nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. taxes, the president today will propose a plan that he says should cut nearly $4.5 trillion from the deficit over the next decade. but here is the catch. the rich have to pay more within $1.5 trillion in tax changes, including the exposedly called buff et rule, meaning that the rich would never pay a smalls proportion of their income in taxes as the middle class. also, the bush tax cuts would end for couples making over $250,000. the president will propose closing loopholeses for corporate jets and big oil companies. the reaction? john boehner heading the republicans on the house side suggesting that this will probably never make it through the house. the gop says that taxing the job creators will actually cut jobs. now, the other big portion of this is medicare. the president will not propose raising the age for eligibility for medicare, but he will propose some cuts that would mainly affect doctors and hospitals. lynn. >> tracie potts f

tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the white house says we're probably looking at 9.1% unemployment for the rest of this year and 9% for all of next year despite the fact that the weekly jobless claims are down. we're probably not going to see much change today. analysts say that the government is skeptical that the government can do anything to affect that number. president obama next thursday giving a big speech here on capitol hill telling congress what he believes needs to we done to create jobs in this country. but he's under fire from his own party, from democrats who say he's been compromising entirely too much, they believe, and that the president needs to creation a vision that sets them completely apart from the republican party as they head into this next election. >> tracie potts there for us in washington. thank you. >>> economic woes may be the main reason why this labor day weekend, the nation's highways won't be quite as crowded as they have been in

nbc's tracie potts joins us with more from washington. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. democrats familiar with the president's plan say this speech tonight will be mainstream, aggressive and specific, with the goal of lowering our unemployment rate by next spring. the president expected to pitch a package of hundreds of billions of dollars in middle-class tax cuts, business tax breaks, infrastructure projects, another payroll tax cut, help for people who are having trouble paying their mortgage. job training, an extension of unemployment benefits and money to states to prevent layoffs of teachers and other state workers. now according to a new piece of research by pu, democrats and independents are skeptical this is going to work even before the president has laid out his ideas here on capitol hill. that happens tonight. lynn? >> tracie potts there for us in washington. don't miss the president's address to congress tonight. it will air live at 7:00 p.m. eastern time right here on your nbc station. and now her

nbc's tracie potts joins us live from washington with details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. now we head into the weekend not having to worry about a partial shut down or thousands of jobs at risk. washington exhibits what seems to be the spirit of cooperation. >> for the betterment of the country. >> absolutely. >> that's what we're here for. >> reporter: 36 senators, democrats and republicans, say enough. >> we feel it's time to check our political hats at the door and to step up and do what is the right thing for the american people. >> reporter: they're urging the deficit super committee to go big and reduce the deficit by almost twice as much as they have to. that spirit of cooperation spilled over into the senate where one republican -- >> the bill is passed. >> reporter: -- gave up his opposition to building bike paths so temporary funds for highways and air traffic control could be approved. >> it's a good day to be able to go home and say, we worked together in a bipartisan way to save almost 2 million jobs. >> the a

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. good morning everyone. that new white house projection says the unemployment rate in the nation will probably hover around 9, 9.1% all of this year and next year as well. later this morning, we'll see if that was the case last month as the new unemployment rate comes out for august. analysts don't expect to see much change even though the weekly jobless figures are down. that's good news. all of this comes less than a week before president obama is expected to roll out his new jobs plan. he is increasingly under pressure even from democrats who say he's been compromising too much. what they want to see is a fresh new plan that the president thinks will work, a vision as they put it to distinguish himself from the republican party. so far we believe his plan will include infrastructure projects to create more construction jobs and payroll cuts, tax cuts, we saw them this year. more for next year and an extension of unemployment insurance. it

nbc tracie potts joins us from washington with more on the president's plans. ng. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everyone. expect to see the president back on the road again this week pushing his plan first in ohio. then north carolina on wednesday. $447 billion to create jobs in this country. but first, the president will speak about that today at the white house in the rose garden with teachers, police, firefighters and other public workers. he wants to give states money to help save their jobs, but republicans see that as more stimulus and are unlikely to support it. also unlikely to support another extension of unemployment insurance. but it looks like there may be some common ground on a couple of other areas, like extending and expanding this year's payroll tax cuts, extending it for workers and expanding it now to include employers, as well. they also have some agreement on passing trade deals, not yet though decided how all of this will be paid for. lynn. >> tracie potts there for us in washington, thank you. >>> now for a look at your na

nbc's tracie potts joins with us more from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. president obama and the u.s. seem determined to convince him that the united nations is not the place to deal with this issue during his speech to the general assembly yesterday president obama said that peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the u.n. the security council is set to consider tomorrow the palestinian's request for full membership. he met with mahmoud abbas yesterday and also with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. president obama said we are committed to israel's security and the commitment is unbreakable, but there's another option here. they may put off a decision tomorrow on full membership or as the french suggested, they could upgrade the palestinians from observant status to non-member status. bottom line, they have work to do on this. lynn? >> tracie potts, thank you. >>> here's a look at some other stories making headlines today. police say a michigan attorney and his two sons are l

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. he has flat out said in the past that he is not running. he did not repeat it last night. that is raising a lot of questions whether he sidestepped the question, leaving the door open. what he said last night was that he would point to his previous statement that he is not running and he is listening to those who are urging him to do so. a packed speech at the reagan library, perhaps because he is acting like a candidate, criticizing washington, the president, and congress. it continues to fuel speculation. president obama who is sagging in the polls, trying to win popularity on the other side, his advisor says winning re-election will be a titanic struggle. >> tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. >>> elsewhere, israel has announced it has given the go ahead for building 1100 new jewish housing units in east jerusalem, a move drawing international criticism. the decision is being condemned by palestinians who demand an end to suc

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. here's how it happened. 26 republicans joined democrats to pass this measure. they're doing it in two parts. first of all, a temporary extension, which basically extends government funding through tuesday until the house gets back next week. some clean energy programs. they are taking that disagreement off the table. they were able to work out a deal. essentially a two-part deal. the house will be back in session next tuesday. that is supposed to happen on thursday. and once they are back on tuesday, another -- a longer short term extension to keep government running through november 18. fema gets $2.6 billion when all of this is approved. there is expected to be no government shut down by the end of the week >> tracie potts for us in washington, thank you. >>> well, from investors to job-seekers to small business owners, it is easy to see how the troubled economy is impacting all different kinds of americans. what about our nation's stud

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. new tough talk from the president at that labor day rally with union workers. the senate and the house is in tomorrow, to talk about how to create jobs in the country. the president will be here on capitol hill thursday, laying out his plan. but on labor day, the president urged republicans to put their country before party, that jobs speech he's expected to pitch, roads and bridges, building and fixing them to save one million jobs. and now a new nbc/"wall street journal" poll that shows the president at a record low disapproval rating, only 44% approve of the job, down since july. >> tracie potts there in washington, thanks. >>> this morning there appears to be a breakthrough for rebel forces seeking to advance peacefully into the pro-gadhafi town. of bani walid. according to al jazeera tv libya's rebels say that after on and off negotiations the tribal elders have agreed to surrender the desert town without a fight. a peaceful handover of the pro-gadhafi town would be seen as a big

nbc's tracie potts is joining us from washington with all the details. tracie, good morning to you. >> good morning, lynn. president obama wanted to come here to capitol hill to address both houses of congress next wednesday, the first night they'll be together after their break. he wants to talk about jobs and job creation. he sent that request to house speaker john boehner and the republican speaker said no. no he says he was only given 15 minutes to decide. the white house called him earlier and he didn't seem to have rejections, but that's the night of the republican presidential candidates debate out in california. three members of congress will be part of that debate, so boehner counters with another offer thursday. the white house says that's the first night of nfl football, the season opener. now the big question, will the president go head-to-head with football, just who might win? >> tracie potts, thank you. >>> the president will head to new jersey on sunday to survey the flooding and damage left behind behind hurricane irene. the storm's death

>> tracie potts in washington. tracie, thank you. >>> the chrissics are weighing in on last night's gop presidential debate in florida. it appears that rick perry took the heaviest hits from his owe points. mitt romney took perry to task on health care and job creation. the two also tangled over who's more likely to flip-flop on the issues as well as perry's controversial stance on social security. >> there's a rick perry out there saying that almost, quote, it says, that the federal government shouldn't be in the pension business, that it's unconstitutional. unconstitutional and it should be returned to the states. you better find that rick perry and get him to stop saying that. >> he's for obama care and now he's against it. i mean, we'll wait until tomorrow and see which mitt romney we're really talking to tonight. >> perry did score some laughs when he said he'd want to mate herman cain and newt gingrich for a running mate. >>> elsewhere on wall street, in a year that's seen its ups and down, global recession fe

nbc tracie potts joins us now from washington. >> reporter: good morning. it's not over yet but they really don't have a lot of time. the possible shut down could happen by the end of next week. so they may only have a few hours to work this out. the house did pass a bill only by about 16 votes that would keep government running through the middle of november. here is some reaction after that vote. >> this bill is an embarrassment. this is not worthy of this congress. vote no on this latest assault. on the republican plan. >> that you recall voting for that. >> will you yield -- >> no, i'm sorry. you had half an hour -- >> i mentioned three times -- i mentioned three times the gentlemen was -- >> if you -- >> the gentle lady from california controls the time. >> order! >> order in the house, mr. speaker. >> reporter: this bill includes -- that was actually before that vote. the bill did pass that include ed nearly $3.7 billion in disaster funds, but in order to pay for that there were some clean energy programs cut including one that failed solar panel comp

tracie potts joins us live from washington with the details. good morning to you. >> veronica, good morning. what's at risk here is cash and things handed out immediately after disasters. fema only has $175 million left in that fund for all of the disasters its managing and that money could run out as early as tomorrow but it's tied to a big spending bill where there are big disagreements. one version was passed that provides money but does so by cutting clean energy programs that democrats say we need to keep. the senate has decided to extend its break. they were both supposed to be out with the looming government shut down on friday. but the senate is extended and expected to take a vote this afternoon. if it doesn't match exactly with what the house passed last week they could be back at square one. how about how the republicans are looking at all of this? over the weekend president obama said that the republican's vision could fundamentally cripple america. more on that in coming weeks especially on the campaign trail. >> tracie potts in wa

tracy potts is in washington with more. >> when you log out of facebook and is it any of nearly 1 million sites with the like would -- with a like a button, the site send a message to facebook you have been there. >> the a equivalent of you closing your door and hanging up -- or hanging up your phone of a person is still there in your home following you room to room but you can't see them give them a little bit scary. >> really creepy. >> it is called frictionless sharing and lawmakers called the invasion of privacy. democrat ed markey and republican joe barton is pushing a do not attract kids bill in congress. in this letter they are asking the federal trade commission to investigate facebook. the discovery comes as users adjust to other changes. >> it is not fair to have people in the position where they have to play catch up every time a company decides it wants to change something. >> facebook users say they are surprised. >> it sounds awful. >> big brother is watching. >> facebook says the tracking is part of its security to prevent someone else from logging and as you, and it is not

tracie potts joins us live from washington. good morning. >> veronica, good morning. good morning, everyone. if a bill doesn't pass this week it could mean no emergency aid of victims of hurricane irene, of flooding and other natural disasters. the federal emergency management agency has $175 million left in disaster funds, and that could run out by tomorrow or wednesday if congress doesn't act. >> stop playing politics, do the right thing for the country and make sure we're not playing politics with disaster aid. >> fema needs a money that runs past thursday. the house passed it and went home. senate democrats don't like that they cleaned energy programs to pay for billions in emergency aid. >> we will help people effected by disaster bus we will cut government in other places where the money is not so important. >> the choice is pay for it now or never pay for it there are alternatives. >> democrats blame the tea party for linking fema's money to the spending bill. >> i don't like the business of blaming each other over such small potatoes. we ought to be spending t

lynn. >> tracy potts, thank you. >>> here's your first look at some of the other news going on. saturday the guys over west virginia also saw the tragic ending of an air show. one plane crashed and burst into flames attempting to perform an acrobatic maneuver. the pilot died on impact. investigators are still looking into the cause. >>> a life imitated part in oklahoma this weekend. at least one tornado touched down. this storm didn't cause any major damage or injuries. >>> friday night lights turnsed into a night at fights. a melee erupted in the fourth quarter. disciplinary actions against a total of 12 players are pending. >>> finally, for just one day, the public was given a rare glim ms at a top-secret relic from the cold war. this spy satellite was declassified and put on display. the government spy tool nicknamed big bird carried out surveillance missions from space photographing images of the former soviet union, china, and other targets around the globe. >>> well, now for a check of your national weather, we go to wtvj meteorologist ryan phill s phillips. good to have y

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. perhaps we keep hearing these questions because christie is acting like a candidate. he's crisscrossing the country, raising money for republicans, criticizing the president. again last night at the reagan library he repeated that he will not be running for president. it certainly hasn't stopped those questions, though. some analysts question whether chris christie has the restraint, he's pretty outspoken, to run a successful campaign. republicans, it appears, are looking for more. there are concerns about flaws in the frontrunners rick perry and mitt romney. in fact, perry kicked off his washington campaign last night, but there are some concerns that he may not be able to stay this race. meantime, president obama realizes he's in for a tough one on the other side. in fact, david axelrod, his top adviser, has admitted re-election could be a titanic struggle. >> tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. >>> elsewhere, israel has annou

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: the president says he has a plan and we'll hear more on thursday. today on labor day, he's spending this day with workers in detroit. unions used to be a scht hoo-in vote for democrats, now they're distanting themselves. >> i think the president should challenge the patriotism of these american corporations that are sitting on the sidelines. >> reporter: on saturday the president urged congress to pass a transportation bill that he says could save a million american jobs. >> in virginia, 19,000 jobs are at risk. in minnesota, more than 12,000. and in florida, over 35,000 people could be out of work about if congress doesn't act. >> reporter: the president will lay out his own jobs plan thursday. republicans expect more of the same. >> frankly, i'm so tired of his speeches, it will be hard for me to watch. >> reporter: he'll likely pitch building roads and bridges, extending unemployment, and i roll tax cuts and tax breaks for businesses who hir

tracie potts joins us with more from washington. good morning. >> reporter: the president actually meets with abbas and israeli prime minister netanyahu today, separate meetings. and the administration says he'll tell both the only way to a two state solution is through peace talks. >> it is time to lay down your arms and join the new libya. >> reporter: president obama speaks to the united nations today welcoming a newly liberated member. >> the new flag of a free libya now flies among the community of nations. >> reporter: arab uprisings in libya and other nations have put a spotlight on the palestinian's bid to become full members. outside, there were protests against it. rick perry showed up in new york criticizing what he calls america's policy of appease chlt. >> if america does not head off the aggression forces hostile to israel, we would only embolden it, a tragic mistake. >> reporter: though the u.s. is prepared to veto, experts say that could send the wrong signal. >> the united states is forced in a position now of havin

>> tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. >>> here's your first look at news going on around america today. police say a michigan attorney and his two sons are very lucky to be alive after a bomb exploded in their car tuesday evening. the three managed to escape the vehicle before it was engulfed in flames. a $10,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to an arrest in the explosion. the man was reportedly released from the hospital. his 11 and 13-year-old sons were last listed in critical condition. >>> in new jersey, newly released surveillance video shows an suv smashing into a jewelry store back in july. a quick-thinking customer pulled the driver's foot off the gas, turned off the ignition, and wrapped the injured driver's hand in a tourniquet. no one was seriously injured. >>> officials are warning colorado ans to lock up trash due to dumpster-diving bears. a drought in the southeastern part of the state has hungry animals on a desperate search for food right before hibernation. stocking up. >>

our tracie potts joins us from washington. >> reporter: good morning. that means we head into the weekend without thousands of jobs on the line as we feared as we saw last summer, the result of what may be a new spirit of cooperation here in washington. >> for the betterment of the country. that's what we're here for. thank you. >> reporter: 36 senators, democrats and republicans, say enough. >> we feel that it's time to check our political hats at the door and to step up and do what is the right thing for the american people. >> reporter: they're urging the deficit super committee to go big and reduce the deficit by almost twice as much as they have to. that spirit of cooperation spilled over into the senate where one republican -- >> the bill is passed. >> reporter: -- gave up his opposition to building bike paths so temporary funds for highways and air traffic control could be approved. >> it's a good day to be able to go home and say, we worked together in a bipartisan way to save almost 2 million jobs. >> the amendment is agreed to. >> reporter: th

tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> 57 degrees on tv hill. the discovery of a genetic cause for type 1 diabetes. >> i kind of mushroom may have it medicinal benefit. >> don't forget to e-mail us your response to our water cooler question of the day. should the courts convict people for believing in the power of prayer, rather than providing medical care for their children, when it results in the death of the child? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> we have a couple of problem spots around the area this morning. >> welcome back. 5:40. beautiful shot of the downtown area. no fog or no rain. much cooler in the suburbs. keep that cooling theme in mind. today will be a nice day. it will turn around saturday and sunday. 64 in annapolis. expect a mix of sunshine and clouds. we have a 20% chance for a sprinkle with a high temperature of 74. we of big changes for the forecast this weekend. the seven-day forecast is coming up in just a few minutes. >> researchers are c

tracie potts has more. >> when you log out of facebook and visit any of nearly a million sites with alike" button, that site sends a message to facebook that you have been there. >> it's the equivalent of you closing your door or hanging up your phone, but a person is still there in your home, following you room to room, but you cannot see them. >> it is a little bit scary. >> i think that's really creepy. >> it is called frictionless sharing. lawmakers call it an invasion of privacy. democrat ed markey and republican joe barton are pushing a "do not track" kids bill in congress. in this letter, they are asking the federal trade commission to investiage facebook. the discovery comes as users adjust to other new changes. >> and it is not fair to have consumers in a position where they have to play catch-up every time the company decides it wants to change something. >> facebook users say they're surprised. >> that sounds awful. i didn't know they could do that. >> big brother is watching. >> facebook says the tracking is part of its security, to prevent someone else from logging in as

nbc's tracie potts joins us with more from washington. tracie, good morning. >> hey, lynn, good morning. neither side wants to see that, so both the obama administration and the 26 states and small businesses that oppose this law have all asked the u.s. supreme court to speed up their decision early 2012 instead of later as might be typical for a big she decision like this to put it too close to the election. at issue as you mentioned is the individual mandate, everyone, almost everyone, having to buy health insurance by 2014 or you face a penalty. but those 26 states who oppose are now asking the court not only to strike down the mandate but the entire law. three federal courts have made three different rules, one thing is constitutional, one saying it is not, one saying it is too early to make a decision. now the entire issue has been put in the laps of the u.s. supreme court. we'll find out what they'll say and how soon they may make that ruling. lynn? >> traciepotts in washington, thank you. >>> a 26-year-old man is behind bars this mo

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. that meeting with the boss was a late add to the president's schedule. he is also meeting one-on-one but separately with israelis prime minister. the message is they need to work this out between them but not at the u.n. >> president obama speaks to the united nations welcoming the newest member. >> the flag of a new libya now flies. >> republican presidential front runner showed up in new york criticizing what he calls america's policy of appeasement. >> if america does not head off the aggressive forces hol tile to israel, we will only emboldin them. >> reporter: the u.s. is prepared to veto but experts say they could send the wrong signal. >> the united states is forced in a position of having to navigate a position where neither party is able to make concessions. >> the meeting, the administration says president obama would tell both peace talks are the only way to achieve a two-state solution. >> irrespective of whatever takes place

nbc's tracie potts joins us with more on this. >> reporter: good morning. 18 years of failed negotiations. so now he is petitioning. but the white house says that the white house will veto, will block that effort. president obama is set to sit down with benjamin netanyahu but the white house says there's no plans to meet with the palestinian president abbas. the white house is saying there is only one two-stay solution here and it is through peace negotiations that have broken do down. there was some encouragement by the arab uprising. to get those peace talks started again. >> thanks. >>> yesterday in a direct challenge to the gop, president obama laid out his plan to balance the budget. taking aim at america's richest. republicans made it clear his proposal won't get any support from them. nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: president obama chat challenging republicans. >> this is not class warfare. it's math. >> reporter: to reduce the deficit, $3 trillion, the president would cut $580 billion from medicare and medicaid, not social security. save $1 trillion in iraq and afgha

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with a preview. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. here's what you want to look out for at that debate tonight. first of all, texas governor rick perry jumped into the race, becomes the front-runner. now his first debate since then. we're told despite touring the wildfire damage in texas, he is still expected to attend the debate in california tonight. fighting him or trying to fight tore that top position, mitt romney, who had been the front-run are. he recently released his economic plan promising 11.5 million jobs by, in part, lowering the corporate tax rate 10%. he also wants to get tough on china. then keep an eye out for michele bachmann and jon huntsman. analysts say they really need to prove that they are still in this race. and so we're likely to hear the republicans turning more on each other than on president obama. of course, all of this just a day before the president comes to capitol hill to release his own jobs plan. republicans now want to sit down with him before h

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington to explain whether the israeli-palestinian issue is headed for a complete train wreck at the un or possibly a flu opportunity to resume peace. good morning, tracie. >> reporter: good morning. what had been an unscheduled meeting, we learned about it last night, with palestinian president mahmoud abbas. president obama to sit down one-on-one with him and we're told from him the message to both of them will be that they need to resume peace talks. that's the only way to a two-state solution here, bringing it to the un is not really going to work for anyone. that will be his message today. there was a small protest outside the un yesterday against accepting the palestinians into full membership and also one of the republican candidates, the front-runner, texas governor rick perry showed up in new york criticizing the president for what he called a policy of appeasement toward the palestinians. president balk taking a lot of heat for not siding more closely with israel. so what's going to happen on friday when that petition comes before

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. tracie, good morning to you. >> hey, lynn, good morning. on this labor day. labor unions used to be the shoo-in vote for democrats but not any more. donation down 40%. unioning frustrated that they say president obama has not followed through on his jobs agenda, for example, raising the minimum wage. over the weekend, the afl/cio president said the president needs to make a stronger challenge to big businesses to hire more workers. now, what we will see from president obama this week is that speech here on capitol hill on thursday outline iing his jo plan. he also over the weekend pressed congress to pass a highlight bill that at the end of september it will expire then. he says by renewing that, they could save a million jobs. the president expected to talk about those infrastructure projects building roads and bridges to create more jobs. lynn? >> tracey potts for us in washington. thank you. >>> now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. a tornado

nbc's tracie potts has more from ground zero in lower manhattan. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everyone. we have learned that new york is stepping up security. it was already on a heightened state of alert as a result of this threat that they say is specific, but they just don't know if the source of the threat is credible. what we do know is it's believed to include possible car bombs or truck balls. possibly targeting new york or washington. perhaps involving three men who may have traveled from overseas into the united states in connection with this. but again, it is not believed to be credible. here's what new york's mayor had to say about it late last night. >> now the threat at this moment has not been corroborated. i want to stress that. it is credible, but it has not been corroborated. but we do live in a world where we must take these threats seriously, and we certainly will. >> reporter: now, none of the plans for the 9/11 memorial here in new york have been canceled or delayed or changed, we're told,

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more. good morning, tracie. >> reporter: good morning. we'll pay close attention to what john boehner says in the speech here in washington later today. because if he endorses key elements of the president's plan, like the payroll tax cuts, for example, it could indicate cooperation here as opposed to gridlock last summer. and analysts say there's a good reason why republicans may want to cooperate. the approval rating for congress is twice as bad as it is for president obama. plus, there are 60 house members, republicans, running in districts where president obama ran and won last time around. so there may be some vulnerability there. meantime, president obama is going to be talking on monday about how to pay for all this, not only the jobs, but also that big jobs bill here, deficit reduction. the president said the super committee should go big and look at $2 trillion. he's going to outline that coming up on monday. >>> a newly released government report on the massive gulf oil spill finds

tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >> still to come, she's no stranger to prime time. maria bello returns to the 10:00 spots as the star of the new police drama. >> the mild air continues across the east coast. cool air over the great lakes. even cooler air will follow that. that is coming for the weekend. that is coming up in the seven day forecast to a 74 at the airport. 76 at the inner harbor. >> and the doctors here to answer your pet questions. you can e-mail your question to petquestions@w >> for several years in the late 1990's maria bellomaria had a home on nbc thursday. now she is back on nbc thursday at 10:00 as the star of the new police drama "prime suspect." mark tells us that her character faces challenges beyond just police work. >> this lot is my home, and you're invading it. >> maria bello is the new detective in the male-dominated squad room in the new drama "prime suspect." >> gentlemen, we're going back to square one. >> what i like about her is she is not trying to be a man. she is just being authentically herself and claiming her rightful space in

tracie potts has more from ground zero. >> this information developed over the last 24 hours. authorities say it's not confirmed and at this hour, they have not yet decided to activate the new threat warning system. homeland security says there's a specific credible threat, but it's not confirmed. authorities say it appears to have involved car or truck bombs in new york. but there are conflicts about the information. authorities warn we could see more threats over the weekend, it's not unusual before big events like this. >> we work not just within dhs, but with all of the other intelligence community to track it down and follow it up. >> security was tight in new york, streets around ground zero will shut down tomorrow. nearby residents have been told to stay inside sunday. thousands of uniformed officers will swarm the area. >> and i believe that we are safe. i also take great comfort in tonight where the fbi and the nypd are working together with other law enforcement agents. >> all over the nation in new york, pennsylvania, and washington, america remembers. >> standing i

tracie potts joins us with more on that. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. now, this issue has moved up to the u.s. supreme court. both the justice department and 26 states are asking the court for a quick decision on whether the individual mandate in the new health law is constitutional. the mandate says that nearly every american must purchase health insurance by 2014 or face a fine. both sides are asking the court to make a decision by early 2012, months before the next presidential election. three different appeals courts have made three different rulings on this, one in atlanta over the summer said it is unconstitutional, another said it is not. a third court said it is too soon to tell. bottom line, small businesses are teaming up with the states that want the entire law struck down and now it lies in the hands of the u.s. supreme court. lynn? >>> a 26-year-old massachusetts man is behind bars this morning after federal agents uncovered a home grown terror plot to attack federal buildings with remote control planes. they searched the home of this man i

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more. >> reporter: getting this done is the tough part, and president obama is already getting lots of ideas from the business community. what's in that jobs plan president obama will announce thursday night? big business has some ideas. >> too many people think that business is bad. you know ha? corporations are made up of people. employees, shareholders, customers. >> reporter: the chamber of commerce promises six million new jobs if washington will spend money on roads and bridges, pass trade deals and give tax breaks on overseas income. >> this is real capital that belongs to american companies. >> get rid of the income tax, shrink the size of government. you would have the jobs then. >> reporter: with union workers on labor day, president obama had tough talk for republicans returning to capitol hill today. >> the time for action is now. no more manufactured crises, no more games. now is not the time for the people you sent to washington to worry about their jobs. now is the time for them to worry about your jobs. >> reporter: but ca

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with all the details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. that we're told was unprecedented, rejecting the president's original request. here's how it went down. president obama sent this request to john boehner, because he wants to address both houses of congress to talk about jobs and how to create jobs in this country. he wanted to do it the first day they resumed together on wednesday. but turns out that is also the date of the republican presidential debate in california. three members of congress are participating in that debate. by phone earlier we're told by the white house that boehner expressed no problems but he later rejected the president's request saying that thursday would be a better date. the white house in a statement late last night said they welcome the opportunity to address congress on thursday. but now there's another problem, that's the nfl season opener between the saints and the packers, that long-awaited game. it's a big question, what time is the president's speech going to

tracie potts joins us live from capitol hill with developments. >> reporter: eun, good morning.irst reaction from facebook. they say it was an unintentional side effect of its security system, making sure that people can't log in from other locations as you. so like many other websites, they put cookies on your computer that track your movements. in this case, some of those cookies were reporting back to facebook what sites you visited even after you logged out of facebook. privacy experts do not like that, and neither do some lawmakers on capitol hill. the co-chairs, republican and democratic co-chairs of the privacy caucus, are asking the federal trade commission to investigate. their point, they think users should have a reasonable expectation of privacy after they log out of facebook, that they should not be tracked online. no word whether the ftc will investigate, but we do know that in ireland, where facebook's european headquarters is located, irish authorities have decided to launch an audit there because of privacy groups there and over here explessing concern about thi

tracy potts joins us from washington with more on all of this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the palestinian president says he went to the united nations as a last resort after 18 years of failed negotiations putting him no closer to statehood. president obama will meet with the israeli prime minister at the ewe nieunited nations, but are no plans to meet with the palestinian president. he will petition the united nations for membership friday. a year ago, president obama welcomed it, but not without israel's backing. >> the only way the israelis and palestinians will achieve two-state solution that's fair and equitable to both sides that allows for a secure state of jewish israel is through direct negotiation. >> reporter: president obama's been criticized for lukewarm support of our long-time ally, israel. the state department says there have been intense negotiations with all sides. >> no matter what does or doesn't happen this week, it will not produce the kind of outcome that everyone is hoping for. >> reporter: in fact, it'

tracie potts joins us more from washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. while the president's out again today pushing new spending to create jobs, here on capitol hill, the deficit super committee is looking for ways to save money. president obama pitches his jobs plan in ralraleigh, north carol, today. >> what on on earth are we waiting for? >> reporter: republicans say they're waiting for a price tag america can afford. >> the debt has gone up by 40% because it was financed with borrowing. and yet he wants to go down that same pathogen. >> reporter: the deficit super committee looking for a trillion in savings is debating how paying for jobs will affect america's bottom line. >> the fastest and most effective way to reduce the deficit in the short term is to put americans back to work. >> reporter: but the congressional budget office warns obama's plan may only work for a while. >> cuts in agss or increases in spending in the mere term will spur output and employment in the near term. >> reporter: plus congress has other things to deal with first. >> we

tracie potts joins us from washington with a preview. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. mitt romney released his economic plan. we'll hear more about that at the republican debate tonight as he tries to convince voters that he's the best choice to beat president obama. at tonight's debate in california, all eyes will be on texas governor rick perry just back from touring wildfire damage, hoping to defend his front-runner status. >> rick perry right now is really riding that tea party tiger. that's why he has such a big lead. rl polls show tea partiers back perry over romney. romney announced his economic plan on tuesday. >> president obama's strategy is a pay phone strategy and we're in a smart phone world. >> reporter: romney promises $111 11.5 million new jobs. >> when the tax corporations, the employees will pay or the shareholders are going to pay or the customers are going to pay. so corporations are people. >> reporter: republicans wait to hear what president obama will announce in his jobs plan tomorrow. >> we tried p

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more. good morning. >> reporter: hi. good morning, everyone. boehner's speech is here in washington at the economic club this afternoon. and the big question is, how far will he go in endorsing key parts of president obama's plan? some analysts are saying he could go out on a limb and do that for a couple of reasons. disapproval ratings for congress are two times what they are for president obama. and there are about 60 house republicans who may be vulnerable in the next election. meantime, president obama is still out there pushing his $447 billion plan. he says he'll talk more monday about how to pay for it and also about a go big plan for deficit reduction, $2 trillion more than the $1 or $1.5 trillion the deficit super committee is looking for. but republicans are accusing the government of killing jobs in a couple of instances. particularly the boeing plant down in south carolina that would create 2,000 jobs. the national labor relations board is trying to block that plant and republicans aren't happy about that. vi

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. here's how it happened. 26 republicans joined democrats to pass this measure. they're doing it in two parts. first of all, a temporary extension, which basically extends government funding through tuesday until the house gets back next week. and then a longer-term extension that will extend funding through november 18th. the house will vote on that when they return on tuesday. now, this includes over $2.6 billion for fema. they were able to scale that back and not deal with the very controversial issue of cuts to some clean energy programs. democrats didn't want to see those cuts. but the white house budget director confirmed that fema actually was not going to run out of money today or tomorrow. they had a few more days and could hold out until the end of the week. that allowed them to scale back $1 billion and avoid that fight all together. where do we go from here? on thursday, the house will pass essentially with unanimous consent thi

tracie potts joins us live from washington where we're told the president will demand quick action.ee what happens. good morning. >> good morning everyone. people who are familiar with this plan say tonight's speech will be mainstream, aggressive and specific. now let's break that down. main stream t the white house is saying that he will pitch ideas that both democrats and republicans have supported in the past to help create jobs and spur growth in this country. aggressive. he is urging congress to act on these ideas by the end of the year, so that they can make some difference in the unemployment rate, hopefully a positive one by the middle of next year and well before the 2012 election. and specific we're told that the president will pitch hundreds of billions of dollars in middle class tax cuts, business tax breaks, some infrastructure projects and a pay roll tax cut and extending unemployment for the millions of americans including a lot of californians who still need it. >> a lot of people need it. thank you very much for the update. >> 5:43. we're learning more about the sho