drone and believed one of the al qaeda's top operational planners responsible for a series of plots at the u.s. including the underwear bombing attempt. joining us by phone from turkey, chief foreign correspondent richard engel. with a good day to you, how significant is this death? >> reporter: i wouldn't say it's as significant as bin laden but what's significant is the future implications. awlaki was the guy that wanted to bring al qaeda to the next generation. he didn't believe that militants should be hiding in caves, plotting attacks in afghanistan and pakistan and then carrying them out. he wanted to reach out to the united states through the internet and to recruit americans to carry out smaller attacks. sometimes just driving their cars in to crowds or small bomb attacks in post offices. that is what he saw as the next generation of al qaeda, so it is very significant he is killed,

not so much because of what he was doing right now but because of what he planned to do in the future bringing al qaeda forward. >> what do we know about the drone attack that killed him? >> reporter: we don't know very much. sources in yemen told us that there were at least -- there was at least one air strike and might have been two missile strikes we were told, that this took place in an area between the provinces of jope and moab and two vehicles in the convoy. he was in one of them with another al qaeda operative in the vehicle and that in the other car was another al qaeda operative and that all three apparently had been killed. >> okay. he had escaped, though, at least once before, before being killed this time. right? >> reporter: many times before. we don't know exactly how many. sources in yemen tell us that there have been at least three attempts on awlaki's life just

in the last several months. there have been other attempts last year, as well. this is someone who the united states wanted to target. the defense secretary had said that targeting him was a top priority. even though he is a u.s. citizen. there was a special ruling made so that he was considered an enemy of the state and legitimate target. he was someone that the military definitely wanted and had missed several times in the past, several times recently and last year. >> richard, talk about his connection with both the attempted bombing on christmas day in that northwest jet over detroit as well as his connection with army major nadal hassan. >> reporter: there was e-mail contact between the army major who was stationed at ft. hood in texas and awlaki in yemen at the time or believed to be in yemen at the time so that was a conversation convincing this

army major to do that act, to go on a shooting rampage. so an inspirational figure. we believe that he had a much more operational hands-on role with the so-called underwear bomber, actually meeting the nigerian in yemen, obtaining the explosive or being with the people that gave him that explosive that he eventually used to try to bring down that american aircraft over detroit. >> okay. nbc's richard engel from istanbul, thank you so much. >> reporter: my pleasure. >> we'll hear president obama's first comments at a handover ceremony for the joint chiefs of staff happening in a few moments from now. there's a live picture of the preparati preparations. the president arrived. i believe he's walking in to the picture right there. what this is about is admiral mike mullen, officially handing over the reins to general martin dempsey. it looks like the president is going right to that podium.

so we are going to -- we'll watch this and when the president gets to the podium and after he has his welcome we'll take you there live. meantime, the president's also making a mayor push to sell his jobs plan in key battleground states to be re-elected. campaigning heavy in north carolina, florida and out west where the president says the plan will put construction workers and teachers back to work. he's also conducting a series of local tv and radio interviews including one with talk show host michael smeconish who will week spooek with the president and a msnbc contributor and we want to note michael and for all of you watching, we'll simulcast the interview with the president. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> what's the first thing you want to ask the president? >> it's a privilege and looking forward to it, but you hear from people you haven't heard from since you went to high school who say, you must ask him this.

so there's been no shortage and, you know, friends, family, listeners, everybody has a suggested question. i'm going to pursue the takedown of anwar al awlaki. if the president doesn't address in the live remarks whether he gave that order, that's on the list, for sure, to inquire about. but i think largely, spo kused on the economy, the jobs propoem, the housing market being upside down and getting ourselves out of the $14 trillion of debt. so, i'm hoping i'll be able to run through a dozen or so questions with him and he's always been gracious with his time in the past. i'll be direct and i'll be respectful. >> well, that's the way you always are. we love that style. in addition to the high school friends, family, loved ones telling you what to ask, i know the listeners are weighing in. the man whose call to make the rich pay more warren buffett rang the opening bell s. that message resonating with your listeners? what are you hoping to hear on that front?

>> a question i have in mind is to ask the president whether he believes in tackling the debt, he can do so with all spending cuts or all tax increases or a combination thereof. my hunch is he'll say a combination thereof. i want to know what proportion. what i find interesting is polling data and what i hear from my listeners anecdotally, people in the country seem like they're prepared for an across the board grand kind of a bargain, and yet, unable to get it through the republican-controlled house with the intransigence that exists. if i may tell you an interesting call from a listener yesterday on my list, it was woman named susan and she said, will you please ask the president what we should be doing? should we be spending? should we be saving? >> interest iing. >> planting a garden? hiring college kids? what's the edict for us to be on board and stop, frankly, waiting for washington but do something on our own. i love that question.

>> i do, too. they're looking for something specific. we are leaving things up to those in washington and she makes a very good point. she's a sage listener of yours. talk about the president's disapproval rating, though, in your state. that thing is way up, michael. most people don't want to see him re-elected. >> i think it's -- >> is it just, the president, whatever he says doesn't mat orer people want to see results? tired of talk? >> i think there's a funk. i think that there's an economic funk. look at the major story today. where the yemeni leader of al qaeda has been taken down in a drone attack, that's a major victory in the war against terror as was the successful conclusion of the hunt for bin laden. and yet, it doesn't seem as if those successes on a foreign policy level in the war on terror have altered the numbers and what that tells me is that the numbers are valely entirely wedded to the economy so until the economy turns around i don't think he's going to get any relief in the data you're referring to. >> i'm curious if you've been

able to interpret everything from chris christie, new jersey governor, whether or not he is running. let's listen to what he was saying with louisiana governor bobby jindal. >> trying to sin ccynically con the american, insisting that we must tax and take and demonize those who have already achieved the american dream. that may turn out to be good re-election strategy, mr. president, but it's a demoralizing message for america. >> so what do you think? where is he going with this? >> he is taking it up a couple of notches. i believe that story that says that he is reconsidering his prior denials. but alex, here's something to keep an eye on if governor christie gets in to the race. i think many of those who are pining for him, because they want a conservative alternative to the candidates who are already announced are pretty darn surprised when they delve

in to the record of governor christie and standing on a voo rity of issues, including the social issues. he is not doctriner that some wish for him to be. when i look at his platform and compare to the republican candidates thus far, i put him in a category with jon huntsman and the type of a candidate to win general election, but in these very conservative primary states like south carolina or iowa and the caucus, i don't think that he matches what they're yearning for. >> i'll tell you something. it is the age-old question i wonder and never get a proper answer to as to how people vote, their convictions or who might be able to win. i guess we'll see on that one. i know you have a lot to do to get ready. thank you so much. >> thanks, alex. >> we'll see you tomorrow morning. >> looking forward to that. >> i appreciate that. of course, it's all about what's happening at 1:40 p.m. eastern with the president live on the radio show and simulcasting that

interview for you exclusively here on msnbc. day four of testimony in the trial of michael jackson's doctor scheduled to begin about 40 minutes or so from now and expecting to hear more damaging testimony, this time from the paramedic who is tried to revive the star. richard testified he felt what murray told him about the day, it didn't add up and murray never told him jackson was given propofol. dramatic testimony of one of jackson's guards about what he saw reaching jackson's bedroom and what happened afterward. >> he was laying on his back. with his hands extended out and -- >> indicated out to the side with the palms up? >> yes, sir. >> okay. >> and his -- i observed that his eyes were slightly open or opened and his mouth was open. paris screamed out, daddy. >> when you heard paris scream out daddy, was she crying?

>> yes, sir. while i was standing at the foot of the bed, he reached over and grabbed a handful of vials and then he reached out to me and said, here, put these in a bag. i opened it and he placed the vials in the bag. i remember him sitting down and him saying, i wanted him to make it. i wanted him to make it. >> what's it done to your life? >> it's caused a lot of financial problems. you know? just really don't have steady work. >> joining me now, criminal defense attorney mark geragos who once defended jackson. mark, good day to you. >> good day. >> so, what do you make of this testimony from the security guard? is it looking bad for dr. murray? >> well, the problem is that a lot of the kind of b-roll that's being played in the media from that trial is just the

prosecution's direct testimony. when the cross-examination came up, the defense made quite a few points and so i'm not so sure the public getting the package that is are being shown on tv are -- >> give me some of the points. give me some of the points you would like to see out there. >> for one, they went -- well, i don't know that i'd like to see. i just think that it's a -- probably a fairer representation rg the cross-examination where this guy did not come up with any of these statements until months later, until after he consulted with a lawyer. in fact, in his lawyer's office. that everything that he claims that he saw happen, happened in less than a minute which is kind of strains credibility and in addition to that, that the initial statements that he made didn't contain any of this. and then that last question that you just saw, i'm still scratching my head here as to why the judge allowed that in and the defense didn't object to it. what it's done to his life is

absolutely irrelevant. shouldn't have been admissible to begin with. i don't think that yesterday was as damaging as people think. that's not to say that there aren't enormous problems for the defense. there are. and ultimately i think that this case is going to turn on the defense's witness, this dr. white they mentioned in the opening statement. >> the defense kept asking alvarez about calling 911 yesterday. let's take a listen to this. >> during the period of time that you were out of the room, mr. alvarez, you did not call 911. is that correct? >> no, sir. my focus was on ushering the kids out of the room, sir. >> did you communicate to dr. murray that you had not yet called 911? >> i did not, sir. >> there was no discussion about that? >> no, sir. by the time you got back in the room, you still hadn't called 911. correct? >> i did not, sir. >> so is the defense trying to

put this on him saying, why didn't you do it? >> no. i think what the defense is trying to do is paint a picture of what actually happened in there. that obviously when somebody goes in to cardiac arrest and i have said this before, if i go in to cardiac arrest, i think i would rather have a cardiologist attempting to methane waiting for the emts to get there and that it shows that dr. murray could have reasonably thought that he had called, the bodyguard called 911. somebody else called 911. in that kind of a situation, i don't know that you necessarily are going to know who called 911. but ultimately at the end of the day, you do have a licensed cardiologist who's working on his patient who he supposedly is attending to and to my mind that makes that 911 call not an issue. the real significant issue here is was that propofol what killed

michael jackson? and then the other testimony that was yesterday, when he was ordering people to clean up the propofol bottles, that can potentially be damaging because that would show you he had a conscienceness of guilt if that's what it was. >> thanks so much, mark. >> thank you, alex. stocks heading to end the week in a quarter on a dismal note. we'll talk with a leading economist who says we're heading in to a new and irreversible kind of recession. we'll be talking with him coming up. also keeping a very close eye on the handover ceremony if you will. the president will be swearing in the new joint chiefs of staff and you see him there waiting. i believe that's also the vice president. so once he takes there to the podium we'll take that with you live. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day

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it is 18 past the hour. keeping a very close eye on things as the president will be addressing there the joint chiefs of staff ceremony, the handover. most notably hearing the president we hope addressing the death of anwar al awlaki, a significant death today as a result of a u.s. predator drone strike in yemen. we'll take you to the president once he gets to the podium. meantime, we have this developing news on the economy this hour. an economic forecaster says the u.s. is, quote, tipping in to a new recession. he says there's virtually nothing that can be done to stop it. that even president obama is almost powerless to curb high unemployment. are you sitting down yet? let's take a look at the boards right now. the major indices down more than 10% with the dow dropping about -- had been 148 and rebounding a bit to almost 75. you see it's definitely moving there right now. let's -- i'm joined by the man

behind the grim prediction, loxman akatan. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> what is it? you are saying this isn't a double-dip recession. we are going in to something brand new. >> a brand new recession. we had about a two-year expansion and i'm sorry to say that there's no way out of this. all we do is study recessions and recoveries and don't make the calls lightly. we are not eager to make them by any means but when the objective evidence presents to us pattern that is are recessionary, we have to call it like it is and we have a broad array, many, many specialized leading indexes for the u.s. economy and what we see inside of them is a virtd july contagion where it's spinning out of control, a new recession and that's why i say there's no stopping it. this is happening. >> now, this is interpretive because i'm curious, did you employ this type of device, this

type of mentality, back in 2007? did you accurately predict that using these same indicators? >> yeah. in late '07 we were alarmed and we recognize the reality. that is recession. in retrospect, it started in december of '07. the same indicators that predict recession are capable of predicting recovery. in the spring of '09 they all turned up when really everybody was talking about depression. there's no way to have a recovery. now, a couple of years later, we see we recovered a lot of gdp. since the beginning of 2010, we have added over a million jobs so it is a recovery. most people -- man on the street says this man is saying recession. been lousy for a while. i agree but as bad as the economy is now, the thing that is material is it's going to get a lot worse. you haven't seen anything yet. >> i'm going the try to look for the silver lining here.

the definition of a reis two consecutive quarters in a row of downward movement. correct? that's very broad generally i grant you. >> yeah. >> that's it, we have the numbers today that say that the consumer spending up point 2. the previous month, up .7. >> the problem -- no, you're right. spending up a little bit. gdp in the first half of the year was a little positive. but a recession is not a statistic. it is a process. when sales fall, which they have been easing quite dramatically, then production falls. when production falls, employment is weak which you have seen. incomes weak and then sales fall. we get in to a cycle. that cycle is what we see in our forward-looking indicators. that is starting so that when going forward, you're going to see production fall, you are going to see sales fall, incomes fall, jobs fall. that's a recession. >> increase in unemployment. >> absolutely.

>> i would not be at all surprised, by definition unemployment rises. rising from here. deficits. there's arguments of how to deal with it. a recession drops your revenues and increases our expenditures so whatever it is now, a trillion bucks, it is going to get bigger. >> it is depressing speaking with you. >> better to know about it. >> yeah. instead of putting your head in the sand. >> i'm sorry. >> what will you do? thank you very much. appreciate that. >> thank you. well, many bank of america customers are upset about this today. the nation's second largest bank announced starting early next year to charge debit card users a monthly fee, $5, if they use the cards to pay for purchases. those using them at atms won't have to pay. now consumer advocates say it could start a trend. the banking industry is raising fees and scaling back rewards programs as they adjust to new regulations that limit other fees that they can charge.

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the breaking news today. that man anwar al awlaki killed by a u.s. predator drone strike, a significant kill in the war on terror. we expect the president to make a statement about that while he does the official handing over of the joint chiefs, that will happen shortly. we have the secretary of defense speaking in a moment and the president following him and be speaking with representative peter king of long island, chairman of the homeland security committee in the house and we'll speak with him about his reaction to the killing of anwar al awlaki. bringing technology to the classroom and connecting kids

across the country and the world, one of the technologies is skype whose ceo hopes to connect to 1 million classrooms. let me bring in the head of social good for skype and oversees skype in the classroom. good morning. >> hello. hi, alex. thank you for having me. >> we should also mention that microsoft was one of the sponsors of the education nation summit that took place this weekend and in the approval rating to acquire skype so that having been said, connecting a million classrooms around the world and signed up more than 17,000 teacher teachers, we'll m one of them. cara, she teaches fifth grade in st. louis, missouri. here it is. >> and then i also put on my profile that i was looking for other teachers to do a weather project with. and that same day i got five teachers who are interested. all over the world. >> and what's interesting, she mentioned there was a weather project she wanted to collaborate on with other

teachers so what kinds of projects have teachers used with skype in the classroom? >> one of the really interesting things that surprised me even is just the variety of different projects, so there are the traditional projects you might expect classrooms to want to collaborate on from weather to geography to culture to language learning and other subjects, as well, such as cubism, art project, as well. one of the favorite examples is a teacher looking for a beekeeper to talk about how the lives of bees in a hive are very similar to working together in a classroom to create a successful environment. >> so that's the teacher perspective. how about students? how are they connecting with their peers? what are they doing? >> yeah, again, so they're connecting on a variety of things but what's interesting is level of engagement it brings to a classroom environment so they're able to engage with

other students on a more regular basis. rather than just in an odd e-mail here or there in a pen pal program. it doesn't cost them anything to connect. >> what do you think the advantage is that supercedes that of pen pals around the world with face to face contact? >> what we know at skype is learning no longer has to be limited by the geography, cultural or economical barriers. skype doesn't require a significant privilege to participa participate. the technology barrier is low and no big dollar sign and skype helps to level the playing field out between richer and poorer schools or students. aenl it also as i mentioned earlier really helps to increase student engagement and, you know, it is really interesting to see how skype has transformed the classroom, everything from that pen pal program to language learning. >> well, for all of us with kids

in classrooms, we appreciate your efforts. thank you. >> thank you. updating you now on today's breaking news, nbc news can confirm that one of the world's most notorious al qaeda terrorists is dead. anwar al awlaki was killed today. he is linked to several attacks here in the u.s. including the underwear bomber, the ft. hood shooting rampage and attempted times square bombing last year. joining me now by phone, new york congressman peter king, chairman of the house homeland security committee. thank you for being here. do we have the congressman? okay. representative king, it is alex witt k. you hear me? you know what? we'll take a quick break, everybody. we are going to speak with representative peter king. though i think i just heard him there. are we going to take the break or go with him? representative king, can you

hear me? it's alex witt. we're going to straighten this out, everyone, and keep an eye on the president, as well. >> i can hear you. but i couldn't hear alex. >> there's the secretary of defense leon panetta. so we'll take you there live coming up and representative peter king after a break. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories. [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. which is good... no! bigger! bigger! [ monica ] ...because i don't think we're going anywhere for a while. [ male announcer ] write your story with the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com.

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you say for several past years this man is more dangerous than osama bin laden. why is that? >> alex, it's a general consensus of the intelligence committee. for the last several years, the fact he was an american, he was able to recruit in the united states. he was able to speak in an american idiom. a significant following on the internet. he was also behind the christmas day bombing. he was involved with the ft. hood murders by major hassan and a number of people arrested in the united states recited by awlaki and the magazine "inspire" the monthly internet magazine was certainly a mass recruiting tool for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. also, he was more than bin laden, more obsessed with attacking the yoits. >> huh. but he was -- not content but he was okay with inspiring a bunch of small attacks, i mean, not

that the christmas day attack would not have been significant had it been successful but this is a man who he almost subscribed to just creating mayhem anywhere on any level. >> well, that's really the new style of al qaeda because of what we have done in this country and allies overseas, we have made it very difficult for al qaeda to attack us from the outside. that's what awlaki adapted to more than bin laden. being able to recruit within the u.s., to find home grown terrorists, to find people under the radar screen and recruit them over the internet so they had changed their battle tactics where it's not a large attack that we were as concerned about as it was these almost one off attacks or attacks by -- you know, appears to be people like major hassan recruited by awlaki and recruited scientists so last year we saw the air cargo bomb

stopped at the very last moment and by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. that would have caused probably hundreds and hundreds of casualties. he also is -- was behind the scientist perfected and planting bombs within the body through surgical bodies to be used on airlines. he was the cutting edge of the new al qaeda. >> so, if that is the case, and he is gone now, how badly has al qaeda been hurt? >> i think we have lost representative peter king. we had some troubles in the initial transmission but anyway, glad to have spoken for the time we did. well, here's a look at what is topping the news now. attention target shoppers, keep you eyes peeled for a customer because it just might be the first lady. right there. michelle obama spotted pushing a cart around at target in virginia yesterday.

wearing a hat and sunglasses, supposedly buying food and toys for dog bo and recognized by the cashier who rang her up. the first lady said she misses normal stuff like running errands since moving to the white house. a 67-year-old man's being hailed as a miracle survivor today rescued by his own family. david lebo was pulled from the bottom of a california ravine days after the car plunged at least 150 feet down. his children found him in their own search. >> i thought i heard a voice and screamed down there. and then, someone said, help. i finally got to him. and of course, i hugged him and we both cried. i said, how did you make it? he said, i drank the water in the river and ate leaves and bugs. >> oh. lavau suffered broken bones and dehydration but the injuries are not life threatening. a weak and pale amanda knox

appeared for the appeals trial. in rebuttals told the court today that quote the diabolical liabler substituted one black man for another. she will address the court on monday which her parents are terrified to see. >> it's actually going to be very painful to listen to. she's litd rally fighting for her life. >> even though it's a good thing that she can speak, we'll see the pain or hear the pain in her voice. and it's like watching your child be tortured. >> that verdict is expected on monday. michael jackson's family back in court. today the paramedic that is responded to the mansion the day he died are minutes away from testifying. how damaging will it be?

41 past the hour. let's take you right to the president. we expect him address the killing of anwar al awlaki and also be there for the swearing in for the handing over of the joint chiefs of staff. >> men and women of the finest military in the world. most of all, admiral mullen, deborah, michael and i also want to acknowledge your son jack who's deployed today. all of you have performed extraordinary service to our country. before i begin, i want to say a few words about some important

news. earlier this morning, anwar al awlaki, a leader of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, was killed in yemen. the death -- [ applause ] the death of awlaki is a major blow to al qaeda's most active operational affiliate. awlaki was the leader of external operations for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. and that role he took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent americans. he directed the failed attempt to blow up an airplane on christmas day in 2009. he directed the failed attempt to blow up u.s. cargo planes in 2010. and he repeatedly called on individuals in the united states and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children, to advance a murderous

agenda. the death of awlaki marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al qaeda and its affiliates. furthermore, this success is a tribute to our intelligence community and to the efforts of yemen and its security forces who have worked closely with the united states over the course of several years. awlaki and his organization have been directly responsible for the deaths of many yemeni citizens. his hateful ideology and targeting of innocent civilians has been rejected by muslims and people of all faiths and he's met his demise because the government and the people of yemen have joined the international community in a common effort against al qaeda. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula remains a dangerous though weakened terrorist organization. and going forward, we'll remain vigilant against any threats to the united states. or our allies and partners.

but make no mistake. this is further proof that al qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world. working with yemen and our other allies and partners, we will be determined, we will be deliberate, we will be relentless, we will be resolute in the commitment to destroy terrorist networks that aim to kill americans and build a world in which people everywhere can live in greater peace, prosp prosperity and security. now, advancing that security has been the life's work of the man that we honor today. but as mike will admit to you, he got off to a somewhat shaky start. he was a young enson just 23 years old, commanding a small tanker when he collided with a buoy. as mike later explained in his understated way, when you're on

a ship, colliding with anything is not a good thing. i tell this story because mike has told it himself. to men and women across our military. he has always understood that the true measure of our success is not whether we stumble. it's whether we pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and get on with the job. it's whether no matter the storms or shoels that come our way, we chart our course, we keep our eye fixed on the horizon and take care of those around us. because we all rise and fall together. that's the story of mike mullen. it's the story of america. and it's the spirit that we celebrate today. indeed, if there's a thread that runs through his illustrious career, it's mike's sense of stewardship, the understanding

that as leaders our time at the helm is but a moment in the life of our nation. the humility which says, the institutions and people entrusted to our care look to us. yet, they do not belong to us. and the sense of responsibility we have to pass them safer and stronger to those who follow. mike, as you look back as your four consequential years as chairman and your four decades in uniform, be assured our military is stronger and our nation is more secure because of the service that you have rendered. [ applause ] >> and the president there thanking, giving high praise to admiral mullen, the outgoing chairman of the joint chiefs. he will be handing over the baton, if you will, to the new chairman of the joint chiefs, army chief of staff general martin dempsey.

the president also prefaced the thanks and praise for admiral mullen by saying that it was a significant event this morning, the killing of the terrorist anwar al awlaki, the american-born cleric taken out by american military drone strike earlier this morning in yemen. the candidates' wives are assuming a new role on the campaign trail. anita perry attacked the president earlier this week in a policy speech. she's stumped for him in florida and opened the campaign offices in south carolina and iowa. anne romney is in south carolina today where she officially filed the husband's paperwork to get on the ballot. next week, she hits the trail in iowa. here she is speaking about political attacks against her husband. >> knowing how difficult it is, knowing how things get misrepresented, knowing how defensive i am about my husband, i'm she-lion. you better look out. i get very, very upset if he's being misrepresented.

>> a political reporter at "washington post," nice to see you. good morning. >> good to see you. >> let's begin with ann romney acting as a surrogate on the campaign trail more than 2008. in her personal narrative is a big part of the pitch, particularly her battle against multiple sclerosis. >> yeah. not only that, but breast cancer. one of the things that campaign wives can do for their husbands is really connect with voters and humanize their husbands and there, of course, you saw ann romney of being defensive of her husband when he's attacked. so she can go out there and really be not only a force multiplier, be places where he isn't, but also address some of the weaknesses and of course we know that mitt romney's one of the weaknesses is that people think he's a little aloof and wooden so then you have ann romney out there coming across as warm and a humanizing story about her own battles and can really talk about him as a husband and a father. >> yeah. she's got a very real presence,

that's for sure. what about anita perry, never much got involved with politics in texas. she's being described as reserved but then in iowa this week she said there's no leadership in washington and she cheered her husband on. let's listen to this. >> there's no one that can go toe to toe with him on bringing our economy back and creating jobs. the environment for jobs. and defending our country and being strong militarily, that can go toe to toe with obama better than you. >> have we gotten a sense of how much of an asset anita perry may be to her husband's campaign? >> well, you are right. there's this idea that she is a bit reserved and didn't take a big role down in texas as first lady down there but also people say that she's very politically savvy and talking about her husband, saw her out there earlier saying that her husband was going to prep more for these

debates, sort of giving him some -- giving some context to why he did so poorly in those first three debates and saying he's going to study up for the next debate. so again, i think ann romney, wives do that we saw michelle obama do, go out there and be a presence in places that their husbands can't be. and then again they can be real assets in giving perspective on their husbands tat they can't get themselves. >> all right. thank you. >> great. gone are the days of a nice, romantic dinner, maybe some flowers, before getting down on one knee and popping the question. one man enlisted the help of a couple hundred people to pull off his proposal. ear going to find out how he did it when we speak with the couple live. and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now.

we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm.

all you romantics out there should get a smile out of this next story. the flash mob you see here took over ucla's campus. it's a dance fest arranged by nam tran so he could propose to his girlfriend at the very spot where they first met.

>> will you marry me? >> well, duh! >> i'm joined now by the happy couple. nam tran and his new fiance trang. the words that you want to here first out of your wife-to-be, duchlt h! that was really good, you guys. so much fun. i want to find out, trang, did you know that your new fiance was such a good dancer? >> i was very surprised. that was probably the biggest surprise of the day. >> tell me what happened with this exact location? how long ago is it you met? and, you know, what made you want to come right back to this place, nam, what was it about this place that just had you fall in love? >> well, we're both ucla alumni,

so it was just natural for us to come back here. we met eight years ago. we were friends for about four years, and we've been dating for about four years. >> and how did you keep this a secret? >> that was the hardest thing, actually. >> i bet. >> learning the dance, compared to keeping it under wraps was totally -- it was very difficult. there was no facebooking, no twitter. everything had to be done either through phone calls, or e-mails that didn't have her in it. or text messages, you know. but, under wraps. >> well, we're giving you major props for that. and tell me, trang, have you guys set a date? >> i think we might have a general idea, but nothing set in stone. >> okay. >> we're just trying to just enjoy each other's company for now. >> well, that is pretty extraordinary. it's going to be a hard act to follow but i'm betting we're going to hear some news about

that wedding, too. nam tran and trang vu, thank you. >> thank you for having us. >> i'm going to see you back here tomorrow morning for weekends with alex witt. and thomas roberts will be back here monday morning at 11:00 eastern time. meantime craig melvin will be picking up next here on msnbc. [ cat ] inside and out. and i'm not the only one who thinks so...right doc? [ female announcer ] vets agree, a healthy check up starts inside. our breakthrough iams premium protection formula is developed with vets... ...with cutting edge ingredients for the lifelong health of your pet. [ cat ] what a surprise... straight as again! [ female announcer ] iams premium protection. our most advanced iams nutrition. ever. [ cat ] oh, i'm not in your way, am i doc? i...[yawns] am an iams cat.

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fred he uh... fred what is your plan? do i look like i have a plan? not really. [ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. for a free brochure, call the number on your screen. good day, i'm craig melvin. breaking news in the war on terror right now. another one of the world's most wanted men, killed in yemen. senior u.s. officials confirm that anwar al awlaki was killed by a missile from a u.s. drone today. the u.s.-born cleric was a chief of operations for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. it's the highest profile takedown since the raid that killed osama bin laden. just moments ago, president obama talking about just how significant this is. >> make no mistake, this is further proof that al qaeda, and its affiliates, will find no safe haven