the jobs puzzle. we get the last critical read on unemployment before the midterm election as the president hits the campaign trail. so what's the message? closer to freed doom. any moment now weekend get word of a critical break through in attempts to rescue the trapped miners. it is 66 days and counting. seller beware. you could end up getting ripped off in a rush to cash in on your gold jewelry. the race at the box office

is probably one of the most famous horses of all hitting the big screen. is it worth a look? that's about the movie "secretariat" not john lennon turning 70 today. good morning, i'm alex witt. welcome to msnbc saturday. we'll go to the jobs market and the last unemployment report bleaker than once forecast. the unemployment rate is holding steady at 9.6%. nbc's lynn barry is live with all the details and with a good saturday morning to you, lynn, my friend. we'll talk about the respective on these numbers. >> the labor department's new figures mean there are now 14.8 million americans out of work. as you said, the rate holding at 9.6%. that's actually better than some people had anticipated. but consider this, the jobless rate has now topped 9.5% for 14 straight months. that's the longest stretch since

the 1930s. now, keep in mind that's just unemployment. now, dig deeper and we find there are nearly 27 million americans that are underemployed. here's what that means, they have been forced to settle for part-time work but prefer a full-time job, or they have stopped looking for work altogether. take that consideration and the rate jumped to 17.1%. >> yeah, we don't want to go there. who is it, lynn, having luck out there in the job market and who is being left behind? >> we have the 95,000 total jobs lost, so we'll break that down. we have the private sector that actually gained 64,000 jobs, but that was the weakest showing since june. and we'll get into that in a minute, but the economy lost 159,000 government jobs, about half of that at the local level. now, most of those local government jobs were in education, that means teachers who were laid off with the school year ending in the spring, but the payroll was when

they were on in the summer. that's why the layoffs are showing up now. and this was the biggest cut in 28 years. so obviously, the big question, where are the jobs and who is hiring? that's what everyone wants to know, especially anyone at home out of work. well, september's job gains in the private sector came mostly from restaurants and bars, health care and temporary help. unfortunately, a lot of those restaurant jobs don't pay nearly as well as the government jobs that were lost and they generally don't amount for as good of benefits and so on and so fort. >> okay. the dow jones industrial average is now above 11,000 points since the first time in may, so that puts a smile on our faces, right? >> absolutely. we'll take anything we can get. it closed up to 11,006. analysts say the bleak jobs report drove the dow up, which seems counter intuitive, but the dismal numbers could mean that the federal reserve will likely take new steps to improve the

economy when it meets in november. and i just want to take you down memory lane here for a second, that is an interesting side about the dow. today marks the three-year anniversary of the indices all-time high. right here, october 9th, 2007, the dow was at more than 14,164, alec, that's compared to right now, 11,006. now back to reality. >> that was then, this is now. that was a nice then though. thank you very much, lynn barry, as always. we'll get a bit more insight on all this. we have a chief investment officer here with us. good morning to you, nice to see you. what is your take away? >> i think the jobs report is very feasible. a lot of people are pointing to the private sector job that is actually went up, but the fact of the matter is we lost jobs altogether. >> well, if you look to the period before the recession, you look at the number three years ago today when lynn was talking

about the dow, before the recession it was a 6% unemployment rate, i believe, is where we were. at some point, are we going to see that again and when? >> i think it will take a long time before we get down to the low 6% again. assuming that the gdp rose 3% to 4% a year, i'm not sure that's going to happen any time soon, but if it did it would take us five years to get back to the previous estimates. >> it is not across the board the same for all americans. i want to break a little bit of that down because the unemployment rate is 15.4% for people with no high school degree, for high school grads it is 10%, people with a bit of college, 9.1%. college grads, 4.4%. what does that tell you about the jobs out there? >> you have to have a good education in order to get a good job. people who don't have the skills are the ones that have the most

difficult time, and that's typically the case. a lot of the jobs we have lost have been in construction. as a result, those are jobs that don't really require that much or many skills easy to pick up. but skills that come with a good education will keep you employed during difficult times. >> thank you so much, ron. good to see you. gold is hitting an all-time high as more americans try to cash in. we have a warning about a spike in complaints against gold-buying companies. we'll have details for you at the bottom of the hour. a frightening ferry trip for 240 people in the baltic sea after the ship caught fire. 22 people were injured. all passengers and crew were rescued. an explosion on the upper deck started the fire. it is not clear what caused the blast. firefighters are now trying to cool down the ship to keep it from breaking apart. they have been trapped underground for more than two months, and in just hours the drillers in chile expect to

break through to a chamber where3 miners are trapped. telemundo's andy is live for us. can you give us a status of the escape shaft and how soon it will be before the men are actually rescued? >> reporter: good morning, alex. a lot of excitement today outside the san jose mine. the drill is 1300 feet away from the miners, and we are understand they are talking to them. the minister of mining is just right around this area, he's about to make an announcement. and that announcement could be that the final face of the rescue is on its way. alex? >> how exciting. i tell you, we'll be waiting for the announcement of the official word there. but the families of the trapped miners, angie, what are they saying as they are so close to seeing their loved ones again? >> reporter: it has been more than two months. they have very happy and nervous

because they are afraid the rescue capsule could get stuck on its way up, so anything could happen. alex? >> that is for sure. angie, just give me a perspective as to how many reporters like you are there covering this story. i mean, it is a huge story gaining global attention. do you see that in the numbers of people around you? >> reporter: it is an amazing sight. this camp hope has become like a city. there are hundreds of reporters and photographers from all over the world. from china, from germany, everybody is here. the eyes of the world are here. >> all right. telemundo's angie sandoval, we appreciate that. a new attack on the nate to attackers torched 30 vehicles carrying fuel for the vehicles in afghanistan. this comes two days after the u.s. apologized to pakistan for an accidental air raid to kill

two pakistani soldiers on september 30th. the soldiers were mistaken for insurgents. tom is joining me live from kabul, afghanistan, with more on this. good morning to you, tom. i guess the question is, is this attack retaliation to the accidental air strike? >> reporter: well, no. i think, alex, it is a target of opportunity for the pakistani taliban. all those tankers now gathered at two points from the west of pakistan leading into afghanistan through the area there and through the area where the morning attack happened into afghanistan. while the tankers are not allowed to cross the border, they invite a target for the pakistani taliban. for the past week they have been attacking the counterparts burning up to 80 tankers so far and killing quite a number of local guards there. so far the pakistani government has given no indication to reopen the border. a nato spokesperson here says the lack of fuel is not really

affecting operations here. there are other routes from the knot coming into afghanistan carrying fuel sork they say it has no real effect on military operations for the moment. >>ing i thought some senior officials from pakistan intended to at least open up the borders at some point soon. that's not confirmed? >> reporter: well, in the last couple of days the pakistanis have been going to and from on this. some saying the borders will be open soon, others not. after the apology from the american ambassador in pakistan you mentioned a couple days ago, there were hopes the border would reopen the following day, but that has not happened yet. i suspect there's still some negotiation going on between the americans and the pakistanis about this, possibly connected with overflights or hot pursuit operations into pakistani territory when american forces are chasing pakistani taliban back across the border from afghanistan. all next. >> tom aspen, thank you.

the investigation has been launched into the american shooting of a tourist on a border lake. david heartley was alleged shot and killed by mexican pirates while jet skiing with his wife tiffany a week ago. his body remains missing as do his attackers. in his home state of colorado, family and friends held a rally outside the mexican consulate in denver. his sister wants his body returned. >> we are all secure in our faith that we know he's in a better place. but peace for us to know his body was treated with dignity and respect. and i think the thoughts that go through your mind is to what could have happened is disturbing if anybody thinks about their family not being able to lay them to rest peacefully. >> oh, the pain in that woman's voice. mexico is denying claims and dragging its feet in the investigation. colorado got its first taste of winter. snow fell dusting the trails and

tables there. just under two inches fell. cooler temperatures also allowed crews to begin making snow. for a look at the national forecast, we'll go to bill karins. good morning, bill. >> good saturday morning to you, alex. this will be a gorgeous weekend. so many spots are looking ideal. even our friend in the virgin islands are looking at a much-improved forecast. hurricane otto, yes, a hurricane now, is racing out to the open seas. there was a lot of thunderstorms trailing back behind the storm through the virgin islands and puerto rico, but nose are now ending. otto, a big powerful storm really impressing us, but it didn't hit land. that's great. you can see the rest of the tropical basin looks crystal clear. look down in the gulf of mexico, barely a cloud. there's no clouds off the east coast, so that means a quick, quiet period coming in the tropics. look at the map. you can go anywhere from just about kansas city to d.c. to florida all the way up to new england, and there's no rain out there. barely any cloud cover. the only storms are the weak

ones in the northern plains and the northwest. what a perfect forecast to get out and enjoy the leaves at their peak in new england. 66 in hartford. 62 in buffalo. warmer in d.c. with almost a taste of summer, 82. the rest of the country looks fantastic. the rockies have a chance of showers for billings and in the northwest. that's a look at the saturday forecast. back to you, alex. thank you, bill. it is mystery solved for a car that vanished six months ago. it was not stolen, mother nature moved it. where it turned up next. and also new signs that the midterms could come down to voter turnout. what is being done to get more people out to the polls. they say it is your birthday. beatles fans celebrate john lennon's 70th. we'll talk about it on msnbc saturday. was gathed together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks.

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police in new jersey are looking for a man who may have used children to help him steal from a car. police used this video from last month showing a toddler while directing two children to take items from a car in an atlantic city garage. police know who the man is and the 11-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl are his children. the car swall slowed by a sink hole in california has been recovered six months after it disappeared. the vehicle vanished last april after heavy rains. the honda was found 35 feet down in a hole nose first. the crews are trying to excavate the damaged car to build new drainage in time for rain. and while on a visit to britain, donald trump dropped another hint he may run for president in 2012. he was there to receive a degree from a scottish university. just under three weeks until the midterm elections, and it

could come out to voter turnout. republicans have a nine-point edge of democrats in the likely voter pool. independents make up 31%. 54% of likely voters identify themselves as politically conservative. moderates and liberals are in shorter supply there looking at the numbers. we'll bring in john decker, good morning to you, john. >> good morning to you, alex. >> we know the president is hitting the road trying to energize democrats in politics. three weeks is a long time. do you think we'll see the numbers equal out? >> as you mentioned, turnout is so important. and the president over the next few weeks is going to try to drum up support among the base, the liberal base, that was so support in important to put him in office two years ago. that means going to pennsylvania, ohio, florida, delaware, just over the next week or so trying to gain support from people who right now are not that enthused about democrats going into the midterm elections. on thursday of this week, alex,

he'll be doing a town hall meeting trying to gain support, keep support, gain enthese. a from the young voters who came out in droves for obama in 2008. >> okay. we know that both the president and vice president head to delaware, john. it is apparent enough to make christine o'donnell to face the tea party. a lot of people interpret it with that. let's listen to the new ad she's got out there. >> i didn't go to yale. i didn't inherit millions like my opponent. i'm you. >> i'm you. polling shows o'donnell down by 19 points. by going to delaware, is the white house trying to damage republicans by highlighting one extreme candidate? >> to some extent they are, but the old ax yum holds tree, the typical axium that all politics is loam local. i don't think voters in delaware are paying attention to what's happening elsewhere.

i don't think they are paying attention to christine o'donnell and what's happening in delaware. but i think what it goes to show, alex, is how close it is going to be on election day as it relates to who is going to control the senate next year. it may come down to one race. this may be that race. and right now things look very good for chris coops in holding the sequence once held by joe biden. >> what about the conventional wisdom held out there by how many seats in the house the democrats could lose? is it fewer than people might think? >> you talk to the people every day it seems, alex. people like charlie cook and stu rothenburg, they talk like it will be good for the republicans in gaining control of the u.s. house of representatives and coming very close to winning the majority of seats in the u.s. senator, at least certainly closing the gap. i don't think it is going to be a blowout for republicans. i do think it is going to be

very close in terms of getting to that magic number of 40 in the house of representatives. it may be a long night in terms of watching those late races out on the west coast to see if indeed republicans gain control of the house on election night. >> do you think it will be a late night? that's kind of fun and exciting. >> i think so. >> we love that. thank you so much. good to see you, john decker. tomorrow on "meet the press" david gregory kicks off the series with republican mark kirk and alexi giannoulias. if you want to cash in your gold, how much should you expect? we'll tell you. also, with the new movie about "secretariat" be a big win at the box office? we'll talk about it on msnbc saturday. [ female announcer ] think a thick cream is the only way to firm skin?

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. . surveillance video captures a would be bandit wearing a

"scream" mask in new york. the suspect pulled out a gun and demanded money. the employee said no and pulled out his weapon. a water hose. the clerk sprayed the robber with water and the suspect fled empty handed. good for him. well, at the box office this weekend it starts with a disastrous blind date, but a goddaughter forces an unlikely couple to put their differences aside and find common ground while living under one roof. look. >> i want to see it. >> see what? >> i want so to see you work your magic. >> you want me to pick you up here? >> yes. >> that's ridiculous. i'm not going to pick you up. >> you are such a killjoy. >> joining me i have the editor for "in touch weekly." >> just watching the trailer there, i want to see more. i think that's going to be the big draw this weekend. right now it is on track to be number one. so it is bringing in $15 million. and it is neck and neck with

"the social network" making $2 million a day since released. >> that is huge right now. >> huge. >> another movie out is "secretariat." i want to show a clip about that and check it out on the other side. >> come on! >> he is the leader. >> diane lane, a superb actor. >> this is the 2010 version of "the blindside." it is compared to "the blind side." the first horse to win the triple crown in 1973. >> i love the '70s look there, the clothing and everything. >> kind of like when you watch

"mad men" you get that same feel. it is on track to be on top. >> real quick, harry potter. something has changed about the release in november. >> it was supposed to be released november 19th. in order to make the date, the filmmakers can only release it in 2d, not 3d. they don't want to disappoint the fans and stay on target for it. it is a billion-dollar franchise, so they will be fine, but movie goers could be disappointed with this. >> i'm sure they will still go. thank you, amy palmer. : selling your gold, how to say void getting burning after parting with your precious jewel krouming up nick. next. to help build strong muscles and healthy bones. carnation instant breakfast essentials. good nutrition from the start. it's drive to places with views that'll leave you awestruck...month. fit every stick, pad, helmet and puck month.

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it is msnbc saturday. i'm alex witt. here are the headlines. gunmen in southwest pakistan attacked a nato convoy supply and torched 29 oil tankers. today's attack follows a series of ambushes on nato supplies

this month. in chile drilling is expected to be completed today on the shaft to rescue the trapped miners. crews still need to see if the shaft is stainable for the capsule. the winner's wife of the nobel peace prize may have disappeared and could be in police custody. meanwhile, the winner doesn't know he's won and most of the chinese government doesn't know either because they censored the news. a town of 800 in hungary has been evacuated on a new fear of toxic sludge leaking from a reservoir. seven people were killed and more than 120 injured from that. and very celebrations in london, liverpool and new york city to remember the 70th birthday of the late great john lennon. and those are your fast five headlines. more about john lennon coming up. we are getting more fallout in the housing market today as mortgage lenders come under fire under foreclosure practices. lawmakers want the biggest

institutions to stop evictions nationwide. bank of america halted foreclosures in all 50 states on friday while reviewing its procedures. the senate will hold a hearing next month into claims that mortgage processors filed false information in thousands of foreclosure cases. president obama racking up the miles this month as he kris crosses the nation ahead of the mid torm vote. he'll be in philadelphia tomorrow with future stops in florida, oregon, ohio, rhode island and delaware, all about the final push to try to help democrats save off a tough challenge from the gop. john harwood is cbs's chief washington correspondent and joins me today from, where are you, ohio? >> columbus, ohio, alex. a lot of races here in the buckeye state. >> all good. we'll talk about the campaign push coming on the heels of another tough jobs report on friday. the unemployment rate at 9.6%. no moving that in the positive direction of late in the last few months houchlt damaging

could the numbers be to the midterms? >> reporter: very damaging. take a look at ohio. the unemployment rate here is over 10% at 10.1%. it is worse than nationally. you have a race for governor where ted strickland, the democratic incumbent, so popular and was considered a potential running mate for president obama a couple years ago, is now in difficulty against john kasich, a former republican congressman. rob portman in the senate race is significantly ahead of his democratic opponent lee fisher, an open seat for republicans that looks like they will hold. and you have six house seat that is are held by democrats that are in jeopardy, including the one here in columbus with mary joe kill roy, the democratic incumbent. all the people are on the defensive about the economy and jobs with voters saying, hey, you democrats are in charge, why haven't you fixed it and

kilroy over the finish line. those people are not coming out in the same numbers. the same question is can the white house and democratic candidates churn up the numbers enough to protect them from the fallout? the president is coming back to columbus on october 17th for one of the big pep rallies. and democrats here are hoping that can give them a boost. >> okay. you know the plant in maryland where the president was, a lot of people looked at that and said he seems down. do you think that's true? did you get that sense? was that a reflection of white house frustration over the economy? >> reporter: well, who wouldn't be down after two years of

working at the pace they have been working at, they believe that the policies they put in place, in particular, that nearly $800 billion stimulus package, they think that has worked, even though the unemployment rate remains at 9.6% and there was talk earlfully the administration they projected to hold unemployment under 8%. they now say the hiring situation was much worse and the economic decline was much worse when they took office. they are frustrated they are not getting credit for what they think is a success. and republicans are out there whipping up frustration against them. so, yes, there's frustration and the president is pushing back against that, but you see from the switch-over in the white house staff, this is a moment of change and reflection for the white house to figure out a strategy going forward. they may not have -- nancy pelosi as speaker to deal with it, it is not fixed. democrats could still hold the house, but the white house is preparing for all possibilities and it could get you haver from

here. >> john harwood, thank you for joining us. msnbc is the place for politics. catch the latest headlines on our website, firstread.msnbc,.com. we have more video for you on the ferry catching fire in the baltic sea with 22 people being injured, all passenger members and crew were rescued. it is not clear what caused the blast. firefighters are still trying to cool that ship down. they want to keep it from breaking apart in the waters. celebrating john lennon. the beatles legend would have turned 70 years old today. tributes are pouring in from all over the world from the music icon. and one of the places includes the famous abbey road in london. that's where jenny webble is. what's going on nor john lennon there today? >> reporter: hi, alex. just behind me we have a steady dream of people crossing abbey

rod replicating the 1960s album cover. and you can see the famous studios here where so many of the beatles albums were recorded. later today there is going to be a concert here as well. up in livepool, john lennon's hometown, all sorts of celebrations are going on to celebrate his 70th birthday, including a party at the cabin where the beatles were discovered. there's also going to be a man imitating john's place he went for his honeymoon. and there's a statue being unveiled today by john lennon's first wife and his eldest son, junior. it is called "peace and harmony" in the center of liverpool. >> that's great about the statue, and that's something we'll watch for. but i want our director to put back up that side-by-side comparison of john lennon at the time of his death and what he

would have looked like now at 70 years old 30 years later. tell me about that. do you know who is behind that? >> reporter: well, i do. it is really difficult for us to imagine what john lennon would have looked like if it was 70. as far as anyone else is concerned, he would never grow old and be young, but one of the newspapers here in england, "the daily mail" created an artist impression of what john lennon would have looked like at 70 years old. they have been very kind to him. he certainly has a dashing figure in the photo, but perhaps the artist was a big fan. >> i think we are all big fans. thank you so much, jenny wivell in london. with gold hitting all-time highs, crash-strapped americans are cashing in, but seller beware. consumer protechs are far and few between. in complaints filed with the better business of bureau the complaints have tripled over the

last year. vera gibbons, good morning to you. you have to do a few things if you want to sell your gold. you need to know how much it is worth before you go out there. >> gold is up to $13.50 an ounce. 20% up a year or something. great, i'm going to make a killing. they have no idea what the value of their stuff is. shop it around, take it to the local jewelers to see what they have to see. if you need it appraised, go to an appraiser's website. you have to know what you have and what it is www.worth. >> when you look at 13-ounce or 15-ounce, how much can you expect to get in the open market? >> people think they are going to make a killing, that's not the case, but people are so cash-strapped and looking for anything. you should be able to get 50% to 90% of the market value of gold, but it will depend on the weight and content, 24 car wrath demands a premium. tiffany and branded pieces

demand a premium, but it depend on how many middle men are involved. there are a lot of different pieces to determine what you are going to get. >> look at all the commercials, i don't know if it is the production or what it is, but they don't seem like a scam to me. >> a lot of them are, i have to say. they claim to have better prices than the competition, we are number one, that kind of thing. it is different to stan shat these claims. if you can avoid selling it to an online buyer, avoid it. they are represent reputable if they send you a package. it is difficult to substantiate what they are saying they are. look to see if they have complaints against them. >> a lot of people are selling the gold. they need the money. vera gibbons, thank you. being fit and trim can pay handsome dividends at work for women, but what about men?

a disparity of you based on youl weight and all your pay is next on msnbc saturday. what? they think you're a businessman, using our house to meet new clients in china. for reals, player? [ woman speaks chinese ] they overheard a phone call. [ speaks chinese ] something about shipping with fedex to shanghai. and then you opened a bottle of champagne. that was for a science project. [ man and woman speaking chinese ] i'm late for...soccer... rehearsal. [ man speaks chinese ] you and i are cool? i'll be home by curfew. [ male announcer ] we understand.® you need a partner who can help you go global. fedex.

you need a partner who can help you go global. being a leader means moving fast. across the country when the economy tumbled, jpmorgan chase set up new offices to work one-on-one with homeowners. since 2009, we've helped over 200,000 americans keep their homes. and we're reaching out to small businesses too, increasing our lending commitment this year to $10 billion... and giving businesses the opportunity to ask for a second review if they feel their loan should have been approved. is is how recoveries happen. everyone doing their part. this is the way forward.

a fire tore through four buildings in arkansas, including a fire funeral home. firefighters battled the blaze until late last night. in addition to the funeral home, two vacant buildings were destroy. the burned buildings are across from the town city hall, but no injuries were reported. it will be a chilly weekend in northern new england as highs max out in the 40s, but here in new york today's temperature should hit 70. washington, d.c., could reach 80. let's get your full saturday forecast with nbc meteorologist bill cains. good morning, bill. what a weekend forecast. this is just a great weather pattern for so many people. there are a couple exceptions, of course, but in general, it is warm and it is sunny. yesterday's highs were incredible. we almost had record heat. 87 in minneapolis, st. paul yesterday.

86 in kansas city. and the big chunk of warm air in the middle of the country, some of that will begin to slide a little towards chicago, the great lakes and the midatlantic. temperatures have not changed in the last 24 hours. cooler in denver, but the weather pattern is stagnant. whatever you experienced yesterday, there's a good chance you will see it again today. sunshine from boston all the way down to miami. the east coast looks great. ohio and tennessee valley, the deepspout looks fine. the north plains, some rain on there. the green is showers moving up from nebraska to the dakotas. the pacific northwest is the worst of the forecast with a new storm system moving onshore, the darker green has the possibility of one to two inches of rain right along the coast. that does include areas from portland northwards into the puget sound in seattle. look at the nation of saturday, it looks great, in general. and even on sunday, ideal weather conditions. i can almost guarantee you this will be the best fall weekend we are going to see. hopefully you and everyone else can enjoy it. >> what am i doing working, bill

karins? all right. it pays to be thin in a new study for women, but according to men it doesn't mean more money. the trend is reversed among men. male salaries rise as they pack on the pounds. timothy judge is a professor at the university of notre dame to conducted the latest survey. he is joining me from gainesville, florida. with a good day to you, thank you for joining us, timothy. can you take us through the results at how you found these numbers among the women, those that are 25 pounds under the norm make about $15,000 more a year? >> hi, alex. yes, that's right. underweight women, women very thin earn the most relative to other women. so being heavy actually is much more harmful for women than it is for men. >> okay. actually, for men their salary

increases as they get heavier? what is up with that? >> yes. gaining weight actually increases salary for men until they become very obese. then it trends downward, but for women it is downhill all the way, and it is particularly strong when you are thin. >> what about for men who are below the average weight? they make over $8,000less a year. all these numbers are pretty incredible. what's that one about? >> well, that's right, alex. so very thin men actually suffer earnings penalties. because there's a general cap in earning, they still earn more than women, but for women the highest earning women are ones who are very thin, thin-like models. less than 120 pounds. >> do you think there's some clear cause in effect to relationship between weight and money, or are there variables in

the study that we are not discussing here? >> well, that's a good question. we tried to look at that in lots of different ways because you can imagine it going the reverse way or other variables. we report on all job and occupational variables that we are controlling for people essentially in the same occupation. the other thing we did was look at next year's earnings. so we tracked the people overtime and found that even if you gain weight, you earnless in year one or two. this is cause and effect. >> if a woman gains 5 pounds in the year she's making a ton of money, she'll makeless money the next year. >> exactly. that's what we found. we found that for men, of course, there's a slight positive effect. we don't know in the study exactly why the patterns held.

we did control for self-esteem, so it is not that overweight women -- the results are not because overweight women feel especially bad about themselves. we think it is more employer-based. >> it is fascinating, timothy judge. and i guess to take away from that, i have to skip lunch today. i'm kidding. timothy judge, good to see you, very interesting study. we appreciate it. president obama is hitting the campaign trail to keep congress in democratic hands, but for his own salvation in 2012, one says he's a walk. we'll talk about that coming up next on msnbc saturday. .' 'skidmarks and smokescreens?' 'kiss my resale value.' and the timeless 'make it mine for $199.' celebrate this motor-tober with a new 2011 mini cooper hardtop for 199$ a month.

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so there was tequila on the campaign trail in california last night. republicans meg whitman and carly fee yourur rena was firsto the mike after her drinks, she told the crowd she thinks every

speech should begin with a shot of tequila. california's contests are still undecided, but according to the website the daily beast, the 2012 presidential race is all sealed up and it's obama for the win. i'm joined live by the washington reporter for the daily beast. benjamin minu benjamin, good morning. the daily beast article is saying that the economy will actually help the president in 2012, what is that president? >> there's a lot of uncertainty about the jobs numbers, but by a lot of projections unemployment will go down, but by most projections it starts getting better by then. but if there's movement in the right direction that, could help president obama. >> another reason you say obama will win in 2012 is that american presidents are usually

given a second term. how is history on the president's side? >> rules are made to be broken, but for the last 75 years, it has remained a consistent trend. the exceptions have been jerald ford, jimmy carter and the first president bush, all of who had to fend off strong primary challenges. >> ronald reagan, ted kennedy and pat buchanan respectively. one of the biggest advantages is -- how do you expect the gop will contribute to an obama victory in 2012. >> first of all, i know you're going to have a cringe a little bit, the upside to this is perhaps that republicans have been very effective lot going after democrats by simply opposing everything they propose and just throwing pot shots at

performance. if they retake the house or the senate or both, they're going to have to prepare a budget and bear more responsibility for governing and a lot of their policies have not been rounded out in a way that necessarily provides for good effective governance. they're talking about reducing deficits but they won't name what would do that. some of the tea party leaders are upset with this and there's going to be a lot of -- social security or medicare. >> there's no other democrats on the horizon, anybody that could potentially challenge barack obama within his own party? >> nope, the only one that even has the slightest bit of cashe in that regard is sitting in the state department. >> new york city wants to for bid people on food stamps from buying sugared soda, but is the

governme government overreaching on this? that's the question we're going to be asking.

the jobs puzzle, we get the last critical read on unemployment before the midterm election before the president hits the campaign trail, so what's the message? closer to freedom, any minute now we could get word on an attempt to rescue those trapped miners. on the verizon, iphone -- >> certainly you are not the monster, but if you listen to the robber, you will learn all about the word on just as this monster does. >> the "sesame street" gang pokes fun at a viral online ad. welcome to "msnbc saturday." we have new word from president obama this morning as the nation gears up for