borne illness outbreak in a decade that's why it is our lead story. i'm jenna lee. jon: canteloupes from colorado are linked to the listeria outbreak that has killed 13 people and sickened others across the nation. the numbers expected to grow. jenna: listeria is one of the most dangerous food borne bacteria out there. deadlier than salmonella and e.coli. >> it attacked her body and they put her in a medically induced coma. everything from there started shutting down. my whom in a million years never, ever deserved to go through this. she is one of the best women like in the world. she is awesome and i'm going to miss her with all my heart. jon: jonathan serrie is live in atlanta where the centers for

disease control is in over drive. what do they know about the source. >> reporter: hub health officials are confident they have traced the outbreak to jensen farms, in holly, colorado. it voluntarily recalled its canteloupes earlier this month. however, it's possible we'll see even more cases in the short term. the tricky think about this type of bacteria is it has a long incubation period. you can be infected for several weeks before you display any symptoms. yesterday the cdc reported 72 illnesses in 18 states including 13 deaths. meanwhile state and local health officials in kansas, new mexico and wyoming say they are investigating at least three additional deaths that may be connected to this outbreak, jon. jon: how are consumers supposed to protect themselves? >> reporter: well the cdc has posted guidelines, precautions to take on its website.

they are similar to the advice of the cdc gives to protecting against all food-borne illnesses. you should thoroughly cook all meats. even hot dogs should be steaming before you east them. you should wash your hands, knives, counter tops, cutting board after preparing any uncooked foods to avoid cross con t-pl nation. when it comes to canteloupes in general they say that you should wash the outside of the canteloupe and wash your hands before cutting into it to -- and make sure that the knife is clean, of course, to avoid getting any of that bacteria inside the canteloupe, jon. jon: what a scary story. jonathan serrie in atlanta for us. jenna: we are just minutes away from the start of day two in the trial of michael jackson's personal doctor dr.~conrad murray.

we heard that the jackson family arrived at court. the opening day of the trial included a stunning day of revelations when the late pop star's voice filled the courtroom, prosecutors playing a disturbing audio recording between jackson and dr. murray. that i can a police even. i want them to say i never seen anything like this in my life. go. go. i never seen anything like this. go. jenna: tough to listen to the words, it paints a very difficult picture of michael jackson. prosecutors say murray gave jackson a lethal does of a pow

irfull drug. his attorney says michael jackson caused his own death. if convicted of involuntary manslaughter dr. murray faces four years. adam housley is live outside the courtroom. >> reporter: that audio recording captivated people inside the courtroom and outside the courtroom as well watching on smart phones and ipads. a lot of people supporting michael jackson or supporting dr. murray. when you hear the eery voice of michael jackson obviously heavily sedated. very dramatic in the courtroom for opening statements. today the prosecution continues with its case. they will call the first responders that went to the house in hom holmby hills back in 2009. they will testify that dr. murray did not tell them about the drug propofol.

that's part of the prosecution's assertion that he was grossly negligent in his care of michael jackson. we'll hear from a couple of michael jackson's body guards, who will say they didn't have any idea that dr.~conrad murray was giving anytime think of these drugs. and they will testify that there were times when michael jackson appeared to be heavily drugs. it's an interesting day as the prosecution lace out its case con logically. jenna: they have a whole lot of witnesses to all. what about the defense? what is the defense saying so far? >> reporter: you mentioned the jackson family. the jackson family came in behind me. today it's only jermain, joe and catherine, michael's brother and mother and father. janet jackson was also here yesterday, as was latoya, two of michael's sisters. when the defense was giving their opening statement and inserting that michael jackson

actually ingested the lethal does himself and he will have toxicology reports -- more family is going in as the fans cheers. >> reporter: as they were doing that, as they arasserting that michael jackson gave himself a lethal does. janet sat back, took a deep sigh, obviously upset with that testimony. latoya shaking her head no. they were not happy with the defense team. it's very interesting to see the jackson family reaction. to see dr. murray to your left looking right at the jury as well with tears in his eyes, very dramatic throughout the day yesterday. we're getting into the medical part of this testimony, because it's going to be difficult to keep the jury aware. both sides will tell you they have to make a way to make it understandable for the jury as they go through this process of the trial. jenna: a lot for the jury to take in, not only the celebrity part that you point out but

details that are tough for anybody to really understand. great perspective there, thank you so much. jon: the cost of healthcare shot up this year, probably no surprise if you've been looking at your premiums, according to a new survey that finds health insurance premiums for the family plans paid by employers increased an average of 9% just this year. the cost passing the $15,000 mark for the first time. shannon bream live in washington for us right now. what else are we learning from this study. >> reporter: jon the numbers give us a look at exactly out cost of annual health insurance premiums have gone up in one yore: for a single worker the cost went from $5,049 in 2010. t here is an important point. while premiums are up and average of 9%, workers wages

during that same period up just 2.1%. it's a tough time for people to take on added expenses. jon: who is paying for awful the extra costs? >> reporter: in a lot of the cases the employers split the cost with the employee. employers have been shifting the cost of healthcare more and more onto employees over the years. since 1999 workers contributions to annual health insurance premiums it's up 168%. at the same time their wages were up only 50%. bottom line is everyone is paying more for health insurance premiums but employees are taking on a higher and higher percentage of the burden. jon. jenna: i had to read this next sentence a few times to make sure i really got it straight. listen to this. airport security screenings may soon cost you more money. jon: we have to pay to be assaulted? jenna: i don't know about the assaulted part, but the president's jobs plan could double, and in some cases even triple the taxes you play on

each and every airplane ticket. but not all of that cash would go towards security. we need to work through this a little bit. peter barnes is live at reagan national airport. peter some explaining, please. what does the administration want to do here? >> reporter: well, jenna the administration wants passengers and airlines to pay for more all of this. and taxpayers to pay less. in his deficit reduction plan a couple of weeks abg the president proposed $26 billion worth of new taxes and new fees on airlines and passengers over ten years to pay for airport security, air traffic control, and $15 billion worth of deficit reduction. right now passengers pay a maximum fee of $10 round trip for airport security. the administration wants to raise that to $15 round stipulate by 2017. and it wants airlines to also pay a new surcharge of $100 a flight. the industry is fighting this

very hard and says if it doesn't result in higher ticket prices it will lead to less service and fewer jobs. >> airlines and our passengers are already paying too much in taxes. $61 of ever $300 round trip ticket goes to federal taxes and fees. this industry lost $55 billion and 160,000 jobs, over one-third ever its total workforce in the last ten years. >> reporter: now, on the airport security piece of this. the administration says that after 9/11 the intent of congress and the bush administration was that passengers would cover the costs of airport security screening and other security measures, and that the fees have not gone up since 2001, the cost of security have, unfairly shifting the burden over to taxpayers. jenna: that is an interesting context when you put up the full

screen saying the charges would go up by $5 over the next six years and the deficit reduction, you can understand where we're going if we are all in this together in some way. what are the prospects for this actually passing congress? >> reporter: well, there's been some opposition from republican leaders on capitol hill, but the industry is worried that this would be low hanging fruit for that deficit reduction super committee that is working right now on deficit reduction. jenna: beater parents with fox business. thank you so much. a story we'll continue to watch. jon: well there are all kinds of proposals to try to cut costs in washington. here is another one floated by many republican presidential candidates. right now closing down the department of education. what does the secretary of education think about that? we'll be talking with him just ahead. jenna: he's the boss. scientists tracking the plunge of a nasa satellite back to earth, figuring out where six tons of space junk came down.

we will tell you where it hit. hopefully it wasn't in your backyard. jon: a big event for new jersey governor chris christie last night. what he said to an impassioned supporter practically begging him to run for president. will he or won't he? the big question of the moment. >> i really implore you as a citizen of this country, to please, sir, to reconsider. don't even say anything tonight, of course you won't. go home and really think about it, please. [applause] [laughter] we're america's natural gas

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jon: let's talk election now. new jersey governor chris christie taking a detour from his usual straight talk when he

was asked about whether he'd jump into the 2012 race for the white house. here is what he had to say to a passionate supporter at the reagan presidential library in california. >> we need you. your country needs you to run for president. [applause] >> it's extraordinarily flattering, but by the same token, that heart-felt message you gave me is also not a reason for me to do it. that reason has to reside inside me. i know without ever having met president reagan that he must have felt deeply in his heart that he was called to that moment to lead our country. jon: with us now former howard dean campaign manager and fox news contributor joe trippi. joe, i guess he didn't scully close the door entirely there. he didn't say, no, i'm not going

to do it. >> no he didn't, jon, but he did hit on what is really important here. i can tell you from working for a number of people who ran for president, you have to want it more than anything. jon: the fire in the belly. >> sarah palin has talked about this as well. if it's not there, my advice, don't go. but he's got -- i still think he has time to think about this and make a go-no-go decision. it's not over yet. jon: just the reaction from the crowd at the reagan library, most politicians would swoon for that kind of attention, that kind of standing o. >> that is true. that is working for him right now. that makes him feel like he's not like everybody else. jon: and he's not. >> no he's not. i think it will be interesting to see what he decides to do here. there is a huge urge within the republican party, a dissatisfaction with the field.

people want this guy in. jon: isn't it too late at this point? >> i don't think so. everybody who has got even in there's been a big swoon for them and then they drop off. it may make sense to be the last person in and get in right before the caucuses is happening. it could work for him if he decides to go. jon: four years ago there was a big bush for fred thompson to enter the race, he got in, much to the delight of many people and promptly thudded like a rock. >> that happens too. but we'll see. i mean, again, if the fire is not there, and that does seem to be the thing that is worry so many about a chris christie candidacy it could be a big problem. he could find out it's much tough every than he thought, because it's tough and make a mistake by getting in if he's not willing to go through the gauntlet to get there. jon: you pointed out that bill clinton didn't announce, what was it 12 years ago now -- i

guess 11 years ago until october. >> that's right. in 1992 a lot of the big guns like dick gephart decided not to go. alternate the very last minute bill clinton decided to get in with very little time and he just took the field by storm you know, won a lot of the early contests and went onto take the whole thing. and everybody thought, how did this happen? in fact, the field was almost insane. the criticism was the same where democrats were really disappointed, thought the field wasn't made up of anybody strong and even had doubts about bill clinton when he got in. jon: it was a lot longer than 12 years ago. i'm showing my age. jenna: i was thinking maybe i missed a term. i was with you, jon, what happened? it happens to the best of us. jon: joe trippi thanks for not correcting me on air. but any way, interesting stuff. and chris christie we should point out is a young guy. i mean he could come back another day and run for

president if he wants to. >> certainly, big future. jon: thanks. jenna: ca cal cue laters on set immediately. an indiana neighborhood shaken by this incredible crime that we've been talking to you about the last several days. a huge mystery there. a murder mystery. five people are dead shot execution style. what cops don't know what the killings has everybody living on high alert in the neighborhood. a closer look at why you may want to hold off on buying gold right now. we'll have that coming up. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them.

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those mysterious deaths in indiana that turned out to be a case of mass murder. rick folbaum is tracking this at the news desk. >> reporter: police outside of indianapolis were waiting for autopsies to be completed, hoping that they would provide some clues. five bodies were discovered sunday after a young child was seen wandering around outside a house. police were called, and that began what is now officially a murder investigation. police say the person, or the people who carried out these murders are still on the run. all five victims were beaten, hit on the head, they were also shot. four had gunshot wounds to the head, one was shot in the chest. the victims include a 50-year-old man, his ex-wife and their two grown kids ages 18 and 23. police in franklin county are urging locals to be careful if they hop their door to strangers, and to report any suspicious activity. they are also urging anyone who

might have any information to call the indiana state police, the number is (812)689-5000. they stress that you can call anonymously. jon: no word yet on motive or anything. >> reporte no word on motive. there is some speculation because of drug dealing that has taken place in this particular neighborhood that this might be drug related. again, right now that is just speculation. jon: scary stuff if you live in that part of the country. jenna: 0 gold prices are up slightly in trading, but gold's steep rise recently took a bit of a beating when we watched the markets over the weeks. take a look at the three month chart. you can see a big drop if you look at to the right hand of the screen. that is one concern that some investors have. we will talk a little bit with it with wall streete editor paul gigot.

certainty seems the same, why is the price going down. >> people feared there would be a recession and they feared the fact that inflation therefore would not go up as much. so if inflation is not going to rise, you're not wa worried about inflation, gold is a hedge against inflation, and so gold falls. jenna: if you get into the market right now you may be say, maybe this is the way gold is all the time. >> if you bought gold when it was under $500 you look like a general just now. i present the 1970s and the early 1908s when we had the last huge run up in gold prices and it went up to about $800 an ounce. when they undercut inflation the price fell and it didn't go back above $800 for almost 30 years. so if you had bought at $800 an ounce that was a lot of losses

you took for a longtime unless you sat on it. jenna: it's important to keep that in mind especially in a time like this. this is a broader question. we are constantly told in the media or otherwise that the value of our dollar is going down, that our house value is going down, that food prices are going up, and the food doesn't necessarily taste better even though we are paying more for it. we are in a period where we really don't know what anything is worth. >> gold doesn't pay interest, but your bank accounts aren't saying any interest either. it's a difficult period to know where to invest. one people suggest perhaps really quality stocks, quality companies, a phaoult you'll fund, standard bearing companies that you know will survive a recession. jenna: like the boring, big companies. >> they also pay dividends. jenna: that was purely aned case tphal judgment on boring

companies. we usually don't see such unpredictability. >> they have the cash-flow to ride out a recession. they are brand named products. people will by peanut butter and gasoline. jenna: going back to some tradition, you're not saying anything about gold jewelry, right? >> not at all. jenna: thank you very much, paul it was nice to have you. remember you can see paul every saturday at 2:00pm eastern time. if you keep it on fnc, right after that our very own jon scott he has double duty of course. fox news watch, he and his panel cover all the week's stop stories. even though it's wednesday, jon we want everyone to have it on the calendar this weekend. jon: put it on the book for this weekend. we're going to have a great line up. parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, listen up we have a very important recall to tell you about, including more than a million popular toys that could be very dangerous. and this -- >> owe over to the department of

education, i'd turned out the lights, i'd lock the door and i'd send all the money back to the states. jon: that is republican candidate michelle bachmann during the fox-google debate not sugar coating her feelings about the department of education. the man who heeds that department, and areee duncan is here to respond. we want to hear from you, should the department of education be abolished and those responsibilities turned over to the states? log onto foxnews.com/"happening now" to weigh in. we will show you the results of this little scientific survey coming up.

jon: our acquisitions room is busy as always on this wednesday morning taking in satellite feeds from all around the country on remote 247 there stepping up to that podium any minute now is going to be mitt romney the republican presidential candidate. he is, where else, new hampshire doing a little town hall meeting today. he, of course is fighting to occupy the oval office. the man who does occupy that office at the moment is going to be heading to a school in washington d.c. a little bit later on today to give a speech on education, touting his education agenda. jenna lee has more on that with the head of the education department. jenna: that's right. arnie duncan will be there with the president in a few hours.

we welcome him, he's coming to us from d.c. today. mr. secretary, nice to see you. >> good afternoon, jenna thanks so much for the opportunity. jenna: i have a bit of a confession i'm a daughter of a public school teacher. my mom has taught for 40 years and i realized in preparing for this interview that i actually don't know a lot about the department of education. you know as well as i do that there are a lot of criticisms over the departmen of education right now. let's get straight to it. i'm going to run some sounds from the republicans criticizing the department of education and i'll get your reaction. all right. let's run the sound. >> i am going to promise to advocate the a polishment of the federal department of education. [applause] >> what i would do as president of the united states is pass the moth of all repeal bills on education. i would take the entire education law, repeal it. then i would go over to the department of education, i'd turn out the lights, i'd lock the door and i'd send all the money back to the states.

>> you need to dramatically shrink the federal department of education, get rid of virtually all of its regulations. jenna: that is one side. why do we need the department of education in your mind? >> i think we all have to work together, no offense to anybody, i haven't spent a lot of time watching the republican debates. we have bi-partisan relationships with governors and mayor across the country. i've been critical of the department of education myself. we have other countries that are out educating us today. over the past two and a half years you've seen a transformation, 44 states adopting much more rigorous standards. college, standards. i think the appropriate role for our agency is to drive reform, to support courageous work at the local level. education has to go beyond politics and ideology. we have to educate our way to a better economy. we have to work together at the federal, state and most

importantly at the local level. the work that your mom and hundreds of thousands and millions of teachers do around the country, this is what the country is about. jenna: my mom appreciates the shout out. she is enjoying the first year of her retirement. maybe she has time to watch television, who knows. i was looking at some of the spending for the department of education, in this fiscal year $70 billion. it has gone up over the past few years in two different administrations. where is the $70 billion going to or are we too bloated in the department of education and we should scale down. >> we have to continue to invest in education, it's an investment not an expense. wee-wee tried to make a huge investment in early childhooded kaeugts f. we can get our babies off to a big start from kindergarten ready to learn and read that is hugely important.

we have a strong agenda k-12. we have to make sure we are reducing drop out rates, increasing graduation rates, and that they are college and career ready. we have to make sure college is acceptable and affordable. the big piece of the budget is an increase in pell grants so working people can send their sons and daughters to college. that is critically important. we have to continue to invest but in a vision of reform and we need to lead the world in college graduates. the president has challenged us to do this. our country has flat lined. other countries have passed us by. the countries that out educate us are going to outcome pete us tomorrow. that has to change. jenna: if you have a college degree your unemployment rate is at 4 perdz, it's more than double that. you mentioned making sure our babies get off to a good straight. i know your kids are attending public school as well. you were the superintendent of a major urban area in chicago. in that position you must at

times have been frustrating. i'm only assuming. i'm going to ask you to talk about the relationship between the state and city or the federal government and the state and county and you must have brought that into your current job. tell us where you see ma maybe the federal government doesn't have a role in education. >> when i was in chicago i didn't always welcome that call from that nice machine or woman calling from washington. they were always calling about a compliance issue or bureaucratic issue. they weren't calling about how to help me reduce my drop out rate, how to teach second and third graders to read. i'm out around the country on a weekly basis spending time in two, three, four schools every single week and i think again on a bipartisan basis we are a much better partner listening to the real needs in communities, trying to empower them. the president announced last week we want to fix no child left behind, want to provide waivers. get washington out of the way,

hold states accountable to a high bar but give them room to move and innovate and be flexible. we can't micromanage 95,000 schools from washington. have no interest in doing that. we want to empower, great teach efrs, principals, and superintendents to help children fulfill their real academic and social potential. jenna: we are going to have to wrap it up because i'm out of time. i have a proposal for unrelated toe to education. i think you and the president play a lot of basketball games. i think it would be good to have a fox news anchor coming off the bench with a good three point shot. >> when you're ready let me know. jenna: we asked you what you heard at the republican debate. we asked them, hey would you want to keep the department of education, good idea, bad idea,

about 96% of our viewers said a good idea to eliminate. 4% said a bad idea. there could be three people responding to that policy we'll keep it in mind for what it's worth. stpho: not scientific but a pretty interesting take there. let's talk about the regulation nation rules some charge are just clogging the pipes. a 1992 law puts limits on shower heads. it's now strictly enforced by the department of energy. manufacturers deemed noncompliant with those regulations must stop selling their products. some getting slapped with a fine. there are regulations on toilets too, that's why we have that video up. molee henneberg is in washington for us. it's been on the books this law since 1992, molly, what is different now. >> reporter: as you were saying, well now the department of energy is enforcing it and taking a very strict stand on what constitutes a legal shower head in our bathrooms.

we have -- the law says this a shower head cannot deliver more than 2.5-gallons of water per minute. up until now each shower nozzle in your bath loom had to meet that standard. now the department of energy says all nozzles put together like in the picture can only deliver 2.5-gallons of water per minute total in order to conserve water. in march of in year the department of energy said it would be testing shower heads sold in stores, quote, to determine whether a manufacturer's shower head complies with the 2.5-gallons per minute standard set by congress. the department will measure a shower head's water use by turning all of the unit sprays and nozzles to their maximum flow settings. the department of energy says it's giving manufacturers two years from this past march to come into compliance, although four shower head makers were find over $165,000 in 2010 over this issue. jon: obviously there are a lot of critics out there who say

this is federal regulation gone hog wild. >> reporter: yes, some shower head manufacturers say they just want to give consumers what they want, and small government advocates say having the energy department determine what americans can buy for their bathroom showers is quote, ridiculous, here is more. >> it's a personal decision. you can't get more personal than what kind of shou you are you're taking and how you're nozzle is configuredment that decision is being made not by the individual now and not by the local government but by washington d.c., and that is simply not right. >> reporter: the department of energy says it won't actually come into your bath loom to check but it's hitting the manufacturers. jon. jon: molly henneberg. interesting stuff. thank you. jenna: well, the sun is firing a massive blast of radiation right at the earth this week. jon: what? jenna: we've got a lot to think about. you've got the falling satellite, sun rays, apparently

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jon: we mostly talk about earth's weather around here, but there is a massive storm happening on the sun right now. our biggie hraoupl naturer already fired a giant gas ball right toward earth. the burst of radiation basically struck a glancing blow but the danger is not over. solar flares like this one could shortcircuit satellites interrupting television and internet transmissions, it could halt financial transactions. it could create giant power surges on earth that could create black out over huge areas. those are just some of the dangers. let's bring in dr.~michio kaku,

he knows just about everything. the solar flares, we have seen them, we've got pictures of them thankfully from nasa. we can't really predict when they are going to erupt. >> no but we dodged a bullet. this past weekend a gigantic solar flair grazed by the earth lighting up the skiesver southern england. they saw the northern lights, light up because of the aurora borealis. that sun spot on the sun is still shooting solar flares at the earth. the son is taking pot shots at the earth. jon: the sun does rotate just like the earth does, and i guess we were lucky you said it was a glancing blow it wasn't aimed at us. but it is spinning more towards us. >> that's right there is a sun spot eight times bigger than the earth which just opened up just a few days ago, and it's erupting by shooting solar flares like a rifle pointed at more less the direction of the earth. but because of the earth's spin and because of the sun's rotation it was a glancing blow,

otherwise all hell would have broken loose over this past weekend. jon: they talked about power outages, that kind of things, communication outages because the satellites get fried. we are talking about some potentially very disruptive problems. >> that's right our satellites are not reinforced. many power plants don't have shielding around them, they would shortcircuit. financial transactions, credit card transactions, commerce would come to a halt if the thing had hit us this past weekend and it's still firing away. jon: talking about that satellite, the nasa satellite that fell over the weekend there is speculation out there that nasa and the defense department really knew where this thing was going to land, but they kind of kept the mystery out there because they don't want our potential enemies to know how good we are at tracking some of these things. >> well, there is a certain amount of black magic involved in understanding where a satellite falls. remember we have solar flares that increases the atmosphere, also satellites skim the earth

like a rock skimming over the atmosphere. once it hits the atmosphere it creates a shower of ions and it blacks out. we lose communication and contact with the satellite as it roars into the atmosphere. jon: you think that they are in the dark as much as they say they are. >> i personally think they are clueless as to precisely where that satellite fell. jon: dr.~michio kaku always good to talk to you except when you're talking about the solar storms. that's scary stuff. jenna: and the clueless comment as well. that doesn't feel very good either. the school year is all about learning lessons, right. here is one. kids you don't want to make the cover of a newspaper, arrested in a school cheating scandal. free advice, a big story on the east coast. we will talk a little bit about this with eric shawn coming up next.

jenna: caught cheating to get into college seven teens facing charges now, one of them currently a college sophomore took the sat exam for six high school students. they say he got paid to do it. this is happening at a school on long island in new york state, and eric shawn is right here in our newsroom with more on the story. eric. >> reporter: as you know trying to get into college can be very competitive, as any high school parent or senior is aware. now for some it could be criminal. that alleged sat cheating ring has been busted in new york. that's where a college sophomore has been charged with being paid to take the scholastic achievement test for half a dozen 19 seniors. he is a 19-year-old student in

atlanta and he's accused of using fake ids to pose as the students and take the exams for them. the six who hired him have been arrested on misdemeanor charges. he was paid from 1500 to 2,500 dollars a pop. the school heard rumors about it, checked the academic records of the students and guess what they said they got unexpectantly high sat scores. the school is great neck north high school. that's where the defendant attended. >> the victims are the fellow students, the kids who don't cheat and take the sat prep course, the kids who do their homework and study and play by the rules. >> reporter: he's also been charged with scheming to defraud, falsifying business records and criminal impersonation. his attorney said he has pled not guilty and is cooperating. here is what he said. >> across the united states no one has ever had a case go to

criminal case because of cheating on an exam or alleged cheating in an exam. >> reporter: the sat is one of two standardized tests that schools use to help determine admission. if you've ever taken the sat's you never forget the experience or recover from it. jenna: it brings back all the memories that all the multiple times i had to take the sat. there is another confession today. we'll continue to watch that story. jon: i have a kid taking the sat this weekend. breaking details on a nationwide toy recall. rick folbaum is working on this. >> reporter: kids of different age the concern here. if you have one of these toys in your house you're urged to have them stop playing witness immediately. the danger is a plastic toy nail it can pose a choking hazard in young children. a little boy put the nail in his mouth it became lodged in his throat. thankfully he's okay. as every parent knows these kids put everything in their mouths.

the little tykes work set and trucks. they were sold between 1994 and 2009. you can get a complete list of the toy names and numbers on our website foxnews.com/"happening now." jon: thank you. jenna: south carolina nikki hailey has a niceness campaign. she wants folks answering phones in the governor's office if you work for the state to say, it's a great day in south carolina. she is hoping the pleasant greeting will make people feel better and maybe even turn things around. we want to hear from you. do you think niceness can fix sofr the problems in the united states? is this a place where we should start. go to foxnews.com/"happening now" and we'll tell you more about this the next hour. ♪ when you're smiling, when you're smiling the whole world

smiles with you. ♪ when you're laughing -- ♪ we could've gone a more traditional route... ... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. ♪

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>> fox news alert, i'm rick folbaum, at the assignment desk, this is where the news comes in to us before we bring it to you. here we are, taking a look into the courtroom, the trial where conrad murray, michael jackson's doctor, is underway, and questioned are the concert promoters. >> we're moments away from a town hall meeting in new hampshire, site of the primary in the presidential contest and this is where mitt romney is going to be talking to people, the slogan, cut the spending, just part of the message from the former governor of massachusetts who will be holding a town hall. we have more politics and other news straight ahead. the second hour of

"happening now" starts right now. jenna: we start this hour with a new threat with iran, right here our border. i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. iran's navy, get this, is announcing it will send war ships to patrol off the u.s. coast. our national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. the iranians are trying to show off their navy, i guess. tell us about this new capability. >> reporter: today, jon, the defense minister of iran announced they are going to not only send those warships after the coast of the united states but going to arm them with cotter missiles, these are missiles that have the capability of cruising at 125 miles, they can strike other ships, they were tested last month in iran, to iran definitely trying to project its navy, its naval power and trying to projoke the united states right now. jon: they don't really have much of a navy. is the pentagon worried? >> reporter: well, they're not worried. i walked in this morning with a top admiral here at

the pentagon, and i asked him about the threat, and he laughed a bit, he said well, if they could make it, we might be worried. they don't really have a refuelling capability. but i will remind you that back in february the iranians for the first time in three years sent two warships through the suez canal, they took advantage of the arab spring chaos and shortly after hosni mubarek's government fell in egypt they haeud $300,000 to pass through the suez canal to syria, that put israelis on high alert, the iranians clearly trying to play to a domestic audience, trying to project naval power, and also are trying to overcome what was an embarrassing performance the the united nations general assembly last week when their president, mahmoud ama ahmadinejad, most of the members of the general assembly walked out on him and there was a report monday, the united states, the obama administration, has sold bunker bombs to israel, so that is one of

the reasons we may be seeing this sort of renewed threat that rand pronouncements about their navy. jon: quickly, how close are they expected to get? >> reporter: they would be in international waters. again, it's not clear that they could refuel and actually make it to the atlantic ocean. but they are -- they could make it -- let's say they refueled witthe help of venezuela, that is one possibility. but it's a remote one at best. jon: jennifer griffin at the pentagon for us, thanks. jenna: right now the florida straw poll surprise winner herman cain getting a look if vote -- from voters, the centerpiece of the republicans' campaign is his so-called 999 plan, on taxes. >> and pass the 9 percent business flat tax, 9 percent personal income tax, and a 9 percent national sales tax jenna: can this work? we're going to take a closer look can steve moore, senior

economic writer at the "wall street journal". you have a brand new piece coming out on wsj.com. we're getting a sneak peek at that. can this work? >> reporter: >> jenna, he has emerged on the stage talking about the big two, talking about mitt romney and now herman cain and herman cain might make it the big three because of what happened in florida and all of the sudden everyone is taking a second look at that 99 # plan and it is incredibly bold, it's basically saying eliminate the current income tax structure, blow it up, jenna, and move along with a 9 percent business tax, a 9 percent personal income tax rate, so you wouldn't have 40 percent tax rates, and then the new thing about this would be a # percent sales tax, and so this would totally restructure our tax system, a lot of business people i've been talking to are saying this would be great for american business and american competitiveness, the question is whether american people -- i don't know, jenna, what do you think about a 9 percent sales tax? jen that's along the lines

of the vat tax we've talked about during this crisis. >> yes. jenna: it makes me wonder about a lower income american, because they're not paying 9 percent tax rate now, then on top of it, if they buy groceries, then you have a 9 percent tax on top with groceries as well. what about the effect for that group specifically? >> i think that's the most important question, because if you asked economists about what they think about this plan, almost all of them are saying are you kidding, this would be great for the u.s. economy, to get the tax rates down from as high as 40 percent down to 9 percent, but you have to wonder how will this affect the lower income people who as you said would pay that 9 percent sales tax when they grow to -- go to the grocery store or 711, but i think what her main cain would say and i've heard him say this in the debates, jenna, look, that is plan that gets jobs back, this is a plan that raises peoples' income, so we're going to have a rising tide that lifts all boats and all income groups will be better off with those added jobs. i think that's a very persuasive argument.

whether he can sell that to the american people is another question. it's interesting, because when he goes on the campaign trail and talks to conservative republican audiences, he gets a standing ovation when he talks about 999. jen and it sticks, it's something you can remember and seems simple enough you can understand a complicated tax structure and we know the tax system is so complicated right now. >> let me just say one thing if i could, an interesting story about that 999. people have been asking herman where did that come from and as you know he was the president of godfather's pizza, so the joke in washington, i don't know if this is true or not, but his slogan when he was the head of godfather was two medium pizzas for 9.99! that's where this came from. jenna: you wonder. we're only speculating! that could be an interesting connection. if it works for pizza, maybe it's worth a shot. getting back to why we pay taxes, the reason why we pay taxes is we hope we get it back in services or in roads being repaired and things like that. one of the criticisms of

this, as well as a question of whether or not it would actually raise enough revenue, and that's a tough question, because everyone is so critical of the revenue and how it's speaking now but what are your thoughts on that. >> there have been studies that have been looked at by independent analseize and they have found this would raise about the same amount of revenue as the 35 percent corporate tax structure and 40 percent personal income tax rate, and think about this, just with respect to, jenna, what this would do for american businesses, especially corporations. you're talking about american corporations going from a 35 percent corporate tax rate, down to 9 percent. that can't help but bring jobs back into the united states. one of the things, when i talk to american workers, one of the things they're so concerned about is outsourcing of jobs to china and india. this is something that herman cain would say is going to bring those jobs back to the u.s. jenna: it will be interesting. very interesting. by the way, a clever title to your piece, is cain's tax contain able. >> this is going to be -- i predict we're going to be talking a lot about this in the weeks ahead.

jenna: and start the thinking for a lot of candidates. steve, thank you, and good luck with the piece. >> thank you. jon: new polls out from quinnipiac university are offering an early look at some potential matchups. take a look at ohio. when the polls asked about president obama, taking on rick perry, at least right now, the survey results show the president winning 44 percent to 41 percent. perry does slightly better in ohio than he did in some other states. when matched against mitt romney, the president comes up 44 percent, to 42 percent against mitt romney this this quinnipiac survey. jenna: it looks like we have more polls released from quinnipiac we want to show you more about, matchups in a couple of key swing states as well, in pennsylvania if the 2012 election were held today with mitt romney on the republican ticket,

president obama would get 45 percent of the vote, 43 percent to romney, so if romney takes that state a virtual tie if you look at it as far as the poll goes, but again, this is the result we see on the screen. with rick perry on the ticket, the president tops perry 46 percent to 40 percent, those numbers, again, still within the margin of error but it speaks as to how close we are right now. i should add, more than a year ago from the election. jon: and those numbers are obviously going to play a key roll in this next presidential election when it comes to the electoral college. right now the issue the democrats and republicans can agree on, the senate pushing a bill urging china to stop manipulating its currency, this after critics have long complained that china's juan is -- yuan is greaty underpolled -- undervalued. congress' wishes, putting it on a potential collision course with the white house. our chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel takes a look at that. >> reporter: president

obama has been pushing congress to pass this jobs plan, but senate majority leader harry reid, and fellow democrats, say he has a different priority now. take a listen: >> i don't think there's anything more important for a jobs tpherb euroo measure than china trade. that's what we're going to work on next week. china trade is a jobs bill, it's a long -- it's long, long overdue, it's a bipartisan bill and i feel very comfortable we're going to pass that. jon: republican leadership says this is senator reid giving members something they can vote for, saying to constituents they are working to protect american jobs, going after big, bad china. the politics are interesting, because if this congress -- it pits congressional democrats against the state department and ultimately president obama. but the president of the afl-cio says it is a major problem for american businesses, and american workers. >> that makes it more difficult for us to sell our products there, and it makes it easier for them to sell their products here, because

currency, the currency issue. it violates the trade laws, it puts people out of work, and it disadvantages american producers. >> reporter: there you have senator reid, the president of a major union, and there are some republicans who are involved in this fight as well. here's alabama republican senator jeff sessions: >> for years, china has been undervaluing its currency, which unfairly subsidizes its exports and puts american manufacturers out of business. during these tough economic times,e are not to allow any of our trading partners to rig the game in their favor. >> reporter: so when the senate returns next week, senator reid says they will take this up. we expect it will pass the united states senate. then the question is where it goes from there. the other question, of course, is what is china's reaction, being embarrassed by the u.s. congress and whether they try to retaliate or perhaps take some positive action. jon. jon: mike emanuel there in washington, d.c., thanks mike >> reporter: thank

you. jenna: he's been on the run since 1970, and after breaking out of jail he hijacked a plane, got a million dollars ransom, and flew off to another continent. how a convicted killer eluded capture in a secret villa and how he was finally captured. we first told you about this story when it broke yesterday. we have more just coming up. also, tens of thousands of shoulder-fired missiles, the kinds terrorists have used in the past to take down jets, well, they're missing. we'll tell you where and what's next, just ahead.

jenna: you've seen these commercials, i know you have, expensive sneaker as way to firm yourself up, you walk and get a workout, isn't that great? well, the government is taking issue with one pair of those shoes in particular. rick, you're not wearing those shoes, are you today? >> >> reporter: not today! these are shoes, jenna, that reebok has claimed provide extra strength and tone to your legs and buttock muscles. i wasn't sure i was going to say that word but i guess i

did. the federal trade commission says those claims are not true and now reebok is paying $25 million to refund customers who bought their easytone and run tone shoes. the ad for the shoes which go for about 80-$100 a pair claim that special technology in the shoes create what reebok calls microinstability, which they say makes you stronger while you walk or run. the ftc says the ads falsely claim that the shoes have been proven to add strength and feature fit-looking actors who claim the shoes made them look that way. and of course, the lesson here is if it sounds too good to be true, it almost always is! if you bought the reebok easytone or run tone shoes, and you want to find out if you're eligible for a refund, you can go to the federal trade commission website, ftc.gov. jenna: so if it was that easy, as you say -- if it was that easy! >> forget the gym! jenna: we'll wait for the

next big thing. jon: gluteus maximus. there you go. republicans, of course, took control of the house in 2010, now they have their eye on the senate in 2012. can they do it? bob cusack is managing editor of the hill and so far the numbers are looking pretty good for republicans if they want to take back the senate, huh? >> >> reporter: jon, they have a decent shot of winning back the senate, and it would be amazing that just a few years ago, in 2009, president obama and the white house, democrats controlled the house and the senate, and in 2013, there's a chance that republicans could have the house, senate, of course, the white house. if you look at the math, democrats are defending 23 seats in the upper chamber, republicans, only ten. so democrats are certainly on the defensive, there are some democrats who are distancing themselves from president obama. it's going to be very fascinating to see when obama's jobs package comes to the senate floor, how many democrats are going to

vote no. with the low approval numbers of president obama, it's going to be a challenge for senator reid to remain the majority leader come 2013. jon: one of those key races to watch is in nebraska where senator ben nelson is a democrat, serving in a sort of republican-leaning state. he's been a pretty popular senator, but he voted for that health care plan. he was one of the pivotal votes that allowed it to pass, and he has taken all kinds of heat from his constituents because of that. >> >> reporter: yes. i mean, his toll numbers took a dip after the health care deal. more recently, he has been running against washington. he's a former governor. will he be able to hold on to that seat? it's going to be very challenging for ben nelson. he's run in tough races before and he's woo he knows how to win statewide but this could be his most challenging election of his career. jon: next door in missouri, claire mccaskill, also a democrat up for reelection and she has some pretty tough republican

competition. >> congressman todd akin is one of the favorites to face her come november. but as far as max cas kill, she is very tight with president obama, at least until a few years ago when she was one of the first senators to endorse him but now she's distancing himself from president obama, she had a controversy where she billed taxpayers for political travel, she's trying to distance herself from that, say okay, that's over with, now -- that's going to be a very tough seat for democrats to retain, but you know, she's a good campaigner, that's going to be a challenge, though. jon: one of the places where democrats might have some hope is in massachusetts, where scott brown filled the seat of the late ted kennedy. therefore, he has to run again for reelection this time around because it was a partial term. and elizabeth warren could prove to be a formidable opponent there. >> yeah, good news for democrats, if they got elizabeth warren. a lot of high profile democrats, including barney frank, others in congress, passed -- on challenging

scott brown, they have elizabeth. this is the congressional race of 2012. these are two heavy contenders, scott brown, in the state of massachusetts, he has over $10 million in his campaign war chest, elizabeth warren, a lot of people think she's very smart, set up the consumer agency that republicans don't like, the left is going to give her a lot of money. will it be enough to beat scott brown, who recently has broken with republican leaders on some high profile issues. that remains to be seen. but it's good news that democrats could win back that seat. as far as then retaining the senate, they're going to have to win one of these republican seats, whether it's in massachusetts or in arizona or in nevada. otherwise, it looks like republicans could take back the senate. jon: elizabeth warren also has pretty close connections to president obama. the question is whether his support will mean a whole lot this time around. we'll see. bob cusack from the hill, thank you. >> thank you. jenna: new details about one of the largest raids

targeting criminals who are illegal immigrants, the feds just wrapping up operation cross-check, and fox news gives you a front row seat to what actually went down. plus, new worries out of libya today. thousands of weapons, capable of shooting down a plane are missing. now what?

jenna: welcome back, everyone. some new concerns out of libya today that thousands of deadly weapons could wind up in' hands of terrorists, and this is after a report that some 20,000 shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles like the one you see here just vanished from a libyan army warehouse. what to make of this report? joining me, mike baker, former cia officer and president of diligence security firm.

mike, shoulder-fired missiles, what are they? >> this sounds like a great problem to have, doesn't it, weapons systems that are mobile, you know, they don't weigh that much, maybe 50-60 pounds, and very easy to move, very easy actually to manipulate and use. you were talking about essentially that the worst of the bunch would be what we call sa24s, which are the russian, most modern version of our stingers. people will probably, going back several years, remember the use of the stingers in afghanistan. when we were working, training, arming the muhajadeen and stingers played a significant role in getting the soviets to finally -- finally exit the country. jenna: in that situation we ended up having to buy back the weapons we gave to the afghanis, as much as we could. >> yes. jenna: to get these off the market, number one, do we know where they are and number two, do you buy them back? >> it's a definition of a goat rope. what happened was early days, you know, we had the libyan uprising and everyone

was talking about self determination democracy, what we didn't have was no control. you could still argue to this day there's no command and control angst the -- amongst the rebel group such as it is. in the early days, we were talking about the influence of al-qaeda in eastern libya, for years now, in using that as a recruiting ground, the influence of the muslim brotherhood in that area. but nobody wanted to talk about that. they wanted to talk about holding hands and how this was going to work out great. when they started taking over town after town and overrunning armories, they essentially threw the doors open and they had access to a variety of weapons systems, including the surface to air missiles, you've got the sa24s, you've got -- you've also got the 7s, the 14s, and these things are extremely dangerous. jenna: let me st you there. one of the -- i'll guess i'll call him an executive of human rights watch, on a trip to libya, and in a report to abc, he says listen, i actually have pictures and we got those photographs from him directly, you're seeing them

on your screen there, we were just watching people go into these warehouses and take out these weapons, and we said something but no one was there. i mean, nato was there, mike, right? where were we? >> remember, this was an air campaign, remember? there was a limited action. there's a real problem with -- >> jenna: ao*up a cia guy. come on, there wasn't any cia guys there? >> if there were, i wouldn't be talking about it. but the point being that the libyan military, you know, right off the bat, is not known for meticulous bookkeeping and weapons control, and so you had a disorg need rag tag as it was always called group of rebels storming out there, nobody is standing at the door saying you're take two, sa24s, some other weapons systems, some mortars, there was no control over what was happening. jenna: so what do we do now? twenty thousand, if that's the report? >> right. jenna: again, it's a report. it could be less, it could be more. what to do? >> we don't really know the extent of the problem, we don't know who has them, we don't know how many of them there are, we don't know

where they're going. jenna: what would you do? >> i would basically do everything possible to try and convince the libyans to give us everything they've got on what they had stockpiled, then you've got to do it very quickly, which is what we're doing, we're trying to play catchup, which is the problem. these things go across the border quickly. even if it's al-qaeda, card carrying members of al-qaeda, if they cart them out and load them on to truck, you've got a vibrant gray market and black market for weapons systems, so people will quickly, not be putting them on craigslist or ebay but they'll be selling these things into the wrong hands. it would be naive of us to say this is not a serious problem. jenna: mike, we'll continue to follow it and we hope to have you back to talk more about it. >> thank you. jenna: in the meantime, we watch for development things skpwro*pb. -- jon, what do you do? >> jon: and hope you're not on one of the planes they wish to target. the feds say they've wrapped up house of illegals

in operation cross check and we're length who those illegals are and what they were doing in the u.s. also a guy who eluded law enforcement for four decades after hijacking a plane to algeria. his name is george wright, a convicted killer. even if you don't remember his name, he probably changed your life, if you fly anywhere. changed the way we're all screened for security at the airports. this incredible international crime tale and how the feds finally nailed him. so don't let odor stop you. gillette odor shield. turns odor into freshness. yeah, i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth!

jon: well this story broke during our hours yesterday. a fugitive behind one of the most brazen hijacking in american history is a fugitive no more. the fbi finally catches up with '70s militant george wright after this now, 68-year-old convicted killer lived in come ford for years, even raising a family on the portuguese coast in a beautiful resort town. on the phone with us, charlie webster, a reporter for the asbury park, press. this guy murdered a gas station owner back in the 1970s, right? >> actually in 1962. jon: 62? >> him and three other people walk into a gas station, shoot the owner in the process of a robbery. two days later they are caught by the local police. jon: all right. the victim obviously, a father of two, a war hero. so they went, they were

convicted, sentenced to jail. they broke out of jail. walked away from a prison farm in new jersey and drove away in the warden's car? >> right. exactly. they were, it is a minimum security facility. they walked away from it. eventually they end up in detroit and get connected with the black panther party and later the black liberation army. and that's when they decide that they're going to move on to bigger and better crime. jon: right. so this guy is the guy who's crime changed the way we all fly because after a string of hijacking in the '60s and '70s, it was this hijacking that finally led to the installation of metal detectors at airports? >> exactly. it's funny. you didn't have to run througany of it. today it is common knowledge. we just do it. jon: sure. >> it was this hijacking that finally they said, hey, let's put in metal detectors to find out what people are bringing on airplanes. jon: he dressed up as a priest that carried a

hallowed out bible with a gun inside. hijacked a plane to algeria eventually. there was a lot of running around. took a million dollars ran some. what happened after he took went to algeria. >> it was a family affair. people came with him brought wives and children with them. they got the money and loaded up in suitcases handed to them by fbi agent on the tarmac in miami. jon: we're looking at house he was staying in portugal. go ahead. >> they take off from miami. they go into whirlwind tour. land in boston to fuel up and landed in algeria and sought refuge there. jon: the algerian government hosted them for a while. we don't know how he got to portugal. the fbi finally caught up to him. the hope they will bring him back to this country to finish out his sentence and face hijacking charges, right? >> that is the hope. history tells us they may not happen. although this is portugal his cohorts were captured in

1976 in paris. tried, convicted and the french government refused to bring them back and extradite them to the united states because they faced much stiffer penalties here. they served a few years over in paris and they were released eventually. so, not sure how portugal will handle it. so, not sure whether or not he ends up back in the united states. jon: important to remember, this guy 68 years old he may be now, he was a much younger man when he shot and killed in cold blood a world war ii hero who was just trying to make a living running a gas station. a father of two kids who grew up then without a father. and he shot him for $70. >> right. $70. as you said, in cold blood, leaving a family behind. it just doesn't make sense if you think about it because he got a light sentence as it was. 15 to 30 years for a capital murder, at a time in new jersey when there was

capital punishment. he could have got the electric chair. so he got away from it easy. walks away from the farm. does the hijacking. he created problems. looks at 68 he may have to pay for it. jon: from all indications he had a pretty charmed life. raised a family in portugal in fact. charlie webster, we'll have to say good-bye. thanks, charlie webster. >> thanks. jenna: what a story. jon: all over the world literally. jenna: unbelievable. we'll continue to watch that one for you and keep up to date on it. this is a big story today. immigration and customs enforcement agents wrapping up week-long operation arresting nearly 3,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records. it is called operation cross-check and fox news was there. william la jeunesse live in l.a. with more details. hi, william. >> reporter: i.c.e. deports criminal aliens. some are handed over directly from the courts to the jails but others are fugitive. difficult to track down. operation cross-check's purpose was to find them.

>> turn it over to the case agents. >> reporter: they meet before sunrise to assess the day's targets. >> get rolling. report or the in moments the operation is underway. >> we've been targeting what we consider the worst of the worst. >> do you have your i.d.? >> these are not just people who entered the united states illegally but they have committed serious crimes here. >> reporter: 62-year-old alfredo is a four-time felon, convicted of drunk driving and giving alcohol to a minor. three times he has been deported. >> i think we're putting the message out, if you come to the united states and get convicted of a crime we're going to find you and we're going to remove you. >> reporter: eight teams in los angeles alone look for more than 500 illegal felons. >> the rate of recidivism in this country is such if these people are left on the streets, most of them will reoaf phoned within three years. >> reporter: i.c.e. director john morton says focusing on

criminal aliens makes sense. some critics argue another message is being sent. that entering america illegally is fine, provided you don't commit a crime. morton disagrees. >> we can remove 400,000 people a year. about half of those last year were criminal offenders. half of those were noncriminal offenders. the idea somehow we're not enforcing the law against regular immigration violators simply isn't true. >> reporter: nationwide it took 2000 cops to catch 3,000 criminals. so it is expensive. i.c.e. has a new program to change that with a seamless transfer from jails to deportation for convicted felons. but, jenna, we have a long way to go. cross-check apprehended less than 1% of 500,000 fugitive criminals living among us. so there is a little job security here. jenna? jenna: wow, interesting to hear a lot of those numbers, william. we appreciate it. william la jeunesse in l.a. today.

jon: when you hear that music you know it's time to talk politics. republican presidential candidate mitt romney is pushing to reclaim his status as frontrunner. this as texas governor rick perry appears to falter. romney is back in new hampshire trying to build support after perry turned in what most observers call a poor showing in a florida straw poll. our chief political correspondent carl cameron is in new hampshire as well as mr. romney. carl? >> reporter: hi, jon. here in the granite state first-in-the-nation primary state mitt romney never trailed and he has been frontrunner and prohibitive one since going back to 2008. most of the current polls show romney has a huge lead in new hampshire. this is his firewall state. he has a vacation home here. he has been governor of next door state of massachusetts and very well-known. he is pressing his advantage in new hampshire and across the country based on the idea that mr. perry, the texas governor, has had a rough patch because of weak debate performanceances and

a lot of criticism from conservatives unhappy with mr. perry's position on illegal immigration, social security reform and criticism from his viivals frankly perry is prone to a pay to play type of crony capitalism type of politics. romney is casting himself as the best republican candidate to go up against barack obama. question of electability and emphasized today on the stimulus. mr. romney is arguing that the president's plan to stimulate the economy by taxing the rich is inadequate. he argues that he is opposed the obama stimulus programs since their inception in 2009. there is some criticism coming from the rick perry campaign today suggesting that in his first book, the hardcover, and in his audio book mr. obama suggested that the obama stimulus might accelerate the start of an economic recovery. but in that book romney criticizes the obama stimulus and the perry campaign does not mention that. romney folks are suggesting that governor rick perry, of

texas has a problem, quote, with the truth for exaggerating way mr. romney wrote a book, put it in hardcover and revised before published on paperback. this may seem like a small thing but this is the campaign for the most powerful office in the land and the world is about. who is omitting pages in a book written couple years ago. it is about the stimulus, economy and about jobs. romney is argument he is best suited to go up against president obama. perry says look at the former massachusetts governor's record. you may find things that question his conservatism. jon: those two slug it out with all the others on stage. carl, thanks. jenna: we have new information today, shattering some stereotypes about who makes up the u.s. military. what is the social and economic background of our troops? you ever think about that? you may be surprised what we're learning now. also reminding you about today's you decide poll. tell us what you think about south carolina's plan to help folks cheer up.

the governor ordering workers to greet callers with the upbeat phrase, it's a great day to be in south carolina. we tried it jon and they're doing that on the phone lines. jon: they're making that their greeting. >> the idea to put workers in a better mood and put the public in a better mood and everyone is in a better mood. do you get it? do you think niceness can solve some of our problems. log on to foxnews.co foxnews.com/happeningnow. we'll have the results at the end of our show. jon: it's a great day to watch "happening now"

>> heyer one i'm megyn kelly. did you happen to catch governor chris christie's speech at the reagan library last night? a female voter basically begged him to r for president. it was an incredible exchange. we'll play it for you at the top of the hour. president obama said he spent his first year of the presidency doing the right thing but failed to quote, sell it. is that is what is behind his sinking poll numbers? we'll have fair and balanced debate. health premiums are up more

than the price of a new car at companies and individuals. is the new health care law to blame? we investigate. kelly's court with an in-depth look at the michael jackson case. see you at the top of the hour. jenna: common stereotype of the military is most who serve are from low-income families, have limited option for higher education and the majority of those who serve are in fact minorities. but writer ann marlow says this is simply not true. she took a look at some of the statistics. she wrote a piece recently in the "wall street journal" one of the parts that stood out to us is this. quote, this detachment is the result of withdrawal from urban elites from military service. it suits the interest of many members of urban elites to believe the military, they do not join is composed of poor, uneducated victims of an unfair society. that is profound words there, ann. and something that probably needs some better explanation on what exactly you found when you looked through the statistics. are the stereotypes true?

>> oh absolutely not. the heritage foundation did a study in 2008 looking at year 2000 census data and found that the poorest 20% of american census tracks only produced 10% of the recruits into all the services. so in other words, the poorest americans are underrepresented in all the services. that was in 2006 and 2007. in 2010, the department of defee studied the, what they call the army profile and this information is available on the department of defense website and that shows that contrary to another very dangerous myth, that blacks and whites serve in the army in roughly their percentage in the overall american population. jenna: that is interesting to hear some of these statistics. you've been back and forth to afghanistan many times. you just recently were in

libya several times as well. you have been with our troops who have been at war for 10 years. why do you think these myths still exist? >> well, i would say that the urban elites and media elite doesn't spend much time with the military and they certainly don't enlist in the military in anywhere near the percentages that they used to. today, for example, there are just 14 stanford undergraduates in rotc. in year 1956 there were 1100. so, those 1100 people had a first-hand acquaintance with the i will terri our elite undergraduates don't today. jenna: if you don't have acquaintance with the military, number one you're out of touch what is going on militarily as far as national security. as you mentioned at least some stereotypes. how do you fix it? is it about the military getting out and talking about who they are? is it, what do we do to change and break some of these stereotypes that are out there? >> jenna, that's a very good

idea. i would say neither the army nor any of the other services seem to do a particularly good job of outreach on their web sites in terms of conveying this information to the public. it is embedded in several layers that you have to go down into. most people haven't done research on this wouldn't know to look for fy-10 army profile to find this information. jenna: we know your information is on this article, the truth about who fights for us at "the wall street journal".com. look to talk about afghanistan and libya and your experiences, ann. we appreciate your experiences. >> thank you very much. jenna: we'll be right back with more "happening now."

jon: word of warning to the apple corporation. right now amazon.com is launching a kindle tablet

that provides one-touch access to amazon's vast inventory of book, music and movie titles. at 199 bucks it is half the price of cheapest models of apple's popular ipad. fox business network dennis kneale live from midtown manhattan with more. dennis? >> reporter: everyone looking for the ipad killer. after all the apple product is already slain the likes of motorola and rim and hewlett-packard. along comes amazon with the anti-ipad, for less than half of the starting price of an ipad, amazon is betting that people will want less power, fewer fancy features but the price is so cheap they won't be able to resist. for 200 bucks you get a 7-inch screen not 10 inch screen like on ipad. weighs less than a pound. hire's the thing. 100,000 titles of movies and tv shows. you don't get wireless cellular service, g-3. don't get camera and e-mail.

amazon is betting most of us don't care. amazon is betting 80% of the ipad users only use 10 to 20% of the features. this is their bet on a tablet for the rest of us. couple things to watch. tetonic plates. by doing this amazon takes on apple directly. amazon takes on netflix with all far more titles. amazon allies with google who has the software inside the system. amazon announced a browser that competes with google's chrome browser. the bullets are flying all over the place. the consumer benefits. will be a lot of christmas competition coming up, jon. this will be awfully fun to watch. jon: the consumer benefits if the consumer isn't confused like i am, dennis. too many choices. cull them all out. >> reporter: apple is the cool brand. jon: you pick something for me. i will buy it. thanks, dennis. jenna: coming up the you decide question. can niceness solve some of the problems the u.s. faces?

look at that face. figure out, we have your answers straight ahead.

jon: if you call the governor's office in south carolina, you will get a very cheerful greeting. state workers are now answering the phone saying, it's a great day in south carolina. governor nikki haley wants to get everyone feeling a little more upbeat. good idea, right? jenna: sure. jon: so we asked our viewers if niceness can fix some of the problems in the united states. well, guess what? 67% say it's not enough, we need stronger action, 25% say they think a little niceness would work, 8% say they don't though, but it's worth a shot. jenna: it's a great day at fox news. jon: it is. jenna: come on. jon: we'll see you tomorrow. jenna: "america live" starts right now. megyn: new fallout from a report showing americans are paying a