and british musician elvis costello's life and legend. first, republican campaigns are making debate demands. jeb bush goes for a reboot. and bernie sanders joins the ad wars. it's politics monday. as always, i'm joined by tamara keith of npr and amy walter of the "cook political report." let's start with the debate over debates. why talk about the issues when you can talk about the debates? the latest thing that happened is the candidates, representatives met and tried to come up with a common deal that they were going to present to the networks and say this is the way these debates ought to go, no lightning rounds, no show of hands, that sort of thing, except that donald trump threw a little spin on the works. >> what a surprise. >> ifill: yeah. donald trump wrote "the art of the deal" says i'm going to negotiate my own deal. i'm not going to sign on a letter with 15 other candidates. this gets to the heart of it which debates doesn't matter, this year, last cycle, 100 years ago, debates are very different for very different candidates.

he' s known for working with artists like the rolling stones and elvis costello. toussaint was 77-years-old. phil: the toy industry is making a comeback. it' s expected to have its strongest year in ten years. sales are projected to go up to 6% more than previous, almost kids have been choosing $20 billion. electronics over actual toys, but high-tech toys and toys based on blockbuster movies are becoming more popular. if you need extra cash for the holidays, you' re in luck, more than half of u.s. retailers plan to hire seasonal workers this year according to a survey by career builder.com. only 43% brought in extra help last year. retail sales are also expected to be an almost 4% compared to last year. j.c.: a little rain coming our way. a lot of rain, eventually. phil: a nice stretch so far. harvey: has not only been a nice stretch, but great weather for they are playing in new york, and it looks like it will be in the 50' s and the wind will be light as they start at 4:25 p.m. let' s get back to the current weather situations because we have rain on boston' s f

radio show hosts appears to introduce us to up and kom g is that elvis presley, elvis duran or elvis costello. >> elvis duran. >> and you have won a vacation to miami, florida. >> i think she will take her husband. >> and you will stay four nights s beach hotel kroidian. >> and you will also receive complimentary dinner and air fair included, and this is all compliments of hotel freudian. >> and we are happy for you, peggy and rick. >> god bless. >> they are so funny. i want to hang with them. >> and so funny. >> and give your hostess what you love the mostest. >> i i can't speak today. wonderful gifts to bring to any par party. >> and remember, amazon already sent it. coming up nex when people say i'm lucky to have this hair color, i thank them. but then i really thank preference. preference is luminous, fade-defying color that lasts. golden and warm and luminescent. luminous color isn't luck, it's preference. l'oreal. hair colorist. paris mmm... nothing like johnsonville breakfast sausage. delicious and packaged with nothing to hide. well there is one. folks, i'm not your grandma. just a ha

. >> ifill: and, elvis costello talks about the moments that influenced his music, and his new autobiographyy decent, dark- dispositioned person, but you can start to like it.

. - people walk down the street, they yell "alison" to elvis costello. - yeah, right. - do they yell" all the time at you? - absolutely bunk! bunk! bunk! but listen, it's gonna be the first line of my obituary, "wendell pierce, who played bunk moreland "on hbo"-- - is that right? - yes. "died at 110 today." (laughter) - hopefully, oh, my god! - so i have no problem with it. you know, if it was gilligan, it would be a different. (laughter) i feel for mr. denver. - high art!, high art! so pick your choices wisely. - bunk is not gilligan the lesson of this is that bunk is not gilligan. - i'm not going around with a little sailor hat at conventions at 75. - signing autographs - signing autographs - did you all know when you were making that show that it would be so disproportionately iconic i mean, to anything else? i would argue before or since. people still talk about that as the absolute best show ever on television. - yeah, we didn't know. it was a slow burn, i should say. i'll never forget seeing the first two episodes with andre royo and sonja sohn who played bubbles and-- - [evan]

so on the road i bought elvis costello's memoir which is called "unfaithful sons in disappearing ink,and it's the best music book i've read in some time. i have a guilty pleasure sideline in music books. so all of the books got set aside while i read that in a famished state. >> the inspiration for by the book came out of a book that i've been keeping, a kind of journal of sorts that i call bob for book of books, and i've been keeping this journal since i was 17 where i write down all the books i've read. so unlike normal adolescents, i didn't write about love affairs or angry disputes or just general despair, i just wrote down what i read. but looking back on it, it sort of tells the story of not just where i was at that time sort of in my real inner life, but also how i came to read what i've read. i could see a trajectory. if i was in a george elliot phase or if i'd been confined to books that i was buying while backpacking through china and just had to pick up whatever i could find left in hotel rooms. so i'm curious always in finding out what leads people to read what they read?

for a 2006 album with elvis costello, as seen in a b.b.c. documentary. >> ♪ we may seem happy... ♪ ♪ ... but it's a real thing. ♪ >> ifill: toussaint joined the rock and roll hall of fame in 1998 and was awarded the national humanities medal in 2013. at his death, he was 77 years old. >> ifill: still to come on the newshour, accused of a cover up, exxon's own research on climate change; the largest strike yet for a $15 minimum wage; the man who's walking across the world, and much more. >> woodruff: first, a new tack in the battle over climate change: going after energy companies for alleged financial fraud. new york state attorney general eric schneiderman recently subpoened oil giant exxon-mobil, apparently seeking documents that might show the company had down-played the risks to profits-- and therefore to investors-- of stronger regulations on burning fossil fuels. exxon's history has been the subject of recent reporting by "inside climate news," the los angeles times and others. the reporting has alleged the company misled the public ab

he appears to be in the words of elvis costello a man out of time. his time may have passed him up. have ran in 2015 and it's a funny thing about politics. the window opens up. your window of opportunity opens up. and it closes just as quickly. it's looking now like that may have happened with jeb. donny, let me ask you, i'll put the question back to you. you've got a super pac with $100 million. you have a candidate that seems to be underperforming at every turn. what do you do with that 1$100 million? it's the famous statement that you can make the dog food but can't make the dog eat the dog food. what do you do if you have $100 million and the jeb bush problem? >> you scare voters with the other candidate. we all know the only political ads that are effective are negative ones because you can play with facts. it's hard for any of these guys to come up with positive facts. you do basically a barry goldwater campaign against the other two guys. you don't even talk about jeb. you make it about oh my god we could have nuclear war with donald trump and putin will assassinate ben carso

. >> on thursday night, elvis joined the ranks of abbott and costello, dick clark and casey kasem. winston churchill once said "these are the best days", and i can't imagine them getting any better than they are now. i never want them to end. >> you don't realize how much weight he's lost. >> don't you love that these are the best days? make that our mantra. nbc.nbc. to truly feel healthy on the outside you have to feel healthy... ...at your core. trubiotics a probiotic from one a day naturally helps support both your digestive and immune health by combining... ... two types of good bacteria. trubiotics. be true to your health. guys listen up! jake, put that down point it at the ground til your ready that's not the ground leo put that down when your day goes on and on, you need 48 hour odor protection that goes on clear for no white marks. >>> wrapping it up for us, check 30 rock is right side up. it's going to look good. jenna, thank you so much for filling in while kath was off. kathie lee will be back on monday. and next week, you know who we have? >> the best? >> blake shelton,

. >> on thursday night, elvis join d joined the ranks of abbott and costello and dick clark and casey kasem. it is radio's way of recognizing his accomplishments. >> winston churchill said "these imagine it getting better than this, because i don't want it to end. >> congratulations to elvis. and you know, it is so funny that you don't know how much weight he has lost until you see it. >> and don't you love that, "these are the best day s s." make it our mantra >> congratulations. and we will be back in a moment, >>> wrapping it up for us, the christmas tree at rockefeller plaza is finally upright. thank you, jenna hagar bush. we will be seeing jenna a lot on friday s fridays and kathie lee will be back monday. and the latest of blake shelton and the daughter of sean penn, and donnie deutsche is here, because he has a new show. what is going on some >> well, it sounds like a good week. >> it sure does.

. >> on thursday night, elvis join d joined the ranks of abbott and costello and dick clark and casey kasem. it is radio's way of recognizing his accomplishments. >> winston churchill said "these are the best days"s"but i can't imagine it getting better than this, beccse i don't want it to end. >> congratulations to elvis. and you know, it is so funny that you don't know how much weight he has lost until you see it. >> and don't you love that, "these are the best day ss." make it our mantra >> congratulations. but first this on nbc. the son of a polish immigrant who grew up in a brooklyn tenement. he went to public schools, then college, where the work of his life began -- fighting injustice and inequality, speaking truth to power. he moved to vermont, won election and praise as one of america's best mayors. in congress, he stood up for working families and for principle, opposing the iraq war, supporting veterans. now he's taking on wall street and a corrupt political system funded by over a million contributions, tackling climate change to create clean-energy jobs, fighting for livi

. >> on thursday night, elvis join d joined the ranks of abbott and costello and dick clark and casey kasem. it is radio's way of recognizing his accomplishments. >> winston churchill said "these are the best days" but i can't imagine it getting better than this, because i don't wantnt it to end. >> congratulations to elvis. and you know, it is so funny that you don't know how much weight he has lost until you see it. >> and don't you love that, "these are the best day ss." make it our mantra >> congratulations. but first this on nbc. if you're looking for a medicare plan, we're health alliance. we believe in superheroes. in the slow dance at the end of the night. in being yourself. we believe in simplicity... and in doing good when no one's looking. to us, it just seems right. call now and learn more. you'll talk to a real person, not an automated system. we're part of your community, not a conglomerate. you can see the doctors you know and trust. and here is the best part. we have medicare plans that can save you hundreds of dollars on premiums. plans with prescription drug coverage

so on the road i bought elvis costello's memoir which is called "unfaithful sons in disappearing ink,and it's the best music book i've read in some time. i have a guilty pleasure sideline in music books. so all of the books got set aside while i read that in a famished state. >> the inspiration for by the book came out of a book that i've been keeping, a kind of journal of sorts that i call bob for book of books, and i've been keeping this journal since i was 17 where i write down all the books i've read. so unlike normal adolescents, i didn't write about love affairs or angry disputes or just general despair, i just wrote down what i read. but looking back on it, it sort of tells the story of not just where i was at that time sort of in my real inner life, but also how i came to read what i've read. i could see a trajectory. if i was in a george elliot phase or if i'd been confined to books that i was buying while backpacking through china and just had to pick up whatever i could find left in hotel rooms. so i'm curious always in finding out what leads people to read what they read?

so i thought elvis costello's memoir which is a song of disappearing ink and it's the best music book that i have read in some time. i have a guilty pleasure in some of the books and so all the books got set aside while i read that in a famished state. >> the inspiration came out out of a book that i've been keeping a kind of journal of sorts that i called bob the book of books. i've been keeping this since i was 17 where i write down all the books i've read. i didn't write about love affairs or angry disputes were just general despair. i wrote down what i've read and looking back on it it's it sort of tells the story not just of where i was at that time sort of in my real inner life but also how i came to read what i've read and you can see touch ejector efi was in a george eliot pays for if i had been confined to books that i was biting while backpacking through china and had to pick up whatever i could find. so i'm curious and finding what leads people to read what they've read. i like to believe it's book reviews that motivate people. [laughter] but i know that there are book club