i'm zafd shdavid shuster live i washington. tomorrow is barack obama's 45th birthday. conservative activists bombarded many of us in the media with twitter messages and messages claiming they have the smoking gun. but the kenyan birth certificate they pointed to is a forgery. even some republicans say the birth movement is making itself look ridiculous yet again. first the background. colorado attorney and birther leader released this document over the weekend and claimed it's a copy of a kenyan birth certificate with barack obama's name on it. he also filed the motion in federal court compelling the government to authenticate the document. it lists the president's birthday as august 4th, 1961. tomorrow is his 48th birthday. no doctor is listed but the document appears to bear the signature of the deputy registrar of the province. furthermore, it was allegedly issued as a certified copy of the original on february 17th, 1964. that, however, should have been the first clue that something was amiss. kenya didn't become a republic until december of 1964. secondly, when mr

. >> i'm david shuster live in washington.n, nothing stirs voter passions quite like a villain. in our big picture this hour, president obama and his health care reform supporters are trying to put the spotlight on what they call the evils of the for-profit health insurance industry. today at a town hall in new hampshire mr. obama painted the industry in the most sinister fashion to date. >> because right now we have a health care system that too often works better for the insurance industry than it does for the american people. i don't believe anyone should be in charge of your health insurance decisions but you and your doctor. i don't think government bureaucrats should be meddling, but i also don't think insurance company bureaucrats should be meddling. that's the health care system i believe in. >> the president noted that as things stand right now, any american could suddenly be denied coverage after filing expensive claims. others he noted are routinely turned away from new coverage if they have pre-existing conditions.

i'm david shuster. tamron hall and all of us at the big picture, hal with chris matthews starts right now. >>> the roar of the crowd. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, health menace. those angry, noisy, shout them down protests at congressional town halls about end of life issues with some republicans saying that government wants to off old people or at least get them to off themselves than about whether taxpayers will have to pay for someone else's abortion. we'll talk to two senators about the latest front in the political culture war. >>> also, about this cash for clunkers program, which car buyers seem so gung-ho about. >>> also, who is behind those protests at congressional meetings? are they the spontaneous grassroots, anti-government anger or are they what are called astroturf protests? in other words, systematically organized by the far right and backed by the insurance companies? >>> plus, caught the "hardball" primary. all three maj

. >> and i'm david shuster live in washington. and, monica, after 48 hours of getting pounded by the political left today, the white house went into overdrive to try to clarify their position and priorities in the health care reform debate. in the big picture, administration officials insist that president obama still prefers a public option in his health care plan. >> here is the bottom line, absolutely nothing has changed. we continue to support the public option that will help lower costs, given american consumers more choice, and keep private insurers honest. >> i think the president has discussed that a public option is his preferred method to add choice and competition, but he's certainly open to looking at and discussing other ideas. >> that is somewhat similar to what president obama said last month except for a big difference. the president at the time said any plan must include a public option, and note the word must. in this july 18th saturday address as opposed to the word prefer. >> any plan i sign must include an ins

apparently david shuster has been watching. >> i will do it. it's great to be here. >> you can see "morning joe" every day here on msnbc. we're going to talk more about that breaking news, those two american journalists in north korea freed after a visit from former president bill clinton. es >>> welcome back. we're following big breaking news out of north korea where the a.p. just confirming that the two american journalists there sentenced to 12 years of hard labor, euna lee and laura ling are free. this after a visit from former president bill clinton, he has met with kim jong-il among others and north korea accused them of spying and illegally entering the country. word is now they have been released or ordered to be released after a visit to korea by former president bill clinton. and we obviously are getting a lot of reaction and waiting for reaction, official word from the white house. but right now we have a planned guest with us and that is of course transportation secretary ray la hood, we booked the secretary to talk about cash for c

i'm tamron hall live in new york. >> i'm david shuster live in washington.upporters of health care reform lost one of the most passionate long-time and vocal advocates today. >> david, when senator ted kennedy endorsed barack obama for president, he was promised that health care reform would be at the top of the president's agenda. senator kennedy spoke about his passion for health care reform at the democratic convention a year ago yesterday. >> for me, this is a season of hope. new hope for a justice and fair prosperity for the many and not just for the few. new hope, and this is the cause of my life. new hope. that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every american north, south, east, west, young, old will have decent quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege! >> senator kennedy was not as involved in the health care negotiations as seld have liked certainly as he was southerly missed by his senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle. >> no person in that institution is indispensable, but ted kennedy comes as close to

. >> i'm david shuster live in washington.he big picture this hour, the amazing saga of marion barry, who currently serves as a city council member. he's now the subject of a new hbo documentary, the nine lives of marion barry. he first served as washington's mayor from 1979 to 1991. in 1990 he was the target of a high-profile sting operation and crack cocaine arrest. he was convicted and served six months in prison but was still elected to the city council in 1992. then in 1994 he was elected to mayor again. ♪ >> if marion barry can do it, he can get up off its knees and raise up and believe in itself again, and bring us out of where we are right now again. >> it was like he was doing a movie and you'd say, that really didn't happen, but it did happen. >> it did and soon after his 1994 election as mayor, mr. barry was treated successfully for prostate cancer and did not run for another term in 1998. in 2004 he was elected again to the city council. since then he's pleaded guilty to failing to file a 2005 tax return and was se

i worked for simon and shuster. the threshold imprint at simon and shuster of which i'm editor in chief has bought the book. i was involved in the preparation for the book meetings. i'm involved in working on the book. neither cheney nor any of the confident ants have any such thing as was alleged in that story nor will they in the book or -- and they haven't privately. so it's categorically untrue. what is true is that this man, the former vice president, has been in public service for 40 years. he served five presidents. it's going to be a blockbuster book. and he's going to say things that have previously been unsaid. and he has a lot of contemporaneous materials to support the book. >> well, jeff toobin, if he's saying things that were previously unsaid and a lot of those may have been a look behind the curtain this is a man who fiercely defended the white house's right to keep deliberations private. is there any contradiction there with writing a tell-all book? >> i don't think so. i think it's a great thing he

. >> and i'm david shuster live in washington. as you can see, live at this hour the kennedy motorcade is on its way to the john f. kennedy presidential library in boston. that's where senator edward m. kennedy will lie in repose until saturday. >> the motorcade left hyannis port, massachusetts, about two ours will go and is expected to arrive in boston any minute now. right now you've pointed out those live pictures of the motorcade making its way to the city. people in their cars slowing down to get a glimpse of this moment. before the motorcade gets to the library, it will drive by some historic sites in boston that had special meaning to senator kennedy. first to st. stevens church where his mother, rose, was baptized. her funeral has also held there. it will then kroz over the rose fitzgerald kennedy greenway. it was a park created to give mothers and children a little green space. the park sits on the same land kennedy's mother enjoyed as a child. we are looking at the park there now. you can see people standing as we have a

>> i'm david shuster. that's monica. "hardball" starts right now. >>> bombshell.g, i'm chris matthews in new york. leading off tonight. suspicions confirmed. for a long time critics of former president bush suspected his administration politicized our national security for political gain. now they have what appears to be proof. tom ridge, who served as bush's first secretary of homeland security says in a new book that he was pressured by top bush administration officials, including secretary donald rumsfeld and john ashcroft, to raise the terror threat level from yellow to orange the weekend before the 2004 re-election election. re-elections of the presidency for president bush that is. in other words, the bush team tried to manipulate hype, if you will, the terror eye letter level to invite panic and win votes right before his re-election tuesday. we'll get all that in tonight. >>> also tonight, has president obama gone to original alert in his health care reform push? today's "wall street journal" reports that the white house and democrats are considering split

i'm david shuster live in washington. >> i'm tamron hall live in new york. big picture right now, the president and vice president both on the road today talk about the impact of the economic stimulus. while the president spent time in hard-hit elkhart, indiana, vice president biden was in detroit talking about the city and of course, the auto industry. >> for michigan to recover and for our nation to recover, we have to build on detroit's rich past. i'm not saying that because i'm here, but i'm saying that because it's true. we also need to have a vision, a vision of what can be a richer, better future. >> the vice president also announced nearly $2.5 billion in taxpayer grants today to develop next generation electric vehicles and batteries which will also create tens of thousands of jobs. much of that money will be going to michigan. >> tamron, now the bigger picture. vice president biden and michigan governor jennifer granholm were embracing today, they are long-time political allies both trying to work together to improve the economy in michigan and the

i'm david shuster here in washington, and what a day this has been. in what they're calling a war on terrorism. neither is the united states fighting jihadists. in a speech, president obama's top homeland security and counterterrorism official john brennan officially declared terms crafted by the bush administration unacceptable. >> the president does not describe this as a war on terrorism. that is because terrorism is but a tactic, a means to an end. likewise, the president does not describe this as a global war. describing our efforts as a global war only plays into the warped narrative that al qaeda propagates. nor does president obama see this challenge as a fight against jihadists. describing terrorists in this way, using a legitimate term as jihad, with i means to purify one's self, risks giving these murderers the religious legitimate si they desperately seek but in no way deserve. it risks reinforcing the idea that the united states is somehow at war with islam itself. >> brannon declared it is now solely a war with al qaeda. >>> and now, dav

i'm david shuster live in washington. >> i'm tam ran hall live in new york.orcade carrying the body of senator edward kennedy. we've been watching an incredible morning and an incredible moment in hiflt for this country as they travel routh 3 to route 93 to boston. we expect the motorcade to pass or cross over the rose fitzgerald kennedy greenway. that's a park senator kennedy joined with community leaders in creating that giving mothers and children green space in the heart of the city. let's bring in anne thompson live at the john f. kennedy presidential library in boston where senator kennedy will soon lie in repose. give us an idea what people are saying, the feeling of the moment there as we watch this motorcade continue to that point. >> reporter: tamaran, every year about 200,000 visitors come here for the john f. kennedy presidential library to visit it. it's one of the most popular tourists attractions in the city of boston. it has exhibits about the life and times of john and jacqueline kennedy. there's an xibexhibit to bobby kennedy, and there's re

i'm alex witt live here in new york. >> and i'm david shuster live in washington.g picture right now, there's an international manhunt for a reality television star accused of murdering his ex-wife who was a model. ryan jenkins appeared on the vh1 show "megan wants a millionaire." authorities say he's now on the run after killing his ex-wife in southern california. the 28-year-old swimsuit model jasmine fiore's mutilated body was found last saturday stuffed in a suitcase in a dumpster with her fingers and teeth removed. police believe jenkins has fled to canada and is on foot. >> at this time it is our belief the suspect has crossed the border into canada and we are currently working with the royal canadian mounted police in our attempts to locate him. last night the black bmw was located in the city of blain, washington, with a boat trailer attached. >> authorities say fiore and jenkins were briefly married after a las vegas wedding earlier this year and had been fighting lately. police say the two checked into a san diego hotel last thursday and jenkins checked o

. >> i'm david shuster live in washington. big picture" president obama's push to control his message on health care reform. the president spoke with guadalajara, mexico today. he didn't specifically reference the heated town hall meetings that have erupted across the country, but he did say in time reform will pass. >> i suspect that once we get into the fall and people look at the legislation that's being proposed, that more sensible and reasoned arguments will emerge and we're going to get this passed. >> the white house has turned to the internet in an attempt to educate the public about health care reform. you're looking at something called reality check. the administration launched this website to try to dispel myths fleti floating around about some of the health care reform proposals. there have been claims they want a government-run plan. on this site the white house tries to hit back and say that's not true. there are a number of videos, and the white house is already facing some criticism from democrats who say putti

i'm david shuster live in washington. >> i'm cameron hall live in new york. good afternoon, everyone. in the big picture, health care town hall. david, as we know, they've been disrupt add cross the country. some have even turned violent. now there is a report of someone bringing in a gun to a meet and greet, not a town hall, but still nonetheless a member of congress present. a visitor dropped a gun and picked it up at a meet and greet event held at an arizona grocery store last week. now her aides did call police after fearing for the lawmaker's safety. no one, thankfully, injured in that. nobody arrested. meanwhile, president obama is trying to take back the discussion on health care reform after angry town hall meetings took the focus away from what many, of course, say the real issue here. the white house is trying to get the upper hand in this message launching a new website called realitycheck. the obama administration is using it to clear up the myths out there about health care reform. and house democratic leaders have also set up a health care war r

. >> 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

that does it for tamron hall as my name is. >> and i'm david shuster. "hardball" starts right now. >>> going west to save health care reform. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm lawrence o'donnell in new york in for chris matthews. leading off tonight, on the road again. with polls showing support for health care reform slipping, president obama hit the road again. this time in belgrade, montana. the crowd was much friendlier than those rowdy town halls we've seen from members of congress, but the president finally did get a couple of questions that were not complete softballs. chuck todd joins us in a moment from montana. >>> plus, you know those end of life counseling provisions in the health care bills which republicans like sarah palin have distorted into death panels? well, it turns out that republicans like sarah palin were actually for end of life counseling before they were against it. that's just one of the inconsistencies we'll discuss with an opponent of reform, republican congressman john culberson of texas joining us in a moment. >

i'm tamron hall. >> and i'm david shuster. perhaps the most intriguing exchanges for the town hall. we're pleased to be joined by the man who asked that question. randy, i understand you traveled more than 400 miles to get to the town hall. were you satisfied with the president's answer? first of all, you asked about the cost. the president said two-thirds of the transition will be paid for, another third in taxes on the wealthiest americans. your reaction to the president's answer? >> i'm somewhat happy with his answer. i think he was as honest as he possibly could be. the problem being i don't think he knows where that money is going to come from. if he does, he's not saying. >> what makes you think he doesn't know? is it because you're afraid, i don't know, unions will say, no he he can't raise money a certain way or wealthy people will say you can't raise money based on higher taxes of us? what is your concern? >> the special interests. they're going to say yes or no on their little bit of deal. i'm going it say yes or no

. >> i'm david shuster live in washington. after watching the obama administration's message get buried in the health care debate the last couple weeks, there was some good news today for supporters who wondered if the obama message machine still works. in our big picture this hour, the president interrupted his vacation this morning to take the focus away from some new startling reports about the federal deficit. he put the spotlight on what's been working in the economy. the actions of fed chair ben bernanke. the president and bernanke appeared at a school this morning. he said he was reappointed bernanke when the fed chair's term is skecheduled to end at t end of the year. >> as an expert on the causes of the great depression, i'm sure ben never imagined he would be part of a team responsible for preventing another. because of his background, his temperament, his courage, and his creativity, that's exactly what he's helped to achieve. that's why i'm reappointing him to another term as chairman of the federal reserve. ben ap

. >> david shuster and tamron hall pick things up next.lists in north korea today. have a good day. limb: dude that was sick! i've been hangin' up there for, what, like, forty years? and then - wham - here i am smacking the pretty off that windshield of yours. oh, what you're looking for an apology? well, toss another coin in the wishing well, pal. it's not happenin'. limb: hey, what's up, donnie? how you been? anncr: accidents are bad. anncr:but geico's good ding! with onsite windshield replacement. tylenol doesn't interfere with certain high blood pressure medicines the way aleve metimes can. that's one reason why doctors recommend tylenol more than any other brand of pain reliever. ♪ and now in my sixties, they are again. grandpa, are we there yet? i have the freedom to do what i want... and go where i want. grandpa, come on! freedom is what i like about my medicare supplement insurance. i can see the doctor i want, where i want, anywhere in the country. now your sixties can be a time of freedom again... with aarp medicare supplement in

i'm david shuster live in washington. tamron, breaking news continues at this hour.onia sotomayor has made history by

i'm david shuster live in washington.t this hour, a significant sign the recession may be easing. the nation's unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly last month. the first drop in 15 months. the news was cheered by wall street. the closing bell just rang and the dow is going to finish up over 113 points. the unemployment rate dipped 0.1% last month. the numbers are encouraging but the economy still lost 247,000 jobs last month but that's the fewest monthly job losses in a year. it's a huge improvement from january when the economy shed 741,000 jobs, the worst monthly loss. >> the president found today's numbers encouraging. >> this morning we received additional signs that the worst may be behind us. though we lost 247,000 jobs in july, that was nearly 200,000 fewer jobs lost than

i'm david shuster live in washington. >> i'm monica novotny live in new york.s the day off. >> on the issue of health care reform, this has not been a good 36 hours for progressive democrats. in our big picture, the obama white house appears to be backing away from the so-called public option, the idea there should be a government-run health insurance program without profit incentives that can compete against the for-profit insurance industry. most progressives are convinced this is the only way to keep the insurance companies in line and rein in their skyrocketing fees and until this weekend president obama

. >> i'm david shuster live in washington.ee who will be surrounded by loved ones. the two journalists stepped off the plane. their arrival was mark by ling as you saw raising her arms and audible

i'm david shuster live in washington. >> good to have you back, david.n hall live in new york. >>> starting with breaking news. two separate earthquakes hitting mexico today on the baja peninsula, the first 5.8, the second is 6.9. no reports of damage yet. we're hearing that hundreds of miles to the north in san diego workers did briefly evacuate city hall. nbc's robert bazell south of the city reports they did not feel anything there, but waiting to get more word on any aftershocks or details on any possible damage after those two quakes. also david, in our big picture today, it's been four days, where are three american tourists captured in iran? swiss dim mats are working on behalf of the u.s. to find out more about the fate of those missing americans and what has happened to them? the tourists were hiking as we reported last night in northern iraq. they reportedly got lost, straying across the border into iran. iranian state television says that is where iranian gasts arrested those tourists. just a few hours ago, secretary of state hillary clinton h

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i'm david shuster, live in washington. >> hey, david, i'm live in new york. david, the big picture right now, a lot of people. the white house takes on critics of its health care plan, het care reform and trying to calm the nerves of those who have legitimate questions about what the plan is. president obama back on the road just wrapping up the town hall in portsmouth, new hampshire. the reason he picked new hampshire, 89% of the state's residents have health insurance, it's also a state with a long-standing tradition of public discourse in town has and perceived as being very independent. today the president started a key problem facing many americans today, the fact that they are denied coverage when they have preexisting conditions, very real concern for a lot of people out there. >> they will not be able to drop your coverage if you get sick. they will not -- they will not be able to water down your coverage when you need it. your health insurance should be there for you when it counts. not just when you're paying premiums. >> this is what was happening

tamron hall and david shuster take over after a break.as a change of heart on facebook. first she says one thing and now another. now calling for civility in all this talk about the health reform plan. initially she called it down right evil. what caused the change of heart? cameron and david are up after a break. s shopping for a new car, ♪ ♪ which one's me - a cool convertible or an suv? ♪ ♪ too bad i didn't know my credit was whack ♪ ♪ 'cause now i'm driving off the lot in a used sub-compact. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free credit report dot com, baby. ♪ ♪ saw their ads on my tv ♪ thought about going but was too lazy ♪ ♪ now instead of looking fly and rollin' phat ♪ ♪ my legs are sticking to the vinyl ♪ ♪ and my posse's getting laughed at. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free- credit report dot com, baby. ♪ mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic signal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you. you okay? yeah. onstar. standard for one year on 14 chevy

i'm david shuster live in washington. >> i'm tamron hall live in new york.in a few weeks the first family will vacation on martha's vineyard, reportedly renting the blue heron farm that comes with an apple orchard, several gardens, a basketball tee, a small basketball court. secret service, press corps and any staff that needs to travel. similar properties in that area rent for $30,000 to $50,000 just for one week. >>> tamron, now the bigger picture, the selling of the president and when is it too much? that's the focus of the cover story in ""new york magazine."" jennifer senior writes since occupying the white house barack obama has hosted 15 town hall meetings, more than 800 images in the white house flicker photo stream. the same number by bush in his entire presidency. jennifer senior joins us. one of the most fascinating lines. you write, the president has taken a fair amount of heat for this full saturation approach. friends and critics alike have claimed it cheapens his words, smacks of desperation. jennifer, you want to tell us who these friends are

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i'm david shuster live in washington. >> and i'm monica -- first up, the big picture, white house pressbbs is insisting today that president obama still wants a public option in his health care plan. here's what he said just 15 minutes ago. >> the president, his position, the administration's position is unchanged. that we have a goal of fostering choice and competition in a private health insurance market. the president prefers the public option as a way of doing that. if others have ideas, we're open to those ideas and willing to listen to those details. that's what the president has said for months. coincidentally, that's what the secretary of health and human services has said for months, that's what i've said for months. i think the suggestion somehow that anything that was said saturday or sunday has been new administration policy is just not something that i would agree with. >> so what exactly does the president want in his health care plan? >> the president is focussed on many different goals. cutting costs, coverage for millions that don't have accessibility, making this defic

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i'm david shuster live in washington. tamron, today in dramatic fashion the obama white house underscored that bipartisan in health care reform is now the priority even if that means watering down democratic plans, abandoning campaign promises, and not directly confronting the false charges of leading republicans. in our big picture, it all became clear from the soft approach today towards republican senator charles grassley after grassley made a huge false claim about democratic plans. yesterday at a meeting with constituents in iowa, grassley repeated the lie that's been made on the republican frung th fringe. >> in the house bill there's counseling for end of life, and from that standpoint you have every right to fear. we should not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma. >> but there are no such government programs in any democratic bill. and even grassley's republican colleagues have called the charge false. well, this afternoon faced with the choice of either condemning gr

i'm david shuster. >> another great shaw. "hardball" chris matthews live from new york. "hardball" now. >>> manslaughter. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in new york. leading off tonight, manslaughter. the news broke late this afternoon the los angeles county coroner has ruled michael jackson's death a manslaughter. jackson's death was caused by lethal levels of an anesthetic called propofol, that's according to findings by the los angeles chief medical examiner unsealed in court documents in houston, texas, just today. we'll have the latest details in just a moment. >>> plus, terror report. conservatives wanted it kept under wraps. liberals wanted it out, and tonight a cia report on the treatment and mistreatment of prisoners in iraq and afghanistan has been released for all to see. the report reveals that cia interrogators threatened to kill the children of a september 11 suspect. in another case an interrogator allegedly tried to convince a suspect that his mother would be sexually assaulted in front of him. at the same time attorney genera

i'm david shuster. >> always a pleasure being with you. i'm tamron hall. that's if for the big picture. up next chris matthews. >>> cheney attacks obama. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in new york. leading off tonight, stuck in the middle. what is president obama to do now that his attorney general has ordered an investigation into prisoner abuse by the cia? if his people don't pursue the investigation,ev investigation wherever it leads, liberals will be furious. dick cheney has released a statement saying the president can't keep the country safe. do you believe that? can't keep the country safe. we'll hear the fight. >>> also danger on the right. weep seen the gun nuts at the obama rallies claiming they're just exercising their constitutional rights. now we're witnessing a sharp uptick to the growth of conspiracy obsessed right wingers who hate the federal government. especially one headed by an african-american. we'll talk to the head of the southern poverty law center about how serious this threat is. >>> and it's safe to s

. >>> welcome back, i'm david shuster, live in washington. >> and live in new york. >> monica, in today'san be fake. >>> believe it or not the "new york times" reporting that scientists in israel were able to fabricate dna in samples, also able to create dna samples to match dna profiles in a law enforcement data base. the lead author of a paper on all of this says you can just engineer a crime scene and any biology undergraduate could perform this. all of this, of course, raising serious questions about the reliability or the future reliability of dna evidence. joining us now from pittsburgh, the renowned forensic pathologist, attorney, and medical legal consultant. doctor, great to see you. is there any concern given how easy they're making this sound, is there any concern this is already happening? >> well, there certainly is concern. i don't believe there's going to be undertaken by anybody with just a simple undergraduate degree in biology. but it's very frightening, and what is incredibly ironic is the national academy of sciences report in february of this year, which came out high

david shuster has the day off. we want to start with breaking news regarding the death investigation of michael jackson. we just got official word from the coroner that michael jackson died from acute propofol intoxication and that his death has been officially ruled a homicide. our pop culture correspondent for msnbc.com, we heard this information leaked out a few days ago but now it is official. >> correct. a lot of people are saying, what ls new about this? what's new is that what we had before was just information that came from the search warrant affidavit. this is coming from the coroner's office saying unequivocally they've ruled this a homicide and that the cause of death, not what we think might have killed michael jackson, but the actual cause of death, they're saying, is propofol intoxication combined with the benzodiazepine effect. we've been talking about benzodiazepines as the drug lorazapam, another thing they list in the coroner's statement, the sedatives michael jackson was known to be taking at th

. >> and i'm david shuster. up next, "hardball" with chris matthews. a big interview ahead. you don't want to miss this. "hardball" starts right now. >>> it's getting weird now, weird. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in boston. leading off tonight, in your face. welcome to town hall america. take a look at what happened when senator arlen specter held a town meeting today in lebanon, pennsylvania. >> you want to be let out of here, you're welcome to go. wait a minute. now, wait a minute. now, wait a minute. now, wait a minute. wait a minute. wait a minute. >> i have every right to -- >> wait a minute, wait a minute. he has a right to leave. >> wow. a similar scene played out later this afternoon when senator claire mccaskill held a town meeting in hillsboro, missouri. add in the protester with the gun strapped to his lower leg who showed up at a church near the town hall event that president obama held in portsmouth, new hampshire today. it's legal to carry the gun in that state, but this is what happens when the demagogues turn up the heat and th

. >> by way of full disclosure and accuracy, simon shuster bought the book, i'm with simon shuster, i happened. whoever this participant was is some figment of bart gelman's imagination. none of us spoke to him for that kind of story. secondly, we've known dick cheney for 30 years. does he ever imply anything? the reason you all like to interview him is because he flat out says what he says. he's not going to from what i've seen in the book and heard in the book meetings and know what's taking place now, the man was in public service 40 years, worked for five presidents. he's going to talk about the career, what advice he gave and what wasn't taken, he now can explain what that was. that is not why that advice is rendered. it's not ipso facto maligning whatever president he worked for to give his own opinion. >> nothing's wrong with the former vice president of the united states writing his memoirs and trying to explain his side of the story for the historic record. >> if you put it that way. but if he trashes george w. bush, that would be -- >> you think he's going to trash george w.