the violators would have to fork over 20 bucks. the bill is on the governor's desk. it would beef up fines for drivers using mobile phones. i'm all for that. we need stiffer fines for people texting in their cars. >> that would be me on the bicycle. >> always putting my hands on handle bars. if i had phone in my back pocket. would have been using that do. doesn't mean we were right. >> see you on the radio with kilmeade in couple minutes. >> "happening now" right now. jenna: kicking off a little bit of that cell phone and biking at the same time, fox news alert here on a major headline from the business world. the government says no to major merger. the justice department is blocking at&t from buying t-mobile. it is a huge $39 billion deal. got all the headlines when it was announced but the feds say merging the number four wireless carrier with the number two is a major conflict for us, the consumers. the government says it could reduce competition, not a good thing in this market

and raise prices for us with a cell phone and blackberry. at&t can challenge the decision. what you're looking right there is briefing at the justice department, an antitrust briefing that is set to take place at any moment now. if we hear news on this major business deal that has sweeping effects for all of us that use handheld devices we'll bring you those headlines. jenna: hi, everybody we're so glad you're with us. >> i'm greg jarrett here for jon scott. rain swolling riverses in northeastern new jersey prompting more evacuations for threaten homeowners. the town of walllington issuing a mandatory evacuation. jenna: these pictures from

paterson, new jersey. the rising wars of passaic river prompting flooding waters in many communities. governor chris christie said his tour quote, revealed despair. he will mean with the homeland security. gregg: he is busy man. not getting much sleep. neither are the people that are inundated. irene blamed for 7 deaths in new jersey. the latest victim sucked into a drain pipe while clearing debris in a drainage basin. david lee miller has more. how bad is it there? >> reporter: it is pretty bad. a picture is worth a thousand words this picture is worth a million. the pa say quick river done to the bridge in patterson new jersey, completely impasseable. the water moving at very swift pace this morning. we're told that the river crested 13 feet above flood stage. further down river you can see what is the left of this

pride chicken restaurant that apparently was closed. it is for sale. what is happening today, certainly not good for the real estate market in paterson. just off in the distance behind the fried chicken restaurant, you see four building blocks, four apartment houses. all of them were evacuated in the last 24 hours because of the flooding. we are told that thousands and thousands of people have been evacuated here in paterson alone. this is three days since irene left this area authorities are trying to restore power here in the state of new jersey. 170,000 people are without power. further upstream, we'll pan down here, you can get some sense of the topography. we're told there are some falls. we will try to travel travel there a little later. one of the residents who

lives here the situation just out of our camera range, i'm quoting him, now, resembles niagra falls. the situation three days after the irene left the area still dire. authorities here saying they're doing the best they can to cope. in a few hours time, janet napolitano will be touring new jersey. she will hold a news conference here. more than anything else the folks who live in community just want the waters to recede and that we are told could take three to five days. back to you. gregg: my goodness, three to five more days of that. david lee miller in paterson, new jersey. hard to believe that is happening. jenna: unbelievable to see the pictures still coming in. you think the hurricane is a day or two we're watching the story, yet into the week here we are taking a look at another state, that is the state of vermont which also was just hit so hard by this storm. nearly a foot of rain triggered massive flooding and cut off access to almost a dozen towns. folks there with no power, no telephone, no really way to get in or out.

emergency crews are working hard to reach them in fact. so far they have made it to all but one of the towns, bringing folks there basic necessities and supplies. hundreds of roads and dozens of bridges are forced to shut down. damage is said to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. but these estimates are early. check out these dramatic pictures. can you believe the storm caused this, the flooding caused this? it looks like an earthquake. this is the area of killington where the ski resort town and folks are cut off. we're getting images today. you can see why it is difficult to travel here. the road is cracked into pieces. here is another shot of rocks and debris covering a road as well. during the height of the storm some folks were on the road and floodwaters came so quickly it swept their cars away. their family members react to the tragedy. >> apparently the bank gave way and they were swept away. >> i tried yelling but it was no good. >> simply a monumental

tragedy on a number of levels that, frankly i have no words to describe. >> it's sad, very sad. >> i feel hollow inside. >> they didn't have no chance. jenna: no words indeed. hollow inside, says it all. fred is from wilmington, vermont. he is a vermont town manager there. and fred, how are things today? >> well, let's just say relatively speaking they seem a lot better but we still have a very long way to go. just listening to your previous, previous report there described quite well. you know it has been a very difficult period for us but to answer your question, right now, things are looking better, but, again we still do have a long way to go. jenna: we're taking a look at more of the water that is just rushing into different parts of the state. we know that certainly affected your town.

i was taking a look at your town website is kept so well up-to-date with everything that is happening. looks like you have a really good system in place. just describe what your residents are going through right now. no electricity, no water. what is the situation facing a regular family? >> well, depends where you're at in our town. we, we are establishing power incrementally. power has pretty much been back. we were able to re-establish sewer and water last night, which parts of the town which is great. but, there, biggest issues we have now is section of the heart of our town where good majority, a lot of our businesses are is still really wreck, totally wrecked. and we're trying to re-establish that section of town right now. and clearing out the debris that has been left over is probably the main challenge. jenna: what do you need. >> what do we need? jenna: yeah. >> we could use a lot of

things the big thing too is the town office building happens to be in the flood plain as well as our fire department. so we're displaced that is probably the most difficult thing. we're operating out of the emergency operations center here which is the high school. we're trying to get fema trailers or some things like that to at least bring the town back up to order. in general we want to, you know, we need waste collection. there is so much debris around, it is amazing. food and water, we can always use that. although we have national guard here and state people have done what they could. they have their hands full. jenna: we were looking before and after picture. this is really hitting home for all of us, fred. appreciate having you take the time to talk to us a little bit this today. we wish you the best. thanks for letting us know how we can help. that is always important to point out to our viewers that do want to get involved.

the town manager, fred, thank you very much, we'll be thinking of you. gregg: you can hear the fatigue and sadness in his voice. he has gone through so much and everybody there has. jenna: you almost feel a little guilty right. here you are in new york city. everybody was talking about what would happen to manhattan and the storm kind of came through and several days later and a lot of folks are really dealing with the aftereffects of it. gregg: they absolutely are. it could get worse. tropical storm cat at this yaw is churning in the atlantic -- katia. sorry to bear bad news but it could become a hurricane today. janice dean. >> we think probably the 5:00 p.m. advisory, gregg and we got 11 okay, and winds are still 65 mile-per-hour sustained. there is katia. we think the storm will come close to the u.s. we're still days out. i want to stress that. we don't have any idea where

the storm will go beyond five days. we're certainly expecting a hurricane to form. as i think of the 5:00 p.m. advisory. then ramping up to a cat two and cat three. there are the leeward islands. north of the eward islands is the major category 3 storm around monday morning. but that konl of uncertainty gets a little bit more bigger as we go further out in time. those are the computer models we're watching currently. that's why we see the cone spreading out. this is one of our more reliable models, the gfs as we go to the next five, seven or even 10 days. looks like it take as direct hit on bermuda. folks in bermuda you have time. we have time to forecast and hone in on what the storm is going to do. more importantly, guys we have the wave across the caribbean that is going to go through the yucatan channel. we do think this has the possibility to develop within the next couple of days, perhaps into a depression, even into a tropical storm. and perhaps affect the gulf

coast this weekend. the good news here is that texas, parts of texas really need to see the moisture. so we'll keep our fingers crossed there. we don't want to wish a hurricane on anybody at this point in time. gregg, back to you. gregg: would that one have a name already? >> yes. gregg: leroy. >> is it lee? jenna lee. gregg: jenna lee would know that. >> she would know that. so cute. lee will be a very pretty, beautiful, tiny storm. jenna: like it. tiny storm. gregg: lots of famous things named after jenna lee. all right, jenna? jenna: we'll move on a little bit to other news on the day. members of the 9/11 commission issuing report card today document status of many recommendations issued in the landmark report in 2004. this is an update. correspondent catherine herridge with the report.

what has the commission said so far. >> reporter: things, jenna. the event is ongoing in washington but 9/11 commissioners say nine of 40 of recommendations have not been fulfilled a decade after the attacks. among them there is still no consistent policy for detention and prosecution of alleged terrorists. that's important with growing number of cases we're seeing more americans taking roles within al qaeda and its affiliates. >> our nation's political leadership have delayed resolving the admittedly very difficult problem of reconciling the rule of law with the indefinite detention of alleged terrorists. some of whom would no doubt attempt to do the nation and individuals in the nation grievous harm. >> reporter: for some context the obama administration placed new mexico born cleric al voila can i first american on the terrorist capture list and suspects who pled guilty to the federal court in new york city where they

have the presumption ever innocence of the just as reminder the 9/11 case is in the military system and decade later that trial is still not underway. on issue of airport security the commissioner said it is still not where it needs to be especially given evolution and threat of hijackers and box cutters to non-metallic explosive used by al qaeda in yemen. that was the group behind last two major plots against the u.s. using aircraft. >> transportation security. with significant federal funding it. sa has deployed large numbers of enhanced screening equipment, using passenger check point, explosives detection and checked bag screening. unfortunately the explosives detection technology lacks reliability and lags in its capability to automatically identify concealed weapons and explosives. >> reporter: in the last few minutes i think this is going to be the main headline out of that news conference today. almost every commissioner saying they're disappoint

the this newly created position after 9/11, dni or director of national intelligence they say does not have the power authority or to make the kind of changes that the 9/11 commission had in mind for the u.s. intelligence community. jenna. jenna: we'll be speaking to the chairman of the commission later on in the show. >> reporter: oh good. jenna: we'll be sure to ask about that. >> reporter: you're welcome. gregg: tensions are running high in the middle east. israel dispatching warships to the red sea on fresh concerns about a terrorist attack and wait until you hear how iran is responding. >> imagine being in the path of this? we talked about hurricanes. how about wildfires threatening some people in texas and oklahoma. flames already destroyed homes and more today are at risk. why conditions are ripe for this disaster to get a whole lot worse. gregg: and you saw it here first, the dramatic rescue of three missing hikers from a national forest in minutes we'll be talking to the people who brought them home alive. don't go away.

jenna: right now a massive wildfire is sweeping through parts of north texas and oklahoma. the fast-moving flames are destroying at least 20 homes in the lakeside community near fort worth and threatening more than 100 others, forces hundreds of people from the area. the texas forest service says the summer heat wave and severe drought conditions we talked so much on the show are creating perfect conditions for this crisis in late summer. we're going to be talking live with the oklahoma city fire chief in the next hour. he is live at the scene and will bring us an update on exactly what is happening. gregg: all right, some new information crossing our international desk this hour. israel is on alert, sending two more warships to its red seaboarder with egypt. israel's military getting some intel information that militants may be plotting yet another attack on southern israel from egyptian soil. now all of this coming as iran says it is sending naval ships to the red sea.

iran saying it will patrol the waters and fight off pirate attacks. that's what they say. fox news contributor, former united nations ambassador john bolton joins me now. ambassador, thanks very much. let's talk about israel-egypt. is this an escalation that could evolve into something really volatile and dangerous? >> well i think it reflects a deteriorating security situation for israel, particularly focusing on gaza and the sinai peninsula. there have already been terrorist attacks into israel recently from the sinai and it's due to a loss of control by the egyptian government over that territory, particularly because the new post-mubarak egyptian government opened up the gaza strip. they took away the blockade that mubarak had on egyptian border of gaza. so people, terrorists can many could into gaza and exit right away into egypt. but it also reflects i think israel's concern as egypt

moves military forces into sinai admittedly with israeli acquiescence in the short term that the overall land for peace bargain of the 1979 camp david accords is beginning to deteriorate. gregg: iran says it is sending its 15th fleet into the region. what are they up to? >> they're fishing in troubled waters. they have sent naval units before. and again, this is a real departure for the government of egypt post-mubarak. they have let iranian ships, warships, transit the suez canal for the first time since the 1979 islamic revolution in iran. so, iran is showing the flag, showing that it can project power into the region, another reason for israel to be concerned. gregg: well look, israeli ships also have to make their way through the suez canal and red sea and their military port there. is there any sign that egypt may deny them access? >> no.

and theoretically under the international conventions that govern the suez canal and have since it was built in the 19th century, warships of any nation should be allowed through. it is just that egypt didn't particularly follow it with respect to iran. but i think it heightens the potential risk of iranian involvement, not just in the red sea but up into the mediterranean around lebanon and syria. gregg: no wonder israel is now this hour on alert. ambassador john bolton, thank you, sir. >> thank you. jenna: well a disturbing 911 call made to los angeles police after russell armstrong hangs himself at a friend's home. he is married or was married to one of the stars of bravo's reality series, the "real housewives of beverly hills". the question has been asked is, well is the reality too much. and that's one of the questions that we're asking today as we take a listen to this 911 call next.

also it is a scandal indeed. money, sex, college football and the ncaa is issuing its ruling. does the punishment fit the crime? what happens next? we'll talk to the reporter who broke this story wide open.

jenna: welcome back. some developing stories we're keeping an eye on here in the newsroom and from our control room as well. brand new pictures coming in from the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in syria. [gunfire] we can't verify the video but supposedly shows protesters running to try to take cover amid heavy gunfire. the action taking place on the holiday marking the end of the holy month of ramadan. meanwhile from libya, word

that one of qaddafi's sons may be turning himself in. he may call to negotiate the terms of his surrender. we have yet to hear more on that report. the man who climbed ktlatv tower is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation to term if he will face charges. police say he was making a political statement. he made it 100 feet before authorities talked him down. gregg: we're getting some new information on that scandal surrounding players from the university of miami football team. the ncaa suspending 18 members for accepting everything from free meals tonight's out at strip clubs oh, yeah a whole lot more from former university booster negative van shapiro. he is now in prison from a ponzi scheme. we have the investigator tiff reporter from yahoo!

sports who broke this story. talk to us about the benefits conferred here and how pervasive this was. >> the benefits for eight student athletes were suspended we're talking about meals, entrance into gentleman's clubs, really a wide array of different things. some impermissible lodging. a handful of different benefits there is a 9th player for university university of miami who appears to have been suspended for remainder or entire 2011 season essentially for failing to cooperate with ncaa investigators in a truthful manner. then and additional four who received some type of benefit from nevin shapiro but because the benefits were less than $100 were allowed to pay money to a charity to retain their eligibility. gregg: eight miami players have to sate out various games, four games, six games. jenna told me it could have

been a whole lot worse. do you think so. >> it could have been. remember this is the only the first phase of the ncaa investigation. one thing they wanted to get out of the way quickly was the players, active players currently on the roster at the university of miami. this does not address the seven coaches who shapiro alleged to have been involved with formerly coaching at university of miami. it does not involve the multitude of former players who shapiro was also allegedly involved with at miami. nor the institutional aspects of what ncaa is investigating. people have to understand this is the only first initial phase of the investigation for the ncaa. gregg: charles, this is just days before the hurricanes open their season. how much does this really hurt the team? >> you're talking about, eight players that were suspended, multiple starters. particularly defensively you're going to see, miami in a weakened state against maryland when they open the season. your starting quarterback.

>> cory harris will have to sit for the game. initially the first game it will be difficult for the hurricanes. they will have a heck of a hurdle knocking out a large portion of their starting lineup. getting past the first game which you see five players sit. the team will strengthen once again. the investigative cloud hanging over the team right now is problematic as the suspensions. gregg: what a shame. charles robinson, investigative reporter for yahoo! sports who broke the story, thanks very much. >> thank you. gregg: jenna. jenna: unfolded right here live on "happening now" yesterday. we showed you three hikers rescued after spending the night in a national park. we don't even know where they were, where they were going. there are so many questions. this mission, this rescue mission was certainly not easy. we have the details straight from the people who made sure this story had a happy ending and we're going to talk to them next.

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jenna: you know what that music means, it's time to talk a little politics now. in 2010 it was the tea party. in 2008 it was the use vote. who will be the key voting block in the 2012 election. we want to talk about this with the former howard dean campaign

manager, joe trippi. everybody talks about the independents, but who are these people? >> reporter: they are people that are pressured they don't have faith in the way the economy, the country is going. and they've been moving in big swings from party to party. towards the end of 2008 they moved against the republicans. in 20 some they worked against the democrats. now it looks like, again because of, you know, the buck stops here in the white house it looks like they are more angry at the democrats and obama at this point. jenna: the "wall street journal" had a real interesting article on that maybe six months ago talking about how the vote for change, which was the president's mantra for 2008 really is the same sort of change that people were asking for in 2010, it just came in different forms.

how as a straigh strategist and go out and seduce them. >> reporter: i don't think seducing them is the word. the rubber has to hit the road. the economy has to turn here, and they need to feel it. jenna: if it doesn't some may not vote. >> reporter: some may not vote. the very interesting thing about this time is whether it's against both parties. is it the president and the republican congress that all get thrown out? because it seems like they are very angry at both. you look at congress' ratings, they are really low, the president's ratings are really low. what i'm looking at for the first time is is it possible that everybody in power is in trouble. jenna: and it would be the first time for something like that. >> reporter: that i know of, both parties have incumbents that lose and the president has to fight his way to

re-election. jenna: what happens then? does that mean a third party candidate emerges, or what does that mean about what it does to our political system. >> reporter: if it were a third party right now i think a lot of people would be joining it. jenna: why isn't it, then. >> reporter: there is a good chance that somebody will step into that vacuum if it persists. i did some focus groups in florida a few months ago where we asked people, if you had a choice of picking 435 people randomly out of the phone book and call it the phone book party do you think they could do a better job than both existing parties in washington? and hands down in all the focus groups everybody voted for the phone book party. jenna: you're kidding. >> reporter: it's a william f. buckley idea frome from a longtime ago. i wanted to resurrect it and see where it went. you have swing voters that don't swing from one party to the

other -- jenna: why? we have to run. such an interesting question. why would people tell you that they would prefer ran dome folks out after phone booth and think they would be more effective than those that want to be in politics. >> reporter: because they believe they are actually trying to beat each other instead of solving the problems in the community. they were saying, how do we get rid of all that and get something done. which is part of the president's problem, even if he wants to do something you have the other side saying, no you don't. jenna: maybe he should hold up a phone book and just ask. joe, thank you so much. such an interesting thing to share with us. i'm curious what our viewers are thinking about it "happening now." would you prefer the phone book or the people in power. gregg: a dramatic story you watched unfold right here on "happening now."

yesterday search-and-rescue teams found three missing hikers in averag in ageless national forest. we have three people who were all part of the team involved in the hikers search and rescue. thank you so much, job well done. it was incredible as we watched you do it. robert, let me start with you. as i understand it you're the operation leader. this was pretty dangerous, it began in the middle of the night. break it down for us. >> well, gregg, we got the call about 10:00 at night from one of the wives that three missing hikers were overdue, so we got to the station, deployed from the station, went to the -- up the angelus crest to find -- we

were looking for their vehicles. we understood they were going to start at a place called devil's canyon and hike up to mount water man, or vice versa. our first assignment was to find the vehicles. they had parked one vehicle at devil's canyon and then one at waterman. gregg: you had a choice, you could either air lift them out, we are watching it right now, or you could, i suppose have walked them out. talk to us about the air lift. >> the air lift were done for the search and rescue members who were the most remote in the field. they were looking at a six-hour hike out under 100 degrees temperatures. we were concerned for their safety. the victims that we had demanded to walk out themselves they did not want an air lift. and the field team with them determined they were able to do that. gregg: cindy, talk to us about your observations, you had to

work around the falls as i understand it. that makes it rather treacherous, right. >> it was a difficult assignment. we were in the drainage of devil's canyon and we had to navigate around some huge automobile-sized boulders, fallen trees and the falls. it was a tough assignment. gregg: tommy, those are three people who are happy that you found them. did you talk with them a little bit, and what did they say? >> yeah we had a good talk with them on the way out. they were three nice guys. their only mistake was that they underestimated the time it would take them to travel through this canyon, which is very, very difficult terrain and it's really impossible for anyone to estimate how long it will take you until you've been there yourself. they were tired, a little worn out but they were good to hike out. gregg: they are lucky to be alive, thanks to you, heros all of you. and thanks for sharing your end of the story.

appreciate it. good luck to you. jenna: fox news alert taking you out to dallas, texas now where we're getting live shots of this bank of america because we just heard reports that there was a bank robbery that was happening that either happened or was attempting to happen and we have a few conflicting reports just coming into our newsroom, but that is the bank of america in question on lancaster road in dallas. according to the reports from kdfw the suspect has been apprehended. we have no word of condition on a security guard that apparently was shot. again, we're working to confirm these reports. just breaking news, a bank robbery in dallas, and you just saw that live shot from the helicopter that we have from our friends at kdfw. it's a live scene, a developing story. we'll bring you updates. economic news, we have fresh data on the economy today and the numbers are disappointing to many. the pace of private sector job growth, that's the important

part of job growth slowed in august, this month for the second straight month. the u.s. economy added just 91,000 jobs. this report is important because that is ahead of friday's big jobs report. we just got this news from the rey role's processor adp, those are the guys that print a lot of our paychecks. in another report on jobs this time from challenger gray and christmas we have new numbers about planned layoffs. what we saw here is that that number dropped a little bit after three months on the rise. so there is a little bit of good news there that planned layoffs were down. if you look year over year job cuts are still up. also just on the housing market, the mortgage bankers association takes a look at applications for home mortgages, those applications were down last week, that shows that demand for refinancing is down for the second week in a row, that is also concerning because rates are so low, everyone wants folks to go out and refinance their homes, get a little more cash in

their pockets but it doesn't look like consumers are really looking to do that, gregg. ahead of the big jobs report on friday, a lot of people are waiting and watching for that. gregg: a major decision in the case of a missing woman in aruba, the main suspect in court right now, the judge's decision that could set him free or blow this case wide open, next. crews in texas as oklahoma battling multiple wildfires this hour. people left homeless, hundreds of homes in jeopardy. the very latest from the fire lines just ahead.

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blood pressure, selectquote got him a $500,000 policy for under $28 a month. ellen, 47, got a $250,000 policy for under $20 a month. all it takes is a phone call. your personal selectquote agent will answer all your gregg: welcome back to "happening now," i'm greg jarrett. we are in the acquisitions room live, our sort of windows on the world. several developing stories we are following right now. remote camera 291 in the atlantic, katia could tell into

a full-fledged hurricane. 216, breaking news on lancaster road in dallas, texas, there's been a bank robbery. a suspect in custody, a bank guard has been injured. jenna. jenna: we have this fox news alert. we are awaiting a major decision in the case of a missing maryland woman in aruba. her name is robyn gardner. she vanished earlier this month while snorkeling with her travel companion, gary giordano. he is the main suspect in the case and is behind bars. now an aruban judge is set to decide if there is enough evidence to continue to hold him or maybe set him free. phil keating is live following this story. he's joining us now from miami. phil. >> reporter: gary giordano the prime suspect i robyn gardner's disappearance is having a

detention hearing at a resource center. after this ruling, her parents who live outside of the orlando area are planning to release a public statement. the 35-year-old woman, robyn gardner disappeared four weeks ago tonight, allegedly, according to her companion, gary giordano while snorkeling out in the ocean. however, aruba police and prosecutors do not buy that story at all, saying for one the ocean current was minimal that evening, and two if she truly had drowned the searches by air and boat would have discovered her body. the solicitor general telling me basically his alibi just simply does not add up. her aruban companion gary giordano who she met online has been locked up on the island for the past 26 days as the prime suspect in her disappearance. police arrested him at the aruba airport a couple of days after she disappeared while the search was still ongoing. the solicitor general says there is a digital camera that belonged to him that they now have in their possession which has many very sexually explicit

photographs of him and robyn gardner apparently taken during their aruban get away. when we were there last monday we saw 50 people lined up for several hours spread out across the southern tip of the island walking and looking around for gardener's body which they did not find. the prosecutor says there is a key two hour window of time between when gardener and giordano were last seen having lunch and drinks and he reported her gone. giordano's chance of walking today is probably the best it has ever been. he has had two detention hearings, one extending him to ten days in prison, another for an additional 16 days. under aruban law every time they go back to have a detention hearing the threshold and burden of proving and evidence and the prosecutors and police get greater. the chief magistrate is listening to arguments not only from giordano's defense attorney says look there is no proof of

any crime here. he was snorkeling with her, she disappeared. they never found a body. if he is released he could fly down to maryland and down the road could be extradited if aruban authorities ever find the body and build a case. jenna: thank you very much. gregg: record breaking flooding has towns in northern new jersey practically underwater right now. damages in the millions of dollars, the latest pictures coming up next. plus, the suicide that rocked reality television russell armstrong of real housewives fame hanging himself earlier this month. today the disturbing 911 call made by his friend and his estranged wife. >> it's my cellphone. >> what is the cellphone number and exactly what happened? >> my friend just hanged himself. do you understand? come over here right now. stop asking questions and come over here right now.

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jenna: the chilling 911 call is now released from when reality tv star taylor armstrong discovered her husband's body at a los angeles home. it was russell armstrong's friend who called 911 after discovering that russell had hanged himself o. that heartbreaking 911 call was just released by tmz. his wife taylor was heard sobbing. their five-year-old daughter kennedy was also on the scene. >> what is the address, tell me where you're at. >> what is the address? 14380 mull holland, come as soon as possible. >> an apartment or a house. >> it's a house for the second time. >> i need my psychiatrist.

>> what is the telephone number you're calling from. >> it's my cellphone and exactly what happened? >> my friend just hanged himself. downed? come over here right now. stop asking questions and come over here right now. >> listen, we are already on the way, we are already on the way. come here taylor, it's all right, it's all right, it's all right, it's all right. there is nothing we can do. there is nothing we can do. >> did you cut him down? >> no, i did not. i did not. >> is it an obvious death, or did he just hang himself? >> yes. >> do you think he's beyond any help. >> no, there is nothing you can do. there's nothing we can do. >> okay. just please, please come as soon as possible. >> they are already on the way. l.a.p.d. and the fire department is on the way. >> okay. >> okay. >> i cannot see that. i cannot see that. i cannot see my friend like that. you know, taylor have your daughter go away, please.

no, no, no, no, no, no, no. i'm so sorry, i'm so sorry. god, everything is okay. i know, i know, i know. >> reporter: russell armstrong killed himself august 15th. his wife had recently filed for divorce and he was having major financial problems, gregg. gregg: sad story, patti ann. thank you very much. they came to this country illegally. now a top member of president obama's administration say they still have the right to a quote, legal wage. the controversy over those comments, we're live with that story. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made.

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an air force base. a suspicious package online a base. three people had to be taken to a hospital and a dozen others had to be decontaminated. the base is on stand by. what we november the package is limited. the package was in the mail building. what that situation is and the details of it we do not know at this time. the mail building along with four or five other buildings are closed and evacuated. there is an announcement going out over the loudspeaker on the base warning folks to stay away from the post office and the west side of the base. so a developing situation. you have a suspicious package, three people sent to the hospital, a dozen others that are apparently having to go through some sort of decontamination. as we hear more from the scott air force base we will bring you those developments. we'll keep you up to date on that breaking news everybody. we're so glad you are with us

i'm jenna lee. gregg: i'm greg jarrett in for jon lee. a brand-new hour. jenna: we have new flood dangers that are really affecting the east coast as the east coast tries to recover from hurricane irene. you have vermont days after irene slammed the state where national -- i should say national guard ground crews are still trying to reach one town completely cut off by the floodwaters. people there have no food, no water no powers. much needed supplies are being airlifted into the state. gregg: the connecticut river cresting to the highest level in 20 years. 370 folks are still in the dark. jenna: in new jersey the passack river rising dangerous rehigh forcing a new round of evacuations and rescues in patterson, that's the state's third largest city. another of the hardest hit towns is little falls. joining us on the phone is lieutenant salvatore

recalifurri, second in command at the police department. what is the lathess and where do you stand right now. >> right now we are still at extreme flood stage. our latest reading at the passack river gauge is 10.7 inches. we are still at least a foot higher than what we were in the springtime. we still have quite a ways to go as the water recedes. the water is receding, it's receding slowly but it is receding. we still have about 500 homes affected or more possibly affected by this flood. jenna: you say one of the most challenging things right now is just keeping people away. why is that such an issue for you right now? >> is just makes the relief efforts that much easier. as onlookers come, as traffic goes by, it just makes the

relief effort that much more difficult for us. jenna: i'm sure people are anxious to get back to their homes when they start seeing a little bit of improvement. >> they can't wait to get back to their homes. jenna: we can all understand that. lieutenant have you ever seen anything like this in your time with the police department. >> not this bad. this is our 7th flood in seven years -- no, 6th flood in seven years, and this is the worst its been since 1903. jenna: what's the game plan? over the next couple of days what are you trying to achieve? >> over the next couple of days we want to maintain saourt in our area. we just want to assist the people however they need to be assisted, and we want to keep -- our biggest concern is keeping our residents safe. jenna: lieutenant, what do you think of the response so far? governor chris christie has been out in front really talking about the damage to the state. you have the department of homeland security secretary visiting the state, overall on a

local level, how do you feel about the response? >> the response has been excellent. locally we've had great help from the passack county offices and rapid deployment team. they have sent us their officers to help us out with whatever our needs are, with equipment and personnel. jenna: that is good news. >> the assistance we've got even politically and amongst our own personnel has been incredible. jenna: our hats off to you. i know your crew has certainly been working around-the-clock there. >> yes we have, thank you. jenna: we appreciate it as well as we watch our fellow citizens go through something like this. thank you for joining us today, sir. >> thank you very much. gregg: fox news alert, we have just learned that the president of the united states has requested a joint session of congress at 8:00pm on september 7th to layout his plan to create jobs, grow the

economy and reduce the deficit. very few details of the president's forthcoming plan are known but they are said to include a mix of spending as well as eliminating some tax breaks and loopholes. but you can bet there is a whole lot more to it. a special joint session of congress, 8:00pm on september 7th to layout his jobs plan. in the meantime controversy is swirling now over comments made by a top member of president obama's administration, the labor secretary. hilda solis is apparently saying that all workers have, and this is a quote, the right to a legal wage whether they enter the u.s. legally or not, whether they are here legally or not. so liz making those comments at assigning of a new labor packet between the united states and latin america. >> reporter: this week labor secretary soliz held an event

signing a number of those packets and pledges with foreign countries to guarantee that immigrants who come to work in our country will be afforded the full protection of u.s. workplace laws whether or not they are here legally. she said it doesn't matter how you got here or how long you stay, then she added this. >> we understand that many migrant workers in america are afraid to report mistreatment because it can lead to more abuse, the loss of job, a job or deportation. with these partnerships we seek to remove those fears. >> reporter: secretary sol irk s says she thinks it's important to assure migrant workers that they have rights . critics say when unemployment hits double digits no u.s. cabinet member should be signing agreement offering protection to foreigners who come into the u.s. labor market illegally and the policy is not fair to illegal immigrants who try to come into the country legally

and go through the proper channels. >> on the website of her own department it says we have to hire americans and we have to hire legal workers. the fact that she is signing packets with other foreign countries to protect illegal workers is a disgrace. >> reporter: secretary soliz says previous administrations both democratic and republican have offered some type of workplace poe tucks to illegal workers. critics say they don't care which artie is doing it they think the policy is wrong, gregg. gregg: shannon bream in washington. shannon, thank you very much. >> if we allow the transportation bill to expire over 4,000 workers will be immediately furniture load without pay. if it's delayed for just ten days it will lose nearly $1 billion in highway funding. that's money we can never get back. and if it's delayed even longer, almost 1 million workers could

lose their jobs over the course of the next year. gregg: that was president obama just a few minutes ago making a renewed pitch alongside business and labor advocates for congress to pass a highway bill before the current one expires in september. the highway bill stalled in congress and the president is blaming, quote, politics, is that fair? for a response we're joined from mesa arizona, republican jeff flake he serves on the appropriations committee and is running for the u.s. senate in arizona. congressman thanks very much. before i get to the highway bill, got to ask you about the breaking news we just learned of the president calling for a joint session of congress to convene september 7th so he may address them and essentially pitch his jobs plan. what do you think of that joint session? >> i'm glad that he's going to pitch a jobs plan, i just hope it's something worth considering. if what has been leaked -- "the washington post" leaked a fuel amounts of it yesterday, then

it's nothing new. i mean it includes things like new spending for environmentally friendly construction, or something of that sort. i mean, this is more of the same. i hope -- i'm glad he's called a joint session, i hope that we hear something new. gregg: is it hard for the president to request new spending when he just agreed with congress to try to cut spending? >> yes. yes. as i say if it's more of the same, the stimulus project. now he's talking about infrastructure spending. the similar tuesday spending included just a fraction of that was infrastructure spending. most of it was make work jobs or to keep public employees on the roles, it wasn't infrastructure spending at all. now he's awakened to the need for infrastructure spending. it's all just a little late to the game. gregg: his comment a moment ago that if you don't renew this highway bill, you know, a million people will lose their jobs and immediately 4,000, and he said all of them will be out of a job just because of

politics in washington, not acceptable, it's inexcusable. do you -- is that a fair assessment? >> no, it's not. the continuation of the highway bill as it is would be something that is political, it's political in that when we send a dollar to washington from arizona we only get about 92-cents of it back because of the formula, and what comes back spends like only about 70-cents because of davis bacon requirements and other things that are really assault to the unions. and so we need to change the highway bill. we need to change the process in ways that states can spend more of their own money to fund more of their own priorities, rather than the priorities that this president wants them to fund. gregg: congressman jeff flake of arizona. thank you for taking a few moments. >> thanks for having me. jenna: fox news alert.

fox news has confirmed that a suspicious package did wind up at the scott air force base in illinois. here is what we know from the scene there, that first responders are on site. you're seeing, i believe a live picture of outside of the mail building. the mail building is where the suspicious package was. you have three people transported to a hospital, three others treated on site. we had heard initial reports of more than a dozen people that had to go through some sort of decontamination. we'll work a little bit more on that. various buildings on this air force base are being evacuated at this time. it is a developing situation. we'll continue to keep you updated. we do not know the nature of the material in the suspicious package, but again three people transported to the hospital. we'll be right back with more breaking news. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker... whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil no and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain.

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jenna: "happening now" after eight months of investigation and congressional hearings the so tpauld fast and furious

scandal has led to resignation -gs or reassignments. three people from the justice department have been dismissed or reassigned including the act being head of the atf ken melson. this was a program to track guns to mexico. what it did instead allegedly was end up supplying mexican drug cartels with weapons with very little tracking at all. where does the investigation go from here? we are joined right now by republican senator chuck grassley of iowa. he serves on the senate judiciary committee and has been a key part of this investigation along with congressman issa. senator grassley, congressman issa said yesterday he was contacted by the eric holder, by the justice department, have you heard from them. >> no i have not heard from them. i'm kind of surprised that i didn't hear from them. i'm kind of happy with the move that was made, because you know when somebody is fired or let's say request their resignation, heads roll, and if you're going to change the culture of a lot of these agencies in washington

when somebody does something as stupid as fast and furious, and they aren't relieved of their employment, you know, it's not going to change anybody else's behavior. so i compliment the justice department on doing that and moving the other two people. jenna: the question that we've talked about several times, we've talked about your investigation, senator is how high this goes, who knew about this project, how much oversight was there and where the responsibility really lies. we just heard from the number two man in the justice department, the deputy attorney general, jim cole. he says the justice department is bending over backyards, that's his quote, to assist in this investigation. is that your experience? >> stonewall until recently. we are getting more cooperation now. and i think partly we are getting cooperation because of congress and issa being chairman of a committee and a member of the majority party and the other body having the power of subpoena. even the power of subpoena has

delivered documents that have been redacted to the point that you get nothing but a blank blackened out sheet of paper. so what i'm looking forward to is what the justice department said yesterday when they made these moves, that they would like to get this investigation behind them. well, i want to get it behind us too and the way to get this all ended is to give us all the information that we're asking for, and our goal is to find out who the highest person in the department of justice is that okayed this fast and furious stupid program, and hopefully their resignation comes as a result of that stupid decision. jenna: does that include the attorney general eric holder? >> if he's involved, the answer is yes. jenna: what about the other departments, the f.b.i., the dea, the department of homeland security. you've raised a question that these departments are involved in some way, and to what extent you have been investigating that. what do you know about the nature of their involvement at

this time? jenna: >> we are being stonewalled i believe as the homeland security to the same extent as justice, although we are getting more cooperation now. in the case of the f.b.i. and the tkefpl d. dea, what we know is they know about it and they've been involved in some aspects of it, particularly viewing guns going across the border. and that is about at this point all i know, at least as of mid august. jenna: and that's important, just so i can catch our viewers up to date on parts of this investigation. as we were talking about the f.b.i. in the past because we were wondering who was tracking the guns when they were actually sold in different stores along the border. senator grassley it's always nice to talk to you and get updated with this investigation. it's one we'll be watching closely and we appreciate your time. >> thank you very much for helping us on this.

goodbye. gregg: fox news alert a suspicious package at scott air force base in illinois causing three people to be hospitalized with rashes. three other people treated on site. there is a report that 13 others who were at the mail center are being decon nam natured deconta. we don't have confirmation on that. there is no word on what caused the package to be suspicious. we'll keep you up to date. jenna: a panel features the cokhaeufrs the 9/11 commission that are push hreurbg their report pwa. tim kaine was the chairman of the 9/11 commission, he's a cochair of the by policy center national security preparedness group and he's joining us on the phone. you say in this report regarding

the 9/11 recommendations that a lot of them are still unfill filled. what is the most concerning part of your report that has been left unfill filled over the last ten years? >> well, there are a number of them actually. one of the once that we are concentrating on today is the fact that first responders, police, fire, first aid people still can't talk to each other on their radios in many parts of the country. there is no spectrum that they all share, which means that police couldn't talk to the fire, and a fireman on 9/11, that caused lives. same thing people in air planes couldn't talk to people in boats during katrina. that lack of communication cost lives. and so the fact it hasn't been done for ten years is really i think outrageous. jenna: that's just one part of our report. you also mentioned some of the inefficiencies of knowing if someone is traveling on a plane and has a bomb attached to their body in some way. what do you think is going on, when you look over the past ten years, is it complacent see,

cost, bureaucracy, do people disagree with your findings? what do you think the reluctance to your suggestions is coming from. >> no one publicly disagrees. almost every member of congress stands up and says we support entirely the recommendations of the 9/11 commission, but they don't do it. a number of these problems is congress itself. a hundred different committees and subcommittees. that's what the department of homeland security reports to, and that's not oversight at all. a hundred committees means the staff is spending more time testifying than they are protecting us. that's silly. and so congress itself has to reform itself. intelligence committees have no budget oversight which makes members work dysfunctional and the f.b.i. pay no attention to them.

they are secret. you as a reporter can't find out what is going on, you can't inform us as a public. so if congress' oversight is dysfunctional no one is looking at the intelligence agency. that is another recommendation. jenna: that is a observe erring reality to think about now with the 10th anniversary coming up. i know you have to run to a lunch. we'd lick t like to talk you a little later to talk more about this report. >> thank for having me. >> thank you. we'll be back with more "happening now."

jenna: fox news alert, bringing you up to date on the situation at the scott air force base in illinois. we heard of a suspicious package well about 40 minutes ago, and we also heard that several people were taken to a hospital and more than a dozen others had been decontaminated. lieutenant garland from the air

force told the associated press that there were signs potentially of a rash, that's what came of the suspicious package, but the details are spotty at this time. we will be actually be talking to lieutenant garland in a few minutes. he'll bring us up to date on the latest situation on the ground at scott air informations base. gregg: happening right now, dry and windy conditions fueling wildfires across texas and oklahoma. in northern texas a fast-growing fire already destroying dozens of homes forcing hundreds to flee. a wildfire moving through oklahoma city destroying nearly a dozen homes there and leaving thousands without power. on the telephone now is oklahoma city fire department chief keith bryant. chief, thanks for taking a moment, i know it's a busy day an awful things happening there in oklahoma and oklahoma city. what are the conditions right now? >> well, gregg, we have the fire under control at this time, and our crews are currently working on spot fires, smoldering areas

throughout the area that was affected yesterday. but we're facing some pretty challenging conditions that were pretty similar to yesterday with some high winds, and obviously the high heat and low humidity. so it's just making it a challenging situation. but currently we do believe we have the fire under control, and we have adequate resources addressing a lot of the spot fires and smoldering areas that are still going on. gregg: chief, that's great news. how many homes and other structures have been lost? what about evacuations? >> well, we still have the area evacuated to a degree. that was never a mandatory evacuation, but we're still discouraging people from trying to get back into the area currently. as of about 10:00 this morning our assessment, we had about 21 homes, 12 mobile homes, a church, about 21 barnes and out

buildings that we know were completely destroyed. gregg: with the downed power lines and so forth, just not letting folks back? >> yeah, there still remains a lot of hazards in the area with, again, smoldering fires, downed power lines, trees, it's been down across roads. we have a lot of emergency equipment and personnel on the scene, again that is one reason why we're trying to discourage people from trying to return to the area. gregg: chief, keith bryant good luck to you and your fellow firefighters. thanks very much. >> thank you. jenna: she was born two years after her father lost his battle with cancer, after. it's with the help of in-vitro fertilization. a federal court is now ruling on whether or not she is entitled to his social security benefits. how about that for a legal question. our legal panel takes a closer look next. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements.

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a $29 value, free! get the protection you need right now. call or go to lifelock.com 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. jen fox news alert, let's get you up to date if you just joined us, that is press secretary jay carney, speaking to the press at the daily press briefing, what he has just been talking about is the announcement we learned about half an hour ago that the president is going to be holding a joint session of congress, that's going to happen a week from today, september 7th, at 8:00 p.m. now, here's the issue with that date and time. it's also the date and time of the gop's debate at the reagan library out in california. now, the white house

spokesman, jay carney, press secretary was just talking about that, and he was fielding questions from another network who is hosting this debate that was going back and forth with him, asking him about the timing. so there was an interesting back and forth and we're going to try to get that sound cut for you so you can hear some of it. just goes back and forth a little bit about one angle in politics that maybe we didn't consider. digital politics' chris stierwalt is with us, when we got this announcement, we didn't think about a calendar conflict that might come up! is there really anything to make of the date and time choice by the president? i mean, what are we to make of it? >> you don't think this was completely just an accident, that they didn't notice that the next big republican debate was on that very day? jenna: maybe their google calendars weren't synced! listen, give him the benefit of the doubt! >> you know they watch msnbc over there. they've been promoting the debate in heavy rotation, you know that they knew, and beyond that, they also knew

that this was going to be the first debate where new frontrunner rick perry was in the mix. so this is stepping on the line. now, it's not a huge deal, it's not the end of the world, and msnbc is just going to have to shift their calendar -- they and politico. jenna: do you think that's going to happen? that was what part of the back and forth was, and the truth is, i don't really know, chris, i'm going to have to talk to people and find out exactly if they knew or not. so i'm going to keep completely neutral on that, but will that be the end result, will msnbc have to move the debate? is that just what has to happen? >> yeah, and the danger for the president, it's risky play but there is this danger for the president in it, and this is if republicans -- if politico and msnbc opt to slide their debate until 9:00, until after the president is done speaking, they're basically teeing up the whole republican field to take malice out after what the presidency, it would be like an hour or two-hour long rebuttal to what the president had to say, so there is of course that

danger if they decide to run the two back to back, on the other hand they may ask republicans to go to a different day out of respect for the president and from those two organizations. you know, it's hard to say what's going to happen. but obviously, the president is enjoying -- is going to enjoy tweaking the republicans that want his job. jenna: i wonder how you reschedule something like that, do you end e vives? how do you even go about doing that? >> let's go in a different direction, the president's decision to do a joint session of congress and to do a prime time speech, what do you think of that decision and why do you think he made that? >> well, he's got to do something to reframe the debate on jobs, the economy, debt, decifit. it's going to be grueling three or four-months here in washington as he fights it out with house republicans over all of these issues. he needs what in the white house, in the obama white house they like to use the phrase bigness and he needs to bring bigness to the discussion right now and he needs to go to congress and say i have a big plan to put america back to work, because if he can't tie it

all off in a bow, make it look big, make it look important, it ends up being like water on a rock and people say yeah, i think the president said stuff about the economy, he needs an exclamation point on this. jenna: we'll see if he achieves bigness, a week from today, september 7th, 8:00 p.m., i know you'll be waiting and watching. >> yes ma'am! jenna: chris, thank you very much, chris stierwalt. >> gregg: she was born two years after her father lost his battle with cancer, with the help of in vitro fertilization, but a federal court in iowa ruling because the little girl was born after her father's death, she is not entitled to his social security benefits, and the case could now be headed to the u.s. supreme court. let's bring in our legal panel, dwayne cates, criminal defense attorney, chad nelson, former prosecutor. chad, let me start with you, and i read it -- the iowa law, it never envisioned in

vitro, it's anald law, thus if brynn had been conceived before her father's death, she's be elable for benefits. isn't that a technicality, a distinction without a difference that denies her benefits? >> well, gregg, no. it really isn't. and here's the problem. i mean, this isn't the fielded story we're trying to make it out to be. the bottom line here is whatever the law states and however they define t. we're kind of stuck with that and the legislature can go back and change it, but imagine, social security benefits are held in trust, and they're given out per the rules of every state. they kind of defer to the states. gregg: right. >> in this case, if we make an exception to hand out some benefits where the law doesn't correspond with it, it's a slippery slope. then who else deserves it? that's going to get outrageous. tkpwra*eubg tkpwra eubg look, a montana or minnesota law might allow for benefits here. so isn't there an equal protection problem?

>> absolutely. you hit the nail right on the head. whether or not you get benefits in this situation depends entirely upon what state you live in. if you lived in california, you wouldn't get benefits, if you lived in arizona, you would get benefits. and even in iowa, iowa changed the law, and if this were to come up -- if the child were born today, the child would get benefits. what needs to happen is it needs to be nationalized, they need to go back to the legislature, whether you think the child should get benefits or you don't think the child should get benefits, they need to make one law that fits everybody. gregg: you know tad -- chad, let me come back to you. i read through the eighth circuit court of appeals ruling and i want to quote this part of it because i really couldn't believe what i was reading, put it up on the screen, byh -- bryn was not bee gotten before bruce pwao*ear died because she was not conceived until more than a year after his death, for the same reason, she did not have an existing relationship with pwrao*ut beeler at the time of his death and is not entitled to

inheritance rights under iowa law. that doesn't make sense, because if she was conceived before her father's death before and afterwards, she wouldn't have had a relationship with him under that scenario, either. so that is an excuse that makes no sense, right? >> but they're trying to stop the slippery slope. imagine, just let your mind's eye wander. just think about it. if you go down to the local sperm bank and get the sperm of a donor and now you say hey, give me a donor that's dead, i can get his benefits, until that is legislated out, you can only imagine how far you can push this thing. they start making a premium on the donor being dead so you can get money from the government. that's the concern here. gregg: right. >> i totally understand that this is -- it feels like the right thing to do. let the legislature do it. if they want to make it retroactive, they can. gregg: they can't, and i'll tell you why. because they did make it

retroactive, they passed a new law that would allow brynn to receive benefits, wayne, but it's not retroactive and the eighth circuit court of appeals largely ignored it. >> yeah, they did. and here's the thing. it's really not a slippery slope, because in some places, you get it, in some places, you don't. the sperm donor scenario doesn't fit, because in almost all the states where you can get the benefits, it has to be contemplated prior to death that the person wanted to father a child, and with that -- father a child with somebody that he had a relationship with, so even the existing law would, but the legislature still needs to step in and fix it. they need to make a clear definition of what to do and all these laws were written well before anybody knew that you could father children after death. gregg: there are a lot of archaic laws but they're still valid, they just can't keep up with technology. there are elastic laws and

reasonable interpretation might arguably permit brynn to receive benefits. i want to ask you, tad, about the equal protection argument. you know, we go to courts for fairness and equity. how would it be fair that brynn living let's say in california would get benefits but brynn living in iowa doesn't. that's not fair, is it? >> well, you want to make an equal protections argument, there's also a states' rights argument. the bottom line is we have 50 states, every one of them does so many different things different, depending upon where you live 6789 -- live. we have access to medical marijuana in california, we surely don't have it in texas. that's the way of the world. gregg: but it's not tied to a federal program, which is what social security is, it's largely a federal program, in some ways administered by state. >> you're right on that and they need to fix that but until they do, we're still stuck with it. >> tad nelson, dwayne cates, thank you for being with us. jenna: that is an interesting topic, one we'll take a closer look at. want to take you to illinois where we have been

watching this developing story, a suspicious package on the air force base, at scott air force base there. we are hearing from the air force base that a few people have been taken to the hospital, this suspicious package was in the mail center and they had to evacuate a few of the buildings around there. thirteen people are being de contaminated on site but we have no details on what was inside that suspicious package or what happened to the folks around it. as we learn more on this developing situation, a suspicious package at an air force base in illinois, we will bring you those details.

megyn: hey everyone i'm megyn kelly, president obama blaming his struggle to solve our nation's economic problems on the $1 trillion decifit president bush left behind. we'll play you the remarks and have a fair and balanced debate. susan powell has been missing for two years, her husband is a person of interest, her father in law now claims he had a sexual

relationship with her. susan's parents are beyond outraged. and they are here live. why is a court forcing a mother to let her child live with a woman convicted of murdering two little children? in kelly's court. plus, epic flooding and devastation continues in vermont, in upstate new york, and in new jersey. we will take you there live as the red cross joins us today. see you top of the hour. jen right now in california, some veteran members of congress, many serving as many as three decades, could be in for the fight of their political lives. next year, all thanks to the big redo of the electoral map. anita vogel is live from los angeles with more on this. hi anita. >> reporter: hey there jenna. this is a huge change t. stems from a ballot measure last year calling for a citizens' panel to redraw the state seats and congressional seats. well, they redrew those

lines, and now the political map looks completely different. let me give you a classic example from here in southern california, where democratic congresswoman janice han just won a special election in the 36th congressional district which includes san pedro and part of -- port of los angeles, the new political map puts san pedro in the southern end of another district, the 44th district, which includes parts of the inner city of los angeles. well, that area already has a congresswoman, laura richards. so now those two are going to have to compete against each other for one seat in the general election, next year. >> it certainly is unheard of in california for two incumbent members of congress to square off against each other. but why is that a problem? that's a good thing. it means they're going to have to campaign vigorously, probably in the primary, and then again in the general election. >> reporter: the citizens commission supposedly redrew the lines without regard to politics, special interests or where people sat in the past. they base it solely on

population information provided by the census. so what you're supposed to get are elections that are perhaps more fair and more competitive. but because of an influx of latinos and more registered democrats than republicans some political observers say the new lines appear to favor democratic districts and the state gop is not happy. >> what we're going to be doing over the next 18 months a building up, rebuilding those districts that republicans can be -- so that republicans can be competitive. >> reporter: he's talking about the state-level -- the state seats there, the state-level districts, and the fact that the government p, the state gop, is already raising money to overturn this ballot measure, to overturn those new state senate districts. until that happens, or if that happens, jenna, this is a new day in california, as far as politics go, and the fun begins next year. jenna: 2012, another reason to watch the race for 2012. anita, thank you very much. >> uh-huh. gregg: an update on the trial against the 911

suspects being held at guantanamo bay. we're going to ask a former defense department adviser why he says it will be years before victims' families see justice.

gregg new information in the trials for the 9/11 suspects at guantanamo boy. o bay. fox news, they received a letter staying there is -- still no timetable for a trial for the notorious suspects at gitmo, ten years after the worst terrorist attack on american soil. let's bring in charles sully simpson, former secretary of defense for detainees, legal fellow at the heritage foundation. thank you very much for being with us. this is obviously very

frustrating for so many people whose lives were devastated by this. especially when you look at the sequence of events. and let's put it up on the scene, khalid sheikh mohammed, captured in pakistan in 2003, at a military hearing in 2007, four years ago, he confessed to planning the attacks, december 2008, informs the judge he wants to plead guilty, when eric holder became the attorney general, the case was dismissed, transferred to civilian courts in the su, he later reversed himself, holder did and now it's back at a military commission. look, shouldn't this case have been resolved a long time ago? >> heck yeah, and i think everyone appreciates the frustration of not only the victims of 9/11, the families directly impacted, but the americans who still are concerned about justice for the 9/11 attacks. the fact is this has been three steps back, one step forward, all along, and the

justice department in their defense, and i usually don't defend the justice department very often, doesn't have that much control over the commission's process, because the commission's process is independent from whato from other justice departments. gregg: they had a guilty plea at one point in time, literally a couple of weeks away from a formal guilty plea being entered and then there's a change in administration, so i mean, if you had to place some responsibility somewhere, would it be this current administration? >> i absolutely think that this administration bears some blame. and the guilty plea that ksm wanted to enter was he wanted to enter a plea of guilty and the question on the table was at the time, the rules as written, can you plead guilty to a death-eligible offense and the rules of congress weren't clear about that, they're still not clear about that. the administration knew about that coming in, they've done nothing to clarify that, and only now do we have language in the national defense authorization act that

clarifies that decision, and pleads guilty to a death-eligible defense. gregg: november 18th, 2009, i looked it up again today and watch the president predict not only a conviction for ksm, but it was also going to be the death penalty. >> yes. gregg: now we're arguing about the death penalty? >> yeah, that's problematic. as you know, the commander in chief ult mealy owns commissions and he would have to sign the death warrant, were ksm or anyone else sentenced to death. but look, you know, i think something start is happening here. what is happening now is the person who owns commissions, the convening authority, is considering the defense council's request to take death off the table in the 9/11 case and also much like a d.a. would, if you were an elected d.a., considering allowing for them to get mitigation experts up front if there's a sentencing case. so he's taking appellate issues off the table up front, and so although it's going to take longer, i

think in the end, if there's a conviction, and we certainly hope if they're found guilty, that -- that they're found guilty by the members, appellate issues will be less than if these things weren't taken care of now. gregg: cully, thank you very much, appreciate it. >> sure. jenna: three people treated after a suspicious package is found at an air force base. we're all over this developing story. we have brand new details, straight ahead.

jenna: as we learned this hour, the president is asking for a joint session of congress to lay out his jobs plan or september 7th, the same night and time as the gop presidential debate. intentional timing? or a coincidence? here's the white house's response: >> of course not. there were a lot of considerations, that once you decide you want to do it, you have to deal with congress, congressional schedules, and there are other -- many other factors here.