good day, everyone. i'm tamron hall. we're starting with breaking news out of florida. we expect to hear from the mom of 7-year-old summer thompson any minute now. a couple hours ago police announced charges in the murder ofso ofsomer. she disappeared while walking home from school last october. police have charged 24-year-old jaret harrell with killing

somer. >> charges filed today allege that he contacted somer as she was walking home from school. we have evidence that will show that harrell assaulted somer and killed her and dumped her body in a dumpster which ultimately ended up in a landfill in folkston, georgia. >> nbc's kerry sanders is standing by in our miami bureau. kerry, we point out we're waiting on somer thompson's mother and family to speak. i believe they are walking out right now. her mother has been very vocal from the beginning when her child went missing. >> yeah. dina thompson has indeed and i think she is about to speak. i've spoken to her before. this has been a very painful experience for her but she has also said repeatedly how she understood that the community was behind her as well as of course the sheriff's department. let's pause for a moment and listen to dina as she talks about what is the arrest now of the person responsible according to the police for the murder of her little girl.

>> the first thing i want to say is thank you. to my family, my neighbors, my friends, my community, the world. local businesses who have helped me out, michael fried, shawn woodland with the dalton agency. they're amazing. upward, orange park baptist church, thank you so much. oh, to be kids and a lot of other people that i would stand here all day and say thank you to. next i'd like to say that 158

days ago my 7-year-old twin daughter was walking home from school. like a child should be allowed to do. and on this day someone took her away from me, her siblings, my family, and the world. a monster. that's all this person is, is a monster. somer was such a bright star that never got her chance to shine. you know, a lot of people have been saying since this has happened, this isn't mayberry anymore. we as parents, as community leaders, as citizens, we need to

get together and figure out what it is that we are not doing right. it's time for us to do something different and let our children be allowed to walk home and play and ride their bikes. it's time for us to reclaim our children's safety and innocence. you know, justice is not fast as an impulse and that's what this monster did and he took something away from me that no one will ever be able to give back to me. i never liked mondays but as far as i'm concerned there will be no mondays in my life because that's the day my life ended. and i stood here in front of all

of you, 150 something days ago, and said that we're coming to get you. we will get you. and so i'd like to take this opportunity to say to jarred harrell, we got you and you ain't getting away. and that's about all i have to say. yes, ma'am? >> a very emotional statement from dina thompson, somer thompson's mother, just a few hours or an hour after authorities announced that they were charging jarred harrell in somer's murder. he had been picked up earlier, a few months ago, he had been

picked up, charged with child pornography, possession of child pornography, was brought back to florida. this after a tip from some of his room mates telling authorities that they discovered pornography, child pornography on his computer. his family lived not very far away from where somer went missing and her mother now saying to him looking boldly in that camera that we got you. again, he's not been found guilty, just charged today, and will likely face trial. so we'll continue to follow the developments as somer's mom continues to speak and we'll bring that to you. also developing now the ntsb is sending a team to kentucky to investigate a deadly highway crash. police say 11 people died when a truck crossed the median on interstate 65 and hit a mennonite church van headed to a wedding. two children survived that awful crash. developing now, a new earthquake with a magnitude 6.2 has rocked northern chile. there are no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage. the quake was centered far from the major 8.8 quake that hit

that country last month, killing 450 people. less than an hour, sarah palin will join senator john mccain for a big rally they have planned in tucson, arizona. it's the first time the two have campaigned together since the 2008 election. palin is lending her support as mccain faces his toughest re-election battle ever. palin released a new radio ad providing a preview of her pitch. >> if we have a chance to stop the democrats in congress and the white house, it's because john mccain is leading that charge. standing up for true conservatives, standing up for arizona. john mccain, character matters. >> nbc's norah o'donnell is live right outside the fairgrounds where a lot of people are gathered. norah, how does mr. mccain believe sarah palin will help him here? >> reporter: well, i think that john mccain believes that sarah palin can vouch for his,

quote-unquote, true conservative values as she said in that radio ad. i just spoke with the senior mccain adviser, who tells me that both todd and sarah palin are here with cindy and john mccain and that the bulk of this event is going to center around sarah palin. this adviser telling me sarah palin is going to deliver a very meaty speech that is going to be ten to 12 minutes long, about twice as long as when john mccain's speech today because this event is meant to show case her and spotlight her support for john mccain. why is that so important? because john mccain is facing his toughest re-election of his life. he is facing a challenge from the political right. another republican, j.d. hayworth, who's running against him in the primary. there's a lot of arizona conservatives, tea party supporters, who don't trust john mccain. they're worried because he has advocated for immigration reform and a path for citizenship for illegal immigrants. two, he voted for the t.a.r.p., that bailout for wall street,

and, three, they don't trust whether he is a real or true conservative, in part because he didn't vote for the bush tax cuts. so that's what's at play here in this state, why john mccain is vulnerable in this particular election and why j.d. hayworth thinks he has a shot. so the reason everybody is out here today is in part to see john mccain but they're also out because they're here to see sarah palin and it's going to be the first time we see the two of them together since they lost the 2008 presidential election. >> good stuff, norah, thank you very much. a major new victory for president obama following his health care win. the u.s. and russia have agreed on a new nuclear arms treaty that makes sharp cuts in the arsenal of both nations. long-range weapons would be reduced by about one-third. the president and the russian president medvedev signed off on the agreement in a phone call this morning. >> with this agreement the united states and russia, the two largest nuclear powers in the world also send a clear signal that we intend to lead. it took patience, it took perseverance, but we never gave

up. and as a result, the united states will be more secure and the american people will be safer. >> the treaty still needs to be ratified by the senate and by russia's parliament. democrats are taking one more victory lap you might say today. this morning house speaker nancy pelosi announced the new health care fix-it bill is now ready for the president to sign into law. he is expected to do so sometime next week but republicans are not giving up their fight. nbc's luke russert is on capitol hill and, luke, we heard the president say in iowa to the republicans basically bring it on if they want to try to challenge this law. what is the strategy for republicans now? >> it's an interesting strategy, tamron. obviously you hear a lot of folks in the gop saying repeal the bill, kill the bill, let's really try and sack it one more time. obviously now that it's signed into law it's hard to do that. the republicans are very confident they'll win the house in november and the senate in november and use their power to go forward and try and really reappeal some of the things in

this bill. what they'll do in the meantime is sometime this year you'll see a series of appropriations bills. for example there will be an appropriations bill for the treasury department. in that appropriations bill the treasury department, there will be some funding for new irs agents that are going to be needed to enforce some of the pillers of this health care reform. the republicans will offer an amendment that will say no let's not give money to the new irs agents thus trying to impede actual reform from happening. it's a tough strategy. obviously they won't have the votes on a lot of these amendments but they'll try and cut off the financing for monumental health care reform legislation. democrats are saying, bring it on. they're happy to run on health care reform now. they think it's an issue that'll be beneficial to them in november especially because these things are coming within the next six months, which is physicals are now covered for insurance, kids can stay on their parents' plan until they're 26, no denial for pre-existing conditions for children. there are a lot of popular things they feel will happen the first six months that will make the republicans the party of no. tamron? >> all right.

luke, thank you very much. and a new incident of vandalism against politicians. it happened this morning at the republican party headquarters in albemarle county, virginia, the county chairwoman arrived at the office and discovered bricks had been thrown through several windows. no one was hurt. local police are investigating. this is just the latest of course in a string of disturbing incidents this week with lawmakers, both democrats and republicans, being threatened with menacing voicemails and even having offices vandalized. leaders of both parties are calling on civility and calmer heads to prevail in the wake of the vote for health care reform. pope benedict is facing new questions on just how much he knew about sex abuse involving priests. the incidents date back decades to a time when he could have perhaps done something about it. today the "new york times" reveals that back in 1980 when the pope was archbishop of munich he was informed by memo about a german priest being allowed to work with children just days after the priest started therapy for pedophelia.

and yesterday "the times" reported court documents that suggest top vatican officials including then cardinal ratzinger turned a blind eye to a wisconsin priest who admitted to molesting boys, as many perhaps as 200. joining us in studio, william donohue president of the catholic league for religious and civil rights. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> let's go through the line. the latest news is then cardinal ratzinger and other officials maybe knew and did not act on this case in wisconsin. are these memos, are these documents real? >> here's what we know. evidently there was an abuse that took place, perhaps several abuses that took place as early as the 1950s with this priest murphy. for whatever reason which we don't know the victims' families never reported this to the police until the mid 1970s. the vatican never learned about it until 1996. that's when ratzinger now the pope decided to have an

investigation for the first time in the vatican. then murphy dies two years later. so i don't know what exactly the story is. i know the "new york times" is anxious to try and place this on his desk. >> why do you say that? what would be the motivation? >> women's ordination, abortion, and gay marriage. the "new york times" loves all three. the catholic church rejects all three. it's pretty obvious. >> what about this story in 1980 the pope was archbishop of munich and informed by memo about a german priest being allowed to work with children days after the priest started therapy for pedophelia. what about that? >> on march the 16th the "new york times" said that ratzinger at that time the archbishop of munich, was advised by his subordinates that a priest there should get therapy. and ratzinger approved it. it was his first offense. he gave him therapy. that was the drill of the day. they treated these things as a malady and the psychiatrist could fix it. now the "new york times" comes out today and says we have more news. what's the news? the news is that maybe he knew he was transferred after that.

well, i don't expect that ratzinger would have approved therapy and then expected the guy to go to prison. he expected him obviously to be reinstated. i don't know what the news is. >> william, the news, i think, for many people when you read this is that it was possible this pope was aware of a man who molested, admitted to molesting 200 boys, that there were other incidents that may have been available -- that was the wisconsin case. >> does the pope bear any responsibility? >> in the wisconsin case, again, the families never said anything to the cops until the mid '70s when it started in the 1950s. >> some people might interpret you're blaming the families. >> i want to blame the families. if that was my kid molested by a priest or a plumber and it took me 15 years to get to the cops? i think there's something delinquent with them. but let's -- >> delinquent with the church? >> why did the cops let this thing go? they investigated and didn't do anything. ratzinger didn't find out about it until 1996.

>> so with that same passion do you blame the church for anything right now? >> oh, i'll tell you what i blame them for. for example in 1980 when this guy struck and they gave him the therapy, as far as i'm concerned these psychiatrists need to get on the couch themselves. i would have punished the guy. all right? but they didn't. and when he struck again in '86 four years after ratzinger left as archbishop they should have tossed him. the catholic church has been too wimpy in dealing with these monster priests and as far as i'm concerned so is the rest of our society. >> will this hurt this pope in any way do you believe? >> i think he's been hurt to some extent but i think he'll weather the storm because too many catholics will rally to his side. >> always a pleasure having you on, william. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. a heck of a transition here. can marijuana help cut california's massive budget deficit? up next we'll debate whether the state should legalize marijuana for recreational use. they're really taking this seriously there. and president obama is telling struggling homeowners that help is on the way. new details on a plan to help

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welcome back. this november california voters will vote whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults. california's secretary of state certified the ballot measure wednesday to campaign for and against legalizing pot if you will for recreational use. it's now in full swing and joining us to debate it is steve fox of the marijuana policy project who advocates legalization and also the author of "marijuana is safer, so why

are we driving people to drink?" and brian darling of the heritage foundation in washington, which opposes the legalization, thank you, both, for joining us. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> steve, i'll start with you. the survey says -- i sound like the game show "the survey says" but polling shows 56% of californians in this field poll support legalization of marijuana. why do you believe so many people at least in that state are on your side? >> well, i think it's quite clear that what we're confronting is reality, that people have realized marijuana isn't the dangerous drug the government has made it out to be for so long. they realize marijuana is a substance that's really less harmful than alcohol and they don't think adults should be punished for making the rational chase for using something less harmful than alcohol. >> isn't this the hard case and the reason it's being taken more seriously is that california is cash strapped? >> well, i mean, that's one reason it is being taken

seriously. it definitely would create more tax revenue and jobs and so on. that would be great. the bottom line is that people shouldn't be afraid of this as well, that it will have benefits and all we're doing is making a substance legal that is less harmful than alcohol. >> brian, you buy any of that argument? >> well, america already has a drug problem. look at all the problems in hollywood out in california with prescription pain killers and all these hollywood stars and their dependence on it. >> what does that have to do with marijuana? >> because as a nation we have a drug problem. people are taking too many drugs. if you legalize it, it's going to be more acceptable. more people will be smoking pot. kids will start smoking more pot. if you look at the statistics high school usage of marijuana has gone down since 1979. why would you want to make it more available to kids and make our problems worse when we already have a problem? >> so i won't -- i'll let you

guys debate this but, brian, i'll ask you if those numbers show fewer kids are using pot, you point to hollywood. i cover a lot of these tragic stories and i've never covered a story where someone died of a pot overdose. >> it does lead to dependency and is a gateway drug to other drugs like cocaine and heroin. we're in a society where people are trying to ban trans fats, they don't like second-hand smoke but all of a sudden they want to allow the people of california to smoke something that ruins their lungs, may cause mental problems, it's not a healthy thing for people to do. smoking pot is not good for you. >> steve? >> yeah. there is so much there to address. i guess i'll start with the basic fact that, yeah. i mean, we're not saying that this is the best thing for you. everything you do has some sort of harm but the fact is that of millions of people who use marijuana already and hundreds

of millions use alcohol. the truth is marijuana is a less harmful substance and there is no treen punish adults who choose to use a lesslp harmful substance. we're not going to lead to greater teen use. brian cites a 1979 figure and says we're down since then. but we're up since other years and it's been relatively constant that teen use is around 50% and we're not keeping teens from -- >> i want you to answer the comparison to alcohol because you hear that a lot. people far more damage seems to be done by people in our society by drinkers, people with alcohol other than this marijuana use. go ahead. >> it's true. alcohol does do a lot of harm to families. it does harm families. it's an acceptable activity for people to go out and have a few drinks. there is nothing wrong with that. if you go and move forward and start legalizing marijuana, cocaine, heroin, other drugs, i mean, where do you end? we need to draw the line somewhere and we as a society should not allow marijuana to be

legal. >> brian, steve, i greatly appreciate it. i always wonder with these conversations like 15 years, 20 years from now if someone watches this tape what will they think of this debate? interesting. all right. thank you, guys. we'd like to know what you think, not 15 years from now, but today. twitter me. twitter.msnbc.com. do you believe that those voters who want pot legalized in california are onto something or the argument that it's a gateway drug and could cause more problems in our society? [ male announcer ] as long as we're winding up our doing dials,

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unemployment has stayed high and home prices have stayed low. with the administration coming forward with announcing this morning they have a program now that will enable people first of all if you're unemployed to either significantly reduce your monthly payment from -- for up to three months, up to six months, or eliminate it all together, and if you are under water in your mortgage, we're all familiar with this term now but we'll make it clear, if you owe more on the house than the house is worth, then they're going to try to get together, encourage your lender and you to get together to renegotiate the principipa principal, negotiate it down and the government is going to chip in $14 billion to $45 billion out of the t.a.r.p. the administration says they can do this with money allocated in the t.a.r.p. for the housing market without going to congress and it's going to start in the fall. that's where we are at this point. administration officials this morning very quick to point out that not everybody is going to be helped by this. many people projected up to 12 million people will have their homes foreclosed on in the next

three years. they're talking about picking up 3 to 4 million. they want everybody to know individuals who acted irresponsibly or got into one of those subprime loans who are in a house they can't afford to begin with, they're not likely to be hemmed. y they're not likely to be helped. your credit has to be good and you have to be up on your payments before you're eligible for these programs. iraq's latest election results are being met with violence. can the struggling democracy survive? we'll get the latest from nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel. and later, how the placement of one playground set in one new york neighborhood had a lot of parents upset. is it crossing the line? we'll tell you the details. tah, south on i-75, near exit 5. we're on it. onstar, we may have that tahoe. ok, i'll flash the lights. we got it. it's in the clear. i'm sending a signal to cut the power.

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welcome back. at least 40 people are dead after two bombs went off at a restaurant outside baghdad. this as we just learned the former prime minister alawi has beaten the prime minister al

malaki. richard engel is here with more details. what does this mean? >> this is huge. this is a fundamentalal shift. not only did allawi beat the prime minister al maliki but it could set an entirely new tone for iraqi politics. he is secular. he represents sunnieies. he is pro american. it is very, very good news for the u.s. it could change the flavor of the government right now. if maliki had won he probably would have formed a different kind of government, one that was allied with other shiite and kurdish parties and there was a risk according to many analysts that violence could have started again on a very large scale. >> with the things you've told us about allawi we expect the reaction from u.s. officials to be positive. >> absolutely expect it to be positive.

they'll be cautious in the beginning because u.s. officials won't want to seem like they're influencing this process. they won't want to seem like they're pushing it from the -- from washington but u.s. official ness the green zone, in the embassy, are dancing right now. this is very good news. >> richard, i started with this that people were killed with two bombs going off. does that have anything to do with this? >> it's just the violence that exists. it's an unfortunate incident. it's terrible. it's horrible. there are going to be more things like that, particularly in this period of time. this is an explosive period of time. there might even be assassination attempts of candidates. if i were allawi i would beef up my guard right now. it isn't over yet. the coalition government still has to form. >> we just had word in my ear that al maliki says he will challenge this. he doesn't accept the results. >> he doesn't say he doesn't accept them. >> they're just telling me this. >> he said they will continue to look into investigations and that he wants fraud allegations to be thoroughly looked into.

>> okay. >> and that there is a process in place. they have the next three days, iraqi officials have three days to publish the results of what happened today and then there are ten days to dispute them so maliki made it clear he wants to dispute it during that ten-day period and you'll see a battleground back and forth. so it's not over yet. only two seats separated maliki and allawi but if things continue this way it is potentially a very big change for iraq. >> thank you very much, richard. we are certainly happy to have you on when big things like this happen. the army is planning to spend more than $200,000 to keep the suspect in the fort hood shooting rampage at a texas jail for six months. major nidal hasan is currently at a san antonio military hospital and the army is not saying when he will be moved to the county jail just 15 miles from fort hood. hasan faces 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated

murder in the november 5th massacre. a campus at florida international university is in mourning today after a football player was stabbed to death there last night. 22-year-old running back kendall berry was found fatally wounded on the campus in west miami-dade. police are still trying to find the killer and students were urged to keep their doors locked. one of his team mates remembers him as, quote, kind spirited and a light hearted guy. former phillipine first lady imelda marcos is seeking a political comeback after more than a decade of relative obscurity. the 80-year-old widow of former dictator ferdinand marcos has just set her sites on a congressional seat. her daughter and son are also making bids for political office. so is boxing star manny pacquio. in fact, 18,000 politicians are on the campaign trail right now, ahead of the election. that number is right, 18,000 politicians on the campaign trail right now ahead of the election may 10th. some amazing video was released

today by police in chattanooga, tennessee. take a look at it. dog attacks a police car and actually somehow it would appear he rips the bumper off the vehicle or at least the paint. it happened sunday. the dog's name is winston, a 2-year-old boxer/pit bull mix. the video has been getting hundreds of hits on the internet. joining us by phone sergeant jerry weary the public information officer for the chattanooga police department. thanks for joining us. >> no problem. >> okay. so i cannot tell you how many people have reacted to this story. we aired it first at 11:00 eastern time and phones have been buzzing so what exactly happened here other than what we can obviously see? >> well, the officer was running radar at the time when the dogs approached. i'm not sure exactly what it was that agitated the animal but he began biting into the bumper. after trying to shake him loose, he went around to the left side of the car where he began puncturing the tires. inevitably, he ripped off the

bumper and destroyed two tires on the officer's cruiser. >> i'm not sure if you've ever seen the movie "kujo" and i don't want to be extreme fwhu dog is really going after this vehicle. was the officer at all worried? he's inside but this dog, if he was outside, may have attacked that officer. >> well, that's the thing we're baffled about. he was not aggressive towards the officers. >> really. >> it was just the vehicle. backup vehicles did arrive and that's where the video came from. he was not aggressive towards the officers or any arriving officers. it was just focused on the car. >> okay. and the video at some point winston looks like he calls his friends. i don't know through dog telepathy or what but a bunch of dogs then start running up to the cruiser. our report said winston was tasered to get him to calm down. what eventually happened here? >> he was taken into custody by animal services. >> taken into custody? >> yeah, for the most part he was taken into custody by animal services and he stayed in the animal shelter until the trial

which occurred yesterday. >> he had a trial? >> yes, he did. >> and he was found? >> well, the owners were cited. >> okay. >> for him getting loose and the judge ordered that he undergo doggie obedience training. >> therapy. >> yes. and they had to take new safeguards in keeping winston inside of his property. >> sergeant, i admire officers for so many reasons but especially now for being so serious in your tone talking about a dog being sent to therapy. how is the officer that was in the car that winston was attacking? >> everyone is doing well. >> who pays for that damage? >> the damage will be assessed to the owner. >> okay. you don't hear or see it every day. thank you very much. we hope the therapy works out for winston. >> thank you. >> all right. moving on, just how sick is actor dennis hopper? he was supposed to be getting a star on the hollywood walk of

fame today but his attorneys say he is too ill to give a deposition in his case. did he show up for this walk of fame moment? msnbc.com's courtney hazlett is off today. let's get the scoop from the editor at large for "life and style" magazine. it was reported that dennis hopper did not want to go to his divorce proceeding. he was too sick. is he showing up to this event? >> from what we are hearing he will be attending the walk of fame ceremony. it is likely to be a very emotional appearance. he has been battling prostate cancer and is very ill, reportedly only around a hundred pounds and his doctor gave him clearance for this because it was a less stressful sorlt of event as opposed to a deposition in his divorce proceedings from his wife of 14 years. >> he is terminally ill. >> yes. this is a very sad moment but this is the culmination of a wonderful, decades-long career and i think vidal mortenson is going to be one of those giving speeches today. >> and his divorce has been very stressful, a messy divorce if the reports are right that he

may have -- >> and his doctor has said he is unable to focus for long periods of time or carry on long conversations so it makes sense that he doesn't want him to participate in that. >> we certainly wish him well. >> yes. >> he has as you pointed out a fantastic career. moving on, movie prices. this story stunned me yesterday when i saw it on "nightly news." ticket prices are up considerably. >> especially for 3-d movies. now, hollywood had a record year last year as far as money and revenue coming in and of course movies like "avatar" and "alice in wonderland" people are flocking to the theaters so theaters are taking advantage of this. in some places prices are going up over 20% per ticket. we're talking nearly $20 per ticket in places like new york city. >> so the imax 3-d movie if you take a family of four, $75. 3-d movie, $63. >> can you imagine those poor kids in high school trying to go on a date? almost impossible. >> you have to get a job and where are you going to work?

>> the question is can hollywood sustain this over the long haul? will people pay this kind of money or is there going to be a back lash? i think for some movies coming out like the new installments of "shrek" and "toy story" will be okay. and also "how to train your dragon." >> that's a huge movie. i didn't hear about it until late in the game but it's another 3-d which means an expensive ticket. what is the story with this movie? >> critics have loved it. the response has been overwhelmingly positive. and it's a kids' movie. it's animated and based on a very popular kids' book and industry analysts are estimating that it's going to make $40 million to $50 million this weekend. it's the tale of a misfit young boy who defies biking tradition and trains a dragon. >> the alternative movie is "hot tub time machine". >> which we are very excited about. you have the '80s, timetable, john cusack. what more could you ask for? >> we'll see if it's a good movie. all right. always fun having you on.

thanks. >> thanks very much. >> for the latest entertainment news logon to scoop.msnbc.com or pick up "life & style." dateline's keith morrison has the story coming up of an undercover operation to save a wife and mother who had no idea she was ever in danger. this is msnbc. woman down from nasal allergy attack. but we've got the ammunition she needs: omnaris. (troops) omnaris! to the nose. (general) omnaris works differently than many other allergy medications. omnaris fights nasal allergy symptoms that occur from allergic inflammation... relieve those symptoms with omnaris. side effects may include headache, nosebleed and sore throat. her nose is at ease. we have lift off. (general) remember omnaris! ask your doctor. in the battle against nasal allergy symptoms, omnaris combats the cause.

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welcome back to a "dateline" nbc special airing tonight. it is a dramatic undercover operation to save a wife and mother. who's unusual about this mission is that it was all secretly recorded by the fbi. and still more unusual, the woman at the center of it all had no idea she was in danger. nbc's keith morrison joins us with a preview of "recipe for murder." keith? >> thank you. hello. as you know, there are the kind of people who simply cannot stand to lose, not anything, not in business or in life. so imagine the case of a deli owner whose signature dessert, the killer cake, just won't turn out right, and whose wife just won't accept his terms for divorce, and supposing that person tries to hire someone to kill her. only that someone turns out to be, of course, he doesn't know it, an undercover fbi agent. here's a taste.

right here began a precarious dance between the fbi agent and the man who always liked to call the shots. a man who didn't know that this time the shots were being called on him. assuming that in this dance the would-be hitman could win sandler's trust. he's an undercover agent. we agreed to conceal his identity. >> there are things about somebody you can talk about and open conversation that makes you agreeable and understanding you can talk. >> what kind of bike you got? >> harley. >> which one? >> road king. >> oh, that's a bike. dude, you live in the world, baby. >> as fred the agent arranged a face-to-face meeting. >> and then i met mr. sandler in a parking lot a day or two later. >> this is where he would begin fishing for the job sandler had previously offered the now jailed drug dealer. >> how much she weigh? >> she's very muscular. she's only 5'3", 120. >> dude, that's eight bags of

[ bleep ], 50 pound bags of line. >> so if they found her and it looked like she got raped. >> they wouldn't find her. line's a mother. >> when people think that they are talking between themselves only about something as noxious and horrible as killing your own wife, it's amazing what they'll say. that's on "dateline" tonight, tamron. >> keith, that is chilling when you see that. >> yes. >> what this man -- how he described a living human being. i can't wait to see the rest of that and be sure, thank you, keith, to catch the nbc "dateline" special "recipe for murder" tonight at 9:00 eastern, 8:00 central. coming up, former alaska governor sarah palin takes the stage in tucson, arizona, there to campaign for her former running mate, republican john mccain. we'll bring her comments to you live. keep it here. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. 

welcome back.

there's a lot going on today and here are some things we thought you should know. a tech blog is noting how the white house is using google on tuesday afternoon after the president signed the health care bill into law. google was searched by people trying to find out what was in the bill. by 4:30 p.m. a search went up on the white house blog using the same phrase, "what's in the health care bill?" and a california founder of the california no cussing club is telling vice president joe bide tone watch his language. the teenager mckay hatch is responding to the moment when mr. biden let a profanity slip during a live bill signing ceremony and says he'll mail biden one of his no cussing club penalty jars and official club t-shirt. first lady michelle obama may have added fuel to the pizza wars between chicago and new york. according to a "new york times" blog the first lady reportedly said to a waiter at new york's famous grimaldi's pizzeria that

the pizza was better than chicago. that's what she said. having lived in new york and chicago, the best pizza is -- i don't have an answer because i haven't been to grimaldi's yet. when i go i'll answer. those are the things we thought you should know. grimaldi's sorry for mispronouncing the name of your famous store. we know kids like to play cops and robbers. however, some parents in new york city are fuming after an interesting addition was made to the neighborhood playground. take a look. a play jail, complete with bars, a lock, and a sign that reads, jail is being called inappropriate. the jungle gym outside a housing development has been on the playground for six years but when a picture was posted on the website black brown news.com outraged complaints followed and it prompted city officials to remove the word "jail" and paint over the lock.

listen to what one parent who has a 6-year-old daughter told our local affiliate wnbc. >> to send a message like jail is where you end up? i want to see positive images on the playground. >> the editor of black brown news.com was also quoted saying, it's not cops and robbers. it's not kids will be kids. this sends a very clear message to impressionable children. in that same report, parents and community leaders note that a disproportionate number of children from that neighborhood actually do end up in jail. so i ask you on this friday. is that crossing the line? when is child's play no longer fun? you tell me. go to tamron.msnbc.com. you can vote or you can twitter me your response, twitter.msnbc.com. and a lot of you sent us tweets about the debate over legalizing marijuana in california. very interesting responses from you. that wraps up this hour. i'm tamron hall. join me again monday and each weekday, 11:00 and 2:00 p.m. eastern time. david shuster picks up our coverage next. david, what do you have?

next hour will be the hour when john mccain and sarah palin take the stage together again for the first time since they lost the presidential election. palin is helping mccain with his primary challenge down in arizona. we'll bring you those remarks live. we will also of course look at the u.s. relationship with russia. a major agreement today on nuclear weapons. the kremlin is saying some things that has some u.s. officials concerned about what this agreement means to them. we'll also take a look at a fascinating new poll involving the tea party members. they hate big government but they want the government to create jobs. sounds like a contradiction. we'll talk it over with a leading libertarian. a lot ahead on the other side of this break. ence with yellowfin and albacore tuna, crab, salmon and ocean fish flavors.

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