live in san rafael, traci grant, nbc bay area news. >> okay, traci, thank you. >>> it looks like a crime of revenge. now a marin county prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for a san quentin inmate for a killing. frank souza is accused of fatally stabbing another inmate seven times in the prison yard last july. the prisoner that he stabbed, edward schafer, crashed into a novato family during a drunk enmotorcycle ride in 2009. 9-year-old melody died in that crash. when asked about the prison yard killing, frank souza said "all i've got to say is 9-year-old girl." marin county prosecutors are wasting taxpayer money seeking the death penalty. >>> diplomas versus deportation. this will allow children of illegal immigrants a chance to stay in the u.s. those that are in deportation proceedings will be reviewed and possibly be given permits. >>> u.c. berkeley tested its first online class this summer, a chemistry class. this included lab demonstrations, discussion boards and online office hours. it's worth the same amount of credits as a traditional class. it offers an opportunity to get tui

let's bring in nbc bay area's tracy grant who joins us from the civic center, and tracy, all i can say, it's deja vu. it's very similar to what we saw last week. what's happening now, the protestors moving up the street? >> yes, they are. civic center station is closed, as well as powell station is now closed. i want to show you some of this video we shot on the bart platform. this is some of the protestors who gathered on the platform just a short time ago. last we heard there was four arrests by bart police. these protestors, when they go past the fair gates, bart has stressed repeatedly that means they are breaking the law. and it appears that is what these arrests have been made for. we know that muni is not stopping at civic center station, either. the powell-mason and powell-hyde cable car lines are being provided by bus, and honestly, there are people who are showing up here to try to get home, and they're learning that the station is closed. some of the commuters are finally getting to have their say with the protestors. >> you already know my point of view, so don't ask me any

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 potts in washington. thank you. >>> overseas the hunger crisis in somalia has prompted the united nations to add three new regions of the east african country. the u.n. says over the next few years the crisis will spread to the entire southern section, as well as parts of kenya, uganda, and ethiopia. millions are at risk of starvation with children among the most vulnerable. violence in the south has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching the hardest hit areas. >>> well, five months into the unrest in syria the united nations security council has condemned the president for attacking civilians and also urged him to be held accountable. this comes after a military assault was launched by the government this weekend. it is still ongoing, and there are reports of at least 100 dead over four days. since march the regime has been cracking down on protesters that want political reform. according to activists, as many as 1,700 may have been killed. >>> here in the united states 36 million pounds of ground turk

ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. >>> modern medicine keeps getting more amazing.esearch says a blood test that determines the fetus' sex is accurate close to perfect in some cases. the information in this week's journal of the medical association, researchers say the test is 95% accurate in detecting a male fetus at 7 week. cell-free dna and was designed to be an alternative to invasive procedures. >>> taking a look at what is cooking for the rest of the week, roberta. ingly was up here cranking up our weather camera so you can take a peek at the moon. it will be at its fullest state on saturday and that's good news. bad news is, that's also when we will have the return of the meteor shower. they will be peeking on saturday. when you have a full moon, then it obscures the brightest meteors. we will have clear skies, where today we topped out at 91 degrees. we had clearing in san francisco. late day clearing in pacifica. and in santa rosa, they were actually seasonal for this time of the year. they hut h hit their mark and tomorrow pretty much the same story. i got

tran, tracy? [applause] tracy has not made it yet. so really, thank you very much. and for joining us and hope to see you again next year. and it's so special that our new police chief is with us. and would you like to say a few words? [applause] >> i don't think that that was actually a question. [laughter] i'm just really pleased to be here. i wasn't prepared to say anything. but just the culture and what it does for the community, it really does leave me without much to say other than thank you for everybody does. and thanks for having me. [applause] >> thank you, chief. and thank you, claudine. i hope you were able to meet some. greeters in the lobby before the event started. and you may have noticed they were selling these little pins. you see this a.p.a. heritage month pin? it's the image of the heritage month logo designed in the form and shape of an a. and it's a beautiful piece. but what is even more important is all the proceeds from the sale of this pin will go to the japanese cultural

nbc's tracie potts is in washington for us with more on that. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. he get to pick three and here they are. patty murray of washington state will be the co-chair selected by majority leader harry reid. she was a front-runner for that spot. she's the second democrat on the budget committee and the chair of the senate democrats campaign committee. she's also believed to be one who will strongly make efforts to protect medicare and social security. also on this committee from reid, senator max baucus, he voted against the final plan which wanted to reduce a scaled back medicare and also john kerry has been selected by the democrats by the senate side to participate on this committee. interestingly he did not pick his budget chair, anyone from the gang of six that worked on that deficit reduction package or anyone on the commission who voted yes for the deficit package last year. now, these names are all due on tuesday. we're awaiting the other nine very soon. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in wa

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. he'll begin today with his transportation secretary and the head of his jobs council. the president is trying to pitch infrastructure projects that are sitting here on capitol hill, that are shoven hl ready, as they call it. he says they'll create jobs. next we'll hear new ideas and old ones as well hayes rolls out his jobs plan, his new jobs initiative. it is expected to extend small business tax breaks and payroll tax cuts. the state with the highest job creation, texas, that state's governor rick perry is under fire now on the campaign trail. mitt romney during a speech at the vfw didn't mention him by name but talked about career politicians like romney -- or like perry, i should say. described himself as conservative, someone who knows how to deal with the real economy. >> tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. >>> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a fast moving texas fire is forcing residents in several towns to abandon their dwellings

this location is in the city of tracy. this acquisition is on the tracy called country club, shown here. roughly where my finger is is where the pipeline cuts across the country club. this is two timber construction easements totaling 1.1 acres and two permanent easements. the agreement reached here with the country club calls for them to handle turf restoration and sprinkler and cart path issues. the city's obligation is simply to return the great back to its existing condition. in the country, take it from there. the purchase price includes adequate compensation for them to do that, and that is in the amount of $83,000. again, approved by the puc commission. we do have a general plan conformity letter on this as well. ymitem 11 is the same project. the city of tracy, san joaquin county. across the street from the golf course. this involves the acquisition from the dole family of eroded easement and a temporary construction even that lies along the road of 1.39 acres. this is also a settlement slightly above appraised val

live from san francisco, tracy grant. >> we have extensive coverage of his resignation. ten products and a slide show of steve jobs throughout the years. >>> hurricane irene is bettering the bahamas and moving towards the eastern seaboard. 100 miles offshore, the power of the superstorm is being felt. we learned eight people were hurt when a large wave hit them on a pier in florida. the latest on the storm so far. winds topping 150 miles per hour. irene on track to hit the coast of north carolina by saturday. as you can imagine, many people are starting to evacuate. nbc' jay gray joi us now with, boy, this is the time to start bracing for the hurricane. >> good evening. a growing sense of concern and fear right now. not only here on the outer banks, but up and down the east coast. millions watching every move and wondering exactly where irene may strike first. as irene ripped through the bahamas, damage from the massive storm sent a clear and powerful message. that now echos from the outer banks up the east coast to new england. >> it scares me and i'm ready to get home.

tracy, there was a bit of a ruckus earlier today. what is that all about? >> well, it was really weird actually. it seems like a normal political event and then things got a little bit out of control. you know, it's all about this. the fact that ed lee says he changed his mind. his critics and competitors say he went back on his word. and now people on both sides of this issue will be weighing in election day.c1:cc1: >> are you going to step down because you lied to the board of supervisors and -- >> we need to file. >> reporter: before ed lee even filled out any of the paperwork the fighting began. >> this is bologna, folks. you can't throw me out for no reason. who do you think you are? >> it may have been a lone protester who showed up at the san francisco registrar's office lee's to object to mayor cc1: decision to officially ernt the race. others expressed the same emotions especially those who threw their hats in the ring months ago. >> i think today there are many san francisans who are disappointed that ed lee did not keep his promise. >> mr. lee is

ben tracy has more. >> reporter: while exxon continues to pump its profits with old-fashioned energy -- >> here's to the crazy ones. >> reporter: apple has done exactly what it said it would do, think different. apple sales have increased 80% this year, about ten times faster than the average company. >> they are very often a company who takes someone else's idea and they execute it better. >> reporter: apple's gravity defying stock rise from roughly $5 per share to nearly $375 began in 1997, when steve jobs returned as ceo. >> it just all works. >> reporter: apple debuted the ipod music player in 2001 and the online itunes music store has made apple the world's largest music retailer. >> iphone is like having your life in your pocket. >> reporter: then in 2007 came the iphone. the company has now sold 125 million of them. lately the ipad is helping push apple's stock.

for "california country," i'm tracy sellers. >> hi. i'm chef paul murphy. and today, we're going to make an absolutely fabulous strawberry salad with bleu cheese from point reyes. i have some romaine lettuce, some strawberries, some carrots. and we're going to finish it off with a balsamic glaze. thesd are the simple steps you're going to take to enjoy this wonderful strawberry salad. some romaine lettuce, we're going to cut it as strips. next, we're going to slice up some of the strawberries. we're going to place these ingredients in a bowl, add some of the carrots, and last but not least, that delicious point reyes bleu cheese. we're going to put, oh, a nice amount. we'll chop it up. so we'll tosp this. we'll add some of the balsamic glaze. what it is, it's pomegranate syrup, and i reduce it, and i add balsamic vinegar to it. so it's a wonderful, wonderful alternative to something else. this dish can be enjoyed as a first course, or i would serve it as a dessert with a nice port, or maybe a big cab, and you finish off a lovely evening at home so there's a

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

so he was doing that kind of humor -- not just tracy, take the focus off tracy, a lot of particularly african-american male comics do that kind of humor. or say those kinds of -- you know, whatever, however you want to characterize that on stage. the only, the only issue when it comes to stand-up comedy where you run into problems or the only sin is if it's funny. if it's funny and it's horrific, it's still funny. so, obviously, that night it was not funny, and in the rules in the house of comedy, that was, that's how comics look at it, that he failed in terms of hitting the punchline or making a punchline. but he's been doing that and other comics, you've seen that on network shows, on bet or black comedy clubs throughout this country happening right now. and they want to talk about, you know, the gay man or the gay woman and all sorts of things. it's not new. what i think is new over the passing of the last ten years is that the gay and lesbian community have, you know, drawn a circle around and have lobbied this is what you're going to do, and this is what you're not going to do. i

tracie potts is live in washington. she joins us with an update.ood morning. >> reporter: good morning. democrats aren't necessarily happy with this, the president says he's not happy with it. republicans clearly aren't happy with it so is this deal going to get through? we're now just over 24 hours from this deadline. we'll find out later today as leaders from the parties sit down with their members and try to convince them to vote yes, that this is the best way to avoid a public default. today we'll see meetings, essentially the deal says that we're going to cut just under $1 trillion from the deficit now, which would include lots of military cuts. that's going to be a problem for some. another 1$1.5 trillion in the fall f. they can't come up with something that congress can pass automatic cuts would go into effect. today we could see votes, we're not sure yet. it's somewhat of a fluid situation. to talk about the impact not just in washington but in california and the reaction there, let's go live to marla tellez with reaction on how this will i

nbc's tracie potts joins us with details. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. they've come up with a deal that would allow us to raise the debt ceiling, cut the deficit, begin to cut the deficit and deal with some of the tough questions before the 2012 elections. the white house and top democrats and republicans agreed on over $2 trillion in budget cuts, allowing the u.s. to borrow that much more. >> it will allow us to avoid default, allow us to pay our bills. it will allow us to start reducing our deficit in a responsible way. >> reporter: here's the deal. almost a trillion in cuts now, of of it from the military. another $1.5 trillion decided by a panel of democrats and republicans in the fall including tax reform and medicare. if they don't agree or if the government overspends, automatic cuts kick in. >> the united states of america will not for the first time in our history default on its obligations. >> this agreement won't make every republican happy. it certainly won't make every democrat happy either. >> reporter: this morning leaders meet with their

heavy traffic from tracy to livermore area. we'll tell you my in a few minutes. it's wednesday. 6:00. thank you for joining us. i'm kristen sze. >> i'm eric thomas. this morning, you can add san francisco unified school system to growing list of places it hired by copper thieves this summer. police say they are investigating theft of copper from several schools in the sunset district including one is that has been robbed four times in less than seven days. that's the alice fung u. alternative school. that's where amy hollyfield is live. >> it's dark and foggy. it's very quiet out here on 12th avenue in the sunset district. the thieves took advantage of the conditions and slipped right in here, four times within a week. and got the goods. now there are a few obstacles out here to overcome. we found a little critter patrolling the area. keeping a close watch on the campus at alice fong yew elementary school. there is a security guard here. that's about it. this is a large campus. it's dark and foggy, so the thief managed to hit the school four times in the last wee

live in san rafael, traci grant, nbc bay area news. >> it's been a stressful couple of days, traci. thanks so much. >>> in contra costa county, a traffic nightmare started when a routine traffic stop turned deadly. this happened when a chp officer pulled over a suspected impaired driver this morning on southbound port chicago highway in concord, south of diablo creek golf course. when the officer contacted the driver inside the car, investigators say the man pulled out a handgun and shot himself. the highway had to be closed for about five hours, and opened early this afternoon. >>> a major development in california's high speed rail plans that could alleviate concerns of residents on the peninsula. a new study shows high speed trains could share the rails with cal train between san mateo and redwood city. the study by an engineering firm finds the current track could accommodate up to four high speed trains and six cal trains an hour. cal train says while it's in the initial stages, the plan could be promising in reducing costs and the impact on peninsula residents who worry about

live in san francisco, tracy grant, nbc bay area news. >> tracy grant out there live for us. we'll continue to watch the situation and bring updates on it. >> coming up. bringing the bay bridge to life. next at 6:00, the bridge takes on a whole new look. kimberly terry gets a behind the scenes tour. >> i'm marry tianne favro. what a ban of styrofoam could mean to customers and jobs in our state. >>> it is a rule that has rarely been enforced. police are cracking down on drivers on one major roadway. we're going to help you avoid a ticket coming up. >> we are enjoying a sunny, pleasant evening right now. in san jose. 71 degrees. got the sunshine. a strong sea breeze starting to pick back up. right now, cloud-free in san francisco. but our seven-day forecast, includes the cooldown and hot, possibly wht means for your workweek coming up when we come back. >>> tonight the legal battle over california's same sex marriage ban is brewing in the bay area. this time it involves video. today, james ware, federal judge in san francisco, heard arguments on whether to release video tapes

>> tracie potts in washington. thank you. >>> according to a new poll from "the new york times" and cbs news, the recent battle over the debt ceiling has brought disapproval to an all-time high. the most since the "times" began first asking the question in 1977. the poll also found that congressional republicans should shoulder more of the blame for the problems in reaching a debt agreement. on the other side 66% were not satisfied with democrats. as far as the president's role 46% approve. more evenly divided there. also not getting more help from the debt issue, the tea party. now viewed unfavorably by 20% of the public. 43port think the tea party has too much influence on the republican party. that's up from 27% since the spring. >>> and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. two window washers in san francisco are lucky to be alive this morning after their scaffolding collapsed yesterday, leaving them dangling from a 17-story high-rise apartment building. fortunately, both m

tracy poths is live for us this morning on capitol hill. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. lawmakers were so wrapped up in recent weeks dealing with this debt crisis that they did not deal with the budget for the faa and, as a result, thousands of workers may be left without paychecks. after signing a deal to extend america's credit, president obama told congress to deal with the faa. >> congress needs to break that impasse now. >> reporter: nearly 250 airport construction projects are on hold. funding ran out last friday leaving 70,000 construction workers and 4,000 federal employees with no pay. >> i'm concerned with whether or not i'm going to be able to pay my mortgage. >> this is their bread and butter. to have 70,000 of these workers off is not fair. >> reporter: at issue is whether to cut thousands of dollars the government gives to 13 rural airports. >> all we're trying to do is end these wasteful subsidies, some as high as 3,700 a ticket. >> reporter: the senate's top democrat calls it extreme. >> i do my best to prot

tied at 3-3, tracy mcgee to center field. milwaukee win 5-3. they lead st. louis by four in the n.l. central. you know the phrase, when you're on, you're on. dan uggla is a perfect example. he increased his hitting streak to 30, as he singled against the marlins. there's martin prado, who had a huge game. four for six and had an rbi single in the 11th. that's your first look at sports. >>> now, another quick look at the weather. here's bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. >> i'm guessing you slip through the rainstorm yesterday. >> minorly. >> two inches of rain in central park. we were drenched. boston had more. boston other two inches of rain. most of the major cities had heavy rain. the exception, washington, d.c. you got missed yesterday. the rain stayed to your north. as far as this morning goes, the rain has ended in boston. we have a dry morning commute. but the roads are dry in eastern massachusetts. today's forecast, we're starting off with temperatures cooler because of the rain cooldown there. in the 60s or low 70s. that's going to m

nbc bay area's traci grant is live in santa rosa with more details tonight. traci? >> reporter: 22-year-old marcos lopez garcia doesn't have a license. he was arrested twice before for driving without one. that last arrest was just last week. and after receiving a citation to appear in court, it appears he just got right back out on the road. >> i just feel sorry for the mom and for the parents, you know? and for the kid. the little boy. >> reporter: it was hard for alberto ojeda to walk his children along west 9th street in santa rosa after the tragedy he witnessed yesterday. at 6:00 in the evening a mother was escorting her 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old twins across the street to jacobs park. a car slammed into one of the 4-year-olds and kept on driving. ojeda says the impact sent the boy flying several feet in the air. he was rushed to the hospital but died early this morning. >> hard for me, because i got kids, you know? and i don't know. i still have that thing in my mind. the picture. >> the people was gathering around the tree over there where the kid wa

tracie potts has the details. >> reporter: lawmakers were so busy dealing with this debt crisis they failed to pass funding for the faa leaving almost 80,000 workers with no pay. after signing a deal to extend america's credit, president obama told congress to deal with the faa. >> congress needs to break that impasse now. >> reporter: nearly 250 airport construction projects are on hold. funding ran out last friday leaving 70,000 construction workers and 4,000 federal employees with no pay. >> i'm concerned with whether or not i'm going to be able to pay my mortgage. this is their bread and butter to have 70,000 of these workers off is not fair. >> reporter: at issue is whether to cut thousands of dollars the government gives to 13 rural airports. >> all we're trying to do is end these wasteful subsidies, some as high as 3,700 a ticket. >> reporter: the senate's top democrat calls it extreme. >> i do my best to protect the state, sometimes you have to be reasonable, i think. >> reporter: the house passed a bill and left town. >> they passed a bill and said to the united states senat

tracy corey and her team decipher some mysterious deaths. with rare access -- >> it is fractured. >> we show how coroners, medical examiners and death investigators -- >> there is a disk that normally goes in there. >> bring the truth to light. they do it by letting the dead do the talking. >> the only way the victim can speak at that point is through the autopsy examination. that's really the last chance the victim has to speak. >>> february, it's midday and cold. a hunter and his dog are tracking game on land southwest of louisville. suddenly in the field a scene from a horry movie. >> suddenly i stumbled upon a skull. i didn't want to believe that, it freaked me out. >> the skeleton is scattered throughout the abandoned mine. bones are difficult to find. half hidden. for police it's like a gruesome easter egg hunt. the following morning our cameras join the deputy medical examiner dr. barbara jones who is called in to help with the four-legged members of their team the cadaver dogs. the dogs are essential to this case. with their acute se

>> tracie potts in washington. thank you. >>> to syria now where security forces have unleashed the latest in a month long series of brutal crackdowns leaving scores dead across the country. the death toll estimated between 75 and 140 people is expected to climb. harry smith from our english broadcaster reports. >> reporter: the picture is now emerging from the city suggesting one of the biggest and most brutal crackdowns in the regime's recent history. according to eyewitnesses, the army had been preparing for this moment for several day,s surrounding the town an waiting only the eve of the holy month of ram made "today" to suppress the opposition pfs it is here that the current president's father sent in troops to crush an uprising. eyewitnesses say tanks fired shells at demonstrators and army snipers from nearby roofs. other r0r9s say some troops have defected. these pictures allegedly showing them standing on their tanks, jubilant demonstrators shouting the army and the people are one. the reaction from the int

live in san francisco, traci grant, nbc bay area news. >> all right.. >>> topping our healthwatch tonight, there's an alarming study that shows half of the u.s. could be obese in the next 20 years. if rates continue to climb in the united states like they have the past number of years, the number of obese people is expected to increase from 99 million in 2008 to 164 million by 2030. that study released today in the new issue of "the lancet." here's the breakdown -- the u.s. obesity rate would rise from 32% to actually 50% for men. and from 35% to between 45% and 52% for women. the cost of treating obesity-related diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke would increase $66 billion per year by 2030. >>> some describe it as the ticking of the biological clock. other call it baby fever. [ laughing ] >> watch this. a laughing baby on youtube is amusing to most, but to women of a certain age and mindsets, this is a sight that sets off a physical longing. a new study out of kansas state university says baby fever is real. researchers say men are also

nbc's tracie potts joins us now from washington with more on that. good morning to you. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. it essentially came down to this -- none of these lawmakers wanted to go home over the break and explain to their constituents why they left washington and left 74,000 workers not getting paid for a month. after president obama urged them to deal with this, democrats and republicans came up with a compromise. essentially they'll come back for an extremely short session, just the leaders today, to get this done. it provides for temporary funding for the faa through september 16, until after they get back. now the issue about those subsidies for rural airports being cut won't be dealt with until later. this measure would cut them but also gives the obama administration the authority to override that. republicans wanted to see those subsidies cut. democrats were concerned about issues that would not allow airport employees to unionize. bottom line, they'll have to deal with that again in september. these workers may be back on the

executive director tracy ward joining us with that information on this great event.anks for being here. >> thank you. >> tell us about this event. it's happening next weekend. what does it do? >> we're having our 8th annual gala next saturday at the san francisco merit. and what we do, we honor other people in the community who are doing work with youth. it also highlights our program and we also highlight our youth who are graduating from the program and are on their way to college. >> okay, and this comes from really your personal experience and also your sister's who we happened to see on our own channel. tell me about that and her involvement. >> terry von is my sister. she actually founded the foundation back in 1997 when she became an actress. she wanted to remain connected to the community where we came from. hunters point here in san francisco, where we grew up. she wanted to do something that kept her connected to the youth here in our community and she started with just taking a group of girls out to dinner and from that, the foundation grew into a mentorin

we bring in nbc bay area's traci grant who joins us from san francisco. and is that right, this time around a little different? this is now a multi-dimensional protest. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, we are finally starting to see some people show up here right behind us. we have some people with folded up signs. some people putting bandanas around their heads that usually ends up being a group of protesters. now right out here is where b.a.r.t. police are expecting to see the most protesters. not on the train platforms but out here, ground level. on civic center plaza. this time commuters who say they've been inconvenienced by protests also plan to attend to make sure their voices are also heard. >> and it's difficult to get on, disrupt the commute hour. it is -- makes it life difficult. >> reporter: billie ranks says getting home the last few weeks has been a challenge for her. >> trying to tell my teachers, can i get off soon so i won't have to deal with this whole protest or anything like that. >> reporter: some others who feel just like these

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington. >> reporter: he's appear in the rose garden. this is the big jobs speech we've been talking about, likely a preview. we're expecting the president to pitch infrastructure projects to create jobs plus extending tax credits for small businesses and the payroll tax cut from this year. all together he says these measures could create as many as 1 million jobs. and he says he'll be pitching some new ideas as well. and speaking of jobs, the nation's number one state job creator, governor rick perry of texas, is under fire from one of his republican presidential rivals, mitt romney. at a speech before the vfw, romney, not mentioning perry by name, talked about career politicians trying to solve the nation's problems. he described himself as a conservative businessman who knows how to deal with the real economy. romney, of course, also a former governor of massachusetts. now, trailing perry in the polls. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thanks. >>> here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. a fas

nbc's traci grant has the latest. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, from up here, we are above the b.a.r.t. station. so we're not seeing that much. we have a reporter who is downstairs keeping an eye on the platforms. it's getting off to a slow start with only a handful of protesters, but apparently they are making some arrests. an anonymous group has encouraged people to come in peace and stand up for what's right. that plea worked for the most part next week when protesters came out here and had a less chaotic protest than the previous one. b.a.r.t. is hoping that this one will have an even more obedient crew who will stick to the designated areas. >> i think that everybody has the right to say what they feel. if it makes it that much harder for anybody else, i guess that's what people are going through and anybody else to adjust. >> reporter: that might be easy for some to say. elena's a regular b.a.r.t. rider but today had no plans to board the train. william griggs did. were you planning to take b.a.r.t. in evening? >> i was, b

>> tracie potts in washington. thank you. >>> although the debt bill made it through the house, it still didn't sit well with 161 lawmakers. barney frank voted no and he explained why. >> the bill puts caps on military spending and caps on domestic spending, but it exempts any cap at all spending in iraq and afghanistan. that's well over $100 billion. i can't vote to give a blank check for spending in afghanistan and then cut important programs for police and fire on the streets of the cities i represent. it also said, look, when we go forward, we'll have a 50/50 split in cuts. i was for that. but when i receipt tad the spec the split was only for the first two years. for the next eight year, this was no guarantee the military wouldn't overdo it. finally we did in the health care bill put some cost savings in medicare. this bill would cut 2% from medicare off of providers. they're already off at the margins so you're cutting access to individuals who may not be able to get a doctor. >> the lard wos week nights at 8