it is temporary through this year, it is a job, will bring money in. 6 to 10 million on the brink of foreclosure. keep at it, there is hiring being done. >> we're waiting for president obama to arrive in charlotte, north carolina. that will happen any minute. he'll be visiting a charlotte company, hold ag town hall meeting focusing on the economy and jobs. mike viqueira in charlotte. meanwhile, no surprise john boehner already out with a statement this morning saying essentially that the health care law that the president just signed will cost north carolina jobs. >> well, the health care law, the stimulus bill, what republicans call excessive spending and too much washington interference, regulation, too much taxes in the health care law that are going to essentially cost america jobs. i think we can expect to hear the president, not surprisingly, to consider that. the statistic you often hear

from the administration, one year ago at the depths of the great recession, this country was losing 750,000 jobs a month. a total of 8 million jobs lost during the economic downturn. now today's news, good news in the respect that they are in positive territory in terms of job growth. 162,000, as you were pointing out, a quarter of those due to the census. christina romer, chairman of council of economic advisers at the white house said a lot of people off not looking for jobs now reentering the workforce, remaining steady at 9.7. that's what eric cantor and john boehner seized on. the static number, 9.7%. you pointed out, even the president's own economic forecast does not anticipate that coming down before the elections, to choose a date out of the air, in november. a recipient of $50 million in stimulus money, they make lithium ion batteries, they say

that stimulus money, when all is said and done, it will mean 80 jobs at this corporation, 1,000 in the greater charlotte area. they are talking about 2 million jobs is the administration that were saved or created as a result of the stimulus package that passed with so much controversy, ongoing controversy way back in february of 2009. the president is also expected to take a few questions from the employees here. monica. >> mike, thanks so much. as you were speaking we did have a live picture of charlotte douglas airport where air force one arrived. we expect to see the president hopping off the plane any moment. he'll be delivering town hall remarks at 11:55 he'll be delivering remarks and we'll have them for you live. janet napolitano getting a historic look at flooding in rhode island. it was hard hit by more rain this week, as much as 10 inches

fell in some areas. this is leading to the worst in 200 years. rivers begin to recede. officials concerned about garbage and sewage flowing into rivers. i'm joined by secretary napolitano. great to have you. i understand you've been up in the air this morning. tell us what you've seen. >> you're right. the rivers have begun to recede. but the recovery issues are pretty evident. the wastewater treatment plants are down. they are going to need to be repaired and up and running so wastewater doesn't flow into the bay, the atlantic ocean. there's a lot of standing water around residences and businesses that are now shut down. we share some concern about bridges and dams that we saw. fortunately there's good things that happened. the water is receding. the highway, big interstate i-95 is now open. the other highways closed are

basically open as well. access to the airport has been maintained. the runways never were flooded, so the air travel is unimpeded. so now we get to the work of cleaning up. >> i know you've been spending time this morning as well with state politicians there. tell me what you're hearing from them. are they getting everything they need? >> well, i'm about ready to leave this phone call and i'll go into a meeting with a number of mayors. the plain fact is fema has been on the ground since early this week supplying direct assistance to the towns in rhode island, either through the emergency operations centers. some of them had to open shelte shelters. we want to make sure we're in lock step with the people in rhode island as we begin the recovery. >> in the meantime the timing couldn't have been worse for people of rhode island as you know, of course. we're talking about a nearly 13% unemployment rate in that state. a lot of people worried about losing their jobs, income in the

coming weeks. >> indeed. that's why moving this recovery along, getting those fema funds to the people of rhode island to the greatest extent that we can, i saw a number of places where the governor pointed out this place -- i would ask, how many people work there, 100 work there, 150 work there. they are not going to be able to work until the plant or building gets repaired and fixed. so this really plays into a state that has been particularly hard hit by the recession. >> madam secretary, while i have you here, big news, airport security changing again, travelers coming into the u.s. why the change now? how big of a change will this be? how effective do you expect it to be? >> these are changes partly a product of the president's review of aviation security. this will affect people traveling internationally, people coming from an international airport into the united states. it's a better more risk-based

intelligence information-based way of deciding which passengers need extra screening and which do not coupled with a small random sample of the over lay on that. it will be to most trafrlers they won't see a difference. from a safety and security standpoint, it is a materially better way to screen passengers. >> homeland security secretary janet napolitano, i know you've got to get busy in rhode island. thanks for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> as you just heard the secretary talking about airport security changes are coming again. this time the department of homeland security says it will screen passengers traveling into the united states, as the secretary just said, keeping a closer eye on the latest intelligence. nbc's ron allen is here with more on this. so ron, if you can go into a little more depth for us, what are the new rules and how will the travelers be impacted? >> first, let me explain why they are doing this. right after the christmas day

bombing, the united states put in a really strict screening systems around the world. basically any passengers trying to travel into the united states from 14 different countries, most of the muslim countries around the world, had to undergo mandatory secondary screening, having a patdown or having their bag checked they were carrying on. a lot of people thought that was discriminatory profiling. airlines thought it was not practical, it would apply to hundreds of thousands in the united states. come up with a refined system to address those concerns and to pinpoint more precisely threats, threats that wouldn't be identified any other way. if you remember after the christmas day bombing, president obama said the biggest problem was that the dots weren't connected. there were different pieces of information about the attempted bomber, but the intelligence community and airlines weren't able to put that together. this new system is a step towards trying to make that

possible. would it have stopped the attempted bombing on christmas day? possibly not, probably not. no one is sure, of course. it would have been another layer of security, another chance to stop what happened then and what could have been a much worse situation. >> ron allen. thanks for the update. new this morning an explosion at a refinery in washington state has killed at least three people. four others are hospitalized in critical condition. a fire pro out at the refinery north of seattle. this happened just after midnight. emergency crews did manage to put out the flames. the cause of that fire is under investigation. a federal judge in detroit is expected to decide today whether eight of the nine militia-based michigan members will stay in jail. all are accused of plotting to kill police officers in an attempt to start an anti-government revolution. the ninth suspect is held in indiana. developing drama on the high

seas. pirates attacked twice in 24 hours. u.s. navy engage in one battle. will we see another spike in attacks. and this -- >> catholic church is not the monolith people think it is. the pope does not give orders to every parish priest. >> while the pope remains silent on the catholic sex abuse this week, bishops are speaking out and taking action. some catholics say it's not enough. live in rome. take a look. investigators say they want to track these two men down for intentionally setting a building on fire. this video coming up. my doctor said most calcium supplements... 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.  i own a small law firm and i'm a much better lawyer than i am an accountant. so, when i wasn't getting paid as quickly as i would like, i did what came naturally. i threatened to sue.

turns out, that's not the best way to keep clients. so i went looking for answers online at openforum.com it's a place where i can talk with other small business owners like thomas and connie and learn about tools like acceptpay. it's a new way to bill online that can help me get paid much faster, without the need for any legal intimidation, which gives me a warm fuzzy feeling... sort of like these super comfortable socks made from the soft, supple wool of alpacas. looking good. thank you. owners are asking questions. owners are getting answers. and american express open is building the tools they need. tools like acceptpay, which lets owners take their accounts receivable online. acceptpay. invoice digitally. get paid faster. only from american express open. ♪ three decadent flavors. 60 calories. it's me o'clock. time for jell-o.

 three decadent flavors. 60 calories. anncr vo: ...you can get help gwith a flat tire.... anncr vo: ...find a nearby tow truck or gas station... anncr vo: ...call emergency services... anncr vo: ...collect accident information. anncr vo: or just watch some fun videos. anncr vo: it's so easy, a caveman can do it. caveman: unbelievable... caveman: where's my coat? it was suede with the fringe. vo: download the glovebox app free at geico.com.

you're looking at live pictures of air force one arriving at charlotte douglas international airport. president obama is there to talk about jobs today, those new jobs

numbers and the overall effort to improve the american economy. a family torn apart by murder, bound by a secret. judy killed her husband in boise, idaho. she might not have been charged but for her daughter kimberly who witnessed the crime at 12 years old. thirty years later she's breaking her silence and takes us back to that day when it was reported. jim morrison reports. >> reporter: kimberly, 12 years old saw her mother standing in the living room on clark street in boyise, idaho. behind the door her stepfather was in a stupor from the very pills she asked her to buy. she now said, i'm ready.

>> she told me to go in the bedroom, which i didn't like, because we weren't allowed in there. she had been in there prior checking on him at whatnot and at some point put him on a sheet. i really didn't know exactly how she was going to do it until i walked in and saw the gun at the end of the bed. she went over and turned up the stereo really loud. she said it would cover the noise. first she asked me to pull the trigger. >> she gave you the gun. >> no, no, she was holding it. >> she was holding the gun, pointed at him. >> right. >> where? >> in his chest. >> she said help me pull the trigger. >> and i basically refused to do it. and i started screaming at her, what do you want? what do you want from me? what do you want me to do? she said just cover my ears. so i put my hands on either side of her and i closed my eyes really tight, and she kept

saying something. and it seemed like forever. i screamed, if you're going to do it, just do it. it was just a moment later there was the loudest noise i've ever heard in my life. i ran out the backyard into the alley. >> can you imagine. watch more of date lines, the family secret beginning at 9:00 on nbc. a colorado girl vanishes on the way to a birthday party. now the fbi is involved. plus a father and daughter murdered in 2008. the mother murdered two years later. police say it all may be connected and the remaining child may still be in danger. this is msnbc. forces to what they need, when they need it. to help troops see danger, before it sees them. to answer the call of the brave... and bring them safely home. around the globe, the people of boeing are working together,

to support and protect all who serve. that's why we're here. ♪ going heart healthy? that's why we're here. so is campbell's healthy request soup. low in fat and cholesterol, heart healthy levels of sodium, and taste you'll love. girl: this is good for my heart? chef: you noticed. [cheering] announcer: campbell's healthy request. 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®.

the army secretary is reversing himself and backing away from his comments on the military "don't ask, don't tell" policy. he's saying they can be

discharged for saying they are gay. he misspoke when he said the policy has been temporarily stopped. they are studying how the to lift the don't ask, don't tell poll sichlt t policy. they are prohibited from discussing orientation. thursday the uss nicholas exchanged fire off the se shell island. a tanker was attacked by three pirate skiffs with rifles. jim miklaszewski at the pentagon. what's the latest? >> reporter: u.s. military officials are telling nbc news, first of all, this is height of pirate season. seas at a level and state that make is's easy enough for pirates to operate in small

skiffs. there was intercepted communication that a pirate commander ordered all ships ashore and aggressively try to hijack any ship that they can find. overnight surveillance showed one night the shore was lined with pirate boats the next morning they were gone. there are concerns there could be a very sharp uptick in the kind of pirate operations we've seen. in regard to the incidents over the past couple of days, the navy found itself in somewhat of a dilemma. earlier this week they captured 11 pirates, but within a day released all 11 presumably because there wasn't enough evidence against them, even though the navy sank this mother boat. we're being told that kenya, which has been accepting priorities to prosecute, said they can no longer take anymore. their jails are full. in a second incident when they fired on a navy ship, that's a legal dilemma, takes it one

notch higher because, in fact, they fired at a navy ship. if they released those pirates, it could send the wrong signal to other pirates, my goodness, we can fire at a navy ship without consequences. two attacks in the space of 24 hours. are these coordinated at all or individual groups working? >> they are from the same mother ship they are coordinated. these were 4, 500 miles apart. there was obviously no coordination there. quite frankly one of the most disconcerting things is now these operations on a regular basis stretch 1,000 miles or so all the way from the north, the gulf of aiden, past somalia, the horn of africa and all the way down to the secchelles. a much wider territory for the international task force patrolling waters to control the pirates. >> jim miklaszewski, thank you. >> okay, monica. live pictures from the vatican.

pope benedict separating good friday. he has yet to address the ever widening abuse scandal that is rocking the catholic church. nbc's ann thompson has the latest from rome ahead. plus charlie sheen, who has had his share of troubles may be leaving his hit tv show. is he walking or pushed? courtney hazlett has the scoop ahead. [ male announcer ] every business day, bank of america lends nearly $3 billion dollars to individuals, institutions, schools, organizations and businesses in every corner of the economy. ♪ america. growing stronger. every day. ♪

than two percent. so forget return on investment. let's talk return on insurance. switch your car insurance to allstate, and you can earn a five percent bonus. five percent of your premium, sent to you twice a year...

for as long as you don't have an accident. the safe driving bonus check. only from allstate. safety pays. that's allstate's stand. are you in good hands? welcome back to msnbc. i'm monica novotny. here is what's happening right now. new video in from just moments ago. that is the president in charlotte, north carolina. he's there today to talk jobs and the economy. the president will tour a manufacturing plant before he makes comments at about noon eastern time at this town hall. we will bring you the president's remarks live when they happen. new job numbers released show the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7% in march with the economy posting the largest jump in three years. employers added 162,000 jobs for the month but that was below analysts expectations of

190,000. live pictures from the vatican as christians are marking good friday. in jerusalem christians carried the cross along the path where jesus took his final steps before being crucified. yesterday pope benedict said catholics are called to a constant examination of conscious but made no mention of the sex abuse scandal rocking the catholic church. a priest denouncing the statement motivated by a wrongly intended desire to protect the church's reputation. nbc's ann thompson is following developments for us in rome. is the pope expected to make any comment at all during services today? >> well, i can tell you, monica, that talking to people in st. peters square this afternoon, because it is this afternoon rome time, there are a lot of

faithful who have come to st. peters and they are hoping to hear something from the pope, if not today by easter sunday. the scandal is affecting good friday services across europe. as you mentioned, the archbishop of berlin, he in a statement today says he hopes this friday can be a new start for the church, a start it desperately needs. in germany there have been more than 250 cases of abuse claimed by children who grow up to be adults, who say as children they were abused, sexually abused by priests. just came back from st. peters square. despite the scandal, the line to get into the service the pope is holding at this hour is unbelievable. it curves around st. peters square. you see people from all countries all around the world who have come to celebrate the end of lent and the beginning of the easter season at the heart of the catholic church. but that heart is very sad, whether it is here or germany or

ireland where they are all feeling the pain of this clergy abuse scandal. monica. >> it's interesting. not only are we hearing from bishops around the world. but also as you know the vatican came out saying the pope as head of state would be immune from legal action. today we're hearing from u.n. jeffrey robinson says there's no protection in court. he's saying the court would not be protected. >> reporter: well, but i think that's if charges were brought in an international criminal court. speaking to legal experts in the united states, monica, they say that the pope would get protection because the united states does have diplomatic relations with vatican city and therefore does recognize the pope as a head of state. beyond that in u.s. courts, the attorneys for the plaintiffs would also have to prove there is a direct chain of control from what the pope orders to what the abuse of priests does.

i can tell you in the catholic church, that control is very decentralized. the local bishop may have control. the cardinal may have control. but to assume the control goes all the way -- goes from a small town in the u.s. all the way here to vatican city is a pretty big leap that legal experts think those. >> lawyers will have a hard time proving. >> all right. ann thompson bringing us the latest from rome. ann, thank you. police are looking for at least two men who torched this ft. worth, texas, business. the attack, as you can see, was because the on tape. in there you can see a man dumping buckets of in flammable liquid against the building wall. the other man places propane tanks. finally one throws a flair. the building caught fire in minutes. firefighters are shown fighting the fire. they haven't said why the business was targeted. a man on ground after crashing his parachute into a

tree in valley forge. he was stuck 75 feet in the air for two hours before rescuers were finally able to get him down. could tv's top rated comedy lose one of the lead actors. the scoop from pop culture columnist courtney hazlett, i saw the headline yesterday and i said that's what we'll talk about tomorrow. >> a story broke, it was reported he was not return to two and a half men. the statement was carefully worded. he said charlie's deal does not extend through the year. what does it really mean? it's probably just a bargaining chip. the network has this show, "two and a half men" scheduled to run through the 2011 season. charlie's deal doesn't extend that long. currently he makes almost $900,000 per 30-minute episode. sources are saying he would like some more money. the network reportedly has offered him something closer to a million dollars. he's not taking it. to put some of this in

perspective, if you recall "friends" the very successful nbc show, the cast was making a million dollars each per episode. more recently ray romano was making close to $2 million per episode. this is a precedent, a huge show for cbs. they don't want to have to rename it one and a half men. i have a feeling they will come to an agreement and we'll see it back last fuel. >> it does seem the show is about him regardless of his personal news. >> better news, sat night live news. april 24th, gabourey sidibe will be hosting, that's only if they survive april 109 when tina fey and justin beber will be there. i think the fever is escalating around these parts. we'll see how we make it through that weekend. people are excited about her coming on the 249. finally this weekend at the movie theater, big, big weekend. huge 3d movie, "clash of the

titans" i'm expecting that to be number one at the box office. who is in that? is it the event of the movie itself? >> it's the event of the movie. it's a remake of a famous movie with harry hamlin. with the 3d premium, it doesn't matter how many people don't see it, because these ticket prices are so expensive now, other big releases like this weekend's "why did i get married 2" doesn't stand a chance, even though that tyler perry franchise is so strong. they have the whole cast back from the original "why did i get married" janet jackson is in it and she and tyler perry have been promoting the heck out of the movie. it's still not going to stand up well. give it a run for the money is "the last song". >> is that finally out? i feel like i've been seeing that for a long time. >> we see her all the time. this is her film, which has nothing to do with her hannah montana character.

this is an interesting foray into can miley really be an actress. that's what she says she wants. the buzz is she's good despite the screen play. according to most of the critics, i have not seen it yet, she didn't have a lot to work with but she holds her own. >> you mentioned gabourey sidibe. everybody loves this girl. does she have a project coming up? is she working on something now? >> once under the circumstances the type of box office exposure she got, you tend to get a lot of other offers. nothing i know of that she's signed on for right now. i think it's going to be great to see her outside of this "precious" role. i got to see her at an award, because mo'nique got so much attention, you didn't get to see her be herself. i thought, this is a fantastic young woman.

i wish we had heard more from her and her personality before now. a lot of people saying she could be typecast because of her role and her weight, this will be a fantastic opportunity. >> for the latest logon to scoop.msnbc.com. courtney will stick around for this. a video of a family sing a long has gone virals. see what happened when the whittakers were rocking out to "i'm a single lady". >> son, you're not a single lady. yeah you are. yeah, you are. you're a single lady. sorry. sorry. little buddy, i was just kidding. >> you can do it. >> buddy, i'm sorry. i'm so sorry, buddy. you're a single lady, okay?

portfolio poor guy. >> this is so cute and funny now. the poor guy, it's going to be at his wedding, his graduation parties, his wedding. it's going to follow him for life. >> it will follow him virally for life. the whittaker family will join contessa brewer. if i know contessa, she'll get him to sing that song. stick around for it. what a sweetie. >> president obama in south carolina there to talk about economy. trying to protect a 12-year-old girl. it's the story behind her family's murder that remains a mystery. we're watching msnbc. ♪ new purefitness from crystal light. ♪ the first crystal light with no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or preservatives. ♪

new purefitness from crystal light. a pure way to water your body.

the fbi now joined in a frantic church for a 12-year-old girl in colorado. kayleah was last seen sunday in greeley as she walked to a friend's house to attend a

birthday party. authorities say they are baffled because there are no witnesses and no new clues. >> about all you can do is put your head down and dig in some more and go after more leads, possibilities. there wasn't any conflicts, no reason she would have left. >> the stepfather said despite the fact she's 12 years old, kayleah has a 17-year-old boyfriend. police say the boyfriend is cooperating and is not a suspect nor a person of interest. new details in the case of a california family. they have been missing almost two months. the fbi is joining in the search for joseph mcstay and their two young sons. possible reportings reported to a relative's website last night. this surveillance video might show the family crossing into mexico on foot. investigators will focus their search on mexico and make use of the fbi resources there. investigators also found e-mails indicating the mcstays were looking into passport rules for

traveling to mexico. now to a hollywood murder mystery involving three members of the same family killed on two separate occasions. last friday a 14-year-old girl came home to find her mother's body slumped in the driver's seat of her car. back in december of 2008, the same girl had discovered the bodies of her father and younger sister. all three were shot. the mother also had her throat slashed. police believe a love triangle involving the father could be what's behind it all. investigative prime report eer joins us. this is such a sad story for this little girl. what exactly do they think happened here. >> there are a few theories. one is a possible romantic love triangle. possibly maybe the father of the family was involved with someone. that is only one angle.

detectives want to emphasize that. they are pulling in lots of surveillance, interviewing family members. they are going and tracking down friends and accomplices, anyone who could possibly be associated with this case to try to put the pieces together. also for that 14-year-old daughter, they do have extra patrols surrounding her to ensure her safety at this time. >> meanwhile these initial murders, the father and the first child, that was back in 2008. has this investigation been ongoing for all this time? is there some concern the trail went cold? >> the trail did go cold, a lot of tips trailed off, even though there's a $75,000 reward for the murders in december 2008. so at this particular point, investigators are looking into the fact that they could possibly, the murders be related at this time. there could be a possible connection. it's really going to take time going back digging into that

particular crime scene in 2008, taking new clues from a week ago. this crime happened. it was reported 8:20 p.m. when investigators were called in, the daughter made the discovery of her mother. from that point they have just been working backwards. they are going to pull out old leads, look through everything and move forward at this point. >> michelle, do we know over the past 18 months how concerned were the mother and daughter for their own lives? >> you know, i think they were, of course, concerned, but i think the mother at this time also from what i've learned, she was really grieving the fact that her husband and other daughter were murdered. she used to wander off to a park, memorial park nearby. so she was really kind of focused on dealing with a lot of those emotions. so she did move in with other family members. she did take her daughter to move in with other family members. of course, looking over your shoulder and being aware of your surroundings was part of it but really dealing with the traumatic stress of losing someone that close to you was definitely another part. >> absolutely.

michelle sigona. our thoughts are with that girl and the rest of her family members. we're keeping an eye on charlotte, north carolina, where president obama is expected to speak. this tape from a few moments ago. the president departed from air force one at charlotte douglas international. he was able to say hello to service members greeting him on arrival. we know the motorcade is arriving now and we'll hear from the president shortly. stay with us on msnbc, the place for politics. wondering about your retirement plan? who isn't? retirement planning is all questions... how long? how much? how soon? what if? welcome to answer city... td ameritrade's retirement center.

i get planning tools, like wealth ruler. strategies. and investment ideas. and retirement experts, on the phone, when i need them. for a little help. or a lot. whether retirement is way off. or way close. time for fresh thinking. time for td ameritrade. mayo's always saying how real it is. we agree. it's real... boring. ♪ are you up for some sandwich-kicking flavor? are you miracle whip?

developing now, president obama is expected to speak in charlotte, north carolina at any moment. he is there touring a manufacturing plant involved in the production of lithium batteries to power electric vehicles. we'll bring you his comments live. that's coming up in just a few minutes. meantime this will be a special holiday weekend for a family in

virginia. it all started last nighted washington capitals hockey game where a soldier just home from iraq surprised his family. take a look. as he left the ice after serving as flag holder at last night's game, ten-year-old henry was greeted by his dad. he had spent the last 15 months flying f 14s in baghdad. when his wife found out a week ago he was finally coming home, she planned a surprise reunion for their son and daughter emily. we just saw them right there. >> as a father, emotional. no doubt about it. it felt great to have my son come up and see the tears in his eyes out there. >> exciting. i didn't even know that he was supposed to be home. >> the family plans to catch up this weekend and just spend time together. that disit for me this hour.

i'm monica novotny. contessa brewer picks up. what do you have? >> they are going to quit with the broad scrutiny of people from other countries and instead intelligence and personal traits will decide who gets more scrutiny. back to live pictures. the president just arrived in north carolina. he's heading to a battery manufacturer, one of the companies that used stimulus dollars to hire more workers. the president is going to talk jobs here. stick with us. the heat. 'til it turns into heartburn, you've got what it takes: zantac. it's strong, fast lasting relief. so let them turn up the heat. you can stop that heartburn cold: (sssssssss!!!) zantac. want to make sure allergies don't always have to keep you cooped up inside. that's why we're making it easier for everyone to find allergy solutions. by offering products like new zyrtec liquid gels. zyrtec, the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine,

is now available in a liquid gel. zyrtec liquid gels work on your worst symptoms... indoors and out. you'll also get the expert advice of your walgreens pharmacist. so you'll feel freer to love the air. walgreens. there's a way to stay well. [ male announcer ] competition... it pushes us to work harder. to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize they share a common goal. america's beverage companies have removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools, reducing beverage calories by 88%. together with schools, we're helping kids make more balanced choices every day. ♪ because your census answersre are more than just answers.. they're the first step toward a happier, healthier community. we can't move forward until you mail it back.

2010 census.

good friday everyone, i'm contessa brewer. we're watching more jobs added coast to coast. that may boost the president's argument that the stimulus is indeed work. the president is touring a batter y manufacturing and expected to hold a town hall

there. when we hear the president speaking we'll take that to you live. in march employers added 162,000 jobs to the workforce. it's the largest gain in three years. and still overall unemployment remains stagnant. 9.7%. we go to charlotte, the president is expected to speak here in just a few moments. when he's going in to talk to these workers at the battery manufacturing plant, what is he likely to say about the federal government's role in creating jobs? >> reporter: well, i think he's going to say that the federal government has had a very positive role. the white house has said time and time again as the president that at the depths of the great recession this country, about a year ago, this country was losing 750,000 jobs every month. they are now in positive job growth territory. that's not happened or only happened sporadically in the

last several months. here in north carolina, a recipient of $50 million from the stimulus package they have hired according to statistics provided by the white house 80 new employees. they judge that 1,000 individuals when all is said and done in the greater charlotte area will be hired as a result of the stimulus package. as you said they plan a new plant. they make lithium ion batteries. this is the new technology that the president has chosen to emphasize through the stimulus package. the 9.7% number coming out today, the white house has been saying all along just about every month so far while it's an encouraging sign in terms of 162,000 jobs, the positive number of jobs created last month still a rocky road ahead. detractors point out it's most license sus jobs. and republicans point to the

fact that 9.7% is too high. they discard any positive impact that the stimulus has. the president will say once again it's created some 2 million jobs since it was enacted in february of 2009. >> the president is to discussion on the silver lining. for a lot of americans who are unemployed it's a big black, dark cloud. for instance if you look at the unemployment breakdown, teenagers are seeing 26.1% unemployment rate. whites 8.8%, blacks unemployed at 16.5%. hispanics much higher as well, 12.6%. that's not seasonally adjusted. look at the teenager unemployment right, look at the unemployment rate for the nation's african-americans. if you're one of those in that group this is a discouraging picture. is it any wonder there, gallop has this poll out asking how enthusiastic are you about voting in the next election and

democrats, only 35% say they are enthusiastic. >> reporter: the real unemployment rate, in other words people who are trying to find jobs but so discouraged they dropped out of the job market all together remains up around 17%. certainly there are detractors. we have seen members from capitol hill, the congressional black caucus meet with the president personally because they are upset with regard to the lack of action for african-americans in unemployment or bringing that unemployment down among that cohort. the president has a long way to go. you have seen time and time again and already today the leading democrats and the president have reminded everyone of the hole that we were in when they came into office and that they continue to try to gig out of and point out things would be a lot worse if it weren't for the stimulus. many on the capitol hill on the republican side and those still looking for a job are not buying it. >> we'll keep our eye on what the president has to say. thank you very much for being

there and covering that. that's the live picture. when we see the president step in front much that podium we'll go back and take that live. someone shot four people on chicago's south side. cops were on the scene when the gunman drove up and started shooting again. two people were hit but they weren't police officers and the officers did not return fire. an explosion at the so soro corp has claimed one life in washington. the fire was being blown by high winds which makes the job more difficult for firefighters. big changes for passengers boarding airplanes for the united states. the obama administration is changing its airport terror security approach. screeners will soon stop passengers for additional security based on intelligence information such as physical descriptions or a particular travel pattern. that new policy will take effect sometime this month and it only

applies to travellers flying to the united states. our homeland security reporter for "the washington post" is here. they are talking about the fact that say, for instance these 14 countries where passengers who are flying from these countries facing broad scrutiny is about the change. what will that do? >> reporter: it will ease the burden. the concern has been raised by the airline industry, travel industry, civil liberties groups and representatives of these 14 targeted countries, 13 were majority muslim nations that by requiring everybody to go through these extra scrutiny, pat down searches, baggage checks the system would grind to a halt once the summer travel season started. they recognized what some people said that basically by identifying these 14 countries you've given al qaeda or any potential terrorist a road map of where to recruit people from

other countries. and also it was overbroad, that, you know, you're looking for a needle in the haystack and this way you just clogged the system with a lot more hay. >> they are talking about using partial passport numbers. if there's any sort of information that accompany passengers that sends off warning flags that those are the people that are going to be picked. but they are also going to be eye balling individual passengers going through and just picking them because they look like they could potentially be a terrorist. is there profiling happening? >> reporter: that's the $64,000 question. the first thing to say the devil is in the details how these new rules or practices are implemented. we don't know yet. there will be more in the next month as briefings go on and whatever this process gets rolled out. the big picture if it helps is that christmas day the u.s. based it on a no fly list.

to get on these lists you need a name, bitter date and reasonable adequate information to suggest that they were a threat or posed a terrorist threat. the christmas day bomber was not on that list but known to authorities as someone who had additional information. his father warned he was getting radicalized. the goal here was, you know, those watch list only have 24,000 names but there's half a million people known to have some connection to terrorists. they are trying to close the gap. to find other ways of intelligence that can be used to kind of sort out the wheat from the chaff. >> if these new guidelines will make thing more efficient, more passengers getting through security by