the iowa supreme court held the state law limiting civil maiageon manndne n atheaiif liigunr the iowa constitution. because the statute restricted the numerous privileges that flow from civil marriage to a limited class of citize. iveser law r 200en rd to married persons. because the iowa constitution expressly states that any law inconsistent with the constitution is vd the supreme court declares the offending aifs t rief raedhe anrd t cnty recorder could not rely on the unconstitutional restriction on a person who could not obtain a marriage license and was obligated to issue a licences to e sisameex ces oesnnd there. the second chapter involves io's retention election. iowa has a system that is somewhat similar to arizona. we he a commison bed oo js -thprocs begins with a 15 member non-partisan commission that screens applicants for judicial office reviewing extensive information about each applicant's background, edatiorofessional skls plts css it t names of the three most highly qualified candidates for the governor who is then required to pick the new judge from the commission's

you can learn the "iowa's" history through all the conventional means.o get the personality part, you really have to be here. >> welcome aboard. >> reporter: and you can be here. on the "iowa's" vast decks, beneath its gun turrets, because the "iowa," here in san pedro saved from the scrap heap for one final voyage to its berth as a museum ship. you may hear from younger vets who didn't see war but served during the "iowa's" darkest moment in april 1989, the accidental explosion in turret number two that killed 47 men. >> the ship is in my heart. >> reporter: older vets who survived enemy fire but haunted to this day by memories of war at its most gruesome. >> after tide came in, there was bodies out in the water. it was horrible. >> reporter: so many stories and this majestic physical creation, emblems from the last days of seaborne battleship warfare. >> we're bringing a close to a class of ship that no longer sails the seas. >> when they did -- >> we felt safe on it. >> reporter: a nation felt safer, too. mike taibbi, nbc news, san pedro. >> that is o

the other aspect of iowa's merit selection process are the retention elections. retention election a judge runsnopposedndots oowhr otn jge rnoerm. i for supreme court justice is eight years. historically, politics had played no role in judicial retention elections and iowa justices hadot found it necessary to forampaign mmte to eage ndisinpa in y mne in the 2010 general election that followed the 2009 decision, three members of the iowa supreme court were on the ballot for retension. the 2010 retention elections weer fro p bee otipaon e decision, the justices on the ballot were targeted by a mississippi based group, afa action inc. persons supporting afas campaign against the justices deg iowa to be a same-sexcou marriage state. interestingly, this claim was not based on a critique of the court's legal analysis. e didr o mieret the iowa constitution in finding the defense of marriage act violated the plaintiffs' equal protection rights. rather, the court was criticized for ignoring the will of the people, and for ruling ntry to l isat criticism was particularly t

they live at the iowa state penitentiary. behind this 40-foot stone and concrete exterior is a population of drug abusers, murderers, and the mentally ill. on the west bank of the mississippi river is one of the oldest prisons in the country, iowa state penitentiary. there is a separate facility at iowa state penitentiary called ccu, the inmates who are considered mentally ill are housed here. lieutenant john fedler oversees the correctional staff at ccu. >> the staff have been through specialized training to be able to deal with the mentally ill inmates. >> up to 200 men can be housed in ccu. most of them reside in single cells in one of the four general population pods. >> i am here for depression. i was out on work release. i escaped from a work release center because i couldn't find a job. i robbed a bank in my hometown where the work release center was. i got in a high-speed chase with state troopers of missouri and local law enforcement. i hit one of the state troopers head on, trying to commit suicide. and i killed the

the south lawn. >>> a fourth of july tragedy in iowa. three young children who drowned in a river were family members. the children were on an independence day outing with family and friends in marshall town. it's about 50 miles northeast of des moines. the children, two girls and a boy, ages 7 to 9 got separated from the others in their group. authorities searched the iowa river for three hours before they were found. >>> power should be restored by tomorrow to most of the customers who lost electricity because of severe storms. utility crews worked through the holiday in brutal heat. this morning, about a million customers remain without power in the mid-atlantic states. that's down from more than 3 million. 26 deaths are blamed on the storms and the following blackout. >>> out west, good news concerning the massive wildfires. it rained in colorado yesterday. that helped calm the so-called waldo canyon fire near colorado springs. the most destructive fire in state history. firefighters hope to have it fully contained by sunday. >>> in u

the state of iowa donated $3 >> many have worked tirelessly to ensure the u.s.s iowa will forever be erved. >> walking the historical ship again brought back fond areas. >> i used to slip out through the anchor chain and get on the anchor and i'd hide out if i didn't have any work do. >> the u.s.s iowa is nicknamed the battleship of presidents. its passengers included fdr, ronald reagan and the first president bush. >> the ship's only bathtub was installed specifically for president roosevelt in 1943 to accommodate his handicap as he traveled across the atlantic. >> i pledge allegiance -- >> his great granddaughter led the pledge of allegiance at the ceremony. >> one of the best ways to understand history is to have an experience, to feel and touch and and see it. >> the ship opens on saturday. teresa garcia, cbs news, san pedro, california. >>> up next, your thursday morning weather and in sports, a full day of action oon the fourth including a fitting winner an the president's race in nationals park. beneful baked delights... - [ barks ] are crispy, oven-baked dog snacks with soft s

the world war 2 ship u.s.s. iowa underwent refers refurbishment at port of richmond before going to southern california. today it opened as a floating museum in san pedro. >>> and a joyous day relate we opened the people of los angeles will support it and come see it. >>> and a dead, for the first time ever the u.s.s. iowa was open to the public. hundreds welcome her into her new home of san pedro, this nine year-old boy came from cupertino to experience the battleship. >>> i've been dreaming to sit with my own eyes >>> home for the 2450 people for a while when i was on that >>> the san pedro residence and guests from across the country flooded the ship which stretches three football fields in length. complete with a theater museum and gift shop this fiver a boy got at and the first shot aboard the uss iowa he received part of the ribbon cutting in the ceremony. >>> i worked on the guns when we were in korea >>> he stepped aboard the vessel for the first time since he turned it served aboard in 1952- 1955. if the u.s

came from the state of iowa. us on the tour, the ship is staffed with veterans volunteering their time. >>> his fight for human rights has inspired millions around the world, including his family members who today are launching a unique tribute to his legacy. still to come, my exclusive conversation with the grand daughters of nelson mandela. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. so how much do we owe you? that'll be $973.42. ya know, your rates and fees aren't exactly competitive. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage with quicken loans, you'll find that our rates and fees are extremely competitive. because the last thing you want is to spend too

caller: with the state of iowa. and i'm appalled at your attack on the collective bargaining and reducing benefits of the good workers of the state. i just wanted some comments on that. guest: voluntary. caller: the thing is -- guest: first of all it's not an attack on collective bargaining. what i said, i'm going to lead by example and the lieutenant governor and i and we're encouraging other employees in joining us since we're only one of six states where most state employees pay nothing towards their health insurance, we think this is a way we can set a good example in help reduce costs, and i think people should have some skin in the game so contributing 20 percent, which is a pretty small amount compared to what most people in the private sector and nonprofits and certainly self-employed, paying 100 percent, so we think that's a right and fair thing to do, and i think the vast majority of iowans were appalled to hear that we had 88 percent of city employees contributing zero to their health insurance. host: gove

it is the retired battle ship uss iowa. ansformation became official today with a big ceremony at the vessel's new home. the port of los angeles. many of those invited to the event once served on the iowa. >> i used to slip out through the anchor chain and get on the anchor and i would hideout. if i didn't have any work to do. >> the iowa was commissioned back in 1943. it's been out of service since 1990s. it opens to the public as a floating museum this saturday. one small item of note, the ship's only bathtub was installed specifically for president roosevelt in 1943 to accommodate his disability as he traveled across the atlantic. >>> after the break, a patriotic philanthropist saves a holiday festivities for a cash strapped city. >>> and what's more patriotic than 20,000 calories worth of questionable meat. the annual nathan's >>> back on 9 news, the people who ran mexico's presidential election last weekend will open half the ballot boxes and recount the vote. presiewmed loser alleges some funny business at most of the

. >> welcome aboard the uss iowa. >> aboard berth 87 in port of los angeles, it's easy to get in the mood and imagine what life was like for sailors in world war ii. awe whau what a marvel of naval architecture it is. >> more than 3,000 waited in line this morning. >> for them they have to learn three facts and then go to the gift shop. >> the crowd was treated by the surprise by the world war ii aircraft flyover. >> that is better than going to disneyland. the nonprofit pacifica battleship center raised $9 million to move and repair the ship, $3 million from iowa. those from there got in free today. >> it is different. we don't really have ports in iowa. fu fun to be here. >> you'll see quite a view from the bridge of the battleship. >> quite a view. see the harbor from here. see the 16-inch guns. >> reporter: the popular spot is the captain's cabin taken over by president roosevelt in 1943 when the iowa took him to the conference. >> the captain had to not only give up his quarters, but the officers with, with a special bathtub. >> makes you want to join the navy. >> yeah, ha-ha. y

the other gentleman from iowa would strike the last word. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes and i thank the gentleman for bringing this amendment, i do represent the counties that are affected by this and some of mr. boswell's cows as well and when you look at the fsa offices and you realize that there has not been analysis of the workload and just an analysis and sometimes the distance from county seat to county seat. that's not a business model in my view, and i think good, government management needs to be with the business model and so i've encouraged the secretary to move forward with that kind of an analysis. this is a stronger encouragement to the secretary to do so and i support this amendment and i yield back the balance of my time and the member seeks r recognition and move to strike the last word and i'll reluctantly oppose this amendment because this does not say that we should have them study the workload. it says they're going to prohibit the closure and relocation and people need to understand, you know, we're cutti

. >>> thousands board the uss iowa for a trip down memory lane. we'll show you how the ship has been brought back to life. >>> look at these pictures. what are these bears up to? >>> for years the uss raise battleship sat idle in richmond. but today that ship came to life. we go on a tour, including a look at president roosevelt's quarters. ♪ >> welcome aboard the uss iowa. >> reporter: aboard the big stick in the port of los angeles it's easy to get in the mood and imagine what life was like for sailors in world war ii. >> what a marvel it is. >> the line will move slowly. >> reporter: more than 3,000 people waited in line this mortga morning. >> they have to learn three facts. >> reporter: and the crowd was streeted with this world war ii aircraft flyover. >> better than going to disneyland. >> reporter: the non-profit center raised 9 million to move and restore the ship. those from iowa got in free today. >> it is fun to experience it. >> reporter: you will see quite a view from the bridge. >> quite a view. you can see the harbor and both 16 inc

fever. >> the u.s.s. iowan thanksgiving and christmas. >>> the national park service says it won't decide on dog leash rules for another two years. the gold gate national recreation area wants more time to go over its options. one plan reduces off-leash areas and bans off-leash dogs on federally managed beaches and trails in marin, san francisco, and san mateo counties. the marin independent journal reports the park service has gotten thousands of comments from marin dog lovers who don't like the plan. >>> the heat wave on the east coast could start to cool down a bit today. temperatures expected to fall into the 80s and 90s after days of triple digit heat. the extreme temperatures have been linked to at least 30 deaths. meanwhile, thousands of people in the mid atlantic region are still without power one week after severe storms move through that area. >>> a four month old has died, and a 16 month old is in critical condition, after they were left inside hot cars in two separate incidents. both incidents, tho

in a state the size of iowa, that is preposterous. how does either side appeal to a state with that unemployment? >> for president obama he has to hammer away at the idea that his policies have been working for them. i think for mitt romney, he is not going to be in iowa today. i am sure he will go there and every little bit counts and i think mitt romney can go to iowa and say you are doing fine. you are doing okay. you could be doing better. 7.4% unemployment. >> 5.1. >> 5.1. mitt romney has been saying if he were president he could bring unemployment down below 5%. mitt romney would have a message he could take to iowa and independent voters who are concerned and worried about where the country is going. the economy. >> i want to bring in an iowa congressman who knows about his state. good morning. >> good morning, chris. >> we saw the president get on the plane. it will be his fourth visit to iowa this year. the first lady has been there multiple times and the vice president has been there. this is a state with 6 electoral voels. t

joe johns has more from the battleground state of iowa. 3 --reporter pkg-as follows -- even though theesident maintains a lead in our nationwide polling it appears to be a different stooy in the 15 battleground states, including iowa where we met this group of young voters at the court avenue estaurant and brewing company in des moines.. our latest cnn orc out to an 8 point -- 51 ny is - percent too43 percent advantage among percent percent to 43 romney issout to poll indicates mitt latest cnn orc poll indicates mitt romney is out to an 8 point -- 51 percent to 43 peecent advantage among registered voters advantage among registered voters in the 15 states we consider in play. the 7 true toss up states and the 8 states leaning either toward the president or his republican challenger. nnck republican challenger. nick pottabaum has supported romney since the iowa ccucuses -- and pragmatism as a key selling point.. if you look at his record in terms of his ability innthe private sector and being governor of definitely some interesting insight into his ability just obama's had four years to

on the west coast. iowa retired in 1990. the ship underwent repairs in richmond before being towed to l.a. this spring. now iowa's governor left a hospital in l.a. this evening after fortunately during today's celebration. let's go to spencer christian and watching the weather. >> there was fog around but not enough to obscure the view. there is fog off the coast right now which had been streaming through the golden gate earlier. we have mainly clear skies and pretty cool around the bay area. temperatures in the 50s. 60 degrees at fairfield and these are the highlights. fog pushes locally inland. it will continue to try to assert itself. it will cooler in most areas tomorrow and we'll have a much warmer pattern developing this weekend. now let's take a look at national weather picture, we have a sweltering and dangerous heat wave covering most of the continental u.s. about the eastern three-quarters of nation. here in the bay area, mild to warm conditions. looks like we are going to escape the grips of this

on the west coast. iowant repairs in richmond before being towed to l.a. this spring. now iowa's governor left a hospital in l.a. this evening after fortunately during today's celebration. let's go to spencer christian and watching the weather. >> there was fog around but not enough to obscure the view. there is fog off the coast right now which had been streaming through the golden gate earlier. we have mainly clear skies and pretty cool around the bay area. temperatures in the 50s. 60 degrees at fairfield and these are the highlights. fog pushes locally inland. it will continue to try to assert itself. it will cooler in most areas tomorrow and we'll have a much warmer pattern developing this weekend. now let's take a look at national weather picture, we have a sweltering and dangerous heat wave covering most of the continental u.s. about the eastern three-quarters of nation. here in the bay area, mild to warm conditions. looks like we are going to escape the grips of this intense heat wave. take a look at

on the west coast. iowa retired in 1990. the ship underwent repairs in richmond before being towed to l.a. this spring. now iowa's governor left a hospital in l.a. this evening after fortunately during today's celebration. let's go to spencer christian and watching the weather. >> there was fog around but not enough to obscure the view. there is fog off the coast right now which had been streaming through the golden gate earlier. we have mainly clear skies and pretty cool around the bay area. temperatures in the 50s. 60 degrees at fairfield and these are the highlights. fog pushes locally inland. it will continue to try to assert itself. it will cooler in most areas tomorrow and we'll have a much warmer pattern developing this weekend. now let's take a look at national weather picture, we have a sweltering and dangerous heat wave covering most of the continental u.s. about the eastern three-quarters of nation. here in the bay area, mild to warm conditions. looks like we are going to escape the grips of this

as it begins a new chapter. ♪ o' er the ramparts we watched ♪ >> the iowaioned at a museum in the port of los angeles. the uss iowa was built in 1942 and served in world war 2 and the korean war. >>> be thankful this group didn't show up at your barbecue. they took part in a fourth of july tradition, nathan's hot dog eating contest. wow. competitive eaters chowed down on coney island, and the biggest eater was joey chestnut. he won again, and devoured a world record 6 hot dogs with the buns in 10 minutes. sonya thomas wins the women's division with 45 hot dogs. the prize was $10,000. >>> in sharp contrast, i ate one hot dog for dinner tonight. >> it's just remarkable. >> it is. >>> lets take a look. we lucked out tonight. no shower, no thunderstorms, yes, cumberland, westburg, western washington county, and a bit of northern virginia did catch some pretty good thunderstorms. look at temps and conditions. it's still a very warm light. 86, southwest winds at 3, humanity's way up, and the dew point is way up to 73 now. 65% humidity. locally in the 60s where th

the u.s.s iowa is now opened as a floating museum in southern california. ttleship open on saturday. the i was there for years as a taxi for franklin delano roosevelt. a navy veteran who served on board the u.s.s iowa spoke with us. >> she is a gorgeous shipped. she is an engineering masterpiece. one of our nation's treasures. i first came on board in november of 1985. we had anywhere from 1300- 1900 on board. we went through the persian gulf ended many cruises in the caribbean, the panama canal, the north atlantic, a 35 ft. seas. this is where the big decisions of the world war two were made. we helped to show career during the korean war and even during the cold war. back in the forties, president roosevelt was on board this shift. it was used as a taxi to go across the ocean to meet with stalin. he was in a wheelchair in this is where he stayed, this is the only ship in the navy with the bath tub. in the '80s, they retrofitted the ship for anti-aircraft. here is one of her guns. 16 in. in diameter. the ships sat for 20 years. to look at her the wishes of

i think the president will win iowa. reason he's going to win iowa is when folks take a look at the rural economy, when they look at the fact that we've had record farm income, record exports, we've had record farm implement shipments, all of those play to the strength of the iowa economy and it's in part because of the policies of this president to expand exports, to focus on rural development, top strengthen communities with investments that we've made. and it's a result of a better economy. if you look at all the battleground states you'll see those states have strong agricultural economies, and strong agricultural economies are helping to reduce unemployment. rural manufacturing also has increased over the last couple of years. i think there's a good story to tell. as we tell that story during the course of the campaign, i'm very, very confident that i was going to be in the right column for my perspective on november. >> agricultural secretary tom vilsack. it's very good to see you, sir. thanks for joining us. >> tha

. >>> southern california is now home to one of america's greatest battle ships, the u.s.s. iowaed to the public today as a floating museum. the vessel was built in 1940, 72 years ago, and served the country for more than a half century. earlier in the week sailors who served on the iowa gathered at the port of los angeles to welcome the vessel to its new home. serena williams is a grand slam winner again. she pulled off her fifth wimbledon singles title today after a hard fought battle with poland's player. this is her 14th grand slam crown and her fifth wimbledon title gives her the same number of wimbledon wins as her sister venus. this was the first ever grand slam final for radwanska. >>> i'm dr. sanjay gupta. coming up a radical new treatment for depression. looks like a pacemaker and has two wires that are inserted directly into the brain. on the outside your doctor literally flips a switch. battery powered brains ahead on sgmd. stick around. check it out. your boa! [ garth ] thor's small business earns double miles on every purchase, every day! ahh, the new fabrics, put i

steve brown takes a look. >> in the battle ground state of iowa are christian conservatives ready to y. >> social conservatives will be uneisted behipped romney. >> and it has rom no running strong as steve king in the western iowa. but there is hes tadings among the republican voters. >> the economy is our base. it is excited to make president obama a one-tomorrow president. but not excited about rom no. >> and rom no never has enjoyed much support from the iowa christian conatives. like north carolina had a marriage initiatives. he never came campaigned or supported it is not lost that rom no was willing to risk being booed in the naacp convention. >> i will eliminate every nonessential expensive program and that includes obama care and i will work and are form. >> but not for the christian conservatives. the turn out game and get those ideas. surrogate endorsements will get it done. if romney wants support in iowa and else where. he will need to do the job himself in person and preferably soon. >> in des moines, steve brown fox news. >> two men taking to the skies, this flight just

in fact, the largest segment of voters in iowa are registered no party. goes. i'll tell you that they are receptive to a message talking about the middle class, talking about main street businesses and main street communities. that's a very iowa message. >> thank you so much. appreciate your time. again, don't forget, folks, we will hear from the president live, 1:50 eastern live right here on msnbc. that wraps up our coverage for this hour. "now with alex wagner" up next. what's coming up? >>> hello, craig. obama surrogates are ramping up the swiss bank account narrative against governor romney. we will ask debbie wasserman schultz whether the offshore attacks are working. >>> plus, we will get wonky with ezra klein regarding the president's tax cut plan. >>> and republicans are comparing the affordable care act to the titanic and the gestapo. are their latest efforts to repeal it simply an exercise in futility? [ male announcer ] if you have to take care of legal matters. legalzoom has an easy and affordable option. you get quality services on your terms

iowa. lois romano, you made the point the president is back in iowa and fighting hard for the states that manyple thought would have been more easily in his back pocket. >> i think what we're seeing is that this race is going to go down to the wire. if you recall just a couple weeks ago when he proposed his loosening of immigration laws, polls taken right after that show that he had jumped a little bit. and he was leading in the battleground states. just for the record, these campaigns don't really care about what the national polls show. all they care about is what the head-to-heads in these dozen states are showing. obama was getting a little bit of a lift there. i think since then it's tightened a little bit. it's going to be tightened all the way through november unless something happens. >> andrea? >> go ahead, jonathan. >> andrea, to jump on lois's point, in our poll today it shows that nine out of ten people surveyed have already made up their mind about who they're going to vote for in november. what you will see between now -- actually this has been going on for a long time now, the c

if you're from the state of iowa, it is also free. is week's human factor, dr. sanjay gupta brings us the story of army major dan gade who was wounded in action twice in iraq in 2004 and 2005. he is still an active duty military man teaching politics at west point. he also inspires a lot of people as an endurance athlete. he just completed a 3,000 mile bike ride across the united states. >> when did you know you wanted to be in the army? be a military person? >> my dad had fought in vietnam. my older brother was a '94 west point graduate. i'm a '97 west point graduate. >> reporter: it wasn't until january 5 when he realized how dangerous war could be. three weeks after the incident, gade woke up in a hospital bed, recovering from many injuries and missing his entire right leg. >> i'm laying there and i'm just thinking, oh, my gosh. how much worse could this get? >> reporter: he spent some time feeling sorry for himself, he's should you. but it was his 2-year-old daughter who snapped him out of it. >> she was 2. she was playing on the g

i assume you will do the same in iowa keep the requirements similar to what you have, correct? >>guest: absolutely. and i have chuck palmer running the department of human services for us, again, and he helped me and he ran it back in the 1990's when we dramatically reduced the welfare rolls and keep medicaid under control. medicaid is growing dramatically in every state. >> well, let's talk a little bit about medicaid. the supreme court has ruled that the federal government cannot require you to take on additional medicaid patients or, in order to, in order to get the new money that would be available for that you now have the flexibility to say "no" to that. what are you going to do, governor? >>guest: well, first of all, think of this. the federal government has $16 trillion national debt, 40 cents of every dollar is blood money and they want to add 15 million to 17 million to the medicaid rolls. it is unsustainable. if we buy into it we have this maintenance effort requirements and when the federal government cannot afford to do it the burden is dumped on the taxpayers of o

does it tell you anything, the fact he's going back to iowa again, the state of the campaign? >> reporter: well, it certainly does. i mean, a campaign spokesperson said that that state, iowa, means a lot to the president because it was iowa that essentially launched him into the white house. so they realize that that's a critical state and that it's very tight right now. that the latest polls showing 44% tied up between the president and mitt romney in that state. and so they still have a lot of work to do in convincing voters, especially those independent voters, to support the president. the economy, as i pointed out, alone, is not doing the job. so this tax debate they're hoping will be able to prod some of these voters, especially in states like a iowa. >> can't take anything for granted. thank you, dan. appreciate it. here's what we're working on for this hour. >>> some college students say they've had enough of crime on their campuses. they want to pack a gun. >> if you're being threatened walking to and from your apartment, when you should be concerned about your schoolw

. >> i assume, governor, you will do the same in iowa, keep requirements similar to what you've got, correct? >> absolutely. and i've got chuck palmer running the department of human services for us again. he ran it in the 90s when we were able to dramatically reduce the reel fare roles and keep -- welfare roles and keep medicaid under control. >> let's talk a program -- >> we can continue to afford. >> let's talk about medicaid. the federal government cannot require you to take on additional medicaid patients or in order to get the new money that would be available for that, you now have the flexibility to say no to that. what are you going to do, governor? >> first of all, think of this. the federal government has a $16 trillion national debt and 40 cents of every dollar they are spending is barrowed money. and what do they want to do? add another 15 to 17 million people to the medicaid roles? it is unaffordable, unsustainable at either the federal or state level. and if we buy into it, then we have this maintenance effort requirement. when the federal government can't afford to do

the case for many students today. this is an especially important issue for us at iowa state because the state of iowa has the word highest average student debt load in the nation. we are working to lessen the debt load for students by using aggressive four-part approach. i would like to talk about that briefly appeared the first part is holding down costs. we have responsibility as presidents of universities to do everything to reduce overhead for education we provide. everything from administrative and support positions. to the state budget cuts and responsibility should driver costs lower and we've eliminated hundreds of positions and gain substantial efficiencies by combining consolidating colleges, departments are reorganizing offices and finding more cost effective ways to provide services such as student e-mails. we are now tens of millions of dollars annually thanks to these measures were proud to mission is now the lowest of all universities that are pure prayer. the second part of our approach is to provide better financially counseling and financing options for students and families. our financial award notice

the president will campaign in iowa, mitt romney in colorado. both candidates will be pushing their vision of tax fairness. the president is touting his proposal for a one-year extension of bush-era tax cuts on the first $250,000 of a family's income. republicans counter that by calling it a massive tax increase. danielle nottingham begins our coverage. >> reporter: president obama drew an election-year battle line over taxes. he wants to extend cuts for middle-income americans but thinks those who earn more should pay more. >> let's not hold the vast majority of americans and our entire economy hostage while we debate the merits of another tax cut for the wealthy. >> reporter: the president is calling for a one-year extension of the so-called bush-era tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000 a year and individuals earning less than $200,000. they're due to expire at the end of december. this will cost taxpayers $150 billion in 2013. >> folks like me don't need a tax cut. we can go ahead and go back to the breaks that were under bill cl