later today. were held today. >> we've heard this before. remember, he did better in amy kellogg joins us live from virginia considerably better in virginia than he did in ohio. london. so actually if virginia goes should we get our hopes up or not? >> that's a tough call. down, it's a bad sign for ohio and some of the other close it's looking positive having spoke to the lawyer for the two states for the obama camp. hikers in tehran. >> brian: it's getting really he said the two signatures exciting, even though we're 14 months away. needed for the bail, for the the debate is tomorrow. it will be great and we'll find release of these two young men, out how they match up head to shane bower and josh fatal is head. the president has his work cut out for him. finally complete and that was always great to see you. the glitch that had allegedly have a great day. been holding everything up for >> thank you, brian. the last few days. looking forward to the debate. now, of course, anything is >> brian: i'm going to toss to my colleague, he's much more possible. but he believes that within the musically inclined than i am. next hour actually, they could gavin degraw. be leaving tehran's notorious >> hi, i'm gavin degraw and performing my new hit "not over prison where they have been held for the last two years. again, having been picked up in you" right after this break. the summer of 2009 on the first let's check out bill for what's on at the top of the iran-iraq border being accused hour. >> play us a song! of -- being convicted in iran, actually for spying and >> brian: now? sentenced to eight years a piece >> wait a minute. thank you, gavin. and also for illegal entry. good morning to you. looking forward to hearing your now, of course, there were all song. how did these bankrupt american of these technical details about companies get so much stimulus getting the bail signatures, getting the money actually in money, a committee in the house place. wants answers. we'll figure out whether or not

but there are a lot of people they'll get them. who have speculated that the who do americans blame for the failing economy? delay of this release had a lot new polling numbers on that. and which republicans are to do with political infighting gaining ground on the president inside iran with certain and the race for 2012? factions not wanting to give martha and i will see you in 11 president mahmoud ahmadinejad a minutes. gavin is up in three minutes right after this. sort of humanitarian boost or some sort of a boost ahead of his trip to new york to the [ male announcer ] when these come together, united nations general assembly. so, of course, it's all still a bit shrouded in mystery. we don't know who posted the bail, the assumptions are it was someone in oman. posted the bail for sarah shourd. the third person in that group, the young woman released last year on humanitarian grounds. so we should, if the good news is in fact to be believed, we should have it sometime within the next hour or so. back to you guys. >> you will bring that information to us right when it happens. thanks for that report. >> attention, hikers, once they get free, we should not hike in that area. can we go the rockies, perhaps,

sometime? >> he murdered a police officer 22 years ago and in just 13 and these come together, hours from now, troy davis will one thing you can depend on is that these will come together. pay with his own life. he'll be executed. delicious and wholesome. some combinations were just meant to be. >> are you giving snup>> no. tomato soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. >> when will you give up? >> never! >> supporters for troy holding a vigil outside of death row. he's scheduled to die at 7:00 p.m. tonight for the murder of an off-duty police officer. he was working as a security guard when he was shot dead rushing to help a homeless man who was being attacked. lawyers for davis resorting to far fetched measures to try to stop the execution. they're asking for a polygraph test now and may request a pardon from the white house. they claim his conviction was based on flawed testimony. it's critical day of diplomacy for president obama, he addresses the u.n. general assembly and then he'll meet with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and then just announced late yesterday, he'll also meet with palestinian president abbas. so the hot topic, of course, is

the palestinians' push for statehood. the president will try to steer netanyahu back to the bargaining table and to convince abbas not to request a statehood vote in the security council. spoiler alert right now, we're about to tell you who got booted off "dancing with the stars" last night. >> huh? thought his name was ron artest. >> he changed it. peace on earth or something. >> ok. whoever he is, he was bootedment he took his elimination like a champ, though, even celebrating like he won. nancy grace was also in the bottom two. and those are your headlines. >> he did the talk show circuit. he's the happiest loser that i've ever seen. now to the lockout he left behind, he was able to compete on a national show without his shirt on. which is your goal. >> it is my goal. where did he come up with that name?

>> i have no idea. from world be free in the 1970's. >> he got idea from prince. >> right, worked well for him. let's go back to politics. there was a big dnc, democratic fundraiser last night and president obama called himself a warrior for the middle class. now, remember, he has said that this is not about class warfare, his plans to cut the deficit and to also try to bring in more revenue for this nation, but didn't he kind of mock the republicans having a problem with the depiction of class warfare? be a judge for yourself. >> gretchen: we got a chance to talk to him earlier. now we have a chance to hear >> the republicans and congress, dusting off old talking points, you know, you gavin degraw play "not over you" can write the press release. off his new cd "sweeter." class warfare, they say! >> eric: let's do it. you know what? if asking a billionaire to pay the same rate as a plumber or ♪ dreams teacher makes me a warrior for the middle class, i wear that charge as a badge of honor. >> well, he's got a few things on this and eric, this is your ♪ that's where we have to go ballpark, too.

he's got people in his own ♪ to see you're beautiful party, not just republicians, that are upset by the proposal. senator jim webb who, by the ♪ face any more way, is retiring, a democrat ♪ i stare out at the two of you says we should not increase and listen to the radio ♪ taxes on ordinary income and you have senator ben nelson says tax ♪ hope, hope there is a increases have to -- have to conversation ♪ ♪ we both admit we had it good take a back seat to cutting spending. senator mary landrew and another ♪ but until then it's alienation ♪ ♪ i know that much is understood ♪ ♪ and i realize said this proposal he brought forward would be ♪ if you ask me how i'm doing counterproductive. >> forgot chuck schumer. >> chuck schumer of all people says millionaire, $250,000 in ♪ i would say i'm doing just new york is a lot different than fine ♪ ♪ i would lie and say that $250,000 in mississippi. you're not on my mind ♪ you're a lot richer there than you are here. >> if you make over $100,000 a ♪ but i go out ♪ and i sit down at a table set year, your group pays 75% of the income tax. these are the numbers. for two ♪ the millionaires, they want to tax millionaires at a higher ♪ and finally i'm forced to face rate. right now, anyone making over a the truth ♪ million dollars pays a 28 1/2% ♪ no matter what i say rate. if you bring that up to the highest rate, 35%, 7% or so, you ♪ i'm not over you only generate $41 billion a ♪ not over you

year. $41 billion. we have a trillion and a half ♪ damn, damn girl you do it dollar deficit a year. it's a drop in the bucket. well ♪ >> but see, it's a great ♪ and i thought you were populist proposal. innocent ♪ ♪ took this heart and put it that's what this whole thing comes down to but was there through hell ♪ ♪ but still you're magnificent some, you know, fibbing going on in this whole buffet rule. i was screaming at my television ♪ i, i'm a boomerang set on sunday morning because ♪ doesn't matter how you throw the fact of the matter is, we're talking about apples and oranges me ♪ ♪ i turn around and i'm back in in this warren buffet rule. the game ♪ here's what he always says. ♪ even better than the old me he always says that he pays less taxes than his secretary and that's the mantra that president ♪ but i'm not over you obama -- >> lower tax rate. >> lower tax rate. here's the problem. he's talking about different taxes. ♪ she asks me how i'm doing he's talking about capital gains ♪ i would say i'm doing just tax which is 15% currently. keep in mind, if you actually fine ♪ ♪ i would lie and say that invest in the market, you've you're not on my mind ♪ already paid taxes on that money if you have a job, right, ♪ but i go out federal income tax, state income ♪ and i sit down at a table set tax, etc. then you put it into the stock for two ♪ market, you'll put 15% on that. ♪ and finally i'm forced to face that's different than his secretary is making for having a

job. that is not right to tell the the truth ♪ american public that that's what this whole thing is about. ♪ no matter what i say >> i think the irs is the one ♪ i'm not over you that outted him yesterday. ♪ and if i had the chance to there are 1470 millionaires in this country who are paying 29% renew ♪ of what they earn! he is the exception, warren ♪ you know there isn't a thing i buffet if it's true. wouldn't do ♪ he's never released his taxes. ♪ i could get back there's 1,400 millionaires who ♪ on the right track haven't paid any taxes because of writeoffs or whatever that is ♪ but only if you'd be and that's 2% of the convinced ♪ millionaires in this nation. for the most part, not only are ♪ so until then if you ask me the millionaires carrying their how i'm doing ♪ weight but carrying everybody's ♪ i would say i'm doing just weight. top 10% are paying 70% of the fine ♪ taxs and the president of the ♪ i would lie and say that you're not on my mind ♪ united states is making them the enemy. >> other part of this is buffet is wrong. people making over a million ♪ but i go out dollars, as brian points out, ♪ and i sit down at a table set pay about 28 1/2% rate. for two ♪ people making between $50,000 and $75,000 a year according to ♪ and finally i'm forced to face the irs pay 15% so they are the truth ♪ ♪ no matter what i say paying a lower rate.

he's completely wrong. >> these numbers are not from ♪ i'm not over you some spin zone or republican target points. >> gretchen: gavin degraw, more these are from nonpartisan with gavin when we come back. groups in the irs. ♪ if you make between $20,000 to $30,000, you're paying 5.7% of your income tax. >> can i point out, gretchen, when warren buffet says he pays himself in capital gains and dividends, that's fine but the point is the companies that he's investing in are paying 35% so [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu uss chose prego. the double taxation comes when the company pays 35% on their income and he invests in the company and pays an additional 15%. you're talking close to 40%, prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. 45%, all in so double taxing. >> and here's the thingme. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? a lot of people who work on wall [ '80s dance music plays ] [ sighs ] street or the financial industry, they are paid a lower [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. salary than actually what they take home at the end of the year, right? so how does that factor into -- to what percentage that they're taxed on? let's listen to the ceo, peter

shift, testifying. >> i was fined $15,000 by security regulators because i hired too many people. because i hired too many people, i incurred over $500,000 in legal bills defending myself because i hired too many people. because i hired too many people, i've been on a hiring freeze order by regulators for three years. >> i couldn't believe this. you have to go to the sec if you ♪ hush, little baby want to hire brokers. he wrote this book called "crash ♪ don't you cry booth, how to profit from the ♪ soon the sun coming economic collapse." ♪ is going to shine his business started thriving ♪ and he wanted to hire more brokers. to tdo that, he got a memo sayig [ male announcer ] toyota presents the prius family. ♪ walk if i want, talk if i want ♪ you can't hire 50 more people [ male announcer ] there's the original one... unless you get permission from the bigger one... the s. e.c. the smaller one... they're investigating him for hiring people. and the one that plugs in. can you believe this? they're all a little different, he'll be talking to us this morning at 7:00 eastern time. just like us. >> let's talk about the s.e.c., securities and exchange commission, was there insider trading going on before that downgrade? >> the s.e.c. let the

administration know somewhere around a noon on a friday, they were thinking or going ahead and downgrading america's debt. that would be a very negative for the stock market. it turned out to be a negative on the friday and following monday. did anyone at the s&p go ahead and trade -- the s&p doesn't trade. not likely that they did but you really have to find the paper trail, who else knew about it? were there hedge funds that were i've got to tell susie ! alerted to the fact that there was going to be a downgrading the vending machine on elm is almost empty. and did they make money on it? i'm on it, boss. it's a very, very difficult new pony thing to prove. sorry ! unfortunately, the s.e.c., see we are open for business. that group? that's the one that missed bernie madoff, biggest scandal let's reroute greg to fresn growing businees use machine-to-machine technology in the history of scandals. i'm less than confident that from verizon wireless. they'll be able to find anything susie ! even though there's a lot of e vending machine... people that make a lot of money. already filled. >> "daily telegraph" has this cool be. because the business with the best technology rules. story, it's impossible to prove. are they trying to scare these traders into not doing it again that were on you and things have changed? because what's going to happen the two trains and a bus rider. from this? you have so many different things to point to. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. why you might on friday decide to bail out on a lot of what you for 80 years, we've been inspired by you.

bought. >> absolutely no doubt -- it's and we've been honored to walk with you got to be some sort of paper trail, got to be an e-mail coming from either the s&p or to help you get where you want to be the administration saying, by the way, we're about to get ♪ downgraded or we're going to because your moment is now. downgrade the u.s. debt and someone had to act on it. there are a lot of, you know, let nothing stand in your way. loose ends that need to be tied to actually make a case to, you learn more at keller.edu. know, nail somebody. >> all right. let's see what you think about this next story. so a woman flies from the >> gretchen: gavin degraw is still sticking around. philippines to the united you got a tour coming up. >> i do. states. she's a week away from her due date. i've got a great one coming up >> she claims she had a note with david cook, great singer. we're going to do october and from her doctor. anyone that has been pregnant knows that wouldn't be a deep into november all over the u.s. mostly and it will be all reputable doctor. she has a baby on the plane. about promoting our new record what citizenship should that baby now have? should it be a philippines "sweeter," playing our songs citizen or should it be an from the record and maybe our american citizen? next song. let's listen to this. >> brian: if you play like you did, i think it will be a >> and then when you heard him sell-out. thanks so much. cry for the first time -- >> thank you very much. >> of all the things, you know, oh, wow, this is a miracle. bill: all right, you will not find this headline every day, republicans in >> i wonder if she took that congress, trying to pressure flight on purpose.

>> here's the deal. the federal reserve for no if a child is born over the open new stimulus mesh aourbgs the fed chair ben bernanke ocean, generally considered a expected to announce lat citizen of that country. if the baby is born in american airspace, it's a u.s. citizen but this is international waters. maybe the kid should choose. the kid's name is kevin. let's see if he talks. was that steve's mother snl>> what was in it -- american flight, philippines airlines. >> i don't know if that matters. it was four hours before they got to san francisco that she actually had the baby. apparently her sister says that she may have done on this on purpose. maybe you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. >> best of luck. in any language in any country, it turns out pooh bear is a good gift to give a good mom. president obama is in a real pickle at the united nations today. dick morris, former advisor to bill clinton weighs in. >> how much would you pay for this muffin? 5 bucks. the justice department shelling

out $16 of your dollars. this hofl baked move coming up. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu uss chose prego. prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ '80s dance music plays ] [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. [ male announcer ] provocative. ♪ unexpected. ♪

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>> welcome back, everyone. g.o.p. presidential candidate rick perry says president obama is to blame for the potentially dangerous situation that could be created if the u.n. grants palestinians statehood. >> we would not be here today at this very presipus of such a dangerous move if the obama policy in the middle east wasn't naive and arrogant, misguided, and dangerous. >> so is rick perry right or wrong? former advisor to president bill clinton and the author of "revolt" dick morris joins me this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> rick perry came out swinging yesterday and said obama is to

blame for this. lay out the situation for us. the palestinians want to get statehood. they're going to have a u.n. vote. the united states has said they'll veto that. what do you think is going to happen? >> well, what's going on is legally, palestinians are asking to be admitted to the u.n. the general assembly will approve that. the security council either by majority vote or by u.s. veto will disapprove it. what that will do is give the palestinians observer status in the general assembly. akin to the vatican which gives them a lot of privileges in the building, a lot of privileges in the organization and the right to appear and litigate before the international court of justice and the council of human rights. odd choices for a palestinian group. but the -- but it's a very important feather in their cap if they get it but it will fall short of actual admission. >> right. >> what's really going on, gretchen, is everybody knows that obama is going to lose the

next election so what's going on is israel is not negotiating because they're waiting them out. they know that in 15 months, they'll get a good republican president or be pro israeli. the palestinians know that their best friend in washington is about to leave so they are trying to force the hand of israel by pushing the united nations admission. >> wow. >> israel must have -- >> force israel into a deal. >> israel must have better polling than we do 15 months out to know who is going to win the election. i get your point on this. a lot of people are upset that the united states continues to give so much aid to the palestinians based on the fact that they seem to know be more aligned with terrorists so let's take a look at this. $550,400,000 went to the palestinians just this past year. why? >> well, they used to be good cop, bad cop approach going on in the middle east where the palestinian authority was going to get away from terrorism and

hamas would embrace terrorism. then they merged and now they're one organization but we continue to give them aid and the $550 million which by the way, comes out to a little over $1,000 per household among the palestinians is only a portion of it. the u.n. gives $4 or $5 billion a year and the u.s. share of that is about a quarter. now, i have a petition on my dickmorris.com web site directed to the republicans in congress to stop that aid to the palestinians if they pursue admission to the united nations and it's very feasible because the republicans can kill that if they want to. >> all right, dick morris, stick around, if you will. the president wants to tax the rich. won't that force business owners to cut jobs? he'll tell us. they took more than a half million dollars of taxpayer money. now solyndra execs are taking something else, fifth. can they do that?

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>> quick headlines. what are they hiding and who are they trying to protect? solyndra's chief financial officer taking the fifth refusing to answer questions at a congressional hearing this friday. a house committee wants to know why the white house gave them half a billion dollars stimulus loans despite signs it was a bad investment? solyndra went under and shut its doors. and new photos just released taken right before the deadly plane crash in reno, nevada. you can't see the pilot in the cockpit. some experts think his seat was broken. others believe he was pinned back by gravity causing him to pass out. the cra leaving 11 people dead. brian? >> wow. 24 minutes after the hour. will president obama's jobs plan actually create jobs, gretch?

>> let's bring back dick morris. what do you think about that, dick? >> well, i think that you have a clash between the macro policies and the micro policies. the micro policies will, of course, create jobs. he's going to have more contractors building and more people employed and giving more money to teach and more money given directly in cash transfer payments but the macro policies will eliminate the micro. it will viciate the effect of those specific policies. not only the macro policies but of the rhetoric. when the president of the united states spends his full time attacking people that provide jobs, attacking people that hire other people, it sends the message of a chilling of the business climate. and who is going to hire anyone when you're living under a federal government that's at war with you? >> right. dick, what's amazing is that he put out this buffet rule and it got blown up by the irs yesterday. the millionaires are paying

their fair share. people in the middle class are paying significantly less. he's the exception. >> here's the stats and it's important. the top 1% of americans make 22% of the money which is a lot. but pay 41% of the taxes. so we are a very steeply graduated income tax. if you make more than half a million dollars a year, you are going to pay 41% of the income tax in the united states. and if you make more than $250,000 a year, which brings you down to about 2%, you're going to be paying 55% of the income tax. the bottom half of the united states, not only pays no income tax, it makes a profit from the irs because of refundable tax credit. it pays an aggregate of minus 2% of the national tax burden. so to make that even more steeply progressive is ridiculous!

but beyond the policy, there's the psychology of the white house attacking the business community. >> yeah. >> how does that stimulate investment? >> apparently, this is the campaign strategy because we're only 15 months out and this is the direction that they're going in. so we'll see how it all pans out. thanks so much, dick. we want to make sure we advertise the fact that this g.o.p. debate will be tomorrow night on fox. that's at 9:00 p.m. eastern. i don't know, guys, how are we going to watch that and get some sleep? >> sleep is going to have to take a back seat. i have to watch. i love reality television. >> it's good. so make sure you stay tuned for that. >> all right. after months of controversy, a major milestone of the mosque near ground zero, let me tell you what's happening there today. >> the justice department has expensive taste. you won't believe how much of your money shelled out for muffins? can stuart walk? if he's not walking, i'm not going to have a good day. thank you. but first happy birthday to faith hill. stuart varney dated her.

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>> shot of the morning, i'd like to share it with you. talk about teaching an old dog new tricks. check out this golden retriever's balancing act. his name is carson. he's earning the name jenga dog on you tube. >> carson can carefully balance 36 dog treats from his teeth while lying down. it took carson less than a week to figure it all out. no word of what his next trick -- >> i'm trying it on get my bearings here. that dog is laying on his back. >> i don't know, but that's will power for that dog not to -- >> not only that, the dogs like that. my dog brought me his chain yesterday and i didn't take that. i feel bad. >> you think he could be a star on you tube? >> i think if i taped it. this is something else. we'll follow this dog throughout the day. we'll split the screen with it the rest of the show. >> let's head over to eric. >> that's a tough one to follow. all right. doj cited for excessive

spending. they spent nearly $600,000 on event planning for only five conferences and that's just the start of it. stuart varney joins us to weigh in. bring down the numbers. 600 grand. >> part of it goes to $16 muffins, beef wellington hors d'oeuvres at $7 each. $10 cookies. coffee at $8.24 per cup. and a tip of 20% at all these gatherings organized by the justice department. that's where your money is going, eric. are you happy about it? >> 500 grand for food? >> yeah. look. this is the way government works, isn't it? government allocates money to a particular department. and they've got to spend it within that budgetary period. so off they go and they spend it because if they don't spend it, they don't get reallocated in the next budget period. i think people have a right to be outraged when this kind of thing comes to light. and it comes to light all the time because this is the way government works. we're being asked to pay more in taxes, more in fees, more in

everything, we got to pay for this. i can understand the outrage here. and it's happening. >> yesterday, "the washington post" ran a story about there's a group in washington looking to save $600 million by buying in bulk. >> what's wrong with that? >> y don't we all buy in bulk? >> what's wrong with that? >> nothing. save us some of our money. >> what would be wrong with telling every government department cut your budget by 5%. just do it. what's wrong with that? but they won't do that. i don't know why they won't do it but they won't do it. when you've got $16 muffins hitting the headlines, you can understand the outrage and you can understand people saying what is going on here? have we not learned a lesson? the government does not do things efficiently or cheaply and it cannot save money. >> what happened -- remember the $500 hammers and the $1,000 toilet seats. i thought those days were over. >> they'll always be with us. as i keep saying, isn't that the nature of government?

isn't that how government works? how many times -- i've lived in america for 40 years. how many times have i heard, we're going to cut the waste and the fraud in government? you hear it every year. virtually every month. it never, ever happens! it's not the way government works. >> stuart varney who is on varney & company today. >> and that's an opinion, ok. take it. >> have a good show today, stuart. >> all right, brian? >> the rest of the headlines. you have a massive man hunt under way outside much new york city where we are. police are searching for two suspects accused of kidnapping eight different children. the parents of those children allegedly snatched the seven boys and one girl during a scheduled visit to a foster agency. they were last seen in a black chevy, 1996 chevy suburban. license plate number exz5896. child services won't say why they lost custody -- why they lost custody in the first place. >> just 10 days after the anniversary of the september

11th attacks, the controversial mosque at ground zero is opening its doors now. park 51 opens today with an art exhibit featuring photos of children. despite rumors that it was being put on hold, they are still raising money and holding prayer services in that space. >> is it ever too late to run for president? despite what her critics have said, sarah palin doesn't think so. last night on hannity, she says there's still time for anyone to jump in. >> i think people are still going to be coming and going, there is still time and i'm still one of those still considering the time factor and knowing, sean, how important it is that we get this country back on the right track, knowing it's not enough to just change up the uniform. >> governor palin said we could see a democrat challenge president obama in the primary. gretch? >> out of work, down on her luck, a woman in maryland so excited when her luck suddenly changed. >> oh, my god! i won!

i woke my husband up and said look, look, come here. look at the computer. >> the numbers on her pick four ticket matched the numbers posted on the lottery web site and printed in the newspaper! problem is, don't say this. it was a mistake. now $2,600 for her. >> but it's not going to cost you that much to honor the ticket. >> so she wants the maryland lotry to pay up. she's out of luck because she didn't have the winning numbers. what a bummer. that's the second story we've done in the last week of somebody who thinks that they won and they didn't. >> misprints. >> almost playoff time for baseball. >> i know, we're about a week and a half away. it's almost october. in the baseball playoff races when they are heating up and scaring red sox fans. last night, they're looking to expand their wild card lead after the rays lost to the yankees, 6-0 but jonathan papelbon blows the save against

the lowly orioles. a three run double. red sox lose again 7-5. they lead the rays by just two games. what happened out west? the diamonds put the defending champion giants closer to elimination. 2-0 dodgers. cy young like for the dodgers. don mattingly doing a real good job. giants lose 2-1. they're 4 1/2 games behind the braves in the wild card. after getting kicked around by the giants on monday night football, the rams are crying about it and blaming it on giants players doing soccer things like faking injuries. this one such injury from deion grant seeing best in the still photo went down in the first quarter. rams say the giants want to slow down their hurry-up offense. rams have asked the league to investigate. i don't know, feel him, see if he's still hurt. he doesn't know if his team faked injury but if they did, it was a good strategy. that's not a good answer. anyone talk to that guy? would you move to italy for

$600,000 to play basketball? think about it. kobe bryant is. he may have to. there's a report on the italian sports web site that i go to first that the pro team in bologna has offered him that much cash to play games. kobe bryant's dad used to play in italy, played overseas for a while. that's when kobe became a soccer enthusiast. that's baloney. >> the italian coach, you'd be the only one who knows how to pronounce that. >> fresh off a visit to italy where my people embraced me like i never lost. >> i recognize your swedish side when you sit here. fox alert for you right now. this video was shot moments ago. palestinians holding a massive demonstration to support their president's push for statehood at the united nations today. that may not get the vote. >> no, i don't think that's the way to go. now live in the palestinian city

with the latest. leland? >> good morning, guys. at one point, we had about 10,000 people here in the square behind me in ramallah. in many ways, it's a street party celebration. of course, there's been a lot of anti-american anger. take a look at the video of them burning a flag here. this is a young man who climbed up in front of the stage, lit one american flag on fire. earlier, i saw him to the cheers and jeers to 100 militant people also burn an american flag there. what's interesting is the two things we haven't seen, one of which is there's been no israeli flags burned here which is kind of interesting. second of all, the palestinian police who there is about 10,000 of them arrested the guy that burn burned the flag. president abbas is trying to hold the party line of a peaceful demonstration. as we take a look live down on the square, a lot of ways they are trying to separate the

leftist, dancing, their own palestini palestinian flag saying this is the independence we want. they feel the peaceful demonstration is the way to go about getting what they want. the thing that's very interesting, though, is you still have this huge underlying anger so while you have the celebration about a coming vote and the idea of getting statehood at the u.n., you have this underlying anger that exists over 60 years has been built up. there's still pictures of yasser arafat here. people dressing up as yasser arafat and there's a real fear among the israelis in the international community what happens after the vote and after that u.s. veto at the security council. i'll give you a sense here of how people feel about the united states. this is a poster that i picked up, you can take a look here at our position above the square, a u.s. fist drenched in blood as judging the palestinians and the israelis down there. that certainly gives you an idea of the sentiment. the fear is that after this veto

vote, what happens next? over the next few months, will we start seeing these mass demonstrations that are behind me right now that are largely peaceful turning much more violent and a little bit more militant to give you a thought of how that might go, we're heading just in the next 10 minutes to a checkpoint on the israeli-palestinian west bank border security barrier that were here. there's major clashes between palestinians and also israeli riot police. back to you guys. >> wow. leland, very volatile situation. thank you so much and west bank success story unlike gaza. >> any questions of whether palestinians should achieve statehood, they should play that flag burning right before they decide, especially when president obama has a decision whether to veto it. >> he's taking justice into his own hands. a man caught on tape shooting up a courthouse. >> then do we really need the tsa? congressman john micah says it's nothing but an $8 billion bureaucracy and it needs to go! but is there really a better idea?

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to help remove deposits and clean up intake valves. it helps your engine run more smoothly and leave behind cleaner emissions. it's how we make gasoline work harder for you. exxon and mobil. >> hi, everybody. welcome downstairs to the news by the numbers. let's take a first look over to mexico where our headlines lead. lead story is 35 dead in mexico as bodies are dumped on a busy street by a masked gunman. corpses were on the ground and two trucks left abandon below an overpass. some of the victims linked to pass drug cartels and drug crimes. let's go to the next story and see what we have. same screen, five police officers who shot and killed a gunman who opene fire in an arkansas courthouse cleared of any wrongdoing, believe it or not. new surveillance video shows the gunman walking through the building, blasting away as he went to the courthouse to talk to a judge. the judge wasn't there and the gunman was killed. meanwhile, i think it's time for me to get back upstairs and find

out what's happening but first, i got to just hit this button, ok. take it away, gretchen? eric? >> oh, my gosh. thank you so much, brian. just last week, the tsa fired 28 employees at honolulu international airport for failing to check bags for explosives and this is far from the first time the agency has come under fire. >> now, the congressman who drafted the bill to create the tsa says it's time to make some major changes? former representative and chairman of the house transportation committee john micah joins us. tell us, you're not suggesting to eliminate the tsa or privatizing the whole group. what is your recommendation? >> if we didn't have a tsa, we'd need one, you know, to bring together our transportation and security activities but they should really concentrate on gathering intelligence information, not be the regulator, the operator, the auditor and the administrator. unfortunately, it's grown into a huge bureaucracy from 16,500

screeners to 63,000 employees with 3800 administrators making on average $105,000. just in washington, d.c. >> and congressman, that would be fabulous. i don't think taxpayers would mind if in fact that the tsa agents were thwarting terrorism. but we just announced at the top of this segment that they're allowing explosives to go through and i don't want to mar the reputations of all the workers but are they doing a good job or is it the police departments and the f.b.i. who are thwarting this stuff before it even gets to the airport? >> well, it's pretty sad, you know, they ramped up hiring and they hired 1,208 people that they had to fire about half of those people, they found out had felony or other convictions that they didn't reveal. now, we have the incidents where they weren't doing the job. actually, in honolulu, those people could be placed by an automated system that does a better job and gets rid of 2/3 of the personnel.

but you see almost every week, a new example of some problem because you get -- again, you have a huge government bureaucracy and it's very difficult to control the soviet style operation out of washington. >> congressman, you point out there's 65,000 employees of the tsa right now. how many of those are screeners? >> there's about 51,000. we get different figures. there are 3,820 administrative personnel, again, in washington making on average $105,000. there are about 8200 administrative personnel out in the field. i can tell you, when we set up tsa and when it was under our jurisdiction, before it got morphed into homeland security, we never intended this kind of bureaucracy. >> it's very interesting. i know you're just completing an eight month study that you will then reveal the results to congress. we'll see where that ends up. john micah from florida. thanks so much for your time this morning. >> good to be with you. thank you. >> all right. a democratic congressman

apologizing to muslim-americans on behalf of the entire united states. was that a good idea? colonel peters up here next. >> and diplomats gone wild? wait until you hear what world leaders are spending their cash on while they're partying it up in new york city. how about uber fancy haircuts? is john edwards here? sweetie i think you need a little extra fiber in your diet. carol. fiber makes me sad. oh common. and how can you talk to me about fiber while you are eating a candy bar? you enjoy that. i am. [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one.

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>> a democratic congressman making a surprise apology to the american muslims at the conference in chicago. listen to this. >> discrimination comes in many

forms, many shapes and you need to fight them and apologize on behalf of this country for the discrimination you've faced. >> for fox news instant analysis on this, let's talk to fox news strategic analyst and author of "lines of fire" colonel ralph beaders. does this help the cause? >> well, you know, this guy is just a silly old fool. but we absolutely should apologize to american muslims. we should apologize for giving them opportunities and human rights and freedom. they wouldn't have anywhere in the muslim world. we should apologize for preventing them from beating their daughters to death for flirting. we should apologize for giving their children a better education than they get anywhere in the world. we should apologize for getting rid of saddam hussein who killed a million and a half muslims with his wars and oppression. we should apologize for fighting al-qaida which has killed dozens of muslims for every westerner it's killed. we should apologize for giving the palestinian authority a half a billion dollars last year.

yeah, we're just a sorry bunch of folks. >> and they're burning our flag. that's fantastic. i get the sarcasm. we hear you. and the book, in the book that you just have put out called "lines of fire" in 1994, you wrote this -- the enemies we're likely to face for the rest of this decade and beyond will not be soldiers with the discipline modernity of the term that conveys in euromerica but warriors, primitives of shifting allegiance, habituated to violence with no state in civil order. you predicted this war on terror. that's exactly what we're in the middle of. >> brian, it wasn't hard. back in the 1990's, you know, i and a few other guys, we went out there often alone. we didn't stay at the ritz carlton. we talked to the guys in the streets, the thugs at the barricades and the road blocks and if you went out and saw the world first hand and came back and we poured it honestly without political bias and without worrying about your next job or promotion, you could get it right so i'm very proud of my

track record and in "lines of fire" on the one hand, it's the greatest hits collection, best stuff i've written over the decades but it's a book about the future. this is a work that will tell you where we're going in our future wars. >> that's a question i have for you. are we done with armor? are we done with lines? are we done with battle against battle? is everything going to be covert from here on in? >> no, it's not. and i'm in the odd position, brian, in the 1990's, i was arguing we need more special operations, we need more human intelligence. it's not going to be all big armor, big tanks and now we have trouble in the u.s., we go to extremes. now i find myself arguing, hey, wait a minute, guys, we might still have to fight with artillery and armor, iran could be china, could be anywhere in the world. the united states military has to cover the waterfront. we've got to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. so we have to be able to respond to all contingencies and at the

end of the day, though, the one ultimate weapon we do have is the american soldier. >> and that's where your book is so valuable. you went and saw these things first hand. came to your own conclusions and you're not relying on sources and look forward to that book. makes me feel good that general petraeus and head of the c.i.a. seems look a perfect match. congratulations on lines of fire. appreciate you joining us this morning. >> thanks. >> surgeons want your organs and want them now. they want the rights to harvest them while still on the operating table. is that smart or just plain scary? some are using them. gavin degraw is not just a pretty face with a pretty voice. he's a small business owner, too, and ready to hire. the singer here live next. get your resume ready.

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try smart balance buttery sead. 's heart-healthier than butter. with omega-3s. 64% less saturated fat. andlinically proven to help support healthy cholesterol. ♪ put a little love in your heart ♪ >> good morning, everyone. hope you're going to have a great wednesday. it's september 21st. thanks so much for sharing part of your day with us. i'm gretchen carlson. they've been approved bail and

after more than two hours behind bars in an iranian prison, those two american hikers could be headed home. stay right here for the very latest. >> all right. just minutes ago, they were burning an american flag and now the palestinians will ask the u.n. to recognize them as a country. so where will the president stand on this? governor perry has already chosen his side. >> as an american and as a christian, i'm going to stand with israel. >> more on that straight ahead. >> plus we all know the story, lassie comes to the rescue! [barking] >> but sometimes, life imitates art. real life lassie and the woman she saved. "fox & friends" starts right now. >> what's happening? this is nathan. >> this is shawn. >> and we're boys ii men and you're watching "fox & friends." >> we had boys ii men on yesterday to close the show.

very relaxed and happy -- it was good. for a group that's together for a long time, they get along quite well. >> i just noticed eric is tieless again today. >> i'm tieless. >> you have me confused. last week, i think you wore a tie, right? >> yeah, you know, i'm keeping them on their toes. >> the ever changing eric sitting in for steve today. >> had i had a tie like brian's, i would have worn it. >> they said no more. >> let's talk about what's happening politically today. lot going on in new york city with united nations general assembly. the president, president obama will be speaking before them this morning. shortly thereafter, he's going to meet with the palestinian president, abuse and that was announced late yesterday. he's going to meet with the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu so what's going to be accomplished here? look, the palestinians want statehood and they're probably going to get the votes from the u.n. will the u.s. have to veto that? what will that look like across the world? >> the word is there's a few countries who are also not into

this. i think nigeria is one and the word is france is up in the air. i think there's a few of them out there and the president is saying can we put off this whole vote? and that is the delay of game is also something you're interested in or they can lobby for the so-called vatican status where you become a nation, observer but here's what i'm disappointed in the president's address today. he's not going to address iran and nukes reportedly he's not going to address syria, assad butchering his own people and just mowing them down as they protest innocently in the streets. he's going to talk about what's changed in a year in the advent of the arab spring without talking about the dangers of the arab spring also brought into play. that's according to reports. that's a disappointment. >> and very interestingly, yesterday, rick perry made a speech. he got to the podium and he had, if you noticed, bob turner who won new york nine standing with him. basically saying, hey, mr. obama, anyone else out there, you're horrhaging the jewish vote. and mr. perry is very strong about saying we stand with israel and that means, by the way, no statehood for palestine.

>> all right. so let's listen to governor perry. >> we are indignant that certain middle eastern 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 has encouraged such an ominous act of bad faith. we would not be here today at this very presipus of such a dangerous move if the obama policy in the mile east wasn't naive and arrogant, misguided, and dangerous. >> that's getting right to the point, governor perry, you know where he stands on that. let's take a look at another presidential candidate, mitt romney. here's his quote. what we are watching unfold at the united nations is an

unmitigated diplomatic disaster. it is the culmination of president obama's repeated effort over three years to throw israel under the bus and undermine its negotiating position. so why are we here, folks? i mean, really, the problem -- >> we've heard about this for months. >> right. that's number one. but number two, why are we actually having this discussion? it's because the palestinians have aligned themselves now with hamas which is designated as a terrorist group. that's why the united nations and others do not want to grant them statehood. >> my concern is this is like the obama administration saying hey, go ahead, ask for statehood and we'll push back and all of a sudden, we look like we're pro israel. they have a very, very bad p.r. thing going on with the jewish vote right now and this may be one way to get that vote back. >> we cut out aid, if you apply for statehood not through the u.n. and not through negotiation, we stop writing the checks. that's our hammer. if they say we'll get them from somebody else like iran, we

basically played our last card. >> as we noted in the 6:00 hour, currently the united states gives $535 million a year to the palestinians. >> we don't need that here at all. >> 2009 was $989 million and that's aid directly to the palestinian authority. that's not what we support through the u.n. we put up 22% of the u.n. and a lot of the u.s. aid goes to the palestinian authority as well. >> i don't know about you but gretchen and i don't go to the clubs anymore. if we did, we'd be stumbling over high ranking diplomats from around the globe, perhaps, in the hotel lobby or elsewhere. >> i have news for you. forget the club. i want to stay in one of these hotel rooms. i don't need to go to the club. if i have a $16,000 a night panoramic view of central park on the 40th or 50th or 60th floor, why do i need to go to the clubs? bring the party to me. >> for $16,000, what could they possibly do to you or for you? >> what's could possibly happen

in that room for $16,000 a night? >> that question will go unanswered. >> that's the rwandan president who are just bathed in dollars. >> average annual income in rwanda is $1,996. average annual income. >> those are very fancy shoes. >> 20 pair at $5,500 a piece for the argentinian president, purchased them. >> abbas is staying at a hotel here. what's the hotel he's staying at? >> the millennium, i believe. >> just $3,000 a night which is basically very -- a stark contrast. they probably don't have towels. >> the moroccan foreign minister dined at a fancy restaurant here. it appears that the rest of the world has a lot of cash to float. maybe it's good for the new york economy. that's one positive light that they're spending their cash here. >> did we talk about that one

already? i was in a hotel once and there was a contingency from saudi arabia there. they wanted their towels scented with lemon. >> really? that's fantastic. that's where you want your gin and tonics. that's the thing you have in common. if you're looking for any of the saudi royal family or traveling continge contingent, the plaza. that's where they prefer right near mickey mantle's. they love the yankees. >> they have good burgers there. apparently there's a photo we need to show you that was taken at the united nations. and there's some sort of -- >> oh, there's the flub. i see. i see. >> that's ahmadinejad, i think, behind that. >> i'm not even sure. >> i'm kidding. >> i think in retrospect, is that for real? this is actually for real? >> the producers are talking -- we're seeing it folks as you're seeing it, so you know, apparently that's not photoshopped but a real photo. whose face is the president's

hand covering? >> it looks like a where's waldo's child game trying to figure it out. the president did get in the middle. that was good. >> we have to start with a fox news alert. brand new report that two american hikers jailed for spying in iran could be released at any moment. a lawyer for josh fattal and shane bauer says a judge has approved a $1 million bail for freedom deal. if it's true, they would be handed over to the swiss embassy in iran before possibly heading home to america. the oman government, an arab state, reportedly paid the bail. both bauer and fattal have been in iranian custody for more than two years now. lawyer meeting with them right now so we expect an update at any moment. when that happens, we'll bring that to you live. he murdered a police officer 22 years ago and in 12 hours from now, troy davis will pay the ultimate price when he will be executed. >> are you giving up? >> .

>> when will you give up? >> never! >> right now, supporters for troy holding a vigil outside in atlanta, georgia. he is being put to death for shooting an off-guard police officer. his mother says she's certain that davis is the one that pulled the trigger. >> justice has been done. we fought for it for 20 years. and the kids can now live their lives. >> lawyers for davis trying to stop the execution. they're saying now that they want a polygraph test and may request a pardon from the white house. they claim his conviction was based on flawed testimony. new police sketches just released of two unidentified victims linked to the long island serial killer. it's believed the woman was murdered back in 2000. the other an asian man found dead dressed in women's clothing. police are hoping friends or family can help identify who

they are and lead them to the killer. the bodies are among 10 discovered along a deserted stretch of that beach. we know the story. timmy is stuck in the well. lassie comes to the rescue. [barking] >> sometimes life imitates art. a collie named lassie was dispatched to look for a missing woman who suffers from dimentia. like the dog's famous namesake, this lassie was able to follow the woman's scent eventually finding her in a thick area of brush. >> how does that episode end? you know everything about lassie. do of any idea? at one point, gentle ben, lassie as well as flipper were hit shows in the 70's. we were leaning on animals so much. >> now we have jersey shore. >> i'm glad we broke away from it. >> that was good children's programming. business owners have long complained there's too much government red tape.

up next, the proof. a ceo fined for hiring too many people? >> talk about a wake-up call. a bear at the bus stop? >> huh? almost tastes like one of jack's als. fiber one. h, forgot jack cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, ts is pretty good. [ male announcer ]alf a day's worth of fiber. fiber one. my dis best absorbedlcium yein small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal.

i love the vermeer collection. vermeer? dutch painter? only painted, like, 34 paintings? oh what an odd name. you've got like five of them in your hally. those were actually in the attic when we moved in. we just both really love the color yellow. uh... [ host ] you guys are a lot of fun. yeah.

[ male announcer ] the audi a8. named best large luxury sedan. new car? pretty cool. ♪ >> president obama standing firm on his new deficit reduction plan that includes increasing taxes on the wealthy. >> either we ask the wealthiest americans to pay their fair share in taxes or ask seniors to pay more for medicare. we can't afford to do both. this is not class warfare. it's math. >> wow. but our next guest says this is class warfare. he's the business owner who says he was fined for the government for hiring more workers.

joining us is the ceo of europe pacific capital and author of this book "how an economy grows." peter schiff, welcome. >> technically, government didn't fine me. it was a self-regulatory body that the government requires me to be a member of in order to stay in business so it was the regulators that fined me. not the government per se but, you know, i still regard them as an extension of the government. >> you hired 50 people and found yourself having to explain yourself which blows me away in this economy in this country. i want to talk to you about your take with your economic background on the stimulus package. will this stimulate -- is that what big business needs to start spending and start distributing their money? >> not at all. the stimulus is a sedative and it's going to continue to undermine the economy. businesses don't need more government spending. in fact, government spending is depriving businesses of the capital they need to grow because the money the government spends is money business can't invest but probably more importantly, government is killing businesses with rules and regulations that cost a

fortune to comply with that inhibit business growth and, in fact, in many cases, particularly small businesses, because of all the regulations that are specifically tied to hiring people, many businesses try to do everything they can to avoid hiring people because the government has made it so expensive and so risky to hire people. >> all right. so let's look what you think we should do. how to encourage jobs growth according to peter schiff, abolish the minimum wage. people think that's anti-poor people. >> one of the most anti-poor people rules is the minimum wage. it keeps people poor. what the minimum wage does is says if a person has very little skills and generally, they're young or they're poor, you can't hire them unless they can produce $7.25 worth of value but it's not just that. it also has to compensate you for all the mandatory benefits and taxes and risks associated with hiring people. and people are having those skills, it's not just worth it to hire them and more importantly, they never get any

skills. if you can hire people and pay for them -- you wouldn't have all the red tape. maybe after a year or two, they would be earning $10 or $15 an hour. the problem is they never get a chance. >> peter, repeal federal workplace anti-discrimination laws. you think that is hindering the very le tijous workplace? >> it's particularly hurting the minorities that the rules are there to protect. i think the government has made it so much more expensive and risky to hire minorities because you have a much higher chance of getting tangled up in a lawsuit that i think small business owners go out of their way not to hire minorities so it's not because they're racist. it's because they're realistic. they don't want to get sued. you know, take a look at the americans with disability act. the worst thing that happened to the disabled was that act. before the act, people would be willing to hire somebody in a wheelchair and take a chance. now, there's no way they're going to do it. it's too much risk. >> in your situation, you touched on it at the top. you write a book, it's a bestseller. in this tough economy, your

business is growing. you want to hire 50 people, they say you got to check with us first. so did you ever get those 50 hired? >> well, what happened was, you know, i was hiring a lot of people in 2008. i thought i had the appropriate permission. i actually didn't. and the regulators sent the letter to my compliance officer ordering me to stop hiring. he never showed me that letter. i mean, i had to fire him and hire a whole bunch of new compliance guys but by the time i found out about it, i was in a lot of hot water. i had to order a hiring freeze and had to jump through all the hoops to get permission to hire more people. it was a lot more complicated because i had ignored their other letter. it cost me a fortune in legal fees to try to go through the process but in the meantime, all -- i had other regulatory issues that i had to resolve so i kept having to put the hiring more people on the back burner. it was just tuesday of this week, after more than two years of struggling and paying all sorts of costs that i finally got permission to hire another 50 brokers and i also got permission finally after more than two years to publish

research which means i can finally hire the analysts i've been wanting to hire. i'm spending more money complying with ruled and regulations than i am on rent. i have six offices. i've got two in southern california. i've got one in manhattan. if you take all my rents combined, it still doesn't equal the compliance costs. so the compliance costs are -- >> we're out of time, peter. but your personal story, i think, is well worth relaying to everyone because who knows how many other companies are going through the same thing. you're trying to grow and the government is stopping you. peter schiff, congratulations on your book "how an economy grows" and good luck with your business. >> thank you. >> straight ahead, we're following this breaking news. state department source confirms to fox news two americans imprisoned in iran have just been released. a live report from london when we return. what happens when family fun turns fatal? can the families of those injured and killed during the reno plane crash sue? peter johnson jr., three names,

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>> truly terrifying, two plane crashes in two days and both deadly. friday's air crash in reno, nevada, left 11 dead and the pilot at the other crash died at the scene. spectators are asking their own questions, can they sue for personal injury or death of a family member? let's ask peter johnson jr., fox news legal analyst. so i guess the issue is this. the planes crashed -- i mean, they crashed like, you know, every other air show.

but the spectators, someone gets hurt. can they sue the air show? >> baseball, basketball, hockey, air shows, air races, spectators usually assume the risks inherent in that sport. whether it's balls coming out into the audience, whether it's hockey pucks, whether it's tires at nascar. but there's usually a scope or zone of protection. here, the f.a.a. monitors air shows and air races. there's limits about howlose people can be. 500 feet. 1,000 feet. the planes can't go below 500 feet. but you've got to think that if you're going to this air show and you look at that incredibly tragic video that we've just seen, don't you know -- don't you understand that in the matter of half a second, one of those planes flying hundreds of miles an hour can go out of control and go into that

grandstand? >> but, you know, two things come to mind. on the back of a baseball ticket, says they're not responsible if a bat or ball comes into the stands. does that limit their liability? >> it limits their liability in one sense. there's always a duty of an arena owner or an exhibition owner to act in a prudent or reasonable way. that's why we have protected seating in stadiums. you can go and sit in an area that's absolutely protected and so you don't have to be vigilant about balls and bats and things coming towards you. but in the sport like nascar, in a sport like air shows and air races, there's an inability for a patron to watch every second as to what's going on and in the baseball game, you can be vigilant. there's breaks and you say the game is now on. how do you protect yourself at an air show? >> right. >> so if you're going to go, i think you're going to assume the

risk. >> is this the end of air shows? >> no, air shows have a history in this country going back to barn storming. charles lindhberg started out as a wing walker, he's to strap himself on to a plane. the plane would go into loops and he became one of the greatest aviators in american history. we have to understand, though, that if you go to an air show, an air race, you're going to assume the risk. >> peter johnson jr., thank you for your time. >> over to you, gretch. >> thank you, eric. huge development right now on our top story this morning, breaking news. moments ago, a source with the state department saying that the two american hikers jailed in iran are now in the custody of the omani envoy in tehran. >> joining us with the very latest, amy kellogg. you've confirmed this? >> i have not been able to confirm it. i've just spoken with the lawyer in tehran for the hikers, for shane bauer and josh fattal and he said that he has not heard that himself. he was on his way to the prison where he hopes to see them very soon. he expects -- he expected that they would be out about, i would

say, an hour ago so again, this report from the state department that they've been transferred into the hands of the omani envoy in tehran not confirmed by the lawyer for the hikeers in tehran. now, oman is key here because they've been an important go between in the relief. they were very key in the relief of sarah shourd, the third hiker who was set free last august, last september and they are believed to be very important this time around, possibly paying the million dollars' bail for the two young gentlemen. now, why oman? well, they've got good relations both with the united states and with iran and they're right across the persian gulf from iran. so along with oman, we understand iraq has been very important in this -- these series of negotiations that are leading to what we presume will be the freedom of shane bauer and josh fattal today but again,

conflicting reports, state department giving out information that, in fact, they've been transferred to the custody of oman which will presumably then fly them across the gulf to oman from where they'll travel home but their lawyer has not confirmed this so we're standing by very closely and we'll bring you the latest as soon as we have it. >> amy, what are the political ramifications of this? because a lot of people are saying, well, you know, ahmadinejad, the leader of iran, coming over to the united states to the u.n. and he wants to put on a good face! hey, i let those americans go. >> yes. and i think that we've all been talking about the infighting that's going on within the regime of the islamic republic of iran. there are people who would like to take ahmadinejad down there. and so it's believed that some of the delay has not necessarily been about the logistics of a second judge not being able to sign off on the order or the money not reaching iran but rather, people trying to sabotage ahmadinejad's hope of getting, you know, a bit of a

good will boost out of this. now, of course, this remains a very tense situation. i mean, there are iranian prisoners in the united states and in american custody around the world that iran has been fighting for and also, i think, it's very important to point out that a lot of iranian journalists this week have been saying, look, the human rights issue needs to be addressed while ahmadinejad is in new york, not just the nuclear issue but there are hundreds, if not thousands of young political prisoners in iranian jails as a result of all those street protests that took place in 2009. they're not getting sprung free. theicases are to a certain extent forgotten by the rest of the world. so that is a message that i've been getting from iranian journalists colleagues that this is -- >> and we have not heard anything. >> among many other things. >> and i haven't heard anything from the president, he's going to include iran in his address today to the general assembly. thanks so much. >> you're welcome.

>> well, despite months of controversy, a major milestone today for the mosque near ground zero. yep, it's open and that's next. >> he's not your ordinary singer. gavin degraw is a small business owner, too, and he's ready to hire but first, he stops by the curvy couch. wearing the hat of the day. [ beeping ]

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>> president obama has his new plan to raise taxes on millionaires and to shrink the deficit is not class warfare, it's math. i don't know, is that a smart thing? look, we americans hate class warfare but we hate math even more. that's even harder than class warfare! >> all right. so he doesn't like math, apparently. well, this gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "flushing money down the drain." new plumbing regulations from the white house not sitting well with some small business owners and our own peter doocy joins us live in washington, d.c. to explain. explain, peter, please! >> all right, gretchen. ever since 1992, there's been a federal law that says showerheads cannot spray more than 2 1/2 gallons a minute. in march of this year, the

government clarified and said fancy showers with multiple nozzles all count as one showerhead so your shower can have 10 nozzles but they bette not spray more than 2 1/2 gallons or you are going to be in trouble and plumbers are saying this regulation is killing their business. >> it does hurt our business because we're a contractor that offers our customers a full line of products. we are unable at times to offer our customers what it is that they need because of these government mandates. so we'll have to go back and sell them something that's either not going to do the job for them or something that they just don't want. >> the department of energy disagrees saying this won't hurt businesses and their showerhead definition is fair. here it is. "in essence, multiple spraying components sold together as a single unit constitutes a single showerhead for purposes of the maximum water use standard. as such, it does not apply to tub spouts, locker room showers,

emergency showers or to nozzles where water can be diverted to a hand sprayer but the sprayer cannot run at the same time as the main nozzle but republican senator rand paul says definitions like that represent regulations that are ruining our economy. >> the obama administration gave us $10 billion worth of new regulations just last month. this year, over $60 billion worth of new regulations but just last week, they backed off on one and we're going to start trying to counteract some of these regulations. american businesses are frightened of their own government. >> and the department of energy has already fined four showerhead makers over $165,000 for not following their new rule. gretchen? >> all right, peter doocy live for us in washington, d.c. thank you so much. >> more stories coming your way. so much for their date with a dictator, plans for 15 students from columbian university to dine tonight with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad in new york city suddenly canceled!

the school is not saying why. maybe the friday's was overbooked. but one possible reason, a massive protest was being organized by a group called just say no to ahmad-dinner-jad. >> i got it. 10 days after the anniversary for the 9/11, a controversial morphing is opening its doors. it opens today with an art exhibit featuring photos of children. despite rumors the mosque was put on hold, the developers are raising money and holding prayer services in the space. gretch? >> surgeons want your organs, and they want them now. the united network for organ sharing proposing new organ donation rules to make it easier for doctors to harvest organs. under the proposed changes, they could retrieve organs right away rather than waiting the two minutes to see if the heart actually stops beating or starts beating again. excuse me. opponents fear that the changes

will continue to contribute to a culture of doctors hovering to get more organs. good thing you're reading the next story. i have to cough. >> no problem. here's a good reminder, keep your trash locked up, a new jersey mom heard a noise in her backyard and glanced out her window to find this. a bear looking for grub what's scarier is her yard is right across from a school bus stop where dozens of children were scheduled to arrive at any moment. she called police and they held the bus back while scaring the bear back into the woods. scary story. the woods are too crowded, bears have nowhere to go and they're forced out. >> thank you for that analysis. >> no problem. >> he's a platinum selling music star that's just released his latest c.d. >> he was a small business owner and with his own brother owns a new york city bar and club. >> singer and songwriter gavin degraw. welcome. i love the cover of the c.d., it looks like you're somewhat surprised that you have a c.d. on the cover.

>> i was surprised. how could this have happened? >> look at me over here on the c.d. >> why would you say that? because this is like your foufrt or fifth c.d. in the last four years. >> this is my fourth record. i put a record out, my first record was in 2003 called "chariot" and then i put a self-titled record out and a record called "free" that was actually $20 and this record that came out yesterday called "sweeter." >> how much is that? >> like $300. >> "sweeter." is there still money in producing c.d.'s? >> i think so. >> you hope so? >> value in it. >> so many people say come on, we do it on business network and say the music industry has changed. all itunes and downloads. nobody is making money on the c.d.'s. >> there's definitely some merit to that, i mean, the fact that -- the fact that there's a physical property of the c.d., it has its own appeal. personally, i feel that the sound quality of the physical c.d. is far superior to an mp-3

download. far superior. if you were to a.b. them, it's much better. >> maybe that's why you're also a small business owner. >> maybe. maybe. you know, the most profitable angle for music for musicians is live music. and we -- for me and my brother, when we opened national underground in new york, it was to promote live music and the same thing goes for touring musicians. we use our records, you know, our -- the actual -- the actual intellectual property of making music on an album to promote our touring careers to go out and perform, go city to city, go around the world and perform. that's the most lucrative angle for musicians. >> and gavin, was it after a night at the underground where you were confronted and attacked by three guys here in new york city? >> i was, shake and bake, my friend. it didn't last very long, though. yeah, i was on my way home. i had been on tour, i had been doing this great tour with maroon 5 and train. we had been doing this great tour around mostly the u.s. for

the summer tour. i had a night off in new york city. went to my place. hung out with some friends. had a few drinks and on my walk home, had an encounter with a few people who were not on the debate team. and, you know, it didn't go my way. >> but it was huge in new york. you were pretty bad off. you were in the hospital. >> yeah, and totally -- i really would have watched that news if i wouldn't seeing double, you know. it was -- it was -- it was pretty rough. pretty rough moment. >> guys in the club who know and followed you out. these were just random people. >> no, just some random guys that, you know, they said something with a tone to me when i was walking home and i turned and said what do you -- bang, bang, bang. you know what i mean? the bruce lee fist of fury and then, you know, i was trying to get to the hospital but it was pretty tough, you know, i was pretty bludgeoned. >> you were hit by a cab. >> i was hit by a car. i was actually admitted to the -- i was actually admitted to the hospital as an abdominal

stab wound, there was so much blood. they thought it was a stab wound. that was just my face telling the story about it. >> he's going to perform for us coming up in about an hour. 8:50 eastern time. stick around for that. see you in an hour. >> thanks so much. looking forward to it. thank you, guys. >> straight ahead, does the white house have a woman problem? one of our next guests interviewed former staffers, wrote a book about it and now he's the one getting dragged through the mud. the author here live to explain. >> then dave ramsey's bus tour making its first stop right here on "fox & friends." the message he's taking across the country when we come back. >> first, your trivia question of the day -- [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu uss chose prego.

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>> are you thinking about expanding your business or starting a new one? well, it may be more easily attainable than you think. personal finance expert and good friend of mine, dave ramsey is here with his tips for making your business dreams come true. it's all in his new book and he brought his book and his huge bus with him to tell us about it. tell us about the book. >> we're excited about this. this is what we've learned in 20 years stashrting this business our card table to a major national brand. how do we do that? business people all over america are doing this. this is a free enterprise and this is the book that shows you how to do it. how we win best place to work in nashville for the last five years running in a row. how do we do that? how do we create that culture leadership wise? >> in spite of what's going on in d.c., it's still a great time to start a business. >> best time ever because everybody thinks you can't. lot of competition gets out of the way. your ability to get to your

customer through twitter it's critical. >> the obama policy seems to be pushing business away. pushing business anywhere but here overseas. still ok. >> oh, it's -- >> it's more than ok. and the president did do one thing right. he came out and said small business is the answer and he went about the business of tinkering with small business. >> and taxing them more. >> yeah, the best thing to do is let small business people do their thing. 61% of americans work a company under 500 employees. small business is the answer. >> get out of the way, obama. >> couple of e-mails, dave, this is from leslie in illinois. i run a salon and have a rather small staff. can you tell me more about your no gossip policy at your company? does it really work? >> absolutely. we have problems in our company like everybody else. we have a rule, when you have a negative, you have to hand it up to somebody who can do something about it. it does not work. i will fire your butt for that. i'll warn you once and then i'll fire you and it's a wonderful environment to work in. >> bus drivers been yiping,

yiping to me. >> you're driving. this is joe from new york. i'm having a hard time hiring and keeping employees. do you have any tips? i can't seem to find reliable help in this environment. can't find reliable help? >> the biggest mistake that i made when i started and most people make in business is they don't do enough interviews and don't take enough time to select the right people. it takes multiple interviews to see if you're hiring crazy. >> can you fire crazy? >> you can fire crazy. >> allegations in a few book says the white house is anti-woman and clueless about the economy. some say the author is lying but he says he has proof. ron suskin is here to defend his words next. [ male announcer ] heard this one? listen to this. three out of four americans don't get enough vegetables. so here's five bucks to help you buy v8 juice. five bucks. that's a lot of green. go to v8juice.com for coupons. you can count on us.

>> the answer to the trivia question, bill murray. the question is who do i think who is very funny? the winner is donald from edison, new jersey. good job, donald and bill. >> amid sagging approval ratings from advice from a top political strategist to "panic and fire people" president obama is facing another obstacle now, a scathing new book that paints him as an inexperienced leader with a shaky economic team and unhappy female staffers. >> joining us right now is journalist and author of this new book "confidence men" ron suskine, you wrote three tough books on president bush nobody was happy with there. how did you get access to this white house after those bestselling books came forward? >> you know, i walked in like i walk in every interview, i'm a reporter. i want to report about the administration, no doubt, they were favorite books of the folks in this administration. but, you know, i think it's a delusion or illusion a lot of people run into sometimes. where they think i was criticized as being a reporter of some political stripe. i'm a reporter. i'm not an idealogue and what

it's all about is reporting. you know, i'm an old style reporter. you get the facts out and people make their decision. >> it's interesting because the white house isn't happy with the book now. i want to take a look at an excerpt from larry somers formerly of the economic team. we're home alone, there's no adult in charge. clinton would never have made these mistakes. somers is fighting back against you and said he nevying he neve that. you have the tapes to prove it. >> of course. it's important to note as people get the book in the last two days, virtually all the key quotes are responded to in the text of the book. i go back at the end of the process and say look, here's wha what's going to be in the book next to your name, what do you have to say about it? >> paint him as extremely arrogant, larry somers, never admits a mistake. >> i'm not the first. larry has been a guy who has been his own worst enemy in a lot of ways. he's a brilliant guy. no one doubts that. he's a key figure in this book. others are as well.

it's important that especially tim geithner has a very, very long, several page, two page explanation of what happened with what i call the slow walking, the administration calls itself -- he wants -- the president wanted to take down citigroup, to close it and reopen it. to take down a big bank and it's clear from what's in the book and the recite -- the response from geithner that he was slow by the treasury secretary. essentially his order was delayed, i.e. ignored and importantly, there are memos in the book that say this is a problem in the administration. >> he was the only one with the stress test, that's what he wanted to talk about in your book. anita dunne said this, this place would be in court for a hostile coworkplace because it fits all the legal requirements for a generally hostile workplace to women. >> she says she actually said something after that, if it were not for president obama which you left out of the book. why did you leave that out? >> let's me explain that. the full quote, "the washington

post" came and listened to the tape, full quote is in the book. anita called me back right before i talked to her. i said look, this is going in the book next to your name. this is a big quote. and she said it made a strong case that part in terms of what she said to valerie jarrett, well, is there any way that can't be in the quote and can i have me looking back? i said we can work that out. so we went through what the quote would be in the book prior to publication so all this was worked out. anita is in a pickle right now. she's an advisor to the president. she's going to be working on the campaign. you know, but -- >> we got that. >> the quote is clear. >> we have a little time left. karl rove didn't like your first three books. here's what he said about -- >> no doubt. >> here's what he said about this one. >> i'm not certain how much of this book is true and accurate. my personal experience with him is he tends to exaggerate. i had an interview once in the west wing with him where literally he was transcribing my comments and sort of repeating them back and he couldn't get what i had just said accurate. >> how do you respond? >> no, that's wrong.

karl and i had, you know, conversations during the bush era, they were all fairly and accurately rendered in those books. i look at karl and i understand why karl has some issues with the books that i published. they were hard on george bush and dick cheney. that's what i do. >> this is hard on president obama who you call a brilliant amateur. ron suskind, journalist and author of "confidence men". >> no problem. >> straight ahead, we're following breaking news. state department confirms to fox news two americans imprisoned in iran have just been released. a live report at the top of the hour. >> and palestinian turning america's side this morning. president obama has to decide whether or not to support them. why is this even a question some are asking? we report, you decide. [ male announcer ] you love the taste of 2% milk.

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the world's most dynamic companies know what wins in business today. maybe that's why so many choose to work with us. we're grant thornton. audit. tax. advisory. >> gretchen: good morning, everyone. today is wednesday, september 21. i'm gretchen carlson. thanks for sharing your time today. fox news alert, big news right now. state department source telling fox news two americans in prison in iran have now been released.

a live report seconds away. >> eric: this morning they're burning an american flag and now palestinians will ask the u.n. to recognize them as a sovereign country? where does president obama stand on this? we're live from the u.n. with the details. >> brian: and pity the person who stands near president obama in a picture. the photo op that turned into a photo flop. he just wanted to say hi. "fox & friends" starts right now. hi. >> brian: eric is in for steve today. but bigger news for these two iranian hikers. >> eric: let's get to it. minutes ago, source with the u.s. state department telling fox news the two american hikers jailed in iran are now in the custody of an envoy in tehran. >> gretchen: joining us with the

latest is amy kellogg, who has been on top of this story live from london. big news today. you've been to iran many times. what do you make of this? >> well, first of all, gretchen, i've been trying to get confirmation on the ground in tehran that, in fact, this state department report is 100% accurate and i spoke to the lawyer. he was on his way to the jail and i tried again a few minutes ago and his phone is off, which leads me to believe he's in the jail now. of course, this is looking very likely to happen because there are swiss diplomats at the jail in iran right now. the notorious prison where the two men have been held and omani envoys. the swiss key because the u.s. does not have diplomatic relations with iran. so the swiss represent our interests and oman has been an important go between. it's interesting the timing in all of this because last year, it was exactly at the time when president ahmadinejab was heading to new york to the

general assembly theme -- that sarah sword was on her way back. this time around, also to maybe get some positive plicity while he's there being hammered about the nuclear program and human rights issues, it's possible that the delays that took place had to do with some people in iran trying to mess that up for him. also when those british sailors were taken hostage by iran, they were released in a grandiose gesture at the time that happened to be both easter, passover and mohammed's birthday. so this is often done amidst great fanfare and timing that's very crucial behind it. we'll see what happens. we're on the case. we're watching very closely. we know that there are some camera crews outside the prison in iran. our assumption is that the two will be released into swiss custody and flown on a private jet that has been sitting in

tehran to whisk them to freedom for some days now. back to you. >> gretchen: amazing developments with those two american hikers. amy, thank you for that report. >> brian: the united nations is convening their meeting. i'll tell you what, the big story will be when the president of the united states gets behind the microphone, speaks for about 45 minutes at which time he is going to address reportedly the push by the palestinians to declare themselves their own state and put it to a vote. he's meeting with benjamin netanyahu one on one and abbas. he'll pull him aside today in new york. >> gretchen: it's interesting the timing. why now? we're on the precipice, to use a rick perry word, we're on the precipice of this whole thing coming to be. it looks like the palestinians are going to get the votes in the u.n. to be recognized, at least that will give them more power within the united nations. >> brian: i don't know about that, gretchen. >> gretchen: i think that's going to pass.

>> eric: if the u.s. says no, some of the other -- >> gretchen: before the u.s. vetoes it. i think it will initially pass and it will be up to the u.s. to veto it or not. >> eric: let's take that the next lodge stahl cep. -- logical step. he says no, he stands up for israel, he gets wind in his 2012 sails, or they go no. and then they apply for what's called observer status, which is kind of like the vatican. >> brian: exactly. what's going to happen is there is truth. there is some push back. but for the majority of the general assembly, we'll probably vote for them to get that. governor perry yesterday in new york city -- this is this morning in the west bank, which would be palestine if there was one. they decided to burn the american flag which was a peaceful protest, according to our reporter on the scene. but they were looking forward to actually going ahead and looking

for nationhood status. how could ahmadinejab, no matter what the president of the united states says, how could he back off from pushing from this vote right now when you have that happening back home? >> eric: unless it's been determined that that's the way it's going to go. >> brian: i hear they're slowing it down. >> eric: can we meet and all of a sudden outside that meeting, obama says hey, guess what i did? i got them to back off. >> gretchen: i just believe that abbas representing the palestinians feels like he has more power than he ever has before because of what president obama said about israel. he's going back to the 1967 border. that's why he's doing this. >> eric: it will cost them literally billions of dollars in aid if they get sovereign nation status under the u.n. i'm not sure what they're in a big rush to obtain it for. u.s. would certainly cut off the 5 or 600 million we send them directly and maybe the other billion or so that get through the u.n. in aid. this could be the worst thing to happen. >> gretchen: one person does not agree with this administration's take on this whole situation, governor rick perry was in new

york city. here is what he said about it yesterday. >> we are indignant that certain middle eastern leaders have discarded the principle of direct negotiations between the sovereign nation of israel and palestinian leadership. we're equally indignant of the obama administration and their middle east policy of appeasement that is encouraged such an ominous act of bad faith. we would not be here today at this very precipice of such a dangerous move if the obama policy in the middle east wasn't naive and arrogant, misguided, and dangerous. >> eric: take a look at that. do you see who was over his right shoulder? congressman turner, who is now -- happened to take -- 88 year democratic seat and turn it

republican based on -- one of the reasons being obama's policy on israel. >> brian: when he went to egypt and cut a deal with hamas, they made that merger, it really left everybody's hands tied because hamas cannot sit down with the israelis or the u.s. because they don't recognize easy -- they don't recognize them. eight times netanyahu has said, i've reached out to them to start talks again. he's been rejected each and every time. mitt romney also weighed in. rasmussen poll had mitt romney beating president obama. he said, what we are watchingen fold at the u.n. is an unmitigated diplomatic disaster. it's the culmination of president obama's efforts over three years to throw israel under the bus and undermine its negotiating position. >> gretchen: by the way, we'll discuss this with the panel coming up in seven minutes from now. let's share a photo, a group

photo, kind of like if we all got together at fox and had a photo taken and brian did that in front of my face. you probably wouldn't do that. but anyway, president obama acdentally puts his hand up. who is he saying hi to? >> eric: he's wave to go abbas maybe. hit the road. >> gretchen: anyway. they can't use that one, i don't think. >> brian: well, we are. >> gretchen: one of the world leaders, you can't tell who it is. let's do other headlines for you this morning because this man murdered a police officer 22 years ago and in just 11 hours from now, troy davis will pay the ultimate price when he's executed. >> when will you give up? never. >> gretchen: right now supporters like those for troy holding a vigil outside death row in atlanta, georgia. he will be put to death at 7:00 p.m. tonight for the murder of mark macphail, an off-duty police officer. he was working as a security guard when he was shot dead

rushing to help a homeless man being attacked. macphail's mother says she's certain it was davis who pulled the trigger. >> so i really need to -- i'm getting old, you know. i like to enjoy my last years and kind of -- in comfort and peace. >> gretchen: lawyers for davis trying to stop the executi. they're asking for a polygraph test now and they may request a pardon from the white house. they claim his conviction was based on flawed testimony. take a look at this car in michigan blown to pieces. authorities are saying this could be the work of a car bomb leaving one man and two minors seriously wounded. few details being released. this explosion reportedly happened late tuesday afternoon in the town of monroe, south of detroit. local police and federal agents are collecting evidence. no word on who could be responsible. spoiler alert right now. we're about to tell you who got booted off the "dancing with the stars" last night. i think jerry springer on our

set, he was on "dancing with the stars," but he's not going to spoil it for you. i am. >> brian: i thought you were talking about chaz bono. >> gretchen: in case you're wonderingering who that is, thas l.a. lakers star ron artest who changed his name to meta world peace. took his elimination like a champ and celebrated like he actually won. >> brian: he evidently did not know the rules and he showed it. in the end, he wanted 12 points when the maximum was exceeding the 12 points. he's gone on a show he didn't watch. >> eric: he won for the best costume. >> brian: or lack thereof. >> gretchen: there was no costume. that is what happened, nancy grace was also in the bottom two. >> brian: should the richest americans pay more to fix washington's spending problem? our political panel here to take on the president's latest plan, including jerry spring who are is really rich.

billy and larry have not nearly as much money as jerry. >> eric: the gop candidated headed to florida. ventriloquist joins us with his friend, walter.

>> gretchen: welcome back. i'm looking forward to this, is president obama's job creation plan about fair share or is it about class warfare? >> either we ask the wealthiest americans to pay their fair share in taxes or we have to ask seniors to pay more for medicare. we can't afford to do both. this is not class warfare. it's math. >> gretchen: so we've assembled

a special panel to tackle this topic. jerry springer is here, the former mayor of cincinnati. billy dean also joins us. he co-stars in "decision" premiering october 16. and larry o'conner, editor and chief of brightbart tv. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> gretchen: i don't know if i should do this, but i'll go to jerry first on this. i know you agree with president obama. but aren't the people who have been successful in this nation already paying their fair share? they make up the majority of the taxes coming into this country to begin with. >> well, obviously wealthy people pay more because they have more. you're not going to get a lot of money out of poor people or lower income people. so that's true. i don't think the question is fair share and that kind of thing. what amazes me is we're in tough economic times. certainly just taxing people that make millions of dollars isn't going to solve the deficit problem. but why are we getting so bent out of shape because people --

and i'm one of the lucky ones -- if you ask me to pay a little more money, why not? i love this country. we are so fine to send our sons and daughters halfway around the world to fight and die in wars for america, but if you ask the top 2% to pay a little more in money for america, oh, don't do that. no. how tough is my life going to be? >> gretchen: here is maybe the problem. i think what americans in that category think is if you weren't gog waste that little more that i pay, maybe i would do it. >> i can attest to that. first of all, it's amazing the president is suddenly concerned about the deficit. where was he for the last three years when he spent the stimulus money in his first couple of months? you didn't hear a thing. for him to come out now and say this is not class warfare, this is fair share, public relations people will tell you if you're in a problem, you don't go out there and say, i'm not doing this. don't look there. i'm not doing this. this of course is class warfare because this doesn't solve the problem. you just admitted it doesn't solve the problem.

>> not totally. >> gretchen: i got to get billy in here. is the president doing this because it's a populous proposal that right now the polls are telling him, hey, this might be working? >> well, possibly, but i take issue with the fair share terminology. where i come in contact with wealthy americans is generally in charity situations and they're the most generous people that i know. and so when you say it's a fair share, before you can calculate a fair share, you got to calculate who all is contributing before you can decide what group is fair. >> gretchen: what do you mean by that? >> 47% of the people that aren't paying need to be paying something. you can't say that's fair. >> amen. >> gretchen: jerry? 47% of the people do not pay federal income tax. >> some of the people don't make enough money to pay taxes. >> gretchen: 47% of them? >> i tell you what, why don't we hold a telethon for the rch people then? i mean, my gosh. >> but it's not class warfare.

god forbid. >> well, maybe it is. what i am saying it, if the top 2% -- he's talking about people that make over a million dollars a year, why is all of a sudden this is the great cause that you're all -- >> because it's a lie! >> i should pay -- so should people -- >> you can not value somebody's love for the country based on what they pay. are you saying those people who don't pay taxes -- warren buffet, they're talking about capital gains taxes. you know this, jerry. he's already paid income tax on his income and now he takes that money after he has paid taxes and made investments and then he has to pay capital gains taxes. they're comparing that extra, double taxation to his secretary. if he cares about his secretary, why doesn't he give her a raise? >> gretchen: good point. >> i pay for his secretary. >> gretchen: it's apples and

oranges. >> when you're talking about cutting medicare or what is happening with people of lower income, or what's happening with the middle clarks i don't see the passion. i see this network going crazy, with all due respect, with the idea that people that make millions of dollars will have to pay more money. >> gretchen: because a lot of people believe that those are the people who are creating jobs and right now we have 9.1% unemployment. stick around and continue the fight 'cause they're coming back for this. is president obama's handling of the middle east costing him the jewish vote? and also comedian and ventriloquist jeff did you knowham here with a -- dunnham here with a special friend. right back. [ kristy ] my mom is well...weird. she won't eat eggs without hot sauce.

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out there with a better way. now, that's progressive. >> brian: it's time for the news by the numbers. out of treat of us, who should read the news? >> i think he should read the news. >> the first is, that's how much americans have -- i don't even know what that means. next, 255,000, 644. that's how many jobs have been created by the so-called facebook a p, p economy. i don't know what that is either. finally, 32%, that's how much the price of beef is going up over the next few months. i do not eat beef, you idiot. there is a severe drought in a couple countries. that's good. jerry springer, hit me!

>> gretchen: maybe i should have that guy do the interview. anyway, gop candidates taking aim at president obama over his middle east policies ahead of his speech at the u.n. today. >> we would not be here today at this very precipice of such a dangerous move if the obama policy in the middle east wasn't naive and arrogant, misguided, and dangerous. >> gretchen: will president obama's handling of the middle east cost him the jewish vote in the 2012 race? we're back with our special political panel today. jerry, billy and larry. all right. so jerry, you are an american jew, so i want to start with you on this topic. we saw what happened in the 9th district in new york last week when republican won the seat for the first time in 88 years. 40% of that district is jewish.

is obama losing the jewish vote because of his stance on israel? >> there will be some, yes. but the 9th district is a little bit different in terms of other jewish communities in america because a significant part of it, for example, that in brooklyn, is an orthodox jewish community and clearly the orthodox jewish more in line with the likud party, so they take a strong party on what those lines are. the subtle question that we have to deal with is if you want to have a democratic and jewish state in the middle east, the problem israel is having now is how can we be democratic and jewish, because as the boundaries are now, most of the people living within the state of israel ultimately are not going to be jewish. so if you don't alter the boundary lines, it basically won't be a jewish state anymore. so you can't have democracy and a jewish state unless you alter the boundaries. >> gretchen: you didn't answer the question about whether or not will lose the vote.

>> probably some. but overall, american jews tend to be more liberal. so he will still get the vote. look, come on, perry, are you telling me that our foreign policy is going to be -- nice guy and maybe we can argue whether he did a good job in texas, but he's in charge of our foreign policy? >> gretchen: you going to defend him? >> you have to say there is a problem with the jewish vote when jerry says look at rick perry. the fact is, bob turner, you saw representative bob turner. >> he started my show. >> to say that he's in a different kind of jewish district, it's been 20 years. this is the schumer district. this is the wiener district. you know ohio policy. >> there were a lot of reasons -- >> a little bit of that jewish vote could make a difference in ohio. >> gretchen: they also allegedly voted against obama's economic

policies. >> that election was an indicator of what is to come, i think. and i do think he's going to lose some votes on that, but i also think it's more the tax issue is going to affect the vote more than anything. >> ed koch knows something about the jewish vote in america and he's the one who championed this move for bob turner. >> gretchen: democratic mayor of new york who supported the republican in the race. >> thank you. >> and a champion of the jewish vote in new york city certainly, and those voters go down to florida and that's an important thing. >> i'm very happy as an american jew and i have family in israel. i'm very happy to support obama and i got to tell you, it may even be a majority of the people right now in the state of israel don't disagree with obama on this. the likud party is in charge now because there is a coalition government. but do not believe that everything netanyahu says is what the people of israel all want. >> the polls show he's getting stronger. jerry, you remember on your show you would have a woman who was

treated horribly, yet the -- i never forget that show. >> the woman was still in love with him. that's how i feel about the jewish vote constantly going to the democrats. >> gretchen: to the three guys, thanks so much. very interesting discussion. a lot of show still ahead. up next, you saw them a few moments ago. we're sitting down with jeff dunham. then gavin degraw is back and this morning he'll perform live for us right here on "fox & friends." [ female announcer ] so you think your kids are getting enough vegetables? maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. [ male announcer ] get five dollars in money-saving coupons at v8juice.com.

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>> brian: we begin with a fox news alert. the source within the state department telling fox news at this hour that the two american hikers in iranian prison have been released on a $1 million bail. that source says the two men are now in the custody of the imani envoy in tehran. both men were in iranian custody for more than two years. it's believed iranian president ahmadinejab paid the way for their release, perhaps looking for some positive press before his appearance in a members only jacket at the united nations. >> eric: what are they hiding and who are they trying to protect? solyndra's chief executive officer and cfo now taking the fifth, refuse to go answer questions at a congressional hearing this friday.

a house committee wants to know why the white house gave them half a billion dollars in stimulus loans despite signs it was a bad investment. solyndra went under, shut its doors earlier this month, taking our half a billion dollars with it. >> gretchen: is it ever too late to run for president despite what her critics have to say? sarah palin doesn't think so. last night on sean hannity's program, she said there is still time for anyone to jump into the race. >> i think people are still going to be coming and going because there is still time and i'm still one of those still considering. the time factor and knowing how important it is that we get this country back on the right track, knowing, sean, that it's not enough to just change up the uniform. >> gretchen: palin also says we could see a democrat challenge president obama in the primary. she actually does have a time deadline, i think it's sometime in november when you have to file in november. >> brian: we all know the story, timmy stuck in the well, 'cause lassie is there.

sometimes life imitates art. lassie is a search dog with the police department in california, just like the dog's famous name sake. this lassie was able to follow the woman's scent, eventually finding her in the area of thick brush. that is a quick look at your headlines. congratulations to everyone who raised lassie and used lassie. >> eric: fantastic story. he's made millions, one of the nation's top grossing comedians and holds the record for the highest rated show ever on comedy central. he returns with a new special called "controlled chaos." he's with us. here he is with one of his most popular characters. >> you used to be muslim. >> no, look at me! i'm too extreme. i was catholic.

>> really? >> and methodist, buddhist and baptist and capricorn. >> wait a minute. >> what are you doing? >> i'm trying to offend as many infidels as possible. >> gretchen: oh, my goodness. jeff and achmed. when he first came on the set earlier and i was over at the desk, i could not see far enough to see who he really is. >> i couldn't see that you are not covered. [ laughter ] but i must say, i cannot believe i come on this show and you have jerry springer. a jewish guy, a gay guy from the theater, and now a dead terrorist. only fox could do this! >> brian: thank you. >> gretchen: i'm not sure about all those depictions. how did this dead terrorist come to be as achmed? >> brian: how did he die? >> that's a long story. i was in my car and i answered the cell phone. not a good thing. i'm not saying it's not lovely coming to new york where the

u.n. is here and security is very high. >> it's not fun going to security when you open a suitcase and you go, what's in there? a dead terrorist. moving on. i love your news. the hikers were finally released from iran, is that correct? >> brian: yes. >> what kind of idiots are they? let's go hiking? no. let's go to iran, they are idiot s! that's a joke. i'm just pointing that out. i enjoy your news. i notice the salahis, you know, she ran off with the guy from foreigner. >> gretchen: journey. >> yes. foreigner would have been worse. reo speedwagon. they broke into the obama's thing, right? the party? now the guy, the husband, mr. salahi, is banned from all journey concerts? did you know that? >> brian: that is true. >> how sad it is that the

security is journey is better than at the white house. that's all i'm saying. >> gretchen: you know what's scary. i'm actually looking at this guy. >> i feel the same way about you. >> eric: what about the president speaking at the u.n. today? >> is the president speaking today? i am not going to be anywhere near. do not arrest me. everything is fine. i'm at fox. >> brian: i got to ask you, jeff, because we're so close. the debate is tomorrow and achmed, where are you going to be watching it? what do you think of the candidates? >> what do you think? >> i think i will be watching fox because it's slightly leaning to -- i was on with o'reilley. he and i get along very well. i think i'm pulling for rick perry because he'll be easy for me to make fun of. >> brian: he's got the same

eyebrows. >> that's a joke. >> eric: i got mocked by a dummy. >> brian: steve is not even here. >> gretchen: actually, i would like to see the two of you just go at it for like five minutes because it would be interesting to see who would come up with the better comments. >> brian: he would because he's the superstar, the mega star. what do you do with all your money? >> well, half of it goes to someone else. >> brian: right. >> what is the most difficult? doing what you do, what is the most difficult to say? and the answer was? >> alimony. >> so i don't know. i'm just having fun around the country doing shows here and there and the weird thing is we're doing shows in other countries as well. we've been doing shows in south africa, shows in australia. bunch of tours in europe.

they're talking about taking me to china and this is thanks to this guy. >> oh, no. they've asked us to dubai. security is high when we go to those places. >> brian: why not pakistan? they have a great sense of humor. >> gretchen: can i ask you something on a serious level? have you faced any criticism? only because we live in this pc nation now and i'm wondering if you have faced criticism for having a skeletal dead terrorist named achmed? >> you know, i kind of hate being politically correct because i just think we've gotten so uptight now and it's absolutely ridiculous. i kind of tend to try and look at the world a different way. i wish we could all just kind of back off and be able to laugh at ourselves. i make fun of my own family. i make fun of me more than anybody. i make fun of just about every group possible. but as a comedian, you have to know how far you can push that. and i kind of look at it like, you know when you're a kid and burning the edge of a map to

make it look old? i kind of think that's what a good comic does is you push that just far enough, you can singe the edges. >> i had more duties. now she's confusing. >> eric: what is your comic special? you have one coming up? >> sunday night, "controlled chaos ." we've been working on it for 2 1/2 years. i think of my four specials, this will be the best. the dvd comes out the following tuesday. and it's awesome. he's been in the picture for a number of years and i thought how can i follow that up? what happens? >> he introduced me -- >> let me tell the joke. >> there is a joke on the christmas special where he hints his son is no longer around anymore. what did you say? >> i said i'm a horrible father. i took my son to take him to workday. >> so i took that one joke and thought, maybe his son isn't actually gone. so in the accident, his son was injured, so i reunite him and

his son on camera. a happy ending. >> brian: it should end up on the disney channel. good job. >> thank you for having me. >> brian: we think we're happy we had you. we're not quite sure. >> gretchen: thanks. coming up, the president's approval rating hitting all-time lows. will the voters who put him in office switch their support in 2012? dr. larry sabato looks into his crystal ball. >> eric: here is gavin degraw warming up for his big performance coming up ♪ f!

>> brian: in 2008, key swing states helped lead president prt obama to victory. with dismal numbers and bad economy, the president is facing his toughest critics in the very places that sent him to the white house with an increasing number of voters now turning their backs on the president, disillusion, can he still win in 2012? dr. larry sabato, director of the university of virginia center for politics, his crystal ball has been incredible in the past. we'll ask you to look at it now. welcome back. >> hey, how are you? >> brian: everyone is caught up in the popularity vote. it doesn't matter. that's not the game we're playing. the game we're playing is state by state. let's look at key states. in florida in 2008, he won with 50% of the vote. 50.9 i should say. now? >> if the election were held now, he would certainly lose florida. i don't think it would even be particularly close. probably 53, 47, something like that. obviously we're talking about 14 months from now.

so things can change. but on all these close states from 2008, what you look for is popularity average in an individual state. don't look at the national figures. look at in state figures. so you want to look at the florida polls. if obama isn't close to 50%, he's not going to carry a state. >> brian: all right. and by the way, we don't know who he's going against. in 2008, he won ohio. we know how many times he went there to do it. now he's just got 44% approval. governor just turned around that statement fiscally and he's a republican. right now the approval, now is at 44. it was at 52. >> yeah. look. ohio is a state that over the past couple of years has turned more republican. it's still a super swing state. it's difficult to imagine obama winning if he doesn't carry either ohio or virginia. he's going to have to carry one of those two swing states. if he loses both of them, we can

have an early election night. but again, 14 months away. >> brian: right. north carolina was a big win for him. he had just about 50% of the vote. now his approval is just around 43%. >> look, i think north carolina and indiana are going to be the two toughest states for obama to carry again of the ones he carried in 2008. he's way under water in north carolina. further under water in indiana. remember, the democrats have their convention in north carolina and they put it there on purpose because they're planning on using it to organize for the november general election. >> brian: right. now let's go to virginia. that's where you are. the one with 52% of the vote there and he brought a virginia senator, senator webb with him in the process.