economic policy for the "washington post." thanks so much for joining us. as we look at the latest incoronations of these bills, i see a 35% tax on some of the high cost plans. it makes me think those plans would just go away. if you had a 35% cost wlb the company pays it or they pass it on to the consumer, the plans are going to be absorb tant. >> that's the hope. the excise tax doesn't just raise money. it makes the system cheaper because in theory people avoid the high cost plans. the second piece of that is in the future it affects a lot of plans. because that cap, that $21,000 place where it begins to hit plans, that doesn't grow as quickly as health care costs. in 10 years, 15 years, a lot more plans will fall into that and it'll raise a lot more money. that's why the bill ends up saving money in the second ten years even more so than in the first. it's a little bit sneaky, actually. >> you just said an excise tax. one of the amendments here would

be to strike the word tax or fee and replace it with tax and then on the other side you already have amendments, i don't know, we're going to go in and wherever it says excise tax we're going to replace that with fee. they're squabbling over the words. in essence the way that this would work is that it would punish people for not getting individual insurance. >> i'm not sure it would be -- are we talking now about the excise tax or individual mandate? >> for the individual mandate tl there's an argument to be made and it has been made if you go in and don't buy the insurance and they pass along the fee, is that it is in essence a tax on the middle class. >> sure. you have actually an interesting amendment from olympia snowe who wants to make a defined minimum contribution. in return you get certain health care sfrss. one of the big things going on right now is there are a lot of

amendments to make it much lower. 700 or 500 or something like that. this isn't a crazy idea. the people that don't have health insurance, they do add to health care costs. they get in a car insurance. they have the flu. they go to the emergency room. they have to treat. >> why wouldn't you want to encourage illegal immigrants to buy health insurance? i'm not saying to pay for them. why wouldn't you want to encourage them to pay into the system? because the bigger the pool of people who are insured, the lower the cost for everybody. >> i agree with you. >> you get a thing there where it's sort of giving our nose a cold to spite our face. if they're in there, then the insurance for an older american gets cheaper just because the average is better. the second piece of that is simply that a lot of illegal immigrants work in food preparation. they clean your kids' school.

bacteria, germs. they don't look at your citizenship status before they jump over. this idea they want them to be really sick strikes me as probably a bad one. >> ez ra, one more question. if you let people -- you say you can't deny people health coverage who have pre-existing conditions, it seems like then why would you buy insurance? wouldn't you just wait until you were sick and then buy insurance to cover whatever treatment or surgery you needed? >> right. that's the argument for the individual mandate. the thing is, is that if you don't have that individual mandate so people feel they've really got to go get it, pay a penalty, then people are going to wait. that's why the insurance will tell you is why they can't officer universal coverage now. it's not an objection about merit. they need to work together. you need subsidies to make it affordable, mandate to bring everybody in, and regulation on insurance so it's offered to everyone. like a three legged stool for

universe sal universality. >> we've got mitch mcconnell. another big story we are following here. the government may soon be asking banks for a bailout. >> the federal deposit insurance corp. or fdic is reportedly considering plan to borrow billions from healthy banks in order to keep funding those that are failing. >> you know we love you, robin. >> can we talk about fdic? >> sure. >> they've had so many banks imploding. they go to those depositors who belong to those banks, here you are. here's whatever you were keeping in the bank account. how dire is the situation for the fdic. >> it's pretty startling, actually. 100 banks nearly have failed this year. the fdic has come into the

situation. one big bank failure could wipe out the remainder of what they're funded for. they need additional money. >> this is an ingenious plan. this big trust fund so to speak, whatever. when the bank goes under you go ahead and pay out the depositors. the other way is to go to treasury and ask them for the money. that's all of us, by the way. that's taxpayer. or to go to the bank and raise if fee they're assessing on these banks and just force them to hand over more money. they're still getting money from the banks. at least the banks are getting some interest. is there a downside? >> it sounds kind of anefarious. the problem with some sort of surcharge may be going back to the trough and saying hey, guys, we need another round, these j banks are in the midst of recapitalizing. on one hand the government is saying go out there, lend. on the other side it's saying

we're going to take money out of your hive. >> they get interest. cnbc's steve liesman was chasing down the story earlier today. it was the fdic that told him we're not taking this idea seriously. why do you think this wouldn't go over that well? again, seems like a great plan to me. >> i think the fdic is looking at a lot of options here. what's most interesting to me is the sub story of sheila bair's relationship or lack of relationship with tim geithner at the treasury. she is loathe to have to go hat in hand and say, tim, hook me up with a $100 billion backstop. she wants to look at all other options, maybe a portfolio of options before she has to walk over to pennsylvania avenue. >> nobody at the fdic or federal government would say so. is there any danger here if the fdic runs out of money and banks are failing that at some point the depositors insurance isn't there for your bank? >> it's all circular.

as we saw from the crisis last fall, the government came in very quickly, geithner and paulson came in and said we need to guarantee money market funds. if there's a collective run on the bank situation, we're in a 1930s situation and the three of us would be in a bread line. i think in the end despite semantics the government is not going to let this happen. as we saw with fran ni and freddie you can't leave these things to chance anymore. you have to codify them specifically. we ought thought fannie mae and freddie mac had an implied guarantee. when bad things happened and things fell apart they really needed the government to truly come and backstop them. it speaks to the specificity. >> robin of "business week," we appreciate it. >> thank you. bank of america is announcing how it intends to begin paying back its two government bailouts. they want to first pay the government $425 million for unused federal guarantees against losses at merrill lynch. >> it also says it's trying to convince federal regulators that it's sound enough to repay

billions in t.a.r.p. funds which could allow it to move forward ridding itself of government control. today new security bulletins issued by counterterrorism officials in washington. stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels around the nation warned to watch out for terrorists. >> this new warning from the fbi and homeland security comes on the heels of the arrests of three men in a terror probe that stretches from new york city to colorado. >> police departments are stepping up patrols. they're doing it with less resources. in some case less staff. stretched because of budget cuts. let's go to nbc correspondent pete williams. you already have these police departments in dire straits in terms of rough economic times. then they get the reminder from the federal counterterrorism folks, hey, you need to step up patrols. >> right. i think, in fact, most of the reaction to these memos will not be from the police departments themselves. they're not doing anything different, they say, in new york. they're already hat a very high level.

these bulletins were aimed at, i think, the private groups that run these facilities. look at what we learned from this. you look at who it's aimed at. earlier mass transit subways, commuter trains, now hotels, sport venues, entertainment complexes. what that tells you is the government still doesn't know exactly what the target of this plot was. this is a pretty generalized group of possible targets. all it says is really we don't know what these people had in mind. we know they had some sort of a terror plot in mind. we think they had new york as a target. it would probably be a good idea if everybody just pays a little more attention these days. i think that's the translation here. it doesn't mean the government has detected that these terror plotters had these targets in mind. it's just sort of a general word to the wise thing. i think it's sort of watched over peop -- washed over people in new york.

t ray kelly says we're already doing all we need to do. i don't think you're going to see a lot of difference in terms of what local police departments are doing. you do see in terms of transit security and that kind of thing and maybe in some of these places a little more scrutiny of backpacks. >> thanks for putting it into perspective. the death toll from that heavy flooding in parts of the southeast continues to rise. >> georgia governor confirms seven people have been killed including a 2-year-old boy. an eighth person was killed in alabama. take a look at this. the six flags amusement part under several feet of water from the chattahoochee river. the governor already declared a state of emergency in 17 counties. take a look at these pictures sent to us from shawn mcbride in powder springs, georgia. apparently this is normally no more than a stream. look at the road.

just flooded from water from a nearby creek. if you have the pictures of the flooding, we'll like to see them. if you can do so safely, send them to us at firstperson.msnbc.com. the house is voting on extendsing unemployment benefits today. we'll talk to the washington lawmaker who's pushing that bill. we'll talk to a small business owner about the changes needed in the health reform proposal in today's "get real" segment. a new book on the obamas claims the first couple didn't always have a picture perfect marriage. maybe even came close to calling it quits. we'll give you the dish coming up. 'cause we're taking a ride ♪ ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt your pride ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller coaster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and girl ♪ ♪ the credit roller coaster makes you wanna hurl ♪ ♪ so throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em around ♪ ♪ like a wanna-be frat boy trying to get down ♪ ♪ then bring 'em right back to where your laptop's at... ♪

♪ log on to free credit report dot com - stat! ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage. me 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.

welcome back to "it's the

economy" right here on msnbc. markets got off to a slow start. having a better afternoon. dow up better than 44 points. the s&p up almost seven. nasdaq up better than seven. with an estimated 400,000 people seeing unemployment benefits expire at the end of the month, house lawmakers are scheduled to boat today on a bill to extend the benefits. >> the bill would provide an additional 13 weeks of benefits. only in states where unemployment is higher than 8.5%. congressman, good to see you today. >> good to see you. >> why not in every state? >> well, what we're trying to do is bridge the gap in states where they still have high unemployment rates. it looks like the economy may be getting better. but there's still 100 yards from the shore. you've got to throw a lifeline in those states where you've got high unemployment. many states may yet rise up and be in that category. but we're trying to do what we need to do to make sure people

don't right at the end of the recession lose their house because they didn't have any money. >> the thing is that if you live in a state that's doing better than others where the unemployment rate is below 8.5% but you're unemployed, your unemployment rate is still 100%. >> there's no question that you can give benefits forever. but what we're trying to do is give enough to get us through this. and if people want to pay more taxes, this bill does not cost anything. we have used a tax that's in place. we're using that money. it would require us raising a whole lot more money to get every state. >> congressman mcdermott, that was actually my next question. i'll skip ahead. how much longer do you think -- say this goes through. i know you're voting on this later this evening. do you anticipate you'd need another extension like this? >> i have a bill ready for

january to extend the benefits that we put in the stimulus package almost a year ago. i'm not sure how it's going to look when we get to december. but i'm ready, because i -- the president said we may have another year of unemployment problems. and if we do, we just can't say to the hard working middle class in this country that's never going to go back to their job in an auto factory or never go back to a bank that collapsed, well, tough luck. that's not america. we help people when we have to. we're going to do it. >> you know, the senate has promised that if the house passing it, and it looks like you will get enough republican support to pass this thing, that the senate will take it up, too, in short order. mr. mcconnell has promised as long as it doesn't add to the deficit he'll go along with it. the thing is this is the fourth time lawmakers have voted to offer extended benefits to those who are unemployed. how is it that you manage to do that and still keep this deficit neutral? >> well, this is the longest

recession we've ever had in my political life. and what we did in this case, there's a tax called the -- it's been in place for 30 years. we're continuing it for another three months to cover this unemployment extension. so it does not add to the deficit. it's already part of what's going on. it's going to be paid for. >> congressman mcdermott, good of you to join us today. we want to turn our attention right now. harry reid is speaking on the baucus health care plan. we want to listen in. >> republicans have chosen not to be part of this discussion. they have obviously to maintain the status quo. the bottom line is that we have to act and act now. the status quo will not work. too many people are hurting right now. too many people are being crushed by the costs of health care. i mean, i got two letters handed to me yesterday. they're tear jerkers, both of

them. and these are only two that exemplify the trouble that people are having. one couple paying $1,150 a month for the health care. one of their children has chron's disease. they're struggling. >> that's senate majority leader harry reid there talking about the latest health care plan. some examples there from his own experience. >> the lawmakers are getting the same stories that you and i get in e-mails. there are people struggling with this. on the other hand you have people worried about how are you going to struggle to pay your taxes if some of this goes through. we'll continue to bring you those stories. we have a great "get real" story coming up. you saw her last week ranting about how she was treating by bank of america. now it looks like her debtor's revolt has paid off. >> ann made this video after she said bank of america hiked her

interest rate on her credit card to 30% even though she was on time with all of her payments. after posting the video on youtube and refusing to pay her balance, ann says bank of america contacted her to negotiate an agreement. >> just because my personal account situation has apparently been revolved, which is a small victory for this debtor's revolt movement, but we still have a war to fight. >> ann says the fight's not over. she's setting up a website for people who feel they've been victimized by the credit card companies. that really narrows it down. quick break here. we'll be right back. 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. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 when my broker said, "i make money when you make money,"

tdd# 1-800-345-2550 he neglected to mention tdd# 1-800-345-2550 he also makes money when i lose money, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 withdraw money or do nothing with my money. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 announcer: you could buy 300 bottles of water. or just one brita filter. ( drop plinks ) brita-- better for the environment and your wallet. 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. gathering dust, as pollen floats through the air.

but with the strength of zyrtec ® , the fastest, 24-hour allergy relief, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. with zyrtec ® i can love the air ™ . nally, good news for people with type 2 diabetes or at risk for diabetes. introducing new nutrisystem d, the clinically tested program for losing weight and reducing blood sugar. hi i'm mike, and i lost 100 pounds on nutrisystem d when i was first diagnosed with diabetes, that first step was more like a giant leap. till i discovered nutrisystem d. in a clinical study people on nutrisystem d lost 16 times more weight and reduced their blood sugar 5 times more than those on a hospital-directed plan. plus a1c was reduced .9%. choose from over 140 menu options, there is no counting carbs, calories or points. i lost 100 lbs. and lowered my blood sugar level. nutrisystem d changed my life. mike is one of many who have lost weight and controlled their diabetes with new nutrisystem d. backed by 35 years of research and low glycemic

index science nutrisystem d works. satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! new! nutrisystem d. lose weight. live better. call or click today. a salacious new book tells story of the first couple's relationship before the white house. not only a love story, but details the moments of jealousy

and bickering. the book claims the couple went through a rough patch shortly after the birth of their second daughter, sasha, and that michelle even questioned whether the marriage would make it unless barack helped out more around the house. >> that never happens. that's so unusual. >> he's out chasing his dream, trying to make his dream come true, i'm the one getting up in the middle of the night with the kids. >> no wife has said that before. the author conducted more than 200 interviews to compile the story. the white house, however, shockingly, had no comment. former republican majority leader tom delay shook his booty on last night's "dancing with the stars." his dance song, "wild thing." >> he committed. >> he committed to the character. just the stiffness. he cha chaed. he split across the floor. even played air guitar. always a good move. >> groovy. >> getting this response from

the judges. >> you are crazier than sarah palin! >> how long was he working on that response, right? >> i have to say, for the premiere and for someone who our expectations were so little, i thought he did a very good job. >> you're very generous. his partner wins every single time. >> not every single -- pretty much. >> she won three times. she always gets the best partner. >> two times. >> we'll look that up during the break. boss: so word's gettin' out that geico can help people save in even more ways -

on motorcycle insurance, rv, camper, boat insurance. nice work, everyone. exec: well, it's easy for him. he's a cute little lizard. gecko: ah, gecko, actually - exec: with all due respect, if i was tiny and green and had a british accent i'd have more folks paying attention to me too... i mean - (faux english accent) "save money! pip pip cheerio!" exec 2: british? i thought you were australian. gecko: well, it's funny you should ask. 'cause actually, i'm from - anncr: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

♪

breaking news here on msnbc. widespread flooding in parts of georgia today. >> seven people have died including a 2-year-old boy. georgia's governor declaring a state of emergency in 17 cowan tis. take a look at this. roller coaster at six flags under several feet of water. nbc's tom trung is live in powder springs, georgia. what's the latest? >> reporter: contessa, melissa,

good afternoon. take a look at powder springs, georgia, right now. this neighborhood is powder springs is still covered with water. this is actually a good sign. the water has actually receded. we're seeing something we haven't seen in the last few days, which is the sunshine. the positive news is that things are dry now. the bad news is people are now getting an idea of how damaged their homes and their property are. take a look at where this truck is. this truck was actually the scene of a water rescue. the driver was stranded here. the water line came right up over the bed of this truck. he had to wait to get rescued. as you mentioned earlier, the governor issued a state of emergency for 17 counties here. he's also put in a letter to president barack obama to try to get some federal help for the state. as you can imagine, some of the municipalities and cities here will have a tough time with their budget issues taking care of this unpres depted mess.

right now we're trying to take a look at some of the damage. so is the governor. he toured this a little while ago over the air. >> thank you so much. okay. more fire for the debate over health care insurance reform. new census data today shows in 2008 more than 45 million people did not have health insurance. most between the ages of 18 and 64. narrows it down. >> due in part to a high number of illegal immigrants the state of texas has the most unsured with 1 in 4 people who lack insurance. massachusetts is the best covered state with fewer than 1 in 20 uninsured residents. today the senate finance committee begins to whittle down 564 amendments to its health care bill. >> chairman max baucus has agreed to some changes that include increased subsidies, lowered pe eed penalties and ta

cadillac plans. kelly o'connedonnell with more today's session. >> reporter: the chairman began the day with offering more ideas that would be popular for many of the committee. the intention would be to make it more affordable by increasing tax credits, reducing costs individuals or families would pay. things like that. where they are looking at basically the same broad outlines but changing some of the numbers to hopefully reflect levels that will be more appealing to members of the committee. a big part of what we're seeing today is the chance for everyone on the committee to say their piece. we have been focused so much on the group of six, gang of six, the three republicans, three democrats who've been negotiating, and today we're getting to hear from the whole committee, 23 members. a few more democrats than republicans. and we're seeing the broad outlines of where the differences are. republicans have raised questions today. one saying that it is a real threat to liberty by requiring that everyone be covered. very different views from

democrats who believe that by having more people insured, costs will go down. this will take some time. the best estimates were just a few days of working on the markup where they keep changing and voting on amendments. some republicans say it ought to take two or three weeks because the total number of amendments was 564. there's some overlap. they're trying to whittle that down a bit. we'll get into the nitty-gritty over a period of days. so far they're still get going. it'll take a bit before they get into some of the really tough issues. they're trying to focus on some things they agree on today. >> thank you. the president promises health care reform will mean positive change for small business owners. >> from shop owners to small firms to everyone who has a close eye on reform. let's get real. from atlanta, small business owner kimberly weatherford owns red eagle consulting. good to see you today. >> hi. >> when we're talking about

health care reform, as the owner of a small business, how important is it to you that something happens that makes insurance affordable for your employees? >> i think affordable insurance is an important thing for us. we've seen insurance rates continue to go up this past year when we renewed our policy. we saw a 25% increase. we negotiated and wound up changes companies in order to bring that down to our previous year's premiums. so it's very important to us. we pay 100% in our company for our employees. the only coverage they have to pay for is for family coverage. >> you've really faced this story from both sides of the equation. you're an employer who's having to bear the burden of the costs and pay for your employees. you're also someone who had a hard time, didn't have insurance coverage for your family, i believe it was, went on cobra and had a hard time finding a new insurance plan. tell us how you come at this from both sides. >> definitely. when my oldest child was born,

she was born with a heart defect. we were currently -- at that time we were under cobra coverage. and so, you know, the plan was she would be born and we would buy individual coverage. she was born with a major heart detect. there was no individual coverage to take her. we had to learn very quickly about coverage and how the laws worked. the law is currently that you can roll from group plan to group plan and pre-existing conditions will be covered. so that's what we did as we went out as small business owner. we started a group policy. we rolled on to that so she could continue to have coverage. >> in the future would you support a public option given the fact that as a business owner, you're going out there and you're buying the insurance for your employees? would a public option change the game at all for you? >> i think a public option could be challenging. i think that if the government makes the rules for competition,

then you have unfair competition there with a public option. so, in other words, we wouldn't allow blue cross, say, to make the rules for every insurer. otherwise you wouldn't have true competition. so that's concerning for me. >> that's a good point. you also don't buy the idea, you know, when the president said do you like the plan you have, you can keep it, you don't necessarily believe that? >> well, i think it's a little bit of word play. in the proposals that are out there right now, yes, you can keep your plan. remember that our plans are only negotiated for 12 months. so at the end of that 12 months we have to deal with what's coming. we may have to negotiate to go to a different provider. at that point we would be changing plans. then you're no longer grandfathered in. >> right now if you take a look at the baucus plan there is a mandate for small employers to provide coverage. what do you think about that? a mandate for business owners to

provide insurance? >> i think it's a challenge for different sector. for us, it's never been a choice, right? first because of our personal situation. but in some small businesses, i think that could be very challenging for them. and the cost is a significant factor. so they would have to look at other ways to cut their costs in order to be able to provide that coverage for their employees. >> what would you like to see the government do now if you could sum it up? what do you want them to do? >> as a business consultant i'd like to see them take two steps back and look at the real cause of rising health care costs. i think we are looking at a symptom when we look at insurance premiums. i think there are other things that cause the rise in cost. until we address those things, we will not fix the premiums. >> it's great of you to join us. we really appreciate you sharing your perspective and personal experiences. thanks. >> you can share your story with us, "get real." you can get mel sis issa franci

twitter. me on twitter and facebook. >> it was inciteful. she doesn't necessarily say what you thought she was going to say. >> everybody has their own story to approach this with. you know, that's part of the problem. a lot of times our experiences are very different. what we want to see, very different. up next, new housing numbers show u.s. home prices on the rise. have we seen the end of the three-year loan decline? president obama challenges middle east leaders to do more to achieve peace. we'll get the latest on his first three-way meeting with both sides after a quick break. meet the real estate broker who has the -- it's the economy on msnbc. stouffer's easy express is ready from the microwave in under 20 minutes, so you can make something that's good in so many ways. stouffer's. let's fix dinner. announcer: what if yoand give itrite a whole new life? introducing a transformation in hair care.

new aveeno nourish plus. only aveeno has harnessed the power of active naturals' wheat complex in formulas that target and fortify the weakest parts of hair, proven to help visibly repair damage in just three washes. - for stronger, shinier-- - hair with life. announcer: write a new story for your hair. the new aveeno nourish plus collection. that's the beauty of nature and science. chef's meal with pommes frites perhaps a night at the theater with extra special seats additional hotel night, our treat your world in perfect harmony: priceless look for world on your mastercard to get rewards and offers that matter to you.

sarah! you're home! on the nation's fastest 3g network. at&t. now get 50% all samsung touchscreen phones after mail-in rebate. only from at&t. announcer: you could buy 300 bottles of water. or just one brita filter. ( drop plinks ) brita-- better for the environment and your wallet.

breaking news from massachusetts now. the senate there has approved a bill that would allow the governor to name senator kennedy's replacement. now the bill has to go back to both chambers for a procedural vote. it is expected to pass.

looks like governor duvall patrick will sign that into law. housing prices were up slightly this summer. they remain well off their 2007 peak. diana olick has more. where do we stand? >> it's hard to say now. we're kind of at a critical juncture. we're looking at what has been a couple months of home price increases. this specific report was flat month to month. you have to be careful. this report measures only sales of homes within conforms loans. that's $417,000 and below. it's really the mid to lower priced homes it's measuring. again, basically flat month to month. down 4.2% year over year and down over 10% since the peak of the market. the question is, can we continue this stabilization in home prices as we go into the fall, which is traditionally the slower season for housing? >> yeah. what do you think the answer to that question is? of course, everybody expects sort of the traffic to slow

down. kids have gone back to school. people are essentially in their homes. the beginning of winter you're busy with the holidays. you don't want to look for houses. a lot of these numbers are seasonally adjusted. >> they definitely are seasonally adjusted. we've been reporting these month to month increases. i hate that. month to month, we should really go year over year because of that seasonality. even though they're seasonally adjusted they always historically go up in the spring during the busy season, down in the fall. again, seasonally adjusted. that's why i prefer year over year, comparing a month in july to a month a year ago in july. that said, we're looking at a fall where we're going the lose that first time home buyer tax credit unless they extend it, which is a possibility. that's $8,000 of purchasing power right there that could go away. >> what are the odds that's going to be extended? that is a huge question a lot of people have been asking? >> it's in several bills in the house and the senate. they're pushing it hard. the question is what's it going to come out of? some people want it to be extended. some want it expanded for not

just first time home buyers, more than $8,000, maybe $15,000. the question is what does it end up in the end if it gets extended? mortgage rates, because remember it's not just the tax credit we're losing. at the end of the year we could also see the fed step back in purchasing all these agency securities which have been driving those mortgage rates down to around 5%. what happens if they go up to 5.5%? what if they start nearing 6%. not trying to be a nay sayer. just want everybody to be prepared for fall. >> what you've done is make me feel like i need to go look for a house now. >> you made it sound like this month -- >> just the information. you do with it what you will. >> diana, thank you. appreciate that. a day after a classified report asking for more troops in afghanistan was leaked, now there's word from the pentagon today. top officials including secretary gates reportedly now saying a request for additional troops is on hold. the pentagon tells its top commander in afghanistan, general stanley mcchrystal, to delay submitting that request for additional troops. the obama administration is

rethinking its afghanistan strategy. that process could take weeks. the president says he wants to be clear on the strategy before he adds more boots on the ground. president obama's urging israeli and palestinian leaders to restart mideast peace negotiations. he held talks earlier today in new york with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and palestinian leader mahmoud abbas who actually began the meeting by shaking hands. >> palestinians have strengthened their efforts on security. they need to do more to move forward with negotiations. israelis have facilitated greater freedom of movement for the palestinians and discussed important steps to restrain settlement activity. but they need to translate these discussions into real action on this and other issues. >> president obama also announced that he had asked former senator george mitchell, special envoy to the region, to meet with israeli and pal tin

yan negotiators next week. actor john travolta is in bahamas today for the extortion trial linked to his son, jett. we heard from a court official travolta is expected to take the stand tomorrow. the case centers around bahamian officials accused of trying to extort millions from travolta after his son died. the ambulance driver goes there, tries to help, tells travolta i need $25 million not to leak private family details. it's believed to be travolta's first visit to the bahamas since his son died. remember jett suffered a see sure seizure at the family's vacation home. officers found drugs and stolen property at a suspect's house. also a nintendo wii. they couldn't resist. >> a home security camera caught the officers playing nintendo wii, bowling. it is a good game. but for nine hours as they carried out their search of the

house. >> look how excited he is that he just won -- got a strike there. >> this is the scarest part. the 16 officer raid cost taxpayers more than $4,000. the sheriff says an internal investigation has been launched. >> i got to say. the local news went in and did an interview with the sheriff. he said, you know, out of all the people that work here, none of them are perfect. they're on the job. they were goofing off. not that i never goof off on the job. >> they have more -- when you talk about the taxpayer dollars spent on those -- anyway. tell us what you think. we'll take a break. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 yeah, i know what you mean... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 when my broker said, "i make money when you make money," tdd# 1-800-345-2550 he neglected to mention tdd# 1-800-345-2550 he also makes money when i lose money, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 withdraw money or do nothing with my money. tdd# 1-800-345-2550

tdd# 1-800-345-2550 (announcer) transform your water. women who drink crystal light drink 20% more water. crystal light. make a delicious change. as we get older, our bodies become... less able to absorb calcium. he recommended citracal. it's a different kind of calcium. calcium citrate. with vitamin d... for unsurpassed absorption, to nourish your bones.

remember when he took on taylor swift. >> bambi. like a kitten.

>> kanye west's next opponent might be actually more bear like. it's been reported that the wwe -- is that world wrestling entertainment? offering the rapper 10 million bucks to wrestle in three events. two televised and one paper view. sit a rumor? >> i don't think 10 million bucks that much to kanye west. >> it's a lot to anybody. >> the ratings would be phenomenal. i'm sure they would pay him $10 million. >> i'm going to let you finish in just a minute. first i've got to say. i'm stronger. sorry about that. agents for libyan leader moammar gadhafi approached our next guest to rent a posh

townhouse. he had a not so subtle way, the realtor did, of telling them, sorry, deal won't happen. joining us now, real estate broker. lay it out for us. >> first, i was thinking what if instead kanye just took on gadhafi. why don't we just do that? i got a phone call a couple weeks ago from someone says they're interested in renting out this whole townhouse. we only had one unit available. they actually said they were with the dutch embassy or representing the dutch embassy. >> you're like this accent -- >> i'm not a linguistics expert. i know you're not dutch either. it turns out it was representatives to the libyan embassy looking to have a place for colonel gadhafi so stay. they wanted the entire building. we had one unit available. i kept telling them we can't kick out people who have signed leases. >> they had pretty significant

demands? >> they were saying it has to be furnished. all the sheets have to be done. the owner has to pay for everything. we never got that far in terms of discussions. at one point they said there must be some way we could do it. i suggested that if they -- >> wait, wait. before you say you suggested. >> that was the perfect build up. >> she killed it. >> i want you to say exactly what you told them. >> i said, well, perhaps -- i didn't say perhaps. i was very direct. i said if you send back the convicted terrorist to scottland, perhaps we can work something out. >> did they like that? >> they hung up the phone. that was the end of it. >> at what point did you figure out it wasn't the dutch? when were they straightforward? >> not until the end. i had to -- there was some phone calls in. you can tell by accents. not that i could tell they were libyan, i could tell they weren't dutch. so i had asked. and then they had said this was for libya. and then i learned it was for the colonel gadhafi.

>> the local news in new york has covered it, we've covered it, about how the new jersey town where the libyans own some property, they definitely -- they put the ka bosh on -- they said gadhafi cannot come here, cannot stay here. right now it looks like he's been put up at the libyan embassy. he is in new york. you're a realtor. you're supposed to be renting out -- >> he would have paid for the unit. >> i never even took -- there was no offer made. it wasn't just going to work. because we had leases out on one apartment signed already. we couldn't evict people for colonel gadhafi or for anyone, frankly. it is still empty. we have an offer in on it already. we're still showing it. >> where is it located? do you have any photos? i'm looking. >> at break i'll send you the link. >> he's ready to be a cable news host. >> if he was a broker, you would have brought pictures. >> good to see you.

thanks for coming in. >> thank you. that wraps up "it's the economy." i got to say, if it were my apartment, i'd want the option. i'd want the realtor to come to me and say here's your option. have gadhafi staying in your apartment and get some money or no money. aide s i'd say no, folks. >> sure you would. $28,000. i'm sure you'd turn him away. tamron hall and norah o'donnell pick things up next. a the latest in the investigation into a possible bomb plot comes up. how to get rich, by america's health insurance companies. raise health insurance premiums 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. express each one more with downy simple pleasures feel more calm with new downy lavender serenity feel more daring with spice blossom dare feel more elegant with orchid allure now all have renewing scent pearls that help you express every side of you downy simple pleasures. feel more

...and improve your concentratio tylenol pm quiets the pain and helps you sleep. because the better you sleep, the better you feel. yoall want to run your businesses more efficiently, so we've brought in a team of experts to help. one suggestion is to make your shipping more efficient with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. call or go online for a free supply and up to $160 in offers from authorized postage vendors. shipping's a hassle! weighing every box... actually, with flat rate boxes you don't need to weigh anything under 70 pounds.

if it fits, it ships for a low flat rate. ok, but i ship all over the country. you can ship anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. ship international, too. yes, but i ship hundreds of things, in all sizes. great, because flat rate boxes come in four sizes. call now and we'll send a free supply, plus up to $160 in offers. when you're ready to ship, we'll even pick them up for free, no matter how many you have. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. call or go online now to get started. being called the most serious terror plot since 9/11. three under arrest. up to 12 others still out there. this as investigators reveal more details about a possible bomb plot from new york to the heart land. subways and trains, stadiums, entertainment complexes, even

hotels on alert. death toll rising. flash floods in the southeast growing more dangerous and deadly by the minute. schools, highways, and neighborhoods all under water. and forecasters say another round of severe weather is on the way. a battle of two fronts. president obama's afghan strategy. should he put more troops on the ground in that country, or should the united states pull out? will this create a bigger divide here at home for the president? ♪ wild thin. delay's dance fever. why did one of the judges say he was crazier than sarah palin? why can't you criticize your boss? a workplace fight between a chicago cubs player and his team. what's fair game when it comes to slamming your boss. it's coming up in our "crossing the line" right here on "the big picture." >> good afternoon, everyone. i'm tamron hall live in new

york. hey there, norah. >> hey, tamron. good to see you. david shuster has the day off. we begin with developing news in the big picture. counterism officials are warning police around the country to watch for terrorist activity as they try to get to the bottom of a possible al qaeda bomb plont. the fbi and homeland security september out two bulletins to local police warning of terrorist interest in sports stadiums, entertainment complexes, hotels, mass transit and storage facilities. there's no information about a specific planned attack. officials released a statement that reads in part, quote, we believe it is prudent to raise the security awareness of our local law enforcement partners regarding the targets and tactics of previous terrorist activity. as always, the american people should remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to their local authorities. this comes on the heels of the arrest of an afghanistan-born colorado man who officials believe may have been planning to