tv MSNBC News Live MSNBC March 24, 2010 10:00am-11:00am EDT
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blood tests are needed before and during treatment to check for liver problems. contact your doctor if you develop unexplained muscle pain or weakness, as this can be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. this risk may be increased when trilipix is used with a statin. if you cannot afford your medication, call 1-866-4-trilipix for more information. trilipix. there's more to cholesterol. get the picture. good morning, everybody. i'm david shuster live in washington. we have breaking news on a massive terror bust. early reports show it could be one of the biggest hits to al qaeda in years. this morning saudi arabia's interior minister announced the arrest of 100 militants believed to be members of al qaeda. the suspects are accused of plotting attacks on key locations, including oil installations in saudi arabia. the arrests include 47 saudis, 51 yemenis, one somali and one
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mongolian. joining us live, evan, first of all, what do you make of these initial reports? >> reporter: it's an extremely large set of arrests. it's interesting, it comes in the wake a few days ago of what was described as a capture of a center operative, who had in his possession names of several al qaeda operatives in the arabian peninsula and afghanistan. we wonder whether there might be a connection there. the idea there's 47 saudis and 51 yemenis. again, not so much of a surprise. what's the major base for promoting terrorism in saudi arabia, nearby yemen, where we have al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. this fits in with what we know. it's interesting, we had a warning from the u.s. state department that there may be attacks planned on u.s. vessels and embassies in the arabian peninsula. so it's interesting to see all
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these connections coming together. >> is it good news not only that the saudis made the arrest but it seems to me the plots, at least the initial reports, because the plots seemed to be focused on saudi arabia that essentially now that the al qaeda are being caught essentially there and the plots no longer seem to be as focused so much on attacks on the united states. >> well, we don't really know what the focus of the plots were. unfortunately in the past we've seen individuals in saudi arabia, including u.s. nationals planning to attack the u.s. homeland from inside saudi arabia, including by coming up with coordinated airborne plots. so i wouldn't start counting our chickens just yet. but i do know one thing of interest, in the raids saudis seized weapons, cameras, documents and computers. i met last week with someone from the saudi interior ministry. it's pretty impressive now the program they are running with regard to computers and online kind of activism and tracing online al qaeda activists.
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and what we're finding is the saudis are turning this against al qaeda the same way that al qaeda is so interested in using the internet to promote its message of excuse me. the saudis are finding ways to track people down, especially people that are potentially terrorist operatives and finding them before they make acts of violence. no direct ling now but the saudis are doing incredible work in this regard. we'll have to see whether or not they manage to home in on these folks. >> major story. nbc terrorism expert evan kohlman. as we get more information, we'll, of course, bring that to you. to a deadly serious domestic issue that's long concerned the u.s. secret service. when president obama was first elected and for much of last year, officials said they were getting four times as many threats as when presidents bush and clinton were in office. last month the secret service said the numbers had leveled off and were about the same as previous presidents.
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still, a controversial new online interactive poll suggests a general hatred of president obama on the right which may be fueling the lunatic fringe is more widespread than previously thought. here is what the poll of self-identified republicans found. 45 say obama is a domestic enemy. 42% say he's racist, 41 anti-american, 22% believe president obama wants the terrorists to win. 57% of republicans incorrectly believe the president is muslim. 45 side with the birthers that he wasn't born in the u.s. 38% say he's doing many things hitler did. 24 say obama might be the antichrist. humphrey taylor is the chairman of the poll. i want to start with some of the criticism you're getting. the way you phrased the question is getting slammed. here is the director for polling for nbc news. some people have said is a
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biassing introductory phrase it imbues the subsequent statements with an air of credibility particularly when you don't note the other. a wealth of literature demonstrates that questions constructed in this fax, true, false, agree, disagree carry a heavy dose of acquiescence bias. they overstate agreement with whatever has been posited. >> he's a smart fellow but this is a tried and true method of measuring opinion. we did not push people to give one answer or another. the fact is people discriminated substantially with what is on the list. we have large number of people saying he's a socialist and relatively few people saying he is the antichrist. so people were clearly able to pick and choose the things they did or did not agree with. >> except if it were a standard way, how come you're the only
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pollster doing this. you use some highly charged words, racist, hitler, dictatorial powers. >> we wanted to find how many believed these things. the reason we did this poll, a new book came out called "wingnuts" where he talked to a lot of people who hold these beliefs. i was flabbergasted when i saw the book and said let's find how many people agree with the positions. that's why we did the poll. i'm glad to say we did it before anybody else thought to do it. >> interesting numbers and a controversial poll. in any case, we appreciate you coming on this morning. thank you. >> my pleasure. thank you very much. >> you're welcome. with the rallying cry repeal and remrs., republicans are mounting their last stand now against health care reform. the senate has been back in session for about an hour today continuing the debate on the cam pan i don't know bill to the new health care law signed by president obama yesterday. so far senators have debated for nearly nine of the 20 hours
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required under reconciliation rules. after that comes the rapid-fire votes. that's when republicans will try to wreak havoc with the process throwing in dozens of amendments designed to slow things down and embarrass democrats. nbc's luke russert is live on capitol hill with the latest. luke. >> reporter: well, david, about nine out of those 20 hours have gone through and been debated. harry reid is now taken back the democrat seven hours, essentially eight republican hours for the debate. republicans offering all sorts of interesting amendments. john mccain offered one yesterday to give away sweetheart deals, louisiana purchase, money for asbestos, connecticut hospital. iowa, introducing the president and cabinet to buy health insurance from exchanges. what could be the most entertaining and interesting amendment senator coburn offering an amendment that no convicted sex offenders could
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buy viagra or other performance enhancing drugs off of the health exchange programs, david. >> the idea here being, look, by making these so attractive to democrats they can pick-off enough they can essentially changed the language that passed the house and gum up the process. >> essentially what they want is for one of these amendments to pass. why? that changes the fix it bill. that means it would have to go back to the house for another vote. a small change but would have to go back and pro longs the process. steny hoyer said he's prepared to keep the house in session. they will be around here this weekend. democrats want to get this passed, completed and done before they go back for passover and easter recess. that being said, i spoke to a democratic member today from the united states senate and he said, look, this is really why washington is so out of touch with the rest of the country. we're going to have a vote-a-rama, vote a dozen times. they will explain what they are. democrats will vote no, republicans vote yes.
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you'll have folks in their home states, home districts wondering what the heck is going on there. they won't defend their position on the amendment because they will simply be told to vote no or vote yes. go ahead? >> especially because politically difficult because who is against keeping viagra from sex offenders but that's what the democrats are going to have to do to hold the line? >> indeed. that is one of the most interesting things. democratic senators will literally not know exactly what they are voting on. obviously republicans are going to try to put things in there that would be embarrassing. later on amendments specifically tailored to home districts that could be politically vulnerable in 2010. >> luke russert, another fascinating day on capitol hill. luke, thank you as always. >> reporter: thank you, sir. a speed limit to president obama from george w. bush architect karl rove. rove, a best selling author and fox contributor spoke with savannah on "the daily rundown."
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when it comes to getting health care, he tips his hat to president obama sort of. >> anybody, take off their hat and admire it, even if they had to take back the cornhusker kickback or step back from the deal in which they treated a union worker and nonunion worker in different ways if they had cadillac insurance plans. the white house use of political power, raw political power in cutting deals, offering thinly described bribes and pressuring people is pretty amazing. >> well, as the senate continues to debate legislation that would fix and patch certain parts of the health care reform bill, let's check in how things are going with the democrat from new hampshire. senator shaheen, when it comes to this amendment, keeping viagra from sex offenders, what do you do? >> you know, it's unfortunate our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are looking at this
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as a game, a way to embarrass senators. this is not a game. this is serious legislation that will make a difference for millions of people across this country who are going to be able to get insurance now because insurance companies can no longer deny them because they have a pre-existing condition. it's about making sure seniors get access to prescription drugs because they can't get them because they fall in that doughnut hole. it's about dealing with the deficit long-term, making sure we can hold the line on health care cost, help middle class families. immediately small businesses are going to get tax credits to be able to cover their employees. this is serious. this is not about trying to embarrass people, either about trying to make sure that the people in this country who need health care get the health care that they need and can see the doctor when they need to see them. >> as you know, it's been a very highly charged atmosphere. just a few minutes ago we were talking with a pollster, a controversial poll, controversial in terms of
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methodology but found something like 38% of republicans think that president obama is doing some of the things that hitler did. do you believe that the numbers are that high? what do you make of some of the views on the republican right? >> i think it's sad and disappointing. in a democracy we need to disagree. we can do that civilly. the leadership who have been responsible for sowing those kinds of information and confusion among people and spreading hate and bigotry really need to take some responsibility for changing that. a democracy can only survive if we can discuss issues and appreciate the views of other people. and unfortunately what that poll showed is we've got too many people right now who don't seem to be able to appreciate an alternative point of view. >> senator shaheen, democrat from new hampshire. thanks for being with us this
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morning. we appreciate it. still ahead, we've been warned about the dangers of those popular baby shrinks but now one company is issuing a recall. if you have got one, we'll tell you what you need to know. what is the current state of black america? the reverend al sharpton weighs in on what the country is doing right and what the country needs in terms of health care, jobs and education. plus, vice president joe biden dropped the f bomb in close proximity to a micro phone. this isn't the first famous curse caught on camera and audio. you're watching msnbc news.
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according to statisticians, the odds of picking every game in the first two rounds correctly was one in 13,463,000. it's easier to win the lottery twice. that's why i'm buying my next ticket with alex herman, perfect in his picks. he loves math and has the a method for picking the wildest upsets like cornell over wisconsin. >> because of the size of the player and how good they are in defense and how good they are this year. cornell is such a good, good team. they are so good, ivy league and everything. >> herman picked purdue, his brother's alma mater to win the tournament. at first a florida man thought a dark object sticking out of his cheeseburger at a daytona beach checkers found a metal screw. the man says he's contacted an
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attorney but not sure whether he'll file a lawsuit. a spokesman for the checkers restaurant chain refuses to comment. mr. obama, where for art thou, australia expected to welcome him but he canceled his trip to focus on health care reform. one company has built a wall to welcome the president to the country. now they have added the words, "obama, where the bloody hell are you?" it's all in good humor. officials say they understand why the president put off the trip until june. whether you support it or not, yesterday's signing of the health care overhaul one for the history books. as emotions running high, vice president joe biden let loose but caught by an open micro phone using an expletive. >> reporter: the thing about historic moments is, there are micro phones to capture them. on tuesday, posterity got an
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earful. >> whoa! wait. what? damage control was instant and brief. the white house press secretary simply treat, yes, mr. president, you're right. but the president's face seemed to fall as he looked at those two micro phones in front of him no doubt fearing the vice president's f bomb had just exploded in ears all across the country. >> thank you. >> within hours there were t-shirts being hawked with the vice president's phrase emblazened in black and white. >> we actually had orders for this shirt within three minutes of the shirt presented on the site. >> while many think the gaffe is a laughable moment, to others it's teachable one. >> i'm disappointed. >> the founder of the no puffing club said it cheapened that
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moment. >> him using that language telling kids across the world and adults you can cuss any time you want. >> it probably was a pressure valve. it was mark twain who said under certain circumstances profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer. still, there is something about solemnly swearing that for some politicians, they just seem to take it too literally. >> president george bush was caught creatively cursing and a california assemblyman was caught bragging about his extramarital affairs. even ronald reagan, the great communicator had some not so great communicating moments. >> i'm pleased to tell you i've signed legislation that will outlaw russia forever. we begin bombing in five minutes. >> reporter: in the end, the vice president's boss wasn't too mad. after all the president himself
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has let some rip, too. >> he's a jackass. >> reporter: some unfourth national words too close to a mike. >> that was a great f'ing report. breaking news in saudi arabia. 100 terror suspects busted in an alleged plot overseas. fresh information on this story. we'll bring you more ahead on msnbc news. [ female announce] sometimes you need tomorrow to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm.
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because the products have been linked to infant deaths. babies can suffocate in the soft fabric and urges parents to stop using the slings for babies under four-month-old. the company will offer a free replacement baby carrier, activity gym or shopping cart to affected consumers. three people arrested and several others forcibly removed from a school board meeting in raleigh, north carolina, after a contentious debate on busing. shortly after the arrest the board voted 5-4 to reverse a policy of busing for diversity. the district's policy started in 1999. new socioeconomic factors to place students rather than race. this morning the national urban league released it's annual state of black america report. it addresses inequality for hispanics, the fastest growing demographic group. shows african-americans are making gains in equality but
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twice as likely as whites to be unemployed. more blacks and hispanics lack health care compared to white americans. we're joined by reverend sharpton. first of all, your reaction to these results. >> i think this the reason we work with the urban league and naacp and the leaders of our group met with the president to make sure as we deal with reform of health care and jobs that we have in mind there is an inequality. an inequality can't continue in incoming jobs and health services. i think the president understands that. we're not asking the president of congress to have race-based kind of legislation. we're asking we make fair and even out an inequity that is inherent. i think these figures show that inequity still exists. >> the role that you have been playing with president obama is so interesting. we were just talking about it a
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minute ago. in a way, by the president deferring to you and letting you and others to make the case for this issue, it enables him to have a little distance. >> i don't think it's deferring. i think he understands we have a role as civil rights groups and he respects us and meets with us on this, as he does labor groups as he does leaders of women's group. he's the president. he's not an advocate, not the head of an advocacy group. i think it is almost insulting to try and make the president the head of an advocacy group. if we have competent advocates for civil rights as we do women's and other groups. we pressure the white house based on the needs of that constituency. but to expect him to be the leader of an advocacy group against himself is to really say we don't think he's the president, we just think this is
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some symbolic gesture, any more he's the union member he'd become the labor advocate to himself. >> yet there are, seems like, a significant number of people out there, particularly on the right, who are very confused or very afraid of president obama. racism, as we saw. what do you make of what's going on? >> i think a lot of that is very ugly and fright think. when you see people spitting on a member of congress. i mean, let's step back a minute. spitting on a member of congress. calling people the n word. calling people the f word in a homophobic word, congressman frank. that's way over the line of protest. i spent most of my life, all of my life, as a leader of protest movements. but there's a line you draw. and you're trying to bring this to some conclusion to get something done, what is gained by this? >> what's fueling this? >> i think a lot of this is the hate rhetoric that has come from
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people on the right, from talk shows, from respectfully other channels that incited this, not stepped back from this. leaders have a responsibility to not try to incite this kind of violent and vile behavior. >> reverend sharpton, thanks for coming in as always. >> thank you. good to see you, david. breaking news in saudi arabia. we're learning about the arrest of hundreds of militants accused of plotting terror attacks in that company. are you ready for sarah palin in your home. she's heading for big money reality show. want to know what your neighbors are spending their money on? we'll tell you. will everyone with constipation please report to gate 17?
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installations in eastern saudi arabia, 47 saudis, 51 yemenis, one somali, one mongolian native arrested. it's believed they are part of one network, three terror cells all three operating separately. nbc news foreign correspondent richard engel joins us live. what do you make of this? >> reporter: prfs a mainly crackdown by saudi arabia. it doesn't take place in one swoop. it's been going on since at least a week ago. there were three different groups targeted. one of them was much larger than the other two. the first described by saudi officials as a terror network. in just that network, there were 101 suspected militants. the numbers are slightly different than the ones you announced. they included 47 saudis, 51 yemenis, one bangladeshi and one somali. this network was allegedly trying to plot imminent attacks against saudi security aspects
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and plotted suicide bombers. in addition to this 101-person network, the authorities took down two much smaller cells, each cell of about six people. so 12 other individuals. those two smaller cells were allegedly linked to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, which is based in yemen. so this is a major crackdown from saudi arabia. we've been told by u.s. intelligence officials that saudi arabia takes this threat very seriously and sees its very existence, the saudi monarchy's existence as potentially a threat from al qaeda in saudi arabia and yes, ma'am prcmen. >> as we get reaction from the obama administration we'll bring that to you. a big set of arrests in saudi arabia. this morning the white house is refusing to give any kind of readout on the two hours of face-to-face talks last night between president obama and israeli prime minister netanyahu.
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netanyahu arrived at the west wing after weeks of escalating tensions over israeli plans to build new construction in arab dominated east jerusalem. the leaders actually held two separate meetings last night after the president led the first sitdown. he met with top aides then asked for a second meeting with president obama. we're joined by a former policy adviser to netanyahu and ambassador to united nations. ambassador, are you picking up any sort of readout on what happened last night? >> i can't tell you. obviously the meeting between president obama and netanyahu was a meeting between the two of them. israel and the u.s. have a complex relationship at present. we both have the same strategic challenges, iran, al qaeda, that bust in saudi arabia fits into the kinds of threats we're facing as well. but at the same time, unfortunately, we've seen a sharp break in the policy of the obama administration from past
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administrations on the question of jerusalem. jerusalem is a city where we have a jewish majority. we've had a jewish majority since 150 years ago in the mid 19th century. israel needs to supply housing to all its residents, arabs and jews alike. we will not discriminate between them. >> is it your understanding, a huge embarrassment for the obama administration as you and others recognizeds the timing as the vice president was in israel, the timing, there would be construction in eastern jerusalem. is it your understanding the friction between the obama administration and the israeli administration they moved beyond that last night and moved into sort of the deeper issues? >> well, i hope so. that neighborhood where some housing is going to be built, some apartments are going to be built is an area that was
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established in 1995 when president clinton was in office and prime minister rabin was in office. we frankly didn't have those kinds of disagreements then. we were negotiating with yasser arafat arafat and palestinians didn't say freeze your construction or we won't talk to you. now that's happening and it's unfortunate. >> it's unusual for an administration not to give a readout with a head of state. it's more unusual when israelis won't give a readout on a meeting with their prime minister. should americans take this as a good sign or bad sign, especially as you pointed out the relationship is complex between the united states and israel. >> well, let's remember one thing, the u.s. and israel are allies. israel has been supplying technology to the united states army to find those roadside bombs in iraq. we've been busy sharing intelligence on al qaeda and iran with the u.s. and our
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european allies. let's get to work defending the west and get past these little disagreements we have. israel building jerusalem, jerusalem the capital of israel and will remain the capital of israel forever. >> ambassador dore gold. thanks for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. texas congressman randy neugebauer says he's getting an outpouring of support and says he will continue to speak out after his infamous baby killer outburst on the house floor last weekend. >> those who are shouting out are out of order. well, congressman neugebauer apologized for the outburst of baby killer. he's now using it to raise money for his election bid. check out his new campaign ad. >> i will continue to speak with the same passion i spoke last night, maybe in a little bit different form but still with the same intensity.
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i want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of support but more importantly i want to thank you for the opportunity and honor of representing you in the united states congress. >> neugebauer ad accuses the house of using the unborn lives of children as bargaining chips in the health care debate. sarah palin is one step closer to getting a reality show. discovery channel executives have pitched sarah palin's "alaska" a new series with $1 million per episode payday. it would focus on the state through the former governor's eyes, shot similar to planet earth series. what an amazing journey palin has had. toyota's legal troubles driving straight into the court with hundreds of lawyers lining up cases against the automaker. what is in it for them? we'll have a live report. plus, do you ever wonder what your neighbors are spending their hard-earned cash on? the results of a new survey are out. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm.
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despite the economic recession, the demand for plastic surgery has only slightly dropped in recent years. a new report for the american society for plastic surgery finds almost 10 million cosmetic procedures done in the u.s. last year. this is an overall drop of just 2% from 2008. toyota's troubles are shifting from the highway to the courtroom. this week hundreds of lawyers will line up in a san diego court for a shot at leading the legal case against the japanese automaker that could be worth billions. cnbc's phil lebeau in chicago with the latest. >> reporter: this is going to be interesting over the next several months particularly on the class action front. the cases against toyota, the
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bulk, 118 are class-action suits. what will happen tomorrow in a courtroom in san diego. they may be consolidated into one giant national class action suit and they will assign a jurisdiction. 36 individual injury and death cases working their way through the courts. a grand jury investigation looking into how toyota has handled the recall issue. it's class action most troubling for toyota from this perspective. it's unclear what a jury, class action suit might cost the company. because it's open ended, might ultimately be a case where they say, okay, you have to pay every toyota owner $1,000 or $1500 because of the diminished value of their vehicle or perceived diminished value of their vehicle. you can see where this could quickly add up into billions of dollars for toyota. now, it doesn't mean it's going to end up that way but that's the real concern for toyota as it starts to see the process play out with class action suits. that starts tomorrow.
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>> the lawyers are circling like sharks. cnbc's phil lebeau, thank you very much. they say everything is big in texas. well, apparently sore the spending habits of people who live there, especially in the capital city of austin. according to a bundle.com report that was just released, the average american spends $38,000 a year not including rent or mortgage. but in austin the average family spends over $67,000 a year. scottsdale, arizona, residents are big spenders, more than $64,000. next up san jose, california, 59,000 a year. arlington, virginia, they are spending more than $56,000 a year. just a few more dollars than people in plano, texas. janet pass kin, manager editor of bundle.com. is it in terms of where the wealthiest people live? >> that's certainly part of it. the other thing we found in places where you would typically think the cost of living in
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lower, people are spending the money they are ostensibly saving on housing. >> let's go through how people are spending. shopping. the average family, over $8,000 a year. health and family, $8,000. food and drink, $6500. house and home, $6300. getting around, $5400, travel and leisure $2600. i'm surprised how little travel and leisure is compared to shopping. >> i think the thing to remember is that some people -- everybody shops, but some people don't travel that much. >> what surprised you in terms of the numbers here? >> one of the things i was surprised by was the difference in spending between married people with children and married people without. you hear that raising kids is so expensive, the most expensive thing you'll ever do and worth every penny. but in fact, married couples with children spend around 10% more than married couples without children. >> not very much, then. in other words, is it the
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mobility that's showing up here of couples who don't have to worry about children are traveling around more? >> i think the lesson is that people spend the money that's available to them. so just because you don't have kids doesn't mean you're necessarily saving that money. you're spending it on yourself or on other hobbies. your lifestyle expands to fit your budget. >> in terms of big cities. new york city, spending is just about average, ranks number 53 $37,000. los angeles spends a little more than new yorkers. they are number 42, spending about $39,000. again, is this because when we think of new york and los angeles, think of high rollers with lots of money, also a lot of middle class earners in both places. >> that's absolutely right. if you thought about manhattan by itself, new york's wealthiest
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borough. when you take los angeles's sprawling demographics you come closer to the national average you would expect in a city with millions of people. >> the managing editor of bundle.com, janet, thanks for coming on today. >> thanks so much. coming off the break. the fight is on for a fugitive in florida. but as you see, the chase for the suspect is making a monkey out of police. at 11:00 a.m. eastern my colleague tamron hall takes a look how democrats have come under attack since the health care bill became law. we're not just talking about rhetoric. we're watching msnbc. we love getting our outback dirty. because it seems like the dirtier it gets, the more it shines. the subaru outback®. motor trend's 2010 sport/utility of the year®. hurry in to the subaru love spring event for great deals on all models. now through march 31st.
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in the wake of the democratic victory earlier this week on health care reform, political analysts are now trying to recalibrate what this may do to the political landscape. take a look at these brand-new numbers from the quinnipiac poll. right now in a hypothetical congressional race voters prefer a generic republican candidate over a generic democrat 44 to 39%. take a look at the numbers if a
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tea party candidate is added to the mix. the democratic candidate would win with 36% of the vote, the republican would get 25% and 15% would go to the tea party candidate. in other words, the tea party could be spoilers for republicans. a baboon is making a monkey out of officials in florida. the monkey has been running wild in the woods between tampa and st. petersburg. he's outsmarting his captors. an update on the chase. >> reporter: the guy behind me was captured, a baboon in the slammer, as it were. he apparently didn't get word from the expert, a monkey roaming the area and causing havoc. a monkey, somewhat of a legend in these parts. it's believed he's the off
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spring of amongst used in tarzan movies shot miles from here. the hunt was on in 2008 when he first surfaced in the jungle. it's unknown if he was a pet released or raised in the wild. it's likely eaves been trained. one police officer reports seeing him look both directions before crossing the street. just days ago, renee thought she heard her dog out back. turned out it was that fugitive. >> so you're crazy. >> i'm crazy. >> did you go april. >> very funny. i could say it was bananas. >> reporter: renee said she suspected monkey business when her basket of fruit disappeared piece by piece. >> i come out, the basket tipped over and no grapefruit in it. i'm like, those have got to be large citrus rats. >> vernon yates, animal trapper,
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said he's tired of being made a monkey by the monkey. he's tracked this troublemaker too long, he says. once he tranquilized him with a single shot. the monkey threw, how shall we say, feces at him then retreated to a higher branch. when he woke up, back on the run. >> he's made a monkey of everyone trying to catch him. he's traveled three counties, almost four counties i know of. >> reporter: in the last two years this monkey on the lam has covered 50 square miles. getting from tampa to st. petersburg requires a trick. he either swam or walked the miles separating the two cities or he's getting help. one clue, while he may not have a name, he does are a facebook page. the mystery monkey of tampa bay. >> he writes on his facebook page, mystery monkey of tampa
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bay enjoyed a refreshing swim and delicious fruit yesterday. sorry about the screen, renee. another day of freedom. got to go. >> reporter: the last person to see him has this tip for searchers. >> fled. the assailant fled in an easterly direction. >> reporter: the biggest concern as i report, this is not what you've seen and learned but if there are any primates watching, because, as you know, monkey see, monkey do. kerry sanders, nbc news, seminole, florida. that does it for me. i'm david shuster. i'll see you back here at 3:00 p.m. eastern time and again tomorrow morning at 10:00. my colleague tamron hall picks up things next. protests against health care have taken a violent turn. she will have more on that next. hey!
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we have live pictures of the senate floor as lawmakers debate democratic fixes. lawmakers under attack. even families being threatened. look at the anger exploding now that health care has passed. unbelievable. sex abuse, lies and a cover-up in the catholic church. now a big resignation with papal ties. plus 40 years later koorks a former army doctor convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and his two children get a new trial because of new dna evidence. a calendar may say spring. don't tell that to the people in this state. 5,000 people forced to spend the night in an airport due to this weather. we'll talk more about it. right now senate debating the cam pannion bill to the historic law president obama signed yesterday, the so-called reconciliation bill. this comes as new "usa today" gallup poll numbers show more americans favo
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