lucky more often. in this case, every the intelligence overseas and domestically working really hard, looking for people like this. and in this case, you have the convergence of a good lead from the intelligence, from cia and from national security agency, foreign, connected to a good operation with the fbi and nypd in the u.s. and they got lucky, but hard work brings luck. >> yeah, okay. it's got to be the hope of officials that zazi will lead to other accomplices, those overseas and domestically. how hard, first of all, will it be to catch other people? >> well, it gets more difficult once the case becomes more public. people scurry and go to ground, as they say, both here in the united states and back in the camps. i think, though, that those people that were associated with him, they're going to find most of them, and i think -- and they're working really hard around the clock to do that. more difficult is exactly the details of where he was in the camps in pakistan. that's where i'd be more interested. we'd really want to roll back his activity there, find out where he was, get into those camps, because that's really where the danger is, where the training is. >> i want to get your

perspective as former deputy commissioner of counterterrorism for new york city. what about this scares you, the new york angle? and do you think that this man was close to doing something that would have upset new york? how large of a situation might this have become? >> well, alex, when i was at nypd, this guy represented my nightmare. i used to talk to my detectives about it all the time, the guy who comes from overseas with the training, a guy with charisma. this is a tall, good-looking guy who carries himself well, is articulate, with the training, with the motivation. and he's scouting around in new york city, in denver to try to put together a cell and to try to put together a lam to cook up a bomb. he was getting close. he had the materials, he had the knowledge to make a bomb. he was making connections with like-minded people. i'd say if he got a little lucky -- and we talked about luck earlier -- i'd say he could have been within a few months of perhaps putting together a very lethal set of bombs. >> is this something like what

we saw in madrid and london with these train, bus bombings and the like? just a number of backpacks that were found. >> it looks that way, alex, at this point, similar to what happened in london. we had a guy with leads in the uk going to pakistan in the camps, getting up the training, setting up a lab in leades, north of london. and bringing in hydrogen peroxide and other acids, making this sort of goo, which then you have to keep refrigerated. drove it all the way down to london and exploded, killing over 50 people in the london subway system. this plot seems to have all the hallmarks of that type of operation. >> you know, but you talk about these bombs, and they're unstable to a degree. would the bombs have been made in denver where he had the thing set up and then transported to new york? >> that would probably be too far for this type of improvised explosive. in the case of leades, we're surprised. over a couple of hours to bring

those bombs down into london. case in madrid, they were made right in madrid. i would suspect that most terrorists would want to make the bomb, with the very unstable material, close to the source, because it is very volatile, and a lot of these guys blow themselves up in the process of making these bombs. >> he was afraid of doing that, apparently. >> oh, absolutely. >> he kept calling back, making calls back even to pakistan? >> yes. >> saying i don't have what i need, or -- >> it's dangerous. you have to have some expertise in this, because when you're brewing those materials, when you're bringing those chemicals together, they're highly volatile and they can blow up and take you out. so, he was looking for that little bit of expertise to go ahead and assemble this bomb. >> okay, michael, more questions your way next hour. thank you. >> thanks. developing now, iran's nuclear chief says iran will allow the u.n. to inspect its newly revealed nuclear site. this news comes after president obama issued another warning to iran in his weekly address this morning. nbc's mike viqueira live at white house for us. good morning, mike. >> reporter: good morning, alex. >> the president says the international community is more

united than ever on iran, correct? >> reporter: well, it appears that way. the u.s. president and u.s. allies says the intelligence is solid and so is their resolve as they try to face iran now, demanding they give up their nuclear weapons program or face the consequences. iran caught red-handed, a secret, underground nuclear plant suddenly revealed by president obama. >> the size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program. iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow. >> reporter: u.s. officials say they have known that iran was building the plant for some time, but it wasn't until early this week, after signs that iran had realized their secret was out, that mr. obama began to huddle with allies. both at the united nations and then at the g-20 economic summit in pittsburgh. together, the leaders decided to go public. >> confronted by the serial deception of many years, the international community has no

choice today but to draw a line in the sand. >> reporter: u.s. officials say the plant was close to becoming operational and could have produced enough material for one or two bombs a year, but this isn't the first time that iran has been caught in violation of nuclear treaties, and now, despite prior u.n. sanctions and the continued presence of international arms inspectors, the iranian president remains defiant. >> translator: what we did was completely legal according to the law. we have informed the agency. the agency will come and take a look and produce a report, and it's nothing new. >> reporter: the revelation comes a week before key powers are scheduled to meet with iran on its nuclear program. and with initial signals that russia and perhaps china will back tougher sanctions this time, the president now says the ball is in iran's court. >> i've always said that we do not rule out any options when it comes to u.s. security interests, but i will also

re-emphasize that my preferred course of action is to resolve this in a diplomatic fashion. it's up to the iranians to respond. >> reporter: and alex, just crossing the wires now, an iranian official says they will allow those international inspectors from the iaea. that's the u.n.'s inspection arm. into the country to have a look at this facility. this comes as they prepare to meet with the five powers of the united nations security council plus germany next week in geneva to discuss that nuclear program. alex? >> okay, mike viqueira, thanks very much, mike. >> reporter: all right. >> watch "meet the press" tomorrow on nbc. moderator david gregory speaks exclusively with former president clinton about the controversy surrounding iran. check your local listings for the time. turning now to the death of a census worker in kentucky. bill sparkman's body was discovered by a family visiting a rural kentucky cemetery. jerry weaver tells the "associated press" that sparkman was gagged and his hands and feet were bound with duct tape. authorities say the word fed was written across sparkman's chest.

officials say his preliminary cause of death is asphyxiation. the director of the census bureau says the agency is taking necessary precautions. >> we've suspended activity in those -- in that county and notified our client agencies that we've done so until we figure out what's happening. this is a very complicated matter. it isn't clear what happened, but prudence tells us that we should stop for a bit for the protection of our staff. >> officials say it's clear sparkman's death was not natural, but other possibilities are still being considered. [ inaudible ] >> i will feel you right here. i will feel you right here. >> this video got a georgia high school security officer fired. it shows how he confronted the students. witnesses say he pushed the student down and threatened him. the board of education agreed, but his firing is now under

appe appeal. libyan leader moammar gadhafi met with family members of the victims of pan-am flight 103. he was in new york to speak to the united nations general assembly monday and met with family members of two bombing victims at the libyan mission to the u.n. lisa gibson, who lost her brother in that 1998 bombing, said gadhafi said he was sorry for the loss, but he did not go into details. 270 people were killed when the plane blew up over lockerbie, scotland. last month, a scottish magistrate released abdel basset al megrahi after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. his release sparked international outrage. we will hear from lisa gibson later on this hour. a late-night commute takes longer than expected for a group of passengers in suburban washington, d.c. ten passengers were trapped inside a metro station for half an hour late thursday night in alexandria, virginia, after the station manager walocked up and said goodnight before the last train arrived. one passenger had to call police who freed them. after a temporary break,

more wet weather expected across the southeast today. 14 georgia counties have now been declared disaster areas. president obama has declared parts of georgia disaster areas and ordered federal assistance to help with the recovery effort. let's get the latest now on the weather. joining me live, nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning. >> well, good morning to you, alex. you know it's a busy morning when i have both weather remotes in my hands. >> boy, that's not good. >> that's not good. flash flooding is again the problem. good morning. happy weekend to everyone that's going to enjoy good weather. unfortunately, we're already watching a lot of issues down here in the deep south. you can see the white flashes. those are active lighting in strikes, and these storms are training over the same areas. in other words, the storms never really end. one storm goes over you, then another one, and this has been the case so far. northern mississippi, northern alabama, now through tennessee and into kentucky. i've already seen a couple reports where there's been flash flooding, where there's been water in homes. so, we'll continue to monitor that as we go throughout the day, but you can looe look at this forecast yourself from tallahassee to atlanta.

that rain will come your way a little later this afternoon. i know a lot of people are watching the golf event on nbc later this afternoon in the atlanta area. heavy rain out there. 77 as we go throughout the day today. i don't think the flooding will be quite as bad as what you dealt with there on monday. notice the northeast. you are cool today, only 62 in boston. sunshine starting the day, but then the clouds will move in late today and then all that rain will head to the northeast tomorrow. so, it's just a wet -- if you're anywhere east of the mississippi, that's where the wet weather is. the gorgeous weather is really in the middle of the country and out west. alex, it is hot out west. we are 101 today in sacramento again. l.a.'s going to be 97 degrees. the only good news is that this is it, a big cooldown is coming later this week. >> that's good. you know what, i get little worried about hot weather this time of year, you know why? >> fires. >> fires, but also, seems like earthquakes have happened. >> really? when it's warm? >> that's only antidotally, but coming from that area when it's hot. >> interesting. >> it makes me nervous. i hope i'm so wrong. >> you're making everybody

nervous that lives that way. >> don't pay attention to me. it's just an anchor here behind the green curtain. thank you, bill karins. still ahead, the bittersweet development in the story of two couples united by a mistake. also, michael moore's decision to go after wall street in his new movie. and some baristas in bikinis are now accused of selling more that be lattes. those details coming up on "msnbc saturday." we'll have the pictures, i promise. what are you two doing? he's trying to beat my record. 61 dishes, and a garlic press. oh, that's too full! those will never get clean. they got clean when i broke the record. never gonna happen! [ chuckles ] sorry, buddy.

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just hours after the g-20 summit ended, police and protestors clashed in the streets of pittsburgh last night. police fired tear gas and beanbags filled with rubber pellets into the crowd. police say they took an estimated 40 people into custody, but earlier in the day, around 10,000 protestors staged a peaceful march. the leaders of the world's 20 largest economies were in pittsburgh to discuss how to

improve the global economy. another message this morning from president obama, warning iran with his weekly address, insisting that president ahmadinejad come clean about his country's nuclear efforts. >> iran must now cooperate fully with the international atomic energy agency and take action to demonstrate its peaceful intentions. on this the international community is more united than ever before. >> joining me live, anne kornblut, writer with "the washington post." good morning to you. >> good morning to you. >> so, how does all that happened this week set up the white house for these face-to-face talks, look with the other u.s. allies, meeting with iran, geneva, come thursday? >> right, this meeting on october 1st with all the other countries. i think in some ways, it strengthens their hand. there now obviously is evidence that there is this other facility, which, of course, iran says is not intended to build a weapon, but it gives the white house leverage. it gives them the backing of

other countries to be able to go into this meeting say, look, we know what's happening, and if we don't begin to discuss it, begin to ratchet it down, there will be tougher action, be it sanctions or something else. >> so, how high-level are the talks going to be? who are the players going to be here and what are the expectations for the meeting? >> well, i think the expectations actually are pretty modest at this point. i think given what they've seen from iran so far, there is no expectation they're going to instantly cave, but they are going to press for some more invasive, more intrusive inspections to see what the facility is. >> okay. let's go from there to guantanamo bay, and the question there this morning with this new report suggesting that its closing will be pushed back until after january. of course, as you know, this is one of the president's early promises. what are the concerns about pushing it back? >> well, it's less a concern and more a reality. there are a number of detainees that have been transferred already or whose fate has been decided and they've been cleared for transfer, but there is another pocket of detainees,

about 50 to 60 or so whose fate has not been decided, who cannot be released, who probably cannot be tried in the u.s., and they need to figure out where they can actually put them. and it does not look like they're going to be able to do that by the end of january, the self-imposed deadline that president obama brought. >> quite a week for the president. is the white house happy with how it all played out? >> well, they take the long view, of course. i think, all things considered, they handled a lot of incoming at the same time pretty well, between iran, the g-20, the meeting at the u.n., this news -- these stories about guantanamo, and of course, it was a diversion away from health care, which they will get back to this next week, but once again, the president taking a lot onto his plate all at the same time. >> yeah, a diversion from health care. really a diversion from the global economy, which was the point of the g-20 meeting. how much frustration is there there? not only on behalf of the white house, but on behalf of americans, people around the world who are looking to say, come on, let's get this thing

stabilized so we can move forward. >> well, the economy is always the main concern and the best-laid plans at something like this can always be set aside when something more important comes along. i don't think anybody can downtown that national security and iran's nuclear capability would be just as important. so i don't think anybody will begrudge the president for focusing on that this week. >> okay. anne kornblut from "the washington post," good to see you. >> thank you. still ahead, hundreds lining up for a chance to get free health care for a day. what one celebrity doctor is doing today to help those in need. also, the buzz behind michael moore's new movie. plus, what he's like when the cameras aren't rolling. but first -- ♪ >> barbie's big plans may include hollywood. details next on "msnbc saturday." is that little cup really enough? try it!! now, that's what i'm talking about!! [ female announcer ] sometimes you get so much out of so little. like charmin ultra soft. it's soft and more absorbent,

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this week, michael moore's movie hits theaters. "capitalism: a love story" takes us from wall street to main street with a stop on capitol hill. he closely examines the financial meltdown and the billions used to help turn it around. msnbc.com entertainment reporter courtney haze let is joining me with the scoop on capitalism and the interview with michael moore, which must have been a great interview. what did he convey to you? >> it was a fantastic experience, because i was just on the phone hours before, so everything was fresh in my mind. it's interesting in the intro, you said that it talks about the financial meltdown. well, it also talks about how this impacts the people, how, you know, he goes to people who are having their homes foreclosed and who are suddenly looking at one dad and individuals who are senior citizens poring over the want ads over a cup of coffee looking for a job. so, what michael moore said to me was he was trying to get a message across that this is democracy, therefore, you can

get involved, too. get involved in this sort of process, and he goes on to explain that to me. take a look. >> i try to set an example, and my example is nonviolence. my example is to get involved in the democratic process. so, i think that's what people will do when they see this film. >> you do this in your film several times, saying "capitalism is evil, period." you don't think that invites that sort of uprising, that sort of extremism? >> no, i think i'm -- oh, no. i'm just tapping into what people already feel. people are already very upset at the wealthy, at the richest 1% who have as much financial wealth as the bottom 95% combined. people are really -- people really got their eyes opened about wall street and what these guys were up to. you know, for years and years on all these shows, in the magazines, put on the cover the billionaires and the hot shots of wall street -- >> but people want that lifestyle, too. don't you think there's enough of the, wow, if they could have this dream come true, i could

have this dream come true as well? i mean, don't those people at the bottom of the pyramid see that type of appetite? >> but you just said it, it's a pyramid. the purpose of the pyramid is to make sure the workers at the bottom never get to the top, because there's only so much room at the top. you can only have so many rich up there, but the rich up there have got to convince everybody below them that there's room up here still, just keep working hard, sell enough amway, you know? and the reality is, is that this is a dream that's held out to people, and that's what it is. it's a dream. it's not -- >> not trying to crush the american dream. >> no. it's -- we're going to talk about the american reality. >> michael moore and i obviously don't see totally eye to eye on everything there, but -- >> good interview. it was good. >> thank you. thank you very much. but i was honing in -- we've been talking so much about extremist language, especially in the context of protests at the g-20 and ahmadinejad's visit here, and michael moore over and over again, this movie says "capitalism is evil," it's evil,

it's evil, it's evil, and that's what i was steering him toward was we've been cautioning people about making sure they keep a level head, making sure that while you're distracted by nuclear threats, you're worried about your mortgage and we're in the midst of all these crises, don't get wrapped up in the extremist language. but are you sure this type of film doesn't invite somebody to really get sucked into that sort of dialogue? he contends it doesn't, and to him, it's about exposing a system that is really run amuck and saying, listen, everybody in this other part of the pyramid, you can do something about it. >> keep selling amway. >> amway, baby. >> that was funny. okay, well, thank you very much for bringing it to us. it will be an interesting movie. >> sure thing. the makers of barbie hoping for big bucks in hollywood. mattel struck a deal with universal pictures to make a movie based on the world's most famous plastic doll. the film is sure to be a far cry from barbie's first-ever commercial back in 1959.

>> barbie's dressed in women fun is only $3. lovely fashions range from only $1 to $5. look for barbie wherever dolls are sold. >> barbie was a bargain back then and had her own theme song. analysts say the movie deal makes sense because similar action films inspired by toys like transformers and g.i. joe have made millions. still ahead, the fireworks in washington this week on health care reform. was anything accomplished? that story. let's find out what people think of maxwell house's flavor lock lid. hear that? seals it tight. smells like fresh ground. fresh fresh fresh fre-- that's our favorite part. ...fresh! (announcer) taste why maxwell house is good to the last drop.

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healthy that this is broken. the iranians must have known that the americans knew. somehow, they must have found out that or they wouldn't have voluntarily notified the iaea about this. >> you can watch the entire interview with president clinton tomorrow morning on "meet the press" on nbc. check your local listings for the time. and it is time to bring in my boys, political panel weighing in on iran. hello, boys! i don't know if you need an introduction, but i'll just give you one just in case. nbc political analyst pat buchanan, democratic strategist peter fenn. okay, got that over with. so, pat, if you're advising the president, what do you do on iran? >> well, i think he's got plenty of time, because this new site is not really complete at all, and it's not producing a single thing. but clearly, what it says -- if the iranians, if this site, al x alex, is only good for producing weapons-grade uranium, then it becomes really a piece of

evidence that we have not seen before, which is that the iranians are clearly going for the nuclear option. i think what the president's got to do is tell iran, look, we want the iaea inspectors there. we've got to have them in there and we've got to give you a deadline one which you come clean on everything, or quite frankly, we're going to escalate the sanctions against you. >> okay, and i should say that "associated press" is reporting that iran's nuclear chief just a short while ago said that iran will allow the u.n. agency, the iaea, to inspect the newly revealed nuke site. but peter, is there anything that this administration can do that the previous administrations have not done in terms of dealing with iran? i mean, we know there's going to be some negotiating starting on october 1st, but how much can be gained from that? >> well, i'll tell you, there are a couple of things, alex. first of all, as president clinton said in the previous clip, going face to face with people on things like this is definitely the way to go, but the second very important point here is that in addition, of course, to having the french and

the british support and nato support on this, you also have the russians and, to a certain extent, the chinese. in other words, iran is backed into a bit of a corner, because they have the world community now saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, this is the third strike. you've done this twice now. you've lied about your program. and their statement now that they are going to allow inspectors in is a healthy one. we hope, though, that it really happens, but the pressure from the world community, especially from the russians and from the chinese i think is absolutely critical right now. >> you know, alex, if this site -- the most important question is, is it true, as the americans say, that this site is really only -- you could only want to build something like that if you want to enrich uranium to 90%, which is weapons grade. if that is true, ahmadinejad and the ayatollah have lied to their own people.

they have lied to the world and they have lied to the russians who are basically being their attorneys in the p5 meeting, and they made a fool out of everybody. and if the iaea gets in there and says, look, given the configuration of this thing, there's only one purpose. it is for weapons-grade uranium. i think there's going to be a real crisis there. >> and you know, and pat, you mentioned sanctions. first of all, what kind of sanctions out there will be effective? and particularly in the wake of -- a spokesperson this morning saying this -- this is a spokesperson for the ayatollah, saying this new plant, god-willing, will soon become operational and will make the enemies blind. i mean, what kind of sanctions are going to work against that kind of rhetoric? >> well, the rhetoric doesn't bother me in the least, and ahmadinejad himself's got no power. and look, they don't have a nuclear bomb right now. but here's the sanction that the apac, the israeli lobby and the members of congress already have lined up. i don't think obama wants it.

it calls for getting all the companies, about six of them that sell gasoline to iran -- iran has to refine only 60%, but it imports 40% -- cut off the gasoline to iran. but is that wise, given that that would hurt the civilian population, an enormous number of whom basically hate that regime more than we do? so, these are the considerations they've got. >> you know, and i'm going to say to you, peter, that is what democratic senator ben cardin told me earlier this morning on the season foreign relations committee, bob casey echoing the same thing, senate dwror from pennsylvania. what do you think, if sanctions don't work, do the democrats unite behind the president? is there a military option situation you can foresee? >> i hope not, alex, but you know, the president has said that all options are on the table here, but the critical thing, i think, is what we were just talking about, which is that if you have the world saying to iran, look, enough, you can't do this.

we know you only need 50 pounds of this stuff to create a weapon. you can do a weapon, a nuclear weapon every year. this is unacceptable. and you know, the question really becomes, if the iranian people, who are already, as pat says, are angry at this regime, say, hey, don't further isolate us. we want to raise our families. we want to educate our kids. we want an economy that works. and you, the rulers of our country, are destroying that hope and the dreams for a better country. and if they sense that the whole world is against them, and it isn't just the big, bad united states, then things begin to change and shift a little bit. >> okay. >> you know, alex, what peter says is exactly why i think his point -- i don't think -- the last thing america wants, for heaven sakes, is another war in the middle east. >> right. >> we know where all the sites are. now we can go bomb them all. none of them is producing weapons-grade stuff right now. but that would unite the people. the best hope i think for america is the forment that is

going on inside iran as peter describes. ahmadinejad has lost a tremendous amount of support. the ayatollah has lost legitimacy because of this wretched election, the people he put into prison and the things he said that turned out not to be true. we want that to go on, and if you start bombing, where we've got inspectors already, you rally the country. the country rallies behind the president the way we did behind fdr when they bombed pearl harbor. >> good point. hold those thoughts. next hour, more from the both of you. thanks, boys. >> thanks, alex. turning now to the alleged 9/11 bomb plot, immigrant najibullah zazi is in new york where he'll plea to building weapons of mass destruction. police say he was on the verge of unleashing an attack on the anniversary of 9/11. zazi admitted to receiving al qaeda weapons training.

i spoke with a weapons analyst about al qaeda's threat to the u.s. >> it's not just a local, regional issue for afghanistan or pakistan. it's about al qaeda's organization being able to bring people in, train them, give them the capability and then send them back to their host country. we've seen opportunities for this to happen in western europe and in the middle east. first time we've seen it inside the united states. so, that makes this a far more serious threat, and it's the type of threat that you've got to take very, very seriously. >> and how disturbing is it for you that this man is an american citizen? >> well, what we don't know is whether or not this is the beginning of a broader trend. i mean, if this is a one-off, where you have one self-radicalized individual who then was able to go to pakistan, get the training and come back, that's bad in and of itself, but if this speaks to a broader trend, where you have immigrants who come in, who decide to undertake jihad for a variety of reasons, go back to the al qaeda home office, get the capability and then return to the united states, then we've got a far

bigger problem on our hands, because you cannot stop that on a regular basis. that's where the luck and the timing become very important. >> part of my discussion with roger cressey. coming up next hour, i'll be joined by former counterterrorism ambassador at large michael sheehan. we'll take a closer look at where the u.s. is in the overall war on terror. republican senators on the intelligence committee are backing out of an investigation into alleged detainee abuse by the cia. the panel launched its investigation in march but now gop members are pulling out because of attorney general eric holder's decision to look into the allegations under the bush administration. the ranking republican on the committee says it's not fair to ask a cia employee to risk his freedom by answering the committee's questions. now to the battle over health care reform. after four days of poring over hundreds of amendments, the senate finance committee is expected to take up the controversial public option on tuesday, but there was no shortage of controversy this week. >> mr. chairman, let me just complete my thought here -- >> in about one minute, you'll

complete your thought. okay, we've got to -- >> i'll complete my thought and then make another point, mr. chairman. >> since you're delaying, senator -- >> mr. chairman -- >> mr. chairman, i am not delaying. i am making an extremely important point. >> it's a very, very important point, but you're also delaying. >> with me is see see connelly from "the washington post." cc, good morning to you. >> good morning, alex. >> i know your article said the baucus bill is now being defined more as a draft. can you explain that? >> what you're hearing from a number of senators at this point, and more importantly, democratic senators, whose votes they need, is that they feel this long, drawn-out process in the finance committee to some extent has been taken over by republicans who have been able to just drag on amendment after amendment. so, many of these democrats are now starting to do more of their negotiating with senate majority leader harry reid and the white house, thinking that as they get a little further in the process, they might be able to make the

bill more to their liking. >> okay. let's talk about this first week of the mark-up. more than 500 amendments to dispel? what proposals are going to move forward? what's been rejected? >> yes. 564 was the official count of amendments. you have to understand, though, that many of those are just kind of place-holders that senators put in early in the process. about 100 or so, most of them minor, were folded in pretty early in the week, into senator baucus' underlying bill, and then really just a couple of dozen actually got debated and voted on. most of them, again, not very significant changes to the bill so far. >> okay. real fireworks might be coming on tuesday. that is when senators chuck schumer and jay rockefeller are expected to bring their proposals for a public option, not in the baucus bill. how is that expected to play out? >> that's right. this, of course, is an option

that is in the house legislation. it is preferred by many liberals who are now saying if we're not going to have many or any republican votes, this bill should be more to our liking. it is hard to say that they will have the votes for that proposal in committee, and we're not even certain if they will, in fact, call for the voting committee, because you do a little bit of strategizing about whether or not you want to lose a vote in committee or just wait, but senator chuck schumer, one of the main proponents, is saying we're going to fight this every step of the way, and he feels optimistic that later in the process on the senate floor or in this conference committee where the white house will also be involved, he's more optimistic about the prospects. >> what about the public option versus the trigger option? i know nancy pelosi has harsh words about that. but what is more likely to pass, a public option or a trigger option? >> well, unfortunately, i left my crystal ball at home this morning, so i'm not going to be able to say, but i think that people should keep their eye on

a group of centrist democrats in the senate. they are people like senators lincoln, bayh, nelson of nebraska, mary landrieu, who could potentially hold the cards on something like this. if they say they won't vote for a bill with a public option, then you can look more to the idea of that trigger, as you mentioned, which is more of a fail-safe kind of, if prices don't come down in a few years, then it would kick in. >> right. ceci connelly, always a pleasure there from "the washington post." >> thank you. still ahead, more on the meeting between moammar gadhafi and the families of those who lost loved ones on pan-am flight 103. did he seem remorseful? we'll speak with a woman who lost her brother on that flight and spoke with him can unlock nature's power? [ female announcer ] nature fusion from pantene helps make hair strong against damage in 14 days. good housekeeping gave it their seal. damage protection results leading salon brands can't beat. [ female announcer ] nature fusion from pantene.

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alabama, severe flooding. the weather this week displaced dozens of homeowners and caused a big mess in atlanta. here's a look at what the eastlake golf club looked like on monday. and how does it look now? well, let's go live to weather channel's julie martin and ask her how it looks. okay, i see some folks there. it looks dry right now. how is it, julie? >> reporter: looking pretty good, alex. you know, this is round three of the pga tour championship, so, millions of dollars at stake here. of course, water-soaked greens a major concern. i can tell you, the rain has held off this morning, but more in the forecast for this afternoon, and that is not good news for georgia. you know, georgia saw prolific rains this week and those creeks, those stream beds, those rivers are still very swollen. the ground is still very saturated. so, any rain at all, one to two inches is expected, could really be enough to force some of those rivers over their banks, streams over their banks, and really

cause more problems for the poor people here who have had such a terrible week of flooding. now, as far as the tournament is concerned, this is round three, as i mentioned. so, tiger woods just teed off a short time ago. they're hoping to get all this in before 2:30 this afternoon eastern time. they actually started the tournament two hours early for that very reason. so, they're keeping a very close eye on the weather here, as are we, and particularly, the threat for flash flooding throughout the region as the day progresses. so, we will keep you posted, but for now, the game does go on here, alex. >> julie, can i just ask, they had, it looked like, lakes of water. how did they get rid of that? >> reporter: yes. you know, it's interesting, they have about a $6 million drainage system on this course, so, they have a number of drainage holes throughout the course, on the course, and then they also have an aerated system. so, there are fans, if you will, underneath the golf course. and in fact, it drained all that water you saw in that picture

within about a day. >> wow. >> so pretty amazing, alex. they're really not that worried about it as far as the little amount of rain we're going to get here. >> i would guess that's a good $6 million investment right there. julie martin, thank you so much. coming up, a racy public service announcement. does it send the right or wrong message? [ male announcer ] the oral-b pulsar looks like an ordinary manual brush until you turn it on. its deep cleaning vibrating bristles break up plaque between teeth for an enhanced deep clean.

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new information today on a meeting between libyan leader moammar gadhafi and family members of two of the victims of pan-am flight 103. gadhafi was in new york to speak to the united nations general assembly on wednesday. libya has accepted responsibility for the 1998 bombing that killed 270 people. 20-year-old kenneth gibson was one of the victims of the bombing over lockerbie, scotland. gibson was a specialist in the army returning home for christmas. kenneth's sister lisa met with

gadhafi wednesday night and joins us now on the phone from colorado. lisa, good morning. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> give me your impressions of moammar gadhafi, because for many of us, what we most recently saw was wednesday's 96-minute rambling speech at the united nations. how does he seem to you? >> well, when we met with him, he was very gracious. in fact, when we walked in the room, he immediately stood up and came and shook our hand and invited us to sit down and then just proceeded to have a conversation with him. so, yeah, he was very pleasant. it was a very friendly meeting in many ways. >> why did you have this meeting, lisa? >> well, i've been kind of on a long journey of trying to figure out how to really overcome this act of evil with good. i think that the most honoring thing i can do for my brother would be to see some kind of good thing come out of this horrific act, and when i went to libya on my first trip back in 2005, i was kind of on a personal reconciliation trip.

i had begun to build a relationship with the libyan ambassador and handed a letter of forgiveness to al megrahi, who was found responsible, so the next natural step for me was to meet the people so i could begin to see them differently than i had seen them for the previous 17 years, and i was so warmly received. in fact, the people were so surprised to be face to face with someone who lost someone in that event, because they've always been told they weren't responsible, and many of them just said we'll do anything we can to help you. so, i came back with a heart and a vision to start an organization to really bless the libyan people to do something to benefit them. so i started a non-profit that's been working in the country doing humanitarian education work for the last three years. >> trying to channel all that you had, all those profound emotions into something positive. but in terms of this meeting with gadhafi, lisa, what did you get from that? did he express any remorse? >> you know, libya has

consistently said they were not responsible. they've always said they were sorry for my loss. in fact, the government's consistently said that. the guy who was convicted has said it as well, but they've always said it wasn't them. so, i wasn't expecting like an apology, because i knew that that's kind of the posture they've always taken, so the approach i've taken in that is just sort of how can we build a bridge despite that? and so, that's kind of the way i've engaged with them and those dialogues. just to understand there is still a little controversy. i watched the case, i participated in the trial, and i'm an attorney by training. i can honestly say, there's a lot of evidence. but i know that, you know, even 20 years later, megrahi's case was on appeal before he was released on compassionate grounds. so, i honestly don't know. i honestly don't know for sure if libya was responsible, but i'm taking the posture as if justice was done, so the next step for me is to focus on reconciliation. >> lisa, is there any concern that your meeting from the

libyan perspective could be used for propaganda? >> i -- honestly, i'm one woman. i'm one woman. there was two of us that met with him that are trying to do something tangible and good to help the libyan people. the only propaganda i can imagine would be propaganda that makes the libyan people think that someone actually cares about them and wants to do something good. and frankly, that's exactly what i'm doing and it's good propaganda. >> okay. lisa gibson, best of luck to you. thank you for joining us. appreciate your time. >> thank you. bye-bye. still ahead, more on the arrest of a man accused of planning another 9/11. his lawyers say investigators are missing a key piece of evidence. we'll have the latest in our next hour on "msnbc saturday." why is dick butkus here? i hired him to speak. a lot of fortune 500 companies use him. but-- i'm your only employee. we're gonna start using fedex to ship globally-- that means billions of potential customers. we're gonna be huge. good morning! you know business is a lot like football... i just don't understand...

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next on "msnbc saturday," check it out, iran invites inspectors to check out its underground nuke plant, while president obama says he's not ruling out the military option.

on the terror front, what next for that man accused of plotting to attack new york on 9/11? is he part of a much bigger operation? aids breakthrough. will a new vaccine be the shot that saves lives around the globe? ♪ and over the line or on the mark? why do the creators of this ad think it could save women from breast cancer? good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. we have all that to bring you this morning, along with the new developments now unfeelgd this hour as tensions with iran escalate. just a short time ago, iran's nuclear chief saying the country will allow the u.n. to inspect its newly revealed nuclear site. this after another stern warning from president obama in his weekly address this morning. >> iran's leaders must now choose. they can live up to their responsibilities and achieve integration with the community of nations or they will face increased pressure and