>> steve: all right. a number of people have been excluded from speaking on 9-11. political? >> i think it's definitely political. and it's a shame. the politiciansshould not be the ones making these decisions. >> gretchen: thank you for sharing your story. >> brian: on 9-11, 6 to 9, we'll be live downtown. bill: good morning. great program here in new york. we are learning about a new jobs program. president obama will present a package with a price tag of $300

million. how will that go over? >> we are learning what the plan may cost and some of what will be in it. the president is under intense pressure to get millions of americans back to work. >> we believe there will be a one-year extension of the payroll tax cut. infrastructure spending and direct aid to state and local governments. stuart varney led our coverage. good morning. if this is on the table, is this what america needs? >> if this is the plan, it's not big, bold or particularly new. it will be presented in a joint session of congress. this plan as you just detailed it, bill, is not more than a modest proposal at best. bill: i are take it it won't

make much of a difference. >> reporter: i don't think it will make that much difference. the jobless extension of benefits. we already have jobless benefits. extending it one year doesn't do that much. extend the payroll texas. that's $934 per family per year. the infrastructure plan probably going to be less than $50 billion. that's modest at best. an aid to the states, that's a way of saving jobs, not creating jobs. add it all up, it's modest. bill: this has bent worst three-day start for the markets since 2002. what do you think of the markets? >> reporter: i think the markets are ignoring it. they dismissed it out of hand. their attention is focused

elsewhere. today you will see a pretty good gain from the opening bell, but that's a bounceback from the terrible begin together month of september. bill: california has the greatest debt of any state in our country. he will give the speech at 4:00 in the afternoon. how many team in california are going to listen? >> reporter: i suspect the people who watch that presentation will be very, very limited. california has a 12% jobless rate. bill: stuart varney, thank you. alisyn: we have new reaction to the president's plan. senator jim fox's sean hannity he may not even show up for the speech. >> i'm sick of speeches. this is probably the tenth speech of various kinds he said

is his jobs speech. i want to see something in writing. and what the president is talking about is more of the same. spending the evening listening to him talk about things that will never end up in legislation is pretty frustrating. a lot of people are hurting. our economy is in serious danger. the debt is getting worse every day and the president is just giving speeches. alisyn: do other republicans agree with demint? we'll ask roy blunt to weigh in on the president's jobs plan. bill: mitt romney unveiling his own jobs plan. describing a 59-point plan he says will increase economic growth and create 11 million jobs in four years. >> growing our economy is the way to get people to work and to

balance our national budget. the right answer for america is not to grow government or to believe that government can create jobs. it is instead to create the conditions that allow the private sector and entrepreneurs to create jobs and grow our economy. growth is the answer, not government. bill: we'll debate romney's comment. according to the latest fox news poll, romney is second to perry with 18% of the vote, perry with 26%. alisyn: the gop debate at the ronald reagan library at simi valley, california. it will be the first debate for governor rick perry. he has vaulted to the top of the gop field. anita vogel is live for us from

california. tell us what all the candidate are up to today as they prepare. >> reporter: we believe rick perry will be there tonight. but there is at least a whole day to go before the debate and anything could change. we are specking a quiet day on the campaign trail as all of the candidates are likely preparing for that big debate at the reagan library. we did see activity on the campaign trail. texas governor rick perry cut short campaigning in north carolina to address the fires in his 8 that killed four people. mitt romney gave his first major address on jobs and the economy where he talks about cutting taxes, eliminating obama-care and regulations he says hinders job creation. >> the right answer for america is not to believe the government

can create jobs, it is instead to create an environment where jobs can be created. growth is the answer, not government. >> reporter: no doubt jobs in the economy will be a big topic at tonight's debate. alisyn: there are new polls in california that show president obama is still popular there despite those vulnerabilities. >> reporter: let's not forget california is one of the bluest states in the nation. president obama is still favored here over any of the gop candidates. but take a look at this one interesting poll. this is a usc-"l.a. times" poll. the question about how voters view obama's handling of the economy.

only 5% strongly approve. >> reporter: it bodes poorly for a president who needs to win 270 electoral votes across the country that's not nearly as supportive of him as this state happens to be. >> reporter: those who answered in that poll that they strongly disapproved may be interested in what the president has to say thursday night. the speech will be at 4:00 p.m. here on the west coast. bill: the u.s. postal service saying it is on the brink of default. that's the grim warning from the postmaster general. he says without new legislation by the even of this month the postal service will default on a mandated $5 billion payment to the treasury and will run out of money about a year from now.

>> our situation is urgent. congressional action is needed to avoid this default. mr. chairman, the postal service requires radical changes to its business model if it is to remain viable into the future. we plotted out volumes and revenues the next 10 years and using that revenue line as the governor of our business. we do not want taxpayer money. we have got to get our finances in order to provide good dependable service. bill: he says the postal service is not taking federal funds but it needs permission from congress to seek more favorable conditions on its financial obligations in order to pay workers. in the future we may see the mailbox extinct.

alisyn: these are just a few of the stories we are following this morning for you on america's newsroom. coming up, a labor leader slams the tea party. >> keep your eye on the prize. let's take these [bleep] out and give america back to america where we belong. thank you very much. alisyn: now we are getting reaction from angry tea party members. bill: member from that group will join us in a minute. the mass wildfires in texas. alisyn: the killing of members of the national guard. was this an act of terrorism. >> the guy looked and saw my son and started shooting at us.

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moscow and killing about 36 members of a russian hockey team. this is the way it read. a russian passenger jet crashed wednesday near moscow. it was carrying 37 people at times. 36 confirmed dead. members of an ice hockey team from a local town. there are conflicting reports whether it crashed during takeoff or landing. this is just crossing the wires. alisyn: a deadly explosion rocked a courthouse in india. the bomb was in a briefcase. 11 people are reported dead and 45 others are wounded. the blast is the first major bomb attack in india since a string of bombs explode in

mumbai in july that killed 20 people. bill: house republicans said to be reaching out to the president before the big jobs speech. mr. obama has been challenging republicans to meet him on his proposals. that message did not sit so well with senate republican leader mitch mcconnell. >> their central message is anyone who doesn't rubber stamp his economic agenda is putting politics before country. with all due respect is a simpler reason for opposing you're economic proposal that has nothing to do with politics and it's this, they don't work. bill: senator, welcome to "america's newsroom." where can these two sides move forward. >> the economic news since the president took office gets worse

and worse. unemployment is up. gas prices have doubled. housing values have gone down and the national debt increased by 35%. but it doesn't help when the president spent most of august saying things like the congress just needs to pass these three trade bills which i'm totally in favor of and the president knows that. but the president never sent the three trade bills down. you can't solve these problems when you are president by attacking washington, particularly when you have been the top guy in washington for 2 1/2 years. bill: why have those deals not gone to congress? is it intentional? >> i think it didn't come to the congress for two years because the nancy pelosi house wouldn't have passed these trade deals. rob portman and i got a letter saying we are going to do whatever is necessary to get the

trade deals passed and we are willing to work with the administration to do that. we are standing ready to do that. but the bills have to be sent down. bill: you are starting to see a back off of some of these regulations we saw before the labor day weekend. there was a report out yesterday. now, there are some of your colleagues skipping this speech. perhaps as many as three. is that a good move, do you believe, senator? >> i'm not sure whether attendance at this speech is necessary. i intend to be there. but the -- the president set the bar high for himself by calling a joints session of congress. he might have been better off if he presented these ideas at a truck body shop like mitt romney did this week. you better have new things to say if you are going to ask a joint session of congress to

hear them. based on the so-called specifics that were beginning to come out monday on labor day. i didn't see anything new there. i want to be helpful. i want the country to work, we have to focus on private sector job creation. the president stepped back from one job-killing regulation on energy. maybe the best thing he could do tomorrow is say no new regulations for the next 18 months. people need more certainty if they are going to do what's necessary to create private sector jobs. bill: we heard from john boehner that there won't be one single republican response. >> i suspect what it means is the speaker doesn't expect to hear much to respond to. so far there is no indication that anything extraordinary is going to happen in what should be an extraordinary moment, calling a joint session of

congress to make new economic proposals after you have been president for 2 1/2 years. the old plans aren't working, we know that. so what we don't need to hear and what i'm afraid we'll hear is an expansion of the old plans. in fact everything has gone the worse as this president has moved forward. bill: nancy pelosi called that disrespectful. >> called no response disrespectful? we'll see if the speech deserves a response. my guess is the speaker's rights. there will be plenty of time friday to respond. we'll see what happens thursday night and believe me then they will be plenty of response. alisyn: so many things changed forever after 9/11 including how america patrols the skies around the clock. we are going to go inside an f-15 as the fighter pilots scan

the sky for any threat. rick leventhal is suited up. >> they didn't actually come to blows.

bill: minutes away from the opening bell on wall street. the dow closing down about 100 points yesterday. lawyers for john edwards asking a federal judge to throw out the criminal case against him. they say the charges that he used campaign dollars are constitutionally vague. tropical storm lee brought

leftovers from the bp oil spill. alisyn: three days from now america will remember 9/11 10 years later. er pilots now stand guard 24/7 defending the homeland. rick leventhal got a ride on an f-15. tell us what these fighters do? >> reporter: it was one of the coolest thing i have ever had the opportunity to do. these pilots have been on alert every hour of every day since 9/11. they are standing by in their flight suits and they have their fighter jets fueled and ready to launch at the first sign of trouble. they are ready to scramble to the skies to intercept suspicious aircraft. the goal of course is preventing another terror attack. >> reporter: your job is to

protect america >>it is. >> reporter: how is it going? >> it's going very well. we take it very seriously. we are on alert 24/7, 365 and we are ready to go on a moment's notice. >> reporter: many of these pilots have come pat experience in iraq or kosovo. the massachusetts air national guard invited fox news for a ride along on an f-15 eagle. they gave me some ejector seat training. they gave me a flight suit. i climbed into the back seat for an unrestricted takeoff. we went on an exercise where we intercepted a cessna plane. the afterwards i spoke with rooster about his role in

defending america >> it gives me a great deal of pride to find targets that could potentially be threats and make sure they are not going to hurt anybody. >> reporter: that wasn't rooster. that was another pilot. so far these pilots have not had to fire on anyone in u.s. air space but they are ready if called to do so. >> we are on minutes from boston and new york within a scramble, well within our combat readiness. the weapons are more than enough to do the task that would be at hand for homeland defense. >> reporter: air-to-air missiles and gatling guns. they are undefeated in battle and ready to go on a moment's notice. alisyn: they are impressive. and you are, too, going up and

being able to handle a flight like that. alisyn: i went flying with you, and felt geforce when you were behind the wheel. bill: america's newsroom will have coverage of the 9/11 memorial. martha and i will be live at ground zero sunday morning here on the fox news channel. it will be a day to remember for all of us. alisyn: he says from day one it will be all about jobs. mitt romney promising to get america back to work with his own jobs plan. bill: a killer opening fire at a restaurant and killing three national guard members and then himself. new details on a possible motive. >> i told my son, i said lock the doors. my son tried to lock it.

that's when the guy looked and saw my son and started shooting at us. we saw bullets coming through the restaurants. when went to the back and we never saw him again. [ male announcer ] it's a fact: your nutritional needs can go up when you're on the road to recovery. proper nutrition can help you get back on your feet. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health.

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>> he came out from behind his car out in the open. he had his automatic weapon up and threw the clip out and started working towards i hop. >> what he did with those people they didn't stand a chance. they were just there for breakfast. bill: claudia cowen is live in carson city, never. what is happening at the scene >> you can see the yellow crime tape. police barricades are sealing off this entire parking lot area. they are looking for clues and a motive in this case. 50 investigators are on it. they are talking to witnesses, talking to friend of the suspect, the gunman in this case. and carrying out search warrant. we have the atf involved, trying to determine how the 32-year-old came to have two assault rifles and a pistol with him and why he

walked into this pancake house and fired at a table of five uniformed members of nevada's national guard. >> this is a tragic event. the word targeting suggests we have a motive. we don't have a motive yet. >> reporter: residents of nevada's capital city are struggling to understand why anyone would turn an assault weapon on their hometown. they held a candlelight vigil last night and flags around the state have been lowered. his family not saying much, but according to federal sources relatives say he did have a long history of merntal illness. that will certainly be a factor as this investigation unfold. sheriff's officials saying as far as they can tell he did not have any links to terrorist

groups, no known connection to the international house of pancakes and he did not appear to know his victims. bill: could the death toll go higher? >> reporter: one of the other victims, a woman shot outside the restaurant is in very serious condition. she was shot in the head through her helmet and is listed in critical condition overnight a third member of the national guard, a female, died of her injuries. three people murdered, four dead including the gunman. and four others recovering from their injuries. we expect the sheriff's department to release the names of all the people in this incident. bill: claudia cowen in carson city, nevada. alisyn: just ahead of tonight's

gop debate, mitt romney rolls out his own jobs plan including $20 million in immediate federal budget cuts. take a listen to romney in nevada yesterday. >> the right answer for america is not to grow government or believe that government can create jobs. it is to create the conditions that allow the private sector and entrepreneurs to create jobs and to grow our economy. alisyn: alan colmes is here as is tucker carlson, editor for "the daily caller" and a fox news contributor. this is a 59-point plan. let's put up for the viewers some of the most he sali enan partners. enan.

plans. he also wants to hold china responsible for tricky currency practices. you like what you are hearing? >> he wants to fast track some trade agreement. this could be a will the more ambitious. it's not an economic conservative's dream. it's better than what we have now. he clearly knows economics. he has a record that shows that. this is a response to the electoral realities he's facing with perry in the race. romney is not out of the race. perry is a brand-new entrant. romney is a powerful contender for the nomination. this is a good start. alisyn: it sounds like music to the ears of many americans. >> businesses say it's not

regulations causing lack of jobs. also capping spending, that doesn't create jobs. doing away with obama-care has nothing to do with creating jobs. the balanced budget amendment has nothing to do with creating jobs. why didn't he talk about his great success creating jobs as governor of massachusetts. and he talked about union busting or make it more difficult for people to unionize. this is anti-worker. i don't see what's there that will create jobs. >> there is no unionized workforce in the world that's the center of innovation. apple isn't unionized. anybody who has been in a union can tell you what you already know. they exist to protect the jobs of their members, some of whom are unqualified and ought to be fired but they can't be.

>> he wants to keep unions from forming. that's not going to create jobs. alisyn: rick perry it sounds like is going after mitt romney on his record as governor of massachusetts for jobs creation, whereas romney is going after rick perry saying he's a career politician, which is a bad word right now. >> they are arguing parallel arguments. romney is not running on his tenure in massachusetts. he passed romney care. he's running on his experience in the private sector and managing the olympics in salt lake city. he's running on the numbers. >> his job was to go in and fire people and get rid of people to consolidate companies and make them more profitable. >> firing people is part of the dynamic economy.

alisyn: mitt romney said sometimes when you restructure a company you do. >> he didn't detail exactly where the jobs are coming from. nowhere in his plan did he say how those 11.5 jobs will be created. >> taking your foot off the throat of american businesses is a good start. >> the president isn't overregulating. alisyn: alan, do you think the president is going to use some of this blue print and echo not obviously romney's plan, but the same theme >> there is nothing to echo. you need some vibration for things to echo. there are no vibrations. the president will talk about

targeted job creation. sadly you don't create jobs by cutting. you actually have to spend money that recirculates back in the economy. sometimes you have to spend it to get it back. romney also wants to tax capital gains cuts affect the upper income people. that plan has nothing to do with creating jobs or helping most americans. >> it's the rich that need the capital gains. hiring more workers expand the democratic base. it brings obama more voters but doesn't help the economy. i think we have proved that the last two years. bill: those guys are going to love what we have to tell them next. fox news is teaming up with google to host a republican presidential debate in orlando and you at home can submit

questions for the candidates. and you can vote on which questions you want the candidates to answer. full control. go to foxnews.com. scroll down to the spotlight section and click on the presidential debate box. there is aling for to you submit your question. click on the ask a question tab. you can write us a question or submit a video for the candidates. you can also see other questions. give them a thumbs up or thumbs down. do you like or not like. the republican presidential debate. it comes your way thursday, september 22. it will be a great night. alisyn: i'll bet they will have great suggestions. democratic leaders have a message or president obama. >> be bold, the american public is waiting for to us hit that home run or throw that hail mary pass. we can do it. we have done it before and there is no reason why we shouldn't

try. alisyn: will the president heed their advice? bill: the language was strong. it was too strong from the tea party. they want an apology from the white house, the vice president and the union leader. this is your morning moment. a beautiful sunrise. live in southern california. america's newsroom continues in three shiny minutes.

>> we have to keep an eye on the battle we face. a war on workers. you have receive it everywhere. it's the tea party. there is only one way to beat and win that war. one thing about working people is we like good fight. they got a war with us and there is only going to be one winner, president obama. this is your army. we are ready to march.

everybody here has got to vote. if we go back and keep the eye on the prize, let's take these [bleep] out and give america back to america where we belong. bill: that was a few days ago. now the tea party members are calling for the white house to condemn that comment from jimmy hoffa. but the teamster's president said "i will never apologize for standing up for my fellow teamsters and all-american workers." amy, good morning to you. you have heard some explanation. now what do you think? >> it's inexcusable and not acceptable. i'll tell you what's disturbing. president obama is no longer a community organizer and just the leader of the democratic party. he's supposed to represent all of us, we the people.

the fact that he has not condemned that statement and asked for an apology from jimmy hoffa is unacceptable. i introduced sarah palin on stage monday in new hampshire, and i can't imagine saying something like that and sarah palin not calling me out for it. it's not appropriate on the left or the right. and any time it happens on the right we call the people out. even if we don't know who they are, we can't tolerate that. bill: the white house was asked about this. jay carney said the president wasn't on stage at the time, he appeared 20 minutes later >> it am not an excuse. president obama is president of the united states. that means he represents all of us. not just the teamsters and not just the democrats. that's where the problem is here. as a matter of fact i had a number of emails come in from people who are teamsters that support the tea party movement.

they said jimmy hoffa doesn't speak for me. we want politicians that represent we the people that are not being held by standard by special interests or union thugs. it's the bigger picture. what happened to president obama calling for a more civil discourse after the attempt on gabby gifford's life? bill: he said he was referring to tea party politicians in 2012 and not inciting violence against members of the tea party organization. is that sufficient? >> no, that's not sufficient. take somebody out means kill somebody. take somebody out. we hear it all the time. in movies and other places. it's not acceptable. it's fine -- bill, i talk about all the time let's defeat them. let's defeat them at the ballot box. i don't say let's take them out.

bill: do you believe jimmy hoffa was literally saying kill them? >> i don't know what he was saying, but it's inappropriate the way he said it. we heard that we are terrorists, we are hobbitts, and it needs to stop. >> the greatest thing about this country is we can have civil discourse. we may not always agree on everything but we should be respectful to each other. that's what this is about. bill: it's a national debate that will climax in 2012. here is joe biden in cincinnati talking to union members. >> this is a fight for the heart and soul of the labor movement. it's a fight literally for our right to exist. you are the on folks keeping the barbarians from the gates. bill: who are the barbarians? the republicans in the tea

party? >> i would like to ask vice president biden that. he's probably speaking of the same people jimmy hoff a was. tea party activists across the country. it's inexcusable. bill: if you got an apology from the white house would you be satisfied? >> i think president obama should apologize. president obama should condemn the speech and ask jimmy hoffa and vice president biden to apologize for their comments. that's what we would like to see happen. alisyn: where are the jobs? a group of protesters are demanding answers to that from a congressman and they disrupted his event. bill: unnecessary roughness. this in a normal world might be considered a flag. 15 yards. watch it here. end of this play. wait until you see that.

bill: angry protesters disrupting an event held by paul ryan. police officers showed up to control the crowd. dozens of picketers with questions about job creation. ryan had this answer. >> let's continue on with our -- i'm going to keep talking. i recognize a few more from -- they are friends of ours we have seen the past few days. i have listening hours. i have office hours with people who schedule meetings. that's what i have been doing all month. bill: three protesters physically amoved and arrested

at that event in wisconsin. alisyn: an italian appeals court denying a request for new dna testing in the case of amanda knox trial. knox is currently serving a 26-year sentence. gregg palkot is following this story from our london bureau. >> today's actions are seen as a plus for convicted killer amanda knox. the judge is ruling against another testing of that controversial dma evidence. the conviction was obtained by the prosecution early on. the prosecution claiming the amanda knox dma was found on the knife. the knife wassed the murder weapon used in the crime. and the dna from her boyfriend was found on the victim's bra

clasp. they are using a battery of experts to knock down the dna evidence. apparently the judge is leaning in the direction of agreeing with the defense argument. alisyn: where are we in this appeal trial? where does it go from here? >> according to our topnotch fox news producer on the ground, she said the judges are going on a bits after vacation. they will come back and closing tarmts will begin friday, september 23. the earliest possible time for a verdict would be thursday, september 29. it's bloafd to go into early october. general consensus is that the conviction will be overturned. but there are two judges. there is a six-experience jury. anything could happen. but the feeling is that perhaps she could be leaving italy next month, passport in hand, heading

back to seattle. alisyn: we know so many italian cases are overturned on appeal. bill: one thing you won't hear after the big jobs speech is an official republican response. why nancy pelosi says that's disrespectful. alisyn: the search for three teenagers who police say may have started one of these fires. >> we have been waiting to be evacuated. but then we see the smoke just above the trees not a couple mile from our house and they are not telling us anything.

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bill: all right, here we go and fox news alert, life and death battles underway as we speak, dangerously close to some of america's most populated cities, poolville, texas, less than 40 miles outside the dallas fort worth area, home to 6 million people, this is the scene there, one of 11

devastating fires obliterating hundreds of acres across the lone star state at the moment. it's a brand new hour in "america's newsroom" and good to have you with us today, i'm bill hemmer, martha is helping out with the kids, as they go back to school. >> good for her. bill: bic week for the maccallums. alisyn: i'm alisyn camarota. less than 30 miles from the state capitol of austin texas, here are pictures, firefighters hoping calmer winds will help them gain the upper hand. bill tpwh*eul is in the midst of the worst drought they've seen since the 1930s, kris gutierrez is near the town of bastrop, texas. >> reporter: the good news is this fire is now 30 percent contained but we already know it has proven to be the most devastating in texas history. take a look behind me, we are outside of bastrop where you can see this is what's left of one family's two vehicles and if you pan to the left, you can see what's

left of their home over here. this family i'm told according to neighbors was out of town over the labor day weekend and when they returned, this is what they found. neighbors tell me they tried to help out as much as they could. listen here: >> i kind of ran from the back yard, i had some hoses hooked up there, and started spraying on this side of the floor, we really saw the big flames come up, so we sprayed a little bit, then i looked down here and i saw some fire in the grass by that bush right there, and i sprayed it, and then that's when this fire got so big that, you know, again, we decided it was time to leave. >> reporter: back live, can -- you can see what's left of this rural community here. that neighbor tells me he could see a wall of flames coming at him that was rising above that tree line back there. he says he grabbed what he could, grabbed his family and jumped in the car. we're also learning about another fire, much smaller, burned 800 acres in leander,

texas, 30 miles from here, authorities are actually flooring three teenage suspects because they believe that fire in leander may have been deliberately set. conversation the -- as far as the fire in bastrop, no word on how it started. bill: thank you, kris gutierrez. alisyn: if you can believe it, it's not rained in months, nearly all of texas, experiencing extreme drought conditions. maria molina, how is it looking? >> reporter: not good. we think for the fire week it's going to persist across austin. it has been going on for months, actually started last fall through la nina and we think we could see another la nina winter this year, that could mean more drought conditions across the southern plains, that's what we're looking for in texas, oklahoma, louisiana. unfortunately, we do not

bring significant rainfall to the state of texas. we're looking at extreme to exceptional drought. right now, no rain, there are light showers and thunderstorms across portions of the central plains but if you look at the satellite picture, over austin, san antonio, here is the forecast and unfortunately, very warm temperatures in the 90s, that means any water will evaporate and we're expecting those temperatures to rise, upper 90s, just shy of 100 degrees for austin, texas on sunday, and also poor air quality because of all the smoke flying around. alisyn: my gosh, look at those temperatures. if only we could switch places with them and they could take our relentless rain. bill these fires, approaching catastrophic status, more than 3.5 million-acres have been scorched so far this year, that's more than 5000 square miles, an area about the size of connecticut. nearly 85 percent of texas under exceptional drought conditions, and 99 percent

is considered severe or worse. being called the worst drought on record. four minutes past the hour. alisyn: here's breaking news for you right now. a spokes phrupb for -- spokesman for tripoli's new military council saying qaddafi is surrounded, rebel fighters are supposedly within 40 miles of his location and are preparing to capture or kill him, saying qaddafi has been trapped using human intelligence and technology. fighters are also conducting raids and they're searching for any qaddafi loyalists. we'll keep an eye on this. bill: we certainly will. twenty-three dead, including eight soldiers and two children, in connection with an apparent revenge plot against a top military officer in pakistan. police say a pair of homicide bombers attacked his home, they say it may have been retaliation for recent arrests of three leading al-qaeda suspects out of quetta, pakistan. al a*pbld serious new questions today about the future of our forces in

iraq, senior officials telling fox if the obama administration plans to keep about 3000 u.s. troops there past this year's withdrawal deadline, they will help with training iraqi forces, but that number is much less than some feel is needed, and now leanne panetta -- leon panetta has said this. >> no decision has been made with regard to the number of troops that will remain in iraq. i think our goal is to try to do what the iraqis want us to do in order to try to protect their security. alisyn: fox news' jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. jennifer, why is the white house changing course on this? >> well, the white house and panetta are pushing back on these leaked reports that they have signed off for, the defense secretary signed off for 3000 troops, mostly because it's really up to the iraqis and the iraqis still have not requested that any u.s. troops stay and the status of forces agreement is still in effect

and that calls for all u.s. troops to be out of iraq by the end of the year, so this is deeply embarrassing for the white house and for the defense secretary for this number to be leaked, but multiple defense officials have confirmed to us that panetta signed off on this 3000 troops plus enablers. here's the reaction from capitol hill. >> i can tell you, i've been to iraq over the years, i've talked to all of our commanders there. none of them ever told me we would need as few as 3000 troops. >> senators lieberman, john mccain and lindsey graham issued this statement, quote, this is dramatically lower than what our military leaders have consistently told us over the course of repeated visits to iraq that they require, and that is needed to support iraq in safeguarding the hard won gains that our two nations have achieved at such great costs. what defense officials are telling us is that if there a 3000 u.s. troops left, they will be doing a very narrow training mission. they will not be doing any sort of patrols that would

be going after, for instance, iranian influence in iraq. alisyn: of course, the timing is interesting, because just today, we're seeing some of those first u.s. troops leave in large tphups. >> that's right. this is the first large group of u.s. troops to leave iraq in over a year. we can confirm that 700 texas national guardsmen from the 36th infantry division started to come home today. again, they were based down in southern iraq, in basra, that is now going to be controlled from central iraq. this is the first significant headquarters or troop reduction since 50,000 u.s. troops left iraq in august a year ago. there are currently 45,000 u.s. troops in iraq. the u.s. military has gone from 92 bases a year ago to just 43. one point four million pieces of equipment have been withdrawn and about 1 million more need to be removed by the end of the year according to colonel barry johnson who is over in iraq now. bill: thank you very much

for the update. one man trying to blow of a commercial jet in the soles of his sneakers and today, every american traveler has to take off their shoes but that, we're told, might change. alisyn: awaiting the president's pivotal address on jobs, but democrats have a message before he takes to the mic. bill: heading for the presidential field, rick perry has yet to face off against his opponents in a debate. tonight, he does. >> it has to be someone who has a she stark difference between the president of the united states and our nominee and i will suggest to you, i'm that person.

alisyn: it avs rude awakening for guests at a florida hotel, violent winds ripping through this hotel roof this morning, as you can see the aftermath, the same band of heavy storms

also being blamed for roof damage at another nearby hotel. forecaster -- forecasters say the storms are about to move out soon but flooding is still a big problem. bill: go away, huh rain? enough of you today. new concerns that members of the military were indeed the target by the man that went on a shooting spree in nevada, a suspect armed with an ak-47, marched into an ihop in carson city, nevada, and opened fire on a group of uniformed national guard members having breakfast at the time. mark furman, standpoint, idaho, mark, good to see you again. why have they said this does not appear to be a case of terrorism? >> reporter: well, bill, when this shooting took place, you have national guard members that seemed to be the knewcallious of the

-- newcally us of the -- nu nucleus of the target of the gunman so you see if there's a message to terrorist groups, so when they go in there, they have to be aware that there's a secondary attack once emergency people get to the scene, so once that's eliminated, they go to the location of the suspect, the suspect killed himself, and you find -- you try to find electronic communication, a connection with terrorist groups, any kind of statement, manifesto, or anything, because terrorism can't live unless it creates terror, and if it only lives in the mind of the suspect, then the terrorism aspect is lost because then it is the act of only one man. bill: i should mention the killer is dead, too, he took his own life after shooting those national guardsmen sitting at the same table. we're working on a lot of theories, mark, as we try and piece this together and

try to figure it out. why do you believe this gunman had worked this out in advance and knew exactly the pacing or the steps or the place where this attack would take place? >> what's interesting, he's not taking a handgun, he's taking an assault rifle, which is very obvious, and you'd have to actually plan this, to bring the assault weapon and enough magazines to carry out the act that you intended to do. just a couple miles from the national guard headquarters there in carson city, i suspect that this was a habit, a usual breakfast spot for some of the national guardsmen, they're in uniform, so it's quite obvious, i would suspect, that they're going to find that this man had been in that restaurant before or had been observing the guardsmen, if that is the target. but it seems that that was his focus, the national guardsmen, and i suspect that he would have to plan

this sometime before the act, in other words, before he left the house. bill: two more questions here and again, this goes to your theory and thinking based on your own experience in law enforcement. why do you think he knew the victims? >> well, you know, when we see a suspect commit a senseless act like this, when i say know the victims, i mean, it could have an fantasy created all together in his own head. it could have been a female, it could have been a stalking situation in which the female knew nothing about, it could have been symbolic of a change in his attitude towards the war in iraq or afghanistan. it could have been somebody that he knew that had been killed. it could have been a fixation that only lived inside of his head. and i think that's the mystery sometimes with people that have mental disorders, it makes sense to them, it just doesn't make sense to us, and when they

kill themselves, it's lost forever. bill: and one more thing here. why do you believe they were indeed the target, sitting in their uniforms at a breakfast place where they may have gone perhaps five days a week for all we know? >> well, you know, there's an interesting segment of this, and of course, not being on the scene and not seeing a diagram, but from the descriptions, the national guardsmen were somewhat in the back of the restaurant. he goes in, he sees a girl on a motorcycle, he eliminates the threat of her notifying anybody, he's -- notifying he's got an assault rifle. that was quite obvious right there, but then he goes direct. and one of the victims at the table of the national guardsmen, she was shot in the head and i would really operate from that center of the guardsmen and the woman that was shot in the head so specific and so deadly, it's

almost like was that the first shot, and did everything kind of radiate out from there, and once you get the answers to that, then you can continue on to the other victims. bill we might get some more answers in about an hour and 45 minutes when police brief that's at noon eastern time out of carson city, nevada. mark furman, thank you for your time, standpoint, idaho. alisyn: there are concerns that astronauts might have to abandon the international space station, but now there's a new rush to make sure we keep the lights on. bill: that's an urgent matter, too. the message from the white house before the big speech on the economy and jobs. what the president's own party is telling him. >> we sent a message to the president, mr. president, in two days, be bold. hit it out of the park. the american public is waiting for that leadership.

bill: 21 past the hour, quick check of the headlines, forecasters say we're not in the clear yet from hurricane katia, category one storm moving up the atlantic, she's lost a little power so far, in the northeast, the -- in the missouri river, evangelicals are appealing a decision not to include them at an event at the washington national cathedral, that event marking ten years since the attacks of 9/11, among those attending, the bishop of washington, a rabbi and muslim imam. we will mark ten years, where we can pause and think, it's been ten years but it's only been ten years. it will be quite a day. >> that will be an intense weekend here. meanwhile, the president is set to unveil his man to get americans back to work tomorrow night. it's expected to include at

least $300 billion in federal spending and tax cuts, the first -- but first democrats have a message for their party leaders, ignore conservatives and fight for democratic priorities. here's chris stierwalt, digital politics editor. how are you? >> doing well, how are you? >> alisyn: doing well. democrats have called on president to be bold. will this be a bold speech? >> if past experience tells us anything and if we can observe what the white house is doing now in terms of trying to set expectations the president is going to have little something for everybody in the speech. he's going to be bold but not too bold, be revenue neutral but also stimulative, he's going to try to build a mull began stew of leftover initiatives, new ideas, some new spending, new tax cuts, to try to have something to placate his left but sound reasonable to skeptical independent voters. alisyn: did you say a mull began stew? >> so i know that precious

few details have been released about what exactly is in the speech, however, we have heard this number of $300 billion in federal spending. so is there more stimulus being talked about? >> well, as far as that $300 billion number goes, that's part of a communications effort by the white house today, in advance of this speech. now, it will be $300 billion for some audiences but when they're talking to the kind of angry liberals that have called for the president to be really, really bold, that number will go up, because the great thing about washington, alisyn, is, numbers are fury things -- funny things because they're elastic and how you score the cost and value of something depends upon the suppositions you build into the program, so the president talking to liberals could honestly say look, we're talking about five, $600 billion both of stimulus here, then when talking to republicans and independents, he can say it's small and revenue neutral, it's about -- it's good, around $300 billion.

alisyn: i've learned some of that, fuzzy math. in terms of being bold, it sounds like the venue is pretty bold. why is he doing this in front of a joint session of congress? >> the original plan was to really enrobe him in the trappings of the presidency, the sergeant to arms calls out his name, he walks up to the podium, the cheers, the american flag, all of that stuff, but they got into a little political back and forth when they tried to step on the republican debate that's happening tonight, they get pushed into thursday, now the republicans aren't even going to do a rebuttal, they're just going to let the president talk and instead of doing their five counterpoint at the end they're going to let it slip off into prime time and nfl kickoff. so what the president originally wanted was a big, bold place to talk to the american people. what he's ended up with is something just a little less. al a*pbld of course nancy pelosi has called that lack of a rebuttal disrespectful. is this unprecedented there will be no republican rebuttal? >> this speech is unprecedented in many ways so the fact that republicans

aren't rebutting it i guess is also unprecedented but we don't really have a good historical frame of reference for something like this because, as i said, that conflict over the timing and the political back and forth and the gamesmanship there, and in addition to that, this is very much an election-oriented speech, this is very much the president starting a year-long pitch to the american people that he should be forgiven for the problems in the economy and that he has a plan to get america going in the right direction. al cries stierwalt, thank you very much for the context. of course we will be watching tomorrow. thank you. >> you bet. you bet. bill: breaking news out of russia now. we reported this about an hour ago, a bit more information on this plane that went down on takeoff. there are at least three, and as many as five former nhl players from the national hockey league that were on board. we're told now that 44 people are dead, two survived. these are former nhl stars, enroute to a game in minsk in belarus, took off from

moscow, crashed shortly after takeoff, we can confirm, 44 dead, two survivors, among the 44 dead, as many as five, former nhl players. a tragedy in russia happening now. more information as we get it, as, again, it continues to cross the wires. when we get more, we'll get it to you. sad news out of russia. alisyn: meanwhile, rick perry quickly rising to the top of the gop presidential pack. how will he do in his first debate that goes down tonight? steve hague will be -- hayes will be here on that. bill: are you ready for some football? shoulder pads and pom pom? not a good combination. tackle of the night on the sidelines. can't miss it.

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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. alisyn: there are new fears today the threat of homegrown terrorism in the united states may be on the rise. according to a new study there have been 52 terrorist plots on american soil since 2001. but when you break those numbers down it gets even more alarming because 30 one of those 52 plots have been in just the past two years. national correspondent catherine herridge is live in washington. what's the theory on this spike in homegrown cases? >> reporter: thank you, alisyn and good morning. according to the new report and first-of-its-kind to interview the intelligence chiefs in the 56 largest american cities rather, homegrown and foreign

directed jihadi terrorism and self-radicalization are perceived as real threat by u.s. law enforcement. a short time ago the homeland security secretary, janet napolitano described the new generation of digital jihadists who are radicalized without leaving the u.s.. >> increasing savvy use of the internet, mainstream and social media and information technology by these groups adds an additional layer of complexity to an already complex threat picture. >> reporter: after 9/11 the u.s. intelligence community believed there really needed to be this person-to-person contact kind of mentoring thing for an individual to cross a threshold to violence but after fort hood in 2009 where we had the e-mail relationship where the accused shooter, major nadal hasan and the american cleric that changed thinking and that the visds will cross threshold to violence in personal way and accounts for the spike in homegrown cases we've seen alisyn. alisyn: worrying.

does this report identify any gaps in our intelligence system? >> reporter: four factors. they include a lack of analysis for the intelligence. lack of detailed information. also lack of sharing and intelligence data that in their opinion is plagued by stale data or too much data to be meaningful. by contrast this morning the homeland security secretary highlighted what she called the fusion centers created after 9/11 for better intelligence sharing between local, state and federal law enforcement. >> we now have 72 recognized state and major urban area fusion centers throughout the country. fusion centers serve as the focal point for information about threats that can be gathered, analyzed and shared and shared on a real-time basis among federal, state, local, private, territorial and private sector partners. >> reporter: based on the study, alisyn, there seems to be a disconnect what intelligence chiefs in the

major cities see as effectiveness of this sharing and that of the homeland security secretary and the reason that matters because of the spike in homegrown cases we are seeing very few individuals traveling overseas or even having communications with terrorist groups overseas and that makes it harder to interseptember in those cases. alisyn: it is frustrating about intelligence sharing because that is what we focused on right after 9/11 10 years ago. but thanks so much for highlighting this report for us. bill: rick perry, the texas governor, has a big debut tonight. it is his first republican presidential debate. he's the frontrunner. latest "abc news/washington post poll"ing among republicans and republica republican-leaning independents, perry has a big lead. he is at 39%. mitt romney checks in at 18% that is latest in a string of polls showing perry shooting ahead in the pack including our own "fox news

poll". steven hayes. how are you doing. >> good morning, bill. bill: talk specifically about perry now. what's his strategy tonight? >> i think he wants to avoid a big gaffe basically. you're going to have some of the lesser known candidates like maybe a rick santorum or people who have been struggling lately like michele bachmann who might try to take a shot at him. he is viewed as conservative alternative to mitt romney. he emerged as you point out sort of from nowhere to become the frontrunner. he is talking about some of the same issues that these other conservative candidates have been talking about. i suspect they will try to take their shots and do some damage and establish themselves as alternative to rick perry. i would be real surprised if he takes the bait and engages any of those candidates, anybody other than mitt romney. bill: that's interesting. you think romney and perry, do they, what do they do fencing, they parry, they weave, they bob?

do they land any body blows or stay away from each other? >> this is big question t had been mitt romney's strategy to let rick perry implode. their hope that perry will make some mistake. that romney will be viewed as viable, more electable, nonetheless conservative candidate who can be the republican nominee that can beat barack obama. that had been the strategy. we've seen a more aggressive push from the romney camp really the past week with his trip down to south carolina. some of the language he used seems to be taking shots at rick perry. the real question whether or not tonight on this stage in rick perry's big debut will mitt romney go at him head-to-head. bill: that's a good question. ron paul and perry have been going back and forth a little bit too, two texans. don't forget about that. >> right. bill: last night on o'reilly, laura ingraham was working for bill. she had karl rove on getting whole bush/perry relationship. here is how rove described

in part and i will will get you to react. >> all i've seen between the two men is graciousness. look this is the "time" magazine story. in it quotes a lot of perry people. perry served as bush's lieutenant governor before succeeding him but two men never been close. i know that not to be true. they're very close. you saw it last friday. they announced their national team. and somebody immediately leaked, they said, we've got a team that works closer than the bush team did in 2000. bill: that's a texan talking like that. is there bad blood or is that overblown and misreported? >> probably a little bit of both. i think certainly is tension between the bush camp and perry camp. it does go back to the prebush presidency. bill: despite what rove was saying last night? >> he was there. that's certainly his view. he definitely the case talking to other people around both men they will tell you there is tension between the bush camp and perry camp. i think it has to do how they viewed themselves running in 1998. the kind of campaigns they

were running respectively. but it also goes to the transition in 2000 when i think rick perry as the incoming governor after george w. bush was elected was eager to get into the governor's mansion. eager to take office. eager to sort of establish himself and george w. bush, in the midst of a recount, couldn't yet come to washington. so i think there was, some tension that results from that as well. bill: if you clear this up, publicly and put it to rest, there's a boatload of money along the bush line when you think about all the supporters he built up over time. steve, thank you. we'll talk real soon. >> you bet. bill: steven hayes out of washington. fox news is teaming up with google to host a republican presidential debate september 22nd in orlando, florida. you can submit your questions for the candidates. for the very first time you can actually vote on which questions you want the candidates to answer. love that, right? the topic, the questions. go to foxnews.com and online you can scroll down to the spotlight section and click on the presidential debate box and there is a link for

to you submit your question. kick on the, ask a question tab. then you can either write us a question or submit a video for the candidates. you can also see other questions submitted and give them a thumbs up or thumbs down. the republican presidential debate hosted by fox news september 22nd along with google. give us a like or dislike. alisyn: great. i predict we'll get more creative suggestions. that's great. there are serious new questions by a federal raid on the renowned gibson guitars. the government is questioning where the wood for gibson's instruments comes from but some are wondering if the raid could be politically motivated. fox's john roberts is live at the gibson guitar factory in nashville. john, what is the government's theory here about that wood? >> reporter: good morning to you, alisyn. this is what the government went after. a piece of indian rosewood. a fret board blank. this will go on the guitar with the familiar position with the frets.

bach on august 24th the government seized a million dollars worth from gibson saying it was illegal to import it from india. hear is the really interesting part. had gibson imported this from india as finished piece it would be perfectly legal to import. not the wood itself, the amount of manufacturering led into it. this is what gibson say the u.s. government, the white house, the administration wants to ship u.s. jobs overseas. 40 people work at gibson work putting this together. according to the bruce mitchell, the lead counsel for gibson. he says that whole idea flies in the face of the president's speech tomorrow about putting americans back to work. here is what he told me. >> gibson, you know, is a 100% american-made. 100% american-made. we're proud of that. we export 60% of what we produce in the united states. so if you take in context, in fairness to president obama's speech, let's put america back to work, more jobs, more exports, more exports, more jobs.

gibson is the poster-child for that. >> reporter: now here's the other part of this that is really interesting. this is exactly the same type of wood and exactly the same form that every other guitar manufacturer in america imports and hasn't yet been targeted by the federal government. which leads some people to believe because the ceo of gibson is a republican, and has donated heavily to republican candidates where as some of the other manufacturers are led by democrats there is maybe political motivation to all of this. alisyn? alisyn: interesting. while you're there would you mind picking up a couple guitars for hemmer and me? we're starting a band. >> reporter: i could reach out with my arm and grab 50. perhaps presents for everybody when we come back. alisyn: john roberts. thanks so much for the report. bill: gibson is like harley in this country. man. man dubbed the shoe-bomber, single-handedly responsible for the issue removal from airports around the world. why that policy could soon change. alisyn: just because you're on the sidelines doesn't

mean you're out of harm's way at the game. even cheerleaders have to keep their heads at the game. >> i heard my name being called but i wasn't paying attention and then when i looked at the girl he just came and swept me off my feet.

bill: "friday night lights" were hot in north carolina. check it out. quarterback back to pass. airs it a long way. that is the receiver on the end of it. the cheerleader just doing her job. medics rushed to her side. she had ringing in her ears and a bit of a headache. >> i heard my name being called but i wasn't paying attention, and then, when i looked at the girl, then he just came and swept me off my feet. i really can't describe it. i don't know what happened after. all i remember is getting ice. she talked to me and everything. bill: she is a good sport. the pass was incomplete too after all that. she says she knows the guy

from school. she won't hold a grudge but, --. alisyn? alisyn: bill, you may be able to keep your shoes on the next time you pass through the airport metal detector. homeland security chief saying that the shoe removal policy could be coming to an end in the next few months. and, moving towards a system based on guess what, intelligence. >> we'd love to have kind of a screening port that you just step in, boom, got everything. you go through and, it's, painless and very, very quick. the technology isn't quite there yet and it won't be for a while. but i think one of the first things you will see over time the ability to keep your shoes on. alisyn: well judge andrew napolitano, no relation is our fox news senior judicial analyst and the host of "freedom watch" on the fox business network. great to see you. >> good to see you, alisyn. alisyn: the whole shoe policy the criticism was silly. this was reaction.

in a reaction to richard reid who tried to light his sneaker on a transatlantic flight so we all have to take on our shoes. was there a legal problem with it as well? >> there are two arguments here. one is richard reid almost killed people and shoes are a place where explosives can be hidden and shoes need to be examined carefully. the other argument is, the x-ray can find any metal. the government was just giving the impression of doing something by forcing us to take our shoes off. making people take their shoes off, and only country where that happens, you don't have to do it in europe is demeaning and unnecessary and costly. now cousin janet as i call her, as you say no relation, has suggested there is technology which would alleviate the need for taking our shoes off. is there a legal problem with taking your shoes off? yes. there is a legal problem whenever the government touches you, stops you from freedom of movement. interferes with your privacy without your consent or without the authorization of a judge. alisyn: but guess what? their touching has only

gotten more invasive. with shoes you only take off your shoes. now all of the full body searches are even more invasive. >> they are more invasive which is why the argument she just made, would be nice if you could walk in there and everything is done in couple seconds might be painless at the moment but might reveal private information about our bodies to the government that the government has no right to know. one way to resolve this, would be to let the airlines be in charge of security. alisyn: why? how would that change? >> they have the most to gain by securing the paerpgs and securing the planes and the least to lose. and they can be more efficient. they can also offer you menu. here is super secure line and super secure plane. here is the line not as intrusive. you want to take the chance, go on that one? we'll do it that way. alisyn camerota. we screened you once. don't have do skeen you again. you're on the list that doesn't have to take the shoes off. there could can be creative

ways with freedom of choice. alisyn: if you want to hear more of this great analysis, watch "freedom watch" every weekday live at 8:00 p.m. on fox business network. it also airs 11:00 p.m. eastern time only on the fox business network. judge, thanks so much. bill: nice to see you judge. have a great vacation. you're off, three months? >> seems that way. i was fighting floods from irene. bill: i bet you were. good to see you. >> thank you. bill: jon scott coming up next on "happening now." what are you working on? >> we have all kinds of good stuff. good morning to you, bill. go to foxnews.com/happeningnow. click on america's asking now to weigh in on the big question of the day. we'll talk with one of mitt romney's top aides about romney's plan to rescue the economy. how does it compare with what the president wants to do? plus, an amazing discovery in as you tree jaw we're going -- austria we're going to bring you. a gladiator training center from the 1300's.

colonel oliver north on a drastic drawdown of u.s. troops in iraq. what does ollie think? we'll see if you a few minutes. bill: a packed show. we'll see you in a few minutes on "happening now." there is serious concerns about the future of the international space station. fear that is the astronauts may have to evacuate and now no system in place to get more astronauts there. what can be done to keep it running? ♪

alisyn: we have breaking news for you. we want to show you our first images of that plane crash we've been reporting this morning. this is in russia. this is outside of moscow. i'm looking at images for the first time just as you

are. you can see all the charred remains of this plane. what, one of the significant things about this crash is that it apparently, at least 43 people were onboard and have been killed as well as some members of the nhl, former members of the nhl. we're told at least five players, possibly a manager, hockey players, traveling to belarus. we understand. so we will give you more information on this plane crash and who was on it as soon as we get those details. bill: tragedy that is. there are serious concerns this morning about the space station. after a rocket crashed in russia recently, the next rocket launch won't happen until at least november. that's the same type of rocket used to launch people, astronauts to the station. dr. scott horowitz, former nasa restaurant. doctor, good morning to you. >> good morning, bill. thanks for having me. bill: i'm just wondering how they will figure this out? they're making plans on board the space station

right now in case they had to leave the place, to videotape instructions for astronauts who may at some point come on board without any welcoming party. now we're a long way from that right now. but what kind of predictment are we in knowing an astronaut can not get there until at least november, if not longer? >> well, it is always good to have a plan b and nasa almost always has a good plan b. at the top level though we've become single strain reliant on the soyuz rocket which unfortunately just failed. so currently we have no way to send supplies and people up to the international space station. so, now you will be seeing a series of trades being done by nasa to how best to rotate this crew out and maintain the station in operational condition. bill: because the russians are only way there, now, right? there is no private comercial development that is capable at the moment. how many years away are

they? >> well, it is really hard to tell. there is a planned launch from one of the commercial providers that is a test flight but it won't be bringing supplies. and we're very, very long way from having any --. bill: doctor, how serious do you think this is at the moment? are you just holding your breath to see whether or not the russians can figure it out by november? >> well, i mean it's serious. i mean we're, what i call single string, which is really bad. we retired the shuttle with no plan in place to replace it. so, i'm sure the higher-ups are not very happy about this whole situation. bill: i bet. >> as far as seriousness and immediateness, we have time to work out the problems. the biggest problem if the station does go unmanned for a while, that if you lose communications with the station, then you could put the station at risk. bill: let's hope that doesn't reach that point.

doctor, thank you. scott horowitz by telephone today. >> my pleasure. alisyn: the death toll is rising in texas. we'll go live to the fire line. plus, how folks are trying to pick up the pieces after seeing their entire lives ravaged by fire.