i'm alex witt. welcome to msnbc sunday. 11:00 a.m. eastern time, 8:00 a.m. out west. here's what's happening for you this hour. >>> sarah palin stepping down as governor of alaska in just a matter of hours. she's embarked on a series of farewell picnics this weekend to thank the residents of her home state. a bit later today she'll be attending a picnic in fairbanks. nbc's norah o'donnell is live for us once again in fairbanks this morning where it is a very early, just 7:00 a.m. but that's really late in the day compared to what time she's been getting up all weekend for us. good morning, norah. what is she saying before she officially bids farewell to everybody? >> reporter: she's saying thank you to the people of alaska. that's what she's going to say here today in her farewell speech. i'm actually sitting in the v.i.p. section which is only invited guests and family here because this is exactly where sarah palin is going to deliver her farewell speech, her resignation speech. she's going to turn over power to the lieutenant governor here in this state, even though

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i'm alex witt, you're watching msnbc sunday. 10:00 a.m. on the east coast, 7:00 a.m.ut of west. >>> in just a few hours sarah palin will step down as governor of alaska after meeting with residents at picnics in her hometown of wasilla friday and in anchorage saturday, she'll attend a farewell picnic later today in fair banks. that's where nbc's norah o'donnell is this morning. norah, what's the government been saying this weekend on her farewell tour? >> reporter: she is saying, thank you, to the residents of alaska and, of course, just later today she is going to deliver a farewell speech right here, pioneer park in fairbanks, alaska. you can see on the stage behind me they're already setting up seats for v.i.p.s who get to sit this close to the governor. she actually traveled from anchorage yesterday, a seven-hour road trip. she actually used her twitter account and tweeted that she packed her camper full of kids and coffee for the road trip and even tweeted what she was listening to on that trip, which included a lot of country music stars, as well as the black-ey

i'm alex witt. we'll bring you thaand the latest on theurr of quarterback star sve mcnair. >>> breaking news a fourth of july fireworks celebration turns tragic, more than two zen injured when a pedestrian bridge collapses in the tn of merrillville inorthe indiana. we're gettg word of 26 people having been injured whenat bridgecollapsed. it happened at hden lake park. the brid was apparently crowd witheople who ghered at the park to watch a fireworks display. 16 off those ijujud hado be transpspord d torea hospitalsy ambulance. auauthities reporting the injuries rangedd from laceratios to broken bones and a adngng th accounted fofoeveverne and g gla to say thehere a are no fatalit in the incididt.t. >>> more b breinin wswso tell yoyou ououtrom orlando. two monorails llided erernit and the resultlt n rertedly deadly. nbc's orlando affiliatete reporting the opoperoror oone of theerarain died in the collllisn.n. the driver of f eeotherrarain was rushed to o thhohoital. the collision h hpepene apapoxima

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i'm alex witt.reaction on the controversy surrounding the arrest of harvard professor henry louis gates jr. president obama talking about it again. >> because this has been ratcheting up, and because i helped contribute to ratcheting it up. i want to make clear that in my choice of words, i think i, unfortunately, gave an impression that i was maligning the cambridge police department and sergeant crowley specifically, and i could have calibrated those words differently. >> i'm joined by author, commentator and professor michael alan dyson. good morning. >> good morning to you, ms. witt. >> where are we at on this? >> the president is a prince of a man, reconciling figure, attempting to bring the two figures together, sergeant crowley and professor gates. he also insisted that we underscore the necessity of dealing with racial profiling and i think that's the bigger story here. at the end of the day, professor gates was in his home. he was arrested. the sensible reason for the call was breaking and

i' alex witt. all at to bring to you this morning along with whlice in los angeles are notuling out homicide charges in the michael jackson investigation. but first this hour we have some breaking news onhe space uttle "evour." oncega it has ben delayed. jay baree is live at the kennedy ace center. jay, gd morning. what hapned? >> well, last night, alex, they had seven lightning strikeon the launch pad they have a lightning arrests out there. they do not believe that any damage took placut they're noceain. so what they want to do is they want to run down every one of these lightning strikes here in the next 24 hours, absolutely sur nothing has been broken, or created a problem whatsoever withithe space shuttle tem. d they wll try to goagain tomorrowvening at 7:13 p.m. eastern time. but ain, it's the same question with theweather. they don't expect the weathero be any better. they hav that rking against them, 60% chance of no-go, thundershowers ithe area. but right now, they've t to make sure that t

i'm alex witt. we will ve all of thatlus th latest on the investigation into the death of michael jason. but first we're going to do politics andhe president' trip to ghana. just art timero now the president' family will be touring cape coa castle which was itain's heauarters in st africa for the transatlantislavtrade. the president finishing addre addressinghana's parliament in the la half hour wherehe spoke wi frica's tionship with t u. i see afri as a fundamental part of our interconnected world. as partnersith america on behalf of the future we want for all of our children. that partnership must be grnded in mutual responsibility. nbc'shitese correspondtavannahuthrie is traveling wth the president. savannahoins us once again li from ccra, ghana. what eactly doe the president mean by mutual responsility? well, you know, thisis a theme we hear a lot from the president. 's certainly one at ought to africa with him today. and he's talking about e west, industrializedations doing their part to he afr

i'm alex witt. this is "msnbc sarday." new developments in the death of >>> first we go the president's trip to ghana. the president says his trip is design to show that africas not separat from world affairs and at's why his visit to gha is integrat into a larger visit to europe. coming up this hour 'll bring u the president's sech to few moments have a preew of a what he'll be sing in a live reportrom across ghana. meanti theresident is leaving africa tonigh and will start of judge sotomayor's confirmaon hearings on monday. i'm joined now live from washington by aon billings seni news editor for "roll call." good morning. >> good mornin >> what a conservatives thinking? do thethink they can blk sotomayor's nomination? is that the best case scenario r them or something else? >> i think that woulde the best case but it's n going to happen a they now that. i think they're going to u th week's hearings toet the tone for thejudiciary. th know there will probably be another sueme cot nomineen obama's tenure and they want to ma

. >>> i'm chris jansing in for alex witt. 9:00 on the east coast, 6:00 pacific. here is what's happening on msnbc sunday. first, the pentagon now confirming that the young man seen in this taliban video is indeed an american soldier. the pentagon is not yet releasing the associatedier's name, saying only he went missing in afghanistan last month. we first saw this video late saturday after it appeared on a taliban website. the soldier answers his captor's questions about why he's in afghanistan. >> we were told when we got here that we're supposed to do joint operations with afghan government, army and police, that are here. >> the pentagon says the soldier went missing on june 30th in eastern afghanistan. for the latest details and some perspective i'm joined live by retired army colonel military analyst jack jake ors. good morning, colonel. what's your take on this video? >> he's very, very young. there are a lot of new soldiers in this region. i've been up there, very difficult terrain. it's my understanding he was on patrol. when you're in difficult terrain,

. >>> a very good morning, eryone i'm alex witt. welcome to mbc sunday. we'll have a live rert on the investigation into the welfare of michael jackson's children. that's all coming up. > but first let'set to the breaking news 're following out of northern indiana where a fourth of july fireworks celebration turned tragic. least 26 people were iured when a pedtrian bridge collapsed park in the town of merriville. it's about 75 miles or so southeast of chcago. thatridge was crowded with about 100 peoplo had gathered at the prkrko watch a fireworkss didilalay. ththose ivovolv describebeuuit chaotic scene.e. >> weeee just walking on the bridge. >> we went in theiddle of the bridge and it j ju llllsed. >>>>itit kept iningack and ff. xtxt tng you kkno it was a loud noisis everybodody ararted crming. everybybody ntntown and we wawa in the watat.. >> joinininge on the ppho, a reporter for wbbm-78780 radio. another goodororng to you.. let's s t t an pdate. dodoouou kw how many people ar still in t theosospil? >>>> no, at this pointnte'e've got an nfirmation. wewe

good morning, e eryone, i'm mrmron hahann for alex witt. >>> let's go t towaington, wheree we arere learning n new dedeils on that top-secrcretiai prprogmm whose existenceceasas t realal. nbc newsws has learned that the cia kept t the program ununrr ws because ofdidickcheney's wishes for what cononesess shohoul and shououldototleararn. leon p petettaust learned aut this program june 23rd and reportedlyly canceled it june 24ert. i'i'm inin live at thehe white housuse by nbc's m mi vieira. lolot secret rumors abobout what t ts s seet program could be, but what have yoyou cocoved? >>eporter: a lot of what haenenedn congress istarting totoake sense nonow. pieces are ststarngng to fall io place. th s sry firsteported sterday bythe new york titime on its bbsi. the e s a program tt began in 2001. aa counterterrorori program. we d don k knothe details of actly what it was i iololve we're told itt did not vovolve thee soalald w warntntle wiretapping g ofmerican tizens, butomometng else that w wasundefined. it never became fufull operational, bututt t wain the planning s stassor somom e eit yearss and

i'm alex witt. thank you very much for joining us. it's 9:00 on the east coast. 6:00 a.m. on the west. sarah palin is stepping down as governor of alaska in just a matter of hours. she's embarked on a series of farewell picnics this weekend to thank the residents of her own state. nbc's norah o'donnell is live in fairbanks this morning. another good sunday morning to you. let's talk about what sarah palin is saying in her departing days here to her alaska residents. >> reporter: good morning to you, alex. this is it for sarah palin. later today she is going to resign as governor of alaska. she is going to give up her powerful perch for what it is not clear. what we do know is yesterday she took a seven-hour road trip from anchorage to fairbanks in a camper full of kids and coffee and listening to country music. how do we know that? she likes to use twitter a lot. she tweeted the details including all the different country music as well as black eyed peas on the trip up here. she's going to give a farewell speech in fairbanks. it's coming full circle for her. this is where

good morning, everyone, i'm chris jansing in for alex witt. 11:00 on the east coast, 8:00 out west. here's what's happening right now on msnbc saturday. >>> the battle over health care reform is growing more intense by the hour. president obama making an appeal to lawmakers amid growing resistance to the plan. he's pushing his message this morning in his weekly internet address. >> i want to be very clear, i will not sign on to any health plan that adds to our deficits over the next decade. and by helping improve quality and efficiency the reforms will help bring our deficits under control in the long-term. >> nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house. what kind of resistance is the president facing from congress? >> the president's trying to emphasize the fact that his plan would emphasize preventive care and therefore, cut cost to the government. a lot of people use the emergency room, particularly lower income americans, use the emergency room as their doctor. whenever they don't feel well, whenever they feel as though they need to go see somebody, they go to the emergency room a

i'm chris jansing in for alex witt.e have that to bring you along with encouraging signs from the housing market. first, we begin this hour with the passing of a broadcast legend, cbs angererman, walter cronkite, hailed as the most trusted nan america, died in his home in new york. he was 92. from 1962 through 1981, cronkite anchored the "cbs evening news." he was one of the most famous and most trusted voices in america with his signature sign-off "and that's the way it is." here's nbc's chris clackum with a look back at the remarkable life of cronkite. >> reporter: when walter cronkite veered from his usual straight reporting on the "cbs evening news" for the 1968 editorial against the vietnam war, president johnson was watching in the white house, and he said to have exclaimed -- that's it if i've lost cronkite, i've lost middle america. >> pennsylvania. >> reporter: it was instances like that that helped justify cronkite's longtime monica ker as the most trusted man in america. walter cronkite was born on november 4

good morning, everyone i'm chris jansing in for alex witt. welcome to msnbc saturday. first up this hour, the latest from washington. after an unscheduled statement on friday, president obama is taking on his critics this morning, urging congress to back his plan for health care reform in his weekly internet address. >> the same folks who control the white house and congress for the past eight years, as we ran up record deficits will argue, believe it or not, that health reform will lead to record deficits. that's simply not true. >> nbc's live at the white house. mike, what's the status of this debate? where are we on this kate care reform package? >> chris, hardly a day goes by when the president doesn't make a statement in support of his health care initiative. but it is in serious political trouble. we are talking about potentially changing how every single american gets their health care coverage, how much they pay for that health care coverage, how businesses will have to pay into a fund if they don't provide employer-provided health care. right on down the line.

i'm chris jansing, in for alex witt. we'll have that and the latest twist in the michael jackson investigation in moments. >>> first, this morning the pentagon is confirming that the man you see in this individuvid american soldier who went missing in afghanistan last month. on the tape the soldier answer a capture's questions about why he's in afghanistan. >> we were told when we got here we were supposed to do joint operations with afghan government, army and police that are here now. >> let's go live to the white house and nbc's mike zi cara. >> reporter: we know the pentagon is reporting that is a u.s. soldier. he went missing missing last september. he says he lagged behind a patrol. reports at the time indicated there was an american soldier that went missing. at that point reports said he wander wandered off the base. he did appear in this video, 28 minutes long, obviously shot by his taliban captures. he says he's scared, speaks of his family, his girlfriend that he hopes to marry. prompted by the cap tors to ask

i'm alex witt. this is msnbc sunday. we've all that, plus cyclist lance armstrong hopes to come close to hisry in paris. >>> a new report from washington. the congressional budget office says a white house proposal that was expected to generate savings will probably do little to reduce health care costs over the ten years. mike viqueira joins us live from washington. good sunday morning to you. this is a setback for the democrats. how big? >> reporter: another setback to be certain. remember it was about ten days ago when the congressional budget office came back and said, you know what? this plan on capitol hill right now is not going do reduce long-term health care costs. that's the stated goal of the administration and president obama because it's such a drag on the economy now and getting bigger. one-fifth of the company by 2020. to alleviate the problem, president obama time and time again over the last several day s at his press conference, town hall in cleveland, ohio, said he was going to create a commission of d

i'm n nor o o'dnell in for alex witt. we'll have all t th news straight ahahea plusnfnfortion ababouaa eeeenar's neww claimt fame. whwhy 's'sn the had history books. t t fit to washingngnn where we are lenining new d detlslsn th p-p-seet cia programs whose extence was justrevealed.d. nbnene has learned t the cia kept that program under wraps because then-vice preresintnt dk cheney d dn'n't nt cook to know about it. cia rerect rereonnetta just learned about the program on june 23r3rddnd he reportedly canceled itimmedidiaty.y. i'm joinededowow from thee whit ususe b by nbc news corresponde mimike haveve we heard anynyrere yet frfromhehe fmer vice esesidt? >> reporter:r: wl,l,e know that isis pgram was in existence though we don't know what t the program was x xexexptpt i a ver general sense countererteororis program. babackhehe the cia w under tremendous pressure toto come u with some countertrterrirism programs, ththisasasomething th w wasn the works. it existed some eighttears without bomomin operational. ththe legation a

we'll look at celebrations across theountry marking the good morning to you, i alex witt and ts is "msnbcunday." >> first breaking ws from orlando. walt disy world cfirming to nbc ne that two monorails coided. the operatorfone of the trains dd in the collisio the driver of the other train has been rushed to the hoital. that collision ppened at approximely 2:00 a.m. eastern time at disney's ticket and transportation center, where people catch the monora to get into the mic kingdom from the parkinlot. it's not yet know why the two trains collided. when w get more rmation wel bring it to you. >>> and thepresident's holiday message this morning. the obama fami invited 1,200 military families athe backyard for the white house for a party. >> iraq's futu now rests i the nds of its own people, as extraordinary accomplishment a th s, there will not be without problems and there will bedifficult days ahead. >> mike, good sunday morning to you. >> reporter: good rning. >> he said iwas like a lot of other backyar barbecues in america. few differences. let's begin with the settingnd the like. reporte

i'm alex witt. at 11:00 here on the east coast, 8:00 a.m. out west.'s what's happening right now here on msnbc saturday. today is sarah palin's last full day as governor of alaska. and before stepping down tomorrow she is meeting with residents at three different picnics across the state. more than 1,000 people turned out for governor palin's annual picnic in wasilla yesterday. nbc's norah o'donnell live in fairbanks where governor palin will attend another picnic tomorrow. so, norah, let's talk about sarah palin, what she's saying ahead of stepping down her last day, this day, as governor. >> she's saying thank you to the people of alaska. but she's saying very little about what her future holds. she is ending, of course, her role as governor. stepping down, resigning from office with a year and a half left on her term. the big question, of course, is what is she going to do. is she going to run for president in 2012? she didn't talk about it yesterday when she greeted more than 1,000 people in wasilla, her hometown. instead, she talked

. >>> good morning, i'm chris jansing in for alex witt on this sunday. 11:00 eastern, 8:00 pacific. here's what's happening right now on msnbc sunday. >>> first the breaking news we told you about in the last hour. the pentagon releasing the name of the soldier seen on this video which appeared on a taliban website late saturday. he's being held captive in afghanistan. for the latest, i'm joined live by nbc pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. >> reporter: the pentagon now confirms that this soldier seen in the video is in fact a missing soldier from afghanistan who disappeared from a forward operating base in eastern afghanistan at the end of june and they now identify him as 22-year-old private 1st class bow bowe bergdahl of ketchum, idaho. now the military had anticipated for a couple of weeks now that we'd soon seen a video. they were not taken by surprise. and what is surprising is that bowe bergdahl actually appears in pretty good shape as we can see here. he doesn't appear to have any injuries, any wounds of any kind and appears, like i said, in overall good shape. what's

i'm chris jansing in for alex wi witt. welcome.e'll have all those stories plus the latest on the terror bombings in indonesia. first the passing of a broadcast legend. long time cbs ang choreman walter cronkite has died. he passed away at his home on friday in new york. he was 92 years old. from 1962 through 1982, congress kite ang chored the cbs evening news. during that time, he became one of the most famous faces and trusted voices in america. and he made his signature signoff, and that's the way it is, household words. here's nbc's chris clackham with a look back at his remarkable life. >> when walter kronk height veered from his usual straight reporting on the cbs evening news for this 196 editorial against the vietnam war, president johnson was watch in the white house and he he's said to have exclaimed, that's it, if i've lost cronkite, i've lost middle america. it was instances like that that helped justify cronkite's longtime moniker as the most trusted man in america. walter cronkite was born in 1916 in st. joseph, misso

. here with us, alex witt again. work all day long and you're here with us. >> just to be here with you. a good morning to you, joe. you know where we're starting? sarah palin. the title now reads former governor of alaska. this weekend palin stepped down and her lieutenant governor took over the top office. speaking in fairbanks, she would not reveal any future plans but she found time to rail against the media and big government. french president nicolas sarkozy has been discharged from the hospital after collapsing while jogging near the palace yesterday. medical tests showed no signs of problems. they blame the heat and say he was overworked. >>> a colorado resident is lucky to be alive after a base jump that nearly killed him. the 28-year-old has jumped over 200 times but in last week's attempt he waited too long to open his parachute. just seconds larts he slammed into the ground but he survived without any bones, broken. >> that's actually part of the audio from -- he was miked and wired and you can hear him -

. >>> alex witt joins us with a roundup of the headlines. i'll bet you talk about yestday at some point, right? >>yeah. we'll see the president first. good mning, joe, an to all of you. following meetings with russian leaders this morning, president obama switches gears while in italy he will sit down with world powers at the g-8 summit to address global issues of climate change, the economy and world hunger. as joe mentioned at a public tribute that was part church service and part concert, a who's who gathered to say good-bye to michael jackson. the defining moment came when michael's 11-year-old daughter took the stage with a heart-wrenching good-bye. that was hard to watch. >>> and one news station has found a way to keep michael jackson and his dancing alive. so far, individual listeners's videos have been edited together to help build the moonwalk that ner ends. that's kind of cool. some of them weren't that bad, either, which is pretty amazing. >> i saw an interview who said aretha franklin who said, we all tried it. anyone who denies

a alex witt joins us again. >> i'm glad for the music.al so i'm back in the new york groove. law enforcement sources tell cnbc news that michael jackson's doctor prescribed a powerful prescription sedative the night the pop star died. toxicology results are expected this week. >>> president obama will meet with the black professor and white police officer at the center of the recent controversial arrest that has fired up a national debate over race relations in an apparent attempt to cool things off. the three will meet for drinks this week, very likely on thursday evening. >>> athletes from around the world put on extra weight to go for the gold. competitors faced off in the second annual sumo suit athletics championship. yeah, that exists. it included the high jump, long jump and 40 0-yard dash. oh, yeah, that's -- what can you say to that? >> you can't. >> we have so got to try that. >> no! >> it's a great -- >> i'll watch you guys and report on it. >> taet a great segue because i'm going to talk about football in japan where people do