[trumpet playing "reveille" fades to silence] making grade. a new survey of america gives the government some failing grades and some passing grades. we're going to tell you who's hot and who's not. the sun also rises in north korea, spectacle of masses and the military. the dictator of that secretive country shows off his son and heir apparent. a suspected mass drugging. a college-age party ends with daunz people in the hospital. people say someone dropped drug in their drinks, but there's more. so for this november 2nd vote for christina o'donnell, aka the.

because i'm not a witch. >> the latest the campaign ad making headlines for you from our friends at "snl." good morning i'm alex witt. a college-aged party went terribly wrong and sent a dozen people to the hospital. our colleague lynn berry has more on the details. what happened here? >> the details were very bizarre. whether it was a mass drugging is still under investigation. here's what we do know. 12 victims, all but one were women. they were all drinking at a house party in roslyn, washington, friday night with fellows from central washington university. but at some point things really got out of hand. officials received report of a young woman in a nearby grocery store who apparently was overdose and possibly assaulted. when the police chief said he spoke to her and her alleged

friends they appeared to be intoxicated even though they insisted they had one or two drinks top. it was information from that group that led officials to the party and when they arrived a number of partygoers were barely conscious. police say some drug may have been slipped into the victims' drinks, and they're awaiting toxicology results. >> we called in about every ambulance. we certainly have seen those types of drugs in our community before. what makes them unique is we haven't seen them on the mass scale. >> in the meantime 11 of the victims have been released from the hospital. the 12th is said to be in good position. the police chief really pointed out if someone had not called police and notified them of this that the outcome could have been much different. >> any idea until we get the results of the toxicologies? >> they're saying it could be a few weeks, they're not exactly sure. but they are investigating

actively by speaking to a lot of the students and the local news reports there, especially out of the papers in the area are saying that some of the students fled right when they saw police, so they're trying to get an idea who was there. there were about 50 students who were there at the time, so they're trying to get all the information that they can. but, of course, this is still early on in the investigation. >> pretty scary story. new development this morning in the alleged murder of an american tourist on a border lake. state police told the mexican state newspaper they're looking for two brothers. photos of the suspects have not been released. david hartley was jet skiing on the mexican side of that lake with his wife tiffany. tiffany says the attacker shot her husband in the head. his body has not been recovered. coming up a bit later this morning we're going to hear more from tiffany hartley about the incident that led to her

husband's disappearance. in a new survey, voters gave congress a c-minus. republicans score even worse, they score d plus, another d plus went to the federal government as a whole. president obama, he's just about average. voters say he deserves a c. mike viqueira this morning. seriously, what are some of the other findings here. >> reporter: it's no wonder they left for home early. they wanted to steal the report card out of the mailbox before their parents got home. when does disgust turn into enthusiasm for the other side. i think it's a "washington post" poll that's out this morning. let's have a look at other results. preferred voters. they asked registered voters, would you prefer dem control.

47% said yes. prefer gop control, 43% said no. when they asked very interested voters, preferred dem control, only 40%. gop shoots way up to 52%. and that is what the president and other democrats have been fighting all along over the last few months. right track/prong track, up 59%. up 12 points from ten years ago. 63% said that it is getting better. that sounds okay, but when you look at it as compared to 2000, that's down. they're fighting this enthusiasm gap. it's real, alex. the president has had a rally. he held one two weeks ago in madison, wisconsin. people were trying to recreate that old campaign magic from back in 2008 trying to get the young people to the polls. they're disaffect, discouraged. the president leaves today for

philadelphia, another big rally. he's got more rallies on tap. next weekend he travels to ohio with the first lade, then going to delaware to campaign for the democrat against christine o'donnell. this is what they're trying to do. independents are leading republicans. the first thing they have to do is sew lied folidify their base >> a lot can happen. thank you. we have a lot more ahead for you. later we're going to hear from arianna huffington and get her thoughts on the post and particularly her thoughts on the tea party. presidential hopeful howard dean, former hopeful about the democratic's chances to pull a win on the election. for the first time since having major heart surgery this summer we ear hearing from former vice president dick cheney. he spoke to politicians and

entertainers yesterday in bakersfield, california. >> this is sort of our first major outing. some of you may not be aware, but i underwent major heart surgery in july, and i've been in the process of recovering ever since and this is our first major trip since i got out of the hospital. [ applause ] >> and while he was welcomed, you can see h lost weight as a result of all the surgery and recovery. he also defended the bush administration's terrorism policies during his speech. in chile rez skscue workers working on the mine shaft. once the process is complete, they will begin lifting the men out one by one. >> with this task ahead, we are planning the process of rescue to start around this wednesday. this process, the process of

rescue, should last for two days. >> telemundo's angie sandival has the latest from copiaco, chi chile. good morning, angie. >> reporter: wednesday is when the 33 miners are supposed to be pulled out from the bottom of the mine. yesterday was a celebration when after 33 days, they finally reached a man in the bottom through a phone line. miners were heard clapping and cheering and celebration, of course, went on on the surface as well. rescue team members popped bottles of champagne, hugged each other, and also families hugged each other and waved chilean flags. they're preparing the shaft by lining 96 meters. that's about 316 feet with steel

tubes. this will prevent the crumbling of the walls, of the chimney, and also it will make the capsule be able to slide up and down much better. as you can see, there's a lot of work to do. they are not claiming victory yet. and, of course, here, everybody's hoping for the best. now back to you. >> all right. certainly, thank you so much, angie sandoval. we are hoping for the best. we're going to talk to a psychologist from west point about what kind of impact that has had on the miners and how hard it is to going to be to adjust to life above ground. that's coming up. an 11-day-long blockade is now over. it is a crucial supply route for nato supply tankers. it shut down after a helicopter strike killed two pakistani soldiers. more than 150 trucks were destroyed.

just yesterday gunmen armed with rockets torched 29 nato oil tankers. please say at least ten militants were involved in that attack. two police officers were injured. in chicago a bus crash left dozens of passengers injured after it veered off the road. 70 people were onboard that commuter truck when it smashed into a row of trees. dozens were taken to the hospital, at least one with severe injuries. >> she was pressing brakes, the bus driver, and the bus wouldn't stop. >> we were toppling over each other. >> had the trees not been there, we would have flipped. >> the city is still investigating the crash and awaiting results on the drug and alcohol test given to that dr e driver. officials say they expect this fire to smoulder for the next few days. it burned land owned by lock keed martin in littleton.

>> it's a sure sign that holiday season is around the corner because rockefeller opened its famous ice-skating rink even though it was in the 70s how they do that is a miracle. more than a quarter million skaters take to that ice each year between october and april. so for the sunday forecast around the country, let's go right to the weather channel's jeff. jeff, goorn morning. >> good morning, it's a beautiful morning across most of the country today, alex. we've probably got near record heat. i don't know if we'll be opening any ice-skating rinks over the south. the little bit of rain we have is over the western plains. seattle and portland, if you're watching me from the pacific, maybe not the best of days there. for the rest of us, pretty nice. actually in the northeast it will be pretty pleasant. i issei new york getting up a little cooler than yesterday, alex. up to near 70, about 69. maybe a little better for the ice-skaters. but look at atlanta, 86 degrees.

that's about ten to 1 t2 degree above average. chicago has a marathon. and then as we head up to minneapolis, i mean minneapolis in the middle of october is hitting the 80s. l.a. is hitting 90. what season are we in here anyway? it does look like it's going to cool down by the end of the week. by the way, alex, i'm sure if you look at the top of the screen, it is 10/10/10 today. >> way cool. >> are you superstitious? >> no, i'm not superstitious, but i think i'd be lucky if i were. thank you. see you again. the leader of one communist party makes a rare appearance with his hair apparent. look out below. a bit later growing concern about the discrimination against the unemployed. do some companies think the best people are already working? this is "msnbc sunday." [ male announcer ] febreze changed how you freshened fabrics.

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eight suspects are in custody for an alleged antigay assault against three men in new york city, but one suspect is still at large. the brutal attacks reportedly took place in a vacant bronx building where police say a gang tortured two teens and a 30-year-old man for hours. the victims were allegedly burned, sodomized, and beaten. they condemn the antigay violence. >> you are attacking our new york city society. >> if you are an individual as ignorant and cowardly as those, take note. if you committed hate crimes against anyone in the city of new york, nypd will capture you, you will be prosecuted and you will, as the mayor said, go to jail for a very long time.

>> the eighth suspect turned himself in yesterday. police are searching for another they believe may have been involved. president obama heading out today. with 23 days until midterms, the democrats are hoping he can energize the same voters who elect him to the white house back in 2008. let's bring in richard wolf and also christine belatone. good morning, the two of you. >> good morning. >> hi, alex. >> how much ground do you think they can make up? >> well, they're not looking at the national numbers here. i know we quote the generic numbers. they're looking specifically district by district, state by state, whether they can get it to look more like 2008 than where pollsters think it's going to be at this time. young voters, minorities, those who showed up in 2008, if they can nudge that a little bit,

some of the toss-up races may ed up in the democratic column at all. do they think they can make it all up? not even the optimistic people in the white house are suggesting that. >> what do they want to emphasize, and what do they want to avoid? >> well, there are a couple of things. one they'd like to sort of elevate the fair left tea partyiers. they hope that they can persuade, for example, suburban women who might be a little uncomfortable with christine o'donnell in delaware. at the same time both the obama white house and the dnc are laying the groundwork talking about it's very important. president obama can't do it all. so that's laying the ground work in case they lose to be able to say we did everything we could but those campaigns weren't properly run. >> richard, how about any hope in the white house at all that the gop may have peaked early?

>> i don't know if there are many in the white house who think that the gop is somehow going to decline, but they do think that what they're seeing now is the gop at maximum speed and velocity, and that is a known factor. what hay don't know is what a enthusiasm democrats are going to show up with. because a lot of models that we talk about are guesses. they're an educated guess, but they don't know. so that's the great unknown and that's why if they can fire up ee theory through the president or through the candidates as christina said, then maybe democratic speed and intensity can change where they're going to assume the republicans are going to still run at this very fast pace. >> christine, how about any real evidence that they're tightening things up. >> well, anything is possible in this. i think the democrats are looking at very small margins

here. you know, they've talked about these races where for example president obama won in 2004, but then a democrat won in 2006 and/or 2008. if they can just tinker with the margins and get it to a 51/49 on the democrats side, that will make a difference. 're doing a lot of ground contact, make sure the voters understand everything that's at stake. >> richard, if you were a betting man, would you put it all in the gop house or -- >> as a bet, i'll regret it, gop. we all say that they've fallen short of expectations but still a big win, but single digits, it's a tough call. >> christina, same question to you. >> yeah, the odds are in the

republica republicans 'favor right now. again, it's not just about odds. who knows. >> richard wolffe and christina bellantoni, thank you. the tea party loves christine o'donnell. apparently so does "saturday night live." the real o'donnell is trying to play down her background in witchcraft comedienne kristin wig is high lighting it. >> is that what that u deserve that she promises first and foremost she's not a witch. that's the kind of democrat they haven't had since 6902. vote for christina o'donnell aka the enchan tress. did you really want to cross me?

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officials in montana blame heavy rains for losingen a boulder that smashed right into a house. it was a close call for the homeowner who was inside at the time but in a different room fortunately. that house was severely damaged. wall street will be watching the dow closely tomorrow after the blue chips close for the first time in five months. also this week the federal reserve will release minutes from its last meeting. analysts will examine the notes to see if the fed plans on implementing new measures to jump start the economy. we'll get some reads on inflation this week that's expected to rise. some economists consider that a good thing. some major companies will report earnings. google, intel, jpmorgan chase and general election, nbc's parent, fwi way. "the huffington post" is

citing big problems. the post says it has uncovered multiple examples of listings like must be currently employed, or no unemployed candidates will be considered. one recruiter described the catch 22 as follows, quote, some companies think the best ones are already looking. maybe the ones looking for jobs for some reason had a problem or were let go for a reason or quit for a reason but the people companies want are the type that already have a job. good morning, neal. good morning. the type that already have a job. that seems a little bit unfair. is it illegal? >> probably not illegal. you know, companies can set those kinds of restrictions on who they want to hire. it may not be in the company's best interest. we're in a country with an economy of 10%. you have a lot of people sitting at home wanting to find one.

it's very unfortunate. it stands in the way of getting economy back on track. >> exactly. as of august 4.4 million americans were out of work for at least one year. that is 30% of everyone employed. what are the root causes of long-term unemployment? >> what happened is we had a collapse in the economy more than a year ago, and that caused a spike in unemployment. but what's happened now is we're settling into this passerttern high unemployment. what that means is that you have people who are at home. they're not able to find work. and that can be kind of self-reinforcing. they have a big fancy work for it called historesis. if you aren't working, aren't getting latest in techniques in how your field is working, ewe it can be self-fulfilling.

>> so should job seekers be forthright about how long they've been unemployed or should they not be because it can be used against them? >> well, one thing to suggest is it might be a good idea if you're unemployed for a long period of time take a job that might be little beneath than what you expected,'ve ebb a lower rank or less paid to stay in the flow of things, keep up with the latest technologies and how things work in your field and not have a big gaping hole in your resume. it that's the best thing to do. that's one option. there's going back to school and other things to stay busy and make sure on your resume that you're still occupied even if you don't have a job. >> take that job, right? it's better than no money at all in my opinion. neil irwin, thanks so much. the imagine peace tower memorial lit up the skies. it has a large beam of light similar to ground zero. it says give peace a chance.

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i'm alex witt and here are top stories at the bottom of the hour. pakistan reopened a keyboarder crossing today. the crossing was closed after a u.s. helicopter strike killed two pakistani soldiers last month. the attorney generals of up to 40 states are planning on looking into the foreclosures. they're going to put praeshs on banks to halt foreclosures. on friday bank of america became the first state to do so in all 50 states. >> more than 58 million recipientstreets. good morning, jenny. i know this is our first look at kim jong-un. how did he react to the crowds and how did the crowds receive him? >> well, good morning, alex. he seemed to play his part well, clapping and saluting thousands of soldiers as they marched by. the crowds reacted very positively to him. for the first time it's the first time they had a proper look at him. he is, in fact, very young, still in his 20s, and until a few months ago he was all but unlearned both inside north

korea and outside as well. the civilians were certainly all clapping. it's a display that's been described as the lornlest show and it's certainly aware that the media should be invited to film inside north korea. but this spectacular event was staged to celebrate 65 years since the ruling party was actually founded, alex. >> interesting. you know it's interesting because we said that he's the third of three brothers and his older brothers have been deemed uninterested or unfit. in terms of kim jong-il, how did he look because there have been reports that he's not in good health? >> yes. when the last of the soldiers had passed, although he walked the whole lent of the reviewing stand he was actually limping and had to hold only the recall for support. the 68-year-old is reported to

have had a stroke in 2008 but even though there's increasing speculation that he will soon hand power over to his son, he is showing no susan of losing his grip on power yet, alex. >> okay. nbc's jenny wibl. thank you very much, from london. his trip will put him right on the border with israel. he's call for israel's destruction and he denies the holocaust has ever happened. france is a staunch ally of hesitate bow lay. the stat department has said the trip is not a good yg. michael singh, michael, good morning. >> good morning, alex. >> what is the point of mahmoud ahmadinejad's visit there and what is the u.s. concerned about? >> well, as to the point of have t visit, from his ball la's position which is funded by iran and also plays a big role in

lebanese government it's to have a chance of show of strength. his bolla forces will be out in southern lebanon. it will essentially be a great sort of festival in lebanon during that trip and so for them it's a chance to show they're unbound by all the pressure that's been directed at them by the united states and others. for ahmadinejad he's under increasing pressure at home both on the political front as well as due to the economy in iran which is suffering desperately. and so foreign policy for him is one of his few remaining sources of strength are. and so for him his trip to lebanon is to sort of high light what he views as a strength or victory for his administration. now, why is the u.s. concerned? the u.s. are concerned because things in lebanon are very tense right now between his bolla and

pro-democracy march 14 trip. they're afraid it could serve as a tipping point for a return to violence inside lebanon. >> okay. is this really a bold move by ahmadinejad to go right up there to the border with israel? i mean is there a taunting nature? is there anything about that that you think is an undercurrent, and is there anything that the u.s. or israel can do to stop him? >> well, there's nothing the u.s. or israel can really do to stop him from going to lebanon and going to that border. you know, the -- the interesting thing is that his bolla has actually built a little theme park on the border called iran garden. there's a replica of the mount with a flag flying over it. though shows how free it is his bolla is to do what it wants if they can build a theme park right under the noses of the israeli soldiers on the border.

there's nothing to stop him. it's meant, i think, as a provocation. he knows that he can go there and it will be relatively safe for him because the israeli troops are disciplined and won't do anything to cause a sort of flare-up on the border. for him it's a political show. >> you know, to further provoke, there are all these reports that he's going to pick up a stone and throw it across the border into israel. i mean what would that do? >> well, think for israeli, it would simply an insult. this is man who's not only denied the holocaust but is looking for destruction. it's further confirmation that this is a person who can't be trusted and who's determined to attack israel in whatever way he can. from ahmadinejad's perspective, it's actually not clear that he'll do it. his office and his bolla have denied that he intends to throw a stone. i'm not sure exactly what calculus goes into that.

he may worry that it makes him look a little bit foolish standing there tloeg stones across the border given that he views himself as a world leader. we'll see what happens. in any case, just a mere visit to the border, whether or not he throws stones is certainly a provocation and an insalt to israel. >> thank you for weighing in. we appreciate that. fall getaways, why now may be a good time to get a few good vacation deals. ring ring ring ring

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to make their lives whole again. the economy might be a bit shaky but it might be a perfect time to take advantage of fall travel deals. prices are cheaper than they were in the summer months and cheaper than they're going to be during the upcoming holiday season. so for more on these great affordable getaways, i'm joining by travelocity. tell us about them. >> orlando, of course, very popular with families and right now is a great time go. great weather, cheap deals, and not too many crowds so a good time to go. there's a lot going on outside the theme parks too, restaurants, nighttime spots, golf. i would stay at the waldorf astoria orlando. they've got a reese jones-designed golf course, best

restaurants and pools. >> what about october being the official cruise month? is that truly and what kind of deals are out there? >> it is. there are national cruise months. for example caribbean is having wonderful des. one great deal now is on the norwegian epic. it's the industry's newest mega ship. three water slides, the blue man group, annize bar. they're doing round trip from miami this fall, $599 plus 50%-off shore plus a free cabin upgrade and shopping. >> sign me up smo great deal. >> yes it is a great deal. >> what about halloween. >> norns ew orleans is a great to go. the place to stay is hotel mont lee own. legend has it a 14-year-old boy

roams the halls spookinging guests. a guest reports seeing a little boy in their room even when the doors are locked. >> scary. creepy. kind of cool though. what about something more relaxing. you want to relax at the beach without paying a fortune. >> there's a great resort that's sustainable to tourism. it's an all inclusive report owned by a mexican family. they rate this a four star. $379 a night for two people. that includes all your meals and drinks, 24-hour room service, mini bar, sports, everything but the kitchen sink. >> how about if you're a gambler and you want to go do that. >> a great place is reno. it gets overlooked but there are amazing deals in reno. there are cultural sites. the atlanta resort spa and

casino it's a great place to stay. four stars. rates from $50 a night this fall. you geerng to have plenty of money to spend at the spa, the ten great restaurants. >> which sh s what they're banking on. >> of course, and the slots and tables. >> this is all great. i'm going to have to take a bunch of news. >> good news for football fans. sunny skies are expected for nearly all of the 13 games expected to be played and mike seidel has choken cincinnati. and a good morning to you, yep, it's pretty behind you there. >> the weather is great, the fans are out this morning, alex, not only here but across the midwest. the northeast, mid-atlantic, a lot of us have seen above average. we're going to be pushing well into the mid to upper 80s. the only rain is in the pasting northwest, down to seattle, portland, it's sunny. it's warm and sunny for the nascar race. temperatures in the low 90s. it's really a very quiet october

weekend. we've got bengal fans here and they're looking for a victory today. [ cheering ] >> it's all about who day. >> we've got bengal meisters. >> mania. we're rolling up here in cincinnati. who day. >> the food gets better and better. what are those called? peg legs? >> peg legs for the buccaneers. >> for the buccaneers. okay, alex. every year we do this. we need to check out what we're doing this morning in cincinnati. just superb weather, indian summer as we've seen some frost but a lot of folks are going to see temperatures ten to 15 degrees above average. >> all i have to say is boys will be boys. i just want to ask you, did nick and bart get you go to cincinnati, the guys in control

booth because they're big cincinnati guys. they probably pushed you to go there, right? >> we'll talk offline about that. wow, look at the smoke here, whoo. >> nick's correcting me. we're from cleveland, which i know, but, still anywhere in the air are and he gets all excited. >> i was in cleveland last week. >> i'm seeing a theme. >> they lost to cleveland, so we're coming back. >> i wish you hadn't said that because -- now it's going to be in my ear. thank you. here's a programming note. we invite you to watch football night in america tofrpt tonight at 7:00 eastern. it's followed by sunday night football. tonight it's the eagles against the 49ers on nbc. in delaware christine o'donnell is lagging in the polls. so how will she do in the midterms and how did she make it this far? a conversation with arianna huffington on this next. an hon. and if you're gonna try and do this in anything other than a chevy... well, good luck...month.

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23 days until election day and the battle for control on capitol hill is on with moderate

republicans losing tea party candida candidates it seems to have turned conventional wisdom on its head this election cycle. i spoke with the author of a book "third world america," era ya huffi-- arianna huffington a asked hoer how christine o'donnell was able to get ahead. >> there's a lot of anger. that anger is producing candidates who are not electable. and christina o'donnell is one of them. unfortunately doing that ad i'm not a witch did not do her any favors. >> there's one coming out where it says she didn't go to yale and i think some people might think that's not one that's going to do her favors either. what about joe miller in alaska, mark rub yeo in florida this the lead there. what kind of impact do you see the tea party as having ultimately on this election? >> rub yeo is ahead in the

moment in the polls and the main result of the tea party for the election is going to be in the turnout. who is going to turn out is going to daerp and who controls the house and maybe the senate. and of course in some races in the case of christina o'donnell or sharon angle, they may lose republicans in the race. >> where do you see them voting in this electionsome. >> the independents have a key block. maybe more dissolution with the democrats because they're in charge of the house, the senate, and the white house. so right now the american people are just as dissolutioned for it. they vote republican rather than democrat doesn't mean they favor

republicans, it just means they're the party out of power at the moment so they are the beneficiaries of the anger and the discontent snow and do you think that's what's behind newt gingrich's offer this -- offering this prediction this week that gop would gain 55, 65 seats in the house this november? do you think that's likely to happen, or do you have a different philosophy? >> you know, a lot could change between now and november 2nd, especially right now when everything is so volatile. i wouldn't make a prediction. i think everything is on the table. >> well, recent census bureau issue released these statistics that show the largest numbers of americans ever. 43.6 million ever are now living below the poverty line. that figure includes about one in five children. i want to talk about your book. it's about the decline of middle class and has a warning about what's in america's future. what do you see that needs to be changed? >> well, that's exactly why i

wrote the book and why i've called it third world america because we are an extremely dangerous trajectory or losing the middle class and of having more and more people entering the -- basically the category of the new pool, which is what you are talking about. the new pool, poverty is rising in the suburbs. we now have poverty rates to up to where they were in the 1960s when we launched the war on poverty. more and more families are relying on food stamps. that's really un-american. that's more than the promise of american doing which is if you work hard and play by the rules you will do well and your children will do even better. >> thank you so much. author, political commentator, founder of "the"the huffington post."" have a great weekend. >> a rescue come could in a few days for the miners in chile?

what will that impact have on them? we're going to hear from a psychologist in our next hour on "msnbc sunday." ( woman ) even with an overactive bladder,

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