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a choice between falling backwards and moving forwards. i don't know about you, but i want to move forward. >> the momentum is with us. the momentum is with us, but now is not the time to let up. >> side swipes in the battle for the midterms. we have the latest in the war of words. and a star u.s. swimmer's pursuit of triumph abroad ends in tragedy and mystery.

>> and the perils of drunkrexia come to light. >> and we'll talk to an nfl player who battled in the trenches. welcome to msnbc sunday. it's just past 9:00 a.m. on the east coast. let's begin with the president, who is taking a rare break from the campaign trail this morning after days of nonstop rallies. air force won won't be in the hangar for long. mike is at the white house. good sunday morning. >> good morning. >> you have been getting some mileage traveling with the president, fill us in what is the latest? >> five states in four days, the president getting back last night for a brief rest before he heads out on the road tomorrow. he is heading to rhode island, still trying to hold back that republican wave and keep the congress in democratic hands. >> reporter: another town, another rally, another big crowd for the campaigner in chief. this time in minnesota. >> in 2008 you said yes we can.

in 2010 you got to say yes we can. >> it was the last stop on a four-day swing through five states. president obama trying to avert an election day disaster for his party. to do that the president hopes to light a fire under traditional democratic voters with baying rallies on college campuses. this is a trojan kind of welcome. >> reporter: including 37,000 friday at usc. and a backyard discussion with women voters in seattle. all along the way mr. obama raised millions at democratic fund-raisers as he slammed republicans. >> they are clinging to the same worn out, tired, snake oil ideas that they were peddling before. >> reporter: but big rallies or not, polls show republicans set to make major gains. republicans including sarah palin rallied in florida.

>> that's right, you fire them. you fire pelosi, retire reid, and their whole band of merry followers. >> reporter: billed as a gop rally, led by mark rubio. >> the choice in the senate race in florida is simple. i'm the only one running that would have voted against the stimulus package. i'm the only one running that will vote to repeal and replace obama care. >> reporter: okay. nine days to go the president back out on the road, it's rhode island. then next weekend he's going to philadelphia, chicago, cleveland, connecticut for that tight democratic race there for the senate. what he's trying to do, you probably heard the phrase now, is save some of these traditional democratic seats in connecticut, in washington state, in california with barbara boxer, trying to build that fire wall to keep the senate in democratic hands. the house now, a lot of democrats will say privately it does not look good. it's likely to go republican

november 3rd, the day after the election. >> all right. got your track shoes on? hope you do. thank you very much. for more on the latest political news, keep it here on msnbc, we will bring you today's "meet the press" at 2:00 p.m. eastern. opening arguments in the chandra levy murder trial are set to begin tomorrow. she went missing in 2001. her remains were found about a year later in a remote area of a park. this case made national headlines because of levy's relationship with former congressman gary condit who could now be the star witness in the case. an illegal immigrant from el salvador is charged with levy's murd murder. a shocking discovery on the campus of georgetown university. there was a dorm room drug lab. students could not believe it, and officials says it posed a real danger. >> what you have here are various chemicals, a mix of

chemicals, then you heat them up. if it's not properly ventilated, you know, it could be a problem, not only for inhalation but also explosion. >> hundreds of students were forced to evacuate as police dogs went through and searched dorms. the university says there were no signs of any of the chemicals having spread. the death toll has risen to more than 200 in haiti from an outbreak of cholera. there are continued concerns about the rising number of cases near the capital, port us a prince, where thousands of earthquake survivors are housed. severe thunderstorms pounded north texas, those storms damaged numerous apartment buildings in ft. worth. the winds gusted up to 60 miles per hour in some areas. for more on all the weather headlines across the nation, let's check in with the weather channel's jeff morrow. good morning to you. >> good morning. nice to have you back after not

seeing you last weekend. >> thanks. >> no problem. that was round one, that snow out here in colorado. this is round two, this is a bigger round this is smashing into the pacific northwest now. a lot of wind and all you're looking at here, waves of heavy rain moving into washington, oregon and northern california, even down to san francisco. snow in the higher elevations here, the sierra nevada and the cascades. it will be a real mess here in the pacific northwest over the next couple of days. on the other side of the country, more severe weather. you mentioned the damage around dallas and ft. worth. we will shift that threat area further east from st. louis, central illinois, jackson, little rock and the tyler area. in the northeast area, alex, looks nice today. new york city getting up to 70. cooler in the boston area. washington at about 75. pittsburgh at 74. we have one more dry day here and a warm day across the southeast. it's been a warm fall so far but

rain is lurking to the west. hopefully we can get some of that rain here by early next week. >> that is good if you're planting bulbs. thank you very much, jeff. for the forecast right where you are, the latest weather advisories across the country, you can always head to weather.com. back to politics now. democrats are putting the full-court press on their supporters to keep both majorities on capitol hill, but the polling leading up to election day indicates some change on the way. sheila jackson lee joins us now. good morning to you. nice to see you. >> very good morning to you. it's very nice to be with you this morning. a great morning. >> it is a beautiful morning. looks like it is in many places around the country. let's get to the midterms, in terms of your opinions of the house going to the gop. what is the likelihood of that happening? what does it mean if it does? >> i'm not conceding that yet. it's one vote at a time. early voting has started. many of the candidates that many were in doubt about are rising

and getting stronger. i was in ohio, the candidates are getting stronger. there the president had 35,000 people out for a rally, praising and supporting the democratic message and mission. it's all about election day, just as it is in the state of florida with senator, i hope to be, kendrick meek. it's all about the votes being counted. ron klein's race is a challenging race, but everybody know candidate west is not the candidate that would represent those constituents. people are looking at the candidates one-on-one. when they see them one-on-one, they see the democratic candidates and incumbents have been pushing a message to build america up, not divide america and tear america down. >> your friend, kendrick meek there in florida is seeing strong support from top democrats. president obama, former president clinton, going out and stumping on his behalf. how important is that for his campaign? >> it's important but really it's important for floridians to

know that kendrick meek will be a senator for all of them. he's the real democrat in the race, but also an independent democrat. he understands that social security cannot be privatized, not like the two republicans that are running. he is consistent, steadfast, he's not in doubt about choice. the other two republicans, one, the former governor, never finishes a job, had high unemployment under his watch and he doesn't know his position on choice. the state senator or state legislator, rubio, who knows for sure that he is a republican, an extremist, believes in lifting the age on social security recipients, believes in privatization, doesn't believe in protecting the coastlines like kendrick meek does. i don't know how democrats here in the state of florida could select those two republicans versus a strong, committed, independent democrat who will represent this great state. let it be clear, if the

independent is elected, it's almost certain they will caucus with the republicans and anyone who is in washington knows that they are lock step with the extremists, there is no independents in the republican caucus or conference in the united states senate or in the house. if you want the state to be represented, kendrick meek is the one that democrats should be voting for, just like individual congress seats will be elected because the constituent there's will recognize that they want a democrat or a candidate or an incumbent that will help build this country up, not take it back. invest in this country, build infrastructure. that's what the democrats are about. lower taxes for the middle class. >> and you're talking about house races, which you being a congresswoman would know all about. why have we seen a democratic surge in the polls leading up to many senatorial candidates but not so much many house candidates? what's the difference there? >> i'm counting down to the last

days, and i frankly believe, as many states, some 30 plus states have early voting, you will see a surge. you are going to get a better understanding by the voters as to who will be the west representative for them. many of them will fall back to the incumbents that may have been challenged and recognized that they haveconstituents. it's all about local politics. we have seen some decisions, seats, voting turning towards our incumbents. i believe we'll have that last-minute surge. i will do what's best for me, i won't fall into the national extremist politics that many of the surrogates have come in for, rubio and chris, wrisp who willt kind of elected person in our state of texas, bill white is surging strong. i believe truly what we will see in the last days are people voting their self-interests. the self-interest is to vote for

the candidate that wants to move the country forward, protect social security and vote for low taxes, if you will, for the middle income. kendrick meek is the only democrat, the strongest democrat, the best democrat versus the candidates who will accept the extremist calls of republicans in the united states congress. we will see a victory for all of us in the house and the senate when we get the final vote on november 2, 2010. >> certainly a loyal ally to kendrick meek, sheila jackson lee, thank you. >> a pleasure to be with you. there's a new eating disorder that combines counting calories and drinking to delirium, it's called drunkorexia. >> and authorities in california have been forced to shut down beaches.

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officials at some beaches out west are telling people to stay out of the water.

that's because three beaches in central california are closed following a deadly attack on a body border. officials will decide tomorrow when to open the beaches. college student lucas ransom was body boarding on friday when a shark attacked him. the 19-year-old died shortly thereafter. as president obama crisscrosses the country, his campaign stops are landing in friendly territory. let's check out this map. he has just wrapped up a five-state swing yesterday and has plans to visit five more states this week. where are these stops taking him? to places he won back in 2008. eleanor clift is a contributing editor for "newsweek" and joanne reed is a political columnist for the miami herald. good morning. >> good morning. >> eleanor, in 2008 the president campaigned under a 50-state strategy, vowing to get past the partisan politics. does this campaign map tell a different story for you today? >> in 2008 he was on his way to a 300-plus electoral count

victory, so he could afford to spread his talent around to places where he wasn't as well received as others. this is about political triage, he has to get out the democratic vote in areas where seats are competitive and where he has a chance of bringing the democrats to victory. those tend to be the two coasts and big cities, and urban areas, and that's where the democratic votes are. and he's got to get them to the polls. that's what this is about. he still likes the rest of the country and they'll see more of him in the lead up to 2012. >> joanne, there is concern out there that the democratic party is concentrating on the two coast, college towns, urban cities. do you think that's a valid worry? >> i don't think it is. eleanor is right, that's what you do in midterms. midterms attract an electorate that is older, more often white, and the democratic base is single women, minorities, people who don't come out as much.

so voters did come out for him in 2008. >> eleanor, i want to get your opinion of the best strategy for the president and democrats overall who want a chance of keeping control of the house. anything they can do between now and next tuesday? >> well, i think they have to keep what they're doing, because there's some evidence that he is beginning to awaken the voters who supported him in '08 to the threat that's posed if he doesn't get a democratic congress after november 2nd. and i think he's got to make a more compelling closing argument about the economy, contrasting the fact that policies that he has put in place are designed to help us recover from the policies that the other party put in place, and sort of remind the public what they didn't like about the republicans. i think he has the oratorical gifts to do that. and the democratic party has the

resources. and they need to get out there and be proud of what they've accomplished instead of playing defense all the time. >> which is more damaging to lose? is it control of the house or control of the senate? i want to add the conventional wisdom that the senate will not be lost, but what plays a bigger role there? >> i think, if it would be on the table, losing the senate would be more damaging, because that's sort of where the legislation goes to be finalized or to die, more typically. and the house tends to be the more colorful body of congress any way. so, in a sense, if you had a republican house that would try to push through extreme things, like privatizing social security, deregulating wall street, these things would be so unpopular that they would probably help president obama in two years. and then they would probably go nowhere in a democratic senate. but with that said, i think you're right. i think they'll hold the senate. >> okay. el know clift and joanne read,

thank you very much. >> thank you. it is drinking and dieting together that is causing a new eating disorder. we will show who is suffering the worst of it. ♪ ♪ [ growls ] ♪ ♪ [ polar bear grunting ] [ growls ] [ male announcer ] introducing the 100% electric nissan leaf. innovation for the planet. innovation for all. [ commearlier, she hady vonn!g than all-over achy cold...eaf. what's her advantage? it's speedy alka-seltzer! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus

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olay professional pro-x. read all about it at olayprofessional.com. an implosion in downtown athens, greece leveling a building in seconds. there it's not the ruins you expect to see, is it? but when the pile of rubble is removed, work will begin on a new city square. wedding bells for pop star katy perry and russell brand. security was tight as elephants paraded by the paparazzi. about 80 guests watched the hour-long ceremony. india is also where the couple got engaged earlier this year. a new report is shedding lights on a disturbing and growing new trend among college students. it is called druniorexia.

the term is used to describe students who go out drinking and try to cut calories by eating little or nothing at all. joining me live in studio is psychologist jeff guardere. so druniorexia, that's where you are swapping out your calories? basically drinking all your calories? >> exactly. it's caloric restriction, talking about restriction of calories that are good for you. at the same time getting involved in binge drinking. very dangerous, very crazy, but going on at college campuses. >> if you don't have food to sustain binge drinking which is four drinks or more? >> four drinks or more in one sitting. >> the potency of the drinks is all the worse. >> that's what happens. it increases the potency. we know for those of us who do drink once in a blue moon, that

when you do drink you should have something in your stomach. you should have something absorbing the alcohol. so you are basically talking about binge drinking but now on an empty stomach or empty body. and the real fear here, we have a lot of people who already have eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia, now you add in this alcohol abuse, extreme alcohol abuse, now we're talking about a disaster to the body and to the mind. >> what's the psychology behind this? why are people doing this. >> we know that looking at college campuses, a lot of kids, this is their first taste of freedom, this is where they ease a lot of social anxieties by drinking, of course being with peer groups. so they do get involved in a lot of this drinking, sometimes binge drinking. but they're also conscious, alex, of their figures. we know in america that so much of us want to be slim, we want to watch out for obesity. when you combine all of those issues, all of these situations,

then we end up with this druniorexia. >> all right. this was a good start to this. we will devil further later this morning. >> absolutely. >> thank you. the power of the tea party. is it a unified force with staying power? we'll look on msnbc sunday. hey, babe. oh, hi, honey!

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it's msnbc sunday, as we approach half past the hour, here are the headlines. it's a day of rest for president obama. he wrapped up a four-day campaign swing yesterday and will go to rhode island. in haiti, an outbreak of cholera killed more than 200 people and sickened more than 2,700 others. we'll have more on this coming up. in kenya, a stampede at a soccer match leaves seven people dead. they were run over by people trying to force their way into the stadium. environmental groups have filed suit in hopes of getting

that federal ban on deep water drilling reinstated. it was lifted last month. the san francisco giants are heading to the world series after beating the philadelphia phillies last night. the giant also take on the texas rangers in the fall classic. a new "washington post" survey of tea party groups reports while tea partiers could be a powerful grassroots movement they are without a centralized message or direction. of the 647 tea party groups the post identified and spoke with, few agreed which were the major concerns to them. amy gardner is a political reporter for the "washington post" and conducted this survey. thank you very much for bringing the information to us. what did you find most surprising? >> two statistics stood out for us about this movement.

one is 86% of the groupses we contacted, their leaders told us their members are new to political action. this confirms that this movement has the potential to inject a whole new grassroots army into the political arena and make a difference in elections. we've seen that this year in alaska and delaware, utah, nevada. however, there is sort of a contradictory finding as well which is 70% of these groups say that they are not coordinating political activity at the local level as a group. that's not to say that their members are not active, but much of the coordination that we're seeing in these state is coordination being done by national organizations, such as tea party expression, freedom works, americans for prosperity. >> interesting, you talk with a man, matt nie, from texas who says we are not wanting to be a third party. what we're trying to do is being activists by pushing a

conservative idea. how is it that they have become, though, something that is referred to as a third party, and what is their influence over republicans and the political process in general? >> well, i think one of the things that's happened is that the visibility of this movement, the rallies, the protests, the signs, the slogans, has enabled this movement to sort of create a brand, which has absolutely effected the entire political process and has forced national organizations, political parties or otherwise to adjust their strategies. so, to that extent, this has been a real movement. but i think what mr. nie is saying and several other people who i spoke to also said is that they are not there to be a structured political party. what they want is to educate and stand for a conservative set of principles and let individuals make their decisions on whom to support and what action to take in election season. >> the fact they look in terms of leaders, being identified,

we'll say this loosely, you have sarah palin at 14% as a national leader, 7% with glenn beck, 6% saying jim demint. without a real leader can they get something accomplished on a real substantive level? or is this what they want? they don't want elected tea party officials, necessarily? >> i think that's the open question. especially as we start to look past 2010 and look to 2012, when a lot of the national organizers that are trying to harness the power of this grassroots movement will want to have an impact on republican primary contests and states as that season opens in a little more than a year. i think that the open question, though, is whether that power can be harnessed because there's obviously great division and ambivalence amongst these members about who they see as their natural leaders. >> accusations of racism or extremism among the tea party members, how much is that going

to pose a problem for them in terms of going anywhere close to being mainstream? >> well, it's interesting. one of our findings when we asked leaders of these local groups to sort of rate various issues according to importance, 11% of the people we contacted said that president obama's race, religion and ethnic background are of -- are very important or somewhat important. 11% is a significant number. and, so, you know, the idea that race is a part of the narrative of the tea party is hard to refute when you see a number like that. >> yeah. okay. amy guaardnergardner, it's a gr article. >> thank you. >> "a movement without a compass" on washingtonpost.com. last night there were rallies held to protest a string of violence against gays and s

lesbi lesbians. >> here in our own country we are plagued with the same violence that roots from a self-hatred. >> new york's police commissioner says there have been 50 reports or so of anti gay bias here in new york city just this year. a house party ended in violence in one of mexico's deadliest cities. at least 13 people were shot dead late friday in ciuda ciudad juarez. gunmen in three cars drove up to the home and opened fire. the attackers all escaped. it's the second such massacre in less than a week in that city. more than 2,000 people have been killed in the border city this year in a turf war between drug cartels. aide workers in haiti say they are worried that a cholera outbreak in the rural part of the country is spreading towards the earthquake victims in the capital. the death toll has risen to more than 200 and more than 2,000

others are sick. frank thorpe is in port-au-prince with the latest. the biggest concern now, is it all those thousands and thousands of people that remain in these virtual tent camps? that the cholera will get there? >> the biggest concern now, there's 1.3 million people in the tent camps in port-au-prince and the surrounding areas. officials are extremely worried that it could spread there. but the u.n. has confirmed there have been five cases inside of port-au-prince which is pretty much their greatest fear. now, they've said that these cases were not contracted in port-au-prince but in the central plateau where the epicenter of the cholera is. but they're working hard to make sure that doesn't spread within the tent cities where people are living on top of each other an sanitation is a huge problem. >> okay. by that description right there what are the officials able to do to combat cholera? >> you know, organizations in the u.n. have started to send

teams into the tent camps and try to educate them on how to prevent contracting cholera what to do if someone gets sick what to look for, the symptoms, and also making sure that the hospitals are stocked with rehydration fluids, antibiotics, and sending additional doctors to make sure that hospitals are ready for the innundation of people they are seeing. if it hits port-au-prince it will be a huge problem. >> huge, are they putting any sort of an estimate as to, you know, how bad this could get, frank? >> officials are staying away from estimating how bad this could get. but from the hospitals we checked on, they're having a steady stream of patients, those numbers are not going down. officials are just expecting these numbers to get higher. >> frank, how fearful are people? is cholera all that people are talking about?

is there a grave concern about it? >> it is. everybody here is talking about it. you walk down the streets, people are discussing what they need to do with their trash, what they need to do with water. people are stockpiling culligan water gallons to make sure they have fresh water in fears that the water supplies will be depleted. people are really worried. there's a lot of rumors out here that people don't know what foods to eat what foods are safe what water is safe what water is unsafe. so there's definitely a general sense of hysteria amongst people because they are worried and don't know what to do. >> frank thorpe, our nbc new producer in port-au-prince, thanks for the sobering report. it is the first sunday since the nfl launched a crackdown on vicious hits, but what do players think about it? we'll talk about the nfl smackdown next.

the pacific northwest, still the stormy spot on the map. gusty winds through areas of lake tahoe and yosemite throughout the day. in the midwest, things are improving a bit in texas. temperatures are mild from florida up to maine. enjoy your sunday. i'm meteorologist bill karins. this lighting is awful.

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an american world champion swimmer has died in competition overseas. 26-year-old fran crippen seen here in 2003 was competing saturday south of dubai. he did not finish and was found in the water two hours later. fellow competitors all described the conditions for that race as unusually hot. crippen told a former coach the water was 87 degrees. swimming officials say crippen died of overexertion and deny reports that he had died of a heart attack.

the nfl slapped major fines on 15 players this week for illegal hard hits in last sunday's games. >> first and ten. polamalu. oh, my goodness. harrison again, laying the wood. >> that tackle by the steelers james harrison knocked that player from the game. the nfl charged him $75,000 for that shot. another shot came from robinson who leveled deshaun jackson of the eagles. the league said this week it would begin suspending first-time offenders for hard hits. joining us now is charles bentley, i should say new orleans saints star. see the helmet there. thanks for joining us. you played in the nfl what is it

that made these hits illegal? were they especially devastating or are these just typical? >> they're typical, in my opinion. we are looking at hits that have been taking place in the nfl over the last 30, 40 plus years. i'm not sdaunderstanding why it such a big deal. >> we have over $250,000 in fines this week, no suspensions. why don't you think anyone was suspended? >> for many different reasons we can get into as for why the guys weren't suspended. this is just the first step in trying to figure out a true resolution to what we're seeing now in the nfl. in my opinion this is more reactive versus a proactive solution. many of these guys in the nfl are not making the millions of dollars that we believe that they are making. a lot of these guys are fringe players, for these guys to be hit with 50,000, $75,000 fines, it's a big chunk of their annual paychecks. >> it is why do you think that the commissioner, roger goodell,

why are they doing it? are there genuine concerns about safety? you got to know there are. >> of course, the nfl are not that cold-blooded where they are not concerned about player safety. we are talking about the same nfl for years that believed the notion that these big hits don't cause concussions there are no ramifications post-career as far as concussions go. now i see the nfl positioning themselves when it comes down sit down around the table and negotiate this new cva, the first thing players will want is lifetime or longer health care benefits, and the nfl will point to the idea that you guys can't protect yourselves why should we pay for what you guys are doing to one another. >> this week the nfl was sending videos to the different teams showing the different hits that are illegal. you have the vikings punter responding with a tweet, great quote from the video, you can't lead with your helmet, forearm or shoulder.

i guess we have to karate kick people now when tackling. these rules are there to protect the players, lacharles, are you getting feedback from your colleagues? >> i'mplenty of feedback and guys are concerned, because they are making big dollars, and they understand if they are going to make their way into the nfl, you have to be known as something. either be known as a great tackler or a great hitter. the great tacklers in the nfls don't get paid the big bucks, the big hitters do these guys are concerned what do you do now, go out and play timid? if you do, you put yourself in position where you are hurt. >> how about this there penn state coach joe paterno saying he recommends face masks be removed from the helmets to force the players to stop tackling with their heads what are your thoughts? >> i have tremendous respect for joe paterno, but that's a nostalgic view he's presenting. if anything, be more proactive,

think about ways to make the game better and safer. one of the best ideas i've heard someone say is make the field bigger. you are dealing with bigger, faster, stronger players. go to canadian style football field where it's 110 yards long by 65 feet wide or 65 yards wide, make the field bigger than what it is now. therefore you will eliminate many opportunities for these big hits. >> i got to tell you, though, i'm just sick after having watched the video last night from that rutgers army game last weekend. you got this eric lagrand, he has been injured in a spinal cord injury. he's in a hospital in new jersey, on a ventilator, paralyzed from his neck down. you know, this kind of thing is very sobering. >> is very sobering. you are absolutely correct. you don't want to see anybody carried out on a stretcher. you want the game to be physical. you want the game to be as violent as it can, but you don't want to see these guys get hurt. but that's the nature of the

business as far as the professional aspect goes. these guys understand the concerted risks and have taken the concerted risks to put their bodies on the line. >> great talking with you. i know you were a happy camper back in february with those saints. >> very happy. great for the team. great for the city. >> that was just grit game. thanks so much. >> thank you for having me. all of you consider this, you get laid off, fall behind in your bills and ruin your credit in the process, but did you know your bad credit could hurt your ability to get a new job? should employers be allowed to check your credit history? we'll talk about that next on "msnbc sunday."

the money's pouring into nevada. senator harry reid and sharron

angle compete for the senate saturday seat there outside groups spent 13.5 million. the only other states to receive more are pennsylvania and colorado. in the hunt for a job there is more to worry about than just your resume and cover letter. the latest hurdle to getting a job could be your credit history because many employers are now scrutinizing the way people pay their bills as part of their screening process. joining me here in studio, employment attorney john singer. good morning to you, john. >> good morning. >> why would an employer be interested in someone's credit history? >> what is a good question. this particular issue has, as of late engendered significant vitriol and discord on capitol hill and washington, oregon and hawaii enacted legislation precluding employers from utilizing credit checks and reports in connection with hiring decision. connecticut, california and tennessee have recently drafted legislation, as has the u.s. house to me it is not really a right to privacy being impinged upon, as an employee, you must

execute a waiver allowing employers to embark on this search it is more a relevance issue. as business owner, i'm looking at potential employer attorneys for our firm, i'm flood their orer to skills, drafting skill -- >> relevant to 9 to 5. >> i'm not concerned if someone has been dilatory paying their electric bill or their cable bill. >> but you are saying, john this is legal. when you are applying for jobs and have to check off something so they can do credit checks, background checks, encompassed here? >> washington, oregon, hawaii preclude it as a uniform matter. other states it is legal but you must execute a waiver allowing an employer to do so. according to the "washington post," 60% of organizations use credit checks when selecting candidates for job. 13% conduct credit checks on all job candidates. >> i think that is maybe a little bit high. i think the recent statistics show 35 to 45% and the trend has been moving this that direction and that's why i think you have seen the recent legislation

being enacted as a backlash to that. >> okay. now, i want to know -- look it has been a mess out there in the job market, as you well know. for those people who have been affected by the economic down it is turn, they have had to declare bankruptcy and that sort of thing what do they have as their option when they want to find a new job? >> i think that is a catch-22. i think in this economy, after the melt down in 2008 occurred, you had job losses, mortgage payments, people were falling behind upon, houses going into foreclosure, that shows up on credit reports, now these people scrutinized more carefully, can't get jobs it is a catch 226789. >> someone declared bankruptcy because they have had cancer, didn't have health insurance what about that cycle as well? couldn't afford the treatment, for instances like that company doing a background check, does that get put into a special category, like it had nothing to do with whether you could pay your bill, you were in a hospital bed. >> exactly. all kinds of circumstances with medical conditions unforeseen, other i circumstances, too,

people get divorced that often engenders adverse credit scores it is a hot-button issue now and you why see the backlash on the states and in dong. >> john singer, thanks for that. more predictions this morning what to expect in the midterm elections, including the fate of senate majority leader harry reid. stick around, everyone, 'cause you are watching msnbc sunday. ♪ [ male announcer ] at ge capital, we're out there every day with clients like jetblue -- financing their fleet, sharing our expertise, and working with people who are changing the face of business in america.

after 25 years in the aviation business, i kind of feel like if you're not having fun at what you do, then you've got the wrong job. my landing was better than yours. no, it wasn't. yes, it was. was not. yes, it was. what do you think? take one of the big ones out? nah.

president obama is back at the white house right now but he won't be there for long. pretty soon, he will be back out on the campaign trail, just nine days and counting now till the midterm elections. the ipad has been a huge success, but will it lead to the death of the newspaper? and there was a lot of paranormal activity at the box office this weekend but did moviegoers make it number one? good sunday morning, i'm alex witt. we welcome you here to msnbc sunday, we approach 1 to 0 a.m. on the east coast, 7 a.m. out west. new word from a top republican this morning, the