we are going to talk with nbc bay area political analyst, larry gursten. coming up, a group of bay area college students are on a road trip that could make for a better world. what the santa clara university team is offering up at the solar dekat lo decathlon. >>> making what's old new again. the restoration project that is sure to make a nearly centuries-old theater vibrant again. >>> a team of santa clara university students are pulling double duty entrenched in school work, of course, but also showing off a solar home they built for the solar dekat lon. it is one of 19 entries in the competition that is going on in orange county. it is the first time it has been held in california and teams from around the world are competing to design and build the most attractive, affordable and energy-efficient solar-powered homes. junior, brian grou joins us live in solar village in irvine via skype. thank you for joining us. >> hello. thank you for having me. >> so far you are in second place out of 19 teams. doing pretty well, my friend. >> yes, we are. we are ext

larry gursten joins us with more on the drama.irst, let's talk about this congress acting on the debt ceiling and why it's imperative. >> it's as bad as things can get. the united states has debts of $16.7 trillion to lenders all over the world. countries, banks. whatever, okay? our obligations exceed that amount beginning midnight tomorrow unless congress goes and lifts the debt ceiling to a higher amount. otherwise, the government won't have enough time and money to pay its bills. everything, mind you, everything from military salaries, to social security checks, all those things and more. meanwhile, virtually every mainstream economist warns that if the united states doesn't lift the debt ceiling, the stock market will crash. the economy will plunge into recession. and other countries will to longer view the u.s. as a reliable partner. >> solarry, this is a standard rebuttal. raising the debt ceiling is usually a formality for members of congress. why not now. >> lots of things have happened. several conservative republicans, f