and today the governor's picnic is in fairbanks. they figured we'll just do it on the third picnic day, and everyone will be gathered there already and it will be a good day for her to give the speech. >> chris welch standing by in fairbanks, alaska, sarah palin's farewell speech about 12 minutes away, live on cnn. chris will be doing some reporting around it and candy crowley will join us here as well for all of that. farewell speech starting next hour. we'll bring her comments to you live and what will she say. >>> also we want to know what you're going to be saying as well on twitter, facebook, myspace and ireport.com. >>> you're probably used to having information at the tips of your fing youers but soon it could be in your line of sight, too. gar tuck man has tonight's "line of discovery." >> reporter: in movies like "terminator," robots can do anything with their eyes. but bionic vision isn't just for hollywood anymore. researchers at the university of washington are hard at work creating so-called electronic lenses, contact l

this is happening in fairbanks, alaska. we have our entire team, part of the best political team, candy crowley in washington, she will guide us through this event. criswell ch is our all-platform journalist there on the ground. she is saying this is a farewell. some are saying, hey, it is possibly an indication of what is to come. hello, everyone. i'm don lemon. let's get to it. candy crowley standing by. the stage is set. sarah palin is there. what do you think? >> i think we are not going to learn a lot about the overarching question here and that is is he going to get back into elected politics. i think we won't know that answer for a year or 18 months. i think she is a better politician than a lot of people give sarah palin credit for being. i think she understands how to play the options. i think that is what she is doing right now. >> for folks who are saying this is the end of her politically her stepping down. i wouldn't bet the farm on it. she is very popular. some people like the renegade, what was the term she u

her picnic-style tour in fairbanks. we ask what's next. >>> new swooi worries. >>> recession regression. is it finally over? new hopeful signs of a turn-around. >>> food fight at popular restaurant chain comes under legal fire for breakfast fare. >>> hitting the wall, a race car driver's harrowing moments in the fast lane. >>> good morning to all of you. 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 k

dan springer live in fairbanks, alaska. and we'll come back to you as soon as sarah palin steps up to the podium. thank you very much, we'll see you in a few. well, president obama setting the deadline back in early june to the most ambitious political undertaking of his first term. at that time, the president, confident of democratic majority in the house and the senate could deliver health care reform legislation by congress's august recess. but, by last thursday, senators from the president's own party killed any hope for that. well, now, the only agreement in washington seems to be the old health care deadline is out and a new one is in. >> the president's task is continued progress on this. he set a deadline to poke and prod congress into losing-- as you well know having spent any time in this town, without a little poking and prodding not a lot gets done. we're please today see progress, as long as we see continued progress, we think we're on the road to getting comprehensive health care reform by this fall. >> i thin

i have been in fairbanks and i love fairbanks. it is where our state started with the constitution and it is the right place to start today. god bless you fairbanks. i look forward to the future and working for alaska. >>[applause] >> thank you, very much, lieutenant governor. i first met the governor sean parnell was served on the house finance committee. that was back in 1993. over the years, i appreciated his calm demeanor and his sense of fairness. as we grapple with tough state legislative decisions and state fiscal policy. he brings to the office a wonderful suite of experience, having served in the legislature, practicing business law and the private sector, he served as a deputy commissioner and as lieutenant governor. in trying to figure out exactly how this changeover would take place, the governor gave me a call and indicated that after having the attorney general's office look into the matter, the interpretation to go to different ways. but having looked at those two options, and knowing it could tip either way the gov

not bless you, fairbanks. -- and god bless you, fairbanks.lause] the future of the state of alaska. [applause] >> thank you very much, lieutenant governor. i first met john cornell when we -- sean parnell when we are first elected to the house of representatives -- i first i have appreciated his, demeanor wonderful range of experience, the synod in the legislature, -- and the senate in the legislature, practiced business law and private sector, served as a deputy commissioner, and of course, as lieutenant governor. in trying to figure out exactly how this change over would take place, he gave me a call and indicated that after having the attorney general's office look interpretation was a could go to different ways, whether the legislature had to be involved and get that confirmation or not. having looked at the two options, and knowing it could go either way, the governor chose to go with full legislative involvement. there was no need to pit one branch of government against another. there was a sensible process to move forward with, and tha

norah o'donnell joins us live from fairbanks. >> reporter: this is it for sarah palin. in just a few hours, she will resign as governor. she's going to do it here, at a ceremony. and she used her twitter account to tweet that she traveled from anchorage here to fair banks in a camper full of kids with coffee, listening to country music. sarah palin spent her last full day as governor at a picnic in anchorage, serving up hamburgers, hot dogs and alaskan salmon. >> from the bochl my heart, how much i thank you and love you. >> her farewell started in her hometown of wasilla, dressed in a red, right and blue patriot sweatshirt. >> i won't take my time at the podium to talk politics today. we could do something more worthy than speaking politics. we'll be honoring the families of those who have loved ones, who have served or are serving today. >> reporter: today, she arrives in fairbanks with thousands already gathered to celebrate the golden day parade. many people say they don't like she's leaving office early. >> i am disappointed. wish she had stuck it out. >> we're goi

it is with thousands of folks in fairbanks and that is where we find our own dan springer live in fairbankshere, sarah palin is serving up hot dogs an salmon burgers? >> reporter: she's doing what she does every year and every governor before here has done, come to the fairbanks fair grounds here, and she serves up hot dogs, and cake and pie and all of that stuff but, this time her line is about 200 deep, and about 6 rows deep and people with cameras, trying to get an autograph and here he's treated like a rock star and her popularity dipped since last fall when she was introduced by john mccain as his running mate when her approval rating was up around 60%, and now it is 40%, nationally and here in alaska, she is tell enjoying wild popularity, in fact here at the -- in the park in fairbanks, i would say, almost everybody i talked to her here wants to see more of her and want her to do something on the national scene, beyond what she has done so far. >> gregg: dan you are a terrific reporter and i'm sure you have been able to convince the out going governor to tell you, what you -- she plan

she is going to deliver a farewell speech here in fairbanks in front of the second largest wooden boat in america. she's going the use this huge picnic, this annual golden day picnic to make that announcement, to give that farewell speech, to turn over the reigns of power to the lieutenant governor. a couple of interesting pieces of information, she used her twitter account last night to tweet that she packed everybody up and a camper full of kids with coffee to travel seven hours here to fairbanks. she also said she had been listening to country music, all kinds of stuff, listed all that. the other interesting piece of information to share with you based on some of my reporting is the reaction here from some of the people in alaska. we actually went out to the golden day parade yesterday, talked to a number of residents here who were largely supportive of her decision to leave office. but they did say they wish that she would have stayed in office. they understand, essentially, why she's leaving. they say they wish she could have toughed out another year and a half. listen what they t

>> norah o'donnell in fairbanks tonight.hanks, norah. >>> well, in dozens of cities around the world today, demonstrators took to the streets to protests hundreds of arrests, beatings, even killings in iran after last month's presidential elections. inside iran, meanwhile, the regime arrested several more people who gathered in solidarity with today's demonstrators. >>> and in honduras for the second day in a row, manwell zelaya briefly made his way to the nicaraguan/honduran border, just itching for a confrontation with the government that threw him out. all of this is putting the u.s. in a difficult position. kerry sanders is on the border and spoke directly with zelaya today. kerry, good evening. >> reporter: well, good evening. exiled president manuel zelaya said he's coming back again to the border, maybe even get later tonight. he arrived here with several hundred supporters who are urging him to return to honduras to reclaim his presidency. he was deposed at gunpointune 28th, fleeing the country in his pajamas. while

>> norah o'donnell in fairbanks for us tonight.ah, thanks. >>> another republican announced today he will be leaving office. senator jim bunning of kentuy said he won't seek a third term in 2010. the 77-year-old baseball hall of famer was considered the single most vulnerable republican in the senate. >>> when we continue on "nightly news" for a monday night, sending a message about the most dangerous thing they say you can do behind the wheel. every sunday, lasagna at mom's was a family tradition. when she started forgetting things, i was hoping it was nothing. grandma! what a nice surprise! mom, it's sunday. that's when i knew i couldn't wait. mom's doctor said these were signs of alzheimer's, a type of dementia, and that prescription aricept could help. he said it's the only treatment proven effective... for all stages of alzheimer's. studies showed aricept slows the progression... of alzheimer's symptoms. it improves cognition... and slows the decline of overall function. aricept is well tolerated but not for everyone. people a

to be here in fairbanks today brings us back full circle.over 50 years ago, on a hill not far from here, our delegates wrote alaskas constitution. today we peacefully transfer power, a transfer envisioned by those delegates. i am delighted that a few of those visionaries' remain with us. people like the former lieutenant governor, who is with us here today. [applause] we thank these wonderful people, all the constitutional delegates and their staff for their lasting service and determination and their love of alaska. today i also want to honor and say thank you to my friend and our governor, governor sarah palin. i want to say thank you [applause] ] i want to say thank you to todd and to the palin family and to the heath family. [applause] i am thankful to have served alongside such an hon., good, and decent human being. from the beginning of her administration, she set about to restore trust and build a future for alaskans. she stood up for all of us. i want to say thank you, governor, for holding fast to your principles. thank you for your

we're just near the fairbanks princess hotel here. i think i mentioned earlier that pat buchanan was still asleep upstairs. we hear he's gone down for breakfast. just kidding. we don't know that he's here. he's a huge sarah palin fan. if only, i know he wishes that he were here. an interesting thing about fairbanks, because we are pretty far north here in alaska, just read that a short time ago that fairbanks is actually the only city in the world that has the largest stretch of temperatures, all the way from 66 below fahrenheit, to 99 degrees fahrenheit. no other city on the earth has such a wide range in terms of temperatures. so this is a pretty unique place. >> okay. you know what, i'm going to excuse you, because you've been up since god knows when. you've been on with us since 3:00 in the morning your time. you are such a rock, but that's going to be your last take. >> i know. >> i'm kiting you off. no, i'm kidding. okay, norah. >> i have no sleep. no sleep. let me tell you, sunset was at 11:30 last night, i believe, and the sun

i was at the golden day parade in fairbanks yesterday. met up with a woman actually dressed up as sarah palin. kind of looked like her. here's what she had to say. >> i have the sarah thing going on. always. always. i was very proud to say was from alaska when she started running for president. >> reporter: but are you disappointed that she's stepping down? >> a little bit. just very, very sad to see her go. but i think she'll be back, with a vengeance. >> reporter: that's kind of really the sentiment, that people were disappointed, that she's leaving office early, not angry with her but wish that she would have stuck it out. there was concern that the "quitter" label would stick with sarah palin. of course there is a lot of supporters for her here in fairbanks. this is actually where she was sworn in to office as governor. she'll be leaving her term with a year and a half left and turning it over to the lieutenant governor. it always happens right here. >> that person that you had spoke to, you said she looks kind of like her? are you ki

. >> reporter: hi from fairbanks. on how many thousands of people actually showed up for this event. but with the nation watching, this audience was in the millions. governor palin answered those who she says, still don't believe her. why she left her job early. >> and it should be so obvious to you. i felt it is my duty to avoid the unproductive, typical, politics as usual, lame duck session in one's last year in office. how does that benefit you? with this decision now, i will be able to fight even harder for you fors what right and for truth. and i have never felt that you need a title to do that. so as we all move forward together, let's vow to keep championing alaska, to advocate responsible development. and smaller government and freedom. >> reporter: former governor palin insisted she had no hidden agenda for leaving her job a year and a half early. >> i promised to steadfastly and doggedly guard the interest of this great state like that grisly guards her cubs. as a mother naturally guards her own. and i will

nbc's chief washington correspondent norah o'donnell is live in fairbanks, alaska. good to make you smile! what are people saying now, some almost 24 hours after sarah palin has stepped down? is there new news or new thoughts about her opportunities going forward? >> look. this is alaska. most of the people here love her. i mean, she may be out of office but she is is not out of words and i think what is most remarkable about that farewell speech yesterday was how fiery that speech was and how she used it as an opportunity to take some parting shots, whether at her opponent, the media, or hollywood starlets as she said. i mean, one of the most striking things that she did talk about the anti-hunting, anti-second amend amount group she called the hollywood starlet. she said hollywood needs to know we eat, therefore, we hunt. this was pure palin yesterday. >> drill, baby, drill. >> drill, baby, drill, that's right. she made clear yesterday that she plans to continue to be a voice. she did not say what she is going to do next. what i've been -- what i learned over the

nbc's norah o'donnell, live in fairbanks, where it's only 6:00 a.m. don't worry, i'm putting out the brownie points for you norah, we know that the governor will be attending another picnic tomorrow. she's saying good-bye this weekend. has she said anything about what she's going to do next? >> you know, she hasn't. i mean, she's ending her term as governor but she's also sort of opening this new chapter in her life. and what next step sarah palin takes is still a mystery. yesterday she spent time in her hometown, wasilla, you just pointed out. talking to more than 1,000 supporters there, interestingly she had that red, white and blue new england patriots jersey on that says, once a patriot, always a patriot. she's literally serving the people of alaska in anchorage at a picnic where she's going to be dishing out food to them at the governor's picnic. then she heads north here to fairbanks for the final farewell, where she will turn over the reins of power to the lieutenant governor and she is resigning this office with still a year and a half left on

we'll have a dispatch from fairbanks. captions paid for by abc, inc. >>> good evening. as president obama fights to bring about healthcare reform, the cdc released a study today that reveals the stark cost of obesity. obese americans are now responsible for almost $150 billion a year in healthcare costs. that's nearly 10% of all medical spending. and with one in three adults now clinically obese it seems that the message of eating less and exercising more is still struggling to get through. but is there something in the food we eat that may be adding to the problem? juju chang now reports for our series "you are what you eat". >> bacon and egg and cheese sandwiches. a lot of that kind of stuff. >> greg wells is a recovering addict, but his vice wasn't heroin or meth, it was available over the counter. the grocery store counter. >> i loved salty, snacky, sweet, anything. my problem is that once i'd start i wouldn't stop. >> the 44-year-old father of two weighed 431 pounds and his size 56 pants were tight. he suffered arthritic bursitis in his knees. he could barely make

fox's dan springer is live in fairbanks at that site, where the picnic will take place. dan, good to see you. what else is going on today, on what will be her final day in office? >> reporter: hey, good morning, eric, that is right, in eight hours, governor sarah palin bums private citizen sarah palin. and -- becomes private citizen sarah palin and they are setting up the stage behind me and noon local time will be at pioneer park, fairbanks, alaska and do the tradition all this governors before her have done, serving food to the people that come to the park and 2:15 will board the boat behind me and have a private reception with v.i.p.s and family members, and, that -- at 3:00 will walk down the plank to the stage, and at 3:00 local time will give her final speech as governor and will hand over the reins of power to sean parnell, her lieutenant governor. >> eric: and the big question is what will she do? we know that she signed a big book contract and will give speeches around the country. you know, a lot of people speculating she'll try a run for the white house on her

one interesting other thing i learned about fairbanks. it gets 40 below here in wintertime and they never cancel school and they even have recess if it goes to 20 below. very hardy folk here. >> kudos to you. this is your third shot already today. thank you very much. it's beautiful, too. see you again in an hour. >>> well, today, new pictures of a powerful tornado. florida authorities are assessing the damage of tornadoes that tore through communities near tampa friday. more than 160 homes were damaged. one person is recovering from minor injuries. a strong storm also pounded parts of north dakota and northern minnesota. golf ball-sized hall and winds of up to 60 miles an hour left behind an estimated $250,000 worth of damage there. >>> let's go to bill karins there. let's ask you to talk about the damage. >> mobile homes and tornadoes never quite a good mix. thankfully that mess is over with from yesterday's collision over florida. today, the trouble spot is up there ohio, indiana, southern illinois, down through tsouther st. louis. thi

here, serving hot dogs at a picnic in fairbanks. shortly, she will walk on this riverboat for a brief ceremony. and then, officially step down from office. handing power over to the state's lieutenant governor. >> it breaks my heart. we voted for her. >> reporter: she made the drive into town on in a camper, with her husband and kids. writing on her twitter page. no reflecting. no looking ahead. >> i think we'll have a smooth transition. we'll have a new governor who is boring. and it will be back to politics and government as usual in alaska. >> reporter: the whirlwind political the journey of alaska's youngest governor ended a year and a half early. but why? can you say how you plan to work for the people of alaska? >> her political action committee has raised more than $1 million just this year. next month, she's been invited to appear at a gop event at the reagan library. and there's talk of a book deal. but the self-proclaimed hockey mom isn't saying what her plans are. and neither is her husband. >> very happy to serve the res

norah o'donnell is in fairbanks with the latest. >> reporter: after tonight, sarah palin will no longer be governor of alaska. it's a job that earned her a spot on john mccain's presidential ticket and national prominence. she's giving up that power, she says, to be free to do what she wants. sarah palin chose pioneer park in the crowded annual governor's day picnic in fairbanks to say farewell. she thanked her constituents as she served up free food. she won't say what's next but her husband, todd palin, tells nbc news she's not going to disappear. >> as far as running for national office, i mean, that's not in her future right away. >> reporter: that was a big strain on your family. >> that was a great time. the positives outweigh the negatives. >> reporter: still, even her own brother and father have no idea if sarah palin wants to be presesident. >> wdon't talk about politics, we talk about family and sports. >> reporter: people here have strong opinions about what sarah palin should do next. these three women here are from mississippi. >> i want her to get back in the ring. >> i'd

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 she's got a year and a half left on her term. it's interesting, she's spent the last couple days at picnic all across this state. she was in wasilla, her hometown. 1,000 people showed up there. she was in anchorage yesterday at a big picnic. stayed for three hours serving up hamburge

chris joins me now from fairbanks. good to see you.e on the phone all day with us, going through this. about 2,000 people show up, and these are ardent supporters of the former governor. >> right, i mean, for the most part, all people who are basically in love with sarah palin. it was hard to find anyone who disagrees with her. there was one particular group of signs that said they'd rather see palin to texas, quitting was her best move. these are the rare people. this is her home turf. this is not was sill la, but it is fairbanks, alaska. these people are people who have, quite frankly, adored sarah palin for quite some time now and a lot of them sad to see her go. some of them even saying they wish she hadn't made this decision to quit. i talk to one man leaving today who's a dissenter, not a person who exactly shares the views of palin. he said that he basically like to see her move to texas, only time he'd like to see her back here is maybe for a fishing trip in the summer. for the most part, people saying we'd love to see her run

this is not wasilla but it's fairbanks, alaska.hese people are people who have, quite frankly, adored sarah palin for quite some time now and a lot of them sad to see her go. some of them even saying they wish she hadn't made this decision to quit. i talked to one man who was leaving today who's a dissenter. not a person who exactly shares the views of sarah palin. he said that he basically like to see her move to texas, only time he'd like to see her back here is maybe for a fishing trip in the summer. for the most part, people saying we'd love to see her run for president in 2012. i'd get behind her for, that i'd love to see her do that. they basically want to see a good future for her. they don't want to see her leave the limelight any time soon, that's for sure. >> chris welch, our all-platform journalist in fairbanks. thank you very much. much more on this with the best political team on television. just a little bit here, what about her future and what's behind this? we'll discuss that. >>> also, some political comments from

dan springer is live in fairbanks, alaska. the soon to be former governor is serving hot dogs today, is she? >> hot dogs and salmon burgers, of course, in fairbanks, alaska, right, jennifer? the final stop of the goodbye civilian tour and it is here in fairbanks where she had her inauguration ball two and a half years ago. we are expecting about five thousand people to show up to say goodbye to her, pose for pictures and get her autograph and at 3:00 local time she will be on the stage giving a final speech. 20 minutes we are expecting to thank the people of alaska for supporting her over the years and then after that the lieutenant governor is sworn in and she officially steps down as governor of the state and moves on to the next chapter of her life, whatever that may be. >> that is the question, has she given any indication about her future plans? >> well, she has been teasing us and indicateing that she is not going go away quietly. she does a lot of tweeting on the twitter page and has been saying that she is not going aw

. >> her resignation became official yesterday in fairbanks. gave a fiery good-bye where she criticized the media and took a dig at hollywood, and explained why she decided to leave a year and a half early. >> it is because i love alaska this much, sir, that i feel that it is my duty to avoid the unproductive, typical, politics as usual, lame duck session in one's last year in office. how does that benefit you? >> what is next for sarah palin? according to our spokeswoman, nothing, quote, there is absolutely nothing planned after today. no meetings planned, no flights booked, nothing. but she is expected to attend an event in california next month, so that is not quite accurate. norah o'donnell has been in alaska. she's in fairbanks and shannon moore, the progressive radio host, norah, as fiery as ever, an incredible set of circumstances yesterday. >> no doubt. i mean, she's out of office, but not out of words. this was a fiery farewell speech. she took some parting shots at opponents. the media, even hollywood starlets, in her words. it was pu

and we are live with fairbanks on this early saturday morning.is where governor palin will attend another picnic tomorrow. what is sarah palin saying in the final hours before stepping down as governor? >> reporter: good morning. it's dark still out here and cold all the way here in alaska. today is sarah palin's last full day in office and as she's ending her role as governor but beginning the next chapter of her life. still not clear what the next step for her is. that's still a misery. yesterday, she was in the hometown of wasilla. here she had on this read sweatshirt that says once a patriot, always a patriot and addressed supporters and talked about the importance of patriotism. listen. >> my heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones in this service to our country and let us do all that we can. let us do all that we have in our power to show support for those families, unless that ultimate sacrifice, let them never be in vain. >> reporter: now, today she is going to be in anchorage attending the governor's picnic there, literal

norah o'donnell, nbc news, fairbanks, alaska. >>> defense secretary robert gates says the u.s.' offer to engage iran is not open-ended. he made the comments this morning while meeting with israeli defense minister in jerusalem. ba d . >>> police today are trying to find out why a family mini-van was traveling in the wrong direction crashing into an oncoming suv killing four young girls and four kids. >>> french president collapsed while jogging sunday, was airlifted to a military hospital and was kept overnight for testing. he was released today. the health scare was blamed on heat and being overworked. >>> severe weather hit parts of the northeast over the weekend. two tornadoes were confirmed in western new york state. one near buffalo left a jumble of fallen trees, utility poles and power lines. there were no serious injuries. >>> you're up to date rye now at five minutes past the hour. now let's get another check of the weather from al. he's already in key west where matt is on his way, looking like a nice day there, al. >> we're warming things up for matt. it is going to ge

nbc's norah o'donnell live in fairbanks. what is sarah palin saying in these final hours? >> reporter: it's a very crisp, cool morning here for sarah palin's final full day in office. she's saying thank you to the people of alaska and her supporters, but not saying much about what her political future holds. of course, that's the big question. that's the big mystery. she's attending these picnics. yesterday, she was in wasilla with that red sweatshirt on that said, once a patriot, always a patriot. she addressed supporters there and talked about how important holding the officer of governor has been. listen. >> how do you overcome the negative or the down day. i said, oh, no. it is not a down day. my son called from iraq. it is always a good day. >> reporter: there you hear sarah palin talking about her son in iraq, saying she doesn't have many down days, especially when her son calls in from iraq. today, she's going to be in anchorage, serving the people there. then she comes north, here to fairbanks, where she'll hand over the reigns of power to the lieutenant governor.

it is in fairbanks she'll step down. no word on whether it's the end of the road.or "good morning america," neal karlinsky, abc news, anchorage. >> thanks, neal. >>> the tour de france didn't turn into the tour de lance as it has for seven times but the champion cyclist did accomplish one thing he's not in the past, he became a fan favorite of the french. we're near the finish line in stt champs-elysees in paris. >> reporter: good morning from paris. that's right. lance armstrong due to finish here on the grand champs-elysees, in third place, but it doesn't matter. he's won a legion of fans. it has been a gruelling journey for the seven-time winner, weeks of rain and heat, punishing steep mountains, twists and turns and enduring that from behind the leader his 26-year-old teammate alberto contador but by holding on to third place in saturday's leg of the race, which some say is one of the hardest climbs in cycling, armstrong has secured a corner on the winner's podium. >> on to his wheel. >> reporter: 37-year-old former champ may not have found victory in his comeb

correspondent dan springer is in fairbanks. >> on her last day as governor of alaska, sarah palin handedut hotdogs, then served up a helping of red meat in a farewell speech aimed at fellow alaskans and a wider audience in the lower 48. >> by the way, hollywood needs to know we eat, therefore we hunt. >> at the fairbanks' picnic thats was her last official event as governor, palin came out swinging at the media for personal attacks on her and her family, saying america's volunteer soldiers are willing to die for reporters. >> so, how about in honor of the american soldier you quit making things up? [applause] >> one other thing for the media, our new governor has a very nice family, too, so leave his kids alone. >> then she turned her focus on democrats' plans to expand the reach of the federal government. >> we can resist enslavement to big central government that pressures hopes an opportunities. beware of accepting government largesse. it doesn't come free. >> private citizen palin gave no indication what her immediate plans are, other than to say she will be speaking her mind, a new

she will turn over power at a ceremony in francs -- fairbanks. you can watch the speech is an ceremony tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> this week, james cliburn is our guest. healthcare is a moving target. where do we stand? >> in the house we are closer to consensus. we're not there yet. we have had meetings, all day yesterday, thursday, later into the night, and friday morning we works on a, and around 10:00, we had success on a critical part of this having to do with reasonable disparities. one of the big problems happened to be the fact that some states have investment rates much lower than they should be. we have concerns with that. so we're trying in this legislation to make sure we lock people in with a disadvantage to these disparities and we're trying to put in the process of boom allowing us to focus on the value of health care. part of what we have been hearing around the country -- some of you may have read the "new yorker," comparing mcallen, texas with al pastor, texas. that is the kind of thing we're trying to work

she's significant. >> great reporting up in fairbanks, alaska. pat buchanan is an msnbc political analyst, and democratic strategist karen finney is communications director for a long time with the dnc. patrick, it looks to me like sarah palin is looking at the pat buchanan playbook. she wants to do what you did. she's had a very short public career in elected office, but that doesn't seem to mind. people don't seem to mind that. can she run basically as a commentator? as a person who doesn't like new york, doesn't like the media, doesn't like washington, doesn't like the government, doesn't like l.a., hollywood, can you run a completely negative rhetorical campaign basically? >> well, if you're the out party and let's say she's out there in 2010 raising money for the party at state conventions, going in for candidates who invite her in, yeah, the red meat, she rallies the faithful, she rattles the cages of the media and the liberals like no one else can do, yes, you can do that in an off-year campaign. but if you're running for president of the

nbc's norah o'donnell's in fairbanks, alaska. norah, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. sarah palin may be out of office but she's not out of words. it was a fiery farewell speech and she took a shot at her opponents, the media, and even hollywood starlets. >> some still are choosing not to hear why i made the decision to chart a new course to advance the state. and it should be so obvious to you. >> reporter: sarah palin said she's stepping down to avoid what she calls petty politics like the ethics charges that have dogged her time in office. >> with this decision now i will be able to fight even harder for you, for what is right and for truth. and i have never felt that you need a title to do that. >> reporter: before more than 5,000 people at fairbanks pioneer park, she scolded her opponents in alaska and beyond. >> we are facing tough challenges in america with some seeming to just be hell-bent maybe on tearing down our nation, perpetuating some pessimism and suggesting american apologetics. >> reporter: s

. >>> palin will officially step down as ceremony in fairbanks sunday. >>> after the space walks, astronauts space shuttle vo"endeaur" got much needed off time today. >>. ♪ i see the light >> smooth sound of peter ga gabrielle. 13 astronauts in orbit. and the international space station. ndat led to complaints about long lines for the restroom. >>> check out theie vw from space. piureesom cromhe tom newly refurbished thel sc e comet or atol cdlide with jupiter. itre catedli a debris field the size of earth. possibly creating a traffic jam of a different kind. >> wow. >> yeah, pictures from space. great to see. >> hubble telescope. worth its weight in gold. >> yeah, ah, worth quite a bit of gold, matter of fact. >> all right. hot day today. >> it was. >> the weather? >> i did. july. you know, you expect it. >> definitely finally got july weather in july. go figure. good evening, everyone. yeah, warm day today. we jumped into the low 90s. it was very humid. now we have a loon of thunderstorms moving across the area, these storms are producing heavy rains and gusty winds. and even some small ha

she turned over the reigns to lieutenant governor partnerel during a ceremony in fairbanks today. in her speech earlier this afternoon, she warned against big government. >> we are facing tough challenge necessary america with some seeming to be hell bent, maybe, on tearing down our nation and suggesting american apologetics, suggesting perhaps our best days were yesterdays. >> she remained tight-lipped about her own plans for the future. >>> the president usually discusses a delicate matter of peace -- in the case of the black harvard professor arrested in his own home by a police officer, he plans to broker peace using a much more simple tactic. here is the story. >>reporter: call it "brufky diplomacy." they have each accepted president obama's offer to join him at the white house for a cold beer. >> i know sergeant krouly told the president he was game and i read that the professor is the same way. hopefully we can get that done in the next several days. >>reporter: he was called to investigate a call involving " black guys" at his home on july 16th. turns out it was gates tryi

what happened sunday night in fairbanks, alaska, was further confirmation. >> it is because i love alaska this much, sir, that i feel it is my duty to avoid the unproductive, typical, politics as usual, lame duck session in one's last year in office. how does that benefit you? >> reporter: sarah palin officially stepped down as alaska's governor without defining her next step. >> i will be an interested observer. i do want to see a woman elected president. i hope it's a democratic woman. >> reporter: many of her supporters would like to see her on the 2012 republican presidential ticket. her political action committee has raised more than $1 million this year. >> what she's heading to is a lot of money and continuing fame. so, she's not giving up anything. she's gaining a great deal. >> reporter: nearly 20 ethics complaints have been filed against palin. when she announced her resignation, she said she was tired of unfair treatment and focus on her family. former lieutenant governor, shawn parnell, was officially sworn in as the new governor at a picnic, where the outgoing female governor

at 7:00 p.m., eastern, and, next hour fox's dan springer will join eric and me live for -- from fairbanks alaska for a preview and the governor will speak there before her swearing-in of her successor and you want to see that, coming up the next hour. >> eric: "fox news alert." he's the fiery conservative pro-american president of france and this morning nicholas sarkozy is in the hospital, apparently he was playing sports, at the weekend retreat, near versailles and he remains in the hospital and have no more details, and not considered serious or life-threatening but something obviously happened and he is an avid runner and came to new york a couple of weeks ago with his wife, karla bruinsy and went running -- karla bruinsy and went jogging in central park and is a firebrand for france and has been taken ill, nothing serious but remains at this moment, in the hospital and we'll bring you an update on president sarkozy's condition and what could have be fallen him on sunday morning as we get it hear at fox news and the senior republican on the judiciary committee says he knows how he'll@

she spoke yesterday in fairbanks.ss reminiscent of the style that made her a republican star as the gop's vice presidential nominee. like everybody else, we are intrigued at the notion of sarah palin as the republican party savior. we will talk about that in a moment with rich galen but first, sarah palin bidding farewell to alaska after cutting short her single term in office. >> thank you so much. oh, thank you so much for that very warm welcome. what an absolutely beautiful day it is and it is my honor to speak to all alaskans, to our alaskan family, this last time as your governor. and it is always great to be in fairbanks. the rugged, hearty people who live up here and some of the most patriotic people you will ever know. one thing you are known for is your steadfast support of the military community up here. i thank you for that and thank you, united states military, for protecting the greatest nation on earth. together, we stand. first, some straight talk for some, just some, in the media, because another right