kick ad in west virginia. and a student's sex list goes viral. one duke university student rates the men she's slept with. she never expected it would end up in the hands of others. and the small town in california made headlines when people learned how much city officials were getting paid. that town is not alone. it is happening across our country. we have a list of salaries that will shock you. and the party that could cost students more than their tuition. police slapped them with $86,000 in fine for a party? is that crossing the line? we're going to discuss that. and we begin with big political news in key races across the country. with the november midterms 26 days away, in new york carl paladino is planning a statewide address in just a few hours. he has bought three minutes of tv time at 5:13 p.m. eastern time. what does he plan to say, and

why is it such a mystery? in florida another tea party backed republican marco rubio just finished a town hall meeting. it follows last night's heated debate in the senate race between rubio, governor charlie crist, running as an independent and democrat kendrick meek. >> i think it's always nice to listen to the governor attack myself for positions he himself held six months ago when he was trying to be the biggest conservative in the world. >> you haven't been drinking the kool-aid, you've been drinking too much tea. >> you don't know where charlie crist is. >> kelly o'donnell joins me live in washington. a lot to talk about. carl paladino with the mystery announcement. you have now apology offered to joe mansion in west virginia. >> well, he's the democrat governor of west virginia who have very popular in the state. yet he's in a tight race to get the senate seat that belonged

robert byrd for so many years. it was expected mansion would have an easy victory. polling suggests something else. so the story here is an ad that was meant to convey an idea of voters who like joe mansion as governor but didn't want to send him to washington. the ad is called stop obama. it's been running. it was paid for by the national republican senatorial committee. they cast actors. they were hired to play roles of people in west virginia. people of modest means. they put out terms like hickey and things really unflattering. that has been a real problem. >> anyway, meaning they had a short shelf life. just at a time when they are

saying to people would be better served by the republican candidate. here they go hiring actors to play the citizens. in this case they were caught in with an unflattering betrayal. the committee says it wasn't them, it was a third-party group putting out thing call. so joe mansion gets help by having the ad pulled. >> let's talk about nevada sharron angle in a two-point lead over harry reid. >> this is a significant race. it has been a race where she's been closing the gap, and then getting an edge on harry reid. this close to the election, this is really difficult for reid, who has been trying to pull out all the stops. the basic theme is to portray

sharron angle as crazy, using the word in some of his campaign materials. and she's been coming on strong. a lot of issues about her qualifications and certainly criticism about her. and this is playing to the idea that this could be a crazy year. >> let's talk about colorado quickly. there's a third debate there tonight. >> ken buck. he's the republican. and he's the tea apparent candidate. he's up against michael bennet, the democrat apointed to the seat. michael bennet was someone who would never run for office, did well in the primary and has grown into the role. buck is leading in colorado. they sometimes go through changes about whether it's more democrat or more republican. canada bu buck who had a lifetime working in law enforcement as and an attorney and district attorney, that kind of background is doing well.

buck seems to be leading in all the polling we're looking at. >> big 2010 wrap there. thank you very much. president obama is about to leave the white house. he's headed to maryland and then his hometown of chicago, where he will spend the evening campaigning for democrats. let's brick in nbc news washington bureau chief mark whitaker. let's talk about the things happening here. first i want to talk about the huge amount of money being spent particularly by the republican outside groups this year. >> it's true. it's been a factor in the politics for a while. we now have a group called american crossroads, raising a lot of money. he's not diz closclosing the do. some of the developments in the races are showing for all the money these candidates spend, they can get up ended by the

surprises. we saw that in california with meg whitman and the allegations she hired an illegal on her domestic -- in her household. she spent a huge amount of money. now she has to spend her time and money defending that. carl paladino taking out commercials to answer charges about unscripted remarks that he's made. for all the money that goes into these things, ultimately it's how the candidates perform on the campaign trail in the unscripted moments that probably ends up making a bigger difference. >> absolutely. something i'm curious if this will make a big difference. he's not a candidate. but he's still vocal. newt gingrich has branded the democrats as the party of food stamps and republicans as the party of paychecks. >> this is classic newt gingrich. on one level it's very provocative. but it's also smart. a big factor in this election

season is the resentment out there on a lot of people that a lot of the money coming out of washington now for the stimulus, for the health care package and so forth is going to people frankly who some people think don't really deserve it. don't work hard. >> that's so shocking. there's a new number out 48.1 million americans receiving food stamps. that's a lot of people. >> so newt is trying to play into the ventments. the challenge for the democrats is to answer that and to say, look, we're in a realtime of economic need here. where the fact is a lot of people do need the government. if not for food stamps, for unemployment insurance and so forth. >> mark whitaker live for us in the washington bureau. thanks, mark. and we have breaking news out of philadelphia. the the international airport there transportation security officials have ordered passengers off of us airways plane because of a security breach.

someone without a security badge was reportedly helping to load the plane, prompting the evacuation. the flight was bound for bermuda. the plane has towed to a secure area and is being searched. and residents in colorado bracing for severe weather traveling up to their state. the same storm system ripped through belmont, arizona, area on wednesday producing four tornadoes and winds with speeds of up to 110 miles per hour. look at this damage. people shaken by what happened. >> kids were getting scared. they ran into the room and got in bed with mom and dad. he said he saw the eye of the tornado. and he said he could see the lightning in the eye of the tornado. >> the weather channel's julie martin joins us live with more of the damage right behind you. hi, julie. >> reporter: yeah, a lot of damage here.

and a lot of people shaking their heads. no tornadoes ever happen in arizona. only four a year throughout the entire state. yesterday the national weather service confirmed at least four coming through this very area. you can see a lot of folks out now trying to make sense of it. cleaning up the debris and assessing the damage done to their homes. 30 completely uninhabitable. we've seen everything from shingles off of roofs to entire roo roofs lifted off the buildings, as people were inside them, mind you. no one was seriously injured. this the wee hours of the morning as people were sleeping and very unexpecting and unassuming here in arizona. now it's headed towards colorado. but the system has lost a lot of

steam. so they hope it's not compared to what the people here in arizona are having to deal with now. >> julie, thank you very much. incredible video. the booum administration is denying a new report that says the white house stopped government scientists from telling the public just how bad the bp oil spill was or could become. the report is issued by the national oil spill commission. it says the administration gave the false impression that most of the oil in the gulf was gonety the end of the summer. robert gibbs says the administration never withheld the most accurate and timely. he is expecting a call from mexican president with the update on the search for the body of an american shot dead u on o border lake by pirates. it's been one week since tiffany and her husband were attacked by pirates while jet skiing along a lake, skrad ling the texas/mexico border.

janet shamlian has more for us. >> now mexican authorities have boats in the water on the mexican side of falcon lake reservoir, and what they call specialized personnel involved in this effort. that information has been corroborated by united states officials who have seen those resources at work in falcon lake reservoir. this comes one week after the attack there, and tiffany hartley, david hartley's bride is asking for the body to be returned. they zid not go onto the mexico side of the reservoir, but they stayed on the u.s. side. they threw flowers in the water. said some prayers. for them they said it's as much closure as they can get at this point. meanwhile we're hering from

texas politicians. three congressmen here called for steps up efforts. to detour border violence. and as you may have hard. texas governor rick perry called on mexico's president, calderon, to get this man's body returned to the united states so his family can have closure to this incident. that's the latest from here, tamron. now back to you. >> thank you, janet. coming up, a duke university student creates, if you can believe it, a mock thesis on her sexual partners. little did she know, but she probably should have expected, it's now public. then democrats are getting support from a group that they would least expect. why the nra is now backing a lot of candidates on the left. plus -- super women. who is the most powerful woman in the world? not wonderwoman. some of these women. we're going to tell you who makes the top of the list. stufy, can i get a refill?

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welcome back. a graphic and embarrassing sex list has gone viral. a female student from duke university wrote a 42-page mock thesis that includes the names, pictures, and performance rank of some of the university's top athletes. and not their performance on the field. nbc's jeff rossen has more from north carolina. >> reporter: hi, tamron. this one is a doozy. people gossip with their friends all the time about sex, i've been told, but this is something different. a woman named karen owen, when she was a student here at duke. she had sex, she claims, with more than a dozen men. most of them duke lacrosse players on the team, present and former players. but she sat down at her computer

and wrote out this 42-page power point presentation detailing their sexual performance, pictures of the men, their names, everything. she sent it to a few friends, and then it was leaked everywhere. that's her, karen owens. the most infamous author at duke. she's naming names. karen ranked their performance on a bar graph. we're hiding their identities, though karen didn't. she wrote it like a thesis. excelling in the realm of horizontal academics. she writes about her sexual exploits from her sophomore year through her senior year at duke. she just graduated. karen calls each money a subject and sex with them, data collection. she brags about having sex in the duke library during finals week, and in suvs. but karen also came off vicious, saying of subject number one, it was over too quickly. here on the duke campus, it's the hot topic.

>> i skimmed parts of it. it was very detailed. >> karen says she often met the min at campus bars, like shooters, the sex often fueled by alcohol. in my blackout stage still managed to crawl into bed with a duke athlete. she claims all of them were athletes. most duke lacrosse players. a sensitive issue since the duke lacrosse scandal of 2006. a stripper accused three players of rain and at a team party. in 2007 the charges were dropped, but the damage was done some here say this new sex scandal won't help the reputation. >> this is the last thing this university needed. >> karen's thesis has gone viral, posted on several rankings. she sent the presentation to a few friends. then they e-mailed it around. then they e-mailed it. and so on. a growing problem. >> nothing is amongst friends. if it's shared online, it's shared with the entire world. young people need to realize

every time they hit send, it's like a bullet leaving a gun you can never get back. >> still karen seemed proud of her work, writing got some fantastic stories for the grand kids. but things have clearly changed. while karen wouldn't speak with us on camera for this story, another is reporting they interviewed karen since this was released. she said she regrets it and wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone on the list. by the way, we reached out to duke university. a spokesman from here wouldn't go on camera but said the well being of their student is a top concern and the they're reaching out to everybody involved. >> with me now is nationally syndicated talk show host, michael smerconish. i cannot wait to hear your thoughts on this. i really can't. >> she's going to laugh all the way to the bank. >> how? >> come on. are you kidding me? the only question is who plays her in the movie, and what is it rated? >> well, that movie is somewhat

called porn. there are things out there already with sexual exploits and people having a lot of it. what is she going to make money for? i don't understand. it's not like a heidi fleiss where her sex partners were rich politicians. >> tamron, are you joking? america can't get enough of this. i heard she's been spotted with balloon boy standing next to the guy from jetblue wh went out of the airplane. i looked at the poir point point. it is sophisticated. i am not buying the idea that she made this for three girlfriends. i figure she's sitting back laughing and watching the exposure she got, knowing it would have happened. online there are already individuals from publishing houses trying to get in touch with her and saying she's a good writer. we could see this as a novel. >> michael, if that is true, i'm blown away. maybe i'm naive. i'm no angel. but this is shocking to me. hooim no devil, either. let's get that clear.

but, michael, i am stun that had this happened. also the boys. normally when i grew up the stereotype is boys would share these intimate stories. what about these guys? they are a part of this? should they sue her? can they sue her? you're a lawyer. >> some of these guys have a right to be upset. some of them have a right to be proud. have you read these entries? >> i'm leaving. yes, michael i'm sure some of them could be proud. but their parents! come on. what do you think her parents are thinking? you're a dad. >> you know what i'm thinking -- >> i would send her to a nunnery. >> 25 years ago when they were putting together the internet or perhaps longer than that, i'm sure they never envisioned the harmful f when you think about the serious aspects with the gentleman from rutgers last week. it's amazing how many people's lives are hurt by the advent of this technology. this will be subject cleaned up of a dinner conversation, yet again, in my house, where we

discuss the payroerils of touch the send key. >> one it's out of the gun, you can't pull it back. that's a great way to think about it. i'm happy i don't have kids. good luck with that one. >> thanks. >> thank you very much. next, a wave of toxic red sludge reaches the mighty rooifr. we have the latest on this environmental disaster and the potential it could be spreading. an an underground nightmare in chile is close to being over. one of the trapped miners could see the light of day by this weekend. and the cost of this precious metal hits a record high. ring ring ring ring

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right now emergency officials in hungary are watching the danube river after

toxic sludge seeped into the western branch. experts say they've contained mch of the massive leak, and the levels are dropping to a safer ring. the sludge has left more than 100 people with chemical burns. they're still monitoring the toxicity and dying fish. and new claims for unemployment benefits fell for the fourth time in five weeks. key numbers come out tomorrow morning when the lay dor department releases the monthly unemployment report. retailers reported solid sales gains in september. much of the credit is going to back to school shopping. mortgage rates fell to this their lowest levels in decades. the nationwide average dropped to 4.27%. let's check wall street and see how things are shaping up. we'll keep you up to date on those things. the 14-year-old girl who is the

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43% say no difference. >> i think it's a broad brush. the insider polls are always very interesting. we want to open them up because a lot of the people polled are insiders and sources working the media business. i think what the white house is saying is that's fine. we understand there are a lot of districts around the country where a visit by the president is not going to help. we've seen a number of places where the candidates are running away from the president and the signature achievements of the health care by their likes. student loan reform, health care reform, you name it. there are districts where the president can help. that's to wit something we just learned from the briefing from robert gibbs a few moments ago. that is michelle obama, obviously the first lady, recently named by forbes magazine as the most powerful woman in the world will be joining the president on the campaign trail october 17th in columbus and cleveland, ohio.

we've known that the first lady was going to be on the campaign trail now. the idea is for her to fire up the base. last night we heard the president say yet again to democrats, stop sulking. we can't have this and keep our majorities in the house of representatives and the senate. a continuing effort by the white house. more travel on the way. the president has plenty more trips. another rally sunday in philadelphia. he has an mtv event coming up later this month. he has a number of other things. >> thank you, mike. this sunday on "meet the press" david gregory kicks off the debate series. it's sunday. it is "meet the press." another big story. the nra is setting sites on an unlikely target in advance of the november midterms. democrats. the pro-gun advocacy group is

endorsing 58 house democrats over republicans. 14 of them actually in close races because they share what a like mined view on second-amendment rights. we know historically the gop has been able to count on support from the nra. why the sudden drastic change? ben pershing joins me to talk about it. thanks for joining us, ben. >> thank you. >> what has been the republican response to this shift by the nra? >> well, there's some frustration on the republican side. what's important here is it's not a total shift. the nra supports some democrats. if you look at the close races. the big races that everybody agrees will be competitive. a lot of democrats in the race, the majority of democratic incumbents are getting an endorsement. republicans are frustrated. maybe these democrats are conservative. maybe they support gun rights. but nancy pelosi doesn't. the nra is doing something bad

for its own interest by backing democrats in the tough races. >> how much of this is based on, and this is a question many people are asking, ben, on the disclosed act, the democrats' disclosure act? >> i think that was part of it. they discloeed the campaign finance bill that was moved by the house earlier this year. the nra cut a deal with democratic leaders on the bill to exempt tnra from disclosing information about the donors. that's a case where conservative democrats in the house helped the nra with their cause. now the nra is supporting them in return. the broader issue is the nra thinks it's useful. it's good business to have allies in both parties. >> that would seem logical for the democrats. how are the democrats explaining this? you know 14 of these races are very tight. will the nra or could the nra really make a difference? >> they might. a lot of the races are in conservative leaning republican districts. rural districts with a lot of gun owners with the nra's stamp

of approval is important. don't vote for these democrats. they're too liberal. here the democrats can say i'm independent. i have the nra's backing. >> ben pershing, greatly appreciate your joining us. the trapped chilean miners could see the light of day as soon as tomorrow. rescue workers are drilling into the last 300 feet of the rock to reach the miners. the most critical phase of the mission will be pulling the men out from beneath about a half mile to the surface. the men have not been told how close they are to be freed in order to avoid disappointment for the mission is delayed for some reason. nbc's kerry sanders joins us from chile. kerry, the team and i were talking. you have to lift these individuals in the capsule one by one. this could still be a slow process. >> reporter: a very slow process. let's talk about the great

progress being made. the whole that they're digging, 20 inches around there or across it's almost done. the government officials believe it may be done friday or saturday. that's a moment for the families to cheer. that means the shaft is now completely open. i'm going to step out of the way to take a look at where they're drilling. you may see cameras and reporters in the foreground. that's because everybody is waiting for what is a dress rehearsal here. they're getting ready to go through the motions of what they think they will do after those miners are brought up. now, if you think about it, they're doing a rehearsal because they're very close to getting these guys out of there. initially, earlier this week, there were a lot of hopes and anticipation, tamron they may be pulling people out of here by saturday. today they reset the stage on that. now they're talking perhaps maybe wednesday. the real question is whether the hole, the shaft that they have

drilled down, when it's finally complete. whether it needs to be reinforced with a metal sleeve. basically they put a pipe down there, pane when they put the pipe down there, and then they reinforce it so as the men come up no rocks can collapse in on them. it's unclear if they're going to put the sleeve in there, whether it's really needed. whether it creates more problems than it answers. and whether they can get it down there. the shaft goes more like this. it's not just a straight shaft. because the drill went like this. very hard to get the pipes all the way down to where the men are. >> kerry sanders live for us in chile. the girl who plays dora the explorer sues nickelodeon. dora? >> dora the explorer, hugely popular kid show. the voice of the show is claiming in a lawsuit that she was forced to file a very

dubious contract, one overly complicated. and she's been perhaps cheated out of millions and millions of dollars. she signed the contract in 2007. dora the explorer has been on air for 10 years. she was 12 when she signed in 2007. one would think they knew the popularity of the show and what would be in the contract. but she's claiming she should have gotten a better deal. viacom and nickelodeon says we knew this was coming. it's without merit. interesting to see that sort of thing happen. >> it's actually her parents, right? because she's a minor. >> yes. be watching to see what happens there. you mentioned "glee" versus the beatles. never thought one could be more popular than the beatles. they have surpassed the beatles for the most appearances on the billboard top 100 chart by a nonsolo act. they have six new -- glee as six new debuts on the top 100 chart.

gives it a grand total of 75 appearances on the chart. it shows the massive popularity of "glee." it speaks of the popularity of the songs they're covering. they're putting a new spin on it. we have great music history. but the show itself, it just keeps burning up every chart imaginable. "dancing with the stars," another palin may have been on "dancing with the stars," sarah palin said at a speaking engagement that todd palin was approached to be on "dancing with the stars." fortunately, she didn't say what order if it happened. if it was todd and they got bristol. or if they want ad father/daughter duo. she said it would have been cool to see todd there, but, alas, he's not. someone has to stay home and mind the house in alaska. >> so your final topic. >> michael douglas. his reps say he's having the

last week of treatment for stage three throat cancer. he's understood gone about eight weeks now. doctors will determine if he needs anything more. as of now, everybody feels good about it. what's expected next is six weeks of rest and recuperating. things are turning for the best it would seem. >> that's good news. for the latest entertainment news, log onto scoop.todayshow.com. or be a fan on facebook. >> like us. >> i like you very much. well, a salary scandal rocked a california town earlier this year. now we are learning about similar stories across the country. county workers making hundreds of thousands of dollars despite huge budget shortfalls in their towns. plus food stamp users in new york city may not be able to buy certain soft drinks if the mayor and governor get their way. details next. (announcer dr.g gel soles with t different gels for softness and support... ...are outrageously comfortable.

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volatile trading day in two months. prices shot to a record high. up above 1,364 an ounce. then dipped again just a short moment ago. the dip marked a swing of $17.65 in just one day. hard times for state and local governments across the country. with many facing huge budget shortfalls. however, many government workers still getting rich at taxpayer expense. we're joined by mike brunker from msnbc.com. we have research to prove that some people are getting away with what should be criminal. what did you find? >> yeah, we did a quick survey. my colleague bob sullivan wrote a column that did a quick survey of some of what he found as far as salaries and perks and pensions for public workers around the country. then he invited readers to offer their kribss.

we got more than a thousand tips in, which we turned around and checked out. we found cases where people are appearing to making astronomical amounts of money. then retiring on generous pensions. >> some of the things that you found shock you? what are the numbers? >> well, there's a lot of good cases in there. we ran a list of the top 20 that grabbed our attention and we're continuing to dig into the tips that were submitted. the one is former police chief in fooe who retired two years ago for -- received a 562,000 lump sum payout. started collecting a dplr 90,000 a year pension and was promptly rehired as the city's public safety manager. he's again making $190,000 a year. >> and you found it interesting thing in vegas as well. firefighters, they're making a lot of money.

>> yeah. firefighters in a number of locals do quite well. often through lots of overtime that piles up. so, half a million dollar salary is not all that unheard of if you're a fire captain or a police captain. >> it's interesting. we were talking about this segment. when you see firefighters, obviously, because they put their lives on the line, they rush in while everyone else is rushing out is the saying. you see how or at least you want those men and women to be rewarded for their heroism and helping them. other jobs that may be shocking as well. what did you find in hyland park, illinois? >> hyland park, illinois? i don't have that one on the tip of my tongue unfortunately. i can offer you one from norfolk, virginia, where we found an employee who wasn't making all that much money. $29,000 a year. but she was paid on administrative leave 12 years

ago and continued to collect the salary, the whole time. even though she was no longer working. >> what a list, mike. go to msnbc.com to see more of it. a lot of talk about there. so, here's a question. we talked about who has money. who has the power? that's the question "forbes" magazine is acting. first lady michelle obama ranks number one on the world's most powerful women. she's a force for school nutrition, military affairs and a fashion icon. the ceo of kraft foods is second. oprah winfrey is third. hillary clinton is rounding out the top five. the ceo of pepsi is number six. coming up, the house party could cost three students $28,000 a piece. do their fines cross the line for a party?

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well, there's a lot going on today. here are things we thought you should show. new developments in the investigation of john edwards' finances. during his 2008 presidential run federal prosecutors issue ad new round of subpoenas. edwards' attorney says his client has nothing to hide. new york city michael bloomberg and david paterson want new yorkers to watch their waistlines. they don't want people on food stamps to be able to use the stamps to buy sugary drinks. if the u.s. department of agriculture approves this, it would be the first time an item would be banned based solely on nutritional value. and you may never see president obama and sarah palin face off in a presidential election, but you can see them face off on the basketball

court. the new nba jam video game for wii pits politicians against each other. and there's a team of democrats, including the president, vice president, clinton, al gore. on the gop team, former president george w. bush, sarah palin, dick cheney. that is some lineup. those are the things we thought you should know. crossing the line? you tell me. the beastie boys famously said you have to fight for your right to party. i messed that up. here's the story. three students at the university of wisconsin of madison were fined $28,000 each for throwing a massive kegger on campus, more than enough to ruin's anyone buzz. madison police slapped the trio with more than 130 citations, including 21 counts of adults encouraging underage alcohol

consumption. it costs $21,000 a year to go to the number 12 party school in the nation. spokesperson for the madison wisconsin police department joins ne now. joe, thanks for joining me. >> hey, no problem. >> i get the underage drinking problem. we know the dangers there. but that fine for partying, why such a steep penalty? >> well, this was our city attorney that determined the number of counts. our officers didn't issue the number. the number came out of the city attorney's office. these are the maximum fines. at the end of the day, based on the future behavior, the host of the party will may a much smaller portion. if you levy fines. the behavior isn't going to change. we see this as a real public safety issue. these large uncontrolled house parties. we've sheen in the past have spawned crimes like sexual assaults, battery, thefts, criminal damage to properties. i think the $86,000 is attracting to headlines.

check back with the guys in a few months and they don't pay anything near that. >> what do you think they would end up paying in the end? >> this would be something for the city attorney to work out. i'm not sure where that will end up. but on any college campus people have to understand if you're having a large uncontrolled party, you're inviting anyone into your home. in madison, we don't just have college students, we have predators and thieves. >> you make great points, joe. let me ask you as well. i understand when the police got there, the kids didn't come clean. they tried to cover it up. a lot f it could have been worked out if they had been honest, if you. >> that's true, tamron. these guys barricaded the house in terms of locking the door, turning out the lights. it took our officers quite a while to get in there. we've seen in past cases where we may have females passed out inside homes and we need to make sure everybody is safe. they didn't let us in right away. certainly another party that we

cited earlier that night that caught no headlines because they got a much smaller fine. >> joel, it is a talker. a lot of people may have gone in thinking one thing but you make a great case for the other side of this one. thank you, joel. >> you have a good day, tamron. >> you've heard joel explain the police side of this. go to tamron.msnbc.com. or twitter me your response. twitter.msnbc.com. now the result of wednesday's vote. did a connecticut high school cross the line by wearing uniforms that made them feel uncomfortable? 67% of you said yes, the school crossed the line. 33% of you say no. well, that wraps up this hour. thank you so much for joining me. i'm tamron hall. thomas roberts picks up things next. you're watching msnbc. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthetic genomics

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think pink. is this all a pr helping finding a cure for breast cancer? we're going to explore it. and the electronic system that monitors sex offenders goes down for 12 hours. you wonder how can that happen? we will talk about it. we're also going to talk to the boss later in this hour. hi, everybody. great to have you with us today. i'm thomas roberts, and i do appreciate your time. we are keeping a close eye on baltimore, maryland, where president obama is aing a rally for the governor o'malley. he is facing former governor robe robert ehrlich in his re-election bid. o'malley leads ehrlich by 11 points among likely voters. that's one race the democrats are looking to ke