alex witt is up next. ♪ i'm a film star.hind by a floor cleaner i thought was going to take me places. wait! now life is dull... darling! ♪ i believe in miracles [ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. used mops can push muddy water around. swiffer wetjet's new, upgraded solution helps prevent streaks and residue to reveal more shine than a mop or your money back. you had me at "bzzzzz". so i took my heartburn pill and some antacids. we're having mexican tonight, so another pill then? unless we eat later, then pill later? if i get a snack now, pill now? skip the snack, pill later... late dinner, pill now? aghh i've got heartburn in my head. [ male announcer ] stop the madness of treating frequent heartburn. it's simple with prilosec otc. one pill a day. twenty-four hours. zero heartburn. no heartburn in the first place. great. >>> he was called the internet bin laden because of his skills of recruiting terrorists online. this morning, one of the world's most wanted terrorists is dead. anwar al awlaki killed in a u.s. drone

i'm alex witt filling in for tamron hall. the "newsnation" is following the effort to track down what could be al qaeda operatives plotting an attack on new york city and washington, d.c., this just days before the 9/11 anniversary. take a look at what is going on in new york city. the white house says that president obama has told his security advisers to take all precautions necessary to avert an attack. police have been pulling over suspicious vehicles all day long while staking out bridges and tunnels for anything out of the ordinary. secretary of state hillary clinton told cnbc this morning why it is so important to take this threat seriously. >> by making it public, you enlist literally millions of people to be your eyes and your ears. remember, we were very fortunate to foil the times square bomber, because a food vendor some something suspicious, so we want people to go on with their daily lives and get out and get around, but keep your eyes open. >> and joining me now is justice correspondent pete williams and good a

thanks so much. >>> i'm alex witt. thank you for watching.h alex witt" tomorrow at 9:00 eastern here on msnbc. watch sundays at 10:00 eastern as well. meantime up next "andrea mitchell reports." new triple double oreo. ♪ yo stufy, come here! [ shoes squeaking ] looked better on paper. [ strike! ] she won't eat eggs without hot sauce. she has kind of funny looking toes. she's always touching my hair. and she does this dancing finger thing. [ male announcer ] with advanced technology from ge, now doctors can diagnose diseases like breast cancer on a cellular level. so that women, like kristy's mom, can get personalized treatment that's as unique as she is. [ kristy ] she's definitely not like other moms. yeah, my mom is pretty weird. ♪ whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ >>> right now on "andrea mitchell reports" read my lips, speaker boehner says no new taxes to pay for the president's jobs plan or are w

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

i'm alex witt.sely 30 past the hour, here are the fast headlines. >>> tropical storm lee is bringing rain to the gulf coast. >>> in southern california high surf and rip currents forcing the closing of two beaches. 6 to 8-foot waves are pounding the coast damaging a wooden boardwalk and some steps at dana point. >>> also in so cal parts of interstate 15 closed and more than 1500 homes are evacuated because of a fast-moving wildfire covering nearly two square miles. it's already burned two mobile homes and it's about 20% contained. >>> overseas, slow-moving typhoon talal has made landfall in southern japan. it has brought heavy rain to much of the country. >>> in chile an air force plane crashes off the pacific coast. a news anchor was among 291 people on board. all are still missing, and those are your fast five headlines. >>> back to the breaking news, tropical storm lee slamming parts of the gulf coast right now with fierce rain and biting winds. we'll go to bill karins for the latest on that. we'

i'm alex witt.from coast to coast, the big story we're watching today, revving up for another round, obama and boehner facing off with duelling jobs plans while america's future hangs in the balance. the stakes couldn't be higher for america's families. a census report out this week shows 46.2 million americans lived below the poverty line last year. the american dream slipping away for many families who once considered themselves middle class. >> don't want to have to depend on people because i've

. >>> alex witt is in for tamron hall with a look at a "newsnation." hello, alex. >> hello, andrea.at is being called a credible terror threat, this days ahead of the anniversary of 9/11. and we will get you the newest details on all of it. >>> and selling the new plan. days after unveiling the new plan, president obama urges lawmakers to pass it. i will talk to congresswoman maxine waters who says it is time for the president to fight. "newsnation" is minutes away. gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. a mouthwatering combination of ingredients...e for you! i know you're gonna love. [ barks ] yes, it's new beneful healthy fiesta. made with wholesome grains, real chicken, even accents of tomato and avocado. yeah! come on! [ barking ] gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorful beneful. ♪ on a beach? on a

. >>> good morning i'm alex witt. we have some new information about the men who may be involved in a possible al qaeda bomb plot against new york and washington. official says two of the three men may be u.s. citizens. the men started their journey in pakistan. they may have flown to the u.s. through dubai and europe. officials say the goal is to set off a car or truck bomb. government and police officials in new york and washington say residents and visitors should not change their plans. they do stress that anything suspicious should be reported. there have been no changes to planned memorials anywhere in the country as the u.s. prepares to mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11. i'm joined by michael sheehan a terrorism analyst for msnbc. a gd saturday morning to you. >> good morning, alex. >> if we talk about this threat which is unconfirmed. so talk about its credibility? >> it's becoming more and more specific even though we don't have the names of these three individuals, now we're hearing two may be carrying u.s.

welcome to "msnbc sunday," i'm alex witt. let's get out there. the president will be in paterson, new jersey, today, one of the many east coast towns struggling to recover. governor chris christie will join the president. >> reporter: when president obama arches in a short while, he'll get first-hand look at the damage caused by hurricane irene. he'll be joined by chris christie and craig fugate and state and local officials. you can see the passaic river behind me, receding a bit. but this community is still hurting, still trying to rebuild. when irene first hit, as many as 1,500 people have had to be evacuated from their homes. hundreds of thousands of people lost power, homes destroyed, cities destroyed. some city blocks were completely submerged. this is a working class community that was really hurting economically before irene hit, so the folks here are really struggling now. president obama has declared new jersey a state of disaster. one of several states that have gotten that categorization, meaning they can get federal assistance. the p

alex witt, welcome to msnbc sunday. a weekend of wild weather. incredible pictures to show you.ndiana, a massive bolt of lightning appeared to hit notre dame stadium. that storm unleashed brutal rains during the home opener. the stadium was evacuated twice, once during halftime and once during the fourth quarter. no one was hurt. >>> tropical storm lee has come ashore. rain has triggered flooding in low-lying areas in new orleans and prompted evacuations in jefferson parrish. thousands have also lost power. more from the weather channel's alex wallace, alex, just gotten word of an apparent tornado touchdown in florida this morning? what's going on? >> that's right. you know what, alex. it has to do with lee. when you get tropical cyclones, you can get in closer to the coast, you can get brief tornadoes storming up. lee pushes closer to the coast. we'll be waiting for confirmation on that. latest on lee right now. 50 miles west of morgan city, louisiana. sustained winds at 40 miles per hour, moving at a snail's pace at 3 miles per hour. the view on the radar showing you where we

i'm alex witt. it's just past 9:00 a.m. in the eastern. 6:00 a.m. out west.'s get to what's happening as we get new information this morning about the men who may be involved in a possible al qaeda bomb mroet against new york and washington. officials say two of the three men may be u.s. citizens. the men started their journey in pakistan. they may have flown to the u.s. from dubai and europe. officials say the terrorist's goal is to set off a car or truck bomb. in response to the unconfirmed threat, security has been drastically increased in both new york and wash wrush. officials in those cities say residents and visitors should not change their plans in response to the possible plot. they do stress skrij lance and that anything suspicious should be reported. >>> there have been no changes to the planned memorials anywhere in this country as the u.s. prepares to mark the tenth anniversary of september 11th. with that alleged al qaeda plot that has the fbi and homeland security searching for three potential trisdz on u.s. soil, here's some of the intelligenc

i'm alex witt. it's 6:00 a.m. out west. what's happening out there right now. we have first breaking news on tropical storm lee, which is threatening this hour as it strengthens while moving closer to the u.s. the center of the storm is expected to make landfall later today on the central louisiana coast. then turn towards new orleans. louisiana governor bobby enginedal warns there's still a lot of uncertainty over the path the storm may take. meanwhile, the storm is already prompting tornado watches and warnings near new orleans, and the rain that's been streaking down for hours now could last all weekend. parts of louisiana and florida could see as much as 20 inches of rain. the weather channel meteorologist mike seidel is in new orleans with more. mike. >> the horizontal rain and wind gust over 50 miles an hour continue to batter the big easy this morning. we've got flash flood watches out. we have flash flood warnings. also, we have a lot of tornado warnings. so far so good. we haven't had any reported touchdowns, and these are all based on doppler radar. t

i'm alex witt. welcome to "msnbc sunday." past 9:00 a.m. in the east, 6:00 a.m. out west. what's happening out there, slow-moving tropical storm lee causing power outages and some flooding in parts of louisiana and mississippi this morning. let's go right to new orleans and nbc's charles hadlock with the latest from there. good sunday morning to you, charles, we saw plenty of high rain and winds yesterday. what's the scene like this there this morning. >> reporter: the rain is back, winds are down somewhat. tropical storm lee has now moved ashore, just south of lafayette, around new iberia but expect to become a tropical depression, as it moves between baton rouge and new orleans, on its way off to the northeast. it's a minimal tropical storm, at best, but ever since hurricane katrina eroded the coastline in south louisiana, any storm that comes along with a name on it means trouble. tourists in the french quarter dodged rainstorms to take in the sight but was near the bayous, away from levees that protect the city, residents like herbert moore say tropical storm lee noise

i'm alex witt. welcome to "msnbc sunday." incredible pictures of violent and destructive weather. lightning appeared to strike notre dame stadium during a thunderstorm storm. it happened during the homeowner. the stadium evacuated twice, once during halftime, once in the fourth quarter. fortunately no one was hurt. the center of tropical storm lee has come ashore in louisiana. a handful of residents in jefferson parish ordered out, they were evacuated. thousands have lost power. more from the weather channel's alex wallace with a very good sunday morning to you, and a busy one. what is the latest on lee's track? >> busy for sure, following lee, alex. the latest on it. it has, as you mentioned, moved onshore, 50 miles to the west of morgan city, louisiana, sustained winds around 45 miles per hour. it hasn't changed a lot within the last several hours out there. except for the movement, moving more to the north and the east. starting to take more of a jog in this general direction. that's what we anticipate here, as we head through time out there for us. here's how the radar looks.

i'm alex witt and welcome to "msnbc saturday."e go first to breaking news on tropical storm lee, which is growing stronger by the hour as it dumps massive amounts of rain along the gulf coast. that storm is expected to turn towards new orleans after it makes landfall later today on the central louisiana coast. right now the city of new orleans is under a tornado watch as well. the torrential rainier the gulf could last all weekend. parts of louisiana and florida could see as much at 20 inches of rain. let's get to the latest on this storm now from nbc meteorologist bill karans. where is it heading? >> it's moving. that's important. we were worried about this storm system lingering along louisiana for two or three days. now that we have forward motion with this storm, i don't think we'll get the historic 20 hinch rainfall totals that were possible yesterday at this time. the forecast has yooufed. as it moves it brings rain and wind to many different the areas, but it's not concentrated in one spot all weekend long. let me show you

i'm alex witt, and welcome to msnbc saturday.ve breaking news to report from tropical storm lee. at this hour and for the next 15 minutes a crucial time in new orleans as there are numerous tornadoes warning in that area it's going until 8:15 eastern. all this news coming to us from the national weather service. again, that's tantamount to keep an eye on tornado warnings in new orleans right now. of course, the center of the storm is expected to make landfall in louisiana later today or early tomorrow, but the rain is already going for hours, and it could last all weekend. parts of louisiana and florida could be seeing as much as 20 inches of rain. louisiana governor warns there is still a lot of uncertainty over the path the storm may take. >> it has indications that it will continue to do so and we're encouraging citizens of new orleans to make preparings. again, prepare for the worst, and & let's hope for the best. >> weather channel meteorologist mike seidel is in new orleans with more on this. good morning. hey, mike? >> wel

i'm alex witt. welcome to msnbc saturday. we have breaking news to share this morning about tropical storm lee, which is bringing torrents of rain to the u.s. gulf coast. the storm is expected to make landfall in louisiana later on today. parts of louisiana and florida could see as much as 20 inches of rain this weekend. louisiana governor bobby jindal warns there's a lot of uncertainty over the path the storm may take. he and the mississippi governor have declared states of emergency. >> it is going to be a slow moving storm. a lot of rain. that water is going to accumulate. >> it has intensified and indications are that it will continue to do so. we're encouraging citizens in new orleans to make their preparations again. prepare for the worst and let's hope for the best. >> weather channel meteorologist mike seidel is in new orleans with more. mike? >> this is what we've seen all night across new orleans. wind swept rain. wind gusts up over 40 miles an hour. so far the rainfall rates have held in check below the threshold f

i'm alex witt, and welcome to msnbc saturday. first up we have new details this morning on three unidentified men believed to be part of a credible al qaeda plot coinciding with the anniversary of 9/11. government officials say two of the men may be u.s. citizens, or at least have u.s. travel documents. the unconfirmed plot involves car and truck bombs in new york and washington, and the fbi and homeland security are chasing down all leads and police manning checkpoints and securing likely tarts. nbc's pete williams has more now from washington. >> reporter: in new york police were out in force checking trucks and vans and posting extra security at bridges and tunnels, clogging the morning and afternoon commutes. similar scenes in washington as both cities jump to respond to an unconfirmed report from an intelligence source in pakistan who heard that three men, no full names given, flew to the u.s. to set off car or truck bombs in new york or washington this weekend. something that stood out in the flow of intelligence because th