nation's first homeland security secretary tom ridge. >> this plan is the right thing to do right now. you should pass it and i intend to take that message to every corner of this country. >> a fiery president obama takes on the economy and congress. but will republicans buy his jobs plan? today the president hit the road, his first stop richmond, virginia, eric cantor's backyard. >> i want you to fax, i want you to visit. i want to get a facebook, send a carrier pigeon. i want you to tell your congressperson the time for gridlock and games is over. the time for action is now. >> good day i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. we begin with the latest on what could be a new terror threat to new york and/or washington from a source that officials describe as credible but with information not confirmed. let's get right to our expert pete william. what's the latest? >> i think that puts it neatly. the government is being pretty open about this. they say they have a source who's given some reliable information in the past. not always, but sometimes. so he's considered credible. that's the credible part of this. he said he had heard in pakistan that three men had come to the u.s. to set off car and truck bombs but they've been quite candid in saying they can't confirm it. they don't know if it's true or not. that is the basics, they're assuming that it is. they say they must do that while they try to check it out. you see all this police presence in new york and washington which wasn't that hard to put in place because they were really in the wings waiting to have this big police presence for the actually anniversary itself this weekend. they simply got everything ramped up earlier, but putting in place a lot of what they intended to do and adding some extra measures. looking inside cars and trucks as they come into the city. that's certainly slowed down traffic in new york. very inconvenient commute for many people. it will be again tonight. but they say they think they have to do this on the assumption that this information might be true. while at the same time they try to chase it downgoing back to their source in pakistan to try to get more information about it on this side checking travel records seeing if they can find something that fits the pattern that this intelligence source has described an effort so far that hasn't turned anything up we're told. >> and people in government have been very open about talking about it as al qaeda. and also talking about the possibility that this source thought that one or more of these possible suspects might have had u.s. passports, which does make it more complicated. >> right. it complicates the factors that you're looking for. for example, the sources say that the source that told us this didn't have any names. he just said three guys are coming. that makes it a little hard. that's the effort that's going on right now. while at the same time the police do all the sorts of things that they woup would do if they thought this threat really was real searching cars, towing illegal cars, doing more checks on subways and trains. just a lot of extra security. >> pete williams thank you so much for being on top of everything. and what are officials now doing to try to track down and confirm that report and prevent an event if one were planned and how is it different from ten years ago? tom ridge is our guest. he was also the governor of pennsylvania when flight 93 slammed into shanksville, pennsylvania, on that horrible day ten years ago. governor, good to see you. nice to join you. >> how is it different now? what we're seeing is really enhising the american people see something, say something is real. and they're being so public about it not only to explain why you're seeing a surge of police in new york and in washington, but they want people to be alert. >> i mean, it remind me of those early daysen when general ashcroft when we used to hold press conferences. at the end of the day we matured to the point where we understand the rational behind a general alert. even though we weren't told there were specific things to do because it's so general you do get it from a credible source. if it's somebody that's told you something before that has proven to be accurate or several times proven to be accurate, you have to take it seriously. not surprising it would be around an anniversary a national event. we're going to ramp up security anyhow. i'm sure that's even more security that will be seen and unseen. now we understand you ere on the side of caution. that's precisely what the officials are doing in new york and washington. here's the credible threat. we'll deal with it. >> ten years ago you were the governor. take us back to what happened on this horrible day in pennsylvania. >> i think we all remember when we were. when kennedy was assassinated, martin luther king was assassinated. certain events are embedded into our psyche. i happened too be in erie, pennsylvania, visiting my mother was hospitalized. i lan into the driveway from the hospital. the state police telling me twin towers struck, two airplanes. run in turn on nbc. there's a loud explosion on the other side of the pentagon. he rushes to it. a half-hour later we learn there's a plane down in shanksville. >> when you got to shanksville, by then we knew that america was under attack and this was one of the hijack planes, what did you find? >> that's one of the remarkable stories. there is no video. like a lot of other americans you get chilled when you think of a commercial aviation accident. i expected to see a crash site, but there was a big smoldering hole. no pieces of the plane around. no engineer parts, no fuselage. later on we find at a steep angle at 500 miles per hour there wasn't much left after it hit. the first battle between the freedom and al qaeda and we win. but at the loss of -- on that day heroes were made and in that field heroes will be celebrated ov over the weekend. >> we have learned so much like powerful lessons from being the governor in charge but also the lessons of coordination. there's been criticism this week. you heard lee hamilton and others from the 9/11 commission criticism that we don't have first responders hooked up properly with each other. >> first of all, enormous admiration it's remarkable ten years after the incident and seven or so years after the 9/11 commission we still don't have a public safety network for the first responders to be able to stream voice and video and data, the technology's there. the political will to get it done in spite of all the speeches hasn't translated into action. i think the 9/11 and all this are grateful that we have a better information sharing mind set, but we're still not where we need to be. all you need to do is take a look at fort hood and some of us think that could have been avoided if government agencies had shared that information. we learned a lot of lessons. we are by factor of ten x whatever it is far safer, but there's still gaps and certain things we need to do to make us more secure and prepare us to be. we remember what happened. we have to be more prepared. security's not an end game. it's a process. we're no longer breathless about it. we've proven we're undeniably resilient. even though we killed bin laden, america is still a threat. we just have to be mindful of that. >> al qaeda is still a threat? >> al qaeda is a threat. as we've seen it's not only al qaeda it's really an organization so -- the cross hairs -- you have related organizations that have spun up. you've got yemen in sudan and as you reported, we've arrested more and more individuals in the united states. frankly i think the profile of the terrorist that we were worried about right after 9/11 is dramatically changed. the sanctuarying where they trained have changed. we now have domestic terrorists. over the past ten years they've become more adept at using the internet to pros he these and educate. we're still a threat. it's a risk we can manage and it's the mind set we have to take. credible source, not a lot of specific information. we're not surprised. we're going to add security. people are going to see some of it. and some of it they're not going to see. >> tom ridge, thank you so much. and president obama hit the road today to step up pressure on congress to pass his jobs bill once the legislation's wring. he says that $447 billion plan will be completely paid for, but that means some big changes to some akred yous like entitlements. >> it's a balanced plan that would reduce the deficit by making additional spending cuts by making modest adjustments to health care programs like medicare and medicaid. >> new york congressman steve israel is chairman of the democratic national campaign committee and joins us now. before we talk about the jobs bill. i know you just came from a briefing. is there anything new you can share with us about the intelligence on this possible threat. >> i did just come from a classified intelligence briefing. governor ridge is absolutely right. the threat is credible. it is specific. it is not confirmed. what impressed me about this briefing and i cannot go into specific details, what did impress me is you had homeland security counterterrorism, fbi, other law enforcement working together and talking to us about the efforts that they're making in a very coordinated way to identify that threat. take a look at some potential suspects and keep us safe. i'm about to get and a plane in washington, fly to my congressional district in new york. i expect that i will see overlays of additional security at the airports and other transportation centers. the combination that integration of keeping us safe at our airports and the incredible intelligence work that is being done is critically important. no guarantees, but i'm convinced that those entities and agencies are doing everything possible to keep us safe. >> now in turning to the jobs plan and the president's speech last night there has been some conciliatory comments. the speaker was very conciliatory about it. there has been some republican criticism certainly from the candidates and from congressman peter ros come -- he said to suggest that $450 billion in new spending and claim it's paid before but say somebody else is going to come up after the cuts after the sending drama that fell flat is ridiculous. what about that? we were promised details on budget cuts to pay for this. is that really realistic given the terrible trauma of the debt ceiling crisis and those noti negotiations? >> this is a moment of truth for democrats and republicans in the congress. republicans heard a democratic president say we should pass and i will sign your own ideas. we will pass and i will sign your own republican policy proposals. we will do tax cuts for the american people. and for the republicans now to -- not even 18 hours have passed turn against not just the president, not just house democrats but turn against their own ideas suggests that it's going to be tough going. the president has said this will be paid for. we do have a debt. democrats have said we've got to tighten our belts. we've got to reduce sppding. we've got to ask those in the best position to pay, oil company executives and big corporations to do their fair share. so the president has given us a choice, do you want to rebuild 35,000 decaying schools and hire thousands of teachers or put those investments into larger and bigger and broader subsidies for oil companies? i think the american people understand what the right choice is and they're going to hold republicans accountable for agree og the right priority or disagreeing not only to those priority, but with their very own ideas. >> safe travel back to new york. safe weekend in new york. thank you very much. the big question now is what are republicans going to say in are they going to support the plan? coming up congressman tom price. but first, a moment of silence today on the house floor as america commemorates the anniversary of 9/11. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. of course, you're look at wall street, the floor of the stock exchange today so close to ground zero. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the most headroom per dollar of any car in america. the all-new nissan versa sedan from $10,990. innovation upsized. innovation for all. it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse, who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a 5-dollar coupon. the newest concerns about a potential attack underscore the ongoing threat from al qaeda and other terror groups. the treasury department is focused keenly on the terror money trail trying to cut off funding for any plans. david cohen is the treasury department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. thank you for joining us. i know you don't do many interviews. this is special for us to have a chance to tap into your expertise. your job has been to go after iran sanctions, to unfreeze libya's money after freezing gadhafi's money. you've got a lot of challenges. but let's talk about the terror trail. and the nature of al qaeda how has al qaeda and its financing changed over the last ten years? >> over the last ten years we have as a government taken a very concerted effort to go after al qaeda's financial support. beginning right after 9/11 we've put together an unprecedented effort to map al qaeda's financial support networks and to devise strategies to disrupt the fundraisers, to disrupt the people who are moving the money for al qaeda and disrupt their ability to use their money. >> do they still have big pocket donors in saudi arabia and other gulf states who used to secretly and to the outrage really of people here in the united states give money to the al qaeda terrorists? >> there has been some substantial progress made in drying up deep pocket donors in saudi arabia and elsewhere. i'm not saying that it's completely gone. but there's been some real progress in attacking the traditional donor based model of fundraising for al qaeda. we've also had some good progress in driving the financing for al qaeda out of the formal financial sector out of banks. as a result i think we see and have seen in the last years that al qaeda's financial situation is much, much more difficult. they're struggling financially. and it has affected al qaeda's ability to operate. >> but they found new ways. what are some of the new tactics to raise money? >> this is a difficult enemy. they are continuing to look for new ways both to raise money and to move money. increasingly we're seeing al qaeda turn to criminal activity. for instance, we have seen both al qaeda and its affiliates in north africa turn to kidnapping for ransom. we have information that since 2008 the knot african affiliate of al qaeda has raised tens of millions of dollars through ransom payments. we know that al qaeda senior leadership in the fattah region in pakistan is looking increasingly at kidnapping for ransom as a way to raise money. >> al qaeda isn't the only issue. it has morphed and there's the lone wolf question. if there were confirmation on this report from pakistan, we don't know that there is. there isn't confirmation yet as far as we know. what would be the way the money would move around to finance three or more suspects who have made their way to the united states? >> well, i don't want to speculate particularly on this case. >> hypothetically. >> not just hypothetically. what we have seen and what is some recent information that we have obtained has confirmed is that al qaeda raises money, keeps very careful tabs on the money that it is raising and very careful tabs on how they're spending the money on salaries on fuel, on equipment. they keep track of their money like a company that is under financial stress would keep track of its money. and so for the development of a plot like the one that we're concerned about today and plots that we have been concerned about over time, we would see al qaeda using that money to plan the operation, to train for the operation, to provide housing and food for the operatives and their family. and so pay the families of the operatives who may kill themselves in the course of the plot. the financial support that al qaeda needs and all these terrorist organizations need to conduct these attacks goes through sort of the whole range of activities that they need. >> you're at the table when they have the meetings as they had today, follow the money is one way to find out whether they have gotten here. it's one big piece of the evidence. >> so financial intelligence is a particularly robust and reliable type of intelligence. if i am sending you money there's a pretty good chance that we have a relationship. and that relationship can help map the work. among the broad variety of intelligence leads that are being followed the financial intelligence leads are also being followed as well. >> thank you so much. this is a it have time. you've got a long weekend ahead. good luck for all of our sakes. thank you for your service. also today, flooding in the northeast has forced nearly 100,000 people to flee their homes. president obama declared a state of emergency today in new york and pennsylvania. at least 11 deaths have now been blamed on the flooding triggered by remnants of triggered by remnants of tropical storm lee.rin? i'm not having a heart attack. it's my back. no, this is new bayer advanced aspirin... clinically proven to relieve tough pain twice as fast as before. what, did you invent this or something? well, my team did. i'm dr. eric first, from bayer. wow. look. it has microparticles. it enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief right to the site of pain. better? great! thanks. [ male announcer ] new bayer advanced aspirin. extra strength pain relief. twice as fast. test our fast relief. look out for your coupon in this sunday's papers. it's high time to make our floor look better and feel softer. ♪ how 'bout we start with the guaranteed low price on the carpet... the pad, and installation. let's get peace of mind for a lifetime. it all adds up to better carpet at a better price and a great-looking room, transformed. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get 12 months special financing on carpet purchases when you use your home depot credit card. ♪ [ country ]s special financing on carpet purchases [ man ] ♪ gone, like my last paycheck ♪ gone, gone away ♪ gone, like my landlord's smile ♪ ♪ gone, gone away ♪ my baby's gone away with dedicated claims specialists... and around-the-clock service, travelers can help make things better quicker. will your auto and home insurer... be there when you need them most? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage... or visit travelers.com. there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. our premium litters now work harder to help neutralize odors in multiple cat homes. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. this sunday on msnbc at 8:00 eastern, 8:00 p.m. eastern, nbc anchors around correspondents will take viewers back to that terrible september day ten years ago. and some of the most striking stories covered by nbc news in our own words. >> we are skiing in an avalanche. that's the only way to describe it. we were just trying to keep our heads above the cascade of information, keeping stable, trying to keep the information in a coherent form. >> we've gotten a report that a car bomb has exploded outside the state department. can we go to anyone for more information on that. >> where is andrea mitchell? >> matt asked me about a report that there had been a car bomb outside the state department. and i was calling people over there and they said it wasn't true. >> i do not have confirmation of that. they did evacuate the state department. we do not have confirmation at this moment about a car bomb. >> we had to sort through fact from fiction and rumor. it's extraordinary that there wasn't more inaccurate information on the air on everyone's air. >> and that is 8:00 eastern. still ahead, ronald fazo lost his life in the south tower ten years ago. we'll talk to his son, robert, about what he's done over the past ten years to keep his father's legacy alive. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. and form a layer called biofilm so strong it survives brushing. thankfully, there's listerine® antiseptic. its triple-action formula penetrates biofilm, kills germs and protects your mouth for hours. fight biofilm with listerine®. kills germs and protects your mouth for hours. [ thunder rumbles ] what is the sign of a good decision? in the world of personal finance, it's massmutual. find strength and stability in a company that's owned by its policyholders. ask your advisor, or visit massmutual.com. secretary of state hillary clinton and vice president joe biden both confirmed today that there is a credible but unconfirmed threat that al qaeda might be trying to attack new york and or washington. likely connected to the 9/11 anniversary. the threat apparently originated in pakistan and involves an alleged plot to detonate car or truck bombs. connecticut's independent senator joe lieberman is chairman of the homeland security committee and joins me now. senator, great to see you and thank you very much. >> thank you, andrea. >> let's talk about this threat. it's not confirmed but it's from a credible source. a source that has reliably provided information in the past, we're told. what do you think about it and are you satisfied with the way the government's responded about it in terms of ramped up alert, putting out the call, and surge of security forces in new york and in washington? >> well, the threat maintains itself at about the same level. specific which is to say that it contains detailed information credible because the main source is reliable source. obviously as in so many cases there's hearsay involved. but unconfirmed. i've been in a number of briefings the last 24 hours. what impresses me as we approach the tenth anniversary of 9/11 is how prevention oriented we are now and how much the various elements of the american government are working together. so there are a lot of plans already in place for preventive defensive action on this weekend as noise always in the atmosphere at this time, but this is gone beyond noise and honestly every part of the federal intelligence homeland security apparatus is at work with their extraordinary capabilities. so we're on the case. i'm proud to say that. but i think people everywhere ought to take it seriously and people, the people of america ought to be alert. if you see something suspicious, say something to our local law enforcement. >> part of this is we've already ramped up the costs of the anniversary and because of the documents that were taken back when the raid in abbottabad at bin laden's get away because there was inspirational writing. what i was told are the troops are saying we can't really do this. we're under fire here. we're pinned down. we don't have the ability to do this. is that basically true that it was more aspirational than operational? >> the documents that were taken from bin laden's compound in pakistan by s.e.a.l. team six did reveal that he was raising questions about an attack on the united states homeland around 9/11, 2011. and others in this dialogue were saying we're not so sure that's a good idea because americans are so well defended. we ought to be concentrating closer to where we are now. but nothing conclusive about it. and -- but it's in our minds as we evaluate this more specific intelligence which suggests claims really that there's an intention to attack this weekend. >> should we be more concerned about the lone wolf? the vice president said today that a lone wolf is harder to track because there are fewer leads? >> well, what's interesting about this of course if any of this intelligence that came into our possession is correct it's not a lone wolf, it's an organized plot. somewhat sophisticated but not as large as 9/11, 2001. the lone wolf case is a serious one. it's growing in peerns which is to say a single radicalized muslim american may have gone to pakistan, may not acting pretty much on his own very hard to track unless people around him or hersey that this person is acting suspiciously and then go to law enforcement. it's quite remarkable to say as we approach this tenth anniversary of 9/11 thank god there's not been another major terrorist attack on the u.s. in the past ten years. nobody would have predicted that ten years ago. here's the important point, two cases where americans have been killed by islamist terrorists in the last ten years were both acts carried out by radicalized islamist jihadists who were americans. the most significant one was of course hasan the doctor at fort hood who killed 13 people and wounded over 30. >> senator joe lieberman it's a tough weekend, i know. thank you for what you're doing to keep america safer. it's an individual responsibility. that's the bottom line here for all citizens. >> absolutely. thanks andrea for inviting me on to talk about this. >> thank you. how do republicans now treat the president's jobs proposal? is it politics as usual? presidential candidates blasted it. speaker boehner said the president's proposals merit considerations in his own words. tom price joins us. what is your immediate take away from the president's proposals last night if they are fleshed out as he now promises with cuts, offsetting cuts in the next ten days. >> what we want to see is a bill. the president said over and over you need to pass this right away. what we need to see is a bill. we know when washington passes things we haven't read. we like to look at the proposals that the president says he's bringing forward. how does this not increase the deficit and then clearly what we understand and we've been talking about for months is that the american people are most concerned about the economy and jobs. we want to make certain that whatever's point in place has an effect in increasing jobs in the private sector. >> is there anything you like on the face of it in what you proposed last night in terps of the payroll tax cuts or business tax cuts for those who hire returning veterans? what in particular? some of these are based on republican plans? >> sure. attorneyly making certain that our veterans are coming home after having served in harm's way that they get the widest amount of support and encouragement and incentives is important. i think it's important to appreciate that the corporate tax, the business tax which is the highest in the industrialized world is a disincentive to job creation. he recognizes that. we look forward to working with him as our budget did to decrease the corporate tax, the business tax rate so that we could increase job creation across the country. and then he made reference to the stifling aspect of regulation which we've been talking about over and over. the problem is his administration continues to churn out. we'd like to call on him to stop that madness and put a mother tomorrow on regulations for at least the short-term so businesses have some certainty out there in the marketplace. >> just quickly congressman, is it better politics for republicans to try to find things that they can agree to and pass something or is it better to just go up against the president and try to put him more on defensive for the failing economy? >> well, i sincerely believe to the politics will take care of itself if we do the right policy. i mean that sincerely. the american people are hurting right now. they need a washington that works and function in a way that frees up the private sector so it can create jobs. we believe if you take care of the policy, then the politics will take care of itself. >> thank you, congressman. thanks for being here. >> thanks, andrea, take care. how will the president's jobs proposal and this terrible poll numbers for both parties affect the presidential republican race? republican fred mallic has served as the finance chair for john mccain's 2008 presidential campaign and is very involved with all of the candidates in one way or another. you know them all. let's talk about the debate this week and how it shaped up. one of our take aways at least for now it looks like this week it is becomes a two-person race. >> i think that's correct. you have two heavy weights in this race. mitt romney and rick perry. but i think it is going to be a two-person race. i don't know if you saw the saints and the packers game last night. >> i did indeed. >> two great teams going the distance. one had a more fierce offense and one was overall more balanced. two great quarterbacks slugging it out against each other. that's what you have here. it's going to go the distance. th both doing fabulously well. >> one ning in talking to my pals here at nbc chuck today and others, right now on this day september 9th, i can't say who i think is going to be the republican nominee. there are things to be said for mitt romney and things to be said for rick perry. if you were a betting person, who would you say is more likely to be the republican nominee? let's look at it this way. if you again look at the game last night you have a high octane offense with rick perry. he's really running hard and he's taking oit the enemy. on the other hand, you have mitt romney with a steady and flawless campaign. i think it's going to come down to the state of florida the fifth major primary. you can have iowa which rick perry should win. ul yo new hampshire which i believe mitt romney will win. then you're going to go to nevada where i believe mitt romney will win and south carolina i believe rick perry will prevail. then you go to florida. whoever comes into florida with the head of steam and the best arguments i think is going to be the nominee. the good news is they both have wonderful records of job creation. they know how to run an economy. >> except that of course they each went after each other one accusing the other of being another michael dukakis and the other being another george w. bush. they go into florida an elderly population, social security. mitt romney told sean hannity on the radio last night that the republican party would be obliterated if they chose a nominee who the democrats could correctly accuse. his words not mine, correctly accuse of trying to get rid of social security. by the way, he spoke at that debate. he said that it's a ponzi scheme. he didn't say it needs to be fixed and we can fix it. what about the rick perry position on social security going into florida? >> i'm not sure if his position on social security is a ponzsy scheme therefore let's get rid of it. >> that's how mitt romney defines it. >> i don't think it is. we have a problem in social security. >> he didn't say that. he's been given a lot of opportunities to say that. are you a rick perry man? >> no. i'm not a rick perry man. i'm not a mitt romney fan either. i really like both of them. i think either one of them would be a fabulous president. and really know how to fix this comply because they've done it. >> thank you very much. stay tuned we'll check back on how this race is shaping up because every week it seems as though there's a different shape to the race for presidency. . and holding a door open may seem like a simple task. ten years ago it meant all the difference. the different between life and death. still ahead we'll talk the to the son of a 9/11 hero who was killed in the world trade center while saving so many other lives. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. ♪ got so many scratches and scars ♪ ♪ maybe time can mend us together again ♪ ♪ it's not what we've done but how far we've come ♪ ♪ i know that we will recover [ male announcer ] here when you need us most. whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ i'm a dad, coach, and i was a longtime smoker. in my heart i knew for the longest time that did not want to be a smoker. and the fact that i failed before. i think i was discouraged for a very long time. ♪ knowing that i could smoke during the first week was really important to me. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. [ jeff ] chantix reduced my urge to smoke, and personally that's what i knew i needed. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some of these can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. until you know how chantix affects you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. ♪ these are the reasons i quit smoking. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about chantix. over 7 million people have gotten a prescription. learn how you can save money and get terms and conditions at chantix.com. (announcer) everything you need to stay balanced on long trips. residence inn. hello, everyone. i'm alex wi tirks tirks. coming up on "news nation." maxine waters said it's time for president obama to fight and get back to work. i'm going to talk with the congresswoman to see what she thinks about the plan. plus, will republicans get on board? congressman john michael will join me live. also huge details on a huge medical prooif sigh breach. how the najs and diagnosis of 20,000 hospital patients ended up online. we've got all that and more next. 695 people lost their lives in the south tower to have world trade center on september 11th. that number could have been a lot higher if not for ronald fazo. he lost his life helping his co-workers on the 99th floor save theirs. holding the door to help them get out. after loegz his father ronald's son created hold the door for others. a foundation committed to helps othering grow through their own loss and adversity. robert is with us from philadelphia today. we're so sorry for your loss. thank you for everything that you've done in the years since. let's talk about your father. the man he was and the man who became a hero in death. >> thank you for having me. my dad was an amazing guy and everyone talks about what a hero he was that day. saving lives. we just got an email from a woman today saying if it weren't for him she wouldn't be here. what's amazing to me it wasn't how he lost his life that made him a hero, it was how he lived his life. that was putding family first and being a loving person. >> when we looked at the eye witness report i'm reading here from one of your father's co-workers. and on that day your father first noticed the plane, according to this eye witness report. he shouted the plane is too low. it was the plane that hit tower one. and then he began rushing people into the stairwell. one girl was screaming she had to bet her purse. no there wasn't time to go and she las vegased. according to this eye witness when i got to the stairs -- ron, did make it down the stairs after rallying more of our co-workers to evacuate quickly and holding the doors for them. sadly he didn't get far enough away when the building collapsed. that tells you almost everything you need to know for a quick introduction to this man. >> absolutely, andrea. it's amazing that how many people talked about what he did that day and how many people continue to tell us how he was something that was special and a class act. being an executive that would always leave early to go to our baseball games or to be with his kids and his wife and ewell of us as opposed to getting too caught up in the corporate world. it's pretty amazing to us. with i love about my dad so much is he allowed me to pursue my dreams and allowed me to create an organization that just focuses on helping people live with loss. those moments when someone dies we don't want their family members to -- their dreams to die along with them. that's what we really focus on doing is keeping dreams alive and helping people. >> does having that eye witness report all of those testimonies help you in any way in doling with your grief? >> absolutely. i love reading about those moments. i love reading about the heroes of that day. when you're reading that and he about that, it is very emotional for me and it is extremely painful, but that pain is what fuels my passion. >> well, we thank you for your passion and for what you are doing. we are so sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing with us about ron fazio, a very special hero. thank you. >> thank you, andrea. of course, countless stories uplifting and heartbreaking from that terrible day. sunday night on msnbc, tom brokaw brings us just some of those moments. >> that night, we started to get the families coming into lower manhattan looking for loved ones whom they had not heard from, and i was particularly taken with a gray-haired mother from new jersey saying, has anyone seen tommy swift. >> who are you looking for? >> my son, thomas swift. >> she looked like the mother of all of my friends, and i remember thinking, that is the emblematic mother, that is is the mother of all of us. it has been ten years, and i'm so affected by it. >> in the special "9/11 in our own words" airs sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. my dm is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. new citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d . for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse, who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a 5-dollar coupon. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? joining us now is msnbc contributing editor and postpolitics.com columnist chris cillizza. it is going to be a busy weekend with joe biden going to shanksville, pennsylvania, and leon panetta at the pentagon and president and mrs. obama at all three sites and the new york event is hosted of course by mike bloomberg, so a difficult challenging weekend for americans. >> yes, and you know, andrea, a time to reflect more than anything else on more how the lives and politics have changed. >> and in terms of our lives, wd and most of the ways, but we don't know all of the intrusive security procedures in place, but psychologically and politically, it has changed the whole nature of our society. >> well, a sense that, andrea, more anxiety and before september 11th, we never thought it would come home, and it has now and it has led to an anxiety in the politics and the future and changed the which we think about life and that of course impacts our politics. >> chris cillizza, have a safe weekend and we will see you monday, i hope. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports" and of course, stay with msnbc all weekend for the latest on the possible terror threat and plus live coverage of the ceremonies commemorating 9/11. alex witt is in for tamron hall with a look at a "newsnation." hello, alex. >> hello, andrea. everyone in the next hour we will follow what is being called a credible terror threat, this days ahead of the anniversary of 9/11. and we will get you the newest details on all of it. and selling the new plan. days after unveiling the new plan, president obama urges lawmakers to pass it. i will talk to congresswoman maxine waters who says it is time for the president to fight. "newsnation" is minutes away. gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. a mouthwatering combination of ingredients...e for you! i know you're gonna love. [ barks ] yes, it's new beneful healthy fiesta. made with wholesome grains, real chicken, even accents of tomato and avocado. yeah! come on! [ barking ] gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorful beneful. ♪ on a beach? on a mountain? or wherever you happen to be... the first step on that road may well be... a bowl of soup. delicious campbell's soups fill you with vegetable nutrition, farm-grown ingredients, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. putting you on the road to happiness. bon voyage. campbell's -- it's amazing what soup can do.