nbc's kelly o'donnell covering from st. charles, missouri, tonight, kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. in this ballroom tonight, rick santorum supporters predict a big night for his lagging campaign. possibly his first victory since iowa. mitt romney and newt gingrich both say they think santorum can win in minnesota, do well in colorado, and here in missouri where gingrich is not even on the ballot. now today while mitt romney talked only about the president, not his gop rival, his campaign played down these three states even saying the missouri primary is a beauty contest because delegates are not decided tonight. santorum fought back and said boy, romney thought these states were important four years ago when romney won colorado. and if you're wondering where newt gingrich is, he's on a bus tour in ohio. early voting starts there for next month's primary and gingrich told us he learned the hard way that early voting is so important when romney trounced him in florida. brian? >> kelly o'donnell on the t

nbc's kelly o'donnell reports for us tonight from tulsa. >> reporter: on the christian campus of oral roberts university in tulsa, oklahoma, today rick santorum declared faith is under attack from the obama administration. >> but it's the catholic church first. it won't be the last if they get away with it. >> reporter: the new rule, part of president obama's health care reform would require religious-based employers like catholic-run hospitals, schools and charities to provide insurance coverage for birth control and emergency contraception that church teaching forbids. the political fire found more oxygen in washington today at an influential meeting of conservatives. cpac. >> one thing is for certain. this he a tack on religious freedom cannot and will not stand. >> don't let the media commentators tell you this is about contraception. this is a constitutional issue. >> reporter: furious and fighting back, many democrats argue the rule is misunderstood. >> it is time for the extreme right wing to stop playing political football with women's health. >> reporter: personal feelings an

as nbc's kelly o'donnell reports it's a heated topic on both sides of the aisle. >> reporter: the politics of contraception provoked outrage. it started on little. >> where are the women? when i look at this panel i don't see one single woman. >> reporter: this picture set off that anger when only men had a seat at the witness table. during a hearing related to contraception. >> we've been denied the right to have a witness -- >> reporter: politically the left defines this battle as a women's rights and health care equality issue. >> i may at some point be moved to explain biology to my colleagues. >> reporter: on the right, conservatives focus on religious freedom. >> constitutional liberties are being stepped upon, trounced upon. >> no man or woman should ever be forced to betray that faith. >> imagine having say panel on women's health and they don't have any women on the panel. >> reporter: and on the campaign trail, a major donor for rick santorum, wealthy businessman foster freeze, made a comment that caught fire. he started off saying the focus should be on the economy not contracep

kelly o'donnell, nbc news, washington. >> and the battle over birth control was a hot topic last night on the rachel mad dough show. president's obama's compromise is the right solution, but some people are still not satisfied. >> this is a cold, political calculation that they can appeal to the employers and the insurance companies who might not want to spend money and at the same time try to stir up some kind of misinformation among people of good faith, religious people, by calling this an attack on religion. and, you know, i think this is why people really hate politics. this isn't about trying to find a solution. president obama found a solution. he found a place where people of conviction were not going to be put in the -- in a position of supporting health care coverage that covered something that they had a religious objection to. and at the same time making sure everyone stayed covered, including that women staying covered for basic health care services. there was -- there is a solution on the table. this problem is solved. >> don't miss rachel mad dough week nights 9:00 easte

nbc's kelly o'donnell has more on the politics of birth control and women's health. >> reporter: protests today in richmond, virginia. >> our bodies! our lives! >> reporter: a flashpoint in the political fight over government's place in women's health and reproduction. so provocative, the mere mention of birth control prompted boos. >> i don't support that. >> reporter: at the republican debate. >> just because i'm talking about it doesn't mean i want a government program to fix it. >> reporter: and rare applause at a democrats-only staged hearing today. set off by the outraged democrats vented when republicans called only men to testify last week on religious institutions and birth control. >> we've heard from over 300,000 people saying we want women's voices to be heard. >> reporter: democrats invited one woman, a georgetown law student to talk about hardships for some women who don't have insurance that covers birth control. >> without her taking the birth control, a massive cyst the size of a tennis ball had grown on her ovary. >> reporter: nearly 11 million women use birth control pi

we begin on the trail tonight with nbc's kelly o'donnell in allen, texas. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. rick santorum will be dropping by this meeting of tea party activists in texas tonight. few could have imagined he would be riding so high sweeping colorado, minnesota, missouri, after that iowa win you mentioned and santorum with four victories to romney's three. making another shake-up in this wild primary season. a victorious rick santorum began his day surrounded by the prayers of a texas congregation. >> we pray you direct rick's steps as he campaigns for president. >> reporter: santorum is in his comfort zone taking on social issues and talking about faith. success is the new territory. >> one of the great gifts i had in my political career is no one ever thinks i could ever win anything. >> reporter: short on the typical necessities, money and campaign organization, santorum rebuffed presumptions that mitt romney is the republican's inevitable nominee. >> i don't stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to mitt romne

kelly o'donnell, nbc news, washington. >>> the man who will forever be known as the underwear bomber who tried to blow up that northwest airlines jet headed for the u.s. on christmas day two years ago was today sentenced to life in prison. in court, prosecutors played the videotape they said shows how destructive his attack might have been had it succeeded. our report from our justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: if the bomb umar farouk abdulmutallab worked, it would have set off a powerful explosion like this. >> two, one -- >> reporter: prosecutors played these videos in court today showing the force of a bomb made just as the fbi believes the underwear device was assembled. the demonstration was done by placing explosives on a sheet of aluminum outdoors, the government says the effect would have been devastating onboard northwest flight 253 from amsterdam to detroit. justifying a sentence of life in prison. that's just what the judge gave him, saying he poses a continuing threat to the safety of american citizens everywhere. abdulmutallab spoke briefly in court and ye

mike duffy, liz and major garrett, kelly o'donnell.ike duffy, liz and major garrett, kelly o'donnell. see you back here next week. ♪ [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first on the side. from honey nut cheerios to cinnamon toast crunch to lucky charms, get more whole grain than any other ingredient... without question. just look for the white check.

our report from capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: it started on capitol hill. >> where are the women? when i look at this panel, i don't see one single woman. >> reporter: this picture set off that anger when only men had a seat at the witness table during a hearing related to contraception. >> we've been denied the right to have a witness- >> reporter: politically the left defines this battle as women's right and equality issue. >> i may at some point be moved to explain biology to my colleagues. >> reporter: on the right they focus on religious freedom. today's gop-led hearing was prompted by that recent fight with the white house over whether religious-based employers must provide insurance coverage for birth control. >> no man or women should ever be forced to betray that faith. >> reporter: the republican chairman invited only faith leaders, not advocates for women's health. >> imagine having a panel on women's health and they don't have any women on the panel. >> reporter: on the campaign trail, a major donor for rick santorum, wealthy businessman made a

. >> nbc capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins me now. this is unusual. not a hearing. ctually in recess. and with all of the outrage the democrats felt about the hearing that you showed that image from, which was an oversight committee hearing that was chaired by republican darrell issa and began as a hearing about religious freedom. that's where it started. where it ended was very different. because women and many democrats felt that there was an attempt to silence the voices of women when it comes to the issue of contraception. the republicans who held that hearing said no, no, no, it's about religious freedom. but democrats were able to take this moment and in a sense create a new hearing. the democratic policy committee isn't a normal hearing that does traditional business. so you've got just a handful of democrats there and they invited the law student from georgetown. and also unusual, she received applause at the end of her remarks. what she was talking about is all of the health care needs women have who use contraception not just for birth control, but to contr

. >> nbc captain hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins me now from washington. explain this emerging deal. leaders from both sides agree it's a good deal, however, they want to the highlight different parts of it. >> they certainly do like highlighting different parts because both sides wants to walk away and say they got something done and it was good for their party, as well. this has really been how do you find enough cuts to pay for the continuation of some of these benefits. by continuing to the payroll tax cut through the rest of the year, extendsing unemployment benefits at the federal level for the most long-term unemployed and something that gets less attention, thomas, which is preventing a huge real economic hit to doctors who provide medicare services. something that's written into the law that if they don't make the change, they would take a 27% reduction in their fees. so important for seniors for sure. so all of those things come with a cost. and trying to figure out where they can make some cuts to pay for it are thosal weres that senator baucus

kelly o'donnell, thank you as well. >> thank you, kelly. >> good to see you. >> all right.old peace talks. but can they tamp down the protests over the burning of the muslim holy books at a u.s. air base. we'll have details after this. ok, guys-- what's next ? chocolate lemonade ? susie's lemonade... the movie. or... we make it pink ! with these 4g lte tablets, you can do business at lightning-fast speeds. we'll take all the strawberries, dave. you got it, kid. we have a winner. we're definitely gonna need another one. small businesses that want to grow use 4g lte technology from verizon. i wonder how she does it. that's why she's the boss. because the small business with the best technology rules. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006. oh there's tons. french presses, espresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships, anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that

nbc's kelly o'donnell is traveling with his campaign and she's in oklahoma city this morning. hi, kelly. >> hi, good morning, matt. well trying to keep that excitement going, rick santorum is the only republican candidate holding rallies today. he's got two of them here in oklahoma. and he's trying to draw in new donors. santorum tells us he raised about $1 million in the 24 hours after the surprising wins. and that's of course bringing new expectations and drawing new criticism from his chief rival. >> give him a texas welcome! >> riding the clean sweep momentum into a tea party gathering in texas. >> i can't think of a better place to be, to celebrate the victory for conservatives that we had in minnesota and in missouri and in the state of colorado. >> notching four-state wins with his scrappy, no-frills campaign, santorum rails against one of mitt romney's biggest strengths -- a deep, formidable money machine inside the romney campaign. >> how are you going to win an election if your greatest attribute is i'll spend more money than the other person? we need someone who has

nbc's kelly o'donnell is in tulsa, oklahoma, where rick santorum campaigned on thursday. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. i'm starting off in one of the super tuesday states where interest is getting so high that a few thousand people came to see rick santorum here inside this arena at oral roberts university. 13,000 watched it live streamed online. there is a big thing happening in washington in conservative circles. you could say this is game day where e three of the four presidential candidates will be appearing on the same stage. >> always fabulous. thank you for the welcome. >> reporter: oh, what a difference a year makes. today, mitt romney really needs the kind of warm reception he got in 2011 at the influential conference called cpac, but the mood and the stakes are different now. romney faces some of his toughest critics, conservatives who at this point have made a determined effort to keep him from locking up the nomination. romney on fox news thursday night. >> i have a record of being a strong conservative on the issues that matter. i will p

. >> joining us this morning from washington is our nbc capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell. my colleague down there. the hearing just wrapped up, kelly, what were the democrats trying to perpetuate to the american people? >> well, this was a real opportunity for democrats to create an event that shines a light on an issue they have been hammering away at for days now. and it's an issue that according to public polls, they have an upper hand. so nancy pelosi and a couple of other democrats on the committee created this event to allow the georgetown law student to come and testify. and it was not the typical event we normally see in terms of the every day hearing. there was applause here, there was praise for her, and she did have a chance to really put into words concerns the democrats really felt wither not addressed when republican darrell issa had his hearings and what he perceived as a problem with religious freedom. so sandra fluke talked about the health concerns that some women have that are not directly related to birth control, but other medical issues in which contra

. >> kelly o'donnell, thank you.a. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ to find you a great deal, even if it's not with us. [ ding ] oh, that's helpful! well, our company does that, too. actually, we invented that. it's like a sauna in here. helping you save, even if it's not with us -- now, that's progressive! call or click today. no mas pantalones! >>> it's it time now to clear the air. and with nine primaries thus far, many people expected mitt romney to be virtually confirmed as the republican nominee by the time of the academy awards which take place this sunday. while he's been called the inevitable candidate, he has yet to be crowned. in fact, he's won less than ha

let's go live to capitol hill and kelly o'donnell. good morning to you. u.s. attorney general eric holder going to be testifying today. also daryl isaac. what's his claim in this? >> the hearing is underway. the attorney general has come forward under great pressure. they have threatened contempt if the department of justice does not hand over more documents. they have been frustrated feeling they haven't gotten enough cooperation about this controversial mission that put into the hands of many on the southern side of the mexico border, including members of cartels, the weapons that you talked about that resulted in the death of a u.s. border agent. the u.s. attorney general is taking questions today. his office did not know about some of these things at the time. and the members of this committee are very doubtful about that. here's a sense of how the attorney general is responding today at this hearing. >> allowing guns to walk, whether in this administration or the prior one, is unacceptable. i have said this from day one. the tactic of not intradikting wea

joining me now kelly o'donnell. interesting thoughts from steve schmidt. heard that sentiment before but now i think it was chuck todd who says that the democrats a 50% chance of holding onto the senate. >> one of the things i'm noticing today is that democrats are particularly effusive in their praise for oh limpal snow. part of that is the personal honest praise about her service here, and part of it is the political dynamic where they see an opportunity now that was probably unlikely, snowe is popular in her home state, was intending to run. people thought she would have a fairly easy time of re-election even with a fierce tea party challenge. and so now democrats are seeing a light they didn't quite have. so there are a lot of dimensions to this today. lots of praise for snowe who has been on capitol hill for more than 30 years and a respected well-liked person. she's had the struggle of being a vote sought after by both parties, sometimes feeling a bit on an island from her own party, sometimes the target by democrats hoping to woo her over. one of th

thank you, kelly o'donnell for your expertise from capitol hill. >>> let's bring in russ feingold. sleeps." i want to get to your book. first your reaction to people like snowe quitting. >> chris, good to be talking to you again. it's a real loss. she's one of the finest senators. a model of bipartisanship. she was a key to getting mccain/feingold passed. i served with her on the intelligence committee. there's a person who always worked across party lines where appropriate. she'd co-sponsor amendments with me that had to do with national security or civil liberties. and it's a terrible sign when a person like that who was reasonable. she was not an easy mark. she was hard to persuade. once you got her on your side it was enormously valuable. and my book is partly about this which is you start driving people like that away who are willing to work across party lines on international and security and intelligence issues, we're losing something very important for the protection of our country. >> what do you make of the super pacs. you are the classic guy that wants to clean up this b

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