you can be here too. go on join for free. [ female announcer ] and, if you join by september 17th you can get a month free. weight watchers pointsplus. because it works. >> gretchen: tomorrow, big day. we should say good luck. >> brian: patriot golf day tomorrow. i'll have is a chance to talk to president bush before. if you have a great question, e-mail me. maybe i'll try to weave it? >> steve: it was great last year. probably better this year. >> brian: i just can't miss the ball. >> gretchen: that's exactly right. see you tomorrow. bill: good morning. fox news alert. the floodwaters are still surging as the northeast still struggles in the wake of irene. watch this video out of

patterson, new jersey. the passaic river is not supposed to look like that. good morning. that's where we start. you know the falls. martha: those are the great falls in patterson but they are not normally that great. i'm martha maccallum, good to have you with us today. president obama is signing disaster declarations in two more states. governor chris christie would like the same thing for his state. >> it's dangerous and scary at the same time. >> they are saying it will be 14 feet higher. >> this is bad. >> nothing like this where i had to get out of my home twice. today i can't even go back to my home. i would say it's a disaster area. >> these are nice homes. they put a lot into them.

it's really sad. bill: david lee miller is out in the middle of it in wallington, new jersey. >> reporter: you can see the water on this main street in downtown wallington is mid-calf, this days after irene left the area. the residents were told they have to evacuate their homes, the passaic river was flooding over its banks. it crested at 14.2 feet and we are told that's the second highest on record. they are pumping out their basements. they don't have electricity. a couple of homes are completely gutted. you can see for yourself what the problem is. it's very simple. here at my feet is a storm

drain. as you can see it is completely backed up. the water not going anywhere. just stillwater in the street. there are similar scenes in other communities in new jersey. 7 people have died throughout the state. the governor described the situation as extraordinary disappear. it's expected the secretary of homeland security and janet napolitano are going to come to new jersey to tour the damage. what the people of new jersey and elsewhere along the east coast, they want to see the floodwaters recede. we are told these won't happen for the next five to seven days. bill: do they have power? is there any relief from that area? >> the folks down this street do not have power. other people nearby do not have

power. the situation is still dire. days after this storm hit there are now 2 1/2 million people on the east coast that do not have electricity in a total of 13 states. in connecticut, alone there is still $300,000 people that do not have power. here in new jersey, 170,000 people do not have power. it will take a few more days until all the lights are back in. bill: the warnings went out about flooding in new jersey and new york and they were dead on right about that. david lee miller, thank you. martha: they thought it would be on the beach. and it's so far inland which has been the big shocker of all of this. the nation's transportation system is nearly back to normal in terms of the airlines. they are clearing their backlog. they scrapped 14,000 flights in

the aftermath of this storm. amtrak is back on. other trains and busses said to be operating on near normal schedules. some tracks need to be cleared of mud and debris. bill: power outages make gasoline hard to find in some places. connecticut's attorney general issuing a warning as drivers are advised to conserve gasoline. the lines can be long from vermont where it's an entirely different picture. some towns are cut off from everywhere else. that state one of the hardest-hit areas along the east coast within reeling from the effects of irene. we'll talk too the national guard. trying to get some roads up and running. martha: we have brand-new employment numbers that just came in to fox news.

there are only 91,000 hires in the private sector this month. that's lower than what's needed to get the economy back on the fast track. stuart varney joins me now. stuart, every time we get one of these numbers it gives us a sense of where we are headed. how did this one look? >> it's a disappointing number. this is private sector hiring. it does not include public sector government firing. there are likely tens of thousands government jobs lost in august. this latest report joins a parade of other reports suggesting the economy flat out stalls in the month of august. today we found that the number of layoffs went up. 47% compared to the same time last year. that's layoffs. that's a huge number. and a related statistic. mortgage applications went down 9%. historically low mortgage rates.

you have got a lot of analysts downgrading their forecasts for how many jobs we'll see created friday morning when we get the big government jobs reports. martha: there are some suggestions it will be a negative number. >> reporter: some analysts say there will be jobs cut. if that happens that will be an indicator that we have slid into recession. martha: talk to me about the president's speech he's going to give. his new plan is expected to come out in early september. how is the market anticipating that? >> the details that have been -- just released so far suggest the same-old same-old. an infrastructure project, maybe tax credits for small businesses. that kind of thing. not a brave new bold plan. in a radio interview the

president did say we could create up to one million new jobs. but there is no details on that and no time when his new plan's got to be released. the market analysts are sceptical that we can gets out of this jobs mess. martha: as companies have been saying they might do another round of layoffs. stuart varney as always good to see you, sir. thank you very much. bill: here is a fox news alert. this was bound to happen in states like texas and oklahoma. the wildfires continue to burn down homes and chase hundreds of people out of its way. evacuations in order. was that a road, was that a neighborhood? was that just a farm? you saw one structure burn to the ground. in 20 minutes we'll talk to folks in texas and oklahoma. but as you recall in dallas they have triple digit temperatures

for more than 30 days. so that's been resolved. martha: then there's this. a jeep -- i don't think it's your jeep, but that one is in a swimming pool. it went right through a picket fence we are told. and right into the back pool -- the backyard pool in long island, new york. bill: they were pool hopping. the problem is they went in the pool. martha: not a good day for that car owner. bill: we are watching a few other stories. the white house setting the tone for marking 10 years since the tear jr. attacks of 9/11. but is it the right tone? governor george pataki next. martha: a huge scuffle break out at a popular amusement park when

a group of muslim women are told they cannot wear their head scarves on the rides. bill: a botched gun running sting may have led to the death of border patrol agent brian terry. two top officials stepping down, but the questions do not end there. >>er in the hands of the cartel. we have confidential sources that have shown us why the administration's representatives knew these weapons were going to the cartels. not mostly not maybe, but virtually all of them. [ male announcer ] life is full of missed opportunities. like the exotic vacation you nev took. but there's one opportunity that's too good to miss. the lexus golden opportunity sales event. see your lexus dealer.

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martha: the man accused of killing two u.s. airmen in germany admits if he was motivated by online videos from islamic extremists. prosecutors say he went to the

airport that day to quote kill as many americans as possible. bill: the white house defending its talking points how the government will mark the september 11 attacks 10 years later. according to the "new york times" it suggests minimizing references to al qaeda to show the terror group is becoming increasingly irrelevant. a former cheney staffer reacted -- dick cheney staffer reacted this way. >> i think the fact that you would instruct government officials to speak differently about 9/11 simply based on where they are standing is not just insulting to american audiences and foreign audiences but again i think it's a window into how they look at national security issues. bill: george pataki was the

governor of new york on september 11, 2001. what does this mean? >> the criticism i just heard makes sense. at a fundamental level this administration has never understood the meaning of september 11. they are talking to the international representatives of our country comparing september 11 to other attacks like mumbai and bali and london. as horrible as those attacks were, september 11 was not an attack on a global community. it was an attack on america because of our outspoken beliefs in freedom. and we have been attacked time and time again. this administration from its refusal to call terrorists, terrorists, mine mies al qaeda and mention other terrorist incidents doesn't understand. bill: you sound as if you are insulted. >> i am insulted. it's not like the september 11

attacks came out of the blue. the world trade center towers in 1993 were attacked by muslim extremists. you would hope that we had an administration that understood america is a target for global terrorists. martha just read the record of an islamic terrorist killing two airmen in germany. bill: apparently the theme is american resilience. the people have come back and come a long way since 10 years ago. the white house says this also. the important theme is to show the world how we realize it's not just about us. >> that's where i think they get it wrong. sure we deplore terrorism. but it is about us. we were the country that was attacked on september 11.

we were the country attacked eight years earlier. we were the country where the cole was blown up and our embassies attacked. you can't treat terrorists as civilians. bill: and we took on al qaeda when no one else did. >> successfully but not to the extent where we can minimize the fact that al qaeda is still out there. it's still in yemen, somalia and sudan. they just had terrible attacks in nigeria that were al qaeda inspired. bill: you ran the empire state. the state department says this is not unusual. you communicate one way with a domestic audience and another way internationally. >> this is the 21st century. you can't expect a message you are giving in egypt or london

won't be heard in america. by the way, not only is it because people are listening to what you are saying anywhere in the world, but also because it' the right thing to do. you shouldn't have two different messages for two different audiences. what you state is what you believe. i belief we were attacked because of american exceptionalism, because of what we stand for in the globe and we have to be aware of that as we defend our freedom. bill: you will be with martha and me in lower manhattan as we were together 10 years ago walking through the ashes and ruins of ground zero. we'll see you then. what about the white house. have you put that to the side right now? >> i have. i have been in public office for 20 years and i want to put my family fir for a while. they deserve it. bill: i heard you say the other day, i love my family. i think they probably love you, too, after this discussion. >> when you run for public

office it's all about the candidate. but it's a sacrifice the family make and i didn't feel it was right to do it one more time. bill: another time we'll talk more about politics. in the meantime we'll see if you two weeks. martha: the governor has a pretty nice family. i can see why he feels that way. it's not just hurricanes and floods hitting americans hard. relentless summer heat also to blame for wildfires burning dozens of home and threatening more. bill: a brawl shutting down a big amusement park. what sparked the melee and causing controversy. there is a lot to be seen in this clip. [ jon ] up in alaska, we find the best sweetest crab

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bill: tropical storm katia could

be hours away from strengthening into a hurricane. it's moving towards the u.s. and we'll see which way she goes. general david petraeus will take over as the new cia director after nearly 40 years in the service. a car bomb in southwestern pakistan killing five. the explosion was set offn in front of a mosque. no group is claiming responsibility. martha: a brawl got so out of hand that it closed down a huge amusement park outside of new york city. it started when a group of muslim women were told they could not wear head scarves on some of the rides for safety reasons. then this scuffle broke out between the patrons and the police. witnesses say the police got out of hand. >> they come and jump on her.

martha: laura, the head scarves specifically banned at the park? >> there is an overall head gear ban on certain rides at the park which was put in place to prevent accidents and injuries. the brawl that broke out reportedly erupted after a heated argument between the muslim women wearing the head scarves. push literally came to shove. the park was killed with a group of nearly 3,000 muslim visitors celebrating the end of the holy month of ramadan. 100 police officers arrested 15 people including 3 women charged with disorderly conduct. >> the cops came and blew it out of proportion.

they came ready to attack. they took my brother and threw him on the floor. they took my husband in front of my child and cuffed him. they were pulling me. i had to call my brother-in-law. >> reporter: organized groups say they believe the incident happened because they are muslims. martha: we are hearing the tour operator that organized this outing for the group was repeatedly told in advance that there was this ban on the rides for safety. >> reporter: it appears there was a major miscommunication. a statement released this morning said the group was painstakingly told over and over again that on certain ride they wouldn't be able to wear any sort of head gear. he says there are many reasons why the partial head gear ride is in effect. if you have a scarf on you could be choked. the payland park owned and

operated by the west chester area has come under scrutiny. three people died there from 2004 to 2007, including a 7-year-old girl. if you look at the back drop you might pick up on playland park as something familiar. it was the amusement park used in the tomorrow hanks film "big." this is a continuing controversy and we'll continue to follow it for you. martha: if they were warned ahead of time you would think they would want to be safe on the rides as well and not have concerns about that and maybe skip that ride if it isn't one that works for them. thank you very much. bill: who decides if you should get a flu shot? healthcare workers in one state told they have a choice. either get the shot or you get fired. we wonder is that fair? and is that legal? martha: former mayor rudy

giuliani looks back on the morning that changed america and the world forever. >> it was the experience of my life. it was the most devastating for my city that it was responsible for. i lost a lot of close friends. people i knew very well.

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bill: fast-moving fires

destroying homes and forcing evacuations in texas and oklahoma. those flames in texas are still spreading while firefighters in oklahoma city are looking for more hotpots after gaining the upper hand on at least one fire there. have you * i don't think i had my head around it yet. it's unbelievable. i don't know. i just can't believe it. >> i didn't get the pictures of my folks and things like that. things we didn't have time to get. >> it happened so quickly. i was thinking not again. >> this time it happens a lot now. before we knew of it was coming. bill: that is such a shame. good morning to you. how are your conditions today? >> we are very concerned about today, tomorrow. we have high winds, very warm conditions. drought conditions and low humidity so it's the perfect recipe for more wildfires.

bill: in dallas you had triple digit temperatures for 30-some odd days. did you have the same weather there? >> absolutely. we are 56 days in the oklahoma city area and more in other parts of the state. bill: what was the temperature yesterday? what is it expected to get to today? >> we are hoping fear little relief this weekend. bill: how many homes have been taken out? >> somewhere between 12 and 20 homes. one church burned down overnight. we are concerned about those citizens to make sure they have everything they need. bill: how many homes have been threatened today? >> we know there will be hotpots. the firefighters are making sure they put them out as quickly as possible. but once the winds get up it's anybody's bet. bill: it is heard breaking to

hear the stories of the folks who live there. have you talked to any of them? >> a few. you don't plan for this. it wasn't something that you started on your property. it just crossed your property. and i know that 12 or 20 homes or something like that, it seems like a small number unless it's your home of course. we just want to know that our hearts and compassion is out there for that family. bill: is there any moisture in the forecast at any time? >> we are hoping for tropical moisture this weekend. we are looking at lower temperatures and possibly getting some pulled up into it. bill: they need a lot of luck right now as you can see from the pictures. hopefully you will get it contained. martha: here is a question we

asked. can your employer force to you get a flu shot or lose your job? a major michigan healthcare group thinks they can do that. they say get the flu shot by december 31 or get fired. they say individual rights must be sacrificed to make sure their patients the health is not threatened by the flu. they are saying we are a medical facility. we have a lot of people here with compromised health conditions. if you choose to work here you will have to get a flu shot because we can't risk you passing that on to vulnerable patients. >> there is a balancing test that's done. you have individual rights to privacy and that's inherent in the 14th amendment and you have to balance that against the employers' right to have patients who may or may not get sick. the problem i have is it's an

overinclusive regulation. it was voluntary initially and they had 65% compliance. there has been no-showing that having a higher compliance would have any effect on patients whatsoever. there are federal statutes and regulations that adress issue of whether an employer can do this. but on balance as a whole they are overreaching are and overstepping and impinging on the individual freedoms of their workers. martha: our dr. manny says 65% compliance is not enough. he says when you do this voluntarily you don't have enough people participating. >> private employers can place conditions with respect to employment so long as as it doesn't violate race, color, creed, sexual preference in some states, it can be legal to require conditions of employment such as flu vaccines. we already do it in school.

we require all children to have vaccines. unless there is a labor agreement. we now have baseball players getting drug tested all the time. we shouldn't find this as being too overboard to have employers require people to take vaccines. this came up when the swine flu epidemic was a big concern. many employers suggested strongly people do it. but if an employer requires somebody to do it, unless it's against your religion or against some type of medical disability like you are allergic to the vaccine. martha: you made the point here that this is a private company. joey. if you don't want to work there, you don't have to work there. no one is forcing these people to work in this institution. but they are saying if you work here this is part of our deal. >> they are starterred by the state and there are regulations applicable to them. simply because it many private

doesn't mean you leave your rights at the door. this would be analagous to children getting vaccination shots, it's different. children are a very vulnerable parts. our so sight. martha: so are the patients they are trying to protect. >> there is a significant cause and effect relationship. we know with vaccinations in schools with children what a disaster it can cause. there has been no showing on the equivalent of that with this employer. as a result i think they are overreaching and i think the validity of the lawsuit will be recognized. martha: does the fact that it's a state charter, does that trump the private company's rights as a private entity? >> it's a private employer. all corporations are chartered by states. the truth of the matter is in almost all the states of the union a private employer can make conditions so long as as they are not illegal and that comes down to race, color,

religion and national origin, sometimes sexual preference. a private employer can place these restrictions and conditions upon employment and we can expect they will come up more often. martha: they had 50 people who work at this facility who showed up for a group against vaccines meeting the other night. so this is a hot issue. we'll catch you later. chip, thank you very much. dr. manny is going to weigh in on this. he wrote a piece on this, on the impact of getting the flu shot. read the full article. click on the health tab and you will see dr. manny's notes there. "get extraction night or be terminated." bill: take a look at wall street. what are we doing? include chips running 60 points to the up side.

that's not bad. 11,600. volume will be light because everybody is at the beach. martha: most people. and this is one of the biggest scandals to rock washington recently. there is new fallout from the botched gun running sting that has become known as fast and furious. some members of congress say they have a lot more questions about that. bill: if you thought the ugly union protests were what america did not need. wait until you hear what the wisconsin labor leaders are trying to block the republicans from doing this summer. maybe they will find a resolution. where do you go to find a busess

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martha: the man known as america's mayor is reflecting on

september 11 almost 10 years later. this from road you havey giuliani in his latest interest vow. >> they told us don't look up. debris was coming down. they wanted us to be alert to the fact there might be some debris falling. i kept looking up, and all after sudden i saw a man put himself right in the window -- looked like he stepped up, then he flung himself right out. and i could see fire right behind him. and i just froze and watched it because it was so incomprehensible. martha: incredible moment and stories we'll all be remembering as we head into this period where we mark this solemn anniversary of september 11. rudy giuliani arrived in downtown manhattan just after the second plane hit the south

tower. bill: 17 minutes before the hour. two top justice department officials are out after an investigation into this failed gun trafficking scheme known as operation fast and furious. the acting atf chief kenneth nelson will be reassigned after they funneled hundreds of weapons into the hands of dangerous mexican cartels. darrell issa helped lead that investigation. >> there are two things we have to do to wrap up this investigation. we need to get to those responsible which means we needed the discovery and cooperation we haven't been getting. most of what we have we have gotten from third parties who have given it to us at great

risk. bill: sir, good morning to you, welcome back to america's newsroom. are you satisfied now? >> absolutely not. there is still a horde of documents. we issued letters and subpoenas to try to secure these documents. we have an oversight responsibility to find out why such a disaster like fast and furious was allowed to happen. bill: how much further do you think this goes. >> don't know. every time we turn the corner there is new information. fortunately we have whistleblowers who are willing to share documents. most of the document we have are from whistleblowers. the department of justice has not provided us the document we need so we can prevent this from happening again. bill: we watched you during the

committee hearing a month ago. do you think the attorney general knew about this? had a hand in it? >> i'm not to the point of making that direct allegation. but in january you had a memo that went out. on march 25 you had the president of the united states asked what he knew and he responded to it. he obviously knew about it. when i questioned the attorney general in may he said i heard about it a couple weeks ago and i didn't get many details. that does not add up. the question is what did the attorney general know and when did he know it? if he did know about it that begs a whole series of other questions. but i think he probably knew about it earlier than that if the president was commenting on it in march. that's something we are trying to look at. bill: if he did know about it and approve it, what then? >> he under oath said to me in

response in a hearing that he did know about it. i have serious questions about this because the attorney general should know about that. when you have the outgoing acting director at atf comment that the justice department is doing things to protect the political appointees within the department of justice i have serious questions about that. bill: you think nelson was the fall guy? >> he has been very cooperative with the committee. there was some indication that documents were purposely being withheld from congress. those are serious allegations. so something we'll continue to dive into and thankful to the whistleblowers. bill: when congress comes back next week do you expect more information from other whistleblowers who have not come forward? does the committee continue its investigation? what is next in this?

>> there are still a series of investigations that we have to have in terms of interviewing people and what did they know and tying these documents together. we are finding that other agencies are probably more involved in this than we initially thought from the fbi and others and homeland security. we are trying to tie owl of that together. but when we are asking for documents and they are coming back with literally the entire page blacked out. it makes it difficult. but our investigators have been doing a good job and a good job over there in the senate with senator grassley. bill: based on your comments, this is not over. >> absolutely not, no, no, no. bill: thank you very much. we'll see where it goes. martha: here is a question for you this morning. could a new milkshake alleviate the symptoms of alzheimer's? a disease that affects five million americans. we'll see what dr. manny thinks.

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martha: nearly 5.5 million americans suffer from a dreaded disease called alzheimer's and patients take an average of five different drugs everybody day to combat the memory loss and other debilitating symptoms of this tragic and difficult disease. one company says they can offer some relief to patients in the form of a milkshake. it comes in chocolate and

strawberry and vanilla. what's in it. should you even think this should help in dr. manny is here to weigh in on it. what do you think? >> maybe. that's all i have to say at at this point. this is a medical food. it's the first time that the fda is classifying certain foods especially when they have a medical claim. this is a powder you make a milkshake out of it. it has a type of sugar -- the problem with alzheimer's is the cells of the brain need sugar to metabolize and they have difficulty doing that with the regular metabolism of your body. basically this milkshake creates keytones. it's a type of metabolic fuel that improves cell functions. what they found is patients with

mild to moderate alzheimer's, this food supplement -- you can only get it with prescription. you don't go to the supermarket and buy this -- it does improve cognitive function in patients with alzheimer's in some people. the big ticket item is i hope people don't think this is something that replaces the current medications that we have because it's not a cure. it's just something that helps you improve metabolism of the brain. and i think that the studies are limited. martha: that what i was going to say. the on real study that's been done was done by the company that created the milkshake. >> it had to be sent to the fda and they did gift approval. so that is all good. -- and they did give it approval. martha: this what is i'm curious about. this is a new category.

it's a medical food. it's not medicine. it's not an fda approved drug. but you need a precipitation for it. >> it's regulated by the fda under the new title. it's not like a vitamin. this is a little more rigorous. martha: it says they found after 45 days of drinking the milkshake patients improved 1.9 points. then when they checked people over the longer term they found a smaller amount of increase over the long term. but this is obviously part of the population that is so desperate to have help, right in they are taking several shots at $200-something. >> most doctors are saying we are not going to start prescribing this yet. i do have a problem with this kind of medical food because it can create side effects. the aging population of

alzheimer's. you are talking people in their 60s. if you take too many keytones and you have type 2 diabetes or renal disease you could have significant side effects. this has to be done under medical supervision. the jury is out. it's encouraging that they are look at these times of things but it's not a cure. and we have to be cautious about it. but it's exciting, i think. martha: good to talk to you as always. all right. bill? bill: they have been predicting qaddafi's downfall for some time. a live report from tripoli on the ground there. we'll take you there. martha: new devastating images. towns completely cut off by floodwaters. today the national guard has to fly in supplies to these towns. we'll talk to them.

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stay up to date, entertain yourself, and enrich your knowledge like you've never imagined. only at verizon. built so you can rule the air. >> martha: this is a fox news alert. this morning, the national guard is now flying food and water to isolated victims of aye tphraoepb new england, they've upped supplies airlifted to the tiny towns all across vermont that in very rural areas, they're bringing in meals that will ready to eat meals, coupled with critical supplies and staples for the folks there, dropped into places that have no power, no telephone service, and no passable roads, after the storm dumped about 961 billion gallons of water. wrap your mind around that. on the state of vermont, the green mountain states, a beautiful place, having a very tough time, and that's how we start this brand new hour, i'm martha maccallum.

bill: i'm bill hemmer, it's remarkable. as of late last night, towns were cut off the grid, many towns are the towns you'd know from skiing or snowboarding in the winter time. they are beautiful and remarkable. martha: and now the property damage and the death tolls have left this small state in shamples, the governor of vermont, peter shumlan joins us now, governor, welcome, thank you very much for making time for us this morning, i know you're a very busy man now. >> -- >> thank you for having me. martha: you know, it just kills me, because when you think about how much tile and preparation, evacuation and guidance was given to so many places in the country and vermont was just not on that list. you know, tell me what -- how your state is doing, and how you feel about the helpure getting so far. >> well, the help has really been extraordinary from president obama on down, but we just got dealt such a heavy phro*e, that no amount of warning would have done

us much good. our challenges were small states, we have box mountain valley, and our little tributaries, i was born and raised here, turned into rivers and when that happens you can't predict what water is going to go what, where, and the result has been that you can drive along, and fly along, and see one community that looks like vermont, and on a an august day, everything is fine, next one will be totally devastated. it's just extraordinary. we're still, obviously, devastated by the fact that we've had loss of life, we're looking for at least one other missing person, maybe two, so we're trying to get the crisis management here before we begin the rebuilding. but we have an awful lot of work to do. we're up to our ears in alligators. martha: we're looking at scenes, aerial shots over burlington, ver, one of the most beautiful places in the whole country, and just huge pockets of flooded, flooded areas, and anybody who's

been to vermont knows these beautiful long, rural roads. how are you doing it, knowing that, you know, the people that are out there have been able to make some contact? you know, how are you reaching out to folks in some of these areas? well, you know, obviously the stories are heartbreaking but i got to tell you, vermonters are tough, resilient, we stick together and get things done and at this point, we do have proper access and very remote -- what i call goat paths, road access to every community in vermont so we're no longer as isolated as we were 48 hours ago. we're making great progress. we have 250 -- we've gone from 250 roads being impassable to in the high opportunities -- hundreds, we've had tens of thousands without power, we're down to about 16,000, so our crews, our emergency management folks, national guard, red cross, they're doing an extraordinary job to get us back up and functioning as quickly and possibly as we can given the blow we've

been dealt. martha: we're going to talk to someone from the national guard in a few minutes but they are literally air lithing in food and supplies. how's that going? >> it's going very well. our men and women in uniform are doing an extraordinary job for us, we're proud of them, but you know, it's a challenge, and at this point, because of so much help from the president and others, we have the supplies we need and we're getting it into those community, we're getting folks out that need dialysis and other medical care, so we think the worst of the crisis management is over, now we've got to begin to rebuild. martha: that's my last question for you. obviously, the primary concern are the people on the ground and getting help to them, then after that, you think of the summer folks that spend so much time in vermont and then the ski season that's coming up and you need those roads to be passable and working in order to get people up there to fuel the tourist industry in vermont as well. >> that's right. you missed one critical season between tourism in the summer and ski season.

martha: fall foilage. >> the fall. so all i can say to america is listen, we're open for business. there are everyo all our major roads are totally passable, and if you want to help people in need, come up here, spend your tourist dollars, come see our extraordinary leaves, because they're still on the trees and we're going to have the best fall foilage that vermont has ever seen and we need you here with the love and support you can give us right now. martha: i will be there. i'm there every year. i love vermont. i thank you very much, we encourage everybody to spend time there. it is just a beautiful, beautiful place, and our hearts go out to you and our support as well. governor, thank you very much for being with us today. >> thank you for having me. bill: that governor has been terrific. you hear him talking throughout the week, you know, when he can, because he's been so darn busy, obviously he has his hands full but some of the pictures of the vermont, those blow you away. you see these in like the andes mountains in the rainy season where the rivers come down and take entire villages with them, that's what's happening in vermont

and it's been overlooked in large sense because everybody has been focused on north carolina, new jersey, new york, and rightfully so, but i don't know anyone who saw this coming to the state of vermont. martha: and that's going to be the story, when you and i look back on this hurricane a couple of years from now, we'll say remember irene, a category one sand everyone was worried about coast lines and all these beautiful places got wallop ed way inland. bill: so much more to talk about, brigadier general is with me from the vermont national guard, general, good morning to you. we were on the phone with your governor there in vermont. what are you guys doing now or what can the national guard, the men and women of the guard, do? >> good morning. echo everything that the governor said in terms of the situation. right now, we are primarily today sending supplies to the communities and specifically, i heard you discussing the air lift. we're targeting, prioritizing the limited

access towns to get them as much as we can throughout the day and probably into tomorrow. we've had 50 fema tractor trailers come in with supplies, we're breaking those down, air lifting those and tag them by ground where we can. bill: what about water rescues, how many, how often? >> we haven't had -- in the initial phase of the sraepbt, we had high water vehicles out quickly, and we're attempting to help communities as required, and i have to say, i don't know of any actual water rescues in terms of life saving, but in terms of moving folks and equipment and supplies during the event itself, we did do some of that to get them out of harm's way. but no real rescues in terms of immediate life saving. bell bill for those of us who are not there and only watching it from aerial pictures or videotape, can you give us a sense of what this state has turned into? >> well, i went out with the governor yesterday, we actually stopped in a small

town of ludlow, and i have to say the emergency manager gave us a quick talk on how they reacted. -- i was very impressed on how they prioritized. he did tell us at one point the river raised 5 feet in about 20 minutes, so you can imagine the flash flood as a result of that. and you can see how high the water was, and you obviously see it down in the valleys where the rivers are, and you'll have large loss of road that have been eroded, you can see pieces of homes in certain areas that have been knocked up against bridges. and i will say the communities, the attitude in the communities, the folks i spoke with, is unbelievable. they're all out there, trying to help each other. and again, you look down in the valleys is where you see it, obviously, that's where the river flows are, and a lot of flash flooding. bill: general, good luck, stphobg we won't forget about you and your state up there. and we'll be in touch a bit later today and again tomorrow. >> we appreciate all the

support and care. bull bill indeed, you got it. eight minutes past. a tough going in vermont. martha: it sure is and they're coping with the staggering loss of life in new england, especially vermont, an employee from a water treatment plant in rutland was swept away along with his 24-year-old son when a reservoir crumbled while inspecting it, another man found dead in a lake in southern vermont, one woman was whisked after as she watched the rapidly rising river with her boyfriend. friends and neighbors are in disbelief. >> simply a monumental tragedy. on a number of levels. that frankly, i have no words to describe. >> they didn't have no .han i looked out there, there was a set of tail lights. >> i tried yelling, but it was no good. the river was at such a roar, that it was unreal. march so bad. -- martha: so sad. and in new york, up near the connan border -- canadian

border, two young women died when their car plunged over the edge of a washed out ridge, homeowners heard the screeching tires after the girls missed the barricade and saw the vehicle bobbing in the water. these are awful, sad pictures, and we're thinking about you folks, in new england. hang in there. bill: vermont is best known for its historic covered bridges. there are about 100 of them across the state. at least two or three were entirely destroyed by irene. eight others suffered significant damage. they might have to be taken down. the federal government spends about $8 million every year on the national covered bridge preservation program, so it's not just history, it's your money being washed away in this flood. we're going to have more on this historic flooding as we get it here, developments in a moment here in "america's newsroom". martha: bill, we also have this troubling new report about ground zero and the men and women who worked there, why it could have a major ongoing impact on the new law to fund health care for 9/11 first responders.

very important story you need to hear. bill: also, bring the wives, bring the kids, just don't bring the republicans! raining on a labor day parade with a abandoned you will not believe and a band that has news this morning, actually. we'll look at that. martha: attack ads in full swing as the candidates are coming out swinging on the campaign trail right now. franks luntz takes america's pulse as he always does on the g -- gop world of -- war of words. >> there needs to be a real focus on real issues. >> we want a country that we can believe in, we want a president that we can believe in. >> welcome. >> welcome. >> welcome. >> welcome to minnesota, president obama!

bill: a new report could be a major breakthrough for unhealthy 9/11 responders, a new york fire department study shows an increased rate of cancer for people who worked at ground zero,

that contradicts a report that showed no link. that could mean a difference in compensating for cancer under the droga act, many who had their claims denied after a connection could not be made between ground zero workers and cancer. fourteen past. martha. martha: well, you know, the road to 2012 is already packing quite a bit of heat, folks. republican presidential candidates taking aim at each other and at president obama. how are every day americans so far reacting to what these campaigns are putting out there? it's just fascinating. frank luntz joins me, "author of win, key principle toss take you from ordinary to extraordinary" and also a pollster and a great one. good to see you as always. >> a pleasure. martha: talk to me about the first ad we're going see and how folks are reacting to it out there. >> well, it's real, and that's one of the most important elements of a

successful campaign. you want it to be real, genuine, authentic, and these are real people from minnesota, talking about the president's recent bus tour. it plays very well. you can see how well it dials. let's take a look: >> my thoughts about president obama coming to minnesota -- >> on the last election, i voted for barack obama, and i just feel like i can't -- >> why doesn't he stay in washington and do something about jobs, instead of coming here and talking about it? >> i'd like him to figure out how to jump start our economy. >> there's no jobs to speak of, people are are on unemployment. >> when we can't find jobs, it's frustrating. i got five kids. i just want a government that doesn't take any more money from my kids. >> to enjoy the things that our generation has enjoyed. >> the focus needs to be on real people and real issues. >> things are not working the way they should. >> we want a country that we can believe in, we want a president that we can believe in. >> welcome. >> welcome. >> welcome. >> welcome to minnesota, president obama.

martha: well, that's interesting, isn't it, frank? >> incredibly. martha: you see both of those lines stretching upward and you wonder what's going through folks' minds as they're watching it and what they're thinking. >> because every single point there, where are the jobs, where are the summer jobs, i want a country i can believe in, everything they said, it's real language from real people. that is one of the best dialed ads of the entire 2011 cycle so far. even obama voters looked at that and says you know what, i agree with it, it's reasonable, it's fair, and there's a message for everyone who's creating these ads, stop with these ridiculous negative, humorous, eye ironic ads and speak straight to the american people, look them straight in the eye, and use real words from real people. martha: yeah, all right. so let's take a look at this one, which is basically an antimitt romney ad, talk to us about the background here, and then we'll take a look. >> the democrats decided they were going to go after mitt romney because he was the frontrunner. i wonder if this is going to

be the last democratic antiromney ad, considering how well rick perry is doing. let's take a look at this democratic attack on mitt romney. >> mitt romney stands with the tea party, up to 35 percent cut from social security, but not one more dime from corporations. >> one is we could raise taxes on paoefplt that's the way -- >> corporations! >> corporations are people. my friend. we can raise taxes. of course they are. everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. so -- where do you think it goes? who's talking? >> the democratic national committee is responsible for the content of this ad. martha: -- >> weak, weak, weak. having someone heckling a presidential candidate does not make for a great ad, two is that right now, the american people are looking for anyone to create jobs, businesses or corporations, and three, even the message of the ad wasn't clear. the guys over at the dnc have produced very powerful

ads in 2011 which they've been grounded first in fact, second, in actual comments from the people who spoke about them, but that doesn't really happen, either. very infective. martha: you go back to the success of that first ad and it's very simple, you know? it doesn't take a whole lot of advertising genious to hear the voices of those people and that's what's ringing true according -- according to your dials. >> before we go i want to give people a chance to react to those ads themselves, go to lunt zglobal.cole and you'll get a chance to react to the groups, luntzglobal. martha: it will be fun to take part in that. thanks, frank, good to see you. bill new numbers in the jobs front this morning. it's not getting better, this before the president's big speech on jobs. is this the white house's

final chance to turn around the economy before we really start moving into that campaign season? martha: plus a scare on the water. a dad accused of throwing his seven-year-old overboard, and now, the 911 calls. >> he's like eight, nine or ten, and he's on another boat. oh my god, this guy is a jerk. >> is he intoxicated. >> i think so, yeah. he's like being a jerk.

martha: this is a bizarre story, a father is now speaking out after allegedly throwing his young son overboard during a boat tour in california. he claims they were just playing around, that his son wanted to jump in the water and that he jumped in right after him but 911 callers tell a different story. listen to this:

>> we're out in the middle of the bay, he just threw him over. somebody came and got him, he's on someone else's private boat and the man is coming back on our ship, on our boat right now. he's trying to. >> he is drunk and violent. >> how old was the child? >> the kid is -- i think he's like eight or # or ten. >> okay. >> he's on another boat. but oh my gosh, this guy is a jerk. i'm scared. >> is he intoxicated? >> i think so, yeah. >> okay, i'm going to -- >> he's a jerk. martha: doesn't sound like a very good situation. fortunately everybody is okay. the dad, named sloan bryles, is facing charges of child endangerment and resisting arrest. bill: not what you mean about you want to go for a swim, does it? >> martha: no, that sounds like a bad situation. bill: so a major shakeup in california politics, a citizens group redrawing

district lines and now some long term members of congress could be in the fight for the political lives because of it. anita vogel is live on this story in los angeles. how is this taking shape anita? >> reporter: yeah, hi there bill, this follows a ballot measure calling for a bipartisan business panel with no ties to politics to get together and redraw the state's political map. the results are pretty astounding, and they could have national implications. >> there are new lines, new districts, and it's going to create a lot of chaos at the state level and at the federal level for the california representatives >> reporter: the new california political map is taking time to digest, but one thing is clear, many incumbents will be vulnerable. take, for example, the 36th congressional district which includes the busy port of los angeles in san pedro, home to democratic congresswoman janice han, who just won a special election there. >> but the new congressional map puts san pedro at the

southern end of the new 44th congressional district which includes parts of inner city los angeles and already has a congresswoman, democrat laura richardson. in the fall of next year, han and richson will likely compete against each other for that one seat. >> at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter where the lines are drawn, everybody is going to want their congress member to focus on jobs and the economy. >> the 44th is just one of possibly up to half a dozen california races on next year's ballot, featuring two incumbents. long time democrats howard burr phaupbd brad cherman have been drawn toug in the 30th congressional district in north ridge and veteran republicans ed royce and gary miller could also end up facing off in the new 39th district. >> we're going to have more competitive election necessary november than this state has probably seen in two decades. >> reporter: now, the new lines were drawn based mostly on the census, and now of an influx of latinos and more registered democrats than republicans a lot of people looking at

this map say it favors democrats, so bill, we're looking at five to six congressional republican, congressional districts, that could be in for a shift. we'll be watching that. bill: indeed we will. that could change a lot of things. anita vogel, thank you. live from los angeles. martha: they're already competing frontrunners for the 2012 ticker and now the polls are showing that they're both really running neck and neck with president obama. this is getting very interesting, folks. bill: also, his new tell-all memoir sending shock waves to washington and across the country. former vice president dick cheney, defending that blockbuster book, right here on fox. >> we should not whack away at the defense budget now. you can't turn defense back on, on short notice. it takes years. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

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to try lifelock risk free for a full 60 days. use promo code: norisk. plus get this document shredder, free! but only if you act right now. call now! lifelock service guarantee cannot be offered to residents of new york. martha: welcome back, everybody. right now israel is beefing up its security along its border with egypt sending two more warships in the red sea. reena ninan is. why has this become such a hotbed for militant activity? >> reporter: martha, it has been pretty much a quiet border the past 30 years or so since the peace treaty was signed between egypt israel. since the fall of president mubarak the egyptians seem to turn a mind eye to the border. u.s. put a call into egypt. this has got to stop. you have to rein in on the area. israelis allowed more

military presence there and even more firepower. they're providing intelligence in the hopes all of could be followed. this manhunt we were discussing martha, israelis went to the media saying we have got intelligence. we know this is going to happen. they're hoping getting the word out that these militants might not go through with this plan, martha. martha: that's not all they're doing. what else is the israeli military up to? >> reporter: there is two, in the port of elah two missile ships the israeli navy is putting forward. that is not more so related to this manhunt. likely another situation we're watching that the iranian navy announced they're sending submarines to the red sea to quote, protect against piracy. martha if. martha: that will escalate tensions there. thank you very much. always good to see you. reena ninan in jerusalem. >> our economy has to grow faster. we have to create more jobs and we have to do it faster.

most of all we have to break the gridlock in washington preventing us from taking action we need to get it country moving. bill: the president talking about the issue in the country today. that's jobs. the white house says there will be a major jobs speech soon. some say this is the president's final window to improve the broken economy before election season. stephen moore, senior economic writer for "the wall street journal" is with me down there in the nation's capitol. >> hi, bill. bill: tony blakely well-known republican in washington circles says obama's economic policy, last chance. do you see it that way? >> yeah i do. let me circle back to something the president said in that statement you just showed. what gridlock is the president talking about,. bill:? for for the first two years of presidency the democrat had towering majorities in the house and senate and obviously with obama in the white house. there was no grid lock. the problem there wasn't enough gridlock.

we passed obamacare and stimulus plan and "cash for clunkers". the election was reaction to that. that people wanted this to slow down. now you've got a situation where you do have obviously republicans running the house. they are trying to put the brakes on all this spending. the president has two options as tonely blakely outlined in his piece. one go radical and do another huge stimulus plan, as much as another trillion dollars. the other do a smaller more modest package. bill, my sources are saying that is what is more likely. bill: talked about a third option too. turn left, keep it down the middle or you could go right. maybe these proposals republicans would jump on board. >> the president turning right on this. in fact what the republicans want is lower tax rates and just seems very unlikely that will happen. after all, bill, last week the president was running around the country with warren buffett saying he wanted to raise tax rates.

there was a big idealogical grand canyon between where the president is and republicans are. bill: two back to your first answer because we have few details about this at the moment. what is your expectation what you're hearing? i guess you could label it small ball the describe it. >> that is go way to put it. small ball. only in washington is $250 billion considered small ball. more infrastructure spending, more shovel-ready projects. that was in the original stimulus. a big unemployment insurance program and probably extension of the tax credit on social security that started in january, the president wants another year extension of that. the problem republicans will say very predictably about this? what is new about this? this is the change. this is what we've been doing last two or three years. it hasn't created jobs we need. bill: is small ball what we need? >> if we stop the spending, stop the debt, we, just had a downgrade on our debt. that's a signal maybe all this debt isn't helping the

situation. i do think the one glimmer of hope because i agree with tony, this is the president's last chance to get right before the election. there is a chance we could get some tax reform out of that supercommittee in congress that could bring the tax rates down. get hid of all the loopholes in the tax system. we did that before in 1986. i think if we do that that would help economy. bill: is that private american citizens, is that corporations is that both, steven? >> hope any both. i talk to a lot of liberal economist and debate them. this is a point to agreement. almost every economist agrees that our tax system has to be blown up and we have to start over. where we're going to head with that is where the disagreement is. everybody agrees. everybody listening to the show that the tax system is a colossal failure. bill: last night, harry reid was saying he is positive, i think the quote he said sure he is sure that the president will push for more green energy jobs. >> oh. bill: that could be debated

whether or knot that is effective and what you need right now. that could be a part of this also. steven, thank you for your time. >> no more green jobs. they haven't worked. bill: back to your green job at "the wall street journal". martha: how about jobs of any color, green, purple, blue. bill: take them all. >> former vice president dick cheney's new memoir hitting the book shelves. earlier he stopped by "fox and friends" where he weighed on everything from the 2012 race to debt crisis saying he believes debt spending needs to be protected. >> i care like everybody else does turning handle on deficit reduce the debt and come up with a long-term plan but we need to focus on a lot of those entitlement programs. we should not whack away at the defense budget now. you can't turn defense back on short notice. it takes years. i don't mean to argue that we can't find savings in defense. i think we can but it has to be done in a way that maintains the capability we're going to need in the years ahead. martha: chaney's new book is

called, in my time, a personal and political memoir and his daughter liz cheney co-wrote that with whim. details really the most crucial moments of the george w. bush white house and i just started reading it yesterday. it is very interesting read. bill: takes you back on a lot of history right back to the mid '70s. he talked earlier spending two years on this book. he put a lot into this too. in a moment they are the two republican front-runners at the moment. and this morning there are new polling numbers that show mitt romney and rick perry gaining traction against president obama. now what is at work here? we'll debate that fair and balanced coming up. martha: tweet me at martha macallum. texting and driving we know isn't safe. what about texting and biking, bill? one city decided we need a law about this. we need to crack down. bill: major multitask, isn't it? ♪ .

bill: so we found this california man trying to make a political statement of some sort anyway. he climbed a, climbed a tower 100 feet up the ktla television tower in l.a. before police could eventually talk him down. he was in custody. we still don't know what kind of point he was trying to make. martha: he was unsuccessful then. bill: like the guy in oklahoma a couple weeks ago. martha: all right. let's talk politics for a moment, shall we? as republican presidential candidates just for frontrunner status we have new poles showing them head-to-head in presidential race. there is the quinneypy whack poll. leading governor rick perry by 3%. let's bring in the gentleman alan colmes, host of the

alan colmes radio show and tucker carlson, editor of the daily caller. fox news contributor. hi martha. >> hello. martha: striking, tucker this is very tight race between both of them and president obama. a lot of folks say you need to look state to state, not nationally at this point. >> that's exactly right. first republicans have to choose their nominee. i think at this stage the more interesting numbers are those that show rick perry far ahead of mitt romney. sort of all of a sudden out of nowhere. comes as surprise to a lot of people how soft some of the support from republicans for romney seems to have been. perry seems to scoop up all the tea party support floating out there. it coalesced behind him. if he continues to hold those voters, you know i think he will be a pretty formidable candidate against the president. martha: very interesting. romney has taken a very sort of, kind of back burner tactic so far against perry. there is a couple pieces out

this morning, alan, that is because he believes the press is going after perry in many ways and that he will implode if he basically stays out of his way and lets that happen. what do you think of that. >> i think it is a smart on romney. to quote george steinbrenner he doesn't want to be mr. may and peak to soon. when people vet perry and finds out how extreme his positions wants to overturn the 16th amendment, 17th amendment. contradicted his own book. when people really vet him when the public really focuses on they will see how extreme he is. democrats like me want perry to get the nomination. martha: you complain on the other side from conservatives that he is not conservative enough really. look at stance on things like immigration and health care perhaps, looking back that he has been a little bit softer towards some of those inclinations that conservatives might disagree with. >> that's right. he was a democrat at one point.

we had a story yesterday that showed a letter he wrote to hillary clinton in 1993 praising her health care reform attempts. in the end he is conservative enough i think for the republican primary electorate. the idea his claim social security is ponzi scheme example of extremism it is a ponzi scheme. >> oh please. >> that is true. literally it meets the technical definition of the term ponzi scheme. >> we could fix it easily. martha: i don't want to get into argument about social security. i really want to get your thoughts on this. i have a theory. this will be very big. i think we'll know by october 18th who will be the gop candidate because you've got five debates. i also really think that most people in this county have never really seen rick perry talk. >> true, true. >> that's right. >>. martha: mitt romney will be a bloodbath between these two guys and mitt romney and rick perry standing to each other on the debate stages and american people will get a real look at this time. >> i'm buying my popcorn now. i can't wait to see this.

it will be great. >> you're absolutely right. he is longest-serving governor in history of texas and most people don't know what he sounds like when he talk. >> we have to two. we have the president coming up. sorry to cut you off. bill: this is about a transportation bill. let's listen. >> the transportation bill will expire. this bill provides funding for highway construction, bridge repair, mass transit system, and other essential projects that keep our people and our commerce moving quickly and safely. and for construction workers and their families across the country it represents the difference between making end meet or not making ends meet. if we allow the transportation bill to expire, over 4,000 workers will be immediately furloughed without pay. if it is delayed for just 10 days, it will lose nearly one billion dollars in highway funding. that is money we can never get back. and if it is delayed even

longer, almost one million workers could lose their jobs over the course of the next year. that includes some of the folks behind me today. we've got adam vensel and chris negly who are with the federal highway administration. we have hector seeley and austin anderson who work for the fort myers construction company. if we don't extend this bill by the end of september, all of them will be out of a job. just because of politics in washington. and that, that is just not acceptable. that is inexcusable. it is inexcusable to put more jobs at risk in an industry already been one of the hardest hit over the last decade. it is inexcusable to cut off necessary investments at a time when so many of our highways are choked with congestion. when some of our bridges are in need of repair. when so many commuters depend on reliable public

transit and when travel and shipping delays cost businesses billions of dollars every single year. now, if this story sounds familiar, that is because we have heard it before. just a few weeks ago congress refused to act on another bill, typically a routine bill, that would have ended up pulling thousands of aviation workers off the job and delaying necessary airport improvement projects across the country. and when congress finally got their act together they only funded the faa until september 16th. that's why when they come back next month, not only do they need to pass the transportation bill but they have also to place a clean extension of faa bill for longer this time and address back pay for workers laid off during the last shutdown. at a time when a lot of people in washington are talking about creating jobs, it is too i am to stop the

political gamesmanship that can actually cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs. this should not be a democratic issue or a republican issue. this transportation bill has been renewed the seven times in the last two years alone. that's why my secretary of transportation, ray lahood a republican is with me today, along with david-vir from the chamber of commerce and rich trumka of the afl-cio, two organizations who don't always see eye-to-eye on things, because they agree how important it is for our economy that congress act now. so i'm calling on congress as soon as they come back to place a clean extension of surface transportation bill along with the kleenex tension of faa bill along to give communities across america that vital construction projects will knot come to a halt. after that is done i'm also proposing we reform the way

transportation money is invested to eliminate waste, to give states more control over the projects right for them and give better results for money spent. we need to stop funding projects based on whose districts they're in and funding them based on how much good they are doing for the american people. no more bridges to no where. no more projects that are simply funded because of somebody pulling strings. we need to do this all in a way that gets the private sector more involved. that is how we will put construction workers back to work right now doing the work that america needs done. not just to boost our economy this year but for for the next 20 years. finally, in keeping with the recommendation from my jobs council, today i am directing certain federal agencies to identify high-priority infrastructure projects that can put people back to work. these projects, these are projects that are already

funded and with some focused attention we could expedite the permitting decisions and reviews necessary to get construction underway more quickly while still protecting safety, public health and the environment. tomorrow, in dallas, my jobs council will meet with local jobs, local business owners and other folks about what we've done so far to rebuild our infrastructure and what we can do to make sure america is moving even faster in getting people back to work. that is what we will need to do in the short term, keep people on the job, keep vital projects moving forward and fund projects that are already underway in a smarter way. of course if we're honest we also know when it comes to our nation's infrastructure, our roads, our railways, mass transit and airports, we shouldn't be playing patch up or catch up. we should be leading the world. 10 years ago our nation's infrastructure was ranked sixth globally. today it is 23rd.

we invest half, half as much in our infrastructure as we did 50 years ago, with more than 1 1/2 the number of people. everybody can see the consequences. that's unacceptable for a nation that always dreamed big and built big, from transcontinental railroads to the interstate highway system. it is unacceptable when countries like china are building high-speed rail networks and gleaming new airports while more than a million construction workers who could be doing the same thing are unemployed right here in america. and so when congress is back next week, in addition to passing these clean extensions to prevent any halt on existing work, we're going to have to have a serious conversation in this country making real, lasting invests in our infrastructure, from, better ports to smarter electric grid, from high-speed internet to high-speed rail and at a time when interest rates are low and workers are unemployed, the best

time to make those investments is right now. not once another levy fails or another bridge falls. right now is when we need to be making these decisions. now is the time for congress to extend the transportation bill, keep our workers on the job. now is the time to put our country before party and to give certainty to the people who are just trying to get by. there is work to be done. there are workers ready to do it and that's why i expect congress to act immediately. and to all the folks here on the stage, thank you for the outstanding work you're doing in helping maintain our nation's infrastructure. thank you very much, everybody. [applause] martha: that was president obama in the rose garden talking about the importance of passing funding to improve the infrastructure. he is joined by ray lahood the transportation secretary and also richard trumka of the afl-cio, says they need to get together to get some of the jobs done before it is too late. bill: it will be a battle

next week when they come back to work on tuesday. martha, no parade for you. union leaders in wisconsin are telling republican lawmakers they are banned from a labor day parade. remember the union battles earlier this year? republicans won in the end but not after democrats fled the state and rallies in madison went on for weeks. pam galloway, republican state senator in wisconsin. you represent the district where the big parade takes place and i understand as of today, or even late last night, that the ban has been lifted, is that true? >> yes it is. so we will be able to attend the parade. bill: so it was a fact that you were barred from attending? your own parade in your own town? >> yes. the republican lawmakers who had been elected last fall had been banned from attending the labor day parade but the labor council reversed their decision. so we'll be able to attend and be there with the folks. bill: how did they break that news to you, that you were not going to be allowed? >> well, they actually didn't break it directly to

me. i heard by way of congressman sean duffy and by way of an article in the "milwaukee journal sentinel". so they actual never did directly can't us and tell us that. we're looking very forward to being there. bill: did they contact you, hey we changed our mind and you're welcome after all? >> no. i actually heard by way of a news spot on the radio this morning. so, we really have never actually heard directly from them. bill: now are you going to go? >> yes. absolutely. we'll be there with bells on and be out there talking with the people and just having a great time like should have been from the very beginning. bill: are you giving your democratic lawmakers a big hug or what? we all watched the battle play out over the past several months. it was heated in a big way. is the tension still there or has it subsided? >> no. i think we realize we all have to work together which has been my intention all along once i was elected to reach across the aisle and work with the other side but

i think that one of the reasons that the labor council may have reversed their decision they realized it wasn't appropriate to inject this political trim triyol into a fun -- vitriol in a fun event. think all want us in the state of wisconsin to work together and that will be our plan. bill: enjoy the parade okay? >> thank you so much. bill: we'll look for you and your bells on monday. >> okay. i'll be there. bill: tanks, pam galloway. >> thank you. martha: it was a dramatic rescue unfolding on fox news. meet the brave rescue team that saved three stranded hikers.

,. >> it is loud and clear on dangers of texting and talking on the phone while you're driving but what about using a cell phone when you have your handlebars in front of you? california want people to pay a fine if you're biking an using cell phone. bill, listen up to this.