i was just in town for a few days, and i was wondering if i could say hi to the doctor. is he in? he's in copenhagen. oh, well, that's nice. but you can still see him! you just said he was in... copenhagen. come on! that's pretty far. doc, look who's in town. ellen! copenhagen? cool, right? vacation. but still seeing patients. oh. [ whispering ] workaholic. i heard that. she said it. i... [ female announcer ] the new office. see it. live it. share it. on the human network. cisco. next on msnbc saturday, after the verdict the family of amanda knox vowing to fight to overturn her murder conviction but what can they do? moving on up, a record dose of wintry weather down south is heading north. also ahead, eye on the tiger. the latest lured swirls of scandals surrounding the disgraced legend of the links. and it is a space alien watch. one city's upcoming vote on welcoming extra terrestials. no kidding. good morning everyone. i'm alex witt. we have all that bring you to this hour along with the threat of another wave of mortgage meltdowns. first up, today amanda knox's family making an unscheduled vice toit the prison in perugia where the 22-year-old remains behind bars. knox now looking at spending 26 years in jail after a jury found her guilty of murdering her british room mate. her mom spoke to reporters outside the jail a short time ago. >> what kind of night did you have? >> we had a rough night. she had a lot of support when she got back to the jail. everybody there. the inmates and guards were all taking great care of her. they care a lot. thank you. >> nbc's keith miller is joining me live from perugia with more so that was unscheduled. they were supposed to go i think tuesday you reported, keith, so things switched up today. how so? >> reporter: well, in fact, amanda was visited by her lawyers. we're told she is now under suicide watch within the prison. we suspected her lawyers approached the judicial authorities and asked the parents to come visit and offer her support. we are told she is extremely disappointed at the verdict. everybody in her family is barely holding together. i had an opportunity to talk with amanda's father and her sister last night to talk about the judicial process. she cried, "no, no" when the verdict was announced. family members broke down in tears. the year-long trial focused on the prosecution's theory that knox and her former boyfriend killed meredith kercher, an exchange student from england, in a drug-fueled sex game gone wrong. knox maintains she is innocent. her lawyers said they would appeal. the drama inside the courtroom spilled onto the streets. knox's father appeared to be in shock. that quickly turned to anger. >> you visibly stiffened up and just sort of went rigid. >> yeah, the anger set in. it was -- it's one where a system that has instilled reasonable doubt and one that in my mind at least summarized during closing arguments was so crystal clear that she should have been found innocent, much less not even dealing with the realm of reasonable doubt. and for them to come up with guilty is -- it just blows me away. it angers me beyond all belief. >> reporter: deanna, you had a different reaction. you seemed as if you really lost it. >> i did. i really, really wasn't expecting it. even though we talk about how we have to be realistic and knowing that this could have possibly happened, i wasn't ready for it. i looked at the jurors the day they went to deliberations. i nodded at them and they nodded and smiled at me. and i really wasn't prepared for it. i lost it. i was uncontrollably shaking. >> you are going to see amanda on tuesday. are you going to be able to hold it together? >> i can't break down in front of her because as soon as we break down she does and i want her to know we're strong for her and she needs to be strong as well. >> you've been at this now for more than two years since your daughter was arrested. have you got the strength to carry on for another year or more? >> i do now, because i'm mad. >> we have to. we're not giving up. >> no way. she did not do anything. she was not part of this. >> reporter: you're convinced. >> beyond a reasonable doubt. >> reporter: the family of the victim, meredith kercher, held a news conference today to say that they accepted the guilty verdict. however, they said they were not triumphant, that this was not a time to celebrate, that it is a tragedy that has affected all of these families, and very interestingly now we have a diplomatic situation coupled with this trial. the u.s. senator from the state of washington says she believes perhaps antiamericanism tainted this trial. she thinks that the judicial system here in italy should be investigated one way or another so this story is far from over. we have guilty verdicts but no conclusion to the story. >> keith, it's just a horrible story from any angle but were you to talk to the people say behind you how do they feel about this story? do they feel justice was served? >> reporter: some do and some don't. it's probably classic the world over when you have a judicial process. there were days when knox did appear guilty and days when the evidence was in her favor and she appeared innocent. i think people would like this to be over. it has been going on for almost a year. the crime is now more than two years old but it is not over and i think that the division within the public opinion will continue through the appeal process. this story has a lot of leg to it, and i think we're talking about a year-long run, maybe more. >> which means you're probably spending more time in perugia, there. thank you very much. coming up in a bit i'll be speaking with a former defense attorney and prosecutor for legal perspective on the amanda knox guilty verdict. today the east coast is preparing for the first measurable snowfall of the season. the snow is coming down at a steady clip in leesburg, virginia. totals could be between 2 to 4 inches. we'll have more in a moment. another record weather setter was in houston today. 26 degrees this morning. hasn't been that cold there since 1897. houston set its earliest snowfall record on friday. let's get more on the first measurable snowfall for the east coast making things pretty for the holidays. bill karins, what is the latest on that? >> the white house may have a white lawn by the end of the day. it was rain in d.c. earlier. now you can see snow flakes flying there in front of the white house. the capitol, reagan airport, dulles all reporting a mixture of rain and snow and temperatures will drop here. probably see a little coating on the grass. roads will be just fine. we look at the temperature in d.c. it's 36. that's why the roads will be okay. the grass it toends stick a little better. baltimore also has moderate snow right now and 34 degrees so it's working its way up i-95 where we have the heaviest snow in the mountainous areas of west virginia, virginia, and also it looks like some areas of central pennsylvania will do well out of this. maybe 2 to 4 inches. a lot of people are wondering, what about new england? new england has been snow starved. the skiers are furious. it has been the worst start almost in history. this one will give a little bit. it's better than rain and the ski resorts of massachusetts, southern vermont, and southern new hampshire, that's where we could pick up a couple inches. big cities look a little too warm. right now it's in the 40s in new york and philadelphia. at most i think you see snow flakes. boston, you could get a coating as we go throughout tonight. denver is at 33. there is a big arctic outbreak hitting the middle of the country over the next two to three days so winter is in full swing. also for all our friends in california, in the sierra, mammoth, all the other good ski areas, they've been like new england wondering when is our turn? their turn comes twice in the next week so i think they'll be doing well once you head out west. >> i'm an admitted ski snob and i got all excited. you should have seen me during the commercial. maybe not. bill karins, thank you very much. stay up to date on the forecast by tuning into the weather channel on cable or online at weather.com. well, a spokesman for a montana senator max baucus is acknowledging that the democrat was in a romantic relationship with a woman he nominated for u.s. attorney. the senate finance chair is still involved with the woman who later withdrew her name from consideration to pursue other opportunities. the baucus spokesman says the woman's nomination was based solely on her qualifications and the merit of her work. they're both single. there you have it. more debate under way in the senate this morning as democrats continue efforts to push through sweeping legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system. they're considering an amendment that would cap pay for executives of the insurance industry at $400,000. it is an effort to win support of moderate democrats who are still reluctant to support the legislation. the majority leader reid is pressing for a final vote before the holidays. as president obama turns his attention to the nation's jobs situation a new labor report is giving the white house some encouraging news. government data shows just 11,000 jobs were cut in november bringing overall unemployment down to 10%. still, the president acknowledges there is a long road ahead. mike, with a good morning to you, they weren't exactly popping champagne corks about this, right? >> reporter: no. but they were hugging christina romer, the chairman of the council of economic advisors, the top economic advisor to the white house. the president traveling yesterday to hard-hit allentown, pennsylvania touring a manufacturing plant there that has seen better days, making a few other stops, job training center, dog food manufacturing facility, all in an effort to follow up on the jobs summit he held here at the white house on thursday and jobs, jobs, jobs. now the talk of washington. health care yes. the debate ongoing as i speak. afghanistan, the speech at west point earlier in the week, but many democrats on capitol hill very anxious about the upcoming election year disappointed there are 15 million people in this country who are looking for work who can't find it. the rate is still 10% ticking down only 0.2% from october to november so the focus here has turned to jobs. there is a lot of talk of extending unemployment benefits. talk of more spending for roads and bridges. talk of green technology spending. looking for the most bang fort buck to do something in the short term to get people back to work. the president will give a big speech on tuesday and one of the big questions right now is will they take some of the very controversial bank bailout money, that t.a.r.p. money that people have been talking about? some of it is unused, tens of billions of dollars of it. will they take some of that money to pay for some of the other programs they want to implement in the short term? >> okay. well, mike, thank you so much. when you head outside did you see the weather? you have to have your jacket on. >> a wintry mix. lovely. >> it's such a pretty picture though. >> it is. >> thanks so much. we'll see you tomorrow. still ahead tiger and the tabloids. the latest twist in the ongoing, sordid saga. what doctors recommend for arthritis pain... in your hands... knees... and back. for little bodies with fevers... and big bodies on high blood pressure medicine. tylenol works with your body in a way other pain relievers don't... so you feel better... knowing doctors recommend tylenol more than any other brand of pain reliever. now yourard comes with a way to plan for what matters to you. introducing blueprint. blueprint is free and only for chase customers. it lets you choose what purchases you want to pay and those you split... interest...with full pay. you decide how to pay over time. if having a plan matters. chase what matters. eate your own blueprint at chase.com/blueprint. somewhere in america, there's a home by the sea powered by the wind on the plains. there's a hospital where technology has a healing touch. there's a factory giving old industries new life. and there's a train that got a whole city moving again. somewhere in america, the toughest questions are answered every day. because somewhere in america, 69,000 people spend every day answering them. siemens. answers. now to the latest on tiger woods and reports of a deal in the scandals surrounding the golf star. tiger hasn't talked to the media since the early morning car crash more than a week ago outside his florida home but earlier this week he issued a statement on his website apologizing for, quote, transgressions. joining me now live amy palmer senior editor with "in touch weekly." good morning. >> good morning, alex. >> lots of women coming out of the woodwork. how much do we know about them, how many there are, their legitimacy? >> right now there are three. but they're all vegas party girls. it seems like tiger had a type. they're all brunette. they all like to party. so that's what we know. rachel uchitel hired gloria allred. she abruptly canceled the press conference. there are speculations tiger's camp paid her off. we haven't confirmed that. the other girl, jamey grubbs already sold her story to a tabloid and the other woman is saying either way i'm not going to comment. there is a lot of speculation. let's hope there are no more women who will come out of the woodwork. >> let's hope so. you have to talk about the relationship that he is going to try and mend reportedly with his wife elin. there is a prenup, reports of marriage counseling. what do you know about that. >> the original prenup was $20 million for ten years. now there are rumors that tiger has offered her a $5 million re-signing bonus. almost like a sports -- >> so romantic. >> and $80 million for seven years. >> so when you say that if they were to get divorced after seven years then she would get $80 million. >> yes. >> reports of intense marriage counseling, are you hearing that? >> we can't confirm it but i wouldn't doubt it. i mean, look at what's happening. let's not forget he is sequestered in his home. he can't leave. it's not like he can say i have to go blow off some steam. she's right there. >> they should be doing something constructive you'd think. >> absolutely. >> what about the overall image of tiger? >> i think public opinion certainly has become -- they're disappointed in him. he was like the golden boy. i've spoken to a lot of guys and they're disappointed in the fact this golf great who seemed to be so family oriented, so close to his dad, you know, they really related to that, he disappointed them. let's not forget tiger woods has a sponsor who pays him $7 million to $10 million to have a logo on his golf bag. i mean, the amount of sponsorship money that this man has is enormous. so i think in the long run he'll be okay. i just think the public has to kind of get over what they've learned about him. >> what about if this -- what about if more salacious details come out? do you think then he risks losing the sponsorships? >> i think so. let's not forget tiger woods is the greatest golfer that ever lived. you won't find another tiger woods around the corner. in the long run he'll be fine. if there are more salacious things that come out, definitely it could be a problem. >> he has to prove it on the golf course. absolutely. >> as long as he stays hot on the golf course. >> focused, get out of vegas, stop partying. he'll be okay. >> thank you. coming up, creating jobs. can president obama work it out? we've got my boys buchanan and fenn working through the ghe a moment. also ahead earthlings on alert. camping is no fun... ..when your nose is raw and sore. plain tissue can make it burn even more. but mom knows there's puffs plus... ...with the magic of three. soothing lotion with a touch of shea butter, aloe and e. plain tissue can irritate the sore nose issue. puffs plus with lotion is a more soothing tissue. a nose in need deserves puffs plus indeed. and try puffs plus with the comforting scent of vicks. and try puffs plus let the all-new campbellskitchen.com help bring your family to the table this holiday. from timeless favorites like campbell's green bean casserole to new classics like swanson herb roasted turkey with pan gravy and pepperidge farm holiday brie en croute even clever ideas that give leftovers a full makeover. for inspiration, family pleasing recipes and 15 dollars in valuable coupons, explore the all-new campbellskitchen.com for a very happy holiday. announcer: you could buy 300 bottles of water. or just one brita filter. 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he got a dip in the jobless numbers. unemployment went down 0.2%. >> well, you know, it's welcomed news for obama and welcomed news for the country but you still got 10% unemployment, which is very high. i think it's the highest since 1982 when reagan lost his 26 seats in the house. also you got an awful lot of other problems. you hear that about 10% of all mortgages in the united states are in foreclosure or not making their payments. americans are saving much more than they used to even though we're consumer oriented economy. and you got a lot of talk about malls being shut down and things. there's a lot of problems out there, alex. look. we all hope things are going to get better. it's baking the cake. the fed can't go any lower on its rates. have you the huge stimulus package. maybe you can get some tax credits for small business and things but again as i said in the last hour, i think obama and all of us are -- part of our policy is simply based on hope that what we've done or what's been done will work. >> okay. so, peter, with regard to yesterday and the news that was out it wasn't exactly champagne, cork popping time, right? christina romer got hugs all around. >> right. well, yeah. i mean, maybe you can have a little christmas toast here, alex. as pat says, the problems are not solved by any stretch of the imagination. this is a deeper recession. look, we were about to go over the cliff less than a year ago and it's going to take a while to get things back ontrack. the other thing i think you have to look at here, alex, is that there are some solutions in addition to what we've already done. as pat says you can have tax breaks for small businesses to hire folks. more can be done to loosen up money for small businesses. you know, the folks aren't loaning money. therefore folks aren't hiring the way they should hire. and i think a lot of folks, there is pentup demand. there are businesses that in ordinary times would be hiring. they think that they can make things go. but they're just nervous. if i can just make one point if the nervousness is coming down then i think the flood gates will open a little bit and you'll see movement. >> peter, you talk about wanting to open up the flood gates with regard to letting the money out, the small business owners. wasn't that something that was supposed to have happened a long time ago? i mean, it seems like it's been trickling out. that was the whole point about the stimulus program. and getting money -- >> alex, here aegs wh's what's happening. they got interest rates down at 0.15 or something so there is a lot of money there but the people gobbling it up are the gigantic corporations and banks and wall street. >> right, right. >> they borrow it at zero percent interest and invest it abroad or something at 3% or 4% or 5% interest and they take it home. why waste money pushing it out on small businesses when you can get this guaranteed income? you saw wall street make that huge killing. it's doing just fine. that's what they're doing with the money. it is hard to force them to lend to small businesses. they say, look. i can make more money over here at less risk. >> but ultimately, peter, does that bode well for the country? isn't it all about generating on a local level, a small, municipal level you have to get the small businesses rehiring again? >> absolutely. alex, pat has hit it right. for wall street guys, to make money by shifting it around internationally is absurd. i mean, what you want to do is take this money from the banks, small, medium sized banks even, local banks, and going into the community. some groups, we met with a group from ge capital. we were talking to them about their profile and we said, look. folks, you're viewed as the big kahunas. you may not be. you're lending to the guy in illinois who is buying the tractor. that's the kind of loans that are important to the country. not the shifting money around. that's exactly where we should be going. >> one more question. i'm hearing about some sort of birthday lunch i was not invited to. what's up with that? come on. >> stiffed us, alex. you got that invitation. >> alex, here is the deal. >> i want the deal. >> you can come down anytime. we want you down here. you can invite us up. this week it's pat's birthday. next saturday is my birthday. >> next saturday. >> so you're covered all the way around. >> are you going to be with us next saturday? can we embarrass you on the air? >> why not? >> don't bring up what birthday it is, please. >> that's right. forget the ages. >> it makes no difference because you guys are my boys no matter what. all right. you guys, thanks so much. have a good birthday and have a toast. there you go. on me. send you a check. on that note we'll take a break right here but still ahead more on winter's early arrival and don't the people in texas know it? look at this. the cold reality hitting them square in the face in houston today. and mortgage makeovers. why they're not a pretty picture. (announcer) we call it the american renewal. because we believe in the strength of american businesses. ge capital understands what small businesses need to grow and create jobs. today, over 300,000 businesses rely on ge capital for the critical financing they need to help get our economy back on track. the american renewal is happening. right now. to start losing essential nutrients? not long. in fact, green beans lose half their vitamin c in a week. that's why green giant freezes them within 8 hours to lock in nutrients. ho ho ho the chevy malibu and toyota camry received 5 star crash safety ratings. but only malibu has onstar. big deal. i'll just use my phone. let's say we crashed. whoops, you lost your phone and you're disoriented. i'm not disoriented. now you are. onstar automatic crash response can call to see if you're ok. onstar emergency. is everything ok howie? you don't answer, they can automatically send help to your exact location. i think i'll ride with you. the award-winning malibu. from chevy. it is msnbc saturday. i'm alex witt and half past the hour here are your fast five headlines. the family of amanda knox vows to fight forclear her name. the 22-year-old and her ex-boyfriend were found guilty in the murder of her room mate meredith kercher. we'll have more in a moment. authorities in russia say indoor fireworks started a night club fire that has killed at least 109 people. get your head around that. it's a horrific story there. the owner and manager now under arrest. 90 others are critically hurt. most of the dead were crushed in the stampede to get out through the building's only exit. in brazil, seven people are dead after heavy rains and landslides. four children died when their house collapsed in a mudslide. deep in the heart of texas a record low temperature of 26 degrees. snow from houston's earliest snowfall ever is expected to be gone by today. bill karins is mapping out the weather woes in a few moments. regulators have closed six more banks, 130 banks have now failed so far this year. the latest closings will cost the fdic about $2 billion. let's get more now on the guilty verlander in the trial of american college student amanda knox sentenced to 26 years behind bars for murdering her british room mate in 2007. she claims she's innocent. today amanda's mom is speaking to reporters outside of the prison where her daughter is. >> amanda, like the rest of us, is extremely disappointed, upset about the decision. we're all in shock. we told her she is going to get out of here. it's going to take a little longer. be strong. >> hard for that mom to be strong there. i'm joined now by defense attorney rebecca rose woodland and karen desoto defense attorney and former prosecutor. as we go to this we got some information last hour from keith miller who said she has been placed on suicide watch. how will that, if at all, change anything rebecca? >> well, it will change how they handle her while she is being incarcerated in the jails in italy. the prosecution asked for life and they asked for solitary confinement for nine months of that life sentence. they did not get that. the jury brought back a 26-year verdict for her to be in prison. >> no solitary confinement? >> no. >> okay. >> so what will happen now is it would happen here and over there as well because we are in a democracy, a relative democracy in terms of juris prudence in italy. they will take into account her situation. they will have a psycho therapist come in, talk to her, and evaluate her medically if she's on suicide watch that is serious. >> okay. let's talk about that, though, coupling, karen, with the diplomacy angle here. we're talking about an italian court. the united states and italy, they have great relations and diplomatically speaking you'd think somebody would be appealing from the knox family. curt knox may go to the state department. can you say, our daughter is not going to make it because she's on suicide watch. she wants to kill herself in the wake of all of this, has lost all hope and despair. does that maybe bring her back to the u.s. more easily? do they want that? >> i think they're still a little upset about the helicopter accident on the hudson. when you talk about diplomacy there are things that go back and forth all the time so both the countries, obviously they're very friendly but suicide watch for a defendant is -- that's just par for the course. after a really bad verdict you would go to your client and say, at least try and be positive and say, we can appeal. that's always -- because you don't want them -- every defendant who gets a sentence of 25 years, they're not thinking, hey, i might be able to get out in 10, 12 years. i'll just hang in there. to somebody in their 20s that's a lifetime so you kind of expect that. is that grounds for doing the international transfer of her? no. because she may actually be better off doing the appeals process there and that's a decision she has to make. >> which she will certainly be doing. her father has said they're going to leave no stone unturned. how difficult a process is that in italy? how does it compare with that which we have in our appellate process? >> it's difficult here so it's as difficult in italy as it is here. very difficult for a criminal defendant to overcome the jury verdict. the jury verdict here was six regular people, two judges. came back with a verdict. they did not accept the life sentence that the prosecution asked for. but they came back with 26 years. also, with her coconspirator, now we can call him that, 25 years. the other coconspirator had already been found 30 years in prison. so we have, it's a very difficult situation you face as a criminal defense attorney to appeal something when the jury verdict seemed to be rendered fairly. >> but now i'm curious, karen. would the fact that they did not give her life and they only gave her 26 years, at 22 years old she'd have significant, a lot greater time to spend behind bars, does that show a chink in the armor that maybe there was something they thought well we're not a hundred percent sure about everything? >> right. well, actually it was reported that one of the reasons that they did give her a reduced sentence, if you could believe it, is 26 years, is because of her youth. and that was one of the considerations. i don't think the consideration was, oh, by the way we only have circumstantial evidence and there is nothing -- understand, alex, it was a brutal, brutal assault and there was no dna evidence from her in that crime scene. so that's a problem. so now you have to understand, were there other things at play? was it prejudice? was it antiamerican sentiment, you know, another issue, you know, foxy knoxy, just that american -- how much did that play into it? >> this is something karen and i disagree on because although i don't know that in an american court she would have been found guilty at 26 for 26 years, i'm not so sure that they didn't have anything. i think some of the dna -- >> i think the fact that the person convicted was african, i think that played a lot into the italian courts. i don't know why more people aren't talking about it. maybe because they're worried about being politically correct. i think that was huge and it was a lot bigger than anyone wants to talk about. >> you just put it out there. >> yes. >> there you go. love it when you put anything out there. appreciate that, girls. help for home owners but is it working? a new government report says about 25% of borrowers who received help under the obama administration's foreclosure prevention plan are now behind on their new mortgage payments. joining me live here in studio amanda gengler with "money" magazine. good morning. we got a lot of borrowers, more than 650,000 have enrolled in the initial phase and seen payments lowered by an average of $640 a month, about 40%. not too shabby. we have about 1/4 of them behind on mortgage payments? what does this tell you? >> well, i think that this is very troubling and there are many people who are very disappointed in it. what it's showing us is, look. there are many people out there that even with these lower payments, they're just still not going to be able to afford it, even as you said with $575 on average lower payment, look, these modifications are just not the right option for everyone. >> if people are investing in houses, what is the outlook after the new year? are housing prices going to climb. >> our outlook in 2010, we've been talking to many economists basically saying the end may finally be in sight in terms of price drops. they expect prices to hit the bottom in 2010 probably the middle to second half of the year. that said we're probably going to see another five to ten percent price drop before we actually get there to the bottom. >> the bottom end of the housing market is doing okay. the high end, not so much. why is that? >> we're seeing a huge split in the market. right now these lower priced, entry level homes, we are seeing a lot of demand because of the tax credit. the higher end, we are just seeing a glut of homes. fewer people qualify for what they need a jumbo mortgage, mortgage over $417,000, to make a purchase of the higher -- of a higher priced home. and also, i think there are just fewer people out there right now who are willing to commit to such a big purchase right now. so demand is really, really down. there's just a glut of homes that are more expensive that are on the market today. >> you know, with mortgage prices, or rates rather about 5% or so, is now the time to refinance if you've got the credit? >> here's what people need to know. rates are very, very low right now. artificially low. because the federal reserve has been buying mortgage backed securities to keep that fixed rate at about 5%. but the fed plans to stop doing this by the end of march. that could always change. that's what they're saying. there is a real possibility that mortgage rates could spike going forward in the first part of 2010 or even pushed out a few months, maybe to the mid summer. so anyone who either is thinking about refinancing or also thinking about buying you really need to consider if rates jump from the 5% that they're at today to the 6% they could go to, will you still be able to afford that? that's why it's a great time to buy or refinance today. >> good, good questions to be asking. thanks so much. >> thanks, alex. coming up the past comes back to haunt those white house party crashers. we'll explain on msnbc saturday. 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it's coming down. >> reporter: it is. we're now up to about an inch and a half. we started this morning with you, alex and had not a flake on the ground. you brought us good luck out in leesburg. we're about 30 miles from downtown d.c. where it's also changed over at the capitol and the white house and in the district 1 to 3 inches. as we go up 95 let's go to the radar and you can see where the rain/snow line is. green is rain. white is snow. then if you're near the boundary you may be changing over like in philadelphia right now. still raining in new york. providence, boston. up to hartford. now all of these areas will change over. hartford, provprovidence, bosto general forecast of 2 to 4 inches. later this afternoon into this evening. this all wraps up later on tonight. no snow expected tomorrow. it may linger tomorrow morning up through downies maine, portland, coastal areas including new york city you'll see snow this afternoon but not a lot of problems as temperatures will be above freezing. out here in loudoun county in leesburg, look at the roadway. it has gone downhill. slushy and snow covered. the temperature now right around freezing. northwest of d.c. and it's coming down at a pretty good clip for visibility running about a mile. half a mile to a mile. delays checking in, dulles airport, 30 minutes on departure delays. the other airports are okay. that may not last. you know laguardia. you get a whif of wind and they have delays there. also heads up, alex. next week not far around the corner, tuesday and wednesday, our first significant snowstorm for parts of the plains and midwest. we're looking at kansas city, des moines, and chicago. that stretch there from kc up to st. louis and -- or up to chicago and into detroit. that area may be subject to 4 to 6 or more inches of snow. the time frame now, tuesday into wednesday and of course we'll keep you updated on the weather channel. >> we thank you for that, mike seidel. always feel bad you're standing out there but you're just so good at it. thank you. following the forecast by logging on to weather.com or turn on the weather channel on cable. the so-called white house party crashers, clearly they like attention but probably never imagined being under this hot of a spotlight. a congressional panel is considering subpoenas now to compel trek aareq and michaele i to testify. good morning. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> how about these folks wanting to be aspiring retallet tv shows versus the real safety of the president? where do you think people come down on this out in the general public? >> the more information comes out about this couple the more it sounds like this is not the first time they have really acted in a bizarre way in order to get attention for themselves. congress as you said thinking of issuing subpoenas but also being investigated by a virginia state agency for possibly running a sham polo charity in that state. there as record of other stories coming out about them having bilked their creditors out of payments that were due for wedding preparations and things like that and so it's starting to remind you a little bit of the balloon boy saga where this family ends up thrust into the public eye and it turns out they've been trying for an awfully long time to get exactly there. >> you know, alex, it seems -- and certainly correct me if i'm wrong but it seems there is more of a voracious appetite to bring these people down out there. would you agree or not? >> well, i think you're right. when you listen to the folks on capitol hill last week on the house homeland security committee grilling the director of the secret service, they do have a legitimate concern about the safety of the president. it's clear this couple never intended to harm anyone at the state dinner. they were just kind of acting out. >> how much do you think the secret service is at fault here? is it the white house social secretary's office? i mean, where did the lapse come? who is ultimately responsible for these two getting into that party? >> both the secret service and the white house and at least democrats on capitol hill have said that the fault ultimately lies with the secret service if folks were not screened exactly as they should have been screened. that's the agency that's fully responsible for the security of the white house. but the white house released an internal report saying we could have done more to help make sure no one got through security unless they had an invitation. so the blame is being spread around a little bit but mostly falling with the secret service and its director. >> part of the reason these two are so infamous now, they wanted to get on a reality tv show, "the housewives of d.c." do you know anything on the standing? are they still in contention for being part of that show? >> i certainly don't. i think this is just speculation but immediately after the security incident there probably were some folks who thought, well, maybe they are sort of an interesting couple. they have an interesting story to tell. right now there is just a weird factor that i think could potentially make them radioactive even for something like that. >> a good one. good segue to the story coming up. thank you very much. politico's alex burns. he is a tiger in hiding. when will the world's most famous athlete show his face? 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and is this all good? is this going to play out okay in the public's image of tying sner. >> i don't know any of it to be true. if you look at tiger we know and have come to know over his entire career, he's always been fiercely private and has really protected not only his own privacy but the prive sieve his family. i doubt if any of what we're hearing is true. what it would do is maybe think his wife got into the marriage for something other than love f you're negotiating money. i think it's all false. i think it's all allegations and i think that tiger and his wife are going to deal with this in private and it's not going to come down to renegotiating a prenup. >> that prenup part, we can't know exactly what's going on, but what about that gloria alred press conference with rachael uchitel. that didn't come up. why not? >> i don't know that we have anything to hear from rachael. what is she really going to say at a press conference? that has nothing to do with tiger negotiating with rachael, it's out in the open. what's to negotiate at this point? he's trying to save his marriage. it's not about keeping rachael from saying anything. i don't think it was anything for him to negotiate or for him to pay. what is he settling with rachael for? so i think we're reading too far into press conferences and allegations and things that are swirling. this is about a man who clearly made a mistake, remember, we're talking about tiger. an imperfect man, well, you know an imperfect man living in an imperfect society. we seem to have wanted him to be a perfect man living in an imperfect society t doesn't work that way. >> so what are you hearing over at the daily beast? do you hear things about prenup negotiations going on and payouts to rachltd? >> we certainly reported that elin received $5 million to stay in the marriage and the prenup was increased by up to $55 million for her to stay in the marriage. but i would agree. at this point most of what we're dealing with, while i stand by our reporting, most of what we're dealing with is conjex tour. there's all these things swirling around, what's tiger going to do at this point. >> but the question is what would he be paying for if he's paying for something, particularly to someone like rachel? he'd be paying for keeping his public image a lot squeakier clean if she comes out with details of a salacious affair. if that's what that press conference was about, can you imagine tiger paying her off to say, i don't want to have this out there? >> i can't quite envision tiger doing anything, that tiger's going to do, because i'm just not tiger woods. >> safe answer. >> it's already a mess for tiger. and the best thing i think he can do is to just speak maybe to the press at some point. i guess that's what we do in these kinds of cases, the athlete comes out and talks to the press a little bit, clears the air, does the best he can to clear the air. damage for him is done but life goes on and he plays golf next year and probably plays well. >> what about those in the public angry about his behavior? can you sympathize with that? >> i can, but it goes back to what i was saying, why would we be angered by expecting tiger -- yes, he was the true american idol. he was a brilliant athlete. but we're holding him to a higher standard than we would hold our neighbors and ourselves. we can't -- all we can do is really accept the apology and accept his statement and really help him move forward. >> is that enough for the people paying him millions and millions of dollars to endorse their brands? >> i think every sports writer by the way, is morally unfit to pass judgment about tiger woods, so i'll just say that. but tiger is going to play golf next year. that's going to be what happens. >> so he plays well, he's good to go. >> i think this too shall pass for tiger wood. >> this too is going to pass in terms of our show. we are out of time, everybody. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> i'm alex witt, wake up with me tomorrow morning, i'll look for you at 8:00 a.m. eastern time. see new 30 minutes with a news update. the holidays can be stressful, so walgreens wants to remind you to take care of yourself. - 29 degrees. - i knew it was a little high. and there's no better place to do just that than walgreens -- where you can get vitamins, supplements, cold remedies, as well as helpful advice from friendly pharmacists. i've got a little stiffness in my wrist. aisle 4. new express refills from walgreens.com. refill prescriptions online from wherever you are. walgreens. there's a way to find your joy. ♪ walgreens. there's a way to find your joy. even during times like these, there is a light beginning to shine again. it comes from a restaurant downtown. a shop on main street. a factory around the corner. entrepreneurs like these are the most powerful force in the economy. the reinvention of business begins with them. and while we're sure we don't know all the answers, we do know one thing for certain: we want to help. come see what the beginning looks like at openforum.com the sparkly flakes. the honey-baked bunches! the magic's in the mix. my favorite part? 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