>> kristen welker covering the president on martha's vineyard. kristen, thanks. >>> and now we turn to wall street and that hammering we mentioned today on the stock market. this week started out so well and today it all went south in a hurry. cnbc's maria bartiromo at the nyse, what happened today? >> brian you said it, no august slowdown here on wall street. sharp selloff. basically there's a new realization, new worries emerging that we could see the economy heading into recession yet again. we had negative economic data out today on jobs, joblessness continues to persist and we had very negative data on manufacturing. all on top of that, the european debt crisis worsening. there are new worries that the european banks will have to raise capital. and now everyone's worrying that the u.s. banks are exposed to the debt crisis going on in europe. all together, it created massive selling, one issue for this market, no long-term commitments, brian, just a week ago, we were talking about a big rally on wall street, people are looking at this market a

contessa, back to you. >> kristen welker reporting. thank you very much. it's such a hopeful moment when people organically overthrow a dictator. look at egypt. it's not all smooth sailing. you heard the concerns by ambassador ginsberg. by big question today, will the libyan rebels have the perseverance, the dedication to see a democracy flourish? let me know what you think on facebook, twitter. >>> the united nations human rights council meets today in switzerlands to discuss possible violations in syria. the u.n. sent a humanitarian mission to syria over the weekend to check out the crackdown on antibiotic government protests there. yesterday syrian president went on state tv promising political reform, but refusing to step aside. president obama and european leaders have called on him to resign. he said what they have to say means nothing to us. assad said a parliamentary election will be held in february. >>> hurricane irene is the first hurricane of the stop sign sn and it's headed towards florida. we have new video from san juan, puerto rico, showing

it follows the markets closely and for more reaction from washington, we want to check in with kristen welker life from the white house, and it seemed that the president was speaking and the dow was dropping consistently and faster than before and is the white house facing a confidence problem? >> well, president obama trying to take a hopeful and confident tone today, thomas, and today, no doubt that this is an incredible difficult moment in president obama's presidency, and you have heard it say twice through the remarks and trying to tamp down some of the concern and the volatility that we have seen in the markets, but he made a couple of points in the speech, and one that we don't need a rating agency to tell us that we don't have a divided political system, and part of that is the white house plan of tamping down the criticism of getting that this downgrade happened under his watch. and so, trying to fight back against some of that criticism, and also a call to action to congress for that bipartisan and bi-cameral committee, the super committee that will be charged with identifying more

nbc's kristen welker joins us live from martha's vineyard where the president is expected to head in r for what the white house calls, as i mentioned, a working vacation. kristen, the white house certainly going out of its way to support the idea the president is not there for a family vacation. he's there to enjoy some time down. he is thinking about what's next and what he will tell the american public after labor day. >> reporter: that's exactly right. hi there, tamron.

. >> kristen welker live at the white house for us. cut his vacation short a few hours to come back to washington. some saying there was an overresponse to the storm. what's the white house saying about that? >> reporter: white house officials believe that the reaction was appropriate. look, this white house federal officials are very aware of what happened during hurricane katrina as we all remember president bush was widely criticized for his handling of hurricane katrina. we remember him flying over some of the disaster zone in air force one. craig, fugate, by the way, the fema administrator learned a lot during hurricane katrina. that's why they wanted to dispatch crews and emergency congresswomen before this storm even hit. remember this storm did cause a lot of damage more than 20 people were killed, caused billions of dollars worth of damage and there's still millions of people without pour. the white house feels as though the response was appropriate. just today we heard president obama saying there's more work to be done. take

going to start with nbc's kristen welker and luke russert joins us as well. what is the word out of the white house? is this seen as a win for the president? >> reporter: hi, there, jeff. good mornings to you. president obama and white house officials say they are very happy with this deal. you have heard some democratic voices that say there just aren't tax increases in this deal. they are not happy with it. you have heard voices to the right who say there aren't deep enough cuts but the folks that worked on hammering out this deal says, that's what compromise looks like. the bottom line is no one is going to be completely happy. what this deal actually does. there are two steps to this deal. the first step, you see the debt ceiling increased by about $1 trillion through 2012 and matched with an equal amount of spending cuts, discretionary and spending. president obama was adamant. he wanted to see the debt ceiling increased through 2012. republicans wanted an equal amount of cuts. the second part of the the process, the formation of a super bipartisan commi

let's go now to nbc's kristen welker on the north lawnf of the white house. kristen, thank you for being here. >> thank you. hi there, jonathan. >> what are you hearing from th fed said? >> well, they are not commenting on what the fed said, and they are not commenting on the markets generally, and think are trying to create air of confidence and calm, and you saw that yesterday when the president came out to talk about bipartisan and bi-cameral committee to convene to identify more deficit reductions and you heard him say that, that despite the mo of standard & poor's, the united states is still a aaa country, and the united states trying to create an element of calm right now, and the markets are volatile today as you mentioned, but is certainly better than yesterday. jonathan. >> i am looking at the dow jones down 64 points. earlier today, the president was supposed to meet with treasury secretary tim geithner and tell me what is happening with that meeting? >> well, jonathan, the president's schedule has been a little bit touch and go today, and he made a

let's bring in kristen welker who is standing by at the white house. kristen, we just heard the president speaking there mostly about veterans' benefits. let's cover the jobs plan and what we might see. >> reporter: it is still a work in progress that's what white house officials are telling us. some of the things that the president is considering putting in this plan would be tax breaks for companies who hire new workers, investing in green infrastructure projects, tax breaks for clean energy projects, as well as payroll tax breaks, helping those who have been unemployed for long peefts and helping folks who want to refinance their homes. again, those are a few things that are being considered. there's been a lot of discussion about whether the president is going to pursue a big plan or a small plan something that "the washington post" actually reported today. one white house official told me look, the president wants an aggressive, robust plan, but also has to be realistic because it has to get through congress and the republican led house. republican

there is no doubt it is the topic of of the moment of job growth, and let's go to kristen welker who is joining us from the white house. and he talked about the need of congress should come back to -- kristen? >> hi, there, jonathan, right. he did. he talked about the fact that, you know, the one thing that everyone has been talking about here in d.c., should congress come back from their vacation. what you just heard him say is that the last thing we need is more bickering from congress. he wants them out there listening to people, talking to people, understanding their frustrations so that when they come back, they will get something done, and that is the point that he made today. and he said, that is what he is doing today in terms of visiting that plant there in holland, michigan, which was able to add 150 new jobs because of the stimulus money they received back in 2009. but, an important point, jonathan, the unemployment rate in michigan is 10.1%, and that is higher than national average and the president has gotten criticism from members of his own party even saying that he has

>> and kristen welker, at the white house, thanks. and we want to bring in msnbc contributor and cnbc columnist ron insana and ezra klein, a msnbc contributor. what can we expect from the president, ron? >> well, given how deeply the dow futures were down about 370 points after yesterday's 600-point sell-off and then markets around the world began to rally back. so it appears they are putting a lot of the pressure on the fed to say something strong, to say there is a qe 3 that the fed will engage in more stimulative efforts to prop up the economy and we don't know the shape lit take, because the fed has bought in excess of $2 billion in treasury bonds and mortgages to keep down the interest rates, and there are other things that they can do, but i'm not sure that is what we will hear when the statement comes at 2:15 eastern time. >> ezra, because president obama has been hit on all sides because he is not showing the leadership as we talked about with the poll numbers with kristen, does he need to stop blaming the bush administration

kristen welker is in washington. the president has been handcuffed to the oval office. >> president obama turning the page on the debt ceiling debate, heading to chicago tonight for birthday themed campaign fund-raising event. he turns 50 on thursday. so there's going to be a big gala tonight in chicago. we're hearing it will be star-studded, herby hancock might be there as well as jennifer hudson. tickets to that event will cost you about $50. there's a private gala afterwards or a dinner i should say. tickets to that, a little bit more expensive. $35,000 we are hearing. as you mentioned, we are hearing president obama kanspled about ten fund-raising events to deal with the debt ceiling debate. his last event was actually in philadelphia in july. you might remember that event. he's got some time to make up. also some money, as you might remember, he posted fund-raising earnings of $86 million in conjunction with the dnc during the spring. he's not going to raise anywhere near that this summer. summers are slower any

kristen welker is traveling with the president. another lovely day?reporter: it is a gorgeous day here. this is no ordinary vacation. the first picture from the president's vacation is a serious one. couldn't terrorism chief briefing mr. obama. and hiss first public outing took place across the street from where the media was camped out. a bookstore where he and his daughters bought eight books. then mr. obama held an impromptu meet and greet. later no cameras were allowed when the president played golf. but nbc news did capture him for a few brief moments from afar, taking some shots and doing a quick golf cart drive by. >> that's why you're going to see him take great pains to show that it's a working vacation. that he's not sort of goofing off. >> this after a week that saw a jittery stock market. the president's approval rating for handling the economy dipped to new lows and job fairs across the country that drew thousands of the nations unemployed. >> i look for a job every day. every day for the past four months. no luck. >> in the days leading

nbc's kristen welker joins me live from the white house. so this is the beginning of the shift from talking about debt ceiling and that debate to really what everybody wants to know where are the jobs and what is this administration going to do? >> reporter: that's absolutely right, tamron, and you might want to know that the president will also be swinging through some battleground states so that will be interesting. white house officials say the purpose of this trip is for the president to talk about jobs. you'll likely hear him reiterate some familiar themes he's been talking about for this week and the past several months including on calling on congress to extend the payroll tax, to sign off on new trade' agreements and also to invest in infrastructure. now, this news comes, tamron, as we're learning from the labor department that unemployment increased during june in 90% of u.s. cities so jobs, jobs, jobs, still the main thing on most people's minds. tamron? >> all right, kristen. the president also attending this fund-raiser starting

joining me from martha's vineyard, kristen welker. nice to have you this evening. >> hi there.to be with you. thanks so much. >> how true is jay carney's statement? what is the president going to be up to on this vacation? what does the vacation schedule look like for president obama? >> well, according to white house officials, all of the amenities of the office really do travel with the president. so that means his communication equipment, his transportation that he needs. that means that he can be in contact with world leaders at a moment's notice. as you heard jay carney say there, he will be in constant contact with his national security team as well as his economic team. so this really will be in part a working vacation according to white house officials. from the perspective of a reporter covering this story, we will have briefings throughout this trip. so this is simply not your typical vacation. having said that, there will be some fun time with his family. he's a father, a husband, so we will see these moments of him having ice cream, probably swimming, playing golf.

>> thank you, nx's kristen welker. >>> the question remains, does the president's ideas to jump startnd does have the political will to push them through a divided and stubborn congress. ezra klein is a analyst for msnbc, and colleague at the washington post. >> hi, jonathan. >> let me play part of what the president said on thursday, and get you the respond. take a look. >> over the coming weeks, i will be putting out more proposals week by week to help businesses hire and put people wac to work. bsh people back to work. i will keep at it until every single american who wants a job can find one. >> so, ezra, is this too little too late, and something he should have been focused on a year ago? >> yeah. this is quite a little bit too old too late. the administration has not used the points of leverage to fight for jobs, and now it doesn't have any. so during the debt ceiling talks said, a super committee, we won't do it unless it is charged, forced to offer up recommendation for jobs, and those recommendations have the same protection triggers behind them and immune to filibuster amend

let's get to nbc's kristen welker live at the white house for us. kristen, the president once again addressing the nation and talking about irene today. >> he reminded people that he is still work to be done. as you said there has been a little bit of second guessing about the response to this storm. white house officials say this is the appropriate response as you mentioned they were keenly aware of what happened during hurricane katrina when president bush was really hammered for his reaction to that storm. we remember that iconic image of him flying over the hurricane zone in air force one. fema administrator craig fugate said to the media, look, we did learn some lessons from hurricane katrina. one of them was to dispatch crews and emergency equipment ahead of the storm so they could be in place to actually respond to what was happening. we saw this reaction from governors and mayors across the eastern seaboard who told their residents to get out and stay indoors. of course, as you mentioned, savannah, this was a damaging storm, more than 20 peop

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nbc's kristen welker is traveling with the president, joining us now from martha's vineyard. kristen, obviously, as the president travels, the white house travels with him. >> reporter: absolutely. hi there, thomas. well, a white house official tells us that president obama was indeed briefed on the situation in libya earlier today, that the united states is in close contact with its allies, continues to believe that gadhafi is in his final days there in libya. in the meantime, the white house also continues to insist that this is a working vacation for the president. the only sign of the president on martha's vineyard saturday, his motorcade leaving a private social event in oak bluffs. a white house official says earlier, mr. obama was briefed on the unfolding situation in libya and on the two american hikers jailed in iran. in his weekly address taped in illinois during last week's midwest bus tour, the president kept up the pressure on congress, urging them to pass bills which he argues could help jump-start the economy. >> the only thing preventing us from passing these b

>> kristen welker on martha's vineyard for us this morning. kristen, thanks. >>> gadhafi losing his grip on power. we're going to continue to follow the breaking developments that are happening in tripoli. moment by moment developments. rebels closing in on this libyan leader's compound. ahead, the washington bureau chiefs of al jazeera and al arabiya will join me. >>> and the new martin luther king memorial opened its doors just moments ago. we're going to talk to the reverend jesse jackson, who knew and worked with the civil rights icon. what would king be fighting for today? what's up, smart? oh, just booked a summer vaycay. ooo. sounds pricey? nah, with the hotels.com summer sale, you can find awesome deals for places nearby. interesting... wow, i'm blown away. you look great. hotels.com summer sale, save up to 30%. and get a free kindle. hotels.com. be smart. book smart. and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪ ♪ there it is. [ man ] so i us

but some are saying that this is not the right time for the president to take the vacation, and kristen welker joins us live from the vineyard. we are past that conversation, because he is on vacation, and bottom line, kristen, the reality is that though, because i am honestly sick of talking about, that and the president may be out and about with the family, but the white house sent that photograph out for a reason. >> that is a great point, tamron. the white house is being very careful about what images are coming out right now of the president. you saw that photo of the president with john brennan, and you are going to see that more probably and he will be briefed by the national security team and the economic team and one of the economic advisers in fact coming to the vineyard next week. they are being careful and i spoke to one historian who said it is important for the white house the show people that the president is on a working vacation, and not just on vacation. little bit earlier on "today" tamron the president was out at a bookstore with malia and sasha, his two daughters which was

nbc's kristen welker is at the white house where there was a rare late night briefing that just wrappedisten, what did you hear? >> well, chris, white house officials at that briefing gave us a sense of how this deal came together. first point i want to make is that according to the white house officials they believe that this week really helped them to make the argument that the debt ceiling should only be increased once, essentially through 2013. they believe that the fact that the dow dropped so severely this week really helped them to make their argument that the markets just won't respond well if we have to go through this in another six months, and they also say that the phone calls that came pouring into capitol hill and remember that president obama asked the public to call their leaders. they believe those phone calls actually had an impact. one more point they have been having phone calls throughout the weekend with congressional leaders and president obama and vice president biden have been. and the last point i want to make here, chris, is that according to the white house o

kristen welker is at the white house where there was a late night briefing just wrapping up. ou hear there, kristen? >> well, officials at the briefing gave us a sense of how this deal came together. first point i want to make is that according to the white house officials they believe that this week really helped them to make the argument that the debt ceiling should only be increased once, essentially through 2013. they believe that the fact that the dow dropped so severely this week really helped them to make their argument that the markets just won't respond well if we have to go through this in another six months, and they also say that the phone calls that came pouring into capitol hill and remember that president obama asked the public to call their leaders. they believe those phone calls actually had an impact. one more point they have been having phone calls throughout the weekend with congressional leaders and president obama and vice president biden have been. and the last point i want to make here, chris, is that according to the white house officials, they believe

>> kristen welker at the white house and luke russert at the capitol hill, thank you very much indeed. >>> for more on the agreement, with me is jonathan alter, and msnbc political analyst and author of "the promise" and joining me as well is analyst pat buchanan. and pat buchanan, no new revenues and the tea parties have won, and you must be happy? >> yes, and the hobbits are returning to nail the koonskin on the capitol hill wall. well, they got new tax revenues and the debt ceiling raise anded and some budget cuts, but i agree that the budget cuts are not significant in the early years and we have to do a lot more to avoid a default down the road. >> but, pat, how can you say they won when senator lindsey graham said this is a $3 trillion package to still allow $7 trillion to be added to the deficit over the next ten years, so that the deficit issue remains a problem will, don't it? >> well, that is a hellish problem for the united states and i agree with that, but whereas the democrats, they called it a satan sandwich, because they gave up so much, the republicans and the tea part

luke russert is on capitol hill with more on the scramble for the votes and our kristen welker is at the white house with the president's role in this deal. we are going to start with luke. senate majority leader, harry reid spoke earlier this morning. let's take a listen. >> over the years, things have been much worse than they have been in washington the last three months. i am not proud of the conflict we have had these last many months but i'm satisfied that we have been able too come together to find a solution. >> luke, explain the magic number that both chambers need to get this passed. also, explain what are the sticking points for some. >> in the senate, 60 votes for closure and one parliamentary procedural vote and then the majority. in the house, 216. the first question, though, we don't have an teens is which party is going to go first. it is presumed the united states senate will take the first vote, because there is going to be more republican support over there. the idea being that the senate would go first and get about 70-75 senators voting in favor of this with the

nbc's kristen welker is at the white house where there was a rare late night briefing that just wrappedisten, what did you hear? >> well, chris, white house officials at that briefing gave us a sense of how this deal came together. first point i want to make is that according to the white house officials they believe that this week really helped them to make the argument that the debt ceiling should only be increased once, essentially through 2013. they believe that the fact that the dow dropped so severely this week really helped them to make their argument that the markets just won't respond well if we have to go through this in another six months, and they also say that the phone calls that came pouring into capitol hill and remember that president obama asked the public to call their leaders. they believe those phone calls actually had an impact. one more point they have been having phone calls throughout the weekend with congressional leaders and president obama and vice president biden have been. and the last point i want to make here, chris, is that according to the white house o

nbc's kristen welker is at the white house where there was a rare late night briefing that just wrapped kristen, what did you hear? >> well, chris, white house officials at that briefing gave us a sense of how this deal came together. first point i want to make is that according to the white house officials they believe that this week really helped them to make the argument that the debt ceiling should only be increased once, essentially through 2013. they believe that the fact that the dow dropped so severely this week really helped them to make their argument that the markets just won't respond well if we have to go through this in another six months, and they also say that the phone calls that came pouring into capitol hill and remember that president obama asked the public to call their leaders. they believe those phone calls actually had an impact. one more point they have been having phone calls throughout the weekend with congressional leaders and president obama and vice president biden have been. and the last point i want to make here, chris, is that according to the white hous

. >> nbc's kristen welker is on martha's vineyard. president obama will arrive there later today. joanna ossinger is stocks editor for bloomberg. what is fueling the selloff at this point? >> we had a slew of bad news overnight and this morning. morgan stanley said that the global economy is dangerously close to recession. we had jobless claims in the u.s. that weren't so great and consumer prices are also rising, so that's squeezing u.s. consumers. there's a lot of concern about european banks right now, too, and whether they're doing all right. >> in fact, the european markets had a rough day today as well. they were way, way down. how much of that is influencing what we're seeing? now the dow jones is down almost 400 points. >> right. actually, things are coming back just a little bit because europe closed. but that's a lot of it, because people were saying that banks in europe might stop lending to each other, which was a lot of what happened in 2008 and 2009 that made things so bad. so there's a little bit of worry that we're going to go back to that crisis. >> in fact, when

nbc's kristen welker is live at the white house. what's the latest on the preparations for what's considering a highly key speech? >> reporter: hi, there, thomas. it is a key speech. white house officials say the plan has not yet been finalized, but they confirm the president and the white house are considering a number of proposals, including giving tax cuts to companies that hire new workers as well as investing in green infrastructure projects. tax cuts to clean energy projects, payroll tax cuts, as well as some help for folks who may want to refinance their homes. to the point you brought up, thomas, that there might be there discussion within the west wing about whether to go big or small, i spoke with one white house official today who said, look, the president wants a plan that is aggressive and robust, but at the same time, he has to be realistic. he's dealing with republicans in the house who have already come out this week and said they're not going to support any plan that increases spending. as you said, this is a key sp

kristen welker, thanks so much. the president will be speaking at 11:30. we'll bring you that statement. more now on safety and concerns around the nation's capital. they have put a major ceremony on hold. this sunday afternoon the dedication of the martin luther king sculpture on the national mall has now been postponed due to the expected rain and heavy winds. nbc's luke russert is live in washington. luke, bring us up to speed. i know airlines and transit systems are trying to get ahead of the storm. >> they are indeed, thomas. they're taking some precautionary measures now and that's coming in the form of actually canceling a lot of flights. if you were looking to fly between north carolina and new england, this weekend, a lot of airlines, specifically jetblue, delta, american airlines, they're offering fee free travel rearrangements. if you were supposed to go to some place along the eastern seaboard, you think it will get canceled because of weather, most likely it will. you can change up your reservation and not have to pay what is usually a large f

nbc's kristen welker is in martha's vineyard, where the president is trying to wrap up a ten-day trip. what a vacation. star crossed indeed. what are their plans there now? >> reporter: hi, andrea. it certainly has been, what a vacation indeed. officials tell us president obama is still planning to leave on saturday, which was previously scheduled. they say at this point the hurricane is not going to change its plans in terms of when he's going to depart. as you mentioned, the president spoke with fema administrator craig fugate earlier today, as well as secretary janet napolitano. they are getting out in front of this hurricane. they have dispatched crews from carolina all the way to maine. they have also set up a number of warehouses in the region, which are housing things like massive generators, generators that are big enough to power hospitals, as well as, of course, food, medical supplies, baby supplies. so they're really trying to be prepared for what might be coming. this is a lesson they learned during katrina, that it's important to get out in front of a hurricane like this.

. >> reporter: i'm kristen welker at the white house. the tough talk wasn't just on the campaign trail, the commander in chief was also fired up. >> there's nothing wrong with our country. there is something wrong with our politics. >> reporter: speaking at a factory at holland, michigan, president obama tried to tap into the frustration that has been expressed by people all across the country that say the government isn't working hard enough to fix an economy in turmoil. >> people are frustrated. maybe you're hearing my voice, that's why i'm frustrated, because you deserve better. >> reporter: mr. obama pointed the finger squarely at congress, saying it was partisan wrangling that led to the recent downgrade of the nation's credit for the first time in u.s. history. >> this downgrade you've been reading about could have been entirely avoided. if there had been a willingness to compromise in congress. >> reporter: house speaker john boehner reacted this afternoon releasing a statement that says president obama likes to talk about being t

>> all right, kristen welker, thank you. john harwood is chief correspondent for cnbc. he joins us tonight from president obama's first stop, cannon falls, minnesota. let's first talk about the vacation that comes up after the bus trip. john, republican candidates are united in the belief that the economy and debt issues make this president especially vulnerable. is this a good time for him to be vacationing in a place at least perceived as a playground for the elite? could this blow back on him? >> reporter: republicans will try very hard to make it blow back just like democrats will hit the republican congress for taking the entire month of august off. but i think, lester, average voters here in cannon falls and places like it see that as political games. what they want is washington to do something about the weak economy. the white house and congress will get a chance to do that when they come back in september. >> let's talk about the republicans. is tim pawlenty's exit from this race further strengthen michele bachmann or does it perhaps give newcomer rick perry so

but we don't know exactly what he's going to say. >> kristen welker, stand by. to luke russert who is on the hill. obviously, we've been talking about this call that john boehner is supposed to be making right now. the fact the president is coming out ten minutes from now, what does it tell us about that phone call? >> this is just speculation, but i think chris is absolutely right when she's using the word optimism and there's sense of hope there at the white house. it would seem rather odd to me at least from watching this drama unfold over the last four months for the president to go out and speak during john boehner's conference call if it wasn't for some sort of positive development. most likely than not from what i've heard from aides around capitol hill is that it came down to how much would there be in defense cuts? john boehner has negotiated with the president about the issue of defense cuts. through the beginning, mitch mcconnell -- harry reid on the senate floor. i'll go to him. >> his remarkable for a number of reasons. not only because of what it d

kristen welker joins me now. kristen, the timing, they are very defensive over there publicly by saying that republican debate, that was just happenstance, a primetime speech to congress, we don't know yet if speaker boehner has agreed to the invitation. >> that's right, a bit of a political buffet. we checked in with speaker boehner's office, haven't heard back from them just yet. the president will be unveiling his jobs plan next wednesday. we're getting bits and pieces about what might be in that plan, what the white house is considering. as you mentioned yesterday, the president did an interview. also during that interview he said his plan might create anywhere from half a million to a million jobs. we're also hearing some of the proposals might include increasing or extending the payroll tax cuts as well as investing in education, jobs training plans as well as infrastructure, green energy projects, and also providing tax cuts for companies that hire new workers. white house officials say look, this plan will

kristen welker is already there, and she joins me live. kristen, i first want to talk to you about new developments out of syria. what's going on there? >> reporter: hi there, chris. that's right. we have breaking news. nbc has learned that later on this morning we are expecting president obama to call for the president of syria, bashar al assad, to step down. and then we expect secretary of state hillary clinton to follow-up in some comments later on this morning. of course, this is something that has been going on for months. clashes between civilians in syria and the government there. as many as 2,000 civilians have been killed. the united states has been ramping up pressure against assad through sanctions, but it seems as though today they will officially call for assad to step down. chris? >> and, kristen, you're in martha's vineyard. let's talk about the president's vacation, even before he leaves today he faced criticism from mitt romney, rick perry, even tim pawlenty who dropped out of the race got in on the game. is this the wrong

or the latest on the historic vote we go the luke russert who covers capitol hill with us, and kristen welker sat the white house. and kristen, the president speaking a short time ago was highly critical of the congress saying that it should not be the risk of economic catastrophe for people to take action, and is there an abiding sense of annoyance of how tough this process has been at the white house? >> well, the word around here is frustration. there is, martin, some annoyance with how this whole process has been handled, and president, himself, called it messy, and other people have called it an ugly process, but look, the white house is arguing that this is a good compromise, and that a crisis has been averted here and that the debt ceiling has been increased through the 2012 elections which is a good thing and what president obama had been fighting for all along so that the congress and the white house don't have to come back to renegotiate this debt ceiling issue in the middle of the campaign season. having that said, members of the president's own party are frustrated, martin, saying

nbc's kristen welker is there. what's the president's plan today? >> reporter: well, nothing on the president's public schedule so we're guessing perhaps some golf, maybe a strip to get some ice cream with the girls. he arrived here last night, greeted folks and then headed off to the blue herren farm. even though there's going to be a lot of r & r on this vacation, it's also a working vacation. the president will be in constant contact with h-- he'll also be working on that big jobs proposal that he'll be unveiling after labor day. and as you know, and as you just mentioned the republicans have really been hammering him for taking this vacation. and sarah palin on the airwaves calling on him to cancel his vacation, this is not a choice that he would nak. look the office of the presidency really travelled with mr. obama wherever he goes. and they also make the point that he's a husband and a father, and he needs to have some quality time with his family, and they don't think the american people will begrudge him at that time. the white house does ne

. >> nbc's kristin kristen welker at the white house, thank you. >>> is the fed doing enough? ron assante joins me live with a look on the boards. the -- >> all you said we got a relief rally after the fed said it would hot -- and i suspect is the fed will probably do more in the relative new future. today slightly different story. we are less concerned about our own deficits and debt problems than we are about europe. there have been rumors about the solvency of french banks. theer heavily indebted, so the european dead crisis appears to be widening and deepening. >> cnbc's ron assante, thank you so much for keeping an eye on that. >>> shifting now to the rest of washington's role in handling this crisis, let as bring in former new mexico governor bill richardson. he's a man with a long list of credentials, formerly secretary of commerce, u.n. ambassador and adviser to the clinton administration. thank you for joining us i6r7b8g9s nice to be with you. thank you. >> governor, there's been a lot stef talk about congress coming back early from the august recess. do you think the

nbc's kristen welker is live in martha's vineyard. what's the latest? >> hi, there. white house officials say the president continues to be dedicating a large chunk of his vacation staying on top of the libya situation. he's been in constant contact with his advisers, holding several conference calls with his national security team. i spoke with the senior administration official who told me they're encouraged by what they're seeing on the ground there. they're in close contact with the tnc, the opposition forces in libya. they say they're encouraged because they see a lot of coordination between forces in the east and west. they also say that they are estimating anywhere from 80 to 95% of tripoli has been occupied at this point by opposition forces. as of today right now in martha's vineyard, we don't know what the president has planned. white house officials make the point that he's staying on top of this situation, making phone calls. he came out yesterday and spoke and described the situation as quite fluid. what was interesting about his comments, chris, he talk

nbc's kristen welker is at the white house for us, and luke russert is on capitol hill. let's start with you, luke. the griping is already starting. what strikes you about the picks so far, and what are the signals each side is trying to send? >> reporter: well, let's go to the republican side, jonathan. a few things that i find of interest. number one, we've heard so much during this entire congress about the power of the freshman class and the republican side. speaker john boehner opting not to select a freshman to go on this super committee. his pocks are as final, dave camp, ways and means, fred upton and jeb hensarling. the first thing about these guys all trusted by conservatives. jeb hensarling is very close to eric cantor and good relationships with the freshman and speaker boehner. camp is interesting. ways and means chairman, means he's very much somebody who has been in the past open to tax reform. however, like you mentioned, these guys have all signed a pledge not to raise revenue. upton is someone more of a moderate guy. however, he went to the right in ord

. >> our colleague, kristen welker said he didn't feel anything but the press pool said they felt something going on with the earth. he was playing with friends and vernon jordan and other pals up there in martha's vineyard. they didn't actually feel it themselves but the press pool standing by some distance away said they did feel it in the vin zbloord pete, this is tourist season there in washington, d.c. tough opening of the martin luther king jr. memorial. so i guess that added to it. i don't know what the streets are like there but new york city is crazy this time of year. >> a lot of people and a lot of tour buses. the national mall is kind of the centerpiece for all the tourists who come to town to see the monuments, memorials and museums and they were all closed this afternoon. we'll see how many open up tomorrow. the office of personnel management will decide if everybody comes back to work tomorrow and as soon as this is all sorted out, then we have the prospect of a hurricane coming in this weekend or the remnants of it. >> by the way, chris, one other thing. the only real issue

covering wall street and the white house right now mandy drury is at cnbc world headquarters and kristen welker at the white house. mandy, what specifically is moving the market as we speak. >> you can see the nervousness here. i was taking a look at gold. we're $10 from cracking $1800 from one ounce. money is pouring into investments considered safe including the ten-year treasury. two main reasons, even though the fed's plenged to keep interest rates at nearly zero with somewhat of a backstop to the market it's because the economy is weaker than expected. second, europe. what kind of country is debt laden countries and the banking sector in whether it's serious or manageable. that's weighing on u.s. financial stocks as well. to the ewe row problem france we have a double whammy there. speculation they could lees the aaa rating. and rumors about possible trouble at another company plummeted an unprecedented 21% before it denied all market rumors. there's fear we could see a bank failure in europe. >> we're watching the markets right now. i know that the president of france is meeting with his

. >> nbc's kristen welker, bring me back a t-shirt. >> i will.done. >> thanks for joining me tonight. >> thank you. >>> you can have the last word online at our blog follow my tweets @mharrisperry. shameless plug for my new book, "sister citizen," shoot out to my niece and mother whose birthday is today. >> happy birthday to who, your niece and your mother-in-law? >> that's right. >> happy birthday from the show "the rachel maddow show" as well. and thank you to you at home for staying with us for the next hour as well. >>> in the last election, the 2010 election, the democratic party faced the prospect of seeing their leader in the senate going down to defeat. the top democrat in the u.s. senate, majority leader harry reid, faced an uphill climb to get re-election, and that's in addition to fighting through a bad state economy, harry reid also just faced a home state electorate in nevada that wanted him out. most of the polls out of nevada looked horrible for senator reid. nevada was just looking for somebody else to represent them. and all of t

kristen welker is traveling with the president joining us from marketsa's vineyard. president obama balancing work andvation. i know they've always said the white house travels with the president whoever the president is and wherever he goes. >> that's right. president obama according to white house officials was briefed on the developing situation in libya as well as the situation with the american hikers who were detained in iran. so far, no statement on either of those situations and white house officials are insisting that this is a working vacation. so a lot of images that we're getting out of this vacation sort of proved that. the president has gotten some pushback particularly from presidential candidates who say given the state of the economy this is the wrong place and wrong time to be taking a vacation. white house officials say the office of the presidency travels with mr. obama wherever he goes and he's getting briefings from the morning from his team and his chief economic advisers will be traveling to martha's vineyard in this coming week. still, we did

i'm joined now by kristen welker, who's with the president, or has been following the president on hisation on martha's vineyard, and kristen, i understand you do have some kind of statement from the administration. is that right? >> reporter: we're just getting a little bit more information, martin. we're just learning according to white house officials that president obama held a conference call at 2:50 this afternoon. playing golf when this all happened, when the earthquake struck here at martha's vineyard and he spoke with some of his top advisers including his chief of staff, bill daly, janet in napolitano and they all reconfirmed what we heard from bloomberg. no major damage at airports and nuclear facilities and at this point in time, no call for any federal assistance subpoena according to white house officials president obama asked to be updated on this situation throughout the evening. and as is necessary. so the president has spoken with his senior advisers about this. we're also awaiting some sort of a paper statement, martin, and will bring that to you as soon as we get it

my colleague kristen welker got the white house on the record just a few hours ago. >> there's been a lot of discussion that these indicators might be signs that the economy is continuing to stagnate or potentially dipping back into a recession. do you see it that way? >> well, we do not believe that there is a threat there of a double dip recession. we believe that the economy will continue to grow. >> for more on the perilous state of the economy i'm churned by vera gibbons and brian sullivan, host of snaebz's "street signs." brian, can you lay out how bad the last eight days have been in terms of the major markets? >> they have been terrible. keep in mind, we've not had this kind of a run since 1978 in the stock market. luckily it looks like we're a little bit higher today. there's a lot of concern out there, not only around our situation here, but we've also got to keep an eye on europe. i know you're a global guy, martin. look around the world. some of the biggest banks in europe are down 40%, 50% in the past year. there's a feeling that europe could really feel the pinch, almost

kristen welker, thank you. >> thank you. >>> they plead guilty to the murder of three cub scouts, and then they were released to freedom. plus the dangers of flash flooding. people caught in the tloez of rushing water with no warning. zooirchlgts it's a doggy at a doorstep and a note to break your heart. you're watching msnbc saturday. well i always worry about what's in the food that i put on my children's plate. that's why we use all-white meat, breading that is whole grain with omega-3 and no preservatives. it is my goal to make the highest quality, best-tasting nugget on the market. i want consumers to go, "dang, that's a good nugget." ♪ anything for you ♪ >>> this is the first morning of freedom for the west memphis three. the three men were released from prison in arkansas yesterday. they accepted a plea deal with prosecutors that released them for time served. they have been held since 1993 for the killings of three cub scouts. since then, the three have maintained their innocence. they spoke at a news conference on friday. >> have you to worry about your own safety. it don't m

let's bring in nbc's kristen welker at white house.lected for the super committee, let's talk about the meetings the president will have later today. what do we know? hi there, tamron. the president will meet with ben bernanke, timothy geithner,