new york city trains. he along with two other suspects including his father all appeared in court yesterday. meanwhile officials now say up to 12 people may, again, be involved in this plot. reporter jonathan deans joining me now. a lot to cover. first let's talk about the other possible suspects in this. i understand not only in the states but other parts of the world they're looking for people who may be a part of a terror cell? >> that's right. look, the lead suspect in this case, mr. zazi, traveled to pakistan. so there's belief he had contact with al qaeda operatives over there. in new york they believe there's as many as eight, maybe more men they're watching, taking a look at, they want to know more about. does that mean they were involved in the alleged plot? no. they're trying to learn more about them. we also know in denver there's a group of about five, perhaps more there. who they're also looking at. we spoke with some of the storage facilities owners and others out there and here. they've been shown pictures of

men, what do you know, have they been here. >> focussing on the states alone, looking from new york all the way to the midwest. you've got to alert about entertainment complexes, even hotels. what else can you tell us? we're not talking about anything specific here. but when folks hear entertainment complex you're going to wonder what you need to do. >> the reason for these concerns is, again, the lead suspect in this officials say had this formula for how to make a bomb. they found backpacks. they're concerned because in past attacks backpacks have been used on trains. the long island railroad here in new york is raising security. nypd says they have had a constant increase of patrols on the subways. they don't know what the specific target is. as a precaution they're putting this word out, this alert out to the police. it was only meant for law enforcement consumption. homeland security officials said, hey, if we have something more specific the public should know, we would have took that out. there's nothing to indicate any

sort of specific target at this time. >> jonathan, talk to me real quick about charges. so far the afghan born man who lived in colorado, zazi, he has only been charged with misdemeanors. nothing serious at this point. why aren't we seeing -- >> it's not a misneedemeanor. lying to federal agents. it's not a conspiracy so support terror. no specific terror charge so far. they clearly believe he is some sort of terror suspect that they are looking into his statement that he trained with al qaeda, learned how to make explosives. they want to know more about his alleged involvement with those here in new york and in denver. >> is there another court date tomorrow? >> thursday. we are expecting court appearances by all three men as they try to make bail. because, again, it is just lying charges. government firofficials for two the three say they need to stay behind bars till we can learn more about their alleged role. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. in the bigger picture, federal officials are actively looking for other suspects

believed to be involved in the alleged al qaeda terror plot here in the u.s. three people are under arrest. officials believe up to 12 may be involved. how safe are we? if part of this terror cell is still on the loose? how hard will it be to track down the other suspects? we're joined now by nbc news terrorism analyst roger. we just heard jonathan's latest reporting there. if there's no specific threat how then do we stop a possible attack? >> the first thing is we shouldn't overreact to the homeland security bulletins. dhs is in a bit of a tough place. they have an obligation to push information out. it often is done in a way that people read it and say, oh, my god, we're about to get hit. we're not about to get hit. i think in the context of this particular plot or cell, there are other individuals of concern to law enforcement. a, they're trying to identify them. b, the ones that they have identified, they're tracking to see what additional information they can come up with. c, they're trying to identify is there any storage facility, warehouse or otherwise, that these individuals are using for

a potential plot. a lot of information. law enforcement doesn't know right now. >> well, then why, roger, that alert for sports stadiums, entertainment complexes, hotels, mass transit and storage facilities? >> whenever the intelligence community or law enforcement uncover information about what al qaeda's interest is, either in terms of making bombs or potential targets, in a very generic sense, norah, they have an obligation to push that down to state and local officials. where the disconnect comes is dhs says this wasn't intended for public consumption. these things are always leaked. they're always going to go public. there's an obligation on the department's part to explain to people it's about disseminating information, not an imminent plot. >> i'm reading from the "washington post" that officials with the department of homeland security and the fbi sent a bulletin to transit agencies warning about an identifying hydrogen per rox id based

explosive as a specific risk. again, that's precautionary. why that -- why that detail? >> i think it was triggered by the information they uncovered in the zazi plot where they discovered information on his computer about these type of explosives. and what you're seeing, norah, is the use of improvised explosive devices. when it's discovered on computers in the united states. dhs feels an obligation to pass that on. >> roger, when you read stories like this, hear about them, you get sort of scared. the fact that there are these people still out there trying to plot and create these terrorist attacks here in the united states. is the good news that it looks like law enforcement is doing a good job in wrapping these guys up and fining them early on. >> yeah. i think that's a very important point. we need to step back and look at this as a good news story. something has been disrupted. i think this was a serious plot.

i think these guys definitely had intent. i think there was capability. and i think this is on the upper tier of potential domestic terrorism plots we've seen since 9/11. it's not something to dismiss. law enforcement and the intelligence community were ahead of it and able to stop it before it got very operational. the problem is there's a lot of information the government doesn't know about these people and what they're trying to do. that's what they're trying to find out right now. find the missing pieces of information and understand the full puzzle of what was going on. >> roger, thank you. tamron, that's an important point that roger makes there. of course this investigation is still ongoing. we're going to learn a lot more. pete williams reported there'll probably be more arrests later this week. >> absolutely. as jonathan pointed out, there's a court hearing on thursday. we may even know a few more details at that point as well. we're going to be there. norah, peace in the middle east certainly topped the president's agenda during his meeting of the u.n. assembly today in new york. after delivering a speech on climate change the president

immediately started separate meetings with israeli parking light benjamin netten ya kn n a mahmoud abbas. >> palestinians have strengthened their efforts on security. but they need to do more to stop encitement and move forward with the negotiations. israelis have facilitated greater freedom of movement for the palestinians and have discussed important steps to restrain settlement activity. but they need to translate these discussions into real action on this and other issues. >> nbc news white house correspondent and political director chu director chuck todd is with us live. did we hear any more specifics on how this administration plans to do that? >> not at all. in many ways what the hope was for a meeting like this two months ago and what they got out of it are two different things. i think there was some optimism

a couple months ago, this would be the week. they'd be able to all say, okay, we've come to an agreement on having -- of having an agreement about when we're going to start talking. bottom line, they don't even have an agreement about how they're going to decide, for instance, on settlement freezes. this is a setback. even the white house might admit that in the darkest passages back there. the fact is, we're months away from seeing the actual restart of the peace process. and today's meeting was simply -- looked like simply a photo op. >> interesting. some of the headlines categorized the president's message as stirring and strong. is that what you got from what he said? >> it was. it's my understanding he showed some frustrations at both sides. basically saying, look, i'm engaged earl ler in this process. this is noting?

i'm ju something i'm going to have a legacy with. yet he -- it's not clear if the message got across. i'd like to think it did. there is a big divide there. we joke about it all the time. the divide between the palestinians and israelis. becomes like white noise, i think, for a lot of americans following this. i think the president saw it firsthand. he's trying to use leverage of american involvement saying, look, there's only -- the window is closing here if we're ever going to see something happen in the next few year. you better take advantage of this now. the question is whether that message was received. the white house, yes, i'm understanding it was frustration. but i think this did not turn out the way that they had hoped for two months ago. >> norah? >> chuck, the president at the beginning of his administration clearly said the middle east peace process is one of his number one priority. it seems like he's got a lot of

other stuff on his plate. of course, right now, health care and of course afghanistan. we have a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll out tonight. can you just generally talk about the mood of the public when it comes to afghanistan? >> i'll just say this. health care and the economy have been very difficult topics. you ain't seen nothing yet as far as the politics of dealing with afghanistan for this president. because it won't be surprising, we see this in other surveys, politically this is going to be a tougher sell for the president's most ardent supporters. you know, what we found in our survey, i don't want to give away the numbers, basically testimo democrats and republicans are in their respective divides when it comes to issues like sending more troops, not sending more troops. stay in there, stay and fight, or immediately start an orderly withdrawal. we're seeing the same sort of democratic-republican divide we saw three or four years ago in iraq. basically, it's remarkable.

a lot of these numbers we're seeing in afghanistan in these various polls is very similar to the numbers we saw in the presurge iraq days. remember when that was a politically very devicive time in this untcountry on that issu never mind the actual violent time taking place in iraq. >> thank you very much, chuck. nbc news political director, white house correspondent chuck todd. obviously, norah, we're going to be glued to our seats to see those numbers. i was glancing over at chuck's paperwork. >> i want to know. i do. i want to know -- >> i hold in my hand -- >> how will this change the conversation we're having tomorrow when those numbers come out? >> i'll say this. i think there are bigger things here that could change the public's view in afghanistan. it could be as simple as the more we learn about this terror plot. we don't know how connected is this terror plot with -- you know, did -- you know, were

there contacts in pakistan and afghanistan? the public pays very close attention. i think we don't know what's going to have an impact on public opinion here. another thing to remember. when a president makes a significant national security decision, the country rallies around that president. doesn't matter which party they are. so don't be surprised if these numbers are more fluid than they seem right now. >> all right, chuck. thank you very much. norah, you know, coming up, the deadly flooding affecting millions of people. we've been looking at this video all day long. it is unbelievable, what's happening in the southeast roads. under water. you see folks treading through almost looks like a hurricane hit. a live report on what's happening there. >> truly unbelievable. is president obama having second thoughts about his strategy for afghanistan? we're going to break it down. we'll talk with former defense secretary william cohen. a look at how bill clinton got his mojo back, quote, i

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welcome back to "the big picture." is a shift to pakistan the new strategy for afghanistan? >> that's right. president obama says he will not authorize more troops to the region until the final strategy is in place. "the wall street journal" reports the pentagon has told the top u.s. commander in afghanistan to delay his formal request for more troops until the administration decides on the best way to fight the resurgent taliban. and the leak of stanley mcchrystal's assessment that mission failure could result without thousands of additional american forces has reportedly divided both military and

civilian leadership. the white house is said to be expanding counterterror operations in pakistan as an alternative to further escalation in afghanistan. condoleezza rice told "fortune" magazine leaving afghanistan would be a big mistake. saying, quote, the last time we left afghanistan and abandoned pakistan, that territory became the very territory in which al qaeda trained and atalked us on september 11th. it's that simple. if you want another terrorist attack in the u.s., abandon afghanistan. former secretary of defense william cohen joins us live from washington. let's get into what the president has to do. no one's talking about abandoning afghanistan, are they? >> no. what's happened is there seems to be a mismatch between strategy and resources. in other words, president obama has said recently as march, we need a counterinsurgency strategy. that's why he put general mcchrystal in. if you've got a counterinsurgent

strategy, and your general, the one you pult your confidence in, says we need more resources, you either have the wrong strategy or you need to fill these resources now. if the strategy is wrong, change it now. don't leave men and women who are fighting on a strategy you think may be wrong fl you make a really interesting point. there seems to be a lot of advice that's been circulating out there. this report leaked, bob woodward and "the washington post," we hear the vice president, joe biden, does not say we're sending more troops. perhaps the secretary of state, hillary clinton, does favor sending more troops. doesn't the president need to get in there and make a decision? if he believes this current strategy is wrong, change it? >> he has an absolute obligation to do that. the sooner the better. he needs to address the american people and the congress and say here are the reason why we're in afghanistan/pakistan. we have a counterterrorism strategy and a counterinsurgency strategy. it may be that they cannot be

pursued simultaneously. i'm going to tell you what the risks are and costs are in terms of blood an treasure and whether or not we have a reasonable chance of success. you've got to do that in order to marshal the american people behind it. i think to say i'm looking at it, it's a mistake. you've got young men and women out there dieing from us. if the strategy is wrong, change it. if you need more resources, put them there soon. >> does it require the response to be an urgent one? some are speculating this may have actually been the fuel to put on the flame to get it going. >> you know, when i was at the pentagon, i had a book given to me by the chairman of the joint chiefs. it was called dereliction of duty. we made sure that book was circulated to everyone, namely to say that we want our military advisers to give us the cold, hard facts. we don't want to really subject it to any kind of political calculation.

that's up to the pop tigliticiad those on the civil side. what the general is saying, you've asked for my best assessme assessment, here it is. now it's over to you, mr. president. you're the commander in chief. if you think we have a different strategy, we need one, tell us what it is. if you don't think so, please give us the resources we need. otherwise we're on a path toward failure. none of us want that. >> i've flown over the hindu mountains in afghanistan. it's the graveyard of empires. whether it was alexander the great or the russians trying to conquer afghanistan, we're not trying to conquer afghanistan, but it's so difficult, that terrain and certainly the people there. should we really even be in afghanistan? are we more concerned about what's happening in pakistan? is that where al qaeda and these plots, even the plot we're talking about today where they're wrapping up all these guys where they've been plotting

in an area in pakistan? >> you look at iraq. you say we're getting out of the iraq. now we're in afghanistan. if you were to pull back out of afghanistan, what does that do to pakistan? you have to look at the region in an entirety. the mistake is if we say this is obama's war or america's war. it's not. it's the international community's war. we have all our allies there for the reasons we're there. to prevent a resurgence of the taliban and al qaeda that can inflict damage on us and all over the world. >> former secretary of defense, william cohen. great to see you, as always. tamron, this is a big issue for the president. i guess the sense, too, that he's weighing this. it was interesting to hear a lot of his comments on the sunday shows, too. >> right. >> there may be a change in strategy is my guess. >> i think that is fair to say, norah to the point that former secretary cohen made, this has been to be according to so many

others a worldwide effort from nato allies. we heard congresswoman jane harmen say that same thing. it can't be seen our our war, the war of americans or the war of this president. there's got to be a greater effort here. that's where i think he will have to spend some political capital far beyond the borders of this country. we'll see what happens there. i think you're right on the change of strategy. seems there would have to be at this point. still ahead, a baseball player suspended, norah, for the rest of the season because he did something you and i do all the time. he spoke his mind. >> i know what you mean, girlfriend. >> today's "crossing the line." looking at the guy who got in trouble for speaking his mind. >> then this picture, later in the show, a sexy new way to keep track of the stock market. this is one my producer likes. this is "the big picture." could someone toss me

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up next, an update on those deadly floods in the southeast. >> hundreds of thousands of people being urged to stay home today. we're going to have a live report. tamron? norah, we see more of bill clinton. how he got his mojo back and whether he should play a bigger role in the obama administration. interesting question. we're going to take a look at it. most for headaches. 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.

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i switched to a complete multivitamin with more. only one a day men's 50+ advantage... has gingko for memory and concentration. plus support for heart health. ( crowd roars ) that's a great call. one a day men's. i'm mike huckman with your cnbc market wrap. right now the markets are higher across the board. let's see. the dow up 54 points. the s&p 500 is up about 7.5. and the nasdaq is up almost 11 points. oil prices rose nearly $2 today lifted by the weakened dollar.

oil settled just above 71 bucks a barrel. a new sign that the housing market may be stabilizing. the federal housing finance agency says home prices rose slightly by 0.3% to july. the index is still 4.2% below last year's level. and the car dealership chain car max says its earnings surged in its fiscal second quarter, far exceeding analysts' expectations despite its focus on used cars. the company says sales were boosted by the government's cash for clunkers program in july and august as a result of increased customer traffic. that's it from cnbc first in business worldwide. now back to msnbc. welcome back, everyone. i'm tamron hall live in new york. >> i'm norah o'donnell live in washington. >> the big picture at this hour, devastating floods in the southeast following days of downpours. almost two feet of rain has

fallen in some areas since friday. more rain unfortunately in the forecast. already at least eight people are dead including a toddler who was swept from his father's arms by raging floodwaters. georgia is worst hit. there's also major flooding in alabama, tennessee, and north carolina. georgia governor sonny perdue has declared a state of emergency in 17 counties in that state. he's urging people not to try to return to their flooded homes and not to drive on flooded roadways. >> that's where we get most of our fatalities. we're putting our public safety personnel at risk, our firefighters, our emergency personnel. more video. this is a scene at an elementary school near atlanta. flooded up to its roof. the flood comes just months after a two-year drought in the southeast. truly unbelievable pictures. atlanta seems to be one of the areas hardest hit.

>> a foot of rain has fallen since yesterday. there are entire neighborhoods that are submerged along with scores of roads and bridges. nbc joins us live from the atlanta suburb of powder springs, georgia. tell us what's the situation there? >> reporter: norah, if i was feeling a little more adventurous i'd probably venture out back further. i think the pictures tell the story here. that story is also told by the numbers, as you had mentioned, at the top. 17 counties now in a state of emergency. that was declared by governor sonny perdue earlier today. he did mention one difficult thing and had one difficult request for many of the residents here in the affected area. that is to stay away from their homes. as you can imagine those residents right now are anxious to see what's happened to their homes. they're taking a look at these dramatic pictures on television and want to see what's happened to their home. they have to consider it's not safe at this point. there's no utilities. who knows what's inside the home right now because of all the water that has been going through the house.

there are seven people, at least seven people have been reported dead because of that. that's including a 2-year-old toddler who was in a mobile home. and because of the high water and because of the power of that water, that water came in, napped that mobile home in half and opened up that home. and basically pushed the father and the son about a mile down the road. and that father eventually lost hold of his son and he was one of the seven fatalities that have been reported now. we still have more rain coming. right now we're in sort of a break. this is something we haven't seen in a few days here. that's the sunshine. and although this is good news, it's also giving us a better view of all the damage and all of the caked mud that's now on this home -- on the homes now. many people want to come home and see what's happening. again, the governor is urging people to stay away because of the safety issues. >> all right. powder springs, georgia, there. thanks so much. tamron, this story about that mobile home being ripped in half

and the father losing grasp of his 2-year-old son, and then i was reading, too, that his wife was holding on to their 1-year-old son. just heartbreaking. >> it is. and to know that there's more rain in the forecast there that could create an even bigger problem. hard to imagine that things could get worse there. but with that rain in the forecast, that is something they're looking out for. it's absolutely heartbreaking, as you said, norah. now to this other story we're following today. we're calling it today's making their case. bill clinton. he's actually back in the spotlight. >> yeah. some are asking, norah, should president obama will calling on mr. clinton more? last month the former president traveled to north korea to secure the release of two american journalists detained in the communist country. then this evening he kicks off his annual global initiative summit to tackle humanitarian issues. this morning he spoke on the "today" show weighing in on everything from the war in afghanistan to iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad. >> for reasons that no one can

clearly understand, ahmadinejad is lashing out at the world apparently in retaliation to all the vicious -- excuse me. the vitriol criticism he received because of the way he acted in the election. >> should president obama be using the former president more? peter, let's start off you. how would this administration use the former president more, in what capacity? >> well, they have used president clinton, as you talked about in the situation with the hostages in north korea. i suspect that the president, president obama, is speaking to the former president on a fairly regular basis to go over, especially in the health care fight. and i expect to see president clinton be used by this administration in really creative and interesting ways over the next couple year. because, look, he's in a really

envees y envees you position. he gets to sit here, do incredible foundation work. a year ago us democrats were a little weary of the role that bill clinton was playing. fast forward to today. bill clinton is back. he's the comeback kid again. >> matt, i'm curious what you think. obviously a lot of republicans weren't too happy with former president jimmy carter's commen comments recently. is this the kind of former president republicans can see factoring into the conversation? >> certainly i think we underutilize past presidents. commander in chief. later of the free world. next thing you know they're essentially retiring. but the problem that barack obama has is that bill clinton is a dramatically superior politician compared to obama. in fact, i'd say the gap is stunningly large. >> really? >> absolutely. >> he's had more time.

is that an apples to apples? i think you'd have to look at where they are at both points. i don't know if that's a fair comparison. i don't know if i can let you slide with that one. >> secretary of state hillary clinton is very sensitive to being overshadowed by the former president. we saw that just a few weeks ago. i think really frankly any comparison with barack obama and bill clinton only hurts obama. this week was supposed to be about health care. i mean, barack obama just went on this big media blitz. he was on every channel except for one notable channel. and here the next day, bill clinton is out dominating the media. people are talking about bill clinton, not about barack obama. not about health care. >> can i -- >> go ahead, peter. i think we are talking about president obama. for goodness sakes. he addressed the world today speaking at the u.n. >> yeah. if you remember, norah, a year ago, you know, people were saying the exact opposite. they were saying, well, barack obama overshadows president clinton.

that overshadows senator hillary clinton. he's the next coming. it's all relative, exactly as you said, to the situation. president obama is going to use president clinton to his advantage. and he's very wise to do so. and i think, as i said, we're going to be seeing president clinton rolled out maybe during the health care fight towards the end as this negotiation continues. a lot of lessons to be learned. >> isn't this the most fascinating story in the world, the relationship between the clintons and president obama? i mean, a fascinating story we covered for months during the campaign. remember the comments former president made during the campaign about this fairy tale? now the two of them having lunch together for over an hour and consulting one another and bill clinton today backing up barack obama and disagrees with president jimmy racism behind a this disagreement.

>> norah, i would say this. the problem with bill clinton, while he is brilliant and he has something which barack obama doesn't have, the ability to empathize with the american public, the problem is that even when bill clinton was president, he couldn't even stay disciplined to his own administration's message. right now he's talking about issues ranging from david paterson to iran. trust me, there'll come a time when he's off message with what barack obama wants. he's not going to be out there spouting the administration's talking points. he is his own man. >> thank you very much. pleasure talking to you. norah, i find it intriguing peter says we might see more of clinton as this health care debate draws to what we ae sssu might be a close here. >> at some point, right? >> at some point it has to come to something. if that is the case, how the administration might use clinton later on. >> certainly to amplify, i think, president obama's message. and i noticed in my inbox, the

press release, bill clinton was sending a letter to raise money. he's shocked at anger and resentment comes from republicans. amplify his message on health care. >> interesting. up next, wild thing. >> tom delay survives -- wow, tamron. i can't wait to talk to you about "dancing with the stars." >> yeah, norah. it was an interesting night for mr. delay. >> i never knew he had it in him. >> we're going to show you more of what he had in him last night. you could buy 750 bottles of water.

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the former house majority leader whose nickname was the hammer. not because of m.c. hammer. showed off his moves, shaking his hips while doing the cha cha to the song "wild thing." here it is. ♪ ♪ wild thing, you make my heart sing, you make everything, groovy, wild thing ♪ ♪ wild thing, i think i love you, but i want to know for sure ♪ >> all together, omg. >> then came the big finish by delay and his partner, sheryl burk.

♪ you make everything groovy, wild thing ♪ >> what did the judges have to say? here's what at least one of them said to delay. >> you are crazier than sarah palin! >> that was bruno who said you are crazier than sarah palin. let's bring in access hollywood's shawn robinson. not quite sure where to start. wiggle of the hips, vest? >> his nickname is the hammer. i don't know who named him that? the house of representatives or the house of ill reputes? i don't know. him shaking his butt like that, you were like, whoa! where did that come from? >> i don't know.

you were in the audience. >> yes. >> okay. before he started and then after it was over, what was the crowd like, shaun? >> you know what? nobody knew exactly what to expect. because, you know, obviously this man is very, very conservative. and when he came out there shaking his stuff and then pointing at the judges and winking, you're like, who are you? who are you? i talked to tom right after the show. and let me just tell you some of the things he said to me. first of all, i said, you know, you either got the conservative vote or you have turned all the conservatives off. and he said, you know what? you know, he said vote conservative, but party like the democrats. that was a quote from him. what else did he say? oh, he said that was like -- you know, you're pointing at the judges. he said, yeah, i just wanted everybody to know that i was here and i actually came to

play. and you know that one of the things that the contestants do, they have their supporters in the audience. and guess who tom told me he wants to come and support him in the audience? not going to believe it. >> newt gingrich? >> rush limbaugh. >> oh, wow. >> rush limbaugh. >> he said rush would be a fantastic contestant himself and he will challenge him to a round of golf he would actually come on the show. >> this is unbelievable. shaun, i loved when you said who are you? where did you come from? this is the house majority leader. he's dancing on national television with sheryl burk, the reigning champion. nothing more on than underwear. >> i know it's a dancing outfit. i'm sorry if i sound conservative. i was like, oh, my gosh. this guy is like a conservative leader. she barely has any clothes on. >> i know.

even though she was the one who didn't have the clothes on, clo whose behind were you actually looking at? hers or his? >> i don't think if she had a parka on, it would have been better. i don't think if she had an eskimo suit on, we would have felt better about what we witnessed. i'm not sure about that. >> an eskimo suit? >> he got a score of 16. so we'll have to find out if he can survive this round of elimination, because they're eliminating two people. so we'll have to see if he goes. >> okay. we'll see. thank you so much, shaun. great seeing you, great talking to you. i love this, the highlights. >> cameron, norah, he could do chippendale with the shake -- do they still have --? >> i covered this guy. i had no idea he had this in im. it shocks me, surprises me, entertains me. >> i'm from the great state of texas. >> so am i. we're both texans. >> all last night i kept

thinking, what are texans thinking about this moment in history? >> i know. god bless. coming up, something that's not so funny. should a baseball player have been suspended for what some say are an act of speaking his mind. i'm already getting tweeted on though and people are threatening to attack if i don't get this right. yeah. plus, some cops roll a gutter ball for playing wii bowling for nine hours when they were supposed to be looking for drugs. that's right. and guess what? it was caught on tape. new carefree ultra protection liners, with wings! absorb ten times more, like a pad but feel thin and comfy, like a liner. new carefree® ultra protection™

welcome back. in today's "crossing the line," who has not criticized the boss, but when you're a major league baseball star, opening your mouth sets off a crossing the line debate. chicago cubs outfielder milton bradley, like the team, has not

had a good season. when asked by a reporter if he'd enjoyed his time in chicago, he said he hadn't and went on to say in part, quote, you understand why they haven't won in 100 years here. well, in case you didn't know, the cubs have not won a world series since 1908. the team's general manager fired back at bradly saying, in part, i'm not going to let our great fans become an excuse, i'm not going to tolerate not answering questions from the media, respectfully. the official word, bradley was teamed detrimental to the team and he's been suspended the rest of the season, about 15 games. joe sheehan from baseball prospectus wrote, quote, who the hell has ever been suspended for two weeks to what they said to the media? this is a sincere overreaction designed to curry favor with fans and the media and distract both groups from a cubs season that is ending with a whimper. well, the player's association might appeal bradley's

suspension, that is new today. but did the cubs cross the line? sure, what you say about your boss probably be printed in the paper, but imagine losing your job for what you said. and factor this in, as one person put it, the cubbies knew he was a head case when they signed him to that $30 million contract. crossing the line? you tell me. and let me know. because already tweets by dena has rallied all the cubbies fans in the country to chime in on this one. let us know what you think, twitter.msnbc.com. >> thanks, tamron. almost 4:00 on the east coast and we're just getting started. still ahead, an update on those security warnings. how many more suspects are the feds actually looking for? also, we'll talk to our very own ed schultz about what president obama's base wants to hear about health care. that plus a new parody about insurance companies featuring the one and only will ferrell

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and busted. cops on an undercover drug raid get caught on camera picking some butt while playing nintendo wii for nine hours straight. good afternoon, everyone. i'm tamron hall, live in new york. >> and i'm norah o'donnell live in washington. david shuster has the day off. we begin with the big picture and developing news about that alleged al qaeda bomb plot here in the homeland. in light of the terror investigation, new york city transit is operating at a heightened sense of alert today. the agency says it's increased police presence at key locations. and while there's no specific threat to the city's subway system, extra police officers are being deployed to spots like grand central terminal. this comes as the fbi issued security bulletins warnings sports centers and mass transit. we're also learning that officials, several other people