amazing highlights. >> brian: see these guys off to the world championship in the after the show show. battle born. martha: let's get start the with fox news alert. the party is over where it all began. the new york city police moving until zuccotti park just after midnight. this is some of the scene down there. they arrested dozens of protesters. they dismantled that huge tent city that had built up down there that is tough job. sanitation crews are brought in. boy, they are needed to clean up that mess. good morning, everybody, i'm martha maccallum. that this is "america's newsroom.". >> i'm gregg jarrett in for bill hemmer

they are out of the park but they are marching in defy an of the order. >> we could knot wait for someone in the park to get killed or injure another first responder before acting. no right is absolute. and with every right comes responsibility. the first amendment gives every new yorker the right to speak out but it does not give anyone the right to sleep in a park or otherwise take it over to the exclusion of others. nor does it permit anyone in our society to live outside the law. martha: well, is that the case? now there is a legal fight in all of this. the mayor says the protests terse can return to zuccotti. they can't bring the tents. can't camp out overnight in his opinion. attorneys have a court order that says otherwise. julie banderas is live on the scene. julie, what can you tell us what happened last night?

>> reporter: i first want to mention the court order you talked about. we got word the court hear something at 11:30 this morning. lawyers on behalf of occupy wall street protesters are saying they will go into court and argue these protesters, demonstrators should be allowed back into zuccotti park with their sleeping bags and their tents. the mayor said while they have closed it for now they will reopen it after they clean the whole thing. but tents will be banned that is the court order you were just talking about. this has been going on for nearly two months. the mayor says he has been tolerant, this has become absolutely unliveable, unsanitary and unacceptable. dozens of people who refused to leave overnight were arrested. in fact up to 100 now, including several who actually chained themselves together to trees using bike locks. city officials warned the demonstrators the park was being cleared and restored and those who did not leave would be arrested.

they began terri -- tearing down the tents. they rallied in an area known as the kitchen in the middle of the park. they put up make shifted barricade. protesters, 200 of whom were staying in the park over. >> they had chants of whose park? our park. they don't own the park. brookfield properties does. that is the actual owner. they asked the city to help them clear the park which had been occupied since september 17th. want to go ahead and throw to a quick sound bite of mayor bloomberg addressing that issue moments ago. >> the first amendment protects speech. it does not protect the use of tents and sleeping bags to take over a public space. protesters have the had two months to occupy the park with tents and sleeping bags. now they will have to occupy the space with the power of their arguments. >> reporter: and so right now the park is still closed. it should be reopened and we'll wait to hear what that court order gets ruled

although mayor bloomberg will be fighting the protesters who want to get back in with tents. they says they should be banned because they are unsafe. back to you. martha: julie, thank you very much. gregg: we have now seen police clear protesters in california and new york city. is this the end of occupy wall street? stuart varney, anchor of "varney & company" on the fox business network. you know, stuart, this is privately-owned, public space and there are rules for the public. i read them. one of them is, you can't essentially live there. been doing for the better part of two months, the mayor, albeit belatedly is now enforcing those rules. how much does that interfere with occupy wall street's movement? you've gone right to the heart of the matter. if the occupy wall street people in downtown manhattan lose their tent city, if they're not allowed to bring back sleeping bags and tents, and no longer a permanent

encampment i think the . daily meeting point. that is all it is. that is a very different thing from a series of permanent encampments in cities all across the country. i would go further. i think the movement has lost a good degree of political support it enjoyed in the early days about two months ago. the behavior of the protesters has been called into question. frequent violence in various cities around the country and especially in oakland, encampments. say they have been weakened, if they fail, if they can not return to a permanent encampment status i think they have lost some political support. the movement is not dead but weakened and losing political support. gregg: maybe they will reorganize and coalesce around a central message and message. maybe their template hear is the tea party movement which would hold highly-organized

but, you know, short-term rallies to promote their cause. is that the template? >> it may be. i think they will go in a different direction. i think occupy wall street will move to college cam pumps -- campuses. today at uc berkeley there will be a an attempt to occupy berkeley and shut it down. you could see people retreating from the permanent encampments to radical college campuses. that may be the direction of the future. gregg: stuart varney. thanks very much, stuart. >> sure. martha: well, folks, this morning herman cain, the top gop contender along with about three others at this point, had another very awkward moment answering a question about the president's libya policy. take a look. >> president obama supported the uprising, correct? president obama called for the removal of qaddafi.

just want to make sure we're talking about the same thing before i say yes, i agree, no, i didn't agree. i do not agree with the way he handled it for the following reason. no, that is a different one. i have to go back and see. got all this stuff twirling around in my head. specifically what are you asking me did i agree or not disagree with obama. martha: that is the tape very problematic for him this morning. critic it is are questioning his command of foreign policy, even talking about those long pauses and asking questions about that. the cain campaign did a little bit of damage control. listen to this. i paused so i could gather my thoughts. you know, really complimentary when people start documenting my pauses. we differ in that number one, i would have done a better job of figuring out exactly

who was in the opposition. martha: so cain spokesman also suggesting that the whole thing was taken out of context saying that the candidate has been fielding questions on a lot of different topics for 45 minutes and had to think about his answer. gregg: meanwhile rick perry is taking president obama to task for some rather controversial comments. the president calling americans a bit lazy for not attracting more foreign business. mr. perry told iowa voters, americans are not the problem. >> not an administration that has made our economy crisis even worse. not a president, in the last few days called our peoplesoft, lacking in ambition and imagination were his words. who just saturday night, said americans have gotten lazy. mr. president, americans

aren't lazy and they're not soft. americans do not lack a vision or ambition. we lack leadership in washington, d.c. that's what this country lacks. [applause] gregg: the third time in three months that president obama has expressed disappointment in the american spirit. martha: well, president obama bringing up a familiar campaign word during a fund-raising event in hawaii saying voters helped him change things in washington. here is what he had to say. >> the change is the fight that we won, that stopped sending $60 billion in taxpayer subsidies to the banks that were giving out student loans and today that money is going directly to students. as a consequence there are millions of young people all across the country who have less of a debt burden and are better able to afford college. that is because of you. because of the work thaw did [applause] martha: well the president also touting a rise in fuel

efficiency standards to help curb america's oil addiction and then you have the pipeline story brewing along those lines as well. gregg: those are just a few of the stories we are following this morning in "america's newsroom." coming up the new health care law, heading to the nation's highest court but have two of the justices already shown some bias on the issue? martha: and new reports this morning of more young men coming forward and accusing that man on screen left, former penn state football coach jerry sandusky of sexual assault. now a chilling and disturbing first interview with the former coach. gregg: he was practically begged to run for president but now new jersey governor chris christie has of course declined and he has a stern warning for the candidates who are in the ring. >> so i think that people who believe because the president's poll numbers are

bad on country is in trouble that he is a shoo-in loser are wrong.

martha: this is something to be watching this morning because defense secretary leon panetta is about to testify before congress, the senate armed services committee, about the iraq withdrawal. also what could happen if congress's super-committee fails to come up with a plan to cut our deficit. 1.2 trillion is the measure they must meet or else automatic cuts to the defense program will be hit. leon panetta wants to talk about that earlier he said this, we would have the smallest ground force since 1940. the smallest number of ships since 1915. and the smallest air force in our country's history. all of that we believed would on triggered if the cuts are made. gregg: we're getting some new questions this morning over whether the united states supreme court justice elena kagan should recuse herself from the health care case, the highest court in

the land, announcing it will decide the fate of president obama's flagship legislation. justices will decide whether it is constitutional for the federal government to require americans to buy health insurance. opponents say it sets a very dangerous precedent. >> this affects every citizen, every taxpayer and every business. and the bottom line is as we've said all along, it is unconstitutional and if the federal government can force us to do this, they can force us to do anything. gregg: greg abbott is the to block the overhaul. and general abbott, thanks it was just -- appeals decision upheld the individual mandate and in silberman, a conservative, who said look, i understand and i am

troubled by ms. bondi's argument of a limitless power of congress but he said, it is clear that the millions of uninsured americans have a substantial impact on interstate commerce, and as you know, that is the supreme court's standard based on prior cases. so how do you argue against that? >> well the argument against it is exactly what was contained in the opinion which the states won in the lower courts and that is this case is not about health care, it is not about health insurance. instead what this case involves is the limits of congressional power. the issue isn't whether or not someone who enters into the stream of commerce such as buying health care insurance can be regulated by congress the issue is whether or not congress can force americans into the stream of commerce. it is important to understand there has never been a law like this ever passed by the united states congress. gregg: right. >> equally important to understand that the united states supreme court has never considered this issue. if the supreme court upholds this law the supreme court

itself will be expanding the scope of congressional power. gregg: general abbott, in fact judge silberman, and he is highly regarded especially by the supreme court, addressed that very issue. he said quote, the fact that congress never issued a mandate to purchase something before is political judgment left to congress, not a recognition of constitutional limitations. >> right. and there's a flaw in that argument and that is that every act that congress passes is a political judgment and importantly here twice in the past 16 years justice kennedy has twice voted to strike down acts of congress as exceeding its authority under the commerce clause. those acts of congress, just like obamacare were political acts just like every other act of congress. just because it was so-called political act, is whether it exceeds power given congress under the

commerce clause. gregg: there are documents obtained that seem to suggest, elena kagan who sits as an associate justice on the supreme court, when she was solicitor general helped coordinate the obama administration's defense of the health care act. should she recuse herself? and by the way, should clarence thomas on the other side recuse himself because his wife has been intimately involved in trying to strike down the health care law? >> right. a couple of key points here. first of all the way procedurally this typically works is that whether or not a justice decides to recuse themselves is announced at the same time that the court announces whether or not it is going to take the case. that time has passed. neither of those justices recused themselves. so the time for this issue may have already passed. but secondly to the heart of your question, first of all, recusal standards are not based upon what a spouse of a justice has done. so the issue about whether

or not justice thomas should recuse himself is off the table because justice thomas himself has not undertaken any activity on his own that would subject him to recusal with regard to justice kagan --. gregg: general abbott, come on, there is the common sense recusal, that if you don't support your wife you're going to be sleeping on the couch. >> in all fairness though that is not the standard. the standard is whether or not the justice has done anything, undertaken any action that would subject him or her to recusal. justice thomas has not. there are more troubling issues whether or not justice kagan has taken a position with regard to obamacare. those are facts that will continue to come out over the coming weeks and months. gregg: attorney general greg abbott of texas, thank you so much, sir. appreciate it. >> our pleasure. thank you. martha: well the president was torn between the unions on one side and environmentalists on the other. on a pipeline that would create 20,000 jobs in this country. so what really happened with

all of this in the end? gregg: plus, the heat is on the attorney general of the united states, eric holder. new developments in the federal program that armed dangerous criminals. and is linked to the death of border patrol agent brian terry. >> this mr. holder knew about it, the president knew about it and think anybody should be prosecuted for his death and the people in mexico and innocent people down there that were murdered with them ak-47s. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future.

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gregg: developing right now in "america's newsroom", good news for u.s. retailers. october retail sales up by 5%. falling gas and energy prices giving people more cash to spend on things like cars and electronics. skiers mourning the loss

of an iconic daredevil killed in a utah avalanche. matthew pierre a was best known for his record breaking cliff jumps here with snowboarding. take a break from the death defying stunts for his wife and kids. he was 38 years old. we could know the future of the u.s. postal office. a report from the cash-strapped postal service set for 4:00 p.m. the post office has a nine billion dollar deficit for 2012. martha: just a drop in the bucket. all righty, there is big news this morning in the plan for a cross-country oil pipeline. the white house announced they would delay a decision until after the election because of protests from environmentalists but now it looks like transcanada will reroute the pipeline in a way they said they couldn't do before and that has given this project some life. >> this is a good day for nebraska. i think all of our citizens in this state appreciate

transcanada's commitment to voluntarily move the keystone xcel pipeline out of the nebraska sand hills and we stand here today united as we go forward to work the next week or so on finalizing the legislation. >> we're amazed that transcanada finally came to their senses, what i would say. the sand hills of nebraska is no place for a pipeline. martha: very interesting, this back and forth. kelly wright wright joins me at the white house with more on this. kelly, what does the administration say about the rerouting idea this morning? >> reporter: state department has been monitoring the whole keystone pipeline situation. in response so far they have actually had no response. state department spokesperson mark toner going on to say, given the process we can not provide a specific end date other than to say based on total mileage of potential alternative route routes that would need to be

reviewed we anticipate the evaluation could be concluded as first quarter of 2013. to the to tell you a lot of supporters are saying the whole environmental impact study is overblown but then there are those who criticize this project, particularly environmentalists who say that it would adversely impact the environment, hurt wildlife as well as contaminate the aquifer. martha? martha: part of the backstory on all of this is the discussion between canada's prime minister stephen harper and president obama about this pipeline. what do we know about that, kelly? >> reporter: we saw those two leaders talking on sunday as a matter of fact. they were talking about this very issue. the president and prime minister stephen harper. they actually met for 15 minutes during a break from apac. the meeting reportedly went on for 25 minutes. prime minister harper pushing for the keystone pipeline deal to be approved. president obama continues to delay the project while prime minister harper has been very adamant they will look into the possibility of

selling canada's oil and gas to asian countries. on capitol hill congressman lee terry says this deal needs to get done because it can create jobs. >> for the state of nebraska alone it is about 4 to 6,000 jobs for the pipeline running all the way from the border to down to texas, it is 20,000 instantaneous construction jobs. snen when you add refineries in there and expansions to the refineries up to 100 to 200,000 jobs. >> reporter: those are a lot of jobs and that total jobs number is still under question and still being disputed. but the bottom line here canada's prime minister, stefen harper will continue to push president obama to get this deal done. back to you. >> thanks so much, kelly wright at the white house. gregg: he has been accused of raping young boys and now former penn state coach jerry sandusky is speaking out with his side of the story. and in a shocking interview.

martha: chris christie says president obama has a lot of advantages in this 2012 race. so what is his warning now for mitt romney? our terrific panel weighs in on this coming up. >> i think anybody that underestimates the president over the next year, under estimates him at their own peril. [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition? ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

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gregg: former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky is speaking out for the very first time since his arrest on child sex abuse charges. in an interview with nbc's bob costas, sandusky denies the charges against him and describes in detail his contact with young boys. >> mr. sandusky, there is a 40-count indictment. the grand jury report contains specific detail. there are multiple accusers, multiple eyewitnesses to various aspects of the abuse. a reasonable person says where there is this much smoke there must be plenty of fire. what do you say? >> i say that i am innocent of those charges. >> innocent, completely innocent and falsely accused in every aspect? >> well, i could say that, you know, i have done some of those things. i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. i have hugged them and i

have, i have touched their leg without intent of sexual contact. gregg: david lee miller is live on the campus of penn state university. david? >> reporter: gregg, after that report i get a sense here on the campus that many would like to see jerry sandusky go from penn state to the pen. this is the front page of the college newspaper. it says, sandusky claims innocence. just about everyone on this campus watched that broadcast last night or they read about it today in this newspaper and everyone we talked with this morning believes that sandusky is guilty of wrongdoing. listen to some of the people we talked with. >> he is absolutely guilty i think. what the interview said i think it is gross even says that he is innocent. >> reporter: do you believe him? >> no. i didn't believe him. >> reporter: why not? >> because, for him to say things that he did and not,

he said he put his hand on a little boy and, that's it, there was no sexual contact or anything like that i was just disgusted even with what he said. >> reporter: there was another report this morning, this one from "the new york times", citing unnamed sources says as many as 10 other victims have come forward. lastly, very quickly the witness identified in the grand jury report who in 2002 says he saw sandusky allegedly involved with a young boy, sent an e-mail to his friends. this is mike mack query to former teammates. i didn't turn around and run. i made sure it stopped. if you read his grand jury testimony it says very clearly the graduate student left immediately distraught. if you believe the e-mail obtained by nbc news, mcqueary's story has now dramatically changed. gregg: david lee miller on the campus. thank you very much. martha? martha: what a disturbing story it is. sandusky as you see there

has proclaimed his innocence. he is facing 40 counts of child sexual abuse. a graduate assistant coach david lee miller was referring to witnessed one alleged incident back in 2002. we'll show you the text what he said in the e-mail. this is the witness we're talking about now. and also a judge released jerry sandusky and this has become very controversial as well. on $100,000 a bail. he is a free man. free to do interviews and free to talk to bob costas last night as you saw. gregg: that's right. related to that, martha, serious new concerns today about that judge. reports say she has ties to his charity, the second mile. a state lawmaker questioning if that judge should be on the case saying she released him on a much smaller bail than prosecutors had requested and did not require him to wear even a monitoring device. the judge refusing to comment. >> i am not permitted to speak about any pending cases. gregg: the lawmaker sent a

letter about his concerns to the state supreme court. certainly will have more on this plus serious problems with sandusky's attorney. reports that he also has a rather checkered past. that is coming up inside "america's newsroom.". martha: that will be in the next hour. and meantime republicans have a tough battle ahead to unseat president obama. that coming from new jersey governor chris christie who declined to run himself in a very well-documented plea from many voters out there asking him to but he says it is possible that the party could retake the white house next year especially if unemployment remains near 9%. but he says the president is guaranteed to be a formidable and well-financed opponent. >> i think that the republicans can win in november but, they are going to face a very formidable incumbent president who will have a ton of money, and who will be willing to do whatever he needs to do to get himself out there in front of the people of this

country and make his case. martha: joined by andrea tanteros, daily news columnist and co-host of "the five" on fox news channel and bob beckel. former campaign manager and co-host of "the five" as well. he is calling it like he sees it, andrea, as he usually does. >> he is right. this will not be a layup, christie is absolutely right. barack obama will have the money as christie pointed out, almost a billion dollars. he has democratic machine including unions. they will be dragging people out to vote. he still has the bully pulpit and that could be very powerful. he is going around what he likes to call do nothing congress and act through executive fiat. he will use taxpayer dollars to give american people all these sweeteners. he is very good on the campaign trail. he is failure at governing in washington, d.c. he will not spend a lot of time in d.c. he will be out on the campaign trail. he does to his credit do very well on the stump.

martha: to that point, bob, let's listen to this other piece of sound from governor christie and we'll get your thoughts on it. >> i watched president now has he gotten into more campaign style things. he gets more energized. he is animated. he is off the prompter. he is seemingly speaking from his gut. that is the person that people elected in 2008. that is the guy. the guy who has been around for the last three years in the oval office nobody can really recognize who he is. martha: what do you think about bob? >> i think he is exactly right. andrea is right too. people continue to forget how power you'll campaigner obama is. there is other things. incumbents are hard to beat. bill clinton went into his second re-election with low poll numbers and beat up for lot of reasons and won his re-election. expectations for obama could not be lower than they are right now. next year if things are as bad now or worse he won't get elected anyway but i suspect there will be some

marginal increase. but what i will be a marginal increase will look a lot bigger in comparison to what it would otherwise look. martha: when the american people have been beaten up by this economy for so long that if it starts to feel slightly better that has got to be a good thing for obama's camp. i guess underlying theme here that we haven't talked about yet, andrea, is the gop side. and you know, if there isn't a very strong contender, if you look at people who could have run, chris christie for example, jeb bush is another one out there who could have made a run for it. i think pack to condoleezza rice and people on the book tours lately and that power and strength in the gop party are we seeing it this time around? >> that is yet to be seen. the message is on the republican side. if you look at all the numbers, as you point out if there is little bit of improvement obama looks like hero. that is the thing. it is not projected to improve. even though obama has benefit of extended primary season. he gets to campaign while republicans duke it out into april i still think he will

be mired by unemployment. everyone, if you look at his numbers on all the issues, deficit, economy, ability to create jobs his numbers are below 40. that will be very tough to overcome. he is not going to be able to be that positive campaigner he was in 2008. this will be the nastiest election in history. it will not be a referendum on him if he has his way. it will be a choice even though it should be a referendum on him and his failures. >> one quick thing here, he has to run against somebody. got to be name. republicans in the year when most vulnerable incumbent in a long time did it field their best field. we all know it. and if you look back in retrospect a lot of these people would reconsider their decision not to run. martha: i think you're right about that, final point, absolutely bob. you guys continue the conversation on "the five". >> we sure will. martha: thank you guys. we'll have a busy year covering all this. lots of twist and turns to come. gregg: speaking of twists and turns we normally see the ups and downs every day on wall street but take a

look at the big board right now, almost completely flat. down just about four points. the volume rather moderate. not much action happening we're only 10 minutes into the trading day, right, martha? so who knows. also the european markets were in flux as well. the dow closed down nearly 75 points yesterday, finishing at 12,079. martha: we'll keep an eye on that indeed. we're down to the wire for this super-committee, the 12 lawmakers that have been tasked to figure out what to do about our nation's massive debt. now nearly 150 other lawmakers say do not think small about this, fellow congressman and congresswomen. go big. we'll talk to two of the leaders on this and tell you what they are pushing for. gregg: and president obama's re-election team going to bill clinton for advice. the advice the former president had for the white house coming up. [ male announcer ] in his eyes...a race needs no finish line.

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underway to recall wisconsin governor scott walker. opponents have 60 days to get more than half a million signatures to force a recall election. they're still angry at walker for pushing through that plan that essentially ends collective bargaining rights for most public workers. martha: go big and go bold. that is the message 150 lawmakers are expected to give at news conference this afternoon about this debt crisis we're all mired in this country. we have eight more days until the super-committee has to roll out their plan to cut more than a trillion dollars from the budget and the members of the committee, they're very busy. watch. >> let me say this we know that the deadline's there and there is still time to meet the deadline. >> hi, guys. >> are you concerned--. >> i'm not going to speak about anything relative to our committee activities.

>> so is there talk about a new proposal at this point? we're right down to the stumping post. >> well, we're still talking. still talking. martha: still talking. still talking. that is the buzzword there. we're joined by two members of the go big coalition, democratic congressman heath shuler and republican senator sachs by chambliss, formerly of the "gang of six". good to have you here this morning. senator chambliss, let she chart with you, sir. when you listen to the men and women coming and going do you have any confidence that the super-committee will come up with a deal to cut more than a trillion dollars in the next eight days? >> martha, we know they have had one heck of a challenge to do what they have been charged to do within 120-day period is really a mammoth undertaking. we know all the members of the super 12 committee. we know they're all dedicated public servants and they're working hard to try to get there but frankly it's a huge challenge to achieve even the 1.2.

really going for 4 trillion is almost as easy going to 1.2 and that's been our message to them, if you will, go big. do what the markets have said we need to do to show a responsible effort. then we're they're with you. we got your back. martha: you know, congressman schuler, the word is that congressman becerra and congressman clyburn have basically stepped away from this process. two of the super-committees, both democrats. have you heard that? what was the deal breaker for them and can anything get done if they're not in it? >> i have not heard that but i hope, at this point in time our country needs everyone engaged regardless of their political perspective, they need to drop the political jargon. they need to step up to the plate and say, hey, time for the american people. the whole world is watching. we need compromise. we need to make sure we can get confidence back in the markets as the senator has spoken about. once we do that, jobs will come back. we'll be able to move our

country forward. martha: excuse me for interrupting, congressman. what we have to talk about spending cuts. at least that has to be half of the ballgame. seems listening to senator jim demint the other day we're not talking about any real cuts. even if you look at pat toomey's proposal. everyone gives them credit for trying to be negotiator on the super-committee the things he suggested like means testing medicare and selling off some federal land, you know might be good ideas but it doesn't sound like anybody on either side is talking about slashing spending in the kind of way that most americans, at least at the midterm seemed to be calling for you all to do? >> martha, i couldn't agree more. that is reason why both "gang of six" and the bowles-simpson report suggest there is lots of cuts that, that are available for us and we have to put the entitlement program in the mix of that. if you look at overall budget, such a substantial part of what we need to do comes in medicare, medicaid, social security defense. and because interest rates

go up, one point that is another $160 billion a year we'll have to pay. and we can not continue to borrow money. martha: if they don't reach a deal, senator chambliss, there is some suggestion that the bond market evaluators may slice our credit rating again. a lot of these things could happen. i think with approval numbers of congresspeople are so disenchanted with the ability to get anything done and there is the idea out there that republicans don't want to get anything done either because they would like to see this president replaced by another president and they think if there is a deal done that might not happen. >> i don't think that's right, martha, from a wholesale standpoint there may be individual members on both sides that would like to see nothing done by virtue of heath and mike simpson on the house side and mark warner and i on this side put together a group that is bipartisan, it is bicameral and also it's what i would say is biphilosophical. we have a lot of liberal, a lot of conservative folks

who are determined that the super-committee should get something out in a productive way and that's why we're saying, guys, we're here with you. we're supporting you and we want to be there at the end with a really major package. martha: we have eight days to go and we hope they listen to what some of you folks are putting forth. thanks for being with us, representative heath shuler and senator sachs by chambliss. good to see you. gregg: she survived a brutal car crash trapped in her seat for three agonizing days, surviving on gait or aid -- on gatorade and pop-tarts. well tell you about a story of a brave little 9-year-old girl. companies you're just a policy.

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martha: this is interesting one. seems president obama is getting some help from president clinton's camp on

the road to re-election. two camps talking polls in battleground states and potential gop opponents. they plan to have regular contact ahead of next year's vote. probably a good idea. gregg: well, this is an amazing survival story out of north carolina. police rescuing a 9-year-old girl trapped in the twisted wreckage of a car accident which killed her father 48 hours earlier. they say she survived by eating snacks they purchased just before the crash. family, friend, say she fought to escape. >> for a 9-year-old to do that was pretty heroic. >> she tried to dig her way out but she couldn't. she was pinned underneath the car. gregg: joining me on the telephone, sergeant date clifton, north carolina highway patrol. thanks for taking a moment. first of all, how is she? was she badly injured? >> she had some minor scrapes and bruises pretty amazing to amount of damage to the car she had anymore injuries than she did,

tragically it killed her father but how did she manage to survive for three, long, agonizing days? >> it was 40 hours. she and her father went to the store down the street from tear house and were on the way back when the collision occurred. they had purchased gatorade, i'm not sure if they purchased pop-tarts or not. they were in the car and that is what she survived on. >> she had a coat to keep her warm? >> she had long sleeve shirt on. we looked at surveillance videos from the store. there was extra clothing in the car. she had something on and she was not in like a t-shirt or shorts or anything. she was covered up at least for our coartem ture. gregg: how far away from her father? was he right next to her. >> when the car was upside down the roof had caved in and so there was a point where she was probably pretty close to him but the metal that was keying her away from him. she was pinned in where she

couldn't move but a few inches either way. gregg: she must have known her father was dead? >> it was my understanding he actually, was trying to get to her. his body was in a position where he was trying to get towards her. gregg: cause of the crash? excessive speed? >> we based on he left the roadway and by the time he left the, travel portion of the highway to where he got stopped was about 287 feet. which is consistent with a speed well over the posted speed limit. we don't know what happened as far as his vehicle, any defects of his car, speedometer malfunction or something. that type of thing but, the speedometer is actually locked in at 110 miles per hour. gregg: oh my. 110. sergeant clifton, we're out of time. thank goodness she survived. thanks for taking a moment. sad story. martha: indeed it is.

we'll talk about politics when we come back. it is getting pretty crowded crowded at the top of the gop field. there are brand new numbers that show a four-way tie in a key state. we'll be right back. medicare. it doesn't cover everything.

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insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. call this toll-free number on your screen now... for this free information kit, including this... medicare guide and customized rate quote. martha: it is the big question on everybody's mind. who will win in iowa? right now it looks like a four-way republican tie. we are going to show you incredible numbers. check this out, brand-new polls in this morning. show herman cain, ron paul, mitt romney and new newt gingrich in a tie. i'm martha maccallum. breasjoined my bob cusack

managing editor for the hill. what do you make of the numbers in iowa? >> reporter: fascinating. this case is totally up for grabs. newt gingrich is making a rise. mitt romney not going all in this iowa, he's skipping some events there. i think if romney won iowa this would be close to the end here, but he's not the frontrunner in iowa. anyone could win. rick santorum has a chance too catcto catch up. this is a fascinating race. martha: most people think some are not contenders. if you look at newt gingrich who was pulling at 3% at one point along the way you really have to accept that this is anybody's game. nobody has placed a vote yet, right? >> reporter: it's absolutely right. it's all about organization. ron paul who didn't win a state

in 08, maybe he can start off by winning a state. if rick perry does than get a boost in iowa i think you could see him drop out. he's got to do very well in iowa. martha: what about herman cain? latest blunder having to do with answering a we on libya. a lot of stumbling through the response. his folks said he was tired and answered a ton of questions. this pretty much goes with the territory in this scene, doesn't it? >> reporter: that's right. nobody is going to be going to the polls voting on libya. this is more bad headlines for herman cain after the allegations. he hasn't plummeted. he is still at the top. he needs to return around and quickly, because he's going in the wrong direction. martha: thank for looking at all that this morning. >> reporter: here is gloria cain

on greta van sus strepb last night. >> i know the type of women that you're thinking about that the little woman at home is the last to know, but i never see myself as being the little woman at home, and i've always said when i've seen stories like that, i will not be one of those people who will stand up on stage with a smile and knowing that you were wrong. i'm not going to do that. so you know not to do anything wrong because you will be there by yourself. so, he knows how i feel. i seriously in my soul don't think he's that type person. >> reporter: the cains have been married for 43 years. she adds that the allegations sound nothing at all like her husband who totally respects rim. martha: let's go become to newt gingrich for a moment. he was a big stupl pwhrer out of

thstumbler out of the gate. now his campaign reported he raised more than $3 million the last quartz. he fared really well in the debates. before he pulled in $800 million. what is behind his sudden surge in the piggy bank. we'll talk to larry sabato on that. >> reporter: if you're going to stumble, stumble early. eric holder may find himself on the hot seat on capitol hill. a group of lawmakers will call for more transparent lee from the attorney general and the department of justice. this as almost 40 members of congress now have called for holder to resign over operation fast and furious, william la jeunesse is live in los angeles. william, what do we expect to happen today?

>> reporter: the question is can the attorney general survive the scandal. the president has complete confidence in holder. many in congress don't. we'll hear from representative paul gosar who joins a series of republicans that say the attorney general is inch spe or a liar. operation fast and furious is near plea at a standstill. we're tolding the justice department is starving investigators of additional evidence, individuals and documents. stonewall congress until an office of inspector report comes out in a few months that could clear the ag and may or may not assess blame. terry's family believe holder and his top aids are covering up the truth. >> i can't believe anybody would okay a program like that. i know for sure they all knew about the program. they didn't say i heard about it a couple weeks earlier, they all knew. >> reporter: the two most

potentially damaging pieces of evidence we'll likely other see, holder's email and other cases where fast and furious guns have been used in homicides that they will not give to anybody. >> reporter: who else is calling for holder's resignation. >> reporter: no democrats, this remains a partisan investigation. you don't see any committee chairman or republicans with seniority. however, the nra has released this ad calling for holder's resignation. politically he may be a liability. others say not yet. >> if something comes out that would indicate that holder was withholding, misleading, engaged in some purposeful deception and cover up. then of course you would see legitimate arguments for democrats to jump on board with

the republican complaints against holder. >> reporter: democrats consider this all a witch hunt and a distraction, greg. holder appears before the house december 8th. >> reporter: some fireworks expected that day to be sure. william la jeunesse, thank you very much. martha: it's been nearly a year after a gunman shot her in the head at point-blank range. gabrielle giffords is talking. in an exclusive interview with diane sawyer on 20-20 she shared details off her long and painful journey, and how the love of her husband mark kelly helped her see her through. watch this. >> is there a word for mark? what is the first word you think of. >> brave, brave. >> thank you. >> that's what i think of when i think of you too, brave and tough. >> tough, tough, tough,. >> tough as nails. >> tough as nails.

martha: who would have ever thought that we would key gabby giffords like that. she has done a remarkable job and has so much strength in her recovery. and she says that she would like to go back to congress she says when she gets better. she and her husband have written a book about her ordeal, called gabby. what a striking interview. a huge testament to their relationship. >> reporter: she was shoet point-blank range, and you can see where she is now, huge strides. martha: we never saw any pictures of her in the early days. they maintained her privacy during the whole ordeal. they released a lot of the pictures now in the early days to show how incredible her progress has been. we wish them well both of them, they are an incredible story inspiring people. >> reporter: lots of love and courage. the county of new york breaking up washington occupy wall street

camps early in the morning. will this be the end of the movement. martha: also this coming up as well. a chilling interview from the former penn state football coach accused of sexually abusing young boys. what is next in all of this? wait until you hear what he had to say. our legal imagine on that. >> reporter: newt gingrich may be surging in the polls, but will it now bring heightened trut scrutiny? can he withstand that? >> who knows what the polls will show two months from now. i can't tell you i'm on the way. the american people are really deeply concerned about our country. they have a real sense that something has to happen. bla .. ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy...

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greg: a gunman is shutting down a campus for hours in north carolina. but the university of north carolina at wilmington saying

that classes there are going on as scheduled. campus police saying search dogs followed a robbery suspect or suspects sent to a road at the school. a canine unit lost the scent overnight. police say it's possible the suspect escaped in a car. martha: their unofficial headquarters may be shut down for now but that is not hospitalizing hundreds of occupy wall street protestors from marching in defines. they are assembling now blocks away from the park. the police moved in last night. there has been quite a struggle between the protestors and the new york city police as they try to clear the place out. they are moving to a different location. some of them have been chanting while tying themselves to areas down there, and they are just refusing to leave. watch this. [chanting]

martha: wow, that is the scene in new york city today. the mayor, mike bloomberg says the protestors will not be allowed to set up tent when the wall street park does reopen there. joined by steve forbes who is the chairman and editor and chief of forbes media and a longtime new yorker. what do you think of all this. steve? >> it should have happened a couple of months ago in september. it's one thing to do a protest, quite another to camp out and make it clear they were controlling the area. rudy guiliani was it should have been done months ago. they should protest the the federal reserve which is one of the biggest road blocks to an economic recovery. martha: the fha says they need man but that doesn't seem to be resonating at all with these folks, steve. >> it doesn't. they have the wrong targets.

all their efforts are not going to get very far in getting this country moving again. martha: you saw the iowa numbers that came out, a four-way split between the candidates there, the top gop candidates there. what about your guy? what about rick perry and how he's doing, and what did you think about the blunder coming up with the three agencies he would cut. >> he did very well in the debate overt weekend in foreign policy. i think he's handled that incident very well. other candidates have had it in the past. ronald reagan had a terrible debate in 1984, recovered from it and won by a landslide. bill clintons debut in 1988 was a disaster. four years later he became president. in iowa i think rick perry is very well organized there. i think he could pull an upset and do very well when they have the caucuses on january 3rd. martha: it's a close race in iowa and could be anybody's at this point. i know he spent a lot of money

in advertising on the ground in iowa. you know, how far up the totem pole would he need to finish in your opinion to hang in there. >> he's got to be among the top two. i think he will be. he has a very good ground organization, very good operatives. i know some of them from my own campaign years ago. he has a great group. the key thing is organizing on the ground. i think he is light years ahead of several of the other candidates. i think he is in very good shape going into the caucuses. martha: what do you think about chris christie had to say about all of this in an interview yesterday. he is warning the gop and his own candidate, mitt romney, when i caulk to the folks i told them you cannot take anything for granted in the situation. the president is very well financed and he's an incumbent. that goes a long way. >> it does go a long way and amazingly the less the public sees of the president the better he starts to do in the opinion polls, which tells the white house something. but i think this is a temporary

thing. i think when a candidate is chosen early next year i think you'll see a vigorous discussion of issues. healthcare obviously will be in the forefront today. i think the republicans will be there good shape to win both the senate and the white house. martha: i want to get a quick thought on the whole pipeline issue. a lot of controversy that would have run from canada down to the southern part of the united states. they punted on it initially in the white house. they said we're going to keep exploring the roots and talk about it after the election, yesterday. now transcanada says they are going to come up with another work, this things is back on the table. >> they are trying to keep this thing alive until after the elections. the administration has mailed it clear, that they are not just punting on this if the president wins the election but the pipeline is dead. they want a fair hearing and finally get this thing done. it's been the most studied pipeline in the history of the world. that decision should have been

given a green light months ago and i think it will be if the gop wins next year. martha: what about the environmental things about this. >> i think they've been studied to death and it's found in the imperfect world that those things shouldn't block this pipeline. transcanada has made it clear they will make another adjustment to deal with the things. it's been studied. it should get the green light and it will be good for our national security to get that thing going. one million barrels of oil coming from canada, better than the middle east or venezuela. martha: always good to see you sir. many things -p. >> thank you. greg: we oh china billions of dollars. why are we giving them financial aid? we'll be talking to bill johnson a member of the foreign affairs committee about this. martha: we have new details for you in the child rape scandal that has engulfed penn state.

former football coach jerry sandusky accused of so many action. he is now responding. we will play for you what he said a. >> a reasonable person says where there's this much smoke there must be plenty of fire. what do you say? >> i say i am innocent of those charges.

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martha: new tape just coming in to our newsroom that we want to play for you. this is out of syria in a section known as homes syria. watch this. so much devastation in this area, and it is just an incredibly violent situation on the ground in syria. remember yesterday the king

abdullah said he believes bashar al-assad needs to go. we'll bring you all the latest. look at these pictures from syria, an incredible thing. greg: congress calling it feeding the dragon. a committee will take a look at whether the united states is shooting itself in the foot when it comes to repairing the economy. they'll rerevaluate a program that gives help to china. china is one of our biggest creditors, in effect we are borrowing money from china to give it back. ao*eu congressman bill johnson sits on the foreign affairs committee and he joins us live. thanks so much for being with us today. >> thanks very much for having me on. greg: we just gave china $4 million so they could be more green. won't that actually give their manufacturers a competitive advantage over ours? >> absolutely, greg, you know the president is going around

the nation saying that america can't wait for congress to take action to pass his jobs bill, and instead the administration is giving money to china that is doing exactly what you just said, it's fueling china's manufacturing sector and putting american small businesses at risk. greg: you know, here we are, congressman drowning in debt. americans are losing jobs, losing their homes, and we gave last year $47 million in aid to the chinese, 320 million have been spent on contracts there. why would we give that kind of money to a country ha i country that is already a military and mechanic giant. >> we will be asking some of those questions at 11:30 this morning. we have a hearing. we everewewe're going to be

talking about the job-killing policies that are hurting americans back here at home. we have a jobs plan that has been posted on the internet since may. we have 20 jobs bill sitting out on the senate floor stacked up like chord wood. if the president wanted to get america going again, rather than giving aid to china our computer he should be looking at creating jobs here in america. he can do that through increasing our own domestic energy production, and balancing the federal budget. i mean that is something that the american people have overwhelmingly said they wanted us to do. greg: of the 47 million we gave last year in aid to the chinese. there is a study as to where some of the money went. here is three examples, and this went through the nih. chinese students studying retirement in beijing. prostitution in chang high and

why chinese children smoke tow bac tobacco. i'm kinding getsing that most americans who just heard that said, that's nuts. >> we are concerned about children and families all around the world, that's why american stands for freedom. my concern is the additional 4 million going to their green and environmental issues this year. and another 4.5 million in economic development. why isn't the administration focusing on getting our economy going again. greg: china hold 1.7 trillion of our debt. last year alone we paid china 36 billion in interest payments, that comes to about a hundred million dollars a day in american dollars going to the chinese. it's amazing. wong man, thanks so much for being with us. good to see you. >> thank you for having me, greg. martha: after a strong showing

in several debates, newt gingrich is rocketing up in the polls right now. will it be newt versus mitt? that is the new question for the gop nomination. larry sabato joins us on newt's big turn around stpao age is not stopping this grandma. what she did to a couple of muggers who tried to rob her. you won't believe this one. >> when he grabbed the purse it was like, huh? i said, you can't do this. and i turned around and grabbed my purse back, and he went on the ground. and i said to him, you're stupid, you can't do this. and that was it. i was just mad. [ male announcer ] butter. love the taste, but want to cut back on f? try smart balance buttery sead.

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as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. martha: right now on capitol hill defense secretary low o leon panetta is testifying at a hearing before the senate services committee. he was warning that if the super committee fails to cut the deficit as they are supposed to do in the next eight days, but it's not looking too good right now. that would mean that mandatory cuts would come to the pentagon and he believes that would devastate our military. steve centanni is joining us live from the pentagon. what has leon panetta said this morning so far, steve with regard to all of this. >> reporter: he hasn't talked about the budget yet. no doubt he will. he's very worried about what might happen if sequestration takes place, the trigger for

drastic pentagon cuts. he said it could hallow out the military. the testimony has focused on iraq and all our troops are leaving that country by the end of next month. after talks with iraq broke down the president did announce that pull out on schedule, the pull out underway now. right now there are only 24,000 american troops in iraq. that is down from 34,000 just a few weeks ago, and only a few trainers are going to remain after the end of december. one big concern, of course, is the influence of iran on iraq, and proponent's of the president's decision says we shouldn't be pulling out now, that this is a big victory for iran. defense secretary panetta put it very deaf right lee. let's listen. >> reporter: the strong, sovereign and self-reliant iraq we see emerging today has absolutely no desire to be dominated by iran or by anyone else. with our partners in the region, the roo nighted states is committed to countering iran's

efforts to extend its destabilizing influence. >> reporter: a big disagreement over that, martha. martha: that raises the big question, which is how can panetta be so sure that iraq will be able to rescission the iranian influence? >> reporter: that's what john ma taeupb is saying at the hearing underway now at capitol hill. iran is declaring victory in the face of this american pulling pull out. they are making accommodations to emboldened iran. the kurdish president has gone to iran. >> i believe this decision represents a failure of leadership, both iraqi and american. it was a sad case of political expediency supplanting military necessity, both in baghdad and washington. >> reporter: you can be sure the pentagon bulge let come up later on, martha. martha: no doubt, steve.

thank you very much. steve centanni reporting. >> reporter: you bet. greg: newt gingrich picking up steam on the campaign trail rising in the polls just ahead of some of his rifles. this brand-new poll showing him in a statistical tie with mitt romney at 22%. herman cain trailing behind at 14. here he is talking on fox & friends this morning. >> week after week on the debates because i focus so much on substance and positive solutions we've been steadily gaining ground. in the last few we can it has increased dramatically in the number of people who are interested in having the kind of positive solution live o oriented campaign. greg: larry sabato professor at the university of virginia joins us. good to see you. there have been others that were at the top, then they crash and burn and fall.

newt is rising, is that based on merit or default? >> well, it's a bit of both. look, i'm going to borrow a phrase from your colleague megyn kelly, she used it yesterday and i really liked it. it's a tail of new newts. on the one hand there is this very impressive, very smart newt gingrich who really understands policy, who is great at debates, who could stand toe-to-toe with president obama next fall. that is the newt that republicans have been reminded of recently because of the long series of debates. they've forgotten a bit about the other newt, the bad newt, the newt that has had many, many controversies, person p-rpb personal and professional over his long career. i think they are going to be reminded about that newt someone said to me about newt gingrich, it is very easy to admire newt,

it is very hard to like newt. that was al gore and john kerry's profpblt. greg: let's put up some of the baggage. once he endorsed cap and trade, now he opposes it. he advocated a healthcare mandate. now he doesn't. he was paid 300,000 by freddie mac before it failed. the infamous marital inch tpa tkelts leading to two divorces. there is that curious 6-figure jewelry bill at tiffanies. most recently he advocated intervention in libya. then he argued against it. he praised the ryan plan then he said it's right ring social engineering. he called nancy pelosi's ad dumb and he said i'd do it all over again. look, now that he's at the top, is this going to cause increased

truth knee? will he deflate? >> greg, you put it exactly right, that's precisely what is going to happen. at lease the increased scrutiny. when you get back to center stage, and that's where gingrich now is, the spotlights are focused on you. most candidates have to sweat. gingrich has had many period of sweating during this long satisfactor career. he's used to it. he may respond better to it some of the other. i can't newt gingrich having a brain freeze. the brain freeze seems to b ka comm u.n. icable. i don't think newt will catch it. he has enough baggage for a 747 cargo hold. the voters will accept it or reject it. greg: voters really despise the washington establishment which they blame for getting us into this horrible housing and

economic mess, but newt is the quinn st ultimate washington insider isn't he? >> he is. he left in the late 1990s, and he can say he purged himself of all this since 1998. he has had a lot of years outside of washington. undoubtedly his opponents will raise that very standard and it will be another problem for him as the campaign proceeds. greg: he's way behind on organization and money. he's just now opening up in new hampshire and a north carolina office. it's catch up time. larry sabato, always good to see you. thanks so much. >> thanks, greg. martha: there are exclusive new allegations against casey anthony, what a former prosecutor in the murder trial is now saying about caylee's death. greg: plus a former penn state football coach giving his first interview about the child sexual abuse charges against him.

will talking to the press help or hurt sandusky's case?

gregg: folks in colorado can be forgiven if they think a tornado tore throughout neck of their woods. high winds tossing trees into cars, destroying planes, despite being tied down at the boulder airport. >> this is phenomenal. this is like arkansas. a real twister. we do have twisters in the mountains, people don't realize that. you see the size of the rocks, these are huge rocks. gregg: what a mess in one denver neighborhood the winds uprooting more than a dozen big trees. martha: the former penn state football coach jerry sandusky speaking out for the very first time since his arrest on 40 counts of child sex-abuse. he is denying those charges, but graphically admits a serious

lapse in judgment during his interview -- this is just a stunning interview with nbc's bob costas. >> mr. sandusky there is a 40-count indictment. the grand jury report contains specific details. there are multiple accusers and eyewitnesses to various aspects of the abuse, a reasonable person says, where there is this much spoke there must be plenty of fire. what do you say? >> i say that i am innocent of those charges. >> innocent, completely innocent and falsely accused in every aspect? >> well, i could say that, you know, i have done some of those things. i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. i have hugged them, and i have touched their leg, without intent of sexual contact. martha: just so incredible to

listen to that, and very disturbing, i'm joined now by two attorneys who are here to talk about this. trene stovall. and we have a criminal defense attorney. i wish we had a happier subject to discuss today. this very much need to be discussed because of these victims here. treni, what do you think about what sandusky did or did not do for his own case here? >> i am baffled as to why his attorney would have advised or allowed him to speak. there is nothing that he said that is going to help his case criminally or civilly. it's going to be used against him. he's given up his fifth amendment right and it's going to be used as a statement against interest. when you say something, you can't come back later and plead the fifth and say, i don't have to testify to that. they are going to use it and say that he acknowledged that he had inappropriate contact with children. martha: tamara what is your take on it?

it almost seems his attorneys have in some ways thrown up their hands in this case. >> i agree there is no good reason why he should have spoken to the media or publicly. but in a lot of cases, specifically like in blagojevich, when we saw him talking pretrial, this is their own opportunity to talk to the potential jury pool, and that is what i think his goal here is. i totally disagree witness. i would never advise my client to do that. like i said this is his only opportunity to speak to the potential jurors and possibly get in somebody's mind and say, oh, yeah i was a coach, and i showered with boys and i'm not a sex offender or something like that. martha: i want to bring up this email from mike mccreary. so much of this case is going to hinge on witnesses. as you pointed out, tamara before, dna and things like that will not be applicable at this stage of the game because it's so many years ago. this is a young man who worked

for penn state as a football coach as an assistant. this is what he says about walking into the showers and witnessing, according to the early reports, the rape of a young boy. in his own defense he says this, i did the right thing, you guys know me. the truth is not out there fully. i didn't just turn and run, i made sure it stopped. i had to make quick, tough decisions. imagine in your mind, treni, the scene of finding this man, if indeed this is what happened, with this young boy and this assistant coach walking in and seeing it and turning around and saying he had to make a quick decision. what do you make of all that treni. >> i appreciate the fact that he says that he stopped the behavior, whatever he says he saw, right, but that even begs the question of why then didn't he immediately go to the police. there should be no question. he had a standard of care. there is a responsibility for

providers of youth and children to protect them. he had an obligation to go to the authorities and stop the behavior immediately. martha: tamara this raises other questions about the penn state football program, about awful the other people involved in this and whether or not this coach and paterno who we know has already secured an attorney on his own behalf, you know, what should happen and how much liability is there for the university, and this program as a result of all of this? >> well, there's a difference between moral responsibility and criminal responsibility and civil responsibility, and that's where it's really hard to separate all of them. were there moral duties here? absolutely. i think that the school and people involved in this are definitely going to be held civilly responsible. but who ultimately is going to be criminal until le criminally responsible? i think it's only sandusky. we unfor in the le

unfortunately we don't have laws to make us report things when we saw them. martha: what about the emotional distress, treni that was suffered. for everyone who knew about it, every boy who was accident to that could go back to that person and said, if you had done something this never would have happened to me this much later. >> oh, yeah, i agree that any of these children will never be safe. i beg the question what happened even before he started the program. i think there is information out there about that. i don't agree. different states have different laws. i'm a practicing attorney in georgia and there are duties tow report in georgia, it's called mandating reporting laws. there are some in pennsylvania even. they seem to be a little less strict and stringent. he may not have had a legal responsibility to report in pennsylvania, but lots of states have requirements that if you step into a room and take over the responsibility of the care for children you have an obligation to insure their safety and to report it to the police and stop the behavior.

>> i'm not disputing that. i'm not dispaougt that. but we have to make sure that we separate the moral duty from the criminal responsibility here in this case. >> i agree. martha: and the big question that is raised in some of this as well is penn state, and what's their responsibilities in terms of putting this football before everything, and what need to be done as a huge gesture on the part of penn state to make it very clear to the entire country where their priorities lie in all of this. that is something we'll discuss at a future date as well. tamara, trini thank you so much for being with us this morning. gregg: the school had three opportunities to stop it over six years they didn't do it, it didn't happen. they are going to get sued for millions of dollars. martha: some are saying they need to shut down the football program. for a year they need to do something that is big enough to make it so clear to the rest of the country that they understand that these children and their lives are far more important than any football game, any football program could possibly

ever be. gregg: well said. "happening now" coming up at the top of the hour. jenna lee joins us. jenna: congressman darrell issa is going to join us to tell us why he feels there is a conflict of interest in the investigation of the fast and furious scandal. senator lindsey graham is here to talk about the threat from iran and our next move as a nation. speaking of next moves we will have the latest from the super committee on how to cut our debt, that's a big job. breath hume is going to join us on the rise of newt beginning reufplt is he going to stay at the top of the poll, gregg? gregg: you've got my attention. what a former prosecutor is now refeeling about the casey anthony trial, and don't mess with this granny. why this feisty senior is now being called a hero. >> i'm not going to stand there and take it. i don't care if i'm 89 or 93 or whatever. i am going to fight back.

gregg: stunning rev virginia layings about the casey anthony murder trial in a brand-new book out today former prosecutor jeff ashton holding nothing back when it comes to casey, her family, her lawyers, the jurors, even some of the prosecution's tactics. phil keating live from miami. phil, where does ashton place the blame for casey anthony being acquitted? >> reporter: gregg he spreads it around, including with himself when he smirked during jose biaz's closing argument. his book is the first book by any of the key players in the sensational murder trial to hit the shelves. ashton was so effective during cross-examination during the trial, however he says ultimately what he calls the nuclear lie, casey's story about

caylee accidentally drowning and casey being molested by her daughter is probably what gave the jury a reasonable doubt. >> evil is not a term i would necessarily assign tow her. i mean her act was evil, but to me the the predominant aspect of her personality is selfishness, and the ability to lie with seemingly no guilt or regard. >> reporter: casey anthony remains in hiding here in florida. she is still serving probation and still owes the state of florida more than $200,000 for lying to investigators. gregg: you know, ashton never really hid his distain for the defense attorney jose biaz. what does he say about him. >> reporter: that was definitely one of the highlights of certain days of the trial that was boring with scientific testimony, those two battling back and forth and being admonished by judge belvin perry. he says he does believe jose

biaz acted unethically during the trial. bias denies that. in the book he calls him swarmy and a salesman. and he says keupbd deanthony was diluted by what her daughter was allegedly doing. gregg: a twisted story all the way around. thanks very much, phil. martha: the hunt for baby lisa, her parents getting ready to move back into the family home, we are hearing. the new focus on a mysterious cellphone call that was made the night the baby vanished. you turned millions of votes, and hundreds of volunteer hours, into a real difference for over 100,000 people. what's next? tell us on facebook.

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