canaveral next month. jon: thank you for joining us. jenna: "america live" starts right now. martha: this fox news alert on the pain at the pump, the price of oil is up again today on the world markets, with gas prices up as well, there appears to be no end in sight for all of this. welcome to "america live," everybody, i'm. >> caller i'mmartha maccallum in for megyn kelly. $3.84 a gallon. a third of the country is paying more than $4 a gallon for gas. over the weekend president obama saying he feels america's pain on this but that the soaring prices are beyond his administration's control. >> it's easy to promise a quick fix when it comes to gas prices. there just isn't one. anyone who tells you otherwise, any career politician who promises some 3-point plan for

$2 gas is not looking for a solution, they are looking for your vote. vote. martha: that message apparently not getting through to voters. this brand-new poll from the hill showing 58% of likely voters say that the president's energy policies are what is really driving up the cost of gasoline. stewart varney joins me now. good afternoon to you. are the folks right. >> reporter: with oil back to $108 a barrel, some leading democrats are saying it's time to reverse course, mr. president, because this approach of, we can do nothing in the immediate future, that is not working. as you saw there voters are beginning to say, we want a different answer. the democrat in question is representative, or former representative harold ford jr., democrat of tennessee. he's come flat out in a "wall street journal" article today, an says reverse course, mr. president, build the pipeline, speed up the drilling permit process, and above all stop beating up on oil.

that's what he's saying and that is putting a great deal of pressure, along with other democrats on the president. now, martha at $108 a barrel, that's what oil has just gone back up to, it's possible that that is a high enough price to trigger an immediate response from the president, which would be, open up the spigots on the strategic petroleum reserve. he talked about doing that last week and the price dropped to a buck and a half. it is possible that will come back on to the front burner given the pressure the president is under. martha: we want to show you sort of -- what the president has said on this issue, in terms of not having a lot of control over gas prices, from basically late february to mid march on this. take a lock a look at this. >> while there are no silver bullets, short term when it comes to gas prices, and anybody who says otherwise isn't telling the truth -- we can't just drill

our way to lower gas prices. there are no quick fixes or silver bullets. what i have also said about gas prices is that there is no silver bullet and the only way we're going to solve this problem over the medium and long term is with an all of the above strategy. . i think the american people understand we don't have a silver bullet when it comes to gas prices. we have been talking about this for 30 years. martha: as you well know he has not employed an all of the above strategy in his energy policy. mitt romney out on the campaign trail says that he would start by firing the heads of the three departments that oversee our energy policy. what do you think about that? >> reporter: the republicans have the direct opposite view, yes there is something you can do about oil and gas prices. three years ago if we'd had a dramatic let's drill for what we got in america policy you would not be in the situation we are in today. if the president turned around

tomorrow morning and said, let's drill for everything we've got on our turf right now maybe that would make a difference to the price of oil. but the president has done the exact opposite. he simply said, we're going to tax the oil companies. we are going to take an extra $4 billion a year off the oil companies. that do is not explain how taxing oil more gives you lower gas and oil prices. that's where we stand. the two sides are very sharply divided. the positions are hardening on both sides. but the pressure is now very much on the president with gas still going up, a majority of the population paying $4 for gas, some are paying $5 and oil back to $108 a barrel. big pressure. martha: big pressure indeed every time folks go to the gas station. stewart, thanks so much. we'll talk to you more on this. as we just mentioned, nearly a third of the country already pays more than $4 a gallon for gasoline. this has an overall dam penig

effect on the economy. hawaii pays the most at the pump $4.48 a gallon for regular there. california, alaska, illinois, new york, connecticut and washington all above the $4 mark. oregon is at exactly $4 a gallon, huge political impact from all of this. and mitt romney is looking ahead to tomorrow's illinois primary today. you're looking live at a romney event that is about to get underway at the university of chicago. mitt romney earlier went off both rick santorum and president obama when it comes to the economy accusing the president of, quote, building a government that is so big it's crushing enterprise, end quote. we'll keep an eye on that event for you. in the meantime rick santorum refusing to give up on the land of lincoln, despite the fact this he's trailing in some of the polls there. he's campaigning across the state today, a live look at a stop he will be making in the town of dixon illinois. he's promising to stay in the race for the long haul.

during the campaign stops in missouri over the weekend he hinted that his campaign would soon unveil what he calls some new delegate math that he said will, quote, show that this race is a lot different than what the consensus is. stay tuned for that. back here to this big story in new york right now, the nypd is investigating a death threat against their own officers at occupy wall street protests in downtown manhattan on saturday. it came in the form of a dangerous sounding tweet and mentioned, quote, killing a cop or two. the guy behind that tweet claims it was just a joke. david lee miller is live in our new york bureau with more on this story. david lee nobody thinks there is anything joking about it discussion of killing police. >> reporter: no one here is laughing. new york city police are trying to learn the identity of the man who sent out the sweet over over the weekend.

they are trying to get a subpoena. the tweet said, quote, we won't make a difference if we don't kill a cop or two. the tweet was posted as the protestors clashed in lower zuccotti park. they are trying to get a subpoena to learn the tweeter's real name. the man behind the tweet has spoke tone a local radio station and newspaper. we know he lives in florida, he's in the military and he says he never actually attended an occupy wall street rally. he says his tweet was simply taken out of context. >> i never told anyone, hey, why don't you go out there and kill a cop today. >> reporter: over the weekend 74 people in new york were arrested including one woman seen on police video elbowing an officer in the face. minutes later she was arrested and handcuffed, then she suffered some type of a seizure, occupy wall street supporters and local politicians accused the nypd of using excessive force and say they are going to further revive the movement. >> i'm here because i care, and

i want our country to care more, and that's what this whole issue is about. it's not us versus the police it's us versus this economic system. >> we can peaceably assemble and express ourselves. it's abhorrent and people should be outraged. >> reporter: a rally is planned for saturday here in ne new york city. after being barred from setting up camp in zuccotti park where the movement was born they are setting their sights on a larger location, union scare. martha: david lee miller, thanks very much. a massive manhunt is now underway for a suspected serial killer suspected of killing three children and a rabbi today in southern france. the latest attack happening just in morning. a man riding a motorcycle opening fire on teachers and students at this jewish school, killing a parent and three young children. now police are confirming that the gun use ne used in those murders is the same one used to

kill three others earlier this month. they have a huge problem on their hands. greg palkot looking into this story joins me live from our london bureau, greg. >> reporter: it all started today at the jewish school in france in the southwestern part of that country. a 30-year-old rabbi and hebrew teacher were killed as well as his two children age 3 and 6 and another child a teenager was seriously injured. a gunman dress ned black rode up on a motorbike and started firing as the kids were arriving at that school then he entered the courtyard of the school shooting at point black range. they spoke of horror and carnage and then the killer fled. president nicolas sarkozy described the attack as coldblooded. he is leading a massive hunt around the city. it happened after two incidents the past week in that area, in which three french soldiers were killed, they came from a base nearby, their units have seen time in afghanistan.

they are of north african muslim and caribbean background. officials are saying right now that these three incidents are apparently linked. the gunman used the same technique, the same motorbike and krugs alreh and crucial lee, he used the same gun. it could be the act of a far right extremist, islamist terrorist or a lone wolf madman. the acts so serious even the white house weighing in calling them outrageous and unproceed joked. back to you. martha: thank you very much, greg palkot. the administration issued new rules on friday about what should be covered under the healthcare overhaul and politics may be playing a role in all of this. if your healthcare plan is being written basically by the government what happens if we get a new president? new emails have come to right on the bankrupt solar company

solyndra raising new questions about how much the white house really knew about what was going on at satisfactory lindh tkra before the president publicly praised them in a state of the union address. the f.b.i. getting involved in the case of a florida teenager allegedly shot to death by a member of a neighborhood watch team. what they are revealing and why leaders are raising big red flags on this. >> this guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. it's raining and he's just walking around looking about. >> okay. this guy is he white, black arrest hispanic? >> he looks black. mon dad! i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy. instead i g heartburn. [ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilos isn't for fast relief. try alka-seltzer. it kills heartburn fast. yeehaw!

i get my cancer medications through the mail.

now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. the ripple effect is going to be devastating. congress created the problem. and if our legislators get on the ball, they can make the right decisions. martha: truly unsaintly behavior at a st. patrick's celebration in canada. look.

my, my, my, that does not look like any st. patrick's celebration i've ever seen. there is a lot of green on the folks out there. that was london ontario, drunken crowds throwing things at police. officers forced to respond in riot gear. some of them called it basically a war zone. at least eleven revelers, like that guy, perhaps, were arrested. >> we recognize we've got to go back to basics, we've got to go back to making things, we've got to go back to exports. we've got to go back to innovation, and we recognize there was only so much the government could do. the true engine of economic growth will always be companies like solyndra. martha: ouch, that was president obama speaking about solyndra back in may of 2010, and now newly released emails, this is

the 7th document dump. there is a lot of emails on this subject, folks from the bankrupt solar panel solyndra company that was discussed at the white house, the troubles at the firm at the time were not all that clear. lou dobbs joins us now host of lou dobbs tonight on fox network. according to these emails it appears they understood quite a bit. they were embarrassed about it, don't want to talk about it or him seen with the srut eufs. >> reporter: didn't want them seen with the first lady. these documents reveal now that two years before solyndra goat belly-up, goes bankrupt that the energy department analysts had correctly forecast it would be out of money. there was every warning in this thing all along. and now we're watching, and i talked with cliff stearns the chairman of the oversight committee of energy. fred upton the chairman of the

envelope committee. these guys are watching these document dumps coming on fridays throwing their hands up saying when in the world are you guys over at the white house going to level with the american people? slowly but surely we are starting to see what was really going on with solyndra and other companies like them. martha: let's take a couple of these emails so people can get a sense of this. after they combed through the dump on friday, this is what they found. this i the first one. can't do solyndra they've run into issues yesterday. this is from the director of white house message events. she wrote that on january 5th of 2011 in an email that was written. here is another one.

>> reporter: exactly, ugh is what everyone associated with it would be saying in the white house. they kept trying to put a good face on it and push it. martha: why? >> reporter: plus of the political vulnerability this president finds himself in. martha, here is a guy who has been pushing at energy, green energy, and it seems like everything that they've touched has turned to just utter -- well, has not worked. martha: it makes you ask, well didn't they have any example? couldn't they ditch the solyndra example at the state of the union and find something they were backing that was working that would be better? i look at this also from 2009 from larry summers. he wrote to an investor that was tied to solyndra, that government is a crappy vc, venture capitalist and if you were closer to it you would feel it more strongly. a lot of folks would say, gee he nailed it on the head there. >> reporter: summers who didn't nail much right nailed this one

right on the button as you say, whether it's solyndra, whether it's for solar, whatever it may be, we now know that they were arguing over whether or not the technology is being employed by first solar, by solyndra were really innovative. in fact they were not. this is a -- this is a solar panel manufacturing business, and everyone in the administration should have known that china is going to beat their brains in at this. and did. so, it becomes a political play. martha: no doubt, you know, the president's supporters hear this and say, haven't we heard enough about this topic? but it all tpoedz into the bigger picture. you have gas prices rising you, look back at the administration, what have they done, where did they put the money for the green energy that they say is going to help this situation. we have the statements coming out of the administration. later after that another $75 million went to the company. so it just raises a ton of questions about spinning wheels. >> reporter: and they literally

wanted to double up on this company and simply the facts overwhelmed them or they would have. this week we have steven chu going to the house oversight committee, congressman darrell issa's committee that has been leading the way on administration scandals of which solyndra is one and obvious refast and furious and others, and with chu we are sitting here with 3.84 a dollars gas nation tied, many states where it's over $4 and he's going to have to explain all of this. and so far they don't have anything approaching a solution. martha: they need to find some sort of compelling argument for the arguments they've made in all of this. thank you very much. we look forward to seeing you later on the business channel. you can catch lou in fact on the business network every night. lou dobbs tonight heirs we can nights at 7:00pm eastern time. check it out tonight. the new cia chief says that the government could soon be using high-tech homing devices to gather information on where people are and what they are

doing. wait until you hear about what he said about whether this is legal to use this stuff on our own things in our homes. police new developments on a chris tas pastor allegedly sentenced to death in iran. could the islamic republic be paving the way to make a big change in this case? brand-new developments on that, that is straight ahead. she was voted the sexist woman in the world, but this bikini beauty was hiding a dirty little secret, folks, why she could now be facing years behind bars. ♪ [ male announcer ] when do you take 5-hour energy?

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martha: talk about a politically incorrect choice of words, are you ready for this one? singer celo green catching backlash after dropping f bombs at a fund-raiser for the president. listen. ♪ [singing] martha: celo choosing to use the unedited version and flipping off the crowd. he said, yeah, it was a mistake but says his fans heard it a million times before and asked his fans, don't get all faint on me. all right, celo. and are you ready for this one? there are reports today that the cia could soon use some of your most common household devices to

gather information on you. that is because a growing number of popular household items are linked to the internet. but won't that be crossing a legal line, we ask? and who better to explain our own trace gallagher live in los angeles with some answers for us. hey, trace. >> reporter: martha, who knew your dishwasher to rat you out, right. they say the deal is new technology is a blessing and a curse for the cia. if you're in the spy world and you're a person of interest they can actually track you in realtime using all of your devices that are kind of linked up to the internet and to satellites, use your navigation system on your car, they know where you're going, use your sony playstation to know where you are. even if you use small phone apps that control ambient lighting in your house and dishwasher and heater they can have an idea about your whereabouts and your behavior. there is some very strong legal language about spying, but this is kind of a gray area that the law really hasn't caught up with

yet. david petraeus said at a convention, i have found that our technical abilities far exceed what you've seen in tom cruise films. there are feats that he can accomplish in the movies that we can't. we haven't figured out to change an individual's fingerprints or eyeballs just yet. it goes onto say, give us time. at the same time facebook and twitter creating problems for the cia especially future agents because there is a lot of information out there about them. they need to remain anonymous, now the cia is kind of working with facebook to reedit the history of these agents, they just kind of go back and delete it, you know, only the spies can do that, go back and take care of that. we should note that over the next ten years, eight years, maybe, a hundred billion items will be attached to the internet and the cia wants to see how many of those they can get in to stop the terrorists, the bad

guys. martha: it gives them more and more links to find out where we are and what we are doing. trace, thank you very much. >> reporter: sure. martha: we'll see knew a bit. in the last few months we have seen big political battles over the latest healthcare decisions, which raises a new question, think about this. if your healthcare plan is being basically written and designed by the government, what happens if you get a new president, and we will, either soon or in four years from now, so we'll take a closer look at what the political ramifications are of all this flip flopping back and forth, the healthcare whiplash we are calling it. plus there is a flag flap at a public school. take a closer look at this one. one military vet wants this tattered flag taken down. what he has now been told in response. you're not going to believe this. that is straight ahead. then a young neighborhood watch captain shoots an unarmed teenager in what he says was a case of self-defense. now the tragedy is being used as a campaign against gun

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the watch boxes that are popping up out there. flooding, satisfactory severe storms from texas all the way through iowa. meteorologist janice dean is taking a look at all of it for us in the fox extreme weather centerment that i, janice what is going on. >> reporter: we'll start to see the thunderstorms pop across texas up through oklahoma. severe thunderstorm warning west of tulsa. no tornado warnings to tell you about. we'll start to see the watches throughout the afternoon. see the red-shaded area from austin to dallas that's where we think all the ingredients will come together for large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes and look at this flood threat for the next couple of days, martha, six inches plus in all of these areas. they need the rain but it's too much of a good thing in this case we're going to see definitely flash flood watches and warnings throughout the week. back to you. martha: what a crazy winter, it's been baton down the hatches in that area. janice, thanks very much. and there is a hot controversy

today over a friday evening release of the latest from the new healthcare law. now it seems that most universities will have to cover birth control in their students' health plans without even having them do a small co-pay on it with critics suggesting that politics are behind some of the latest healthcare pronouncements. the new question out there may be this. will our healthcare coverage change every time we get a new administration and a new health and human services department? joined by sandee rios, vp of family pack center, and the former director for john cornyn. nice to have you here. what do you make of the latest pronouncement on friday afternoon? do you think we'll be changing with the wind every administration over these things? >> no i don't think so. i think if we elect a republican administration we won't have this problem.

they want to get involved in the most intimate decisions of your life. many people think the right on the moral issues is the one that interferes it's really not true. the left runs wild and they are constantly trying to force people to do what they think is right. the amazing thing is that they can make a private insurance company cover something that is not really health related. contraception, except if you have some sort of a medical problem, which is very rare, is to prevent pregnancy, and pregnancy is not an illness. to make them give these medications out to young girls on college campuses and tell them they can't even charge a co-pay is outrageous and the beginning of what we are going to see more and more of in more invasive and shocking ways in the obama healthcare plan. martha: there is no doubt that if rick santorum were to win and become the next president of the united states, julie, he would reverse a lot of this. so that really does become a question for people and for companies, you know, are we going to see this kind of ability of hhs departments to sort of lay down the law,

whatever it may be every time they come up with a new regulation or a new thing that used to be covered? >> well rick santorum doesn't even believe in contraception for anybody, so if president santorum were to be a reality we'd have a loot more problems on our hands than this. 98% of all women have used contraception in their lives. rick santorum doesn't agree with that. if you're talking about president santorum you're talking about something that is very, very, very, very much outside the mainstream. in terms of what would happen if a new president came in, look we've had the same battle over medicare back in the 60s and other regulations and they've survived administrations from both sides of the aisles. once something becomes the hrauf the land it's very, very hard to reverse it. i don't think even if barack obama were not the president next january that you'd be able to reverse a large portion of this legislation. martha: one of the big issues here is not just a question of whether or not, you know, women should use contraception, julie it's whether or not it should be paid for or whether that is a personal responsibility issue, it's not a healthcare, it's not a disease as sandy points out. the question is whether or not

you should have to pull out the 10, $15 out of your pocket once a month. >> for a lot of women that 10, $15 is a lot of money. for people who argue constantly that we need to reduce the rate of abortion in this country. i think we agree on both sides of the aisle that that needs to be a reality, how you prevent people from having abortions is have them responsibly use birth control. you won't tell women in their 20s that they have to abstain from having sex. martha: they don't have, the question is whether or not it should be paid for and covered. religious institutions have obviously a major issue with this. the catholic universities and the like. >> religion just institutions. martha: let's give sandy a chance to respond. >> first of all, it's a silly thing to say that rick santorum is against birth control and whenever if easy elected president we won't have birth control. the president doesn't decide that. he has an issue in that. rick santorum has not made a platform of trying to eradicate birth control. this president has made a

platform of pushing women's issue. i'm a woman and i am sick of this. i do not want unlicensed, unbridled free sex foisted upon college girls at my tax dollar. if girls want to have sex in college they can may the $9 a month for their own birth control. this is social engineering at its worst with the worst possible out come. we are not so concerned about stopping abortions as we are the whole person of a girl, her character, her mind, her physical body, the fact that she is not going to be used up by a hundred men before she gets married. that is an issue. and it's not necessarily just stopping pregnancy. and that is where we differ. >> what about the women who are in ma nothing must relationships, not being used up, quote unquote by a hundred men but want to pick the time and place of the conception of their children. martha: nothing has ever stopped them from doing that, julie. you paid yourself 98% of women

use contraception. it's not an issue of whether or not they have the ability to get it, it's the issue of whether or not it should be free for everybody in america. >> you have all sorts of things being covered as a preventative measure. i consider that to be a preventative measure because it stops you and me and everybody else from having their children when the government decides we want to have children instead of when we decide we want to have children. >> i need to interject something here. >> let me finish my point. the reality is this. we fund colleges through our taxpayer dollars, it's not asking the catholic church to provide contraception. >> yes they are. >> they are not asking the catholic church to do it. >> yes they are in a back doorway. >> not at all. >> yes, exactly. julie for a longtime title 10 has been giving birth control to minor girls without parental consent. this has been the law, i've been angry about this for years. i know it's effect i. know there was a 14-year-old girl who got impregnated by her high school gym teacher in the chicago suburbs because she got birth control from title 10.

>> how did she get impregnated if she got birth control. >> he was taking her to the clinic for the birth control and that's when he was caught. she wasn't eupl presenting nature, i'm sorry she was taking birth control. >> title 10 provides us at our expense. martha: i know we could continue this and we will at another time. thank you so much, ladies. great to have you both here. >> thanks, martha. >> thanks. martha: for the first time this is coming up since he was arrested in 2009, iran is now admitting that christian pastor has been convicted of religious crimes, that those are the nature of the reason this he's being held. what does this mean? is there now hope for him? a closer look at this urgent story is coming up, please stick around for that. brand-new numbers showing that voters are upset with the healthcare law and the president's pol policies but

the bad news does not end there. we will detail some of the new questions that are causing headaches for the president's re-election team. take a look at this video. this newborn baby is about to meet his soldier tk-d for the verdad for the very first time. he looks all excited about it, doesn't he? we'll be back with that great story, right after this. ♪ 

martha: there are new developments today on the status of the pastor sentenced to death in iran after converting to christianity. youcef nadarkhani was arrested back in 2009. there he is pictured with his family. he was found guilty of abandoning islam. iranian officials claimed that youcef nadarkhani was conflicted on rape charges initially. now under intense international pressure iran admits that he is being held due to his

christianity. we have the executive director of the american center for law and justice. he joins us now. jordan, welcome. this is a case that so many of us have followed closely in this country and there are pretty new big developments. why have they changed the charges against him and what have they changed them to. >> reporter: it's taken 898 days for iran to admit that this is about youcef nadarkhani's christian faith. the changes come because the story which started on fox news and in the u.s. and in the western world has spread past the european union who has spoken out on youcef nadarkhani's behalf to places where iran has allies diplomatically, like brazil. i was there with the vice president of the country because it's become a huge story there. brazil has full diplomatic relations. we had a team at the u.n. human rights council who had a special report on iran.

a ayatollah who is the head of the judiciary, and the head of the human rights division heard the report about iran, spent all of his time on pastor youcef nadarkhani and said, no it's not that he's that he left islam and became a christian, it's because he has a house church, because he proselytized miners and offended islam. even though we have religious freedom, because he said jesus is the only way to heaven he's offended islam and that's why he's on trial. first time iran said it's all about religion. martha: now that they have the charges that relate to his christianity, does it make it harder or easier for them to let him go or back off of in in any way? >> reporter: i think it makes it a little easier to back off a little bit. it's not just the west, or the white house, the state department or europe, but it's countries that iran relies on diplomatically and economically. brazil cannot be lied to again. they did lie to the government

of brazil. we had a document given to us by a senator saying this had nothing to do about youcef nadarkhani's faith, he's not even a pastor. so the key is, they still won't admit it's a death penalty, but we've got countries now engaged, like brazil, like the netherlands who are making sure he's alive every day. they've requested to go to teheran to meet with pastor youcef nadarkhani. it's a huge development as the case continues to gather now interest nation until attention from governments which is huge. martha: we genuinely hope that they will give that opportunity for some of these countries to visit him, to verify his well-being. there is a lot of arrests though of christians going on in iran. do you think that this is going to put the spotlight more squarely on this issue and the pressure on iran and other kreugss tha christians that are being held in that country. >> reporter: 17 more christians were arrested. some did let go after a couple of hours, some are still in jail today, others get charged for two, three years.

what pastor youcef nadarkhani represents is thousand 0s of people who are in iranian jails that are forgotten b. he has no idea what is going on around the world about him. he refused to renounce his faith. he refused to acknowledge mohammed as a prophet he would have been let go. he's taking a stand in his case, in this case why you're seeing the world react this way is he represents the thousands of people who are forgotten in these jails and don't have documentation on. martha: you're so right. hopefully they'll allow visitors in and he'll get some sense of the ground swell and support that exists for him and his fight around the world. thank you for bringing a lot of attention to this. good to talk to you again. we'll stay on top of it. breaking news just ahead into the investigation of the fast and furious gun running scandal gone wrong. just ahead what we have now learned today about how the doj stopped the number one suspect early in the gun running sting and then let him go. more on that. and the f.b.i. getting involved in the case of a florida

teenager allegedly shot to death by a member of a neighborhood watch team, in what was called a case of self-defense. up next why this story is becoming a huge debate over gun control. >> i don't know why i think they are yelling help, but i don't know. >> you think he's yelling help in. >> yes. >> what is your -- >> there's gunshots. >> i'm pretty sure the guy is dead out here. >> oh, my god. someone has been shot. look! the phillips' lady!

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911 calls that you may not have heard before the shooting death of a florida teenager.

trevan martin was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer. the gunman claiming it was self-defense. gun advocates say the 911 calls from some witnesses prove otherwise and they are using them as ammunition in a new attack on the national rifle association. trace gallagher joins me live from los angeles with more on this. trace. >> reporter: martha, we just confirmed the department of justice is monitoring this case and will send representatives to florida this week. this happened in sanford florida 20 miles outside of orlando. the 17-year-old was visiting his dad there, walking back from a convenience store he bought a can of ice tea and some skittles. it was raining and dark, wearing a hooded sweatshirt. 28-year-old george simmer man is the selfappointed neighborhood watch captain. he was in his car when he spotted the teen. he called the nonemergency dispatch number, listen. >> this guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or

something. it's raining and he's just walking around looking about. >> okay. this guy, is he white, black or hispanic? >> he looks black. >> reporter: he says he thinks he's black, but he later told police he did not know his race. then zimmerman tells dispatchers the teen is coming toward him. listen. >> there's something wrong with them. yep. he's coming to check me out. he's got something in his hands. i don't know what his deal is. >> yeah, we got them on the way. just let me know if this guy does anything else. >> okay. [bleep] they always get away. >> are you following him? >> yeah. >> we don't need to you do that. >> reporter: we don't need you to follow him. he did any way, and here is where it gets very unclear. some witnesses say there was a scuff i will, soma scuffle, others say there was not.

they say he had a bloody nose, grass clippings on his back. listen to the first 911 calls by the neighbors and you will hear the gunshot, play it. >> you think he's yelling help? >> yes [gunshot ] >> there's gunshots. >> you just heard gunshots? >> yes. >> i'm pretty sure the guy is dead out here, holy. [bleep] >> we have several people calling in. anything else that you heard. >> a guy yelling help. oh, my god. >> reporter: zimmerman was not arrested or detained and legal experts wonder why he was also not tested for drugs and alcohol which is standard in many places in the country. stanford police say they handled this by the book. remember, florida is also a stand your ground law state, which means that you can use guns or other deadly force as self-defense without backing out of a confrontation. now the national rifle association backed that law, and

now the brady campaign, which is pushing for tougher gun laws says that is the national rifle association's vision for america. it's important to point out that gun sales in this country have never been higher, and the crime rate, says the f.b.i., is very low. the doj is investigating this and will send people to central florida this week to look into this case, martha. martha: awful story. trace, thank you for that. >> reporter: okay. martha: and there are new developments today in the fast and furious scandal. now lawmakers are asking if the justice department's independent investigator was really all that independent. an update from the house oversight committee ahead. and a rising star busted for not so model behavior you might say. just ahead how swimsuit model simone farrow got a new pair of bracelets, and what it may mean for her future. polls today showing that the president's healthcare law is

turning into a bigger headache for his re-election campaign, but the bad news doesn't end there. this. right after the break. >> it's going to be very, very exciting. but we have to pass --

martha: fox news alert. one week before the supreme court runs a test of the healthcare law, a new poll by the hill is finding half of likely voters think the high court will indeed strike down the healthcare law. look at this number. only 29% think the massive overhaul of the healthcare system will be upheld. 22% are not sure. that's a lot of folks who think picture will change dramatically. chris stirewalt joins me now.

hi, chris. how you doing? these rums are not something you will pore over in the west wing and feel great about. >> this is what we look at when check out polls. do they track with our own excellent fox news poll and other big-name polling outfits? he see the same thing over and over again. when you poll on the health law it has not become more popular over time and people have not come to like it better. and people are rendering a legal verdict on it. a week ahead of the supreme court starting to hear oral arguments we see poll after poll after poll that people think it is not constitutional for the federal government to require individuals to if you are healthcare and be enrolled in an approved government plan.

martha: let's take a look at the underlying factors in this poll in terms of people's general feelings. this one deals with the question of the debt. as a result of president obama's fiscal policy the debt will 62% say they think it will continue to increase. >> it's not surprising. even democrats would say that they know that the president's plans are going increase deficit spending. but they would argue that's a necessary first step to recovery. more money must be borrowed now when rates are low into vest in the future. but everybody agrees across the political spectrum. the president's plans call for more deficit spending and that's not popular. martha: i would do this in the context of the fact 48% think

unemployment will continue to increase under the president's plan. but his approval numbers continue to be fairly good in the zone of reelection. when asked about the economy most people think it shows signs of turning around. it's a muddy picture in some regards as to the reelection prospect. >> when you see the president campaigning in twin states talking about gas prices you see how much he understands and his reelection effort understand understands that lingering uncertainy about the. he's talking about the razor's edge on which he hangs on the economy. people have some new optimism but there is a deep sense among the electorate that things are going the wrong direction and his policies haven't affected the turnaround they wanted.

we'll see you soon. also from these no polls, voters are hitting the president on the issue of gas prices. this is a hot topic over the weekend. 58% of those polled think the president's energy policies are helping drive up fuel costs. only 20% think the president's decisions are helping. in a media briefing that just wrapped up, wendall goler is on the north lawn with how that went. hey, wendall. >> press secretary jay carney defended a trip the president planned to a number of state. republicans say it's a campaign trip aimed at making excuses for the high price of gasoline. the president will go to a plant in nevada and oil and gas production facility in members and make a stop stat ohio state university. all three are battleground states but jay carney says the

president is not looking for votes. >> energy in general and the price of gas in particular is on a lot of people's mind. understandably right now. two, this president is aggressively advocating for and pursuing an all of the above energy strategy as a matter of policy. >> reporter: the latest spike in gasoline prices caused the corresponding slum in the president's job approval rating. polls indicate even if people don't blame him for the price hike they don't like how he responded to it. speaker john boehner's office said this week's costly dog and pony show isn't likely to fool anyone. mitt romney took a swipe. >> you have seen his plan on energy. it a moratorium on drilling in the path. don't get oil and gas out of

alaska. turn down the keystone pipeline. he made it harder and harder to get coal out of the ground and harder and harder to use coal. these send money out of the country and make our energy supply less reliable. if i'm president i'll open up drilling in and in in anwar, i'll open up drilling in north dakota and i'll bring in that pipeline from canada. >> reporter: the president will visit curbing, oklahoma. it's where work has started on the segment of the keystone pipeline that will go to the refineries in texas while they go around the ogallala aquifer in north dakota. martha: the average price for a gallon of regular gas, $3.84 a gallon. it is up for the tenth straight

day according to triple aaa. a year agree that same gallon would have cost $3.54. the current price is 6% below the all-time record high of $4.11 set back in the heat of the financial crisis in july of 2008. this fox news alert on the crisis ongoing in syria. word today that russian special forces just arrived in the war-torn country and may start fighting next to government forces. that comes on the same day as the fiercest gun battles in the syrian capital since the uprising began a year ago pop reports of 80 people killed today on the streets in syria. the u.n. says 8,000 civilians have died since this brutal crackdown began last march. leland vittert is following this story live from our jerusalem bureau.

leland? >> reporter: in addition to that news of the possible russian special forces in syria the most significant development was the pro nest scene upscale neighborhood of damascus. up until now president assad has been able to maintain his tour base inside damascus. we had a large government crackdown inside the capital. this is certainly a change for president assad. as the u.n. reported. 8,000 people have already been killed inside syria, and this latest demonstration inside damascus could lead to him becoming more desperate and killing more people. these are some of the ways he could do it. we have a report of the type of weapon this syrian air force specifically has. they were sold by russia. mig-29 jets that can be used in ground attack. 36yak-130 jets. they could be used in ground

attack. the rebels were able to put together a real army to try to fight. the other thing they have, some 700f-19 air defense systems. these are mobile radar-guided air defense systems sold to them by the russians. this trend credence to the thought that if the u.s. or nato were to get involved in syria it would be a different situation than in libya where they could maintain and gain air superiority very quickly. back to what these russian special forces may be doing. they came in through the mediterranean. docked in syria via boat. the opposition says those russian special forces already started to offload their equipment there inside syria. what is unclear is what they will do once they get ready to fight. back to you. martha: thank you very much. we are going to have more on the crisis unfolding in syria

including the secret threat from its nuclear program, and fears that missing uranium and weapons technology could wind up in the hand of iranians or terrorists. and there is a wild weather story to tell you about as well. we'll show you how a couple storm chasers put their lives on the line for a big twister struck. plus she sold swimsuits just by wearing them. now she may not see a bikini for a long time, folks. the arrest that could land this bombshell behind bars for years we are told. and new questions today in the "operation fast & furious" scan days an independent investigator trying to shield the attorney general and other higher ups in that gun walking operation? that plus breaking news how the

feds had their main suspect in "operation fast & furious" and let him go. >> how many more border patrol agents would have had to die as part of "operation fast & furious" for to you take responsibility? >> that kind of question i think is frankly -- i think that's beneath a member of congress. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

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martha: federal document show agents had their man but they let him go and allowed the operation to get more complicated. two of the guns that were found at the murder scene of border agent brian terry were traced to that program.

william lajeunesse has been doggedly on that story since the beginning. what are we learning in this document? >> reporter: it' perhaps the most damning evidence that atf deliberately wanted to arm the mexican sinaloa cartel. "operation fast & furious" began late in 2009. within 6 months a group led by the ring leader bought 1,000 guns and spent $700,000. field agents had enough information to bust him but claimed they lacked probable cause. 7 months later agents stopped a car driven by acosta. 7 round of ak-7 am nation and four cell phones. the computer shows he's under investigation and clearly he's

smuggling. acosta admits that he's going to birthday party for a big marijuana dealer and the right-hand man, leader of the sinaloa cartel and they are on their way to set up the drug trafficking business. so what does the agent do? she writes her phone number on a $10 and said give me a call when you get back which he didn't bother to do. so they let him go. it tells us the atf didn't care how many guns were being bought or how hard agents worked. they had a pole camera outside his house. they watched money and drugs trade hands. they are watching the entire time and yet they do not arrest them until after the death of brian terry. this guy never gave up his

contacts and there is no evidence he cooperated with the atf. critics will show this shows a callous disregard for life and public safety, they knew their guns were killing people but did not stop it. martha: thank you very much. so that bombshell development that william was talking about is hardly the on new development in fast and furious. lawmakers are questioning the true independence of the inspector general. the top republicans want to know why the investigator's office has yet to interview key figures in fast and furious who are close to the attorney general eric holder. congressman, welcome, good to have you here today. why do you argue that there are people who need to be

investigated in all of this who should be at the top of the list and they haven't been spoken to about what they knew about this operation yet? why is that happening? >> because those who we know who are at the top of the department, a principle deputy attorney general stated as of this point in time he himself has not been interviewed in any capacity by the department of justice inspector general. and common sense would indicate that by this time it would be likely that somebody would have spoken to them if they were doing an investigation in due course. there is a real concern on the part of the oversight committee that this investigation is being slow walked. as a result we'll not get to the bottom of it. they don't ask the people in the best position to know. martha: what response have you gotten when you question them about this? why don't you speak to the people at the top echelon of the

investigation? do they give you any response? >> it continues to be more of the same. this is part of the frustration dealing with this. i'm disappointed in the conduct to this point. there was some kind of statement how we would not understand the way the justice department works. the fact of the matter is it would seem to be prudent by this time to have made that -- those inquiries. i was a former united states attorney, and i certainly appreciate there may be times where investigation are built and information is developed so you are able to confront a witness with new or credible information you might not otherwise know. but it does not seem this investigation with so many pieces of information out there is going to bring something new. martha: attorney general eric holder said he will not discipline anybody with regard to this operation until the

operation is complete. this pushes the time line considerably. >> that's exactly right. how do you know how to discipline unless you are asking the real questions and the tough questions. that's the concern we had from the beginning. where does this investigation go with regard to not just authority, but knowledge all the way to the highest echelons of the justice department. martha: what is the next step for you? would you go to that level? >> there are certain circumstances if a compelling case could be made there would be a request for an independent investigators. my experience with the inspector general in the department of justice has generally been that you are going to find a somewhat detached person and that they will do their best to get to the bottom an issue. i'm just concerned about why these questions having been asked at this point in time and it seems as if there are people high up that should have been.

martha: thank you very much for the update. we appreciate it. there breaking developments in the hunt for a missing hot air balloon tonight georgia. what search crews just found. and just before the supreme court takes up the president's healthcare law, brand-new polling on what the american people think is going to come out of this supreme court decision. very interesting. a supermodel in big, big trouble with the law. why handcuffs are her newest accessory. i'll be right back. we're cracking down on medicare fraud.

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martha: rescue crews in georgia have found body of a missing hot air balloon pilot. he was reported missing friday night. he was taking sky divers for a ride when a fast-moving storm swept in. the sky divers he was carrying were able to jump to safety. but the sheriff's office says he was lift into the sky. his balloon then thrown to the ground. a very tough story. a swimsuit model has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. her name is simone farrell. she was busted in australia after investigators accused her of masterminding an

international drug ring. >> reporter: she was allegedly running this worldwide drug ring from sun set boulevard out of her apartment. apparently when the drug agents went in they found these packets of meth stacked up on the desk. they say she was using different aliases to shift around the world using fedex, even the postal service and she would hide the bags in bath salts. she was a penthouse pet. she was a wannabe reality star. she jumped bail last month in australia, $150,000 bail because she says she was running for her life, not running away from the law. she said i have been in relationships with numerous underworld figures and i feel maybe they feel threatened by my

situation. i wasn't trying to flee the country, i was trying to protect myself from being killed or harmed. police say this criminal enterprise included 6 other people. now she is back in jail. if she is convicted he will be in jail for a very long time. martha: what a twist in her story. trace, thank you very much. the supreme court ruling on the healthcare law could have a huge impact on the november election. but what happens to your coverage if the court kills part of this law or all of it? what if they just leave it alone? we'll answer some of these questions after the break. the secret threat from syria's nuclear program is something we all need to pay more attention to. city could help its closest middle east ally iran. the big part of the iranian nuke

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martha: a new fox poll shows the president's healthcare law has been running into some very strong head winds. one week before the supreme court is going to take up challenge to his law. this shows 60% of american

voters want all or part of the healthcare law repealed. when voters were asked the same question a year ago, folks were even graintd in their perspective. this is a good group to figure out where all of this goes from here. we remember nancy pelosi says you will be thrilled when you find out what's in here. but we have to pass it first and then we'll figure out what's going on. we haven't felt the i am pafnght it completely and people are concerned by that number. >> we put issues in silos, we

don't connect them to broader trends. most voters think what is the government been doing and the government has been botching things left and right before president obama was in office. there is a massive loss of trust and confidence in government. you can't divorce the discussion about healthcare and these poll numbers in this context. even if people might support a mandate in theory they don't have the trust that this government will do it in the right way. martha: they are trying to get control of 1/10 of the economy when there is a handoff sentiment. >> we can divorce president bush from this because this is not bush care, this is obama-care. this is an unconstitutional and

this should be up to the states. this should not be federally mandated. my governor mitch daniels from indiana will do something different than governor christie. this is forced upon americans. this is not england, this is not europe and we should not have healthcare forced upon us. martha: we raised the question before we went to the break. what happens if some of it gets shot down, for instance if the mandate is shot down. how should people look at this? >> i want to say we are proud of the american people. i think americans have caught on to how to analyze something this complicated. it's strung together needle and thread with that individual mandate. it's putting everything together. they know, they understand that the individual mandate will get people who don't need insurance to have to buy insurance and that's how they hopefully can pay for the whole thing.

but if you take away the individual mandate for being unconstitutional because nobody believes a government should be able to mandate insurance. they can decide a particular group needs a vaccine and this group is vulnerable and i have got to build a clinic. but insurance is not healthcare. if you take that away you have something called the insurance death spiral. meaning you load it up with preexisting conditions. patients wait until they are in the ambulance on the way to the hospital before they sign for insurance. martha: they would rather pay the minimal fine. >> exactly. martha: if the supreme court upholds this plan, we know what we are going to get. if they shoot count mandate what does the president do? is it a house of card? do they look at it and say without the mandate we won't be able to pay for this thing. >> absolutely, the whole thing

falls apart. insurance companies will go berserk. we'll have to not massively start from scratch, but basically radically reform it. we have to understand, many republicans supported an individual mandate before the crash of 2008, including governor romney. the heritage foundation during the clinton years put out a plan that was similar to obama-care. it doesn't matter because for a lot of the cite sismeds you are hearing is opportunistic hypocrisy. and it's reflecting politics. they are latching onto the concerns the american people have about government. when i brought in president bush i wasn't talking about healthcare. i was talking about government in general. martha: you can't separate it from the times we are living in. i remember when romney was drafting this plan in

massachusetts, some people thought maybe it should be like auto insurance. those ideas have been embraced by people of different political stripes. but we are living in 2012 where you have a pervasive sentiment. people want government out of their lives. they have seen what they have done. they want to add another trillion dollars to it. >> automobile insurance is a great comparison. if you have an old jalopy you will have to pay more for the insurance. we need the kind of insurance that covers us if we are really sick. this entire discussion has been so loaded with euphemism.that we lost track of what we need. we need universal health insurance to cover us when we are really sick, not for every scratch. if everyone addicted to pain

killers can go to the emergency room whenever they want, that's called entitlement. >> i don't think americans uniformly want government out of their lives. they want government to be competent and accountable. that's why there is such suspicion about this law. many people wouldn't mind having universal health insurance. they don't think this government given how congress botched the production of the law -- >> people don't like the federal government forcing this on them. small businesses are hurting more than ninls. any doctor i talk to, they hate it. you are the expert. martha: everybody wants free stuff. we have become a free stuff society and we expect free stuff. we think it's our right to have a lot of free stuff. by when you ask if they want the

government out of their lives they say yes. >> listen to dr. siegel. martha: do not throw dr. siegel up the bus. we like dr. siegel. >> we don't want european healthcare. martha: do you think the supreme court is going to judge this unconstitutional? >> i think they will punt. to make this judgment before the presidential election would create a crisis of legitimacy for the supreme court. >> i think they will but it will be very, very close. martha: thanks so much, you guys. we'll see you soon. coming up we'll talk about this. there are new fears about syria's ties to iran and concerns that tehran could wind up getting its hand on uranium from syria's nuclear reactors. that secret threat uncovered next. from the war zone to the

homefront. how medal of honoree sippent dakota meyer shows he's an hero on and off the battlefield. what he's doing for those in his home state of kentucky.

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martha: she wowed the world at her wedding. now the differences of cambridge has taken another step in her royal career. she delivered her first public address at a children's hospital in eastern england. here she is speaking to staff and the volunteers there. >> you have all made me feel so

welcome. and i feel hugely honored to be here to see this wonderful center. i'm only sorry william can't be here today. he would love it here. martha: she drew a few chuckles there from the crowd when she said she is sorry her husband couldn't join them. he's currently on military assignment in the fall can land island. iran and syria are close allies and there are new fears iran could get its hand on uranium from syria's nuclear reactor and president assad could transfer nuclear technology if he feels he's in danger. sir, welcome. good to have you here. it feels like there are so many things to be concerned about in

syria. the first of which of course are the human loss and the murder that is happening in the streets there at the hand of bashar al-asaad. then you raise this issue, big concerns about nuclear material as well. >> a major analysis about the mystery of the nuclear reactor israel blew up in the syrian desert, many assumed when this reactor was destroyed that had to be for producing plutonium that that was the end of the story. what we are concerned about is there is associated technology probably a uranium stockpile and nuclear fuel rods that are unaccounted for and should be factors into our concerns when we think about the overthrow of the assad regime. we have to assume the reactor

had a fuel fabrication plan. where are the fuel rods? that question has never been answered. if there was a facility to make fuel rods there probably is a quantity of uranium at this facility. if this was a facility to make new jar what he phones fuel, there would be a plan to extract plutonium from those rods. an even more troubling question is syria was pursuing weapons, does it have nuclear weapons plans? where are they? martha: under this scenario. asaid is under increasing pressure. what kind of situation do you foresee where he would decide to hand those off or turn those over to iran? >> iran has a great need for uranium. it's running out. if syria has a mass quantity of uranium it would be something attractist iranians would ask

for. fox news ran a series on transporting weapons from iran to syria. iran is going around the world trying to find uranium it can use in its enrichment facility. i think the assad regime would have an incentive to cooperate with the iranians on this. martha: we have so little transparency in terms of iran's desire to create nuclear power sources some would say within most think nuclear weapons. how do we penetrate this situation and where it maybe transported. what's the best way to get a handle on this and have control over it if possible? >> the first concern is we have to add this to the list of concerns we have regarding syria's weapons of mass destruction. the administration raised concerns about a possible chemical and biological weapons stockpile. if there is a uranium stockpile we have to start trying to

monitor it and think about what will happen if the assad regime falls. martha: do we have the means to do so? >> i think it's hard to tell. there is no prospect of a western intervention in syria. i don't think something will happen unless the assad regime falls. but our intelligence agents have to be on the lookout for some transfers and effort by the syrian government to move whatever uranium stockpile it might have. martha: i'm assuming you hope by bringing this issue to light, more attention will be brought to it. it will be on the list of things we need to be concerned about and perhaps that will make it more difficult for the countries to pull off a transfer. you refer to the plane that was reported here. that that exposure to it will put the spotlight on it. >> this is an unanswered

question. many people think this whole program was destroyed when the akabahr reactor was destroyed. there could be unused fuel rods in syria that the u.s. government has not bothered to pursue that have to be accounted for. if the government was to fall and kay some was to break out we should be concerned about what happens to this stuff. martha: thank you so much for being with us today. good to see both of you. a medal of honor recipient hailed as a hero at home. what he's doing for folks in his home state of kentucky. we are live with his latest story. there's another way to help eliminate litter box dust: purina tidy cats. our premium litters now work harder to help neutralize odors in multiple cat homes. purina tidy cats.

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martha: every military homecoming is a special moment. but there was a real tear jerker in oklahoma over the weekend because of that little guy in grandma's arms. 3-week-old kevin hughes. he was named after his dad. but his dad had never seen him. >> his daddy has not seen him at all. he will be four weeks old monday. he doesn't ever cry. but i think it would be optimistic. martha: staff sergeant kevin hughes spent just enough time for this to happen. 9 months in afghanistan. look at his cute little blond hair. the video you will see is him getting to hold him for the first time. >> i have been waiting for this moment for a long time to

finally see this little guy. martha: the staff sergeant's unit got to come home a day early. that was a welcome change for the whole unit and the new dad. now to this story. the extreme weather center where we have a mover on the screen there. a possibility for large parts of the country to experience wild weather. flooding and severe storms are possible from texas up to iowa. >> we don't have watches or warnings just yet. but you can bet they are coming. we have a storm system ejecting out of the rock why is. a of plowing across the central plains and warm, moist unstable air. in some cases we are dealing with temperatures 30-40 degrees above what they normally are this time of year. other big threat for this not only tornadoes and hail and

strong wind. but flooding. in some cases over 6 inches of rain in some of the some areas you are seeing on the radar. across dallas up to oklahoma city. you can see the showers just kind of training over the same areas. so you see one line of thunderstorms move through and yet another sets up and another and another. so that's the case. we'll see flash floods potential threat the next couple days. the severe threat extends from the canadian bored all the way to the mexican border. large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes. the area that we are most concerned with is across central texas up toward home where we think all of those ingredients will combine and make for a volatile afternoon and even into the overnight hours which of course is the deadliest time you can have tornado. a lot of people are asleep. so make sure you have your noaa weather radios on and you listen to your local forecasters.

the flood threat continues throughout much of the week, unfortunately in some cases with over 6 inches of rain for these areas you see in green. back to you. martha: janice, thank you. we'll be watching throughout the evening and afternoon for the latest updates on that. there is a chilling new warning from cia director david petraeus. he says ordinary household device from phone apps to car navigation systems could pose a serious risk to our national security. carfirmation. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

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