for arthritis pain... in your hands... knees... and back. for little bodies with fevers.. and big bodies on high blood pressure medicine. tylenol works with your body... in a way other pain relievers don't... so you feel better... knowing doctors recommend tylenol... more than any other brand of pain reliever.

at this hour, the health care debate on capitol hill. any chance democrats have for reaching that magic filibuster-proof majority in the senate may come down to just one republican senator. straight ahead, my interview with maine's owe listen ya snowe. what she's hearing from the white house and what she needs in a bill to be able to support it. plus, a view of the president that divers sharply from some of her republican colleagues. >> gotten an impression that he would probably do less with more. >> do you see him as a moderate? >> more moderate than liberal. >> the other big issue on the president's plate, how to win in afghanistan. this week, i asked the president whether we could meet his goals without more boots on the ground. >> i assure you that if that were the case, you wouldn't see 68,000 of our young men and women deployed in afghanistan,

they would be back with their families and their loved ones. >> all that, plus imagine being afraid to give your child a bath because it might put them at risk for cancer. an emotional journey to one west virginia town. good day, everyone, i'm john harwood of cnbc and the "new york times." this is the "new york times" special edition on msnbc. on the front page this hour, senator olympia snowe, the last chance for bipartisan reform on health care. i sat down with the republican from maine to find out exactly where she stands. >> and then you can modify them so it is more important -- >> what is it like being at the center of the political universe? everybody wants to know what you're going to do, what you're thinking, a lot of pressure. how does it feel? >> well, the most important thing to me is to focus on the issue itself and whether or not it is the right policy, how best to improve it getting more

facts, talking to my staff, talking to others, talking to people in maine. and others who are involved in the health care field. >> how much are you hearing from the president, from rahm emanuel, from all of the people at the white house? >> well, i have talked to the president on a number of occasions and i think the -- >> talk to him every day now? >> no, not every day. people do make that point, but, no, i don't. i talked to him last friday was the last conversation i had several times, all about issues. >> some of your republican colleagues say that barack obama is a big government democrat, that he wants to expand the role of government. some even use words like socialist and that sort of thing. do you see him that way? >> no, you know, it's interesting, i don't. in fact, since he has been in office, i think he has been very realistic in his views on health care. >> do you see him as a moderate? >> more moderate than liberal in

his questions. he has advanced the issue of the public option, but you know, i have a sense that he might be far more flexible on that question many months ago when i had an initial discussion with him on health care itself. >> given the fact that the cbo has said that senator baucus' bill would, in fact, save money over a ten-year window, are you satisfied that the cost control, cost containment in the bill is adequate? >> i do. and you know, we had that discussion this morning with the congressional budget office, director doug elmen do memenelm group of six, we were adamant in our talks that it should be budget neutral and anything bend the cost curve and the overall cost, you know, the escalation, you know, of inflation within health care. and it does begin that trend in the first ten years. he indicated that he could be less certain about the second ten-year window because, you know, only define it in broad terms, probably going to bring down the cost of health care.

but obviously, going to be done with less certainty and predictability because it is so far out. >> senator baucus and the president and other democrats who are trying to make this happen have made appeals to the sense of had history thistory, many decades of failing to pass comprehensive reform this is the time to do it. do you have a similar feeling? >> well, i think the time has come, but it's also critical to affect the right policy because it affects every american. and how we craft that policy will have, you know, a tremendous impact on the country and on something that is so fundamentally important to the american people. so, it's important to get it right, if at all possible. >> a whole bunch of democrats and one republican, olympia snowe? >> well, obviously, i'm a

republican, but i would like to have more republicans on board. >> would you like to but do you have to? >> well, i'm going to support the right policy. see, that's what guides me and governs me. it always has. >> why are you a republican and how important is your republican identity to you as a legislator? >> well, you know, i've always been a republican for the traditional principles that have been associated with the republican party, since i became, you know, a republican when i registered to vote. and that is -- you know, limited government, individual opportunities, fiscal responsibility and strong national defense. so, i think that those principles have always been part of the republican party heritage, and i believe that i, you know, reflect those views and i haven't changed as a republican. i think more that my party has changed. >> all right. now, let's bring in david herzenhorn, congressional

correspondent for "the new york times." david, you cover this debate every day. let's think about what olympia snowe said, she regards barack obama as a moderate, she thinks the baucus bill has adequate cost controls and that her party has moved away from her. what does that tell you about where she's going to end up, knowing that she still has some changes she wants in the bill? >> it says that there is real work continuing as we speak and that she is close to supporting this proposal, which she has had a huge impact on. no question she talked just now about republican ideals for limited government. it is more restrained than it would have been after the months of talks with senator baucus. >> does that mean on a vote to potentially get past a filibuster, you have 59 democrats that she potentially could vote as the lone republican with those 59 democrats and then get this thing to the floor? >> that's what she told you. i mean, it was clearly the money

quote in your interview with her where she said, you know she doesn't need more republicans to come on board. she is going to vote for the right policy. keep in mind that i think right after your interview with her, she went over to a meeting in mitch mcconnell's office, republican leader, i know our tough interview, john, but i bet that was a tougher meeting for her, a lot more pressure coming from her republican colleagues. >> any indication from your reporting as to what they said to her and whether anything changed? >> well what they came out saying is they are going to work together. there is a big deadline for all the senators on the finance committee. today at 5 p.m., they have to have their amendments in to senator baucus, how they would like to shape this legislation, change it, revise it as they go into their formal committee work next week. so what senator chuck grassley said coming out, they have agreed to work as a team on amendments there is no question will is a lot republicans agree on but really see by the end of the day today what they have proposed and whether senator snowe is really out there on her own potentially, apart from

colleagues. >> now, david, i talked to president obama earlier this week about health care as well. we know he is in a major public relations campaign to try to move this legislation. let's take a listen to that and we will talk about it on the other side. >> i think a lot of americans out there would say you're telling me you're gonna cover 30 million people who don't have insurance now and not add to the deficit? give me a break. >> well, here's how it goes. two-thirds of the costs for covering new people will be paid for by taking waste out of the system that nobody argues doesn't exist. everybody knows that it's there. the congressional budget office, which is highly respected, has said it's there. and that's gonna be the bulk of what it takes to pay for those 30 million americans. in addition, what we're going to be able to say to hospitals, for example, is, you know what, since now everybody's covered, you don't have to get all this extra uncompensated care that's

costing every family about $900 a year in higher premiums than they otherwise would have had to pay. but what we are absolutely clear about is that it's not just paying for the 30 million that's important, it's reducing the increases in health care inflation every year that's so important for families, businesses and reducing the deficit. and that is something that we can't accomplish without health care reform. if we don't have that, we are not going to be able to reduce our deficit, because if you look at all the other aspects of our budget, nothing comes close to the rising costs of health care in terms of what's gotten into this deep financial hole. >> now, david, you heard president obama there making the case that he -- as he has done from the very again of this debate that cost control, bending the curve is very important to him. on the other hand, you had olympia snow telling me yesterday that she wants more

subsidies for low and moderate-income people to buy insurance through these excha e exchanges. we know some liberal democrats want those, too. how are they going to square that desire, since we are really talking about snowe plus the democrats for the negotiations, how are they going to make that work financially? >> keep in mind the cost estimate for senator baucus' proposal 774 billion came in a bunch lower than others expected. other health care proposal circulating on capitol hill, as you know have price tags in excess of $1 trillion. now, all of these, if you think about that that cost is over ten years, you might consider a bargain that is not a lot of money in terms of what the government spends, but the president was really starting to make the case that would be the most important argument he has to make in the days ahead, which is this is about making health care affordable to all americans, not just the uninsure bud to the vast majority of people who already have coverage through their employers. now, that's gonna be tricky in part, because the baucus plan, for instance, still requires americans to pay a lot of money toward health care costs, up to

13% of income on premiums. >> that was part of olympia snowe's point that 3% is too much and we need some more subsidy. do you think they can find a way, a budget-neutral way within this bill to come up with some more money? >> it seems like they can, they can move those subsidies higher, they might be able to shift some of the numbers. again it will grow the price tag somewhat but come in well under the $900 billion limit that the president set in his speech to congress last week. >> now, david, we had one wildcard that the administration hasn't played that they did play today and that was michelle obama, the first lady, who hasn'ten out there all that much on issues. she went out and stumped for health care reform. let's listen to what she had to say. we will talk about it on the other side. >> women in this country have been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions like having a c-section. or having had a baby. in some states it is still legal to deny a woman coverage because she's been the victim of

domestic violence. >> so david, what do you think the reasoning might be behind putting michelle obama out and what impact might that have? >> i think there is a recognition that we are really getting to the moment of truth here that there is a conversation that is going to have to take place with the american people and the white house is going to pull out all the stops. that means bringing in the first lady to talk about what she finds as important in this bill. it's why the president's team from the chief of staff, rahm emanu emanuel, on down are all over the capitol complex virtually every day, top legislative affairs folks from the white house were in with -- having lunch with senate democrats yesterday. this is really an all-out press by the white house and think it's only going to intensify in the days ahead. >> plenty to keep you busy, david. thanks for the update. appreciate it. >> thank you. some breaking news out of washington now. a new effort to get attorney general eric holder to abandon an investigation into cia interrogations. seven former cia directors have signed a letter to president obama calling on him to "reverse

attorney general holder a's decision to reopen the criminal investigation of interrogations that took place following the attacks of september 11th." those signs, michael hayden, porter goes, george ten nent, john deutsch, jim woolsey, bill webster and jim schlesinger. and coming up, health care reform and the protests against the president's initiatives. is racism really a factor in the op eds is next. later, toxic levels reported in one west virginia coal town. find out how the residents are being impacted. it is all part of this week's taste of the times. you are watching the special edition of the "new york times" on msnbc. achoo! (announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo!

(announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst mptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life.

welcome back to the "new york times" special edition. now it's time for our weekly

look at some of the top "new york times" columnists. first up on the on edge, paul krugman's take on health care reform and the baucus bill that so many liberals are now vilifying. paul krugman writes, even if the baucus plan gets better rather than worse what emerges won't be legislation reform kers love. will it nonetheless be legislation they can vote for? we will see. that's the question among democrats. next up on on edge, maureen dowd on taking congressman joe wilson to it is a fork yelling "you lie" at the president during his speech to congress. maureen dowd writes, "when house democrats and a handful of republicans reprimanded the congressman for refusing to apologize to his colleagues for breaking the rules, it was quite a wonderful way to improve america. and i would add it also helped raise joe wilson's profile even further." and further, the seeming belief that president obama is rooted in racism, david brooks, former president carter's comments,

t.e.a. party slogans, "i don't have a machine for peering into the souls of barack obama's critics so i can't measure how much racism is in there, but my impression is that race is largely beside the point." charles blows, the "new york times" visual op ed columnist, joins us from new york. charles, tell me what you think about david brooks said that racism is largery beside the point. agree? >> well, i agree with another part of his column, which is that there's no way to know. that's the biggest problem with racism and discussions of racism is that we use them as political tools and therefore, we render them kind of trite. and therefore, we kind of lower the intellectual discourse of what racism means. i think that in one way, you can say that race always matters, particularly if you have a president who is black. in another way, we all know that, you know, no one can

really measure this. there was a great poll done a year and a half ago, january, 2008, that showed that most whites say that they underestimate the amount of racism against black and most blacks agree that they overestimate the amount of racism against black. we don't even know where the line is, therefore, we can't even start to measure what may be out there. >> well, charles, let's assume you're right, as i do, that race is always a factor in human relations. we are all conscious of our racial identities and we can perceive the differences between us, therefore, we bring certain assumptions to bear. that being the case, do you think that barack obama and his white house have taken the right approach in saying we are not gonna talk about it? >> that's very interesting question. you know, i think, particularly in light of the last time he decided to talk about it and put his foot in his mouth with the gates situation. and when he did move to say that we were gonna talk about it

basically meant that there would be no cameras, nobody be to listen and we have a couple of beers with the guys who got in trouble. that is -- be if that is his only foray into the racial discussion so far in his presidency, then it kind of begs the question of what will be your position on talking about this subject as it emerges? and i think it will emerge over and over in his presidency. will he always evade it unless he is, himself in trouble or implicated? i would lake to believe that the president that he is very articulate man, would be able to find the words to talk about issues like this without doing what i think a lot of people on both sides are doing, which is using it as either a crutch or a bludgeon. >> one thing is clear, when he has talked about it, he has seemed to strike a tone that was not strident and trying to bring the two sides together. charles, i appreciate it.

>> absolutely. still to come, more of my one-on-one interview with president barack obama. hear what he has to say about his plans for the american military presence in afghanistan. but first, how is the s.e.c. cracking down on a controversial wall street practice that could be putting your investments at risk? it is all the news that's fit to print. this is the "new york times" special edition, only on msnbc. we had a mouse. what? where? don't freak. it's gone. how? who did it? i did. with one of these. this is a mouse trap? yeah. it's a new kind of mouse trap from ortho. home defense max. it's guaranteed to kill the mouse. you just push down this little lever right here... ...and it does the rest. nothing to see. nothing to touch. you just throw it away.

no mess. no drama. we could do without drama. excuse me? (man) ortho home defense max. (woman) defend what's yours.

get it fast. sarah! you're home! (announcer) on the nation's fastest 3g network. at&t. body wash from olay. tone enriching ribbons. two separate ribbons. the white cleanses. the gold moisturizes and has a touch of mineral shimmer to enhance skin's tone. olay tone enriching body wash. for skin that shimmers.

okay. in today's case from the times, an emotional journey to a west virginia coal town. residents of printer, west virginia, say they found toxic level levels of chemical contamination in their water supply and claim that contributed to a higher-than-average number of cancer death he is and other diseases. jennifer hole massey says the fear over the water they are forced to use affects everything the family does, even something

parents would take for granted. >> bath time is really sad 'cause, you know, they are children, and especially the little one, he loves water, he loves playing in water. so bath time we try to get them in the tub, out of the tub as quickly as possible and like i say, clay loves water, so it is a fight constantly, because he wants to stay and play and doesn't really understand why he can't. >> now, matthew says she and her husband tried to sell their home after finding out the levels of contamination in the water but can't find anyone to take it off their hands. see this incredible video and more at video.nytimes.com. now "the new york times" has all the news that's fit to print. some stories from the pages of the "new york times" we thought you might find interesting. we start with less flash on wall street. the securities and exchange mission is proposing a ban on what's known as flash orders, which use powerful computers to glimpse at investor orders and capitalize on that information much the practice is a associated with a controversial

corner of finance called high-frequency trading, which is becoming a potent force in the markets. and everything's bigger in texas, even the things people collect in that state. a "times" article says a look at house collectors in texas -- takes a look at house collectors in texas. one couple has bought 23 houses in the last 30 years and not talking about homes that are fixed and flipped for a profit. the elix right now have 18 houses, a number of which they have picked up and moved to their 10,000-acre ranch. and a tiny t-rex making news, maybe not tiny but not the jumbo version used to seeing in museum he is and "jurassic park" movies. paleontologists discovered a new prototype of the tyrannosaurus rex. it has all the hallmarks including an oversized head, powerful jaws, long legs and puny, but this one was only nine feet long and weighed 150 pounds. and coming up, tear gas in tehran, opposition protesters

chanting death to the dictator. does that mean change is coming to iran? plus, the politics behind the push for health care reform. can the president actually get a bill passed this year? the caucus is coming right up. you are watching the new york times special edition, only on msnbc, the place for politics. (announcer) carefree introduces protection, times ten.

new carefree ultra protection liners, with wings! absorb ten times more, like a pad but feel thin and comfy, like a liner.

kids who don't eat breakfast aren't getting the nutrition they need to keep their bodies strong. ( bell rings ) a nutritious start to the day is essential. that's why carnation instant breakfast essentials

supplies all the nutrients of a complete breakfast. so kids get the protein and calcium they need to help build strong muscles and healthy bones. carnation instant breakfast essentials. good nutrition from the start. and welcome back to the "new york times" special edition only on msnbc. i'm john harwood. as u.s. troops battle against the latest wave of taliban attacks, another u.s. service member has died in a roadside bomb explosion today. support for the war has hit record lows following the deaths of 50 nato troops this month. this as the u.s. announces 3,000 more troops are headed to afghanistan. i spoke with a commander and chief earlier this week about his strategy. do you have any concern, as some fellow democrats do, that that, in fact is going to end up being the wrong war, or at least the

wrong war compared to alternatives like using drones and unmanned equipment to do things that might keep american troops from getting bogged down in a quagmire? >> well, look, first of all, i said at the beginning of this -- this administration, i said during the campaign and i continue to believe that our primary focus has to be dismantling al qaeda and other extremist organizations that can project violence against the united states, its allies or its bases around the world. that is our number one priority. and everything that we're doing in afghanistan or pakistan has to keep that central goal in mind. now, i wish that that was as easy as just sending a few drones over. i assure you if that were the case, you wouldn't see 68,000 of our young men and women deployed

in afghanistan. they would be back with their families and their loved ones. i would say that over the next several months, what people need to do is to not expect a sudden announcement of some huge change in strategy, but rather that this is a continuation of the approach that we have taken from the start, which is we are gonna make our decisions based on the facts on the ground and the primary goal of keeping the american people safe. and it's going to be amply debated, not just in congress, but across the country, before we make any further decisions. >> do you reflect on what happened to lyndon johnson and worry the same thing might happen to you. >> i think you have to learn lessons from history. on the other hand, each historical moment is different. he never stepped into the same river twice. so afghanistan is not vietnam, but the dangers of overreach and not having clear goals and not having strong support from the american people, those are all

issue that i think about all the time. >> and that takes us right to our first topic on the caucus, our weekly roundup of the top stories with the "new york times" top journalists. joining us this week, mark land letter, the times correspondent, mark bly, political correspondent for the new york times and times white house reporter, jeff zellny. mark, let me start with you, the president said that afghanistan is not vietnam. are there many democrats or others in the congress, for that matter who think it is sort of like vietnam and if so, how much of a problem is that for had him? >> it is a significant problem and the answer is that there are some democrats that are beginning to draw that parallel, including some important voices like senator carl levin. that said, most democrats, even those who are skeptical, are willing to give the president time to show that his strad jie can work. and the white house is sort of in a very concerted mode of saying, look, this is not going to happen overnight. don't, as the president just said in that clip, don't expect

to see a sudden change in strategy, everybody needs to take a deep breath and allow the strategy to play out. one of the things that was a problem this week for the white house is a growing recognition, because the election was so scarred by corruption, ballot-stuffing and other irregularities we may not know in the spring hot next leader of afghanistan is going to be. and if it is hamid karzai, as looks likely, the u.s. faces an extra burden of having a government in place there that's lacking in some legitimacy and credibility and may not be the kind of parter in the u.s. needs to make the strategy work. >> jeff, let me ask you something, mark mention and i was struck by this in the president's comments as well, don't expect anything quickly. what does that mean, slow down the process? what is the significance of that? >> first of all, they have a lot on their plate, as the president says over and over and beginning with health care. they do not want this afghanistan decision, should we send more troops or not, going to be on at the same time as the

health care debate. what we are told the white house is doing is saying prepare your reports but don't give it us to yet, we are not going to make a decision about this i look for not until perhaps november some weeks and months down the road because they do want to slow this down. part to have is to see what the decision is there. part is a political decision, they know they can't do anything at once. they need democrats on health care. the democratic party, which looks to be coming back together now on health care suddenly fractures over afghanistan it could be a problem. >> the other big foreign policy issue the president is dealing with now is iran, which indicate it had is ready to negotiate with the p 5 plus 1, but you have had president mahmoud ahmadinejad say provocative things in the last few days about the holocaust and he talked to ann curry of nbc earlier today. let's take a listen to what he had to say.

>> the legal frame works inside iran are very clear and every person has an opinion to express within the con fines of the law, they are free to express such opinion opinions i don't see any problems. >> okay, so, what sort of negotiating partner is ahmadinejad going to be for the president and any belief these talks become to get under way are going to be promising? >> the first yet big question. no one is sure if the election, attendant controversy and bloodshed makes ahmadinejad more open to dealing with the united states or makes him as hostile and implacable as he has been. the statements in the past two days would suggest it is the old ahmadinejad and he does see the holocaust as a myth. >> will he be addressing the u.n. next week and will that be a signal or clue as to what has changed? >> he may, although a lot of

people point out about iran what counts is not what is said publicly but what is said privately behind closed doors. and in that sense, a lot of what will happen between the u.s. and iran will be happening confidentially, look for him to hit the same themes the last two days in new york, but doesn't necessarily mean when they sit down on october 1st which is when the five parties and iran are going to sit down for the first time to discuss the nuclear issue -- >> that's where it counts. >> that's where it counts. we don't know yet. the whole message that the administration setting up is we are going into this determining to have a significant, meaningful dialogue. it has to be about the nuclear issue, can't be about everything but the nuclear issue as the iranians suggested f they come in with the right spirit this could be an important bit of engagement. secretary of state clinton said that this morning at the brookings institute. >> let's talk about health care for a moment. max baucus laid out his bill,

some liberals don't like it is getting some flack. how significant is that or is that not significant at all because he has got the votes to move in the finance committee? >> i think a lot of that will have to depend on public opinion, hear a lot about details, the health care plans, the coming weeks, backroom negotiating. i think we are in a phase this will be driven by public opinion. >> why do you say that? because my impression is that this is an inside game right now. >> right. >> and that the whole game from the white house is get this thing moving out of the finance committee, get to the floor. if they can get olympia snow, as we were talking about earlier with david herszenhorn, they could have 60 votes, so, why -- which legislators are going to stop from their committee markup next weekend, take polls and figure out what they are going to do? >> i think because in order to get this block of moderate senators, democrats, couple of republicans, maine is a perfect example of a state in play, in order to get the folks to tip over the line, feel they are not

risking their careers and their seats to make this vote, they have got to see a movement in public opinion that drives them to the table. this has to be happening on two tracks. there is an inside game but i think driven largely outside and that is where the president's role why you see this media blitz and it is so important. only the president can do draw public opinion. only the president drives those numbers. >> how does the white house see it? >> inside game, outside game? you got to do both things but which is more important? >> the white house sees the inside game taking care of itself and now on hold now that the bill is out. matt is absolutely right, which is why we see the president all over the place, doing a a big campaign stop yesterday, all the sunday interviews, david letterman monday night talking about health care and firstly, michelle obama was out today in sort of a prelude to more to come from her and she was making an appeal to women, said this is critical it is the next sort of step in the women's rights movement, et cetera. >> a substantive issue? >> she has talked to military families about some things but

this was square down the middle. she basically -- it was a call to arms, women should be paying attention to this debate, should get involved in this debate. matt is absolutely right. the white house is trying to drive public opinion on this and they hope the congress sort of follows public opinion always will come along. >> mark, a little out of your lane, but let me just get a quick assessment from you n so many other industrialized countries, they have national health care, they are single payer systems, we don't. how do you think the rest of the world looks that the debate that we are having that is going on for decades and now the president is trying to bring to a conclusion? >> probably with a sense of confusion, because despite having less -- fewer people covered and services that are only as good, it costs the u.s. far more as a percentage of gdp than any of these other countries. by the way, one foreign policy dimension of the health care debate that is this. people are watching from overseas to see if president obama gets this through as a test of his leadership.

to the extent he pushes hard and gets something through, countries like russia, iran and others will decide he is someone that they really need to confront and reckon with. if he fails, they may draw the opposite conclusion. >> interesting point, as the president heads to the g-20 next week and looks forward to the copenhagen climate change negotiation, which will be another test of his clout. jeff zelleny, mark landler, matt bai, thanks for being here. >> thank you. coming up, a look at the top stories and what can you do to protect your own from the swine flu? one "the new york times'" own puts it to the test. two world leaders, one stage, one day. what can we expect? all ahead in the week of in review. you are watching the "new york times" special edition, only on msnbc. 4 times faster than wages. pay your ceo twenty four million dollars a year. deny payment for 1 out of every 5

treatments doctors prescribe. if the insurance companies win, you lose. tell congress to rewrite the story. we want good health care we can afford with the choice of a public health insurance option. get wrapped up in the luscious taste of butternut squash, blended with delicate herbs. v8 golden butternut squash. from campbell's. a soup so velvety and delicious you won't be able to contain yourself. campbell's v8 soups. over health care reform, aarp has chosen a side-- yours. we're fighting to guarantee that you'll never be denied coverage because of your health or age. to prevent anyone from coming between you and your doctor. and to make sure patients don't take a backseat to insurance companies. because at aarp, we believe your health is worth fighting for. learn more at aarp.org.

(announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst mptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life. but those days came and went, and the cigarettes remained. but today's a new day. and a few simple steps can make a real difference in your next quit... things like starting with a plan to quit smoking... getting support... and talking to your doctor about how prescription treatments can help you.

talk to your doctor about prescription treatment options. and make this time, your time. and welcome back to the new york times special edition. i'm john harwood in washington. more from the pages of the "new

york times" ahead, but first, a check on the day's headlines from my pal monica novotny at msnbc headquarters in new york. monica? >> good to see you, john. more information about the man charged with strangling yale med student anny le. raymond clark is behind bars at a maximum security prison in connecticut. friends and others are coming forward now with conflicting images of him. >> everybody who have only known him for the past week has now considered him just a cold-blooded killer, to me, ray is a compassionate person, someone i have known my whole entire life. >> nbc's jeff rossin is live in new haven, connecticut. jeff, i understand you received an e-mail from a former co-worker of clark's? >> reporter: yeah. actually they still do work together. this is somebody who is very current to the situation and also very familiar with this murder case. she is friends with annie and she works in the lab as well writes in this e-mail, we can put it on the screen, very telling, talks a lot about ray

clark and how much of a control freak he was. that's in the words of several lab workers we have spoken to. here is the e-mail. "ray has always been very controlling over the mouse room" the room in the basement, "often bothering people to the point of damn near harassment. last thing i knew was annie got a message from him saying her cages were dirty." now, police have not come out and said that they know of any motive. we do know that they are looking into this as a possible motive. they have ruled out at least one theory, and that is that these two had some kind of romantic relationship. the police now say that is not true at all. also, according to published reports today, monica, just to keep you updated here, the "new york daily news" reporting that they found specks of annie le's blood on ray clark boots and ray clark used a special green pen, familiar too everybody in the lab, used a pen with green ink. apparently, he drop it had at the crime scene according to these published reports and went

bang the next day to try to get it but couldn't. police recovered it and using that as a key piece of physical evidence to put him in that room when annie le was killed. >> wow, jeff rossen, thank you for that. in california, investigators been removing mountains of debris from the property of phillip and nancy garrido. this is the couple charged with abducting and holding captive jaycee dugard for 18 years. cadaver dogs picked up a scent in the yard and investigators trying to clear wait for a more thorough search. meanwhile, we are getting a glimpse of the squalid living conditions jaycee and her two daughters suffered. building inspectors took these photos. you can see, of course, the piles of furniture, the garbage, dishes everywhere. officials say there was also hazardous wiring and an open septic hole. new figures today on how unemployment is affecting all 50 states, 42 states losings the past month with the biggest cuts hitting texas, michigan, georgia and ohio. 27 states saw their rates

increase in august. 14 states along with washington, d.c. reported jobless rates of 10% or higher. nationwide, the unemployment rate rose to 9.7% back in august. more than 13 million children are considered poor by the official poverty standard. this group tends to also suffer lower test scores, higher unemployment and poor adolescent and adult health this weekend, msnbc will air a special called "about our children" focusing on the problems it will be moderated by msnbc political analyst michelle bernard. on "today" featured panelist bill cosby described about it. >> i'm going to do a town hall, will you be there? would you like to be there? i said yes, alvin said yes. then she said, i'm doing this town hall, would you be there? she said really? this went on another half hour. >> poverty affects everyone, we

will talk about depression, education, parenting, you can't do one without doing the other. >> and offer solutions. >> "about our children" airs live from washington this sunday at 7 p.m. eastern on msnbc. that's it for now john, back over to you in washington. >> thank you, monica. now, how far are you following take your fear over swine flu in the "new york times" city critic reporter recently decided to buy a swine flu protection kit from a company called flu armor. the kit costs $69 plus an extra $6.75 for a paper suit. aerial spent some time strolling around new york city to test it out and get reaction from some very curious residents. >> would you wear something like this? >> yes i would. >> no, i wouldn't. >> to save my life? yes, i would. >> well, i did it. i spent a couple of days inside the bubble of extreme flu-related dust protection and i must say it is a very strange place to live. we all put up these kinds of barriers and defenses as we are

running around new york, you do what you have to do to survive here, metaphorical barriers. living between an actual physical barrier between yourself and everybody around you, opposite of what life in new york is b freak or because people think i'm a walking petrie dish? >> the new york city health commissioner told aerial the full suit is probably not necessary unless you are caring directly with someone with swine flu. the best advice to wash your hands freak whenly, stay home if you feel sick. i think you're supposed to sneeze into your sleeves. i will tell chuck todd that see this video at video.nytimes.com.

now let's get to the sunday times early delivery. joining me now is -- live is sam tanenhaus, editor of the week in review and book review from the "new york times" as well as the author of "the death of conservative" a new book out this fall. sam what's coming up this

weekend? >> helene keeper, john, writing about ahmadinejad and obama. both going to be making addresses to the united nations what is the strategy going to be there? write about that. also -- >> she going to explain to us, sam, whether they are going to be talking to each other or past each other? >> you know this actually looks like a moment, john, they may talk past each other but on at least the same wave length, which we haven't seen before and also interesting to see how the whole new strategic shield initiative is going to work into this. are almost reminds us of the old reagan days, carrot on a stick. pretty interesting. >> what else do you got? >> peter goodman, great economics writer here is going to look at obama's sermon to the financial markets to see if he actually can shock them into some kind of change. not easy for a president to do, but boy, this president likes to do it every week, it seems. >> do you know what peter's conclusion is yet? >> we don't, waiting to see t. >> there was a little bit of scolding and finger-wagging in that speech. you wonder how that went over. >> you wonder about t especially

getting a little bit of a recovery but, you know it is just so hard to tell. we have about living in the free market system for so long that even a cataclysm like this tends to feel like a wrinkle after a while. i think obama sees an opportunity to regulate in a new way we haven't seen in a while and really putting it to them but they are pushing back. >> sam tanenhaus, we got to leave it there we are out of time. thanks so much for being with us again. >> thank you, john. and that's it for this hour "the new york times" special edition. time i'm' john harwood. norah o'donnell and monica novotny bring us "the big picture" next right here on msnbc. the gop's presidential potentials gather in d.c. can they rally the party faithful for a more forceful showing in 2012? this is msnbc, the place for politics. pothole:h no...your tire's all flat and junk. oh, did i do that? here, let me get my cellular out - call ya a wrecker. ...oh shoot...i got no phone

...cuz i'm a pothole...so....k, bye! anncr: accidents are bad. anncr: but geico's good. with emergency road service. ding! getting an early flu shot is the best thing you can do... to protect you and your loved ones from the flu. it's also one of the easiest things you can do... because walgreens is now offering seasonal flu shots... every day of the week with convenient hours guaranteed. so you can just stop in. our 16,000 dedicated pharmacists... and take care clinic nurse practitioners... are waiting to help you beat the flu... in neighborhoods nationwide. at walgreens we want you to know, there's a way to stay well. at walgreens we want you to know, ♪ and now in my sixties, they are again. grandpa, are we there yet? i have the freedom to do what i want... and go where i want. grandpa, come on! freedom is what i like about my medicare supplement insurance.

i can see the doctor i want, where i want, anywhere in the country. now your sixties can be a time of freedom again... with aarp medicare supplement insurance plans... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. because any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare... will accept aarp medicare supplement insurance. anywhere in the u.s. the freedom to do my own thing, without worrying about which doctor i can see. medicare covers only about 80%... of your part b healthcare costs. the rest has to come out of your pocket. but with an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, you could save up to thousands of dollars... because it helps cover some of the out-of-pocket expenses... medicare doesn't. and only these medicare supplement plans... have the aarp name... and cover more people nationwide... than any other medicare supplement insurance carrier. call today and you'll receive a free information kit... with a customized rate quote to help you choose the plan... that's right for you. you'll learn about a choice of plans... that help cover some of the 20% out-of-pocket costs... that medicare part b doesn't cover, making it easier to budget your annual healthcare expenses.

oh, grandpa! and you'll discover how convenient and easy... it is to use your aarp medicare supplement insurance. you just show your card. no hassles. at this time of my life, freedom is everything. medicare only pays for part of your healthcare coverage. you have to come up with the rest. it's all about freedom of choice. back in the sixties, i went my own way. why stop now? so call today for a free information kit. when you call, you'll also receive... this free educational guide to help you... understand your medicare coverage options. it's yours free, so call now. and learn how aarp medicare supplement insurance... can help make your sixties a time of freedom. again. outrage from iran. the country's president threatening israel and calling the holocaust a myth, just days before coming to