the film chronicles the human casual 'tis of the great recession in long island, or on long island, i guess. but in the guest spot today is director and producer, mark levin. his award-winning documentary "hard times" premieres this monday, july 9th at 9:00 p.m. on hbo. and mark, thanks for joining us. i want to start by asking you, you chose to explore this on long island. you called it the birthplace of the post-war suburban good life. for people out there who may be know long island mainly for the long island accent, i wonder if you could tell us a little bit about the history out there and what it is that made you think this is the place to explore the great recession ? >> well, i think that the story of levittown is really the story of after world war ii, the american society decided we owed something to the great generation, we helped them with homes and levittown was built as a model town for suburbia and returni ining gis. and it became the center of expansion that happened on long island and all over this country. but we decided instead of going to the rust belt or some of th

living what we would call the good life on long island. is that instead of kind of gathering together, they're isolated in homes that look nice, in neighbor neighborhoodses that look beautiful. they are ideal. behind them you see the psyche of people like this disintergreating. >> you focus on levin town. you say in the piece that suburbs are experiencing the fastest growth of people who are losing their jobs, losing their houses, et cetera. but what is it about that place on long island that made you want it zero in? >> well, levit town is iconic. claims to be the first suburb. it is the model for the post world war two suburbia that so many of us grew up with. in that sense it is a symbol of the good life. the american dream. the social contract. and as you just plenmentioned, i first became aware that after the census of 2000 that the fastest growing area of poverty in our country was in the suburbs, i was just stunned by that fact. >> among those you pro filed, the chiropractor by the name of dave and his wife, who is a teacher, heathe

the stranded bird is undergoing rehabilitation, thanks to the dramatic actions of a boater in long island. jennifer mclopez has that story. >> reporter: mitch kramer of oyster bay and dog, jessie, have never made a save like this before. responding in their tow boat to a stranded sailor, they saw something struggling in the distance. >> as i got closer i could tell it was a bird. i couldn't leave it there so i decided to give it a shot and see if i could grab it. >> reporter: the exhausted, frightened bird turned out to be a one-year-old bald eagle, sick and strand in long island sound. >> it had about a six foot wing span, it was very intimidating. it was a lot bigger when i pulled it out of the water than i thought it was. >> reporter: he placed the weakened bald eagle into his cabin. he immediately called his wife, an animal rehabilitate tore. >> refirst thought the eagle was blind, eyes were crusted over, very thin, it was crawling with lice. >> reporter: transported to donna's vet center for fluids and antibiotics, regained her eyesight and on to a new jersey raptor center. >> we cal

we are speaking to carolyn mccarthy of long island, new york. your response to the man that was beaten by president obama? >> how i would respond to the center -- and i certainly have a great deal of respect for him on many issues -- but with that said, when you have these mass killings going back to 1993, when my husband was killed and son shot, all the way back to friday night, large magazines were not able to be purchased. now they are on the streets. all of these shootings, what was the common denominator? they had large magazines that could kill as many people as possible in a short period of time. in the movie house that night, the police responded in 90 seconds. the shooter was able to wound 70 people and kill. the only reason he did not kill or maim other people was because his gun jammed. can you imagine if he had had more? the courts have already said people have made right to keep a gun to defend themselves in the home. we are not infringing upon that. what we are saying is, large magazines, assault weapons do not need to be on the st

's hard times lost on long island. thank you very much for joining me inside the war room. and now to my point. there is a reason why stories of about hollowing out of the middle class resonates. and why it resonates in this presidential election. it is deep. it's deep with people. you probably know somebody who has lost their job. i know i sure do. and it's not just blue collar workers. everyone is vulnerable. the middle class workers who have had the rug pulled out from under them lie changes in our economy are not slackers. they aren't looking for handouts. they are not looking for freebees, they did everything that they were supposed to do. they studied worked, saved. >> reporter: and now they just want jobs. they want the dignity of work. they want to be able to contribute to the economy. to their families, to their communities. but they can't. their prospects continue to fall even oscar pratt profits and stock indexes sore. thosesoar the thosethat were hits have had to clear out that i desk. put their homes on the market and move their families and in many ways they h

so-called rust belt areas, long island? >> i think you're right and a lot of people have gone to the rust belt deindustrialized america. what we wanted to do is go to kind of the birth place of what we would think of as the suburban dream and leavitt town really, after world war ii became the model for the new su bur ba and the local contract that we grew up with. and also we've heard so much mischaracterization of people who are out of work. the moocher class, lazy, you know. it's them. it's not us. well, maybe it's -- so here you go into neighborhoods that look beautiful, that we would all like to live in, grow up in, nice houses, nice cars. and yet behind those doors people are kind of collapsing inside, disappring really. the idea was a snapshot that would humanize both the statistics that we repeat over and over but also like kind of break down it's them, it's somebody else. no, it's your neighbor, it's your friend, it's your family, it's us. >> al sharpton, you and i have both been lost on long island at different tim

en long island nueva york rafael pujols telemundo. >>> un juez impuso la fianza a george zimmerman, acusado de matar a trayvon martins, lo habÍa evitado el mes pasado luego que Él habÍa mentido en la corte sobre la cantidad de dinero que recaudaron a travÉs de la internet para poder pagar su defensa. ♪ (mÚsica) ♪. >>> el presidente, barack obama estÁ de gira por estados claves para su campaÑa electoral, mientras que el compaÑero de formula de su formula de su rival romney, sigue siendo un secreto, pero quiÉn de los dos conquistan a los hispanoss, quien son independientes. >>> si en ohio el barÓmetro ardÍa, el discurso del presidente, barack obama encendiÓ hoy a esta multitud de este estado electoralmente clave >>> sigo creyendo en ustedes y estoy apostando por ustedes afirmÓ, el paÍs estÁ apostando por o jaf ohio durante su gira dÍas, obama parece confiar en la apoyo de la clase trabajadora, a un 24 horas antes de el reporte sobre el desempleo. pero segÚn un reciente sondeo de. (nombre en inglÉs) el voto hispano que lo acompaÑÓ en el 2008 pudiera no estar tan seguro

>> no, i grew up in long island. >> jimmy: did you really, long island? >> mm-hmm. >> jimmy: ahh. beautiful, beautiful accent. >> they have one person. thank god for you. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: i love long island. always have fun out there. >> yes. i do, too. >> jimmy: i grew up upstate new york. >> in socrates. [ scattered cheers ] >> jimmy: wow. yeah. >> okay. two people, wow. we're really batting 1,000. >> jimmy: long island party. ratings right now are like -- [ laughter ] >> but i had a house for a long time outside of new paltz. >> jimmy: you did. >> i did. >> jimmy: i heard rumors of you at the coffee shop or something. that lorraine bracco, very nice, very beautiful. >> wow. >> jimmy: yeah. that's what they do. they -- they -- you know, in a small town. you've got to talk. >> that's true. >> jimmy: but, you were very nice to people. that's what i heard. >> i like to treat people the way they treat me. >> jimmy: yeah, good. >> i like to treat people -- >> jimmy: the way you want to be treated. >> no, wait a minute. i treat people the way i want to be treated. >> jimmy: yeah

. >>> july fourth celebration ended in tragedy off new york's long island. three children died when a yacht capsized in the long island sound. 24 other people went into the water but were rescued. investigators will raise the boat from 60 feet of water this week to determine what caused it to tip over. >>> on monday, hundreds of thousands of people around the world could be knocked off the internet because of a malicious computer virus. the fbi is advising consumers to check their computers before it's too late. to see if they're infected. teresa garcia has more on that. >> jake lewis works as a personal assistant in hollywood, which means he's on the internet more than 15 hours a day. he was alarmed to hear about the computer virus that could knock thousands of people off line. >> i have all my documents, my databases all start online. that's contact, that's scheduling, that's references. >> the fbi has been on the case since last year when agents busted a ring of computer hackers in estonia. the scam infected hundreds of thousands of computers around the w

the stranded bird is undergoing rehab thanks to the dramatic actions of a boater in long island. jennifer blowing an has that -- logan has that story. >> reporter: mitch kramer and dodge jesse have never made a rescue like this before. responding to a towboat call they saw something struggling in the distance. they were 10 miles from shore. mitch said his heart was racing. >> as i got closer, i saw a bird. i couldn't leave it there. so i decided to give it a shot and see if i could grab it. >> reporter: the exhausted frightened bird turned out to be a 1-year-old bald eagle, the venerable symbol of our nation sick and stranded in long island sound. >> it had about a 6-foot wingspan. it was very intimidating. >> the bald eagle was a lot bigger when i pulled it out of the water than i originally thought it was. >> reporter: he placed the thin bald eagle into the ship's cabin and immediately called his wife, an animal rehabilitator who was busy with swans and crows. >> we at first thought that the eagle was brown. it had eyes crusted over, very thin, was crawling with lice. >> report

they were in oyster bay, long island sound, watching fireworks when the weather changed. water became rough and the 36 foot yacht capsized. coast guard rescue teams and owners of private boats pulled people from the water. witnesses tell the post it was mayhem, parents fantically swimming around searching for their kids. the new york post reporting one of those who was missing was an 8-year-old girl. none of the passengers were wearing life jackets. it's not clear if one of the fatalities was someone who was hospitalized last night. aaron? >> saving a live is apparently not good enough to save the job of a lifeguard. tomas lopez was watching hollanddale beach when people started screaming about a swimmer drowning. well, he left to help and in doing that he left the zone he was supposed to patrol. he was fired. two other lifeguards say they were fired for the same reason and four other lifeguards said they had to resign over this. >> i was prepared for this. it's my job. >> the lifeguard company says it is reviewing that ing thaing t. the man who had to be rescued was take

so-called rust belt areas, long island? >> i think you're right and a lot of people have gone to the rust belt deindustrialized america. what we wanted to do is go to kind of the birth place of what we would think of as the suburban dream and leavitt town really, after world war ii became the model for the new su bur ba and the local contract that we grew up with. and also we've heard so much mischaracterization of people who are out of work. the moocher class, lazy, you know. it's them. it's not us. well, maybe it's -- so here you go into neighborhoods that look beautiful, that we would all like to live in, grow up in, nice houses, nice cars. and yet behind those doors people are kind of collapsing inside, disappearing really. the idea was a snapshot that would humanize both the statistics that we repeat over and over but also like kind of break down it's them, it's somebody else. no, it's your neighbor, it's your friend, it's your family, it's us. >> al sharpton, you and i have both been lost on long island at different t

. >> jennifer: that's a moment from the powerful new documentary hard times lost on long island which is currently airing on hbo. hbo on demand and hbo go. similar scenes are playing out in middle class communities all across the country. more than five million americans have been out of work for over six months. this film chronicles the human stories behind those numbers and joining me tonight from new york city is the director of hard times, marc levin. marc welcome into "the war room." >> thank you for having me. >> jennifer: you bet. so let's get started. why did you pick levittown new york, as the setting for the documentary? >> well, i looked at a number of films that had been done and as you know, there's been a lot done on the deindustrialization and the rust belt. the housing crisis also which hit very hard in florida las vegas, california. so we decided why not go to the heart and soul of the suburban dream. levittown, long island really, after world war ii, became the model for the new suburbia and the new social contract that if you worked hard, were responsible citizen, y

following breaking news on new york's long island, a yacht carrying 26 people from a fireworks display capsizes. this morning three children are dead. we'll get the latest in a live report. >>> also, it was the hottest fourth of july on record in a number of cities across the country, but relief could finally be on the way. we'll have details. >>> then a woman who had her baby delivered as she lay unconscious fighting for her life, six weeks later the woman is awake and just held her little girl for the first time. her husband will join us along with his newborn daughter for a live interview. >>> new details on katie holmes deshe decision to divorce tom cruise and how long she plotted the split. that's as we get started on this thursday here on "today." aaron, back to you, have a great day. >> you too, natalie. 6:38 is the time right now. ahead, the fireworks mishap that had a lot of people wondering, all right, what just happened? >>> plus, a story that a lot of people will be talking about today. a lifeguard that got fired for rushing to help rescue somebody. why he says he knew it w

why long island? >> well, it is really the birthplace of post world war ii modern is suburbia, so while there are regions where the housing crisis took a greater toll, we figures let's go to the heart of the american dream and see the fallout. >> the four subjects didn't fit my notion, but why do you think people will be surprised tonight? >> we are bombarded so much by sound bites that say they're la lazy, good for nothing, free loaders and i think when you start digging deeper and you meet people who have been dislocated by this crisis and through no fault of their own, you see a totally different story. these are people that had successful lives that have done well. and all of a sudden the rug has been pulled out from underneath them. and unlike a catastrophe like an earthquake or a hurricane, it's not all in one moment. it's just kind of a slow motion of disintegration. not only is there tremendous financial hardship, but the psychic toll is enormous. >> the loss of one's job means the loss of hea

a yhat capsizes off new york's long island leaving several children dead. >> going into production, a new smaller ipad apple is said to be creating. >> the temperatures continue to skyrocket this noon. when we could get a break from the heat. your complete first warning weather forecast is still coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> it is mostly sunny and 96 in central maryland right now. your complete first warning weather forecast is still coming up. >>> three children are dead after a yhat capsizes in the waters off new york's long island. police say the bodies were recovered this morning from the water near oyster boy. the children ageing 8, 11 and 12, two dozen others involved have been rescued. weather are being investigated as possible factors. >>> apple may be gearing up for a new ipad launch. two companies that supply parts for the ipad have been told by apple to get ready for mass production of a new tablet computer. rumor has it the ipad mini may be in the works. the 7 or 8 inch version is meant to rival google's next -- nexus 7. >>> still ahead. an update on today's temperatures.

ahora mire esta tierna historia, la madre da a luz a estos mellizos en carreteras separadas en long island. >>los padres se detienen a esperar ambulancia, luego da a luz al segundo niño en la ambulancia, ambos pesaron 6 libras, ahora ya todos estan muy bien, y todos en la misma ruta. así decimos adios, mañana más noticias para ustedes en despierta américa y los noticieros, los esperamos.

why long island? >> well, it's the birth of post world war ii modern suburbia. so although there are regions in the country that have higher unemployment rates and where the housing crisis took a bigger toll, we figured let's go to the heart and soul of the suburban dream and see the fallout. >> the four subjects you focused on didn't fit my notion of the stereo typical folks on unemployment. i don't know what they says about me or what the vision might be, but in what ways do you think people might be surprised if they watch tonight? >> we're bombarded so much in the media scape by, you know, sound bites that say they're lazy, they're good for nothing. they're free loaders, the nature class. when you dig deeper and meet people who have been dislocated by this crisis and through no fault of their own, you see a totally different story. these are people who had successful lives, that have done well, come all oof a sudden, the rug is pulled out from underneath them, and unlike a catastrophe like an earthquake or hurricane, it's not all in one moment. it's a slow-m

. >> survivors are describing chaos on board a crowded yacht that cap sided off long island, new york killing three children. 27 people packed on the boat to watch fireworks wednesday night. the man piloting the 34-foot boat says lightning cracked and then the boat was slammed by a wave. the three children, two of them cousins were trapped in the cabin as the yacht sank. >> fire has hit the historic hershey park arena on the grounds of the theme park. the workers were putting a roof on when the three alarm fire broke out, the building where wilt chamberlain set an nba record scoring 100 points for the philadelphia warriors in a game against the new york knicks, 50 years ago. hard to believe that record still stands to wilt. that man broke all kinds of records. >> yes, he did. >> yes, he did. >> the man accused of killing trayvon martin has another chance to leave joil nail now t bond has been set. >> this time the bail was a lot higher. the judge was not too pleased with zimmerman's misstatements about how much money he actually had. abc is following the case and has the latest. good

. >> new details on that fourth of july tragedy off new york's long island, three children killed when a yacht capsized. this morning we'll hear from the man who was operating the boat at the time and lost his nephew in the accident. >>> then on a lighter note, we'll show you the pomp and circumstance in scotland as the queen bestowed the highest honor on her grandson, prince william. >>> our plaza crowd is getting ready for a concert from one of the best selling rappers in the business. yes, flo rida. >>> we begin with what to expect when we learn about the economic recovery from the jobs report. maria bartiromo. what are you looking for? >> the story overall was not a good one in terms of jobs. we had a terrible report last month. while expectations came down a bit, maybe the numbers beat the expectations. broadly speaking we're looking at a tough situation. companies are uncertain. they do not want to put new heads to the payroll, with the uncertainty of election year, not sure about tax policy, not sure about the regulatory environment. i would expect we continue to stay pretty hig

and she's getting off the long island railroad around midnight. her intention is to walk home. she doesn't make it very far from the train station before she is attacked. >> the next day, nassau county homicide detectives are called to a quiet neighborhood less than a mile south of the train station. >> he accosted margaret kierer right here right on the street. then dragged her up into the driveway here, into the backyard. that's where the actual homicide took place. then after he killed her, he dumped her between that chain link fence and the garage back there. >> and what did you do? >> i ritualistically killed her. >> tell me what that means. >> well, you make it a situation that the crime had to be symbolic or a crime had to send a message to a bigger picture in my estimation, and it had to be such that it be devastating. if that was the case, it happened in the bronx or it happened to a minority, it probably wouldn't have hit the front pages. it was intentional, it was deliberate, it was calculated. and above all what it was, it was pure evil. >> he described his behavior

a live look glen cove, new york on long island. the mayor of that town has said his town was clobbered by the storms that rolled through. megan? the immediate problem after that storm clearing all the massive trees that brought down the power lines. you're looking at a live picture right at jersey but they tell us that street lights were knocked out and it was a problem throughout the night. along long island the sound there the storms flattened a large gazebo being used for shelter by four people. thankfully though they had no injuries. >>> now as a reminder to you you can always stay up to the minute on the forecast and ahead of the storm. and all times. just a touch of the butt don town loading -- button down boding the weather apps and it's also available an the smart devices. just text wmar to 46988. >>> five things to know this morning. voters in florida get the hear from president obama today. he travels to jacksonville and west palm beach, florida to campaign ahead for them in the next two days. >>> and space louvres gettin

i go home to long island and a type of what i believe for a 1100 of my best jokes. two days later, i have to go back to the city for my meeting with lorne. i was so nervous. what should i wear? well, hip new show. i will dress hip. i put on my father's marroon polyester leisure suit. i looked like a big blood clot. i went to the city. he was staying at the plaza mattel. my meeting was like at 2:00 p.m. i do not want to be late. i was really nervous. i got there like at 7:00 a.m. in the morning. i see a pay phone, 1975, no cell phone. i went to the pay phone and call billy crystal. he had been talking to lorne about the possibility of being on this new show. i said, do you have any hints you can give me so i can have a leg up in this meeting? he said, well, he used to write for woody allen. he used to produce monty python specials. oh, and he hates mimes. lorne hates mimes. the bulls up a chair and give him this poem with 1100 jokes in it. he opens it. he reads the first joke. egos, u -- he goes, uh-huh, good. then he closes the book. i wrote 1100 jobs over two days,

in fact, nassau county in long island, they alone think they lost $13 million. this is one municipality in the toronto. he went on to say about 75% of major cities have contracts linked to this libor: baltimore's city solicitor said this. the injure we suffered during the time we suffered it hurt more because we were challenged budgets tearily every dollar we lost due to illegal conduct was a dollar we couldn't pay to keep open recreation centers or to pay police officers. this effected at least 75% of us, at least through the city governments, etc. because they took money basically out of our pocket. now i'm going to bring in an expert here on this. it happens to be our very own eliot spitzer. governor spitzer great to have you here. >> it is always here to chat with you. >> cenk: all right, let me start by saying this. they've got a multi national bank saying this is the banking industry's tobacco moment. it's that big. do you agree with that? do you think that the scandal is that gigantic? >> eliot: i think the scandal is that big. i think of all the multiple

. >>> july fourth celebration ended in tragedy off new york's long island. three children died when a yacht capsized in the long island sound. 24 other people went into the water but were rescued. investigators will raise the poet from 60 feet of water this week to determine what caused it to tip over. >>> on monday, hundreds of thousands of people around the world could be knocked off the internet because of a malicious computer virus. the fbi is advising consumers to check their computers before it's too late. teresa garcia has more on that. >> jake lewis works as a personal assistant in hollywood, which means he's on the internet more than 15 hours a day. he was alarmed to hear about the computer virus that could knock thousands of people off line. >> i have all my documents, my databases all start online. that's contact, that's scheduling, that's references. >> the fbi has been on the case since last year when agents busted a ring of computer hackers in a stone i can't. the scam infected hundreds of thousands of computers around the world and controlled

that is the latest live from long island this morning. heather, back to you. >> all right, thank you so much. well, it is now 45 minutes after the hour. >> and not good news for all your summer barbecues, the summer drought that's hitting much of the midwest may now be hitting your wallet. fox news network -- business network's diane mecado explains. >> good morning. agriculture experts say consumers can expect to see higher food prices next year thanks to persistent hot, dry weather. that's already affected farm production in indiana and is likely to do the same in other states across the country. now, while the weather has strong production of produce like corn and soybeans it's dried up pastures for cattle feed. everything from meat to dairy and even salad dressing will cost you more. we're not just talking about small hikes here. researches at the purdue cooperative extension service say beef prices could rise by as much as 10%. as for produce, it's a little harder to predict how much that will go up because another factor to account

we are learning about the victims from the yacht that capsized in long island. all three children ages 12 and younger. we will talk more about that tragedy and the lives lost. another democrat sitting out the party convention this summer. more than a dozen. where is the love for president obama? melissa harris perry sounds off. it's time to live wider awake. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long. the revolutionary recharge sleep system... from beautyrest. it's you, fully charged. sven's home security gets the most rewards ofny small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2%

the deadly yacht accident off the shores of long island, new york. >> the three children killed, the boat captain's explanation, and also some tough questions now from investigators. it's friday, july 6th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >>> good friday morning. i'm sunny hostin in for paula faris. >> friday, a beautiful word. friday. just rolls off the tongue. i'm rob nelson. good morning, everybody. survivors are describing a chaotic scene aboard that crowded yacht. also ahead, the battleground. a bus tour. president obama rolling through two swing states as the big june jobs report comes out today. >>> and from mitt romney, could his running mate be a woman? his wife ann gave a very interesting interview. he may be looking at females out there for his running mate. which really would reshape the race in an interesting way. and hope they don't make the same mistakes as mccain four years ago with that pick. we will see. >> we'll see. >>> also coming up, "seventeen" magazine gets the message from a 14-year-old girl. why a demand for realistic photos got action.

this is just over an hour and a half. >> my name is david steinberg and privileged to be from long island university. i'm privileged to welcome all of you to what is the beginning phase of the 63rd george polk awards. it's extraordinary that and it's gained strength and stature over the last decades. this remarkable man who was pursuing a story and was murdered because of it and then, of course, was there a complicated second half as an investigation was launched as to who killed george polk leading to some of america's most distinguished journalists participating at the very beginning of the cold war. so we are proud and privileged to keep his memory alive and to celebrate him and this evening's activity, i think we started, ralph and i were discussing whether it was 21 or 20 years ago. i think i may have said 20 years last year and i'll say 21 now and it's certainly in that universe and what we suddenly realized was that at a lunch which will take place tomorrow where everyone is allowed, i think, a minute and a half to speak and some obey and some don't. there is a sense of rush and so

island. >>los padres se detienen a esperar ambulancia, luego da a luz al segundo niño en la ambulancia, ambos pesaron 6 libras, ahora ya todos estan muy bien, y todos en la misma ruta. así decimos adios, mañana más noticias para ustedes en despierta américa y los noticieros, los esperamos.

we are learning about the victims from the yacht that capsized in long island. all three children ages 12 and younger. we will talk more about that tragedy and the lives lost. another democrat sitting out the party convention this summer. more than a dozen. where is the love for president obama? melissa harris perry sounds off. it's time to live wider awake. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long. the revolutionary recharge sleep system... from beautyrest. it's you, fully charged. sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2

>> the long island tea pops. >> these are the favorites. >> happy friday. happy holiday. >> this is good. >> we'll have the latest buzz from hollywood. >> piper paribot, darling girl. >> and the joy fit club. have an awesome weekend. we love you. thank you for joining us every day. see you for fun day monday. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

the director of "hard times lost on long island" joins us. "starting point" begins right now. ♪ they want to get my on the ceiling ♪ ♪ it's just a matter of time >> that's from my play list, the black keys, "gold on the ceiling." marsha blackburn, jose baez, who represented casey anthony, the author of a new book about it called "presumed guilty" and richard, former senior adviser to president clinton and a writer for new yorker.com. happy monday. our starting point this morning president obama just a few hours away from making an announcement about extending the bush-era tax cuts and republicans are accusing him of waging, here it is, class warfare before election day. the president will surround himself with working class americans when he holds an event in the white house rose garden today. he'll be calling for an extension of the bush tax cuts only for families earning $250,000 a year or less. >> so the president's totally committed to getting rid of the tax cut for those making $250,000 and above? >> let's make progress on our spen

why long island? >> well leavitttown is the birthplace of modern suburbia. so there are regions where there are higher unemployment rates. and there are regions where the housing crisis took a greater toll. we figured let's go to the heart and soul of the american dream, the suburban good life. and see the fallout of this great recession. >> the four subjects that you focused on didn't fit my notion of the stereotypical folks who are on unemployment. i don't know what that says about me or what the stereotypical vision might be. but in what way do you think people will be surprised when they watch tonight? >> well, we are bombarded so much in the mediascape by, you know, sound bites that say they're lazy, good for nothing, free loaders, the moocher class. and i think when you start digging deeper and you meet people who really have been dislocated by this crisis and through no fault of their own, you see a totally different story. these are people that had successful lives that have done well and come all oof a sudden,e rug is pulled out from underneath them

carolyn gusav reports for wjz, the boat will be raised from the bottom of long island sound today. >> reporter: a police boat guards the accident scene below the wreckage of a 34-foot silverton. the candy 1. out for july 4th, to enjoy fireworks, the cabin cruiser capsized. 27 people were tossed into the long island sound, three miles off covenack. there was a panicked effort to save all. but three never made it out. >> the boat just started to turn. and i don't know if it was an accident. >> reporter: the man at the helm, sal orlano, lost a niece and nephew. through a closed door at his home, he told me there was no obvious weight overhead. the boat just started to turn over. the victims are all children. 12-year-old david aurliano, 11- year-old harley trainer, and 8- year-old victoria gaines. all three were found without life vests. life preservers are not required inside, but must be on board for all. >> if you have 27 people, there is a requirement that you have 27 jackets. >> reporter: police are looking to see if regulations were followed. >> the boat could have sunk for many rea

police are planning to raise the 34-foot-long yacht from long island sound today as they continue to search for answers. an uncle of one of the victims was actually driving the boat. this morning, he gave his version of what happened. >> it was dark. i didn't see it. just happened. >> reporter: one of the two men driving the yacht filled with fourth of july fireworks watchers tells news 12 long island that first he saw bolts, then a wave. >> it was two lightning bolts, and i told my nephew, who was in front, rocco, did you see that? he said, yeah, uncle sal, and the next thing you know, we were turning, and we just kept turning. and everybody was in the water and chaos. >> reporter: sal's nephew was one of more than two dozen family members or friends tossed into long island sound. rescue divers could not get 12-year-old david, 8-year-old victoria gaines, or 11-year-old harley trainer. all were trapped inside the submerged boat's cabin. police have ruled out alcohol as a factor, but tell nbc news, they are looking closely at how many people were on the 34-foot boat. >> we're looking

police are planning to raise the 34-foot-long yacht from long island sound today as they continue to search for answers. an uncle of one of the victims was actually driving the boat. this morning, he gave his version of what happened. >> it was dark. i didn't see it. just happened. >> reporte one of the two men driving the yacht filled with fourth of july fireworks watchers tells news 12 long island that first he saw bolts, then a wave. >> it was two lightning bolts, and i told my nephew, who was in front, rocco, did you see that? he said, yeah, uncle sal, and the next thing you know, we were turning, and we just kept turning. and everybody was in the water and chaos. >> reporter: sal's nephew was one of more than two dozen family members or friends tossed into long island sound. rescue divers could not get 12-year-old david, 8-year-old victoria gaines, or 11-year-old harley trainer. all were trapped inside the submerged boat's cabin. police have ruled out alcohol as a factor, but tell nbc news, they are looking closely at how many people were on the 34-foot boat. >> we're looking at