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[ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. next on "msnbc sunday," the soaker in the south. tropical storm lee unleashes a rainy assault on the coast. also ahead, high hopes and hard times. what promise can president obama's upcoming speech offer to those without a paycheck? plus, mortgage makeovers. a new plan for millions but can it rescue and revive the housing market. from dollars to digits to dreams. more americans put their money on lady luck. good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. welcome to "msnbc sunday." past 9:00 a.m. in the east, 6:00 a.m. out west. what's happening out there, slow-moving tropical storm lee causing power outages and some flooding in parts of louisiana and mississippi this morning. let's go right to new orleans and nbc's charles hadlock with the latest from there. good sunday morning to you, charles, we saw plenty of high rain and winds yesterday. what's the scene like this there this morning. >> reporter: the rain is back, winds are down somewhat. tropical storm lee has now moved ashore, just south of lafayette, around new iberia but expect to become a tropical depression, as it moves between baton rouge and new orleans, on its way off to the northeast. it's a minimal tropical storm, at best, but ever since hurricane katrina eroded the coastline in south louisiana, any storm that comes along with a name on it means trouble. tourists in the french quarter dodged rainstorms to take in the sight but was near the bayous, away from levees that protect the city, residents like herbert moore say tropical storm lee noise party. >> kind of blows me out to see stuff like this, people's homes flooded. it's amazing. >> reporter: a dozen homes are flooded in jean lafitte, south of new orleans, and thousands more threatened. >> we're not evacuating because evacuation route is pretty much basically underwater. my wife has a small car and we can get. >> reporter: forecasters fear lee could dump 20 inches of rain along the coast. this is one of the dozens of pump stations at the ready. new orleans is five to ten feet below sea level. any amount of rain that falls here has to be pumped out. the fear is this storm could bring more rain than the pumps can handle. for now, the pumps are working, and the levees rebuilt since katrina are holding. >> we've got a break in the rain right now. >> it's doing fine. >> reporter: matsch e. mitch landrieu says the city is keeping a watchful eye on the slow-moving storm. >> this is sitting there and it won't make up its mind what it wants to do. you have to be very, very careful. >> reporter: but back in the bayou, where they're used to this flooding, curtis is taking the storm in stride. >> cleaning everything off, waiting for it to come back, we'll pick it up the worms as the water go down to go fishing again. >> reporter: well, no one is bringing out their fishing rods just yet. the storm watch continues along the gulf coast all the way from texas to the florida panhandle. the tornado watch is still in effect for south louisiana, and a thunderstorm is now moving over new orleans metro. back to you. >> charles hadlock in new orleans, thank you. a check on where the storm's headed from the weather channel's alex wallace. alex, you heard thunderstorms coming into new orleans. where do things stand now with lee? >> it's slowly moving, alex. this thing doesn't want to go anywhere any time soon. the latest stats on it. sustained winds 45 miles per hour, tropical storm, 50 miles to the west of morgan city and moving again very slowly to the northeast right around three miles per hour. here's how it looks out there on the radar, and, yes, charles mentioned, there are some storms rolling across the new orleans area. as you slide your way towards the west coast of florida, seeing downpours right around panama city as well. all of this working its way northward. there's that tornado watch area, including new orleans, over towards panama city. that is in effect until 4:00 local time. so dealing with that threat for the next several hours. where is it heading? generally on off towards the north and the east but it's going to take its time. remnants of it by the mid and end of the week in place parts of tennessee and the ohio valley. remnants will be keeping that in those areas. how much rain do we anticipate for sunday? a good 2 to 6 inches of rain possible in the area here across the deep south. so a lot of rain coming down with some of those heavier bands, as we led throuhead thro of the day. heavy batch through the pan handle. then we have hurricane katia, working its way in the atlantic north of the leeward islands. a minimal hurricane. hovering between a hurricane and tropical storm. now a hurricane 75 mile an hour winds. heading to the northwest, 12 miles per hour. the computer models continue that trend, then curve it on off towards the north and the east. we'll keep that in mine. if it doesn't turn quick enough, the east coast may be impacted. >> alex wallace, many thanks. everyone take a look at this. a massive bolt of lightning apparently striking notre dame stadium in indiana, a fierce storm swept through the south bend area. the weather became to violent officials evacuated that stadium at halftime and again during the fourth quarter. but the good news, no one was hurt. president obama visits paterson, new jersey, tote one of the areas hardest hi by hurricane irene flooding. thousands of residents forced out of their homes. >> for a couple days this is this area by the towers was flooded and buses couldn't get through, i couldn't get to work. i couldn't get to work for a good two or three days. and it was just a lot of flooding. people couldn't get to work, people couldn't do what they had to do. it got pretty difficult. >> nbc's mara schiavocampo in paterson for us. good sunday morning to you. what exactly will the president be seeing today? >> reporter: well, good morning, alex. he will be touring disaster areas, places that were hard hit by hurricane irene. so surveying some of that damage. thanks to the storm the area saw extensive flooding. it's the worst flooding in more than a century. the passaic river behind me, flowed out over the city with floodwaters rising nine feet. the president will be arriving shortly after noon and then begin surveying the areas affected, presumably homes, businesses, infrastructure, and the like. he will be joined by several new jersey state officials, including governor chris chris tis in what is paterson's first presidential visit in 35 years. last week, president obama signed a disaster declaration for the state of new jersey, making them eligible for federal funding and rebuilding in the wake of the storm. boy, does paterson need that help. this city was one of the hardest hit by hurricane irene. the flooding left lots of damage in its wake, roads, people's homes and businesses. also left thousands without power and about 1500 people had to be displaced. the mayor said all told, 6,000 people here in the city were affected. you can see this bridge behind me, just to give you a sense how bad the flooding was, it was completely covered in water, isolating parts of the city. today president obama will get a chance to see the damage that has been left behind and how much work it's going to take to rebuild this area. >> mara schiavocampo by that passaic river, thank you for that. overseas now the former head of the international monetary fund is back in this in himself native france. dominique strauss-kahn arrived in paris. new york prosecutors dropped their case against dsk after a maid accused him of attempted rape. nbc's annabel robert live in london. with a good morning, what kind of details have you learned about his return to paris? >> hi, alex. he arrived back on french soil and besieged by journalists as he climbed out of the car and tried to reach his flat which is one of the most exclusive addresses in paris. his wife, as usual, at his side. this time both of them looking relaxed and clearful. but, alex, the interesting question is, will he now seek a return to front line french politics? remember when he was arrested he was the favorite to be selected to represent the socialist party in the presidential elections and believed to i have achance of defeating the current president, sarkozy. some in the party say he's ruined politically and even if he were endorse one of the socialist conditions it could backfire. france has learned a lot about his character and sexual behavior and many shocked. but there are other voices that say this will blow over, and he's too valuable and experienced an individual to be left out. don't forget, france, like the rest of europe, is facing big economic problems and dsk has a wealth of experience, loads of contacts from his time at imf and a highly regarded economist. >> quickly, he certainly got the charges dropped in the united states. but you talked about things that have come out about him over there in france. is he facing any other scandal over there? >> yeah, he is. facing charges in france in a different sex case. a young writer accused him of attempted rape in 2003. she didn't bring charges then because she felt no one would listen to her. prosecutors are looking into the case and will decide whether or not to proceed. mr. strauss-kahn threatened to sue her for defamation and he also faces that civil suit in the u.s. brought by the chamber maid who made the initial rape allegations. >> annabel roberts from london, thank you for that update. a week before the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 a new warning of possible attacks. a bulletin sent around the country about a potential of attacks by small airplanes. precautions have been increased before the anniversary but officials say there is no credible or specific information about any plot. rick santorum opened up a harsh line of attack against president obama speaking in bluffton, south carolina. santorum compared the president to a dictator. take a listen. >> this is the problem with the president who sees america as a country that needs to be ruled. remember his campaign? it was almost little erie, like some of the dictators say he was this demigod or almost a figure that was going to rule america. >> meanwhile in new hampshire, governor rick perry took aim at some fellow candidates. >> in coming months you're going to hear a lot of appeals from my republican friends. we don't need a nominee that blurs the line between president obama. we need someone who will draw a distinct difference and a distinct line, and i am that candidate. >> perry travels next to south carolina. that's where he hold l. hold some events tomorrow. sarah palin is heading to new hampshire for labor day to head lean a tea party rally there. a. if the crowds in iowa are any indication she's got strong encouragement to get into the 2012 race. palin spoke saturday in iowa. she went after the republican field, though she's not officially in the race. >> now some gop candidates raised mammoth amounts of cash and we need to ask them, too, what, if anything, do their donors expect in return for their investments? we need to know this, because our country can't afford more trillion dollar thank-you notes to campaign backers. >> nbc news campaign embed alex moe join me on the phone. can you read between the lines for us here? what exactly is sarah palin saying? >> thanks, alex. it does appear sarah palin took aim yesterday not only at president obama, like she has in the past, but also the current gop field as a whole. perhaps indicating she's not happy with the current gop field for president. she did mention to one reporter, after the event, there was still room for another to enter the race. we don't flow if that means her or someone else. governor palin spoke a lot during the speech about the, quote, crony capitalism and told me afterwards she hopes the speech that she will lay out a plan to restore what is good and right and free about america and start tackling the crony capitalism that she referenced. it did appear she was turning a critical eye to current contenders in the race. >> recent polls suggest sarah palin is in the running, though she's not a candidate. there's that quinnipiac poll released this week which shows her in a statistical tie for third, rick perry in front with 24%, mitt romney's got 18, palin comes in with 11, michele bachmann at 10. i understand sarah palin had choice words to say about polls, right? >> that's right. governor palin actually said poles, quote were for strippers and cross-country skiers during the speech yesterday. it did appear she was sending a message national polls aren't going to have an influence on her when she's deciding if she's going to run for president. and a lot of political insiders put emphasis on polls but she didn't really seem to think of them too highly during her speech. >> strippers and cross-country skiers. she left out downhillers. i use poles. anyway, alex moe, thanks. see the full field of republican presidential contenders square off in the nbc news political debate wednesday september 7th, here on msnbc. in a moment, it sunk the economy to historic debt. can the housing market rebound under a lawmaker's new proposal? also ahead dollars and dreams in dire times. more americans pinning hopes on hitting numbers. a wallet full of cash but was it one woman's lucky day? i couldn't conceive this as a heart attack. the doctor leaned over and said to me, "you just beat the widow-maker." i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go see your doctor now. but it's our job to make them say something interesting. so how about this weekend we learn some new tricks of the trade... then break out our doing clothes and get rolling. let's use some paint that helps us get the job done in record time and makes a statement when we're finished. let's find ourselves a new favorite color. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get five dollars off gallon cans of our top paint brands, now through september 7th only. the president says the latest jobs report showing zero growth is unacceptable. and on thursday he will lay out his plan for putting americans back to work in a nationally televise the speech. the current jobs crisis started after a major meltdown in housing. and this past week reports surfaced that the obama administration was considering a new plan to reduce foreclosures joined live by dennis cardozza of california. good sunday morning to you. thanks for joining me. >> good morning, alex. >> i want to talk, first of all, about your area. you represent mersed, the area in central california consistently ranks among the top ten of the hardest-hit cities in the nation. what's it like in your backyard? >> we've been devastated. i represent hard-working americans to start out with subprime loans but it's gone to the general population and 60% of our homeowners are underwater on their mortgages. >> 60%, wow. >> 12% are behind, 90 days or more in paying their mortgage. that equates with america, where 8% are behind and nearly 25% of americans are under water on their mortgages currently. >> okay. you have your own plan to address the housing crisis, try to help with employment, if there's a domino effect here. explain this connection and what you want do. >> i believe we're not going to get over the employment crisis until we deal with the housing crisis. there's a crisis and confidence of america, people aren't going to want to spend money if their house is under water or at risk of foreclosure. i believe we need to help people refinance mortgages. i have a proposal to do that. right now 25% of americans are locked in, they can't goat to their bank and refinance because they don't have enough equity. my proposal would allow government-backed mortgages, ones that we already are responsible for if they foreclose, would allow them to refinance without an appraisal. at the same amount that we already guarantee. and lower their payments from the 7% payment to the 4% area, extent it for 40 year, reduce payments and keep people in their houses. >> keep it at low single digit rates none of the variables? >> that's right. >> in washington, with your plan, what is the feedback from your colleagues? >> well, a number of my colleagues in the house are very supportive. senator boxer has a similar measure in the senate. we believe that this could pass, but it needs the president to come forward very strongly and advocate for this kind of solution, as well. the programs the administration has put forward to date have not worked at all, and we need some real movement here and i'm lookinger looking for it in his speech thursday night. >> can you give plea a sense how many jobs might be created were the housing market bounce back? >> moody's and others have done studies about my proposal and it is the equivalent of a tax cut of 50 billion to $85 billion. i think that we all talk about how stimulative tax cuts can be. that kind of impetus in sim lus to the economy, i think, would be just what the doctor ordered to get the economy moving again. >> why do you think it has taken so long? i mean, people, if you look at the economic advicers and analysts, way back at the beginning, 2008, they were saying the housing market is the epicenter of all of the problem. we're pushing three years now since this thing started. >> well, let me tell you about something that happened this week in the halls of congress. i ran into a lobbyist from the financial services industry and he didn't like my bill because his bond holders would have to go from 7% interest that they're currently receiving to 4%. and i said, isn't that people's right to refinance and get a better mortgage for themselves? he said, look, we've been making business decisions based on 7%, we don't want you to let people get a 4% mortgage instead. frankly, i'm not worried about wall street. i'm worried about the average americans who are trying to save their house, keep their family together in the home, live the american dream, that's what i care about, not the bankers on wall street. >> democratic congressman dennis cardoza of california, good luck. in these tough economic times few of us would pass up the opportunity to pick up a few extra bucks here and there. a suburban cleveland woman expecting a child soon could use a financial lift. she found a wallet outside a store containing $4,600 in cold, hard cash. not for a second did she consider keeping it. >> it didn't belong to me, no reason for me to keep it. if i would have kept it, i would have been stealing it though nobody would have known. >> na woman turned the wallet over to police and the owner gave a reward. for her the best reward was feeling good about doing what's right. [ male announcer ] this is the network. a network of possibilities... ♪ in here, pets never get lost. ♪ in here, every continent fits in one room. it was fun, we played football outside. why are you sitting in the dark? ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, you're never away from home. it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. in vermont a flash flood watch in effect. the ground is still saturated from hurricane irene. msnbc's craig melvin live in brattleboro, vermont, along the connecticut river, which is rushing below him. craig, with a good sunday morning to you, i know crews are at work, trying clear miles of impassable roads. how much of a concern about any new floods which would cause quite a setback. >> reporter: the concern is great. yesterday we spent some time in jamaica, vermont, and there were officials there who were going door to door landing out flyers, letting folks flow if it did begin to rain significantly again that they needed to get out. of course those are warnings that don't fall on deaf ears around here these days. right now, brattleboro, vermont, six days later, the connecticut river, calmer than it was this time last week. we measured it, it's about seven feet lower right now than it was this time last week. the fear that is any of the new rain that you just mentioned that could come tonight and tomorrow as well, the last thing that the already-swollen connecticut river needs is additional rainfall. people have been cleaning up here for days in vermont. of course, 13 towns completely cut off for several days, those folks are just starting, just starting, to get their lives back together again. >> i think this is probably the more -- most helpful people, the most resilient people i've ever met. and i'm not from this area. >> they have rallied around each other. people that you've seen walking around that you never had any conversation with are armpit deep and doing the most remarkable things. >> reporter: now this bridge here on depot road is a bridge built in the 1920s. this one, as you can seeing very much intact but a lot of bridges, dozens in fact, around vermont are not. and that is one of the primary concerns right now, that those bridges won't be back up and running in time for fall foliage season, which is just two weeks away and generates $300 million in revenue for the state. >> all right. craig melvin in brattleboro, thank you very much from vermont. missing in aruba. new evidence emerges in the disappearance of american robyn gardner. what different will it make in the case against her jailed companion? we'll take a look at that. also ahead -- great expectations. can president obama deliver on the prom is of something bold in the week's job speech? 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. on thursday, the president will deliver a prime time address to congress, outlining his plan to create jobs. labor secretary sole lease says the president will offer, quote, bold ideas on battling unemploy pln. joining me now, mark murray. another good morning to you. >> good morning, alex. >> expectations are riding very high. is he going to say something big here? does he need to present a major proposal to match all of the hype? >> there's a lot riding on the speech he's going to be giving on thursday. most polls have shown him at one of his lowest points in his presidency. just on friday came the jobs number that is a zero number of net jobs created in month of august. of course there was that almost kind of debilitating debt ceiling ebait that occurred that sapped confidence not only in the private sector but here in washington of people being able to get things done. as the president heads into his speech thursday, politically he needs to channel his inner fdr that things aren't going to be corrected absolutely quickly but that give him time, have some patience, things will get better. the president doesn't hold a magic wand to start instantly creating all of these jobs. but what he can do is provide some confidence that things are going to get better. >> but what about from the republican perspective, because as you well know they have tried to stonewall the president every step of the way? why would this be different? can he get anything done without gop cooperation? >> it's probably not going to be anything different. what the president will propose in some of the things that have come out that have leaked out that he's going to be talking about are measures that republicans have supported in the past, like payroll tax cut extensions, as well as some other methods that they, you know, free trade, things that are normally in the republican party's corner, things that they've supported in the past, if republicans oppose those things the president said he's going to take his message to the people, try to get their support. so that's why, in some ways, this is more political than economic policy. >> well, yeah, also could the republicans then take on more responsibility for this sputtering economy, if they reject obama's plan, especially because they aren't providing necessarily a countersolution? >> that's right. so i said to the president doesn't have a magic wand for economic policy, but congress is the one that's responsible for passing tax legislation, economic legislation, and there is the case that could be made voter sazs say this is an tutl absolutely do nothing congress. you have congress getting into petty fights, twiddling its thumbs. there could be the case that could be made and that's why what is almost shaping up if republicans don't budge on these things you'll have more of a political fight ahead. >> can i ask you about the timing here, mark? because the question is, why is the president waited so long to give this speech on jobs in waiting things to get better so he wouldn't have to give the speech? there a political calculation doing it now? >> in fairness of the president, he's talked about the economy so many different times, of course this is one opportunity he's able to chat before a joint session of congress devoted solely to the economy and the jobs plan. going back to that debt ceiling fight, alex, that was about deficit reduction. the white house wasn't able to talk about jobs and job growth, and you ended up having for the entire summer, june, july, august, everything about deficit reduction, nothing about the economy. one final thing, in our hour last hour i mentioned the obama campaign hoping to raise a trillion dollars. i meant a billion. my brain is still stuck in that debt ceiling fight talking about trillions. >> right, right. >> it would be a billion or probably less than that. >> okay. that or just go get yourself starbucks. it's all good. mark murray, thanks very much. we invite you to watch the president's speech before congress 7:00 eastern thursday on msnbc. today the president will see firsthand some of the destruction from hurricane irene. he travels to paterson, new jersey, which has seen extensive flooding and power outages. kristin welker has more from paterson, new jersey. what's the plan for the president's schedule once he arrives? >> reporter: alex, we don't know his specific plan but i can tell you he is going to be touring the damage, he'll also be assessing recovery and response efforts. as you said, paterson was one of the communities that was really hit hardest by hurricane irene when she touched down just a week ago, 1500 people had to be evacuated, hundreds of thousands of people lost power. we saw homes destroyed. businesses destroyed. complete city blocks just submerged under water. some of those floodwaters have started to recede. the passaic river behind me starting to recede but it's still rushing rapidly here. the folks here are still hurting, trying to rebuild. that's one of the reasons why the president declared new jersey a disaster area, one of a half a dozen states. that means folks will get federal assistance in helping them rebuild, and that is something they desperately need. this is a community that was hurting economically before irene hit. so they are really struggling right now. this will also be a pretty big day for the president, alex. this will be his first public appearance since we got the dismal job numbers on friday that showed the economy added no net jobs during the month of august. so the folks here in paterson will be looking to him to say something, looking to him to really help them to recover. >> kristin welker, thank you from paterson. friends and family call her create in, outgoing and remarkable. now they're pleading for the public's help to find her. 23-year-old katelyn vanished more than two weeks ago. she was last seen at her fairfield, ohio home, watching tv august 13th. the next day she was gone. her car, purse, keys left untouched. police say they are baffled because they don't have any evidence as to what happened, and there are no signs of i struggle. search teams are out this weekend looking for clues. >> a town festival in tennessee took a somber tone as residents took time to remember ace missing college student. the town of darden released pink balloons in honor of holly bobo, last seen nearly five months ago leaving her home with an unknown man. no arrests in that case. the investigation into the disappearance of robyn gardner in aruba 0 took a mysterious turn. her traveling companion gary giordano claimed she vanished while snorkeling. karen de soto, good morning. >> hi, alex. >> what happens going on with the aruba release of the a new photograph of a white car? what's that about. >> the authorities have made a plea, trying to gather information. he's still be held over in aruba you get held and they do the investigation and they'll make another plea to the judge to hold you even longer. so what are they going to do? they're going to try to attack the time line. we've gotten kind of sketchy alley by kind of strange contradictory statements from him. apparently the two of them were drinking, they released a picture of a car, so apparently the investigators now are trying to find anyone who saw them or anyone who could corroborate his version of events. and maybe somebody will come forward and, you know, lend contradictory testimony to what he's saying and they'll know somewhere else to look. but right now they don't seem to have a lot of information, other than they were diving and she disappeared. another diving accident. another -- it's a strange set. his behavior has been very, very odd. >> didn't he try to collect on some insurance? >> yes, yes. >> talk about that. >> talk about motive, there was insurance, traveling insurance, and two days after she went missing he tried to collect on it. very suspicious behavior. i don't know. i have never been on a trip with my husband where he took out travel insurance on me. that alones a bit of a red flag for investigators because it's very unusual. >> a guy, who at the outset was cooperating with investigators, right? was he? >> yes. >> is he still now? >> he was cooperating and giving information and trying to be very helpful. he even phoned the mother of the alleged victim at this point and had conversations. called her two, three days after she went missing to say, oh, my shoes are all wet from looking from, you know, looking for your daughter. so it sounds like he's trying and a little bit too much, alex. when somebody starts offering information and calling parents, that's also a red flag. that is really being helpful or trying to throw suspicion away from you? >> fascinating. all of her friends are loved ones, poor robyn gardner, it's been a month now. >> the behavior is odd. i don't know who would visit aruba with the van der sloot and the natalee holloway case. parents with daughters visit be aruba, maybe not. >> okay. karen de soto, thanks. in these times of tough luck, many more folks pinning their hope on lady luck. do you have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem? are you taking warfarin to reduce your risk of stroke caused by a clot? you should know about pradaxa. an important study showed that pradaxa 150mg reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin. and with pradaxa, there's no need for those regular blood tests. pradaxa is progress. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have kidney problems or a bleeding condition, like stomach ulcers. or if you take aspirin products, nsaids, or blood thinners. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctors approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion,stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if pradaxa can reduce your risk of a stroke. for more information or help paying for pradaxa, visit pradaxa.com. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lay on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lay on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to our biggest sale of the year. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. it calibrates precisely to your body and your comfort zone. now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual shape. oh yeah. it's really shaping to my body. during our biggest sale of the year, every bed is on sale. queen mattresses now start at just $599. and for five days only, save 50% on our innovative limited edition bed set. but ly through labor day, and only while supplies last. you can adjust it however you want so you don't have to worry about buying the wrong mattress. once they get our bed, they're like, "why didn't i do this sooner?" don't miss the biggest sale of the year on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. only at the sleep number store. a new study on how americans spend money with results that might surprise you. more people hoping to get lucky these days. people lining up to buy lottery tickets in record numbers. acornell university study found that people keep buying lottery tickets but don't spend on other cheapen ter tainment choices. good morning to you, david, what did this study find about the link between a poor economy and an increase in lottery ticket sales? >> good morning. what we found, we -- we examined changes in poverty rates and their impact on lottery sales and found actually it appears to be that the increase is in poverty, especially those lately, do drive lottery sales. it's an interesting result because when we start looking at other forms of what we might consider cheapen tertainment they don't behave like there is at all. go ahead. >> no, is this marketing? is that what they're doing? are they doing a good job of marketing in these bad economic times? >> i don't believe there's that big a change in terms of marketing. we do look at other things as well, for example, unemployment doesn't seem to affect lottery sales. so it doesn't seem to be this short term i've just lost something and i need to get it back. much more it's long-term poverty, people who have fallen into that range begin to pin their hopes on lottery in order to, you know, get rich. >> so we're talking really, by your description, about people who can least afford to be doing this. they're the ones that are doing it. >> i think that's absolutely the right characterization. you know it's not the poorest of the poor, it's the upper half of the poverty range that are doing this. but it has a huge impact. it's one of the biggest drivers of lottery ticket sales. >> with all of these record sales, david, where does all of the money go? >> well, for the most part, the amount of money, the proportion of money that goes to schools and things like that is fixed by law or by an agreement between the state and those running the lottery. it certainly does help the schools a little bit, but not that much. it's going to line the pockets of the people running the lotteries. >> and you find lotteries take advantage of this mentality, people that are out there thinking they just got to spend a dollar and hope lady luck pulls through for them? >> i don't know that they're maliciously trying to prey on that so much as that's just the way this works. if you talk to them, they really try to sell it as an entertainment option but it doesn't behave that way. it just does not function the same way. in fact, it seems completely unrelated to expenditures on other entertainment and particularly among the poor. if you ask the poor, two-thirds say they're not playing for entertainment at all, they're playing primarily to try to get money. that's their reason. >> they though the chances of winning are a gazillion to one, they're very small, right? >> incredibly small, absolutely incredibly small. it almost never pays to play the lottery. you're always getting back cents on the dollar. there are very rare instances where that may change, but it's almost never. >> okay. from cornell university, professor dave justified, thank you very much. right to today's list of number ones. first another list of the best places to live. this one from relocate america, naming austin, texas, as the best place to call home. the reasons include a good job market, lots of things to do there. for the second straight year, facebook founder mark zuckerberg tops "vanity fair's" new establishment list. the youngest person to lead that list. kim kardashian continues to dominate tabloid talk. the reality tv star tops the celebrity heat index. her new hubby kris humphries rangz thi ranks third. ohio university top party school for 2012. brigham young university is the most sober school. a song popular on college campuses, moves like jagger tops the billboard hot 100 list. those are your number ones here on "msnbc sunday." play it away. 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