not to do it via twitter. but a group known as the agenda project has released a video accusing them of stirring out fervor with their own fight against a planned mosque near ground zero. and that fervor may be growing. the fbi is investigating vandalism at a phoenix mosque. blamed a fire in tennessee on an arsonist. hartford, connecticut was planning to allow local imams to give a muslim prayer at the start of the council meetings, but so many people complained, city leaders may pull the plug on the plan. i have to get through today. kerry sanders starts us off in gainesville, florida. any word about whether this pastor might change his mind? because as i understand it, this is maybe a case of burn before reading. >> i think that we are going to find out perhaps soon. in part because of what's happening over my shoulder, as i step out and we take a closer look there at the front of the door, you see that unmarked car and the suv in front? there's some fbi agents who have entered inside the church now, and they are meeting with the pastor, pastor jones. we don't know specifically what they're talking about. it may simply be a security measure. but we do know that they have been in there for the last half hour. and you can see just beyond the vehicles, a large gathering of news cameras and reporters waiting for the fbi to emerge, whether they will say anything is unknown. probably unlikely. but at this point, we are unsure whether pastor jones is going to come out and speak to us at all today. he did have a scheduled interview on a local radio station. where he was going to talk about his position and why he wants to burn the koran. and the message that he says he wants to send to the extremists within the islamic faith. however, it's now unclear whether he's going to do that interview. he so far appears to be somewhat in hiding, although, i am told a swedish television station was able to sit down with him and have a conversation. i spoke to him yesterday. and i asked him, what specifically in this holy book, in the koran, owe fends you? this is a portion of our conversation. >> have you ever read the koran? >> i have only read parts of the koran. >> tell me a part that you have read that offenders you that has you and your small congregation out here planning on burning that islamic holy book. >> we are burning the koran as a demonstration. >> yeah, i know. but quote something that you read that offended you, that has you concerned. >> well, of course, the koran does not recognize jesus christ as god, the son of god. there isn't a savior. the cruise mied savior. >> of course i asked him if he had a problem with the lack of announcing that the koran talks about jesus as the savior, what about the tora, and is he going to begin because the jewish faith doesn't recognize jesus as the lord savior, is he going to start burning the torrah, and he said no. the fbi just came out and departed. so inside a little bit more for a half hour and i can tell by the way the reaction was with the crowd that they came out and hopped in the vehicle and if they said anything it was about that long, because they just hopped in the car and left. so i'm not sure what role the fbi played specifically. the message they delivered. or if it's just one of security. i do know that the department of homeland security is in close contact, and working very closely with the gainesville police department, and the state authorities here to make sure that there is no violence here. >> kerry, thank you for staying on top of the -- thank you for staying on top of the developments. kerry, we'll check back in with you throughout the day. the state department says saudi arabia won't allow nonmuslims to practice their religion in public. so my big question today. don't we want america to lead by example? really to set the standard for religious tolerance? i would like to hear your thoughts. you can reach me on twitter, on facebook. my e-mail address is contessa@msnbc.com. many of our nation's leaders are truly worried about the safety of the men and women in the armed forces if terry jones goes through with that plan. >> as commander in chief, the armed forces of the united states, i just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women in uniform. this is a recruitment bonanza for al qaeda. >> matt host served in afghanistan for the state department and now is director for the afghanistan study group. matt, good to see you today. >> hi, contessa. >> you know, what's the big danger here? because certainly when we see people burning americans in he have gee, which we have seen them doing to terry jones, and we seem them burning american flags, it offends a lot of measures. yet the threat isn't that we're going to go out and kill citizens of other countries because we're offended. >> it's just like the president said. it plays into al qaeda's recruitment propaganda. al qaeda is not a large organization, only a few thousand people. and so it only needs a handful of recruits to sustain itself. it only needs a handful of young men willing to blow themselves up or try and commit some type of terrorist act or atrocity. the danger is not just to our troops in afghanistan or to the troops we still have in iraq. the danger is also here. you know, i mean, this could radicalize individuals in the united states who see, you know -- who see america as attacking islam, who see the west as attacking the muslim nations. so it's a very real danger, because it plays right into al qaeda's propaganda. >> but matt, they don't need an excuse. i mean, i do not want to play devil's advocate and defend what terry jones is doing, but apple valley, it is his constitutional right, expressing himself. i find it abhorrent for anyone to burn books. i think it's a glaring signal of at least ignorance, but perhaps intolerance, stupidity and go on down the list. however, i don't understand if the terrorists attacked us on 9/11 without people burning a koran, why this is going to be the thing that threatens american lives. american lives are already threatened by terrorists. >> sure. the idea is that it plays into their propaganda. if you look at the reasons why al qaeda was able to get young men from across the arab or the muslim world to travel to iraq to become suicide bombers, overwhelmingly, we found when we would capture them and interrogate them, overwhelmingly, we found the reason was, was because of the photos from abu ghraib, or the station with guantanamo bay. what those men were doing, when they felt like they were traveling to iraq or afghanistan to defend their faith to, defend their land, to defend their culture. and like i said, we're talking about a very small amount of people here. i think most of the world understands the united states to be a nation of tolerance. a nation of religious freedom that we have constitutional rights that allow for such things as burning books. i agree, this guy is a jerk. but it's his constitutional right to do so. do i hope he lights himself on fire in the process? yeah, i kind of do. but, you know -- here's another thing, too. i was thinking, contessa, nine years after september 11th, we still have this -- i don't want to say circus atmosphere, but we still have a coterie of people in this country who are actively excited about the idea of a war of cultures. just like we have al qaeda and other extreme elements, you know, that are part of the muslim world, very, very small part of the muslim world, a few thousand people out of a billion and a half, we have people in our culture who want to see this clash of cultures, clash of civilizations. >> it's a very basic primal instinct to separate the world into us versus them. it's a mentality that enlightenment and education can overcome. but in this case, i think you've characterized it correctly. matt, thanks a lot for joining us. i appreciate your time. >> thank you, contessa. a big scare this morning for an nfl superstar. new england patriots' quarterback tom brady was involved in a serious accident in boston. it was confirmed via twitter and facebook. his dad tells "usa today" brady is fine. he went to see a team doctor instead of going to the hospital and is expected at practice. hdh in boston reports that brady's sedan hit a minivan after the minivan ran a red light. a person in the van had to be removed by the jaws of life and was taken to the hospital. and so we'll keep up with that. we're watching wild weather in texas and oklahoma coming from the remnants of hermine. crews pulled more than 100 people from cars and homes. some brought to safety in rubber rafts. but at least two people have died, trapped by rising waters. hermine even spurned tornadoes. that would be spawned tornadoes. the weather channel's julie martin is in dallas, texas. julie, what's the situation now? >> well, contessa, the national weather service on-scene, and they tell me there could have been as many as eight tornadoes preliminarily, and this is one of them. the damage you're looking at here, this semi truck actually rotated about 180 degrees in the air by an ef-2 tornado, right during the rush hour yesterday. the driver inside, by the way, rescued by a total stranger. >> the driver of the 18-wheeler stuck his hand out the window, you know, help! and me and three or four other people pried door open and helped him get out of. >> pretty amazing that driver survived, very minor injuries. right now, insurance assessors are out here, as are, again, the meteorologists, trying to determine just how exactly all this happened. it was a crazy day here in texas yesterday. we had widespread flash flooding, and then a lull in the activity, and then in the afternoon, the convection started. begi again, as many as eight tornadoes coming through the dallas-ft.-worth area, now making its way through oklahoma in through missouri and arkansas. so words of warning for those folks to look out for more of the same heading their way. >> all right, julie, thank you. the same system that blasted texas also kicked up severe weather in oklahoma. at least ten inches of rain, several reports of tornadoes. the weather channel's chris warren is in sand springs, just west of tulsa. and what are you looking at in terms of the impact of the weather system? >> well, right here, just outside of tulsa, it's really not that bad at all. we have some puddles, it's wet. but what's going on right now is this system is moving inland, and with it, it's moving farther to the east, and as it does, we're still seeing heavy rain of the as you mentioned, up to 10 inches. the radar estimated 12 inches of rain in some spots of east central oklahoma. so that threat now moving into arkansas. and one of the wild cards here, if approximate you get a lot of rain in a short amount of time, we could be dealing with some flash flooding. if we get 3 inches of rain in an hour, you can see some serious flooding. and right here, we have a puddle. and this maybe a couple inches during the course of the night. so imagine, you get 3 inches, in an hour, you could have some serious problems. so it looks like arkansas, especially the northern portion, and now the southern portion of missouri, will be under the gun. could see upwards around 8 inches. and, again, the mountainouster rains could make things dangerous, contessa. >> thanks. my parents used to tell me, children should be seen and not heard. and now a north carolina business has turned that into a motto. no screaming kids. we'll explain how they're putting it into practice. the breakdown of the bush tax cuts. what it means for you if the tax cuts expire. plus, the top city in the country for, da, da, da happy hour! and you may not believe -- i was taking my guess. tweet me if you want, send it to me in an e-mail, your guess to where it is. and the surprise, coming up. ♪ ♪ falling in love with the most personalized most customized piece of furniture you will ever own. ♪ get that one piece right and the rest of the room will just fall into place. it starts with you introducing yourself to the world of ethan allen. see your ethan allen design center today for two beautiful ways to save. stay twice... earn a free night! two separate stays at comfort inn or any of these choice hotels can earn you a free night -- only when you book at choicehotels.com. 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[ woman laughs ] president obama is sticking to his guns, blasting republican efforts to extend the buscher rah tax cuts for wealthier americans. the president says 95% of small businesses would not be affecteded by his plan to let those tax breaks expire. he says 97% of americans would also see no change in their tax rate. >> warren buffett gets a tax break, that's not going to change his spending patterns. if those families that i were talking to out here in cleveland or across the country get a tax break, that may mean a new computer for their kid. it may mean that they're able to make their mortgage payments. it may mean that they can buy a new coat for winter. and that's where our money should be going. >> carmen wong ulrich is a personal finance expert and joins me now. first of all, i know you have fact-checked this. the president says 97% of americans, 95% of all businesses. >> absolutely. we're talking about the top 2% of american earners, folks who make over $250,000 per household filing jointly, and singly, $200,000, that's really the top 2%. and they actually pay 50% of our taxes, in full. >> okay. and what will happen to their tax rate then? >> listen, it's going to go up from 35%, if this passes, of course, to 39.6%. we're talking about revenues over ten years of over $670 billion from this tax increase. >> all right. so if you're looking at capital gains and dividend taxes, capital gains, when that was repealed, that was a big deal to a lot of people. >> huge. boy, that stimulated wall street. here's the thing. it's going to go from 15%. and this was across the board, no matter how much money you made, to 20%. and in terms of dividends, it could go as high as 39.6% on dividends, which a lot of folks, especially for retirement, really depend on those dividends. >> what about the itemized deductions? what happens to those? >> here's the thing. you know how we itemize our deductions from our mortgage interest we pay to charitable contributions. for the top earners, and this is over 170,000 in house hold or $85,000 filing singly, 80% of those deductions are going to be phased out and this is not directly addressed right now at the white house website. this is in part of those tax breaks. >> can you give an example? like itemized deductions like what, child care? >> mortgage interest, for example is one of the biggest itemized deductions that many of us -- child care, charitable contributions. and think about how those deductions work with your taxes. remember, tax credits cut your tax bill. deductions cut how much you earn in terms of what's going to be taxed. so it's not a direct play by play. but it really, really, that mortgage interest alone, is a huge deduction. >> well, and that probably matters to those people who are just a little bit over, because the -- the itemized deductions take your income down to below the levels where you're going to see the higher taxes. >> exactly. and this really factors in big cities like new york and l.a., where that 170 per household is actually a little bit closer to middle class than the rest of the country. >> before i ever got married, i heard all this talk about marriage penalty. >> oh, yes. >> if you got married, you actually -- one of the down sides to marriage, the rest is all an up side, let me tell you. all. >> really? >> what happens to the marriage penalty? >> it may return. and here's the thing. this is a big increase, across the board, no matter what your income level. usually, if you file single, you get a certain deduction. file married, it's doubled, meaning 200% of a deduction, right? well, if this goes into effect, that's going to be reduced by 33%. so the marriage penalty will bite, and will hurt, especially folks in the upper income brackets. >> really, that's no reason to get a divorce. let's talk about the cost of divorce, okay? >> right. much higher than the marriage penalty. >> that's a tax. >> right. >> all right. good to see you, carmen, thank you. >> thanks contessa. >> a restaurant in north carolina has a new dining policy. and look, if it you have toddlers, i borrowed my niece for four months while she was potty training, so i know. you have to be aware of this. it tops our stories far and wide today. the old salty, a restaurant, is banning screaming children. the owner says she is sick and tired of hearing people complain. so she's nixing loud kids. she says customers won't be asked to entirely leave, they just have to take their children outside until they calm down. otherwise known as time out. in a tough policy in louisiana, a high school will test students' hair samples for drugs if those kids want to try out for sports or drive to school. officials say they're looking for everything from pot to pills. >> these are considered privileges. and in order to participate in the privileges, the students have to go through the testing. >> the testing doesn't come cheap, though. 42 bucks a pop, and the total cost for the drug screeningca add up to more than 20 grand a year. a violent video game is getting the cold shoulder from the navy's exchange store. the medal of honor where gamers can step into the shoes of taliban fighters and turn their digital guns on american troops. some service members support the decision. but video game fans say there is nothing new about being the bad guy. >> i think it's going to sell big. i might get it. you play -- fallout, you're shooting americans. so it's pretty much just a video game. >> service members will still be able to play. they justify can't buy the game at the navy exchange or from stores on military bases. moment hot on the web today. we're looking at the most viewed stories on msnbc.com. detroit's three big automakers fighting for a share of the auto force market and all three companies are showing off vehicles with state of the art improvements for police departments, hoping to land major new sales. ford's crown victoria has been the car of choice for the majority of police departments, but it's pulling the plug. a former body guard for britney spears claims the star hit one of her kids. she may have reported brittney to child welfare earlier this year. now he's suing her for sexual harassment, claiming she ran around naked in front of him. no word on how much money he wants in damages. two men were arrested for wrestling a snake in a mcdonald's parking lot. a python, much like this one, five feet long, named boris, stolen, say australian police. the dumb and dumber guys confused the heck out of customers who couldn't figure out what in the world they were doing, rolling around on the ground, with a snake. these are real python hunters. but these guys apparently were just goofing off in a mcdonald's parking lot in australia. that my chronic bronchitis was copd... i started managing it every day. i like to volunteer... hit the courts... and explore new places. i'm breathing better with spiriva. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for both forms of copd... which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. i take it every day... it keeps my airways open to help me breathe better all day long. spiriva does not replace fast acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor right away if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, have vision changes or eye pain... or have problems passing urine. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, problems passing urine or an enlarged prostate... as these may worsen with spiriva. also discuss the medicines you take... even eye drops. side effects include dry mouth, constipation and trouble passing urine. now, i'm managing my chronic bronchitis every day. ask your doctor if once-daily spiriva is right for you. 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[ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's. we have a new update here on the number of homes destroyed by a massive wild fire near boulder, colorado. at least 169 homes now destroyed, we're told. firefighters only have 30% of that fire contained. so it spans about a 10-square mile near boulder. they say flying sparks kicked up by the high wind could drastically change their containment effort so far. and we're hearing that some neighbors have refused to evacuate. nine people now are reported missing, and -- well, actually, they have been accounted for think point, i'm just learning. the wildfires have been raging for three days. not only is snooki guilty of being annoying, the judge is comparing her to troubled starlet lindsay lohan. the jersey star didn't cry, but is not going to jail, either. the judge called her rude, self-indulgent and warned her about being a lindsay lohan wannabe. >> what's wrong with being self-indulgent? >> jeff, bring me the story about -- >> snooki. >> the sermon she got in court. >> yeah. the judge really lashed out at her. he wasn't angry, just trying to i think straighten her back out. to understand this, while she was being sentenced, you have to go back to late july, when she was first arrested by police. she was drunk on the beach, on the jersey shore, of course. and she was stumbling into, are people, too. wednesday she appeared in court and just before the judge sentenced her, he went there. he went there. he called her a lindsay lohan wannabe. >> jersey shore, nicole "snooki" pelizi let's it hang out. but in court wednesday, she buttoned up. armed with her designer handbag and her lawyer, snooki was facing 90 days in jail. police in seaside heights arrested snooki in late july, while taping the show "jersey shore," she was drunk on beach, yelling and stumbling on to people. >> i would definitely like to apologize to the seaside cops. when i saw what happened and everyone told me what happened, very embarrassed. this is not like me. i've never been in this situation before. so i deductibfinitely would lik apologize to anybody that i hurt. >> i have concerns about how much of this episode was scripted by your show. i mean, if this was scripted, only you can determine if it's worth trading your dignity for a paycheck. >> it was not scripted, sir. >> and judge damian murray was just getting started, getting even more harsh. >> you seem to be acting like a lindsay lohan wannabe in this matter. going through life rude, profane, obnoxious and self-indulgent is not the way you want to live your life. >> snooki stood there and took it. her lawyer jumped to her defense, saying, she has lived a good life with a love of animals and charity work. >> this was a bad day. i think we all have those days from time to time, judge. >> in a plea deal with prosecutors, snooki slipped away without jail time. she pled guilty to a local ordinance, called interfering with the enjoyment of the quiet use of the beach by others. her punishment? a $500 fine, and two days of community service. with one day already served at a nearby zoo. >> this is "jersey shore." >> snooki, forced to give back to the town that made her famous. >> she walk away in dramatic style. as part of that deal, the other charges were dropped. they were all misdemeanors, pretty minor. by the way, late last night, lindsay lohan's mother, dina, told us she's disappointed the judge used her daughter's name in court, and that it showed a lack of professionalism by the judge. interesting, my impression was most of the people along the jersey shore were drunk and stumbling around. jeff, thank you. looking ahead to the mid terms, support for 2010 candidates, how it could turn into the year of the outsider. also, if you're looking for a girls' night out or guys' night out, whatever, i don't want to be -- >> i'll attend a girls' night out. >> sexist here. we will show you the best cities for happy hour. and have you heard of vanity-sizing? is. >> no, what is that? >> it's where they make a size 12 actually a size 10. turns out, jeff, your pants are lying to you. >> i knew it. >> i'm going to expose the lies ahead. >> it's all the mazo balls. gecko: sir, i feel a little bit uncomfortable with all... you know... with all this. i mean, it's not about me. should be about how geico's the third-largest car insurance company in the nation. things like that. boss: oh, of course! we're not gonna get carried away. gecko: uh...yeah... all right as long as we don't overdo it. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. 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®. fbi has just left the florida church where a pastor is planning to burn copies of the islamic holy book on 9 slrve 11. the move is sparking outrage in warnings it could lead to acts of vengeance overseas. the pastor says he is confronting radical islam. president obama suggests the midterms could spell trouble. the president will discuss his proposals for the recovery when he takes questions from reporters tomorrow. the patriots' star quarterback is expected back at practice today, even though he had an early morning car crash in boston. tom brady walked away from the accident, but the authorities say at least one person was sent to the hospital as a result of the crash. iran is confirming reports that country is suspending the death sentence of a woman. she is scheduled to be executed by stoning, but the original sentence handed down for adultery triggered an international backlash. the woman is still facing a murder charge for her alleged role in her husband's death. today marks a painful day for the family of kyron horman. he has been missing for 14 weeks. and today is his 8th birthday. kyron's blended family will mark the day as they have for eight years, with two different events. nbc's miguel am aengineer is in portland, oregon. >> contessa, two events. one in medford, oregon, five hours from portland, where his mother and father celebrate his birthday and one in portland where he grew up and went to school. as you mentioned, kyron turns 8 today, and went to school a few hundred yards from where we're standing. over this last three months, this wall of hope, kind of a dedication wall to kyron, has been building. people have come by and left notes, messages, balloons, even earlier today we saw some folks coming by to sign the wall, to leave him a message, to leave him balloons. but despite the best effort of investigators, no sign of kyron since the day he vanished. this should be a day of celebration for his parents, but instead, one of those painful reminders of their on going nightmare. their son disappeared from school on june 4th, shortly after his stepmother, terry horman told police she dropped him at class. police have never named a suspect, but the biological parents continue to point the finger at the stepmother, terri horman claim she played a role in the disappears. her attorney calls it a witch hunt, although horman appears to be at the center of the investigation, no charges have been filed in the case. kyron disappeared more than three months ago, but people continue to remember him, his story continues to make news, and even today, folks are coming to this walk, contessa, to clearly their thoughts are with him today on his 8th birthday. >> thank you very much, miguel. an suv has crashed into a wall at newport's famed breaker's mansion. four university students were seriously hurt when their car slammed into the wall. rescue crews used the jaws of life to get out the men. newport police are investigating why the car crashed. the tea party group has been credited with pulling upsets, and they're hoping to do it in delaware next week. but support for the tea party may have flat lined. with only 12% of voters considering themselves part of that movement, compared to 14% in earlier surveys. the tea party's approval rating is down as well, with 30% approving, 31% disapproving. "time" magazine's white house correspondent michael sheerer writes about this in the latest issue of "time". how much of the tea party movement was americans' hunger for something new outside our two-party system? >> i don't think it's outside the two-party system as it is outside of washington. tea party was really an economic re volt that came out of what many of its members saw as just too much spending in the bailouts followed by the stimulus, then followed by health care. and it has never really sought to start a third party. i think it's more like barry goldwater in the 1960s, a reformist movement within the republican party than it is like h. ross perot in the '90s. and we're looking at delaware in particular, and the impact it might have there. can you set the stage? >> yeah, it's fascinating. you have mike castle, who has been a popular statewide figure for more than 40 years in delaware, sitting congressman since the early '90s, two-time governor. his approval rating in the high 60s. and he is now running ads, sort of fighting off thissin insurgent rebellion from within his own party that is really being driven by the national tea party movement, who has arrived in delaware just this week, started running ads, attacking him as too liberal for delaware. what's interesting about this is that the -- its primary, which is next tuesday, is probably going to be decided by only about 40,000 voters, which means 20,000 republicans will probably decide whether castle gets the nod or not. that's 2% of the population in delaware. >> mike, we were showing video there of christine o'donnell, the challenger, who is backed by the tea party folks. does she have a lot of money to go out and fight this battle against mike castle? >> he has $2.6 million in the bank. she says she raised $30,000 in august. but since the tea party has arrived, she says she has been raising $20,000 a day. no question, she is going to be vastly outspent. the tea party express says they're going to put a quarter million dollars into the race. it's not clear what castle is spending at this point. but no, she doesn't have the money. and if she does win the primary, she is going to be in a lot of trouble going into the general election, because it's not clear she'll be able to raise the amount of money, $5 million or so, to compete. >> michael, thanks. >> thank you. megan mccain keeps filling -- about sarah palin on her dad's campaign trail. in caved case you missed it, she was on with rachel maddow last night promoting "dirty, sexy politics." and besides palin bashing, she talked about how both democrats and republicans should be less divisive. >> i know what it feels like to be alienated. i felt alienated on the campaign. and i worry about the direction for lots of reasons, we're so polarized and it's us versus them. and i think it's a very scary place. >> you can watch rachel's show every night, 9:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. in a tough economy, we all need to let our hair down every now and then, go maybe to happy hour. our friends at cnbc asked the happy hour listing site gotime.com to add the best cities. and i've had all kinds of guesses. here's somebody who says nobody works overtime in washington, d.c. but instead, portland, oregon. gotime says their beer culture runs deep, and boasts more breweries than any other city in the u.s., 28 of them. in fact, the city's visitors association boasts beer-vana has a potential nickname. milwaukee must give them a run for their money. because even though the brewery have gone the way of the edsel in milwaukee, they have their beer there. here's the top five cities. portland, number two, you were right, jim, washington, d.c. san diego is three. four is seattle. and number five, new york. what are you talking about, no? oh, too expensive. it's true. you can easily spend 10 or $12 on a beer here. 22 bucks for a glass of wine. but that's only if you're going to the really fancy spots. i know a place that serves beer in styrofoam, 4 bucks. all you men out there. your pants are lying to you. in the fashion business, they call it vanity sizing. women have been dealing with this for years. you may have thought that you were the same size since high school. turns out, the fashion industry is tricking you. trying to flatter you. the size 36 gap gene you bought last week, really, it's a 39. and the old navy 36 inchers, really 41 in real life. sorry. did tony blair confuse reality with dialogue from an oscar-winning movie? a screen writer is accused the prime minister of stealing his words. and later, american sex offenders seeking sanctuary in the caribbean. we're going to hear from former fbi profiler clint van zant about a growing new trend. you could switch for great gas mileage or seats that flip and fold with one hand. you could switch for up to 600 highway miles on a single tank of gas. or the hundred-thousand mile powertrain warranty. over a thousand people a day are switching to chevy. they're not just trading in, they're trading up. get 1.9% apr financing for 60 months on a 2011 traverse or choose $1,500 cash back. [trumpet playing "reveille" throughout] reviving the economy means reinventing the way we do business. here's to the owners showing us the way. [trumpet playing "reveille" fades to silence] no oil has flowed into the gulf for weeks, but it's just the beginning of our work. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. my job is to listen to the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel and restaurant workers and find ways to help. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. bp is gonna be here until the oil is gone and the people and businesses are back to normal... until we make this right. a powerful blast set off by islamic militants rocked a busy market, killing at least 15 people in one of the worst attacks in that region in years. a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb, loaded with metal bars, bolts and ball bearings outside the entrance. the militants who call russians occupiers have vowed to attack economic targets inside and outside the caucuses. tony blair's new book is a smashing hit, despite the controversy that surrounds his memoirs. tops our world view. in britain, his book named "a journey" has sold 92,000 copies in less than a week, the best opening week for an autobiography since these figures were kept in the beginning of 1998. blair has been accused of plagiarizing lines from a famous movie about him, and then using them for his memoirs. nbc's jenny wivel joins us from london. jenny, tell me about this book. >> well, obviously, these are the memoirs of tony blair, tells the story of his time in office. but as far as what was said between him and the queen, nobody really knows, do they? only the queen and tony blair know exactly what went on in that first meeting. the queen is said to be a little bit displeased, i must say, about the fact that he has been essentially telling tales at the story of when they met, because normally, former prime ministers have kept that very much a secret, very much under their hats. now, in terms of what he actually said, it does seem to tie in closely with the film. apparently the queen said to him, "you are my tenth prime minister, the first was winston churchill." he adds that she also said, when that was, "you weren't even born." and this does tie in so closely with the film and that's where these allegations of plagiarism have come from. but you never know, maybe the person who wrote that was on the right page. hard to say, but it's doing wonders for his book sales. they are literally flying off the shelves. >> funny how that happens. thank you, jenny. in a rare interview with an interjournalist, fidel castro admits the communist economic model he out put in place a half century ago no longer works for cuba. he made the comments to a magazine, who traveled to cuba at the request of castro himself. new video released of the 33 chilean minors, but reports of a big rebellion. the miners were upset because they were denied wine, cigarettes and empanadas and sent back a shipment of peaches. "time" magazine is reporting the miners may be going stir crazy. they apparently started riding vehicles recklessly through mine tunnels. sure, that whole spy thing didn't work out, but what about politics? speculation in russia that sexy head red-headed anna chapman is plotting her next move. her country is asking her to be an honorable citizen. there is talk she could follow in the footsteps of vladimir putin and make a run for public office. the fbi is finding sex offenders hiding out in a very unlikely place here, the caribbean. at least five have been arrested in puerto rico this year and sent back to the u.s. the rules apparently are less strict in puerto rico, where failing to register as a sex offender is only a misdemeanor, not a felony. clint van zant joins me nows a former profiler, now an nbc analyst. so clint, when you're looking at this, the puerto rico owe i believe is a common wealth of the united states. why does it have weaker laws, and what can law enforcement do about it? >> realize, in 2006, congress said we've got to tighten up these laws. we need to know where sex offenders are and what they're doing. contessa, in the last four years, only about four states are in compliance. obviously, puerto rico is not in compliance with that, either. so you and i and any other u.s. citizen, we can travel to puerto rico with just a driver's license. you don't need a passport. but the challenge is, they've got a lot of issues going on in puerto rico. they don't have time to monitor everybody there. and sex offenders from the u.s. are finding out how easy it is to slip down there and they're not bound by requirements you can't live near a school, you can't live near a bus stop, you can't do these other things. so they can get down there, and either live out their life, or turn back to their life of sex offendering, and perhaps get away with it. >> when you look here, there are some really startling facts about registered sex offenders. 100,000 of them are unaccounted for. 714,000 total registered sex offenders in the united states. how do you keep better track? >> well, the challenge is, we don't have the people to keep track of them. you know, some people say, well let's just put these tracking bracelets around their ankles. well, you know, unlike television would portray, that's not real-time. that's something you have to -- most of the time down load, get the information, compare it against maps and see where they have been. we don't have enough parole -- probation officers to monitor these people. so contessa, we wind up saying, you, sex offender, who have offended against the most vulnerable of our society, who download child pornography and share it, we trust you that you're going to stay in compliance. obviously, one in seven, at least, that we know of, are not very trustworthy. >> all right, clint, good to see you. thank you very much. >> thanks, contessa. >> busy afternoon here on msnbc. the white house spokesman robert gibbs is expected to answer questions about the florida church where the pastor plans to burn copies of the koran this weekend. the president spoke about that plan earlier today. half an hour later, the president is scheduled to meet with treasury secretary tim geithner in the oval office. geithner has been on the defense lately for the administration's economic recovery plan. we'll be right back. my name is vonetta, and i suffer from allergies. 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[ woman laughs ] [ animals calling ] ♪ [ pop ] [ man ] ♪ well, we get along ♪ yeah, we really do - ♪ and there's nothing wrong - [ bird squawks ] ♪ with what i feel for you ♪ i could hang around till the leaves are brown and the summer's gone ♪ [ announcer ] when you're not worried about potential dangers, the world can be a far less threatening place. take the scary out of life with travelers insurance... and see the world in a different light. ♪ passion burning ♪ love is so strong ♪ football fans, the long wait is finally over. football night in america is back. and is with it, brett favre and his minnesota vikings taking on super bowl champions new orleans saints. a rematch of last season's nfc title game. the nfl is also working to affect lives off the field, giving new orleans' residents a helping hand. and nbc's ton trung has those updates from new orleans. what a lot of tun being down there today, huh? >> contessa, a lot of people getting in the spirit. and we found a who-dat bobafat across the street and apparently spraying us with invisible bullets. but there's a lot of people getting caught up in the excitement. up there, you can see a few people tailgating, been there since the early morning hours. so is a lot of preparation. and other people, including first lady, are getting in on the action. yesterday, she teamed up with the nfl with the nfl commissioner, roger goodell, and her initiative is the "let's move" initiative and the nfl is trying to push their initiative of "play 60" trying to get kids more active than they usually are. and trying to get kids into the presidential active lifestyle award. and what they're trying to do is to get everybody around round up in this. and tonight there's going to be a lot of action, again. this is the first time that the saints are taking the field as defending champions. so you can imagine the excitement. >> tom, thank you very much. and you can watch the nfl opening kickoff 2010 tonight, 7:30 eastern time on nbc. and that wraps up this hour for me. i'm contessa brewer. i appreciate that you have watched today. i'll see you back here tomorrow, noon eastern. 9:00 a.m. if you live in the west. and the president is scheduled to hold a big news conference on the economy. we'll be watching for that. up next, "andrea mitchell reports." i want to give my 5 employees health insurance, but i just can't afford it. i have diabetes. i didn't miss a premium payment for 10 years. and i'm worried if i lose my job, i won't be able to afford insurance. when i graduated from college, i lost my health insurance. the minute i got sick, i lost my insurance. not anymore. not anymore. not anymore. america's healthcare reforms change lives for the better. to find out how it can help you, visit us at americasfairhealthcare.org it's not just fair, it's the law. [ technician ] are you busy? management just sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese. by tomorrow. [ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. right now on "andrea mitchell reports", a pastor wants a call from the white house, but instead gets a visit from the fbi. still, pastor shows no sign of backing down on his plan to burn the koran on saturday. >> we are very, very convinced of what we are doing. it is by no means a stunt. we have thought this out. we have prayed this through. we believe that this type of message is right now very, very necessary in america, before