nbc news chief correspondent ron allen is in martha's vineyard. ron, good to see you. >> good to see you, carlos. how are you some. >> good. so no rest for the president and strong words in an early renomination of ben bernanke for a second term. because the president could have waited several months, correct? >> he could. the term doesn't expire until the end of january. this had been talked about for some time. it's our understanding they've had discussions going several weeks. they had a meeting in the white house last wednesday and the white house spokesman here today said after that meeting there was so much speculation about bernanke being reappointed that they wanteded to get this off the table and that is why they did that today. however, this is also a day where there are terribly economic numbers coming out. there are projections of 9 trillion dollar deficit the next ten years and economy expected to contract by 8.2% this year and higher than expected and unemployment expected to linger. so you might want to make the argument that the wh

ron allen, nbc news, new york. >>> turning now to the history that was made today in washington, d.c. america has a new supreme court justice tonight. justice sonia sotomayor was sworn in at the court this morning and at ceremony made history in more ways than one. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams joins us from the supreme court tonight. pete, good evening. >> lester, good evening. there's never anything quite like what we saw here today. how it happened where it took place, how it was covered, even when on a saturday. this was a day of firsts. >> good morning and welcome to the court. >> nearly everything about this sayceremony made history. as her mother salina held the bible and her brother juan stood by, chief justice john roberts led her through the oath. >> i sonia sotomayor do kohl let mely swear -- >> reporter: formally making her the first are hispanic supreme court justice. >> so help me god. >> congratulations and welcome to the court. >> friends and family members applauded and she hugged her mother who raised her as a single parent after her father died when she

ron allen now with that part of the story. >> reporter: hurricane bill has been sending waves up to 20 feet crashing along the eastern seaboard causing dangerous rip current, closing beaches from delaware to new england, at least nine miles of new york city's public beaches, an area before six swim verse drowned in recent weeks, one of the deadliest summers in many years. >> the last thing we weren't it would to is close the beach on the a hot day in santiago, but the national advisory issued by the national weather service is pretty strong and pretty clear. >> reporter: the biggest fear is rip current, the deadliest hazard swimmerses face, pushing swimmers out to sea that are the reason for about 80% of all rescues and 100 drownings each year. when waves crash on a beach, the surf rushes back out forming narrow channel, strong flow of water pushing away from shore, often at a rate faster than an olympic sprinter. >> stronger rip currents going out into deeper water. >> reporter: some west palm beach, florida, recently, rip currents pulled a swimmer some 200 yards away from the beach,

ron allen, nbc news, new york. ♪ >>> that is our broadcast for this thursday evening.ry in for brian williams. for all of us here at nbc news, thank you. and good night. thank you. and good night. ♪ -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

our report tonight from nbc's ron allen. >> how are you? >> reporter: hours before president obama's vacation ended, he treated his girls to ice cream and candy. >> you decided to get some gum after all. >> reporter: the kind of family time the president said he had in mind for the week on martha's vineyard. a chance, friends say, to renew himself. >> it's a very tough time. he's a very tired person, even at 48 years old. >> reporter: while the president attendeded fun ralg of senator edward kennedy who had called health care the cause of his life, opponents already were launching fresh attacks on the president's health care plan. in a weekly radio and internet address, a key republican senator showed little hint of compromise. >> the democrats are trying to rush a bill through the process that will actually make our nation's finances sicker without saving you money. >> reporter: the president leaves martha's vineyard to continue the health care fight at a time when his approval rating is at its lowest point of his presidency, and falling f

our report tonight from nbc's ron allen. >> hi, president obama!you, man. >> reporter: when president obama played golf today, he chose a course on the island in a town called oak bluffs. a community that's especially proud, and not surprised the first family chose to vacation here. >> we see him as one of us, and it's nice to know that he sees us as part of him. >> reporter: this is the polar bear club, mostly african-americans, who swim and exercise every summer morning at a beach called the ink well, a ritual dating back more than 60 years. ink well is so named in part because famous black writers like langston hughes and dorothy west found inspiration here. professor deloris elaine good of wesley university is a fourth generation islander. >> 1899 my great grandmother was a chamber maid in the wesley hotel. >> reporter: many blacks who came here as servants later bought property in one of the few places they legally could. now many of those colorful, ornate cottages line oak bluffs' streets. >> why we come is because of the camaraderie and the

our report tonight from nbc's ron allen. >> pull!> reporter: john anomi's classroom is the great outdoors. that's why he is at this gun range. a lesson about shooting, and patience and persistence and trying to inspire his students from class compass academy to dream big. >> i did it. >> there is an element of trying to give our kids the ability. [ gunfire ] to see something out outside of the box. and to participate in. >> reporter: that box is the inner city. and anomi tries to provide a way out with a camp that is a year-round academic and recreation program. sharing his passion for hunting and outdoor sports because he believes that made all t difference for him growing up in a troubled home. >> there was some abuse. you know, and i found critters. i found mother nature because i was trying to escape that abuse. i love the outdoors but i love my kids even more. the rule for classes here is what? >> reporter: skeptics told him he shouldn't be teaching inner city kids about guns. buanomi insists he gets positive results. >> good sh

ron allen, nbc news, philadelphia. >>> a big bank failure to report tonight. colonial bank group based in montgomery, alabama, being put into receivership by the fdic. its deposits and branches will be taken over by north carolina, based bb & t. colonial had $25 billion in assets making it the fifth largest bank failure in u.s. history. it is expected to cost the fdic insurance fund $2.8 billion. >>> the labor department said today consumer prices are falling this year at the fastest pace in 59 years. the consumer price index down 2.1% in july from a year ago, arsh 1e stntpemoop2 h dr since 1950. on wall street today, stocks lost groun>> but closed well off the lows of the day. the dow finishing down under 77 points. >>> when "nightly news" continues on this friday evening, are scientists getting closer to unlocking the secret of how much sleep we actually need? >>> later, making a difference, a team effort to help young people facing an uphill battle to get an education. ort to help young people facing an uphill battle to get an education. r-linking, blind-sp

ron allen, thank you. we will be returning to talk to you as we get closer to the president's town hall. the president will be speaking there in an hour. we saw the president boarding air force one moments ago. >>> now that today's provocative daily topic. it's august. the president's poll numbers are about to be tumbling. he is greeted by a number of protesters and one guy with a gun. we take a look at four presidential tipping points. aurie, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> i can't get to your tipping points until we talk about the guy with a gun in new hampshire. we saw pictures of him. what do you make of that? >> i think it's really odd. when i traveled on senator obama's campaign plane there were tremendous clearinghouse service. we would go in hours before and everything would be sniffed by dogs and they had tremendous authority as far as i could tell being there that secret service working with local authorities to sweep, to clear and remove people. forget holding a gun. the service would wo

now for another perspective of the vineyard, we turn to nbc's ron allen. g there for years. what do you suppose is the traction of the island for the obamas? >> reporter: i've been coming up here about 30 years, lester. it's a very special place, something that samantha didn't mention, because of the ferry, it's a very difficult place to get to. we had to make some effort to get to. you can fly, of course, but most people come on boat. the fastest you can drive a car is 45 miles an hour. there are no traffic lights, no chains like mcdonald's. we were just talking about that here. another thing that's special about this island, there's a very significant african-american community here that's been here for generations. it's very unique in that regard across the country. i don't think there's another place like it. that's one of the great attractions. there's history, there's family. and i'm sure that's part of what has drawn the obamas back here. they've been here before, before the president became the president. he has a lot of friends here, who summer her

for "today," ron allen, nbc news, fifrl. >> we'll be right back.nbc. >>> still to come on "today" -- when you shop in a dollar store are you really saving money? the answer may surprise you. >>> a penquin who's wearing a wet suit instead of his traditional tuxedo. we'll find out when we meet ralph the penquin. just to get out of bed. then...well... i have to keep winding myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the trouble concentrating, the lack of energy. if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor about pristiq®. (announcer) pristed i tovepcrn monatin proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain, serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens and young adults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18. do not take pristiq with maois. taking pristiq with nsaid p

nbc's ron allen is on the new jersey side of the hudson river in hoboken. ron, as the search is suspended, the investigation certainly is continuing. what is the latest? what are the new details that they're piecing together what happened there? >> reporter: well, they say it is suspended because there is a lot of activity on the water. there have been boats out there, crane on a boat. there seem to be divers and little boats. we can't tell if they're going in and out of the water. but there is a lot of activity for what is a search suspended. that is something we'll ask the ntsb about when they have the briefing at 4:30 or 5:00 eastern. we believe one reason for the delay is that the ntsb officials were talking with the families that were involved in this. and this really was at some level a family tragedy. there was a family aboard the plane headed to the jersey shore for vacation time. there was a family and some friends aboard the help couldn'ter from italy who were victims of that part of the tragedy. at this point we really don't know what they are fin

nbc's ron allen.thanks for the report. >>> and by the way, that protester with a gun that we mentioned, his name is william costrick. he will be a guest on "hardball" tonight with chris matthews. it's coming up one hour from now. -n >>> how is the insurance industry responding to attacks from the democrats. today is not the first day the presidents a accused the industry. he once accused insurers of abuses and record profits. nancy pelosi called them, quote, villains. a democratic organization is accusing the insurance industry of, quote, stirring up fear with false rumors. the head of a group that represents insurance companies says democratic lawmakers are not helping their case by vilifying the insurance industry. they say members of congress will come back to washington without a strong sense that health care reform is doable, and that would be a lost opportunity. we think health care reform is going to be won or lost in august. that's from karen ignagni and robert zerkelbach, i hope i got your la

ron allen is live there at martha's vineyard. it is a good sunday morning to you. understand it is going to be a very private vacation for the obama family. right? >> reporter: that's certainly what they say. they are staying out -- off the beaten path in a place called chilmar. not a place most tourists now, 25-acre estate. they have their privacy. beach, tennis, golf. but, of course, when you are the president of the united states nothing gets completely private. we are expecting to see the president on the island. lot of supporters who want to see him. and things inevitably come up on the presidential vacations the president may be asked to respond to. the results of the afghanistan election are going to happen in a few days' time. and he might be asked about his response to what happens over there. there's also rumor and speculation about what he will do from things like playing golf with tiger woods perhaps. there's rumor and speculation oprah winfrey may come and visit. there's discussion that we are hearing now it is not going to happen. it may happen. the p

coming up, we will get a live report from nbc's ron allen, who is on the scene. >>> a man is divorces his wife, and he has a good reason. she hired a hitman to kill her husband. investigators say they caught her on camera bargaining for the hit saying her husband's death would make her husband. and they faked her death, and then caught it on camera when they told her, and then they arrested her. >> jason brody, and josh freeman are michael's attorneys. nice to see you gentlemen today. >> good morning. >> michael, tell me how you are doing now that you have had time to let the news sink in, your wife of six months allegedly tried to kill you? >> well, honestly, it has not really sunk in yet. i still am in disbelief about the whole thing. i understand what happened, but, you know, i was home alone a couple nights ago, and i have not felt comfortable in my house. i get it, but it has not sunk in yet. >> when you say uncomfortable, do you mean you don't feel safe? >> yeah, i really don't. i lock the door -- it's just the idea that somebody was supposed to enter my home and do what they we

ron allen is in martha's vineyard. we will promise we won't see too much of the president this week. now, it appears we'll see him twice. yesterday with the bernanke announcement. >> indeed. it's turning out to be a very busy time for the president. he was out last night, in oak bluff, one of the towns here on the vineyard, with the first lady and a number of friends for dinner at a restaurant on the main drag, circuit avenue in oak bluff. it's what the people wanted. the people wanted to see him out and about. they wanted to catch a glimpse. he didn't sign autographs, but he was there, nontheless. his remarks have been delayed because he's in a secluded part of the island. a farm, an estate of 25 acres. it's taking efforts to get the ability for him to do this live. we had a piece of paper earlier this morning, but i believe the next statement is going to be live on camera. i think, in part, it's because the president feels strongly about senator edward kennedy. he has a deep connection to him. he talks about how sena

. >>> with us is ron allen. itter, the people are reaching out, accusing this event ago being stacked with plants. it was very civil, especially compared to the ones we have seen. how were they tickets handed out for the folks to get into this event. >> reporter: well, we talked to many of the people who went into the event. most said they applied on line and randomly got tickets. only a few said they got from the local congressional office or somehow seemed to be attached to the obama campaign in the past or the administration in some way. which was striking. i would have thought they would have in some ways stacked the deck, but it sounds like, based on a unscientific sampling, most people got them randomly. people are very thoughtful about this in new hampshire. most of the people they talked to said they had nod made up their mind. a couple small business people in particular were glad to hear the president talk about the complexities of the various proposals out there, and talk about some of the rumors, but

nbc's ron allen is in philadelphia. ron, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. michael vick plans to practice with his new team the eagles later today but he's been busier off the field doing public relations work trying to convince skeptical fans that the eagles are right to offer him millions of dollars and welcome him back to the national football league. on the practice field, quarterback michael vick wears his old number 7. but he has none of the swagger that once made him one of football's biggest stars and highest paid players. with the $130 million contract. >> i made some mistakes, i've done some terrible things, made a horrible mistake. and now i want to be part of the solution and not the problem. >> reporter: the eagles shocked the sports world when they announced last week they signed him to be their backup quarterback. vick had been banned from football indefinitely after a raid at his virginia farm uncovered a dog fighting ring where gamblers bet thousands as the animals often fought to the death. a crime that sparked angry protests. now bankrupt

. >> nbc's ron allen in portsmouth. ron, people were expecting maybe folks would jump up and try to shout over the president. inside the president actually had to solicit opposing views or opposing questions. >> reporter: it was very civil inside, tamron. i don't think many people expected it to be otherwise given the authority the president commands. the crowd, some people thought, might have been staged, but there's every indication from talking to people online as they went in, that most people got their tickets they say online in somewhat random fashion from a white house website. some did say they got through a congressional office of some sort, suggesting there was -- but most said they got them randomly. out here there were several more protesters very peaceful. there was a street that leads up to the high school. people for the obama health plan on one side, people against it on the other, very few people crossed the street during the course of the day. coming out, a lot of people said they were persuaded somewha

ron allen is where the first family is vacationing and where the president was making his comments.good morning. yes, he is going to make his comments. in the place where he's been staying with the family keeping a fairly low profile. he has been out -- the statement has been delayed about an hour or so, we thought it was going to happen earlier this morning. the president is taking his time to be very sure of what he wants to say and heart felt statement. i don't thing it's going to be difficult. i know he wants to say the appropriate and close thing. he seems to be taking this personally based on the statement he sent, piece of paper he sent earlier. the two were very close friends. president obama essentially credits senator kennedy with a lot of the reasons that made it possible for him to become president himself passing civil rights legislation in the 1960s, the beginning of his career. we expect the president to appear any moment. we think he will speak as long as ten minutes. >> the president also got early support from senator kennedy as he launched his campaign. and i unde

let's bring in nbc's ron allen at martha's vineyard where the president has been vacationing. us about what the president had to say, ron. >> good morning to you, ed. yes, the president spoke with mrs. kennedy early in the morning around 2:30 after word at 2:00 am of the senator's passing. before he arrived, there was speculation the president might stop off in hyannisport to visit his ailing friend but that was not meant to be. today the president is at a private beach spending time with the first lady and two daughters. he came out earlier today and delivered a heartfelt speech and remarks about senator kennedy. here is a passage where he talked about the senator that was ted kennedy. he passionately could battle others and do so purelessly on the senate floor for the causes that he held dear and, yet, still maintain warm friendships across party lines. and that is one reason he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished americans ever to serve our democracy. >> they became very close friends. interestingly, barack obama was bo

. >> nbc's ron allen is in hoe boeken, new jersey right now. ron, i understand the ntsb is expected to give a news briefing. are they learning anything new about why this happened? >> reporter: not as of yet, contessa. the search has been suspended temporarily we believe for the debris and two bodies they're still looking for because of the conditions some 60 feet deep in the hudson river where the debris is believed to be. the searchers think they found the plane or at least most of it. it is marked by bouies behind me. they're small from this vantage point. but they do sewn ar to do that. they have not attempted to bring it up. there is a crane on a boat hovering through the area mostst morning which could be a sign they may attempt to bring it up at some point. they already brought up the wreckage of the helicopter. that happened yesterday. once they get those two things on land, they'll start looking at them to see if they can determine how the accident happened. for example, the leading theory now seems to be pilot error. the helicopter was

nbc's ron allen has more. >> reporter: just outside new york city, it's been one of the deadliest summers anyone can remember at the beach. six drownings in the past two weeks. with hurricane bill approaching, waves already over eight feet and the threat of powerful rip currents, public beaches will be closed. the coast guard is watching and warning. >> we're not expecting winds over 34, 35 knots. expecting heavy surf this weekend. >> reporter: seeing strong rib currents. the deadliest of a surfer's fate, pushing swimmers out to sea, 80% of the re cueses and over 100 drownings per year. the waves on the beach, the surge prushs out make a channel. a strong flow of water pushing away from shore, often faster than aolympic splinter. >> stronger rip currents going out from the beach underneath the water. >> reporter: in palm beach, florida, rip currents pull add swimmer some 200 yards away from the beach. by the time rescuers reached him and brought limb ashore, it was too late. >> like this, until they got there, and he was under water. so -- not much you could do. >> reporter: if caught in

this crow 80s -- >> interesting political timing, though, jonathan capehart to ron allen's point. the day they announce an additional $2 trillion in deficit by their own mathematics at a time when he claimed not to want to make any news at all, he suddenly decides to create bernanke headline. in other words, is that too much of a conspiracy? >> it could be. this -- >> these days. >> this is a huge decision. as you said, he said everybody relax. no news will be made. i look at it the other way. this announce many comes in between two big things. yesterday was the release of the cia or the announcement of the independent prosecutor. huge news. late last night they announced that this or at least out that this would happen. >> 9:00. >> leading with bernanke as opposed to cia today. >> the other thing is it comes just before the announcement of this $2 trillion buffer in the deficit which we thought we knew was come. it can also be that the reason why bernanke was reappointed, remember, he is a bush administration appointee. the obama folks come in and it could be that bernanke proved

. >> ron allen in philadelphia. monica, i have to tell you, i drove up to the east coast this weekend. that was all you heard about. as soon as you got within 100 miles of philadelphia, talk radio was just burning up about this question. do you love the eagles. do you love them enough to give vick a chance? fascinating debate. >> there's a gender divide out there as well. a poll that came out last week ahead of this interview was saying 7 in 10 male fans are in favor of vick. only 4 in 10 female fans feel the same way. >>> the feds called in to investigate a police beating caught on dashcam video. does that tape tell the whole story? >>> plus, first hurricane of the season gaining strength in the atlantic. where and when will it make landfall? >>> but first, what's in your wallet? some news about what's contaminating american currency. you're watching "the big picture" on msnbc. 90s slacker . ♪ singer: buckle up, everybody 'cause we're taking a ride ♪ ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt your pride ♪ ♪ it's

. >> ron allen at martha's vineyard, thank you. talk to you soon. >>> is the economy bouncing back? opened this morning above 9500 off gains of more than 1.5% last week and oil prices climbed above $74 a barrel amid new expectations that demand for energy will grow. john joins us from washington now from the "the wall street journal." good to see you. >> how are you? >> good. what do you make of all of this as well as central bankers gathering in jackson hole, wyoming, all seeming to feel like the corner has turned? is that solidly felt on wall street and elsewhere? >> a i just got back last night from these jackson hole meetings where you are had the major fed officials and central bankers from elsewhere in the world gathering for their annual retreat. the mood was upbeat more than a year ago. the consensus is that things have stopped getting worse. we might be turning around but there was a real error of caution, an error of don't get ahead of ourselves. we might have bottomed and looks like we're in position for recovery but, you know, the economy has been through a major shock a

ron allen with the very latest on michael vick's return.ast night's interview? >> i think reaction to the signing of vick last week was pretty split. the fans are torn and if it skews one way or another based on talk radio and on newspapers and radios, it is slightly negative against the eagles signing him. of course, the crime that he committed and the other part of it is that the eagles are a championship team and they have an established quarterback in donovan mcnabb and a lot of fans don't understand why the eagles need michael vick. he brings a new dimension to their offense and help them win, perhaps. he's been out of football for a couple years, but the risk reward, some people don't quite see it and this is an unfold process that is just beginning and there are some animal rights organizations that they'll put billboard along the road leading up to the eagles stadium and some protests going on online and also online you can buy michael vick's jerseys for $245. it's cutting a lot of ways. again, this is the beginning of a long proces

we heard ron allen talk about senator kennedy's endorsement of barack obama during the primary campaign in 2008. let me ask you this. andrea, start with you. talk about senator kennedy's real political power and then david, i'll go to you with his aura and what surrounded him. andrea? >> first of all, the real political power was the fact that he was a legislator. having decided after 1984 in fact when he said he never would be president he turned to the senate and became the greatest senator of our generation in either party because he was able to work even a little uncomfortably with some democrats like jimmy carter when he was president who was much more conservative than teddy kennedy. as a legislator he was the greatest man in the senate. but then he had the torch. he carried the flame of the kennedy legacy. that is what we saw passed to barack obama. that was such a powerful moment in the campaign. it came after the south carolina victory. it came at a moment when we saw caroline kennedy endorsement in the "new york times." then that great moment for obama, and for kennedy, as the

ron allen traveling with the president and at martha's vineyard this morning. good morning. ing to get a briefing from the white house spokes people about the president's day. right now they are on a remote part of the island. and yesterday the president gave every indication he doesn't want to make news here. there are tens of thousands of people on the island that would like to see the president do something in public. and before he left washington, here is what the president had to say about august and his thoughts about this time of year. >> last year about this time, you will recall that the republicans had just nominated their vice presidential candidate, and everybody was -- the media was obsessed with it. cable was 24 hours a day. obama has lost his mojo. do you remember all that? there is something about august going into september where everybody in washington gets all wee-wee'd up. >> he will be here until august the 30th. the only events on the calendar is his arrival and departure. we figure out what he will be doing, even if it's beach reading. >>> this morning,

president will make that announcement in about 29 minutes' time, and that's where we find nbc's ron allenout what's going to happen in half an hour? >> good morning, carl. the president's going to arrive here with ben bernanke. it's a bit of a surprise. we heard about this late last night. it's not surprising it's happening but it's surprising it's happening right now. the reasons are not real clear. one reason, perhaps, because there's going to be a deficit projection released later today that's going to be $2 trillion higher than originally thought. this is also good news story for the president while he's on vacation because there's not going to be, it would seem, a lot of opposition to mr. bernanke's reappointment. he's, praised generally throughout the financial communicate although there are some critics who have concerns about the role he has played as fed chairman, the amount of money he's injected into the financial system, future inflation and how you unwind this process. but, again, this may shift the focus of discussion to the economy, to the financial crisis. and how we have

ronald reagan's hosted the ron reagan show and allen gotly founded the second amendment foundation.ould a person bring a gun to a president yool event. >> i think the only legitimate reason would be for self-defense, in which case it's better to carry it concealed rather than open carry. i think politically it's not an asuit decision to make. while it's maybe legal, i think it doesn't help the pro gun rights cause when you see people do that. >> what is their motivation? >> their motivation is they know president obama is anti-gun rights and they're raising an in your face kind of thing saying it's my right and i can do it. but it doesn't sell right and doesn't get much converts to our cause. >> you really believe that. >> yeah. >> you're not just bs'ing me. you really believe this is gun rights and his position on gun rights even though we've had democratic presidents for years who take basically the same position he's taking on gun rights and nobody has shown up at events carrying guns ever. >> well, i don't think they've been quite -- there's no doubt obama's most anti-gun rights