>> steve: we'll be back here all next week. we got a whole bunch of stuff to talk about. >> brian: if you have to run for the tv, run to the radio from 9 to noon on xm sirius 126 in just a moment. >> gretchen: have a great weekend. bill: let's kick it off right now. fox news alert where the news is breaking at the white house. fox news reporting the president about to blink but by how much is not known. this as the standoff over contraception continues. sources telling fox news, that the white house is going to make a quote, accommodation. how will you define that? we'll a accommodate you next to hours. good morning. i'm bill hemmer. martha: i will stay here, i problem miss. i'm martha maccallum. this is the hot issue of the week. this cone tra separate shun story taking center stage at cpac. the republicans are gearing up to. what will they say on their

belief they need to stay out of all religious issues. take a look. >> you may not agree with the religious beliefs. that's not the point. the point is, the first amendment still applies. >> they rammed obamacare through the house using every trick in the book to stifle descent and circumvent the will of the american people. we're allowing a wide open process to repeal it. by the way this is exactly how the house will deal with obama's recent attack on religious freedom in our country. [applause] one thing's for certain, this attack on religious freedom and can not and will not stand. bill: that was from yesterday. we'll expect to hear more of that today as the white house giving in on this? juan williams, fox news political analyst. good morning morning to you. >> good morning. bill: we don't know what the president will say. having said that, how do you mesh is? >> basically white house

made an attempt in the president's name, led by vice president biden by the way, bill, to make it clear to the american people they are seeking to reasonable. they are looking for a solution. they want to accommodate the catholic institutions and the bishops in such a way as to take the air out of what is potentially a wedge issue for conservatives. and so i think what you will see they are talking about looking at the model offered by some of the 28 states that already have this in place. the language this morning being used is hawaii-light. where some of the private insurance companies step in to offer such coverage as part of a health insurance plan and therefore take that away from the catholic institutions, charities, the schools, the hospitals. they don't have to do it for their employees. bill: it is hawaii-light, which is not all what hawaii does. we do not know whether they will go far enough to satisfy the opposition. >> no. bill: it your presumption

religious leaders will be satisfied? >> no, i think not. this is not about speaking to the heart of the issue. this is about a political play in which you say, we are open to solutions. we're looking for some way to accommodate people who have a different point of view. but when it comes to the idea of providing american women with contraceptions as part of their health care plan and as part of the affordable care act, the obamacare act they will stick to their guns on this without a doubt. bill: ed henry reports the president is trying to make sure the left does not think they lost this fight. so if that's the case he will try to guard that plank. >> he has to. and when you look at the numbers, again, these are numbers circulating through the white house all this week. the polls very clearly indicate huge percentages of americans, but in particular american women want this contraception coverage in their health care plan and the white house is continuing to hear from democrats on capitol hill they would pay a steep price

if they caved on this deal at the moment. bill: it is clear there was an internal struggle at the white house, bill daly, joe biden and folks on outside, john kerry. juan williams, quick analysis. we appreciate that. here is martha with more. martha: a lot of big stories today. this on the left-hand side of the screen is the conservative "center of the universe" right now. this is a live look at cpac, the conservative political action conference meeting. huge event every time this comes around. those who want to show off their skills to appeal to the conservative base take the opportunity. they're talking about the issue of religious freedom. big morning for rick santorum. he will step in front of the podium and address the crowd at 10:25 eastern. we'll take some of that. you will get it at foxnews.com, the whole thing. he is fresh off his big three-state win, rick santorum is. very energized by that no doubt. he is expected to be greeted very warmly by this crowd.

okay. mike huckabee taking the screen there moments ago. we'll have mitt romney. he will have to follow rick santorum's big speech today with a big speech of his own a couple hours later a lot of pressure and attention on mitt romney today. folks have big expectations for them to basically speak the conservative language to the choir sop to speak and to get them behind him. he will get his turn at 12:30 today. also a big event. newt gingrich as well, struggling in the polls has an opportunity to go in to cpac to get everybody standing on their feet. that is what he hopes they will do. later karl rove will check in. we'll get his take on all the cpac events today. the meaning of them and streaming of course on foxnews.com. bill: huckabee will talk for 20 minutes. he will be here live in 40 minutes. we'll talk about all that again. newt gingrich vowing to keep up the fight, pledging to run quote, a national campaign. the former house speaker denying the texas primary early april, with a treasure

trove of delegates will be a do-or-die moment. gingrich taking shots at rick santorum, saying the his victories only prove the race is up for grabs. we expect his wife calista will introduce him. we'll watch for that. martha: we have a big fox news alert for you out of syria. bloodshed is spreading to a strong hold of the embattled president. take a listen to this. [gunfire] martha: deadly explosions hitting security buildings in syria's second largest city right now. dozens have been killed and hundreds have been killed throughout the course of all of this. syria will not allow most journalists to enter the country at this point but they are covering the everything from nearby lebanon. dominic di-natale is streaming live. dominic, has anybody claimed

responsibility for these attacks? >> reporter: not so far. no one claimed responsibility for of these style attacks since december, explosions of a big scale. state tv says 25 people were killed in twin bombings on security installations today. 175 were injured. it is very hard for us to verify whether that is actually true due to the dearth of foreign journalists allowed in syria. state tv shows very graphic pictures including decapitated corpse of one person and limbless body as well. state -- [inaudible] behind him in the background there were no emergency vehicles and ambulances. a digger covering up the rub, some people say the opposition is making this up. the opposition says it has been blamed by the government as being the terrorists, as the government describes it responsible for this, martha. martha: painful, tragic times and scenes from syria

right now. thank you very much, dominic di-natale joining us from beirut, lebanon. bill: we'll watch that story. no end in sight. we're learning exclusive new details about the cia drone that went down inside iran last november a former intelligence official confirming that the agency has been unable to recreate the malfunction that brought the drone down. investigators think one of the drone's data streams started sending back bad information to the u.s. they're wondering if that caused the drone's operator to inadvertently land it. they are concerns that the drone may have not destroyed all the intelligence it gathered before it was captured on the ground there near tehran. martha: there is a new report raising serious questions about a government program that provides cell phones to low income americans. according to an audit the program cost $1.6 billion last year alone and it is fraught with waist, fraud and abuse. what a shock that is. stuart varney joins me now, anchor of "varney & company"

on the fox business network. now taxpayers are providing free cell phones to people supposedly can not afford them. sounds like some of the folks getting them maybe can. >> okay, a small tax or fee is added on to your phone bill. the money goes into the universal service fund. the money is then used to buy free, basic cell phones and 250 minutes per month for people who qualify, people who are poor. you qualify if you're on food stamps, you're low income or on medicaid. this program has doubled since 2008, 1.6 billion now. it is encouraged. take a look at this ad to bring people into the program. >> now that i have assurance i can call our doctor. >> with assurance wireless you get a free phone and 250 free voice minutes each month. >> now that we have assurance, we can keep in touch with our grandchildren. >> well there is an investigation. it has been found that around 270,000 people had

more than one line and they have been stricken from the system. but it is still 1.6 billion a year. martha: and the justification for this, stuart, i understand is that there were tax programs that went to land line phones who to allow people under the poverty level to have a land line. now that everybody is switching to cell phones they feel that expense is justified in that way? >> yes. but it has exploded, now we consider or do we consider cell phones a basic right or a basic necessity? you have to ask the question, we're a trillion dollars in debt every year. can we afford free cell phones for millions of people? martha: wonder what's next, right? >> yeah. martha: ipads for everybody perhaps. stuart, thank you very much. bill: see you don't have to get the ipad 3. you can just wait for washington to deliver it. martha: wait for the program and they will send you one in the mail? i don't think so. bill: tell your kids they have got one coming too. martha: everybody has to have one. bill: merry christmas. more stories in a moment in

"america's newsroom." first time in nearly 30 years the u.s. is taking a big step in the nuclear power game. it has been three decades. what the u.s. just approved that has everyone talking about energy. martha: and the fallout coming. we knew this would happen, right? from the mortgage settlement they did this week with the banks. it is supposed to help homeowners who are underwater but could it lead to a new flood of foreclosures as people want to get in all this. bill: a big fear on this, right? we're awaiting brand new fox polling numbers on the republican race. will rick santorum's surge continue? will mitt romney stay in the top spot? what about paul and gingrich and everybody else? >> more americans have lost their jobs during president's obama term than during any other president in modern history and more americans have lost their homes during president obama's term than during any other in modern history. under his own definition, president obama has failed. we will succeed

that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

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martha: well it is the largest drug bust in the state's history. police in colorado have arrested 80 suspected gang members and drug dealers. and they seized more than a pound of cocaine, crack and meth. over 400,000 in cash and nearly a dozen weapons in this haul. police are saying this is a significant blow to drug traffickers. >> in the seizures that took place we were talking many kilos of cocaine. extrapolating beyond that right now before all of the information is technically public from a legal point of view is hard for me to do but when you have this many defendants ranging from the ultimate suppliers of the cocaine to the middlemen, to the people on the street who are actually selling it, you're talking a very substantial amount of cocaine on a monthly basis. martha: yeah, that is good progress. the operation involved more than 500 officers at the local level. i.c.e. was involved as well as the fbi and the dea. a big operation.

bill: at the moment we're awaiting mitt romney addressing cpac later today in washington trying to regain his momentum after being defeated in three contests on tuesday but still in a much better position than he was in four years ago. back in 2008, white house hopeful ended in cpac, remember this? >> if this were only about me i would go on but it has never been only about me. he entered this race, i entered this race because i love america and because i love america, in this time of war i feel i have to now stand aside for our party, and for our country. bill: man has good genes. he hasn't change ad bit. neither has karl rove, former senior adivsor, deputy chief of staff of george bush and fox news contributor back home in austin. how are you doing, karl, good morning to you. >> i'm doing great, bill.

bill: it is friday. we're always happy around here on friday. grand question. he has an opportunity today. he is on a stage. what does he need to do or say to convince people who are on the fence about him now? >> yeah. from the preliminary discussions about what he's going to say, his previews of it looks to me has got the right structure. first share what it is that he believes our country needs, what his challenges are, how we would approach him, and then secondly to implicitly address some of the skepticism that is going to be in that audience, not in defensive way but confident way talking about his record as governor of massachusetts. it has mystified me so far why he hasn't used what happened in massachusetts to sort of burnish his conservative bonefides. he mentioned in the previews two of the instances. one where, look, in november of 2003 the massachusetts superior judicial court said gay marriage is the law of the land in massachusetts. he could have easily stepped aside and let, in a liberal

state like that let that go through. instead he became a national leader of the effort for traditional marriage by taking it head on at the beginning of an important battle. there are couple other things he previewed. he has the right structure. let's see if he delivers with the passion and credibility and authenticity that he gave to his speech four years ago which was considered one of the highlights of the cpac meeting. see if he can do this in the contentious primary season. which was ironic. bill: go ahead. >> it was ironic. it was the last speech of his campaign and generally considered to be his best or tore call moment. let's see if he can do it now at beginning hopefully for him a winning season rather than to mark the end of acandasy that lost like last time. bill: now that you're talking about strategy, what did you think of his pivot to talk about get off the stump speech and talk about his own personal experiences in life? >> i think thought it was overdue. what were some of his best moments in the debate?

he said, look, i didn't inherit anything. everything i made was on my own. i thought his description about his father was revealing this week. his father was an aluminum paint salesman, and rose to be the head of a major car company. this gave an insight into him to who he is and what his values are and what his expectations are and hopes for the country. that's what people want to hear. get off the set piece and get in places where you can share your heart. it is good for any candidate anytime to do that. bill: two weeks from today in fact in michigan will make a speech on the economy, february 24th. about a week before maine he is going to hold a town hall meeting, right in maine? >> this saturday, yeah right. bill: so the question then goes to this. in 2008 -- >> a little late incidentally. a little overdue. bill: all right. point taken but in 2008, barack obama was creating these moments for himself even before he was the nominee. surrounding himself with big

speeches on major issues facing americans and drew all kinds of attention toward himself. is this what the speech on the economy is about michigan or would you encourage him to do that, make moments build them around himself and frame the issues facing this campaign? >> yeah. there's a tension between trying to get the big moment for the general election and the necessary work of winning primaries and caulk discussions. you may remember -- caucuses. between january and mid-march, to late march, barack obama was winning more contests and more delegates than hillary clinton. then in march he tried to do what you said, begin to sort of frame up the general election and between march and june he lost more often to hillary clinton and she won more delegates. it was superdelegates coming in at the end of the contest, democrats have this thing where they have unelected delegates, a large number of them who get to make their choice. getting them behind obama put him over the top but there is a tension. you have to spend some time

to win the late contests at the same time they're trying to frame up the general election. time in a presidential campaign is the most pressures commodity the fights you have inside a campaign how to allocate among all the demand on a candidates time is one of the most time-consuming things inside a campaign. bill: great point. just to be clear, the town hall is today in maine. so he goes from washington to maine for the caucus. >> that's right. bill: karl, have a great weekend. talk to you real soon out of austin. >> give my best to martha too. martha: hello, karl. right back at you, buddy. >> there you go. martha: thank you, karl. see you soon. the space program has gotten a lot of attention right. and first the shuttle was cut. we've seen some of the ramifications of that already but now the mission to mars may be left on the launch pad as well. bill: a brand new look at a onboard a doomed cruise ship before it sunk off the italian coast. hear minute by minute accounts from the people who lived through this disaster. >> the holiday of a lifetime. goes horribly wrong.

>> i remember my hands and my feet went cold immediately. [screaming]

martha: wow! that is a dramatic shot back there. look at that. oh, i like that. my first trip to mars. first the shuttle was scrapped of course but now the mars mission is also in jeopardy. of the 300 million in proposed cuts, 200 million may come from the dream to go to mars. is the mars budget, 3% of nasa's 18.7 "today" billion budgets which is not as big as most things we do, remember president obama very much wanted to have

astronauts go to mars and do science up there. peter doocy is on this planet in washington in fact. good morning, peter. >> reporter: good morning, martha. martha: talk to me about the proposed cuts? what will we have? >> reporter: the planetary science budget will get a big cut. the hubble telescope, the james webb space scope will be 400 times more powerful but $400 million more powerful. nasa says they need to tighten the belts on their space suits. a spokesman explains that nasa is reassessing its current mars exploration initiatives to maximize what can be achieved and that we'll still have some missions to mars but likely going to pack out of two proposed trips to the red planet with the europeans in 2016 and 2018. the very idea of these cuts actually led to the resignation of nasa's former associate administrator for science, edward wyler back in september. he said he was exhausted

fighting uphill battle trying to save the trips to mars. now he says to me it is totally irrational and unjustified. we're the only country on this planet that has the demonstrated ability to land on another planet, namely mars. it is a national prestige issue. wiler says he is frustrated because he thinks these mars trips jell nicely with the president's policy of increasing foreign collaboration. martha? martha: looks like nasa may not be the lead at least on sending men to mars in this scenario, peter. >> reporter: right. it is not clear necessarily how this will affect the united states ability to send americans to mars. remember less than two years ago it was the president that said this. >> by the mid 2030s i think we can send humans to orbit mars and return them safely to earth. i believe a landing on mars will follow and i expect to be around to see it [applause] >> reporter: again no word just yet exactly how these

cuts will impact the president's timeline but as we talk about all these big numbers, hundreds of billions of dollars, it is worth noting nasa's total budget is one half of 1% of the overall federal budget and the cuts will be announced tomorrow. martha: a tiny sliver of the budget. peter doocy in washington. bill: there is breaking news this morning. the white house trying to diffuse the controversy over religious freedom a rule forcing catholic institutions to provide contraception for their employees, first time, joe biden, the first catholic vice president is talking about this we'll get to that in a moment. martha: boy, this has got everybody talking. the first new nuclear power project in a generation. where it will be built is next. little extra fiber in your diet. carol. fiber makes me sad. oh common. and how can you talk to me about fiber while you are eating a candy bar? you enjoy that. i am. [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition.

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out of the wrong hands with this personal shredder, yours free with enrollment. this offer of 60 days risk-free is too valuable to miss. call the number on your screen. [♪...] service guarantee cannot be offered to residents of new york. martha: we have breaking news this morning in this huge contraception battle that has been the story of the week. is the white house about to give in to the catholic church. we do not know yet. we know they're set to announce a quote, accommodation on all this. we're waiting time the president will come out and speak about that. we will certainly let you know. meantime vice president joe biden hinted something was rumbling with this in an interview on the radio yesterday. listen. >> there is a lot of misunderstanding. there is not enough focus on the fact that we decided, there is a year to work this out to we can accommodate it. what it comes down to

questions relating to basically catholic hospitals and providing insurance. and so i am, i am, i'm determined to see that this gets worked out and i believe we can work it out. but the frustration, cardinal dolan's frustration is real. martha: it certainly is. joined by brad blakeman, former deputy assistant to george w. bush and sally cohn a community organizer and fox news contributor. welcome to both of you. the politics of this clearly gotten a lot of attention at the white house. joe biden reportedly and bill daly as well, the former chief of staff, i might point out really tried to urge the president according to reports not to go this way. the word is that the women in the white house were very adamant that the president do this. so it's not as if, sally, i want to start with you, this sort of fell in their lap as was the initial reporting on this. they didn't realize this was going to be such a big deal.

they knew it would be a big deal. >> they should have. and president should have. to be honest he has a disappointing record of being surprised by the amount of controversy that seems to follow him in his presidency. look, it is great in our country that catholics provide so many valuable public services across the united states and part of that is, you know when you get into the business of providing health care in communities where there is no other alternative than the catholic hospital, where you're providing insurance for employees, you also have to abide by our democratically created laws. that's what we do in this country. to be very clear all the administration is doing here is minor extension to rulings and court rulings that have already been in place since 2000. martha: but sally, if i may, i'm not sure that the catholic church is in any business. it is a nonprofit organization. just to make that clear. >> well, but --. martha: but the people who work in the institutions now don't receive this coverage. this is not something being taken away from anybody. they work at those

institutions knowing that is not part of the package. >> you're right, martha. let's be superclear. there is exemption for religious institutions for a primary relidge just purpose. churches would not be forced to provide contraception. this is very narrow ruling to laws already in place. if you are an institution that yes, a religious bent to it but whose primary purpose is nonreligion, talking universities and hospitals primarily and you provide pharmaceutical coverage to your employees you have to provide contraception. martha: they are not going for that. >> due paul university, largest catholic university in the country, years ago added contraception coverage. martha: we don't know what the white house will say what the accommodation is? do you think it will go far enough to appease this controversy? >> it has to. it has to deescalate what the president brought on himself. this is another instance ruling out of ideology instead of reality. taking on a super pac if

there ever was one is the catholic church. they're well funded. they're well-organized. every sunday they have millions of people to preach to and give advice to and not only that but they vote. i think the white house made a major blunder like they have on solyndra and like they have on so many issues that affect an election. like keystone pipeline. and these decisions are going to come back to haunt them. i will make a prediction just like they did under health care, what did they do when the back was up against the wall they granted waivers. i believe a waiver will be given to religious institution to get out of this mess but i think damage has already been done. martha: last thought. i want to get a quick thought from both of you on this. the argument so many catholic women use contraception almost strikes me as the kind of argument i can pick on my family, say something on my family i don't like but if you do it we'll all get together regardless of our own infighting. that is the way this vote comes down, how catholics

galvanized on issue. quick thought on that. >> you're right. 96% of catholic women used contraception and have access to it. this is issue of allow religious freedom to trump democratically made laws. would we allow sharia law to trump laws, our congress and our voters elected congress to pass? no we probably wouldn't and why should we here. martha: brad? >> we should here there is separation between church and state. on this issue it is direct assault of constitutional freedom to practice their religion. no one should tell the catholic church how to run their church in principle or practice. that is not what the founding fathers intended. that is why i think this will be accommodated. martha: this fascinates me. we'll see how it plays out. we'll get some more today when the president comes forward and says exactly what the accommodation will look like. sally cohn, thank you so much. brad blakeman good to see you. bill: the first time in 30 years a nuclear plant will

be constructed. outside of waynesboro, georgia. a $14 billion plan. jamie colby is live with the bigger picture. does this mean a resurgence in nuclear energy, jamie. >> reporter: it may. there is lot of talk by the obama administration interest pursuing this, they're offer, president obama is 8.3 billion in federal loan guaranties towards the georgia project in addition to the $14 billion cost of the two reactors. this nuclear reactor,ing a you said is the first approval in three decades. surely a sign of interest in creating greater nuclear power plant capability. let me add it is expansion of the georgia plant. you're looking at the plant, some video we have of it. it is not a new plant all together. but in the plus column, the reactor is manufactured by westinghouse. this expansion will support, they say, estimated 35,000 workers. >> the nrc process has been

thoughtful. it has been thorough and it is complete. it delivers a regime of safety oversight and accountability that our communities rightfully deserve. safety comes first. that is our simple, clear, no excuses policy. >> reporter: why is the person from the company talking about this? there is still a lot of concern about safety but westinghouse says they have at least 20 other reactor projects on boeing and this one will be online in 2016, 2017, bill. bill: why have we not seen approval going back to the late 1970s? >> reporter: the last one approved followed just a year prior to the partial meltdown at three my island. that certainly raised a lot of radiation fears and brought orders for nuclear reactors to a halt. you have to add continuing safety concerns. how much more condition we be reminded after japan's

fukushima disaster. remember the dramatic images depicted a nuclear reactor failure could have. that was sentiment by the one vote against this by the nrc's chairman who expressed concerns over the lessons we've learned over three decades have not brought all the safety implementation and regulations to create safer energy president obama wants to in a secure environment. give you perspective. there are 104 nuclear power plants in the u.s. they provide 20%. our nation's electricity. bill: jamie, thank you for that. on the map behind you, 65 plants around the country. located here at 65 different plants. many up here in the northeast. a few in the midwest. down here in the southeast as well which is the main center of attention for the story. california has a couple but you see the big center area of the country, the mountain west, vir of virtually none. the top three generators of

nuclear power in america, believe it or not, the state of illinois is number one. pennsylvania is number two and south carolina is number three. georgia, by the way, ranks number nine on that list. jamie mentioned this, three-mile island, 1979, you developed so much resistance to nuclear power in america. that was 33 years ago. now you see the concern from the other side about keeping this away from centers of population. here is new york city down here. 30 miles due north is buchanan, new york. that is the indian point nuclear power plant. 50 mile radius affects 7 to 8% of the u.s. population. that is where you have the resistance to nuclear power. for the first time in 30 years they will go forward in the state of georgia. mart, back to you. martha: there are shocking moments in the testimony of the yeardley love murder trial. why police say when they entered her room they knew instantly they were in a crime scene. bill: awful story there. mike huckabee just ending

his speech at cpac. he will be here in a matter of moments. everyone is wanting to beat barack obama at this rally but who is making the best case. >> as a country we've gone from free market conservatives to nationalizing socialists faster than a market dice, tim, turbotax geithner, proclamation or faster than medical pell jumping out of her chair hearing the president speak. [applause] o emailed it to emily, who sent it to cindy, who wondered why her soup wasn't quite the same. the recipe's not the recipe... ohhh. [ female announcer ] ...without swanson. the broth cooks trust most when making soup. mmmm! [ female announcer ] the secret is swanson.

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martha: let's get a look at some stories developing right now in "america's newsroom." a wrong way crash caused a deadly scene outside of new orleans. five people were killed in that accident. a s.w.a.t. team reportedly capturing a dangerous fugitive in new mexico after he escaped police in a laundry cart. he was wanted in arizona for multiple murder charges. picking up the dirty laundry in that state. home of oscars fighting

to keep the name and connection with the academy awards. kodak has had tough times lately. they are trying to end the sponsorship agreement with the kodak theatre. and filing bankruptcy. owner of the theater is challenging that move. insta mat tick camera and the film and. bill: great song though. martha: it is a good song. i'm sure that makes them feel better. bill: very cheery. has a little bit of energy too it. >> very upbeat. bill: we are awaiting three of the four republican candidates trying to win over conservatives at this conference in washington, d.c. governor mike huckabee knows a thing or two about doing just that. he finished speaking there only moments ago. >> i want to say thank you, president obama, because you have done more than any person in the entire gop field, any candidate has done, to bring this party to unity and energized this party as a result of your attack on religious liberty

and the attack on the personhood of every human being in america. [applause] thank you, president obama, for doing what none of us republicans could apparently get done. bill: mike huckabee, the former arkansas governor, host of "huckabee" on the fox news channel. how are you doing? i want to say good morning to you. >> doing great. bill: i know you enjoy that venue. i can see it on your face. it reads right there. >> yeah. bill: two basic questions for you, everyone at had conference has one goal in mind, they want to beat barack obama. who do you think will do the best job at articulating that message? >> well, far be it from me to be try to be prophetic. i think all of them will have sort of a unique perspective. i look for rick santorum to appeal to value voters make his case which is a very strong message here. i expect mitt romney will try to say that his credentials dealing with economic issues makes him

the best candidate. newt gingrich will talk about historical perspective and his understanding how the process works and his being able to manage that process. so it's anybody's guess which one the crowd will like but i think i can maybe somewhat predict they will come from when they get to the podium. bill: do you have a view who can articulate the best message what to replace the president with? after all that is the convincing argument you will have to make once you're the nominee? >> bill, one of the things i think people will look for here is not just sort of the stump speech. they will look for something in terms of an inspirational vision. how do we get america back on track,? not just how we take tax rates from one point to another. how do we repeal one piece of legislation and lift up another but the bigger picture. how do we make america believe in itself again? the candidate who can inspire this audience in that regard is probably going to have the best reception more so than maybe

enunciating 24 policy points. bill: yeah, gets a little dry over time. but we've got a lot of them we can make. we heard a little clip. was the target of your speech all directed at president obama? >> no. really what i was trying to say that when a person's policies are so at odds with the basic moral center of the country it's going to reflect itself not just in the issues that people tend to marginalize as social issues, it will have an impact on economic issues. here's the point. if you don't have regard for people before they are born, you probably won't have that much regard for people after they are born. if individuals, the unborn are considered expendable and disposable is it any small surprise we see companies treat their workers as expendable and disposable today? it shouldn't be a big shock to us. people are being treated as if they're commodities not people with families and mortgages and concerns. the point is, it is not government's job to act in such a way to protect

everybody's job. it ought to be the moral conscience of business owners to make sure that they really engage in partnerships rather than just using people as objects and then toss them away as disposables. that is no surprise. when we start out in the womb treating people as if they are expendable. bill: you're such a great communicator, governor. thank you for your time today. i know you have a busy day. >> always a pleasure. bill: we'll see you in new york real soon. governor mike huckabee in washington. martha: so far this whole thing is a political battle but now the contraception fight could also become a lawsuit. there are now three states attorneys general who are threatening to file suit against the obama administration over this and one of them joins us right here on america as newsroom coming up next.

martha: this battle over the contraception mandate in the

health care law has so far largely been a religious and political argument but now it could become a legal issue as well as the attorney generals of three states are threatening to file suit against the white house. joining me now is one of those states attorneys general. republican alan wilson of south carolina. good to have you here this morning. welcome. >> thank you. martha: tell me about your case. how would you bring this? what's the argument? >> wells, first off the number of attorneys general is growing by the hour. i expect far more ags with a leadership role in challenging this. martha: really? >> absolutely. i've been talking to my colleagues around the country. there is a sense of outrage what the administration is doing. we're waiting with bated breath to see what administration is going to do. i understand they're going to soften the policy regarding exemptions for religious organization. martha: right. >> what you have is a policy being promulgated by hhs secretary sebelius, that basically penalizes religious institutions ministering through

educational institution like a university or college or soup kitchen or a medical facility, ministering to people outside of their fate. so the exemption is so narrow that it pretty much exclude all of those types of entities. you're basically penalizing people for exercising their right to have their faith. martha: i understand. let me ask you this, there is lot of sort of thoughts floating around what this accommodation that they have announced will be. the president expected to announce it sometime today. we don't know what it is yet but one of the lines of thinking is it may be that women who have insurance programs through these catholic entities or religious entities in general, that they would get sort of a, they would pay a lower premium so that they could take their own money and purchase that contraceptive care elsewhere. would that be enough to make you think twice about pursuing this? >> i believe anything short of widening the exemption to include any religious entity, performing any type of

ministry period, whatsoever, should be excluded and exempted from this mandate. in my personal opinion. martha: to broaden the definition of a what a catholic institution is. all these entities would be right in there with the church? >> like i said, the catholic faith. protestant, the jewish faith out there is operating in hospitals, operating in soup kitchens. operating in civic organizations educational institutions. >> we've got to run. >> they're ministering to people outside their faith. martha: thank you very much, attorney general. good to have you today. >> thank you. bill: we have brand new fox polling numbers for the race on the republican nomination. who is on top and who is not. martha: very interesting numbers in those polls. a new look inside the deadly cruise ship disaster. take a look. >> he told me that the ship was sinking. >> while the captain saves himself, his passengers fight for their lives. [screaming]

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martha: we have got fox news alert for you, rick santorum surging after a three-state sweep in the battle for the g.o.p. presidential nomination. we've got brand-new national poll numbers that just came in and they put the former pennsylvania senator well within striking distance of mitt romney. this is getting interesting, folks. that's how we start a brand-new hour on a friday morning on "america's newsroom." i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. fix polling numbers hot of the press. stapbt r-r now in second-place, with 23stapbtrick santorum is in second-place. martha: let's bring in bret baier, anchor of special report. what do you make of the numbers? romney has 33%, but rick

santorum is creeping up in a big way. >> reporter: if you take a look at the second columns our polling unit took an extra night. you can see the change, rick santorum at 17%, then the surge to 30% on the 8th and 9th. when you put them all together that's how you get the 23%. when you look at the 8th and 9th and the surge that took place there, that is significant and that means the santorum, whatever we are seeing, momentum on the ground is real. martha: that has got to have the romney folks nervous. they have seen many folks nip at their heels, and now they are surpassing them. this is now versus january in this poll. romney at 33%, down from 40 in

january. santorum was at 15, and now at 23. gingrich also gets a little bit of pop in this poll and polls about the same. >> reporter: this is a slip for romney, and you see santorum moving up. but, again, that doesn't take into account, really these last two days in waiting and how much he, perhaps, may have gone up from there. it's a slip for gingrich. it's a slip for romney overall. the other interesting thing is if you look at the total numbers, roughly 60-plus% of the g.o.p. feel according to this poll, the g.o.p. voting public says mitt romney is not the guy or might not win this nomination. that is an interesting fact. martha: that jumped out at me as well. let's take a look at that and put it on the screen for everybody. this one is stunning.

best describes the race for the g.o.p. nomination. 80% say they believe this thing is not over yet. 17%, only 17%, and if you look at the pundits out there and folks who talk about this all across the board you would think that mitt romney has sowed this up. but the people to responded in this poll, 80% say they don't think it's over. >> reporter: that is a stunning result when we are this far down the road and approaching super tuesday, the fact that 80% say this isn't over, i think you look at the race and you could say this thing had many iterations. there is another poll that we don't have here, that it's rough knee split whether someone else should get in the race. it's right at about 50-50. that at this late in the race is an interesting stat as well. one thing that is certain is that this race is uncertain. martha: indeed. you put it very well. thank you. everything that we've just said is up in the air, folks. bret, thank you so much.

we'll see you later tonight on special report. bill: we're going to talk to chris stirewalt at the half hour too than about all this and more. is mitt romney looking over his shoulder? john senunu joins us live on what romney will say to win over people at his speech today at cpac. are we headed for more foreclosures? new details on the $25 billion settlement that the government reached with major banks to help homeowners. it could take years until any of the homeowners see any of the cash. is there another wave in the short term that will force people out. let's bring in sarah bowling, and host of the 5. >> reporter: there is $25 billion debt. they've sold some of the big mortgage holders in the country that they need to fork over because of practices of

foreclosures that they may or may not have been involved in. they decided to settle and say here is your $25 billion. 1.5billion is going to people who were victims of the robo signings and other forms of quick foreclosures. the rest is going to be help kind of deadbeat homeowners, homeowners who have paid their bills and are underwater or who haven't paid their bills. going forward there is somewhere between 1 and 2 million homeowners, people holding loans who are having to trouble who are going to get a check somewhere around 1 to $2,000. it's another $25 billion taken from the private sector and put towards people who are in need of help, another redistribution of private sector money. it's very concerning. bill: smart money guys you want, i want you to know whether you think it's a good idea and whether it will work. the banks say they have been holding back on certain foreclosures before this deal got worked out now that they have a deal there could be a new wave? >> reporter: here is the

problem. this doesn't exclude the government from going after these same banks again. it's not like a legal settlement where you say, look i'm not going to admit guilt or in sense but i'll pay you x amount of dollars and make this go away. what this did is it's 25 billion now, we may hit you later. the banks are saying i'm not sure what we have going on here. again, it's just prolonging the inevitable. bill: you want a number, eric? u.s. homeowners are up $750 billion in negative equity. what is 25 billion going to do to that? >> reporter: that means the u.s. homeowners owe more on their house than it's worth to the turn of almost a trillion dollars. three-quarters of a trillion dollars. $25billion is a nice political talking point going into the election season, saying hey, look what we're doing, we are

helping homeowners who are having trouble. it's a drop in the pocket. >> reporter: very interesting, five banks i don't see the two biggest mortgage owners on the planet included in that, fanny mae and freddie mac. bill: point taken. eric we'll see automatic 5:00, on the 5. see you then. martha: just how bad is the nation's foreclosure crisis. you were talking about some of the numbers here, since 2007 more than 4 million borrowers lost their homes to reclose you are. realty track estimates that one million foreclosures will be completed in this year alone. think about that, a million families losing their homes. by last september there were nearly 11 million borrowers whose homes were underwater meaning they were worth less than what they owed on the home. bill: more trouble in greece. thousands flooded athens as a deal to bail out that economy

teeters on the brink of collapse. these protests by labor unions while demonstrators class with police outside a parliament. several lawmakers inside resigning their seats to protest the austerity members. they put the bail out on hold until leaders pass for cause. they thought they had a deal yesterday, not the case today. martha: now this. the first major test of a new joint u.s.-israeli weapon system is a success. the two countries coming together to build what is called the arrow. it is meant to intercept missiles and protect israel in an attack launched by iran. boy, hasn't that issue got even a lot of attention lately. leland vittert live in jerusalem. what does the test show? >> reporter: this was the test of a new rye dar system that will track incoming missiles towards israel so they can then blow them out of the sky with a big success. they say this is the kind of test that would show what would

happen in a real war. take a look at the map, the test missile was launched from quote, deep in the mediterranean that puts it about a thousand miles away from tel-aviv. also a thousand miles away from tel-aviv is teheran, there could certainly be missiles headed in from there. the missile system is at 14 interceptions. they launch a missile that is designed to blow the incoming missile out of the sky. when you have two objects moving at about a through miles per hour every bit of accuracy helps. that's what the new radar system, it helps them decide when they are going to launch the intercepter so it doesn't hit any residential center. martha: why is this particular announcement of this successful test so important? >> reporter: what you have here is a lot of talk in israel and around the world about israel attacking iran's nuclear

facility. the only way iran could retaliate, which there is a lot of fear about is by lunching missiles towards israel. they have 300shabob3s that could be headed this way and that's what the arrow would intercept. martha: thank you very much. leland vittert on that successful test as the tensions in that area continue to rise and get very trick tee. thanks. bill: there are new details now into "america's newsroom" about what the president will say about the contraception controversy. we expect to hear from him now at 12:15 eastern time, that is two hours from now, that is just in. and what we are learning on this changing story in moments. martha: a college lacrosse player on trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. today, bombshell testimony on what was seen just before yeardley love was killed. bill: former federal agents talking publicly about the botched gun running scheme known as fast and furious.

they are doing their level best to share the blame. >> we all knew that gun runner was not some benign, pie in the sky publicity stunt, that there was actually something going on with that, and that guns were actually getting into the hands of criminals. wake up! that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

bill: breaking news from the white house if you were with us about an hour ago, we now know the president will talk two hours from right now, 12:15 eastern time, set to make an announcement over the controversial decision on contraception. we were told earlier that the white house will make some sort of accommodation. what that accommodation will be we do not know. is that a compromise? or is not quite a compromise? associated press says he will announce that religious employers will not have to cover birth control for their employees and perhaps the white house will demand that insurance companies will be the ones ultimately responsible for providing free contraception. with that as a backdrop we frankly do not know.

we'll find out firsthand in two hours when the president talks. martha: a very big day today at c pack. presidential candidate sapbtd shinmoedake minutes away from getting in front of that podium. there will be a lot of a mention given to that speech at the conservative political action committee, which is like a big meeting of all the conservative folks. a big opportunity for people to really make their mark. it will be a key moment for republican rival mitt romney with that audience today as well. >> i have a record of being a strong conservative on the issues that matter and i'm going to point that out when i'm together with my friends at c pack. martha: talking about his plans last night with shaun hannity. we are happy to be joined by john senunu, a strong mitt romney supporters. chief of staff under george h.w. bush . thank you for being here. >> it's nice to be here. martha: i want to show you some polls. this comes from after that

three-state race the other day. you can see that in the most recent numbers at the end of that poll, february 8th and 9th, they are 30% to 30%, neck-and-neck. a lot of is made of that. what do you think of that? >> look, now that means that rick santorum is going to have to under grow the scrutiny of being one of the two candidates in a head-to-head race, and he's going to have to answer for issues like his addiction to earmarks. the fact that he's often talked about how proud he was of getting huge spending packages back to pennsylvania, and this is the time when it's going to be a contrast with mitt romney, who when he was governor cut spending in massachusetts, even to the point where he cut it and there fewer state employees reporting in the executive branch when he finished being governor than when he started. martha: i understand your points there. let's take a look at another poll that we just got. these are new fox news polls as well. i want to get your thoughts on this one. this goes to the issue of how

people feel about rick santorum. there we go. who is most in touch with every day americans? this one is rather striking, and it's rick santorum 36%. he wins this one. 16% for your candidate mitt romney. this has been one of the big issues, mr. senunu. and i know you know mitt romney very well and you feel there is no reason why he can't connect with conservative voters out there. nonetheless this is the same kind of message we keep getting about him. >> we are 35 days since we had the first caucus in iowa. this process is a long slog. mitt romney understands that he has to deal with some of those aspects. and i think the mitt romney you saw in the last two debates in florida is the mitt romney you're going to see going through from here on out. he recognizes it's a contact sport, it's hardball, and i think you're going to see a very aggressive campaign. this is -- this process has to go through 50 states. martha: you know, it's

interesting because when you look at issues and how they have shifted a little about it there are indications that the economy is doing better. that has always been mitt romney's strongest point. he says i run a business, i run the state of massachusetts. the economy is starting to improve a little bit, that issue may slip away from him slightly. you have the social issues that have been so hot this week and rick santorum seems to be the one resonating with people on that issue. does your candidate need to broaden out what he says today at c-pack in order to reach out and grab the folks in the audience and make them think he is their guy. >> he has to point out that when he was governor the legislature passed legislation that was really terrible for the right to life groups in massachusetts -- across the country, actually, and mitt romney vetoed those two pieces of legislation. he stood shoulder to shoulder with the traditional marriage

groups and fought the bad decisions that came out of the massachusetts supreme court on gay marriage. he has a great record of taking strong action to deal with the issues that the social conservatives care about. and i think he has to communicate that today. martha: all right, john senunu, thank you very much. i know you'll be watching his speech very closely today. rick santorum is the first one up, that happens a few minutes away. thank you sir. >> thank you good to talk to you. bill: 19 past the hour and 19 persons being held in egypt while the chaos and carnage continues on the streets of cry row. our next guest argues these americans are being held hostage. so what then can we do about it? great question. martha: and you know the wheels on the bus go round and round, right? but not when there is this situation happening. that is a frightening picture for any parent. more on that next.

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martha: 22 minutes past the hour right now. jerry sandusky in court where prosecutors are pressing for tougher bail conditions. he is fashion trial on child sex-abuse charges. they want him kept indoors after complaints that he was seen watching children in a schoolyard. and there is a federal prime minister for future leaders of government that has mistakingly sent out acceptance emails to 300 applicants who have actually been rejected. the program blames an administrative error on that one. that is a bummer for those folks who thought they were going to that. new jersey officials think it was a neurovirus who sickened dozens of students at rider university. 40 students taken to the hospital. that is not a good way to start

your weekend. hello, bill, i'm back. bill: 23 points past the hour. 19 americans who work for prodemocracy groups are being held in egypt against their will raising ominous questions about what is going on with america's biggest ally in the arab world. a billion dollars a year of american aid there. there's been daily protests on the streets of cairo. mayhem at the time. we have the former assistant to the secretary of defense and a fellow to the heritage foundation. good morning to you. there are 43 being detained, 19 of whom are americans. you call them pawns in a struggle for freedom in egypt. >> i'm not the only one. clearly what's happening here is the man on the street is not being listened to by the temporary military government. this is a struggle for freedom, and these nongovernmental organizations, these 19

americans, 43 in total were working to insure free elections in the upcoming elections and they are being detained because of that, pure and simple. bill: some are considering them or calling them hostages. are you going that far? >> well, when you're not free to leave, you can call it what you want, but when you're not free to leave one way of describing it is a hostage. bill: whatever definition you want to use here. >> yeah. bill: they are being held. >> right. bill: you want to layout four different ideas for what the obama administration could do. >> yeah, i think there is a few things the obama administration should seriously consider and indeed i think they may be doing this behind the scenes. one is tie our $1.5 billion a year aid to the release of these americans. they were there helping to insure freedom -- free elections, respect for the rule of law, and human rights. two, up the information campaign

of true news to the man and woman on the street, so that they can understand what is actually happening. and three, make sure that any a rangemena rangement with the government that is sure to come to power respect the 1979 peace treaty with israel. those should be red lines in any negotiation. there should be serious consequences for continuing this persecution, or apparent persecution of people who are trying to respect human rights. bill: do you see this escalating into a big, big deal, more so than it is now? >> i hope not. bill: but they haven't backed off. >> they haven't backed off. there is some brings man ship obviously going on here, and we need to be forth right, honest and direct with them, and have a very direct dialogue with them and explain to them the dire consequences of not following through on our red lines.

bill: cully thank you. cully stimson. keep an eye on it and we'll bring you back when there are updates. martha: bob mcdonald, the governor of virginia talking to the cpac crowd. rick santorum is up moments away we'll take you there. he is fired up after three wins and is likely to get a warm rereception. bill: new questions raised today on fast fast, about who knew what and when. >> there is going to be a disaster. someone is going to get killed, or a lot of people are going to get killed. and unfortunately brian terry is that nightmare that came true. so who ordered the cereal that can help lower olesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole gin oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios.

bill: fox news alert right now, court -rg the conservative vote after making a statement in the republican presidential battle rick santorum is about to step in front of that microphone steps away, cpac is the committee conference ongoing in washington. rick santorum right now riding a wave after three victories in one day in the battle of that nomination. the fox polling that came out 30 minutes ago shows santorum in second-place. chris stirewalt is there at cpac. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. bill: this is literally preaching to the choir now.

we've got brand-new fox polling numbers that i want you to react to. number one in the race for the nomination, is it time to drop out? 54%, a clear majority say it's too soon. what do you hear about that. >> reporter: look, you know, the upside down nature of this nominating process, this is really unlike anything, bill, that the republicans have done in modern history. it's gone back and forth. you've had three winners of different primaries and caucuses across the country. there could be a forth tomorrow in ron paul in maine, he's got a chance there. this is unlike anything before and the republicans seem very content to let this go. remember, when just 20 days ago, when newt gingrich won in south carolina, a lot of people said well it's time for rick santorum to get out of the race. now easy head of newt gingrich in the polls. he's on the surge and the conservative activists love him. i think that goes to the argument that a lot of republicans make that say, keep it going, let's see who really emerges. bill: we asked a question

whether or not folks want to see more people get in, whether or not they are satisfied with the current field. this is an even split 49 say yeah, get somebody else in there. 49% say they are satisfied. they are kind of splitting the baby. what do you think of that. >> reporter: i have the cafeteria theory. you know what they do in the end they generally eat the macaroni and cheese or the meatloaf. they learn to live with their choices. by and large the republicans will end up with one of these guys that are in the race. bill: i was a pizza guy on fridays in grade school. did you suggest that romney could be facing a fourth straight defeat in maine this weekend? >> reporter: i certainly did. you're going to have only about 5,000 or so voters that go to caucus up in maine. it's been going on over a ten-day period or so up there in the black bear state.

who knows what is going to happen. these are small turn outs, one of them even takes place in an activists house. this is a very small demographic, that's where ron paul can do very well. paul and romney are the only two who have tried hard to get the vote in this straw poll that will tell us sort of how the delegates in maine will shake out. that's where romney will be later today. here comes rick santorum, they are going crazy for them. bill: you have to think that santorum will reference the breaking news from the white house, where the president is going to make some sort of accommodation on the contraception ruling. is that a big deal that the cpac are picking up on. >> reporter: giant. it's a huge deal for the activists. it's where rick santorum can really prosper because he's been on these issues since he got in the race and even before. bill: before santorum talks, though, have many speakers taken that issue?

>> reporter: they've all in some way or another yesterday and today touched on this somehow. it's what fires them up. they believe they have the president over the barrel on this issue and they are going to keep hammering him. bill: we are going to hang here for a moment, chris, if you could as well. we expect maybe some thank yous and greetings here off the top. then we might be getting into the heart of the matter where santorum is going to deliver this message over the next 20 minutes, and that message goes right to the heart of the conservative movement. he's caring that mantel to states like minnesota, missouri and colorado like we saw on tuesday. martha: waoe he's there with the family. some of them are carrying the mantel of the sweater vest. he has two sons up there, and they have sweater vests. they are doing all the hellos, we are watching this very closely. we'll make sure when he gets to the heart of it we'll make sure you hear what is going on. you can hear the whole thing on foxnews.com. this is a big day for him. bill: momentum and a campaign

that is surging. the hard numbers are difficult to mask right now. santorum is in number 2 with 23% of the vote. we pointed that out with fox polling at 10:00am eastern time. santorum goes back to washington. he had wanted this opportunity to get on that steupblg an that stage and deliver his message of conservative politics and he's going to have that stage right now for the next 20 minutes. martha: you heard the line of thinking about what is going to come against him as he is in the cofrontrunner spot. senunu just mentioned to us minutes ago, they'll come at him with the earmark issues from pennsylvania and raising the debt ceiling several times, voting to go along with that vote, which they will clearly come at him about that as well. rick santorum is in the hot seat right now but he is speaking to the home crowd as he speaks at cpac today. bill: for a caucus you need to have organization on the ground. what organized did he have in

minnesota in those caucuses? none. he won those states. >> reporter: we'll see whether or not he republican phra indicaterepublicanreplicates that tomorrow. >> we need to compromise, do what is politically reasonable, and go out and push someone forward who can win. i think we have learned our lesson, and the lesson we've learned is that we will no longer abandon and apologize for the policies and principles that made this country great for a hollow victory in november. [applause] >> the other thing we should recognize, as conservatives and tea party folks, that we are not just wings of the republican

party, we are the republican party. [applause] folks, i've been here before. we know each other. we've worked together in the vineyards. we've taken on the tough battles that confront this country. i know you, and you know me. and that's important, because we've worked together, some say experience is a bad thing in this election, i don't think so. i think knowing the people who are the conservative leaders, knowing the people who have worked in the vineyards for decades, knowing the people who bring the ideas and the breadth and the conservatism is important. as is often says, policies are personnel. personnel is what makes it, knowing the people to bring and surround yourself with. those voices that we've listened to in the past are all people

that we brought in, who told us, well, no, we can't stand by those principles. ladies and gentlemen, as president of the united states we will surround ourselves in this administration with people who share our values, who are committed to the principles that made this country great, leaders of the conservative movement. [applause] we know there is a lot of excitement here because this election is about very, very big things. this is not just about jobs, although it is about jobs. and we obviously need to do something about jobs in this country, and we put forward an economic plan that the "wall street journal" calls supply side economics for the working man. why? because we care to make sure that every american has the opportunity to rise, that the ladder goes down not just to those who might be voting for us, but, yes, the very poor, the

people in this country who have been suffering and left behind. we want to create an opportunity for all of them. blue collar americans, the working poor, to rise in society. we've put together a plan that reinc reinvigorates our country for americans to rise again. it's important that we tackle to huge monstrous debt we have in this country. a debt that is curbin crushing our children. bill: he says don't to push somebody forward for the sake of convenient, paraphrasing his words to cpac in washington. he says he represents the conservative values that are right for america. and santorum comes into this conference with a wave of momentum after the results on tuesday, in minnesota, missouri, and colorado. he is number two behind mitt romney.

how things have changed and got even interesting throughout the weak. back to cpac as it continues. martha: we'll bring you this story of the shocking testimony in the trial of a college lacrosse player accused of murder. what a romantic rival of george hugely saw him do just before yeardley love was killed. bill: a yellow school bus goes up in flames. everybody is okay. investigators say it could be part of a shocking trend. shockingly enough it's not the first time that this model has caught fire. [ 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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martha: it's not what you want to see when you pick up your children at the bus stop, of course. look at these pictures of this school bus that is on fire. six elementary school students safe and sound after the bus went up in flames. in is in khor lot, nort charlotte, north carolina. it was likely caused by a short in the electrical system. it is the same model as buses

that have caught fire recently. they sent a cautionary memo to all district. thankfully everybody is okay. a scary picture. bill: new questions about morning about the justice department's ergs version of events in fast and furious. a federal agent is speaking out and saying other agents new about the sting to allow weapons to flow to mexican drug cartels. william la jeunesse is live with more. >> reporter: bill, we are right on the border, this is a very remote crossing. it was here where on several occasions ice agents in that building stopped guns that were being smuggled southbound. well it turns out that those are part of an atf operation. that led to a fight between these two agencies, and ice was told to back off and not interfere with fast and furious. well it turns out multiple agencies new about the operation

and the danger that it represented. >> there's going to be a disaster good that is going to happen. someone is going to get killed. unfortunately brian terry is that nightmare that came true. >> reporter: former tucson drug enforcement chief tony colson said they weren't the only agency with a hand in operation fast and furious. >> on two occasions that i know of weapons that atf were trying to walk into mexico, ice actually interceded and seized those weapons. >> reporter: the dea also helped providing intelligence on suspected ring leaders. the atf shared the same wire room inside this building with the dea where they would monitor live conversations of their targets. this lasted for more than a year as the atf tried to identify two high-level cartel associates the money men behind fast and furious.

according to documents both the dea and the f.b.i. new who the men were and didn't bother to tell the atf. their names were written on call streets inside here but the atf never saw them. the f.b.i. also admitted both men were confidential informants, making them off limits and unindictable. so for a year atf agents were looking for these two guys, they were already on the f.b.i. payroll, for a year the dea and f.b.i. knew who they were and did not tell the atf, knew their identities the day that fast and furious began and a year before brian terry was killed. bill, these guys are still inside the cartel considered a national security asset. a congressional review has determined that is one reason why this was a massive failure. martha: let's go down to the newsroom now where jon scott is getting ready for "happening now." what do you have coming up

today, jon. jon: we will pick up right where you're leaving off. at one time we thought the race for the white house this year would be just pretty much about the economy. well that is no more. social issues suddenly front and center in election 2012. the president is backing down in a controversy over birth control. we'll talk with joe trippi, paul gigot. monica crowley, and kristen powers. the president speaks live to announce his new position about 12:15 eastern time. it is a very busy day, plus four days the u.s. could wind up in a war against iran before the election, and how exactly are those nuclear scientists dying in iran? some new reporting. we'll get into it today. martha: you've got a big show. thank you very much, jon, we'll look forward to that, jon scott in the newsroom. a new look inside the deadly italian cruise ship disaster. the frightening moments as told by those who lived through this whole thing. watch some of this.

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martha: very emotional testimony in the murder trial of a former lacrosse player accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, yeardley love. they say he repeatedly slammed her head against a wall in 2010. a witness has come forward in a trial and said that a couple of weeks before that he saw george choking yeardley in a room at a party and she was very distressed and said she could not breathe. tamara holder is a criminal defense attorney.

arthur aidala is an attorney. welcome. mike burns says he walked into a room, he heard her crying for help, he walked in and george hugely had her on her back and he was holding her and she couldn't get away. are you surprised they allowed this testimony? >> i actually am. it wasn't like this was a crime that occurred where the police were called an was previously charged with this incident. it seems like it would be somewhat prejudicial. i'm assuming that prior to the trial starting the defense actually objected to this kind of testimony coming in but the judge said, you know, this testimony is going to come in, and also testimony of the victim in this case throwing a purse at the defendant will also come in, so the jurors could see behaviors on both sides. martha: the reason that it seems to me that it would be allowed is that this mike burns, who is the young man who saw this --

him choking her is also somebody who was a romantic interest of yeardley love, who had sparked jealously on the part of george hugely. he wrote an email to yeardley saying when i found out you were with this mike burns i should have killed you then. >> the judge is making a decision. the balancing test he does is the value to the jury, is that more important than the prejudice it puts on the defendant? that is the basic balancing act. obviously this judge is allowing these things. your question is right on point, typically where there is no arrest, no crime, nobody knows exactly what was happening those months before when burns saw this happening, so usually judges don't let this in. i'm going to think, martha, this judge is predisposed to err on the side of assisting the prosecution. it seems like this young man is culpable. martha: back and forth between this young man goes to the

jealously that george hugely had about that young man. they were lacrosse rivals as well. the other side of it, they are saying she did not die because of those blows to the head when he pushed her into the wall. they said she was on ad adoral. they had a physician testify she was under no stress, she was in great condition. they say the efforts to revive her is what caused the blood on the brain. what do you make of it? >> we know that he did it. we know that he stupidly confessed to the police without lawyering up, nobody should do that, but there was no blood found on his clothes when they did all the dna testing and if this was a violent beating like the prosecution is alleging you would think that there would be blood on his clothes, on his hands, wherever. none of that existed, and emt responders did say that that kind of resuscitat resusatative

effort would not cause that. martha: it's a tragic, tragic case and we'll talk about it again. thank you very much, arthur and thanks, tamara to you as well. bill: in a moment, trouble out of iran. what would be the u.s. role if the middle east marches back to war? ♪ that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor, so you can make better decisions and live achievement. i have a great fit with my dentures.

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bill: we've been talking all morning about the natgeo show about the italian cruise ship disaster. we want to show you this clip. >> the holiday of a lifetime goes horribly wrong. >> i remember my hand and my feet went cold immediately. [screaming] >> conflicting messages. >> the captain had announced there was an electrical problem and it would be fixed in no time. >> hide the truth. >> he told