will the good news on the jobs front help democrats in the budget battle against republicans? not fleeing, for the first time rebels in libya hold their ground against gadhafi's forces, and now the rebels offer a cease-fire. former d.c. schools chancellor michelle hree says she agrees with an investigation regarding the district schools where suspicious standardized test results are now under question. rhee joins "news nation" live ahead of hearings to investigate this scandal. should smokers and obese patients on medicaid be forced to pay a fee? that is exactly what jan brewer, the controversial governor of arizona airs proposing, and it is today's "news nation" gut check. hi, everyone, i'm tamron hall. "news nation" is following today's encouraging news. >> jobs. 216,000 new jobs were added in

the month of march and the nation's unemployment rate fell from 8.9 to 8.8%. that is a two-year low, and still 13.5 million people are listed as unemployed. president obama spoke a couple of hours ago about the better than expected, new numbers. >> that makes 1.8 million private sector jobs created in the last 13 months, and the unemployment rate has now falling an full point in the last four months. in the last time that happened was during recei recovery in 19 >> mike viqueira joins us live from the white house. as mentioned, i'm sure the white house wants to hear it over and over, aga good news, but you ha people hesitant to try to get out and find a job, not confident in this recovery. >> reporter: yeah. the white house and the president are quick to point out the fact there's plenty of work to be done, a bumpy road ahead, experts are saying this jobless rate is going to fluctuate up

and down. you pointed out there are 13.5 million americans out of work. one economic expert says, look, the economy's now take-off speed but not in full flight. the kind of robust growth that will bring down the unemployment rate in the 6% range where it was at the outset of what everybody's calling great recession. having said all of that, no pessimism allowed here at the white house today. this is nothing but good news, as far as they're concerned, both from an economic and political point of view of truth be told, tamron, the second consecutive month job growth, more than 200,000, that's viewed as a threshold to start to bring that down significantly. you heard the president in that sound bite say in the past four months the unemployment rate has come down a full 1 percentage point down from 9.8% four months ago. being greeted as good news and a weapon, rhetorical weapon in the budget fight that's heating up now, as you know, a week from today the government will run out of money if there's no agreement on how to spend american dollars for the rest of

this year the president and his spokesman saying we cannot afford to trifle with this recovery now in its beginning stages by having the government shut down. >> thank you, mike. checking wall street's reaction to today's unemployment report, the dow is up 84 points, s&p up slightly as well as the nasdaq, all due to the surprising, but very good, jobs numbers that we were just talking about. now, to a major story that "news nation" has been following all week. washington, d.c.'s acting school chancellor is calling for a review, after "usa today" investigation found stunning irregularities in public school test scores. the paper reports that a highly unusual rate of wrong answers changed to right answers on standardized tests were spotted between 2008 and 2010. i talked with one of the article's writers on wednesday. >> those numbers that we're looking at, talking 10, 12, 15

even per student that were changed to the right answer. what this analysis does, it's a starting to point to say, look, these are very rare, the chance you said, of winning the powerball is more likely to happen that we found. >> the high test scores earns the district and school chancellor at the time, michelle rhee, national recognition. live from california, thank you so much for your time. >> absolutely. my pleasure. >> let me ask you, your original reaction or you were quoted as saying this report was not credible, now you support an investigation. what changed your mind? >> well, absolutely. i mean i actually don't think there is really credibility to the report that there was widespread cheating in the district. i think that the vast majority of professionals, of education professionals, both in the district of columbia and across the nation, would never compromise their professional and personal integrity to falsify student test results. that said, i think that right now, if there's doubt in people's minds we should

absolutely put that doubt to rest by bringing in another person to investigate what we already did investigate in d.c. and found that there was no evidence of cheating in these circumstances. but we want the community to be confident about the results that our children saw, where there were issues then we should make sure there are ramifications for adults involved. i think that i'm fully supportive of having an investigation done so that we can put these things to bed. >> the article focuses in on one specific school, the seventh gradeser there's, according to the article, at the class, one classroom averaged 12.7 wrong to right erasures, that's one changing a wrong answer from a wrong one to a right one. the average for seventh grader in all of d.c. were less than one. the principal at that school, as well as a teacher, received an $8,000 bonus. the principal received $10,000

bonus from you. when you look at the numbers and look at especially the data there, are you concerned at all? >> sure. i think that's why, when we got the information back from the state superintendent's office that said there's some unusual erasure rates at these schools, you need to investigate everybody, we did absolutely that. we went above and onthe call of duty. what happens of the state asks a district to investigate something, the district investigates itself. we wanted to make sure we had the highest level of integrity in the investigation so we brought an external firm in to do the investigation since we were not able to be in the classrooms to see everything that's going on we thought that that was the best thing to do, and the eshxternal investigator who did the investigation and asked the questions sent us a report back saying that they did not find any improprieties. so that's what we have to go off of. >> a question that agency, if they had access to all of the

information and were able to dig deep into these numbers. >> yes. well, we gave them all of the information that they asked for, and they told us that they felt they were able to do a very thorough investigation, and that they felt confident in the results. so, again, i mean, i think, you know, certainly those folks perfect and is there a possibility that they could have missed? maybe. that's in why we think that it's best, again, to make sure there's no doubt cast on any of the results. why not bring in another person to do a second investigation and just make sure we can put these issues out of the minds of the community. >> i guess the thing that caught a lot of attention was your initial resistance and strong words and investigation. you said it was an insult to the dedicated teachers and schoolchildren who worked hard to improve their academic level. when you had parents who usa today their child's

abilities did not match these test results, in other words, the test results were coming in good but when mom and dad were sitting down with their child to do math that child was not showing that they had actually mastered those skills. so why come out so hard and say, this isn't credible, as opposes to the tone you're taking now as let's look into it if it's an issue? >> what i believe is that what the "usa today" article said was that there was evidence of widespread cheating across the district. i think that is what lacks credibility, because the article was specifically about one particular school, and there are particular classrooms we should absolutely look into those things. based on all of the evidence, there was no data to suggest there was evidence of widespread cheating and that's what i called in to question as the credibility of those statements. and i continue to say that i believe the vast majority of teachers and students in our district absolutely saw very,

very significant gains in student achievement and to say there may have been widespread cheating it is an insult to those educators and kids. now, putting that aside, if there were particular isolated instances of problems or irregularity, should we look into those to the fullest extent that we can? absolutely. >> are you worried though? real quick, the money offered as a bonus for schools who do well -- in this case the school in question, i'll repeat the teacher received $8,000, the teacher received $10,000 -- that would be incentive for someone to change or -- i don't want to use the word "cheat" but it's out there at this point to change these scores, these tests. >> absolutely not. look, teachers are professionals. they have a tremendous amount of integrity. you cannot tell me that the vast majority of teachers are going to compromise their professional integrity because there's a reward at the other side. i just don't think -- i mean i

think that's underestimating the incredibly hard working teachers in our schools every day to assume that they would do that. >> my mother was an educator for many years but the assumption's been put out there and there's an investigation. >> if you would ask your mom, she would say there's no way a vast majority of us who are out there would say because i might get some money at the end i'm going to compromise the test results of kids. the vast majority of education professionals would never do that. >> michelle rhee thank you. developing news out of afghanistan. 12 people, including 8 u.n. workers, have been killed during a demonstration reportedly against the burning of the koran. afghan officials say 2,000 people gathered peacefully outside a u.n. office in kabul but the protest turned violent when some protesters grabbed weapons from u.n. guards and opened fire. libya, right now rebels have laid out their conditions for a cease-fire agreement as they showed signs of better

organization and increased firepower. rebels fought back against gadhafi's forces today with mortars and rocket launchers. they also seemed to have better communication equipment and held their ground rather than retreat as they've done for the previous three days. meantime, gadhafi's forces launched an intense, new attack today on misrata, the only major rebel-held city in western libya. for more, let's bring in nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel live in benghazi. richard, talk to us more about this propose or reports of a possible cease-fire offered by the rebels. >> reporter: there is a -- there was today a u.n. envoy and he is trying to work on a cease-fire. the u.n. envoy, a former jordanian foreign minister, first went to tripoli. tripoli has long said it wants a cease-fire. then he came here today to meet with opposition figures. the opposition figures came out and said, yes, they would be

willing to have a cease-fire but with many conditions and the conditions are important. the conditions were that gadhafi pull back from all of the cities, particularly misrata, which has been under siege. that he stop using mercenaries and that they allow that the gadhafi regime allow for peaceful demonstrations. so effectively, the opposition is saying that if you allow this country to be a democracy, where people can go out and express themselves, holding anti-gadhafi rallies in tripoli even, then there's a cease-fire because, according to the opposition, there would be no need for a war because there would be a democratic uprising that would take gadhafi out of power. no indication that gadhafi would relax his iron grip on power that he's had for 42 years and suddenly allow demonstrations that could sweep him out of office. but that is at least the first time we're hearing from the opposition talking to the united nations here in benghazi saying there is something other than a military solution to this conflict. >> what's been the reaction?

secretary gates and mike mullen, admiral mike mullen, announced the u.s. will not take part in air strikes tomorrow. >> reporter: the air strikes are continuing. on the ground here it doesn't matter so much the composition of the nato martpartners. as long as they drop bombs that explode, the reaction here has been positive. the rebels, for the last 24 hours, have been making some gains. as you mentioned earlier we have seen them firsthand standing their ground. they have radios now, which they didn't have in the past, a sign they getting better equipment, perhaps someone is helping them. numerous reports of cia teams on the ground here. but other governments are also expressing their willingness to help. after all, several governments even recognized the opposition as the legitimate authority, the sovereign government of libya. rebels are getting better, and the air strikes are continue, despite the fact the u.s. is trying to distance itself from

the military campaign. >> thank you. coming up on "news nation" what workers inside japan's doomed nuclear plant are telling their family members. then, a drug company cuts the cost of an important medicine that prevents preterm births after national outrage over the price. why many are not happy even with this new price. plus -- could $5 atm fees become a reality for you? it is the newest way banks are trying to recoup lost money. we have the details. male announcer ] if you're only brushing, add listerine® total care for more complete oral care. ♪ it works in six different ways to restore enamel, strengthen teeth, freshen breath, help prevent cavities, and kill bad breath germs for a whole mouth clean. so go beyond the brush with listerine® total care. the most complete mouthwash. and for visibly whiter teeth, try listerine® total care plus whitening.

what's all this? big news! we have another way to help you save. oh, really? how? by bundling. if you get your homeowners and auto insurance together, we give you even more savings. ooh! big bundle. [ chuckling ] home and auto together. it's like peanut butter and jelly. oh, or like burgers and fries. or pickles and ice cream. unicorns and glitter! no? bundling to save you more. now, that's progressive! call or click today.

>> a team of u.s. nuclear power works are is expected to head to japan to try to help stabilize the fukushima plant. according to righters, a handful of technicians and engineers

have signed up to go. they would be based in tokyo and are not expected to be exposed to high levels of radiation. the mother of one of the fukushima workers reportedly says some of the workers expect to die within weeks or months. she said her son told her that the workers believe they have been exposed to lethal levels of radiation and that they're committed to dying, if it would save the nation. and the u.s. is sending two giant pumps used to spray concrete to japan. the pumps will be used to spray water on the reactors and the government is considering encasing them in concrete to shut them down. joining me now from seoul, south korea, nbc's charles hadlock. we've known for a while the dangers the people in the plant, the workers who stood by and tried to get the situation under control, but to hear the words of one of the worker's mothers to say he expects to die in weeks or months it brings all of the reality back to you of what's happening there. >> reporter: yeah, it's really sad, tamron.

but again, there's been no official conferratiirmation any come down with any radiation sickness. that's just the workers' feelings, having been in the plant. japan's prime minister said today that his country vows to win the battle over the broken and overheated reactors in japan, and japan is getting more international help. the u.s. department of energy is sending about 40 people to japan to advise the engineers here on the nuclear crisis. and as you mentioned, an american company is sending several large concrete pumps. they will be flown over in the next week or so. they have been retrofitted to spray water on the reactors. but as you mentioned they could be converted back to concrete again and could encase the reactors, much like they did chernobyl. tepco, the electric company in japan, says they're still hopeful they can stabilize the reactors if they can finally bring the leaks, radioactive water leaks, under control.

>> charles hadlock, live in seoul, south korea. i'll talk with a woman who wants to make history. the first woman to represent the uk in the miss universe pageant. why she's coming unfire from some within her own community. the controversial miniseries about the kennedy family finds a new home on tv, and it's this candida weekend. it's finally going to air. what people are saying. we'll tell you. ♪ [ male announcer ] the davis twins... ...are alike in nearly every way... ...right down to brushing their teeth. so how did only one get gingivitis? well, one in two people do. so i told karen about new crest pro-health clinical gum protection toothpaste. it helps eliminate plaque at the gumline, helping prevent gingivitis. it's even clinically proven to help reverse it in just 4 weeks. and it protects these other areas dentists check most. looks like the twins are even again. new crest pro-health clinical toothpaste. life opens up when you do.

and here's what we did today in homes all across america: we created the electricity that powered the alarm clocks and brewed the coffee. we heated the bathwater and gave kelly a cleaner ride to school. cooked the cube steaks and steamed the veggies. entertained dad, and mom, and a neighbor or two. kept watch on the house when they slept. and tomorrow we could do even more. we're cleaner, domestic, abundant and ready now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power today. learn more at anga.us. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars...

out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp...

i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. a muslim woman from britain is take on racist and abusive messages in defense of her dream, becoming the first muslim woman to represent the uk in the miss universe competition. also accused of disrespecting islam for wanting to compete but the 24-year-old says she

believes muslim in the uk should be allowed to have a western lifestyle. she joins me from manchester, england. >> thank you. >> this headline i have has your pictures and it says, fanatics told me to rot in hell, says muslim miss universe girl, they refer to you as in this. what happened? >> basically, all of the hate mail that i'm receiving is via facebook. i have had a lot of support from all communities and i have had a lot of abuse from all communities as well. i've had people who have been sending me abuse, who disapprove with what i'm doing. however, because it's not been constructive criticism and it's been abuse i couldn't relate to it and see is my religion an issue or is it jealousy or because a woman's going forward and she wants to represent her own country? i couldn't really relate to it.

>> what do you believe is the source of these attacks? i mean, obviously, it can't be because you're a woman because the contest is filled with women. beautiful women like yourself. so what do you believe is at the heart of this? >> i believe the minority out there are using my religion as a tool to attack me. i feel that i'm born here, i'm british, yes, i am a muslim, i'm proud of where i come back from. however, they shouldn't use my religion as a tool to attack me. >> your family has been incredibly supportive. are they worried at all that these people who, as you point out are attacking you, you say, for example, facebook that their hate or anger will escalate as you move forward in pursuing this dream? >> it did escalate to a certain extent where i was very concerned. my family were very concerned. i thought, e-kay, this needs to be reported now because i was

getting threats. it's not something that i expected. it's not something i wanted. i was very hurt and upset by it. but i don't see i'm doing anything wrong. we live in a western society. minority out there choose to not adhere to their own traditional values. because these things are never highlighted as accepted as normal, because a muslim girl has come forward and wants to represent her own country, there's objections. >> by some. you know, it's so interesting because last year miss michigan became the first muslim to win the miss usa pageant here in the states. she received some slight criticism but overall people were very proud to see her represent the community as well as michigan, her state. have you had a chance, for example, to speak to her and are you at a point where you might drop out because of the pressure here? and you shouldn't because of the pressure but sometimes it gets

overwhelming. >> the pressure has been -- i have been high and low. i have had the great support of the team, from my family, and there's a lot of support out there who people who are supporting me and right behind me. in terms of of reamer, she could relate to what i was going through because she went through something very similar. i didn't feel alone in that. and i was very happy that i received a message from herself which was basically relating to the pain and the emotional breakdown that i was having. >> shanna, we appreciate you coming on. we wish you the best in pursuing your dream and this fantastic always to have the support of loved ones and your family right there with you and it's a good thing. thank you very much. >> coming up, police and

firefighters are turning on the gop, according to a new report, fearing they may be the next target if what some call an attack on unions by republicans. we'll talk to the author of an article on politico that digs into this issue. calls to parred two mississippi sisters who served 16 years of a life sentence for an armed robbery, they say they didn't commit. why the governor says he will not pardon them.tor said st cal . aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. also available in small, easy-to-swallow petites. citracal.

welcome back to "news nation." cutting the cost, a drugmaker under fire for the staggering price of a high-risk pregnancy treatment agrees to reduce the cost, after an nbc news report. but is it still unaffordable for many women who need it? midair signets diverted after several passengers pass out on board. today's "news nation" gut check, should arizona charge overweight medicaid recipients an extra fee? that's what governor jan brewer wants to do.

critics say it's an unfair penalty. what does your gut tell you. one week away from a possible government shutdown and we are hearing conflicting reports from capitol hill. democrats have floated the possibility of a deal on a federal budget for the remainder of the fiscal year, that includes $33 billion in cuts. we heard less than two hours ago, though, from house speaker john boehner. >> we're continuing to talk, but it's time for the senate to get serious. the senate democrats need to get serious about cutting spending. because cutting spending will lead to a better environment for job creators to create jobs in america. >> nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins us live. at least speaker boehner didn't use a curse word. he said damn earlier this week. and his tone didn't seem as aggressive. are cooler heads prevailing here? >> reporter: he got us for a moment. he said you thought there was going to be a press conference, april fool and walked away. then he came back to the cameras. a deal, will it happen? well the team that is doing the negotiating will continue to

work as the speaker indicated. he remains confident. he pointed out to us today if it were to shut down the government would end up spending more money because there would be contracts that would be interrupted, the cost of restarting would really make the attempt to try to save money completely fall by the way side. he says the goal is to cut spending not shut down the government and his office is not doing anything to prepare for contingencies of a government shutdown. he's been pressuring democrats saying they need to do more. that's been happening on the house floor, trying to get the senate, which is not in session today to take action. the house says that it has done its job and the senate needs to respond. a big fight over trying to pass something that would mean members of congress would not get their paychecks if there was a government shutdown. the way the law's written now, they would. it is getting to a fever pitch because once a deal were to be reached if that happens, there will be some time that would have to elapse before the votes

could all be taken and that could make us bump right up against that next friday deadline. so it's getting complicated and we're hear two different sets of accounts of how the negotiations are going from democrats and republicans. >> friday will come around very fast. thank you very much, kelly o'donnell, live on capitol hill. thanks, kelly. we've got an update on a story we brought you yesterday about a new drug designed to prevent premature births, which are the leading cause of deaths in infants worldwide. the manufacturer of a drug agreed to reduce the price which soared after the fda approved the drug recently. nbc news chief investigative correspondent lisa meyers joins us live from washington. lisa, you've been reporting on this for two days. the drug company's made a decision to lower the price but eyebrows are still raised at this point. >> reporter: yes, tamron. some say the reduction does not go far enough. first, recap what happened here. this drug known asth makena cou

help 140,000 women. many have been take a hormone compound similar to the drug and paying $20 a dose. when the kv pharmaceutical announced the new drug would cost $1500 a dose, there was widespread outrage. today, the company relented and announced it would reduce its list price of makena by more than half to $690 per injection. the company said it would offer supplemental rebates and has expanded its patient assistance program to make the drug more affordable for more women. >> but, lease, even at this reduction, over the course of a pregnancy, it would be around $15,000 for women who need this drug. and in your prior report, some doctors were even critical of the price of this drug, really saying it may be about the money. how does the company justify this price tag? >> reporter: well, the company justifies the price tag saying that they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to research

and develop this drug. however, an important indicator of the reaction to what the company did today is a statement put out by the march of dimes, a group dedicated to improving the health of babies, and it called these actions steps in right direction, but said they do not go far enough. in fact, the march of dimes today sent the drug company a letter terminating the relationship with the company. the march of dimed had supported this new drug and the effort to get it fast tracked by the fda. this was a very major breach. the bottom line, the drug could still cost $15,000. and i lot of doctors are worried that middle or low income folks will not be able to afford it. >> lisa meyers with an update on this important story for so many. thank you, lisa.

the pilot of an american airlines flight on its way to chicago from washington, d.c. dropped oxygen masks after four passengers fainted and two flight attendants got dizzy. the plane made an unscheduled stop in ohio. some passengers were complaining about the plane's air qualify. two people were taken to the hospital. a rally taking place in support of two sisters hoping for a parred friend mississippi governor haley barbour. the governor released the women from prison earlier on the condition one would donate a kidney to the other. the sisters served 16 years of a life sentence for a 1993 armed robbery when released. the governor will not pardon the women because he's never pardoned anyone who hasn't expressed guilt or remorse. and you might have to fork over more cash in order to get your own cash out of an atm

machine. banks like jpmorgan chase pla planning to charge $5 if you're not a customer and use their machines. in addition, other banks are planning to penalize those who don't keep a certain amount of money in their accounts. the fees are an attempt to make up for lost revenue. a wisconsin judge hearing arguments about a proposed law to sharply limit union bargaining for public workers. scott walker, the man behind the law, forced to suspend it yesterday because the judge ruled it was not properly publiced. a wisconsin legislative staffer testified today that nearly 3,000 people were denied access to a special committee meeting on that bargaining plan. now the law requires most public workers to pay more for benefits while taking away most collective bargaining rights. that fight is sending ockwaves through union member ranks who have long supported the gop. public safety unions are fearful that sweeping cuts to workers' bargaining rights will stretch beyond the proposals we've seen

this year to cut, for example, teachers rights. now politico reports angry police officers and firefighters are turning on the gop, speaking out to rally their base in protest against anti-labor laws in their states. joined by jeanne cummings, assistant managing editor for politico. thank you for your time. you talk about in your article that this could cause significant repercussions and not because these right-leaning union members vote for republicans in sizable numbers. are we talking about a flicker of people or are we talking what could be widespread? >> no, we're talking in terms of the conservative nature of these unions, they are 50% or even higher in some cases, they lean right. this is a very large voting bloc that in these last election cycle has been in the corner of the republican camp, despite the fact they're part of the labor movement. and these fights over collective

bargaining rights have motivated and energized these unions to join ranks with the afl-cio and other labor unions that they typically have had some distance from. and so it could change some of those votes. there's also the optics of it. you know, picture of republican candidates standing next to a police officer is sort of a staple of a gop campaign and they may not be able to capture those kind of images. >> these people have been very vocal, some of which is being told directly to members of congress, we have a quote from congressman peter king, republican of new york, and says, quote, these are down the line conservatives. they fully supported bush in the iraq war, in the war against terrorism, and on all of the gut issues they were there. and they may not be next time around as a result of what we're seeing, including wisconsin and ohio, this, again, especially in the midwest.

>> well, that's where we had many of the state capitals, the governor switched from democratic to republican. and what we're seeing is that this new freshman class of governors are -- a lot are playing from the same book. we have seen these kinds of actions against labor in wisconsin, ohio, florida, new jersey, there's an attempt down in tennessee. some of the governors tempered what they had done and not gone after collective bargaining rights, because that seems to be the switch. that's the trigger. and that goes to the core of what a union is. and then the firemen and the police say, even if they're exempt from some of the pension cuts, they can't stand by if collective bargaining rights are on the line. >> an interesting report on politico. thank you. appreciate it. up next -- snooki's big payday. rutgers university spends more money to have snooki come to

their campus to speak than what was paid to a nobel prize winner. we'll tell you who that is and what's happening now. some of the things we thought you should know. rick santorum will participate in the first debate of the 2012 presidential campaign. the first in the south debate will be held in downtown greenville, south carolina, may 5th. santorum hopes others considering a run will commit to that debate. and prosecutors deciding whether to indict john edwards spent four hours interviewing his former aide andrew young yesterday. the investigation centers on payments edwards made to keep his pregnant mistress rielle hunter and young reportedly or allegedly in hiding. young posed as the father of edwards' and hunter's baby during the 2008 campaign. a controversial miniseries about the kennedy family is finally hitting the small screen. history channel pulled the includiplug on the series after kennedy

cam family members were unhappy with how it is portrayed. airing sunday on the reelz channel, paying $7 million for the series that cost $25 million to make. be kind to your eyes with transitions lenses. transitions adapt to changing light so you see your whole day comfortably and conveniently while protecting your eyes from the sun. ask your eyecare professional which transitions lenses are right for you. ask your eyecare professional for your transitions

certificate of authenticity for your chance to win instant monthly prizes or our $20,000 grand prize! i grew up in the bronx. i just loved it here. i'm sam chernin. owner of sammy's fish box. my uncle owned a restaurant up on city island. and we started going to the restaurant in the summers. 8, 9, 10 years old. i knew immediately that this is what i like, never dreaming that i would own seven restaurants. i want people that work for me to feel that they're sharing in my success. so we purchase as much as we can on the american express open gold card. and we accumulate as many membership reward points as possible. and use those points to reward our employees. they get a trip with their family, and some wonderful memories. the average employee is with me over 20 years. i have busboys that are with me 30 years. when i tell them that i'm giving them a trip, they just can't believe it. giving back to my employees makes me feel great. and when my employees are happy,

my customers are happy. how can the gold card help serve your business? booming is taking care of your business by taking care of your employees.

i'm richard lui in for martin bashir. could a cease-fire in libya be on the or risen? a new film on autism, unlike anything we've seen before. a hopeful journey parents will not want to miss. update on the mad men stand-off. snooki gets paid more than a nobel prize winner. and prince william, he won't be wearing his wedding ring. really? the scoop from today.com pop culture columnist. >> mad men, mad men fans all over the place be very, very happy you're going to get your show back, just later than you thought you would. matt winer and amc came to a compromise. >> did we not think they would?

>> it would be how would the compromise shake out. they did get the -- amc got their way with shaving two minutes off the show. that said the xroe compromise t premiere and finale will run at 47 minutes, the rest of the season at 45 minutes. the cast members will stay on. we heard they wanted to trim as many as six over two years. and matt weinor will maintain control of the product placements. makes sense a show of advertising would have some advertising in it and they wanted to make sure creatively that things were held up to a very high standard. >> sure. >> we're going to begin production here in just -- they're going back to writers room in a few weeks, production will begin in july, when we usually see the premiere, and the premiere will be the following march. >> i've got it on my calendar. >> good. something that has people outraged all over the internet and on scoop today. snooki appeared at rutgers university thursday to speak to college students. she was paid $32,000 for her

tips on how to lead a lifestyle, study hard, party more. she said, hair tips, that sort of thing. the outrage isn't just at the price but the fact tony morrison, author of "beloved," she's speaking this spring, only being paid $30,000. >> with the snooki -- >> almost without words. >> yes. didn't the students come up with the money to pay her? >> it was part of student fees. student fees collected from the university as a whole paid for snooki 'experience. the money, the choice to have a commencement speaker, that's out of a different pot so you could argue, it's what students wanted, it's their money. on paper it seems really ridiculous. >> no statements from the university? >> no statement from the university so far. joke's on us. good to be snooki. >> good to be snooki. >> the queen and prince william talking a lot about them today, the queen visited prince

william, he showed off what he does, take your grandmother to workday, very sweet. one of the things coming out that is prince william is not going to be wearing his wedding ring after he and kate ged married. something that has some people outraged. but it's up to -- it's a personal decision. that's what they said, it's a personal decision. he doesn't have to. his father actually wears a small band under his signet ring. it looks like he's not wearing one but he is. kate middleton is getting a ring fashioned from rare gold. >> from the queen's gold. >> from the queen's stash. >> the royal men wear their band on their pinky. >> if they choose. >> maybe he's not into the pinky look. >> i don't flow. i say you made me wait how long, throw the ring for a little while. >> everyone knows he married. >> there is that. >> it's what's in the heart.

logon to scoop.today.com. or be a fan on facebook. we will be right back. [ woman ] welcome back, jogging stroller. you've been stuck in the garage, while my sneezing and my itchy eyes took refuge from the dust in here and the pollen outside. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. it's the brand allergists recommend most. ♪ lily and i are back on the road again. where we belong. with zyrtec®, i can love the air®.

requires more than wishful thinking. it requires determination and decisive action. go to e-trade and get unbiased analyst ratings and 24/7 help from award-winning customer support to take control of your finances and your life. tap into the power of revolutionary mobile apps. to trade wherever. whenever. life isn't fully experienced sitting idly by. neither is investing. e-trade. investing unleashed.

something. the doctor wouldn't be doing it for free. >> many people who have weight problems see a doctor for issues. this unfortunately would require doctors and the state to punish individuals who through no fault of their own have medical conditions. >> the governor and her supporters say the cost savings would help them cover people who need organ transplants, as a

result of cuts in the state. there have been heavy criticism on jan brewer and the republicans because of people who need organ transplants have been denied as a result. you laugh when i say that, you don't buy their argument? >> new york this is one of the biggest lies she's ever told. the governor could restore the transplant funding any day of the week. she could have done it in the budget that passed this morning in the house of representatives but chose not to restore funding. what she's trying to do here is connect organ transplants to federal waiver requirements. there is no connection here. and it is wrong for her to make this connection. it's immoral. >> the spokesperson for the agency, medicaid, says no such levy has been approved so it's not likely to happen this time. thank you for your time. greatly appreciate it. what does your gut tell you? should arizona be able to charge overweight and smoking medicaid

recipients $50 fee? go to newsnation.msnbc.com. thank you for joining us all week long.oaol richard lui is in for martin richard lui is in for martin bashir next. ras cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the other guy's flake is more processed. mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal.

diabetes testing? what else is new? you get the blood, hope it's enough, it's-- what's this? freestyle lite® blood glucose test strip. sure, i'll try it, but-- [beep] wow. yep, that's the patented freestyle zipwik™ design. it's like it-- [both] targets the blood. yeah, draws it right in. the test starts fast. you need just a third the blood of one touch.® okay. freestyle test strips. i'll take 'em.

sure. call or click-- we'll send you strips and a meter, free. can't i just have these? freestyle lite test strips. call or click today. so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now, i've got the leading part. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function.