be leaving for summer vacation in a few hours but he will not be able to escape a new string of negative reports about the struggling economy, welcome, i'll megyn kelly. first the labor department releases new unemployment numbers and it's not good, the overall number of americans seeking unemployment benefits is back now above the 400,000 mark, where it's been for the most of the last three years, housing numbers also taking a big hit today, home sales, hitting a new low for the year, as well, despite the fact that mortgage rates are the lowest they have been in 40 years, and it gets worse. just one day after president obama expressed confidence that the united states will not be entering into another recession, morgan stanley is warning the complete opposite, it says the u.s. is in -- is, in fact, dangerously close to a second recession, and stock indices have been way down since the opening bell. gerri willis of the fox business network is with me to put that into perspective

gerri, why is morgan stanley saying this? >> it makes a whole lot of sense. after seeing what's going on in europe, those markets selling off overnight, those worried about the debt there, there was talk that france might get an s&p downgrade t. hasn't happened but even the efforts from angela merkel from germany and sarkozy from france, coming together, talking about what happens next, there's no fix and our products, a quarter of our manufacturing products go to europe, worry that if europe falls into recession we will, too, morgan stanley basically said hey, we think there's a possibility, a big possibility, of a global recession, not for one year but for two years. megyn: how will we see that here in the snuns we're already suffering under 9.1% unemployment, we're talking about the housing numbers and so on. how will we see the united states further impacted if that happens? >> well, we're already seeing all the signs of a recession. we've seen our stock markets

sell off, treasuries are selling like hot cakes out there, despite what s&p says. as you said, the housing market down, 3.5%, a recent report showing that 74 of the nation's biggest cities, it's cheaper to rent -- it's cheaper to buy than it is to rent, completely contrary to what you think. obviously, there is the employment numbers, 408,000 people just this week applying for unemployment benefits. not good news. this plays out in the jobs markets because companies won't hire, they've had the cash but now are warning about the back half of next year, about what their earnings are going to look like. it's just not a good scenario and i think we're already seeing those signs cropping up today. that's why you see over my shoulder here, the dow jones industrial average, down nearly 400 points. megyn: let me ask you this and we'll let you go, gerri. it seems like the got has tried and failed repeatedly under both parties to do something about this housing market. they don't seem to be able to fix it. >> no. megyn: is there something they're holding back, is

there something that people buzz about in the business community as the silver bullet that they haven't yet tried? >> you know, you see mortgage rates hit new, all-time lows this week. you would think that would be a market solution to this problem, right? if you can refi, buy at the lowest rates ever, fantastic. but banks aren't being -- they're being stingy with their loans, they've really raised requirements for people applying for loans, so that hasn't worked. it doesn't matter what the bush administration tried to do, what this president has tried to do. nothing has been able to really change what's going on in the markets, and in fact, it's probably slowed things down, slowed a recovery. it might be better if government completely pulls back and let the market take its lumps and recover from there. megyn: it is true, my husband and i were applying for mortgage approval back before our daughter was born and i thought it was beyond the pale when they asked to see an ultrasound photo at the bank. they go over and above now! it's almost that bad! creaz iness. gerri, thank you. >> thank you. megyn: you can watch gerri

and the willis report, week nights, 5:00 p.m. eastern on the fox business network. well, president obama also facing a new low in the polls since taking office today, his approval rating on the economy, sinking in a recent gallup poll to 26 percent, just 26 percent of americans approve of the way he is handling the economy. that is down 11 percentage points since the last poll by gallup, which was back in mid march -- may, those numbers obviously not good for the president, who is seeking a second term, and they come as one leading democrat in the house yesterday started challenging the president's track record on the economy and jobs. i say a leading democrat, raising questions about the president's track record. coming up, we'll have a debate on that. well, we've also got breaking news now on reports that the department of justice is investigating the credit agency standard & poor's. elizabeth mcdonald from the fox business network has been -- has been digging deep into that. let's look at this, s&p has downgraded the united states' credit rating two

weeks ago, now we learned that not only have they been investigating the united states, the united states justice department has been investigating them. >> that's right, megyn. this has been an open civil investigation into s&p that sources close to the matter tells fox business started before the downgrade. but what's interesting and striking here, megyn, is the fact that henry waxman, a democrat in congress, at the house reform and oversight government committee launched a probe and a hearing into s&p and the other ratings agency back in the fall of 2008, so this has been outstanding, this so-called probe. by the way, the sec -- megyn: and the problem was s&p graded these mortgage securities aaa, said their great, awesome, and a lot of people relying on that, the theory goes, then went out and invested in them and then it collapsed. that's why the investigation is ongoing. >> essentially that the watchdogs didn't bark and s&p being one of those watchdog, in other words, s&p, moody's, got triple the amount of their revenues

growth from rating these subprime securities aaa when they were really toxic securities and junk, in other words, payments were not coming in, so s&p was called in before henry waxman's committee where we saw e-mails at the time revealed in the fall 2008 statements from s&p and the other rating agencies such as we have -- it was structured by a cow, we would rate it, things such as, you know, where is -- where are the ratings agencies going to be on this after this -- the ratings go out. megyn: structured by cows and we would rate it and let's hope we're wealthy and retired by the time this house of cards falters. >> the point being that this was known in the fall of 2008. so why did it take three years for all of the sudden the department of justice to come out and say yes, we do have an ongoing civil investigation into s&p? the timing is striking. by the way -- >> megyn: by the way, people are questioning the fact of whether the investigation going on was leaked now because they want to satisfy

people that the government is doing something to standard & poor's after it did something to the united states? >> that's the sentiment i'm hearing from people i talked to on wall street. why now. in other words, megyn, we've known this is a massive accounting and security fraud that was perpetrated by wall street on the investing public. the s&p did not raise the red flag, and we knew about this going into 1998. in other words, the accounting rules were so lax it allowed the banks to basically frant load these junk securities even though the cash flow from mortgages were not coming in until years down the road. that's major accounting fraud. so the s&p continues to rate these bonds stellar, aaa, so does moody's, fitch, and we have e-mails saying from the ratings agencies these deals are ridiculous and vanguard new about it, the mutual fund company. megyn: the question is dov investigating the s&p. greta van u.s.ern wrote a piece telling about how she's outraged that it's just a civil version she

wants it to be a criminal investigation, or so her piece would suggest, saying this isn't harsh enough. >> securities fraud can tip into a criminal investigation. by the way, we have also confirmed from sources close to the matter that italian authorities did rate s&p's -- raid s&p's offices in milan and took documents. is this a global now problem? possibly, yes. and s&p has confirmed they have numerous subpoenas and ongoing discussions with regulators but to their line -- this is interesting, this is what the ratings agency will say in their defense, they will say they have first amendment rights here, this is free speech, these are opinions that are protected by free speech, and they can only rely -- their opinions are only as good as the information they get from the government or wall street firms that want the ratings. megyn: that is undermined by let's hope we're all wealthy and retired by the time this house of cards falters. >> that's right. megyn: we'll see how they get past that one behind closed doors.

liz, thank you. >> sure. megyn: log on to foxnews.com for more details and read the full article on the -- from the doj on the investigation. that's foxnews.com. also developing this hour there's been an arrest in a horrifying murder in a quiet new jersey town. we told you about this yesterday. police say that a team of gunmen targeted a young family out for a walk with their three-year-old son in a stroller. three shots were heard. now a 28-year-old mother is dead, and the child's father is fighting for his life. gregg jarrett, here with the very latest. gregg: police initially thought this could be a hate crime driven by antimuslim sentiment. now, though, investigators think a love triangle may have motivated the assassins. details are scarce here but our sister publication new york post saying a custody was taken into custody last night. najish nirani and her husband were taking their son for a stroll in the new

jersey community of boonton, suddenly they were ambushed by a blaze of gunfire, the woman killed instantly, a bullet to the heart and her husband, seriously injured, he remains hospitalized. four gunshot wounds. the child luckily, amazingly, unharmed, though covered with his mother's blood. verbais told police there were three attackers, they say the target appears to be specific, the family is muslim, was wearing pakistani clothing when they went for a walk after the istar that brings daily fastings during the season of ramadan, they had been visiting family in booneton, a tiny edge of passaic county, a large pakistani community and though police were considering the possibility of a bias crime, cops believe the assas -- assassins may have been motivated by an extramarital affair according to a law enforcement source. no details about this but a

neighbor of the couple said they were having marital problems, a pending divorce, another woman recently seen with the husband. relatives say the couple were wed in an arranged marriage, six years ago, he graduated with honors from columbia university, studying for his doctoral degree. the two boys, five and three, haven't been told that their mother is dead. back to you megyn. megyn: that's awful. gregg, thank you. a new hit for the jobs market, new jobless claims, back above the 400,000 mark, and we will have more on that in just a bit, as president obama is about to leave for his summer vacation. good idea? good optics? we'll talk about it. plus, sarah palin has a few words about the president's vacation and his decision to wait until september to unveil his jobs plan. she joins us live next hour. and, new questions today about the future of the real housewives of beverly hills series, after the husband of one cast member commits suicide. should brafo pull this show from the air? we're told the second season

which has been filmed was undergoing at the time he took his own life is now in question. we'll get the very latest. >> the network has to create ratings, and that it -- once a controversy starts to exist, they throw kerosene on it, and this controversy became part of the story line and the show, in the second season, deals a lot with failed attempts of reconciliation.

megyn: new details today surrounding the suicide of russell armstrong. he was the estranged husband of real housewives of beverly hills star taylor armstrong. armstrong hanged himself earlier this week, and now his mother is accusing the bravo network of playing a role in her son's death. joann hotchkiss said the reality show brought him down, those are her words, and that he was worried about how he would be portrayed when season two premiered weeks from now, he also suffered from financial problems and was said to be

depressed about the end of his marriage, taylor armstrong filed for divorce after telling at least one friend and a magazine that her husband had physically abused her. bravo has not responded to the crit civil and has not said whether it will cancel this season's episodes of the hit show. president obama heads off on vacation, promising to come back with a jobs plan to rescue the economy. as we showed you at the top of the hour the new weekly jobless numbers are not good, they could use help. unemployment claims are back above 400,000, up 9000 from a week ago. jobless claims have now been above the 400,000 mark for 153 of the past 161 weeks. critics say they have heard the president promise job creation many times before and he's already signed at least four major jobs bills. >> today does mark the beginning of the end, the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for americans scrambling in the wake of layoffs.

>> our economy is now growing again, and we may soon be adding jobs instead of losing them. the jobs bill i'm signing today is intended to help accelerate that process. >> that's why i'm pleased today to sign into law a bill that will strengthen american manufacturing and american jobs. >> i began fighting for months to pass this jobs bill. >> the most significant step on behalf of our small businesses in more than a decade and once i sign it it's going to speed relief to small businesses across this country right away. megyn: so should americans have faith that the new jobs plan in september will alleviate the jobless problem? joining me now, nationally syndicated radio host and fox news contributor and my friend, mike gallagher, and nancy skinner, also a talko radio host. you and i have made a lot of news this week. welcome back, you are a friend and i'm glad you came back! >> i even have my helmet

on! megyn: thank you both so much. let me ask you that question, mike, should we have faith? >> well, of course not. i mean, we'd like to have faith. we all have faith. but what's notable, megyn, is who the critics for president obama are becoming i played a clip on my radio show today of representative maxine waters who was at a congressional black caucus event this week in detroit and this is a liberal democrat who is squarely -- has been squarely in president obama's corner and is saying mr. president, we're impatient, the black community is impatient, we need jobs, and we've got to tell the president that. and so you know, i think it's very, very notable to see who's criticizing president obama for his lack of action, i think this entire, as you said, the optics of going on vacation to martha's vineyard and promising to give us yet another speech about another jobs plan when he gets back from vacation is incomprehensible, i don't know that rahm emanuel if he's still would have put up with this.

someone has given this guy lousy advice and the american people are saying enough is enough. megyn: nancy, of what it? our own chris stierwalt who writes power play says normally i would defend any president for going on vacation because they need vacation, they have to rest and relax and probably more so than anybody else, but even he said that it is the optics of it, that it looks bad to go off on a ritsy vacation, to a house that's 50 240ud a -- $50,000 a week and martha's vineyard, the chic place, while so many americans, 16 plus million americans are out of work or only part-time work and they're thinking he doesn't understand me. >> mitt romney said he was unemployed, too, to a group of unemployed workers. hey, vacation is off the tail. president bush was on vacation one third of his time in office. megyn: and no more so than president obama in their respective terms. >> he has -- he has to face crisis after crisis.

what mike said, my dear friend as well, said is incorrect in that he's not just giving another speech when he gets back. he has a substantive plan for jobs. decifit, decifit, debt ceiling, debt ceiling, no one was talking about jobs, now he has a substantial plan. megyn: why not, wasn't he? >> why -- i'm sorry? >> megyn: why wasn't president obama talking about jobs, leading the discussion on jobs? >> he was. but the whole media, the whole house republicans, it of the debt ceiling that was taken hostage, that caused the downgrade of our rating by the s&p, that was the national conversation. >> but nancy, if i may -- >> -- what he's doing, he's got a plan, and we will see -- he's going to present a plan on labor day. megyn: go ahead, mike. >> after labor day -- i don't think it's going to be on labor day, he has more ice cream to eat at martha's vineyard then.

but nancy, after all, you saw the montage of what megyn played of all the speeches, that goes back to 2010 of president obama promising more jobs, i'm going to sign this jobs plan. the problem is, it's not working, nancy. and to say that, you know, the decifit and all this was inherited again? you guys are -- liberals are sort of in opposite world. i mean, you argue that food stamp social security a form of economic stimulus. it just doesn't make sense. >> megyn: sorry to cut this short -- short, we're up against a hard break. >> we need more. megyn: thanks to both of you. and coming up, we will have more developments on the situation in aruba and the missing woman there. the news there is getting very ugly.

megyn: we are learning of a new death blamed on a rare brain eatingaminea, this -- ameb anchts this latest case claimed the life of man in his 20 necessary louisiana, health officials found the ameba in his tap water which they say he used to rinse sinuses. people do that now. so far there are two other case, involving nine-year-old christian strickland who died after coming into contact with the amoeba on the first day of fishing trip, cart courtney nash died after swiming in a florida lake. the cdc says cases like these are extremely rare, they have confirmed only about 120 cases since identifying the amoeba in the 1960s. nearly all of the cases were fatal. pope benedict xvi arriving in spain celebrating the youth day festival, right now joining a procession of the young and faithful from around the globe but this event has not

been without controversy. greg burke joins me live on the phone from madrid. greg. >> reporter: megyn, that's right, pope benedict is getting his formal entry into madrid now. there was a small ceremony at the airport earlier today, now he's going to get the keys to the city. this is the first of groups leading the young people, and you can hear them shouting as he makes his way in the popemobile. some of the people have been waiting all day, about half a million are here for youth day, the reason why pope benedict is here. lots of enthusiasm, you can see that on the streets, definitely, but the trip has not been without controversy, mostly because of the pope, in such economic troubles, with 20 percent unemployment, there's been a small demonstration saying this is not the kind of -- not the

time to be spending that kind of money on a trip like this. now, it's hard to explain the sort of rock star enthusiasm for this # four-year-old pope. [-- >> [interruption] >> megyn: thank you. that was a very noisy phone line from madrid. we appreciate the report. he was once the prime suspect in the disappearance of natalee holloway and now joran van der sloot is sitting in a jail cell, again, charged with the murder of a young woman in peru or at least facing potential charges of murder, but now we're learning he could soon walk free. a stunning twist of fate in today's kelly court. plus, texas governor and republican presidential hopeful rick perry, already exchanging jabs with president obama. so is he the best gop candidate to take on the president? sarah palin weighs in on the matchup when she joins us

live, coming up. and several troubling new reports out on the economy today. the president is already taking serious hits over his handling of the economy, including from his own party. could this cost him his reelection bid? a fair and balanced debate on that, next. >> the congressional black caucus, we're supportive of the president.

megyn: fox news alert now on the economy. the dow is losing more ground this hour. take a look at that. now off roughly 430 points. down 429 at the moment. and just yesterday, we saw a new round of troubling poll numbers for president obama. including how americans feel he's doing when it comes to handling the economy. look at this. just 26 percent of those polled say they approve of how he is handling the economy. twenty-six. that is a new low for president obama. this poll comes just one day after a leading house democrat challenged the president's record on jobs. take a listen to congresswoman maxine waters at a town hall in detroit: >> the congressional black caucus loves the president, too. we're supportive of the president. and we get attacked. so what we want to do is we want to give the president every opportunity.

>> how long? >> -- to show -- to show -- what he can do, and what he's prepared to lead on. we want to give him every opportunity. but our people are hurting. >> yes they are! >> unemployment is unconscionable. >> it is unconscionable. >> we don't know what the strategy is. we don't know why this trip that he's been on in the united states, we don't know about that, but what we are saying to you is we're politicians, we're elected officials, we're trying to do the right thing and the best thing. when you let us know if it's time to let go, we'll let go. megyn: and some shouted let go in response to that statement. joining me is ben ferguson and rob thompson, a radio talk show host. guys, what this suggests is the president's own coalition, i mean, this is a top democrat in the house, is fractures, that -- fracturing, that there is

dissension among the ranks. >> look at her quote, we don't know what his strategy is. that's -- i mean, i can't say it better myself. the american people i think are realizing this. and she's even saying we're ready and willing to unleash on the president when the african-american community gives us permission to do because we know you like him, but she said it, his own caucus, his own members, his own team, it doesn't know what his strategy is. that's why the economy is stumbling right now. you can't blame bush forever, like they've tried to do, and now they realize he's in charge, we don't have a game plan, we don't even know what the strategy is but the good news is the president is on vacation and he'll come back and tell you after his vacation. that's sad. megyn: rob, what does it suggest to you? obviously black voters throughout the presidency has been devout to the president, he's had over # on percent approval ratings among that group of voters which is way beyond what he's gotten from any other group and that exchange seems to suggest that that

coalition may be fracturing as well, and that the risk, according to most political pundits is not that those voters are going to vote republican but that they'll stay home in november. >> i think that's a valid point. first of all while you mate say a fracturing, it's disappearing, and we're waiting for answers, all of us are. i'll be quite frank, democrats and republicans both. but we have to understand the situation we're in. the president has done his dead level best to do what he could to work with the congress, he did sign a package that did offer a tremendous amount of money to different states that were willing to take advantage of it, some turned it down, some took it. my very own governor, governor perry who is running against him who used that very stimulus money to grow the government and use the stimulus where it could be used best, in the government to create government jobs, and create infrastructure. there has been a plan laid forth, there has been a plan actually used and it actually has worked. >> so you're telling me that you -- >> he's taken it and run with it.

certainly there is a -- >> megyn: wait a -- let ben jump in and then back to you after rob. >> that's the only people that are -- >> rob -- rob. >> megyn: earth to rob. wow. go ahead, ben. >> rob, are you on some top secret e-mail list from president barack obama that you know what he's thinking while congressmen that work with him every day does not know what his plan is, does not know what he's thinking? what you heard from the congressional black caucus is the thing you're hearing from average americans. we're unemployed, the economy is bad, you're not creating jobs, you don't even have a plan to create jobs, we don't even know what your plan is. so you're telling me that you have some top secret information that his own congressional leaders don't even know what it is? i mean, can you spin it that bad when the economy looks like this? megyn: go ahead, rob. >> actually, i am on that top secret list and i'll forward you a copy! megyn: forward it to me, too! >> and forward it to maxine waters! >> that's the situation we're in. the president capitulated to a congress that said let's

not tax the wealthy, they're the job creators, give them the money, they'll create the jobs and the president said all right, you do it. megyn: interesting thing. let me ask you this. let me ask you this. ben. >> -- absolutely nothing, in fact, one of the wealthiest men in the country said why are we doing what we're doing, why did you capitulate. that's because he had no choice. megyn: let me shift. this is -- rob, you are making it tough on me. >> if you want jobs, you're going to have to -- >> megyn: he doesn't hear this. >> is there a mute button? >> megyn: go, go, go! >> it's not working now and it has -- >> megyn: there's no way he can hear me. >> whatever perry says, it has worked. federal -- >> people are still waiting for jobs and he will not shut up! megyn: let's listen, ben. >> of course, but it can be done. there is a plan in place. you just have to take advantage of it. megyn: wow, he is good. that is how you get your air time in on a ssegment, ladies and gentlemen! my polices. ben. >> he won't stop talking! megyn: listen, ben, i'm going to give you the last

word. let me ask a question before you do. the leaks about the president's program says he's essentially going to want a third stimulus program, going to want a bailout package aimed at public sector jobs, public works projects, fixing up old rails, so on, so forth, and the president is going to say we're going to pay for it by making adjustments, modest adjustments to entitlement programs. but his plan seems to be more spending, which he believes does work. he still believes in the stimulus and he believes that this is another way of getting the economy going again. if the republicans -- why would it be unfair for the president to pin it on the gop? >> look, we're not living in the 1920s, '30s or '40s when it comes to creating jobs, we're going to build some new road and most americans understand that. this is proof that the president just like rob, they just think if they falk faster and keep talking, somehow people are going to believe it, people out of work, they're hurting.

the president doesn't have the votes to get this passed. he's going to try to blame everybody but at the end of the day, he's still the united states of america and his own party says he doesn't have a plan so you got to look at the -- at president and say did the first stimulus work, no, did the second stimulus work, no, the average american can figure out spending money, getting us into debt is not working and that's the reason he's on vacation right now, because i don't think he knows what else to do. megyn: rob, i will give you the last word. but it's only a two-hour show. >> there's nothing to add to what i said and i don't think ben did himself any good, so i'll leave it at that. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> he's the micro machineman! >> megyn: there they go! a new twist in the case of an american woman who's gone missing in aruba. she is presumed dead. coming up, big new developments with a possible motive, and the new evidence that police found on a camera that has turned up. former detective mark furman is here and he is with us today. >> she's one of the best

known women in american radio, howard stern's long time sidekick. up next, a break in the hunt for the guy who she says almost killed her. also, the epa, seeking to crack down on farmers by forcing them to limit dust? really? a fair and balanced debate on the dust drama. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ and the tractor keeps rolling. >> ♪ >> ♪

megyn: a new jersey man is facing charges that he hit a car being driven by robin quivers and took off, quivers is a long time psychic of long time radio host howard stern, the accident happened on sunday, on the jersey shore, witnesses were able to get crocker's license number as he drove away.

quivers was not hurt thankfully in the accident. >> shocking new developments in the presumed death of an american woman in aruba, robin gardner mysteriously disappeared from the island a few weeks ago, the associated press is now reporting that the suspect in the case, her travel companion, gary giordano, tried to cash a $1.5 million accidental death policy that it broke early they are week he had taken out on gardner before being taken to the island. we are learning that aruban police are looking into explicit photos of robin gardner that they say they found on giordano's camera and it's not clear whether those cameras were con essential. mark furman is here with us now with new insight on this case, former homicide detective, thank you very much for being with us. so i mean -- >> -- good morning, megyn. megyn: they're both bombshells but let's go to the life insurance policy. you take that out, we learned this week that he had taken a $1.5 million

insurance policy and two days after he reports her missing, missing, he goes to cash it in. >> well, it's pretty obvious, megyn, i think we have marriages across this country, everybody watching this show and predominantly the men are insuring themselves to a higher degree than their wife, but who insures their girlfriend or a casual acquaintance that they travel with before they go on a trip for an amount that's probably at least twice or three times the amount of most normal middle class households? it's an obvious motive for the death of that person. megyn: and then now we have this report that they discovered graphic photographs on giordano's digital camera that they describe and i'll just leave it as this, beyond pornographic, they are not sure whether she would have engaged in any of these acts willingly, but what we do know is she was seen with him two hours before he reported her missing, and

now there are real questions about under what circumstances those pictures were taken. >> megyn, the pictures can be corroborated in a consensual sense or a criminal sense at a later date. we need to kind of put those aside. what we need to look at is the common sense with what is going on. natalee holloway's case gave us an insight into the title -- the title habits of this island, they put many carcasses of animals out in different locations in aruba and everything comes back. megyn: they said she went missing -- >> snorkeling -- let's look at that. the mek anythings of the story is what the detectives look at. and i find that the absence of going to those mechanics in the news reports is pretty obvious. where did the snorkeling equipment come from? it needs to be fitted. there are six different sizes of snorkeling fins,

the face mask has to be fitted. she's not a snorkeler, that means it had to be purchased or rented, that means he would have had to purchase this or rent this. i look at this guy and i don't see an athlete. so i'm kind of wondering that if he went snorkeling, it was because he's on the island and because he rented or purchased it there. so the mek anythings of the investigation, if he can't produce sales slips or rental slips for that, she wasn't fitted, then she simply didn't go snorkeling. megyn: now there are reports out, this is being reported by abc news, that they were seen at this local business called the rum reef bar & grill near the area where he says she went missing snorkeling shortly before he reported her missing and that the restaurant staff said that she seemed woozy while they ate, that he later told police they had been drinking vodka and she had taken sleeping pills, and then they said that police found blood on a rock behind that rum reef bar & grill, which is the last place they were seen

together. i mean, we don't know whether it was her blood or whether he had anything to do with it, but it does seems like -- seem like the police are not buying her story and are trying to piece together another one. >> absolutely, they're not buying his story because none of it makes any sense. certainly somebody -- if he knows something about snorkeling or swimming, you don't drink alcohol or take any kind of prescribed drugs 57bd then go out into the water and try to go snorkeling and diving down below the surface 69 water. megyn: but how -- >> all these pieces -- >> megyn: if he's gotten rid of the body, and i don't want to presume guilt, but obviously they're looking at him and calling him a suspect, if there's no body, how do you -- that was the problem with natalee holloway. >> well, it's a problem with natalee holloway, but it's also a problem because of where you're trying to prosecute the case. in this country, there are dozens, if not hundreds of case, where the body was never discovered, never found, but the predon't rans of suspicious acts surrounding the

disappearance, if none of them, if none of them pan out to be a logical and innocent alibi, then you have to form a conclusion that they're trying to conceal some act, and if they don't come forward with what that act is, and you never find the body, you can presume that that person has been murdered and is deceased. megyn: they also report that while he was trying to get off the island of aruba early, in the wake of her disappearance, he inex lickably told officials that his travel companion was, quote, taking another flight, this is after he knows she's missing or the authorities might suggest she was dead, they say when he was arrested he was drenched in sweat. can that kind of thing be used against him 1234. >> -- against him? >> absolutely, consciousness of guilt. if the story is you went snorkeling and you look back and your snorkeling companion, your girlfriend, your traveling companion is not there, you can make a

safe bet, or you can make the assertion that you know that person is not taking another flight because they are missing behind you in the ocean. so by saying that, he's trying to get through customs, he's trying to get on a flight and get on united states soil, out of the jurisdiction of the aruban authorities. megyn: it's really disturbing, these details. mark furman, thank you very much for your expertise. >> thanks megyn. megyn: well, speaking of aruba, he has been and remains the main suspect in connection with the disappearance of natalee holloway, the american teen who went missing years ago in ayiewb and now joran van der sloot is behind bars overseas suspected of killing an aruban woman, so how is it that he could soon walk free? answers today. a new terror threat aimed at david letterman, what he said, and what's happening.

megyn: fox news alert, israel is now launching a new round of air strikes in retaliation for a string of deadly attacks dark the attacks along the israeli border with egypt, israel's military says teams of militants killed at least seven people, they targeted a group of soldiers on patrol, along with a busful of civilians and a car. leland vitter is live in southern israel with the very latest. leland. >> hi megyn. israel right now is on the highest security level it can be. we're standing at the last military checkpoint before the egyptian border and as the israeli chief of staff was giving a briefing at this checkpoint a couple of hours ago, there was another shootout with these militants as the security team whisked them out, that's how tense the situation is. these attacks were incredibly sophisticated and coordinated against two buses, an army chief and civilian car, seven israelis dead, at least 30 injured,

they were using everything from antitank weapons to heavy automatic machine guns and ieds. it appears, though, this was a gaza militant group and for the first time have been able to exploit the border between the sinai peninsula in egypt which is very, very desolate and unguarded with israel. they snuck across and launched this attack. we are told by israeli intelligence, their aim was to kidnap an israeli soldier, they failed in that. and the israeli military patrol went out and we're told killed at least seven of these militants but 13 are still on the run tonight, perhaps wearing gentlemen -- egyptian military uniforms which makes them tracking them down a little different. within a couple of this attack, they launched an air strike on gaza, killed five militants, members of the popular resistance committee, including their leader, which it's key to know israel has this kind of prayingal intelligence. also killed was a little girl. along this border, there is

a massive man hunt going on and make no mistake the israelis feel as though these militants have upped the ante in terms of a terrorist attack, in terms of what they call a terrorist attack on their soil, coming across and doing this in a new way. it's something israel has been warning about and now it's happened. megyn: leland vitter, thank you very much. unemployment is up today. we are getting new warnings about a possible recession and the next time you see the president he will be vacationing on martha vineyard. bret baier is next on that. and sarah palin is about to talk about the president's job plan and the republican candidates who want his job, and she'll do that right here, live, with me. in moments. plus, police say that dozens of high school students could have wound up dead. new details on a terrifying school plot. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] do you have questions about medicare?

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and prescription drug coverage all in one plan. remember, the annual enrollment period is earlier this year. call unitedhealthcare now or visit us online to get this free answer guide from unitedhealthcare medicare solutions. call right now. megyn: fox news alert. a triple threat to america's economy hours before president

obama heads out for a summer vacation. shock waves are rippling across wall street. the dow plummeting 500 points after the opening bell. look at it now. down 465 points. this following a dismal unemployment report. 9,000 more people than the previous week filing for job benefits. numbers from the national association realtors showed home sales dropped 3.5% in july, that's a new low for the year. bret baier is anchor of "special report." normally the president would be answering questions on this right now but he is not. the president is heading off to martha's vineyard. how does that play out politically? >> reporter: not well for the white house in no matter who looks at this, whether ideology is on the right other left other middle. the numbers are poor.

the dow on this rollercoaster ride does not help that. when you look at gallup polls that have just come out, one of them is very interesting. are you satisfied with the way the country is going? it's down to 11%. that's the lowest level since december of 2008. when you break that out into democrats it's 19% satisfied. republicans 9%. independents, 8%. it's the independent number that the white house is looking at because they see that, the independents as the way toward reelection. right now none of the numbers are lining up their way. megyn: it doesn't mean they don't like president obama. it means they don't like what they see in warn. it says america's satisfaction with the way things are going in the united states, right? >> reporter: sure, on that particular question. you look at the president's handling of the economy, it's at 26%.

26% aproper of the way president obama is handling the economy. when you go to independents, that number is down to 24% on job creation, 23% handle can the economy overall, and 19% on handling the deficit. that's independents specifically and that is specifically president obama's handling of the economy. megyn: what is the reality? what can he do? there has been so much discussion about him banging his head against a brick wall dealing with the republicans. you can blame him or you can applaud the brick wall. a lot of people don't. is there some truth here that there is a limit to what government can do to solve the jobless problem? report * sure there will be is one element to that that thereby aren't a lot of air owes in his quiver left. left.

they came forward with a restructuring of the tax code. and he initially ignored that proposal. whether he takes some of those ideas and puts them on paper as a plan in this september speech that we have yet to hear, we don't know. but there are other ideas floating out there that perhaps one time refate yaiftion money -- restate repatriation of monies. there are ideas floating out there. we'll see how many of them are in that speech. megyn: there is the inevitable, should he be going off to martha's vineyard? when you look at numbers and you look at polls, there is a question about whether the average american or the 15 million out of work or only part time employed will look at him

and say i don't think this is right. i think he should be back in d.c. trying to find me a job. >> reporter: i think it's a perception issue. the white house is trying to push back saying the presidency travels with the president. but it's an image issue, especially when you have the market reacting the what it is. president clinton heading towards reelection chose not to go to martha's vineyard because of the image it would send. instead he vacations in which, i think that was at the recommendation of consultant dick morris. he won reelection and returned to martha's vineyard after winning the election. megyn: what many wrong with the vineyard? it's a lovely place. so i have heard. i have never been. >> reporter: the president doesn't apparently care. megyn: i read that dick morris

later regretted taking polls on where the president should vacation. they were smart enough to figure it out. they knew what he was doing. speaking of the debt deal which you have been hearing about a lot over the past hour. senate republican tom coburn facing backlash after some remarks he made at an event in oklahoma earlier this week. senator coburn expressing frustration with his fellow lawmakers over the debt ceiling debate calling them quote career elitists. he went one step further and said it's a good thing i can't pack a gun on the senate floor. his comments garnering angry reactions continues gabrielle giffords was shot in the head by a gunman at an event in arizona. we are starting to see angry reaction from today mass kuls after president obama called on

the syrian president assad to step down. mr. bach and leaders of the -- mr. obama and leaders of the european union say his brutal oppression of his people make him unfit to rule. >> reporter: aides to secretary of state hillary clinton say they are tightening the noose on bashir assad, that his names are numbered. they are also cite sights the i.s. because the obama administration waited 118 days before declaring assad should step down. >> the u.s. has been engaged in a relentless effort to pursue a set of actions and statements that make crystal clear where we all stand and generating broader and deeper pressure on the assad

regime. >> reporter: today's sanctions represent the third round since the assad regime began. 32 syrian and iranian individuals and entities have been targeted. today's round of sanctions backed by similar moves restrict u.s. dealings with petroleum sectors. they say this will choke off assad's abilities to continue with the crackdown. he's unlikely to be swayed by president obama's call for resignation other new round of sanctions. >> it would accelerate the re significance nation of assad. for four months moammar qaddafi willfully killed his people, and assad killed his and we wouldn't

even call back our ambassador. >> reporter: a total of 300 people were killed in egypt. and president obama appeared before cameras within one tweak demand america's long-time ally hosni mubarak step down. you are correct, megyn, that senior officials in the sea sawed regime responded to what the united states did, expressing surprise the u.s. isn't trying to help them with their political reforms. we are hearing now from the father of a florida teen suspected in the plot to bomb his high school. police say the target was freedom high school in tampa. that's where jared cano was working on a plot to blow up the

school. his father said he loves jared and he will make sure he gets quote serious help. gregg? >> reporter: the father says he had no idea what was going won his son. he's devastated that jared would allegedly plan such a massacre. he loves them and plans to help him. he says his son needs serious help. we all have our devils. but apparently of has a lot of devils. he was days away from carrying out what the chief of police call a catastrophic event the likes of which tampa has never seen. columbine revisited, maybe worse. cano was expelled from freedom high school and police say he spend the summertime plotting his violent revenge. but his plan to detonate explosive devices at the school and murder innocent students, teachers and administrators was

foiled by an anonymous tip. he had twices to make pipe bombs, big ones. police say he planned to cause more casualties than the columbine high school massacre that killed 13 people. he has been arrested several times before, breaking and entering, stealing a handgun. he was already on a police watchlist. when cops raided his apartment they discovered what they call a manifesto detailing his planned destruction. schematic drawings of rooms inside the the school and statements about killing specific administrators and any students who happen to be near by august 23. the plan was mapped out minute by minute. if tried as an adult and convicted it could put him behind bars for decades. unlike columbine web apparently worked alone. megyn: we are a couple weeks away from a big new jobs plan from the president. critics say that's not soon

enough. in three minutes former alaska governor sarah palin weighs in. lay did letterman find himself on the wrong side of a joke. a jihadist web site calling on american muslims to assassinate the late-night counsel. why terrorists are targeting david letterman. having a hard time keeping up with the dust in your home. try doing it on the farm. that's what the epa may want some farmers to do. the backlash over a possible crackdown on dust. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker...

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getting new warnings after possible recession from morgan stanley. that's putting new pressure on the president's job plan. details of that plan are already leak out suggesting mr. obama will propose a third stimulus worth billions of dollars which the president says will be paid for with offset savings elsewhere. joining me now for reaction, former republican governor after he has today, sarah palin who is also a fox news contributor. welcome. >> thanks so much, megyn. megyn: your reaction to the news the president will be unveiling this plan in december, if you we are learning the details, it will have considerable investments in infrastructure. it will have a bailout for the states. it will call for extend the payroll tax cuts. he wants to make it easier to get patents. that's the thumbnail sketch we have been given from leakers at the white house.

>> i think we can predict it will be more of the same and the same for this president is a famed economic policy. i can tell you what the jobs plan is going to be, megyn because it's going to be based on his past record. and that's going to be spend more money, increase taxes in order to pay for this third stimulus, even though the first and second stimulus have not worked. and then borrow, try to find money to borrow from world new york ets, those still willing to loan to us. and then spend even more money. and it will be a repeated cycle. unfortunately that's counter productive to debt and deficit reduction which is a root kawforts our economic woes. megyn: many economists are saying we do need to spend more. some say spend more, some say don't. but many say we need to spend more, we need to push off the cuts to our entitlement program and so on until we get out of

this economic mess. the president seems to be of that mindset. >> he's of the mindset that incurring more debt will get us out of debt. that's counter productive of using common sense, how it is we run or small businesses, city governments, state governments and family budgets. we have to tighten belts. we know a driver our economic woes is the largess of our entitlement program. it will be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of people but that's what we'll have to do to get the deficit spending under control. our president doesn't understand that so's of the minds of incurring more debt, spending more money we don't have and cross our fingers and hope that we are going to be able to surface from the problems economically speakerring that we are facing today. but counter productive to common sense thinking and fiscal

conservative measures that must be put into place to implement solutions that our country so desperately needs today. megyn: what do you make of the president going off on vacation to martha's vineyard? >> he's tone death. i can't believe after three days in the heartland he didn't hear what i hear when i'm in the heartland. it's buckle down, let's be serious about getting the country back on the right track. let's become solvent again and we do that by cutting tax rates and incentivizing industry to stay in the u.s. and not chase our jobs, our businesses offshore. let's cut government's overreach and government budgets so the private sector has room to grow and thrive. i fear that what our president is going to do, and i do predict he won't be gone the full 10

days. i think he will hear from enough americans that he will come back early. i think he will keep his hand in the sand there in martha's vineyard even and ignore what the american public is saying until a few days in. he is going to get the advice from his advisors that he needs to get back to work to the white house and he needs to start working closely on a bipartisan mow sure with congress and start plugging in new solutions. megyn: the president had a dust-up with texas governor rick perry this week, and was telling him how to speak after perry made remarks about how bernanke if he prints more money at the feds it would be almost treasonous. perry came back and said i got a lesson in how to speak and actions speak loud i are than words. some thought barack obama elevated rick perry by singling him out and maybe he had a

political reason for doing it. what did you think of the exchange? >> more power to rick perry for calling it like he saw it. the president in his typical reactionary way did elevate rick perry and what it is he had to say. what rick perry had to say is what i wrote 10 months ago about quantity tie toug --about quantd devaluing our dollar by printing more money. what rick perry was talking about is what many of us have been talking about for many many months and that is the danger of a qe3 program being put into place. he used that rhetoric he uses there in texas. evidently the president took some issue to that. it's evidence of our president's arrogance, unfortunately, to tell a presidential candidate what to say, what not to say.

i just wish that president obama would stay focused on what really matters. just do what makes sense to get the economy back on the right track. start looking towards energy independence measures. start allowing job creation through energy independence and real stimulus programs like drilling here, drilling now. it doesn't cost the government anything. stay focused and quit picking on other people like rick perry who will continue to call it like he sees its. megyn: thank you so much. we'll be right back with governor sarah palin. and we'll ask her about this. gop contender michele bachmann has seen some you have treatment from the mediate last two weeks. i'll ask her what she thinks after this break. [ male announcer ] it's a fact:

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megyn: one of the hottest political controversies in recent weeks has concerned michele bachmann and anne a "newsweek" cover that showedder in an unflattering light. the caption read "the queen of rage." let's bring back sarah palin. governor, the portrayal of michele bachmann on that do have was so controversial that even the national organization of women that don't normally come out and defend conservatives came out and said that was sexist. what did you make of it. >> i'm glad n.o.w. did finally speak out on behalf of a female candidate. they never saw fit to defend any of my position oh i dismissed

the national organization of women being a group that will only support those who share their political beliefs. but i was glad to see they came out and said that it wasn't a fair cover of michele bachmann. bottom line, every candidate is going to be vetted more so than ever because we learned a lesson with electing a president who was not vetted by the mainstream media, and basically we are asking now, what did we get out of that? we got an inexperienced president who made a lot of promises, glittery generalalities he promises, you to yea was going to kree -- a you to yeaf was going to create. i don't know if i would characterize it as sexist. i would characterize it as the new normal. in a way it's quite healthy. learning a lesson from barack

obama who was not prepared to be our president. we need someone with executive experience, someone who has gone through the fire, someone who the american public knows their backgrounds, they know their associations, they know what has shaped them and they know where that person is coming from in order to apply policies that affect our daily lives. megyn: the person who runs "newsweek" stood behind the cover of michele bachmann and that was a woman behind a decision that was arguably sexist towards another woman. gloria steinem, a leader of the feminist movement spoke about you and michele bachmann. and she said that the two of you are opposed to the women's movement. that you sold out the women's movement, and that you are on her list of and i quote, the women only a man could love. what do you make of that? >> i think gloria steinem evidently has had her day. and her day and her rhetoric is

over it's par passe. people like michele bachmann and we and millions of women who work inside the home and outside the home, we raise families, we run businesses, we run for offers. we puts others before ourselves and we desire to serve something greater than self to make the world a better place. megyn, you do the same thing. we are the women's movement. we are illustrating equality and empowerment of other women. and someone like gloria steinem. i'm sure she added some healthy debate back in the day. but her vision of what a woman should be or could be is evidently not what conventionally now women who are feeling empowered and wanting to help change the world because we believe in equality, she does not share our views of women being able to do much more than

she gives us credit for. megyn: speaking of women who want to change the world. do you have remain one of them? there is so much speculation about whether you are going to get in this race. you have been the stalking horse. so many people would love to see you enter. karl rove says your schedule coming up in the fall suggests that of a would-be presidential candidate. are you still considering it? >> i am considering it and i do want to help change the world for the better along with millions of other con chen husban -- with otherconscientio. megyn: zooms what would make you get in at this point? >> still looking for that candidate i can put my heart and soul behind to support. if i don't see that person here in short order i would be willing to put my name forward in the name of service. megyn: have you found him or her

yet? >> i'm impressed with the lineup, but there is still quite a long process. there will be a lost comings and goings with this lineup. i have spoken with them and i know i'm not the only potential candidate still on the sidelines waiting to see how things will unfold. megyn: will you tell us who you are referring to. governor chris christie of new jersey or paul ryan? >> there are a bunch of them. they are considering that the life changing impact on family decisions that have to be made before jumping in. megyn: well, it would certainly make things interesting. in any event. governor palin, thank you so much for your time. we appreciate you being here. he was a prime suspect in the disappearance of natalee holloway. now joran van der sloot is accused of killing another

woman. how could he be a free man without a trial in peru. a real barnyard brawl in the heartland. farmers versus the epa in a fight over dust control on american farmers. we'll bring you the dust-up. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. for red lobster we can find. male announcer ] hurry into crabfest at red lobster and savor 3 crab entrees under $20 like our crab and seafood bake. or our snow crab and crab butter shrimp.

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zero heartburn. no heartburn in the first place. great. megyn: the feds have a lot to worry about, the falling stock market, and dust. the epa is considering a crackdown on dust for family farms. the issue came up during the president's midwest bus tour when a farmer asked this question. >> mother nature has challenged this growing season with moisture, drought, whatever. please don't challenge us with more rules and regulations from washington, d.c. that hinder us from doing that. we would prefer to start our day in a tractor cab or combine cab rather than filling out forms and permits to do what we like to do. >> we have the secretary of agriculture right now. is there a particular rule that you are worried about?

>> we hear what's coming down about noise pollution, dust pollution, water runoff. sometimes the best approach is just common sense and we are already using that. >> here is what i suggest is, if you hear something is happening about it hasn't happened. don't always believe what you hear. and i'm serious about that. megyn: where does the truth lie? the executive director of the colorado farm bureau, and janice nolan, the assistant vice president of national policy for the american lung association. thanks so much for being here. let me start with you. they can already regulate dust. the epa can, but they are considering a further crackdown on dust in particular on farms and the farmers you heard there are scratching their heads at it and why is that? >> well, megyn the bottom line is as much as we would like to

believe the president and what he said about not believing everything we hear, we have to look as the their actions. frankly their actions speak much louder than their words. the fact is that epa under the obama administration is moving forward with revising dust regulations that would make dust emissions twice as strip jernts or make it twice as hard to comply with. we see no way with an agriculture that we can comply with what they are proposing. megyn: you think the feds are cracking down on dust on farms, even we city folks have to understand there is this thing on farms called dust or dirt. when it doesn't rain for a long time and a tractor goes on it it turns on to dust. how are the farmers going to control it? >> let me explain something. something is confused about this whole conversation. epa is not trying to double the limits. what they are trying to do is actually make the limits more consistent what what the other

air flutant are that they measure. the effect will be that it won't be any more control, there won't be any more regulations or restrictions on dust than have been in place for the last decade. they are just using a different way of klting it. they are calculating it. they are letting people have more opportunities to go over that limit. they are lowering the limit. but where the limit is now, you can't go over it but once a year. megyn: the reason there has been some confusion is there are several u.s. senators who objected to this saying the epa is considering making the standard more strict in a way that would hurt the farmers. troy, are the senators wrong? is this much ado about nothing? >> it's a lot to do with a lot of things. their rhetoric does not match their actions. she talks about changing the standard, those standards actually if you are measuring

things differently, you are lowering those standards. that's what we are afraid of, frankly. we are looking at a situation that if the current rule was to be applied, there is no way to comply. every time you see a tractor the moving through a field, every time you see a combine harvesting corn or see a car moving down a gravel road that would technically be a dust violation up this new proposed rule and we don't understand how we are expected to control mother nature. megyn: your group are concerned about pesticides that may in the dust and your goal is to keep the air clean. the folks on troy's side of the issue said if the farmers have to control the dust, it's going to run up the water bills which is going -- that's going to put some small farm materials out of business. it's going to run up -- encourage more use of freshwater on farms and the compliance costs will be prohibitive for

small farmers. >> let me go back to the points i was making. what we are doing is change the way we calculate the limit. the limit isn't going to change. they will be able to do the same practices they have been doing. it's not going to have an impact on the amount of days that we can have unhealthy levels of articles. megyn: why would they be out there up in arms if it absolutely is not going to change their lives at all. >> let me explain. air pollution standards are complicated. the number is only one part of a three-part components of the standard. everybody has been looking at the number. what they haven't looked at is how many times the epa is going to allow them to go over that number before it becomes a problem. where the standard is now you can only do it once a year. the way the can starred will be you can do it 21 days in three years. so basically more than a week every year. so it's not going to have the

kind of impact that people fear because the net effect of it will be that it just makes sure the regulations -- it makes sure the epa can -- megyn: .that make you feel better. >> the bottom line is that we see virtually no way to comply with this. and the epa's own data says that there is no major change in terms of the benefit that they see from making this change, so why do it in the first place? why have this job killing regulation modified, something we can't comply with? megyn: i appreciate you both being here. i don't think i have done a debate about dust before. we'll see what happens. but thank you tor both for your per d thank you both for your expertise. they met in a casino and spend the night partying in lima,

peru. now the man accused of her murder could walk out of prison a free man without being tried. "kelly's court" is next on that. >> the first thing i did was i went to his room. i start the computer and googled the name. it was scary when i start to read the terrible things that he did to natalee. w [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now.

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leaving the woman's hotel room a short time after she was killed. and police allegedly have a confession from him to the crime. now why are the reports he may be about to walk free without any trial? let many ask our panel. kimberly guilfoyle and jonna spilbor. how could that be? they have a signed confession. >> unbelievable. a signed confession and a plethora of dna and forensic evidence at the crime scene galore in that hotel room. he escaped and fled the scene, consciousness of guilt to go to chile. this case should have been filed immediately. and the investigators turned it over to the prosecutors for review to decide on the formal charges. the family of miss flores wants them to file straight up homicide murder charges while

the defense is hoping to get crime of passion manslaughter charge. whatever you are going to file, file it now, because otherwise if he's not taken to trial within 18 months of his arrest he walks out the door of castro prison. megyn: they have a signed confession. all the evidence kimberly went through. what is the delay? get to it? >> there is something strange going on here. it's not unusual to have a 15-month delay between arrest and trial. but not because of something the prosecution is doing. normal hill we are garnering our evidence and mounting our defense and begging for a me bargain. here in spite of the plethora of evidence that seems strong, the prosecutor only has another three months to present their case, and that could indicate a problem with the evidence. in the casey anthony taught us anything, even the strongest evidence may have some weaknesses to it.

megyn: they are saying even though he signed a written confession that his defense lawyer has given notice that he intend to plead insanity. he will say -- you tell me whether this is insanity. the insanity kicked in when he saw stephany flores looking on his computer and noticing he was the guy in the natalee holloway case and his hand got out of control and he wound up brutally murdering her. could this be causing fear in the heart of the prosecutor? >> give me a break. they think that laughable defense is going to work? really? he ran off with all the money and continued gambling and ran off to chile. now he has gone the his girlfriend pregnant while he's in that amazing prison system in peru. she gets to go in for con ju gal visits and bring him candy.

the prosecutor needs to get it together or she should be taken off the case. arricardo flores is one of the most powerful men in peru and he can't get this case to trial. how many women does this guy have to be accused of murdering. megyn: what he's reportedly confessed to, is slamminger in the face with his right elbow. strangling her, take off his shirt and asphixiating her. then he signs a written confession. what do they want? to gift wrap it? >> i understand. it seems like it's a slam dunk, as close to one as you can get. i don't understand what the holdup is unless maybe it prosecutor is trying to work out a deal so the flores family doesn't have to sit through a trial. megyn: if he goes free, can they bring him back in? >> that depends on whether this is a speedy trial issue which

would say no. if they lose on speedy trial, he's never going to come back to jail again. if this is more of a statute of eliminations thing -- megyn: will he be eligible for a conditional release? even if he's facing another trial web's out there. >> call interest poll. th -- call interpol.it's ridicu. they need to bring this guy to justice. megyn: this guy confessed. there is no mystery here. if these authorities bungle this case it will be a gross miscarriage of justice. van der sloot should not walk free. [ femalennouncer ] you ha all this chken.

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megyn: there is a bright spot in the heart of california's farmland. it is bugs are crops and jobs. but it may have more to do with mother nature, than uncle sam. >> reporter: we are in the heart of the central valley which is known as at nation's salad bowl because it produces 70% of the country's fruits and vegetables. but there has been a serious drought here the past several years and now those things look like they are turning around and the future looks promising. >> this year is the sixth wettest winter in california and we are 80%. this year is a good year. >> reporter: sean has been through the best and worst of times as a long-time farmer in

the central valley. but water is beginning to flow again and conditions for the surrounding farming communities are beginning to look green in more ways than one. >> we'll see more corn on cotton. more vegetables and more jobs coming up into the area. the unemployment rate is coming down. >> reporter: farmers credit mother nature with a larger than expected snow knack the sierra. it helped turn a three in year dry spell into thriving and growing businesses. add to that an easings of federal environmental restrictions aimed at protecting several species of fish in the california delta. the result? farmers are able to hire more workers, buy new equipment and share a sense of hope for the future. >> things have been very, very challenge can the last few years. i would say it's more of a cautious optimism at this point.

but there is always hope. >> reporter: hope that mother nature will continue to rain down on the central valley and hope lawmakers can come up with a compromise to satisfy the environmentalists but also keep the water flowing so they can stay in business. megyn: less than two weeks after it downgraded america's credit rating starting a free-fall on wall street, we are learning standard & poor' has been under investigation with the departments of justice for some time now. p

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announcer: and at $1,500 a pair, amp is affordable. - amp: the hearing aid for people who aren't ready for a hearing aid. - i amp. do you? announcer: call toll-free 1-888-379-1405 to find an amp hearing professional near you. at only $1,500 a pair, you can't afford to wait. that's 1-888-379-1405. call today. >>megyn: tha you for watching, everybody, you can follow me on twitter. in the meantime, here is shepard with "studio b." >>shepard: the news begins anew, in box one, new details in the case of the missing american woman in aruba. we are hearing reports about graphic and disturbing photographs of this woman in what he tried to do