tickets to? >> no. and when i say ticketed event, i should revise that and say we're waiting to figure out if it's actual tickets or having people sign up online to get into the event.

>> thank you. we have questions here, let's talk about them. what do loud mouths want to accomplish? is ending the town hall the goal? is the purpose to express concern? isn't there more effective ways? what happened to manners, by the way? passion is okay. disagreement, bring it on. but interfering with somebody else's ability to get answers is rude. and is i it maybe time to embrace a different form, web chat, one-on-one interviews, the way to exchange ideas without enduring nonstop shouting and description? that's ahead. also coming up, new allegations of misconduct for south carolina governor mark stanford. we'll look at whether the governor misused the state plane for personal trips with his family. kate goslyn is revealing why she's not taking off her wedding ring even though she's separated from her husband. imodium multi-symptom relief combines two powerful medicines for fast relief of your diarrhea symptoms, so you can get back out there.

imodium. get back out there. you could buy 300 bottles of water. or just one brita filter. ( drop plinks ) brita-- better for the environment and your wallet. brita-- better for the environment on the inside. my inner-workings a work of art. a digestive tract that should be bronzed. and an immune system so stunning... [ low growl ] my vet thinks i'm the eighth wonder of the world. [ female announcer ] introducing iams with prebiotics. prebiotics work inside, clinically proven to promote strong defenses. healthy inside... healthy outside. [ dog ] oh hi girls, nice day, huh? i am an iams dog. [ female announcer ] learn more about prebiotics at iams.com.

that's a look at the anger that he is rupting from the recent health care town halls. sarah palin added fuel to the fire by calling the reform plan evil. today she is tempering her remarks a little bit. let's talk to joe watkins. chris, do you think, if you call it evil, if you use incendiary language that it works? >> well, i mean i think -- listen, i think there are certain groups, clearly some republicans that have a strategy here of screaming and shouting so that no message about the necessity and the options in this health care reform that the democrats and president obama are proposing get out. that i think is clear. i don't think it works because i

think most americans realize this is a serious problem, a serious crisis that we have to deal with. there may be debate and discussion about how to best solve it. but this notion of somehow paralyzing this discussion this process by just screaming at each other i find increasingly distasteful. >> sarah palin is calling for civil discourse today. she wrote about it on her facebook page. but here's what she wrote over the weekend. the america i know and love is not one in which my farnts or my baby with down's syndrome will have to stand in front of obama's death panel so his bureaucrats can decide based on a subjective judgment of their level of productivity in society whether they're worthy of health care. such a system is down right evil. joe, nowhere is anybody talking about in the health reform plans anything close to what sarah palin is talking about. so why use that kind of language? why get people riled up by something that is not true?

>> sarah palin is afraid for her own child and senior citizens. 1233 of the house bill called for a comparative effect and research money for comparative effectiveness research. that reform of comparative research reform says there is a -- let me fipish. it's the cost of treatment divided by the number of years that person has to benefit from that treatment. so somebody only has 15 years to benefit from the treatment as opposed to somebody who has 30 years to benefit from the treatment may be denied treatment. that is a scary thing. you have a longer period of time to live. >> let me just ask you, i mean the thing is that i think that's nonsense. i really do. i think to say someone's not going to get treatment because they're older or because they're disabled, i think that's a scare tactic. and i appreciate that you're bringing it up. i think a lot of people feel worried about what they're going

to lose in this. but i don't think it -- i mean do you? do you think this contributes to discussion when what will passing along is fear? >> i don't think it should be fear. i think it should be substantive. there are things the people should be afraid of. she's afraid if she's not around, her little boy may be denied treatment because his lifespan or quality of his life is not valued by somebody on the panel. that is something to be concerned about. and i think we ought to talk about -- >> like i said, sarah palin is now back ago way from that. now she's calling for civil discourse. she says that you can't get sidetracked by tactics that can be accused of leading to intimidation or harment which she has been accused of. here's what newt gingrich said about health care reform and this rumor that's going around about euthanasia. let me play it. >> you're asking us to trust turning power over to the government when there clearly are people in america who believe in establishing euthanasia, including selective

standards. >> there's been a lot of discussion about this end of life care. how much it costs in the last move your life. i heard no lawmaker propose anything close to euthanasia. so, chris, how do people who support health care reform and it's not just democrats, there are republicans who say it's time to reform the system, how do they bring this back to a logical, practical, realistic discussion? >> listen, i think the white house did a good job today in terms of launching this new website, you know, reality check which basically disproves these lies. >> do you think the people that are showing up at the town halls are really going to go on the white house website? >> i don't think they are, to be honest. i think this is not about winning people who already convinced in their minds they don't want health care reform for ideological or political reasons. it is about the overwhelming majority. wait a second, joe. it's about the overall majority of americans who want health care. so when you go out there and you press these lies this notion of death panel indirectly or not,

it is a falsehood. the aarp, for example, had completely shot down this notion. there's nothing in the bill, no democrat, no one in the obama administration would propose such a heinous idea. and it is being fed by particular groups and individuals who have an agenda to kill health care reform. it really is that simple. >> joe, i want to ask you a personal question. do you think that our health care system needs to be reformed? >> yeah, i think we have the best system in the world. but there need to be changes. there needs to be reform n a perfect world, everybody should have health care. everybody, every american ought to have it in a perfect world. how to do it, how to get it done is the important thing. >> and in order to get there -- we have to be able to talk about it. we have to be able to exchange ideas. it doesn't work if one person is constantly shouting down others. >> i agree. the devil is in the details, con tes yachlt you have to make sure that details work for you. >> but, joe, the devil is in the details and it is also to talk about the facts and not just use scare tactics.

and that's what is framing the debate right now. >> chris, joe, gentlemen, we have a lot more to come. we barely scratched the surface. i appreciate you both adding to the conversation. >> thanks, contessa. new allegations against mark sanford. they found the govern governor used state aircraft for personal and political trips. record shows sanford flew to locations of his children's sport events, political party gatherings and a birthday party for a campaign donor. the governor expected to hold an open door meeting today for residence toance some questions about his use of that state plane. imagine being trapped insued a small plane on the runway for hours and hours and hours. why? well, because the crew was at their limit of work time. the tsa agents had gone home. so you're stuck. can you imagine?

♪ bicycle, what are we waiting for? the flowers are blooming.

the air is sweet. and zyrtec® starts... relieving my allergies... 2 hours faster than claritin®. my worst symptoms feel better, indoors and outdoors. with zyrtec®, the fastest... 24-hour allergy medicine, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. zyrtec® worksast, so i can love the air™.

come on. come on. good girl.] mollie's never looked better. i really was amazed to see the change in her coat. people stop us when we're walking, and they'll say, "did you shine up her spots?" [ woman announcing ] just another way purina one... unlocks the brilliance of nature... to transform the life of your dog. for us to see the difference in mollie-- we were really excited about it. it just makes you feel wonderful. [ announcer ] it's amazing what one can do.

trapped all night in a small plane parked on a runway. that's what happened to 47 passengers who boarded a three-hour continental flight from houston to minnesota's twin cities rate friday night. thunderstorms caused the flight to be diverted to rochester, minnesota. by the time the plane landed there, all the tsa screeners had gone home. and the crew apparently was at its maximum work hours. so the passengers were told legally they were not allowed to get off the plane. and so there they sat -- overnight for nine hours. joining me on the phone, link kristen. he was on the plane. what was the reaction when they first told you, sorry, we can't let you off the plane? >> i did not remember them ever telling us that they couldn't let us go off the plane. what they did was tell us for a couple hours that we couldn't get back to minneapolis because of weather. and then they started telling us they had a bus for us that they

were going to get. and that lasted another two hours. so -- i do not remember them expressly saying we couldn't get off the plane. but obviously we were not allowed to get off the plane. and they made no efforts to get us off the plane. >> express jet operates the flight. now they're apologizingment but they said the airline crew on the plane reached the maximum work hours in the air. so they were flying in another crew to take over. but was there any explanation to you folks about why you weren't allowed to get off the plane and at least be in the airport to use real rest rooms, maybe to take advantage of vending machines or food stalls and stands? >> none whatsoever. i mean there was no explanation at all. the terminal was 50 yards from where we were. the terminal is a big terminal with chairs and food and lights and bathrooms. they gave us no explanation whatsoever. they just kept telling us here's the next way we're going to try to get you back to minneapolis. >> what was the environment like on the plane overnight?

>> it was -- i would say it started out fine. you know, it was a patient group of people dealing with the weather delay and deteriorated to a group of people that weren't getting sleep and the odors were getting stronger. and they didn't have food and they didn't have water. and there was one bathroom and there were two babies crying all night. so i think hour after hour it took on a more nightmarish quality in the plane. >> and people were drifting in and out of sleep, that kind of thing. >> was there ever a point, link, where you thought i've got to call somebody? i've got to get the authorities involved? because this is not right. >> you know, i never had that reaction. in retrospect, i don't know why i didn't. but everybody stayed calm. i think everybody was half kind of dazed because they were tired and hungry. and i don't think there was anybody in the middle of the night, you know, at their best in terms of thinking this stuff through. and so we kind of depended on them continuing to say to us

okay, okay, we're going to have a bus here. we're going to have. this we all looked at what the next thing was ahead of us that would get us off the airplane. >> was express jet or continental now doing for passengers to make up for the nightmare ordeal? >> i do not know. when we reached minneapolis at 10:00 this morning, they flew a crew in that morning in rochester. and we took the same plane back with a bathroom, by the way, that didn't operate. and we flew the same plane back at 10:00. i will say when we got off that plane at 11:00 or 11:30, 10 or 12 people literally stormed the continental counter. and demanded that this can't happen. what can you do? and they gave us an 800 number to call on monday morning. and i have not yet called that number. >> well, i wanted to talk to you because i have been on some nightmare flights myself. i know what it's like. this is the worst story that i've ever heard. i got to tell you, if i was on that flight, there would have

been hell to pay. link, i appreciate you sharing your story. i hope that you'll give me an update when you find out how they're going to make it up to you. if it's a free flight to hawaii, maybe accommodations -- it would take a lot to make up for. that. >> i think so. this is not the normal can you fly two hours later we'll give you a $300 voucher. i don't know what they'll do. i haven't thought about it. but i hope they do the right thing. >> hey, i really appreciate your time and sharing your story. >> you bet. >> in her first -- i mean hell to pay if i was on that flight. i'm not a diva. i'm just saying. it's awful. in her first big interview since kate and jon goslyn announced thish divorce, kate answers the questions about why she is still wearing her wedding ring. she says it's because the kids know that it's her married to daddy ring. and mother of eight cried as she talked with nbc's meredith viera about the breakup of her marriage. >> i feel a lot of failure. this is not what my mother sets out for for her children.

this does not feel like the best for them. it's necessary. it has to take place. >> jon & kate plus eight is still on the air. there is more piece since jon left the house and she has told the children about the divorce. my life on the d list star kathy griffin could now be added to the c list to see for cougar. the 48-year-old reality tv star showed up at sunday night's teen choice awards with levi johnson, the 19-year-old father of sarah palin's grandson. the pair arrived hand in hand. and even locked lips for the cameras. johnson told access hollywood he thinks griffin is beautiful and funny. but that they're not dating. she just asked him to be her plus one and happy how you could say no to that? ty is important, but not nearly as important as outer beauty. ♪ that's why i use covergirl's simply ageless makeup with olay regenerist serum. a department store brand can glob up in lines

and wrinkles and actually make you look older. simply ageless stays suspended over lines and makes you look amazing. simply ageless from olay and easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. ♪ and try new simply ageless sculpting blush to bring out your cheekbones. sfwhen you own a business,g saving sounds good. so hear this: regions makes simple to save money and time with lifegreen checking and savings for business, free convenient e-services and regions quick deposit, so you can deposit checks right from your desk. so switch to regions and start saving. plus, get a business financial review through a regions cashcor analysis. it's how business gets into the rhythm of saving.

good day, everyone. the president is ready to tackle

some of the town hall mayhem in person. he's holding one in new hampshire tomorrow. he wants to address what he's calling the misinformation that is racing around the nation. but if his town hall is anything like what law makers are getting, it may be just a noisy chaotic mess. protesters came out in droves this weekend, pushing, shoving, shouting. but in some cases it's not just noisy outbursts and drowning out discussion. it's death threats. congressman brad miller is a democrat from north carolina. congressman, good of you to join me today. i understand your office got a threatening phone call. can you describe it for me? >> yes. it was a week ago. we got a lot of calls. what i got is not different from what a lot of members of congress have gotten. a caller said if i voted for the health care plan that if -- that it could cost me my life. and then my staff member asked me point blank is that a threat? and the guy said there are a lot

of angry people out here. and that probably is equivocal enough that it is not going to result in a criminal prosecution. i think a lot of members of congress have gotten calls that are that creepy and menacing and sometimes it's gone beyond that. the office building was shut down for several hours a couple weeks ago because of a bomb threat. >> i know that you're not new to dealing with outrageous strategy and tactics against you politically. i want to play a radio ad that vernon robinson who is running against you last fall had put on the air. let me play it. >> brad miller allowed these illegal to burn the american flag while waving the mexican flag. >> so when you're dealing with -- it's ridiculous. i heard that today and my jaw dropped open.

when you deal with that sort of ridiculous strategy, how do you combat nonsense and fear, ridiculousness with what is logical and practical and common sense? >> well, thank you for that blast from the past. it's reassuring to remember that i have lived through something like this. i spent more than $2 million on ads like that and got 36% of the vote, i think. so people just didn't find it credible because it was so outlandish. and i think that americans aren't finding credible a lot of what is being said about this health insurance proposal. but they do -- they are concerned. that's important to them. they really want to know what the bill does, what the proposal does, how it affects them, what kind of quality of care they're going to get, how much it's going to cost them. and those concerns are being drowned out by the screaming. >> i understand that you actually had -- because my understanding is you don't typically do town halls. but did you have a meeting with the opposition. how did that go?

were you able to exchange some ideas back and forth? >> i didn't really expect that they would come out of the meetings saying well, you know, we haven't really thought about it that way. but now that he's explained his position, we understand it. nobody budged an inch in that meeting. and when you see the kind of protests, you know that there is no give on that side of the argument. and americans really do -- are sick of the partisan ranker and politics, the ranker we've had for the last several years. and what they're seeing now is taking it up to a different level. >> it's not that i don't buy that they're sick of the partisan rancor. but when you see these people showing up and, yes, i understand that there is some organization behind it. i do understand that some people are riled up by talk radio hosts. i do understand that some of this might be planned. but jefr all, i also get the sense that there are real people showing up with real fear and

real concern. so how do you address that in a way that -- in any way assuages their concern? >> well, i'm trying to do that. and like i said, people are screaming at town hall meetings are not ordinary americans who are just concerned. they really want to have a debate, a discussion at a calm level so they can find out what we're doing. and when people hear what the bill does, that's what they want health insurance to be like. they want to build the system we have now and put rules in place. what the bill does is create rules for private health care companies that are less strict than what north carolina has for car insurance companies. >> would it help if you there were one cohesive piece of legislation that you could go out and explain and defend? >> you know, it's not about the details of this point. it's really about the big picture. and obviously congress needs to sweat the details and get that right. but the opposition is not that narrow and that specific. it is really there against

anything we want to do. >> well, republican strategist told me the devil's in the details. so we'll have to see which side wins out, the big picture or those devilish details. congressman, good of you to join me. i appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> a bombshell out of pittsburgh today. authorities say george sodini, the man responsible for last week's shootings at the l.a. fitness center was investigated by police less than a week before he carried out the deadly rampage. police now say they questioned sodini for possibly taking a hand grenade on a bus on july 28th. they let him go because he told them they had the wrong guy. on the phone with me now is bob bartalomae. he is a reporter in pittsburgh. what you are learning about this bus incident? >> reporter: it turns out when they questioned sodini on july 30th, two days after it was reported, they didn't find anything in his bag. and he -- they took a picture of him. they called the witness who saw

him on the bus and asked him if this fit the description and he said, no. and they kind of drond the mppe matter. then a port authority police saw the picture. they were disturbed. they said this is the guy that we stopped and maybe we could have prevented something. but that would have been speculative. the allegheny county police superintendent charles moffet said they did find messages at his apartment saying that he had a grenade but it was a fake hand grenade. it was an object that wouldn't harm anyone. so it turned out to be nothing really. >> and have they wrapped up the investigation at george sodine's hope home? >> reporter: no, they're still investigating. they're still going over the material. but no new developments have developed so far. >> all right. bob, i appreciate you shedding all the light on this new revelation. thanks. >> thank you. the four women charged in the alleged revenge plot out of wisconsin, remember they got mad because they found out they were all having affairs with the same guy? back on the radar today because

they're accused, remember this is tying up the two-timing guy, gluing his private parts to his body to get back at him for his cheating ways? turns out three of the four women are in court today because when they made the first appearances, they didn't have lawyers. nbc's are a hama ellis is in with -- are you not? you're not in chicago. you're in -- you're in chicago. what you are hearing now about these women? it seems like if you're going to go through with a plot like they're accused of doing, having a plan for a lawyer might be a good idea. >> reporter: i don't think that they have a plan. but that's just me saying that. i haven't had any official word on that. but let me tell you what is happening in court today. these women are supposed to be back in court, three of the four. and it is a preliminary hearing with an attorney. we suspect. and probably the last only 10 to 15 minutes then they'll be told they'll come back to court later on for preliminary arraignment. and, you know, contessa, this story has more twists and turns

than a roller coster ride. but the consequences of this is very serious. and i'm going to read some of this. because there are a lot of bizarre twists to this story. as you point out, the women were accused of luring this man to a hotel room, blindfolding him, tying him to a bed. and then glug his private parts to his leg. they're being privy to false imprisonment. they could face up to six years in prison. another woman is charged with a misdemeanor. and that is sexual assault. the man's wife, tracy hood dave sis also involved in this. she's not going to be in court today. she's due back in court later this month. each of the four women have been out on $200 each. they were able to make bail on that. now the strange part of the story, too, the man who had this happen to him, he went to the hospital. he was unglued, if you will, and treated for minor injuries. and the next thing you know, he himself is up in jail because his estranged wife has accused

them of beating their daughter. and in addition, she said that he stole the ashes of her dead father. >> what? >> he hasn't been able to make bail. he's sitting in a wisconsin jail with $5,000 bond. >> oh, my -- i'm sure this is a story that the wisconsin media are having a field day with. good of you to bring us the latest. >> thank you. >> take a look at this weekend soccer match. it evolved into a battle. 37 minutes left on the clock. uruguay landed a heavy punch on a defender after both players jumped out chasing a high ball. the referee spent a lot of time trying to get things under control. the match ended up with -- well, the uruguay person there -- the team was leading 1-0. nasty. what's our favorite part of honey bunches of oats? the sparkly flakes. the honey-baked bunches!

the magic's in the mix. my favorite part? eating it. honey bunches of oats. taste the joy we put in every spoonful. introducing the all new chy equinox. with an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon. and up to 600 miles between fill ups. it's the most fuel efficient crossover on the highway. better than honda cr-v, toyota rav4 and even the ford escape hybrid. the all new chevy equinox.

but i did. you needo talk to your doctor about aspirin. you need to be your own advocate. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. you take care of your kids, now it's time to take care of yourself.

a typhoon has caused massive flooding, swept away a building. in that same area as many as 600 people have been buried by a mudslide. storms are also affecting japan and china. nearly two dozen people have been killed. and hundreds unaccounted for. the typhoon forced nearly mailon people to evacuate their homes. that is devastating. nato, the pentagon, and a top general are firing back at the "wall street journal" for a story headline that the taliban. the top american commander there said the paper interviewed sam crystal for the story but the general spokesman says the words were not accurately affected. they went too far.

nbc's richardening sl in kabul, afghanistan now. what is the reaction on the ground there to hear this sort of back and forth on how the troops are doing in afghanistan? >> not only on the ground here but also back at the pentagon. the u.s. military is not happy with this article in the "wall street journal." there has been a cavalcade of denial saying that commanding general never said the taliban is winning and that this article mischaracterized what he said. what the commanding general was trying to say is that there is a tough fight here and that the u.s. military strategy needs to change and that there needs to be an assessment of what is going on right now and a realignment of forces. that's more u.s. troops need to be focused in the population centers and he said that the u.s. people should brace for more casualties. already last month saw the highest number of nato casualties since the war began. the general said those high casualty figures will likely

continue for months. >> richard, how much does -- do drugs play into this? i know that they've added 50 now suspected drug traffickers with ties to the taliban to the most wanted list. they are starting a new initiative to try to pay farmers to do other jobs so that they don't feel reliant on poppy crops which produce heroin. how central do they think the drug czar is linked to the success that the taliban has? >> they're trying to grow pomegranate instead of opium. pomegranate doesn't cost very much and opium sells for a great deal. and that's where most of afghanistan's opium ends up. the taliban makes about $400 million a year from the sale of poppy which becomes opium which is then smuggled out of this country. and it is intrinsically linked to the militant activity.

so when the u.s. military targets taliban leaders and drug dealers, they're often targeting the same people. >> all right. richard, thank you. >> now a check of the big economic stories we're tracking. first, general motors. ebay announced more than 200 california gm dealers of list cars on the online auction site. consumers will be able to bid on the cars on ebay starting tuesday. gas prices on the rise. current national average for a gallon of regular stands at $2.65. a week ago, a gallon of regular was 10 cents cheaper. the dow jones industrial average down 67 points. we'll keep our eye on that throughout the day. let's get to cnbc's matt nest yoe. what is moving the markets? >> you know, i like that poor guy in wisconsin you were talking about earlier. these markets by at least one measure have come unglued, if you will. and that is because this is, believe it or not, only a .7% decline, the single worst day we had in one full month. this rally that really started with the kickoff of second quarter earnings. and the early part of july.

so in big picture, it's not much of a give back. but it is the third decline in the past four sessions. the markets here are temptingly offering investors a chance to take some profits, especially off of some of those cyclical stocks that have had such a big runup and point to things like retailers, some of the commodity stocks and such like that. we're seeing a bit of strength in areas like mcdonald's which came out with stronger than expected same store sales for its most recent month. and also merk, we're seeing a shift of the defensive names and an upgrade there by goldman sachs helping those stocks. stocks in general holding in. there although we're doing something we haven't done a whole lot which is give back a little bit of ground. >> or come unglued. i'm glad to see that you're watching my newscast. >> intently. >> thank you, matt. this story out of paraguay is too hard to believe. a baby girl pronounced dead by a hospital. dod brings the body home in a box getting ready to bury her

then he hears crying coming from the box. when he opens it, he finds the baby is alive. and not only that, it's not a girl, it's a boy! the baby's family has express the anger at the hospital. you think? right now the baby is in intensive care. people think that honda is always the most fuel efficient choice. well, this chevy cobalt xfe has better highway mileage than a comparable honda civic. this chevy traverse has better mileage than honda pilot. the all-new chevy equinox has better mileage than honda cr-v. and chevyalibu has better mileage than accord. however, honda does make something that we just can't compete with. it's self-propelled. there's never been more reasons to look at chevy. you're ready for the mid-morning rush thanks to a good breakfast. one coffee with room, one large mocha latte. medium macchiato, light hot chocolate hold the whip, and two espressos. make one a double. she's fiber focused! i have two cappuccinos, one coffee with room,

one large mocha latte, a medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate, hold the whip, and two espressos, one with a double shot. gonna take more than coffee to stay this focused. stay full and focused through the morning... with a breakfast of kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats® cereal; an excellent source of fiber thatelps you avoid... the distraction of mid-morning hunger. no thanks, i'm good.

welcome back to msnbc. we're looking at nasty wernl coming from michigan. 100,000 folks don't have tractor-trailer becau electricity because of bad storms that swept through the western part of the state. the wind uprooted trees and knocked down power lines. there was extensive damage to the homes as well. today officials near tampa, florida, are investigating an parent case of road rage that left one person dead. officials say a man wearing a bullet-proof vest and armed with an assault rifle and a handgun opened fire on a jeep full of teenagers sunday afternoon. apparently because they did not

pull their car up far enough at an intersection. one of the teens was shot twice in the leg. he was in his truck dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound. the 17-year-old is recovering at an area hospital. the plan to buy eight new planes from congress is getting flack. house lawmakers want to spend $550 million for additional passenger jets for senior government officials. "the wall street journal" reports that funding was added to the pentagon's budget even though the department of defense didn't request it, the white house only requested half of that number of planes. several republican and democratic senators say they will oppose the funding when congress gets back from recess. in fact, it's a perfect example of the waste in washington. and the talk about the 2010 races in congress underway right now. the democrats hold a 79-seat advantage in the house. when it comes to the senate, democrats have the mass advantage. joining me now, nbc news deputy political director mark murray.

i know you wrote about this. but what goes into strategizing who the mass benefits in 2010? >> we're looking at it right now. it's very early. there are still 450 days until the 2010 midterm. we have a very long way to go. but most of the ground is being fought on republican turf. that means the competitive contests as they look right now deal with races where you're seeing a republican retirement. right now there is probably as many as seven republican senate retirements going in 2010 versus two for democrats. when you have an open seat like that, that makes the contest much more competitive. you always give advantage to an incumbent in house and senate and gubernatorial races. but when there is an open seat, that means that it is usually almost a free for all. and we're seeing that from retirements, for example in, key battle grounds like ohio and missouri. those are going to be some of your most competitive races. and those are competitive because of republican incumbent is deciding not to -- not to run

for re-election in 2010. >> if you want to seat map, you can go to firstread.msnbc.com. thank you. >> and that wraps up this hour for me. i'm contessa brewer. i appreciate you're watching. tamron hall and david shuster take over after a break. sarah palin has a change of heart on facebook. first she says one thing and now another. now calling for civility in all this talk about the health reform plan. initially she called it down right evil. what caused the change of heart? cameron and david are up after a break. s shopping for a new car, ♪ ♪ which one's me - a cool convertible or an suv? ♪ ♪ too bad i didn't know my credit was whack ♪ ♪ 'cause now i'm driving off the lot in a used sub-compact. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free credit report dot com, baby. ♪ ♪ saw their ads on my tv ♪ thought about going but was too lazy ♪ ♪ now instead of looking fly and rollin' phat ♪ ♪ my legs are sticking to the vinyl ♪ ♪ and my posse's getting laughed at. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free- credit report dot com, baby. ♪

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? yeah. onstar. standard for one year on 14 chevy models.