you have seen the huge difficulties in the house, their inability to even tie their own shoes. >> to think with a straight face that they've spent something that the american people would accept, the ryan budget, cap and cut, whatever that is, and then this thing. that's not lejsz las vegas. that is a -- that was an extravaganza over there that made them all look very foolish. >> northbound's luke russert is live for us on capitol hill. with a good saturday morning to you, luke. we heard senator kent conrad put it in perspective there, but for you how bad is this breakdown between the parties right now? >> it's pretty bad. just in the sense that there is so far we know of no real communication between harry reid and mitch mcconnell and president obama. at least that's public. i'm sure there are things going on behind the scenes, but when you have both parties still publicly asserting very rigid positions, essentially saying they're not really in the budget this moment, it presents dilgts simply because of where we are in terms of timing. in order for a compromise to come out of the united states senate, ideally in order to avert a default, it would come out tonight. that's probably not going to happen. these negotiations will probably carry into tomorrow, most likely harry reid will try to persuade nine to ten, 12 republicans to come on board with some sort of compromise, and the attempt to hope he can get that. mitch mcconnell has shown so far no willingness to do that. he has doubled down, essentially, with speaker boehner's plan in the house, which senate democrats have no chance of going forward. there is no speculation that mitch mcconnell might come to the bargaining table today. his staff said if it was the appropriate time with the president, wee do that, but now it becomes very dangerous because if the senate doesn't get anything out tonight, doesn't get anything and goes until tomorrow, it will then count upon every senator allowing the process to be expedit expedited. we have seen maneuvers used by folks on the left like bernie sanders and jim demint of slowing things down. in a perfect world, if a compromise does come out of the united states senate to raise the debt limit and cut spending, right now it might not get to the house until tuesday afternoon, tuesday evening, and there is a lot of pressure for speaker john boehner to try and deliver the house, which would most likely be a mix of republicans and democrats by 11:59 on tuesday night. that's why you are hearing people are very much shall we say depressed looks on their face. there's a lot of tension up here, and a lot of it is because folks really don't see what the clear path forward is this close to krumpl time. >> luke, you say that senator reid is looking for nine to 12 gop leaders to come over. he really only needs seven to get it done. is that because with each other that goes above that 60 count, it sends an exponentially greater message that we are coming together, we're amassing a majority? is that why he wants to go for greater numbers? >> absolutely. the more folks you can get on board from the republican side that he feels translates over to the house and the more committee get over there. there's a real possibility that any compromise that comes out of the senate with -- that is led by harry reid could lose 140 votes up on the republican side. it would be a small number of republicans and democrats that get across the finish line. he is really going to go after folks like lamar alexander, the number three ranking member of the senate republican from tennessee. he was supportive of the gang of six. i'm told he is going to look at that bipartisan compromise that's been constructed over months that was unveiled last week. folks that are okay with that, the kay bailey hutchison, scott brown, the new england republicans mark kurr from eli will, people open that that idea will be prime targets for harry reid today. it's just a waiting game. what can harry reid offer them within this compromise, what specific type of trigger for -- to enact next debt limit can he offer these republicans that they will, in fact, sign off on and say it's okay. that's when what it's come down to now. >> he will have 12 long hours to get that done. we will see late tonight. thank you so much. luke russert, you too. worries about the u.s. debt ceiling rippling across the globe now, but nowhere are they as intense as in china. the chinese government holds $1.6 trillion in u.s. treasuries. the concern is growing that those investments may not be safe as they once were, and that the country may be forced to slow down its buying if the u.s. loses its triple-a credit rating. the reaction has not been positive to the wrangling in washington over the debt limit. here in new york the stock market was down friday because of uncertainty over what will happen. the dow dropped 97 points and the government starts running out of money on tuesday. earlier i spoke with annie lowery, economic and business reporter for slate to see how the markets are, indeed, reacting. >> they are not freaking out, but they are not happy either. if you look at what happened in the stock market, it was the worst week for the stock market in a year. they're not pleadsed, but they are not panicking either. i think that the stock market beliefs that there is going to be a resolution to this, and we'll see that before the august 2nd or august 10th deadline. whenever it is that treasury would actually get pretty close to the point of not sending out payments. >> give me that august soth dead looirn. there are those, washington insiders as well as economic analysts, who say as much as we talk about august 2nd from some washington perspective and white house perspective, it's really august 10 that's the day we're worrying about. >> exactly. so treasury has stuck with the august 2nd date. that was their initial predicted date when they would actually not be able to send bills out. it turns out that that date is probably a little bit closer to the 10th because of higher than expected receipts, but they're going to have a couple big social security payments and interest payments due, so it's not entirely clear to the markets or to anybody else when treasury will exhaust its reserves. >> annie lowery, economic and business reporter for slate. well, joining me from the hill now illinois republican congressman robert dold who serves on the financial services committee. representative dold, thanks for being here this morning. it's a busy day. >> thanks for having me. i appreciate it. >> i know, sir, that you supported john boehner's plan, but you say you would have voted for it without a budget balanced amendment. why are some of your colleagues saying they need that fully knowing it would not pass the senate? >> the number of my colleagues booef e plea of we have to change the way washington is working, so we've been grossly overspending for a long period of time. it's been happening on both sides of the aisle. it's a clear washington problem. american families have tightened their belt. american businesses have done the same. they should expect that the federal government should be able to live within its means. >> we have senate majority leader harry reid's plan, that has $2.4 trillion in debt limit increases. that matches dollar for dollars. it also includes gop mcconnell's -- isn't that pretty much what republicans have been asking for? would you be happy with this plan? >> well, i like the idea certainly that we're going to allow the debt ceiling to be raised so that american businesses can be able to have some more certainty that, we can be able to pay our bills and pay our obligations. we do need to have structural spending reform, and my understanding of the reid plan having looked at it is there are a lot of the budget gimmicks. we're done with budget gimmicks. the american public has said enough. i understand that as a small business guy. as someone that runs a business and meets a budget and a payroll, we can't have the budget gimmicks. we have to talk about some significant cuts that are going to be very real cuts and honestly, one of the reasons why i was on board with the boehner plan is that john boehner had actually sat down with harry reid in the same room to craft this plan. so i think that we need to have a bold bipartisan plan going forward. that's the only way we're going to get something done here in washington d.c. is get something to pass the cincinnati and put it on the president's desk to be signed. >> on the wheels of what you said in that sentiment, you're expressing, sir. i want to play a clip of john kerry. let's listen to this. >> the chinese are looking at us right now, and they are just gleeful and incredulous at the way one of its great competitors is imploding on itself. it's happening because a small group of absolutists, ebbing streamists that don't understand the implications of even of what they're doing are prepared to hold the entire nation's economy hostage. >> now, while he did not address them by name, you know he was referring to the tea party members of the house. ho howe do you respond to those like the senators and others that say the tea party members are holding the economy hostage until they get everything they want? >> well, we cannot let perfect be the enemy of good, and what we do want to do is we have to have some structural spending reform. there's no question about that. we need to put people before politics, and we need to put progress before partisanship, but we need to move this ball down the field. we're spending $1.5 trillion, alex, of money we don't have this year. a huge purchaser of that debt is going to be china. i mean, 42 cents of every single dollar we spend is borrowed, and 47% is borrowed by foreign entities of who is purchasing that debt. china has 22.9% of that. they are a huge creditor, and we have to solve this problem. i think we've got to be able to pay down our debt in the long-term. it's not going happen overnight. we have to do so in a responsible manner. if we want to talk about trying to be able to do what's best for america. >> all right. republican congressman of illinois, robert dold. sir, thank you very much. i know you have a long day ahead. thank you for being with us. >> thank you, alex. with upgle sam tight on cash, the question is who will get paid first if the debt ceiling is not raised by tuesday? a colleague msnbc's richard lui will show us in a few minutes all of that. meantime, in italy it is a pivotal day in court for amanda knox. she was convicted of murdering her british roommate and sentenced to 26 years in prison, but now dna evidence in the case is being called into question. nbc's keith miller live again for us in italy. keith, can you put in perspective why today's hearing is so crucial for amanda knox? >> reporter: well, this is the first day after this basically bombshell from the court-appointed forensic expert saying that the dna used to convict knox and her former boyfriend is unreliable, so it was the prosecution's day to try to call back basically rebuke the testimony from the experts. they're not having a very good day of it. the judge, who appointed these experts to actually go over the evidence, has constantly said to them throughout the day, you know, limit your questions, hurry up, let's get going, we're done with this. it's a remarkable turn of events for knox and her defense team who all along had argued that the dna was not there to convict their client. in the absence of an eyewitness, in the absence of a confession from the woman who claims she is innocent, it really does come down to the dna, and specifically what is most alarming, certainly for the prosecution, is that their contention that the alleged murder weapon, a knife, had dna on the blade from the victim, meredith kircher, an exchange student, while this select panel came back and said, no, there is no dna of the victim on that knife, and, in fact, another peterson of evidence which tied her boyfriend into the crime which was a bloody bra clasp, that was ruled to be just too far decayed to even test it. quite a remarkable turn. don't think the prosecution is going to make a lot of headway today, alex. >> okay. remarkable, indeed. thank you for that updated. nbc's keith miller. we, in the meantime, will continue our coverage of the debt limit showdown in just a moment with a look at a few of the myths that a florist in the debate over raising the debt ceiling. also ahead, putting the brakes on red light cameras. why are cities deciding to do away with them? and pretty in politics. do good-looking candidates have an edge at the ballot box? results of a new study next on msnbc saturday. where'd you get that idea? how'd you learn to do that? what'd you use? every project we finish comes with a story built-in. it's how our rough ideas become "you did that yourself?" so when we can save more on the projects that let us fix, make, and do more... that just makes the stories even better. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. add some style to your sink, with this moen banbury faucet for the new lower price of 79 bucks. add some style to your sink, with this moen banbury faucet a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. ♪ i'm your venus ♪ i'm your fire ...needs protection. introducing venus proskin with moisture rich shave gel bars enhanced with a triple blend of body butters that create a layer of protection for your skin with every close stroke. leaving your skin beautifully smooth. and your goddess just beautiful. ♪ well, i'm your venus new venus proskin moisture rich. reveal the goddess in you. it is a spectacular deal. show-me-the-carfax. carfax is only for grown-ups. well, then show me the carfax. he doesn't work here. before you buy a used car, get a carfax vehicle history report. see accidents and service reported to carfax and a price based on the car's history. free, at thousands of reputable dealers. just say, show me the carfax. both houses in congress will be in session today amid the tense washington gridlock, and just around the corner from hitting the debt ceiling. senate democrats are rallying behind a plan put forward by harry reid even before a vote is held in the senate. house republicans are threatening to reject that proposal in a symbolic vote today. joining us from washington is michael sheerer, white house correspondent for time magazine. good morning to you, michael. >> alex, how are you sf. >> i'm well. before we get through the top three red herrings, what are you hearing this morning? what do you know? >> well, both sides are actually very close on the substance, and really this is just everybody is holding out for the last minute when they're going to have to cut a deal. it's not clear exactly what that deal is, but the realisticing point right now is the trigger for the second traunch of cuts, how that will be constructed. really the sticking point is the same one that speaker boehner and barack obama had weeks ago when their talks broke up. it's whether or not revenues will be allowed in the second batch of cuts, and if so, how much revenues. they're trying to figure that out now. pretty much everybody expects a deal will be cut. there really is consensus among the vast majority of senators. can you get a vote as many as 80 senators on this that something has to be done, and that there's a deal to be had here. >> i tell you, for the first time this morning i think i'm just sitting a little easier listening to you. that's good. that's -- fwloo it could still all fall apart, but on the substance rationally, they should be able to cut a deal. i say that. >> oh, great. now i'm back up again. here we go with regard to the article you wrote this week "the red herrings in the debt showdown." the first one that being president obama does not have a plan. is that a misdirection? >> yeah. the thing you have to fland is that the easiest way to be misinformed is to take anything any of these guys are saying at face value. president obama has come forward with a number of plans in private negotiations. he has gone public with the outlines of a plan. he was willing to accept that speaker boehner walked away from. pretty et specific. 1.5 trillion in cuts wr. about half a trillion in entitlement cuts. about 1.2 trillion in revenue increases. rhetorically, he hasn't put forward legislation. in legislative language. that's for strategic reasons. oat orically the republicans have said, oh, he doesn't have a plan, he is nott sear about this, but it really is misdirection. >> based on what you were saying earlier about the tenor of things right now, another red herring that republicans won't compromise? >> yeah. i mean, again, republicans don't want to use the word compromise, and that's for political reasons. their base doesn't like the word compromise, whereas democrats do like the word compromise. you hear one side saying the word more than others, but in truth both sides have been working together for more than a month now to craft a compromise, and what speaker boehner has put forward in the house is really the result largely of a compromise. he has a couple of poison pills that will make his plans impossible to pass in the senate, but the outlines of this plan as it is now is really a result of compromise on both sides. >> okay. well, mike, thank you vemp for that. people can read it in the swamp land in time playing zeen and get those other two points. an interesting article. thank you. >> the first tropical system of the year has fizzled out. tropical storm don has weakened to a tropical depression. that storm made landfall around midnight on corpus christi on the rm coast lien. it brought gts relief to the lone star state. it's left behind a beautiful day, as testified by the weather channel's kan kan who is live in north padre island, texas. can you believe the calm after the storm. the beautiful calm. >> you are missing a great beach day. i have been honest with you. >> i wish. >> i know you do, darling. this is my 69th storm that i have covered for the weather channel. i want to show you this thing. i have never seen a storm come in like this and basically just go poof. if you notice how the infra-red, you lose all those colors there. that's the storm pretty much dissipating right before our very eyes. nobody got a little over half inch of rain with this. nobody. everybody got about a trace, 200ths of an inch. it was a great dry run for us. can you see behind me, they've taken the chairs off the beached in through here and gotten those ready. you know, there's a few other folks that were out here doing broadcasts as a result of this. there's not much laying around that could have been blown around, but, again, it's all about the beach today. we've had a young family out here frolicking in the water a little bit. sometimes it takes about 24 hours or so after the storm moves through before the waves finally calm down, and the rip current risk. you know what, given the kind of heat we're expecting over the next couple of days here, i think we're going to see a lot of people not only at the beach, but in the water as wrl. zoo deserve this given the number of times we've covered stories where i'm wonder if anything you are going to blow away. you're ordered stay there for a couple of more hours while we talk to you. >> you got it. if the u.s. goes into default, the u.s. will slurly be in a cash crunch, but will there be enough money to pay