chain filed for bankruptcy protection. it's been struggling with $1 million in debt. and fierce competition from netflix. blockbuster stores, kiosks, and on-line services will remain operational under bankruptcy protection. the dow jones industrials is flat. the s&p is flat. and the nasdaq is up 14.5. former president clinton is giving a little advice to democrats heading to the midterm elections. on "morning joe" on msnbc talking about another former president's comments about being superior. we put the best bits together for you. >> i believe they should say give us two more years to do this. if it doesn't work, you can throw us all out. we have an election two years, we near a deep hole, couldn't get going in time. that's what we all ought to be willing to judge what does and does not empower other people. the republicans have now given us their plan. and they've been pretty

straightforward all along. i'll give it to them. they said vote for us, we'll repeal health care, oversight, the student loan reform. we want to begin to privatize social security and medicare and whatever else they said -- the other things they said here. i think that the democrats ought to put on one card -- no more than five and no fewer than three things that will be their priorities. we still have a chance here. we have 30 days to have an honest debate. we ought to do it. so far this election has been about stuff that's not going to affect people's lives very much. >> a certain former president said he was the most superior expresident because he was the one involved day in and day out in doing things across the globe. interesting timing, considering this is going on right now. so, i'm going to frame this in a positive way for you. what are you the most proud of? for the clinton global initiative? what have you done through the years? and what do you hope to do

through the years that will continue making this world a better place? >> well, first let me say, i've known president carter for 35 years. worked for him in 1976. i don't know if i ever met anybody who did more to develop himself into the abilities god gave him than at 86 still out there hitting it every day. as far as i'm concerned, he's spiteled to whatever opinion he wants. it's not going to affect me. a popular baby formula could have beetles mixed into it. the company voluntarily recalling millions of containers, it affects similac formulas. you have to look to see if the formula you have is part of the recall. you can do that by going to similac.com or recall the hotline, 1-800-986-8850. the website has been jammed all morning long. and it's hard to get through on

the phone. so patience may be the way you get through here. there's no immediate risk but babies who eat the formula if insects are mixed in, may get an upset belly or refuse to take anymore of the formula. >> a study about mammograms show a yearly test may not be essential after all. a study of norwegian women shows inkreemsed awareness and treatment reduced the risk of breast cancer, not mammograms. some doctors say it's very important to detect breast cancer. doctors cut a woman in half to remove an untreatable tumor. she was 31 years old and pregnant when doctors told her she had bone cancer in her pell vils. she delivered the baby via c-section and had a lot of surgery going through. they performed the surgery documenting her story with

video. in the first procedure, the surgical team removed her left leg, half of her pelvis where the tumor was located, her tailbone and the lower part of her spine. in the second, took the top portion of the leg that was removed. rotated it. secured that to the pell vils. they shifted the right leg and pelvis and attached that to her spine. even after all of that, doctors say there's a chance that janice's cancer could come back. a lot of controversy over gay marriage. but a new show premiering on tlc introduces us to sister wiveses in a real polygamist marriage. it follows husband, cody, and three wives and combined 13 children as they try to maintain a normal life in a society that shuns their polygamist life style. on "today," meredith vieira talked with them about sharing the same man and adding a fourth wife in to the mix. >> we just got to schedule. we rotate through a schedule. and it's --

>> it is -- >> we try to be fair with the time. we try to be fair with the relationships. and we function very well together. >> christie tina was married last. it was 16 years ago. it's taken a lot of the 16 years to be able to grow together and become so comfortable with each other and then, yeah, when it's -- when something else is thrown into the mix, it is just going to shuffle things up. >> sister wives premieres sunday, september 26 at 10:00 p.m. on tlc. she wasn't even singing the controversial "i kissed a girl," but katy perry may be too hot for sesame street. there was a clip on youtube. the last time i couldn't get on, i couldn't get on. katy perry singing well mow. sesame street is not going to air this on television because apparently parents complained about her outfit. wait until you comes up. and then she said there was too

much cleavage and preschoolers shouldn't be watching all of the books. we've been talking about this story on-line. what do they expect? this is katy perry. this is her style. jells see harman writes this, is ridiculous, i'm 19 years old and the first thing i noticed was the thing on her head, not her cleavage. anyway, did a lot of kids not breastfeed? and k is for katy, that's good enough for me. if you would like to reach out to me, you can do so on twitter. my e-mail address is contessa@msnbc.com. they handed me, katy perry has tweeted about this. wow, looks like my prayplay date well mow has been cut short. if you want to see it at www.katyperry.com, tag, you're it, elmo. i kissed elmo and i liked it. talk about a major makeover.

joaquin phoenix was back on david letterman's show last night with a different look. he apologized to letterman for the bizarre performance on the show last year. he admitted it's part of his new movie. >> a year and a half ago, you come out and honestly, it's like you slipped and hit your head in the tub. and i -- i knew immediately when you sat down something ain't right. >> i didn't -- i hope i didn't offend you in any way. >> no, no, no. i was not offended. i'm telling you, it was so much fun. it was -- >> good. >> really, it was -- >> well, we just -- >> it was batting practice, you know what i mean. every one of them was a dinger. >> in the end, letterman may have had the last laugh. despite the elaborate setup, he poked fun atwah keen for the less than stellar ticket sales from that movie. on tuesday, a phillies-braves game where a fan in red spandex ran on to the field and was tripped by braves' outfielder matt diaz.

the 17-year-old wulz released from juvenile detention yesterday to his parents wearing the same head-to-toe spandex that he was arrested in. they must be proud. president obama on the world stage -- what he said during his address to the united nations general assembly. we get a preview of what iranian president ahmadinejad may say today. scientists say they discovered a new dinosaur called the cosmotriceratops. it's got a new -- the new dino is said to have at least 15 spikes around the head. and if you thought it was about protection, it's not. the horns are more likely to attract the ladies -- or the men. whatever. ♪ everybody walk the dinosaur

a new study finds more americans are using hospital e.r.s to avoid long waits to see their own doctors and that's driving up medical costs says as much as $4 billion a year. overall, 27% of all emergency room visits could be treated elsewhere. all right, some breaking news right now out of north carolina. the man who admitted killing unc student body president eve carson in 2008 will spend the rest of his life behind bars. this morning, a judge sentenced demarre you atwater to life in prison plus ten years. a spokesperson said the extra ten years was because he used a sawed off shotgun in her murder. president obama is calling for global cooperation in the goal of bringing about a peace deal in the next year. speaking at the united nations

general assembly this morning, the president not only addressed international issues but the top priority here at home. >> i've had no greater focus as president than rescuing our economy from potential catastrophe. and in an age when prosperity is shared, we could not do this alone. >> the president issued a sharp call to iran over that country's nuclear program. ahmadinejad is due to address the assembly later today. he already made waves earlier in the week by predicting the end of capitalism and blaming other world powers for poverty. a contributor to the daily beast. how is this set up? president obama and ahmadinejad the same day? >> that's actually not the first time in a the president of iran and the president of the united states spoke at the u.n. on the same day. it's a weird sort of coincidence that keeps happening over and over again. it may be the closest these two people may get to meeting

face-to-fail. one thing that's for sure is we're getting a lot of noise voluntary manslaughtering out of the u.n. that both iran and the united states are actually ready to get back in to negotiating about iran's nuclear program. that's good news if it's true. >> we talked the other day about the pressure on iran now because of the military strategy and the way it's thumbing its nose at international investigators. the iran defense minister has blasted russia's decision not to sell the s-300 missiles to iran. here's what the president said about iran today. >> iran is the only partner that cannot demonstrate the peaceful intentions of its nuclear program. and those actions have consequences. through u.n. security council resolution 1929, we made it clear that international law is not an empty promise. >> you know, it seems like every year at the u.n. general

assembly, we hear the speeches about iran's nuclear ambitions, what do we have to show for an accomplishment? >> not much. you're absolutely right, contessa. now, on the one hand, you know, there is some evidence that the sanctions that president obama, you know, really championed over the last year are having an effect on iran's economy. and, in fact, there are a lot of iranians in the parliament and some prominent clerics who have actually sort of talking about how these sanctions need to be addressed. now, ahmadinejad likes to pretend that everything is fine, iran is as stable as it's ever been. that nothing will deter it from its nuclear ambitions. but it seems increasingly clear that's not the case. and, what you just mentioned, russia's decision not to sell iran some 300 missiles in order to protect itself from the possibility of the military strike by either the united states or israel, that's a huge deal. so, you're right, a lot of extra

pressure now on iran on ahmadinejad. it seems like it's starting to at least have an effect. >> it's good to see you today. thank you for your time. >> thanks, contessa. still ahead, virginia gets ready to execute its first woman in generations. quick break. hoo? omnaris. [ men ] omnaris -- to the nose! [ man ] did you know nasal symptoms like congestion can be caused by allergic inflammation? omnaris relieves your symptoms by fighting inflammation. side effects may include headache, nosebleed, and sore throat. [ inhales deeply ] i told my allergy symptoms to take a hike. omnaris. ask your doctor. battling nasal allergy symptoms? omnaris combats the cause. get omnaris for $11 at omnaris.com. and wear hats. i was always the hat guy. i can't even tell you how much it's changed my life. [ male announcer ] only rogaine is proven to regrow hair in 85% of guys. no more hats. [ male announcer ] stop losing. start gaining.

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the state of virginia is about to execute a woman for the first time since 1912. virginia's governor and the u.s. supreme court have refused to step in on behalf of tereasa lewis. she's scheduled to die by lethal injection for hiring hit men to kill her husband and stepson in 2002. the case has sparked international outrage. the president of iran has weighed in following the international outrage about the planning stoning. a woman is being executed in the united states for murder but no one protests against it. joe tacopina is a former u.s. prosecutor. this case is pretty sad, because

this is a woman who they say her iq borders on mental retardation. >> first of all, i'm an opponent of the death penalty. there are other cases that are harder to argue against than others. in this case, this is the wrong case to execute, put someone to death. there is evidence that came out at the trial that she was manipulated by the actual shooter. the trigger person was put to life in jail. >> people who committed the murder. >> people who pulled the trigger did not get the death penalty. there's evidence that she was manipulated by these people -- that came out after the trial that's incredible evidence. but the kicker -- the testimony shows that she's borderline retarded. it's contrary to all minimum standards of human rights. >> why do you think the u.s. supreme court, why do you think the governor are refusing to get involve? >> political reasons. you know, virginia is the number two state in the country where it comes to executions.

it's very much a pro law enforcement, a state that's a proponent of the death penalty. and, you know, politicians don't want to get involved when the system of justice has spoken, so to speak. >> the accusation against her and what she was convicted on was masterminding the deaths to collect a $250,000 insurance payout. one of the triggermen manipulated her and he wrote -- from the moment i met her, she could be easily manipulated. killing julian and charles lewis was my idea, i needed money and tereasa was an easy target. miscarriage of justice? >> not going to lose any sleep over her spending the rest of her life in jail. she should. she's a co-conspirator of her husband and stepson. she should spend the rest of her life in jail. no one is talking about her being dangerous to the community. to put her to death when she's not the trigger person and there's solid evidence she was borderline retarded is outrageous.

>> thank you for being with me today. i'm contessa brewer. see you back here tomorrow at 9:00 eastern, 9:00 pacific time -- noon eastern. i know when i'm on, okay. lindsey lohan will be in court for her probation hearing. we'll be in with that tomorrow. andrea mitchell reports next. brian kirk of portland, oregon is the founder of location vacations. he gives it vacationers a two-to-three-day crash course to test drive a different career. it's an intensive learning experience for prospective entrepreneurs. for more, watch on msnbc. i want to give my 5 employees health insurance,

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the federal government is too big, it spends too much, and it's out of control. right now, andrea mitchell reports, republicans roll out the campaign manifesto. a to-do list of what happened if they regained power in november, including the president's prize, legislation, health care. democrats quickly fire back. >> you know it occurred to me that if this is what we're going to see is the infliction of a plague on america. >> congressman max thornberry helped roll out the agenda.

he joins us this hour. and the chairman of the national democratic campaign committee. perfect together? can $100 million save some of the new jersey worst performing schools? details on the big donation ahead. and sarah palin says she's tail one for the team in 2012. the question is, which team is she talking about? the tea party or the gop? good day, i'm nowhera o'donl in for andrea mitchell. big on tax cuts, light on substance. they rolled out the pledge of america today 16 years after newt gingrich unveiled the contract with america leading to a gop takeover of congress. will it work again? gene hardwood is correspondent for cnbc. joins us now. john, here it is, the pledge to america. lots of stuff in this. creating jobs, a full screen, talks about the government size in spending, repeal and replace,

health care. what's this missing. >> exactly. the question is here it isn't. the details is paul rankin in the budget committee provided in the road map of america's future where he tackled some of the tough decisions on what he did to social security and medicare going forward converting medicare to a voucher program, making some changes in the social security retirement age, that kind of thing. all of those are things that the house republicans decided to duck for now because they don't want to create roadblocks for their candidates. probably smart politics, but it doesn't really answer the question for voters in trying to figure out exactly where the house republicans would take the country if the task of balancing the budget, reducing the deficit, and getting a handle on entitlements falls into their lap. >> all right, john hardwood there at the white house. thanks so much. want to bring in congressman william mack thornberry. he helped roll out the

republicans' pledge and joins us now from capitol hill. congressman, good to see you. i watched you out there with the lumber place where you guys talked about this. let me ask you, who wrote this? >> really, the american people did. this has been several months in the making where with the america speaking out website, town hall meetings, personal visits, all of that has -- and then -- has brought ideas in to the house republicans. and then we just took them down and went back out to the country in august and said what do you think about this try this? and that feedback is what led to the final document. so it's what we've been hearing from the people. >> congressman, i know you say that the people wrote it, but there's a report now on huffington post that in fact we had the most powerful lobbyists for the oil, pharmaceutical, and insurance companies who helped put this thing together. let me read from the huffington post. house staffer brian wild was a lobbyist for aig among others

paid $740,000 during his five years at the firm. wild among others was paid $740,000 in lobbying contracts from aig, the former insurance company at the heart of the financial crisis who collapsed. $800,000 at ann darko petroleum and $1.1 million in comcast and $1.3 million in exxon mobile and $625,000 for the pharmaceutical company, pfizer. if this was written by the american people, why was a lobbyist so heavily involved in putting it together. >> i don't know that they were. i dealt primarily with the national security section. i know of no lobbyist participating. what i did was look at the america speak