right now on msnbc saturday, out of jail. lindsay lohan freed from behind bars after posting bail. we are live out her home. bomb scare. police search a plane after it is forced to make an emergency landing in squall den. on the run. bank robbers pull off a dramatic heist and avoid capture. why this crime is sounding more and more like a movie plot. plus, all the glitter is gold. how investors saw big gains by banking on the rising price of buillon. good morning to you. i'm alex witt. welcome to nbc saturday. this developing now after spending less than 12 hours behind bars, lindsay lohan is

out of jail this morning. the actress was released overnight after a judge sentenced to her 30 days for failing a drug test. we'll go live to los angeles where kristen walker is standing by for us. a very early morning to you. why was lindsay released just hours after she was sentenced? >> reporter: really a stunning turn of events here, alex. you are absolutely right. essentially the superior court judge ruled that lindsay lohan was only facing misdemeanor charges. therefore, she was entitled to bail, which she set at $300,000. lindsay posted that and was home at 12:30 a.m. this morning. as you mentioned, alex, earlier in the day a judge ordered lindsay to jail for 30 days without bail. he was essentially holding her there until her next court date. she was in court initially because she had failed a drug test just weeks after she has been released from rehab. so that's why she was? jail yesterday.

it was her third stint in jail all stemming back to a 2007 dui arrest. so she's really been struggling with this in and out of jail. and yesterday judge elton fox in the morning decided that he was going to put her in jail and teach her a lesson to be in jail without any bail. but again, the superior court judge ruled that wasn't right. she was only facing a misdemeanor charge and therefore was, in fact, entitled to bail. there are stipulations to lindsay lohan being out. here are some of them. she has to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet. she can't consume alcohol. and she can't be anywhere where alcohol is consumed. she will, of course, be subject to random testing. so all of those things are pending as she is out on bail. we also want to say her legal troubles are far from over. she'll be back in court on october 22nd for her actual probation violation hearing. now, when she goes back to court, the judge could rule to

put her back in jail. you hear someone shouting over my shoulder, lindsay, we are in her neighborhood. she does have a lot of fans here. again, when she goes back to court on october 22nd, a judge could rule to put her back in jail or send her back to rehab. >> kristen, what i'm most curious about, the stipulations you said she must adhere to so she doesn't get in trouble again sound oddly familiar to me. aren't they exactly what she was not supposed to do the first time around? >> reporter: that's right. she has been here before. this is something that is a recurring performance, if you will, for lindsay lohan. she's worn the alcohol-monitoring brace little before. in fact, she was pictured wearing it in a magazine before. this is something she is really struggling with. we spoke to medical experts who said she's really going to have to take a hard look at why she fell off of the wagon this latest time if she wants to get better, figure out how it

happened and prevent it from happening in the future. some people suggested to change the circle of friends who surround her because they are helping to contribute to the fact that she continues to fall off of the wagon here. >> kristen welker, many thanks for that. more developing news from europe where a pakistan-bound passenger plane made an emergency landing in sweden because of the bomb threat. police took a canadian citizen into custody after passengers were removed from the plane. the canadian in custody is being questioned. authorities received a tip that a passenger was carrying explosives and police are searching the aircraft. it is a story right out a movie becoming a chilling reality for a florida bank teller. the suspect took him hostage before a high-profile robbery. this was the scene in miami on friday morning. the suspects kidnapped the teller just after midnight,

strapping him to a device containing bomb-making materials, and made quick work of the bank of america branch in 25 minutes flat. wtvj's carolyn is here for us. >> reporter: the fbi spent several hours questioning the bank teller. he has since been released from fbi custody, but the big question this morning is where are the bad guys? this was an extremely unusual and gutsy heist that they pulled off. and so far they have been able to elude authorities. as you mentioned, the three men bursted into the bank teller's apartment in the middle of the night and allegedly hold him and his father hostage in their home at gunpoint. wait until morning they strap a suspected bomb on the teller's chest, take him to a bank of america where he worked and send him inside to get cash. all this while threatening this

guy that they have a remote trigger for the device that was strapped to his chest. now, neither the teller nor his father were hurt here. and authorities are now on this huge manhunt for the bank robbers. and they were actually able to elude surveillance cameras that were set up in the parking lot of this bank of america. and they also had their faces covered. and alex, as far as the bomb goes, right now the fbi and miami-dade bomb squad are examining it to determine if it was real or fake. but so far, as you did mention previously, they have been able to confirm that it did, in fact, include some bomb-making materials. alex? >> carolyn, how about the father? what is his situation right now? >> reporter: they are not releasing a whole lot information on the father right now. all we know is he was left back at the apartment with one of the suspects while the other two suspects took the bank teller over to the bank.

so we know that he was there while all of this was going on at the bank of america. this is 20 minutes from coral gables so they are not releasing too many details other than that. >> a well thought out plan it would seem. carolyn ryan, thank you so much. destructive floodwaters are slowly receding in southern parts of minnesota after storms dumped ten inches of rain earlier this week. residents are facing a tremendous cleanup there. in pine island hit particularly hard, the city estimates 150 homes have severe flood damage. for the full weekend forecast, we'll go to nbc meteorologist bill karens. good morning, karen. good saturday morning to you, alex. this is the first weekend of fall and it will feel like it in a few locations. overall, the weather pattern has switched. it was extremely warm yesterday in the northeast, but now it is going to cool off. the west coast, summer is going to continue for you as we see

the change in the southeastern seaboard. saturday is warm, sunday much cooler with rain. here's what happened yesterday. an incredible day in washington, d.c., easily broke the record high. can you believe you were at 99 degrees yesterday in washington, d.c.? look at fee nick, the only big city to beat washington sh d.c. the 90-degree heat spread up to philadelphia yesterday. things will be cooler today, but still very warm and much like summer all the way up to boston where it will be 86 degrees. near record highs today in areas like charlotte and raleigh and jfk airport outside of new york city. so many locations. enjoy the warmth while it lasts and take a peek at buffalo at 60 degrees. that's what is headed for the big cities on sunday. the rest of the forecast, watch out for showers and storms. we have had a lot of heavy rain near dallas and kansas city. look at the temperatures out west. we are in the warmest days in l.a., 97. 90 in san francisco. going into sunday, it could be

near 100 degrees in las vegas. the heat builds out west. there could be heavy rain in the southeast with drought conditions there recently. the rain is welcome, but we don't want to ruin the weekend plans. the latest lawsuit was filed by 22-year-old spencer lagrand who said bishop long pressured him into a sexual relationship in a trip to africa back in 2005. long hosted president george w. bush and bill clinton at his parish. the texas school board approved a controversial resolution to claim textbook publishers favor islam over christianity.

the resolution states pro-islamic anti-christian bias has tainted the textbooks. the board voted that publishers should devote more time to christianity and insists books citing another religion should be rejected. new this morning, president obama is slamming the gop over its newly agenda. this morning the gop says they plan to slash taxes and cut spending representing a new way not tried in washington. but the president is not impressed with the republican proposals. >> many were the same policies that led to the economic crisis in the first place, which is not surprising since many of the leaders were among the architects of the failed policy. >> mark sri caro is live at the white house this morning. there are different things from

both sides. what are they saying this morning? >> we are 38 days out from the election and you can expect to hear it over and over again with the republicans putting out a pledge to america. a lot of people thought it fell short of details, but republicans feel with democrats so far down in the polls and big gains expected come november 2nd on election day this is what they had to do. they didn't have to do much more than this. people are upset about the deficits about spending, such anxiety about the economy. dan fifer is the communication director this morning. he points out one of the pledge items to cut spending of the federal government back in 2008 levels without leaving the military and other veterans programs would acceptably slash programs like "head start." 300 correctional officers laid off, 2700 fbi agents, the list goes on and on. the president calls this an ecoof failed policies over the

last decade. here's more of what he said this morning in his web address. >> it is grounded in the same worn-out philosophy. cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires. cut the rules for wall street and the special interests. and cut the middle class loose to fend for itself. that's not a prescription for a better future. it's an echo of a disastrous decade we can't afford to relive. >> they call themselves the young guns, all eblg alex. kevin mccarthy is a new member from bakersfield, california. he had the duties of carrying the republican response to the president today. here's what he had to say. >> as a result of the economic disastrous policies of the current administration, millions of americans were out of work today. that is by every definition out of control. >> this pledge is a governing

agenda impleasanted right now. the powers in washington allow it. >> all about the economy and deficit here counting down to the election with republicans expected to make big gains, alex. >> this is certainly going to be the drum beat. thank you very much. here's a programming note on monday, matt lauer sits down for an interview with president obama. that's going to kick off education nation. nbc looks at the state here in america. it will also air online beginning at 8:00 a.m. eastern. submit your questions for the president as education nation. what happened during this meeting? it is coming up. and bob woodrow's book on president obama. could it help out the white house? plus, i don't want a tomato picked by a mexican. i want it picked by an american

and then sliced by a guatemalan and served by a venuzuelan. >> he got a lot of laughs, but many wonder what was the point of his testimony? we'll talk about it coming up on msnbc saturday. ♪ with what i feel for you ♪ i could hang around till the leaves are brown and the summer's gone ♪ [ announcer ] when you're not worried about potential dangers, the world can be a far less threatening place. take the scary out of life with travelers insurance... and see the world in a different light. words alone aren't enough. my job is to listen to the needs and frustrations of the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel or restaurant workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf

and that includes keeping you informed. our job is to listen and find ways to help. that means working with communities. restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-payer expense. i know people are wondering-- now that the well is capped, is bp gonna meet its commitments? i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right.

because my great grandfather didn't travel across 4,000 miles of the atlantic ocean to see this country overrun by immigrants. he did it because he killed a man back in ireland. that's the rumor, i don't know if that's true, i would like to have that stricken from the record. maybe you can offer for visas to the immigrants who will, let's face it, be doing these jobs anyway. and the improved status could allow recourse if they are

abused. if your coworker can't be exploited, then you are less likely to be exploited yourself. and that itself might improve pay and working conditions on these farms and eventually americans may consider taking these jobs again. >> stephen colbert taking his act to capitol hill to testify on the house subcommittee hearing on immigrant farm labor. it was part comedy part policy, but not everyone in washington is laughing. we'll bring in john harwood, cbs's chief washington correspondent. i don't know about you, i found parts hysterically funny. >> i was not laughing actually, alex. i'm a fan of stephen colbert and is very funny on his show, but it seems to me that a congressional hearing is not the place for that kind of humor. i understand the reason why members of congress want to try to bring attention to the issue and thought his celebrity could help them do that, especially with young people, for example, who don't pay attention to politics. but i'm not sure it succeeded in

doing that. it seemed to me that it ended up mocking congress more than it brought attention to the issue. >> but john, if the point is to bring attention to it and engage the younger people and get younger people fired up about the issue to get something done, there is a method to the madness there, wouldn't you agree? >> well, if it achieves that goal, more power to them. but my suspicious is that what actually happened there, alex, was attention to congress pulling some sort of a stunt that went over with some people, perhaps, but didn't go over with a lot of others. okay. right now to house speaker nancy pelosi, which she says she may push ahead on the bush era tax cuts even though the senate decided to wait on this. can you talk about this so close to the midterms? >> it is all about politics and the house wants to make an argument that the democratic

leadership can make the argument that they are standing for the middle class, pushing for the extension of the bush tax cuts for families under $250,000 of income. and that republicans are blocking that because they want to give a tax cut to rich people. each side thinks this argument helps them, thinks it fires up their base. it is not about letting right now. after the education when we get to the lame duck and the election is in the rear rf view mirror, that's when they will cut a deal. at the end of the day, there will be at least a temporary extension of the tax cuts for people all across the spectrum. we'll see. >> let's talk about the shakeups at the white house now with all the rumors out there. chief of staff rahm emanuel is thinking ability running for mayor of chicago. also, larry summers departing, a lot of people that have been

surrounded wi surrounded by the white house. what is the issue here? >> it is par for the course, but the benefit is given the fact that the people are unhappy, that the president's party will take a beating at the polls, when you have the churn that always happen early. it is not 100% of the time but usually that gives president obama a chance to have a reset. david axelrod has been expected to run the re-election campaign for the president some time in mid-2011. rahm e man qulooul e hand emmanuel was likely to be the chief of staff, but now he has the chance to run for mayor. he's going to be leaving. there is going to be a remake, a facelift, if you will, of the white house staff. i don't think it represents a change in policy, but it may give the president an opportunity to have a fresh

start. >> i was going to say, how important do you think this president embraces -- i guess different points of view at this point? >> well, the president -- we had our chat with him last week. i asked him whether or not he wanted to send a message of mid-course correction. he said we are always looking to make our policies better. when you bring in a new national adviser, he may use that to signal to other points of view. he has to work with republicans more. he was open, for example, to a payroll tax holiday. this is something many republicans have pushed. we'll see how he adjusted around the edges. his fundamental course is set and he has a set of priorities that are practical. >> we should also say he did a great job with the town hall. thank you so much. well, tomorrow on "meet the

press" catch the debate between congressman mike spens of indiana and chris van hollen. lauren digns was last seen two weeks ago and this morning the baby's mother is behind bars. the 19-year-old says she gave her daughter to a stranger and waited a week before alerting authorities her baby was missing. we'll get the latest now from michelle segona. this does not sound good in any way. what have you learned about what the mother says happened here? >> reporter: well, here's what we know and what i learned from investigators is that she was last seen alive, the baby, on labor day. the mother claims that on september 7th she gave her child away to an unknown strain jer in the area and didn't report her missing until a week later. from that point investigators have executed numerous search warrants and have searched her apartment a number of times. also, a family vehicle she may

have been using. cadaver dogs went in and there could be have been a scent of human remains inside the apartment. and so based on some of the evidence that they collected, they were able to move forward with a couple of charges. one is aggravated child neglect and endangerment. the second is filing a police report. >> police believe the baby is alive. >> we can only hope for the best in any case. that's just what we hope for is the best in this particular point until we are proven otherwise. they are moving forward at this time and do think, unfortunately, something may have had happened to this child. so they need the mom to come clean with her story. they do not think she is telling the truth in this case. anyone with information in the area needs to come forward.

once all the dna is processed, they may be able to figure out we need to search this particular area, this particular site or take this particular person into questioning. so that's really where they are at in the investigation. >> michelle, thank you so much. octomom history up for sale. how and why some of the california mother's personal items can be yours for a price. . [ male announcer ] only rogaine is proven to regrow hair in 85% of guys. puhh puhh puhh putt and that's it. [ male announcer ] stop losing. start gaining.

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[ female announcer ] only roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream is clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. diminishing the look of even deep wrinkles. 10 years? i'll take that! [ female announcer ] roc® we keep our promises. developing now. lindsay lohan is a free woman this morning. the 24-year-old actress was released from jail overnight just hours after a judge ordered her to return to prison for failing a drug test. let's get the latest now from alicia corals from the associated press. good morning. >> good morning, alex. >> we are all taken back. she goes for the hearing and is now behind bars until october 22nd. then we hear $300,000 bail and you are out. >> her team appealed and posted $300,000 bail. so lindsay only served 12 hours

in jail. two suvs whisked her away. she's a free woman back to court on october 22nd where she could be locked up again. >> doesn't anybody think that she needs some big time help, like get her out of the environment she's living in and get her the help she needs? >> a lot of people think that. for whatever you think about her father, he said something smart. you have to help out this woman or she's going to end up dead. she has an addiction problem. lindsay admitted she has an addiction problem. the problem is you have to work through the legalities, but she has to get it together or it will be over for her. >> yesterday nadya suleman, she is worried about getting kicked out of her home and can't pay the mortgage, but what is she doing now to fix that? >> desperate times call for desperate measures, today she's holding a yard sale with a local deejay in los angeles. she is wearing the by key knees

she wore in magazine articles to undergarments. >> back it up. did you see undergarments? >> i guess when you have that many kids you have to do what you have to do. >> okay. anything else you know up for sale or is it all personal items? is it like a yard sale or all about nadya? >> it is like a yard sale. it won't be furniture because she needs it for the kids, but i think she'll have a good turnout. there's been a lot of hype around this. they have done interviews and the deejay has been promoting it. nadya doesn't want to go on welfare and is trying not to lose the home so she is selling the goods. >> david beckham has a lawsuit? >> he has a lawsuit against bauer publishing. there's a story that came out "in touch" with a call girl saying she slept with him and she's not taking it lying down. >> see you in two hours. hundreds of kites were flown in kabul in a push for

democracy. it will promote women's rights and justice for all. it was banned under taliban rule, but it is a national past time in afghanistan. [ female announcer ] stay once... stay twice... earn a free night! two separate stays at comfort inn or any of these choice hotels can earn you a free night -- only when you book at choicehotels.com. we need directions to go to... pearblossom highway? it's just outside of lancaster. sure, i can download directions for you now. we got it. thank you very much! check it out. i can like, see everything that's going on with the car. here's the gas level. i can check on the oil. i can unlock it from anywhere. i've received a signal there was a crash. some guy just cut me off. i'll get an ambulance to you right away. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. onstar. live on.

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sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office.

i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. it is msnbc saturday. i'm alex witt. if you have not heard, lindsay lohan is out of jail, but she has to wear an ankle bracelet. she was sprung loose from the los angeles jail after posting a $300,000 fail. authorities in sweden are questioning a man suspected of carrying explosionives on a plane. the plane was diverted to stockholm where he is being detained. a fourth lawsuit is filed against a popular atlanta pastor accused of having sex with young male church goers. the attorney for bishop eddy

long denies all allegations. a nurse is charged under the don't ask don't tell policy. this calls for major margaret witt to be an exemplary officer. and rivers and streams are receding in southwest wisconsin, finally. those are your fast five headlines. another week of gapes in the books for the stock market. the fourth in a row, yeah, the end of gapes were out of the ordinary for investors banking on the rising price of gold. brian shankman is here. we like this news when things are looking up. historically, september is not usually good. >> usually the worst month of the 12 in terms of the stock market. and we are looking at right now maybe the best in more than 70 years. now, i can honestly say some people think that everyone thought it was going down and that's why it went up. things are not logically spinning correctly, but the data we have gotten economically, i won't go through all the inside numbers, but we may have slowed

down a bit, but we are not necessarily heading back into a recession. for a lot of people that's a positive. >> oh, my gosh, yeah. what about people who have invested in gold? wow was that a smart thing to do. >> listen, it touched 1300, which is pretty amazing. part of the low-interest environment with stimulating the economy means you and i may not have a lot of money necessarily, but globally the money needs to go somewhere and it is going to the stock market and it will go to gold and silver. but i touch on this, currencies, government debt, people are worried about the value of money. and if you are worried about the value of money, gold, people think it has entrensic value. people think it is more valuable in a vacuum and want to own it. >> that said, it is not the time to invest in gold, is it? if you just want to get in, you don't want to get in at these

prices. >>some people say when you and i invest at something that's the time to get out. there are analysts that think it could go to 1500 by year end. it feels heavy at the top. if you have made good money on gold, you may want to get out, but it is a tough one. >> i like that you brought good news. i appreciate that. so you, my friend, are welcome back any time. >> where's my free coffee? >> we'll get to that. brian shanktmam, thank you. a security camera shows a gun being pulled on the cashier and demanding money. however, the cashier yelled at the coworkering giving him the opportunity to pull out his own gun. the stickup man gave up in the standoff because his gun was nothing but a beebe gun. the coworker held the guy against the freezer while he called the cops. the fbi says agents have searched eight homes in the midwest as part of a terrorism investigation. warrants suggest the agents were looking for connections between

local and anti-war activists and terrorist groups in columbia in the middle east. they searched homes in minneapolis and chicago yesterday. and the fbi is after people who were active in social justice. american hiker air virginia sarah shourd is expressing thanks today after meeting with president mahmoud ahmadinejad. after a ten-month wait shourd and her mother spoke with ahmadinejad to ask for her fiance and close friend to be released. >> it is a good feeling for me to tell him my story directly. i'm thankful for this and hopeful it will make a difference for shane and josh. >> recipient of the congressional medal of honor, colonel jack jacobs is joining me this morning. good morning. listening to sarah talk about her experience, i have tremendous admiration for her

because she spin this is so eloquently politely and respectfully when many other people would be willing to slam what happened to her. >> yeah, evidently that's the kind of person she is. of course, in dealing with an entity like iran and somebody like ahmadinejad, sometimes if you are a little more polite than you otherwise would be you point out what a bunch of idiots they are. >> she goes to speak with ahmadinejad pleading for the release of her fiance and friend. ahmadinejad said it is up to the courts. >> you would normally think anything this guy would be baloney. if he said the sun comes up in the morning, you shouldn't believe it. but this is one place where he is actually telling the truth. in fact, ahmadinejad doesn't have much internal power. the mullahs and the courts do have preponderance of the power and it will be up to the courts to decide what to do with these

people. >> as sarah is out there telling more and more of her story about what happened it would seem that the evidence to keep them behind bars as alleged spies falls by the waist side. the story is so innocent. how much pressure to do you think the international committee will put on this and say, look, come on. the kibd kids have no idea being in jail. >> not much. they are going to stay there as long as the iranian government thinks they are useful to keep them locked up. let's face it, that's what iran does. it pumps oil and puts people in jail, by and large. they don't have many cards in their deck, but they do know how to take hostages and do know how to trade them and are holding on to them for as long as they possibly can. maybe they want to trade them later on when more sanctions are being placed on them for developing nuclear weapons. >> how is it playing out politically between the two nations? >> we don't have direct

diplomatic relations with iran. things are not necessarily getting any better. and the united states is getting very frustrated because there are other people in this mix like russia, for example, who are not assisting us in putting sanctions on iran to get them to stop developing nuclear weapons. and the principle reason for that is russia has great deep economic interests inside iran. as a result, iran will continue to play this out as long as it possibly can, will do absolutely nothing about releasing the people or stop nuclear weapons until somebody forces them to do it and iran is convinced that nobody is really going to force them to do anything including releasing these hostages. >> okay. more to come certainly on this. colonel jack jacobs, thanks. you have heard the impression or expression, everything is big in texas. there's an exception in ft. worth. little horsies from around the globe will be entered to compete for prizes worth $250,000.

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precise. words alone aren't enough. my job is to listen to the needs and frustrations of the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel or restaurant workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. our job is to listen and find ways to help. that means working with communities. restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-payer expense. i know people are wondering-- now that the well is capped,

is bp gonna meet its commitments? i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right. ♪ [ mom ] game time is all about the traditions. it's all about the tackles and the touchdowns... and watching my boys do what they do. but for me, it's even more than that. game time is about our time. together. [ female announcer ] get low prices on all your favorites for the game. save money. live better. walmart.

nbc is kicking off a nationally broadcast in depth conversation about improving education in america. during an interactive summit on rockefeller plaza, parents, teachers and students are coming together with leaders in politics and business to discuss the challenges and opportunities in education today. it officially starts tomorrow with teacher town hall hosted by brian while yams live here on msnbc from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. eastern time. we are going to give you a sneak peek starting at 11:30 a.m. eastern as well. also check out educationnation.com. there you can find out where your school ranks nationally and within your state. you can also take a quiz with your child about learning so it is all at educationnation.com.

interesting stuff there, check it out. in just two days legendary washington post reporter bob woodward's new behind the scenes look at the president will hit the store shelves. don't be fooled by the title. "obama's wars" isn't about afghanistan and iraq, it is about afghanistan to be sure, but the other wars are the internal ones in the white house over finding the right strategy for afghanistan. and even though early excerpts show the key decision makers in afghanistan are duking it out, top white house aids say that are satisfied with the way it portrays the president. richard wolffe is an nbc news contributor and analyst. good morning. >> good morning. >> from what you read on the book, what's your take? >> woodward kids did a spectacular job of getting behind the curtain and finding out the granule detail of the policy debates. they were debates though that were extensively reported at the time. and the divisions between the generals and the white house, between members of the administration and each other,

they are broadly what we know is extraordinary, as i said, is the kind of conversation, the color, the detail, and in the case of the book as well, the actual documents that he's reprinted. the president's term sheets on the expansion of the military thing. capping that in the book is remarkable. >> yeah, it is. but in terms of the president and the way he comes off, he appears to be fully engaged in afghanistan. and he's asking the right questions at least. is that why his advisers are saying he comes off unscathed personally speaking? >> he comes off as someone who wanted to make sure the generals were following his order. he's the commander in chief here, so the criticism from the right that's come out of the little snip-its from the book is that he takes too much time or he somehow is blaise about a possible terror attack. that doesn't track what woodward is portraying here and i think

the white house likes the image of the president who is very, very careful about a huge expansion of the military presence in afghanistan. >> always a key thing to strategy militarily speaking is the exit strategy here. and the report is that the president wanted an exit strategy. the war advisers did not provide one, so did they fail him in that sense, richard? couldn't they at least provided one exit option? >> well, this is still something of a gray area. not because of the way the white house has spoken about it or the way the president has spoken about it, but the idea that troops will begin to be drawn down next summer, starting next summer. not that they will all leave, but the process will begin next summer. there was a timeline built into this. and the notion, although clearly expressed by the president, has been doubted by the generals. there have even been certain question marks raised by the secretary of defense, robert gates. so that is an area that is still

the mull tear, including the civilian leadership of the military, that wants to be relitigated. and what you see is a president trying to be as clear as he possibly can be, but that is, in fact, the timeline he wants to stick to. >> what do you think the ramifications will be richard when word gets out when it gets out there are top military leader who is say we are going to be in this for a long time to come, perhaps during our children's lifetime? >> yeah, you know, there's a quote in the book via senator lindsey graham suggesting that the president only did this because he was concerned about democratic politics. in fact, i think that you can see across the board americans on all sides saying that kind of commitment is not something that is in this country's interest. if you put the president, mind the politics of it, the president's view compared to what the generals think, there's a gab there between what the country supports and what the military thinks is desirable and

achievable. that's where the president has to wrestle with things not just military objectives. >> is there a viable exit strategy out there notwithstanding the book, but one out there being commonly or currently discussed? >> the question is what is the goal? if the goal is to take on al qaeda, then, yes, there's an exit strategy. if it's nation building if it's to stand up a fully functioning afghan bede mockeracy which was the outlines of what president bush was going for, then that exit strategy is a couple of generations away. that's where this president has tried to refocus the mission and, obviously, there are folks in the military who say give us more time. more troops. we can get to a different result. >> richard wolffe, we always appreciate your focus. it say royal embarrassment. should queen elizabeth be getting money from a fund for the poor to pay for heat at buckingham palace? but the times have changed. get the facts at remax.com. it's a great place to see all the listings

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pastor eddie long is

fighting accusations of coercing minors in his congregation. nbc's ron mott has the latest from atlanta. >> for years, he's been an outspoken opponent of homosexuality. >> we anticipate the future. >> but friday, a fourth lawsuit was filed against popular preacher eddie long for allegedly coaxing teenage boys into sex, charge he's denied through surrogates this week. >> all i ask is for your patience as we continue to categorically deny each and every one of these ugly charges. >> reporter: the four now men are former members of long's new birth mega church. the main campus in georgia and a satellite church in north carolina. >> there is recognized a special duty of a pastor, a bishop, a rabbi. any spiritual leader that you cannot have a sexual relationship or an intimate relationship in any way with any of your parishioneparishioners. >> the lawsuits contend long

wooed the men with gifts, money and jobs on the church payroll, exposing them to the pastor's world of luxury travel and comfort. long has not yet addressed the allegations publicly. church officials say he plans to do that on sunday in front of his congregation. >> somebody needs to celebrate that moment. >> reporter: ron mott, nbc news, atlanta. across the pond in england, the royal family is take heat this morning. it all has to do with the queen trying to play bills at the palace. let's get the details from nbc's jen jenny wibble in london. what's going on with the queen and the heat and the palace? >> the queen has always had a bit of a reputation for being frugal. in her defense, we are talking about big utility bills here. she has to pay around $1.5 million a year. and you know, times are hard. >> we are fresh out of a recession and it seems even the queen is counting the royal pennies. according to documents unearthed by a british newspaper, someone

at buckingham palace wrote to the government to ask for their share of a special fund which was really designed for people on low incomes. the money had been set aside to upgrade rickety old heating systems to make them more energy efficient. no doubt buckingham palace and windsor castle fit that bill. the problem is the kweeb is generally considered to be way above the poverty line. a spokeswoman for buckingham palace has said royal aides didn't know the money was earmark forward the poor when they wrote the letters. and they were just trying save the taxpayer money by improving energy efficiency. as you can imagine, this has got to be hugely embarrassing for the queen and the royal household. the queen is among the wealthiest people in britain. not the richest actually. even j.k. rowling has more money that her highness these days but she's certainly in the top 200 so really embarrassing. >> how about the taxpayers there in britain. what are they saying about this? >> well, the taxpayer, they

already fund the royal household to the tune of $60 million a year. so you can imagine that they might be a little bit annoyed at hearing that the queen was trying to dip into a fund that was earmarked for people on a low income. but really, we're not unreasonable over here. and i think we all kind of understand this was a genuine mistake. the queen clearly didn't realize that was what this was for. and also in her defense, buckingham palace it is a big, old drafty place and really her heating system probably does need to be upgraded. >> i was going to say. probably needs a little work from the ground up. jenny wibble, thank soechs. lindsay losan is free again. how does she keep getting out of jail? is she getting preferential treatment? and police in the miami area are chasing leads in the search for three bank robbers. but they won't have surveillance cam troos help them. we'll explain all that. there's new motrin pm.

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of the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel or restaurant workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. our job is to listen and find ways to help. that means working with communities. restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-payer expense. i know people are wondering-- now that the well is capped, is bp gonna meet its commitments? i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right. no, that's the name of the new oreo cookie. what's the name of the new oreo cookie? [ eli ] heads or tails.