potter there. thanks very much. although he referenced one of the huge stories of our times that goes uncovered largely in the united states of america. 55,000 casualties in that drug war. just incredible. mark, again, thanks very much. a sign of the times. how local governments are trying to make end meet with the help of corporate sponsors. keep it right here on morning joe.
city leaders throughout the country are getting creative to make end meet. chicago has sold ad space on some of its iconic bridges to bank of america. philadelphia has rented out a transit station to at&t. and brazil, indiana let k of c advertise their chicken wings on fire hydrants. but some say mixing the two is commercial graffiti. we live in a society where we face a constant onslaught of advertising. we think there should be someรง spaces preserved to reflect public values. reporter: even in baltimore many are skeptical that the fire truck ads would raise enough money to keep these stations open. what would you say to people who consider this tacky? if this is something that keeps your fire company open and your people safe this is something you want to consider. reporter: if given the choice between selling ads or slashing services, the councilman says he rather not close any doors.
we have early buzz straight ahead. you don t have a fear of heights. i don t. i respect heights. walk on a wire. a feat 200 feet up high above niagara falls. we ll introduce you to nick. newsroom begins right now. good morning. thank you for joining us. happy friday to you. a medical mystery is unfolding for the centers for disease control as it races to find the source of a deadly e. coli outbreak. here s what we know right now. there are reports that 11 people have been sickened including the death of a 20-month old girl in new orleans. several southern states, louisiana, georgia, alabama and florida all reporting illnesses linked to e. coli. the biggest group is located here in atlanta. home of the cdc. state health officials say the cause is unknown but they are partnering with the cdc as they investigate this outbreak. in louisiana, officials said rumors the new orleans cases were related to a local petting zoo are untrue. something that was confirmed by an inf
democratic senators in the louisiana coast and up and down up and down the northeast. sure. plus the president makes it sound like we re drilling everywhere but not drilling off the coast of florida. instead, the castro brothers are going to do that and we re not drilling out on federal land in the rockies even though you know there s a lot of oil there. smothers brothers want to drill there. very true. meanwhile, mitt romney last night on the hannity program responding to the president saying hey, ok, you say we re drilling everywhere but these high prices are killing us! listen. he thinks this is all very funny but there are a lot of people who have a hard time getting to and from work and, being able to make end meet. you have soccer moms who wonder if they can afford to fill up the gas with vehicle again. there are a lot of people really suffering, having tough times because of these gas prices and i can cut through the baloney
when the housing market collapsed her business was decimated. it started in 20%, 40%. budgets are cut. instead of getting paid in 30 days you re getting paid in seven or eight months. what do you do? she wasn t the only one in westwood struggling to make end meet. that s our new weekly salad. ben owns the iron horse. he witness ad dramatic change in his customers eating and drinking habits. used to be if you put a $20 on the bar in 1973 you can drink for two nights. he needed a lynn of credit. but he knew a commercial bank was out of the question. they would have looked at it and gone no these people are losing money. we re not about to throw our money down the drain. debbie needed money to cover