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tv   NBC Nightly News  NBC  October 7, 2010 7:00pm-7:30pm EDT

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it shines the light on the efforts of mail care yerz. >> necessary there somewhere. >> "nightly news" is next. on our broadcast here tonight, not so fast. . bill that might have let the banks off the hook is stopp pocketbook issue. more women are pulling in bigger paychecks. tonight, we'll look at what happens after that. the showdown between a political outsider and washington insider. the winner might control the senate. and looking way back at the boss and what might just be a part of the soundtrack of your life. even if you aren't from jersey. jersey. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television
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good evening. the business of owning a home and hanging on to it is a mess. a dister for millions of americans and there was more evidence today it's reaching critical mass. a bill camclose to being signed by the president, having beenassed without any public debate that would have made it even easier for the banks to foreclose on homeowners. that's how some critics see it and right now three of the nation's largest banks have frozen foreclosures in 23 separate states. we're going to begin with our white house rrespondent savannah guthrie and savnah, i guess we begin by asking what almost happened there today? >> reporter: well, a bill that a lot of people think would have exacerbated this foreclore crisis, was as you say stopped dead in its tracks. basicallthis seems to be an issue where congress didn't think through how this bill would have affected the foreclosure crisis. the issue is this, the bill
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woulhave made it easier, actually allowed courts to recognize court documents, notarized in other states. and the idea was it was save time, be easr and improve interstate commerce. the problem is, this is happing as a lot of banks are getting in trouble for fast tracking foreclosure applications. in fact, in some cases they're accused of having mid leve executives sign off on these applicationsithout doing the proper review. they call it robo-signing the issue is this bill would have made it easier for bks to do that. so once the white house got word of this, it decided not to sign the bill at l. it's called a pocket veto. itassed the house and senate with zero public debate. it's kind of embarrassing for congress at a time when a lot of lawmakers have been calling for investigations, wantg foreclosures to stop entirely, talking about those practices and they almost passed a bill that could have made it worse. >> congress finally acted and in doing so they almost helped big
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banks agai savannah guthrie at the white house starting us off tonight. savannah, thanks. and now to a look at how all of this is playing out on the ground tonight. in two of this nation's hardest hit states, florida and california, where the housing bubble was huge and the foreclosure fallout has been devastating. and the growing confusion is only making things worse. our report tonight from nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: judy smith, a single mom in pomp know beach, florida, is facing foreclosure on her home and a frightenin future. >> i have two daughters who are also in limbo. >> reporter: adding to her concern is the uncertainty on the freeze of foreclosures. smith says she was told by her mortgage company if she stopped making payments, it would help loan payments to help her. but when she did that, she got a foreclosure notice. with no explanation. >> i called back and i kept getting voice mail and nobody would call me back. >> reporter: her attorney says
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fraudulent procedures in the mortgage industry are rampant and all the moratorium on foreclosures means is people aren't getting evicted now. >> homeowners facing foreclosure are still facing foreclosure. please don't let your guard down and assume the government or the banks are there to help u. >> reporr: waln mcmurray also faced foreclosure on their home. but say they're confused over which of three compani holds their mortgage. >> just kind of a battle just trying to find out exactly who it is i need to actually get my loan to make my payments now. >> reporter: experts say at a time when consumers aren't confident about the economy, the foreclosure mess is adding even re uncertainty. in burbank, california, realtor lucas miranda says buyers of distressed homes are much more vigilant about the titles now. >> there's a lot of due diligence required in this market, because the bank doesn't
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really know anything about the property. >> reporter: his client agrees and says he's now asking lots of questions about the foreclosed home he's buying. mark potter, nbc news. it was less than a month after 9/11. president george w. bush went on television to announce that the war in afghanistan was under way. that wasine years ago tonight and the war continues. more than 1,200 americans have en killed in afghanistan. more than 500 wounded. the cost to u.s. taxpayers in money, $336 billion. sadly, any kind of accurate number of afghan civilian deaths is harder to come by. no real count exists for the first five years of the war. t since '06, the u.n. says nearly 7,000 have been killed. the american war effort in ghanistan relies in part on the cooperation of neighboring pakistan but a deadly incident has prompted the pakistani government to retaliate by closing a border crossing and
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stopping fuel convoys headed for afghanistan right their tracks. that makes the fuel trucks sitting ducks for repeated attacks. our own ian williams got a firsthand look today and is with us from islamabad. ian, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brn. pakistan still isn't saying when that key border crossing might reopen. but in the meantime, hundreds of trucks are stranded and open to attack. they were struggling to douse the flames today on a burning convoy of 30 fuel tankers. torched where they had been straed because of the border closure. these tankers parked here because they thought it was relatively safe. along a ma road and just a short distance from a major army base. yet the soldiers didn't intervene while the gunmen methodical destroyed these tankers. muhammad told me it took two hours for the police to arrive. this was the seventh attack since pakist closed a key
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border crossing a week ago. an apparent response to an american helicopter incursion that killed two pakistani border guards. nato and the u.s. have now apologed but today that didn't seem to be enough for the pakistani government. >> our authorities are evaluating the security situation. >> reporter: that means hundreds of trucks are still stranded, largely witht security, like sitting ducks on the road to afghanistan. the main route for non-lethal supplies. yet nato is trying to play down its irritation with pakistan and the imct on its operations. >> what we have lost so far, you know, due to attacks and pilferage amounts less to 1% of what we need for operations. >> reporter: tonight, there was a further stark reminder that the threat posed by islamic militants in pakistan when two suspected suicide bombers
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attacked a shrine in karachi, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens more. the u.s. is, of course, urging pakistan to step up forts against those militants. though for the time being, the priority remains getting those convoys, those supply convoys moving again. brian? >> ian willis in islamabad, thanks for that reporting. an update now on the horrible mess in hungary. the flood of toxic red sludge that burst from a containment pond on monday, killing four people along the way. the plume has now reached the danube river. the second longest and one of the most famous in europe. officials say if you believe them that their effortso lower the ph levels of the spill, including adding things like plter and acidic acid or vinegar have made further environmental damage unlikely. but they said a spectacular thing about the oil spill in louisiana. a surprise government
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inspection at a west virginia coal mine owned by massey energy found serious safety viotions that regulators say could have caused an explosion. the investigation, the inspection was part of the government's response to that massive explosion last april at the company's upper big branch mine that killed 29 miners you'll recall. massey says it has fired a foreman there and suspended several miners where these new violations were found. as the midterm election approaches, we're looking at some of the major races across the country that could play a big role in the makeup of the new congress. tonight, we focus on wisconsin where democratic incumbe senator russ feingold is trying to fend off a tough challenger. kelly o'donnell reports on a race that could affect the entire balce of power in washington. >> reporter: a plastics manufacturer from oshkosh. ron johnson says the only thing he wanted to run was his business, not a political
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campaign. >> i've never been involved in politics. this is not my life's ambition. i never sought to do this. >> reporter: johnson is unusual, because the tea party movement and republican establishment support him. are you a tea party candidate? >> i sprung out of theea party. >> reporter: up against russ feingold, who has often voted against democrats. what do you hear when you talk to voters? >> obviously this is a very intense year. >> reporter: feingold calls himself the underdog. >> this is the way it is for me. i don't play it safe. i take tough positio and so i just got to scrap really hard to convince people that i am on their side. >> reporter: wisconsin voters often don't go along with sweeping national waves. but now the mood is different. >> we're sort of representative of the country. it's like this tsunami of public opinion has swallowed wionsin whole. >> reporter: voters have watched feingold build his reputation
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for being independent, antiashington. but after 1 years in the senate, that's a hder argument to make, especially in a year like this. >> one of the bithings is the health care bill that feingold voted for. and i don't agree with it. >> reporter: spending millions of his own money on his campaign, johnson says he got in the race to repeal health care reform. >> i simply view that as the greatest single assault on freedom in my lifetime. >> reporter: feingold is running a campaign ad that touts h yes vote. >> always been on our side. fighting the insurance companies. >> i voted for it because it was the right thing to do. we had to bring the insurance companies under some control. >> reporter: in this tough economy, johnson's business background has appeal. even for this union democrat. >> he thinks he knows how to get jobs back in wconsin, and i would be willing to vote for him to get that back. >> reporter: democrats count on their network of volunteers and fund-raising help from liberal groups to keep feingold in the fight.
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kelly o'donnell, nbc news, green bay. president was in maryland this afternoon and noticed some of the folks were not feeling well. he was right. they had been waiting for hours. officials say about three dozen people had to be treated for dehydration and exhaustion. the president warned everybody to drink their water. two people hospitalized. nobody seriously ill. when our broadcast continues here tonight in just a moment, amid a lot of bad economic news, some good ne for women moving up the pay ladder. later, my conversation with bruce springsteen about darkness and light, jersey and music and why he never calls. ♪
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[ male announcer ] breathe better, eep better, feel better. now try new breathe right advanced for free... at breatheright.com. [ woman ] it's my right to breathe right. isn't it your right, too? ♪ [ upbeat instrumental ] [ woman ] it's my right to[ rattling ]ht. [ gasps ] [ rattling ] [ laughing ] [ announcer ] close enough just isn't good enough. - if your car isn an accident, - [ laughing continues ] make sure it's repaired with the right replacement parts. take the scary out of life with travelers. call or click now for an agent or quote. we've been living through some tough and rough economic times but there's a small bright spot for women in this current u.s.conomy. in fact, the number of women earning $100,000 per year or more is now going up. we get more tonight from nbc's
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kristen welker. >> reporter: when robin became an attorney two decades ago, the legal field looked aot like a scene from "mad men." where male executives are flanked by female assistants. >> when i would walk in, people would say, oh, can you bring us some drinks? >> reporter: but now the landscape has changed. she's one of five female partners at her los angeles law firm. >> when i'm at a meeting now, i'm rarely the only woman involved. >> reporter: the number of women getting paid $100,000 or more increased by 4% over the past two years, as compared to a 4.4% decrease from men making that amount. how is it possible that women are increasing their value in this struggling economy? experts say it's thanks to 30 years of progress of women in academia. females now earn more masters degrees than men, almost as many law degrees, and almost half of all medical students are women.
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laura, a med student at northwestern, says she's not surprised. >> the increase in pay that women are seeing in the professional arena is a validation of the fact that women are capable of doing the same things as men. >> reporter: experts caution only 7% of the working population makes more than $100,000, and men still account for about 80% of six-figure we earners and overall, women make just 83 cents to the dollar compared to men. >> that's due to the occupations women go into. health care, education tend to be fairly low paying. but it's also in part due to ongoing discrimination. >> reporter: and few women reach the highest level posions. michelle fishberg is a senior manager at a tech firm and knows how difficult it is to reach the top of the corporate ladder. >> it's hard to move a big ship. it's going to take a while before we actually see i think a significant parody at that level.
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>> repter: total parody in wages might be far off, but for some, the numbers mean the gender gap is shrinking. kristen welker, nbc news, los angeles. we're back in a moment with a snapshot of how amerans feel about the airlines these days. and a warning, it's not a pretty picture. picture. if you live r perfmance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it'more than just oil. it's liquid engineering.
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[ susan ] i hate that the reason we're always stopping is because i have to go to the bathroom. and when we're sitting in traffic, i worry i'll have an accident. be right back. so today i'm finally going to talk to my doctor about overactive bladder. [ fele announcer ] if you're suffering, today is the day to talk to your doct and ask about prescription tovi. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents all day and all night. and toviaz comes with a simple, 12-week plan with tips on training your bladder. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma cannot empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. toviaz can cse blurred vision and drowsiness, so use caution when driving or doing unsafe tasks. the most common side effects are dry mouth and constipation. [ susan ] today, i'm visiting my son
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as one young baseball fan put it last night, roy halladay is the pitcher for this genetion. the phillies' ace did something last night fornly the second time in the history of the game. he threw a no-hitter in the postseason. he's 33 years old, he stands 6'6" a he has a famous work ethic. this morning, he was among the first to arrive for practice, like any other day. last night, roy halladay had an extraordinary night. the federal government says complaints against the airlines are way up. 32% over last year. while they've now made it easier to complain on the internet, "the wall street journal" says the list of complaints includes the fact that airlines are too often seen as tormenting customers, offering little assistance, little or bad information, and leaving them stranded in some cases for days. in a lot of cases, flyers just nt the right to get off the plane, especially if it's going to sit there for hours. last night we told you abo the loudest occupations and how they n double the risk of heart
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disease and up your risk of chest pains and high blood pressure. well, toy, the national academy of engineering said the government should treat noise in our lives like pollution, and try to stop it that way. they say europe has done a good job of getting quieter and a puic-private partnership here could do the very same thing. some red faces at the miami police department tonight er a familiar face they used in a graphic on their website, urging citizens to report gang activity. the problem isit's jay-z in a football jersey. turns out it was a graphic they pulled off the internet just as a place keeper for artwork they were developing. it was mistakenly put live on the web. it has since been pulled down. when we come back, a visit to the promised land with the boss. sed land with the boss. copd makes it hard for me to breathe.
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but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now, i can join the fun and gamewith my grandchildren. great news! for people with copd, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair is different from most other copd medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may incase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. i had fun today, grandpa. you and me both. if copd is still making it hard to breathe, ask your doctor if including advair will help improve your lung function for better breathing. get your first full prescription free
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when you grow up in new jersey, you sometimes need a thick skin. you aroften called upon to defend the garden state. that is until bruce springsteen
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came along. you see, he became everything to those of us growing up during that time at the jersey shore. tonight on hbo, a documentary takes us back to when he was 27 back in 1977, making "darkness on the edge of town." it was the album that had to follow "born to run" and the pressure was on this talented and decidedly scrawny young musician. but as i made clear to him in an exclusive interview at his home in jersey just yesterday, the only bad thingbout the documentary was learning that while we were chasing bruce up and down the shore every weekend trying to figure out where he was going to play on a given saturday night, he was in the town next to ours, unbeknownst to anyone in a rented farmhouse making his masterpiece follow up album. you're in holmdel years ago. would it have killed you to call a buddy in middletown?
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i was three miles away, already a fan. >> i could have used the company. let me tell you. >> would it have killed you to reach out to a brother and say we're having trouble with some of these tracks, come on over, we need your wisdom, or was that just too much for you? >> like i said, i could have used the company, because i was sitting there suffering by myself most nights. and i d gotten into this sort of vampire-like sleeping schedule of going into bed around 8:00 in the morning or 7:00n the morning and sleeping until 4:00 and then writing all night. and this went on for at least an entire winter. and so i suffered from severe light deprivation and then tried to switch it around a little. ♪ i see a light shining in your window ♪ but it was a long, lonely vigil in 1977.
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>> "born to run" comes out. cover of "time" magazine. causesuys like me to say to people, yes, i'm from new jersey. it becomes a source of great pride, and what were the stakes as you sat down to record "darkness?" >> part of the stakes were that it caused somebody at the irs to say who is this guy and why hasn't he paid any taxes yet? so that was a problem. people finally found out that we existed because we had all been living off the grid in new jersey for so ma years. i simply never met anyone who paid taxes. >> you never flew in an airplane. any of you. >> i don't believe anybody in the band was ever in an airplane until we had our first record deal. and they flew us to los angeles and we were like, kids on a
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magic carpet. but it was -- it was a funny period of time. >> and a funny thing happened during the interview. i could tell something was bothering bruce. it turned out he thought all along the wrong man was holding the guitar. >> you've got a little bit of the 1960s folk singer going here. college folk singer. >> i got this guitar and i learned how to make it talk. >> that's good, man. >> i thought it was a good line. might have made a good song lyric. that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you all fobeing here with us. by the way, u can see the entire interview with bruce springsteen on our website, nightly.msnbc.com. on our new iphone app just launching today. i'm brian williams. as usual, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com w.vitac.com
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