we start with julie mason, of the "washington examiner," the white house correspondent of that paper. lovely to have you. brian kelly, the editor of "u.s. news and world report," one of the new multimedia publications both on the web and with a monthly magazine. lovely to have you back on the broadcast. for the first time, we have john -- julie mason -- john mulligan of the president's journal. -- the "providence journal." and linda kenyon, tell us about salem radio. >> we are and national radio network. we have well over 1000 affiliate's across the country, and my main duty is to cover the u.s. senate. i also do 10 to join me somewhat frolicsome our house correspondents from time to time, when i served. >> most of the white house is not very frolicsome these days. we are all a little quieted in washington because of the death -- especially journalists -- because of the death of senator kennedy. many of us knew him. i think john wrote a very beautiful piece about him. what does it mean that he is gone? >> we shan't see his like again, as they say in my hometown of boston. i think undo

julie mason of "the washington examiner." and bob franken of "politics daily." ear every sunday -- a bigger part in, every saturday and at 9:30 a.m. eastern on the radio. julie, where is this anger among the well-addressed to the to these meetings to raise the barricades? there was a fun that little is used to have about that. the great unwashed liberals in the street. now, we have the super well- washed, squeaky clean destroying or certainly upsetting and bring a degree of angry debate into downhaul meetings -- into a town hall meetings. >> no one would never cover the before, and now we cannot stop covering them. robert gibbs accused white house court -- the press corps of being disappointed because the president was not screened at in there was a bit of truth there. a lot of people went thinking that there would be fireworks, and there really was not. >> it is certainly ramp up. as you said earlier, there are five bills. yet, these people are certain they know what is in them. this is very frightening. >> of these are people who do not believe what they read a

for the first time, we have john -- juli mason -- john mulligan of the president's journal. -- the "provence journal." and linda kenyon, te us about salem radio. >> we are and national dio network. we have well over 1000 affiliate's across theountry, and my mn duty is to cover the u.s. senate. i also d 10 to join me somewhat olicsome our hou corresndents from time to time, when i served. >> most of the white hou is not very frolicsome these day. we a all a little quiet in washinon because of the death -- espially journalists -- because of the death of senator kennedy. many of us ew him. i think john wrote a very beautiful piecabout him. what does it mean that he is gone? >>e shan't see his likegain, as they say in my hometown of boston. think undbtedly, it is the end of an era, which may exist for most of us in memy anywa but we are not going to see new crop of peoe who so skillfully blast away at the republican oppition one minute and then throw their arms around individual conservates to invite thefor a drinand make deal the next minute. >> why is that? why s that ability -- why is that go

julie mason is the white house correspondent for "the washington examiner." julie, to be a fly on the wall for both of those meetings. >> indeed. can you say awkward. bill clinton just arrived here at the white house. photographers caught him going in. we don't know if he's going to come out and speak to us, but, man, i would love to hear that conversation. >> julie, picking up on something monica said. the state department is really saying that a scheduling conflict prevented secretary of state clinton from being at the white house at the same time as bill clinton even though mrs. clinton's meeting with obama was at 1:30. bill clinton's meeting is at 4:00. a scheduling conflict? >> i know, it strains credulity. we have hurricane bill, we can't have hillary clinton in there as well. too much clinton for the obamas. >> i'm curious to know what the clintons will sit down and discuss tonight at dinner regarding their meetings. >> it's true, and she will never say. you know, he doesn't have much to say about it either. i think we will hear more about these meeting

julie mason what is this enduring fascination, even in this international context with the bill and hillary soap opera? they are cat nip, so interesting, when he got involved in the story it just blew up. he brought it to a conclusion, so it did become news, but you're right, there's something about the clinton's involvement in it that makes it better. >> you have clinton undertaking this delicate rescue mission. he doesn't even speak when he brings the journalists home. some are saying there he goes again, hogging the limelight. >> imagine, bill clinton didn't have anything to say? >> was the news. >> that was the news. he conducted himself very well. it's interesting that all the fears on the -- at the outset of the administration that bill clinton would be this loose canon, rolling around the world exploiting his situation and his wife's office have proven not to be the case. >> and those fears were constantly emphasized on television or pundits saying this guy will overshadow his wife. was the media just wrong about that? up until now he has not exactly hogged the spotlight. >> what the

give it some room to breathe. >> julie mason, thank you very much. always good to see you. >>> for the latest reporting and exclusives from the nbc news political unit, logon to firstread.msnbc.com. >>> three major league baseball players this morning are recovering from what could be described as their worst nightmares on the diamond. check these out. >> oh, boy. >> that's a scary moment. it is david wright of the new york mets lying there yesterday after taking a 94 miles per hour fast ball straight to the head. wright remained motionless before the trainers tended to him. he left the game with a concussion. wright was not the only player hit in the head yesterday. >>> ooh. hit in the head is ian tinsler. he didn't lay there. he got up. he was smoking mad though. and yet another player hit in the head. >> and a shot -- oh, hits corona, into the air, corona is down on the ground. oh, my goodness. it hit corona it appeared right in the head. >> that might have been the scariest of all three incidents. the los angeles dodgers pitcher there remained do

i'm joined live from washington by julie mason, white house correspondent for "the washington examiner." good morning, julie. >> good morning, alex. >> let's talk about the president. we'll talk about his vision for the economy on wednesday. what kind of a tone do you expect the president to take? what is his message going to be? >> alex, the administration has been waiting to have some good new on the economy. i think it's true public concerns about his handling of the economy, particularly the stimulus has hurt his push on health care. they've had a little good news this past week and really hitting hard on this idea that the stimulus is working, the economy is starting to turn around, the recession might be over. we're going to hear from him for the next few weeks more about the economy than health care. >>> the president has said certainly on numerous occasions, the economy recovering, it's not going to happen overnight. given where unemployment stands, where unemployment is scheduled to go by most analysts which is further downward, how long do you think the public is willing to w

. >> i'm joined live from washington by julie mason, white house correspondent for the "washington examiner get a sense the president really believes that the public option is just a sliver of health care reform or is he trying to downplay how much a hit his health care plan would take without a public option? >> you're absolutely right. they're trying to downplay it. if they have to give up the public option they may be willing to do it. they start signalling that a couple weeks ago saying that might be on the table if that's what they need to get this done. >> take a listen. >> how in the world can a private corporation providing insurance compete with an entity that does not have to worry about making a profit, does not have to pay local property taxes, they do not have to -- they're not subject to local regulations. how can a company compete with that? >> the notion that somehow just by having a public option you have the entire private marketplace destroyed is just not born out by the facts. and in fact, right now you've got a lot of private companies who do very well competing against

mason announced his retirement july 13th, but it seems he's had second thoughts. the wide receiver called ravens' owners this morning and he expects to hit the field tomorrow morning. sam saunders will have more coming up in sports. >>> a baltimore city police officer is on administrative leave tonight after a police- involved shooting in northwest baltimore. police say an officer was on routine patrol early this morning when the alarm went off at a convenience store. it happened in the 4700 block of garrison boulevard when the officer noticed the store's door had. pried open. >> upon entering the convenience store, a suspect, who was wearing a mask, lunged at police with a knife-like object. police officers fired once striking the suspect in the head. >> that knife-like object turned out to be a long screwdriver. the suspect is reportedly in critical condition tonight. >>> flames break out in the brooklyn neighborhood this afternoon. baltimore city firefighters responded to the 5700 block of stafford road. firefighters are able to get it under control. the fire i

for mason, who announced in july that due to family issues, he was retiring. but after thinking it over, he opted to return. he is back with the team. made that one catch last night. mason says he's grateful for how baltimore greeted him at the stadium last night. >> i >> i think now that they welcome me back. because they could have said -- they could have held it against me that i did retire. so suddenly. but i think they understand and appreciate what i do. >> derek did a great job, just like he always does. and he picked up where he left off. he didn't lose his step. he kept himself in shape and everything like that. it's definitely good to have him out there. >> receiver marcus smith made one catch last night. it's his last from this year. he suffered a torn ligament in his right knee that will require surgery. so he's out for the rest of the season. ranks practice in westminster tomorrow morning, at 8:45. preseason from pittsburgh. receiver had a spectacular catch. holds it in against the helmet of arizona defender carlos dansby. pittsburgh got two touchd

brett favre -- i'm sorry, i mean, derrick mason has decided to unretire. on july 18th, he decided to call it quits. pull up the old rocking chair and watch football on tv. less than three weeks later, he's making a comeback and will be in camp tomorrow and many ravens fans will sleep good as he catches this ball tonight. the last time the boston red sox faced orioles pitcher david hernandez, he had their number. this time, he would have to go up against 12-4 josh beckett. trouble for hernandez in the first inning. caught up with the fastball, hits it out to left field. boston up 1-0. but david is unfazed. next batter gets a strike out. he would go four innings and give up only two runs. that second run, he he'd give up, would be to kevin youkilis, who had a four-hit game including his 19th home run and yes, they were up 2-0. now, in the sixth inning, jones beats out a hit to single then. markakis would get a single. nobody would be out, but they get a double play and no run. pt very next inning, the first two batters get on. beckett then goes to wieters and double

. >> reporter: in july, those paranormal thoughts were validated. the masonon paranorm society contacted the theater about claims it had received that the theater was haunted. they wanted to investigate with video and audio equipment. on the night of the ghost hunting, the maryland theater along with the investigators gathered here for six hours in the dark just waiting and watching for something to happen. nygainthsee anything but they heard several things. caught on electronic voice phenomena. sounds not audible to humans. in one recording in the boiler room. mickey is one of four men present when it picks up a woman's voice. >> that's when the heard the little girl's voice say, can i have a pillow. >> reporter: in another recording, also in the boiler room, the paranormal investigator asks, do you like working here. >> a voice not in the troop whispers -- whispers no. the theater dates back to 1915 and hosted countless performers and vaudeville acts. a fire in 1974 destroyed the front of the building killing one man. as far as anyone else -- as far as anyt

legg mason closed down more than 2%. [ closing bell ] >>> on wall street, a mixed day to end the week. the dow caps off its best july in some 20 years. closing up more than 17 points. the nasdaq dropped nearly 8 points, and the s&p gained just shy of 1 point. >>> if it working, keep it going. that's what washington appears to be saying tonight about the cash for clunkers program. with money for the program dwindling, congress has stepped in to keep the deals rolling. >> you might call it a tune-up for the cash for clunkers program. with funding running on e, the house approved an additional $2 billion for rebates for the purchase of new more fuel- efficient cars. >> it is good for the auto dealers. it is good for the manufacturers. it is good for suppliers. it is good for workers. it is good for the state. >> reporter: the new money comes from another stimulus program but retreads the original concept. >> we've been as busy as we have been in years. some deals have already run out of inventory. >> reporter: edmunds.com is predicting an 11% increase compared to june in part of the buzz generated by the cash for clunk

july to 9.4%. job losses slowed to just under a quarter million, the lowest in a year. the white house tonight is cautiously opt misks. optimistic. here's anthony mason. >> reporter: the bad news is getting better for the job market and the economy. >> this morning, we received additional signs that the worst may be behind us. >> reporter: after averaging more than 600,000 jobs lost in the first three months of the year, for the past three months, the average loss has been cut by half, but the drop in the unemployment rate isn't all good news. >> the unemployment rate went down because a lot of people, more than 400,000 people, actually left the labor force for whatever reason, they've just decided to give up looking for a job. >> reporter: and more than a third of those unemployed, five million people, have been out of work for more than six months. that's a record. >> all of our jobs are posted on the web site. >> reporter: a thousand people turned out for a job fair in new york this week sponsored by monster.com. is the job market getting better at all? >> i think a little. >> her head hunting firm had 10 job openings. >> today that's pretty good.

julie carey has our report. >> i will move virginia forward and he will take us back. >> reporter: before a crowd of supporters george mason university, democrat creigh deeds framed the campaign ahead as future versus past. in the speech and in a newly released ad, he alliance himself with policies and approach of mark warner. he portrays his opponent, bob mcdonald, in line with the economic policies of george bush. deeds echoed a theme he rolled out in northern virginia a few weeks ago. mcdonald's legislative record of supporting abortion will mean he will focus on these issues. >> didn't sponsor one bill, not a single bill to create jobs through economic development, needed resources to education. instead his public service has been a career long pattern of focusing on social issues. >> reporter: mcdonald focused on job creation. his campaign fired back with in statement. if creigh deeds thinks blowing the dust off an old playbook amounts to major new announcement he doesn't get what the voters of virginia are looking for in their next governor. the mcdonald campaign also continues to hammer deeds with another criticism

mason a homecoming fit for a king on his case a receiver. >> we read an article he had done an interview. >> reporter: it took place after he announced his retirement on july 13th. after some thought he changed his mind and announced he he would continue to play. the veteran receiver la meanted that he was not feeling the love. >> in buffalo he went to the airport and got a band. ky not even get the girl scouts to come out. that's bad. >> it is what it is. >> you know better than mason if you ask you shall receive. >> he is a good player and tough i thought it was sad when he retired. >> this is fun i think it is a good experience for the girl scouts. >> for the former titan retired raven, retired receiver. he says... >> the girl scouts cheer you on what better cheer could you have? >> he says the decision was not a ploy for money after talking with family members he should have, quote, finished what he started with the laffens. he wanted to lead a good example for the children. >> i hope they bring him cookies. >> they gave him cookies. >> they did he will eat all of them. >> what more could he ask. >> all right let's talk about the weekend now. beautiful

mason a homecoming fit for a king, on his case, a receiver. >> we read an article where he did an interview. >> reporter: that interview took place after he announced his retiemplet on july 13th. after thought, he announced he would continue to play. the veteran receiver said however that he wasn't feeling the love after resigning with the ravens. >> in buffalo, not even a day and he went to the airport and got it bad. i'm like, man, i got it here four years. i can't even get the girl scouts to come out. that bad. >> reporter: if you ask, you shall receive. >> he's a good player and stuff and i thought it was bad when he retired but i was happy when he came back. >> it's a good experience for the girl scouts. >> reporter: as for the former titan, retired raven, re-hired receiver, mason says -- >> the girl scouts come out here and cheer you on, what better cheer bunch could you have? >> none at all. mason says his decision to retire was not a employ for more money. he said after talking with family members, he determined he should, quote, finish what he started with the ravens. >>> what's better than a slice of watermelon? maybe a free slice of watermelons. watermelon que

mason reports. >> reporter: stocks surged as the unemployment rate dipped. the dow gained 113 points on the promising job numbers. 240,000 jobs lost in july. still bad news but getting better. >> we're losing jobs at less than half the rate when i took office. >> reporter: more than a third of those unemployed, 5 million people, have been out of work for more than six months. that's a record. >> what industry are you? do you have a copy of your resume? >> reporter: 1,000 people turned out for a job fair in new york this week, sponsored by monster.com. >> you would be responsible for relocation -- >> reporter: alice was recruiting for a small mortgage company. in the latest survey of job postings on the internet, monster.com is beginning to see a turn in some industries. retail, the energy sector and transportation all showed small growth last month. along with government hiring. >> i think we're hitting bottom. we're not bouncing up yet. that's a little ways in the future. >> reporter: if the trend continues, the economy could begin to create jobs again by the end of the year. anthony mason, cbs news, new york. >> joining us to discuss the