struggle to make ends meet, you won't believe what starbucks has decided to do to its customers. >> come on, elmo. don't you want to play? elmo! >> well, in the last few hours pop star katy perry responding after getting the boot by elmo and the gang on sesame street and her choice of wardrobe. that little yellow number. cross the line? house republicans talked a lot about what is wrong with washington and what they say is wrong with the president. today they reveal their plan if they win back the house. the pledge to america includes making the bush tax cuts permanent, repealing the president's health care reforms, and a weekly vote on spending cuts. here's house majority leader john boehner this morning. >> we need to reign it in and begin a new drive for a smaller, less costly and more accountable government.

these are the things the american people are demanding. and our pledge to america is that the republicans stand ready to get it done. >> john harwood is cnbc's chief washington correspondent. he's live at the white house. the red state's eric erickson who is a conservative went after what we said today. he said this document proves the gop is more focused on the acquisition of power than sound public policy. criticism is they were long on words but short on new ideas and real change here. >> well, it's understandable that sentiment, they were about as serious about specifics on long-term deficit reduction as elmo and katy perry were from the previous segment. they decided in this campaign they have so many things, tamron, going this their favor, the political wins are blowing their way, they don't want to throw out obstacles for the candidate ls. paul ryan, the ranking republican on house budget who has come out with a specific

road map, tough choices to be made, they don't want their candidates near the choices if they don't want to embrace them. this is a campaign document, the governing choices will come later if they gain power. >> how does this compare from a contract with america from 1994? >> there's some similarities. similarities in the overall environment. that had votes that tested in the polls to be very popular. balanced budget amendment, for example. the balanced budget amendment is not in here in part because our fiscal problems are so much worse. and they know it will be difficult to get the balanced budget done in a near-term time frame. the contract with america spelled out process reforms. they have some of those here. transparency. making sure the public sees bills and the legislators read them. when it gets to dollars and cents, how you're going to get the deficit down, we don't know the answer yelt. and we don't know how the obama administration is going to do

that as well, and we won't until the deficit commission comes out with their report in december. >> thank you very much, john harwo harwood. now i'm joined by pat buchanan, msnbc political analyst. also a former republican presidential candidate. let me get your gut reaction to this pledge to america. >> i think it's a mistake. i don't think the republicans should have come out with a pledge or plan like this. it is not very specific. you simply direct attention now to what you're going to do. how are you going to make these cuts? the republicans are not going to repeal obama care. they don't have the votes. you would have to have two-thirds of both houses to override a presidential veto. now we're talking about republican ideas, where they're going to cut. red state is unhappy about it. what are we doing when we've got the tremendous momentum going, and you stop the momentum cold. >> why do it? boehner and the others would have to know people would say, okay, you want to cut spending, what are you going to cut?

you want to repeal health care reforms when people are now learning the details and benefits of it. what are you going to replace it with? >> exactly. that's all the questions that will be asked this coming weekend if republicans go on the air. why did they the it? i i think they were stampeded by the media. are you just the party of no? are you just the party of no? >> the polls say that's not working. that's why they were able to get traction. the american people were not falling for the republicans being the party of no. >> the people aren't voting for the republicans. they don't love our party or our people. we're less popular than the democrats. pelosi, reid, obama care, they're against that. they're coming to the polls to vote and to throw them out. if they're headed here, don't distract them by telling them, hey, look over at our program.

>> let me tell you what jim clyburn said earlier in reaction to this. >> sure. >> after reading over it last night, it occurred to me if this is implemented what we are going to see is the infliction of a plague on america. >> i think that's a little extreme, but go ahead. >> i suspected you would say that. while it's not the wording that you've used in criticizing this pledge, again, they're not getting the traction. i know you love to call sarah palin sister sarah. i'm curious to see if she'll defend the pledge. she did not mention the really party in the new web ad, talking about this tea party movement. to our knowledge we didn't hear a lot of touting of the tea party as the republican members of the house talked about this pledge to america. >> look who has done well. christine o'donnell came out of nowhere and knocked off an established republican.

this fellow paladino is beating up cuomo mercifumercifully. he's not out there putting out a program. he's going after them. he's on the offensive. in politics, this democrats have a fortress they have to defend. they have a record. you can attack any direction. you call the time and place. instead of going out there and staying on the defensive, they build their own fortress. now the democrats are attacking them. so you have us, you have jim clyburn and other fellows in a big argument with the republicans over the republican package. how does that help us defeat the democrats in november? i don't think it does. we gave up a winning strategy here, at least temporarily for a strategy that is not necessarily a winning strategy. we made it their program versus ours instead of get them out. >> somebody should have called you first. pat buchanan, thank you very much for joining me. greatly appreciated. former president bill

clinton had advice for democrats trying to save their seats in the midterm elections. >> we ought to tell people that. that's the fourth element. we ought to talk about the jobs the, the money, the training and the deficit reduction. >> and the former president also had advice for president obama to fight the idea that he is disengaged. in an interview with politico, the former president said president obama needs to hear the criticism of him. he said, embrace people's anger, including their disappointment at you and just ask them to not let the anger clout cloud their judgment. let it concentrate their judgment and then make your case. president obama says he needs global cooperation to secure a middle east peace agreement within the next year. the president spoke earlier before the united statesed general assembly addressing the global economy, climate change and this year's natural disasters in haiti and pakistan.

most of the speech focused on the israeli/palestinian conflict. >> each of us has a responsibility to do our part as well. when we come back next year we will have an agreement to lead to a new leader of the united nations. an independent sovereign state of palestine living at peace with israel. >> the president called cooperation between the u.s. and china absolutely critical. and in about an hour iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad will address the assembly. let's bring in chief ali aruozi. i want to show you what the president had to say in his remarks earlier regarding iran's nuclear program. >> the united states and the international community seek a resolution to our differences with iran, and the door remains open to diplomacy should iran choose to walk through it. but the iranian government must demonstrate a clear and credible commitment and confirm to the

world the peaceful intent of the nuclear program. >> so, ali, there was a headline that said will ahmadinejad be the fire to obama's ice? the obvious differences in their personality. what might he say in response to what we heard from the president earlier zm. >> he certainly toned down his rhetoric on this visit. iran is under intense pressure right now over the nuclear program, human rights issues. we'll see which way ahmadinejad is going to play this. if he'll have the usual attack on israel, always putting him under more pressure under the international community. or whether he'll try to tone things down and possibly make a deal. try to open the door to obama and say, listen, you know, we're open to talks. iran is really feeling the pressure of the sanctions right now. feeling the pressure of an international community. it all remains to be seen how he will deal with the sanctions. >> we heard the remark i read

from the president when he was meeting with with the president of china, that the relationship between china and the u.s. is critical. obviously that is regarding the economy, but it's also regarding what to do with iran. >> absolutely. china has been an ally of iran in the past. russia has been an ally of iran in the past. these guys are backing off from iran. we only heard yesterday that these defensive missiles, they've pulled out of the deal. they drew heavy criticism today saying the russians aren't independent and they're pandering to the u.s. >> ali arouzi. we'll see what president ahmadinejad has to say in a few hours. the pastor of a megachurch says he'll wait until sunday services to speak publicly about claims that he coerced young men into sex. three men accuse bishop ed lee long of inappropriate sexual behavior. this morning he canceled an appearance on the tom joyner

radio show, sending his attorney instead. ron mott has been following the story. on any given sunday you have thousands of people in this church. i might imagine it's going to be a full house inside and out on sunday to hear bishop long clear the air, defend himself or explain what is going on here. >> absolutely, tamron. good day. 25,000 members at the church. there are two services on sunday there, and i'm sure they will be packed to the rafters, as he says he will explain to his congregation the charges levelled against him. he adamantly denies the charges. as you mentioned, he was expected to appear on tom joyner's program this morning but canceled when word of a third lawsuit surfaced. among the claims that they're making is that the bishop would take these young men when they were 14 or 15 and begin to groom them. this is coming from the attorney representing all three. by the time they regiached the e of 16, he would in effect make his move on them.

all three charging that he pressured them into sex. one of them claiming that he took the young man to australia for his 18th birthday and was pressured into having sexual contact on that trip. here's what the spokesperson for the bishop had to say yesterday. take a listen. >> there's a lot of things being said out there. but before rushing to judgment on the bishop long in the court of public opinion, i really hope you will look at guys that are throwing mud. >> reporter: now, one of those guys who has levelled the accusations against the bishop is a 20-year-old named maurice robinson who was arrested in connection to stealing from a church. there's no word if these allegations have anything to do with with the the arrest from over the summer. that case is still pending. this city is absolutely buzzing. >> ron mott in delawacatur, geo.

are you rich if you earn over $250,000 a year? a university of chicago law prof sor doesn't think so. professor todd henderson admits he and his wife have a combined income of over $250,000. he complained, though, on his blog that he and his wife will suffer under president obama's plan to let bush tax cuts expire for those earning over $250,000. among those unleashing the criticism, paul krugman. in he it he said if you want to find real political rage, the kind of rage that makes people compare president obama to hitler or accuse him of treason, you won't find it among suffering americans, you'll find it among the privileged people who don't have to worry about losing their jobs, their homes or their health insurance, but who are outraged at the thought of paying modestly higher taxes.

joining me now is nationally syndicated radio talk show host michael smerconish. i hear your phones are ringing off the hook. this is a hot topic with your listeners. what are are they saying? >> twice today, meaning on my morning program and afternoon program we debated this issue. the telephone lines melted down, and i think what would surprise you, look, this guy was naive. he was all upset at the blow back he received. but many people agreed with him. they don't necessarily agree on the statement that few you make more than $250,000 you're rich. but whatever problems exist, likely they exist in the household of somebody make more than $200,000. just add a zero to the bills and everything else is the same. this professor, and you're right, a university of chicago law professor, he called the reaction an electronic lynching.

so another professor, an economic professor from berkeley, when the chicago guy took the blog down, put it back up, and he said, this is a good conversation. i got to tell you. it is a good conversation. >> the "washington post" puts his income according to them at $400,000. i lived in chicago. mind you, i'm single and i don't have children. but that's a lot of money. in chicago. i mean, that's a lot of cash, michael. this guy, professor henderson says a quick look at the family budget, which he will share with the white house will show him, like many americans, we are just getting by despite seeming to be rich. he complained they have a few hundred bucks for discretionary spending. he talked about his insurance, utilities, they've got two cars, day care, gaucroceries, cell ph, gasoline bills, cable tv. some may argue cut out the cable tv. i know we like to have it, and i certainly like for the viewers to have it, it's not a

necessity. >> it's funny you should zero in on that. in his blog he makes it very clear, he does not have a movie plan. he's got a basic package. he does not have the movie plan. but he lives two blocks from where the president used to live. >> yes. ? hyde park. >> like the president he's a university of chicago law professor and like the first lady, who used to work in health care, his wife works in health care. she happens to be a pediatric oncologist. the wife was furious apparently that he revealed all this publicly and one of the apologies he made when he took the blog down was to his own family for having shined this public light on what's going on in their world. >> we have two seconds. $250,000, are you rich? >> you're doing quite well. you're awfully well off. you're not bill gates, but you're doing well. >> michael smerconish, always bringing up the hot topics. i can't wait to see what people say. tweet me your response to this one. virginia is about to execute the first woman in almost a

century. why? there has been no last-minute clemency deal so far for theresa lewis. and do history textbooks in texas have a pro-islam bias? we're not talking about a small church or a little congregation. this is the school board in the state of texas. they've touched off a new debate. and later, the head of facebook giving a lot of money. what he makes, we can all comfortably say he is super rich. and he is giving away on oprah's show, mind you, a lot of money. wii going to talk about it. [ female announcer ] you use the healing power of touch every day.

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major changes are coming to the newark, new jersey, public school system. thanks to a donation of $100

million. the money is coming from 26-year-old billionaire and facebook founder mark zuckerberg. understandably the city is thrilled. the big question is how will the money be spent. ron allen now joins us. before we talk about this incredible donation, there's not a shortage of money coming into the school district. it's about how the money has been spent in the past. >> right, and who controls the money. the state has been under control for 15 years. the test scores are so low. the graduation rate is so low. the deal mark zuckerberg is making is he wants the mayor of newark to be in charge of the school system. that's the string that comes with the gift. apparently, of course, they're going to go for that. the governor will will have some veto authority. he's reformed minded mayor. he'll do things like more charter schools, higher standards for teachers, higher

standards for pupils. things that teachers unions tend not to like. it could cause friction. but that's what you get for $100 million. >> why did mike zuckerberg focus on newark? >> he's from west chester, new york, i believe. he met cory booker at a meeting or dinner or someone. he's a persuasive, personal guy who has been doing a lot of work trying to get money like this from other sources to help newark. >> what does oprah have to do with this? >> they're going to do this on our show tomorrow. tomorrow afternoon the mayor, the governor of new jersey, mark zuckerberg on oprah's couch. >> 26 years old. there's a movie now focused on how he made his success or found his way to facebook. that's huge. that is absolutely huge. thank you very much. a programming note on mund.

matt lauer sits down for a live interview with president obama. the interview will air live on msnbc for a full half hour beginning at 8:00 a.m. eastern time. you can submit questions for the president at educationnation.com. and the so-called beauty bandit has her day in court. doctors say she's not the only person stealing plastic surgery. why plastic surgeons say they now have to ask for the money up front or they may not get paid. and we would like to know what you think about any of the stories we are covering from the big facebook donation to the professor who says over $250,000 well, you're not doing so well.

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in your money minute, blockbuster goes bust, filing for bankruptcy protection today.

you may remember when americans would like up blockbuster stores to rent movies. all that changed with netflix and movies on demand. the company is keeping 3,000 u.s. stores open. and coffee chain starbucks loves getting pricier. it announced it is raising prices on larger sized drinks and what it called more labor intensive drinks. starbucks blames the rising cost of coffee it buys. our history books textbooks anti-christian? the board of education in texas is ready to vote on a controversial order. ♪ >> and katy perry is tweeting now that she's gotten the boot from sesame street. did katy's outfit crossed the line? looks like elmo likes it. ♪

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the texas school board is set to vote on a potential

textbook ban. some members of the state board of education say certain social studies textbooks promote islam over christianity, and they want the books banned from the schools. randy reeves wrote the legislation. he says i think our documentation shows the bias is there, and we feel that it was not done on accident. however, a civil liberties group responded by saying the texas freedom network believes textbooks should treat all religions with respect and dignity. this will generate fear and promote religious intolerance. kerry is joining me on the phone. so, kerry, this is the second time the texas school board hash has been at the center of the debate. what is going on this time? >> caller: well, this is -- i think you can say an addendum to

a long series of battles. how they emphasize different religious and political issues. the school board in texas is dominated by a group of -- i think it's fair to say christian conservatives. >> they identify themselves as that. >> last year they had an epic battle over social studies standards. this resolution was a surprise to some of the observers in texas. they had just resolve that had battle. then this resolution emerged. the board has decided to discuss it. >> what proof, randy reeves, who wrote the resolution says he thinks it was done on purpose, that islam was overshadowing christianity on purpose. what proof did he provide to bring it up for a vote?

wouldn't he have to justify the claim? >> yes, there are a number of appendix where he believes the christians are portrayed in the harshest of terms and muslim massacres are down played. now the documentation is -- unless you're a historical scholar it's hard to get through this. >> the vote is set for tomorrow. this will impact not just texas because of the number of books that texas purchases. they have a great influences on textbooks throughout the country, right? >> well, they can. they have to pay attention to texas because they have the largest single market. the texas school board handles

the largest student pop lag. they dpds what every student in texas in the public school system can and cannot study. that market is so huge the publishers really have to pay attention to the sensitivities. in less than seven hours the state of virginia will execute a woman for the first time in nearly a century. theresa lewis is scheduled to die at 9:00 p.m. by lethal injection. she was convicted of capital murder for hire for the murders of her husbands and stepson back in 2002. her defense attorney has argued that she lacked the mental capacity to plan the murders. maria interviewed theresa lewis. she joins us by phone. her i.q. was tested twice. she scored 73 and 70, which qualified her as mentally disabled, according to the supreme court. what does the governor say is the reason for not stepping in?

>> caller: the governor says theresa falls just above the definition of mental retardation. what her lawyers say is she really is right on the edge. and her intellectual capacity is such that she should be considered in the legal safety option. >> two men, the shooters, the people who killed her husband and her stepson, they were convicted for life terms in prison. one of the men wrote a letter saying she was an easy target, basically that he preyed on her because of her being disabled. that wasn't his exact wording. but he committed suicide, so the letter was never part of her appeals. >> that's right. this gentleman who has committed suicide in prison wrote to an ex-girlfriend. he said i used theresa. i used her for the money. i wanted money to go to new york and become a drug dealer. her lawyers say this guy is the

real master mind. >> is she prepared to die? >> i spoke to her at the the end of august. she said she had a lot of good she could use. she's become a counselor to other women in prison. she said she understood it could happen and she was prepared for it. but she really wanted to be around for her children and grandson, even if she was in prison. >> did she understand, when you were able to speak with her. did she understand why she is facing the death penalty? i asked that based on the evaluation of her i.q. in her mind, she said she wasn't pulling the trigger, so she didn't think she was wrong. >> theresa lewis is scheduled the to die at 9:00 p.m. by lethal injection. defense secretary robert

gates is responding to the book "obama wars." the book details the leadup to the troop surge in afghanistan. secretary gates did not get into details of what he said to bob woodward. but he denied the chaos and division among the key decision makers. >> conflict sells. the second the relationship among senior officials in this administration is as harmonious as any i've experienced in my time in government. and the third is, and i believe this very strongly, presidents are always well served when there's a vigorous and spirited debate over important issues. >> secretary gates also said that once the president made his decision, the entire team got behind him and carried it out effectively. another republican, delaware congressman, mike castle is not ruling out the possibility. he was defeated by christine

o'donnell in last week's republican primary. while castle won't rule out a write-in bid, he does admit it remains unlikely he'll do so. senator lisa murkowski has launched her write-in bid after losing to joe miller in alaska's republican primary. have you heard? the rich, seems to be a theme, keep getting richer. the top ten gain ad combined $25 billion from last year. they gained that much. so who are the richest americans? michelle caruso cabrera has the list. >> topping the list is bill gates he's the founder of microsoft and beats out warren buffet. number lee is larry erickson. michael bloomberg, the mayor of

new york comes in at number ten. he's worth $18 billion. and the founder of facebook, who today made a huge donation to the newark school systems is worth $6.9 billion. and steve jobs, 6.1 billion zlrz. another notable trend, the waltons and the walmart empire. sam walton created such a human empire with walmart that four of his heirs make the top ten. easily topping either bill gates or warren buffett. you had to be a billionaire to make the list. last year the recession was so bad that even the rich suffered and you only had to make $950 million to make the list last year. this year it is back to a billion. back to you. >> only $950 she said. bret michaels is having major surgeries. and is lindsay going back to

jail tomorrow? let's get the scoop from today show pop culture columnist. modern family was great last night. it was on your list of shows to watch. >> thank you so much. we're going to start with brett michaels. his rep confirmed he will have heart surgery. in the course of that hemorrhage, the mini stroke that followed, they realized that he had a hole in his heart. something that probably had been there sings birth that needs to be fixed. that surgery will take place in january. he's touring right now. he has heart surgery in january. march 15th, his birthday, he'll bin a book tour busy guy. >> have to slip that heart surgery in. >> for someone with massive procedures, he doesn't get much time to rest. let's get to what to watch tonight. there's only one thing to watch. "30 rock." >> yes. "30 rock" is definitely up there as the show to watch.

it's the fifth season of "30 rock." matt damon made another appearance. it makes pft sense that she would be dating a pilot ironically. also, "the office." even if you don't like it, start watching it now. this is steve carell's last season. this will bring out the best in the writers. when you have something to work around, that is this monumental, it gives a lot of opportunity to do fun things. and you're going to see that all through the season. something buzzsy, i don't think it's going to be very good or last very long, but see it so you can be part of the conversation later. "bleep my dad says." it comes for a very popular facebook page. an interesting issue with the show is because of the title that doesn't really start with a real letter, couldn't dvr it. they had to send out

instructions to viewers telling them tow to dvr it. tepid reviews right now. not sure if it's going to make it. also "grey's anatomy." the cliff hanger was one of the best season finales. >> is this the last season? >> no, but it will be a great season. then tomorrow morning we'll all be on the edges of our seat wondering if lindsay lohan will report directly to jail. >> seriously? >> do you think i'm serious? >> she should have taken the situation seriously. >> absolutely agree with you. it's 7:30 pacific time. she'll be going to court. she's going to go to jail. the judge said, for every failed test, you're supposed to receive 30 days in jail. technically if they go by what the judge said, that will be 60 days in skbral. it will be interesting to see what happens. for the latest entertainment

news, log onto scoop.tod scoop.todayshow.com. that woman is called the beauty bandit. and she's not the only customer getting plastic surgery and bolting. i've heard of dine and dash. what is that called? plus katy perry and the episode of sesame street that your kids will not see unless you go to youtube or you watch now. does katy's dress cross the line? is it that bad? we'll tell you what she's saying on twitter now.

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but the financial landscape is still full of uncertainty. in times like these, you need an experienced partner to look out for you. heads up! and after 300 years we have gotten pretty good at that. well, she says she went under the knife to improve her looks and cut out before paying. wednesday in court, 29-year-old maria, the so-called beauty bandit admitted she stole thousands of dollars from miami area doctors. kerry sanders has the story from bay harbor island, florida. >> tamron, the american society

for plastic surgeons says as a nation we spent $10 billion on procedures. as you'll see, the cost of going under the knife sometimes for some patients who lie on tables like this, it is so deep they decide to get the surgeries even though they can't afford the cut. with a black ankle monitor strapped over her matching stiletto heels, the so-called beauty bandit paraded into a miami-dade court to be judged. her appearance before this bar on charges of grand theft, identity theft, and fraud. prosecutors say 29-year-old maria chryyson, obsessed with her looks, systematically visited various plastic surgeons. getting botox injections, sculpting her looks, the price more than $5,000. but every time she cut out of the before paying. >> yes, this is the first time i had anybody accused of stealing

botox. >> her lawyer says the deal offered by prosecutors was picture perfect. restitution to the doctors, a $500 fine, and community service. >> well, i'm just glad that i'm off of my house arrest and i can move on with my life. >> the unemployed beauty bandit still faces charges in another jurisdiction, although on her facebook page, which has dozens of photos, some not appropriate for television, she claims that plastic surgery patient who nipped out after tucking her wallet deep in her purse was a look-a-like, not her. >> she has pictures that are very unique. so i could see her in china, and i know that it was her. >> her monitor is off, and like sell cellulite, no promise it won't come back. the beauty bandit offered no excuses, but her lawyers tried to explain. >> well, everybody wants to look

fabulous. the plastic surgeon who uses this medical sweep was also hit by another group, the fbi investigated. this is how it often works. when the parents show up, the doctors take the before picture, but the patients say, oh, i'm under a contract for a modeling agency and i can't have my picture taken. so when they slip out, there's no picture, and they usually show up using a fake name. tamron? >> thank you, kerry. sesame street pull the plug on katy perry's guest appearance. now katy perry is tweeting about it. was her duet with elmo really crossing the line? you be the judge. oh, new phillips' colon health probiotic plus fiber.

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welcome back. a lot of you tweeted us responding to the professor in chicago complaining that making

over $250,000 was not enough. mike says if you make $400,000 and can't get by, you don't deserve the money. let me know your thoughts at twitter m twitter.msnbc.com. a pentagon investigation clears stanley mcchrystal. he was relieved of his role as the top commander in afghanistaning after a now infamous article appeared in june. in that story the inner circle reportedly mocked and said demeaning things about vice president biden and members of the president's national security team. the general is now retired. tv host bill maher says he's not done yet with republican candidate christine o'donnell. today he tweeted finally a day when no one asked me about christine o'donnell, but i bet they will after friday's show. she appeared 22 times on

"formally correct." he threatens to air more. and nasa astronauts are sharing breathtaking pictures for space. they're using twitter to do it. the photos give us a bird's eye view of everything from mountains to hurricanes and southern lights. amazing images you don't get a chance to see every day. those are things we thought you should know today. crossing the line? you tell me? pop star katy perry within the past couple hours sent out a tweet responding to the buzz story of the day. sesame street giving her the boot for showing too much body. ♪ >> so the singer tape ad sketch with elmo where she made a hit song. it was supposed to air on new year's eve. producers of the show yanked it after getting comments from really upset parent who is thought perry's yellow dres with the low neckline was not appropriate for the iconic

children's show. ses see workshop released this statement. in light of the feedback we've received on the katy perry music video which was released on youtube only, we decided not to air the segment on the television broadcast of sesame street, which is aimed at preschoolers. sesame workshop said they'll keep the video up on youtube for fans to see. here's what katy has to say on twitter. wow, looks like my play date with elmo has been cut short. she then told her friends they could find the video on her website. what do you think? parents? nonparents? did sesame street cave to overly sensitive parents? crossing the line? you tell me. go to tamron.msnbc.com to vote. or twitter me. and now for yesterday's results. did a british hotel cross the line when it kicked out a guest who wrote a bad review? 97% of you said, yes, they crossed the line. 3% of you say no.

i guess you don't mind getting kicked out. chris jansing picks up coverage right after the break. replant a forest? maybe you want to rebuild homes for those in need? or, maybe you want to help improve our schools? whatever you want to do, members project from american express can help you take the first step. vote, volunteer or donate for the causes you believe in at membersproject.com. take charge of making a difference.

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now on msnbc, the ultimate white house insider will join us live. weighing in on the new people, the new plans, and all the big changes at 1,600 pennsylvania avenue. then scandal rocks a baptist mega church. the pastor accuse of forcing young men into sex. soon he's answer to his congregation. and tonight the state of virginia will execute a woman for the first time since 1912. the story has the attention of the world. hello, everyone. i'm chris jansing. let's get to political news of the day. let's start at the white house where change is coming. not exactly the theme of