we're completely out of time and that's good news for everybody, because it means donny can't say anything offensive. guys, thanks for being here. it's time for "the daily rundown." recession over? recovery stalling. the fed meets to try to light a fire under this struggling economy as the president gets an earful from supporters. and breaking news out of afghanistan. nine american troops killed in a single crash. we're live in kabul with the latest on that. and the new hazard on the road. you and your cell phone. alarming new numbers on what is

now, frankly, an epidemic of distracted driving. it's september 21st, 2010. i'm chuck todd. >> good morning. i'm savannah guthrie. let's get right to the rundown. we're going to start with that breaking news out of afghanistan. nine americans were killed in a helicopter crash overnight, making this the deadliest year for western force so far as. nbc's john yang is live in kabul with the latest. john, good morning. what happened here? >> reporter: good morning, savannah. this was the worst helicopter crash in about four years for u.s. troops. nine troops dead. this happened in zabul province, which is in the south-southeastern section of afghanistan. an area where the taliban controls much of the territory and where coalition forces have been stepping up their attempts to push the taliban out. we are told this crash happened about 4:00 this morning, local time. the military says that there were no reports of enemy fire. that the crash is still under investigation. now, despite the fact that there were no reports of enemy fire,

the taliban has called news organizations, including a call here at nbc news in kabul, to claim responsibility for the attack. they say they shot the helicopter down. the taliban often does that, claims responsibility for things that turn out to be accidents. and indeed, most of the helicopter crashes here have turned out to be accidents. maintenance problems, the incredible amount of dust in the air. this is the deadliest year for coalition forces. after today's crash, 525 coalition forces have died this year. 351 of them, u.s. forces. savannah, chuck? >> all right, john yang for us in kabul with that distressing news. i'm sure we'll hear more about what may have happened in the run up to the crash. thanks very much. well, on to the economy. a key meeting in washington today. the federal reserve wrestling with what, if there's anything that can be done to try to get this recovery going. john harwood joins us now.

and john, look, the fed meets, you know, monthly, quarterly, all the time, and we always hear, well, maybe they'll think about doing something. what could they do? >> well, they could ease monetarily and pump more stimulus into the economy that way. >> will they? >> i think the general expectation is that they will not. still an ambiguous situation. nobody knows exactly whether we're on the cusp of deflation, which is something that concerns economists, or in the long-term, because of our deficit situation, whether inflation will rise. whether we're headed for a double dip or whether we're just having a pause in the recovery. and i think as long as that's the case, ben bernanke has signaled that he would wait for a rapid deterioration of economic conditions before shooting more ammunition, because they've shot a lot already. >> and turning to the town hall you hosted yesterday live on cnbc, it was quite extraordinary, mostly not for what the president said, frankly, but what some of his supporters in the audience said. >> exactly. because so often, as you know, savannah, when people are in

close quarters with the president, they're a little bit awed by the situation, they don't give it to him straight. we had supporters yesterday who very directly and personally, right to his face, addressed the frustration and disappointment they've been feeling. take a listen to this woman. >> i'm one of your middle class americans. and quite frankly, i'm exhausted. i'm exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that i voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now. >> times are tough for everybody right now, so i understand your frustration. my goal here is not to try to convince you that everything's where it needs to be. it's not. that's why i ran for president. but what i am saying is that we're moving in the right direction. >> well, he just summarized his campaign argument there. and he needs to make that point. "i'm not telling you i've made things great, i've just made them better than they were. and by the way, republicans would take us backward." that's the core message. >> and you know, he made a tiny

bit of news when you asked about shaking up the economic team and he said, well, look, i'm not ready to make any personnel decision, but then even used the "well, they may want to spend more time with their families" excuse, offering it up for geithner and summers. >> he left that door open. >> john harwood, a fascinating town hall. thank you. well, delaware senate candidate christine o'donnell is fending off new charges today. a government watchdog group accusing the senate candidate of misusing campaign donations to pay for her rent and food. >> i am confident that we have been ethical. we have not -- i personally have not misused the campaign funds. we have our fec lawyer, a great attorney, answering those charges, if it ever goes anywhere. >> kelly o'donnell's nbc's capitol hill correspondent. kind of on o'donnell duty full-time these days, kelly. and i guess there's two sides to getting all this media scrutiny.

on the one hand, she's fund-raising a lot. on the other hand, a lot of folks are looking very closely at her past. >> absolutely. she is close to raising $2 million for this current campaign. the allegations you just talked about involve a past campaign, 2008, when she was running for senate against joe biden. not a lot of attention to that at the time. but under the fec reports, the official documents that candidates must file, there are a lot of things that appear to this watchdog group to be inappropriate or personal use, things where donors' money should not be used. now, they are raising this question, asking the fec to audit those documents, asking delaware officials to also examine it. now, they base some of what they're finding here on some former o'donnell campaign aides from back in the 2008 race who raised questions about her handling of the finances and basically accuse her of using those donor funds to support

herself. now, you heard o'donnell say that she denies that, and it's just important for people to realize that we're talking about a past campaign, not the money that's being donated now. so she's got a lot more resources now. the rnc, for example, told me that they're sending her help. the nrsc is sending her help, that sort of thing. but chuck, you know, this has also been not always a serious story. there's been plenty of fun to be had and one of the most prominent figures in that is bill maher. i had a chance to talk to him about the clips he released that raised so much attention. you know, you've heard about the witchcraft comments. well, here's what he had to say about o'donnell's prospects for winning in this race. >> i would not exactly put her on the intelligence committee, if she gets to the senate, if you know what i mean, but she certainly is sincere, yes. >> marh told me that he really likes o'donnell, that she's an authentic and genuine and said if there's any relevance in

those old tv clips is that he really believes she's the same person. remember, he said he's doing this for entertainment purposes, not really to have any outcome on the race. >> well, he certainly, kelly o'donnell, in our washington newsroom, he's certainly making it so that everybody's going to be tuning into "realtime" this state. if you live in the state of delaware, one thing about these ethics investigations. these groups can launch it so now democrats can use an ad campaign that says, under calls for an ethics investigation. the actual investigation might conclude some time in 2013, the way the fec and some of these things work. that's absurd. anyway, in the senate showdown over gay rights, democrats are trying to overcome a republican filibuster and bring an end to the policy known as don't ask, don't tell. jim miklaszewski is nbc's chief pentagon correspondent. and mik, okay, a lot of this has to do with senate process today. it may not actually take the correct temperature of whether there really is 60 votes to get rid of don't ask, don't tell, but tell us what we're going the

see today and what we could see later this week? >> well, gay rights advocates believe that this is a do-or-die vote for the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. as the senate tries to muster 60 votes to override a threatened filibuster from republican senator john mccain, democrats are so desperate that they've really been putting pressure on the two republican senators from maine, olympia snowe and susan collins, who are generally in favor of the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, and it got so serious that even lady gaga, and in my wildest dreams, i never thought i'd refer to lady gaga in a pentagon story, but she was up in maine yesterday holding a rally to get enough votes to stick this amendment into the defense authorization bill, which will be voted on about 2:30 this afternoon. >> well, you're absolutely right. hey, lady gaga in maine to talk about don't ask, don't tell and bristol palin on "dancing with the stars." i don't know, sometimes i wonder if we all live in one giant

"snl" skit. >> one quick point. gay rights advocates in and out of the military, even here in the pentagon, fear that if this doesn't get passed either before or during a lame-duck session, before republicans, if they should take control of either house, take control in january, they think this issue is dead on arrival. >> the stakes are high. jim miklaszewski at the pentagon for us this morning, thank you. >> okay. all right. coming up, do voters want a candidate who's willing to compromise or one that will toe the party line? our friend the "national journal's" ron brownstein with new poll numbers that show the stark difference in what republican and democrats are looking for in their congress. plus, the great american bedbug invasion. infestations in all 50 states. you know it's bad when they have to have a bedbug summit. we're going to be live there. >> i'm a little concerned, when we're hosting summits -- can't we just solve the bedbug problem? do we need a summit?

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they are not offering any new ideas. they're not offering any new policies. we're not engaged in some honest debate where they say, we're going to get control of government spending and we're going to create jobs and here's how we're going to do it, one, two, three, four, five. that's not what they're doing. >> the president last night in philly. some may be wondering, whatever happened to the art of compromise? washington used to be notorious for its deal making, but a new poll shows the majority of americans actually prefer a politician that sticks to his or her guns, even, apparently, if

nothing really gets done. >> and the good news is nothing might get done the way things are going. joining us with some brand new poll numbers, ron brownstein, columnist with the "national journal." and this is the weekly poll you do with pew, congress daily. >> all three. the congressional connection poll, every week. >> look, it comes to what we're going to be facing, right? which is this idea, is there going to be any compromise? is there not? here's your poll question, what do you admire most in politicians, politicians who stick to their positions, 49%, politicians who compromise, 42%. but go through the party breakdown. among republicans and m t republicans, totally different. >> among republicans, two one, 61 to 33 want a politician who will not compromise. democrats prefer a politician, 53/39 who will compromise. republicans nationally would be less amenable to compromise in

that circumstance. but there is something deeper here. you're talking about a republican party that is much more ideologically hothat monlg now. and you're punishing republicans who have gone too far to compromise. and that is not kind of a backdrop or a tailwind that would point you towards a lot of bipartisan compromise in 2011. >> government shutdown seems more and more like a reality every day. >> the other thing this poll demonstrates, if we needed more evidence, how polarized the electorate really is. you asked a series of question, which party would do a better job on a range of issues, and we see the results very tight. on the economy, the republicans just barely edge out the democrats. on taxes, the republicans have the most significant lead. 40% saying they'll do better than the democrats. then on social security, it's dead even. >> social security is incredible. really, the social security is a measure of the republican tilt in this election year, because, obviously, historically, that

has been a democratic advantage. the economy, a year ago, democrats were ahead by about ten points on this, but this year it has been pretty stable. and the polarization you talk about is even deeper, because there is an -- as we've talked about on other issues, an enormous racial gap on these questions. take the economy, among whites, 43/30, a 13-point advantage for republicans. among nonwhites, almost two to one, an advantage for democrats. and you see that on issue after issue. it really kind of underscores how important turnout is going to be in this election. midterms are usually a little whiter and older than presidential elections. if that's the pattern, that holds as an ominous trended for democrats. >> one thing i want to emphasize here, i think is that these numbers are actually improvements for republicans over the last three years. >> absolutely. >> they historically have always been lower. but i want to go back to this issue of the compromise question in this respect. mitch mcconnell and john boehner, are they going to be entering, assuming one or both of them gets the leadership role, what are they leading? they cannot cut a deal -- what

you're saying here is that the rank and file, unlike 1994, might be more powerful than the leadership -- >> i think -- i completely agree. i think there is a shift in power. i was out in colorado this weekend on the senate race. it is pretty clear if you look at ken buck, sharron angle, if you look at rand paul, these folks do not believe they're being sent to washington to compromise with barack obama, particularly on the core issues of spending and taxes. and when you see the sentiment of the republican electorate behind that inclination and the elected officials, it does, i think, point toward a 2011 -- if republicans gain either chamber -- defined more by confrontation. but their own inclination, they're going ton torn, i think, as well, because they're fully aware of the sentiment. they understand if they're able to obtain the chamber, what brought them into power, and i think that mood is a real inhibitor on their ability to reach out to president obama. >> the last result we want to look at is on the bush tax cuts, as they're called, for the wealthy, seems like republicans are making some headway in their

argument that it will hurt the economy to repeal those tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. >> that's the plurality position. if you look at it overall, it's pretty similar to what we've seen on other questions. about 40% of the electorate wants the tax cuts to go forward for everybody. 26% say that extending them for everybody will help the economy. letting them expire will help the economy. another 26% say it will have no effect. so really 52% that are willing to let it go down. 40% that absolutely want to maintain it. we see that, talked about it last week. on a number of issues, look, there's 40% of the country that's ideologically recoiling from what barack obama wants to do. that is energized and activated in this election. the last piece of it are voters who are not necessarily ideologically in the camp of the republicans, but dissatisfied with the performance of the president. we saw some of that yesterday on the town hall. >> ron brownstein from the "national journal," thanks for debuting the numbers with us. >> thank you, sir. coming up, we'll check in on alaska senate candidate lisa murkowski's campaign to stick it to the party. and you'll see why i say

murcurski. >> i was wondering, are you all right? wondering what the health care law will actually do? we're all about to find out, with new provisions going into effect this week, consumer reports is weighing in. but first, our washington speak, grandfathered. now, this is an old term. basically, it means to be exempted from new regulations. so, for example, as the new health care law goes into effect, employers will be able to keep health benefit plans that were in place before the law was enacted in march of this year. they are grandfathered in. >> examples, when the american for disabilities act, a bunch of buildings did not have to put in ramps because they were built before the law went into effect. >> now you learn something. if you have some washington speak you want us to clarify, send us an e-mail, dailyrundown@msnbc.com. stay twice... earn a free night! two separate stays at comfort inn

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well, republicans may have the momentum right now, but democrats have two new bright spots on the senate map, believe it or not. delaware and alaska, where senator lisa murkowski's write-in bid could put a likely republican hold in jeopardy. remember, the last successful write-in bid for the senate was strom thurmond's 1954 campaign. well, the murkowski camp realizing it has a lot of voter education to do. it can't use stickers in the next six weeks. kicked off her campaign with a public service announcement that looks like it was made around the time of that thurman bid. check it out. >> good morning, boys and girls. >> good morning, mr. davis. >> today we're going to learn how to vote for lisa murkowski. it's as easy as two steps. step one, fill it in. yes, billy? >> fill it in? >> yes, billy, fill it in. step two.

write it in. yes, jimmy? >> write it in? >> yes, jimmy, write it in. >> well, step two isn't going too well so far. the spot we showed you originally ended with this image. that's right, murkowski down there at the bottom, lisa m murkwski.org. she said she would only need to determine a voter's intent to write a write-in ballot, but the state's attorney general is reviewing the issue. too early to cut her out. she has decades of name recognition going for her and the largest bloc of registered voters in alaska are nonpartisan and undeclared. so we shall see. moving on to delaware, senator jim demint is determined now to spend the money it takes to put delaware back on the senate playing field. and according to reports, he is

butting heads with other national republicans in the process. demint's senate conservatives fund dropped a $250,000 ad yesterday called "unafraid." watch. >> what do we need in washington? harry reid calls chris coons his pet. delaware doesn't need a washington career politician's pet. christine o'donnell's not afraid to stand up to the party bosses and power brokers. >> well, that coons reference was, of course, to harry reid, who was quoted in the hill calling coons his favorite senate candidate and pet. christine o'donnell appeared to be running from the press last night. demint made transfers from his personal account to get out the vote operations on sharron angle and ken buck. and chris coons is going to be on "the daily rundown" tomorrow. and after releasing a no-harm,

no-foul press release, bill clinton is responding to the jerry brown/monica lewinsky joke that went viral. he used the votes after his opponent used video circa 1992. yesterday clinton responded. >> from the '92 -- >> meg whitman made me a household face again. this meg whitman ad really got under his skin, but i understand why. it was a devastatingly good ad, if it had been accurate, you know -- and so -- but it wasn't. so i decided that i should put out a statement. then i heard about this press conference he had, and i've noun him for 34 years, and i knew exactly what happened. i'm not young and he's a couple years older than i am and he was tired and frustrated and he said something he regretted and the next day he went out and apologized for it. >> clinton hits the trail for jerry brown and his running mate

who clinton originally endorsed when he was still in the governor's race, san francisco's mayor, gavin newsom. and savannah, if it's tuesday, somebody's voting somewhere, and that somewhere, gearheart, oregon, they're voting on whether to raise taxes to build their own water facility. so we'll find out. >> interesting. always watch those tax-raising votes. >> you never know on the tax raising. >> chuck, thanks. coming up, that federal health care legislation is kicking in this week. now "consumer reports" weighs in. plus, dialing a disaster. the distracted driving epidemic and the crackdown from washington that's coming. and bedbugs beware! with these nasty blood suckers popping up everywhere, the experts converge near chicago to dream up ways to take them on. but first, today's trivia question from the expert of american politics, what kentucky republican beat actor george clooney's father in his first election to congress? the answer and more, coming up. my doctor said most calcium supplements...

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bottom of the hour now. a quick look at what's driving the day. the federal reserve meets this morning for the last time before the midterm elections. the fed will consider what more can be done, if anything, to jog this recovery. a key vote in the senate today on don't ask, don't tell. senate democrats have attached a provision repealing that policy to next year's military spending bill. this afternoon, president obama will award the medal of honor po posthumously to richard etchberger. he helped three wounded comrades to safety in laos. right now iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is speaking at the united nations. that's a live picture. a helicopter crash in afghanistan has claimed the

lives of nine american service members, making 2010 the deadliest year of the war so far. the taliban has claimed responsibility, but u.s. officials say there was no sign of hostile fire in the zabul province crash. and lindsay lohan may be facing more jail time. a superior court judge issued an arrest warrant for her after she allegedly failed a drug test. that test was less than a month after lohan was released from inpatient rehab. well, washington turns its attention today to one of the greatest hazards on the road -- you and your cell phone. the obama administration is proposing new rules on texting and driving, part of the second annual distracted driving summit. nbc's tom costello is in rockville, maryland, this morning with a preview. and tom, ray lahood, the transportation secretary, is calling this an epidemic. >> reporter: yeah. and i think that really he's probably accurate on that, in terms of the pure numbers. you know, a few weeks ago we got information that the total number of road fatalities was

down year over year. that's good news, but the proportion of those accidents attributed to distracted driving has remained the same. and in fact, it's up dramatically over five years ago. and the stories, of course, are heartbreaking. >> we're probably going to need an ambulance for sure. >> reporter: the 911 calls warned the accident in davenport, florida, looked awful. >> a tractor-trailer just slammed a couple cars behind me. it looks really bad. >> reporter: within minutes, rescuers would learn just how bad. a 61-year-old truck driver, texting while driving, had plowed into eight cars at 65 miles per hour, causing horrific injuries and killing two women. among them, 26-year-old heather herd, on her way with her fiance to make a walt disney world wedding planner. >> in four or five seconds, it cost my daughter her life and the family will never be the same. >> there wasn't a doubt that

that was 100% preventable. no one should have to lose their life by somebody texting. >> reporter: the government reports distracted driving led to 448,000 traffic injuries and claimed more than 5,400 lives in 2009. 16% of all traffic fatalities. the same percentage as in 2008 and up from 10% in 2005. and it's not just teenagers. of those drivers involved in fatal accidents, the 30 to 39 age group had the highest proportion of cell phone involvement. this cell phone video caught a recent glaring example of distracted driving. a portland bus driver reading his kindle as he drove, even steering with his elbow while he turned the page. the transportation secretary calls it a national epidemic. >> people have been so accustomed to having that cell phone in their ear, or texting and driving, and while you're

puni punching a number in your cell phone or texting somebody and you go a little more than 4 seconds in a 3,000 to 4,000 pound vehicle, you drive the length of a football field without looking at what's in front of you. >> reporter: secretary lahood has already gathered some big names, including oprah, to join his crusade against distracted driving. 30 states and d.c. now ban texting while driving. eight states and d.c. ban handheld cell phones. >> because of texting, i won't be able to do a lot of things. walk my daughter down the aisle. or even hear her giggle ever again. >> reporter: after the accident, kim and russ hurd went home to maryland and helped push through a tough no-texting law there. their ultimate goal, a ban on every cell phone, every pda, anything that can distract. >> that would be our goal. no phones, no texting -- drive. >> reporter: the irony is that in florida, the state where heather was killed, they have no laws at all regarding cell phones or texting. the d.o.t. has just announced

that in fact 1,600 companies nationwide have now adopted a zero tolerance policy for their employees on distracted driving. no texting, no talking on the cell phone while driving. that covers 10.5 million people nationwide. they expect even more companies will soon come on board. back to you. >> and tom, don't they say that the studies have shown that distracted driving is actually even worse and impairs you more than drunken driving? >> reporter: yeah. in fact, i was in utah at the university of utah going through one of these simulators in which they showed me, and the statistics seem to bear it out, that if you're distracted while texting while driving, that having that blackberry or pda in your hand, that can actually be worse than having a blood alcohol level of 0.08, believe it or not. so it's just become an extraordinarily dangerous series of events here. >> tom costello with a preview, this distracted driving subject gets under way today in washington. thanks, tom. moving on, you may think it's a media obsession or confined to big cities only, but

bedbugs seem to be everywhere these days. and right now, frankly, it seems like bedbugs are winning the battle. but that could change with a big bedbug summit going on near chicago today. nbc's kevin tibbles has that fabulous assignment. kevin, what's the point of this meeting today? >> reporter: oh, savannah, i bet you were just itching to talk to me on this subject. ha-ha. >> oh, i was, good one. >> reporter: i am here with the best and the brightest, and as you can see, just over my shoulder here, the best dressed in the bedbug business this morning, savannah. the nation's first bedbug symposium, conference, whatever you want to call it, is going on. bedbugs used to be something you would think about when you were going on vacation overseas. but these days, as we've been hearing in the news, many of the nation's big cities have been hit with bedbugs. the empire state building. niketown in new york, various college campuses. even camp lejeune has been hit

with bedbugs. and these people are here to explain to us the various ways to zap them, discover them, freeze them, freeze-dry them, fry them, however you want to describe it. but the bottom line is that these guys are here to help you get rid of them. there's even a dog yapping in the background. his job is actually to sniff them out for you, savannah. >> i was going to say, maybe attract them or something, throw them off the trail. but kevin, the experts you've been talking to, do they anything about why suddenly we're seeing this infestation? >> reporter: well, there are probably two answers. the one that is most given is the fact that we travel more as people. we are heading out of the country on business more than ever and on vacation, and unfortunately, these little critters, they're extremely hungry. they can drink three times their weight in blood. and they stick on you, they get into your luggage, and the next thing you know, you come home and you've got them at your

house. there are even people here, for example, who are selling luggage -- things that seal off your luggage. there are things that actually seal off your bed. bed covers and the like to keep them out. so it's combat. this is a war zone, when it comes to the bedbugs here. >> well, kevin, i know what we all want for christmas -- go ahead and get your shopping bag out. we want some bedbug interdiction stuff. >> sure thing, savannah. >> thanks, appreciate it. let's do our trivia. what kentucky republican beat actor george clooney's father in his first election to congress? well, the answer is congressman jeff davis of kentucky. coming up, big changes ahead with health care. parts of the president's new law go into effect just two days from now. coming up, what those changes mean for you and your family, and how republicans are revving up their fight to repeal that law. but first, the white house soup of the day, kind of an autumn offering at the white house mess today, butternut squash. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. i didn't miss a premium payment for 10 years.

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to see how it can help you, visit us at americasfairhealthcare.org on this date in 1948, uncle mill ty made his debut as permanent host of the texaco star theater on nbc with berle at the helm, the show became so popular, businesses would shut down for the hour it was on. he was credited for the large spike in television sales at the time, earning him the nickname, mr. television. and if you're wondering where or own mr. television, chuck todd went off to, he's on assignment, had to run, to i'm holding down the fort. back to health care. with some of the law's most popular provisions about to take effect on thursday, the white house is trying to tout that achievement. meanwhile, republicans are drawing up plans to scrap as much as the law as possible.

now "consumer reports" is weighing in. and here now is jim guest, president and ceo of consumer unions. this is the nonprofit publisher of "consumer reports." and i think in this case, this is a service a lot of people will be happy to take advantage of, because this was a very long health care law. a lot of people don't know what it's in it. so let's break it down. what do you think are the primary provisions people will start feeling right away? >> sure. well, lots of them. first, for family members, for families, this is going to make a big difference, because children can now stay on your policy until they turn 26. so it no longer has to be a student, don't have to be a independent. so this provides some young people, especially, with coverage that they wouldn't otherwise have. so that's really important. another one for families is, there's this whole question of pre-existing conditions and insurance companies refusing to cover, with if you've got a pre-existing condition. now for kids up to the age of 19, they've got to take the kids, even if they have a pre-existing condition. so that's important.

>> and i was going to say, there's a bunch of preventative services, i think a lot of people will be interested in this, that you can now get for free? >> that's really important. starting on medicare, for example, people on medicare, january 1st, preventative services, mammograms, screenings, annual checkups. those will all be covered. no co-pay, no additional cost of any kind to the consumer. and more generally -- and it will be phased in over time on insurance policies, the same kind of preventative coverages, preventative services will also be covered. that's really important, because among other things, that can help drive down health care costs if you can keep people healthier by covering them early on like that with the prevention. >> so if you're the average person that gets his or her insurance through the employer, will there be real changes to your insurance plan, or are they grandfathered in, a term we learned earlier on the show, and won't really be affected? >> well, the grandfather mean

ifs a policy doesn't get changed, then some of these new protections don't kick in right away. the fact of the matter is that employers and insurers are usually changing plans frequently, on an annual basis or more. so most of the new provisions will kick in. some don't kick until the year 2014. but on things like preventative services, or another really big things, eliminates the lifetime limit that insurance policies often have now. so if you get sick, it used to be that if you run up against that limit, you're out of luck. they don't cover expenses you have above that limit. that's one thing. another big thing that happens right now on the employer plans and the others is they can't cancel if you get sick. right now, insurers, you get sick, start driving up the health bills, they can knock you off your coverage. that will no longer be allowed. >> and some insurance companies have actually announced rate hikes, premium hikes, and are saying, this is a direct effect of the new health care law. is that true? >> well, i really think that's

disingenuous. they've been increasing their cost of insurance, their prices year after year after year. they're always looking for somebody or something to blame. you can't really blame it on the new law. i think that's not correct. and there are a couple of other provisions in the new law that also are going to make it tougher for insurance companies to sort of gouge you with unreasonable rates. for one thing now, states are directed to look more carefully and to determine whether proposed rate increases are reasonable or not. so there'll be tougher regulation at the state level, and here's another provision. now insurance companies are going to have to spend at least 80%, in some cases, 85% of the premiums they collect on actual medical care or quality improvements, so they can't just drive up the profits and the salaries and bonuses and things like that. >> and last thing, if you're uninsured, and frankly, with the unemployment crisis, so many people have lost their health insurance, if you're uninsured, what benefits do you see from this health care law, if any? >> well, again, there's some new

plans that are set up in all 50 states, where if you're uninsured and you can't get insurance otherwise, you got a pre-existing condition or you're not insurable for whatever reason, now there are insurance pools where you can go get covered. in some cases, you have to have been uninsured for six months, and then you can go get covered, if you otherwise get denied. hey, and by the way, we just got consumer reports, consumers union, this booklet here, it's a new guide to what your rights and benefits are as a consumer, so that's a good place to go, if you go to consumerreportshealth.org, you can get a new booklet. lots of confusing information, as you well know, savannah. >> yeah, and easier than reading that, i think it's 1,000 pages long, the health care law. so i'm sure you're doing a great service. jim guest from consumer's union, which publishes "consumer reports," thanks for coming on today, we appreciate it. >> thanks a lot, savannah. coming up, your dancing digest. bristol palin makes her debut,

but the real question is why aren't we talking more about david hasselhoff? his dance was follow us any time on twitter. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless, too? new aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers, with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on, to even skin tone in four weeks. new aveeno tinted moisturizers. ♪ [ mom ] game time is all about the traditions. it's all about the tackles and the touchdowns...

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before we go, let's take a dip in the shallow end with your "dancing with the stars" recap and the anticipated showdown between the lakes of bristol palin, mama brady and the hoff. sarah palin's daughter started conservatively enough but then she let down her hair. mama told me not to come.

but, alas, mama palin was not in the house to cheer on her daughter in person. the most enduring image of the evening, mrs. brady trash talking the situation. this was deliberate. >> look out, mr. situation. >> yeah, that was 76-year-old florence henderson who is proving herself to be nothing like mrs. brady. they saved the breast, or est f the hoff. >> i'm still a big star in germany. >> he choked his way through the cha-cha. his song was "sex bomb" but it seems unfair he was getting pyrotechnics to blow up the stage. even the fireworks couldn't help him with the judges who told him, "it's never too early to

panic." words to live by. coming up next, chris jansing. then at 1:00, don't miss "andrea mitchell reports" among her guest, former u.s. ambassador to iraq, christopher hill, p.j. crowley. we'll see you back here tomorrow, have a great day. atlanta back in the 90s, 91 today. detroit 86 and chicago at 87 is very warm for this time of year. still hot in the deserts out in phoenix and very warm in dallas. 90 degrees for you. [ female announcer ] food myth #9.

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[ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down? introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid to fight fatigue. so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever. wit- that's right, cso we've got a list of things you can do to get active. - like jumping jacks. - or how 'bout push-ups? - sit-ups? - uh, maybe jumping rope? - yeah. or jogging. - uh, how about like a wheelbarrow race? - oh, yeah, that's a great idea. - but imagine actually trying to use him as a wheelbarrow, like stacking bricks on him and doing, like, doo-doo-doo. you know what i mean? - or yoga. - which is actually peaceful and quiet and not a lot of talking, so... - exactly. is he still looking at me?

right now on msnbc, a deadly day for american troops. a chopper crash. a live report on what might have brought it down. the president and the economy. what is the strategy moving forward for the white house after that tough, town hall meeting. congress might be able to pack it in for the session, more than five weeks before the midterm elections. what about the work that still needs to be done? the first ever bed bug summit. officials are sharing ideas on how to get rid of these pesky things. did you see it last night? bristol palin making her

national dancing debut. good tuesday morning, i'm chris jansing live from msnbc world headquarters in new york. there has been a horrible helicopter crash in afghanistan and it makes this the deadliest month for nato troops there. today u.s. officials confirm nine americans died in that helicopter crash in the southeastern part of the country. the taliban claims to have shot down the chopper, but u.s. officials say there were no reports of hostile fire. jack jacobs is the retired medal of honor recipient. jack, just awful news. how do we find out what happened here? >> there will be a report, an investigation, too, but probably public affairs and afghanistan will give a report of what they think it's going to be if they have a high degree of confidence they know it was either hostile fire or not. just the fact that there was no hostile fire reported in the area doesn't necessarily mean that the helicopter was not sh