professionaler michael porter joins us for the remainder of the show.linic and etna will talk health care reform. busy morning ahead as "squawk" continues in just a moment. >> time now for today's aflac trivia question. what two hall of fame catchers grew up across the street from each other? the answer when cnbc "squawk box" continues. hey, it's great to see you're back after that accident. well...i couldn't have gotten by without aflac! is that different from health insurance? well yeah... ...aflac pays you cash to help with the bills that health insurance doesn't cover. really? well, if you're hurt and can't work, who's going to help pay for gas? ..the mortgage, all kinds of expenses? aflacc it's the protection you need to stay ahead of the game... exactly! aflac. we've got you under our wing. aflac, aflac, aflac... aflac, aflac, aflac >>> now the answer to today's aflac trivia question. what two hall of fame capers grew up across the street from each other? the answer, yogi berra and joe garagiola. >> i knew it wasn't finch. >> must have been the pr

signers of the letter include michael hayden, porter goss, george tenet.ch, and james woolsey. >>> officials are using digging equipment and sonar to search the backyard of phillip and nancy garrido, police are looking for clues related to the disappearance of two other girls during the 1980s. the hayward police department spoke to reporters last night saying they discovered bones on the garrido property. >> we did discover bones on the exterior of the garrido property. and it's too early to even begin to guess what kind of bone that might be, human or animal. >> phillip and nancy garrido remain behind bars, they are charged with the 1991 kidnapping of jaycee dugard. >>> and police in california are looking for two people accused in an attack on a walmart employee. this week's attack was caught on camera as two of the suspects left the store with a flat screen tv in their cart. the couple ignored the man's request to see the receipt. the couple shoved the man to the ground and then got in their van and took off. the police say the employee was sent to the

and the signers of the letter are michael hayden, porter goss, george tenant, don deutsch, r. woolsey, william webster and james r. schlesinger. >>> let's go now to a brand new opera premiering in boston tonight. its central character, former alaska governor, one-time vice presidential candidate sarah palin. it's entitled "say it ain't so, joe," focusing on the debate between palin and joe biden. so, how does the operatic version of sarah palin stand up to the real thing? well, you be the judge. >> oh, thank you, thank you, alaska. ♪ patriotic is saying, government, you know, you're not always ♪ >> well, you be the judge of that. let's get right now to keith powers. he is joining us from boston as the music critic for "the boston herald." you know, the last time we spoke, i said horrible. what is your take? >> well, you're absolutely right, actually, in a certain way, alex, but maybe that is exactly what the composer's trying to portray here. music is not always sort of easy listening, light and appreciatable fare. in this case, i think the components are what he really should

those signs, michael hayden, porter goes, george ten nent, john deutsch, jim woolsey, bill webster and jim schlesinger. >>> and coming up, health care reform and the protests against the president's initiatives. is racism really a factor in the op eds is next. >>> later, toxic levels reported in one west virginia coal town. find out how the residents are being impacted. it is all part of this week's taste of the times. you are watching the special edition of the "new york times" on msnbc. achoo! (announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst mptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life. >>> welcome back to the "new york times" special edition. now it's time for our weekly look at some of the top "new york times" columnists. first up on the on edge, paul krugman's take on health care reform and the baucus bill that so many liberals are now vilifying. paul krugman writes, even if the baucus plan gets better rather than worse what emerges won't be legisla

it's william webster, james woolsey, john deutch, porter goss, michael hayden. these men are asking the obama administration to stop investigating allegations of torture during the bush administration. back in august, the current attorney general, eric holder, he appointed independent counsel to dig into evidence of potential abuse, so this is what they are now responding to. it's certainly something that's going to be taken seriously the administration. we hope to get their reaction, in the meantime, there are another story that we're following for you on this day. you have been talking about the campus of yale university, the attack there, your e-mails, your tweets, your commenting on my blog, almost all of you speaking about the brutality in the killing of annie le, but also wondering if the same thing could happen where you work? yes it could. you know people are calling this workplace violence. what about the possibility of a personal or emotional relationship between this man, raymond clark, and annie le. pat brown a criminal profiler believes this is the

michael hayden, porter goss, james tenet, william woolsey and james scleshinger.te as much. and also they make this point. this approach will seriously damage the willingness of many other intelligence officers to take risks to protect the country. this approach is vital to success in the long run and difficult fight against terrorists. >> what's the reaction from the obama administration? >> nothing directly from the white house, but the spokesman for attorney general eric holder has fought back. matthew miller says, quote, the attorney general's decision to order a preliminary review into the matter was made in line with his duty to examine the facts and to follow the law. he also added if anyone acting within the good faith and the scope of the legal guidance at that time will not be prosecuted. that's also an argument the president himself has made that those people should not be prosecuted. >> thanks very much, in an interview with cnn's fareed zakaria, the was asked the relationship with iran and how far we would go to protect iran. let's to dmitry medvedev.