lauer along with meredith vieira, al roker, and tamron hall. anne is off today. coming up, first of all, these are two very groovy coats you're wearing. we're in the traditional drab coats and you guys are dolled up. >> busting out. >> coming up we're going to have more of your exclusive interview with donald trurp. >> he is wondering whether the voters will take him seriously. his thoughts on that just ahead. he's doing very well as he points out. >>> of course another stalwart of nbc mr. bill cosby. we know when it comes to certain topics like educating our kids, he is very, very serious. >> what is he doing? >> i guess we should have put a wireless mike on mr. crosby. >> we should get that worked out before the interview gets started. >> he's no longer with us now

. >>> hi, everyone, i'm tamron hall. "news nation" is following today's encouraging news. >> jobs. 216,000 new jobs were added in the month of march and the nation's unemployment rate fell from 8.9 to 8.8%. that is a two-year low, and still 13.5 million people are listed as unemployed. president obama spoke a couple of hours ago about the better than expected, new numbers. >> that makes 1.8 million private sector jobs created in the last 13 months, and the unemployment rate has now falling an full point in the last four months. in the last time that happened was during recei recovery in 19 >> mike viqueira joins us live from the white house. as mentioned, i'm sure the white house wants to hear it over and over, aga good news, but you ha people hesitant to try to get out and find a job, not confident in this recovery. >> reporter: yeah. the white house and the president are quick to point out the fact there's plenty of work to be done, a bumpy road ahead, experts are saying this jobless rate is going to fluctuate up and d

tamron? >> thank you very much.lorida where it is scheduled for lift-off at 3:47 p.m. eastern time today. wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords is attending in support of her husband, mark kelly, the commander of "endeavour's" final mission. president obama and the first lady are scheduled to attend. >>> jaycee duggard's file, philip and nancy garido are expected to serve life sentences. duggard said she is, quote, relieved. >>> and there is a lucky lady who doesn't need a prince for a diamond. beth gilbertson found a nearly nine-carat diamond at the crater of diamond state park where the rules are finders keepers. it is one of the largest found there. gilbertson said she first thought it was a piece of glass. are you kidding me? it's 9:13. back to al with a check of the weather. >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by pandora. celebrate life's unforgettable moments with charms from pandora. >> as we look behind, you can see folks streaming out of the traffic circle here by queen victoria's monument. n

tamron? >> john yang live in tokyo. thank you. >>> toyota will suspend some european factory operations for several days due to the disaster in the home country of japan. the world's largest automaker has stalled production until at least early may. nissan and honda have also been forced to slow output volumes in europe. >>> now to a check of u.s. markets. cnbc's erin burnett is at the new york stock exchange. good to see you. >> you, too. earnings are the most important thing. jp morgan reporting better than expected sales and profits. all eyes here will be on the president's speech at 1:30 eastern about his plan to reduce the deficit. the debt ceiling remains front and center here. the government borrows money all the time. this week we're borrowing $66 billion. so far investors not demanding higher interest rates to lend to the united states. but we'll have another so-called auction today, things that seem else teric, but with this talk, this is the front lines of what the debt ceiling mea

tamron? >> john yang live for us in tokyo. >>> after fierce fighting this weekend gadhafi has told the african union that he supports a cease-fire, but rebels are sticking to their demands that he step down immediately. stephanie gosk is in benghazi t with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, tamron. there is a protest that is growing outside of our hotel because that african union delegation is here to try to convince rebel leaders to agree to the peace plan they say gadhafi has signed off on. protesterers want gadhafi to step down and until he does, the fighting continues. the battle for ajdabiya, the second in a month, lasted two days. the town was crushed by gadhafi's artillery while rebels responded with whatever they could. these fighterers strs struggled position makeshift rockets, even dropping the launcher before they fire. there were claims the government is relying on foreigners. this man is algerian, he said. we killed him. at a critical moment when it seemed the r

tamron? >> stephanie gosk, thank you. >>> brazil is in mourning after that country's first school shooting. a former student entered a rio de janeiro middle school killing 12 children before turning the gun on himself. this footage shows terrified students fleeing the classroom pursued by the gunman. >>> amazing and rare video, a baby eagle caught on tape breaking through its shell at the top of an 80-foot-tall tree. bird watchers have been watching the nest via web cam for weeks. this was the last of three eggs to hatch there. it is now 7:17. back to meredith, david and al. this is the four-year anniversary for the mom and dad eagle. they have had an eaglet every year. >> we have been watching every time. >> i'm going to be there and spy next time. >> that will put a damper on things. >> speaking of damper, we have rain. >> we have severe weather coming up. as we look at today we have severe storms stretching from springfield, missouri, all the way to lexington, kentucky, knoxville, tennesse

. >> tamron hall is in. >> good morning, everyone. libyan leader moammar gadhafi is defiant today despite two high profile defections and reports that his power base and regime are deteriorating. this as gadhafi's forces push the rag tag rebel army back into eastern libya. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in benghazi. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. in a written statement gadhafi said that the west had started a crusader war between muslims and christians. and as you mentioned, for several days now gadhafi's troops have been pushing back the rebels. well, we've seen that the rebels are trying to hold a defensive line about 120 miles outside of benghazi and for the first time they are standing and fighting. they are firing rockets and mortars directly at gadhafi's troops even without western air support, so they are doing a little bit better and not retreating as we've seen them doing and just giving up territory day after day. >> all right, richard engel live for us in benghazi. thank you, richard.

tamron? >> stephanie, thank you. the president elect of ivory coast is hailing a new era of hope after a stand-off as the president refused to give up power despite losing the vote. he was captured monday from his bunker in the presidential residence. a man suspected in last week's california synagogue bombing has been arrested. ron hirsch was arrested outside cleveland. the blast sent a 300-pound pipe cleveland. the blast sent a 300-pound pipe hurtling through the rooff synagogue's neighbor. no one was hurt in that explosion. a claustrophobe's worst nightmare came true for new yorkers including a girl with asthma who were trapped in a stalled elevator. a tourist filmed the ordeal in the stifling elevator. after an hour, firefighters came to the rescue amid cheers and sighs of relief. okay, that's an interesting word to use there. 7:08. it is one of those "what wouldle you do" moments. gives you chills thinking about it. >> they got out safely. >> i'm so taking the stairs today. >> we're on the ground floor actually.

. >>> we now turn over to the news desk where tamron hall is filling in for ann this morning. tamron, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt and meredith, everyone. >>> a government watchdog issues a report today alleging the treasury department may have overpaid law firms managing the financial bailouts. the report says the treasury did not keep adequate records of $27 million in payments and so put the american taxpayer at risk. the treasury says it's working to implement the report's recommendations. >> new signs of japan's troubled nuclear facility as tepco officials say current high temperatures and elevated levels of radiation are signs that it may be time to completely remove the rods. >>> north korea has confirmed that it is holding a u.s. citizen and plans to charge him with an as yet unspecified crime. pyongyang identified the man who is believed to be from california. former pennsylvania senator rick santorum is the latest republican to test the waters for the 2012 run for the white house. he announced wednesday he's opened a presidential fund raising committee,

tamron? >>> all right. al, thank you. on today's daily doze, surviving ups and downs.ith hormones. these powerful chemicals not only affect you but the people around you. i'm trying to catch my breath. it's hormonal. nbc's chief medical director, dr. nancy snyderman. >> that's it. it's hormones as work. >> nonetheless we often refer to our home moans out of whack. what does that mean? >> our bodies are cascaded with hormones. there's thepy tu tear glanld that goes to your thyroid gland that goes to your other glanlds, the pancreas, your kidneys, even the testicles and ovaries. they keep us in these biorhythms and when one is out of sync, you know, we sometimes feel this. but these are normal hormones that all human beings possess. >> what functions are controlled by our hormones? >> our most basic is our metabolism. >> it's stoked because i ran. >> our growth and development. mood swings. even if your thyroid is out of balance, you hear women talk about being fatigued or being hyperactive, a change in your skin. and women particularly when they're in the reproductive y

i'm here with tamron hall.ssignment but meredith is at buckingham palace in london covering the preparations for friday's big day. the big wedding. coming up, i understand you will give us a rare look inside kensington palace where prince william grew up. >> he grew up in apartments 8 and 9. it isn't what you think of as a typical apartment. they were very large. apparently he loved kensington palace and once he gets married there are report that is he wants to make it his home when he and kate are in london. you may not know it but he hasn't rehearsed for the wedding yet. everybody else has but he's been out as a search and rescue pilot doing his duty in the air force. he's on leave for a few weeks so he's due in the church this week. i'm sure kate is saying, you better get over there and know what you're doing. he'll be doing that this week. they said easter at her home. when they get married the middletons will still be a part of gatherings. that was an important thing for him to do. natalie morales is in ka

by the way, tamron, since katrina, 2,700 people spent the night in shelters. at least 14 dead and 20 wounded. the country's interior minister says the explosion appears to be a criminal act. >>> president obama is urging americans and lawmakers to focus on more pressing matters of state after releasing his long form birth certificate. in an effort to put questions of his eligibility for office to rest. he and first lady made light of the situation during the taping of the "oprah show." set to air may 2. president obama said he remembered the exact meet he was born in hawaii. in the meantime donald trump took credit for the release of the document. president obama announces major shifts in his national security team as they say defense secretary robert gates has informed the commander in chief that will retire on june 30th. he'll nominate leon panetta to replace him. he will nominate general petraeus to take the helm at the cia. >>> if you have an appetite for all things william and kate, how about a slice of pizza celebrating tomorrow's royal wedding. how abou

tamron hall has a look at what's next on "news nation."iew, michelle rhee. >> yes, we do. michelle rhee responding to the scandal plaguing the washington, d.c. district. libya, reports that the rebels are willing to agree to a cease-fire, if gadhafi pulls back. a live report from libya. >>> plus, developing news about a drug manufacturer was slammed for the price of a medicine that would help prevent preterm births. the company now has caved, you might say. they've dropped the price. but some say the cost is still outrageous and an insult to women. "news nation" is back in minutes.ernin, o ofammy's fish box. i opened the first sammy's back in 1966. my employees are like family, and i want people that work for me to feel that they're sharing in my success. we purchase as much as we can on the american express open gold card so we can accumulate as many points as possible. i pass on these points to my employees to go on trips with their families. when my employees are happy, my customers are happy. how can the gold card help serve your busin

good morning, michelle. >> reporter: hi, tamron. the world 2,000 people are coming to the wedding having to think about things like, do i wear the hat or the fascinator, walking stick, no walking stick? this is one of the rare occasions you can embrace tradition in all its glory. it's like the senior prom for aristocrats. you know the press will be looking at who will be the next poster girl or guy for the faux pas. if ever there were a time to bust out with all the fancy finery, dandy dressing your imagination can muster it's a royal wedding. a feast for the eyes where everyone -- and we mean everyone -- is expected to comply. top hats and kilts, towering headresses of lace, oh, yeah. these are old traditions come out to strut. you may have a blackberry in your pocket, but it's in a proper mourning suit for the guys. for the ladies, all the demure confections protocol can dream up. but, oh, there are rules. >> for the shoes, a plain oxford. very plain. >> like this? >> possibly with a tipped cap if you like. >> not fair. which mean