the president later this morning. but the big drop comes in spite of relatively weak job growth. just 120,000 new positions created. i'm joined now by diane swonk, chief financial expert at mesirow financials. diane, can you hear me? >> i'm sorry. i didn't hear you, no. >> what is your analysis of these new numbers? >> it certainly is good news in that the trend is moving in the right direction. and every time we get a month of data, we're seeing previous data revised up. that's after a very weak spring and summer. clearly the job situation that has stabilized and beginning to pick up slightly. the operative word here is slightly, not enough. the reduction in the employment rate is a different survey than the payroll survey which largely surveys established companies, large establishments.

the survey calls people up and says, are you employed, are you not employed? there are mixed numbers there. 278,000 more people said they were working this month in the household survey. but a lot of people also dropped out entirely and the number of long-term unemployed remained unchanged. the people who got jobs, they got jobs because they're already employed or had been marginally unemployed for a few weeks and got a job. the people who have been unemployed for more than six months are having a very tough time. and the labor participation rate is a measure of hope out there. more people willing to participate, throw their hat into the ring and look for a job, that means there's hope they will find a job. that usually pushes the unemployment rate up. that rate actually fell. there's a lot of mixed news. the trend is in the right direction. but i don't like to make too much out of a one-month move. >> let's take a look at what this month does tell us and maybe if it's indicative of some

trends. are these a lot of seasonal hirings? >> certainly there were a lot of seasonal hirings. retail was revised up for october and november. i can't seem to see the hires when i'm going to the stores. i'm not getting any better service out there. but apparently there is hiring in the retail sector. and the composition, a lot of low-wage retail jobs versus manufacturing and construction jobs which are higher paid and we lost a bunch of high-paid government jobs. it means average hourly earnings actually fell. that's because of the composition of the jobs we have out there weren't the most ideal composition to boost wages. >> companies are still sitting on about $2 trillion in cash. any indications in any numbers in recent months that might suggest there will be a loosening of the pursestrings soon and had more long-term jobs here? >> that certainly is what the fed is hoping and trying to get

done. i think that requires some level of certainty and vision. the reality is fiscal uncertainty in the united states and the uncertainty that we're continuing to see in europe causes more hesitation. and, in fact, in the manufacturing sector, even though manufacturing is picking up, they're substituting more capital for labor and they're finding it very hard to hire those really highly skilled uaw workers that retired out. there's no one behind them to replace them. the machinists, the electricians. i'm hoping some can get retrained and move into those high-skilled jobs. but that's the question, when is is that more than $2 trillion going to get unlocked? there are some new business start-ups. i walk down my own street and a bunch of new businesses have opened up where other places were shuttered. and those businesses have hired some new people. that's what we need to see.

new business start-ups out there. >> diane, thank you so much. let's go to 2012. could this be herman cain's last day on the campaign trail? tonight he heads home to talk to his wife about accusations that he had a 13-year-long affair. cain says they were just friends. he does admit giving the woman money without his wife's knowledge. >> she wasn't the only friend that i had helped in these tough economic times. and so her messages to me were relating to, you know, needing money for her rent or whatever the case may be. i don't remember all the specifics but my wife now nows. my wife and i have talked about it. and i have explained it to her. my wife understands that i'm a soft-hearted, giving person. >> the woman in the middle, ginger white, was on "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." she has a very different take on what happened. >> i would be surprised if she

is surprised by this, honestly speaking, i would be surprised. it wasn't a love affair. it was a sexual affair. as hard as that is for me to say and as hard as it is for people to hear it, you know, it pretty much is what it is. >> joining me now, sophia nelson, feature columnist and jonathan capehart. good friday morning to you both. >> hi, chris. >> sophia, this is not your everyday, run of the mill family meeting, is it? >> no, it's not. i have to tell you, i think herman cain thinks the american people are really dumb. he expects us to believe that four or five people have falsely accused him of sexual harass. and now he expects us to believe that a woman has come out and said there's a 13-year affair here and that's made up, too. and i find it a little bit bizarre that he's just getting home to talk to his wife now. most guys would have run home pretty fast when this broke and

tried to explain to the wife -- >> he had a great opportunity not to run home and i think he grabbed it. jonathan, i love that your column this morning is about the herman cain quote, stupid people are ruining america. although your take on it is is little different than his. >> well, yes, because stupid people would try to have you believe that a 13-year affair with a woman who is not your wife to whom you're giving money over the last 2 1/2 years and sharing text messages is just your normal, everyday friendship. look, when herman cain goes home tonight and there's a plate or pot of hot grits on the stove or on the table, he better run. >> because it's coming over your head, mister. >> fast. >> i have to show you this, our nbc pollster got together and asked a group to describe the

republican candidates. when asked who mitt romney would be if he were a member of their family, here's what they answered? black sheep, fun neighbor, cousin, second cousin, dad that was never home. now, by comparison, the responses for newt gingrich were -- grandfather, father, my favorite uncle and uncle who keeps bringing home different wives. sophia, what do you think? >> well, i would say that that latter comment is probably a little bit close to truth. he's had quite a few wives. but on a very serious note, mitt romney should be concerned, chris, because for whatever reason, he's the guy that hasn't cheated on his wife, he's got a guy that has great family lives. he has the more hardline position on immigration, et cetera, and yet he can't get traction. first it's cain. now it's newt gingrich surging. the republican party just does not want mitt romney. and i for one don't understand that. if you look at the polls, he's

the only guy that gives the president a serious challenge. >> do you agree with that analysis, jonathan? >> yes, i would also add that maybe the reason that republicans aren't cottoning to mitt romney is he's also that guy who seems overly too eager to please. if you want him to be pro choice one year, he's there. if you want him to be pro life another year, he's there. if you want him to be pro gay rights one year, he's there. if you want him to be anti-gay rights the next year, he's there. a lot of people do not like to see desperation in political figures. they want to see leadership and they want to see toughness. and all the people who have bubbled up to the top over mitt romney are people who have been rather extreme in their rhetoric in the field but also against the president. >> one of them who was doing well for a while, rick perry, is now saying he wants voters to give him a second chance. and, of course, he had a oops moment among other things. so the strategy that he's

decided on, or his campaign has decided on, is to make fun of it, to just embrace it. so he goes on jay leno last night. here's, after i suppose lots of preparation, how he answered the questions about things like the oops moment. >> what happened with the brain freeze that night with -- you had the three things to remember? >> well, one, two and -- it happens, man. let me tell you. >> what do you think, sophia? is that how you would advised him to handle that? >> no. i think that rick perry has had a number of opportunities to capitalize on the foibles of the other frontrunners and he hasn't been able to do it because he's showing himself not to be well-studied and improved. >> what did you think, jonathan? >> anytime you can use humor to pull yourself out of a whole, use it and rick perry has done that several times trying to make fun of the fact that his brain froze up. but you know what? you can only freeze something

that's there. and he couldn't remember what that third department was. and if you compare that to herman cain's libya answer, he had no answer. so i think when you compare the two, what rick perry did, his oops moment is something that is recoverable. it's just whether the republican primary electorate will give him that chance. >> nevertheless, what a cold man you are on this friday morning. >> it's the bowtie. >> you look cute, jonathan, by the way. i like the little get-up. >> thanks, sophia. look at you in your fur collar. >> sophia and jonathan, thanks to you both. forecasters say parts of the western u.s. should see some relief today from the devastating santa ana winds. did you see some of this? it's a once in a decade event that toppled trees. semi trailers were blown over like dominos. hundreds of thousands of people this morning still don't have power. a tree ripped through one home trapping an elderly woman

inside. >> i was scared out of my mind. i didn't know what to do. just had to wait for the fire crew to do what they can do. >> after several hours, fire crews did manage to free that trapped woman. nbc's miguel almaguer is live in pasadena for us this morning. what's the situation like there this morning? >> reporter: chris, good morning. the wind conditions here have been calm all morning like. now let me show you the bad news. what you see here is a 60-year-old tree that neighbors say smap snapped in a matter of seconds here on thursday. so much of pasadena looks like this. in the entire los angeles county, a state of emergency has been declared. there's millions of dollars in damages. schools across this region are closed. exactly because of this problem, roofs peeled off of schools, libraries have been shut down. many of the roads here actually impassable. as you know, this storm first started late, late wednesday night when it first hit l.a.x. it shut down all eight terminals

for several minutes. and some 23 flights were diverted. it continued to pound this area thursday and again overnight last night. it's not just hitting california. we've seen heavy snowfall in denver. we've seen hurricane force-like winds in utah. and of course the brunt of the storm, though, so much of the damage, chris, is out here in california where folks will be cleaning up all day today and they're preparing for another round of potentially strong winds on saturday, chris. >> take care out there. thank you so much, miguel. what was once one of saddam hussein's most opulent palaces is back in the hands of iraq. soon after the u.s. invasion it was transformed into camp victory and housed as many as 46,000 people. today, the u.s. handed the keys and control of the military compound to the iraqi government as part of the deal to pull out u.s. troops by the end of the year. drug plan. ♪ with the lowest national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar...

♪ ...saving on medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. or go to walmart.com for details. [ man ] we've been in the business over the course of four centuries. [ woman ] it was a family business back then, and it still feels like a family business now. the only people who knew about us were those in new england,

that moment that we got our first web order... ♪ ...we could tell we were on the verge of something magical. all of a sudden it just felt like things were changing. we can use this to advertise to bakers everywhere. [ man ] browns summit, north carolina. crescent city, california. we had a package go to kathmandu once. the web has been the reason this entire section of the warehouse exists today. we were becoming more than this little flour company in vermont. [ woman ] we're all going after one common goal, which is to spread the joy of baking throughout the whole world. ♪ ♪ ♪

christmas in washington. president obama and the first family helped usher in the holiday season with the lighting of the national christmas tree. the president even took to the microphone and joined santa claus on stage. ♪ walking in a winter wonderland ♪ ♪ in the meadow we can build a snowman and pretend that he is parsen brown ♪ ♪ later on, we'll conspire as we dream by the fire ♪ ♪ to face unafraid the plans that we've made ♪ walking in a winter wonderland ♪ >> the president rocking it out there. next hour, we will join former president bill clinton to tour a downtown d.c. office building and announce a $4 billion proposal to make more buildings energy efficient. and herman cain the latest

to get the occupy wall street treatment while addressing students at middle tennessee state university last night. >> mike check, mike check. >> well, the protesters were quickly drowned out by boos from other students and they left about a minute later. now, more on that significant drop in unemployment for november. going from 9% to 8.6%, that is the lowest in 2 1/2 years. joining me now is nate silver who writes the 538 block for "the new york times." if they're not high-fiving in the white house, they at least have to be breathing a sigh of relief. >> it's a good headline number. people in the news pay most attention to the unemployment rate. the actual report itself was more mixed. you look at the payroll numbers, the number of new jobs actually created. it was more than 120,000. you need more than that. but there's no doubt going into a long weekend, it's a good number for the white house to

sell politically. >> and as he goes to talk a little later on this morning with bill clinton, it certainly does give him something to talk about when he says as he has been all along, we're moving in the right direction. >> that's the question. next year, can he make the argue. that things are getting better. reagan had high unemployment in '84 but because he was knocking percentage points off that number every month, he made a good case. i don't think we have enough good data yet for obama to make the argue. credibly. but if you get good news like this every month, his reelection path will get better. >> and newt gingrich now the frontrunner on the republican side talked about the unemployment last night, particularly there's votes going to come up about whether to extend unemployment benefits that would affect about 1.8 million unemployed. here's what newt gingrich said last night. >> i think that giving people money for 99 weeks for doing nothing is essentially

destructive and is both harmful to them, harmful to the society and a waste of your money. between 20% and 40% of the people on unemployment drop off and don't find a job the moment you establish that they can't get the money for doing nothing. >> that's an interesting statement. i don't know if it's provable. what does it gain him politically? >> no matter what, you're going to gain points by attacking the president if you're a republican. romney's done very well. he's been very good about keeping the message on obama and talking about the economy. that's probably romney's greatest strength. so gingrich has to compete with that. if he uses a little bit of hyperbolic language sometimes, that's what newt gingrich tends to do. but for all the fact checks you might do when trying to win a republican primary, you can kind of spin the facts however much you want. certainly republicans and voters in general don't trust obama a lot on the economy. so it's your bread and butter to keep ham emering away on that

stuff. >> he brags, as he has, about getting $60,000 for an hour-long speech and yet he's also talking repeatedly about putting little kids to work. we'll play that. again, he talked about it yesterday. >> he wants to trap the poor as janitors. the master janitor probably ought to do the dangerous hard work. but i will tell you personally, i believe the kids could mop the floor and clean out the bathroom and get paid for it and it would be okay. >> he's been talking about the poorest of the poor kids, as you know, nate, and what he said yesterday was they don't know what it is to work. so we need to teach them that. >> yeah. i think gingrich has to be a little bit careful. one disadvantage for romney is he's perceived as being quite healthy.

republicans are certainly to have people in the private sector do very well for themselves. but it is a time when there's a little bit more mentality about the working class and the struggles they've had. i think gingrich would do better not to denigrate -- >> this is where the white house seeing an opening. don't you hear when you talk about the extension of the payroll tax cut which did not get through the senate last night, the white house sees they really can present themselves as the party of the people. >> that's what their campaign is going to have to be. they have to do what the gop would call class warfare. obama would say it's looking out for the middle class. it's a vulnerability for mitt romney and the republican party as a whole. but it's going to be a lot easier against gingrich who is very undisciplined in how he does this. romney has had a very good message for the general election. i would think that would a strength of his potentially. but they've had problems in the primary recently. >> nate silver who writes one of the must-read political columns, obviously, in "the new york

times," good of you to come in. he fought through the holiday traffic which i assure you right now is not a lot of fun. thank you, nate. american held hostage by al qaeda, we'll have those details next. time for the "your business" entrepreneur of the week. rachel weeks, ceo of schoolhouse was manufacturing here products in sri lanka. she partnered with a do you remember, north carolina, factory mitt's knits. she plans to expand her business locally, committed to creating products made in the usa. you name it. i've tried it. but nothing helped me beat my back pain.

then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it.

lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com.

al qaeda is claiming responsibility for the kidnapping of a 70-year-old american aid worker in pakistan. warren weinstein was abducted by armed men from his home in lahore on august 13th. in a video message on thursday, al qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri size weinstein should be released if the u.s. stops air strikes in pakistan and afghanistan. jim miklaszewski joins me now. what's the latest? >> reporter: the state department is in contact with pakistani officials to try to find some way to get the pakistanis behind an effort to track down and find mr. weinstein. quite frankly, u.s. officials say this could be a tough one. it's probably a case where armed

militants there in pakistan grabbed up weinstein about four or five months ago. then it took that long before he was handed over to al qaeda and we saw this message from zawahiri. one of the troubles factors about all this is that in this taped message, zawahiri called for the end of bombing of militant camps throughout that region and emptying of the prison at guantanamo in exchange of all those prisoners -- in exchange for weinstein. those are the kinds of issues that just not possible. so the fate of mr. weinstein does not -- it does not bode well currently for the fate of mr. weinstein, quite frankly, because the idea that the u.s. could go in there and launch a kind of raid to rescue weinstein is probably not in the cards in the near term, at least. >> jim miklaszewski, as always, thank you. a church bans interracial

couples and a major auto recall, details next. on to help bring children holiday joy. of course, children don't really think about which battery makes their toy run, but, still, you'd never want to disappoint. duracell. trusted everywhere. gives you the lowest plan premium in the country... so you can focus on what really matters. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. sir, can you hear me? two, three. just hold the bag. we need a portable x-ray, please! [ nurse ] i'm a nurse. i believe in the power of science and medicine. but i'm also human. and i believe in stacking the deck. [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson.

the clean-up continues after a major santa ana wind event. the worst we've seen in years hitting southern california yesterday morning. winds gusting as high as 100 miles an hour in the basin there and as high as 150 miles an hour on the ridgetops in the sierra. we expect to see more wind over the next couple of days but it's not going to be of that magnitude. welcome back to "jansing & co." i'm carl parker. the wind in southern california is actually calm in downtown l.a. may gust to 65 miles an hour in the ridgetops in the l.a. and ventura county mountains. but we are going to see another gradient drop down into the southwest. with that, there will be more strong wind developing late friday and into early saturday and again a second time over the weekend. but it's not going to be a

repeat of what we just saw. snow coming down in flagstaff right now. new mexico getting hit hard. good news for the ski resorts, 6 to 10 in flagstaff. 3 to 5 in albuquerque. it continues to be just beautiful in the east, above-average temperatures, a lot of sunshine and some much-needed rain on the way for texas. back to you. >> carl parker, thank you so much. here's a look at some other stories people are talking about right now. honda is recalling more than 300,000 vehicles worldwide because of airbags that could inflate with too much force in a crash. honda says there have been 20 accidents related to the problem, including two deaths in the u.s. the recall affects the accord, civic, odyssey, pilot and crv. a kentucky church is under fire for voting last week to ban interracial couples from the congregation. it started when a lifelong parishioner showed up with her new husband who was black.

the pastor says it's not a matter of race, but, quote, is intended to promote greater unity among the church body and the community we serve. defying a court order, mindy mccready says she won't bring her 5-year-old son back to florida. she picked her son up on tuesday and took him to nashville. her parents have had custody since 2007. just like their human counterparts, military dogs can suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. 5% of military dogs deployed with combat forces are developing canine ptsd. one military veterinarian is training other vets to diagnose and treat the disorder. another kind of doggy hero. this boxer actually saved his family from a dangerous leak from their gas fireplace. when he came in from outside, he actually tried to lead his whole family back out. the owner was able to cut off

the gas line just in time. what's queen elizabeth doing with yoko ono. we'll complain when we go down to the wire in 20. the republican presidential hopefuls are pulling out all the stops in iowa, just one month away from the january 3rd caucuses. mitt romney, herman cain and rick perry all releasing new ads sparking an all-out media blitz. take a look at the perry ad with him poking fun at himself for his less-than-stellar debate performance. >> commerce, education and the -- what's the third one there? department of energy, you know we've all lost our train of thought before but not many have done it on national tv. if you want a slick debater, i'm not your guy. but if you want a balanced budget amendment, a flat tax and a partisan congress, i'm your man. i'm rick perry and i approve of

this message. >> joining me live from philadelphia is former democratic governor of pennsylvania ed rendell who is smiling. did he make a lemonade out of some lemons there? >> it was a cute ad. >> but will it work? >> it's hard to say. once voters think you're not smart enough for the job, it's pretty hard to recover from that because the saying, american people want a president just like them except smarter. >> yeah. well, we all want someone smarter than we are. mitt romney, who has been struggling a little bit to be likable is launching his first tv ads in iowa this week. let me play a little part of it. >> i spent my life in the private sector, i've competed with companies around the world, i've learned something about how it is that economies grow. we're not going to balance the budget by pretending all we have to do is take out the waste. >> of course, his move to start spending money in iowa comes at the same time that newt gingrich has emerged as his main challenger, nationally and in

iowa. so how much will money matter? can romney sort of outspend him and work his way into iowa? >> sure, i think mitt romney can outspend anybody in the next four or five primaries and caucus states. that's a good ad because it plays on his strength as a competent businessman who's got some solutions for the economy. of course he didn't spell any of them out. but that's mitt romney's long suit. if voters are really interested in getting the economy going, he might be the logical choice for them to make in the republican primary. it's his best argument. he's starting with his trump card. >> herman cain plans to huddle with his family later today to reassess his white house run, as you know. and he just released -- a just-released poll shows him 8% among likely republican caucusgoers, down 23% from october. he's launching a new ad in iowa. let's take a look. >> our $15 trillion national debt is killing our children's future and it's not going to get

any better until we put an executive into the executive office. i've spent a lifetime creating jobs. if you make me america's ceo, we the people will take this country back. we can do this. >> his problem, obviously, governor, is that he has to deal with these allegations of this longtime affair. he just released this letter to his supporters. let me read you a little bit of it. he says, i need to hear why you chose to become a cain supporter and how you feel i can help this nation. so he asks them to send a short video or an e-mail and please consider making a generous donation to my campaign. what do you make of this letter to his supporters? >> i think he is legitimately reassessing. and i think he just can't do it. ironically, he's going to be driven from the campaign for innuendos. what really did it wasn't the harass. but the longtime affair. and you've got the republican frontrunner, newt gingrich, who's been divorced and married

three times who had an affair with an office staffer while he was married. and that hasn't seemed to hurt him a bit. so i can understand herman cain being frustrated. he had a nice run, but i think he should really save his supporters' money and it's a good time for him to get out. he certainly made an impression, but he's not going anywhere. >> probably will make a lot of speeches -- >> absolutely. there's always hope in politics down the road, too. >> so let's talk about the two big candidates now, mitt romney and newt gingrich. clearly what is going to be the continuing talking point for all of them is the economy and jobs. the president got some good news today, unemployment rate down 9% to 8.6%. that's a huge drop and not all the news is good. if people want to parse the numbers, they can find some negatives in there. but the headline is certainly great. so he's going to be out, i think, in the next hour with bill clinton. he'll make some comments. what do you think you'll hear from him? >> that we're moving in the right direction, we made the tough decisions but we have to

do a whole lot more and it's why congress has to pass the jobs bill, has to pass the continuation of the payroll deduction continuation tax cut. it hasn't reflected itself in the polls. but i think it's beginning to come across as someone who cares about people's jobs. he did a great job of pinning the republicans in by saying each component of this bill republicans have supported in the past. he's right, infrastructure spending, for example. i think the republicans at their peril don't vote to continue the payroll tax deduction. if they do that, i think it's a whole new ball game coming into 2012. >> governor ed rendell, always good to see you. >> thanks, chris. have a good weekend. fed up over all those extra fees taxed on to a show ticket? you're in for a refund if you're one of the tens of millions who

bought a ticket through ticketmaster in the past year. details of a proposed class action settlement? what's this all about? >> if you used ticketmaster's website to get tickets between october 1999 and october 2011, here is some good news. well, okay, $1.50 worth of good news. it's better than nothing. because of this proposed class action settlement, chris, ticketmaster is being forced to give back that $1.50 per ticket to customers because they included processing fees without declaring as much. ticketmaster can still profit from the transactions but they have to say they're doing that on their website. you have to wait until at least june 2012 for the refund. >> is it going to happen automatically? >> they're still processing how it's going to work. >> here's one i love. there is also a power to the

people story today. it's about coke. and they have these new cans, the white holiday coke cans. >> it looks like it's not going to fly. apparently coca-cola is switching back to its traditional red a month after rolling out that white can for the holidays. consumers complain it looks similar to the diet coke cans. others argue that messing with the red just kind of boardered on sacrilege. this p.r. snafu is not nearly as bad as the new coke debacle from the 1980s. let's have a look at this commercial. wonder if you remember seeing this. >> introducing the new taste of coca-cola. the best coca-cola ever. that's all i'm going to say. no more words. >> what a miss that was. coke did eventually do away with

the new coke, which changed the recipe only to relaunch classic coke just a few weeks later amid a big consumer revolt. >> two things to say, if bill cosby can't sell it, nobody can. and how long before those white coke cans end up on ebay? >> i'll buy them, why not? . i'm sure it just tastes the same. >> mandy drury, have a good weekend. >> you, too. at theaters near you, the weekend after thanksgiving is traditionally pretty slow. no new movies opening in wide release which leaves the door open for, question, "twilight" to earn even more money. the film has made more than $513 million worldwide. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ?

if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. they won't be beat. oh, actually... then i'd be like, you rule! and my kids would be like, you rule! i'd be like, yes, i do rule! ohh! that rules! oh, load up the sleigh; this is going to be a great christmas. yeah. ring dinga-ding, ring dinga-ding, ring, ring, ring me up. [ male announcer ] no need to wait with our christmas price guarantee. we're so confident in our prices if you do find a lower one between now and christmas, we'll give you the difference on a walmart gift card. save money. live better. walmart.

i'd like a decaf 360 calories please. i'll have a triple iced 410 calories please. you know what... i'll have this instead. [ female announcer ] swap one thing a day for a yoplait light at around 100 calories. it will add up to amazing.

new research finds some older adults may turn to unhealthy habits to cope with financial strain. a study of over 2,000 seniors revealed that men in particular and those with little education were at risk of increasing their alcohol and cigarette use when facing hard times. in fact, older men with money problems were 30% more likely to take up heavy drinking than those who were financially stable. good morning, i'm thomas roberts. in the next hour of msnbc, christmas comes early for the obama administration with new job numbers out. the unemployment rate significantly dropping in november from 9% to 8.6%. the lowest in some 2 1/2 years. also president obama speaking live in the next hour promoting his better buildings challenge devoting $2 billion to upgrade the building efficiency of federal buildings. he will be joined by president clinton. and newt, the gop nominee,

he'll tell you himself. it looks like a lock for him. but mitt romney says, not so fast. we'll have that response and a whole bunch more. chris? there's been a change-up in the race for the white house, at least on social media because there's a new leader winning new followers and friends. msnbc's richard lui has a look at who's at the top this very hour. >> good morning to you, chris. in a candidate's dream, they'd know what people are saying about them all the time. and this so-called word cloud we have right here helps them do just that. these are words people are using when they talk about a candidate on social media. this word cloud is of herman cain, the word obama, as you can see in the center, that's the largest. it's centered meaning it's said the most when people talk about cain. little to no mention of those alleged scandals on this. it's off the social gossip radar for you. but egypt right over there, kind of small. it lingers. gingrich's word cloud says a lot

about the romney/gingrich battle. but notice the other candidates hovering around here, symbolic of the field's infighting at the moment. for romney, talk about him is dominated by president obama. you don't really see anything else. as for the president, the opposite is true. romney, the only gop candidate, right there on the right-hand side, that is close by. but so are the troubles with congress and the super committee on that word cloud. here are the leaders in social media this hour. romney leading on facebook. 1.2 million fans. gingrich is at the bottom there on the right-hand side. but the former speaker is making up ground. in the last week, he now leads in new fans by 50%, says wsi internet marketing. gingrich leads in youtube views as well. as you take a look at the youtube views. in addition to that, when we look at the data coming out, not in the last week, people flocking at the moment to romney's new ad launched two days ago. it's been a volatile two months,

to say the least. these are the weekly fluctuations on twitter follower gains. cain way on top at this moment. then diving to the level of huntsman. romney remains consistent in this blue line. new weekly facebook fans, cain has been up and down. this is not actually the visual we want to show you. but that one does indicate that he's been up and down, last election, when we looked at this, candidates really can only wish to have these sort of direct connections we've been mentioning so far to voters. one challenge now is how to manage all of this information that's coming in to them. >> let's pick up where richard left off. i'm joined now by patricia cesar. thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having me. >> let's take a look at twitter. newt gingrich with more than 1.3 million followers. but there's been some questions raised about whether these are real people. >> twitter had a really dynamic program in 2009 and 2010 where

they had suggested users list. it's about 200 folks on twitter who had the chance -- benefit of being promoted via twitter, by twitter to followers across the web. so gingrich was a part of that users list f. you look at him as well as the other ten candidates, political figures promoted on that list, they have around the same amount of followers. it's said to be that about 70% of them are not active. however, gingrich has been able to leverage those that are and built that engagement over the last couple of years. >> how's he been doing it? >> he is super active with supporters. he'll tell you what's going on with respect to his campaign and what's going on in the field. he loves to tweet before and after debates. he's very comfortable going in or targeting his competitors or fellow candidates based on their policy that he might conflict or disagree with. >> not boring. >> not boring at all. he's also very good at sharing his plans strategically on twitter and rolling them out in

a very clear-cut way that makes sense for the audience. >> when all this is over, there will be a lot of studies about this because it's grown so much just since the 2008 campaign. but looking at it where it is now, how has social media changed the game? >> it absolutely has made it so that anyone can build a conversation point, ask questions, inquire and make very transparent their viewpoints on a platform that anyone can access. you're able to find that candidates can connect directly with constituents or prospective voters. they can dynamically engage new audiences across the web. gingrich hosted the first-ever google plus hangout on google plus. >> let's talk about that a little bit. we know about facebook and twitter. but there are these sort of new venues. >> absolutely. he's been very innovative, building chat sequence on google plus by having several different folks integrate their video and chat live with him. and he rolled those videos out

on to youtube. >> are there real pitfalls that candidates need to watch out for? >> absolutely. transparency has its pitfalls in that if you say the wrong thing, it's on the web and on social media -- >> it's so easy to push "send," isn't it? >> absolutely. you have to be careful what you discuss. especially with controversial issues like immigration, for example, which is something that newt gingrich and romney got into just this week. >> patricia, great to have you in, thank you. today's tweet of the day comes from stephen colbert who writes, newt gingrich and donald trump are going to sit down for a face to face, hope they got a big room, that's a lot of face. [ male announcer ] if you think tylenol is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain... two pills can last all day. ♪ ♪ i think i'm falling

♪ i think i'm falling [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ for you [ male announcer ] this is zales, the diamond store. take up to an extra 15 percent off storewide now through tuesday. an extra 15 percent off you want to save money on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance.

the queen and yoko, happy brit day, and strtracking santa. john lennon's widow greeted queen elizabeth when she arrived

at the opening of the museum of liverpool. ono said she was impressed by the queen's outfit. former pop princess britney spears turns 30 today. seems like just yesterday she was on the "mickey mouse club" recording smash hits and going on a downward spiral. now britney's all grown up. back on the charts and maybe even getting engaged again. if you want to track santa this christmas, there's an app for that. this year, you can track santa's sleigh on your mobile phone. and for the collector this christmas, how about a coca-cola bottle worth at least $70,000? a prototype is up for auction this weekend. it's believed to be one of only two in existence. and that wraps up this hour of "jansing & co." i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next. have a great weekend.

we're america's natural gas 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. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! have given way to sleeping. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before.

when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. then get lunesta for $0 at lunesta.com. there's a land of restful sleep. we can help you go there on the wings of lunesta. gives you the lowest plan premium in the country... so you can focus on what really matters. call humana at 1-800-808-4003.

an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility.

what's your policy? right now on msnbc, it's the economy. president obama and former president bill clinton teaming up once again. we're waiting live remarks from washington where the pair will announce a $4 billion energy saving program to create new jobs. a big number for the white house to crow about today. the unemployment rate has dropped to 8.6%. we see the minimal reaction from the markets today. but what does it mean for 2012 and your bottom line? inevitable nominee, we're not talking about mitt romney. we're talking about newt gingrich who's already crowned himself the winner of the gop race. here's what his chief rival has to say about that one. >> i'm confident that this will be a successful campaign. i'm not going to count the chickens before they hatch. there is an election that has to happen. >> and the clock is ticking for herman cain, a meeting with his