will gain broad support. >> max backus is joining it now. and kelly o'donnell, nbc's capitol hill correspondent and steve covering business for the economy in the "washington post." let's take a look at the big picture numbers. today's new jobless claims and what we might expect tomorrow in the unemployment figures. how much of a setback is this to white house hopes to turn this thing around? >> well, andrea, i think we all have to sort of take a deep breath and understand something, which is that government can't fix this. it's not something -- there's no dials here in washington. if you just get them right, if you spend enough money or do the tax cuts right and get enough money through the banks, we can make this problem go away. this is a result of a lot of of imbalances over a long period of

time, and it will take a while to work off. there are some things government can do to help a little bit at of margins. if we start the conversation with the hope or expectations that it's government's job is solve it and the government has the tools, we're going to be disappointed. the first thing we need to do is be a little humble about what we can do and what we can expect from washington. now, we're probably going to have unemployment that continues to go up for a few months, and as the number of jobs we lose every month flattens out and goes to zero. we're probably getting close to that now. >> steve, you're the voice of wisdom on taking a deep breath, but the politicians are seeing because of massachusetts and this anti-incumbent anger out there, that they don't feel they can take a deep breath. they're putting up new legislation. let's talk about what's happening on the hill today. they're promising much more than

they can deliver. steve's points is well-taken. they have a jobs bill with no specifics, and it's not clear at all that it's going to move this dial. >> from taking a deep breath, andz ya, to really hype announcement was supposed to come in the afternoon and was pushed into the morning. they come out with the very official-looking three-page brochure that tells us some of the ideas and they're ideas that, of course, are popular and hard to politically fight against. again, absent any specifics, but talking about things like building infrastructure, giving tax credits to create jobs, extending benefits to those jobless whether it's health insurance under c.o.b.r.a. and there's mention of energy. all of the subjects that play well in an election year and allow democrats to really try to grab onto the jobs agenda. their words, jobs agenda, as

part of what they're really about now. not much mention of health care, although they want to get it done. the most interesting part about it was saying a vote could happen monday. we don't know the cost and specifics, and it could be wrapped up by the end of next week and that's from majority leader reid who had trouble with deadlines for health care. yet, with jobs being such a pressing concern, he was willing to put that out today. there are a lot of questions, and republicans who they dlam they want to bring into this with their own ideas, have been kind of standing back and watching this because of the absence of knowing what it would cost and what would be involved. so it's one of those days when political stagecraft is almost as important as the subjects we're talking about. andrea. >> savannah, the president has talked about nothing but jobs since the state of the union. he's giving sort of lip service to health care and reform, but jobs is his main focus. if we understand correctly from steve and steve knows what

you're talking about, you're not going to be able to move this very quickly. >> no. i think steve's point is well-taken. i think everyone understands that. you have economic and imperatives and legal imperatives. there's only so much government can do and only so much govlt can do with $100 billion to spend, if that. the house jobs bill is 170 million. sort of spending another trillion dollars, they can't create the kind of jobs that would make a huge dent in the unemployment rate. there's a question of whether even spending that much would do the trick. there are questions about policy, about whether doing tax cuts or tax credits for companies that hire workers, if that would really spur a company to hire somebody they otherwise wouldn't hire. those are the policy issues they grapple with. they know this unemployment problem is the number one economic indicator that every american feels. their own forecast in the budget

they released on february 1st demonstrate they know this unemployment is not coming down anytime son or by the end of the year. there may be some increase in hiring for the census, but it will come back down in the summer. so this is the situation they're dealing with. as for health care, they still want to get it done. but notice we don't hear any deadlines about that. they're willing to put this on the back burner for a while while they figure out a path forward. >> go ahead, steve. >> i think we'd have to say that one of the things we need to do, as we did actually this time last year, is we probably need to do something about jobs just to show that the political system can work. if we don't sort of get that little baby step under our -- under our belt, if we don't get that success, we probably won't have the political will and the plolitical will to compromise enough to go onto something more difficult, which is health care. >> john mccain, lindsey graham and others were asked about the democratic jobs bill, still

unspecific jobs bill. this was their reaction earlier at a news conference today. >> i'll be glad to examine it, and we want to work with the president and the democrats, but that means sitting down at the table together. something we have not done yet. >> you can't be this far in debt without both parties working together. that's the problem. we work together way too well in terms of indebting the future generations of the country. >> and, you know, one of the things, steve, to your point about them working together, i talked to a lot of business people who says until small business people have a better sense of what will happen on health care and financial regulations, on all kinds of new laws, they don't feel comfortable with starting to hire again because they don't wlan the climate is going to be like. >> i've heard that for a while. we heard that at an economic summit. i'm sure it's a small factor. i doubt it's a big factor.

if there were orders on their books, they'd hire. they wouldn't care about the other stuff. these are all -- all of these things we hear, there's not enough small business lending, they tend to be small things. they are not the big things that people assume when they hear it talked about. if we could only get money falling from the banks to small businesses, because small businesses create all jobs, this problem would be solved. trust me. a, that's not the biggest problem, and b, they won't be solved. >> gloomy news, steve, but that's okay. we'll take a he deep breath before tomorrow's job numbers come through. thank you very much. and savannah guthrie, kelly o'donnell and coming up the u.s. strategy in pakistan. the deaths of three american soldiers bringing unmewanted attention how diem deeply the jats involved. up next, sarah palin getting ready to address the first ever tea party convention. what a problem it's been.

what impact will she have. send me your thoughts on twitter at mitchell reports. this is andrea mitchell reports only on msnbc. as small businesses are busy reinventing the economy, small business owners have a lot of questions. can paperless billing get me paid faster? how can i keep my best employees? how can i bring down my insurance costs? that's why we're building a community called openforum.com where owners can swap ideas and ask questions. will tweeting get me more customers? how can i get paid faster? i was about to ask you the same thing. join the conversation at openforum.com. trying to be good to your heart? so is campbell's healthy request soup. low in fat and cholesterol, heart healthy levels of sodium,

and taste you'll love. guy: mmmm! chef: we're kind of excited about it. announcer: campbell's healthy request. fancy feast created a way to celebrate any moment. fancy feast appetizers. [dinner bell chimes] simple high quality ingredients like wild alaskan salmon, white meat chicken, or sea bass and shrimp in a delicate broth, prepared without by-products or fillers. fancy feast appetizers. celebrate the moment are more than words here. it's personal. i have diabetes. rodney's kid too. so we're so proud to manufacture... the accu-chek aviva meters and test strips... here in the u.s.a. plus, we've proven you'll waste 50% fewer strips... when you use our meter, which means greater savings... for people with diabetes, like me.

now that's a true american value. accu-chek aviva. born in the u.s.a.

nbc news now can confirm that the united states, cia believes that pakistan taliban leader is dead. killed in a u.s. predator missile strike last month. the deaths of three american soldiers, three more in a suicide attack there yesterday bringing unwanted attention to how involved america is in pakistan and in the fighting there. joining us now is republican senator kip vaughn, vice chair of the intelligence committee. thank you for joining us. let's talk about pakistan. we don't have a body or dna evidence.

can we assume by his silence that the taliban leader is dead? what evidence do we have? >> that's a help. obviously, i can't go into the intelligence. our best judgment is that the young, new take-over violent head in the gang in the taliban is dead. that's a good start. >> what is the state of play there? we had all of those horrific bombings for a period and lost three more american service people. the taliban still active, but we've been able to decapitate them one by one. there's been some progress here in pakistan, has there not? >> clearly there's progress. we are -- our resources are working closely with the pakistan government taking out the top people. that is good. there are still lots of bad people running around there, but without good leadership they're much less dangerous.

>> yemen is now the biggest threat, the growing franchised al qaeda in the arabia peninsula group in yemen. the group that sent the christmas day bomber and the group that was influencing, of course, major hasan as well. what have we learned after all your briefings this week about the state of play in yemen? >> unfortunately, we could have learned a lot more from the underpants bomber if they had not mir randized him after talking to him only 15 minutes. they needed to question him with the full time to study up on other intelligence information available and get that information. now the administration says he's talking, but that's a real problem, too. >> you've written a letter to the president. let me quote a bit from it. you said, i cannot understand, mr. president, why the sudden cooperation by him would be broadcast publicly to the need

ya in detail. >> there's been criticism from the attorney general. he's written back to a number of senators complaining about the complaints against the fbi are unwarranted, and the attorney wrote -- >> there's a lot of tit for tat. a lot of shooting back and forth from both sides of pennsylvania avenue here. >> let's me explain something for you and your viewers. number one, when we were briefed on the fact that abdullatabah was cooperating on monday, we were told it should not be leaked. director muller told me, please do not bring this up in an open hearing because if we -- if our

enemies know that he's cooperating, it will drive our leads away and we can't get after this. at the same time we were being briefed in an open session, the administration apparently was developing a whole media strategy to show how great they were by what he was doing. that ruined the advantage we had when the information was secret, not to mention the fact that abdul ma's family are in great risk in nigeria from terrorist retaliation. that's one point. >> so our saying that the white house briefings, the backgrounders and whatever else took place had jeopardized possible operations on the ground? is that your suggestion? >> it's not my suggestion. that's what the intelligence community leaders told my staff.

that's what director muller told me. he urged us not to ask a question. sgr . >> didn't the director of national intelligence make this public during the threat assessment testimony? >> he was -- there was one question asked. it was asked of fbi director muller. i tried to stop that question from being asked. the fbi director at the time may be operating under new instructions answersed yes he was cooperating. that's all that was said. had he really wanted to keep it secret, the simple answer is any questioning should be something we'll discuss with you in a classified hearing, but then the white house went out and talked all about his family coming over and the fact that he had been talking for about three days. that is the information they told us, the intelligence committee could not afford to have it out because it will

destroy their opportunities to pursue information he gave them. >> just very briefly, senator, in the time that's remaining, everyone was very taken aback by the answer to senator feinstein's question about whether they anticipated another attack being planned. were you taken aback by those answers as well, or is that what you would anticipate is the case and is always the case since 9/11? >> they said there will be more attempts. i think we all knew that. it was not that the attack is guaranteed, but with the fact wern there's so many attempts happening, using the information that gave us in questions would you have given us an advantage about terrorist attacks. we could have gotten that information fife weeks earlier. this was an unfortunate interference from the department

of justice and in the white house in an ongoing intelligence investigation critical to our nation's safety. >> thank you very much, senator bond. i know the white house is going to push back really hard on this. >> bring 'em on. i'll be happy to talk with them about it. >> thank you. coming up, has the so-called tea party insurgency had a real impact with the republican establishment. look at election runs next on "andrea mitchell reports." jooesh airplanes that fly cleaner and farther on less fuel. and make nonstop travel possible to more places. announcer: around the globe, the people of boeing are working together-- to bring us together. that's why we're here.

new tylenol cold rapid release gels day and night release medicine fast to relieve painful coughs, congestion and sore throats. so you can feel better. you and your tasty whole grain. this can only end one way. [ crunch ] wheat thins. toasted. whole grain. crunch. the crunch is calling. crunch. band now we're insuring overts do18 million drivers. gecko: quite impressive, yeah. boss: come a long way, that's for sure. and so have you since you started working here way back when. gecko: ah, i still have nightmares. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. also available in small, easy-to-swallow petites. citracal. brand over the last decade... ...is now over the counter at walmart as prevacid 24hr - to treat frequent heartburn. over the counter. unbeatable prices. talk about a relief. save money. live better. walmart.

hundreds are gathering in nashville, tennessee for the first tea party convention. what began as a protest against excessive he spending in washington is a right wing movement that some say threatens to divide the republican party. jonathan martin, senior politico

writer will join us. as we talk about nashville, there's a lot of controversy going through this. first of all, how much has this really represented, the tea party movement? jonathan, you there at politico right now? >> i sure am, andrea. it's a great question. this is a grassroots movement in the true sense of the phrase. it's tough to get a sense who they are based upon one convention in one city. they're so fragmented, and they really did come from the bottom up. i don't think you can sort of make any broad characterization about the movement based upon who shows up for one convention in a hotel in nashville this weekend. they have to figure out how to sort of make the best of this. they haven't gotten great press into this event and having a steak and lobster dinner doesn't scream a populist movement exactly. >> as we've been pointing out and all the other conservative republican leaders have canceled. the house ethics competent ruled

it wasn't appropriate, there might be questions raised going to this paid event. sarah palin is getting $100,000. she says she will plow it back into the tea party. lots of questions. seems to me the tea party is more effective at the state level than in any kind of national convention. >> right. i totally agree with that. i think it's a very diffused dpru group and if you look at bob mcdonnell and the new governor and senator from massachusetts. i cite this politico. they didn't necessarily pander to them, but they were smart about using the sort of resources with the money and the manpower that comes from these tea party folks to win statewide elections. i think they oofred the model, irng, andrea how to not get burned by this movement but to

harness it. >> as you were pointing out if your piece today, mark kirk and his nomination in illinois really does tell you that the republican party is still the establishment party. despite all these divisions, they want to win more than they want to fight. >> you've covered politics for a long time. i don't think the gop has changed in the past year to the point where they're right wing is now dominating the party or more to the point running the party. if you look at massachusetts and virginia, the folks there ran the campaigns and the candidates were party regulars. certainly the example on tuesday, mark kirk no fairt of the tea party crowd easily wins that naul nation. there's all this talk about tee parties and the effect on the party. i think ultimately the candidates and folks running this party are very much still establishment folks that are pragmatic and want to win first. >> thank you so much, jonathan martin from politico. coming up next, deepening

trouble for toyota. the latest to get hi with a recall. tom costello has new numbers out minutes ago. >> president obama taking on the antigay mooumt in uganda. "the new york times" best selling offer joins next. you can find me on twitter at mish chel report. this is only on msnbc. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the cadillac cts sport sedan. one of car and driver's 10 best for the third year in a row. ♪ and now, cadillac announces the new luxury collection lease. ♪

breaking news out of japan. more recall trouble by toy he yoet. the word's top automaker is extending the recall to the prius, recalling 270,000 hybrid cars for brake problems after the u.s. transportation department opened an investigation earlier today into that brake issue. with us is our own nbc's tom costello. you've been covering every aspect of this story. this is a big deal. >> this is a big deal. let's talk about what's

happening in tokyo. the nkkkei says 270,000 vehicles, the prius hybrids, which is the fourth best selling car, being recalled because of this braking problem now. they believe there's a software glitch as it relates to braking. here's what's sping as well. you say i don't have a prius but i have a new hybrid sold by lexus. the recall could expand to the lexus hs-250 hybrid. >> now it's getting personal. >> it builds off the same business model. it's personal for you. you doept have a hybrid. so that's where this recall is going right now. earlier in morning we knew the d.o.t. was launching an investigation into the prius. now we have a recall involving the prius. if you sit at home thinking i can't keep track here, we have so many scorecards and so many recalls, that's the problem for toyota. it's a mounting problem. 4 million vehicles recalled in the fall because mats were

interfering with the brakes. 2.3 million recalled in january because we had the accelerator sticking, the gas pedal sticking. we have 270,000 worldwide priuss because of braking problems and toyota has a very big problem. >> we've seen brands deal with these problems before. toyota has always been such a great brand. now they have to figure out what r their straench is. people are going to ask questions on the hill, they already are. when did you know, what did you know and when did you know it? just this morning on the "today" program i saw an expert explaining this braking problem was not a safety issue. it's a hiccup. now we hear a recall. that's got to mean it's more serious. >> i think that they have several things. the japanese governments was pressuring toy he yoet to consider a recall given they have lost so much consumer confidence because they're slee to order recalls. by most accounts we're talking about a one-second delay when

you hit the brakes, one second. in some cases when the hybrid doesn't react, when your brake doesn't go down. one second can be an important one second if you're in a he very quick braking situation. >> tom costello on top of everything. we'll keep track throughout the day. >> myself and phil lee bow will be on it. >> excellent. after rachel maddow brought national attention to an outrageous law in uganda, to have capital punishment for just being homosexual, the president of the united states and secretary of state took on this issue today at the national prayer breakfast partly sponsored by supporters of this harsh anti-gay measure. >> we're standing up for gays or lesbians who deserve to be treated as full human beings, and we are also making it clear to countries and leaders that these are priorities of the united states. i recently called the president,

whom i have known through the prayer breakfast, and expressed the strongest concerns about a law being considered in the pair lament of uganda. >> let's bring in jeff charlotte, contributing editor of harper's magazine and author of the book, the family, the secret fundamentalism at the heart of american power. we talked about this with you more than two years ago and did stories about the family and about the c street house and the prayer breakfast and now we see finally some attention at the national level. what do you think is being accomplished here? >> i think what happened today was tremendous, and i should clarify the prayer breakfast is sponsored by the fellowship. the ugandans who support this bill, but the american oppose it. they gave the platform to hillary and obama to take a strong stance against it. it may be a little too late, the

bill is moving towards passage. it is a strong step. >> none of this, i think, had not rachel maddow made it a he real cause on her program. this was rachel on february 1st. >> one thing the family does openly take credit for in politics is the national prayer break faes. they do it here every year. every u.s. president since eisenhower attends the annual prayer breakfasts. there's the fact that two family members behind the kills the gays bill both said in recent weeks that they were planning on traveling to the u.s. to attend this year's prayer breakfast. alongside president obama and all the other dignitaries expected to make appearances. >> now, i don't know whether those two gentlemen were at the prayer breakfast today because we're looking at all of the pictures of the attendees, but one person was there, mark sanford, at the prayer breakfast today. jeff, how does this happen in

american politics? is there no price to be paid or what the level of high pock see the person that goes through the public humiliation of the south carolina governor to show up at the national prayer breakfast? >> that goes to the theology of the group, which says those in power are sort of anointed for power. mark sanford told us when he said i'm going to stay in the governor office because i'm like king david, which is an essential teaching of the group. david bahadi was not there this morning. he was under tremendous pressure not to attend. he was invited. he didn't attend because he said he didn't want to embarrass his american friends, many of them he knows are quietly behind him on this. some aren't. that's what is porchimportant. >> even though they try to separate themselves from the outajs steps in uganda, he tells

you privately they still are quietly supporting this. >> he says some quietly support him. they gave hillary clinton this platform. it cannot be underestimated how powerful that platform is around the world skw how powerful that's going to be in uganda. david said the prayer breakfast has embraced sin but he forgives them. let's hope they use that influence. that bill is barreling towards passage, but it has very strong support. the president with whom they've had a relationship with 25 years, he's the man in uganda who can stop the bill. >> it may take more than prayer to stop that bill. thank you very much, jeff. thanks for all your work on this. so long to the super majority. today's swearing in for scott brown the at 5:00 tonight by the vice president is bouncing democrats back down to 59 votes. how will that impact their

vaend? we take that to the strategist next on "andrea mitchell reports." to help significantly extend his healthy years. a groundbreaking 14-year study by purina... proves that puppy chow, then dog chow nutrition, fed properly over a lifetime-- ready, axel? can help extend his lovable antics... up to 1.8 healthy years. faster, axel! faster! long live your buddy. whoo-hoo! long live your dog. purina puppy chow and purina dog chow.

♪ ♪ when it comes to protecting the things you care about... ...leave nothing to chance. travelers. insurance for auto, home, and business. brand over the last decade... ...is now over the counter at walmart as prevacid 24hr - to treat frequent heartburn. over the counter. unbeatable prices. talk about a relief. save money. live better. walmart.

i thought i was invincible. i'm on an aspiriregimen now because i never want to feel that helplessness again. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. ta to your doctor, and take care of what you have to take care of.

in three hours the democrats' super majority in the united states senate will be history. republican scott brown is going to be sworn in as the massachusetts newest senator at 5:00 eastern. bob sha rum is a democratic strategist, he was senior adviser to the gore presidential campaign in 2000. terry hold is a republican strategist serving as national spokesman for the bush cheney campaign in 2004. first to you, bob, good to see you. let's talk about this 59-member majority. what the president was saying to the democratic senators yesterday was man up on this. you have 59 votes. why can't you get anything done? you have the second largest

majority in history. what's the problem? >> when we had 60 votes, we didn't really have 60 votes in the sense he had to negotiate so hard for the last couple of votes. the significance of the massachusetts election was the overreaction to it, especially on the part of some democrats. the seating of scott brown -- >> some of them in the white house themselves talk about changing the whole state of the union on a dime. >> i think the president in the end ended up in the right place, refused to retreat into a non-position, bite-sized presidency that would have doomed him. he would that extraordinary conversation and q and a session with the republicans. i suspect they won't invite him back to that very soon. >> has been that? will the republicans invite the president back? he certainly won the day on friday. >> in terms of his ability to communicate, he's unmatched. certainly very effective, but let's look back at this so-called super majority. it didn't turn out to be so

super. they had a terrific opportunity to make big changes, the changes that they promised in the last election on climate change, on health care. with the super majority in the senate and a 40-seat majority in the house, they failed to get together even on the things they thought they all agreed on. i look at the last year as opportunity lost for the democrats. let's not kid ourselves, they still control the whole show. they have most of the face cards in this deck with the white house, the senate, and the house. they still have an obligation to try and lead this country over the next several months until the next election. >> and then i assume you think the republicans will lead the country. they don't have any plan to leave the country. they don't have any idea where to take the country. you say, well, the democrats have to govern now. the people trying to stop the democrats from governing are the republicans. it's a conscious strategy. they own up to it. what democrats ought to be is pass that senate health care bill in the house, fix it in

reconciliation and achieve that historic change and make republicans vote on a whole series of jobs bill and financial regulation. "wall street journal" had a marvelous story this morning saying they trvled up to new york to tell the leaders of the financial industry we'll stand with you against pay caps and stand against repaying all that t.a.r.p. money. it's great to see these populists be reborn as what they really are. >> i want to at least for fun show you the newest web ad put up by carly in her campaign against campbell in california. let's watch. >> in sheep's clothing, the man who literally helped put the state of california on the path to bankruptcy and higher taxes. fiscal conservative or just another same old tale of tax and spend authored by a career

politician who helped guide us into this fiscal mess in the first place. >> you have admit, i don't know if you would have crafted such an ad. what's going on out there in that republican primary? >> i don't have a clue after seeing that. i mean, you know, let's talk about jobs, taxes, debt, social security, health care reform. now, we're watching the back half of a man crawling away on his hands and knees at the end of that ad. >> was it supposed to be tom campbell? >> didn't look anything like him, by the way. even from that angle. i think, you know, we're going to have a very robust primary season, andrea. it's going to be great, because in our party we're talking about adding members again. we're talking about growing the party again, and wasn't it just last year that bob and others in the democratic party thought that the republicans were dead? thrown into the cemetery right back at us? now we're back in the game where

we're having hot debates over big issues. it's good. >> we went from the sheep fold to the cemetery. i think the republican party has gone mad with metaphors, what i was arg using a few months ago is that long-term republicans are in a lot of trouble like democrats were in the reagan era because this economy is going to come back, and if not in 2010 but in 2012, we see the the dawn of a new era. let me endorse -- >> it's not going to come back based on your policies, bob. >> i think carly is a perfect republican candidate out there. tom campbell would be a lot tough to her beat. i hope that ad works, and i hope that she somehow or other manages to broadcast it to all the people holding down those tens of thousands of american jobs she shipped overseas when she was running hewlett-packard into the ground. >> you don't have any wisdom on that particular race from exactly. let's talk about something really serious now, which was

jon stewart going on bill o'reilly. let's watch. >> explain to me why that is the narrative of your network. >> it's the narrative of a couple i guys, a republican sean hannity and glenn beck who is basically every man. >> what do you mean he's every man? >> he's every man. >> every man has a show? what are you talking about? >> he's talented. >> he's very talented. where's every man. >> he doesn't go for any party but spouts what he believes. >> what? >> if you think he's for the republican party, you're out of your mind. >> stewart and o'reilly, that was last night's show. bob and terry, you can't get any better than that. >> i think that this is the classic case of, you know, entertainment meets news. a lot of these people are right,

they're not particularly affiliated with any party, just as jon stewart isn't. they make fun of everybody, and people watch it. i think that, you know, people like msnbc make good money by putting opinionated hosts on television, and all the power to you. >> we'll leave the opinions to both of you guys. bob, terry, thank you very much. >> thanks, andrea. speaking of sheep and animal, panda 1 is wheels up from d.c. the specially equipped fedex plane is carrying two giant pandas on an 8,000 mile journey to china. they were born in the u.s. but were and always have been the property of china's government. they're heading to join a breeding program in china. he was born two and a half years ago at the national zoo and the 3-year-old mai lan was the first panda born at the atlanta sdploo.

"the washington post" called it an unbearable farewell. we'll be right back after this. i'm here to find out why over a million people have come home to custom roasted maxwell house. really great flavor. i love the taste. hmmm. hmmm. smooth. rich. fabulous. is it "hmmm?" hmmm. (announcer) taste why maxwell house is good to the last drop.

in honor of black history month, msnbc partner website, the grio.com, 100 people that changed history. one is mayor booker. a day was spent with him at a diner in newark and what he's doing for the struggling city. >> what makes you yell at the tv. >> i don't want to hear anymore let's create a post racial america where we don't think about race anymore. that's ridiculous. i'm from jersey. i want to live in a place with a strong italian community, southeast asia community, that brings flavor and strength to

the experience. we're heterogeneous country. all these things, including my race, makes me who i am. >> watch more of the interview with mayor booker. which political story will be making headlines? with us now washington bureau chief mark whittaker thanks for joining us. >> hi, andrea. >> what are you looking at? >> snow in washington, a tea party in nashville but the big story will be jobs. the labor department will come out with the january number. there's a lot of fear in washington on wall street that it's going to be weaker than expected. unemployment claims have continued to go up week to week. and it's also possible that even if the economy adds some jobs that the unemployment rate could still goup. people who stopped looking for jobs may come back and start

looking again. >> as the stock market goes up, they get more encouraged. by the way, we should.out since our interview robert gibbs took great offense at kit bonds' accusation that law enforcement officials would in any way knowingly, perhaps working with the white house, jeopardize national security. he says he owes an apology to washington and law enforcement officials. this is heating up. >> it absolutely is. i think they were caught off-guard in those hearings by senator feinstein, the question. we're getting an indication there has been an increase in some of the intelligence about possible terrorist attacks. i think we also will find out eventually what the christmas plane boember nigerian terroris because now he's talking. >> thank you very much. don't get snowed out.

we need you in d.c. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." among our guests tomorrow, president of afl-cio. the latest on those accused of child trafficking in haiti. are they about to go home? stay with us on msnbc. i was active, eating healthy. i thought i was in great shape. so i was surprised when my doctor told me i still had high cholesterol. that really hit me, and got me thinking about my health. i knew i had to get my cholesterol under control. but exercise and eating healthy weren't enough for me. now i trust my heart to lipitor. (announcer) when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor has been shown to lower bad cholesterol 39 to 60%. lipitor is backed by over 17 years of research. lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems

and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. i thought i was doing enough to lower my cholesterol. but i needed more help. what are you doing about yours? (announcer) have a heart to heart with your doctor about your cholesterol. and about lipitor. transform drinks you want, into cold medicine you need. introducing fast crystal packs. a new way from alka-seltzer plus to... get cold and flu relief in a taste-free, fizz-free powder. alka-seltzer plus. trying to be good to your heart? so is campbell's healthy request soup. low in fat and cholesterol, heart healthy levels of sodium, and taste you'll love. guy: mmmm! chef: we're kind of excited about it. announcer: campbell's healthy request. this is a honda pilot. and this is the chevy traverse.

it has more cargo space than pilot. including the most space behind the third row. and traverse beats honda on highway gas mileage too. more fuel efficient and 30% more room. maybe traverse can carry that stuff too. the chevy traverse. america's best crossover. compare us to anyone and may the best car win. sir? finding everything okay? i work for a different insurance company. my auto policy's just getting a little too expensive. with progressive, you get the "name your price" option, so we build a policy to fit your budget. wow! the price gun. ♪ ah! wish we had this. we'd just tell people what to pay. yeah, we're the only ones that do. i love your insurance! bill? tom? hey! it's an office party! the freedom to name your price. only from progressive. call or click today. that keep you cool and dry have now inspired stayfree®

to create a whole new level of comfort when it comes to your period. only stayfree® ultra thins have thermocontrol™. designed with the comfort of athletic fabrics in mind, stayfree® with thermocontrol™ quickly wicks moisture away for exceptional dryness. so you stay incredibly comfortable no matter where your day takes you. stay dry. stay cool. with thermocontrol™ only from stayfree®. this is "msnbc live" with tamron hall. minutes from now the americans arrested for trying to smuggle haitian children out of the country could be coming home. they left for court moments ago. big breaking news in the death of michael jackson. just today the attorney for jackson's doctor, conrad murray,

confirmed he's negotiating for his client to surrender to police. beaches are open but concern is high after a deadly shark attack in florida, the first in five years. new video of more large groups of sharks near the coast. and it is one thing for a company to shell out an insane amount of money for a super bowl ad, but should millions of dollars and taxpayer money really be used to remind americans to stand up and be counted? it's our crossing the line today. it may be hard to believe at this point, considering how many toyota vehicles have already been recalled, but just in the past hour, listen to this. toyota recalling more cars. this time it is recalling 2010 prius to fix a problem, a brake problem with the world's best-selling hybrid. there are reports that 270,000 prius vehicles are being recalled in the u.s. as well as japan. the recall was announced hours after toyota put a price tag for the very first time on this

global recall of nearly 4.5 million vehicles because of a gas pedal problem. tom joins us. >> reporter: this is nikkei news service reporting this recall in toyota and the hybrid prius. msnbc and cnbc have not independently confirmed that. they are reporting the prius hybrid is now part of a new recall involving 270,000 vehicles, 100,000 of those would be in the united states because of this concern about a braking problem. the japanese government and u.s. government have been expressing concern to toyota about the hybrid and about the braking concerns. that is separate from the 2.3 million vehicles being recalled as a result of the accelerator

problem and those recalled over concerns the gas pedal might get stuck under the floor mat. there's mass concern, people worrying about what was the world's safest vehicle. >> the prius, msnbc has not confirmed it. i imagine with this news out there, whatever news agency was reporting it -- because of the massive recall that is a fact. >> generally it's pretty good. we're also dealing, of course with the time in the middle of the morning now. early morning, late night. here in the united states thus far we don't have confirmation from toyota officials here. that said, i can confirm to you that the department of transportation earlier today announced it was launching its own investigation into the prius, into the 2010 version three of the hybrid, the third generation, because of concerns about these brakes that allegedly were not reacting