are in new york city, president obama opening two days of meetings at the u.n. where u.s.-middle east policy sure to be in the spotlight when the palestinians seek recognition as an independent state which we expect them to do, although they haven't done it yet. jon: in the meantime texas governor rick perry pledges strong support for israel. he's also blasting the president, saying this administration's demand for concessions from israel actually pushed the palestinians to seek recognition by the united nations. jenna: so much to talk about our chief political correspondent carl cameron is live in hrorpb and carl, perry was definitely tough on the president and what can you tell us about that strategy behind it? >> >> reporter: there's a number of things. first of all it's mr. perry's attempts to sort of burnish his foreign policy portfolio with an issue that he makes reference to virtually at every opportunity on the campaign trail, his support for israel, and he's using his criticism of the obama administration's polices as

you spoke about as an opportunity to not only talk about foreign policy but to cast himself as a viable alternative to president obama on international affairs. and he used almost cold war-era language to rip the obama administration for, quote, appeasing the arab world and not supporting israel as much as mr. perry thinks is appropriate. listen to this: >> we are indignant that certain mideastern leaders have discarded the principle of direct negotiations between the sovereign nation of israel and palestinian leadership. and we're equally indignant of the obama administration and their middle east policy of appeasement that is encouraging -- that has encouraged such an ominous act of bad faith. >> reporter: perry went on to say, simply put, the u.s. and the world would not northbound the situation where the palestinian authority is seeking u.n. recognition for statehood

absent direct talks with the israelis were it not for president obama's rhetoric and foreign polices which many republicans and today, some jewish leaders from both the u.s. and from around the world agreed in their view has been putting too much pressure on israel and giving too much benefit of the doubt to the palestinians, jenna. jenna: so governor perry, of course, is running for the gop nomination for president right now. as far as the current gop that are in office, is the gop united in its opposition to palestinian statehood? >> well, yes. very definitely united in their support for israel. michele bachmann has called the so called arab spring radical, suggesting that the prodemocracy instability that takes place surrounding israel is a threat. mitt romney, agreeing with rick perry today, both men saying that if this should go forward in the u.n. and the palestinian authority get any kind of recognition from the international body, that u.s. aid to the palestinians should be cut

off, and u.s. aid to all u.n. programs should be reviewed. mitt romney issued a statement a short while ago that reflects in many ways the republican position as does perry's. mr. romney said what we're watching unfold at the united nations is an unmitigated diplomatic disaster, it's the culmination of president obama's repeated efforts over three years to throw israel under the bus and undermine its negotiating position, and of course, the republican field in general believes that the president's proposal suggestion that the negotiation for a two-state solution be gone back to the 1967 borders is completely unrealistic and, in fact, undermines the u.s. relationship with israel. jenna: so much more on this, carl. thank you very much, carl coming to us from florida today. jon: there are brand new national polls on the race for the republican nomination. we mentioned rick perry a moment ago. a new gallup poll among republican voters and republican leaning independents shows the texas

governor ahead of former massachusetts governor mitt romney by about ten percentage points but in a hypothetical general election faceoff against president obama, perry comes up short, while romney narrowly defeats president obama in a head to head match. joining us now, brit hume, the fox news senior political analyst, he, of course, is in washington. the media always likes to turn these things into horse races, and the popular narrative these days, brit, seems to be that it's going to be ultimately either romney or perry as the republican nominee. you've covered a lot of these campaigns. how accurate is that narrative? >> well, it certainly looks that way now, because jon t. doesn't appear that anyone else in the field, and it's a pretty large field, and you know t. doesn't appear really at this stage that anybody else of any consequence is going to get into it, these two have put distance between themselves and the rest of those in the polls. now, it's always worth saying that it is very

early. we are months away from anybody casting a vote or showing up at a caucus. and you know, early results in places like iowa, new hampshire, and so on can upend a race and change the complexion of it overnight and we have a long way to go but at the moment it certainly looks like a 2-person race and the longer that impression sits the more difficult it is for other candidates to get traction and particularly raise money. candidates tend to drop out of races when they can't raise money because it's expensive to have a campaign and you don't want to go broke doing it or get yourself hopelessly in debt. that's the primary we're in, we're in the money primary phase. jon: worth pointing out four years ago at this time, more than a year out from the nomination, the guy in the lead was new york mayor rudy giuliani so these things can change. >> they certainly can. i would think mitt romney's place in the race is likely to be a bit more enduring. i think he's even gained a little ground or perry has lost a little ground. the race seems a little closer between them.

romney seems to me has all the money he will need to stay in this until the he said. i've said about him he struck me as his campaign was being organized as a man trying to build an ark that could weather heavy seas if he got heavy seas early on, and i think he's in it as long as he wants to stay it and rick perry, something terrible would have to happen to romney and perry has some issues on his own, reflective in the polls you just showed, where he has a strong republican base but not so strong with centrist voters who would make the difference in the general election. jon: as usa today put it and they are the part commissioner of that poll, it comes down to a race between the guy who excites republicans more, perry, versus the guy who may have more power among swing voters, and swing voters are the key to winning the presidency these days, right? >> well, they are. it's been quite a long time since the republican party has nominated somebody that just sent them over the moon

with excitement against the establishment candidate and that was in 1964, and that turned out to be a transforming election for the republican party, when barry goldwater knocked off nelson rockefeller. but since they've nominated sort of the next person up, and by that logic, if it were to play out this time, the next person up would be mitt romney. he was in the race the last time, he came up short, so now you can kind of make a case that he's the guy whose turn it is. now, i'm not saying that means he's going to win. i think we've got to -- we've got a long way to go, but that's worth remembering. jon: bright hume, thanks. >> you bet, jon, thank you. jon: fox news is teaming up with google to host a debate this coming thursday, september 22nd, you can submit questions for the republican presidential candidate and not just in writing. this is the exciting feature. we want your questions on video. hop in front of your web cam, ask the candidates what you want to know. and upload that video by going to youtube.com/fox

news. you'll also be able to vote on which questions you want the contenders to answer and don't forget to tune in to the gop debate hosted by fox news and google, september 22nd, 2 nights from now, 9:00 p.m. eastern time. jenna: we want to take you down to wall street now, take a look at the dow, it was starting pretty slow this morning, but you can see, up 128 points right now, "happening now" -- happening now, a two-day meeting of the federal reserve. officials are waiting to see if they will unleash another round of stimulus and address concerns of whether we're headed for another recession. recession is defined technically as two quarters of negative growth and we received an outlook from the international monetary fund, imf, and they're lowering their growth expectations for our economy for both this year and next. it's still in positive territory but not quite as high as we'd like and would not signify any job growth, which is what we need. in the meantime new home construction fell more than

expected last month, it's now at a three-month low, analysts say, however, it's due in part to hurricane irene and it might pick up as people repair homes and buildings. in the meantime, some warnings for the u.s. financial situation right now, the joint economic committee holding a hearing on the national debt and how it might impact the u.s. economy. but with the number at more than $14 trillion counting, many are wondering, is there a tipping point here? that's a good question for jim angle, live in our d.c. bureau with more. jim. >> reporter: jenna, the concerns of the joint economic committee is at what point does the nation's debt weigh down the economy so much i turns into a long term slump. some say don't wait for a tipping point, that other nations' debt should serve as a warning. listen: >> now, 100 percent, approximately 100 percent of gdp, that doesn't include the unfunded liabilities. it doesn't include fannie mae and freddie mac. it doesn't include a number

of other things. so there isn't a point that we can mark down and say after this crisis occurs, with don't know what crises will occur, and the experience of italy, greece, especially, recently tell us that the market sud beenly changed its mind without warning. >> reporter: in fact, just social security and medicare alone have $46 trillion in unfunded liabilities, future debts that economists obviously worry about. another witness suggested that spending should only be cut a little now but a lot more in the future. listen: >> under such a policy the government would commit to lower decifits in the future without sharply cutting the current decifit. just as one example of how this might be done, one could imagine cost saving changes in entitlement programs such as a higher retirement age that could be phase over time. with any luck, major spending cuts would occur only after the economy has recovered from its current

slump. >> reporter: but president obama in his latest proposal to congress dropped earlier proposals to do exactly that, increase the age of eligibility for medicare. another witness said u.s. debt is so far out of control that it must be contained. >> we've had $5 trillion of decifit spending since 2006, the most enormous keynesian stimulus you can imagine. i think congress should turn its attention to major spending cuts as soon as we can. >> reporter: now, he argued that congress should turn to spending cuts very quickly. one of the witnesses noted something very interesting, saying the three events in the past decades that helped the economy were the tax cuts under kennedy and reagan and concle, the tax increase under clinton. why? because it gave people certainty that taxes wouldn't go higher, and businesses could plan and create jobs with confidence. jenna? >> jenna: it's tougher to count the confidence level, and sph-z thank -- that's

something that affects all of us. thank you very much, jim. >> reporter: thank you. jon: a fox news alert, this is president obama speaking at the united nations, specifically about the future of libya. that nation has a newly recognized government with qaddafi on the run. a new flag has been presented, the president is speaking. let's listen in for just a moment: >> the new flag of a free libya now flies among the community of nations. make no mistake, credit for the liberation of libya belongs to the people of libya. it was libyan men and women and children who took to the streets in peaceful protest, who faced down the tanks and endured the snipers' bullets, it was libyan fighters, often outgunned and outnumbered who fought pitched battles, town by town, block by block. it was libyan activists in

the underground, in chat rooms, in mosques, who kept the revolution alive even after some of the world had given up hope. it was libyan will and girls who hung flags and smuggled weapons to the front. it was libyans from countries around the world, including my own, who rushed home to help, even though they, too, risked brutality and death. it was libyan blood that was spilled and libya's sons and daughters who gave their lives, and on that august day, after all that sacrifice, after 42 long years, it was libyans who pushed their dictator from power. jon ononce again the president speaking at the united nations on the new government in libya. if you'd like to hear more, we have it streaming for you, fox news tko*.com.

jenna: some developing stories we're keeping an eye on in the newsroom and from

our control room as well, we showed you the president talking about the transitional government in libya. we have a brand new audio message from moammar qaddafi in the meantime, the form libyan leader trying to rally supporters, telling them his regime is still alive and described the events in libya as a, quote, masquerade. back closer to home, south of atlanta, bullets flying at a private school, police say a woman and child hit. no word on their condition or the motive for that shooting. the military's don't ask don't tell policy repealed after midnight, paving the way for openly gay men and women to serve our country. jon: north of oklahoma city, fire crews are battling a massive fire right now. rick folbaum is tracking this breaking story for us at the breaking news desk. >> reporter: we have pictures for you and you'll see the camera has to zoom in from very far away because of the blistering heat from these flames. take a look. it's about an hour or so, as you said, northwest of

oklahoma city, and the sheriff there in blain county says that all the homes within a 2-mile raid ous -- radius have been evacuated, this fire breaking out last night. so far, the good news is no reports of any injuries. we were a bit worried about that because we heard there were workers on the site working around the clock and it would be hard to imagine any of them escaping unhurt if they were there at the time of the explosion, and witnesses said they heard about four or five explosions, and again, that fire still burning, they're trying to put it out. jon, we'll keep you posted as we get more information. back to you. jon: scary stuff there. rick, thanks. jenna: a brand new book is putting the white house on the defensive, claiming top women in the obama administration felt like they were working in a, quote, boys' club. now, the white house is responding. we're live with the response and the story straight ahead. he just keeps on winning. maybe? >> jon: i guess. jenna: charlie sheen is set for a $25 million payday.

jon: well, ashton kutcher gets the roll but charlie sheen gets the payday in "2 1/2 men", the hit sitcom. the guy that kutcher replaced, charlie sheen, seems to be keeping up his winning streak, reportedly, he's close to a $25 million

settlement after getting fired from the show, and after some unusually gracious comments at this weekend's emmy awards. now the big question is where will this tiger-blooded actor or ex-addict or whatever he is wind up? dennis neal joins us with more. >> reporter: that premiere last night, overnight ratings, 18.6, that's 18 percent of households tuned in. that's a rating -- massive rate fog that premiere. he got fired after that breakdown and now he settled for 25 million plus continued profits, millions off of rerun profits, and so ends one of the more bizarre breakdowns in sitcom history involving a star whose own drug and stripper-infested lifestyle was a model for the character he played. now warner filed him for cause, he's out of control, incapable of doing his job but really they fired him

for insubordination, they sent a message to talent everywhere, don't fuss with us. now, this settlement, though, it seems to say not so fast, you can't fire a guy with impunity, just because he's a jerk. and jon, i got to tell you, i find that really encouraging! you know, so he's walking away with millions, after unleashing a torrent of vitriol at his bosses and inspiring millions of americans who hate their own bosses, too. most times in hollywood, this kind of a breakup, it ends very quietly with cash and grace. he twoept war. his torpedoes of truth tour, twitter, tmz, shock radio, papparazzi, covered it all and now he's making nice. does this surprise almost -- there's the almost poll guy, the roast on sunday and charie has a new series in the works, he tphedz a network and it's appropriately titled, it's called anger management. back to you. jon: we'll try to teach my children not to behave in

that way, but i guess it worked for him. >> reporter: it sure did! >> jon: dennis neal, thanks. jenna: now this fox news alert, afghan president hamid karzai, cutting short his trip to the u.n. today after the former afghan president was killed by a homicide bomber with a bomb in his turban. that's what we're hearing just now. for more on what's going on in that part of the world and elsewhere, we're joined by tk-rpler -- form democratic congresswoman jane harman of california and now the president of the woodrow wilson center. so you've been to afghanistan several times. >> many times. jenna: we've had this flurry of news over the past week or so, this attack on the embassy and now this. what goes through your head when you hear these headlines? >> it's desperate moves by the taliban and taliban-related organizations like the haqqani network in pakistan which we know was responsible for last week's attack. we don't know who the turban bomber was yet but the speculation is he's taliban when-connected. it's a tragedy for pakistan, for afghanistan, the people of afghanistan and hamid

karzai is making the right move by flying back. the country could be tetering on civil war, and i hope that is not going to happen. there are many, many talented and trained troops and government officials in that country, thanks in part to the large nato presence and our presence there, and i'm hoping that hamid karzai, the elected leader, gets this country back and pulls things together and that the whole world comes down on this network of taliban organizations that are threatening stability there. jenna: another part of the world in which there's so much focus, and not in the same way as afghanistan but still involved is the israel-palestinian relationship in the middle east. there is of course the report this weekend, president abbas told our very own reena ninan he will go to the u.n. and apply for recognition as a state. we don't know if this happens until later this week.

taking the broader view, why is this conversation so important for us as a country and what should our takeaway be from it? >> let me first say i saw cutaways that show mitt romney and rick perry crit sidessing president obama on israel. israel has never been a partisan issue in the congress. and -- or with any president. and it should not be now. so i hope that will not continue. this issue has always been important, and it's been unresolved. president obama called for progress last year when he spoke to the u.n. friday is when abbas is supposed to speak, 72 hours from now, and in political time, that's a lifetime, and i think there's an opportunity, with 200 world leaders here, including abbas and netanyahu, and president obama and lots of representation from the quartet, the so-called quartet, the european countries, to have active direct negotiations before friday. wouldn't it be wonderful to have a breakthrough on this, between israel and palestine

before friday and instead of having a divisive unilateral resolution in the security council with an effort to put the u.s. and other countries in a box, why not have a celebration about the fact that negotiations actually worked and we were moving toward peace? >> jenna: one of the reasons why this issue has become partisan is obviously there's been criticism of the president and whether or not he's strong enough with the support of israel. it comes to a broader united states policy of our stance of what should happen here in the middle east. what do you think is the best case scenario you talked about the negotiations but what is the best case scenario in bringing some resolution here? >> well, the leaders have to decide they want peace. i mean, part of this problem is others want it more than the leaders in the region. let's understand who the victims are. the victims are the palestinian people and a lot of israeli the -- israelis who live in harm's way, too. peace would mean a palestinian state, living side by side with the jewish state of israel, with defensible borders, in a region where most of the country, certainly led by saudi arabia, starting in

2002 with king abdullah's suggestion, want to live in peace in the region. imagine a middle east where there is human capital shared among everybody, the birth of the arab citizens in this new arab awakening is occurring around the region and we have democracies growing up everywhere. jenna: it sounds like obviously it's a result that many would like. is the palestinian -- if the palestinians apply for recognition for statehood from the security council, is the united states' only option to veto that? >> i think it depends on how the resolution is worded and i think there may be a possibility that it will be defeated in the security council and we won't have to get to this issue of veto, but it's not just what happens friday if they don't fix this by friday, which is my preference, it's what happens the day after and whether there are demonstrations around the middle east and whether they become violent. they have worked for -- palestinians worked for five years to develop the conditions for peace and it

would be a shame for that government to fail which is a possibility, too, because we're all stuck in our old politics. it's time for new politics right now. cren jen it can be an historic week if that prevails. congresswoman, thank you. >> thank you jenna. jon: a chilling case, paralyzes a popular resort area. now we're learning some new information about a serial killer's victims and how you might be able to help police crack this investigation. phrurbgs some grim news in california. police now confirm that a body found is that of missing nursing student michelle le. she disappeared back in may. so what about the identification process? dr. mike at baden will join us, live.

[ male announcer ] a raw nose can feel really sore. achoo! [ male announcer ] and common tissue can make it burn even more. puffs plus lotion is more soothing than common tissue, and it delivers our most soothing lotion for every nose issue.

let's design a vacation on a bumake it work.edia. see what anandra did? booking her flight and hotel at the same time a serious money-saving maneuver. book it! major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia.

and what it doesn't cover can cost you some money. that's why you should consider an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. all medicare supplement insurance plans can help pay... some of what medicare doesn't, so you could save... thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. call now for this free information kit and medicare guide. if you're turning 65 or you're already on medicare... you should know about this card -- it's the only one of its kind endorsed by aarp; see if it's right for you. all medicare supplement plans let you keep your own doctor, or hospital that accepts medicare. there are no networks and no referrals needed. help protect yourself from some of what medicare doesn't pay...

and save up to thousands of dollars in potential... out-of-pocket expenses with an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. call this toll-free number on your screen now... for this free information kit, including this... medicare guide and customized rate quote. jon: during every administration there is a book that comes out that the white house doesn't like. and this white house is in full push back mode now denying the claims of the new book, confidence men, written by a pulitzer prize winning journalist. it claims the top female advisers felt excluded and ug tornado in ha obama white house that was quote, a boy's club. doug mcelway has a look at that live from washington. >> reporter: we'll take a look at that specific accusation in a second. today marks the release of ron

suskind and finds senior staffers ignored to protect himself from themselves. they ignored the president's suggestion to dissolve citigroup. geithner and white house press secretary jay carney reacted to that and other claims in the book. >> i would never do that. i spent my life in public service. my great privilege to serve this president, and i would never contemplate doing that. but, again, i lived the original, and the reality i lived we all lived together bears no relation to the sad little stories i heard reported from that book. >> what we know is that very simple things, facts that could be ascertained, dates, titles, statistics, quotes are wrong in this book. one passage seems to be lifted almost entirely from wikipedia in the book. >> reporter: in an interview

today on the today show suskind categorically denied lifting quotes from wikipedia. others have questioned his credibility and one of them is former bush administrator and fox news contributor karl rove. >> i'm not sure how much of this work is true and accurate. my personal experience with him is that he tends to exaggerate. >> reporter: the mt inch send tkraoe revelation in the book was that the white house was hostile to women. former white house communications director anita dunn says it met the classic legal requirements for a generally hostile workplace for woman. she has since said that was the opposite of what she said, a challenging environment for woman, but not a hostile one she has been quoted as saying. the author has played a tape recording of the dunn interview for "the washington post" in which she could be heard saying exactly what the book quoted her as saying. the book hits the store shelves today.

we expect a lot more reaction as you can imagine, jon. jon: the churning goes on. interesting. doug mcelway, thank you. jenna: police confirming a story we first told you about yesterday, the alameda county coroner out in cliff positively identifying a body of that of michelle le. a nursing student, she disappeared four months ago from a hayward hospital. dental records positively identified the body and police have charged le's former friend from high school with murder. we are joined by dr. michael bad men, a forensic pathologist and fox news contributor. you said the dental records were key. we have the positive id, now what? >> now, a cause of death has to be established. and if the body has been out there for four months, it happened four months ago a lot of the soft tissues will be gone, but i'm sure the coroner,

the anthropologist who is probably working with the pathologist on this are looking closely at the clothing for any kinds of wounds on the clothing and on the wounds. there are 206 bones in the body, and each one has to be looked at carefully to make sure there are no cut wounds from a stab wound, or gunshot wounds which are unlikely because this happened in a garage where other people were. since they -- jenna in my opinion since there was blood in the decedent's car that was found and there was blood on the clothing of the woman that they arrested on their shoes, there would have been enough bleeding at the time of the death, which makes it most likely to be a stab wound, some kind of puncture with a knife. and this usually, not always, stab wounds will cut through some bone in the body, a rib, or a spine, and i'm sure the coroner, the anthropologist, the pathologist are looking at each

of those bones to see if there are any indication of a stab wound. jenna: drawing on your experience, you've worked on so many different cases, i'm curious your thoughts on this dr. baden, obviously there is a woman in custody, she was about the same age and from what we can tell about the same size as the woman we are showing our audience here that was found dead. is there anything in particular you look at in a murder where it's potentially a woman that kills another woman versus a man that kills a woman? is there anything different, something that you would look at? >> that is a very good question. 85% of murders are committed by men. much the 15% committed by women usually it's a loved one, a spouse. most women who kill, kill their spouses. the one kind of murder which we don't see in women, when a woman kills a woman, who is not intimately part of their family,

which is unusual to begin with is strangulation. men will strangle women to keep them from shouting out, but with women killing another woman it's usually a gunshot wound or a stab wound because you have to have a great deal of disparity in strength between the perpetrator and the decedent to do strangulation, so that is going to be hard to tell. and strangulation doesn't cause bleeding in the car. you need a puncture of the skin to cause bleeding. jenna: you continue to think it's potentially a stabbing. >> a stab wound of some kind. jenna: we described this woman, giselle esteban as a friend. apparently there was some sort of argument over a man. >> a boy, that's usual. jenna: that's allegedly what caused it. >> they knew each other five years ago. jenna: tke did indeed. we are seeing giselle on the screen right now. as we get more developments

we'll continue to call on you, dr. bad even and your expertise. thank you. >> thank you, jenna. jon: the number of deaths are climbing due to a massive outbreak of listeria linked to canteloupe. what scientists are saying and how you can protect yourself ahead. researchers in big apple confirmed what we've known for years, the boss just doesn't listen. jenna: our bosses? jon: they are not listening to me now iope. the brand-new study and what it means to all of you out there working for a living. [ femalennouncer ] you ha all this chken. chicken, chicken chicken.

there are thousands of ways to prepare it. [ chickens clucking ] you know only two of them. time to mix it up. time for new philly cooking creme. it'll take your chicken to places it's never been before. somewhere creamier, dreamier, with lots of flavor. look at you alchef-like. spread the love around in four fabulous flavors. spoon in a little new philly cooking creme.

jon: some new video information just crossing our international desk. in central japan people are being urged to leave their homes ahead of a powerful typhoon. heavy rains and wicked winds causing severe flooding in that country and the storm hasn't officially hit yet. a million people are heading for higher ground. rescue workers helping to evacuate some in rubber boats. a nine-year-old boy and an 84-year-old man reportedly are missing after falling into japan's swollen rivers. it's the second typhoon, their version of a hurricane to hit japan in less than a month. and this is the scene in turkey right now. a car bomb exploded near a high school in the capitol city, other cars caught fire and the blast killed three people in nearby buildings wounded 15 others. the prosecutors office called

this a terror attack. they detained one woman at the scene after she shouted, quote, long live our struggle. jenna: breaking news out of new york's long island, police releasing brand-new details in the search for a serial killer. investigators unveiling composite sketches and jewelry and other evidence linked to five unidentified victims whose dismembered remains were discovered along a deserted stretch of highway. rick leaf even that you will is live, he has been watching the case for a longtime e. has these developments. >> reporter: police wrapped up a news conference moments ago hoping that sketches and photos could lead to the identity of some of the victims and new leads would lead to the killer or killers. jane doe number 6 is believed to have been murdered eleven years ago, butchered and discarded in multiple locations. investigators released photographs of jewelry found near the body of a toddler and a woman who may have been mother

and daughter and details also on other victims including this composite sketch of a young asian male who they say had missing teeth and signs of trauma. this case started as a search for a missing woman w still hasn't been found. as cops were looking for shannon gilbert today's less they made one gruesome discovery after another. four other women wrapped in burlap dumped on ocean beach on long island. all women believed to have been working at escorts somewhere else, hidden in brush. skeletal remains of a girl 18 to 24 months old were turned up. we heard from richard dormer who says they are making progress. >> this is not a television show where everything is solved in an hour, this takes painstaking hours of detective work, forensic work. we are doing that as we speak and we will continue that

investigation and bring it to a successful conclusion. >> reporter: still eight women, one man, one toddler and no arrests in connection with their deaths, jenna. jenna: we'll take the progress where we can and continue to follow the story, rick, thank you. >> reporter: sure. jon: also some heartbreaking new testimony in a brutal home invasion case. a husband and father of two murdered daughters reliving a night of pure terror testifying again against a man accused of murdering his whole family. we are live outside the courthouse just ahead. accept it. you can't change the way banking works. just accept it, man. free ? doesn't close at five ? try nature. it's a bank. what do you want, a hug ? just accept it. hidden fees, fine print, or they'll stick it to you some other way. stay with the herd, son. accept it. just accept it. accept it. just accept it. accept it. if we miss this movie, you're dead. if you're stuck accepting banking nonsense,

you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

just out that seems to shed light on an old problem. researchers at new york university say four words, bosses just don't listen.

according to the findings the more power someone has in the workplace the less likely they are to listen to anybody else's advice. with us now one of the authors of that study, a professor of management at new york university, elizabeth morrison. you hear a common complaint from working people, ahh, the boss doesn't listen to me. you actually have conducted the study and found this essentially it's true. >> exactly. and it's not -- i wouldn't go so far as to say that bosses never listen. what we did find is that when people feel powerful there is a tendency to feel very confident in your own judgments. where that becomes dangerous is that that confidence can lead you to be so certain in your own judgment that you discount and don't take in advice from other people. and what we found is that when people do that they actually make poorer decisions. jon: what are the implications of all that? >> the implications is that if you are closing yourself off from advice and assuming that you have all of the answers,

then in all but those cases where you truly do have the right answer, which is a rare situation, there is a danger in not appropriately adjusting your own judgment, your own viewpoints to take into account other points of view. jon: does this apply not just in business, but say in military affairs for instance. >> absolutely, business, government. if you think about the far reaching implications of the decisions that people, whether they are heeds of corporations, or in high ranking government positions the implications of the types of decisions that they need to make i think that's where the implications become really important. jon: we live in a world now where you have the internet, all kinds of communications, so there is information flowing. >> right. >> but your research suggests that the bosses aren't necessarily getting it from the people they need it from. how do you fix that? in a big organization, for instance you can't listen to everybody, you can't take advice

from the mailroom clerk as well as the vice president. >> one of my messages to anyone in a position of authority is you have to be able to filter out and think thoughtfully about what is good advice, and what is perhaps advice that is less relevant, but at the same time recognizing this tendency to feel over confident when you're in a position of power, recognizing the danger that that can get you into when you're just overly dismissive of input from anyone. jon: so i can go to the bosses here at fox news and tell them to listen to me more often, is that what the take away is? elizabeth morrison from new york university, thank you. >> thank you. jon: jenna. jenna: we have brand-new video coming in to us from yemen. what it's been happening in yemen over the last three days is clashes, two different sides trying to decide who is going to run the country. one side that is on the side of the embattled president, the other side is for the current regime right now. you can see the streets and the

disruption there. right now we understand that there is a cease fire that was able to be negotiated by western ambassadors on the ground and the country's vice president. in the meantime more violence on the street in yemen. we'll continue to watch the developments out of this very important country in our what are on terror. in the meantime day two of a crucial hearing nor seaworld and disturbing video showing the seaworld trainer moments before her violent death. this as the theme park appeals its hefty fines, we are live with that story. plus just ahead we'll take a closer look at one of your kids' favorite places, you know the play lands that are in the fast-food joints. a surprising now report that every parent should hear, next.

[ male announcer ] provocative. ♪ unexpected. ♪ defiant. ♪ the 42 mile per gallon ct hybrid from lexus. the most fuel-efficient luxury car available. ♪ and just what you need to forge your own path. ♪

growing the perfect pruneth. plum is an art form. and now, we present a true masterpiece: d'noir prunes.

they're delicious. absolutely perfect. d'lightful, d'cious, d'noir prunes, only from sunsweet.

>> fox news alert, i'm rick folbaum, we're at the assignment desk where all the stories come in, and no shortage of topics to be discussed. at the united nations in new york city there, of course, is libya, the palestinian statehood issue. president obama is set to address the u.n. general assembly tomorrow. also, this is the courthouse steps outside in connecticut, that terrible home invasion story where a mom and her two daughters were killed. this is the second trial. the husband who was able to survive and escape will take the stand, and we've got a live report coming up straight ahead. the second hour of "happening now" starts right now. jenna: as we just hit high noon on the east coast, we're glad you're with us, everybody. a war of words over taxes getting louder on capitol hill. can you hear it? we can sitting up here in new york. i'm jenna lee. jon: and i'm jon scott.

strong new reaction from members of congress to the president's call for some steep tax hikes aimed mainly at the rich. jenna: a lot going on here. is it class warfare as some have suggested, or is it fair play at this time? mike emanuel's live on capitol hill with a closer look. hi, mike. >> reporter: hi, jenna. leading democrats say they welcome the president laying out his idea but recognize this is not a legislative compromise, so it will not pass, but new york senator chuck schumer seemed to welcome the political argument democrats can make. >> either ask the wealthier americans to pay their fair share or ask the elderly. we can't do bh, and middle-class americans know this. we know their median income is declining, we know the only place on the economic spectrum where incomes are going up is the very highest end, and we know that the right policy is to make those folks at the high end pay a fair share. >> reporter: but republicans

say this is not a serious proposal in terms of trying to address the deficit. here's house speaker john boehner with fox business' gerri willis. >> i don't think i would describe class warfare as leadership. america has a spending problem. the government continues to spend more money than what we have, and i don't believe it makes any sense to tax the very people that we expect to invest in our economy, help grow our economy and to create jobs in america. >> reporter: south carolina republican senator lindsey graham wrote about this, quote, the president's $1.5 trillion tax increase on investors, job creators and american business is poorly timed, ill conceived and be dead on arrival. the battle lines are drawn. jenna? jenna: some strong words. don't you wish you had an accounting degree right about now, mike? >> reporter: absolutely. jenna: mike emanuel down in washington, d.c. for us today. mike, thank you so much for

breaking it down for us and teasing our next guest, lindsey graham is going to join us in just a few minutes. he sits on the budget and appropriations committee, and he'll be talking to jon right around 12: eastern time. you do not want to miss that interview. ♪ jon: we are tracking republican presidential candidates as they campaign across the country. in florida herman cain is making several stops. he has a new opinion piece today on foxnews.com you can check out. in it, mr. cain says if you mess with israel, you're messing with the usa. on the campaign trail in iowa, newt gingrich holding a town hall today in sioux city giving a preview of his new contract with america. also in iowa, ron paul fresh off a straw poll of presidential preference in california where he took 45% of the vote. in new hampshire former new mexico governor gary johnson

with a full schedule, campaigning on a platform of low taxes and limited government. and here in new york city texas governor rick perry is slamming president obama's foreign policy efforts in the middle east, including the president's stand on palestinian statehood. jenna: in the meantime, back to d.c. now. mayors from coast to coast are calling on washingto to put the country back to work by putting their cities back to work. peter barnes is senior washington correspondent for the fox business network, and he joins us now. hi, peter. >> reporter: hey, jenna. the majors are -- mayors are in town, 80% of americans live in cities and municipalities, but millions of residents have lost their jobs or cannot find one, and in 25 metropolitan areas the unemployment rate is projected to be 12% or more at the end of this year. so no surprise the u.s. conference of mayors on a bipartisan basis has endorsed the major components of the president's $450 billion jobs plan. they like that spending for

infrastructure projects the president's proposed, $95 billion for that. they support the $10 billion for a new national infrastructure bank which could backstop another 200 billion or so in infrastructure projects in if cities and towns and states. the president wants to spend $35 billion to rehire public school teachers and first responders who have been laid off because of state and local budget cuts, and they support the $240 billion payroll tax breaks for workers in smaller companies to boost consumer spending and to help create new jobs. but as you know, republicans are not 100% onboard with all of this, so we'll see how hard the mayors plan to lobby for these provisions. jenna: there's political pressure at really every level from senators down to mayors and otherwise. peter, certainly, a story we'll continue to watch. thank you. jon: in the connecticut right now a second trial is underway in the gruesome home invasion that left a woman and her two daughters dead. the only survivor, her husband,

just taking the stand in the trial. the testimony so far absolutely heartbreaking, laura ingle is live in new haven, connecticut. she's been listening in. >> reporter: dr. william petit, the lone survivor, has been taking jurors through the agonizing moments of waking up to being beaten by a baseball bat and being forced to listen to his family members being tortured upstairs before he narrowly escaped with his life. the doctor's testimony has been a steady, crushing play-by-play of that terrible night and morning in 2007. after being bound to a post in his basement, he described hearing two loud thumps upstairs and his wife making a noise, then hearing a sinister voice call out, don't worry, it'll all be over in a couple of minutes. we now know that was jennifer hawke-petit being raped by steven hayes before he strangled her and after he forced her to

withdraw $15,000 from the bank. accused of assaulting the youngest daughter, michaela, has been blaming hayes for escalating the violence and being the one who poured the gasoline and lit the fire that ignited the home and left the daughters to die of smoke inhalation. the defense is taking a much different approach than the trial last year, they are aggressive and will cross-examine pettitte today. they've also been complaining about the doctor and his family members wearing pins to honor his family calling them the posse. the prosecution clearly objecting to that type of language being used in front of jurors, the judge is allowing them to leave those pins on. and also the defense is about to cross-examine dr. pettitte, that was something that they had wanted to limit the testimony today in describing his life before the home invasion. they lost that bid. the doctor just telling jurors about his life before this home invasion. he had a home that is no longer

standing, an occupation he no longer practices and a family he no longer has. more to come throughout th day. jon? jon: it is just awful to hear all of those details. laura ingle who's covering that trial for us live, thank you. jenna: it's a historic day for the u.s. military. the government repealing its long-standing policy of don't ask, don't tell allowing gay and lesbian members of the armed forces to serve openly, including this couple who wed just moments after the ban was lifted. so how is the defense dealing with this change? jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon with more on this. hi, jen. >> reporter: hi, jenna. the the admiral will take questions today at 2 p.m. at the pentagon. there has been celebrations, and in the marine corps times, they had this cover story last week in anticipation of today, it's getting attention. a bit of irony since it was

marine corps leaders who have been most vocal in expressing their concerns. president obama issued this statement, quote: >> reporter: navy lieutenant gary ross and his civilian partner dan were anxious to take advantage of the new policy that will allow them to openly serve. they flew from their base in arizona to vermont to get married at midnight last night. >> today i'm glad to say that the time has passed when americans are willing to give their lives to defend this great nation could be turned away from service because of whom they loved. today don't ask, don't tell is no longer the law of the land. >> reporter: more than 14,000 u.s. service members were

separated from the military under don't ask, don't tell which was implemented in is -- in 1993, jenna. jenna: jennifer griffin from the pentagon, thank you. jon: a decision in the drew peterson case. will the former police sergeant have to stay behind bars as he fights murder charges in connection with the death of his third wife? we'll get into that. plus delays for those american hikers still jailed more than two years in iran. we'll get insight into their ordeal from a former iran hostage. plus, rick is at the web wall to tell you how to submit questions. >> reporter: folks have until midnight tonight, this is your chance to ask the republican candidates for president anything that you want, and you can do it in a couple different ways. one way is by going to youtube.com/fox news. it'll take you right to this page, you can also use it to post your video or text question to the candidates. they will be asked these

questions by the fox news team and, also, you at home on thursday night, the 22nd. the debate right here on fox news channel and streaming live on youtube. again, you have until midnight tonight to submit your questions, so take part in that, and we'll have more of "happening now" after a quick break. don't go away. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day

helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with the strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be

♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. jon: some new information for you, now, on some crime stories we've been following, the so-called dougherty gang due in a colorado courtroom today. remember these three? lawyers expected to present their case against them to determine whether there'll be a trial. three siblings are accused of shooting at officers during a cross-country crime spree that ended in colorado. the illinois supreme court ruling drew peterson must stay behind bars while he fights

charges that he murdered his third wife. the former police sergeant also suspected in the disappearance of his fourth wife. a pretty create-connected attorney turned killer found dead in his prison cell. 61-year-old tom capano was convicted of murdering his mistress back in 1996. she worked in the delaware governor's office. jenna: two americans jailed in iran remain behind bars today, and we heard all that was needed for their release at this point was the signature of a judge who's been on vacation. we've heard varying reports, one was the fact that he failed to show up in court again today, another report suggested that the lawyers for the two americans were simply sent home without much of an explanation, so what's the real story here? the executive washington editor of "the wall street journal," we normally talk to him about politics, today we're going to talk to you about your experience, jerry, because you as a journalist were jailed in

iran as well. tell us a little bit about what happened. >> well, what happened to me, i have to say at the outset, doesn't compare to what these two young men have been through. i was in iran in 1987 reporting on the war that was then underway with iraq. as i was trying to leave the country, was arrested, was taken to the prison where the hikers have been, was accused informally and publicly of being a spy, was kept in prison there for four or five days and then for whatever reason, the iranians decided that i was what i, obviously, am which is a journalist and not a spy, and i was released. so at the beginning it was a similar episode to ones that have been repeated over the years in iran, journalists or others arrested, accused of spying, kept for a while and then released, and we can only hope that's what's about to happen for the two hikers. jenna: shane bauer is an englished -- accomplished freelance photo journalist.

he appears to be the only one of the three that has worked as a journalist at the time, but important to point out there. what was it like inside the prison? >> we should add that i was accused informally of being a spy. the two hikers have not been charged with that, they've been simply charged with entering iran illegally because they allegedly wandered across the border while hiking. so that's a quite different situation, i think. but look, i mean, i wasn't mistreated. you know, i was fed well, i wasn't abused in any way, so i have to say that the treatment was humane. it is, at the end of the day, though, still a prison, and you're incarcerated, and people have been held there for a long time. so, you know, i think the iranians have tried to be scrupulous in treating foreigners humanely, and i strongly suspect and certainly hope that's the case here. the reality is, you know, what is really hard in these situations is facing the prospect of being stuck there for a long time. happily, in my case that didn't turn out to be what happened. in the case of the two hikers,

that's been exactly what's happened, they've simply been detained for a long time. jenna: and more than two years now. >> right. jenna: let's talk about the power play that's going on that one assumes is keeping them in prison. we heard from the iranian president, mahmoud ahmadinejad last week, he said they would be released in a few day just along with his timing to talk in the front of the u.n. that did not happen, and the clerics who are running the religious council, essentially, in the country seem to be expressing their tension with ahmadinejad, putting it lightly, saying he doesn't have the power to make this call. what should we be paying attention to as we look at the tension inside iran and what's important for americans to know what that tension means for us? >> the good news here is i think the pattern that's being followed here has been one that you've seen in some recent detention cases in iran which is to say foreigners are held, they're held without charges for a while, eventually they're

charged, they're tried, they're found guilty of something, and then a little time passes, and the iranians let them go having essentially made their point, in this case, extracted some bail payment. and that seems to be the pattern that's being followed here, and that's good news because it suggests that perhaps their release is coming sooner rather than later. the problem is, as you suggest, what appears to be the internal politics, that there's been some tension between the president, president ahmadinejad, and the clerical establishment, and the clerical establishment is very important in the judiciary. it does appear that's what's happened here. there's every reason to believe that the president wanted the hikers released before he got to new york this week for the opening of the united nations general assembly, knowing he's going to be asked about this a lot, it's an embarrassment. he clearly wanted it cleared before that happened, and it does seem to be a sign of tension between the two branches of government. that's not uncommon in the iranian system. jenna: it'll be interesting to

to see how this plays out. ahmadinejad speaks on thursday, one report i read today is that he's trying to appeal to the moderate middle class in iran which will be an interesting pattern if if that is, indeed, the case. jerry, nice to have you and such interesting perspective. thank you for sharing that story with us. >> happy to be with you. jon: some breaking news out of germany and a chain reaction tragedy. a major train collision with many people hurt. a nearby car accident may be to blame. plus, senator lindsey graham joining us to talk about the president eat trillion dollar deficit plan. the senator says the president's tax hike will be, quote, dead on arrival, on capitol hill. we'll talk to him just ahead. accept it. you can't change the way banking works. just accept it, man. free ? doesn't close at five ? try nature. it's a bank. what do you want, a hug ? just accept it. hidden fees, fine print,

or they'll stick it to you some other way. stay with the herd, son. accept it. just accept it. accept it. just accept it. accept it. if we miss this movie, you're dead. if you're stuck accepting banking nonsense, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. [ kid ] dad? who is honus...wagner? no idea. let me see that. th's a honus wagner autograph... the hall of famer? look at this ball! yeah, found that at a yard sale.

i thought pickles would like it. [ dog barks ] that a new car jerry? yeah... sweet, man. [ male announcer ] thaudi a8. named best large luxury sedan. ♪ the healthcare law gives us powerful tools to fight it... to investigate it... ...prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of us.

jenna: welcome back, everyone.

we have a fox news alert out of germany today where we're hearing reports on this horrific train collision. rick, what do we know about this? >> reporter: sort of a chain reaction in germany, a car hits a van and pushes it right onto railroad tracks where a commuter train barreling right through slams into the van and derails, almost 50 people hurt. some had to be air airlifted to local hospitals. apparently, the driver of the van, jenna, was able to get out of the van in time, but the conductor just could not hit the brakes fast enough. three of the train cars derailed, one of them tipped over onto its side. we'll keep you posted if we get anything more. back to you. jenna: thanks, rick. jon: a game of numbers unfolding over president obama's deficit plan. the president arks it will cut -- argues it will cut the debt by nearly $3 trillion, republicans say it will cut only half of that predicting parts of the plan won't even make it to

the vote. senator lindsey graham of south carolina is one of them. your quote, senator, is that this tax deficit reduction plan, you said, is dead on arrival. democrats point to that kind of statement and say, look, the republicans won't play ball with us. what's your reaction? >> what i said is that the increase in taxes is dead on arrival. i'd like to work with my democratic colleagues to save money in medicare and social security to keep it from going bankrupt, i'd like to flatten the tax code and create some economic opportunity, but the president's proposal of increasing taxes on job creators is dead on arrival simply because there are democrats who don't like it. the millionaire tax is going nowhere. you know, the numbers he's trying to change is not the deficit or unemployment numbers, it's his polling numbers. he thinks that making republicans argue against higher taxes on warren buffett somehow hurts us politically, helps him,

and most americans would like to see us work together to solve e problem of unemployment and debt. jon: so your view is his presentation is more about politics than policy? is. >> you got it. [laughter] why would you send something up here that can't get anywhere near 60 votes in the senate? the house is not going to take it up, and this is class warfare at a time he need to move the whole country forward. and we're not going to increase taxes on anyone because we're trying to create jobs. and if you increase taxes on people who hire folks, you're not going to move the ball forward on reducing unemployment. so, clearly, the president knows what this is about, that this is about politics taking over policy. and that's too bad really. jon: i have now heard, essentially, the same statement out of both the president and your fellow colleague, chuck schumer from new york, who said, essentially, we can either raise taxes, or we can cut medicare

benefits for old people. we can't afford to do both. >> that's ridiculous. look at the people who have tackled our debt and unemployment problem. look at the bowles-simpson commission. did they come out with a plan to attack millionaires and play class warfare? look at the gang of six. three republicans, three democrats, did their report play class warfare? no, they flattened the tax code, they dealt with the age eligibility for medicare and social security, they reduced spending. they didn't increase taxes, they lowered tax rates, but they did away with deductions and exemptions. the serious people who have looked at solving our problems have not come out with a proposal like the president that creates conflict. they've tried to bring us together. jon: in mentioning the house speaker by name, the president seemed to be, well, getting fairly personal. is that a new thing in washington politics, or is that the way these arguments always go?

>> no, i think they had a chance to come up with a $4 trillion deficit reduction that the markets would show to be serious. the president's plan is heavy on taxes, very light on spending cuts. but the president and speaker boehner came close. speaker boehner was willing to increase revenue by $800 billion by flattening the tax code and eliminating deductions and exemptions bringing more revenue. he was never willing to play class warfare, so this is a change from the bowles-simpson model, from the gang of six, from previous negotiations. we now know this is a political decision by the president. he's abandoned trying to find bipartisan solutions. and i think it'll blow up in his face simply because those who have tried to solve this problem never created this conflict. this is a conflict created by the president to help his polling numbers. jon: but you don't think that there is a danger to republicans in voting against what the president is paying, is portraying as a tax on millionaires and billionaires? >> no, i don't.

i think the american people are very savvy. they want more jobs, not less. and go years ago the president said you -- two years ago the president said you don't raise taxes during a recession. i think if you increase taxes on any gripe right now, you're going to lessen the chance of growing the economy and hiring folks who need a job. so i think most americans get this for what it is, and a lot of democrats see it for what it is. it's not going to get anywhere near the votes you need in the united states. a lot of democrats are not going to play this game because they understand it's just politics rather than good, sound policy. so i'm not afraid to tell the american people i would like to raise more rev lieu by -- revenue by eliminating deductions and exemptions for the few at the expense of the many. ge paid no taxes. let's change the tax structure so people pay taxes at a rate that makes us economically competitive and quit trying to label each other as bad. jon: i think simplifying the tax

code would win you a lot of support. >> i think so. jon: senator lindsey graham -- >> can i add one thing? jon: sure. >> it would win the president a lot of support, but he's chosen not to go down that road. jon: i think the white house is calling you for more political advice, senator. [laughter] senator lindsey graham, thank you. jenna: before you let your kids or your grandkids play on one of those playlands inside a restaurant, we have a report that you absolutely need to see. that's coming up. plus, a horrifying crime; a mother and her two young daughters brutally murdered, a second man on trial right now for that crime. we're going to break down the case with our legal panel. and rick is at our web wall. >> reporter: you decide, we report, folks. go to foxnews.com, the "happening now" home page and scroll down. here you go, the poll of the day. let us know which one you want to hear about, the gold car in india perhaps?

i'd like to hear more about that. or a new unmanned space module coming out of china, or finally, a lot of naked people posing for a picture in israel. what's your choice? go online, let us know. we'll have the winner and the story, and we'll have more "happening now" after this quick break. is our most popular

yeaani wap and i want to try this kind and this kind. they wait for this all year long. [ male announcer ] it's endless shrimp today at red lobster. youravorite shrimp entrees, like garlic shrimp scampi or new sweet and spicy shrimp. as much as you like any way you like for just $15.99. [ trapp ] creating an experience instead of just a meal that's endless shrimp. my name is angela trapp. i'm a server at red lobster and i sea food differently.

jenna: welcome back. an arizona mom is raising health concerns that really caught our eye. it's all about play areas for

children in many fast food restaurants. she first became alarmed after allowing her kids to play at a mcdonald's restaurant playland, and what she found in the area, well, was pretty gross, and that's probably an understatement. this is a video she shot, you can see how dirty the equipment is, and the video doesn't even show the worst of it. joining us now is mom and child sky psychologist and professor dr. erin carr jordan. we said gross, that's how we described it, but can you give us more detail of what you have found in these playlands? >> sure. i think a better word would be dangerous. what we found is absolutely alarming. we found stuff that can cause meningitis, sepsis, skin infections, eye infections, ear infections, ab accesses, stuff that can make children very, very sick in addition to broken equipment and equipment that's in disrepair like broken second story windows and screws missing from high, elevated planks and large cracks in slides that

could cause a wound. so across the board these are very, very dangerous for children on many levels. jenna: so you went from being a concerned mom at this one playland to now going around to 50 different playlands in different astronauts and test -- restaurants and testing? how did you go from being a concerned mom one day to making this a little bit of a mission of yours? >> it has been, definitely, it's become a mission. um, you know, i did the things that a normal parent would do when they're concerned, i first complained to the manager, and then i complained to the manager again. so after repeated attempts to ask them just to clean it, it became obvious that they weren't going to. and i wanted to know why. so i started looking deeper into it, and i started calling all over the state of arizona. and when i found out that, for the most part, there were no protocols in place. and when i reached out to the health department here in arizona, i found out there's no regulation in place at all at the state or federal level, and then it became a mission when i

found out that there were similar conditions in other parts of the country. jenna: and that's really key, isn't it, to know that there's no regulations for cleanliness like, for example, if you went into a mcdonald's bathroom, do they have regulations for how they clean their kitchens and bathrooms and this is just somehow left out? >> right, that is absolutely the case. i think the big key here is there's no regulation at the state or federal level. i think that's the part we need to change as parent and as people who care about children's health. that's the stuff that we want to bring to policymakers' attention. yeah, there's absolutely regulations for the bathrooms and for the food areas. this is just something that's slipped through the cracks. jenna: the reason why i asked that is there seems to be a certain amount of risk you take as a consumer. you go into a private establishment, you're using the bathroom, you know it's not your bathroom, so you don't have complete control of the environment. so what kind of responsibility, i guess, do participants have -- parents have for just knowing this is a playland and just like

a playground, there's germs that ar there? >> sure. um, well, and i think the problem is that parents have a presumption of safety when it comes to these places because they're in places like mcdonald's and burger king and chuck key cheese, places that align themselves directly with children and children's health on many levels. so i think parents have across the board assumed that while they may be a little bit dirty, that they are, in fact, being cleaned and taken care of. and while it's okay to have them, you know, be a little bit less than completely clean, it's not okay for them to be at these levels, and it's not okay for them to be in a state of disrepair. this poses a significant risk. jenna: and that's important, the significance of what you found. i was looking for a parent, and i found one right next to me, jon scott, to ask him what he thinks about this. jon: so far, all of my kids have made it at least to teenagerdom and survived, but what about the argument, and we're actually getting some on our chat right now, doctor.

what about the argument that kids should get dirty, and, you know, be exposed to germs, that it sort of toughens them up, it helps their immune system. >> well, that's why i'm consulting with people who are microbiologists and immunenologists and who hold ph.d.s in their respective fields and affirm that these pose a significant risk. so, yes, while children should get dirty and have fun, that's what kids are supposed to do, they shouldn't be exposed to things that their immune systems can't fight off yet. how you can't fight off, you know, multidrug- resistant bacteria. these are stuff that cause serious infections and illnesses. we're not talking about a little bit of dirt and germs. jenna: we appreciate having you come on, dr. carr jordan, and i guess you're going to have to start using disguises, because when the restaurants see you coming -- [laughter] >> make sure parents go to kids play space.net to tell their

elected officials to support legislation, please. jenna: we are going to continue to follow up with you, doctor. we appreciate it. it's very interesting. we actually reached out to mcdonald's, by way, to find out what their response would be, and one of the things they said is we put our customers first and are taking these concerns very seriously, and they said they're going to be listening to the doctor, and there's a statement, and we'll go ahead and put that on the web site as well. just one of the places, by the way, tested. jon? jon: we want to get back to one of our top stories now as well. it's that story in connecticut that has so many people shaking their heads, the brutal murders of a mother and her two daughters. one defendant in that case already sentenced to death, and the second is on trial now. he's accused of sexually assaulting the youngest victim who was only 11 years old. his attorney says he didn't kill them. so what does this all mean for the case? pat nelson is a former prosecutor, jennifer brandt is a

defense attorney. it's going to come down to a matter of he said/he said because nobody knows specifically who lit the match that started the gasoline on fire that killed the two girls especially, they died of smoke inhalation. how do you go about proving that if you're the prosecutor in this case? >> well, the prosecutor, the best thing they have is just their main witness, unfortunately, dr. petit who lost his wife and two daughters, he listened to the majority of this from the basement, and he's going to, like, he's giving it today, he's laying out a foundation that's just step by step by step showing how bad it was. he's talking about the things he's heard, um, and also, you know, that is going to be one thing that really helps, you know, the government's case. the next thing is the defendant's own letter that he sent out from be prison describing what he did and the way he looked about it and the enjoyment that he received from

are killing these people. that's going to be his biggest hurdle is that he just seemed so intent to kill. jon: yeah. jennifer, that letter runs 40 pages. there's no way to go over it all, but he said things like i am the devil, you know, pretty appalling stuff the if you're the defense attorney, how do you fight that kind of thing? >> well, i think you have a difficult case. i mean, certainly, he's guilty. we all know that he's guilty. he was there. and the defense, what they're going to do is try to mitigate his, the circumstances by saying, oh, he had a bad childhood or, you know, he didn't know what he was doing, but there's no proof. he stayed for the entire crime, he was there all along, he even attempted to drive the getaway car to get out of there, so if he did not want to participate in this crime, he should have been out at the beginningf it or not even started it. so i think he's got a real problem in this case, and i think he's going to get the same sentence as his co-defendant. jon: our reporter who's watching the case, laura ingle, jennifer,

says that the defense in this case is being more aggressive than steven hayes' defense team was the first time around. i suppose that when you saw the sentence that hayes got, that's kind of the only approach you can take? >> i think, i think it really is. i mean, because if they want to protect him and they saw what happened to the other person, to hayes, i mean, clearly, they do have to be more aggressive. and i think you're dealing with two different people, and from what i understand is that hayes was sort of, he kind of knew and even sort of wanted the death penalty. he was looking for a punishment whereas this defendant, i don't feel, has that same feeling about it. he wants to be, to get off, to get out of this and not receive the death penalty. so i think you dealing with -- you're dealing with two different individuals as well, and maybe that's what's driving the defense to approach it differently. jon: the doctor has heard the testimony of other witnesses in another trial, does that bring

up an appealable point in any way because he heard other witnesses' testimony in the first trial? >> no. there's always going to be an exclusion to the rule for the victims' family. and in this case he deserved to sit there with his family through the entire trial, see what the government was doing for him, see what his tax dollars were spending, you know? and that, that's what -- there's just no way. we're not going to see an appellate issue with that. the bottom line here is if you're pro-death penalty, this is the time that somebody actually deserves to die. if you're anti-death penalty, you'll never find a situation where somebody deserves to die, but this is the one, this is the kind of monster that the death penalty is written for. jon: ted nelson -- >> i agree. i agree with ted. jon: thank you both. we'll be right back. >> thank you. i had a het problem.

i was told to begin my aspirin regimen. i just didn't listen until i almost lost my life. my doctor's again ordered me to take aspirin. and i do. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ mike ] listen to the doctor. take it seriously.

jenna: well, now, our must-see moment which you choose and, rick, we show what they choose, even when it's not our choice

and we're a little disappointed. [laughter] >> reporter: you know, look, that's what this is all about. guess who is not scaling back on their space program? the chinese, and this is your choice. a brand new unmanned space module that's getting ready for liftoff at some point this week, all timed to china's national day which is celebrated october 1st. and this is the space module called heavenly palace, and the idea is for the chi niece to get -- chinese to get in on the whole international space station business. of course, the americans and russians are involved with the iss. this is china's version, and if things go well, then, they're going to put some people up there. this is your choice, so thanks very much for voting, everybody. jenna: and our viewers are right, that was pretty interesting. i just like the gold car from india. >> reporter: i'll tell you about the gold car after the show. jenna: deal. thank you. jon: a disturbing video taking

center stage at today's seaworld hearing showing the trainer's violent death who drowned last year when a killer whale dragged her underwater. seaworld is currently appealing a $75,000 fine and allegations that it could have but failed to prevent her death. phil keating live in the miami with more on that case. phil? >> reporter: hi, jon. it's been a riveting and emotional day in the courtroom so far, but at this point the labor department attorneys have yet to try and introduce that gruesome videotape, seaworld underwater cameras showing the brutal attack. when they do which is expected to happen after the lunch break, seaworld attorneys will immediately object. in the court this morning, though, this videotape was played, it's home video taken by a new hampshire tourist on that gruesome, brutal attack day by the killer whale. these are some of the final moments of trainer dawn bran

cho's life, and she is doing what she loved to do, entertaining the crowd, working with the killer whale, feeding him fish, even grabsing one off the killer whale's tongue and tossing it back into his mouth. clearly, she's touching the whale and just inches away from its teeth. and then the last scene was her laying on a step in the water smiling with the killer whale's head right out of it. brancho's widower on hand as is her sister who could be heard crying during this video testimony today. seaworld is putting up a vigorous appeal to being held willingfully innocent by osha -- negligent by osha. that could, of course, completely change the way these types of parks operate. seaworld orlando makes an estimated billion dollars a year with much of the tourist draw

seeing the killer whales and trainers physically interacting with each other, and it argues that it's impossible to put up protective barriers outside of the shamu stadium between the trainers and the killer whales. they say that just is not feasible with the operational business plan. and one point of contention today was a seaworld security guard who testified on the stand saying what he saw was the whale grab her by the arm and pull her into the water. seaworld's position is that it grabbed her long ponytail, implying it was the ponytail that was at fault. the labor department, of course, disagrees and argues it was seaworld to blame full and totally. jon: phil keating. such a strange and sad case. phil, thank you, and we'll be right back. >> reporter: thank you. in america, we believe in a future that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college. retire how they want to. ameriprise.

the strength of america's largest financial planning company. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you, one-to-one. together, for your future. ♪ ♪ hush, little baby ♪ don't you cry ♪ soon the sun ♪ is going to shine ♪ [ male announcer ] toyota presents the prius family. ♪ walk if i want, talk if i want ♪ [ male announcer ] there's the original one... the bigger one... the smaller one... and the one that plugs in. they're all a little different, just like us.

megyn: hey, everyone, i'm megyn

kelly. rick perry going after president obama on his foreign policy toward israel, but was the attack fair? we'll have a fair and balanced debate. plus, at point in their presidencies both reagan and clinton had bad, bad approval poll numbers. both wound up scoring huge re-election wins. can president obama do the same? michael reagan has answers. the international monetary fund with a dire warning about our nation's economic health, why it's, quote, delivering a stern message to america. and ten muslim students on trial for shouting down an israeli diplomat at a california university. they claim it was freedom of speech, but what about his speech? a powerful kelly's court. see you in five minutes. jenna: and now this fox news alert. four body guards killed by a homicide bomber. dominic di-natale streaming live with the latest from afghanistan. dominic? >> reporter: we originally

thought it was an attack on the u.s. embassy, but in the past few minutes we have learned of a potential attack against the british embassy, in fact, talk of some 60 merchants preparing to make their way there. on the similar attack we saw on the u.s. embassy a week ago. the former president here was kicked out by the taliban back in '96. apparently, two taliban members went to his house today, willing to talk about peace, they said, but once they got inside one of them had a bomb hidden in his turban. he detonated, killing rue banny and five members of the coalition including aides to president karzai. of -- this could be a major setback to the peace process here, he was head of the peace council. president obama, however, has said this will not disrupt the attempt to bring stability to afghanistan. that could indicate that there will be no delay to the time of

withdrawing combat troops by 2014, but negotiations are going to take much longer. back to you. jenna: dominic, thank you. jon: well, no clemency for troy davis, the georgia pardons board rejecting his plea just one day before his scheduled execution. some high-profile supporters, as you probably know, claim davis was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer. the latest developments straight ahead. [ rge ] psst.

constated? phillips' caplet use gnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally wityour colon than stimulant xatives, for fective reli of constipation without cramps. thanks. [ professor ] good morning students. today, we're gonna...

jon: i was looking at our "happening now" chat room and your discussion with the doctor about play land and germs got people talking. jenna: "america live" starts right now. megyn: republicans have launched a blistering attack on president obama's foreign policy as the