i'm monica novotny, live in new york. tamron has the day off. >>> the justice department has just announced indictment for the largest data breach in u.s. history. 130 million credit and debit numbers were stolen from three companies. officials are charging a miami man and two russians in the case. it's the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted by the justice department. >>> and now, david, the big picture. is the white house sending mixed messages? here's what kathleen sebelius said about negotiations in the senate. >> they've been more focused on a co-op, not for profit co-op, as a competitor as opposed to a straight, government-run program. i'm convinced the plan will have both, but that is not the essential element. >> but the white house says president obama still wants a public option. when the douglas communications director for the health reform office says nothing has changed -- this weekend, president obama said the public option is just a sliver of the plan, but didn't bring up the topic durin

. >> i'm monica novotny in new york filling in for tamron hall.he federal government spends billions, more on wars and more on banks and car companies. at least congress is doing its part to cut back, right? not so much. congress is planning on spending 550 million of your tax dollars to buy eight jets. take a look at this. in 1995, congress spent roughly $1.5 million on travel. today, that number has jumped to 12.5 million. so where do they go when they fly? $275,000 on trips to kuwait, 250,000 to germany and austria and close to 200,000 on trips to poland and china. is all this travel necessary? you may be asking. can they fly commercial like the rest of us and exactly where is this money coming from? >> no members of congress wanted to come on and talk about this, so in "the bigger picture" you may recall when the ceos used three corporate jets to fly to washington and begged for bailout money. do you remember the reaction from congress? watch. >> this is a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying in to washington, d.c. and people c

i'm david schuster in washington. >> i'm monica novotny in new york.same time, he's also trying to rally the troops. right now, the president is speaking with organizing for america. some democrats were wondering what took so long for president obama to call up those troops. but just a couple of hours ago, the focus was on conservative voters. the president sat down with michael smerconish and tried to reenforce the idea that a public option would not be a government takeover. >> nobody's talking about the government administering all of health care. what we're talking about here is a public option that people could sign up for, but in that situation, they'd have to operate like any private insurer. they'd have to collect presume yums and so forth. the track record is surprisingly good. medicare, for example, a government program, has much lower administrative costs than private insurers do. >> and at this very moment, again, as the president is trying to convince democratic activists to be more energized even as he reaches out to republicans, the bigg

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. >> i'm monica novotny live in new york. >> the breaking news continues at this hour.had i is going to be released tonight, according to scottish officials. 270 people were killed. 21 years ago when the pan am flight exploded, but meg ra had i has been in prison for almost 20 years and apparently suffered from prostate cancer and officials decided on humanitarian grounds he should be released. more than 100 american families lost somebody in this attack are outraged at this decision. furthermore, the u.s. state department told the scottish government not to order the release. a scottish judge has decided almagrahi will be released from a jail tonight in scotland. >> the big picture right now on msnbc, a meeting between numbers 44 and 4. president obama and jimmie johnson the driver of the lowe's chefrlt are meeting right now. other top sprint cup drivers are also there as well as former nascar champions including richard petty, better known as king richard. this event was supposed to happen two weeks ago but postponed because of a rain delay. it was supposed to happen

. >> and i'm monica novotny live in new york.big picture" ement b embattled south carolina governor mark sanford returned towo to work today. jenny sanford has moved out of the governor's mansion. she found time to talk to "vogue" about her husband's affair. the person i married was centered on a core of morals. the person who did this is not centered on those morals. she went on to say while not living with the governor at the moment, she is at least open to the idea of reconciliation, david. >> monica, in the bigger picture a lot of people in south carolina and across the country are wondering what would possess jenny sentenanford to even cons getting back with her husband. she had this to say about working in her husband's political campaigns. quote, it was fun. campaigns are exhilarating because all sorts of people come out of the woodwork to help. so all sorts of people come out of the woodwork but she just couldn't paimagine her husband ever having an affair. joining us on the phone is gina smith, a reporter for the state n

. >> i'm monica novotny, live in new york, filling in for tamron hall.e big picture, town hall meetings turning angry and in some cases, violent. in tampa, florida, a crowd trying to get in, turned into a shoving match. and in detroit -- called a fraud and repeatedly interrupted as he tried to explain the president's health care reform. and in missouri, street fights after a raucous meeting held by russ karnahan. is this democracy being denied or perhaps something completely different? >>> how did an effort to explain and debate health care reform turn into a series of angry mobs? are these angry americans exercising the right to free speech or simply following the instructions of conservative operatio operatives in washington. the vice president for policy of freedom works, one group organizing the protests -- max, first of all, thanks for coming

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. >> i'm monica novotny, live in new york.ght now, thousands greet al megrahi today. he boarded a plane today in scotland and was released from prison on compassionate grounds. he is dying of prostate cancer with about three months to live. al megrahi is the only person ever convicted in that attack. he was given a life sentence, but only served eight years. the white house said it deeply regrets the decision to release him. >> we have been in contact with the scottish government indicating that we objected to this. and we thought it was a mistake. we're now in contact with the libyan government and want to make sure that if in fact this transfer has taken place, that he is not welcomed back in some way, but instead, should be under house arrest. >> many of the families of those killed in the bombing are outraged. >> for this to happen at this point in time to the man who put the bomb on the plane is just horrible. >> this is an insane journey. 20 years later, the sad, last chapter has been written. >> it was a cold-blooded mu

. >> i'm monica novotny, live in new york.g picture" right now, a possible thaw in the relations with north korea. bill richardson began two days of talks with the diplomats in santa fe and says they requested the visit to discuss energy initiative and the white house gave its approval. however, he insists he is not representing the obama administration. >> what i sense was one, the temperature is really cooled down in the relationship. it was very hostile. i think the clinton visit has helped a lot to release the two americans. and i sense with the north koreans that they are now prepared to have a dialogue with us. >> governor richardson was ambassador to the united nations during the clinton administrati administration. >> now to the bigger picture. why is north korea dealing with governor bill richardson and bill clinton and not hillary clinton and the obama administration? richard bush is the director for center for northeast asian policy studies. first of all, does it matter who the north koreans are talking to as long a

but first, let's head over now to monica novotny who's at the news desk with a hearing going on rightuld say, good afternoon, monica. >> nancy, good to see you. this is one of the big stories we're following today. it's the hearing taking place right now in los angeles to deal with michael jackson's estate and of course, custody of his three children. now, there are huge crowds outside the courthouse. lots of camera crews, as you'd expect. jackson's mother, katherine jackson and sister, la toya, entered the courthouse a short time ago. now, debbie rowe, the mother of jackson's two older children, she's not expected to attend. the superior court judge will be deciding a number of issues today. and nbc's jeff rossen is outside of the courthouse. jeff, what can we expect today? >> reporter: yeah, we can expect a few things. one of the things they're going to be tackling is, of course, the all-important custody deal. what will happen to michael's three children? as you know, there's been a lot of back and forth between debbie rowe, the biological mother of the oldest two and katherine jac

i am monica novotny in for tamron. >> and i'm david shuster. "hardball" starts right now. >>> 9.4.ading off tonight, been down so long, looks like up to me. for weeks the white house has been preparing us for double digit unemployment. that sometime soon the rate would hit 10%. well, the president's spokeman said that again today, but people around her figure the white house was relatively happy today when it got the monthly jobless news. the unemployment rate actually fell by 0.1 of a point to 9.4% and job losses last month totals 247,000, down from recent months. no one is suggesting these numbers are good, but, yes, they beat expectations and could give the president's poll numbers and leverage on health care a boost just when he needed it the most. why? because they say that his economic program of targeted and overall fiscal stimulus is beginning to pump some juice into this economy. >>> plus, let's ask this question plainly. is the anger at those health care town hall meetings only about health care or is it really about the culture war? and yes, sadly, about race? there's no

i'm monica novotny live in new york. >> i'm david shuster live in washington. >>> a short time ago a democratic national committee headquarters president obama wrapped up an every single state and every single congressional district. >> but in recent days many progressives have become extremely frustrated with mr. obama's conciliatory approach towards republicans and some of the deals he's been cutting with lobbyists. lengthy negotiations and concessions don't appear to have gotten the white house anything helpful. at least from the republicans. meanwhile, republicans like gop negotiator chuck grassley have been making false charges about reform proposals stoking public anger and throwing cold water on the idea that any republicans might support the bill. in an interview this afternoon with michael customer csmerconi president obama continued to offer them an olive branch. >> i want to give them a chance to work through the processes. we're happy to make sensible compromises. what we're not willing to give up is the core principle that americans who don't have health insurance should

time to bring in monica novotny with the latest developments in president bill clinton's rescue missiono north korea. hi, monica. >> good to be with you, nancy. right now the state department is about to hold a daily briefing. expect plenty of questions about that mission in north korea today. president clinton arrived in pyongyang for closed doors talks. he met with kim jong-il to discuss the release of those american journalists, laura ling and una lee. >> the good news is that those two female journalists who have been jailed for the past 4 1/2 months that they could come home. but there are real questions that are being raised about this trip. i've spoken with a number of asia experts today. we know that the white house sees this as a private mission by former president bill clinton. they don't want to comment on it. they want this to be seen as a private humanitarian mission and no decoupling with some of the other difficult issues that are out there. some of the concerns i'm hearing are being raised today is, one, this a propaganda tool for the north koreans? of course, the reclus

i'm monica novotny live in new york. >> and i'm david shuster live in washington.c storm season is in full gear with the first hurricane of the season, hurricane bill. it's packing 90-mile-per-hour winds and it's growing in size. over the next two days bill is expected to become a major hurricane as it moves on a track toward bermuda and possibly the east coast. we're also tracking tropical depression ana. the system could emerge in the gulf of mexico late they are week. it's always dangerous because of the warm waters in the gulf. and tropical storm claudette made landfall along the florida panhandle early this morning. it's been downgraded to a depression, but it could still bring heavy rain to the deep south. >> in the bigger picture, are those three pictures a sign of an active hurricane season ahead. ed rappaport is the deputy director for the national hurricane center. he joins us on the phone from miami. ed, colorado state university, they revised their hurricane forecast earlier this month bringing the number of predicted hurricanes down to four. two of tho

monica novotny. let me give it -- monica novotny joins me with a round-up of the headlines. i want to give you a big build-up. >> appreciate that. after two decades, remains of navy commander scott speicher were found in iraq. yesterday, transportation secretary la hood said the obama administration will suspend the cash for clunkers program unless the senate provides $2 billion for for the incentive. the plan has burned through its $1 billion budget in just days. >>> in turkey, a demolition project that went terribly wrong when the building was not exactly demolished. instead of collapsing, the old flower factory rolled right over and almost into a nearby building. no reports of any injuries. not sure what you could do with that information, but we love those demolition videos. >> we want to roll that again. >> that didn't do anything. >> where was that, in turkey? >> yes, in turkey. making way for a shopping mall. trying to demolish this building except not so much. look how close it comes to the other building. yeah. >> i guess that's a reason not to go up close. always w

monica novotny joins us now. >>> union jis shriver, the sister of john f.ennedy has died this morning at a who is hospital in massachusetts at the age of 88. among shriver's achievements is the founding of the special olympics. she's survived by her husband and daughter, maria shriver. >>> the search continues for the last of the nine passengers in new york city. on monday, dive teams found a body but were not able to dislodge it from the airplane. >>> in southern california, there's a hotel with rooms for his for $213 a night. why is that tent there? they'll lower the surprise if you bring your own sheets, skip the bed and electricity, in fact, you can get the whole thing for $19. they will throw in the tent for free, apparently, if you want to rough pipt becky, what do you think? >> i was reading up about this. i think the lowest price you get is if you agree to bring your own toilet paper, as well. >> yeah. and you have to go out toiletries. of course they're fought going to leave all that stuff out for you. >> forget it. >> that is where carl draws the

monica novotny joins us. good to see you this friday morning, joe.mer presidential candidate john edwards is expecteded to admit today that he fathered a child with his former mistress. last year, the former senator and vice presidential nominee acknowledged his affair with reall hunter. speculation rose about the paternity of her daughter. >>> an italian tourist on a boat in the hudson captured the video of a crash that killed nine people. >>> michael phelps was driving an suv that collided with a car last night. phelps was not hurt. the other driver was shaken up and taken to the hospital. police say no citation was issued and no alcohol was not involved. >>> one man is quitting the world, he says, by isolating himself on an uninhabited island off the coast of scott legion. he says the empty island makes it easier for him to go cold temperatureky. they did say, as you can see from that video, he had a few things with him. they said he was taking essential items. but i just wondered, did he sneak something in there? >> i bet he didn't. if you go to

for that we turn to monica novotny.g. >> hi, monica. >> hello. >> you're on television. >> i'm sorry. we're juggling a couple of things here. they were talking to me about the weather channel in my ear. about something we're doing for the weather channel. there you go. >> you want us to come back later? >> no. my apologies. shall we start? we do have serious news unfortunately. grim news over the weekend in the new york city area. seven bodies have been recovered from the crash site where a plane and helicopter collided over the hudson river. nine people died. teams recovered the wreckage but are searching for more pieces of the plane. >>> parts of asia are swamped in rain this morning. hours after a powerful typhoon ripped across the region.. hundreds of people are missing in taiwan. in mainland china, hundreds were forced from the coast. >>> inventors in russia competing. that is actually a flying competition. they're trying there. they want to see whose flying machine goes the distance. 31 teams using wood and plasti

communicate in less >>> time now for a check on the world of business on cnbc's own spice girl, monica novotny> you're appreciating my last story. i appreciate it. >> i'm a professional. i prepare. i know what you'll be talking about. go ahead. >>> more that two months after she was nominated to the supreme court, the senate will hold a nomination hearing for judge sotomayor. another two republicans announced their support for her yesterday. >>> lawmakers have agreed to vote on a plan that will add another $2 billion to the cash for clunkers program. >>> and here we go, it's the one you've been waiting for, finding a replacement for paula abdul on "american idol." it won't be easy, but england sun reports producers are negotiating with victoria beckham, the former posh spice. what do you think? yesterday, i was concerned, could they find someone to bring the crazy, and i'm thinking a spice girl could do it. >> she's crazy. i'm reading how this happened. in the times, monica, they offered -- >> beckham? >> yeah. she signs -- like simon gets $30 million. she wanted $30. they offered her close

g# >>> monica novotny joins us with a roundup of the headlines. >>> 28-year-old albert gonzalez alongith two unnamed russian acome mribs polices hacked into the database ott several retailers to steal information from 130 million online customers. >>> in a rare move, the supreme court held a rare summer hearing for information on troy anthony davis. >>> and new research finds traces of cocaine present on up to 90% of paper money in the united states. that is up 20% from a similar study done just two years ago. one possible reason, according to one of the researcher hes, an increase in drug deals during the recession. what city do you think had the cleanest bills? >> omaha. >> salt lake. >> i don't get the 90%, though. that is crazy. >> that is crazy. >> i think part of it is that they're saying the large scale contamination take place one the bills go into those cleaners. it's once they get in together, it gets pretty out a little bit 37 is that where it comes from? >> that's part of it. they say that's part of it, the actual use of the bills and it's when drug dealers make transition