long documented past with drug use and drug abuse. she admitted back in 1996 to everyday drug use for a year or two, said she was at some point dependent on cocaine, marijuana and prescription pills. so, certainly, that could have been a factor. but clirks hris, at this point, ruling factor just yet. >> let me ask you a little bit about her daughter, because obviously, she leaves behind the daughter she had with bobby -- chris brown, her daughter, bobbi. i'm wondering, there had been reports she'd been to the hospital once, she'd been to the hospital twice. i read conflicting reports. what do we know about the status of whitney houston's daughter now? >> reporter: chris, we know that bobbi kristina was here at the hotel when her mom passed, when she was taken out on a gurney to a hospital, where she was apparently suffering from some anxiety and some stress. it's believed, there are some reports that she came back here to the hotel and was taken back

to the hospital. we would assume at this point she's with family and friends who have come to this area. there are reports that her father, bobby brown, who was a legendary r&b and hip-hop artist, that he is now with his daughter, bobbi kristina. so, we believe that she is now with family, chris. >> yeah, we saw him get that news of the passing of whitney houston while he was performing on stage. thank you so much, miguel almaguer. we appreciate that. now, whitney houston was supposed to attend mentor clive davis's party at the beverly hills hotel. we'll talk about what happened at that party when word spread of whitney's death. musician herby hancock was there, and he'll join me in just a few minutes. but let's talk politics now, because it is game on. battle lines are drawn. the president is unveiling his budget just about an hour from now. his plans draw some very sharp distinctions between him and the republica republicans. he calls for raising taxes on the rich and billions of dollars

for roads, energy and manufacturing paid for by savings from two wars. republicans are slamming it because it will, for a fourth straight year, produce a $1 trillion deficit. >> the time for austerity is not today. we need to be on a path where over the next several years we bring our deficit under control. right now, we have a recovery that's taking root, and if we were to put in austerity measures now, it would take the economy in the wrong way. >> cnbc's john harwood has more of the details for us. john, he he's saying voters, you have a clear choice here, isn't he? >> absolutely. and the phrase you used at the beginning, chris, game on, is exactly what this budget is about. these two parties are stuck. we saw that last summer when john boehner and the president tried to negotiate a grand bargain, and then with the super committee, which deadlocked after that. and they've got a fundamental disagreement over how you move forward how you get long-term deficit reduction and the investments to make in the

meantime. the president is saying we can't do it unless we raise taxes on people at the top. republicans are saying no, and that's the essence of this budget, trying to lay those choices before the american people and fight it out during the election. >> yeah, and the budget really mirroring what is the key issue in this campaign, john. >> exactly. we saw in the occupy wall street movement last year, an increasing emphasis on what is the role of income inequality in the country, what is the importance of tackling it. the president's elevating that issue. that is not what republicans want to talk about. they want to talk about jobs and what can be done to stimulate growth. unfortunately for the republicans, the president's been getting some good economic news, which makes it easier for him to press his priorities that we see in this budget. >> always good to see you, john harwood. thank you. >> you bet. >> joining me now is congressman ed markey, democrat from massachusetts. congressman, good morning. >> good morning to you. >> so, the republican talking point is that in 2009, the president promised he'd cut the deficit in half by the end of

his first term. now jack lew said for the first time, austerity is not for today. so, do you agree with that? when would be the time? >> look it, at the point that the president was saying that, it was not clear that the bush economy had pretty much collapsed and that we were going to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs a month

where are you going to find common ground?

how are you going to get this done, congressman? >> i think that's a question for the republican leadership. both sides of the field, republican leaders have said that their principal goal is to make sure that barack obama does not win a second term. that's their bottom-line goal. and so, whether or not they want to walk across that middle aisle and begin to work with the president in a bipartisan fashion, that's their choice, but i think what the president has laid out today is a blueprint for success. he's also reached out with an olive branch, saying i'm willing to work with the republican leaders. the question now in the fourth year of his presidency, finally, are the republicans willing to work with him or do they want to continue this cycle of recrimination, of bitterness and acrimony, which has been characteristic of the hill since the republicans took over its leadership? that's what the public is reflecting in the low polling numbers for the congress. >> congressman ed markey, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> and we also want to take a

look at mitt romney's budget alternative, at least what has come out of his speeches. he has pledged to drastically cut both spending and taxes. ezra klein is a "washington post" columnist who's looked into this. ezra, good morning. >> good morning. >> all right, so, you're tracking what mitt romney has promised. what has he said? >> he's said a number of things. one, he will keep defense spending at 4% of gdp, which is fairly high. two, he will cap federal spending at 20% of gdp. three, he will balance the budget. and four -- and this is the important one -- he will extend the bush tax cuts and then add some more, and we know that will bring taxes down to 17% of gdp. so, now, that's a bunch of random numbers, i realize. what it basically means -- >> when you analyze that, what do you get? >> what it means is in order to get his budget to balance, get spending and revenues together, he would need to spend every single domestic spending program by 36%. now, mitt romney has said he doesn't want to cut social security for people currently retiring, he'd wait at least ten years to do that. in that case, to make the

numbers balance, he would need to cut every other dhdomestic s program, medicare, medicaid, all by 50%, huge cuts. >> it sounds good to the conservative base of the republican party, but in reality, trying to get that through is -- >> you can't make those numbers up. >> -- is less likely than what we're seeing proposed by the president. give us sort of your take on where you think the president's budget is going, because you heard what ed markey said. we'll have to see what the republican leadership is going to do. but boy, the battle lines are really drawn. i don't think we can say that enough. >> in terms of on the hill, the president's budget is going nowhere. i don't think we have to be overly fantastical about this. the president's 2012 budget went nowhere on the hill, 20913 budget's going to go nowhere on the hill. this is about putting forward a vision for the country, in contrast to the republican vision. and in a smaller way, about dealing with some of the more programmatic elements of government. we'll spend a lot of time covering the tax increases in the president's budget, the infrastructure numbers. if you want to know what a lot of folks on the hill will be

looking at, this budget is the first one to try to figure out how to implement the new caps on discretionary spending from the debt ceiling deal. so, there are all these programmatic changes made about how to live within the $1.043 trillion allocated for discretionary spending over the next year. this is first budget where they're going to do that in detail, so that's what the hill will be looking at. the rest of it, that's about a broader rhetorical and ideological fight we're having in the country during an election year. >> and when you consider the economy does remain, in spite of all the focus the last several weeks on social issues, the economy is the bread-and-butter issue for so many americans. let's talk about michigan and the republicans. >> sure. >> and you had two wins that both rick santorum -- for mitt romney that both rick santorum and ron paul are disputing. nevertheless, two wins in the maine caucus and at cpac for mitt romney. but santorum really thinks he has a chance in michigan. this is a state that has been hit especially hard by the economy. i think their unemployment is still 9.3%. this is a guy who has those blue

collar roots, articulates that very well, has a conservative background that speaks to a lot of more conservative voters there. does he have a real chance in michigan? >> well, my understanding is public policy point is going to come out with numbers today that say rick santorum is actually ahead in michigan. if santorum betemit -- beat -- mitt romney, it would be a game changer. michigan is beginning to come back. manufacturing has been a bright spot in the economy. santorum has been sensitive to manufacturing. mitt romney wrote an op ed in which he is critical of any bailout or rescue for detroit in 2009. so, there are tensions here in terms of the policies of mitt romney and santorum that could rebound to santorum's benefit. but remember, romney has a lot of money, he has a skilled campaign. he didn't spend a lot in the last couple. so, he's going to come at santorum with everything he's got, because if he loses here, at that point, he may no longer

be the favorite for the republican nomination, which is something i have not said at any other point in this race. >> that's unbelievable! >> it would be unbelievable. >> all right. great to see you. thank you for coming in, ezra klein. herbie hancock was among music's royalty at clive davis's pre grammy party when word of whitney houston's death began to spread. we'll talk with him and with "the new york times" pop music writer, coming up next. ♪ [ sniffs ] i have a cold. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil 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! but not your wrinkles? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula visibly reduces wrinkles in just one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®.

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♪ whitney houston, just 16 years old here and only a few

years before that angelic voice would branch out beyond gospel and take pop music by storm. it is worth mentioning her impact on the world of music this way. she won six grammys, two emmys, 22 american music awards. but i think to understand whitney houston's gift, as great as her records were, and they sold over 170 million copies, listen to her live. this was her extraordinary grammy performance from 1994. that was the year she won record of the year and best album with "the bodyguard" soundtrack. ♪ and i will always love you ♪ ooh, i will always love you >> joining me on the phone, another legendary musician, 12-time grammy award-winner, herbie hancock, and "the new

york times" reporter and music critic john peralis. thank you for being with us. and herbie, listening to that again, and listening on the grammys, how many people could do that in a live performance? it's astonishing to me at the height of her gifts what she could do with a song. >> i know. it's amazing the degree of passion that pours through her voice and reaches right to your heart. she had that completely sewn up. >> and you've been around great musicians practically your whole life. where does whitney houston stand in our cultural history, do you think? >> oh, she is among the top set of -- like zeus -- of the cultural icons. she has influenced so many singers after her, even singers

who themselves are influencing the next-generation of singers, and this is going to pass down through the future. for many, many, many years to come. >> and you know, john, that's one of the things that struck me last night watching the grammys. one was her influence on young singers, and the other was how rare a gift she had. i mean, there are a lot of great singers out there, a lot of great performers, but when you watch a live performance like that and saw what she was able to do, not a lot of people could ever do that. >> no. she simply had an incredible instrument. she had everything. she had warmth and she had power and she had grace and she had delicacy, and then she could just blow you over with one of those high notes. >> and great beauty. i mean, i don't think we cannot mention that as well. just to watch her, you know? she was just -- it was just a thing of beauty to watch as well as to hear. >> no, she was the pinnacle of so many things. >> and i know, herbie, that you

were one of the people who were at this pre grammy party. clive davis, who took her when she was young and who really brought her pop career together, and you know, most recently with her last album, hoped to revive that career. you found out about her passing just before you went to that party, is that right, herbie? >> absolutely. it was about an hour or so before i actually left my house, and i live very close to beverly hilton hotel. and i was actually doing my buddhist prayer for the evening. i'm a buddhist. and i was chanting, and my daughter came into my chanting room and said, "whitney houston just died." and i was completely shocked. but i continued to chant, but this time, i was chanting for her eternal life, because in buddhism, we believe life is eternal. >> and tell us a little bit about -- i mean, i can only imagine -- i saw the little

clips of clive davis at that party, but the mood must just have been so somber, because she was someone who you really rooted for. you know, there are stars who get into trouble, and frankly, we're done with them. but i think for whatever reason, whatever force of her personality as well as her gift, whitney houston was somebody you really wanted to see come back. >> there's no question about it. and she has a new movie that's coming out, too. >> that's right. >> i mean, so much was happening for her at this particular time, and it's a strange kind of synchronicity that she died on the night of the person given by the person who really found, you know, established her global career. but at the point, our thoughts were really about how can we make sure that we truly honor

whitney and make this party a celebration of her life. even though she lived only for 48 years, she gave so much to humanity and to culture. >> i just want to tell you that we have just learned that the l.a. county coroner is going to have a news conference in just a few minutes, so we may learn some more and we will have that for you coming up. but herbie just mentioned, john, clive davis, legendary in the music business. before her last album came out, i sat down with him and talked to him for a long time, and he was always, i think, you know, somebody who always believed the best for whitney, and he did believe that this was going to help launch a comeback. and people who saw her on the set of her movie just a few months ago thought she looked great, she sounded great, her attitude was very positive, and yet, you know, given her husband with drugs and given her tumultuous marriage, you know, i think we were sad, but i don't think anyone was tremendously

shocked. such a tragedy. >> well, but you're always surprised because her music had so much strength in it. her music gave -- songs like "the greatest love of all," it was all about pulling yourself up, making things better, finding a better way. you always hoped that the same thing would happen for her. i mean, there was a long decline, but everybody wanted her to pull out. there was none of the gloating that you get with some, you know, stars. everybody wanted her to pull out and be whitney houston again. >> yeah. such -- >> you know, i talked to some of the musicians who were in the house band at clive davis's party, and they said that she came to the rehearsal, but not just the time that she was supposed to be at her rehearsal with the band, but she came to hear the band rehearse and just to hang out with the band and to fraternize with them and joke with them and just have a great

time, and they said she sounded fantastic. so, everything was really looking up for her. >> such a tremendous loss, obviously for the music world, but for her family, and our thoughts and prayers go out to them. herbie hancock, what an honor to talk to you, sir. thank you so much for taking the time. and john peralis, big fan of your work as well, so thank you both. >> thank you, chris. >> among the tributes to whitney houston at last night's grammys, jennifer hudson, asked on what was obviously very short notice to sing one of whitney's signature songs. here it is, a simple and fitting tribute to whitney houston. ♪ and i, ooh, i will always love you ♪ ashley christianson gained

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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. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. to "politics now." the birth control backlash isn't over. catholic bishops still vowing to

fight the obama administration over the new compromise. the president announced friday catholic institutions wouldn't have to pay for contraception. instead, insurance companies will pick up the cost. the administration also plans to meet with bishops and other religious leaders in coming days, but republicans say they have the votes to overturn it. >> absolutely, we do. look, to paraphrase the bishop's letter, this thing is a distinction without a difference. it's an accounting gimmick or a fig leaf. it's not a compromise. the president's doubled down. >> sarah palin's still questioning mitt romney's conservative credentials. >> i am not convinced, and i don't think that the majority of gop and independent voters are convinced, and that is why you don't see romney get over that hump. he's still in the 30 percentile mark when it comes to approval and primary wins and caucus wins. he still hasn't risen above that yet because we are not -- >> now we take you live to the l.a. county coroner's office.

this is assistant chief coroner ed winter talking about the results of the autopsy on whitney houston. >> is that story true? >> i had a conversation with the family at the hotel, and at no time did i discuss prescription meds or the drowning issue. i don't know if the detectives discussed that with the family, but no, we have not released any information like that. the case is still pending. we're waiting for talks, histopathology and toxicology and the investigation's ongoing. >> so, is the report that you ruled out drowning because there wasn't enough water discovered in the lungs -- that report, you're saying, is not true? >> that did not come from us. >> not true? >> are you saying that it's not true or it didn't come from you? >> it's too early to say. we don't know. the autopsy was done yesterday and there still is additional testing that's ongoing.

>> when will the body be ready -- [ everyone talking at once ] >> toxicology report is just a confirmation, but you have some idea usually, just from the initial look at scene and looking at her body as to what the cause of death might be. i know you don't want to -- >> no, that's not true. you can look at a body and not know what the cause of death is. you might have a suspicion, but the person could have suffered a heart attack or an embolism or something, and no matter what medications they're taking, until we run a tox and see the level and what's in the system, we're not going to speculate. >> that aside -- >> i'm sorry. >> that aside, was it drowning? do you believe she died of drowning or -- >> no, we're not saying that. she was in the bathtub when she was found. i don't know because she was removed from the bathtub by a family member, a bodyguard, and the fire department, when they got there, she was already out of the bathtub -- >> can you say anything about the amount of water that was

found in the lungs? >> no. i don't have those figures yet and that is still pending, and so we're not going to speculate -- [ everyone talking at once ] >> what happens with the body right now -- >> do you feel like you know what the cause of death is and not release it because of the security hold or do you not know yet because of those toxicology reports? >> we do not know yet, and when we find out, we will be in contact with beverly hills pd. but first, we'll also be in contact with the family and give them our findings. >> so, it's not because of -- [ everyone talking at once ] >> do you know how long her body was there? >> pardon? >> do you know how long her body was there, how long she was dead before she was found? >> not a this time, no. she was last seen -- she was seen within an hour by somebody, family or somebody at the hotel, and then she was discovered, so. >> and do you know if she had clothing on when she was found? >> -- funeral arrangements? >> do you know if she had any clothing on? >> i'm not going to comment on

that. i'm sorry? >> will you be releasing the body to her family today? >> the family is making arrangements. i don't know when the family is going to have the body, have her body picked up, but they are making arrangements. and sometimes it takes a couple days. >> when's the -- [ everyone talking at once ] >> i'm sorry. >> are they technically allowed? >> yes, they are allowed. there is a security hold on the case and that doesn't restrict the family from having the body. >> let me get this straight just to clarify. are you not able to give us more answers because you sincerely don't know the answers or because there's a security hold on the case and you're not allowed to give us the answers? >> two. number one, there's a security hold on the case, so we're not going to discuss it, and there still is testing going on. >> could you for the lay person describe what toxicology testing in this case might involve? >> i'm not going to comment. it's toxicology. they'll test the blood and urine, but it's the routine tox that we do, okay?

anyway, that's all i have to say. we probably won't have any update for anybody for a couple days. it will take that long just to gather and put everything together and figure out maybe a preliminary, but at this point, we have no other information to give. >> sir, is it definite that the family won't be picking up the body today? >> i don't know when the family is going to get the body. >> and the body is, just to be clear, the body is ready? >> the autopsy's been completed. there is no hold on the body. >> have they indicated if they're sending the body back to atlanta? there's been reports of that -- >> i've heard that from the media. i have not talked to the family on that subject. >> and any special requests from the family regarding her body? >> no. >> and just, one more time for our viewers, clear up the fact that the celebrity websites are reporting that somebody here spoke to the family and told them that prescription drugs most likely were involved in her death. you're saying that did not come

from your office. >> i'm the one that talked to the family and i did not give that information. they might have talked to somebody from beverly hills. i don't know. >> but would that be too soon to determine that without the toxicology tests? >> yes. yes. okay? thank you. >> all right, that was assistant chief -- >> and that last series of questions for the assistant chief coroner ed winter just shows you with the competing jurisdictions there, sometimes difficult to figure out where information is coming from. as far as the coroner's office is concerned, as you heard him say, there's a security hold. in other words, they're not giving out the details of this autopsy yet. they've got another at least four to six weeks before they get the toxicology results, which will tell us a lot, but also, the beverly hills pd were there on the scene investigating, so they, obviously, some folks there were talking to members of the media. let me bring in dr. robi ludwig, who is a psychotherapist, and christopher witherspoon, the entertainment editor for agreea. we see this with tragedies of this sort.

chris, it's hard to get a straight answer a lot of times about exactly what's going on. what can you tell us? what have you learned about this? >> it's still just a very tragic, shocking death. we don't really know a whole lot about how she died. we just know that the entertainment industry's completely stunned by her death. and her legacy right now is what's in question, you know. she had these incredible career highs, you know, being the best-selling artist, but it's the lows, it's her personal life that's more in question right now, you know. that was what people talk about more is just that she was -- >> you know, there had also been a lot of reports that she had been doing better because she was about to do this -- or she had just shot this new movie. she actually spoke with "access hollywood's" shaun robinson in november. it would turn out to be her last one-on-one interview. and shaun describes her as looking healthy and happy and seeming very strong. we just want to play you a clip of this last interview that she ever did one on one. this is with "access hollywood"'s shaun robinson.

let's take a look. we don't have it. well, i can tell you because i've seen this interview on a number of occasions. oh, we do have it now? okay, let's take a look. >> it is a blessing that i have a mother that's very strong. >> yeah. >> and a family that surround me and constantly tell me they love me, and my daughter is my greatest inspiration, my greatest, my greatest. she supports me, she loves me, she gives me good mommy hugs, good daughter hugs. >> yeah, when i told people i was coming here to interview you on the set of "sparkle," one person said, i want whitney to know that she's got so many people rooting for her. do you feel that? >> oh, yeah. >> do you? >> oh, yeah. i've got some good saints out there. >> you do. >> that's right. that pray for me constantly. >> so many people, robi, said

that she had sounded great and looked great. then we hear reports that over the weekend, when she was around the beverly hills hilton, people said she looked like she might have been drinking or smelling of alcohol and cigarettes. and her ex, bobby brown, has said we both have addictive personalities. >> yeah, and unfortunately, what we see a lot is when individuals who have addictive personalities and use poly substances, occasionally, when they overdo it, can end up killing themselves. and according to what we're hearing in the news, is that she was drinking alcohol on top of xanax. xanax is a sedative. and if you're not using these prescription medications as prescribed, and it doesn't sound like she was, then it's very dangerous. and what it sounds like what happened is that she somehow overdosed where her respiratory system wasn't functioning properly anymore. >> yeah, and you know, you do

hear this thing about addictive personalities, but obviously, the vast majority of people who struggle with addiction are not famous. does it make it harder, though, you're constantly in the spotlight? again, she was going to be at these very public events? >> well, in some cases, what makes it harder is feeling okay enough about opening up, let's say at aa programs or na programs. you don't have the aminity, let's say, that a nonfamous person has, and also, celebrities have access to feel-good doctors, people who will give them pills, and it's harder for people around celebrities to say no to them. so, if you don't have people saying no to you, it's harder in some cases to get the proper treatment that you need. >> dr. robi ludwig, christopher witherspoon, thanks to both of you for coming in. we don't know what happened, but we do know that we've lost one of the great lights, really, of entertainment. >> very sad. >> thanks to both of you for coming in. we'll take a quick break and come back. lots more to talk about in terms of the election in 2012 right after this. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool

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mitt romney's rivals won't let him walk away with a two-win weekend. romney squeaked out a quauctican in maine and a victory in the straw poll, but ron paul's campaign says he could still win the caucuses and rick santorum's team says the straw poll was fixed. >> the strow polls at cpac, as you know, for years, ron paul has won those because he just trucks at a lot of people, pays for their ticket, they come in and vote and leave. we didn't do that. we don't do that. i don't try to rig straw polls. >> do you think -- >> i know that there were some unhappiness at the announcement. >> do you think mitt romney would? >> well, you have to talk to the romney campaign and how many tickets they buy. we've heard all sorts of things. >> joining me is politico's ben white and joe conspiracion with

nationalmemo.com. joe, does he have a point there? >> he probably does have a point, but i would say he couldn't afford to fix the straw poll, even if he wanted to. so, he made a virtue out of his situation. it's true that ron paul has won a lot in the past. he does have a lot of money to spend, always has, so i wouldn't accuse him of fixing it, nor do i see any proof that romney did. but santorum actually shouldn't have such sour grapes. he's looking pretty good in ohio and michigan right know. >> that will be interesting looking ahead to that. even if romney didn't win the two contests, his wins were what, 31% and 38%. >> right. >> again, not exactly a sign of a blockbuster front-runner, is it? >> no, it's not. you're talking about maine, you're talking about a few thousand people voting, which doesn't really tell us a whole lot. and cpac, i mean, it's always easy for someone who didn't win to say the winner fixed it. but it's true that you buy tickets for people and they tend to vote for you. so, i wouldn't read too much into that either. and joe is right, i mean, you

look at the michigan polls, there's a new one today showing santorum up by six. it's still a little time to go before then and i wouldn't crown santorum the front-runner yet. we saw after south carolina, gingrich saying we'll be the nominee, now santorum's camp is saying we'll be the nominee. this is so unprecedentedly hard to call, it's too soon to say santorum is ahead of mitt romney. i think the romney campaign's got all the money, it's got a juggernaut of a campaign. there's still plenty of time for him to right the ship. >> and yet, you do have some discontent and ezra and i were talking about this earlier, joe. it probably didn't help him in michigan, talking about mitt romney, you know, saying he was against the auto bailout, in addition to which there is something about rick santorum and the connectivity he has with working class, and you know, his conservative values, which tend to play better in some of these midwestern states. how do you think the odds are for him in a place like michigan, for rick santorum? >> i think if he can get on the air and he can be competitive in

media and get out the vote, then he has a very good shot in a place like michigan. i think romney is dead in michigan, in spite of the fact that his father was once the governor there. i mean, it's kind of an amazing thing. he should be considered the sort of hometown, one of the hometown candidates, and -- >> but if he loses michigan, what does that do to this race? >> it really turns it upside down. it's very bad for him. because you know, michigan, ohio, the midwest, they're must-win for republicans in the general election, and if he can't be sold in the state where he grew up, he's got a big problem. >> all right. always good to see you, joe conason, ben white. sorry we're cut short, but we had that news conference. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. as the music world mourned the loss of one singer, another was being honored over and over again at last night's grammys. 23-year-old british sensation adele walking away with grammys for all six nominations, including the big one, record of the year. in october, you know, adele stopped singing to have throat surgery to remove a polyp on her vocal cords, but last night she thanked her doctors and then gave her first public performance since the surgery.

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[ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ your ticket home ♪ [ male announcer ] this is zales, the diamond store. good morning, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. on the agenda next hour, honoring the loss of whitney houston, while we are still waiting for real answers for a cause of death. we'll show you a recap of whitney's emotional tribute at the grammys. moments from now, president obama unveiling his budget for the next fiscal year, part serious policy, part political statement, but what will become a reality? we'll explore that. and then, mitt romney, the self-proclaimed severely conservative republican governor after victories in maine and cpac's straw poll. is his message working? we'll examine as well. chris? and i want to let you know that we are getting confirmation, jeff rossen of nbc news getting confirmation from the coroner's office that there were prescription pill bottles found in the suite of whitney houston. we just had that press

conference and they weren't talking about any of that, so, we did get that confirmation. we'll keep you posted as we get more information about that. but let's get back to politics, or you know, the fun side of it, i guess. the first lady joins president obama to award the national medal of arts and national humanities medals later this afternoon. she has just returned from her three-day, five-city tour to promote her let's move initiative. ivillage chief correspondent kelly wallace followed the first lady on this trip, blogged about it. you've got pictures, you've got video. so, you covered the obamas when they first came to the white house, what, four years ago, almost, now. how is the first lady different now? >> well, you know -- and i tweeted at one moment, i was able to be right there with the still photographers with my little iphone, you know, getting pictures of her. we were at a megachurch in longwood, florida. she's talking to more than 3,000 people. and i tweeted, i said, "wow, for a woman who was kind of the reluctant campaigner, the reluctant person on the political stage five years ago, she has come and become a

seasoned pro, chris. she was delivering these lines, the crowd was eating it up, and she just really seems to be comfortable in her role, in her stride, and obviously, for that reason, can be an enormous asset to the president. >> and you can tell, i mean, just watching her from a distance as i do on video, that she cares about these subjects. so, you've got some great video of the first lady promoting not just let's move but also spending time with military families is something that she's done a lot of. how do you explain her growing influence in these areas, because she has become tremendously influential. >> she has. you know, she was asked -- we had two different 30-minute roundtables with her, myself and the four other reporters traveling with her. and she said, number one, she had to pick issues that she felt passionate about. she said there is the political smell test, right? if people think you're just picking an issue because it's politically popular or you think it's going to help, they'll smell that right away. so, she picked issues that she really cares about. she did acknowledge, though,

chris, that a reporter asked is let's move a twofer, right? something you care about, but you help your husband as well? and she said, yeah, i guess it is, because it is something i care about. because it's important to the country, it also helps the president. so, there is some sense that, obviously, these issues, even though they're so important to her, they could help her husband in november as well. >> here's something that attracted the attention of all of us who were following this. so, she's traveling around to these different states and she's going to have dinner at the home of his family in orlando. our conversation this morning is what do you cook for the first lady? >> can you imagine? first of all, i don't know about you, i'm not a cook. i couldn't imagine anything more nerve-racking than cooking for the first lady. it was a sweet family outside of orlando. we understand that the boys, the two boys were only told a short time before that the first lady was coming -- >> oh, you're kidding. >> so they didn't get too nervous. the father cooked jerked chicken, brown rice, zucchini squash, and it's an interesting story. he is somebody who his doctors

said if you don't get on a better track, you're going to be in big trouble, and he adopted the my play concept. you know, no longer the food pyramid, but the play. there they are, we're taking pictures and they're having a conversation. i was surprised how comfortable. everybody was outside wanting to get a glimpse of the first lady. >> but you didn't get a taste of the jerky? >> no. the assistant white house chef said it was a really good dinner, so. >> sounds good. >> pretty impressive. >> ivillage chief correspondent with a cool job. >> yeah. >> kelly wallace. thank you. >> thank you, chris. >> the "tweet of the day" comes from reed wilson. "starting at 11:15 today, you can download the white house budget on your smartphone. there is, apparently, an app for that." so uh this is my friend frank and his, uh, retirement plan.

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and that wraps up this hour of "jansing & co." i'm chris jansing. stay tuned, though, thomas roberts is up next and i'll see you back here tomorrow. "msnbc live" uses cisco

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new details this hour about the death of a music legend. the coroner confirms she died in a bathtub and she was seen alive within an hour of her being found dead. the question remains, did drugs and alcohol play a role in her tragic passing? ♪ and i, ooh, i will always love you ♪ >> plus, whitney houston dominated so many grammy nights, and last night's music, the biggest stars paid tribute to her. moments from now, president obama puts forward his budget for the next fiscal year. it's expected to shape the political fights ahead of the presidential election. we'll take you there live. then, after a bruising week, mitt romney scrapes out a couple of victories in maine and cpac's straw poll, but has it done anything to solve his problems with conservatives? we'll examine that this morning. hi, everybody, i'm thomas roberts. hope you had a nice weekend.