contessa? >> mike vacara, thank you very much. i'm going to ask him to tell us what you have to do to ask for help and some of the reaction to this plan. >>> the transportation security chief has now withdrawn from consideration because of questions over his background as a defense contractor. retired major general robert harding took himself out of the running last night. he has extensive experience, but the distractions of his background would not be good for the tsa. the tsa says opening the most unfilled position on his team. >>> just released photos show a portion of the south korean ship on the surface of the water. a military official says a hole on the bottom of the ship is to blame, and some sailors on board actually died. south korean authorities say there is no indication north korea is to blame, but troops are being extra vigilant, anyway. >>> the ntsb will be on the scene of a horrific crash in kentucky. a stretch of interstate 5 is now reopened. it was shut down in both directions yesterday. a small committee is mour

contessa. >> norah, thank you. we're extending our live coverage today to bring you the mccain campaign rally with sarah palin at noon eastern or 9:00 a.m. if you live in the west this saturday. >>> south korea is stepping up the search for 46 missing sailors today after a navy ship sank near a disputed sea border with north korea. just-released photos show a portion of the south korean ship on the surface. a military official says a hole in the bottom of the ship is to blame and some sailors indeed died on-board. south korean authorities say there is no indication north korea's to blame but troops are being extra vigilant anyway. >>> there's a big political shakeup happening in iraq this morning with the surprise upset in the parliamentary elections held earlier this month. the sunni alliance led by ayad aallow wi. the victory sets the stage for months of political wrangling. though allawi says he's open to negotiations, they are being accused of fraud. the united states is closely watching the transition of power

i'm contessa brewer.ew poll out today on health care reform finds many americans now support it rather than oppose it. the "usa today" gallup poll finds 49% characterize the new law as a good thing. 40% say it's a bad thing. if we dig a little deeper the poll finds only 4% say the new law makes the most important changes needed to the health care system. nearly half, 48%, say it's a good first step but more changes are needed. nearly a third, 31%, say the new health law makes the wrong type of changes. >>> well, f-bombs away, vice president joe biden got caught up in the moment during yesterday's health care bill signs. as nbc's lee cowen reports, this one will likely ensure biden's place in the cursing hall of fame. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. >> reporter: the thing about historic moments is there are microphones to capture them. and on tuesday, posterity got an earful. whoa. wait. what? damage control was instant and brief. the white house press secretary simply tweeted,

. >>> i'm contessa brewer and there is developing news this noon.a few hours, robert gibbs is expected to begin his daily, on-camera briefing with reporters. he's expected to talk about health care reform and the bill. but the entire issue isn't yet settled. the senate still has to vote on a bill filled with amendments. you guessed it. the senate ruling are complicated once again. kelly o'donnell joins us from capitol hill. okay, so explain to me in detail what happens next. >> there's plenty for us to learn about this next phase of the process and right now, both parties on the senate side are meeting with the civil servant appointed to interpret the rules and prude yuprocedures of the senate. he gets to make the call about what meets the rules and what does not when examining the bill that we called reconciliation or the package of fixes. so, once the president signs the senate version, which was also passed last night, now, we come back over to the senate and they can begin to evaluate the house package of fixes. republicans will try to make chal

i'm contessa brewer. covering stories far and wide today.ttsboro, north carolina, a fire damaged a historic court horse. the clock tower there collapsed. the same where a battle has been playing out over the john edwards' sex tape. no word on how the flames started, but renovations began about two months ago. >>> to chicago, police say effectively they've shut down an identity theft ring. authorities say a janitor stole the i.d.s from an unlocked medical records at northwestern memorial hospital. with the information, others in the ring would get credit cards and go shopping. police arrested seven young women for their roles in the thefts. the sheriff also blames credit card companies. >>> in oregon, the coast guard rescued four surfers. they got caught in a rip tide so yesterday, rescuers hoisted the four by helicopter, delivered them safely to land where medics treated them. the third case of surfers in trouble there in the past 24 hours. >>> the final numbers are in on economic growth in the last quarter of 2009. the gross domestic produc

contessa brewer is here with those. contessa, the senate making news?te is making big news today moving forward of course on that health care bill. getting you caught up to date on other headlines today, the attorney for michael jackson's former physician is blasting a witness's claims that dr. conrad murray stopped giving jackson cpr, tried to hide evidence. according to to a statement from a former security guard, murray stopped trying to resuscitate the pop star, did not call 911 until after he tried to hide drug vials around the room. jackson suffered a fatal cardiac arrest last june. murray has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. >>> in georgia, a hit and run caught on police dash cam video here. a woman in the street in the crosswalk no less, when suddenly that suv just slammed into her. the driver didn't stop. the victim was badly hurt. she had a message for the driver who was not caught. >> you just hit me, just i'm sorry and just take off. she can't be that sorry. if it was an accident, accident happens. stick around. i'm not a dog. >>

send you up to contessa brewer. >>> one of the biggest terror busts we have seen in years. new numbers show the impact the tea party movement could have on the mid-term elections. we'll talk with one of the biggest tea party groups to see if they think the numbers are accurate. >>> and the papers can't even keep it straight. how many mistresses did tiger woods really have? we'll have that and talk with the lawyer for one of the mistresses who says tiger owes her an apology. hey! increase in 6 months. pete, back it up! ( marker squeaking ) when business travel leaves you drained, re-charge with comfort suites. spacious rooms, free hi-speed internet, and free hot breakfast. comfort suites. power up. now stay two separate times with comfort suites... or any choice hotel and earn a free night. book at choicehotels.com. to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm. i switched to a complete multivitamin with more. only one a day

nice to see. >> nice to see you, contessa.hank you. >>> coming up, white house press secretary robert gibbs the day after the big health care vote took place. he will hold his daily briefing in about 15 minutes. we'll bring that to you live when it happens. >>> and the attorney generals of several states now plan to sue the government claiming the health bill is unconstitutional. we'll talk to the attorney general of south carolina who is planning to file suit. ♪ we love getting our outback dirty. because it seems like the dirtier it gets, the more it shines. the subaru outback®. motor trend's 2010 sport/utility of the year®. hurry in to the subaru love spring event for great deals on all models. now through march 31st. that keep you cool and dry have now inspired stayfree® to create a whole new level of comfort when it comes to your period. only stayfree® ultra thins have thermocontrol™. designed with the comfort of athletic fabrics in mind, stayfree® with thermocontrol™ quickly wicks moisture away for exceptional dryness. so

contessa picks up things at the top of the next hour and she's got with her, nicholas christof.nts in the murder of summer thompson, the girl whose body was found in landfill last october. >>> plus, the reunion we're talk about. sarah palin, john mccain together again. can she help mr. mccain win? [ female announcer ] sometimes you need tomorrow to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between,

contessa brewer will be back at noon eastern tomorrow, 9:00 am out west.tchell reports," talking to haley barber about the future of the republican party here on msnbc news. nature knows just how much water vegetables need. so, to turn those vegetables into campbell's condensed soup, we don't boil it down, our chefs just add less water from the start. ♪ so many, many reasons ♪ it's so m'm! m'm! good! ♪ >>> right now on "andrea mitchell reports," 2 million people displaced, more than 700 dead, with that toll expected to rise in chile today. unlike haiti, strong inf infrastructure reduced the potential widespread devastation. secretary of state hillary clinton will be traveling to the region tomorrow, take with her emergency communications equipment. a live report, straight ahead. >>> in washington today, the president prepares his last-ditch strategy for getting a vote on health care, as he faces his own health update. overall, his health is good. but he's got to watch that cholesterol. and what about the old bad habit? >> am i a daily smoker, a constant sm

let me briefly summarize the transaction under our agreement, contessa become the 51% owner and manager ge will still own 39% pure will create a new venture that combines nbc's broadcast tv cable programming and theme park businesses with comcast limited video programming channels. the transaction puts two great american media and entertainment companies under one roof. it will help to deliver more diverse or granted millions of households and will also help to accelerate a truly amazing digital future for consumers. together comcast and nbc u. can help deliver multiplatform video experiments people want. in combination will be a more creative and innovative company and our successful stimulator competitors to be more innovative, too. for this joint venture will be good for consumers, innovation and competition. to leave no doubt about the benefits of the new nbcu, we have made a series of public commitments in writing detailing how will bring more local programming, more children's programming and more diverse programming on more platforms. we've also made commitments to reassure our c

president, i ask contessa that once -- i ask consent that once the time on the barrasso amendment expires that the amendment be set aside. the presiding officer: the senator from montana does not have the floor. mr. baucus: well, can the senator from montana ask for the floor? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming has the floor. would the senator from wyoming -- there is a unanimous consent request pending to offer an amendment. is there objection? mr. baucus: mr. president, reserving the right to object. would the senator agree to modify as follows -- that once the time on the amendment -- your amendment expires, the amendment be set aside until a time to be determined by the leaders. the presiding officer: does the senator still modify his request? mr. barrasso: yes. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. baucus: no objection. the presiding officer: without objection, so report. the clerk: the senator from wyoming, mr. barrasso, proposes an amendment numbered 3582, at the end of sub title b of title 2, insert the following -- mr. barrasso: mr. president, i ask the read