, you went too far, and tracy knows it.nfluenced social change like richard pryor and lenny bruce and others, and this is hurting comedy, because it is not trusting us and instead of pushing the envelope the right way, it is the wrong way by demonizing a group that is already suffering. >> and this is worth noting that this took place in nashville, and in nashville two weeks ago the governor repealed the local nondiscrimination ordnaninance,d it is legal to fire someone because they are gay, and the word gay is illegal in the schools in tennessee, and this is an environment filled with discrimination and the bigotry and the hatred that he was speaking to when he spoke to that crowd. it is more than an embarrassment and al poll ji -- apology, but to embrace the words and change the hearts and minds and make gay folks more welcome in tennessee and across the country. >> marvet, if you were advising tracy morgan today, what would you advise him to do? meet with the parents who have been bullied or parents whose children have c

you haven't seen tracy in three years but does this sound like the tracy you know? >> actually, no. worked with at "saturday night live" was very positive, funny guy. his sense of humor was crude, lewd at times, but it was never hateful. i never heard any statements that were demeaning anyone or in any way, and this tone. there were some openly gay staff members at "saturday night live," and we would have heard it. this is completely out of the tracy morgan that i know, out of his character. >> so where do you think it came from then? >> i could speculate. i mean, he could have thought he was being really edgy, he wanted to push the envelope. a lot of comedians do. it could have been late in the night. he could have had a few drinks. what led to it, i'm not sure. i'm not sure why tracy morgan would have made these comments. there is a line and in this case he clearly went over the line and he knows it. tracy to his credit apologized today very clearly. yesterday, very clearly. said it was wrong. sud nshould not be in a comedy club or anywhere. that's a great step to acknowledge that

i don't think so. >> tracy morgan, i should say. >> yeah, tracy morgan.yesterday, he basically said tracy was given a very stern warning that this kind of behavior would not be tolerated, looking forward. tina fey, the executive producer of "30 rock" released a statement which was actually kind of funny. she made a few little jokes. she said that tracy morgan's too sleepy and self-centered to be mean to people. she said she thought the rant was disturbing, that it was very much at odds with the tracy morgan she knows. you can get a feel for the tone of the two statements. i think the network is saying, you have been a bad boy, tracy, but you're still our guy. >> if tracy morgan is fired, tracy jordan is fired, too. that's his character on the show. listen, a lot of comedians thrive on being controversial. i wonder if this is the tipping point. >> it's really hard to say. one of the interesting things is that people in the audience were actually laughing at those so-called jokes when tracy morgan made them. laughter is the ultimate affirmation as a comedia

you haven't seen tracy in three years. does this sound like the tracy you know? >> actually, no.worked with on "saturday night live" was a very positive, funny guy. his sense of humor was crude but never hateful. i never heard statements that was demeaning. there were some openly gay staff members on "saturday night live". if he made these kind of comments, we all would have heard it. so this is completely out of the tracey morgan that i know out of his character. >> so where do you think it came from then? >> i could speculate. i mean, company have thought he was being edgy, he wanted to push the envelope. a lot of comedian dose. could be late at the night. could have had a few drinks. what led to it? i'm not sure why tracey morgan would have made these comments. i'm a great advocate of freedom of expression. there's a line. in this case he went over the line. tracy apologized today very clearly. yesterday very clearly. said it was wrong. shouldn't be in a comedy club or anywhere. that's a great step by tracy to acknowledge that. >> all right, dean. your memory of him really goe

we'll talk about tracy morgan's rant. i'll ask tracy morgan what he thinks.ur improved formulas neutralize odors better than ever in multiple-cat homes. so it's easier to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. [ sam ] my first ride lasted just 30 seconds. another reminder of what i couldn't do. ♪ the accident could have been my excuse to quit. i made it my reason to go even harder. ♪ [ male announcer ] helping people achieve without limits. at the hartford it's what we do... and why we're the founding partner of the u.s. paralympic team. show your support at facebook.com/thehartford. >> i was still trying to process everything and decide if there was going to be a punch line somewhere, or exactly what was i hearing. so to me it really was just the entire thing, really did hurt me. >>> all right. that was kevin rogers. he was there as comedian tracy horgan went off in the worst way, according to some audience members. i want happened in nashville on june 3rd. we don't have it verbatim. here's wha

i'm tracy jordan.lity. i cannot be his mentor. - well, i'd love for you to be my mentor, sir. but unfortunately, i already have one. - stop calling me! - okay, what would jack tell me to do? first, he would probably explain that evolution makes men promiscuous, even when they're 80, like my pathetic dad. - is your dad pathetic, or is he maybe, on some level, admirable? maybe his sons would respect him more as a man. maybe they'd stop calling him a "bald wang" in front of the babysitter. - i mean, can you imagine dick lemon at a singles bar? it makes me want to barf. - ugh, those old men that hit on you at clubs are so lame. - lame? or--or is it heroic? - why can't they see how idiotic they look? - with guys like that, i always just say, "who's younger-- me or your daughter?" that usually creeps them out enough that they leave. - that wouldn't work on me. - jack. why does tracy have a news obit and i don't? - huh. i never thought of you for the donaghy mentoring experience, but you are an unceasing onsl

i mean, yours and tracy's?lessons do you think, really, that tracy has learned through this? >> well, you know, basically, i feel as if my story that i tell him is going to help a lot of others. that's why i wish that he would share my story and elke's story, because this is very important. there is the kid anywhere who's on the edge because his parents might not accept him and his friends might not accept him. and so, he might want to commit suicide like the ones that we've had over the last past month. and it's very sad. i want to share this story because i want them to know that there is so much hope and you just do not need to give up, and that's what i want him to share with people. >> jayden, you're a brave young man for coming on. we appreciate that. and carl and elke, thank you all. elke, thank you for sharing your son sean's story as well. >> thank you. >>> well, it is hard to forget this kind of devastation. take a look. communities obliterated by an outbreak of tornadoes. the heartbreaking costs in j

i'm your host, tracy sellers. our first story today involves a family that has taken the lessons of the past to ensure success today and in the future as well. take a walk through your average produce aisle these days and there are more choices than ever, but one farm has a very eye-catching marketing strategy to entice you. and it all has to do with the bright picture of a lile boy named andy. but have you ever stopped to wonder, who is this andy boy guy anyway? >> andy boy's my father, andy d'arrigo, he's the face on the label and a lot of people ask, is there an andy boy and i say, yes, there is. >> who is this? >> yep. it's me. >> oh. ha ha. you see, when folks around here say andy d'arrigo is the face of andy boy produce, they mean it, literally. now 86 years young, he, along with his daughter margaret and son john, run one of the most successful farms in the salinas valley. it all started back in the early 1900s, when andy's dad and uncle emigrated from sicily and went through ellis island. they were both te

pretty appalling and over the top now tracy morgan has apologized but he's still taking a lot of heat from the public and all over the internet and the openly gay band scissor sisters sent out a tweet late last week that red coats dear tracy morgan son if you are gay you can totally come live with me over to james baldwin to watch paris is burning x x and now this is where congressman west comes back into the story scene in turn and his office read tweeted this is her sister's tweet simple read tweet i would call that an endorsement of something outrageous that is unless you're a right wing tea party nut job like congress and west of town allow his followers to think that he might be ok with gay people so the retreat was quickly deleted and later in the day tweet from west account read very sorry about the unauthorized r.t.c. we were not hacked and in turn it made an error apologies to all so why do you need to apologize tracy morgan made. i don't think anyone is disputing that but the story isn't over there's now word that the in turn was fired from his or her actions and the interns

i'm your host tracy sellers. so, have you eer wondered, "what does it take to stay fresh in the world of agriculture?" well, one dried fruit company thinks they have found the answer. and they would know. they've been growing strong in the business more than a century now. this time of year, there's only one thing on marysville farmer sam nevis' mind--getting his fruit off the tree. just like any other farmer, getting his harvest in and on time is crucial, even though you won't be seeing these plums in the produce section of the market. that's because you'll be seeing them as dried plums, otherwise known as prunes. and there's no better place for finding some of thbest dried plums than this area. did you know the state's greatest dried plum production actually happens here in the sacramento and san joaquin valleys? farmers here produce more dried plums than the rest of the world combined. >> right now, we're looking at french prunes about to be harvested. and what i look for to see if they're ripe or not is color

okay, tracie potts, live in washington. 5:43. h ththcaforendst a aftrld bait wrih fie forethst and trafc firit afteghr this. r >>> good morning, everybody. it's 5:45 now. a live look over san jose. some cloudy skies. christina is going to tell you if more rain is coming our way. >> just in the nick of time governor jerry brown expected to sign the state budget today just a few days before it's supposed to go into effect. both houses approved the plan last night with little debate. the budget was worked out between governor brown and democratic lawmakers who have enough votes to pass the budget without republican support. the new budget eliminates a $26 billion deficit through deep cuts but no tax increases and some very optimistic revenue projections. if that money does not show up, even deeper cuts will take place. democrats say there is no other solution. republicans say the state needs a better plan to avoid an impending crisis. >>> dozens of people are coming together to pray for an east bay for a teenager in critical but sta

tracie potts joins us from washington with more on all of this.ood morning. >> reporter: hi there, lynn. good morning, everyone. economists are predicted 100,000 jobs created last month. it's let me tell less than half the growth we saw from the month before. it raises the question is this temporary or is this the beginning of weakening of this recovery? home sales are down. manufacturing is sluggish. consumer spending is weak. car sales are down. president obama will be visiting a chrysler plant today in ohio and then summer is coming with thousands of pink slips for teachers. here in washington, critics, mainly republicans, say the increases in food prices and energy prices are make it much worse for americans. but the white house says look at the big picture. we've had 14 months of growth, over 2 million jobs created, compared to 700,000 lost when president obama took office. but now that warning that you talked about, moody's, a credit rating agency says it may downgrade america's stellar credit rating if there is no deal on the debt by mid-ju

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning.hose premiums would go up for seniors 15 to $20 a month initially, then more over the course of five years. what's interesting about this proposal, it comes from two senators on opposite sides of the aisle. tom coburn, who also is a doctor, and joe lieberman, who typically votes with democrats. in giving this proposal they realize that it's a plan that nobody is going to like. democrats are pouncing on it. there is agreement on free trade. the white house and capitol hill have worked out agreements on colombia, panama and south korea that includes aid for american workers that are displaced when companies go overseas. we'll hear more about that and medicare when those all-important deficit talks when president obama gives a news conference later this morning. >> tracie potts, thank you very much. >>> in afghanistan, the taliban is planning responsibility for a rare nighttime attack in the capital of kabul. a four-hour standoff between militants and police saw at least 11 afghan victims

and it's going to be tracy's job to think about and plan for the bus program. tracy, d.c. yf.org. >> when we say questions, we mean questions not comments >> hi. my name is susan stone. i am on victim mediation. it's alive and well. my question is i want to acknowledge your commitment and passion. is there a place in the schools in this community where we can stop the cycle of shame and blame. both on the offenders because these crimes are among the youth under 18. we would love to see that program happen. there are 22 people and we would love to see it in san francisco. >> we have already started that program. in fact, jim dierck has that in his school. we want to get it in every single school. >> yeah, i wanted to say, as superintendent mentioned. we do have peer courts. i have sat through the sessions myself. it does seem like it has a better impact. the second thing is coordination. once you have san francisco peer court and into the room. community response. the schools have to have and also the cbo , need to have a stronger partnership. i will give you a very quick e

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. five in all, according to "the new york times" report this morning including an army major who apparently was writing down license plates as they were going in and out of the bin laden compound. we've just gotten news this morning that a senior pakistani official says that this report is not true. he denies that they've arrested the major, but he made no comment on the other four people believed to have been arrested as informants of the cia. this was apparently discussed during secretary of defense gates' trip to islamabad. a cia official says that the relationship between the u.s. and pakistan is about a three on a scale of one to ten. since that raid, the big concern here we need pakistan's help in the war on terror to root out and fight al qaeda. here on capitol hill, though, there are still concerns about the $2 billion we're giving to that country every year. >> tracie, thank you. >>> house speaker john boehner is demanding the obama administration come up with answers soon abou

tracie potts is in washington with more. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. weener certainly hopes to keep his job, he said, he's sorry, he takes full responsibility, but when it comes to his work here on capitol hill he said the voters should decide. >> the picture is of me and i sent it. i'm deeply sorry for what his caused my wife huma. >> reporter: he said no one hacked the twitter account. he sent a nude photo of himself to a college student than panicked and lied when he realized he accidentally posted it publicly. turns out it wasn't his first time secting. >> for the past year, i have engaged in conversations over twitter, occasionally on the phone with women i met online. >> reporter: conservative activist andrew brokehart broke the story. >> we only wrote the story after a sitting congressman claimed that his computer system had been invaded by a hack. >> reporter: how dangerous is this for democrats? >> it's going to be very hard to maintain public trust and responsibility. >> if you're a donor, are you jumping to write a check at this point? >> re

and it's going to be tracy's job to think about and plan for the bus program. tracy, d.c. yf.org. >> when we say questions, we mean questions not comments >> hi. my name is susan stone. i am on victim mediation. it's alive and well. my question is i want to acknowledge your commitment and passion. is there a place in the schools in this community where we can stop the cycle of shame and blame. both on the offenders because these crimes are among the youth under 18. we would love to see that program happen. there are 22 people and we would love to see it in san francisco. >> we have already started that program.

nbc's tracie potts from washington joins us with more.racie, good morning. >> reporter: hi, lynn, good morning. we know they sat down together, but it looks like little if any progress was made on this stalemate. republicans accusing president obama of not having a specific, of the major cuts needed to be made to bring down this deficit. they are accusing him of playing politics with medicare. the white house said medicare does not need to be ended to save money. republicans say they aren't ending it, they are trying to save it. one thing they agree on, they want to wrap up these negotiations within the next month. in fact, speaker boehner said he's happy to personally negotiate with the president. vice president biden is now overseeing those negotiations. and who is going to deal with all of this after 2012, who is going to be the next president? the republicans have one more person on their ticket. after today mitt romney is making his formal announcement at a farm in new hampshire later today. lynn. >> tracie potts there for us in wash

tracy morgan is apologizing for his comedy show last week in nashville.d by a lot of folks in the audience as a vile rant against homosexuals. just part of it, at one point, he joked that if he had a gay son, he would pull out a knife and stab him. cnn entertainment kareen wynter with the story. >> reporter: from "saturday night live" to nbc's hit comedy "30 rock" actor and comedian tracy morgan knows how to deliver a punch line. >> if you've learned anything from me it's how to do a bad job. >> reporter: a recent stand-up comedy show in nashville is drawing more jeers than cheers. morgan's homophobic rant during an onstage performance last week stunned some audience members like kevin rodgers, who says he cringed at the hateful comments. >> i was absolutely shocked and amazed at what i was hearing. >> reporter: rodgers says morgan lashed out at lesbians and gays saying gay was something kids learned from the media. that victims of anti-gay bullying should stop whining. rodgers says the comic even took a shot at lady gaga. ♪ i'm on the right track baby ♪

tracie, good morning to you. >> good morning. she's making that announcement today in her home town of waterloo. we saw her in iowa over the weekend doing some precampaigning. she comes into this with a boost. "the des moines register" puts her in a statistical dead heat with front-runner mitt romney. he's been the front-runner in tall national polls, the big ones so farp about only herman kane came in with double digits. babmann came in with recognition since iowa is her home state. over the weekend she was talking about the debt ceiling saying it should not be raised. accusing obama of using scare tactics. we can certainly pay our bills if we pay interest only. michele bachmann making his official announcement in iowa later today. >>> tracie potts life for us this morning in washington, thank you. >>> now, here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a florida surfer's bizarre shark encounter was captured on video over the weekend. a spinner shark curled its over his back. no one was hurt and the four-foot

for more now we go to nbc's tracie pots in washington. tracie, good morning. >> lynn good morning. the numbers reveal a lot just 17 months before election day, president obama's approval rating now stands at 49%. which is down from 52%. he got a bit of a bump after the capturing and killing of osama bin laden. on the economy, the president has had trouble and those numbers remain difficult for him. a 54% disapproval rating in that area, lots of pessimism about the economy. 30% polled believe things are going to get worse over the next year. when it comes to the election and the republican field, only 45% of those republicans who will vote in primaries say they're satisfied with the current candidates. compare that to this time before the last election, 73% were satisfied. if it were held today, president obama holds a six-point lead over mitt romney and a 13-point lead over tim pawlenty. >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. >>> last night in vancouver here on nbc two teams squared off in professional hockey's ultimate contest. a deciding winner takes all game seven for the sta

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the new revelations include the release of an x-rated photo that andrew breitbart said he would not release and now it's on-line and we've learned the congressman could be a father. nbc news has confirmed congressman anthony weiner's wife, huma ab be din traveling overseas with secretary hillary clinton is pregnant. the news comes as democrats join the chorus of lawmakers calling on weiner to resign. >> lying to the public i think your credibility is shot and i think anthony would be better served moving on to something else. >> that's up to him and his constituents and his family, but i think at this point, it would probably be a good thing if he would go ahead and resign. >> reporter: now, a new photo is out, reportedly of weiner's genitals. the blogger who broke the story claims weiner e-mailed it to a woman. the blogger says it was released on-line without his permission. weiner's spokesperson apologized, but did not deny the photo is authentic. an investigation could determine if

good morning, tracie. >> reporter: good morning. we'll hear from president obama within the hour at a big ceremony over at the pentagon honoring gates on his last day after 4 1/2 years of service for two presidents of two different parties. remember he was hired by president bush. that's actually the first time a defense secretary has served two presidents fom two different parties. he's known here as a straight talker. someone who brought morale back to the pentagon. he's got a number of accomplishments under his belt. wiped down the war in ir-- wind war in iraq, overseeing the surge in afghanistan, "don't ask, don't tell" eliminated on his watch. the thing he's leaving of concern is the cost of military action. president obama has asked him to look for $400 billion in cuts in the pentagon budget. a 10% cut he has said would be disastrous. now gates who is retiring today won't have to oversee that. that will be left to his successor. cia director leon panetta. back to you, marla. >> who, of course is from the california central coa

live in san francisco, tracy grant, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, tracy. let's check in with kimberly perry with a closer look at the ceremony. >> reporter: diane, the service just ended. we are on the west side of saint mary's cathedral. you can see for yourself, there are thousands of people that walked out of the church, thousands that paid respect to two men that made the ultimate sacrifice for the job they loved. the two are laid to rest after an emotional service at saint mary's cathedral. an emotional outpouring of love and respect for two fallen san francisco firefighters. thousands of people, mostly firefighters from across the country and even some from canada and mexico packed saint mary's cathedral for the double funeral. the flag-draped caskets were on fire trucks assigned to station 26, their engine company. vincent perez and anthony val air i don't see were caught in a flashover last week. >> without a doubt, the greatest tribute we can make to the fallen heros is rededicating ourselves as san francisco's public servants, committed to being

tracie potts. >> she did wait, didn't she. 4:35. tracie potts there. four suspects arrested in connection with police corruption in contra costa county will be in court this morning. former officers lombardi, welsh and tanabi along with christopher butler will all make appearances at a walnut creek court house charged with numerous crimes including taking and selling drugs fr s from pol seizures. >> we know the name of a 19-year-old man shot and killed tuesday evening as he drove past a shopping mall in east oakland. he is rodnell hampton. he was driving on eighth street around 5:45 when he was shot. he was able to drive a block where he crashed into a house and fence. he later died at a hospital. this is the 56th homicide for oakland this year. >> locked out of pleasanton country club workers will be back on the picket line. the workers will rally on the castlewood club's biggest annual golf tournament. 60 food, service and janitors have been locked out since february 25. the dispute is over salary cuts and family health insurance. the picket and marc

"today in the bay's" tracie potts live in washington. good morning, tracie. >> hi, laura, good morning, everyone. take a look around when driving today, because according to gmac's national drivers test, one out of every five drivers couldn't get their license again if they tried. that amounts to 37 million people who are currently on the roads now. the average score for this test is up about a point and a half. but there was some concerning results, like 85% who didn't know what to do when approaching a yellow light. overall, men scored better than women, older drivers scored better, and the best scores were in the midwest. so how did california drivers do? the average out of 100 was 76.8, not bad. 70 was a passing score. california ranks 33rd among all states. live from capitol hill, i'm tracie potts for "today in the bay." >> interesting. we don't like to be average around here. we better bump it up to be above average thank you. >>> still no verdict in the trial of the men accused of killing chauncey bail hey. the jury will resume mo

nbc's tracie potts joins us with the latest on this. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. the last time we saw rick santorum on a bol lot, it was in pennsylvania. that senate race he lost by 18 points. this time he is hoping to make a comeback. former pennsylvania senator rick santorum is expected to stand in front of a courthouse today not far from the coal mines where his grandfather worked and announce he is running for president. then he is headed straight to iowa and new hampshire. santorum joins tim pawlenty, mitt romney, and others who have declared. still in the wind, sarah palin. >> what president palin would do is cut the federal budget. >> reporter: she's talking like a candidate crisscrossing the country on a bus, but says she's still 50-50 in deciding whether they'll actually run. the biggest issue these candidates face is the economy. >> five months of this new congress, we haven't seen a jobs agenda come forth. >> reporter: friday's news that only 54,000 jobs were created last month, way below exp

laura. >> thank you, tracie.zer prize winning journalist is outing himself as an undocumented immigrant. we're hearing from a principal who helped secretly mentor the award winning writer. in a televised interview and essay jose antonio vargas rev l reveals he lived with the secret for years. the product of both mountain view high school and san francisco state his former high school principal says vargas was a phenomenal student. >> he was doing so well. you couldn't just push him out of the system. i had no basis for doing that. he was doing all of the right things. >> vargas who could be deported now plans to lobby for the dream act proposed legislation that would give undocumented immigrants educated in the u.s. a path to legal residency. 5: 5:47. talking about the cooler temperatures you can feel it as you head out the door. want to check the forecast with christina. >> you can feel it when you walk out the front door, it feels so much better. this afternoon if you've been putting off the outdoor activities

and so you were chatting with a girl named tracy? >> right. >> and how old is tracy?no idea. >> the problem for you, david, is that i have the chat right here. how old are you again? not sure if i read that right, 14. she says she's 14 right here, right? >> i guess so. >> so what you said before was not true. >> okay. >> have you ever done this before? >> no. >> have you ever been with an underage girl before? >> not sexually, no. >> "i did it with a 15-year-old before and i came really close to being caught." we would stay out all night and fall asleep in my truck. >> i never did break the law. that i knew of, and a police officer told me that. >> and why -- >> he questioned me. i went back home that night and he called me monday. >> when i read him some of what he wrote in his chat log, he first tries to blame the girl. "i would do it in a minute with you, hoping i would stay out of jail." you ask her if she likes oral sex. >> she asked me several things also. >> does that make it right? >> no. but she invited me here. >> so because a 14-year-old invites you to come

live from capitol hill, i'm tracie potts for "today in the bay." marla? >> thank you, tracie. >>> in just a few hours, a man accused of stealing an expensive violin will make an appearance at a san francisco courthouse. scott sylvester is charged with second-degree burglary and receiving stolen property. you can see him here on a muni surveillance video. he stole it from the san francisco conservatory of music in april. police arrested the 27-year-old a few days later when he turned over the $20,000 antique violin to a priest at st. mary's cathedral. he has since pleaded not guilty. >>> sentencing will be handed down to a poll worker who stole election equipment last november. carl bradford pleaded guilty in december for stealing the electronic tabulator which an nbc bay area news crew found lying on a sidewalk in the tender loin. election officials believe he stole it after the memory card and balance were collected. they say the incident did not affect any ballot results. >>> this morning, a two-alarm house fire in the east bay leaves one person dead an

tracie potts joins us live from washington with the details. trac tracie?eporter: laura, good morning the unemployment rate now up a little bit from 9.0, the month before. but the number that you'll really hear a lot about today, are the number of jobs that were created. 54,000, which is half of what the worst predictions were. and just a quarter of what we saw the month before. this is the worst hiring record since last september. also, the number of private-sector jobs created. when you take a very close look at this report, also one of the worst since last summer, 83,000 jobs. this is when you take out the job losses from the government sector. so bottom line, this is being considered a dismal report. today, take a look at market reaction, and also lots of analysis today on whether or not this is a temporary bump in the road or the start of another slide into recession. laura? >> we will see. thank you very much, tracie, for the latest. >>> this morning, governor brown is on his way to the south bay for the first time since becoming governor. kind of har

in this police interview, tracy says he was angry over text messages rattily sent him, telling him to stay away from her 13-year-old friend. >> because you pretty much walked up to her and punched her in the face and fell down and started slamming her face on the ground and kicked her in the head a few times. do you have any idea how many times you did it? >> no. i don't know. everything kind of disappeared. >> reporter: after three surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy, rattily was able to travel to washington. she's relearning how to talk and do every day things. even second grade school work is tough for her now. her mom wants people to keep praying. >> don't stop doing that, because she's having a lot of problems. her memory, her brain. we don't know where -- how far she's able to learn. >> reporter: helping victims like josie is the mission for the group which started this campaign. >> for when things like this happen, we can come together and help, but really to prevent them from happening. >> reporter: the mother has a message for parents. make time for your kids. >

has this grown bigger than tracy morgan? >> i think this is much larger than tracy.nk this has opened up a dialogue now in our country to where we discuss, you know, what's appropriate in comedy and daily conversations and hopefully not making light of such important issues like bullying and issues that face lgbt community members. >> you know, i want to ask you because the day you came on our program on a personal note i know that you had to come out to your mom before you appeared on cnn with me to talk about this. so i just want to ask you, on that personal note how you're doing with your family and how life is going for you these days. >> everything's -- everything's great. everything with my family's great. there's been an outpouring of love from my aunts, uncles, all of them have been calling my mom and my dad and talking to them about their unconditional love for me. and actually, i spoke to my mom just prior to the interview to let her kind of know what was going on, and we had a good discussion. and you know, she continues to be proud of me and check in on m

i'm your host tracy llers. we're in the beautiful mountains of el dorado county today, which is just a short drive away from sacramento. andhat brings us to our first story. if you're anything like me, you've probably consumed this next produce item at let once this week. that's because it's been called america's favorite vegeble. but we like to call it a reason to get our hands dirty and meet some real potato pioneers. with their adaptability and versatility, it's wonder potatoes are a fan favorite. bad, mashed, diced, or scalloped, no matter how you slice it, from potato chips to french fries d almost anything in between, the potato has been a staple of our diet throughout history and today. and there's no denying we have a special love affair with t spuds. you know, on average, each of us will actually eat 135 pounds of potatoes a year, and in a wide variety of forms. in fact, potatoes are the leading vegetable crop in the united states, with annual total production being about 41 billion pounds. and they've

we're standing by to get a close look. >>> and tracy morgan's on-stage rant.hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight." ♪ [ male announcer ] breathe, socket. just breathe. we know it's intimidating. instant torque. top speed of 100 miles an hour. that's one serious machine. but you can do this. any socket can. the volt only needs about a buck fifty worth of charge a day, and for longer trips, it can use gas. so get psyched. this is a big step up from the leafblower. chevrolet volt. the 2011 north american car of the year. with diabetes, it's tough to keep life balanced. i don't always have time to eat like i should. and the more i focus on everything else, the less time i have to take care of me. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spi

nbc's tracy spots joins us from washington with more on this. >> reporter: good morning, everyone.emocrating said this vote was a joke. that vote would have given the united states the capacity to borrow almost another $2.5 million to meet its debt. as expected, it failed 97-318, most of those voting against it. in fact, every republican in the house voted against it along that will be a big part of the meeting today. he wants to sit down with them the white house says to listen and get new ideas. the big negotiation between the two sides to cut more money out of the federal budget reducing spending. their big sticking point is medicare. the white house says they are optimistic that they will cut a deal. the obama administration says they need to extend the debt ceiling before defaulting on the budget. tracie potts for us in washington, thanks so much. >>> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. the rescue of a stranded motorist in arkansas was caught from a unique angle by one tv crew. a reporter recovering flooding swung into action when the driver

nbc's trait tracy potts joins us with more on this. >> reporter: republicans have been quite outspoken. there are a number of lawmakers who want him to step down. >> i wish there was some way i could defend him, but i can't. >> if congressman calls him for advice. he'll say -- >> call somebody else. >> reid is one of the few democrats who spoke out of the w weiner admitted sending his lewd photo of himself to a sledge student. >> i think they should be kicked out of office for betraying the people's trust. >> i think the lying part was worse than the pictures. >> a poll found that just over half of voters think he should stay unless he was sexting at work on government phones or computers. >> unless he was using government money or resources. >> we have the responsibility to look in every corner. >> the blogger who broke the story says there is one x-rated photo that he won't release. >> i don't think i want to put his family through that type of thing. >> reporter: he could end up losing his seat anyway. one of those districts lynn, could be his. >> tracy thank you. >>> elsewhere last

one time she, tracy, brought up caylee anthony, you know, where is the child? shirt off her shoulder and said, see, here is the tattoo that i got in memory of her. well, fred, this is a time when everybody was searching for her. nobody thought she was dead. and there was casey displaying the tattoo. one time tracy was looking at a baby book of pictures of caylee, and casey came across the room with her own book, and said look at my pictures from when i was a baby. it was instances like that that gave her the opinion that it was a narcissistic world that she lives in. one time she looked out to see the media trucks, and then up at the sky where it was a thunderstorm, and she said with a pout, i guess there will be no helicopters today, and it was all about her kind of word. >> so why wouldn't the prosecution call tracy conroy to at least describe those kind of moments, while everybody is looking for caylee, and why wouldn't, you know, tracy be called to testify about the behavior of caylee anthony? >> casey anthony. >> casey anthony. >> yeah, that's a good quest

for more on that we go to nbc's tracie potts in washington. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. the key word that you said there is both sides of the aisle. there are democrats and republicans who disagree with the president, who think he does need congressional approval to continue this action in libya, what's gone on for three months so far. their point of view is they've got to approve this. earlier this week, though, the administration said in a report that's not necessary because the u.s. is just supporting a mission that's being led by nato and also that they're not facing hostilities there. nor that reason, they say congressional consent is not needed. yesterday, though, on capitol hill, lawmakers were expressing their criticism. house speaker john boehner threatening to withhold money for this operation. some democrats say they're fed up, too, that they do see hostilities there in libya. on the other side, though, congresswoman nancy pelosi, the minority leader, countered that criticism. she said consultation is not needed

for more on that we go to nbc's tracie potts. she's in washington for us. >> everyone wants to know what are the numbers tonight. we believe that he'll say 5,000 troops will come home in july, another 5,000 either by the end of the year or possibly late spring. the rest of the troop surge, the remainder of the 30,000 troops he sent to afghanistan could come home, according to some source, by the end of next year. some on capitol hill here say that is not fast enough. some very conservative republicans have teamed up with liberal democrats, almost 60 of them, sending the president a letter saying we need to speed this up. half of the troops should come home, some say, by the end of this year. but military commanders have warned the president not to have this drawdown happen too quickly. it could embolden the enemy. he's facing pressure from all sides and the public. public support for brig all the troops home quickly according to one recent poll, 56%. >> tracie potts there for us in washington. thank you. >>> nbc news will have li

>> tracie potts in washington, thank you.ow here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. >>> a massive fire in florida near a tourist hotel and ended vacation plans for dozens. the inferno destroyed the hotel sunday night located near popular amusement parks. flames quickly ripped through the massive complex, reducing it to a charred shell. over 100 firefighters battled the fire until dawn before putting it out. an investigation is expected to begin today. >>> a pilot was forced to turn a crowded florida beach into a landing strip yesterday. the pilot was returning from the bahamas when engine failure forced him to set the aircraft down quickly. the pilot flew over beach goers to make a successful and safe landing in the sand. no one on the ground, including the pilot and his passenger, were injured. >>> finally, in hawaii a maui man has paddled himself into the record books. he became the first ever to complete the 300 mile trek between the big island and kuai on a stand-up paddleboard. it took him 215,

thing, this whole -- i'm sorry, tracy morgan.of his character on "30 rock" is tracy jordan. and also, other people are weighing in. i spoke with rick santorum about homphobic issues, being call ed aphob aphobic, and i want you to listen to that. >> do you have gay friends? >> yeah, in fact, i have had gay people work for me. >> and friends? >> yeah. >> you know how people say, i have black friends. >> yeah, i do. and they respect that i have differences of opinion on that, and i talk about these things in front of them. and we have conversations about it. they differ from me, but they know that i love them because they're my friends. >> so he also talks more about that. he says in fact, he's not a homophobe, and with all these issues we talked about, we had a long conversation. he's candid and open. and a lot of people will want to watch that. that's starting in a few minutes, and anthony weiner, our best political team at the top of the hour, and they're going to weigh in on what should happen now that nancy pelosi is saying, yo