this reflexive anti-mannerism. he talked about the four pillars that they needed to focus on, nuclear nonproliferation, peace and security, the economy, global economy, and the environment and each of those areas, he was essentially saying, we are not going to have a double standard any more. we are not going to ask you to do one thing while we do something else but also trying to create a new context and say that everybody has to pony up here and you have to put your money where your mouth is. >> and if you are trying to accomplish such an ambitious agenda, climate change, peace in the middle east, nuke cheer nonproliferation, does it look likely that the world's leaders open to the message that the united states is ready to take a different tack, a different approach? >> well, look, i think it starts with the tone, although behind that new, more open, outstretched hand approach, there still are a lot of tensions. there are a lot of people who

feel like the united states hasn't done enough yet on the climate change and environmental issue, on the middle east so far, they don't have a lot to show for some of their efforts with envoy mitchell's frequent trips to the middle east and so forth. so so there's still a lot of details to be ironed out. it wasn't a lovefest. there is still a lot of unanswered questions but i still think the administration thought it was very important in the president's first trip to the u.n. to change the atmosphere. >> what a dichotomy here, from the president's speech to moammar gadhafi immediately following him. he was railing, railed about america's civil war, free manuel noriega, other countries aren't the -- let me just play it. >> i wake up 4:00, before dawn, because in libya it is 11:00 in the morning. then we come to the iraqi war, the mother of all evils. why there was any reason to invade iraq? there should also be an

investigation for that one. why are we against taliban? >> i know that you in years past had interviewed moammar gadhafi, do you see in him the same man? honestly, i watched that whole thing, mark, it sounded nuts. >> he was crazy then when i interviewed him over 20 years ago and he is still crazy. the only good news is he is not as dangerous as he used to be. he used to be a major international pop is sore of terror. he paid for the shoot-down of the pan am 103 over scotland, as we know, and other major terrorist attacks. he pulled back from that in recent years and that's at least one thing to be grateful for, but it's really -- you know, a huge irony that he would come to the u.n., where because of the u.n. rule, he is now temporary president of the security council. he has this platform, to turn around atact u.s. >> mark, thank you. let me bring in burt emerman,

you mentioned that gadhafi sponsored that bombing. i know your brother was killed on pan am light 103. what is your reaction to see that video of moammar gadhafi behind a podium, railing against the united states for being the sponsor of terrorism? >> well, it really impresses upon me that there's other dictators throughout the world that have got the similar type of background, not very well educated because of being a dictator and billions of dollars, gets the ability now, since he paid 2.7 billion to the next of kin to the families to come back into the world community. he still is dangerous today as he was 20 years ago. he is just fortunate that george w. bush 43 went after hussein and that gave him his opportunity to try to come bang into the world community. >> we have stayed on top of the coverage of the release of el megrahi, the lockerbie bomber who was allowed to return to his native libya because he has terminal prostate cancer and then the news we were following

about moammar gadhafi trying to pitch a tent in new jersey, pitching a tent in bedford, new york, and then being forced to stay at the libyan embassy. brian williams, nbc's brian williams, did an exclusive interview with the prime minister gordon brown about what really prompted the exchange, the release of el megrahi. let me play you part of that interview. >> the problem is, some of your citizens will forever believe, and a fair number of americans, that was it was the result of a deal and that deal had to do with oil. >> there was no deal. i can give you an absolute and unconditional assurance there was no deal on oil, there was no deal on anything else. there was no double-dealing. there was no conspiracy. there was no prior agreement or anything. >> what's your reaction? >> i just laugh at a that fortunately through the stupidity of gadhafi and his son, they told the truth, that was on the table all along. the deal was oil. the deal was big business. and i honestly feel, and they

would be then something out of this that became positive that prime minister brown will lose in the next election because of this. >> do you want the united states to take different or more action than it currently is on the issue of the release of the lockerbie bomber? >> president obama on the day that it happened, while i was doing many interviews, some of them here made a comment that he told the libyan government they want to a hero's welcome and house arrest. i remember saying, now, mr. president, what do you do when he gets a hero's welcome and he is not under house arrest? what we have to do and what we have to say is simply this. off right to speak at the u.n. hitler would have had a right to speak at the u.n. before world war two we don't agree with what they are doing. we feel it is unacceptable and until gadhafi leaves power or dies, we should not deal with him and if gadhafi comes over here again, he stays where the united states tells him to stay. what bothers me most, contessa, the citizens,s, stop had him from living. the citizens stopped us from

living in bedford. when is the government going to show a moral backbone and simply say on behalf of the united states, your actions are unacceptable and never forgiven? >> burt, thank you very much for coming in and sharing what has got to be salt in the wound considering what happened to your brother. the government has order insurance companies that administer medicare benefits to stop sending out misleading mailings about health care reform. for instance, humana sent out a letter to folks claiming the legislation would hurt medicare beneficiaries. the centers for medicare and medicaid services, that it's government, say those mailings violate the rules and humana has reportedly agreed to stop sending them but some republicans are furious. they call that a gagged orrer and a violation of the first amendment. congressman dave camp of michigan sits on the house ways and means committee, he has written to the government agency asking for more information. "it's critical that congress know exactly how and why you made your decision to pursue this unusual course of action." i contacted speaker pelosi's

office, which responds that the mailings could be mistaken for official medicare communication and that the insurance company cans were misusing information about medicare enrollees to send out those letters in the first place. we are waiting for new charges for three men arrested in connection with an alleged terrorist plot. najibullah zazi, his father, mohammed, and queens ahmad afzali face charges of lying to the fbi but the charges may have been more severe had the new york police stayed out of it the criminal complaint suggests the nypd might have accidentally blown a long-running federal terrorism investigation. new york detectives reportedly questioned the imam about the zazis and then the iman tipped off the zazis that force the feds to make arrests sooner than they intended. nbc justice correspondent, pete williams, is on the phone with me now. did the nypd think that the imam was cooperating with them, was an al fly is. >> reporter: well, that's what we have been told and i think it varies in the assessments about

whether there are bad feelings here or not a senior law enforcement official told me this morning that when this first happened, when the nypd contacted the informant and then they found out that the informant had -- eventually his actions tipped off zazi, they weren't upset at the beginning but their feeling was, in a perfect world that shouldn't have happened, but it did happen, let's move on. they suggest that there is -- that there is not any bad feeling. now, that may be the feeling here at headquarters, perhaps some of the people in the field feel differently, but i think the fact is that, you know, whatever the feelings are, they are still working together and, you know, things move on. >> and what makes the difference now, pete, in terms of right now they are being charged with lying to federal investigators. why could we see that upgraded to actual terrorism charges? >> reporter: well, i don't know that that will happen with all three of the defendants. i think we have always thought from the beginning that if you just look at the bare facts stated in the criminal complaint

against the man thought to be at the center of this plot, najibullah zazi of boulder, can colorado, enough in there for the government to turn up the -- to turn up the juice on him and perhaps go after something more serious. i would be quite surprised if that doesn't happen within the next few days to him. to the others, i don't know. >> okay, pete, thanks. my big questions to on these terror investigations, shouldn't there be more coordination between the fed he is and the local police so they are not stepping on each other's investigation and sharing what they are learning in you know, police went to the imam thinking he was an ally but he snitched to the zazis. so now the question, can investigators trust their informants? and how effective is the cursory search of a backpack outside stadiums or subway stops? does that really stop a terrorist intent on an attack? take a look at this video. 4-year-old walking into a washington state convenience store a car comes out of nowhere, nearly crushing her.

that car slammed into the security poles in front of the store, as you can see, just sort of lifts the car up and over the child. now the woman driving has been charged with reckless driving and driving with a suspended license. the little girl is okay, didn't even get hurt. but, wow, what a stunner. when we return, the fed's decision on whether to raise interest rates expected any moment now. we will check in with cnbc to see how that will affect inflation. plus, hear what sarah palin has to say about the economy during a big speech on her first trip to asia. and we will talk to the author of that new bush tell-all, the behind-the-scenes stories about karl rove, his time in the white house. quick break here. we will be right back. clean so deep... ...it's like your old mop's worst nightmare. ♪ [ thunder crashes ] [ man ] love stinks. ♪ love stinks! ♪ yeah! yeah! [ female announcer ] swiffer wet cloths clean better than a mop with new cleansers that attract dirt

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looking at some wild weather

out west, moorpark college in ventura county, california, in the path of a wildfire burning above the hills near the campus. about 10% contained a 13-mile square fire. the winds causing problems. eastern australia under a cloud of dust thanks to the worst dust storm there in 70 years. dust is everywhere in sydney. it kind of gives the city this eerie orange glow. the airport has been backed up for days. millions stranded there. meanwhile, emergency crews report a spike in calls from people with breathing problems. georgia is getting a break from torrential storms today. flood waters are expected to recede, residents now getting a look around. the damage is estimated at about $250 million. at least ten deaths in georgia and alabama are blamed on the downpours and the resulting flooding. we will have more in a live report a little later this hour. two of the nation's biggest banks are getting ahead of criticism over debit card penalties. bank of america and jpmorgan chase are lowering or eliminating fees all together,

changing the way they credit transactions and allowing customers to opt out of overdraft. this as lawmakers and regulators in washington push plans for reform. breaking news on the state of the economy, waiting for a statement from the fed after a two-day meeting that will include a decision about what to do about interest rates as well as a general view of how we stand financially. let's get right to cnbc's mary thompson. what are you hearing about interest rates? >> reporter: well, the federal reserve just issuing a statement, as expected, the fed funds rate will remain unchanged at zero to a quarter of a percent. what investors are were really waiting for, contessa, a statement from the federal reserve. i will read a few lines from the statement. basically, the federal open market committee, let's see, met in august this is again, blah, blah, blah, conditions in the financial markets have improved further, it says. and activity in housing sector has increased. essentially, it -- the fed reserve is saying that activity in the economy has picked up following a severe downturn. they he go on to say that

household spending seems to be stabilizing but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, sluggish income growth, lower housing wealth and tight credit. businesses are still cutting back on fixed investment and staffing, though at a slower pace. they do consider to make progress in bringing inventory stocks into better alignment with sales. so, once again, the federal reserve keeping interest rates where they were or where they are, exactly, zero to a quarter percent, and that was expected. they also go on to say that although economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time, many anticipate the policy actions stabilized financial markets and institutions will support a strengthening of economic growth and gradual return of higher level of resource utilization in the context of price stability. so, that being down the road. take a look at the dow jones industrial average in the wake of this, up 52 points. right before these headlines crossed from the federal veer of, the dow was up about 28 points. so initially, a positive reaction to the fed's statement so far. >> we will keep our eye on that

throughout the afternoon. mary, thanks for the breakdown. >> sure thing. how is this for service? florida residents treated to flu shots at the most unlikely of spots a strip club. an adult nightclub has been doing this six year miss a row. why are you laughing? something you might be interested in? is that what it is? he got those already. those under the age of 55 pay 10 bucks. the club also offered a free bunch buffet to coax in the seniors, as if they need a free flu shot to coax them. we will be right back. 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.

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sarah palin made her first major speech as she stepped down as alaska's governor. she is in asia, addressing a conference of annual investors in hong kong. this was palin's first visit to the region. the associated press got a portion of her speech that was recorded by an audience member. >> i will call it like i see it and i will share with you

candidly a view right from main street, main street usa, and how perhaps my view of main street, representing perhaps a lot of other people, how it affects you, your business. >> well, during the speech, she criticized the federal reserve's intervention to save the economy and slammed the democrats' health reform plans and says she called for tax breaks to help people buy health insurance. senators on the finance committee are slogging through hundreds of amendments on the health care overhaul, even as critics try to coax lawmakers away from major reform. karl rove, who used to be president bush's right-hand man writes a regular column for the "wall street journal." seniors are worried about mr. obama's proposed medical cuts and hispanics, the fastest growing part of the electorate are slipping away from the president, he writes. matt latimer is just out with his inside of the bush white house, "speechless, tales of the white house survivor." from what you learned about karl

rove and time working at the white house, how important is it for him to feel like he's affecting the -- influencing public policy? >> well, karl rove was a very dominant voice at the white house and as my book talks about, he was involved in a lot of different things. and i think he has this role to play in the republican party, but my concern is what happened in the republican party, based on a mentality i saw in play at the white house, sort of pursuing a 51% mentality, just getting enough people together, scraping together to advance just to get a slender majority as opposed to advancing ideal and principles and trying to include more people, more conservatives. >> what do you see now concerned among many conservatives is this catering to the fringe far right-wings, the birthers and the folks who accuse the president of being a muslim and the like. did you see that during your time in the white house? >> the birthing movement? >> the catering to a fringe crowd? >> well, i saw at the pentagon much of what was reported at the justice department, when the white house had sent loyalists

into the pentagon's halls to kind of pick people who fit a certain list and fit into a certain club. everybody else, conservatives and moderates didn't fit in that club were excluded. >> in fact, you write that rumsfeld was frustrated by his seeming inability to pick his own staff answered went to the white house and was met by opposition, from whom? >> rove. most people don't realize that are watching is cabinet secretaries don't really control who comes into their departments in terms of political appointees. that is up to the white house. and we had many qualified candidates, moderate republicans, conservative republicans, who wanted to help the president advance an agenda and they are being black balled, blank listed, kind of -- being stalled into coming to the pentagon. >> by whom? >> people on a list of people that the personnel office were happy with political contributors or whoever seemed to fit the bill. >> if it was making a room for friends of those in a position of power, you know, they wanted

to reward donors to their political campaigns, is that part of why the republicans are in the position they are currently in? >> i do think it is dangerous -- my book talks about this a lot. i think the dangerous temptation to sort of exclude a lot of people who don't fit into your club. i mean, the furor over my book are from handful of bush officials is really about -- you know, i was somebody who wasn't on their list of people who fit into this club of people in washington elite and who are trying to dictate around the party and conservative moderates and republicans who have different views or independent thought are push aid side it is very dangerous. it is a recipe for a minority. >> do you see that changing in the future, the republican party on the path to becoming a big ten once again? >> i hope so most of our successful leaders didn't start with numbers or percentages or blind loyalty oath, they came with ideas and values and hopefully what bell do in 2012. >> matt, good to talk with you. >> thank you for having me. actor john travolta

testifying at the trial of the man accused of blackmailing him. we will look at the legal issues with nbc legal analyst, dan abr abrams. and john edwards could face legal troubles of his own over the alleged affair with his former lover. that after a break. ♪ now all they let me have is this dinosaur ♪ ♪ hello hello hello can anybody hear me? ♪ ♪ i know i know i know i shoulda gone to ♪ ♪ free credit report dot com! ♪ that's where i shoulda gone! coulda got my knowledge on! ♪ ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage.

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what if you could capture the fresh taste of broccoli in a luscious soup? v8 garden broccoli. from campbell's. velvety, delicious. campbell's v8 soups. also, try new garden vegetable blend. welcome back to msnbc. i'm contessa brewer a short time ago in the bahamas, a courthouse there john travolta took the stand and relieved the homes before the death of his 16-year-old son, jett. the actor and his wife arrived this morning for the trial of a paramedic and a former senator who allegedly tried to extort $25 million from the travoltas. jett died january 2nd while his family was vacationing in the bahamas. nbc's michelle kosinski is covering the trial and she is on the phone now. michelle what did travolta say? >> reporter: hi, contessa. he arrived this morning holding the hands of his wife, actress kelly preston, the first time he

has been back here in the bahamas since his son jett, died of a seizure january 2nd. he took the stand and immediately, he said "my son was autist ittic and suffered from a seizure disorder," also the first time we have heard the family say that that was what their son was suffering from. there had been speculation of that experts say it had seemed to be the case and so many autistic patient does suffer from severe seizures. travolta said his son suffered a severe seizure once every five to ten days it would last up to a minute and afterward, jett would sleep about 12 hours. then, travolta had to relieve those homes, the family was asleep in their condo that they had at the -- at a hotel here on the island. and he said that he and his wife were awakened around 10:15 in the morning that morning by his son's nanny banging on their door. travolta said he ran to his son's room answered saw him there on the bathroom floor and then started to participate in

cpr. of course, the question here is one of alleged extortion and testimony is just under way. we haven't really gotten to the crux of that testimony yet, but we expect travolta to return some time soon and retake the stand. con sells ta? >> michelle, thank you very much. let me bring in nbc chief legal analyst, dan abram mass. when we are looking that the charge accusation of extorting $25 million, how hard is that to prove? >> well, they have to show that this wasn't just a sort of passing comment. they have to be able to show that, in essence, the defendants were saying, unless you give us this money, we are going to do this, which is, in this particular case, they were going to release this document which would have been, they said, embarrassing to john travolta and the fact that he had allegedly signed a document which would say that his son didn't need to be taken to the hospital. >> it is called a refusal to transport. >> right. right. and in this case, it turned out that it didn't matter, meaning

he was taken to the hospital and so, that document became irrelevant. and so the question here is did these people demand $25 million in exchange for not releasing this document? remember, this is a really embarrassing and sensitive case for the bahamas. you are talking about a former senator who is being accused of trying to extort one of the most famous actors in hollywood. i mean, this is a case where they really want to make sure that things are done right that there is the perception that justice is being done, so certainly in that world, in the bahamas, this case is going to be watched very closely. >> also, the ambulance worker there at a time when the family is most vulnerable and most sensitive to go back and allegedly say, look, either you pay me this exorbitant tant amount of money or i'm going to release secret details about your family. the thing is, doesn't this come dunn to he said/he said? >> there may be audio tapes of the lawyer for john travolta

talking to at least one of the defendants. and if that's the case, the question's going to be what's on that audiotape? what does it sound like? but in most of these cases, the defense tends to be i didn't really mean it as a threat. i wasn't saying i'm gonna release this unless you give me x-amount of dollars. i meant it more sort of generally and i didn't mean it as a specific quid pro quo and i just meant it in passing. >> you would like to pass along $25 million, i wouldn't turn it down. >> we will see what's a on -- if that tape is admissible. we will see what's on that tape, but that is going to be crucial. remember, if john travolta wasn't involved in the actual conversation, he becomes a less important witness than the person who actually got the threat. >> right. right. dan, thanks. >> all right, contessa. prosecutors brought new charges against howard k. stern, the late lawyer and companion of anna nicole smith. they are accusing stern of helping obtain prescriptions or opiates using a false name.

stern was accused of aiding and abetting two of smith's doctors charged with prescribing the drugs that killed the former "playboy" model in 2007. smith died of an accidental drug overdose in february, 2007. now we have these new accusations from actress mckenzie phillips of incest n a new book out today, the 49-year-old says she had an affair with her father, john phillips, the late singer of the mamas and the papa pas. the memoir "high arrival" she writes that her dad, "he was full of love and he was sick with drugs." little phipps says the first incest wall encounter happened the night before -- oh, my god, the night before her first wedding, she was 19 years old. why would you ever -- why would you ever admit to such things? >> i don't know if it's about why you admit. i think i would be asking the question, why would you ever do this to your daughter? >> then she says she went on to have a consensual relationship

with him. >> look it is cathartic for some people, i think -- >> get it off their chest? i don't know, maybe to sell books. >> maybe, yeah, you can imagine that if that happened, that that has got to be a really, really seminal moment in her life that has probably been affecting everything else she has done since then. you know this is one of those cases where i say who are we to judge about how someone responds to something like that? >> right, i'm just not. >> i judge a lot. i tend to judge people. i do n this particular case, i don't think this is the sort of thing where you say she should or shouldn't be admitting it publicly if this is what -- >> i'm not going to respond at all, how about that? >> good of you. it is not shaping up -- thank you, dan. >> sure. not shaping up to be great week for former presidential candidate john edwards, reports here that the former north carolina senator is ready to admit that yes, indeed, he did father a child with his one-time mistress, rielle hunter. would you like it judge? >> i didn't realize i was c co-angering the show? i thought i was coming here for legal analysis and i was

leaving. >> nbc's lisa myers covering this story from washington. dan, forget you. >> hi, contessa a federal grand jury in north carolina is now investigating whether tens of thousands of dollars in payments by edwards' campaign donors used to help his former mistress were hush money, whether edwards knew and whether any of it is a crime. what was once merely a sordid tale of a politician's infidelity and serial untruthfulness now is playing to out inside this north carolina courthouse, with potentially serious legal consequences. rielle hunter, a campaign videographer with whom edwards now admits having an affair brought her 19-month-old daughter when she testified before the grand jury last month. how much legal trouble might edwards be in? steven saltzburg is a former federal prosecutor. >> i think he is in substantial prosecut prosecutor, because i think the hush money looks bad, smells bad

and the grand jury seems to be serious. >> reporter: at issue was the $114,000 paid by edwards' campaign to hunter for legitimate work or was some of to keep her quiet? also at issue, money from two big campaign donors which was used to move hunter, pay her rent and pay other costs actually hush money? prosecutors are considering what would be a novel legal theory, that money to keep an affair quiet and maintain edwards' viability as a candidate amounted to campaign contributions which edwards should have reported. one former prosecutor thinks it's a stretch. >> as far as a criminal case goes, i consider it pretty far-fetched. >> reporter: edwards has denied any knowledge of the payments. >> i know absolutely nothing about this. >> reporter: edwards also first denied the afar. >> the story's false. it is completely untrue. it is ridiculous. >> reporter: then admitted the affair but denied he fathered the child. >> i know that it's not possible that this child could be my.

>> reporter: now, those close to him say he is considering declaring that he is the child's father. back in may, his wife, elizabeth, who is battling breast cancer, was asked by matt about the possibility edwards is the father. >> i wish for to never be an issue, but if it becomes an issue, that's just another thing to deal with, but it's not -- that is not like a further betrayal that i need to deal with. >> reporter: neither edwards' lawyer nor his spokesman returned calls about the grand jury proceedings. edwards has denied wrongdoing and says all campaign funds were used properly. contessa? >> lisa myers reporting. thanks, lisa. iranian president, mahmoud ahmadinejad, is gearing up to address the general assembly of the united nations. this comes just hours after a long rant, i mean, more than 90 minutes by libya's leader, moammar gadhafi, both are generating a lot of protests w me now, nbc's ron allen. ron, what do you think? >> reporter: well there are a lot of protesters down here near

the u.n. but they are nowhere near the building and i imagine many of the heads of state and delegates coming and going probably don't see them much i took a walk up to second avenue, a block here a while ago, the streets are cordoned off, the police are well prepared for this. the pro this and anti-that are on different sides of the streets, they have been penned in. no incidents reported of arrests or problems there is nothing flying through the air or anything, just a lot of loud noise noise, a lot of people with megaphones and chanting and so on and so forth. which is larger, anti-gadhafi or anti-ahmadinejad forces? it is hard to tell. the anti-ahmadinejad forces are right over here, not far from me, i can hear them from where i am. they are pro-democracy protestors, they are people protesting the outcome of the recent iranian election, which many say that ahmadinejad stole essentially. it will be interesting to is see what he speaks around 6:00 this evening, if the german and his really delegations stay in the room because ahmadinejad has recently reiterated its comments and thoughts that the holocaust

was a myth, which he said again just last week. so again, a lot of political theater and drama here on the sidelines and away from the u.n., ignited by those two leaders to come here and they have a lot of people who have strong feelings against them. >> ron allen, thank you. up next, the senate health care markup gets feisty. >> let me counter some of your arguments, because some of them are misleading. some of them are misleading. >> we will have more details on that. and we are getting real. we talk to a gay who confronts his insurance company and now faces trial. the whole story ahead. 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. come on. good girl.] mollie's never looked better. i really was amazed to see the change in her coat.

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start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. the flood waters beginning to recede in georgia today, families getting their first look at the damage. you can just imagine there is mud and muck covering everything. at least ten people in georgia

and alabama were killed. a tennessee man who jumped into the rising waters on a bed is still missing. nbc's ron mott could have earthquake the situation in georgia all week what is the situation there? >> reporter: it is a mess and what folks are dealing with today. fortunately now, we have a second day without much rainfall at all, no rain at all, which has helped people get inside their homes to begin the terrible process of trying to find valuables and move on. we are at this elementary school where they have been doing that all day. things are literally upside down inside this school. here is a staircase that came from a group of trailers about 150 feet away. here is a bucket with turtles in it, a small guard than children were keeping these turtles on, obviously amphibians made it through ten days under about ten feet of water. this building is probably going to have to be condemned. we talk to the director of public safety here said they have about a $10 million loss here, part of a $250 million loss for this region but a a lot of folks are thankful today that

things have receded enough for them to see the damage. you can see the trailers over there. this entire complex was completely under water, folks are wondering whether this school can actually come back, whether it can be salvaged. contessa? >> ron, thanks. on capitol hill, the senate finance meeting gets heated today as senators wrangle over an amendment focusing on transparency. >> all amendments are public that is a new process.all amendments are transparent. that is new. this committee started that. any committee more transparent than this committee. >> if all this openness is so apparent, why is congress approval rating at 12%? >> well, the amendment was sponsored by a kentucky senator that would have required the legislative language and final cbo cost analysis be posted on the committee's website for 72 hours before the committee votes on the final bill. chairman baucus says it would draw out the final vet for weeks. the committee debated that amendment for hours before it

was defeated. let's get real a virginia grass roots leader ended up in handcuffs trying to get answers from his own insurance company. >> you are trespassing. you need to leave, thank you. the officers do what's necessary. >> [ inaudible ]. ky put my phone away? can i please put the phone away? >> the executive director for the virginia organizing project and grass roots advocacy group is with us with. joe, good to see you. let's talk about this. what were you planning to accomplish by going to your insurance company? >> contessa, they raised our rates 14.1% on june 1st and we were just going to talk to the officials to find out why. and our paperwork showed us very clearly that we were an average group. we didn't really have any

changes in our plan, didn't have any changes in our pool. we were like, well, what is this all about, why are we getting raised so much? that raise meant we couldn't add an additional staff person. >> joe, did you try tradition -- had you tried writing and phone calls before you actually went to anson's property? >> well, when we met with our local agent who went over our different options once we learned of the increase, he said he's not really the one who makes those decisions. he just can present a variety of options to us and try to explain it the best he can. so so we thought, well if our local agent can't do that he is not really an anthem employee, he will go to anthem's headquarters in richmond, virginia, and just find out if someone could answer this question. and so, i went with three of our board men and just thinking if we went in friday morning at 11:15, during normal business hours that someone would be able to tell us how they figured out

where they got 14.1%. and when you went in, did you have the cameras rolling when you went up to the reception desk and all that? was it sort of an ambush at anthem? >> oh, contessa, we never made it -- the front door was locked. we never got in the building. we had a small media conference outside, way out on the public sidewalk and then i walked down their driveway with three of our board members and past the signs that said, visitor entrance and went to that entrance and when we got there the door was locked. >> so, joe, your trial started yesterday. you were charged with trespassing because they said they told you to get off the property and then the security guards came in and we saw what happened then. did you go in there with the intent of being arrested? i mean, i know you work for an advocacy organization, did you expect this to happen? >> absolutely not. i mean, i prepared with our board members what if we ask them about the rate increase and

they tell us one thing or another or what -- we were all so concerned that they are using our money to send us e-mails to tell us that we shouldn't lobby against public health insurance options and we are thinking, well why are they using our money to work against us? but anyhow, we went through a variety of scenarios. i have never been arrested. i didn't intend to be arrested. this was 11:15 on a friday morning, i had another meeting at 1:00. it wasn't our intent. >> at this point, the trial has been delayed because the insurance person who needed to testify didn't show up yesterday. did you ever get answers from anthem about your rising premiums? >> well, we got kind of sort of an answer. after this incident do, we -- i wrote to the president of anthem, mr. bert king and asked him if we could get some answers and it took them about six weeks before they would set up a meeting, they happened to meet with us last monday. of course it is more about sales and marketing and here's how

these pools work. not really about policy and how do you get covered by a company. i pine, the companies are more concerned about their bottom line than they are about to our health insurance. >> that is people in business torque make money. joe, good luck with your trial. >> thanks, contessa. >> i want to hear from you. send me your stories on face back or twitter, get me on my e-mail address there contessa at msnbc.com. we will be right back. 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.

a very smart group of robbers in sweden. amateur video shows a gunman using a stolen helicopter to raid a cash depot in stock home. they broke in just before dawn. jim maceda, sounds like "mission impossible" or movie theme, doesn't it? >> yeah, "mission impossible or"

or "oceans 13" or "14" come to mind. they did pull one over on swedish police, contessa, but if you let me just build the scene a little bit more. i mean, this really is a hollywood sequel. you got two masked men carrying assault rifles and explosives. they rappel onto a roof, blow through the roof with explosives into this cash depot while there are 21 employees apparently still inside the building. what happened to them? what was their reaction? we don't know. about 20 minutes later, the gunmen are hoisted back out onto the chopper carrying bags of cash, according to eyewitnesses. and then this happens, just as the swedish police try to chase the chopper in their own helicopters, they discover in their own happening gar a box with the word "bomb" written across it. what do they do? nothing, they are too afraid to move. they can't give chase they call in the eod. eventually, the police on the ground find the suspected choppers, civilian model, parked

15 miles near a lake outside stock home. the police are saying they have many, many leads but they have made no arrests so far and they found none of the cashier. contessa, back to you. >> wow. how much cash? >> well, we don't know how much cash. but we do know this, swedish officials tonight are saying that throughout greater stock home tomorrow, atm machines and banks could close because there's so much cash missing. that's lot. >> jim, thank you. and that also explains what a cash depot is, my other big question for the day. i'm contessa brewer. that wraps up this hour for me. tam ron and norah pick up after the break. show and tell

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people, the world want change. they will not long tolerate those on the wrong side of history. >> to the point, president obama's first message to the united nations general assembly, but was his message overshadowed by libya's moammar gadhafi, the rogue leader blasting the u.n. as protests rage just outside. botched investigation? new claims that local police

bungled the federal probe into accused al qaeda terrorists who may have been planning new attacks on u.s. soil. did not connecting the dots allow some suspects to escape? plus, sarah palin's first big speech abroad, reports of people walking out after she allegedly slammed president obama. but what really happened? a real-life "oaks's 11" style heist in europe, robbers using a a helicopter to make their getaway. and this -- >> i pledge allege january to my girls, to my career. >> men with breasts? a woman nearly falling out of her bikini? controversial new ads raising awareness about breast cancer. but would this get you to the doctor to get a mammogram? it's today's crossing the line.

the president was greeted by applause when he entered the united nations chamber for the first time. he talked about a new chapter for relations between the united states and the u.n. and then he called on the world body to help solve problems around the globe, because as the president stated, the united states cannot act alone. >> make no mistake, this cannot solely be america's endeavor. those who used to chastise america for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for america to solve the world's problems alone. >> roger kresscy served as drecker on the national security council staff under president bill clinton. he also, of course, the nbc news terrorism analyst. roger, great to see you. the president's first general assembly, as we said, was he trying to make a clear distinction here between the previous administration and what some perceive as his go it alone attitude and what he plans to present to the world stage here?