is there a single plan that combines medicare parts a & b with medical and drug coverage? [ male announcer ] absolutely. many medicare advantage plans can give you doctor, hospital and prescription drug coverage all in one plan. remember, the annual enrollment period is earlier this year. call unitedhealthcare now or visit us online to get this free answer guide from unitedhealthcare medicare solutions. call right now. jon: thank you so much for joining us. jenna: "america live" starts right now. megyn: fox news alert, new developments coming in right now on the president's big jobs speech just six hours before he shows us how he hopes to deal with america's jobs crisis. welcome to "america live," everybody, i'm megyn kelly. president obama has no public events, and there is no white house press briefing today as the administration prepares for perhaps the most important speech of this presidency to

date according to the pundits. the country is facing historic economic challenges starting with the debt downgrade, the first in u.s. history. federal spending, the budget deficit and the federal debt, all the highest in 60 years. and long-term unemployment in the united states now the highest it has been in 70 years. chris stirewalt is our fox news digital politics editor and with me now. chris, you put it in perspective with those statistics, and you realize the weight the president has on his shoulders going into this event tonight. >> well, megyn, a weight that his own administration created for him. he told us he would wait until he returned from vacation to do it. now we're told he, yes, tonight will lay out what he wants to do in the terms of stimulus but will wait until yet a later date to describe the manner in the which he'll pay for it. so the administration has freighted this president with nearly impossible expectations

for a speech. megyn: so now we're not just going to get the one big speech tonight, we're going to get a second speech? >> reporter: yes. we'll get, at another later date yet to be determined, we'll hear how he means to pay for more than $400 billion in deficit spending now so that we can get the economy growing again, and he says that he will be able to do this by having the supercommittee which is charged with coming up with $1.5 trillion in reductions to future increases in deficit spending to raise that threshold to $2 trillion or so so that he could come up with the money to pay for it. he wants spending now for cuts in the future. megyn: how on earth is he going to convince the supercommittee to come to any agreement? it was tough enough to get that hammered out the first time around, how's he going to add 900 extra -- 400 extra billion for them to come to agreement on? >> >> reporter: well, the biggest point for the president tonight and really through this whole process is he knows he's not going to get what he's laying out here. yes, some sort of jobs package

will get through with the help of moderate democrats in the senate, moderate republicans in thehouse that involves extending tax cuts and benefits and a few things. that's really just down in the weeds. the goal for the president is he's experiencing a very real crisis in confidence. the american public has lost confidence in his ability to execute the job. what he has to show tonight and the reason this speech is so important for him is that left, center, right, americans don't believe that he has the chops for this job right now, and he needs to look credible, presidential, strong and purposeful tonight. if he doesn't do that, he's not going to be able to stop the bleeding. megyn: and now, chris, we're just getting this from chief white house correspondent ed henry who is reporting an update on the republican approach to president obama tonight. and he reports that a top republican aide is saying republican leaders have decided they are not going to slam republican -- slam president obama's plan tonight quite as aggressively as we've seen before because they believe,

quote, screaming and yelling at this stage is not a good strategy. saying that the republicans are going to be, quote, very positive and say that they want to work with the president. we've seen a little bit of that over the past couple of days in the approach of the house speaker and eric cantor, haven't we? >> reporter: yeah, i think so. and i think what they're, basically, trying to do is tell the president, well, isn't that nice that we agree, too, that we ought to have some job creation? so let's get to work. you saw that, as you point out w the speaker and the majority leader saying to the president, hey, let's all huddle at the white house and talk about a way to put forward a jobs plan that's actually going to work. it's politically savvy for boehner and cantor because it steals the president's thunder by not fighting with him over this and not making it partisan and resisting that urge, and simultaneously, it puts them on the footing of, yes, we're here to help too. megyn: and they're trying to take away the narrative that many believe president obama's try to set up which is those darn republicans won't be cooperative. chris, should be an interesting

night and follow-up tomorrow. >> reporter: thanks. megyn: president obama is expected to announce one proposal tonight that is not sitting well with a key liberal group. they're going to join us live in five minutes to explain why they think the president's payroll tax ideas could be a serious threat to the future of social security. plus, fox's own bret baier is sitting down with the president for lunch right now. i mean, you know, who hasn't been there, right? as soon as he leaves the white house, bret will be here live in the next hour to tell us what the president is saying about his own big speech tonight. and don't forget, folks, there is only one place with fair and balanced coverage of the president's speech and the political fallout. that's right here on the fox news channel tonight, 7 p.m. eastern time. republican presidential contenders back on the campaign trail right now after squaring off in a fiery debate at the reagan library last night in california. here's a look at some of the highlights. >> it must be gone now, and as president of the united states,

i won't rest until i repeal obamacare. >> you can buy a gallon of gasoline today for a silver dime, a silver dime is worth $3.50. it's all about inflation and too many regulations. >> to have a president who would actually walk out from behind the teleprompter get out of the way. speak from your heart and soul. [laughter] just tell us about, just tell us about where you want this country to go. >> yes. eliminate the current tax code. it is a drain on entrepreneurs. it is the biggest barrier holding this economy back. >> obamacare's a disaster. it is a disaster procedurally, it was rammed through after they lost teddy kennedy's seat in massachusetts. it was written badly, it was never reconciled. it can't be implemented, and if this president had any concern for working americans, he'd walk in thursday night and ask for it to be repealed because it's a monstrosity. >> the border is safer than it's ever been? either he has some of the

poorest intel of a president in the history of this country, or he was an abject liar to the american people. it is not safe on that border. >> right now we have people who on this stage care very deeply about this country. we love america. america's in the crisis. we have some differences between us, we agree that this president's got to go. this president's a nice guy. he doesn't have a clue how to get this country working again. megyn: campaign carl cameron live in los angeles today. carl, that was actually a pretty good highlight reel, i think, don't you think? >> reporter: that pretty much summed it up. eight candidates and the last two, rick perry and mitt romney, were sort of the center of attention. this was the texas governor's debate debut. as the front runner with a he hy lead in the polls over the rest of the field, he was the center of attention, and he had a lot to prove. there was a great deal of discussion about jobs, that's the number one issue, and there are some differences particularly among the top two. rick perry acknowledged that mitt romney with aiz experience as a multimillionaire

businessman has legitimate things to say about job creation. but they sparred hard on their jobs records, and while perry gave mitt romney credit for having been a successful businessman, not so for his time as governor. listen to this. >> the fact is when he moved that experience to government, he had one of the lowest job creation rates in the country. >> reporter: true fact, mitt romney was governor for one term, and at the time massachusetts ranked 47th out of 50 for job creation. on the other hand, romney took issue with rick perry's claim that he has created 40% of the jobs texas has created 40% of the nation's jobs in the last year or so saying it's really because of the oil and gas industry, and mr. romney suggested that perry actually knows that. listen. >> texas has a lot of oil and gas in the ground. those are wonderful things, but governor perry doesn't believe that he created those things. if he tried to say that, it'd be like al gore saying he invented

the internet. [laughter] look, the reality is -- >> reporter: that's got a double-edged sword to it there because the reference to al gore comes at a time where ron paul, the texas congressman, has been every day noting that rick perry used to be a democrat, and at one time supported al gore. paul has erroneously claimed, as has a lot of the press, that perry was a national chairman for gore's presidential campaign in 1988. there doesn't appear to be any evidence of that and it's been disputed by the perry and gore teams. but there's no doubt that he was a democrat and he backed him. at one point they actually decided to go after one another for failing to meet the records of their predecessors. listen to this. >> michael dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, mitt. >> well, as a matter of fact, george bush and his predecessor created jobs at a faster rate than you did, governor. [laughter] >> reporter: also accurate and a good example of their ability to stand side by side on the

stage and trade some pretty sharp elbows and keep the audience smiling and be sort of upbeat about it themselves. don't let that fool anybody, megyn. these guys are going to go at it hammer and tong, and behind the scenes they just don't like each other. megyn: yeah. the stakes are only the presidency. carl, after the iowa debate that fox news sponsored, one candidate bailed out. pawlenty was out, most people believed he couldn't go on. any sign today that we may be seeing similar results with any other candidates after last night's debate? >> reporter: well, i mean, there has been a little bit of talk about how michele bachmann needed a breakout moment to restore her momentum. she was essentially eclipsed by the entrance of rick perry into the race. michele bachmann is charging forward, all of the candidates are. many of them have some serious challenges with this apparent two-person race at the top of the contest. however, there's another debate on monday, just four days away, so anything they did wrong last night they can alter in just

four days, and then the fox news debate comes up on september 22nd. so there's a lot to happen in the next three weeks. this is only the first of three debates in 15 days. megyn: all right. campaign carl cameron, thank you, sir. folks, remember, two weeks from today fox news and google are partnering to host a republican presidential debate in orlando, florida. september 22nd, bret baier will moderate the debate, and i'll be on the panel along with chris wallace, and you can be on the panel as well. submit your questions to the candidates via google or youtube which is co-sponsoring this debate with us, and you can find out exactly how to submit questions by going to youtube.com/fox news. go there, check it out. now's the time, we're going through them, we're getting a lot of great submissions, and we'd love to hear from you. keep it pithy, keep it creative, and maybe we'll see 'em on the panel september 22nd. i hope we do.

well, the dea is taking emergency steps today to control what they call a deadly drug problem that is sweeping the country. we'll show you what that involves, and it may be sitting in your bathroom. and president obama is expected to announce one proposal tonight that is not sitting well already with a key liberal group. they're going to join us live in five minutes to explain why they think the president's payroll tax ideas could be a serious threat to the future of social security. plus, brand new audio between the cockpit of doomed united flight 93 and control towers on 9/11. the chilling last moments of the brave passengers and crew on that plane. you will hear it right here on "america live." >> just stay quiet and be okay. we're returning to the airport. >> and who's trying to call me here? >> american 11, are you trying to call?

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peg meg fox news alert, 70,000 people being ordered to evacuate ahead of record flooding in northeast pennsylvania. that flooding expected to devastate parts of pennsylvania which sit along the susquehanna river. residents there told to get out by 4:00 today, that area being overwhelmed by remnants of tropical storm lee. we'll be joined by the mayor there later this hour to talk about the devastating flooding. well, we're getting new details today on the president's jobs speech tonight, just hours before he gives it. we're learning that president obama is department anded to announce a pay -- is expected to announce a payroll tax cut plan in hopes of spurring job growth. but one liberal group is calling

it a serious threat to the future of social security. nancial dredge is the co-director of that group, social security works. nancy, thank you so much for being here. for folks that haven't been following it as closely as you have, there's the payroll tax, and we all pay it out of our paycheck, and it goes to fund social security. and the president has already given us a break on that, individual workers a break on that. he reportedly wants to extend that. but now you are taking issue with what he may propose along those lines tonight. why? what specifically do you expect, and what are you upset about? >> we are all for stimulating the economy and job creation through direct spending or through tax cuts, but the payments that go, as you say, the contributions to social security are insurance premiums buying disability insurance, life insurance and old age annuities, and we don't want to see the funding of social security weakened. there are better ways to stimulate the economy. megyn: because we don't, you know, i mean, social security,

everybody on both sides of the aisle realizes we're headed for bankruptcy on that, on social security, and we need the dough! >> that, well, it's not headed for bankruptcy, it's the most fiscally responsible program, but it is true after 2036 if no change is made, it can only pay 75 cents on the dollar, and we want to make sure in 25 years it can pay 100% on the daughter. the way to get there is certainly not to reduce its funding. megyn: what do you make of that, though? it's the president, who's a democrat, pushing for an extended tax break, and already we're having some republicans come out and say that's one tax break we don't like. you're a democrat, you're sort of with the republicans on this. [laughter] >> it is a fascinating play. actually, i worked for alan greenspan and jack danforth from missouri, but i am registered democrat. it's an interesting play on my loyalties to the program, and social security works, this has often been an idea of people who wanted to undercut the program.

so it is alarming to us that it is come trg the democrats and from the president. megyn: let me ask you because this is something that you devote your life to, social security, and know a lot more about it than, i'm sure, i do or a lot of our viewers do. i want to talk to you about what rick perry said at the debate last night about how he thinks this thing has been set up and his remarks that it's a ponzi scheme. watch last night. >> it is a monstrous lie. it is a ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today you're paying into a program that's going to be there. anybody that's for the status quo with social security today is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids. and it's not right. megyn: what do you think of that, nancy? >> that is an outrageous statement. he is calling a program enacted by congress, signed into law by the president over 76 years ago an illegal, criminal activity. it is no more a ponzi scheme

than children, adult children taking care of their parents is a ponzi scheme. it is a valued way of providing disability insurance and old age annuities, and one more point people don't often realize, it is the nation's large children's program. we talk about it, this is a program -- megyn: but you're arguing the merits of it which i think, you know, a lot of people may disagree. but he didn't seem to be talking about the merits of taking care of our elderly population. he seemed to be saying that it's been set up in a way that is not sustainable, and the people -- >> he's -- megyn: let me just finish my point, and i'll give you the floor. >> sure. megyn: people who feel that way say that for the people retiring today, the present value of taxes will be, on average, more than the present value of benefits. in other words, they will -- a large section of the population over the next decades will have paid into the system much more than they're going to get back,

and that comes from the nonpartisan congressional budget office. go ahead. >> it's not right that they're going to get less pay. it is a current funded -- megyn: that's what the cbo says. >> it is a current funded pension plan with disability insurance and life insurance. if you only look at the retirement income portion, that's one thing. but every worker today is insured as soon as you start working and start paying into the system. you're insured against a devastating disability, your family is insured in this case you have a premature death, and you are getting benefits, accruing benefits for your family and yourself if you have the good fortune to live to old age. it's a very, very, um, well crafted, efficient system, pays returns in benefits more than 99 cents of every dollar collected. it's a great deal, and it's why the american people support it so widely. megyn: okay. i mean, according to the cbo they say people born in the '40s are are only going to get

90% they put into it, those born in the 2000s, 82% and so on down the line which is why they say we pay into it more than we get back. i guess they're going to have to fix it one way or another. nancy, thank you for coming on and giving us your perspective. >> thank you so much for having me. new details on an accident sending an oscar award-winning actress to the hospital. we'll show you what's going on today with reese witherspoon. plus, this "iron man" is, no doubt, an elite athlete, so why does the state recognize him as permanently disabled for an injury to his funny bone? in kelly's court. [ male announcer ] it's a fact:

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megyn: the drug enforcement agency taking unprecedented steps to crack down on chemicals used in legal synthetic drugs called bath salts.

the dea comparing those salts to imitation can cocaine or lsd. now they're banning the use of those chemicals, calling them an imminent hazard to public health. trace gallagher explains from our west coast newsroom. what do we mean, bath salts? >> reporter: well, like the relaxing salts you put in your bathtubs. megyn: those are bad now? we can't have those anymore? >> reporter: well, except when you use them in this way. the experts are saying this is dangerous stuff, and one doctor said if you took the worst attributes of cocaine, of lsd, of methamphetamine, put them all together, that's what you'd have, bath salts. megyn: what? >> reporter: and they contain chemicals that people are using, as you said, to replace cocaine, methamphetamine, they're injecting it, they're sioux citg it. the dea's making it illegal to sell or possess. the problem is it's readily available online, you can get it for $25.

megyn: can't you get it at, like, cvs? >> reporter: you can. until this ban goes to into effect, you can pick this stuff up at head shops or a local convenience store, $25, pick up some bath salts, take it home, you snort it and get high. this effect can last for months, including paranoia. here's a couple of doctors. they know this drug very well because one lost his son to bath salts. listen. >> he experienced illusions, delusional paranoia and to such an extreme that his facial contortions with the misery of this feeling he had in him was none like i've ever seen in medicine. >> this is a substance that causes immediately intense cravings to use it again. and there are only two substances that really cause this in everybody, and that's crack cocaine and methamphetamines. >> reporter: you mentioned,

megyn, that you can buy this stuff at the corner drugstore, right? the problem is, these investigators went out across the country and a lot of these clerks at head shops and corner drugstores were telling them how to use it, how it gets you high and it will not be detected on drug tests which is why the dea is now moving so rapidly to -- megyn: now wait, let me just clarify. the problem is if you snort it, if you use it in an improper fashion, it's not like i'm going to get these side effects if i just bathe in bath salts. >> reporter: no. you can bathe and be fine. you snort it or you inject it, then you're in bad shape. the bathing part is -- it's not grandma's bath salts. megyn: no. now we're going to have to go with the old-fashioned bubble bath. all right, trace, thank you. got an alert coming in now, new reports that heavy rains are having new catastrophic flooding taking place in parts of the northeast. that's prompting a new round of emergency evacuations, flood

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megyn: an extreme weather alert now coming in. we're getting a brand new look at epic flooding up and down the east coast. look at these pictures. the remnants of tropical storm lee which didn't get that much attention but caused a whole lot of damage now pounding areas

with up to 24 inches of rain. right now more than 150,000 people are being ordered out of their homes near the susquehanna river in pennsylvania, and take a look at this scene in patterson, new jersey. the flooding there, unbelievable after hurricane irene and, boy, they are back in the thick of it. david lee miller is live this patterson. david lee? >> reporter: megyn, just a few moments ago i talked to the mayor, and he told me simply patterson is suffering more than you can imagine. this is a main thoroughfare in town town, and as you can see, bridge street has no cars, no people, the businesses are shut, people who live nearby for the most part have evacuated. just down the street out of camera rage is the pa sayic river, expected to crest sometime tomorrow at about 12 feet, 5 feet over flood stage. in order to give you some idea how it's affecting the city, you can see a housing complex here. a number of people still live here. others, though, have chosen to evacuate. we have to understand that there are still people living in shelters from hurricane irene.

now it is very possible others may join them because of the flooding caused by tropical storm lee, and let's pan the other direction, and is here you can see a concern of the mayor. this high-rise, megyn, houses only seniors, and right now the water is virtually lapping at this building's door. if there is more rain, there could be forced evacuations here of some of the senior citizens. the mayor, though, does say he is grateful that the city was still in recovery mode and it is able to respond. as of now no additional evacuations, the sun is out, but they do expect more rain in the next few hours. everyone here very anxious, holding their breath waiting for the worst. megyn? megyn: david lee miller, thank you. fox news alert, we are just getting reports from our white house reporter ed henry that top republicans have decided, quote, not to slam the president's speech tonight. instead they plan to look for some common areas to work with. the president on.

that comes in as we're hearing new questions about why the white house refused to meet with top gop leaders ahead of tonight's speech. here is white house spokesman jay carney addressing the president's refusal to meet with john boehner and eric cantor yesterday afternoon. >> i do not believe that anyone out there in the country thinks that the answer to getting washington out of gridlock is having another round before this speech of meetings in the cabinet room. megyn: joining me now, barbara come stock who's a former senior adviser for romney for president as well as tara dowdell. panel, thank you so much for being here. tara, does jay carney have a point? >> i think he does have a point, but i would expand on jay cash think's -- carney's point. the president, i think, has shown a huge willingness to compromise, and the republicans,

on the other hand, have not. he compromised on the tax cuts, in the debt ceiling debate, both to the dismay of his base. meanwhile, the republicans have been going around saying their number one priority is to make president obama a one-term president. the problem with that is the number one priority needs to be job creation. so the president has to be careful with them. they said they wanted to break him. so when you're sitting across the table negotiating with people who have said these things publicly, you have to be careful. megyn: in fairness to the senate minority leader, mitch mcconnell, his office came out later and said he was speaking of his number one political goal which was, of course, to make barack obama a one-term president, something many republicans want to see happen. barbara, let me ask you, does jay carney have a point that this isn't a stunt by the president, but it's a stunt by baner in and cantor to try to look cooperative when, he would argue, they have not been to date? >> well, i just think people are sick of these games. i mean, the american people want everybody to be focused on jobs as the number one priority.

as you mentioned, i'm in the virginia state legislature, and virginia is number one for jobs because we made on a bipartisan basis jobs our number one focus. and when you have two million people who have lost their jobs during this administration and 14 million people out of work, both sides need to come together and focus on jobs, and that's the clear message d. megyn: but that's just talking points. with respect, barbara, that's just vanilla talking points. our viewers know that. what i'm asking you is, is this a trap by the president for republicans tonight to try to sort of tee up his election message going forward, or is it a trap by the republicans who are trying to say, well, come meet with us beforehand and that way we can say we've been cooperative when many on the other side would say they haven't? >> well, the ap reported today that the goal of the president was to kind of set up the republicans on this. and that shouldn't be anybody's goal. the goal should be jobs on both sides. i just think this kind of process and playing back and

forth, i can't imagine our governor in the virginia doing this with our legislature. he's, like, let's sit down and work through this. megyn: tara -- >> you know, we've got to get back to work. megyn: let me ask tara something about what jay carney said, the white house spokesman. he was questioned the other day on the president's sinking poll numbers and, in particular, on the economy which are very bad, as you know. and he said those poll numbers reflect the frustration of the country against a slice of congress that held d.c. hostage during the debt ceiling debate. he says the president' low approval numbers are a reflection of the frustration of the country against a slice of congress. do you agree with that? >> i think the polling concern concern -- i agree with a portion of what he said to the extent that the polling has said that the country is very dissatisfied, excuse me, with washington period. but they've shown that they are more dissatisfied with the tea party who had been unreasonable during the debt ceiling debate. but barbara's right, we do need

to come together, and i think if you look at the pieces of the proposal that the president is going to lay out tonight that have come out, many of them are bipartisan proposals; infrastructure bank, build america bonds, infrastructure spending period. the chamber of commerce says the infrastructure spending -- megyn: that's true. >> -- is a no-brainer. megyn: that's true. endorsed a few of the president's ideas including infrastructure spending and extension of the payroll tax holiday and a couple of other ideas, so, you know, for those on the right who are already denouncing the president's plan as, you know, too partisan, what do you say to that? because the chamber of commerce isn't really known for its, you know, leaning left. >> not at all. >> well, first, let's hear it, hear the plan and hear it out. it didn't help earlier this week when the president was going to detroit, and jimmy hoffa's there saying he wants to take people out. that's not very constructive on creating jobs and, certainly, detroit is where we've seen unions destroy jobs. so we need to -- let's not use detroit as a model.

let's, you know, let's look at what's working around the country, you know, a lot of the states have a lot of solutions here, and i think what washington needs to do is what we in the states have to do every day. you've got to balance the budget, you've got to make sure you get your people back to work, and that gives you a better revenue stream -- megyn: you make it sound so easy. >> well, we have a surplus in virginia because we did it that way. >> national unemployment rate's still high. megyn: appreciate you both being here. tara, barbara, all the best. >> thank you. megyn: dire-sounding reports about the flooding in if pennsylvania and new york right now. more than 100,000 people told to head to higher ground immediately. janice dean has an update right after this break. and a weatherman found asleep in a hot tub next to a dead man with a dog collar around his neck. new details on that bizarre story just ahead. and we are hearing for the first time chilling new cockpit voice recordings of the very moments america came under attack ten years ago. the newly-released audiotapes

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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. megyn: fox news extreme weather alert now, new flood watches and warnings in effect at this hour from maryland to new england. the remnants of tropical storm lee triggering epic flooding in parts of the east coast still recovering from the hurricane irene. in baltimore, maryland, neighborhoods -- look at this -- underwater. the rushing floodwaters swallowing cars and homes. thai right on the -- they're right on the river there. and in northeast pennsylvania, some 70,000 people told to get out by this afternoon.

already swollen rivers across the northeast are rising. some to levels not seen before by the stunned people who live there. >> it's a nightmare, and we pray to god that it soon stops and it recedes. i'm hoping a lot of people don't lose a lot of their belongings, but it looks like there's going to be some major water damage. >> it's sort of sad, too, because a lot of people are going to lose a lot of money in investment, their homes are going to be gone. >> please, lord, stop the rain. [laughter] megyn: well put. janice dean live in the fox weather center. >> reporter: yeah, so heartbreaking, and it just seems like groundhog day for the northeast. there's hurricane katia. look how close she is. if there's any good news about the remnants of lee, that's going to keep hurricane katia offshore and not effect us in the northeast. but we're still getting heavy rain and reports of high-water rescues in and around the d.c. area, so not over yet. we're expecting rain to continue through today and tomorrow, and look at some of these rainfall totals. this is just from lee alone, not

irene ten days ago, but lee. over a foot, 15 inches in parts of pennsylvania, close to a foot in new york and maryland, and we are dealing with excessive rainfall across much of this region. still flash flood warnings in effect for parts of upstate new york and pennsylvania, down through the d.c. area. historic flooding. i just want to show you this hydrograph, that's the gauge at binghamton, the susquehanna river. the current level right now, over 25 feet. the forecast is over 26 feet. um, this is historic. they have never seen record flooding like this and, megyn, within the next several minutes, even several hours we're expecting to see the flood overtop the walls, the protective walls and flood the city of binghamton, just devastating, catastrophic really. back to you. megyn: gracious. janice, thank you. and those words may apply in this next town. nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated not just in new york, but also pennsylvania.

tens of thousands of them are from wilkes bury, pennsylvania, where the nearby river is rising fast. it is expected to crest in the next few hours, actually they say around 8 p.m. tonight, and they are now ordering 100,000 people living along the river there to get out within the next two hours. joining me now on the phone is the mayor, tom laden. mr. mayor, thank you so much for being here. the situation seems rather dire at the moment. mayor leighton, can you hear me? our apologies, folks. we're trying to get this, trying to get the phone connection hooked up. you know we sometimes have these problems when we try to get you the breaking news by the moment whether it's a satellite feed or a cell phone issue, i cannot tell you. we'll try to get the mayor back on and bring you the latest. let me just give you the highlights. mandatory evacuation order, mandatory by 4 p.m. today from

this town. they are asking for national guard assistance, all the schools have been canceled, the red cross has set up shelters, the rivers and the creeks are rising much quicker than expected there. folks are being told to get out and to expect to stay out for at least 72 hours and to take with them their clothing, food, prescription medicine. city businesses have to close their doors by noon today. i mean, it is serious. in a town that has been hard hit already by the bad weather. our best to the folks in wilkes barre, and if we get the mayor back on, we'll bring him to you. breaking news next on one of the big lawsuits challenging the president's health care overhaul. we'll show you what just happened out of the commonwealth of virginia. and last night mitt romney, rick perry and the rest of the gop field talked about their plans for creating jobs. and in five hours the president will weigh in with hi own. fox news contributor karl rove joins us just ahead on which

ideas could work and which are dead on arrival. >> michael dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, mitt. [laughter] >> well, as a matter of fact, george bush and his predecessor created jobs at a faster rate than you did, governor. [laughter] >> that's not correct.

megyn: fox news alert, breaking news now. a federal appeals court striking down a challenge to the constitutionality of president obama's health care overhaul. shannon bream live in washington with more on this. shannon, what exactly happened? >> reporter: well, bottom line, megyn, virginia louises its -- loses its opportunity to sue the federal government, but this could actually be a bit of a win for those who oppose the individual mandate, and here's why. the the fourth circuit never got

to the question of whether or not the individual mandate is constitutional. it simply ruled today that two different lawsuits -- one involving the state of virginia, and one involving liberty university -- would be tossed out because those parties lacked standing, meaning they actually had no right to sue federal officials over this new health care law. now, just as the national law was being passed, the state of virginia decided to pass its own state law which essentially says none of its citizens can be forced to buy health insurance coverage lt. well, the fourth circuit ruled today that is not enough. here's part of their decision. quote: >> reporter: so how does all of this benefit those who oppose the individual mandate? well, although you can never truly say what a court's going to do, i'm convinced those three judges were very likely to

uphold the individual mandate to find that it is constitutional. that would have been a blow to those who are fighting the mandate, so what we've got now is a ruling from the sixth circuit upholding the mandate saying it is constitutional and the 11th circuit striking it down. many who are challenging the health care law felt that the 26 states suing together, that was the stronger case to take to the supreme court, and that is certainly the that jekyll ri that this whole issue is on. now, the question really seems like it's going to be which of these cases will the court take. assuming as just about every legal scholar does that the justices are going to be the ones to, ultimately, settle the question, megyn. megyn: so the plaintiffs didn't have standing, they weren't the right plaintiffs to bring it, but the substantive challenge to the law has now been decided in favor of the administration by the 11th circuit and against the administration by the sixth circuit, right? and now they're going to see whether it goes up to the supreme court. is. >> reporter: yeah. and you know those cases are going to go on appeal.

everybody thinks this term the court will have to take one of those cases up and, ultimately, decided if that happens, they'll decide this by late june of next year, teeing it up right in the middle of a presidential election. megyn: drama. we'll watch, shannon bream. thank you. folks, we are now less than six hours away from president obama's highly-anticipated jobs speech. fox news' own bret baier just had a little lunch with the president. that's the kind of life bret leads. he will join us live in three minutes -- we hope -- to tell us what the president wants you to know about his big speech tonight. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

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to revive jobs and help the alling economy. the white house has been massaging expectations on this. earlier this week they said it won't be the be all-end all. but then we heard there may be two speeches. one that called for $400 billion in spending. then one later on where we'll find that money. . house speaker boehner and eric cantor. they said the american people don't want to see anymore of that and the president will speak to them sometime later. there won't be an official rebuttal. michele bachmann said she'll have remark following the

president's remarks. bret baier will invite folk he expects to be covering the white house to set expectations. we hope to be joined by bret in a little bit. i'm not sure if he's back from got to go to the white house, security, got to get to the gate. house speaker john boehner is set to fill seats of his own with more than a dozen business owners, each with a story about taxation and economic uncertainty. he's the ceo of gibson guitar. as we reported yesterday, federal agents raided the guitar maker claiming they used illegally sourced wood. many guitar manufacturers do the

same thing and there were questions why gibson was targeted. and the head of gibson is a notable republican hat has contribute to the republican caucus. this alert coming in out of california. the fbi raiding the headquarters of solar panel manufacturer solyndra. this company has been in the news a lot. it's a company that president obama touted as one business benefiting from the administration's economic policies. they accepted $135 million in loans from the federal government, then declared bankruptcy last week and 1,100 people lost their jobs. now we learn they have been raided. >> reporter: the fbi says their agents are still on site in fremont, california,

basically where the silicon valley begins in the bay area. the fbi agents are conducting this raid along with the dent of energy we are told and they have taken out several different items, put them in a white van. or talking to people, doing interviews with some of the company employees. you mentioned this just last week the company announced it was laying off 1,100 workers and filing for bankruptcy. some of the employees filed a lawsuit against solyndra for being laid off. they are really held up as a government model for investment in green toalg. in -- in green technology. they got a loan guarantee part of that package. solyndra blamed a significant downturn in the solar industry. they blamed chinese competition,

a 45% drop in prices. that was part of their reason for declaring bankruptcy. this raid began this morning. fbi agents are on site. we are also told that they have taken out a number of boxes. some employees have been interviewed and we had multiple phone calls to the administration looking for a response to this. we have not yet heard back from the department of energy. but the fbi is confirming they are there and conducting this raid. they won't go into details as they are still obviously sorting out what their finding if anything at the location. megyn: a weather alert out of texas. firefighters hoping cooler temperatures will help them gain the upper hand on wildfires burning across that state. the most destructive one is right outside of austin. and it burned 1,400 homes in

just the last few days alone. weather officials just announced the average temperature for texas was 87 degrees between june and august. that's a new u.s. record. deadly flooding from the remnants of tropical storm lee causing evacuations across the northeast. we have flooding in the northeast. it's hitting many areas that are still recovering from hurricane irene. the saturated ground forcing the water into already swollen rivers and streams. two people died in pennsylvania, another in maryland. authorities ordering 100,000 people along the banks of the susquehanna river to leave their homes in a mandatory evacuation. >> i have lived here all my life, 56 years. this is the i have ever seen. i went through the '72 flood and this will end up beating that. megyn: the passaic river

returning to flood stage in paterson, new jersey. the mayor is considering closing roads and declare tag new round of evacuation -- and declaring a new round of evacuations. dramatic tapes just released from the 9/11 attacks. we are hearing some of the cockpit and control tour communications. >> reporter: all you can say about this is wow! as one former investigator said the story of 9/11 is best told through the voices of 9/11. as you listen to these recordings. i want you to remember two things. one, they were all compiled for the 9/11 commission. 140 recordings in all. they have not been made public. the members of the 9/11 commission were told again and again that these audio recordings did not exist. they pushed, they got them. we are going to play them for

you. they paint a picture of heroism and confusion and misdirection and a desperate scramble for information. let's begin with flight 11, the first one to hit the world trade center. you will hear a reservation naght raleigh, north carolina on the phone with a flight attendant onboard flight 11 and she is relaying that conversation do american airlines emergency line. at the very end you will hear air traffic controllers intervene. listen to this. >> you are doing a great job. just stay calm, okay? we are. absolutely. she seems to be breathing. the number one seems to be stabbed pretty badly. she is lying down on the floor. they don't know if she is conscious. the other flight attendants are in the back. and that's as far as i know.

it seems like the passengers in the coach may not be aware of what's going on. they are in the cockpit with the pilots. >> she doesn't have an idea hot other passenger might be in first. apparently they might have spread something because they are having a hard time breathing. >> what's going on, betty. betty, talk to me. betty, are you there? >> american 11, we suspect there is someone in the cockpit that has taken over. >> reporter: she lost contact with betty. the plane then hit the world trade center. at that time you've nighted 175 was missing. listen to this conversation. this was from the new york radar control center saying can you help us find this thing. play it. >> can you look out your window? can you see down 4,000 feet?

it looks like -- do you see anything -- >> we are descending really quick, too. 2,500 feet. >> that another situation. what kind of plane is that? >> i don't know. >> another one just hit the building. >> wow! >> the whole building just came apart. holy smokes. >> reporter: you heard the break. they said i'll look at the tail number and see if we can read it in a minute. he didn't have a minute. seconds later it hit the world trade center. now his to the confirmation of vice president dick cheney giving the shootdown order. but that order never made it to the fighter pilots. play this conversation. >> the region commander declared that we can shoot down aircraft

that could not -- that do not respond to our direction. if you try to divert somebody and he won't divert, be you got a conflict on that direction? okay. >> you read that from the vice president, right? vice president has cleared. shoot them down if they do not respond. >> reporter: before he said that, remember he said do you have a conflict with that? the answer was no. he said the vice president has cleared. but that order never made it to the fighter pilots. despite stories and reports, the fighter pilots were never trailing tonight hijacked hair craft. so they were told only to identify the tail numbers then get back to the military control. there was a great deal of confusion as you might imagine on that morning. now we are just learning exactly detail by detail todd ohio tape

by awe -- audiotape by audiotap. megyn: 10 years later they have the ability to bring you right back to what you felt when you watched the horror unfoamed on that day -- unfold, don't they? >> reporter: we are sifting through these because they were just made public. if we find more of these we'll bring these to you. they are riveting and tell the story of 9/11 through the voices of those involved. megyn: as the nation prepares to mark 10 years to the day since the 9/11 attacks. we have a fox news special featuring a complete time line of that day. >> i told brian, i said this is the lord's doing and i'm going to trinity church. he said look i'm coming with you. and to together we grabbed each

other's hands and we started to run. surprising enough not even one piece of confetti or broken glass touched us. the next thing i know we bumped into a priest. that's where stanley broke down and he said he saved my life. megyn: it airs tomorrow night 10:00 p.m. eastern without any commercial interruptions. we are a few hours away from the president's address on jobs. but the gop presidential candidates have their own ideas for sparking job growth. karl rove is next on which message may work with the american public. from hollywood to the hospital. reese witherspoon went out for a jog and wound up on a stretcher. he's too disabled to fight fires, but he is dubbed iron

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megyn: as the president gets ready to outline his jobs plan to the nation, the republicans who wants this job squared off on the issue last night. >> we created more jobs in the last three months in texas than he created in four years in massachusetts. >> let many widen this out. let's bring in mr. cain. >> wait a second. texas has zero income tax. texas has a right to work * state. a republican collect layture and republican supreme court. texas has a lot of oil and gas in the ground.

those are wonderful things, governor perry doesn't believe he created those things. if he believed that it would be like al gore saying he created the internet. >> michael dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, mitt. megyn: it was i'm rubber, you are glue, whatever you say bounces -- karnl rove is a former -- karl rove is a senior advisor to george w. bush. >> i thought it was a spirited debate. if you step back you can understand why republicans are feeling more comfortable with their options and you can understand why president obama this trouble. last night from every one of those people was a principled, thoughtful critique of barak

obama's policies. megyn: did somebody win? >> i know we want to pick one out of all of them and say he won, she lost, but there were mostly winners last night. rick perry had a foremiddable performance particularly in the first part of the debate. he had a great answer on guns. very passionate answer on the death penalty. mitt romney was steady, solid. he had god comebacks. sometimes a counter-punch is strong and he got a couple in. newt gingrich did himself some good, so did rick santorum. michele bachmann didn't have the presence that she probably needed. but i think there were multiple winners and not a lot of people you could say lost the evening. megyn: how much damage is done to the republican nominee from an event like this. beshowed that perry-romney

exchange and it sets the table for what we are likely to hear barack obama say depending on who becomes the nominee. >> it's going to be about bigger issues than the back and forth. megyn: he will go after job creation. he will go after their record on job creation. >> reporter: the post ran a story that said if president obama obama's job projections from the federal reserve and the congressional budget office roll out like they are expected to roll out, president obama will have the worst record on jobs of any president in the united states. i don't think he will be touting his record on jobs versus any republican. any republican there will be able to say to the american people with credibility i can do better than this man has done. megyn: you know rick perry. do you have think what we saw last night is the real rick

perry? >> sure. he's passionate. provocative. he's texan to his core. tend to drop his gs like we in texas tend to do. america saw him -- that many one of the things about running for president, over the course of the campaign, it's like that old children's tale, the emperor's new clothes clothes. you get to see candidates exact hi like they are. we'll see two more in the next couple weeks and people will at the end of this process have a better sense of who he is. but that was the governor of texas. >> he did of course have choice word for you which i wanted to viewers to hear and i would like to goat your reaction. >> you mentioned the phrase ponzi scheme. just this morning your former political advisor karl rove said that language would could be

toxic in a general election. vice president cheney says it's not a ponzi scheme, it's a program that a great many people depend on. my understanding is you are standing by every word you have written in that book. >> karl has been over the top for a long time in some of his remarks. i'm not responsible for karl anymore. megyn: what do you think of that? >> i was surprise. i didn't know i was under his personal care like that. it was an odd moment. my name being mentioned in a presidential debate. governor perry is responsible for what he where is and says. my point -- what's he upset about? he recently said the federal reserve chairman was almost guilty of a crime punishable by death and he said if he came to texas we would treat him ugly. i said that was unpresidential.

but sunday in the "new york times" page one said his aides were coaching him to be more presidential and less provocative. then he was upset what i said about social security. if you are the governor of texas and you say i'm running for president and social security is a failure. it's a violation potentially of the constitution. the federal government has no responsibility for social security or immediate i care and it ought on returned to the states. then you have the responsibility to explain that to the american people in a way that's reassuring. because 60 million americans depend on social security. when somebody says it's a failure and we'll turn it over to the states. those people start to say, 30 million on social security. they start saying how is this going to affect me? you say you will gift over to the states. what will it mean to my check if i'm a worker and paying into

social security? if my state decide not to replace social security, what happens when you and i retire? all these questions will be there. i have got two roles. i'm a passionate advocate. i'm passionate about president obama being a one-termer. but i'm also an analyst for fox.

megyn: we promised you bret baier would joins after his big white house meeting. but we got word that administration has asked the reporters at that meeting not to

talk about the subjects that were discussed. so bret can't make it. thanks a lot. we apologize. we did not know the white house was going to issue that directive and bret needs to honor it. stay tuned. we'll find out in a few hours what the president has to say. tonight the address begins, special coverage on fox at 7:00 p.m. actress reese witherspoon was hit by a car and sent to the hospital. she was jogging in santa monica, california when she was struck by the car going about 20 miles an hour. her injuries were described as mild. ' witnesses say the traffic in that neighborhood is dangerous. >> people come down 20th street too fast. this is a residential neighborhood. we tried to get a stop sign over there for a few years. megyn: police cited the 84-year-old driver with failure to yield to a pedestrian in a

crosswalk. a lot of interesting questions for a local weatherman in arkansas. this guy woke up in a bathtub jacuzzi next to a naked dead man. police have not ruled out criminal charges. >> reporter: it began saturday night. bret coupleins was invited over, and the police say they were drink and snorting narcotics. there they decided to go in the bathroom in the jacuzzi tub. the owner of the house decided to go to bed. he woke up the next morning and he heard bret cuppings in the tub naked and snoring. at a man had a dog collar around his neck an was dead. bret cummings woke, he screamed,

ran out of the bathroom and vomited all over the floor. they found the body in a fetal position at the bottom of the tub. the collar was wrapped tightly around his neck. the weatherman has not gone back to work yet because the station says he's mourning the loss of his friend. charges are pending in this investigation. what we don't know is what happened between the time the owner of the house went to bed around 11:00 until 8:00 the next morning when they found the weatherman and the dead man in the bathtub. as we get more we'll bring it to you. megyn: bizarre. folks, we had a story about bath salts and narcotics. not the stuff you dump in the tub. we'll explain. lots of emails from you. another jump in the number of people joining the unemployment

lines. we'll take a look at what the job market is going from here. the disabled firefighter paid with taxpayer dollars to stay home from work -- he does stuff like this. look how disabled he is. he may not be fit enough for duty but he's fit for an ironman triathlon. ♪ f!

megyn: we are getting a look at new unemployment numbers. they are up. the labor department reporting jobless claims increased to 414,000. liz? >> reporter: the jobless claims did rise to 414,000 last week. this comes on the news of no job growth in august. a fraction of the population that is working is at its lowest since 1983. we are at the slowest pace of job creation since world war ii. economists are stunned at this. job growth the last two years has slowed down dramatically and the job creation on average is only 40,000 per month. economists say you need at least 250,000 to get down to 7%

unemployment which what is we saw before the financial crash of 2008. news breaking this afternoon about the republican's plan following president obama's job speech tonight. a top gop aide saying republicans plan to look for common ground and want to work with him on jobs. the american crossroads taking a different approach. >> barak obama says he wants to key create jobs. but this record? attacking high-tech jobs, energy jobs, even union jobs. with 14 million americans out of work, the best job polly for him would be with repeal his own policies. megyn: let's ask our panel. thank you so much for being

here. it's interesting to see this leaking from capitol hill that the gop is not going to go after president obama tonight. they knew they declined to offer an official rebuttal. but now we are learning more about the reason. they don't want to be seen as going after the president hard. they want to be seen as cooperative and willing to work with him, but is that real? >> i think it is to a certain extent. when we are talking about payroll taxes and lowering capital gains. getting the epa off the back of the american business owner. those are the thing the republicans in the house and senate would be willing to work with the president on. but as an overall plan we are looking at the same song, same verse from president obama tonight if he's talking about a $400 billion stimulus plan. overall the republicans won't go along with it. but they will want to talk about tax incentives, keeping payroll taxes low.

things like regulations of epa. president obama's people are talking about regulating dust from farms. megyn: do you think the republicans will listen to the speech and say those are great ideas. let's work together for the american people. >> unless the american people are morons they won't believe that the republicans aren't going say anything about this. so tomorrow is a perfect day for carpet bombing and they will talk about the usual silliness that doesn't amount to much. they will try to make this about democrats killing jobs which is nuts. megyn: some parts of the president's plan so they disarm his argument going forward that it's this do-nothing congress that's to blame? >> i'm not an economist. i'm a political analyst and i have had a pretty good run. find out how to disagree in a civil way.

if you get into a battle of demeaning anything about creating jobs ... megyn: what do they agree to in the president's message will be the same in unless they agree to everything, he will have fodder to tell the american people he tried to do more, but the do-nothing congress stopped him from doing it. does that remove their incentive? >> as much as it pains me to agree with some of what hank says, here -- the american people understand government stimulus printing money to put back into this economy of is not working. we did this 800 billion stimulus last time, it did not work. august was not a stellar month in creating jobs. it created zero. the republicans will agree with certain parts of the plan. they will say we need to lower regulations. we need to get the epa off our

backs. megyn: i get that. let me ask you this. brit hume had a piece on fox news saying the time for speeches is over. and at some points and we are there, this president is going to get judged on results. even to just be complaining about the politics that prevented your results, he thick it's too late for president obama on that score as well. what say you? >> i agree with him and i think you have got a lot of republicans to do dumb things where you can say we have a plan and they won't let me. frankly, we have john boehner, the republican speaker of the house is in a state where the government emexplosiveees lost their right to collectively bargain. they can't get away with it ever. megyn: how does the president get past the date of this speech, chip. we are three years into the presidency. why the fire drill now on jobs?

a lot of folks are saying why did we spend all that time with healthcare? why didn't we do something earlier? >> i think that's his biggest problem. this is his first plan. he had no plan for the debt ceiling. he had no plan for the budget. the senate democrats haven't passed a budgets. the only thing he has done so far. he blamed george bush. he blamed the house republicans. he blamed everybody else. this is the first time we'll have a plan of his own -- he will have a plan of his own, and i think the american people understand that. >> it is late in the game. we better hope the president is right. we are all americans. megyn: thank you, gentlemen. a burly firefighter bumped his elbow so doctors declared him permanently disabled. apparently the life-altering injury didn't take him out of the iron man competition and he's doing it on your dime in

"kelly's court." >> it's frustrating because, you know, can you water ski? what is the force that's put on your arm to have even that activity come up in question begs in my mind, what is his currents physical status? oad 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. and immune balance to help support your immune system. ensure clinical strength... helping you to bounce back. ensure! nutrition in charge! ensure! [ cat meows ] ♪ [ acoustic guitar: pop ] [ woman ] ♪ i just want to be okay ks ] ♪ be okay, be okay ♪ i just want to be okay today - ♪ i just want to knowoday - [ whistles ]

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to take control of my finances and my life. i tap into the power of revolutionary mobile apps. to trade wherever. whenever. life isn't fully experienced sitting idly by. neither is investing. [ birds chirping ] megyn: we had a story about bath salts. we had a lot of emails pointing out that far cot risk not the stuff you dump in the tub. trace gallagher, you started this confusion. now, you clear it up. >> reporter: this is not epson salts like granny had. this is available in some corner stores, it's not available at cvs. these drugs include methadone and methiqone.

er in not being sold as drugs. that's the key. they are being sold at bath salts. that's a code name. they go under the name of ivory and new waves. what's the other name for them? a bunch of different names for them. this is being disguides as an over-the-counter drug that is being used for illicit purposes. just so the dea doesn't start screaming as the us. megyn: i feel better. "kelly's court" is back in session. the iron man too injured to fight fire. he was one of wisconsin's famous until he banged his funny bone on a kitchen top at a milwaukee

firehouse. eight months later he did it again on a ladder. his chief said you apply for disability or find another job. he was declared permanently disabled where he collects $50,000 annually tax-free. >> i'm still paralyzed. 15%. it's hard to hold my mask. there is stuff i can't do. i have minor limb takes. but it doesn't stop me from getting out enjoying stuff like this. megyn: joining me now to discuss it, mark eiglarsh and lis wiehl. have you ever hurt your funny bone? it hurts a lot.

this is why i stay out of the kitchen. >> this is obviously -- this bothers me a lot. we have taxpayers out there working hard, funding these disabilities. and the word is disability. lock at this guy. look at the shape he's in. he's in better shape than 99.9% of the people. he exploited this supposed injury. i don't know what doctor okayed him. we are almost on the anniversary of 9/11. we have firefighters genuinely injured. then you have this guy. it 7 just not right. there has to be an investigation. something needs to be done. this guy should no longer gets this money. even if he's being interviewed he looks sheep irn. hsheep -- he looks sheepish. megyn: he's on 28 years old. he will get this money for life

tax-free. plus benefits for life. it's just -- maybe he can't lift a ladder. that's what he says. he can lift a paper cup but that's not as heavy as a ladder >> it looks like a scam. but on the other hand, don't blame him, blame the state of wisconsin. he went to them, he wrote them a letter last year saying give me anything. let me come back even fit many just a desk job and they said we don't have anything for you. it's either disability or go find another job. you can't say he scammed the system. megyn: i read that same thing. but something smells about that. you are telling me the fire department would rather pay him to do nothing than sit in the corn and do paperwork? >> government pure gotsy making a mistake? gee, that would be the first time. you look at what they can't do. lift a ladder.

if you are a firefighters you have got to be able to lift a ladder. megyn: no you don't. >> i love to read the report where he tried to lift the ladder and he couldn't. he goes water skiing and snow skiing. he can run 2 miles and bike 112 miles and swim 2.5 miles. all one after the other. who is his doctor. i would love to know. is it his cousin or brother? megyn: here in new york there has been a lot of reporting about this scheme that goes on. where you get a wink and nod from the department that works with some doctor who are friendly to the department to say, you are disabled, you should collect taxpayer dollars for life. and they are all in bedding to to take care of their own so they can have this lifestyle.

>> don't blame this one firefighter who was told either get out -- then take on the system. >> it's a fair point that the others that he's not culpable by himself. but you blame him because he started this domino. he hit his elbow, his pinkie became numb, and all of a sudden he's permanently disabled. he went to the doctor and told them about the supposed limitation. so the buck does stop with him. >> the person and people who said he wasser. neantly disabled. that was something the doctors certified him to be. blame the doctors. megyn: got to go. >> what about the bath salts? i didn't understand that. megyn: don't sniff them.

i love when he directs the show. it's one of our favorite things. one final word for our viewers. he's too hurt 0 push paper, but he can run the iron man. he should be forced back to his job, a job 14 million americans would love to have right now. they risked their lives on 9/11 to save others. we'll talk with a former new york city firefighter who putting to their powerful stories. stay with us. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. new citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. for the efficient absorption my body needs.

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megyn: remembering 9/11 almost 10 years to the day.

we have watched the freedom tour take shape sat ground zero. we would like to take an in depth look at the tragedy and the families who lost loved ones. some of their stories are in a new book "a decade of hope." where were you on 9/11 >> i was there. i was at the north tower as it was falling and i stayed for 57 days megyn: you knew when you saw the tower go down what it meant for the firefighters inside. >> i think i felt it when the first plane went into the north tower. this could be the thing in your lives. pete gantsy was dead in an hour. you just know when things like

this -- if you spend your life in emergency services and a plane goes into a building like the world trade center, you know people are going to get hurt, killed. you don't know to what extent, but you know it will be terrible. megyn: for all the people you interviewed for this book, what are some of the most powerful stories that stick with you. >> jay jonas' story is tremendous. wonderful, heroic story. there are people like william baud, he came from the philippines and to honor his wife he built 50 houses and gave them to the poor. he picked out 50 poor families and gave them a house. megyn: you talked about kenny haskell. >> he lost his two brothers, firefighters.

he and his mother started a golf tournament. and with the money they made they do wonderful thing. they buy vans for the n city transport services, the fire department transport. because firefighters are always getting hurt and they are always in hospitals. so these vans take the families to the hospitals to visit them, particularly the first day. megyn: firefighters won't aloud at the memoial service. what do you think about that? >> remember, mayor bloomberg, remember those people who gave their lives to protect the people in the city. i think he's doing a lousy job of it megyn: when you think about those men who ran into those

burning buildings. it must make you proud to be a firefighter and devote your life to it. >> i knew a lot of them. one interview said it's your job to help. if you can't figure out a way to help, you are not doing your job. megyn: dennis, thank you so much. check out the book. "a decade of hope." we'll be right back. captioning made possible by fox news network

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