jacob lew, rick santorum and senator joe lieberman will join us soon. first, death of singer whitney houston. ♪ and i >> didn't she almost have it all? whitney houston was beautiful and talented with music in her soul and her blood line. sheep was the daughter of a gospel singer, cousin to dionne warwick, areit na franklin her godmother. she had a voice that could range five octaves cross over from gospel, r&b and rock. career blossomed in the '80s, skyrocketed in the '90s. multimillions of albums sold, leading roles in "the body guard" and multi millions in income. a tumultuous marriage and drug addiction. >> i'm my best friend or worst enemy. >> houston divorced and got clean, she said, and try a comeback releasing an album in 2009, going on tour. but time and trouble had taken an obvious toll ♪ whitney houston never got her comeback but as the news swept over last night, music industry giants called in to cement the legacy of that voice. >> this is going to be one of these times where you're going to remember where you were when you heard the news, i

♪ amen, omen >>> joining me here in washington, white house chief of staff, jacob lew.to be with you this morning. >> let us start out with what has roiled certainly some in the catholic community, i know has really set the white house off in trying to get things situated. and that is this idea that catholic universities, catholic hospitals, should have to pay for contraception for its employees as part of its health care plan. the white house comes back with a compromise and says, well, the health insurance companies will contact the women in these facilities and offer contraceptive services. and the women can accept or not accept. and the health care -- the health care provider, whatever, will pay nor it. is that where we are right now? >> well, let me actually tell you where we are, candy. the president's had a consistent position throughout this. he has two principles that are very important. one is that all women have a right to all forms of preventative health care including contraception. secondly, in the greatest tradition of this country, we have to respect the

jacob lew and rick santorum will be david gregory's guests. check your local listings.irst the white house soup of the day. this is really narly. coconut crab. i wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole. maybe you would. if you're adventurous on a friday, coconut crab. it just sounds gross. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. we want to protect the house. right. but... home security systems can be really expensive. to save money, we actually just adopted a rescue panther. i think i'm goin-... shhh! we find that we don't need to sleep that much. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. what do you get let nowhen you combineour way. the home depot with this weekend? the cure for cabin fever. because with... get-it-done savings on

senator santorum will be a guest on "meet the press" sunday along with new white house chief of staff jacob lew. >> now to the other top stories of the morning from tamron hall at the news desk while natalie is on assignment. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. violence is escalating in syria as two explosions slammed syria's largest city for the first time since the start of a popular uprising. syrian state tv said military and security buildings were targeted killing at least 25 people and wounding at least 175 others. meantime tanks are surrounding homs cutting off and bombarding civilians as food, water and medical supplies run critically low. >>> new details in the murder-suicide of josh powell and his two young sons. powell told his 7-year-old son charlie that he had a big surprise for him just before attacking him and setting the house on fire. this according to ithe social worker sent to supervise the visit. she heard the younger boy, braden, crying as she was blocked from entering the home. officials say a computer in powell's home was found to have pornographic images that led a