nbc's kelly o'donnell joining us from capitol hill, and also with us is washingtonpost.com's chris cilliz cillizza. let's listen to what president obama had to say this afternoon. >> now we've got to get over the finish line, and part of this process is figuring out how to pay for it. i've said that health insurance reform cannot add to our deficit over the next decade, and i mean it. >> now, it seems to me that this was a direct response to what cbo director douglas he willmandorf said testifying on thursday. let's listen to that. >> we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the tra detectivetory of federal health spending by a significant amount. on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs. >> kelly o'donnell, the president came out with an unscheduled statement about health care today. was it in direct response to this guy that nun has ever heard of but that you know very well, the cbo director that came out with estimates that indicated the health care reform plan was indeed going to add

we have more on this story from nbc's kelly o'donnell on capitol hill tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. one senator said he won't be able to sleep at night after what we heard here today. there is a new report that shows serious weaknesses in security at federal buildings. so serious, real bombs got past the guards. you're watching a security breach. government investigators shot these pictures as they carried bomb-making materials through security at a federal building. ten times at ten different buildings guards failed to detect explosives that officials say could do this. hiding in federal building restrooms, investigators put together improvised explosive devices that could be even more powerful. >> assemble the ied, walked around several floors, into executive and legislative branch offices with the device in a briefcase. >> senators were disturbed. >> i am in one of those buildings. there is hundreds of people in there. >> reporter: the federal protector service provides guards at 2,300 federal buildings nationwide. >> how do y

the answer to our "hardball" quiz question about kelly o'donnell in the first segment tonight is, c,ne of the above. if you missed the question, you can rewind your tivo to the first segment or wait for the encore performance much later tonight. >>> time for the "sideshow." first up, an unlikely trio. remember this surprising three shot at the white house back in may? well, if you were taken aback, you weren't the only one. here is president obama last night touting education reform at the naacp. >> and let me say this, if al sharpton, mike bloomberg, and newt gingrich can agree that we need to solve the education problem, then that's something all of america can agree we can solve. those guys came into my office. they're sitting in the oval office. i kept on doing a double-take. >> mr. president, we all did that double-take with you. >>> next up, counting the days. it sounds like sarah palin's planned exit date, july 26th, couldn't come soon enough for her. check out what the soon-to-be ex-governor of alaska posted on her twitter page this morning about her newfound freedom. quote,

>>> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill. kelly, thanks. because nobody knows how long the cash for clunkers will last, the rush to cash in is on and some dealerships are overwhelmed by buyers who want to trade in and trade up. nbc's chris jansing in los angeles at largest ford dealership in the world with more on that. chris. >> reporter: thank you very much, david. behind me are some of the 150 cars already turned in here at the dealership, an indication of how successful the program has been. but it has also been chaotic with dealers and customers wondering how long until the money runs out. sharon bellio was back at the dealership today after a long night last night. >> it was a madhouse. it was crazy. >> thank you for holding. >> reporter: phone lines have been jammed with customers. >> thank you for calling -- >> reporter: nervous customers anxious to buy cars before the money runs out. >> last night was a big night with the confusion if the program was on or off. we did 30 vehicles last night and had people here until 3:00 in the mor

brian. >>> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill for us. kelly, thanks. >>> depending on where you live where you drive, some times you see them at construction sites. signs that are designed to herald the stimulus money being spent on roads and on-ramps and the like. it was a lot of money, $787 billion in the end. it was five months ago. it was supposed to fix and build a lot of things and put a lot of people to work during a time of high unemployment. and the white house isaying -- be patient. the story tonight from our senior investigative correspondent lisa myers. >> reporter: at this road project in maryland, a sign tells all who pass by, that the money for repaving came from the stimulus package. the obama administration has encouraged states to put up the signs which can cost as much as $1,200 to reassure the public that the stimulus is working. jason dodge certainly thinks it's working. >> i was really happy. took a lot of pressure off my shoulders. >> reporter: he has three children and was unemployed until this job came through in

brian. >>> kelly o'donnell with the story from the hill for us tonight. kelly, thanks. >>> tonight we have a dramatic change to report along the u.s. border with mexico. in recent years it has been a wild west of illegal immigration, but now, because of a sustained crackdown and a weak economy, things are actually showing improvement. our own mark potter reports tonight from the u.s./mexico border. >> reporter: on the mexican border at el paso, the daily game of cat-and-mouse is under way. between u.s. border patrol agents and mexicans trying to enter the united states illegally. >> wait to see if a group comes across. they have been testing us in different areas. >> reporter: with more border patrol agents, more cameras and the huge border fence, it is much more difficult than it used to be to cross illegally from mexico to the u.s. >> now we control this border. we own this border. it is our border. >> reporter: this man climbed the fence but was caught right away. >> there is just too much vigilance out there. it's hard to not get seen. >> reporter: off

first, kelly o'donnell at the capitol with a look at where all this stands tonight. kelly, good evening. >>> good evening. the heat on health care was really turned up today. it was the president who lit the fire. after lots of rumblings here in congress they were losing momentum, might miss their own august deadline, the president jumped in. >> well, i think that the most important thing for people to understand is that the system as it is unsustainable. >> reporter: that declaration delivered with one of the president's high profile tools, sit down interviews offered to the network top medical reporters amplifying the message with a quiet power of a rose garden backdrop. >> i want to be clear. >> reporter: tactics to leverage mr. obama's appeal and persuasion to demand action on health care reform. >> we are closer than we have ever been to fundamental reforms that provide people choice, make health care affordable. >> reporter: on capitol hill, a milestone. plans from both the house and senate. >> aye. >> reporter: today with no republican support, democrats on a k

correspondent kelly o'donnell with us tonight for more on that. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. clearly the president wanted to get in the last word of the week. we added that quick speech with a state your name and unwavering message for congress. the issues are basically cost and time. it really set off alarm bells when the congressional budget office said that the plans would increase spending, not reduce it. and today, key democrats and republicans, moderates the president needs, made a direct appeal to the white house asking for more time to resolve these differences. but as you'll hear, the president's answer was a definite no. >> those who are betting against this happening this year are badly mistaken. we are going to get this done. we will reform health care. it will happen this year. i'm absolutely convinced of that. >> reporter: and what happens here next week will be critical inhis debate because the differences are still so wide. the president did soften a bit acknowledging this is tough work. but he is not yet ready to

kelly o'donnell, nbc news, washington. >>> that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you, as always, for being with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

. >> joining me now is nbc's kelly o'donne o'donnell. ot of news today and a lot of folks commenting on that. also the questions of temperament came up later on this afternoon. how do the supporters of the judge feel she fared through all of that? >> there are two very different ways of looking at the day's events. supporters of judge sonia sotomayor feel they didn't lay a glove on her. that was a phrase from one senior administration official. meaning the republicans did not draw the blood that perhaps they had hoped to. also, i think widely viewed that she composed herself well, she was prepared. it was a grueling day by anyone's standards. i think anyone can feel a sense of sympathy for her, to be under those hot lights and facing tough questions all day long. it was difficult in that there were repeated questions about the remarks, the wise latina remarks that have gotten so much attention. she did use that kind of idea several times over several speeches in ten years and the republicans were chipping away, trying to find out if she b

. >>> joining us now to talk about today's vote is nbc news correspondent kelly o'donnell. kelly is live on capitol hill this afternoon. kelly, this was a rare victory for gun control supporters. congress tilted towards pro-gun issues in recent years. talk about that. >> it is an issue that, of course, is a cultural touch joan and reflect as lot about where people come from. as youaw the democrats in virginia did vote in support of this. and there were 20 democrats that also said this was a good idea. and when you study where they come from, they are largely from the west or places that view gun ownership differently than you find in the big cities. it was big city democrats who largely led the fight to bring it down. those who were in support of the idea saw a little bit of room for them because as you pointed out, 58 votes, majority, but not that 60 they needed. so those close to senator and democrats of south -- i'm sorry, republican of south dakota, that brought this to the floor, his office says he will try again. it has been one of those issues that has always been a p

let's bring in nbc's kelly o'donnell is with us from capitol hill, as well as david with "the new york times." kelly, let me start with you. i know you ran into the senator last night. he was in good spirits. what are you hearing about how this may affect his schedule? >> well, as he described it, it will be a light schedule and perhaps he is fortunate in that that real heavy lifting of the committee, that work was finished and we know that he knew throughout that very tense and exhaustive process on what they call the health committee, the bill that does include the version includes the public option, that he knew all along he had this. so now, he's got a chance to catch his breath, have the surgery done, to work from home. what's also interesting about his re-election issue, you may recall senator edward kennedy taped a commercial for him. so now, you'll have these two mens who have been friends seemingly forever, facing different kinds of cancer, but it does add a human quality. when you have chris dodd trying for his sixth term in the senate, he was a member of the house before tha

nbc's kelly o'donnell is on capitol hill. kelly, good to see you. let's talk about max baucus and his coalition of the willing. we've got the names here. chuck grassley, you've got olympia snowe, whom we interviewed yesterday. mike enzi, orrin hatch, kent conrad, jeff bingaman. is the future of health care, certainly in the finance bill, in whether or not these democrats and republicans can come together? >> reporter: well, this is really a focus, andrea, and if you'll indulge me for a moment, it was like the lightning round watching you and ron. you covered more ground in that segment than i can imagine. >> we have so much fun. >> reporter: and i will not be disclosing any of my holdings during this report. just having fun. the group you talked about is crucial. because you've got moderate republicans and you've got what i would call the timekeepers. this is a group that wants to slow the process down a bit after president obama has said he wants it done in august. the house is certainly pressing. they had their foot on the gas today with committee

nbc's kelly o'donnell. thank you very much. >>> now for the bigger picture at this hour, there are plenty of signs out there that the economy is rebounding. the closing bell just rang on wall street. stocks rose again. investors were encouraged by new numbers that showed the economy contracted less than expected in the second quarter. the dow gained 17 points. july was a hot month with the dow up almost 8.5%. it's the biggest monthly gain in nearly seven years. president obama also heralded today's numbers on the economy. >> this morning the gdp revealed that the recession we faced when i took office was even deeper than anyone thought at the time. it told us how close we were to the edge. but the gdp also revealed that in the last few months the economy has done measurably better than we had thought, better than expected. >> the gdp numbers show the economy contracted at a slower than expected pace of just 1% in the second quarter. that's after a free fall in the first quarter when the economy tumbled at a

kelly o'donnell over in the senate booth. how is the lineup, the divisions now among those senators? we'll hearromour more senators when they com back from break and then we'll hear the sbrintroductions by the n york senators of sonia sotomayor. but the divisions on ts committee, so far, very poite, very collegial. the critics have not beenery hard eckled. reporter: well, andre i think this ian important mo for each of those senators in their home states as well. not just the importance on the judge hersf and this incredibly critical phase in her career to be, perhaps, asceing to the higst court in the land. but remember, each senator has an opportunity to spe to his or her home constituents as we. so they'll be judged byheir conduct, are they respectful, are theyaying out key points. and wve seen repcans alady setting a stage for wanting be tough,ut often feing the needto say tat they'rbeing respectful, in ca anymissed it, theyant to reinforce that. and you heard from ndsey grah, for example, of suess, sayio the judge tt unl

kelly o'donnell, talk to us about strategy here., the president learning i guess from that town hall yesterday by the questions that were asked by the audience and the message that he needed to deliver today. >> definitely we're seeing different emphasis. it be be a cause and effect and the more town halls you do, the more opportunity to hit different points. he put out a written statement this afternoon talking about what's happening here in congress and giving pra praise to the blue dog democrats, those conservative democrats in the house who have been so much a part of the negotiations. by doing that, the president still trying to signal this tone of bipartisanship without really talking about the specifics in the written release today. got into a lot more detail when talking with citizens. here on capitol hill, there are some headlines. on the house side they have agreed to a bill in the committee, and that will be voted on they expect before they all go home. what we now know is the full house will not vote on health care refor

nbc news correspondent kelly o'donnell joining us from capitol hill with more on this. this is a disturbing story. >> craig, this was so alarming one senator said he would not be able to sleep at night until this is resolved. you set it up for us. there are 9,000 federal buildings across the country. many of them here where we lived and periodically there are the security checks, surprises thei company ves testing, where they try to get past security seeshgs if they are doing their jobs properly. and what they found was that in ten examples, ten for ten, they were able to get bomb making materials passed security. they were able to go to a restroom and assemble a bomb, put night a briefcase, walk around all through a federal building and near offices of lawmakers, near places where citizens would go, like social security office, and that kind of thing undetected. and that report is making people here on capitol hill very nervous. trying to figure out how can they fix this. >> you said ten for ten. does that mean every time they tried it or was -- were there at least a

nbc's kelly o'donnell.at seeing you, thank you. >>> many people are trying to categorize if this is a big blow to the president's plan, and if this might continue, if we might see little notches at health care reform and eventually maybe not see it. >> well, tamron, it certainly is true it's easier to kill something than actually produce something in a complex environment like congress, but one thing that's starting to come out is some of the idea that maybe the long they are went on the worse it would get for president obama. i suppose it could be true, but it's also true if the economy continues it get better, the market continues to rebound and some of these other issues do better, than you could also argue, make a case that the president's hand might be strengthened somewhat. we'll see what happens when lawmakers come back from the august recess. >>> meanwhile, california governor arnold schwarzenegger, remember him? he says he supports president obama's effort to reform health care. the governor, who i

this is from our own luke ru russert reporting from the hill, and we'll be talking to kelly o'donnell in a moment. but we saw today texas republican congressman, jeb hensarling, he's against it. he says, cash for clunkers is another example of the government picking winners and losers and enshrining us as bailout nation. >> i don't know. listen, there were former federal reserve officials that i spoke with many years ago that you might know of who have oftentimes talked about whether or not you let the free market work during a crisis or whether the government, including the federal reserve, step in. and the gentleman i talked to at the time said, listen, in theory, i believe that the free market should work, but in practice, letting something fail or letting an industry go is not a social experiment i'm willing to undertake. and we got to that point here, where the government had to step in and provide the stimulus. whether or not we're picking wirn winners and losers here, i think it's largely irrelevant. i'm more concerned about the unintended consequences of the climate change bil

>> and kelly o'donnell covers congress and the battle for health care for "nbc news." and clarence page works for the "chicago tribune" and cath leek parker works for the "washington post." and david brooks works for the norgets. you know how sometimes you can see a turning point in front of you. this is what happens now. barack obama confronts resistance as congress gets down to the birth pain of his biggest prize, health care. the daunting project that is worrying people. the auto industry and the national debt, by some estimates has reached 30% the size of our economy. plus the federal deficit could top 2trillion dollars this year and then the $1 trillion that conservative estimates that health care well cost. he says nothing will stop him. >> i love the people that got us in this mess and said it is obama's economy. that's fine. give it to me. my job is to solve problems and not stand on the sidelines and harp and gripe. >> he's taken ownership, is he going to be the commanding force on the fight on health care? >> i wish. they made progress out there they a husban

let's bring in nbc's kelly o'donnell. she's live from capitol hill. so, kelly, gibbs says this is the drill. the line of question exactly what many of us suspected, when it's about alleged racial bias, gender bias, and the different cases the judge has heard over her many years. >> reporter: and the judge herself certainly expected this in all of the preparation that she has done. she knew the topic areas. she knew the types of senators who would be tough, who would be friendly. she must be thinking i love new york to have chuck schumer there to sort of help her out after what has been a rough grilling from jon kyl of arizona who gave her no wiggle room on the issues of ethnicity, prejudice, the wise latina comment. here she has chuck schumer, the person who was in effect her guide through the meetings with senators in the early phase of her nomination now trying to help her, if you will, with going over some of the points that he thinks are most flattering to her case and a bit easier for her to talk about. imagine just for a moment, she has been sitt

join meg tonight, kelly o'donnell, msnbc's rachel maddow, host of the rachel maddow show. and dr. "dr. nancy" on msnbc. kelly, what do we know about his speech, the opening remarks. >> good evening, chris. the president really has two audiences. to the general public he wants to make a case that health care reform really affects every individual, not just those who have a very personal need already. those without insurance, those who have a pre-existing condition or people who fear or experienced medical bankruptcy. he wants to get more americans thinking in terms of what this would mean for them. the other audience is in congress. will the president repeat his deadline of trying to get this done by august? i suspect he won't, because we heard from a top democrat today, dick durbin of illinois that he believes it just can't be done that quickly. that's been critical. the president wants speed with this in order to have the political momentum to get it done. so i suspect we will not hear the president repeating that deadline. but he'll try to encourage congress to get over the polit

kelly o'donnell joining us now from the senate. talking now about sonia sotomayor and the hearings so far. as you know better than anyone, the senators are all in their policy lunches right now, the tuesday luncheons, so they will be back. the hearings will resume at 2:00. but what they are doing now is laying out their political points. these are the lines of division where you've got the portrait of sonia sotomayor as a judge who follows precedent, who in 17 years has rarely been overturned, coming from patrick leahy and the majority. and on the other side, they're portraying her as an activist, who would judge based on her emotions, her prejudices, her ethnicity. these are very difficult portraits to try to reconcile. >> that is the road map, as you've outlined it, andrea. and the benefit of the lunch break is that i've been able to be in touch with some of the people who have been the inside the sonia sotomayor camp. people who have been working with her through this process. and their early assessments after just one-half of o

with more on where things are, we're joined by nbc capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell.me i see put you. what is the latest? >> that's kind, carlos. we are watching for all different ways this is playing out. congress takes the august break. part of that, of course, they take a vacation but a lot of it is important especially for the house side because they schedule a lot of events back home in their districts which are very much a part of their re-election strategy so changing that messes things up for them. so there is always resistance to work into the recess. but there have been some rumblings that they might work longer or perhaps work behind closed doors during the recess time to keep this going forward. there had always been hope they could get something done before breaking and now it appears more likely that it would be the committee, the committee that is involved with those blue dog democrats you hear so much about, perhaps they could get their bit worked out before the break, more than bringing it to the entire floor. that sort of is the state of play as we s

we go to kelly o'donnell in the senate right now.ic is it they could have something by the august recess? >> now, we're seeing president obama become sort of the nudger in chief. he's going to use the bully pulpit, his appearances to hammer away at congress. to put the pressure on them to get this done by the deadline he has set. the house side has gotten their committees together to put together a bill that meets what the president is looking for. today, what really stood out in a very long process in the committee that has been run by chris dodd in the absence of senator kennedy, they've come forward with a pack that gives the president much of what he wants. basically, the big key thing there is an opportunity for a government-run insurance program that would compete with private insurance. that's something the president wants very much. there are still big questions thousa thousa though. the committee has not come to terms with its plan yet. they're trying to have a bit more bipartisan support because today was a party line vote.

and here with me, kelly o'donnell, our chief congressional correspondent. savannah, let's try to parse where we are in both houses. kelly, first to you. let's talk about the house. nancy pelosi says that she would win a vote on the house floor, but she won't take it to the floor until she knows says the votes. and right now, she doesn't. she doesn't have an agreement with the blue dog democrats. they need those blue dog democrats to even get it out of committee, get it out of henry waxman's committee. >> exactly, to follow this you need a calendar and a chess board. the speaker keeps wanting to speak in very positive terms, indicating that she can do this. other members of the house, even influential leaders, are saying the votes aren't there yet. a lot of what is happening is going on behind closed doors, where we don't have a real sense yet of what the negotiations are going like on chairman waxman's committee. that is the committee on the house that is still working with those blue dog democrats. they say they are going piece by piece through it, trying

nbc's kelly o'donnell is on capitol hill to explain that. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. i've been watching all of your coverage, and the global interest in michael jackson, and i would have never thought i'd have a capitol hill angle for you. but today, i do. and like so many things with jackson, there's controversy. ♪ who would have thought she was about to be starting something. the most powerful woman in politics said no to the king of pop. >> i don't think it's necessary for us to have a resolution. >> reporter: no on a vote to honor michael jackson. house speaker nancy pelosi appeared uneasy. >> we're into the popular culture now, and michael jackson was a great, great performer -- >> reporter: kind words are enough for the speaker, who says she will not permit the house to celebrate the superstar with a formal bill. but wait, at jackson's memorial, senator sheila jackson lee promised that honor with millions of jackson fans watching around the world. >> this resolution 600 that will be debated on the floor of

. >> kelly o'donnell, thank you very much. >> inhe bigger picture today, theone of today's hearing certainly appeared to be cordial, but under the surface, itas easy to sense the ep divisions among party lines nator hatch pointed out views with regard to federal judges. watch. >> senator called it quote offensive and cynical end quo to suggest anominee can give her past for abuse he poved it by voting twice to filibuster the nomation and then by voting again her confirmation. toy, we urge to ignore judge sotomayor's speeches all together and foc on herju additional decisions. >> meanwhile, feingoldpointed out -- >> fm a 201 speech takenut of contest haverompted some to charge she's aracist. i lieve at no one who reads the whole speech could come to that colusion. >> former dean of harvard law scol, first of all, welco. did y get a sens today as far as where the battle lines will be tomorrow in terms o titutional issues? which particular areas of t law does it look like there will be something to watch tomorrow? >> wre going to see that we're pitting three decades of sonia experience as a law

. >> let's go to kelly o'donnell. let's start with the big one, did he make a compelling case for change? did the president leave the american people with a big message tonight that will reverberate on capitol hill why we need to act now? >> well, chris, i think when you look at those key questions, the president offered bits and pieces on all of them, touched on topics. were they a convincing answer? i think there's real questions about that. when you're talking about the capitol hill perspective, their very steeped in that here. what struck me is when he was asked more than once about things americans might not be able to have access to, tests and there's a negative connotation called rationing. and would americans have a change in the kind of is services they could get, he was reluctant to answer that at first. he did come around to it and didn't use the same words that the questioner put to him. but he did say there would have to be changes, he couldn't guarantee there would be changes and some of the things would

. >>> kelly o'donnell is nbc capitol hill correspondent. there are a number of ads or one in particular running say why punish americans for a simple pleasure? what has been the reaction from the white house at least when it comes to this sugary stacks or syntax we're talking about? >> the suggestion box has been full up here. we're trying to find creative ways. what we're hearing from the administration is there is some thought that, if you were to levy a tax on sugary drinks, that might reduce obesity. another huge problem that often, of course, results in cost in the health care system. that's something that certainly the president would like to see, less obesity creates a healthier lifestyle, reduces overall medical costless. here on capitol hill the sugary tax is not getting a lot of traction in part because, as you would expect, the american beverage association is opposed to that. they raise the question about why sugary drinks, why not breaked goods, why not other less-than-healthy foods. it's a coast of trying to come up with a cre

drugged up stat two daysat president bush was asked about his role in th bedside drama by our own kelly o'donnell. >> si did you send your then chief of staff and white house counsel to the bedside of john ashcroft while he was ill to get him to approvehat program? d do you believe that kind of conduct from white hou officials is appropriate? >> kelly,there'sot of speck lapgs a lags about what happenednd what didn't happen. i'm not going to talk about it. it's very sensive ogram. i will tl you the programs ceary. as i said, the program was a neceary program that wa constantly reviewe and consntly briefed to the congress. it's an important part of protecting the united stes. >> georgbush's officially confirmed deion was t just by omission but also commission. the report prepared at the requesof congress also revealg in the days after the 9/11 attacks the president authorized secret surveillance activities beyond controversi waantless wiretapping, whi still haven't en made public. theyere referred to in is reports theesent's surveillance progr. equally unsettling the report also stating an unnamed

let's bring in nbc congressional or correspondent kelly o'donnell. what were the concessions?rter: just going back a moment. the defense contracts are all over the country, so you have a lot of members with things being belt in their home state or district so they could be reluctant to go along with the president on those things. that's the back story on that. shifting back to health care, we are turning the page, what's happening here now is on the house side. they are still talking in that one important committee we have been watching and they are trying to make small changes to what was really an agreement that is kind of leaning towards those conservative blue dog democrats. they feel they got something out of it, bringing down the overall cost and also changing the limitations for small businesses who would have to provide insurance, so a business that has a higher payroll would be required, but smaller businesses would escape the rule in the way it looks right now. now, on the other side here in the senate, deadlines appear to be slipping. the finance committee we have b

. >> that was kelly o'donnell reporting.ngresswoman sheila jackson lee says she will try to get more support for the resolution. aides for speaker pelosi say with so much going on in washington she feels they just need to work on some other business right now. >> new at midday, police in frederick, maryland, are looking for a man posing as a cop. slypped and searched a teenage ner the s owll broreow aa frederick on wednesday night. the teen told police the man waa ing a black uniform shirt with a badge on itwe thpolice impersonator drove a kacord crown victoria with a spotlight on it and did not identify himself to the youth. >>> a man accused of killing a baby in suit land, maryland, is in jail this morning. police have arrested 21-year-old caron wilson of d.c. in the death of 8-month-old anthony savoy. he was killed last year while sitting in his car seat. police say wilson opened fire on the car, targeting the boy's father who survived. wilson is being held without bond. s in micksae aseanar looking for a man accused of t

nbc news reporter kelly o'donnell joins us now. good to see you again. >> good morning, carlos. >> any expected surprises? any republicans besides lindsey graham likely to step forward and put a check thanks to sotomayor's name? >> no surprises but as i'm watching the hearing, each of the senators are talking about why they will vote in favor of her or against. it's been sort of like the cliff notes version of the committee hearing. what it tells us is that this is very much a party line vote. 19 members of the committee, 12 of them are democrats, so she'll have all of that support. but on the republican side, what is interesting to watch is lindsey graham said he would vote in favor of the judge, even though she would not have been his choice. he really spelled out his concerns that were so much a part of the conversation during the hearings about things she said in speeches outside of her judicial record. but he talked about why he is voting for her and that is the strength of her intellectual background and professional experien

nbc's kelly o'donnell is at the u.s. capitol. in new york, dr. nancy snyderman is with us.want to to to savannah guthrie, is there a sense from you all watching this at the white house that the president laid out a compelling chase why we need to change the health care system. >> it's clear that's what the president felt his mission was is, to explain to ordinary americans why health care reform is a good thing. i think they rise here is part of the messaging is a little bit off. it could be a little sharper on that other. expectly when you have new

let's get right to nbc's kelly o'donnell who is following the action for us on the hill. this is a critical step where this committee will then recommend to the full senate to vote on her confirmation. that's with the presumption she will be passed through. it's one that is pretty easy to make because of the 19 members on this panel, 12 are democrats. so a lot of the attention has been on republicans and what would they do and how would their vote perhaps signal to other republicans who are not members of the committee, perhaps how they should vote. what we know is of the members of the panel who are republican, only lindsey graham who is from south carolina, has come up publicly so say he will support her. he was also one of the people who was certainly tough on her during the question and answer period of the hearing. and he really summed it up by saying that she is intellectually qualified, her life experience and all of those things make her a suitable judge for this very elevated position. but he also just won re-election and has several years now before he faces the

kell o'donnell is here to explain the whole deal to us. kelly, good morning. how are you? eporr: good morning, michael and all of you. i thought you needed another o'donnell on the program. >> never enough. >> repter: here i am. >> where's norah? neverenough. >> rorter: i've come to pla this i one o those interesting things, mike because i've been a jackson fan. i was actually out in l.a. and covered the 20 time of his arrestnd being on top the car in santa brbara, that phase, aso here i am now the capitol hi correspondent and i thought, boy, i have no piece of the story. we, i was rprised. what happened is this. shla jackson-lee, eight-term congresswoman om texas who is ariend of the jackson family, she at that memorial serve, you'll remember, gave a very warm and glowing assessment and eu, if you will,of mhael jackson and she promised the crowd th there would be a vo on a resolution that laid out in grt detail the factual achievements of michl jackson's career, his records and that st of thingnd that would be put through to the floor of ngress and voted on. wellhouse spea