when he got into the hospital, did he go to a hospital room and shoot the doctor? was it a random shooting? what do we know about this? >> well, what i've been able to find out so far on this, from the baltimore sun, the local newspaper there, now it's their suggestion that the shooter was upset about care ha that his mother was receiving in the thopt that he initially got angry and threatened to jump out a window. during the course of his anger he produced a firearm and shot the doctor. then the subjects subsequently bare kated himselves in, may or may not have been with the relative or buy himself. they got so sell vated they had to deal with it in a tactical manner. one can only assume in this particular situation he may have pointed the gun at the authorities, and, as we're told, he was shot and killed by

police. >> as we know from a public information officer from the baltimore p.d., they do believe there was a relative in the room, which was then back pup what you're hearing that it may have been his mother. we also have detectives all over the place trying to figure out here. with regard to the doctor, clint, the doctor is only being described as a faculty physician there. john hopkins is a teaching hospital, part of a university there. this is keeping within privacy matters. my question is how does somebody get a gun inside a hospital with all of the security in place these days? you would wonder how a gun could get past the front doors. >> in my cities, alexes, the hospital is the one place we don't go through a metal defactpr. we're not wand or hand searched in a lot of areas. that may well change, too.

we see a massive reaction we make in the country every time a situation takes place like this. unfortunately we may see hospitals in the future across the country have to adopt this metal detector device to allow someone to to come in and out. they're on canes, they're with walkers, they've got wheelchairs. we're going to have to am come date through all of that should they choose to exclude firearms from a hospital. >> you can imagine it was a terrifying better parking lot part of two hours for patients, hospital employees and physicians on the scene. now let's turn to the alarming jump in home foreclosures last month. lenders took back more homes in august than in any month since the start of the mortgage crisis. more than 95,000 properties were repossessed. it is a huge 20% rise from a year ago. it was also the ninth straight

month that foreclosures increased. nbc's terry sanders following the story joining us live from ft. lauderdale, florida. the state with the highest second foreclosure rate since the month of august. what is the situation like? >> i came here as a perfect example. the home over shoulder, these are about $700,000. this one here is in foreclosure. now it's on a short sale. $380,000. this neighborhood was built with, they thought 70 homes. eight are in foreclosure. others in stages of foreclosure. look at the statistics here. it tells you the story of what's going on in the united states. one of every 81 homes in the united states are now in some stage of foreclosure. take a look at the states. nevada, one in 81 in

foreclosure. florida, 1 in 155 in foreclosure. arizona, 1 in 165 in foreclosure. when you look at which states are responsible for most of the foreclosures in the country, california, has the greatst percentage. then florida, michigan, illinois and arizona. where i am, i'm in south florida, the statistics are worse, 1 in 111 homes down here in south florida is in some stage of foreclosure. it used to be shameful that somebody would say to a close friend my house is in foreclosure. down here it's very common to talk about my house being in foreclosure. sometimes because the value ls of homes have dropped so much, imagine you're one of the homes next doors. you're the homeowner. you paid $700,000 for your hoim. now the one next door is sold for $380,000. am i a sucker for paying the

mortgage for $700,000? they look at the amount of equity they have in the house and then they walk away. that complicates the factor. they say it's not worth me paying a $700,000 mortgage. >> when i thought about the pristine look you gave us outside, beautiful home sitting one against the next, that's not often the case with regard to homes in foreclosure. you have homes where people get angry, leave junk inside the homes and take off. what about neighbors of those kinds of homes. they have reduction in property value and other problems. >> the biggest problem is not only the people who leave and then the grass grows, nobody takes care of it, it turns into a mess. then there's foreclosure stripping. you own the house. the bank says they're going to take the house from you on friday. so on monday you list it on craigslist or something like

that. everything in your house is for sale. so people will be like, here, you want some cabinets? that's for sale. so from monday to thursday, people come by your house with ch crowbars and take this stuff. the homeowner doesn't care. it's money in their pocket. then the bank is stuck with a destroyed house. that's been a real problem. one that the authorities, especially in south florida, have not been able to get handle on. the fbi has done efforts in arizona where they've had success. it is such a widespread problem. in the grand scheme of law enforcement, it falls to the bottom. >> yikes. kerry sanders. thanks so much. we got positive economic news today. the number of new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week. dropping to the lowest level in two months. that's a sign employers are cutting further jobs. : just an hour or so ago a

senate passed a bill designed to hip small businesses. the vote was 61 to 38. it sets the stage for final approval from the house. it offers incentives to hire more workers. luke russert is joining us from capitol hill. i know the bill passed with the senate. it was a big push from the president, wasn't it? >> it was indeed, alex. there was a huge push by testimonies to get this done in the summer. republicans were able to filibuster it. the measure passed today 61 to 38. it gives over $12 billion in tax cuts to small businesses. it also creates a $30 billion loan fund for a lot of small businesses that deal with community banks. banks $10 million or less. they're in the business of lending to smaller companies. they'll now have some sort of fund to free up credit so small businesses can do anything from

expand the story stores to remodel. a lot of this is designed to try to have work employers hire new workers and spur growth in the small business sector, which they really think will drive the economy. republicans view it as another bailout. something that will not necessarily impact the economy right away, more borrowing on the dollar and is not paid for completely. democrats say this is more necessary than ever. we need to get this going guard so people can go back to work. democrats will tout it as a political victory. it's quite modest in the grand scheme of things. folks may not feel that much but democrats are all very happy about it from the white house down to the senate majority leader harry reid and speaker of the house nancy pelosi will pass the house next week for final pass saage

passage. they'll have a big pep rally touting democrats be on the side of small business. >> gee, you think? you can count on that. luke russert from capitol hill. want to get back to the story we were covering at the top of this hour about the man who got into the john hopkins university thopt there in baltimore, maryland, and was shot dead. apparently according to police they have confirmed the hospital suspect in fact committed suicide. he shot himself. it was not at the hand of police there, and he also shot a relative. both have been killed. we're not sure who the relative was. there was a report early yir by a police officer who said they believed the relative in the room was a mother, but we are not sure of that. that came from the baltimore sun. that mother detail. we are getting word that the shooting suspect committed suicide, shooting himself as well as his relative there

barricaded inside the hospital room with him. as we get more details and confirmation of who the relative was, if not the name of the shooter himself, we'll get that to you here on msnbc. evacuating, sandbagging and stocking up. right now residents of mexico are being battered by hurricane karl. in some areas the powerful storm has knocked out power and sparked massive flooding. at the same time hurricanes igor and joule are churning away. igor set a path right for bermuda this weekend. nick walker from the weather channel is joining me now. you have your hands full. good day to you. >> we really do. thanks, alex. there's the threesome, karl, igor, julia. three hurricanes now. julia has weakened quite bit from a category four to a two. it should not cause any problems there as it weakens more. here's a big problem. this is idor. still a category four. kicking up high surf in puerto rico and the leeward islands.

expected to pick up a lot of waves on the east coast because it's so huge. about 1,400 miles in diameter. that's roughly equal to the distance between new york and dallas. just an amazingly large hurricane. that's why we're going to see wave action probably beginning today here along the east coast, and then certainly by tomorrow and saturday and lasting onto monday as well. boaters, swimmers, surfers need to be on the guard. bermuda needs to this be on guard. you erd you by late sunday or early monday. this could be a life-threatening situation. possibly, too, for karl. the sixth hurricane of the season. should make landfall some time tomorrow, perhaps near major hurricane status. >> that's frightening. igor sounds huge and tremendously powerful. >> don't want to get in its way. >> absolutely.

we hope bermuda steers clear. thanks, nick walker. did burning a koran lead to a new jersey transit employee losing his job in the new york daily news reports 39-year-old derrick fenton burned pages of the holy book during a protest in new york city. the same center sparking a heated debate across the country because of its proximity to ground zero. joining me now is michael smerconish, msnbc contributor. michael, good day do you. >> how are you, alex? >> i'm fine, thanks. i know you've been getting a lot of talk traffic on this issue. tell me first of all what your listeners have been saying about this. are they fired up? >> absolutely. interesting. the new york daily news to which you referred has a poll on its website where better than half of respondents say she absolutely should have been fired, my audience, and maybe this is indicative of a talk radio audience, a poll on my web height, the opposite view. for 11 years he has worked for

the state of new jersey as a transit worker, married, father of two, inspired by that florida pastor who never did burn the koran, this guy shows up at ground zero. burns a couple of pages. he's not in uniform. he's on his own time. he's recognized in the media photographs, and subsequently he's fired. governor christi stands behind the firing. one, is it proekted speech? that's a legal question. the answer is probably yes. in the same way the supreme court recognized that you have a right to burn the american flak, i'm sure they would regard this in similar circumstance. the second question, does that mean he should keep his jop? probably not. he's an at will employee and could be fired for just about anything. >> also, let's keep in mind, part of what "the daily news" reported is the new jersey transit said we have a code of ethics by which our employee must stand. enwhat their quote is that his

public actions violated new jersey's transit code of ethics. new jersey transit concluded that mr. fenton violated his trust as a state employee and was therefore dismissed. if there are rules in place, are employees required to abide by them? >> well, yes, they are. i would love to see the rules. i'm hard pressed to believe they address a certain circumstance like this. by all accounts even those calling my program and saying he should not have been fired. everybody is saying he's nuts and did something despicable. but it's another question if we have protection for stupidity. just because he has a right to do it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. >> thank you very much. in terms of the breaking news, this is from baltimore police via twitter. the situation has ended. the suspect not shot by police.

possible murder-suicide. we'll bring you more on the story as we get it. back after a short break. i was like, yes, this works... [ male announcer ] only rogaine is proven to regrow hair in 85% of guys. puhh puhh puhh putt and that's it. [ male announcer ] stop losing. start gaining. ♪ [ upbeat instrumental ] puhh puhh puhh putt and that[ rattling ] [ gasps ] [ rattling ] [ laughing ] [ announcer ] close enough just isn't good enough. - if your car is in an accident, - [ laughing continues ] make sure it's repaired with the right replacement parts. take the scary out of life with travelers. call or click now for an agent or quote. ♪ [ male announcer ] we touch a lot of things throughout the day. so it's nice that clorox disinfecting products

help kill the germs that can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours. ♪ feels sweet when i can touch you ♪

next week iran's president ahmadinejad travels to the united states for the general assembly meeting. that comes at a particularly tense time for relations. american sarah shourd was just released from a prison in iran. her companions are still locked up and charged with espionage. there's also international outrage over iran's nuclear program. andrea mitchell sat down with iran's president for a rare exclusive interview. >> iran's president pressed for sarah shourd's release as a

gesture to america just before he travels to new york for next week's u.n. meeting. on other subjects he was confrontational. >> a spokesman on twitter, he tweeted that you could take the two men on your airplane to new york when you go to the united nations. what's your response to that? >> translator: that was a good proposal but i wish they wouldn't cross our border, in order to be forced to get back to new york today. if they had fot violated the border, they would have been there for more than a year, and we have no problem here. and hopefully there will be no violation, no offense, and otherwise the judiciary has to react. >> let me ask you about a statement from the international atomic agency today.

the agency sharply criticized iran for interfering with the weapons inspectors and, in fact, a number of countries, germany, france, great britain said iran's actions are reprehensible, very strong language. they issue ad report saying the inspectors could not get access to the nuclear sites they need to see. why is iran not letting the experienced inspector who is know the weapons area so well, why is iran not letting these inspectors in? >> translator: if the iaea does everything according to the law -- if we are going to go beyond the law it is not acceptable to us. but i'm going to ask a question here.

if we were one of the alliances of the united states or -- would we be treated the same way by the agency? >> the president is showing no sign of compromise on the nuclear standoff. even as world powers are gathering next week, united against him. andrea mitchell, nbc news, tehran. >> back to baltimore where we're joined by wrc's aaron gilchrist who will give us an update on the hospital incident at john hopkins. erin, what do you know? can you confirm the news that indeed the shooter is dead as well as a relative inside the hospital room by his own hand? >> reporter: yes, that is the information we've just gotten from the baltimore city police department. we're told the suspect holed up shot a relative in the room with him, and then shot himself. it started after 11:00 this morning. there was a report of a monowho

had shot a doctor here at john hopkins. that doctor was taken into surgery and is expected to survive. some time around 1:30 this afternoon the situation resolved when the suspect locked in the hospital room killed that relative in the room with him and then shot himself. at this point we're awaiting more word from the baltimore city police department. we expect to hear more from the commissioner about where they go from here in terms of what all led up to the shooting that happened here earlier this afternoon. alex? >> two questions. any confirmation on who the relative was, what the relationship was to the deceased shooter now, and, in addition, the physician shot and currently in surgery, was that doctor treating the patient? do we know those answers? >> we have not been able to get any definitive answer to those two questions for the baltimore city police department. there were earlier reports that the person in the room with the

shooter was a relative. we don't know what their relationship was was. we also heard reports that the shooter was dissatisfied with treatments that relatives had received in the hospital here, and there may have been some relationship between the doctor and the relative who was here in terms of the doctor maybe having treat that had person. the baltimore city police department has not been able to confirm that this afternoon. we're told there are detectives inside the hospital right now trying to assess some of those reports and figure out what the relationship was here. we do know the doctor was a faculty physician here at john hopkins hospital and is being treated as we speak. >> all right. thank you very much, aaron gilchrist with the latest from baltimore. it's been a busy 23 minutes here on msnbc. we'll be right back with more. [ male announcer ] if you've had a heart attack caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives.

plavix, taken with other heart medicines goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death, by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots. ask your doctor if plavix is right for you. protection that helps save lives. [ female announcer ] certain genetic factors and some medicines such as prilosec reduce the effect of plavix leaving you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. your doctor may use genetic tests to determine treatment. don't stop taking plavix without talking to your doctor as your risk of heart attack or stroke may increase. people with stomach ulcers or conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines, including aspirin, may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. tell your doctor all medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur.

reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. i can take one airline out... and another home. so with more flight options, i can find the combination that gets me there and back quickest. where you book matters. expedia. poep

[ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time... time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. comes in a liquid gel. bankers are known to be a little bit in love with themselves.. trust me. are we going up? we can get the next one. i'd like to get your advice on hedging - risk... exposure. what makes us different? for 300 years we've chosen to focus on our clients. what a novel idea. [ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down? introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid to fight fatigue. so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever.

pope benedict began a history making four-day trip to the united kingdom. he just finished celebrating in scotland. he arrived in scotland this morning and met by prince phillip. then a short time later he was greeted by queen elizabeth at her official residence in sco scotla scotland. this is the first visit in 500 years since king henry viii bank robbery with the vatican. with the pope having arrived in scotland after making the strongest comments yet about the hand #ing of the clergy sex abuse, what is happening. >> the real news is what happened before he even got here. he was speaking to reporters, and he has made the clearest and

certainly most detailed admission of guilt. not his own guilt. this was not a personal mea culpa. this was a remarkable statement about the church's guilt. he said, and i quote, the church failed to act quickly or decisively to deal with pedophile priests and the church, its top priority now is to help the victims. he also added that abusive priests must never again be allowed near young children. he went onto say the vetting process for priests must be improved. there was reaction to these comments from victim support groups. they said these are only words. they need to see action. the vatican still keeps all the investigative files on these potential pedophile priests under wraps and is still very little cooperation wean the vatican and local police investigators. still, this is big news.

it happened before the pope got here. >> i know a lot of people were demonstrating signs and the line. one person's story, a profound one, but she traveled all the way from chicago to make her point about her allegations of being raped when she was merely 11 years old. this is going to dog this pope's trip, suspect it? >> well, it will certainly dog the pope's four-day trip. also, even aside from the sex abuse scandal, controversy in general seems to follow this pope wherever he goes. here's a perfect example. as he was arriving this morning, british media was pounding on comments made by a senior adviser. a german cardinal named walter casper. he had to cancel his trip suddenly after telling a german magazine that landing in london's heathrow airport was like being in a third-world country. this coming from the man until recently headed the vatican

commission in charge of relations with the anglocans. they tried damage control. said the comments were taken out of con texas, and casper canceled due to ill comments. >> jim maceda, thank you so much from london. the future of the popular weight loss drug meridia is in question today. they are split over whether the drug should be pulled from the market over health risks. joining me life is nbc chief science correspondent robert bazell. good day to you. what is the fda panel saying, and what does it mean to people now taking meridia? the fda panel is saying there's a potential danger to the drug and not much use. this is more of a bullet than a imagine ill bullet. the reason is there was a big study. this drug has been on the market for 1 years.

there was a study that showed only the average weight loss was five pounds and a 16% increase in heart attacks and strokes. it doesn't look like it has much of a future. half the panel members voted to take it off. among the others, most of them voted if they leave it onto have strict restrictionsing on the sales. >> we've been talking a lot about the devices, pills, what have you to help people lose weight. there's a new one with lasers and freezing fat. how viable is this procedure? is it widely available? >> i think it's an alternative to liposuction to contour the body. it won't allow you to lose much weight. it's an approved device so one presume it does work.

it's very expensive. up to $3,000 a treatment. you need like three treatments. you'll never get that reimbursed by any health insurance. it's a cosmetic procedure. very little to do with the weight loss drug situation, a holy grail for the pharmaceutical industry. it's very hard to knock out the appetite without causing over severe side effects. michael jackson's mother file ad wrongful death lawsuit. she is suing the concert pro moteer claiming the company is responsible for her son's death. the promoter behind the planned this is it tour. claiming they were more concerned with desire for massive profits than it was with michael's health. and they failed to properly

supervise the doctor they hired to take care of jackson. controversy stirs over precious actress, but not because of anything she's done but rather what may have been done to her. let's get the scoop from tod todayshow.com. >> did i say morning? >> it's afternoon. >> have to drink a lot of coffee. you're talking about this controversy in "elle" magazines. she's on the cover of many magazines for this special october issue. they have four cover models on various magazines. you may go to a newsstand and not see gabbi. here's a photo of her. here's a photo of the magazine. it appears just to the naked eye that her skin tone was lightened considerably for this october photo shoot. now the people at "elle" magazine deny doing anything of

the sort. they say her cover was not retouched anymore or less than the others, referring back to the other three cover models on other magazines. i don't know. i took this around to a lot of photo editors here, and they're all experts. they say that looks like the kind of situation that has been retouched. i've reached out to her people who issued no comment. they want you to think of her being on the cover as celebrating her. they don't want want you focusing on it. >> if you look at these pictures, and maybe it's makeup. >> or maybe it's lighting or something like that. it's drastically different. >> it's so drastic it appears somebody has intentionally done this. >> retouching on magazine covers, in magazine features. we talk about this all the time. specifically most of the time with women. this happen with men to some

extent. it gotten to the point where it's so ridiculously overdone. sure, make people look good. make them look their best. it's sitting on a newsstand. you want to sell magazines. you don't want to embarrass something. she looks -- nine and a half times out of ten it doesn't need to go to this point. again, "elle" denies it. it's a big talker today. >> i bet. what about the america's got talent winner? the favorite was 10 years old. >> she didn't win. you're looking at her right there. an amazing, amazing little talent, jackie evancko lost to another singer. we've got "american idol." we've got "america's got talent." let's let the singing find its over to ""american idol."" the one i loved the most is

fighting gravity. i don't know if we can pull up what they would do. they were one of the first original looking acts that we've seen in such a long time. what they do is -- >> how the they do that? >> exactly. it takes dozens of people to make this work and the way they trick you with lighting and illusions. that's a vegas show. the remember here gets a vegas show and a million dollars. >> do you think that was what went into a judge's decision. thinking a 10-year-old girl may not be prepared to live for a year in las vegas? >> she can do her show at 6:00 before people have dinner and then still go to school and get to bed and all that sort of thing. i don't know. michael grimm, he's very talented. he said he'll use the money to buy the house for his grandparents. great story. that's nice. that's lovely. no disrespect to him. but just another singer. >> oh, yeah. justin timberlake hat. >> so 2009. >> you're so current.

okay. courtney, thanks so much. >> you, too. for the latest entertainment news, log onto scoop.todayshow.com. coming up, rumors keep swirling about rahm. is he contemplating a run for the top spot in chicago. two women sentenced to life in prison for a robbery that netted them just $11. their story after this. you are watching msnbc. there's a myth you can't switch car insurance

until your policy expires. here's the truth: you can switch to allstate whenever you darn well please. and if you get allstate today, you can get an early signing discount. up to an extra 10% off. even better, an allstate agent can do the switching for you. let the good hands give you a great price and make it easier for you. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. ♪ [ male announcer ] we touch a lot of things throughout the day. so it's nice that clorox disinfecting products help kill the germs that can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours. ♪ feels sweet when i can touch you ♪ on surfaces for up to 48 hours. [ malhis day starts thwith his arthritis pain.. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills.

the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. i'm friend, secret-keeper and playmate. do you think i'd let osteoporosis slow me down? so i asked my doctor about reclast because i heard it's the only once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment. he told me all about it and i said that's the one for nana. he said reclast can help restrengthen my bones to help make them resistant to fracture for twelve months. and reclast is approved to help protect from fracture in many places: hip, spine, even other bones. [ male announcer ] you should not take reclast if you're on zometa, have low blood calcium, kidney problems. or you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant or nursing. take calcium and vitamin d daily.

tell your doctor if you develop severe muscle, bone or joint pain, of if you have dental problems, as rarely jaw problems have been reported. the most common side effects include flu like symptoms, fever, muscle or joint pain and headache. share the world with the ones you love! and ask your doctor about reclast. or call 1-866-51-reclast. year-long protection for on-the-go women. we have pictures now live for you. this happened just moment ago. he arrived earlier today and spent the better part of his day with queen elizabeth. they were there at the queen's official residence there there's the pope. this happened just moments ago. he is on route next to london. meantime, a movement to free two

mississippi sisters from life sentences after a robbery. they were charged with luring two men down a road where three teens hit the men the head with a shotgun and robbed them. the scott sisters were convicted of armed robberies. the three teens had plea deals and only serve ad few months. protest protesters demand release. >> this is not a case of fairness or equal protection glch. >> the scott sisters have been a catalyst for a movement waiting to start in this city and state for a long time. >> joining me now from mississippi, evelyn, gladid and jamie scott's mother. as well as naacp president ben jealous who asked haley barbour to pardon the scott sisters. we welcome both of you. >> hello. >> i'm going to begin with you,

evelyn. i imagine it's been a long 16 years for you. how do you feel about this ground swell of support to have your two daughters released? >> well, i'm very happy about it. i'm very glad that the rally took place. and that all of my supporters was there supporting the rally. i was very happy about the rally. but jamie and gladis have been locked up 16 years october 11th. i just heard something that wasn't true about they hit the men in the head with shotguns. that's not true. the men testified in open court that my daughters never pulled a weapon on them. they never robbed them. they never took anything from them. the alleged three boys robbed them. that's not true. >> evelyn, i do believe i correctly identified the three teens as having been the ones who hit the men over the head.

if you interpreted it differently, my apologies. with regard to your daughter jamie, i understand she is not well. does she suffer from kidney failure? that's urgent. you need to get her out. >> yes, ma'am. i do need to get her out as quick as possible. if jamie don't get out, jamie will die. jamie has suffered numerous infections at the hands of the medical profession at the correctional center. she's not gotten proper medical care whatsoever. she has came to death almost two times because of the poor medical attention that has been given. >> all right. evelyn, i'm going to bring in naacp president ben jealous to talk about this. i know you personally appealed to governor haley barbour. what do you expect will happen here? >> we hope he will look at this case, see the merits, and do the right thing. he is part in five men each

convicted of killing people. four of them had killed women. this is a case in which nobody was hurt. over $10 was taken. they later found the wallet of the man who said he had been robbed, and there was $60 still in. there's question even about the $10 or $12. and we can't find a kis like this in the entire country where people are sentenced to double life sentences. they're supposed to die in prison, apparently die in prison again. >> ben, why did that happen? it seems like an incredibly harsh sentence for the crime. why did it happen? >> well, one important thing is these two women have no priors. they're both mothers. when you look at the judge in the case, you find out, this is the same judge who 30 years earlier granted bail to the ku klux klan killers of cheney

and porter. you have to wonder what's going on with this judge. you can't find a judge anywhere in the country who has done the same thing. double life sentences. no one hurt. >> do you know where the judge is now? still serving on the bench? >> i would certainly hope not. >> how about this, ben, i understand the prort who has since retired has come out supporting your appeal to governor haley barbour to get these women released. what does is that tell you? >> that tells me there's consensus in mississippi and governor barbour should do the right thing. >> ben jealous, thank you for your time. evelyn, our best of luck to you. our thoughts are with you and your family. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. big money and big time politics. what is the really impact of self-funded campaigns? gecko: got got an email from the office and word is people really love our claims service.

gecko: 'specially the auto repair xpress. repairs are fast and they're guaranteed for as long as you own your car. boss: hey, that's great! is this your phone? gecko: yeah, 'course. boss: but...where do you put...i mean how do you...carry... waitress: here you go. boss: thanks! gecko: no, no i got it, sir. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. [ tires screech ] [ engine revving ] [ drums playing ] [ male announcer ] 306 horsepower. race-inspired paddle shifters. and f-sport-tuned suspension. all available on the new 2011 lexus is. it isn't real performance unless it's wielded with precision. it isn't real performance

and she said hair was growing back... i was like, yes, this works... [ male announcer ] only rogaine is proven to regrow hair in 85% of guys. puhh puhh puhh putt and that's it. [ male announcer ] stop losing. start gaining.

there's a lot going on today. here are some things we thought you should know. white house chief of staff rahm emanuel continues to put dealers out there for a possible bid to become chicago's next mayor. emanuel met privately with jesse jackson jr. last night. both have expressed interest in becoming mayor. a source close to jackson said emanuel the congressman discussed the economy and job creation. elizabeth edwards opens up about her marriage and fight against cancer in an interview to air on the nate berkus show tomorrow. edwards is telling berkus that i'm not a victim and she never wants to be perceived that way. edwards has terminal breast cancer. those are the things we thought you should know. also this, $119 million. that is what republican meg whitman donated out of her own pockets to fund her campaign in the california governor's race. that's a record amount. more than any other american

political candidate has ever contributed. nbc news deputy political director mark murray is here in new york as opposed to his usual spot in d.c. hey to you. glad you're here. >> good to be here. >> so she spends this kind of money. what kind of advantage does it give her? >> the biggest advantage is the tv ads in the state. california is not a cheap state to run television ads. that's the best way politicians seem to communicate with voters. she's able to define herself, define her opponent jerry brown. >> she claims she has to do this. there's like 2.3 million more registered democrats in the state of california. she has to intend more than jerry brown does for that reason? >> exactly. jerry brown has a lot of money on his side. he's still at a 6-1 disadvantage there. california is a graveyard for

republicans with millions and millions of dollars to spend having money isn't always a recipe for success. >> mayor michael bloomberg spent on his own. didn't that happen this week? >> meg whitman's $119 million is now more than bloomberg spent in his 2009 mayoral bid. >> wasn't that like $120 per vote that he got. >> yef. >> he still won at the end of the day. >> he won, yeah. oem, carl paladino. money as well to spend? >> yes. he starts this general election at a significant disadvantage to andrea cuomo. she's very well known. paladino will use his millions of dollars to define himself and

define cuomo. >> rick lazio clearly had the higher name recognition there perhaps because of the race he ran against hillary clinton running for senate the first time around. is that where name recognition will be able to best andrew cuomo over paladino. if they see a name they know, will that trump money? >> name recognition is the name of the game. as we saw in the new york primary where rick lazio lost to paladino. the biggest is outsiders doing very well in republican primaries. that's what paladino is able to use. >> tea party? >> that and saying i have nothing to do with congress. i have nothing to do with the current problem. that's what paladino is able to use and he hopes to use in the general election. >> you have to get off this set. but thanks for joining us here.

>> thanks for having me. >> that wraps up this hour. chris jansing takes over after the break. she'll have the latest on the shooting at john hopkins university in baltimore. keep it here. hz when life's this hard, graduating can be even harder. but you can help jose and the students in your community make it through by visiting boostup.org.

woow! hey man, how ya doin'? how's your shave? kinda like tuggin' and pullin'. see how shaving can cause irritating tug and pull? [ male announcer ] that's why gillette's introducing the revolutionary new fusion proglide. it glides... like literally. [ male announcer ] now, fusion proglide has been engineered with gillette's thinnest blades ever so it glides for less tug and pull. turns shaving into gliding. and skeptics into believers. new fusion proglide. and warm up before you shave for incredible comfort with new proseries thermal scrub. [ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down? introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid to fight fatigue. so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever.

with new bayer am. bankers are known to be a little bit in love with themselves.. trust me. are we going up? we can get the next one. i'd like to get your advice on hedging - risk... exposure. what makes us different? for 300 years we've chosen to focus on our clients. what a novel idea.

we have breaking news following a shooting at one of america's most prestigious hospital. an emotional day in court in the trial of the suspect in the horrifying home invasion case. chilling new photos shown to the juror. plus this -- >> it represents more than just me. this is for everyone that i've been with, everyone that i've served with. >> an american hero in an interview you won't want to miss. my one on one conversation with the medal of honor recipient. his courage will amaze you. his humility impressed all of us