i listened to what senator binghamton had to say. i wish we could be in that position. the problem is that, and the chair tried already to deal with some of this when we took, at the urging of myself and others, when the mark was at 13% in terms of the cap and went down to 12. it was a good effort to make it more affordable. the problem here at the end of the day is really a question of premium costs. so, if a family of four making $66,000 has to pay $661 a month, then at the end of the day they may choose to do so if it is important enough for them that out of their budget that is what they are going to take. but if they really can't because there are other challenging issues in their budget, then they need relief. that is what senator schumer does. he provides relief for them not more than 8% of their family income would exempt them from the penalty that. is the big challenge. we would love to have the premium costs be reduced, and i know there is still the floor and the conference and hopefully we can continue to work on the premium cost at the end of the day. that i

>> a quick correction on something from last night's "countdown," we reported that senator jeff binghamton of new mexico voted against the public option. that was incorrect, he voted for both the rockefeller and the schumer amendments in the finance committee which would have included the public option in that bill. we regret that bill. >>> coming up on "countdown," rio dejannero wins the 2016 olympi olympics. the right wing shows it's true colors and celebrates the fact that the president wasn't able to tip the scales to the usa. >>> and later, the david letterman extortion plot, viewers of the late show got a big surprise last night. we'll show you letterman's admission, look at the facts around the admission, and we'll look at -- ahead on "countdown." >>> it was a loss for the country, but the reaction from the left was celebration. >>> and later, the plot to extort $2 million from talk show host david letterman. that's next. chef's meal with pommes frites perhaps a night at the theater with extra special seats additional hotel night, our treat your world in perfect harmony: priceless l

in binghamton, getting in toward scranton. you are having a tough go this morning. rain and a little bit of wind out of the east today. it's going to be soggy the entire weekend and yankees play tonight against the angels. that will be a tough game to get in. breezy and rain showers off and on. just yesterday, keep in mind, il it's still snowing. snowstorm yesterday, 4 inches. yesterday was the 15th, they only had a tenth of an inch then, so a massive amount of snow early in the svn aeason an continues to fall, robin. more a that in half an hour. >> it's fun the first time. >> we're talking october, though. >>> the white house says the stimulus is working and it has the numbers to back it up but the critics say the numbers are proof the thing is a major flop. >>> and so many people are wondering what the boy at the center of the balloon chase meant by a comment he made on "larry king live." let's hear those. you will. >>> good morning, everybody. i'm meteorologist bob van dillen. if you're traveling by air today, a couple areas really going to get hit hard by weathe

. >> and the funding of it, obviously, is going to be a question as senator binghamton said. but if you look at how the insurance industry has thrown lobbyists at this, on a state level there's a lot of easy votes that can be bought, a lot of elections that can be swayed to keep states out of opting in or out of the public option. >> you create a race to the bottom, not a race to the top. states can create single payer programs right now if they wanted to. >> where's obama? where is the president of the united states on this at this hour? your thoughts? >> i think the president is about to make a move. he has to. because once that senate finance committee votes on tuesday, you're going to have to begin reconciling these bills in the house and senate. when that happens, if the president doesn't step up and send a signal, he's going to get a dumbed down bill and end up spending a lot of political capital that isn't going to be very impressive. he's got to push up, not allow the compromises to push it down. >> great to have you with us. >>> coming up, this is the worst job marke

scranton, binghamton, syracuse. you're not going to get the rain until overnight tonight around the d.c. metro area. let me take you live to washington. in fact, it's a nice sunrise for you, but it definitely will not feel like october today. 84 degrees. high temperature and down south high 9s highs. we had a lot of rain in central missouri. you can see the flash flooding results in st. louis. this was yesterday. i wouldn't advise walking through floodwaters like that, but if you have to, you have to. more details coming up in just a little bit, richard. >> taking a stroll in st. louis is a little scary. >> you don't know how deep it is. >>> you may be waking up to the stunning news that president obama has won the nobel peace prize. we're sharing your reactions from our facebook page. >>> plus a texas woman is alive because her five-year-old daughter made a brave call to 911. you will hear this tape of her. >>> breaking news this morning. president barack obama won the nobel peace prize. a senior administration off

city wants to have certain laws that are -- look, new york city is a heck of a lot different than binghamton, new york. you have certain concerns. >> we're similar. >> have you been on the subways? i think you know there is a significant difference. should states have the right to dictate what laws they have in their own states? >> they should. but then you got to remember that there are overriding constitutional laws that are at the federal level and the states are obligate to do abide by those. the law of free speech. you can't say you can have free speech in arkansas but not arizona. they can't violate the constitution. that's what's at stake. first of all, the supreme court now has ruled in the heller case that the law, the constitutional right applies to an individual. not to quote, a militia. that was a very significant ruling. this ruling is going to be an important one for the very reason you mentioned. does the individual have a right within the context of a city or state to protect himself. >> now, judge sonya sotomayor, this could be one of the first big tests for her. >> real hot

also a watch out there for lower new york state, not including courtland but close there, includes binghamton. 6 to 12 inches of snow starting today ending saturday morning. rain in d.c. and the beltway. live to washington delays at the airports because of this. you can see the poor visibility at the capitol. up the line up 95 towards new york city, you're going to get the rain showers moving in later this afternoon and then the wind picks up. that low develops off the jersey shore. watch for gusty winds today new york, all the way to boston down to philadelphia. winds gusting to about 30 maybe 40 miles per hour right there with 65-mile-an-hour gusts around the jersey shore overnight tonight. more on that in just about a half hour. it's really going to start going downhill for nyc in the next four to four hours. >> bye-bye to the leaves. >> yeah. some of them in new york state. >> thanks. >>> a man was executed for set setting a fire that killed his three daughters. the governor that approved his execution says the man is a monster. the governor is now being criticized. >>> 11 minutes past th