oh, what a relief it is. breaking news from overseas. dramatic scenes is inside a shopping mall where there are reports of at least 20 dead. and possible hostages. in moments the latest. not again. just nine days to a possible government shutdown. both sides are digging in their heels. there are ways it might be avoided but will it? what if the government shuts down. lady liberty will be closed for business. we'll tell you about one particular fact that may infuriate you. and we have the very latest there. we will see amanda knox, highlights from an interview they gave with matt lauer. that saga for you, as well. hello, everyone. high noon in the east, 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "weekends with alex

witt." breaking news in the capital of kenya. gunmen republican artillery stormed a very popular shopping mall opening fire, throwing what could be grenades. this all happened in broad daylight just a 0 short while ago in the capital city of nairobi. red cross officials say as many as 22 people have been killed, several others wounded in this attack in kenya's largest city. >> i went up and they came to -- some police rescued us. >> nbc's duncan golestani is in london for us. we had differing reports earlier today but terrorist attack versus a robbery. what are you hearing? >> hi, alex. the nairobi police chief has said they are treating this as a terrorist attack. and that seems to be supported by some of the eyewitness accounts coming out of the kenyan capital. one shop ter saying the

attackers entered the mall and they were shooting indiscriminately. another witness quotes it on the news said the gunmen were targeting non-muslims. the operation to make them all safe has been continuing over the last few hours with gunfire coming from the area. kenyan police and soldiers have surrounded the mall and are reported to be hunting down the attackers, moving through the buildings shop by shop. some local television stations have been reporting the hostages have been taken but that has not been confirmed. it is thought people are still inside though, and that, of course, is going to affect how the operation is handled. a lot of the information coming out of nairobi is conflicting, as you said. but if this is a terrorist attack, suspicion is already falling on the militant islamist group al shabab. that group controls vast parts of neighboring south somalia. kenya sent troops there two years ago to fight islamic

insurgents and has been suffering retaliation ever since but nothing on this scale. we should say no terrorist group has claimed responsibility at the moment. alex? >> with regard to hostages, we've heard varying reports here. i mean, this is a very popular mall, right? and this is kind of mall that definitely targets the upscale. so the likelihood when you talk about the number of gunmen that are reportedly inside, is common sense saying this is a robbery or something more sinister? >> every indication seems to be going towards this being a terrorist attack because of these eyewitness accounts saying they were shooting indiscriminately because they seemed to be targeting non-muslims. the west gaest mall in nairobi is very popular with westerners and ex-pats who live there. it has many western shops like nike and israeli owned.

in the past security officials have identified that particular mall as a likely terror target in the city. al shabab have previously threatened to launch attacks on nairobi's tower blocks and other popular sites with westerners such as nightclubs and hotels. sew far they have failed to do so. alex? >> let's talk about the people that frequent in mall and its proximity to any embassies. how close is it? what is the likelihood that people are going to be shopping? assets a saturday, people from those embassies. >> yeah, it's a saturday. all reports copping out saying it was very busy. it's one of those kind of malls as well as having the shops it's got cinemas and calf tier "yaz." so lots of people in there. and as you say, it is popular with the well heeled with the ex-pat community which is likely to be ndong as well as people that are working for corporations in kenya, people

that work with the embassies, work perhaps with charities and ngos in kenya because although there are threats in kenya, kenya ask one of the safer countries in that particular part of africa. so although there is security and there are security on the doors of the west gate mall, it's not thought to have a been a particular target. >> okay. duncan golestani in london, thank you very much for the late breaking developments. from there back to washington now. as the clock is ticking, we are just nine days away from a potential government shutdown. today president obama is issuing a renewed call for congress to act. >> we're running out of time to fix this. but we could fix it tomorrow. both houses of congress can take a simple vote to pay our bills on time, this enwork together to pass a budget on time. then we can declare an end to governing by crisis and govern

responsibly. >> the back and forth continues with house speaker boehner's office saying the president called the speaker last night "to tell him he wouldn't negotiate with him on the debt limit given the long history of using debt limit increases to achieve bipartisan deficit reductions." reiterated it is the constitutional responsibility of the u.s. congress to pass the

nation's budget and pay the nation's bills that phone call came hours after the house approved legislation that funds the government through mid-december but strips out funding. so here is what happens next. the bill moves to the senate where a debate is expected to begin on monday. then the first senate votes also probably take place wednesday. it will likely only take 51 votes to remove the provisions that defund obama care from the overall funding bill. final skroets happen as late as a week from tomorrow. after that it goes back to the house. that would then have only one day to reconcile the senate bill with its own before a government shutdown. but before all of that happens, the president is doing his best to the convince gop lawmakers this is an i fight they can't win and a battle that that will cost them politically. kristen welker, let's talk what the president is more likely to do, make a few phone calls today? >> that is certainly possible. right now, he's playing a round of golf. however, i would anticipate there will be some outreach between the white house and the hill throughout the weekend because alex, bottom line, this is politically peril lous for everyone. the republicans seem to really be going out on a limb because their strategy has sharply divided their party. you have tea party republicans,

the more conservativetive branch of the party arguing it is the right thing to do to defund obama care. but then the more establishment republicans say it's political suicide. they basically say that this type of bill is not going to pass through both chambers so what's the point. having said that, republican leadership defending this move and making the point the ball is now in the senate's court. take a listen. >> let's defund this law now and protect the american people from the economic calamity that we know obama care will create. americans back home are fighting for their families. and we in congress were sent to washington by our constituents to fight for them. they have put faith in their leaders to do what's right. >> we're sending a strong message to the house, we will not blink. don't get it into your heads that we will. we won't. don't make it part of your

strategy that eventually we'll cave. we won't. we're unified. we're together. you're not. >> so the big question is what happens next. as i pointed out, this legislation now moves to the senate. the senate will likely pass something that takes out that part of the legislation that would strip funding from the president's health care law. so this would basically be a simple extension of government funding. they'll send that bill back to the house. then it will be up to house speaker john boehner to decide whether he's going to put that legislation on the floor for a vote. that move would, of course, rankle tea party members of the republican branch. sore he col decide to make other amendments. i am told by one of my sources close to house speaker jane boehner who says don't expect the house to simply take up whatever the senate passes. you said at the top, both sides are digging in their heels. it appears they will continue to do so as the clock ticks down to a government shutdown.

>> if that outline i put out there earlier is true, it would be like a day for the house to reconcile this bill. >> right. >> very concerned on timing here. kristin, thank you so much. you might be wondering what would happen if the government shuts down. if there's no agreement by october 1st, nonessential workers half the government workforce would be furloughed. those who do stay on the job including members of the military and air traffic controllers would not get paid. instead issued ious. passport and visa applications would stahl. so would student loans. national parks and monuments would close to tourists including one of the nation's most visited attractions, the statue of liberty would be closed to visitors. not everything would come to a screeching halt. social security checks, medicare kir payments is, federal prisonses will stay open. mail delivery keeps running and members of congress will still get their paychecks. syria appears to have met the first test toward eradicating its chemical weapons

program and submitted an initial list of its arsenal friday. a state department spokesperson said the list is "a good start." the u.s. is working with russia to enforce this agreement which includes the elimination of syria's chemical weapons by the middle of 2014. the u.s. is trying to ease israel's concerns there could be a thaw on u.s./iran relations. israel is warning the u.s. about new overtures from hassan rowhani. they may be forcing iran to enforce a limit on its nuclear weapons but insist there will be no sanctions on iran unless it takes substantial steps to limit its nuclear weapons program. the clean-up in colorado following deadly flooding is getting more complicated by the day. four new spills have been discovered in flooded oil fields. high waters keeping crews from starting on clean-up operations. those happened during last week's flood which destroyed more than 50 bridges and hundreds of miles of roads.

>> we are literally trapped. there's probably a 100-foot wide kreb vas in the county road. >> dylan dreyer is here with more on the national forecast. hello to you. i can see you're back safe and sound and dry compared to last weekend. wow. >> it was unbelievable to see everything in person going on in the boulder area. the good news is, we haven't seen much rain in that area since i left. that is helping to not make matters worse although it is still going to take a long time for the water to completely recede and for repairs to start happen package.right now, it is still dry out in an area. denver at 6 degrees. it's chilly up in minneapolis at 56 degrees right now. there is a very big cold front moving through the eastern half of the country and that has produced a lot of rain. we also saw flooding yesterday in houston where areas picked up about 4 to 5 inches of rain. now the big area we're watching is across parts of new orleans and into mississippi and alabama where the rain is very heavy because not only is it a cold front, but there are the

remnants of three separate tropical systems that are helping to fuel some of these down powers. new orleans could end up with another 4 to 5 inches of rain. same goes for northwestern alabama, even into western tennessee. we doe have flash flood watches and warnings in effect. and something we'll keep an eye on throughout the day an today. temperatures look pretty cool in chicago with a high of only 66 degrees today. up and down the east coast, late day showers and storms, most likely not till after 8:00 tonight. tomorrow clearing out quickly. we'll see increasing sunshine through the east coast. 72 in minneapolis. the plain states warm into the 80s and tomorrow is the first official day of fall. think 4:44 is the official time it starts. >> okay. so wearing no more white after that or do you subscribe that? >> i stopped with white after labor day. i don't know what the rules are anymore. >> i'm from california. >> that's true. you can wear white all year round. >> thank you. in the battle over the budget

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president obama is stepping up the pressure on congress today. he's pointing blame squarely at republicans trying to undermine his health care law through measures that threaten a government shutdown or default on the government's debts. >> they'd actually plunge this country back into recession all to deny the basic security of health care to millions of americans. that's not happening. and they know it's not happening. >> joining me now "the washington post" nia-malika

henderson, host of on background and political reporter for reuters andy sullivan. hello to the two of you. andy, i'll begin with you. is there any viable path you see that averts a government shutdown or does it look inevitable at this point? >> alex, when we spoke about this last sunday, i gave it about a three in 10 chance of shutting down. now it's about 50-5037 . i could see a path where the senate strips out the obama care ban, kicks it back to the house. the house sticks in some sort of face-saving provision, maybe lawmakers don't get paid if there's a shutdown and kicks it back to the senate. and they say sure. on the other hand, this place has been so dysfunctional. you can't discount the chaos factor here. i'd say it's about 50-50 at this point. >> kind of going in the wrong direction for those. so nia malikka, you saw republicans. they were celebrating the passage of their budget bill on

friday that strips out all the funding for obama care. here's how house speaker boehner described it. >> while we have victory today for the american people, and frankly we also had a victory for the common sense. >> so if a government shutdown does happen in nine short days, how long do you think it would last? what's it going to take for both sides to come up with a budget and raise the debt ceiling are we talking days, weeks, months? >> that's the thing. it this seems to be happening in two phases, one is the continuing resolution and then the debt ceiling. it seems to me if the government does shutdown, it would only be maybe a matter of hours, maybe a matter of days. part of it depends on the action in the senate and folks like ted cruz, are they going to filibuster in the senate. if they do, they would delay the senate and harry reid kicking something back to the house. if that's the case, this he might not have enough time to

get that the thing back over to the senate to avert a government shutdown. i think the real price here for those house republicans who do in fact know that they're not going to defend obama care, the real prize is whether or not they can delay it. it looks like their big fight is going to be around the debt skeel. they're going to try to delay obama care for a year around that debt ceiling. we know that obama has said under no circumstances will he negotiate. so there i think is where the focus is going to end up being after the cr resolves itself. >> wa about making this personal, andy? earlier today i asked john yarmuthing about congress members still getting paid if the government shuts down. take a listen. >> i would superior a resolution to withhold pay till other federal workers were back on the payroll and the government was back if operation. it's incomprehensible we could shut the government down and then continue to get paid. >> do you think this mess would

be solved quicker if congress faced getting not paid during a shutdown. no, these guys' net worth is generally pretty high. they'll do fine. what about the troops? what about the janitors, what about all these federal workers who won't get paid. a lot of these folks live paycheck to paycheck. they could get kicked out of houses, trouble paying bills. they're suffering. hopefully some congressional staffers will suffer too and talk to people like john yarmuth and say this is really hurting me and making it hard to do pie job. another point i'd like to make, you had a nice segment earlier in the show where you said what services would get affected and would not about i a government shutdown. you know what wouldn't get affected, obama care. it's going to go into effect no matter what. if those social security checks go out, the white house has all the power in the world to implement the affordable care act. that's what's going to happen.

>> a very good point right there. can i get back to what i was asking andy of you, anyia mallika. if congress members weren't getting paid, do you think things would be different? >> maybe. we saw that the around the sequestration and long lines we started to see at airport. as soon as that started to affect members of congress who flight frequently. >> that was the tipping point. that totally was. >> the tipping point for that little segment of the sequestration. everything else has gone into effect. so you know, i think you have you 40 to 60 to maybe 80 members in the house who are part of the hell no caucus. they sort of don't really care about things like whether or not they get paid. i think andy makes a good point that a lot of these folks do make a lot of money. they want to focus on obama care and want to focus on standing up 0 this president which makes for good politics when they go back to their districts. >> can i ask you, "the l.a. times" op-ed, andy. here's the quote from that. "a visit to the house these days feels like an excursion to an

alternate universe." is that the problem? are all these politicians so far removed from the average person they're supposed to be serving? >> that's a good point. i think as long as house republicans are more concerned about a challenge from the right than they are from the center or from the left, they'll have every incentive to do things like they're doing right now. a lot of these guys are worried about heritage action, club for growth, groups like that. you know, making sure they'll get a challenger in their districts. a lot of them represent very conservative districts. they've selected their voters and drawn the lines. that sort of boxes them in. they're not really trying to appeal to a broad spectrum of voters but trying to make sure that the narrow slice of votes in primaries that they're conservative enough. >> nia malikka, how do you see this playing out? >> i don't know. i think something might happen with a government shutdown but it will be very, very minor because you hear from all sides that they really don't want a

government shutdown. certainly from more establishment republicans. i think they know that the politics of shutting down the government just isn't good for them overall and the republican party brand. >> okay. nia malik cag henderson, andy, thanks, guys. reaction to amanda knox's new interview. why is she not going back to italy? nascar is ab.out excitement but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights that help nascar win with our fans.

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welcome back to "weekends with alex witt"". let's go now to washington where the battle over funding the government is getting uglier. republicans pushed through a bill on friday that keeps everything operating. but there's a big catch. it includes a provision that fully defunds president obama's signature legislation, the affordable care act or as it's called obama care. if it's not resolved, the government shuts down in nine days. joining me now, democratic congress mab, jim mcdermott, representative mcdermott, thank you for joining us. >> it's my pleasure, alex. >> so earlier this morning, sir, i spoke with democratic congressman john yarmuth. he told me there will be a government shutdown in nine days. what do you think? >> well, for the longest time i thought they'd come to their

senses. but i really do think the fighting inside the radical wing of the republican party is so intense that they cannot not have a shutdown. i think we're going to have a shutdown. >> okay. so what can be done to avoid that shutdown? can you and fellow democrats do anything along with the white house in terms of making a compromise on any of their spending bill demands? >> no, the republicans are fighting among themselves to such an extent there's almost nothing we can offer them or do with them. they won't talk to us. they are intent on stopping the affordable care act, the obama care. and when they've taken that this way or the highway approach, there's nothing you can do that is going to satisfy them because they do not want the president's plan for health care for everyone to go into effect on the 1st of october. so you can't compromise with

somebody when they will not talk about the major issue. >> representative mcdermott, you may have seen the web video that was put out by speaker boehner this week in which he asks, why is the obama administration willing to negotiate with putin on syria but not with congress to address washington's spending problem. that's john boehner saying that. what do you make of his argument there? >> well, it's somewhat disingenuous from the speaker. the president has offered, again and again to sit down with people. but the republicans never come out with a proposal that doesn't wipe out the health care bill. and every time they bring one out that wipes out the health care bill, they know the president's going to say no. it's almost a guarantee that that's what will be the result of the negotiations. so they're guaranteeing by the way they construct their proposals that they're not going to get an agreement. they want to shut the government

down and force the president to stop his health care bill. >> we've asked a twitter question today. who most people will blame if there is a government shutdown. we're going to get to the answers overall on that. do you worry that democrats will be lumped in, of course the implication most of the viewers have said the gop will be responsible. do you worry the democrats will also be implicated in this and that could play out in the 2014 elections? >> well, most of us have made it pretty clear, those of us who saw the breakdown in '95 that we don't want it and we'll do anything we can to prevent it. but this is such a -- an issue without any compromise in it that the people are going to have to decide, do they want the republicans who want to deny them universal health care coverage, do they want them to continue doing this kind of behavior in the house? they've done it 42 times.

and they are -- they are absolutely intent on it, and they're going to go down with it. i don't -- the people have to choose. i think the democrats offer of health care is something the people really want. people are worried about their health care security. and i don't think they're going to accept the republicans we want to get rid of obama care because it will all be better if we get rid of it. that isn't going to work. >> if republicans, sir, in the house don't really believe that the senate is going to send they will back something they can agree upon and do something productive, what is the incentive here? i mean, is this really they're trying to adhere to republican ideology? is this politics? can you not separate the two? >> well, there's probably two reasons here. one is you have a very large group of people who are very new to the political process. and they don't really understand what the government does. they don't have any concept of what's going to be like in nine days if the government stops.

when they lock the doors to all the national museums they lock people out of the national parks, the state department no longer issues visas so people can't go on cruises on cruise boats. when all of this stuff starts to happen, they're going to be surprised and angry that that's what the result is. but those of us who have been through it before know that. and we've tried to tell them that. that this is not the way to get done what you want to do, what you have to do is be willing to compromise. i have never gotten 100% of anything i've tried to do in 40 years of being in government. i'm always willing to accept 60% and i'll be back next year for the other 40%. and that's the way it has always worked. these guys want 100%. and it doesn't work that way. >> all right. representative jim mcdermott, thank you very much for joining us from california. i appreciate are insights. >> you're welcome. a footnote worth mentioning that federal agencies have to

use up time, energy all resources to man for a shutdown. so for every day the government is shutdown, it's going to cost the american taxpayers still $100 million. in today's office politics, today show co-host hold da kotb talks about her friendship with kathie lee gifford. how it got started. first i asked her what it was like growing up in oklahoma and west virginia with her most unique name. >> i was a frizzy-haired -- i had stop sign glasses. i was the nerd. i had the weird name. i was the weirdo. mainly through -- they used to always say to me, use your playground voice because i was always quiet and sort of just timid. and it seems weird now to think that's who i was. hello. but i was really -- i didn't want to be singled out. when you have a funny name, you hate roll call. you're sweating it. they're like mark kaufman, chris

kennedy, oh, ho, okay. you're like. like you're like please just skip me. so i was the kid who was always trying to melt away into the background. i wanted to be forgotten. >> i can see that worked for you. >> yeah, somehow it doesn't turn out that way. >> i love these things, the egyptian mementos. >> my parents are from egypt. i always keep a couple of signs of egypt around. >> is that must it be hard when you see what's happening in egypt. >> yeah, it's so -- we spent summers in a place that was beautiful. i mean, we loved it. you know? it was paradise. we enjoyed it. we went to the pyramids and played in the sand. we did stuff like that. when you think what's happening now with that country, it is heartbreaking because i remember really clearly like walking down a street in egypt, if you dropped a bag of oranges, four people would be on their knees in a second helping you pick up.

it's like i remember we were sitting with a crew on egypt sitting on some stoop. and this family walked out with tea on a tray. and the crew asked me, do you know them? i said, i don't know them. i don't know -- they just saw us sitting there and said i thought you guys might like some tea. when i see those images it's so disturbing because there's a real gentleness overall you know the an the heart of the people there. so when you see what's going on and watching those images, i mean, thankfully things are calming down. but it's so disturbing >> some of what you covered in your first book, how i survived war zones, bad hair day and kathie lee. >> she loves that title. >> this relationship with kathie lee. >> it's crazy. >> who knew? who knew. >> i can't even --, honestly ca believe it. we're meeting for lunch in the next 20 minutes. i knew her like you knew her.

she was with regis. she's zany. reg, cassidy, cody. frank, frank. that's all i -- i knew nothing about her at all. but i met her, i was having lunch with a friend and she was sitting at a nearby table. we walked up. is that kathie lee gifford. we thought it was cool. we needed -- we had like one of the anchors i think was off the early 10:00 hour when ann, natalie and i were hosting together. someone was off. my friend was say ag, should we ask her to co-host. we ended up asking her. let me check and i'll see. she came on that day, her first day at school, her boobs were out, her hair was big. all kind of extra hair. she was like hey. i thought, she didn't miss a beat. phil griffin ran across the street. i've never seen him come across to our studio ever. he was like that was great.

it was like, she was totally unchained. like, she was free. it was like -- it was life was happening. it wasn't structured and where we stand. she just said what she wanted when she wanted and it was great. i got to tell you, i knew we would work well together. i just didn't know we would be such great friends. she is spontaneous and funny and insightful. she has great depth. you don't know someone till you sit with them. i could have eaten lunch with them every day and we would never run out of something to talk about. >> that is so cool. what is cooler is that it translates through the camera. they say the camera doesn't lie. >> yeah, i think you know what? i really like her. i think she is so funny and has ridiculous timing. i don't even know where it comes from. >> no one else does either. tomorrow at this time, though da talks about candidly about being a cancer survivor and how the whole wines day wednesday theme got started on "today."

more on the new interview with amanda knox and her decision not to return to italy. why she's confident she will win this appeal. we all like?

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in just nine days, amanda knox will once again be at the mercy of the italian judicial system. that is when the retrial for her murder of the former roommate begins in florence, italy. this trial will have to go on without her. she defended her decision not to go back to italy with matt lauer on friday. >> i look at it as i -- i was already imprisoned as an innocent person in italy. i can't reconcile the choice to go back with that experience. it's not a possibility. it is i was imprisoned as an innocent person. and i just can't relive that. >> joining me now award winning investigative journalist and author of "fatal gift of

beauty," nina burly. thanks for joining us. you just her bhaend saying she's not going back to italy to the face this again. is there any new evidence that will come out at this trial? >> no, it's an appellate decision that they're just going to retry the trial. there is no new evidence. i think the supreme court over there just decided, you know, there are millions and million of italians and americans who still think that this these two kids are guilty. and i think they wanted to take the case out of perugia and put it into florence. if i were the two of them, so sit toe the boyfriend is hiding out in the caribbean apparently it. goes on and on. i wouldn't go back there because their system is such that they can put them into jail again right away and hold them. and so you know, why would you go back? maybe we should send captor or boehner to sit in for her. that would solve a lot of our

problems. >> that's another segment. amanda is pretty confident about her chances of winning. here's a bit more of that with matt lawyer. >> what's your degree of confidence. i hate to do a scale of 1 to 10. are you a 10, are you an ? >> i'm a 9. i mean, there's always the fear that's lingering and the experience of having been convicted when i shouldn't have. but things have changed. it's not just the prosecution's voice out there. >> what would happen if she loses? would she will have to go back to italy and serve time? >> lawyer who have discuss this had that i've heard talking about it say that you know, there is a precedent for americans being sent back to countries that don't have the double jeopardy rule that we have. drug dealers say from california sent back to mexico where they've been retried, but you know, amanda knox you know, celebrity defendant, has the

best criminal defense attorneys in the united states now working for her. and i think it would be a huge uphill battle. i don't know that the italians have the stomach for it. i think they really wanted to take the case out of pujia, put it into florence, let a different panel of judges rule on it. i think they're going to come up with the same conclusion that the appellate court came up with in peru ja, which is there is no evidence. hopefully they'll bring in an attorney for rudy guede, the guy who has never denied being in the room when this poor girl died and have him explain how the plea deal worked and why rudy guede is going to be on the streets of rome in about two or three years having never denied watching this young woman bleed to death. >> something i want to ask you about, amanda knox has talked about reconciling with meredith kerneler's family. reporters saying she would liking to visit her former

roommate's grave with the parents. she says something along similar lines in her interview with matt lauer, as well. you've been following this case since the beginning. do you see this happening? >> she's kind of tone deaf on that subject a little bit in my view. maybe on a lot of things. you know, it isn't the family, the british family, kercher family, very, very convinced that she is, you know, the killer of their child and you know, i think that any kind of answering any questions about the them or talking about them about meeting with them is completely you know a pr disaster for her. she should really just go to the caribbean and hideout the way sollecito is and stop doing television. >> nina about your league, you'll be doing television with us again no doubt. thanks so much. how much have sanctions hurt iran? will that country give up nuclear weapons to get them

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to iran. new this week, tough u.s. sanctions might force tehran to the negotiating table on its nuclear program. "the new york times" say iran is seeking to end sanctions which have crippled their economy. this is our biggest ally as israel warns washington about tehran's latest diplomatic offensive. joining me now author marina namatt. thank you very much for being here. let's talk about the administration which i says sanctions have hurt iran. you're in contact with folks in iran. what is your assessment? is iran feeling the sanctions? >> iran is definitely feeling the sanctions. and i think they have been extremely eb. the price of the dollar has skyrocketed. so have all prices. so the people of iran are extremely unhappy with the situation. and the government is the basically getting desperate. so i truly believe that it is

because of the sanctions that the new president, mr. rouhani has agreed to soften his tone against the united states. >> when you say desperate, what do you mean? does that mean they don't have the food they need, they don't have gasoline, oil to stay warm? how basic is the desperation? >> the desperation is serious. i mean, the average iranian is having difficulty buying food because basically, they have to pay with the dollar, but they are not being paid in dollars. so the average iranian, the middle class iranian is extremely upset because basically, they can hardly buy food to put on the table and feed their families. the other question would be how difficult is it for the revolutionary guard? because the revolutionary guard is running the country. the situation is difficult for the revolutionary guard, as well because they cannot deal with basically western banks. and they have been reduced to using a barter system. basically they cannot be paid in

cash. so not that they cannot sell oil. they can definitely sell oil, but in many cases, basically, they cannot receive cash for it. they have to, for example, trade with gold. >> interesting. what about the election of the apparent moderate? i mean president hassan rouhani. has that is genuinely changed the equation at all? has the economic stress on his country forced him to the table? >> definitely it has been the economic situation. let's not forget that iran is still governed by the same laws that it was governed during the time of ahmadinejad. so nothing has fundamentally changed. iran is governed by shahry law. there are certain rules and regulations that govern that country. and they cannot change overnight. they are not easy to change at all. the person who runs iran is the supreme.leader, ayatollah khomeini. it doesn't makeny difference at the end of the day who is president. the only thing that is different

now is that the tone has changed. and why has that tone changed? simply because the revolutionary guard, the extreme leader, the people have realized that if they go at the united states, at israel, with that extreme tone, they are going to have extreme problems. >> what do you make of the reportedly warm letters that have been exchanged between president obama and president rouhani? does that -- i mean you're smiling. do you think -- are you tossing it off lightly? it's not going to mean anything at all or pite that help build some sort of a relationship? >> listen, i really believe in negotiations. so i believe that negotiation, negotiating with your friends doesn't take a whole lot of skill. if you can negotiate with your enemies and get something actually out of it, it is a fak thing. but negotiating, when negotiating with iran, so i

believe that the united states should be talking to the iranians but let's not forget that it is very difficult to do that. iranian officials, they lie through their teeth. you can never take what they say at face value. so while speaking with the iranians, never take anything at face value and do your research, for example, when it comes to the nuclear program, which is very important to the west i guess, make sure that iranians allow u.n. inspectors to go in and see what is really going on. but again, you know where i'm standing as an iranian. the issue with iran is not even really the nuclear situation. issue is iran is the issue of human rights. right now, even though iran has released 11 political prisoners but still there are thousands of political prisoners in iran prisons. and the minister of justice, that mr. rouhani has put into place was a member of the death committees in the '80s. that executed thousands of prisoners. >> well the issue of human

rights certainly one that needs bearing out. that's for sure. marina, thank you very much. we appreciate your time. more on the breaking story in nairobi. gunmen storm a shopping mall in what kenya's government said could be a terrorist attack. you really love, what would you do?" ♪ [ woman ] i'd be a writer. [ man ] i'd be a baker. [ woman ] i wanna be a pie maker. [ man ] i wanna be a pilot. [ woman ] i'd be an architect. what if i told you someone could pay you and what if that person were you? ♪

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hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights that help nascar win with our fans. breaking news. a bold attack on an upscale mall overseas leaves as the least ten dead. budget battle gross more tense. will the government shutdown in nine days. and heroic generosity. a new honor for a young dairy queen worker who came to the rescue of a visually impaired customer. en 10:00 a.m. out west.

let's get to what's happening as we have breaking news from overseas in the capital of kenya. gunmen be with artillery opened fire and throwing graepds in nairobi. officials now report at least ten people have been killed. 40 wounded in this attack. it happened this afternoon local time in kenya's largest city. duncan golestani is in london following all the details for us. the latest on this being a terrorist attack. has that been defined or is it still possibly a pretty horrific robbery? >> the latest we're hearing is still from the police chief of nairobi. and he has said that he thinks this is a terrorist attack. the latest information we're getting, alex, is via one of the news agencies citing a security source as saying the police and soldiers have the gunmen "pinned down." inside the mall. other reports saying the situation thering is under

control. but still information coming out has been conflicted. earlier the red cross in kenya was saying that at least 22 people have been killed. but now as you say, a government official is saying it's at least ten. some iwitnesss are saying there are hostages but that is not been confirmed. we know that some people have been coming out flu the process of the afternoon. one shopper saying the attackers entered the mall and were shooting indiscriminately. another witness said the gunmen were targeting non-muslims. all information that seems to support what the governments and police are saying that this is a terrorist attack rather than a robbery. the operation to make them all safe has been going on all afternoon for several hours. gunfire coming from the area. kenyan police and soldiers surrounding the mall reported to be hunting down the attackers moving through the building shop by shop. if this is a terrorist attack as

the police say, suspicion is falling on the militant islamist group al shabab that controls vast parts of neighboring south somalia. kenya sent troops into somalia two years ago to fight insurgents and suffering retaliation ever since. but nothing on this scale. alex? >> you know, duncan, there have been some concerns that an aattack was being planned. have they been able to give a motive for such a brazen attack if indeed this is the act of terrorism? >> are no, no motive known. no terrorist group has claimed responsibility. but because of these threats of retaliation from al shall bob, many places have been on high alert, including the west gate mall because it is very popular with werners in kenya, with expatriates and it has many big western shops like nike. the mall also includes a number of israeli-owned businesses.

we've heard that four israeli nationals have escaped with small wounds. israel's foreign ministry has said as of now, this appears to be an internal kenyan incident, not one that targeted israelis. in the past security officials have identified the mall as a likely terror target in the city. al shabab have previously threatened to launch attacks on nairobi's tower blocks and other targets popular with westerners. alex? >> nbc's duncan golestani following things from london. thank you. there are two big stories out of the middle east to share today. first to syria which appears to have met one requirement in its agreement to eliminate chemical weapons. that country submitted an initial list of arsenals friday. a states department spokesperson says the list is a good start. israel is warning the u.s. about new overtures from iran's president hassan and rouhani. the u.s. says tough sanctions may be forcing iran to negotiate a limit on its nuclear program.

joining me now, an at this timia. what is the concern on a potential thaw in u.s./iran releases? >> good afternoon to you, alex. it's a very big concern here in israel. primarily when it comes to prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his warnings against iran and their nuclear ambitions. in fact, ann curry who had an exclusive interview with hassan rouhani shortly after that the interview, the prime minister's office released a statement and said the iranians are making press pins in order to continue the spinning of sentfry futures and called on the international community to intensify their restrictions and pressure on iran and they say that the only way they will trust the iranians when it comes to their nuclear ambitions is if one, they stop enriching uranium, two they get rid of any uranium they've

already enriched, three to dismantle the kom nuclear site they have and four, to completely stop any path to plutonium. the israelis have never really trusted iranians. it's probably safe to say they never will. in fact, the israeli government has said in the past they believe the iranians are capable of having some kind of nuclear weaponry in the next six months. but the americans, the united states say there is still time, time to -- still time to negotiate with the iranians. they are liking the softer side of the iranian government whether he you compare it to the predecess predecessor, mahmoud ahmadinejad. their judgment will be based on actions, not on words. >> this manifest from syria that lists all its chemical weapons within the one-week calendar of time that the u.s. and russia had given syria to release these weapons, in tear stash. how do we know it is valid?

how long will that take to verify? >> and that's a very good question. it still remains to be seen if this list given to this u.n.-backed weapons watchdog is valid. we'll probably see by the end of october, in october, within that kerry lavrov agreement when it comes to the syrian chemical weapons, they want international inspectors on the ground in october. they want to go through the various chemical sites, chemical weapons and they want to comb through those weapons. they want to check their own catalogs in comparison to this list. it will be at that the moment during that time, hopefully by the end of october where they will know if the assad regime is actually cooperating and really trying to get rid of those chemical weapons by mid-2014? >> nbc's atia abawi. thank you. fine days and counting till a possible be government shutdown. house republicans celebrated friday after the body passed a budget bill funding the government through mid-december while at the same time stripping

out funding for the health care reform law. >> and now it is up to senate democrats to show some responsibility and follow the house's lead. >> the house has acted to keep the government open, to control spending, and to protect freedom an unworkable law that is making it harder on them. >> president obama was request i can to respond. here's what he said during a visit to a ford plant in missouri. >> we can't just not pay our bills. even threatening something like that is the height of irresponsibility. so what i've said is, i will not negotiate over the full faith and credit of the united states. >> on the heels of that, let's go to the north lawn where kristen welker is following developments from the white house. kristin, is it safe to assume this is a working saturday for the key players in the budget showdown? >> well, you would have to assume that there are talks going on behind the scenes. we know president obama called house speaker john boehner last night. that conversation focused on the

debt limit which of course, it is estimated the country will reach the debt limit in mid-october. now, according to house speaker john boehner's office here's how that conversation went. his spokesperson saying that "the president called house speaker john boehner to hel him he wouldn't negotiate with him on the debt limit given the long history of using debt limit increase tosses achieve economic reforms, the speaker was disappointed. here's the white house's take. white house spokesperson telling nbc news "the president reiterated it is the constitutional responsibility of the u.s. congress to pass the nation's budget and pay the nation's bills." so both sides digging in their heels on the issue of the debt limit and, of course, also on the issue of this continuing resolution with the house as you just pointed out passing that bill would essentially defund the president's health care law. president obama focusing on that in his weekly address, placing the blame squarely on republicans. take a listen.

>> they'd actually plunge this country back into recession all to deny the basic security of health care to millions of americans. that's not happening. and they know it's not happening. >> now, i've been talking to folks on both sides of the aisle. no one wants to see the government shutdown. of course, that seems increasingly more likely by the day. this is a politically perilous situation for all sides but particularly for republicans because they are sharply divided over this strategy of defunding the president's health care law. you have conservative tea party members saying this is the right path to take. but then you have more establishment republicans say this is a kamikaze mission. the big question is what happens next. that bill that passed in house now goes to the senate. i anticipate the senate will strip out the part that defunds the president's health care law and send it back to republicans. john boehner can either put that legislation up for a vote if he

does that, that will rankle a number of members within his enparty or he could try to amend the senate's legislation which would take this nation even closer to a government shutdown. so both options politically difficult. but one source from the hill telling me do not expect john boehner to just accept what the senate passes. >> kristin, thank you for the wrap-up from the white house. he got the telephone call of his life from one of the richest men in the world. the who and why coming up. [ male announcer ] legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses.

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we are just nine days away from a possible government shutdown. president obama continues to hammer home his message the republicans are to blame. >> they're focused on politics, they're focused on trying to

mess with me. they're not focused on you. >> joining me now, political reporter for "us news and world report" lauren fox and white house chief for.3lit coat jonathan allen. jaujt, the president says he will not negotiate with republicans. what is his game plan if the government does shutdown? what are the options he's weighing right now. >> that's a great question, alex. there's not really a plan b articulated. the president is saying that he will not negotiate on the debt limit, as you know. he won't negotiate on obama care in terms of defunding it. i think there's some wiggle room for negotiation on that continuing resolution if defunding obama care is not part of it. house democrats are worried that the white house will actually give ground on obama care or other priorities that they want. they've seen this game in the past and feel like the president

hasbli hasblinged too fast in the of the past. it's still unclear what the path forward is. >> republicans keep on saying they want to defund obama care because they say that's what the american people want. do we have any real sense on the public's thinking on that. >> public polling show the act isn't the most popular legislation congress has passed but when you start talking about defunding the affordable care act and having a government shutdown because of it, all of a sudden, americans certainly would much rather have the affordable care act than a government shutdown. >> okay. jonathan, what about basically two big headlines here. first up the government could the shutdown october 1st if congress doesn't pass a budget to fund it. secondly if congress doesn't vote to the increase the debt ceiling ing, the government will be forced to default on legal obligatio obligations. so besides the american public, who has the most to lose here? which party will take all the blame if these things happen? >> i'm not sure that any party

takes all of the blame. you've got sort of a ror shack test where you'll see a lot of republicans blaming the president and the dras in congress betehemingbethlehemingg the republicans. these are two separate questions. the funding of the government while important if you had a few days of the government shutting down it, probably wouldn't be catastroph catastrophic, but if the government defaults on its credit, you could see u.s. credit ratings drop. you could see all sorts of financial reactions to that i think the truth, alex, is everybody has a lot to lose from washington, not operating from it, not functioning. so it's not a question of one party gaining at the expense of other but a question of which party loses the most and a real recognitioning that everybody loses. >> lauren, speaker boehner has a youtube page with a new video blasting president obama. check this out.

>> what i haven't been willing to negotiate and i will not negotiate is on the debt. >> he will certainly meet with -- >> i did discuss this with president putin. >> so the video has a graphic that says why is the obama administration willing to negotiate with putin on syria but not with congress to address washington's spending problem? what do you think the strategy is here, lauren. >> certainly there has been this narrative that has developed that the president has not negotiated with capitol hill, has not been a presence on capitol hill, has not built relationships there. i think that is what this is getting at. when we're talking about this republicans know that forcing the government to shut down over defunding the affordable care act would hurt them. they're trying to build a narrative that explores what the president hasn't done up to this point that led to them to resort to this final option. >> you know, jonathan's a bit earlier i had jim mcdermott on. he said it's the gop who is refusing to negotiate. where does the truth lie? >> i think the truth, alex, is

there's nobody who can speak for the republican party with one voice right now. makes it very difficult for the white house to negotiate with anyone. we know speaker john boehner originally wanted to go ahead and keep the government funded and not tie an obama care defunding to that continuing resolution. his party rejected him in the house on that. so then they went ahead with the obama care defunding. if you're the white house, it's hard to find out what exactly the republican party is going to do, not only for the white house and the democrats, it's hard for boehner and eric capitaler to figure out what the republican party is going to do. it may be this looks like a rocky road for a while here. >> jonathan allen, lauren fox, thanks so much. >> take care, alex. >> if congress does not pass a budget by this month, it would cause the first government shutdown in nearly 20 years. budget battling in '95 led to a five-day stoppage in november and in mid-december, be the

government closed shop for 21 days lasting into early january of '96. government shutdowns ultimately cost taxpayers $1.4 billion. a new report on american spending reveals a safety net that so many people just can't afford. and that's next. ♪ [ male announcer ] we all have something neatly tucked away in the back of our mind. a secret hope. that thing we've always wanted to do. it's not about having dreams, it's about reaching them. ♪ an ally for real possibilities. aarp. find tools and direction at aarp.org/possibilities. aarp. the pain started up and wrapped around to the front. i couldn't play my bassoon because of the pressure that i felt throughout my whole head. the blistering and the rash was moving down towards my eye.

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their budget on immediate needs. things like housing, food, clothing, and that's important because that means there's less money left over for them to invest this their future and pay for things like education, to save for retirement and also there's less money left over for them to invest in things that can help them build wealth that they can pass on to future generations. >> food, transportation, ylan, housing accounts for like 60% of u.s. spending. what does that say about the state of the economy? >> i think what is really important to note is that housing number that you just mentioned. for low income families, they spend something like 40% of their budgets on housing compared to wealthier family who spend 30% of their budgets on housings. the reason that is a difficult number to take in is because you have to remember that wealthyer families are more likely to spend housing dollars on paying down their mortgage, on buy aghouse that will eventual will you be passed on to their children and to increase their

wealth.low income families spend that wealth primarily on rent. when they move, that money is gone. they're finding it's very difficult for them to have anything left over at the end of the day. >> to break it down further, ylan, the survey says african-americans spend more on housing than any other demographic. did you find that intriguing or surprising at all? >> i think it goes to the overall issue of wealth and equality in this country, that there is a widening gap between how waety americans are performing and how low income americans are performing. you're finding that the recovery is not even. you're finding a very different economy when you look across the income spectrum. >> take a look at this graph from the atlantic. wealthier people spend far more on insurance, right? i mean, is this an economic case for health care reform? >> well, actually, most of the health care insurance dollars are spent in the health care

category. these insurance products are certainly things that can help stave off risk in the future. so you're finding that low income americans are much more susceptible to one-time shocks to their budget than wealthyer americans are. i would also say this data is not all bad news. one other thing that the survey showed was that americans actually increased the amount of pone they spent on charitable contributions to religious organizations and to non-profits so even though we are faced with a lot of big bills headed our way, americans still try to offend a way to give back. >> thank you very much, ylan mui. kudos to a young dairy queen employee in minnesota who came to the rescue of of a visually impaired customer. the gentleman unknowingly dropped a $20 bill that another customer put in her pocket. whennet 19-year-old joey prusak confronted the customer, she refused to return the money. so prusak gave the gentlemen $20 out of his own pocket.

that impressed warren buffett who gave prusak a call. >> he was like, do you know who i am? i'm like yes, i know who you are. he's like so how are you doing today? i was like i'm doing real well. and we just chitchatted a little bit. then he said he would like to keep in touch with me. >> on the heels of that, he says buffett invited him to a get together next spring that may believe it or not include enjoying some ice cream. way to go. [ male announcer ] this is pam.

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reality check: a lot of 4g lte coverage maps don't really look like much at all. see the aleutian islands. looks like a duck. it looks like... america... ish. that's a map. that's a map of the united states. check the map. verizon's 4g lte is the most reliable, and in more places than any other 4g network. trade in your old device and trade up to america's most reliable network. i've got the good one! i got verizon! that's powerful. verizon. welcome back to weeks with alex witt at 32 past the hour. let's talk about washington where the fight over government spending is taking another turn for the worse. the president's signature health care law is once again in the crosshairs of the republican party as they have passed a bill that will avert a government shutdown but only if the government fully defunds obama care. joining me now in the studio, trey riddell from florida. >> it's great to be here.

>> tough question. are you willing to shut down the government. >> i don't want to shut down the government. i hope this bill we've sent to the harry reid and the democrats in the senate will the continue to keep it open. there's a defund obama care part to this. i don't think it's out of the realm there may be a few democrats who vote for this. >> in the senate who the have constituency in such states as the arkansas with mr. prior, mary landrieu out of louisiana, their family and neighbors are saying this needs to go. >> but you're going to need more than two. >> there are a few others. >> out of the realm of possibility. the reality is, i appreciate that. i'd like to think i am, too. in terms of being realistic with a government shutdown, this thing's going to likely get kicked back to the house and it will not give you what you want as a republican. then what? >> xwlornt the president likes it, that the debt ceilinging will be introduced into this conversation. when we talk about extremism, look, the president is basically saying he won't negotiate over

the debt ceilinging. what he's telling congress and the american people is cut me a blank check and don't ask any questions. the president has already negotiated over the debt ceilinging. so did clinton and reagan and bush. all these things will be brought together and we'll see what happens. do we get a full defund? i'm willing to work with democrats, republicans and the most hard-core liberal conservative to find something that works for all of us and the american people. the american people right now by majority are saying they do not want the affordable care act aka obama care. >> when you say you're willing to work with meaning what? what do you think is going to come out of this? >> so what we know right now is president obama sees this is extremely difficult to begin to implement. what i'm about to say almost sounds like a liberal talking point. big corporations, you're exempt. the individual, you hard-working taxpayer american you are still going to take this law and respect this law and be punished

if you don't. so i think that we may look at a massive delay of the entire thing. i think it's a possibility. >> overall, this is what, 42 time this has been voted that the house voted to defund obama care? 42nd time. and what's happened? it hasn't gone anywhere. do you think you understand how americans can be frustrated by this? isn't this a waste of time? >> look, i'm one of the prusted americans. okay? i am a conservative republican but i look -- i'm new. eight months in congress now. for years, i've looked and been frustrated with the way the congress works. i make it a point to start personal relationships with democrats, find areas we can work together and right now, i hope that we can find some common ground but this legislation is in the senate and it is now the ball is in harry reid's court to keep this government open. >> you said this week, you think the obama administration will eventually give in to the gop's deeps. what are you willing to

compromise? >> i think that right -- right now, again, as a freshman and new member of the republican party, i will look to leadership and to my fellow conservatives in the party to see where we're at when those times come. i think it is not out of the realm of possibility that there's going to be a delay on this. and if there is, here's where unfortunately sometimes there are politics and politics. that i think if this individual mandate part gets delayed this whole thing is going to fall part because it is unworkable and unfair to both our seniors and young people in this country. >> we were having a consideration in the commercials you were getting set up and all that. bottom line, is the gop cannibalizing itself with the infighting between the tea party apartment more moderate republicans? >> no, we are a big tent party. that's something that i pride myself in. i've had democrats in my district vote for me, fiscal conservatives tea party grass-roots. don't just do whatever somebody says. >> but you're not getting

anything done. >> we passed no budget, no pay. bipartisan support on this resolution that's going to harry reid. we've passed that. we have finally been able to make the senate produce a budget. last time they did was before the ipad existed years ago. we are doing things. we're accomplishing things. just out of committee today, i'm about to sound nerdy we passed the water resources development act. bipartisan support out of committee. there are areas that just aren't very sexy or being covered by print pedia or any media. but there are things getting done. again as an eternal optimist, it's our freshmen class that i think will find some solution to get something done for this country. >> no disrespect for the water bill but this is serious, shutting down the government. there are so many frustrated at the concept of you getting paid regardless, even if the government shuts down. i had john yarmuth.

>> i don't think i get paid. >> you do. you will get paid. >> do you agree with the representative john yarmuth who said i would support a bill that says we should not get paid. >> undoubtedly. >> do you reflect the sentiments of everybody else? do you think if you're not getting paid you might work together more quickly to get things done? >> yes. the ridiculousness of the united states congress being exempt from the affordable care act. that could be a component in these discussions, as well. that hits the pocketbooks of lawmakers and their staff. again, we need to look at all of these things but at the end of the day, this is democracy. it ain't pretty. it ain't pretty but this is what our founding fathers wanted with a republican controlled house and democrats have having the senate and the white house. >> last question. how much do you think republicans are potentially being short sighted from a political perspective? midterms are right around the corner. >> this is -- this goes back to, you're talking about the

politics and politics that are for better or worse. i look at the senate. you have many senators who are in red states and in danger. their constituencies, their people are saying we don't want this law at all. i think they're the ones in danger. it's not that republican controlled house. it's the senate democrats and that's why harry reid needs to take a close look at this resolution and i think pass it. >> okay. florida republican congress mann. >> thank you. >> here's what we've been asking all of you all day. listen to this, representative ridel. who you plame if there is a government shutdown. francisco says i blame every lawmaker involved. the shutdown represents their failure to serve the citizens. spending 100 million killing jobs and economy, nice way to eliminate poor. larry young writes, republicans and the tea party do not care about the usa and people. all they care about is

disrupting government. dwight white says frankly the gop period. thanks for asking. >> you're telling me there are not a whole lot of fans out there today. >> it is what it is. anyway, we're glad you're here. >> i appreciate it. >> keep talking to me @alex witt. so how low can the gop go? this is a tough time for you tray, ridel. the big three on creepy uncle sam. that's next. now it's a commercial. you can go. >> thank you. [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ♪ [ agent smith ] ge software connects patients to nurses to the right machines while dramatically reducing waiting time. [ telephone ringing ] now a waiting room is just a room. [ static warbles ]

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neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the finest comforts above. we're not simply saluting history... we're making it. it's time for the big three and "today's topic"s, creepy uncle, getting personal and best week, worst week. my big three panel, democratic strategist morris reid, msnbc contributor susan del%io and national reporter aaron carmone. morris, let's talk about creepy uncle with you first. we were talking about this highly controversial new anti-obama health care campaign.

before we play the ad, i want to warn you, this has offended a lot of people. i don't want you guys to send it back to me. here it is. >> okay, let's have a look. >> yeah. i said creepy. i mean that depicts it. morris, give me your reaction. >> scary ad, huh? >> yeah. >> it's kind of weird. you know, the gop continues to play this game. when there's so many more important things going on in the world. i think they'll pay for it come midterm elections. it's a silly ad and silly to think the federal government is going to make those decisions for women. it's outrageous. >> susan, these ads are part of

about a $.75 million campaign urging youth to opt out of the insurance exchanges. listen to what john yarmuth told me today about obama care. >> polling shows and anneck dotely we know people may not like obama care. they love the provisions of obama care. they love the protects in there. they love everything about obama care except the name. >> so it's like they love piecemeal about obama care. why is it that right wing groups are having to resort to scare tactics like these creepy commercials? >> there's one that would make men very uncomfortable well. it wasn't just one going after women. these ads are proving eb. now, there's a huge creepy factor here. there's no doubt about it, but the fact that the republicans think that they can target young men and women to opt out, that is a very interesting thing. especially when you say what the congressman referred to, they don't like the name obama care.

the fact is young people tend to support the president in much larger numbers. so the fact they think there's an opening signifies there is a weakness and something they're capitalizing on. ads like this, no matter how creepy they are, they are effective. >> it's just a -- republicans are not believable here. it's like it's a joke. it's as much as i joke. >> discussing the policy is one thing. there are a lot of issues at hand but when you're looking at the effectiveness of an add ad and poll numbers this ad is meant to have an effect on young people not to opt in. it could be successful whether or not you like the policy or not. >> the policy has no credibility on the poll numbers. your poll numbers indicated you were going to win the election, as well. >> we're talking about the ebtiveness of an ad. this one happens to maybe move numbers. >> in terms of efficacy, erin, you wrote a piece about this on msnbc. how eb are ads hike these? >> if you already have the specter that the gop is medaling

in women's health through the policies that it's passing but the federal level and house of representatives and in the states, when you have forced transvaginal ultrasounds supported by the republican party, i fail to see how this is going to change anyone's mind except to the accept the fact the gop is unnaturally interested in people's private parts. >> i'm curious. how many college students will this reach? because most college kids will be on their parents' plans till they're 26. >> it's a very strange strategy. it's really people in their early 20s -- mid to late 20s who are no longer going to be covered. there may not be some people who can't get it through their parents but it's a pretty small group. obama care is expanding access 0 women's preventive health care. that's what we had a huge political battle about last year. so the idea people are going to associate obama care with ip vasiveness seems like a very big stretch. >> our next topic is getting

personal. not like those commercials in a creepy way. whoa. here's what president obama said about republicans. >> they're focused on politics, they're focused on trying to mess with me. they're not focused on you. >> susan, is this what it's really about for the republican snsz are they just trying to mess with president obama. >> i think we can't underestimate the ability for the republicans to blow a good thing when we see it. example in obama care. and the fact is they have the public on their side but they're entering a very dangerous debate and trying to make it about the president. that is going to be a lose lose situation. the fact is, the republicans trying to go out and defund obama care which is not going to pass the senate, which the president is not going to sign, is really going to end up giving hurting them in the long run. people are looking for solutions right now. there are those republicans even

though they're far and few right now in the house who are trying to get there. >> you know, susan, as the republican here, how frustrated are you? >> very. it is -- it's very frustrating to see this argument because right now, we're looking at people who are more concerned like ted cruz and marco rubio who are more concerned about running for president and getting their name i.d. instead of trying to find a solution. if republicans really wanted to play it straight with the american public, they would say here are the things we like such as having kids on parents' insurance till 26. here are the things we're against. maybe going after a delay but offering up a solution. not just something that will never have a chance of passing. >> morris, isn't a lot of the problem about the messaging from the white house? because we were listening to congressman john yarmuth earlier. he offered up point after point after point where this is beneficial to americans and a lot of people do support this in a piecemeal kind of way. what is the problem? how does the white house not adequately and is it now too

late to get out the mess abage properly. >> the white house has had communication problems. certainly if you had a person with i an pre-existing condition, you love this. if you're a mother who wanted to make sure kid stays on their insurance in college, you love this. they have to communicate them better. but it goes to a larger issue about the republican party. there are so many important things in the world. i just came back from a long trip around the world. people are asking, what's going on with america? you guys used to be the shining light, the beacon, the leaders that we could all depend on. we're becoming a laughingstock because we have two parties that are dysfunctioning. and the republicans are the capital "d" in dysfunctional. if they cared about students, they would focus on making sure the student loan bill gets done so kids can afford to go to college. it's a joke. instead of being the shining light on a hill, we're becoming a laughingstock because of our

political process. >> susan, when you talk about the gop or when anyone does, i'm wondering if people are aware of the infighting with the gop or if the gop is getting branded entirely. how frustrating is that for you that you have the split gop party that's really taking down the entire entity? >> and that's a big thing to highlight. there is such a divide, such a split of republicans who want to find solutions and those who just simply want to find a way to stay elected. when you have conservative groups promising primaries against already pretty conservative elected officials, whether it's aaron schock in illinois or others, we really have a problem leading as a result. the republicans are in a great position to take advantage of things like changing parts of obama care, which they're not, or leading the way on immigration, which they can't. and that is problematic for the

party. >> we have been getting a lot of tweets from viewers who are upset that congress would get paid during a government shutdown. how frustrating is this for the average american? >> very frustrating. no matter what the infighting has been that the party has coalesced around taking away people's health care, their access to food stamps, shutting down the government and potentially detonating the economy with a debt ceiling showdown. i don't know how that speaks to average americans struggling to get by given the inequality that's happening in this nation. it's completely out of touch. they basically want to throw a grenade into the stability that we yet have. >> there is a shock ahead in the big three's best and worst of the week. we'll see who owns that next. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!"

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we're back with the big three. what's your best and your worst, morris? >> my best was the fed. i thought bernanke nailed it.

we're addicted to cheap money. the loser continues to be the situation in syria. i think that america -- this is to my thesis of what i've heard around the world. people are saying, what's going on in america? are you a man of your word? are you sticking by us? it's a real problem what's happening in syria. >> susan? >> the best goes to aaron schock for his bipartisan effort in future caucus. and basically telling the club for growth that they can go take a walk, you can't challenge me with a primary and -- you can if you want but you're not going to win it and i will vote and do what's right for this country. >> there's the shock. >> there's the shock. and the worst goes to ted cruz, senator ted cruz from texas who proved that really he was just out for himself. and he fought for the defunding of obama care and when the house delivered, he said, oh, well, i guess we're not going to be able to deliver it after all.

and it was just self-serving. >> erin, how about yours? >> best week, diplomacy as a concept, syria's on track for compliance in terms of accounting for and handing over its chemical weapons. and worst week, larry summers got bounced as the leading contender for the federal reverse chair. looks like it's yellen's time. >> good to see you guys as always. thanks so much. that's a wrap of "weekends with alex witt." see you back here tomorrow at noon eastern. up next, too big.

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