>> steve: yesterday we hadnd do trump on. tomorrow, takes daughter, evan i can't coo. >> brian: -- ivanka joins us. >> gretchen: we'll see you tomorrow. have a fap fastic day. good morning, everybody, 9:00 in new york. while you were sleeping gas prices ticked up again overnight. there are new developments in an effort to bring more canadian oil into the u.s. this time it has nothing to do with the keystone pipeline that president obama shot down. good morning, everybody. as we trace the pipeline. i'm bill hemmer. how are you doing? martha: i'm doing. bill: two hours of fun. martha: coming up for you. i'm martha maccallum. you have these two big energy companies now basically want to compete with the whole keystone pipeline idea. they will not need any state department approval to do just that. bill: which is critical of the pipelines that move 850,000 barrels of crude today from canada to refineries of the gulf

coast. it will bring 450,000 barrels a day within two years that is critical. canadian oil sands production expected to double to three million barrels per day by end of the decade. stuart varney. fox business network. my friend, good morning to you. what do you think? >> there is glut of oil being produced now no canada and the near future t has to be redistributed t either goes west to china or comes south to the united states of america. these two new pipeline proposals would do just that. move 850,000 barrels of oil a day, a day, south into the united states. which would ad appreciably to the amount of oil in our company. hear is the wrinkle. the pipelines are already built. they don't need state department approval to cross the canadian border. don't need that. this would come from the alberta tar sands that is the important word. that oil, environmentalist

say that oil is more corrosive than other types of oil. bill: which is the on projects of the pipeline crossing north america over nebraska. what happened to gas prices overnight. >> up again, albeit very slightly but up again. almost $3.90 a gallon that is the nationwide average for. if you look at some cities in particular, i'm talking about chicago, it has spiked there and hurting chicago and indeed illinois. can you imagine paying an average in the city of chicago of $4.68, a gal? that is again is for regular. bill: every time you pay the bill it makes you mad. no other way to feel about it. >> sure. bill: the point is, there is the glut of supply. they're trying to release the choke points. the cross-border pipeline said to be already built now. which would mean if you go forward with the project you could expedite it. >> yes, it could help for quickly. the national resource

defense council said we don't want this oil. we don't like it. we don't mind pipelines but they don't want the tar sands oil. they will fight it. surely there is limit how long you can fight the redistribution of massive supply of oil coming to america. bill: you have something to talk about at 9:20. stuart varney from fbn. good to see you. here's martha. martha: as we were reporting gas prices ticked up again overnight. the national average $3.90 a gallon. that is the average for regular. the prices expected to go higher the weeks before memorial day. they creep up over the summer in the big driving season. troubling news since gas prices are at the highest level we've seen in ten months. look at this, they have gone up. 112% since president obama took office. eight states and washington, d.c., have an average price of over $4 a gallon? that is big numbers there, when looking at gas prices. this fox news alert for

you. today is the big day, folks. the most controversial part of president obama's health care law goes before the supreme court less than an hour from now. critic it is believe that the individual mandate, that says that you must buy health insurance or be fined is unconstitutional. yesterday the fine, or shall we call it a tax, which one is it, that was the big question, dominated the hearings. listen to this. >> congress has nowhere used the word tax. what it says is penalty. moreover, this is not in the internal revenue code, but for you were s of collection. and, so, why is this a tax? martha: just fascinating to hear the words of the justices yesterday. shannon bream has been following all this every step of the way. she is live today on this momentous part of this proceeding outside the supreme court. shannon what is the challenger's best argument

that the mandate is unconstitutional today? >> reporter:, well, martha, first of all you may hear a little crowd noise. we have triple the number of protesters out here yesterday. it is a big day for the court. for the opponents who brought this law to the highest court, they say listen, congress went beyond any powers enumerated into the court or any precedent. a former solicitor general who argueds dos of cases before the people dozens of cases before the supreme court. here is his strategy convincing the judges. how will you win this case? >> i think we'll win this case by emphasizing two related principles. one this is completely unprecedented exercise of congressional power, and, relate he hadly, the government and they have been asked many, many times. doesn't have a limiting principle for their argument. >> reporter: all right. he argued many more times

than most had ever have the chance to be here at the supreme court today. another important argument, probably the most important of paul clement's career. that is something he acknowledges, martha. martha: what an incredible amount of experience he has in that arena. he seems like he has a very good argument like he believes. why are the support is of this law so confident it will be upheld in there? >> reporter: one thing they point to a number of lower courts upheld the mandate. they say a lot of folks are republican-appointed judges conservativist jurists that the constitution allows congress to do when they did step into the health care market exists. you're participating whether you like it or not. when you get sick they say they have the power to do this to regulate this under the commerce clause. here is one of the supporters under the law. >> this is really a very easy case. the constitution says congress has the power to regulate commerce among the several states. there is no question that a law which regulates 1/of the

national economy is commercial. >> reporter: either side has to convince five justices. we'll see who gets the magic number. today is the biggest argument so far, martha. martha: shannon, fascinating. thank you so much. good to have you with us today. bill: you can hear in the background all the chatter who gathered. two or three times the numbwer we had yesterday. we'll talk with one of the protesters, a doctor on scene outside the supreme court. we'll talk to him a little bit and get his perspective what is going on. the meanwhile the top republican leader on the senate side will make an appearance at the hearings. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell planning to attend part of the arguments this week. he says no matter what happens, no matter what the nine decide, republicans will not give up the fight to repeal the health care law. calling the quote, the singlest worst legislation passed during the time i've been here, end quote. martha: we'll look at what today's arguments mean. the supreme court devoting six hours over three days to

this health care law legal challenge. they haven't done that in 30 something years for any decision that they have talked about. this is the first time that the high court considered striking down a president's signature piece of legislation during a re-election campaign. think about that as well. all of this comes after both sides of the health care battle spent $262 million duking it out on television in the form of ads to make their arguments on this huge issue. bill: in the meantime we saw republican senator ron johnson, from wisconsin, he was inside the courtroom yesterday. he is going back today. he said this. against the health care law, saying quote, i can think of no law passed by congress that grabs more power away from citizens and steals more freedom. he will elaborate on that when we talk to him 30 minutes live here in "america's newsroom.". senator ron johnson coming up. presidential candidate newt gingrich saying he is not backing down despite his

low delegate numbers so far. the former house speaker says the race for the nomination is far from over. he told that to sean hannity just last night. >> we are in uncharted waters for republicans. this will be a very long nominating process. there is a very real chance governor romney will not get to 1144, if he does get to 1144 he will be the nominee and i will support him because beating barack obama really matters f we end up after june 26th when utah votes the last primary, say at 1,000, over 100 votes short i think it will be almost impossible for him to close the gap. bill: gingrich went on to say staying in the race, him staying in the race is the best way for a republican to beat president obama as we roll on. martha: this is where candidates stand today. let's take a look. mitt romney leads the real clear political politics average with 37%. rick santorum is behind with

29%. next big primary date to rack up delegates which not romney has very solid lead is april 24th. those will be states who will be deciding who they like for the gop nomination. that is the next big thing. bill: that is very interesting map. martha: it is. bill: you have santorum in pennsylvania. we talked for weeks about possibly being his last stand. he would disagree with that. see a lot on the 24th and tuesday you have wisconsin, next tuesday, right. okay. martha: we'll look at a different part of the map. bill: hang on. martha: we really haven't weighed in on all this yet. bill: that's right. martha: those are a few of many stories we're following this morning. we also want to talk about the massive evacuations in this story that have been ordered after a deadly wildfire burns near a major american city right now. bill: first though, rick santorum suggesting the country might be well to keep president obama instead of electing mitt romney when it comes to the key health care law fight.

you might be shocked to hear what santorum is saying about mitt romney in a moment. >> plus constitutionnal or political at its heart? that fight over the president's health care law plays out right now in that historic building. listen to what the white house has to say about this. >> provenance, is, in the conservative political arena, the heritage foundation. it was supported by a number of republicans before it became a bipartisan idea. and it was implemented in massachusetts by republican governor. martha: their arguments. we'll have more on that. we'll talk to wisconsin senator ron johnson who is standing by. he is attending all three days of these historic court proceedings. we'll be right back [ male announcer ] what can you do with plain white rice?

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aarp members enjoy exclusive discounts on a wide range of digital hearing aids for crisp, natural sound even in crowded environments, with a 90-day risk free trial from providers you can trust. i'm enjoying my freedom again. even conversations in noisy restaurants are easy. not an aarp member? join today. and then take advantage of the aarp hearing care program provided by hearusa. call hearusa ... and reconnect with your world today. martha: this is an incredible story. less than a month after she lost her legs protecting her children during a tornado, an indiana mom has just

gotten out of rehab and ahead of schedule no less. stephanie decker's home, look at it, destroyed, when a twister hit henryville, indiana. you remember this story. we told it to you here. she used her own body to shield her children as that tornado blew apart that home. volunteers and friends have made another house wheelchair accessible for her. decker says she could not beer to be headed home. >> i wanted to get home. i had already been two weeks out in the hospital. that is not me. that is not how i role. i have a second chance at life, first of all. we survived something that, was pretty traumatic and, as you can tell, they are perfectly healthy and fine and happy, and well-adjusted and doing well. and then i'm here. you know, so i get to raise my kids. martha: gosh, what an inspiration she is. what an incredible woman. the todays say she could be

walking again in three months. bill: we need to talk to her, don't we. martha: we sure do. bill: good for her. we are 45 minutes away. day two of the historic supreme court battle over the president's health care law. my next guest attended day one. he plans to be there again today and tomorrow. senator ron johnson, republican of wisconsin. member of the senate budget committee. sir, good morning to you. >> bill, how are you doing? bill: i'm doing fine. you obviously can't get enough of this and i just want to take our viewers inside this courtroom for a moment here. have you ever attended a supreme court argument before? >> no, i haven't. i've been until 7th circuit court appearance one time. that's it. this is my first time. bill: what is your sense? was it dramatic? were you able to follow all the legal talk? what was that like, senator? >> you could really get a pretty good sense what the argument was in terms of whether or not the court has jurisdiction. whether this was a tax. whether it is a penalty. now, all the individual cases of the justices

brought up hadn't, you had no idea which cases they're going to bring up, so i didn't fully understand what they were always talking about in a specific case but you really did have a pretty good sense. i also had a sense of the historic nature, pivotal nature of that in the courtroom. it was pretty awesome. bill: that is an interesting way to put it. so you could sense the drama that you were witnessing there in that courtroom? >> i certainly felt it, sure. bill: well, you put out a statement. the statement is very strong, senator. i'll put it on the screen for our viewers in part. in my lifetime i can think of no law passed by congress that grabs more power away from its citizens and steals more freedom than obamacare. >> it's true. it is the single greatest assault on our freedom in my lifetime. basically what this law does it will compel a free individual, an american, to engage in a commercial activity for the purpose of the federal government to

regulate that activity. it really, it is an unprecedented power grab by the federal government. quite honestly if this thing is ruled constitutional. that is our last sled of freedom. the federal government can compel us to do about anything even losing our freedoms. bill: i know you feel that way. do you think there are five on the court that feel the same? >> let's hope so. i'm not leaving everything to chance. i'll trying to paint a picture for the american people, what our federal budget will look like if the law is fully implemented. if they real guns us i will be there hard to inform the american public educate them, so 2012 is way to overturn the bill. bill: you're working on plan b, regardless of outcome? >> what i've been doing for last two years bill. this is the reason i ran. the obamacare will further bankrupt this nation. that is reason i came here. bill: to remind our viewers you are a businessman first? >> right. i'm an accountant.

bill: you stunned the country beating russ feingold two years ago. >> it was pretty simple election back then. we're bankrupting this nation. obamacare so unpopular, people inherently understand that the federal government simply has no capability of taking over 1/6 of our economy. people also realize that mandating purchasing something like this, runs counter to their belief what this country is all about. bill: you also say we as a country collectively suffer from the stockholm syndrome like hostages . what do you mean? >> the stockholm syndrome you're just thankful when captive that your kidnappers show you any sled of mercy. we're begging the supreme court to give us this remaining shred of freedom and we'll be grateful for it. i think we collectively suffer from the stockholm syndrome. bill: senator, thank you. individual mandate starts in 40 minutes when the arguments continue. >> i'll be there. bill: you bet.

ron johnson, republican from wisconsin. martha. martha: another big story today. one of the biggest threats facing u.s. national security t could devastate the major aspects of daily life we're being told. we're live on capitol hill to reveal what that 21st century weapon is. bill: also it is rule one of flying. shut off your cell phone. and don't ask any questions about it. why you now might be able to think twice before breaking that rule. martha: yes, bill hemmer. >> i think people should sue them. quite the contrary. we're like lemmings. we're like sheep.

bill: 23 minutes past the hour right now. new york democrat charles wrangle agrees to fork over $23,000 in fines after he was accused of a using a rent stablized apartment in

new york city as a campaign office. that is a no-no. after months of a brutal crackdown, syrian president ba'asyir assad says they will accept a u.n. brokered peace plan if true and if it hold as two hour daily sees fire would be in place to evacuate the injured. singer bobby brown face as court date for allegedly talking on a cell phone and driving the under the influence. the ex-husband of whitney houston was convicted in of dui in 1996. he was in los angeles. talking on the phone. martha: shocker. bill: family has gone through a lot. martha: well, a rare glimpse now how the government would respond to a major cyberattack. the senate armed services committee holding a hearing today that looks into the impact of a computer-generated attack targeting critical infrastructure in our country. this is a huge issue, folks. we saw this play out in iran when a virus crippled one of

the country's nuclear sites. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge live in washington on this. catherine, this is compelling topic. what are we learning about this today. >> reporter: good morning. the head of the u.s. cyber command, keith alexander, says the u.s. intend to use cyber not only to defend u.s. networks but for offensive capabilities as well. any actor threatening a crippling attack against the nights would be have a grave risk. we have a full suite of cyber assisted options which to choose. this testimony is consistent with the statements of the nation's top intelligence official james clapper who warned congress recently during the annual wordwide threat hearing considered the most significant in terms of setting budget priorities that cyber attacks are growing in number and sophistication. >> we foresee a cyber environment in which emerging technologies are developed and implemented before security responses can be put in place.

among state actors we're particularly concerned about any entities within china and rush russia doing entries into computer networks and stealing data. >> reporter: these offensive capabilities are classified but what we may get today is broad outlines of this in the open session, martha. martha: fascinating. are we entering a phase of all this, catherine, where cyberthreats start to outweigh terrorist threats perhaps? >> reporter: i think we had our clearest signal at the worldwide threat hearing in january from fbr director robert mueller who testified right now, terrorism, counterterrorism remains the number one priority of the bureau but he predicted it would quickly eclipsed in the next few years of cyber attacks. the issue with cyber is comes down to authorship. you can't always identify the origin of the attacks. we not only see attacks designed to cripple networks, this is what we saw in iran and that really let the

genie out of the bottle in terms of what was possible with cyber or persistent threats or atps, viruses or malware that get into your system and under the radar and constantly exfiltrating they use the word, and stealing your data for some possible future purpose. martha: thank you, catherine. bill: republicans are demanding answers after a hot mike catches president obama in the moment. in a moment with the russian president. the president joking about it earlier today you about, should he explain himself? fair and balanced debate on that. that is coming up. martha: she's a vocal opponent, in favor of repealing president, the president's health care plan. both on the house floor and on the presidential campaign trail. michele bachmann next with us on this historic supreme court proceeding right after this. >> obamacare is clearly leading to job-killing regulation. parents don't get a do-over. that's why i fought so hard

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bill: so the parents of trayvon martin will be in washington for a hearing today where there is forum on racial profiling set to get underway. meanwhile as the protests continue, there is new information that may shed light on what happened the night of the shooting. phil keating live on the

story in sanford, florida, north of orlando. what is that new information, phil? good morning? >> reporter: good morning, bill. internal investigation is underway with the police department because the acting chief wants to know who leaked previously nonpublic information about what george zimmerman told police which had not been made public before and the chief does not dispute it. that is that the community behind me a month and a day ago, zimmerman pursued say von martin, but according to him starts walking back to his suv. it is trayvon martin punches him. knocks him on the ground and rolls on grass with martin punching him. last night that was very much in dispute whether that is enough because there was a march for justice. [shouting] >> arrest zimmerman now!. >> reporter: reverend al sharpton, reverend jesse jackson, 5,000 people marching demanding an arrest

of george zimmerman, promising the eyes of the world are on sanford. >> one man, would you compromise the integrity of the one commission? zimmerman is not worth the history of this city. you need to arrest him and redeem this city right now. >> we're not asking for eye for an eye. we're asking for justice, justice, justice. >> reporter: according to the police report zimmerman had a bloody nose and blood on the back of his head and looked like he had grass on his back. bill. bill: there is a special prosecutor, phil. you talked to that person last night. what do you know about potential charges at this point? >> reporter: the potential charges could be coming but it is still uncertain. angela cory from jacksonville met with trayvon martin's parents last night. she told them any charges against zimmerman will not be immediate. >> we're going to make sure that trayvon's mother and father and family and of course all the people

interest in this case have their questions answered. so we're committed to giving them those answers. what we have to still finish investigation and then decide in what forum that will occur. >> reporter: complicating things, pleading self-defense is like pleading insanity. it is affirmative defense and raises the threshold and burden on the police and the prosecutors to then prove that person is not telling the whole truth. bill: thank you for that. phil keating live near the scene there, sanford, florida, this morning. martha: the supreme court is zeroing in on whether the health care law says if you don't comply you will pay a tax or a penalty. very distinct difference there. that was day one in court. hear is the question at hand. the justice department said the mandate is constitutional because congress has the power to tax americans. but now in the second part of the argument the obama administration will argue that it is not actually a tax but simply a penalty if

individuals do not pay for their health insurance, okay? try to follow this. the word tax is never mentioned though in the written law. justice samuel alito suggested in yesterday's proceedings that it can't work both ways. >> today you're arguing that the penalty is not a tax. tomorrow you're going to be back and you'll be arguing that the penalty is a tax. martha: former presidential candidate and congresswoman michele bachmann is one of the health care law's most outspoken critics. she will be at the hearings tomorrow. she is a practiced law tax attorney. welcome congresswoman bachmann. >> good morning, martha. martha: boil this down to what happens. what happened yesterday with regard to issue of a tax and what it reveals how the justices are thinking so far? >> yesterday was very important. depending how yesterday went that would indicate whether the justices would continue

going and take up all-important issue of the individual mandate today. then on wednesday they will take up the issue of severability and take up the spending clause. there are four issues the justices are looking at. but the very first one is this case ripe to come before the supreme court and it hinges on this issue of whether or not the penalty that an individual american would pay for failing to buy health insurance is actually a penalty or a tax. and so it seemed yesterday during the course of the hearings that most of the justices, including the liberal judges were thinking this would be considered a penalty which means the court can hear the case. there is a law from the, actually from the 19th century that says that if a, if a matter is a tax, a lawsuit can't be filed before a court because government can't be stopped from collecting a tax until it is actually put into effect. martha: so seems as if they

have goten president of that point. now they're onto this issue of the mandate in today's proceedings. we were listening to a piece that shannon bream did earlier. she spoke to one of the attorneys who was in favor of continuing to uphold this health care law. and he said that he sees no problem with the commerce law in this case. he said whenever you have comers -- commerce that represents 1/6 of the economy, it is ridiculous in his mind, that is my word but the sentiment he suggests, that congress can not oversee that process for 1/6 of the u.s. economy. >> that is a pretty radical view because if a person adopts that view, that means that congress can regulate any activity whether we have activity or don't have activity. that is really the nub here because congress is attempting to regulate inactivity. so in other words, congress could force us to do anything if we're going to purchase a car. they could force us to buy

an lech trick car we don't want. if we don't have a gym membership, they could force us to buy a gym membership. that is absurd. at that point we no longer have a constitutional republic lick. we have a dictatorship that is not what america is. martha: get away from the court a moment, congresswoman bachmann and talk about the gop presidential candidate politics that exist over this. rick santorum the other day basically said he mitt romney he felt was the worst republican in this race to win the nomination because of his background with the massachusetts health care reform he put in place. is that a fair statement? and do you think regardless of the outcome in the courts that mitt romney would have a tough time in a one-on-one debate with the president when it comes it this issue? >> there is no question this will be the signature issue of the 2012 campaign. this is president obama's signature legislation of his presidency. it is the number one reason why the economy isn't

turning around and why people aren't hiring. so this will be the center point because after all, socialized medicine is the crown jewel of socialism and that is what we're talking about. whoever the nominee is, whether it is santorum, romney, paul or gingrich, each one of the four nominees that or candidates that remain in the race have committed themselves to full-scale repeal. now, i think this is something where i made a distinct difference in the presidential race. when we first began with major candidates including romney who said he was going to issue a waiver for obamacare. during the course of the campaign everyone of the candidates came over to where the point where i was, which is full-scale repeal and no less. whoever the people choose for the republican party nominee, that nominee will have to abide and stand by full-scale repeal because the republican stands for nothing less. martha: how can you do that effectively? >> he will have to if he is

going to be the nominee, he will have to. martha: you make a great point, congresswoman bachmann. because that was an issue you got a ton of support for when you were in the debates in this race. clearly you have an impact on the national conversation. thank you so much for being with us today. >> thank you, martha. martha: you've to the hundreds of people now. this is central issue on this day on an early spring morning in march. look at the rallies that are happening on the steps of the supreme court today, for and against president obama's health care law. coming up we'll talk to a doctor who is there right now on the scene why he feels like he needs to be there today and why it is so important to him. bill: as we await that, is it possible that two of the biggest republican rivals could team up in 2012? have you heard this story before? what rick santorum is saying that has some people talking about that. also coming up there's this. martha: new warnings for passengers who travels with

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bill: we have new reaction from rick santorum about his future and mitt romney. when asked about the possibility of being a running mate for romney, here is way he answered that. >> this is the most important race in our country's history. i'm doing everything i can. i don't want to be the guy who has to sit with my granddaughter 20 years from now and tell stories about an america where people once were free. i don't want to have that conversation. >> so keeping your options open? >> i will do whatever is necessary to help.

bill: ed gillespie, former republican national committee chairman, counsel to president bush. good morning to you, ed. nice to have you back. >> good morning, bill. bill: he kinlt say no, did he? >> i didn't say no. bill: what do you think if that means? >> i think he means what he says. if there is anything he can do to help defeet president obama in november that is the critical imperative for any republican or conservative with any leaning at all and i think he would be open to that. bill: his view you can't afford not to be all-in if you care about the future of the country. >> they couldn't be higher, bill. i think one of the things about rick santorum he has been so resonant with conservative voters because, you know, he says what we all think. and that is exactly what conservatives believe which is this is it. bill: let me show our viewers exactly what you're talking about. before i roll this clip from two days ago, you have endorsed mitt romney or you supported him.

what is the phrase you want to use here? >> i support governor romney and voted for him in the virginia primary and, you know, will do anything i can, like rick santorum, to make sure that he beats barack obama in november. bill: and why is it then, ed, folks like yourself, especially this week we heard from prominent republicans got behind romney? is this just a steady dribble or is there a significant shift happening within the party do you believe? >> i think there is a process going on where the party is beginning to coalesce behind governor romney. i voted for the governor in the virginia republican primary. that is the moment i came to the conclusion this is the person best for us to defeat barack obama. i like rick santorum a lot. i readily identify with him. i like newt gingrich. i respect ron paul but at the end of the day mitt romney is likely to be our nominee. i think he is going to be our nominee and at some point the party has to come behind and focus on president obama and the threat he poses to her future. bill: let me talk to you a

little more about that here is what people talk about rick santorum when he went face-to-face with a "new york times" reporter. watch this. >> you mitt romney is the worst republican in the country. >> what speech did you listen to. >> you said here. >> stop lying. i said he uniquely disqualified to run against obama obama on issue of health care. would you guys quit distorting what i'm saying. run against barack obama on health care. he fashioned the blueprint. i have been saying at every speech. quit distorting my words. if i see it is [bleep]. come on, man, what are you doing? bill: based on the rick santorum you know, does that surprise you at all? >> he is very passionate and cares very deeply about issues. with rick santorum what you see is what you get. and it is one of the things i like him frankly.

bill: you wonder if more people would like him if he heard more fire like that. i think you're right about intensity and enthusiasm he brings to this race. on a personal level and political level. how much longer is this going to play out? >> well i don't know. that's for the voters decide. i believe in bottom-up process i think this process is tough as it is and sometimes painful to watch is probably at the end of the day --. bill: you used to run the party, ed. is it helping or hurting? what is your sense now as we come on april? >> i would like to get quickly to the point where we have a standard-bearer carrying the critical indictment of president obama and his policies and direction he is moving the country versus market-oriented principles and solution i think would create growth. that is where governor romney is and what he is talking about. i would like to get to a one-on-one as soon as we can. i don't have a magic wand. the fact the voters have to come to that conclusion. i think increasingly, bill, they are and i think we'll see that over the next few weeks. i believe we're reaching a

point of critical mass when it comes to wrapping up the nomination for governor romney. that is for rick santorum, newt gingrich and ron paul for others to decide as they look at their delegates counts and votes and potential. i think it is becoming increasingly clear. bill: critical mass. ed gillespie. thank you, ed. >> thank you for having me. bill: martha, 11 minutes before the hour. martha: we're hearing there are hundreds of people out in front of the supreme court right now showing their support for or against the president's health care bill. look at this scene outside the supreme court as the justices weigh the huge decision we're making today. a doctor out there in the crowd. why he says he believes doctors must have a voice in this. bill: speaking of a scene, did you see this? martha: do i want to? bill: this is a guy buried alive in a mountain of mud. whoa. >> the section on the mud was holding the individual down and airway was compromised. one of the medics with able

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bill: fox news alert. about value of your home. home prices falling for january in a fifth straight month in most u.s. major cities. modest sales out there. increase with the sale did not boost the price overall. meanwhile markets are moving slightly here at the moment for the dow 30, up 16 points in early trading. saw a big move yesterday with ben bernanke talking about the strength of economy and lack thereof. there will be a report how gas prices are affecting consumers across the country too. we'll get reaction on that coming up too. martha: listen to this. air ports are cracking down on flyers who refuse too shut their cell phones off before takeoff. the new york area port authority is now saying they

will make people pay a fine if they don't turn the stuff off. listen. >> we're not looking to make money. we are not, we're not imposing a fine. but what we're going to do where there is egregious case especially involving a repeat offender, we'll file a civil case to try to recoup the cost that that incivility caused to fellow passengers and air travel system that could be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. martha: very interesting. peter goelz, former managing director of the national transportation safety board. peter, welcome. my first reaction to this was exactly that, they were looking to make some money and they were going to hand out fines on when people wouldn't shut down but how do you think this is going to work? >> well, i think what's happening is that there are more and more of these events in which people simply are acting like jerks. the rules are, turn your electronic equipment off when the briefing begins.

and listen to it. it is a critical moment. take off and landing, are the two most important parts of your flight. you want to be paying attention. and, some people are just acting like jerks and it costs big money when a plane has to turn around and go back to the gate or even stop and wait in the taxi way if someone decides to follow the rules. martha: why are we instructed to turn it off? there has been discrepancy and discussion about this. >> right. martha: is it because we're supposed to pay attention or because it could mess up the takeoff and landing? >> i think everyone is pretty clear that today's phones will not interfear with the electronics, avery on nicks of the aircraft. i think the faa is moving toward acknowledging that. the real issue is we want you to pay attention. we want you to be prepared should the rare occurrence take place in which there's a problem so you can respond

to appropriately the way the flight attendants have asked you to respond. so it is really a safety issue. martha: very interesting. all right. we'll see if they actually crack down on it, and if anybody ends up being taken to court over it. peter goelz, always good to get your insights on this stuff. thanks a lot. >> thank you, martha. bill: are you one of them? martha: i'm racing to turn off at very last second. bill: cell phone or blackberry? martha: my iphone. bill: ipad. she always busteds me about. sir, i told you. rallies outside the supreme court. we'll talk to a doctor, he is one of those marching and a breast cancer survivor. we'll ask them why they are there in minutes. martha: have you seen this? a deadly wildfire is threatening nearly a thousand homes. we're going to take you there. >> i'm not going to lose a $850,000 house. >> it got too dark and it was choking us. we decided to take a ride to see if the fire was close and it was coming down our road on both sides.

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martha: we start you off with fox news alert. investigating the case of death after a body was found in the smoldering ruins of a wildfire in the west. seems like this right now across the foothills, just a few miles west of denver, colorado. mother nature not cooperating in this situation. a brand-new hour star starting of "america's newsroom." i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. firefighters battling flames that have scorched nearly five scare miles forcing the evacuation of 900 homes already. martha: at least one person in this case is dead. >> it's pretty close. it was very close. it was the first time for me, very scary for me. >> it's a scary thing, you want to pack up everything you can, but you're not able to. you want to get out with your lives, those things are replaceable, your lives are

not. >> our neighbor's house is burning. they are a couple miles from us. we don't know which way the fire is headed, so -- >> reporter: it's hard, huh? >> yeah, yeah. martha: so scary. jackie kelly joins me now, a spokesperson for the jefferson county sheriff's department. jackie, you could hear it in these people's voices. they are terrified. what is going on out there? >> this morning, you know, we're back out on the fire. we were sort of baby sitting the fire during the evening hours. but we're hoping to have 450 firefighters on the ground on this fire by day's end. martha: we have the number of 900 homes evacuated. is that sometime still accurate? and do you have a handle at this point on which way the fire is headed? >> yes, that is correct, that we had about 900 homes evacuated yesterday. based on weather conditions and fire behavior there may be some additional evacuations today, because we don't have any

containment on the fire. we do see the direction that the fire is moving in, and it has been going in sort of a northeast direction. so we have prepared some neighborhoods for additional evacuations if that should come today. martha: what sparked it, do you think, in terms of the investigation at this point, and, you know, you say it's zero percent contained at this point. what is the outlook there? >> well, we are in a heavily wooded, kind of mountainous terrain, dealing with very dry conditions, warmer temperatures and wind, which is always a recipe for problems. so we don't have containment yet, but we have a lot of resources that will be arriving today to include some air support, and hopefully we'll be able to get a heavy helo tanker and a heavy tanker up which should impact the fire some as well. martha: you said the conditions were too tough to do that

yesterday. good luck witness. our heartwith it. our hearts go out to those folk as they try to protect their homes and lives. bill: colorado has had experience with all of this. this is the first major burn of the season so far. nearly five square miles have burned as we mentioned earlier. 50 acres burned, that was quickly contained. a dozen smaller fires were reported across the state yesterday, but none growing to the scale of this one near denver. martha: another fox news alert for you, it is the most critical dave the historic healthcare hearings that are playing out right now, three minutes into it now in the supreme court. justices are hearing challenges against the key provision of president obama's plan and that is the individual mandate that everyone must buy health insurance. or they would face a penalty. correspondent doug mckelway is on top of this for us at the

white house today. any new reaction from the administration as to how this is all going. >> reporter: the focus is this south korean trip has been on international security and nuclear issues for the first part. earlier this morning before air force one was wheels up headed back for washington jay carney answered one question in regard to the affordable care act, specifically on the individual mandate that the court is hearing today and he expressed confident that it will be uphe upheld. >> he has been focused on his responsibilities here, his meetings with different world leaders, his participation in the nuclear security summit so he has not had a great deal of opportunity to review the reports of what's happening in washington. we feel very confident that the individual responsibility provision within the affordable care act is constitutional. >> reporter: carney went onto say that this is something that the white house really does not want to weigh in on at this point, it's something for the courts to decide. but he again in this political

season drew parallels with what governor romney did with romney care in massachusetts and the affordable care act. martha: any response from the romney folks to that. >> reporter: not directly to that. governor romney has been fending off those kind of attacks from his republican rivals all season long an did it yesterday during a campaign rally in san diego, california where he drew distinctions between romney care and the affordable care act. >> there are a lot of reasons not to like obamacare. my colleagues the other day listed a whole series of them, there were about 30 things. i chuckled when i looked down shaking my head at the things obamacare is doing. among them an extra trillion dollars ever spending. now we're told it's more like $2 trillion. >> reporter: of course his chief rival rick santorum lashing into romney care, again as you've been reporting this morning saying on saupbd that romney i

sunday that rom nice oo uniquely disqualified to run because of romney care, but he said he would be a vice president. bill: the numbers have doubled and tripled since yesterday. we heard from ron johnson the republican senator of wisconsin last year. he is firmly against this law standing. this hour we want to talk with a physician, a primary care physician in washington. he supports the healthcare law, and a breast cancer survivor who supports the law as well. michael new man is there outside the courthouse and spike ward. can you both hear me. >> yes, we can hear you. bill: what is your position on this? why do you support it? >> i support the healthcare laws, the affordable care act because it gives people who otherwise wouldn't have access to affordable medical care. and the story of spike, who i just encountered this morning is illustrative of what the

affordable care act will enable all americans to take advantage of. bill: i'll talk to spike in a moment. you know what the other doctors are saying, they are running already from the federal programs like medicaid and immediate care, especially medicaid, they are taking fewer patients. >> i think that is unfortunate. most physicians agree with several things, the current system isn't working, it doesn't enable us to care for patients as we'd like to care for patients. we need to change the system. there is no question that most physicians agree with that. now as physicians we need to be engaged and involved. every piece of social legislation, starting with social security is imperfect at the beginning. the aca is not a perfect piece of legislation, but without physician involvement and participation it will not evolve into the effective program that we need it to be. bill: what doctors will argue is they have to stay in business as well and the new report from the cbo last week suggests not only is this thing going to cost a lot of money, it will be double

the price tag that is on the table now. how do we support that, doctor? >> you know, i challenge the fact that it's going to be double the price. but the issue is not the cost of medicine, the issue is value. right now america's per per cap ta spending is twice. we are not getting the maximum medical value for every dollar is spent. we need to change how we deliver care so the quality of care we provide is better and we'll be phaeubl to mak make it more affordable. bill: you mentioned spike. ma'am, thank you for your time. why do you support this law. >> first i was very critical of the affordable care act because my husband and i are self-employed, and we couldn't afford health insurance any more. it was $1,500 a month. bill: so what changed? >> what changed was i found out -- we hadn't had health insurance for a couple of years, because we couldn't afford the

1500 a mao any more and i found a lump in my breast. and at the first of november i found out i had stage iii breast cancer and didn't know anything about the preexisting insurance plan under the affordable care act until a friend of mine did research for me and within ten days i got the insurance that i needed and i'm getting chemotherapy treatments and i'm going to live. so it doesn't get any realer than that. bill: how do you feel no, spike? >> now i feel really g. i'm halfway through this treatment thing, but, you know, it's just -- there is a lot of misinformation out there, and i didn't do all my -- i didn't do any fact-checking of my own and assumed an awful lot. i'm just really, really grateful to have the preexisting condition inch khaourpbs plan. bill: i appreciate both of you insurance plan. bill: good luck with your health, spike. doctor as you know this is a hot debate if we are really doing the best we can for all

300 million americans, whether the law stands or is shot down. best of luck to both of you. >> thank you for helping americans better understand the affordable care act. bill: we're trying, it's taller than i am and i'm 5'11". it's a lot to try and if and figure out. martha: if the court upholds the healthcare law here it what it would do, expand health insurance coverage to more than 30 million people who do not currently have it. require all americans, saying they must buy a health insurance policy, or they would pay a penalty, or a tax, depending on which way you look eight, that's been one of the debates so far. and over the next ten years the healthcare overhaul would create over $400 billion in new revenue. 26 states have filed a suit against the government on this healthcare law. alabama's luther strange says if the individual mandate is upheld congress would have the authority to regulate, he

believes pretty much every phase of american's lives it would set that kind of precedent for the government. he says that is something that the constitution never intended, according to him and he joins us live with his argument on that a little bit later in the show. bill: i thought yesterday afternoon when we started to hear some of the clips. we talked yesterday about how it just echos out of that chamber inside the court. look, we are not trained in law, we can't follow these stories. these cases go back 150 years. still you get a sense for the drama and history that is playing out right now. martha: yes. you know, it's an incredible system. we everee going to see how it plays out. bill: we will. i think we'll get them right between noon and 2:00 again today. stay tuned for that coming up. president obama poking fun at his open mike mishap. >> first of all is the mike on? [laughter] bill: the critics aren't

laughing. now they want to know exactly what he was talking about when he told the russian president that he would have to be flexible on our planned missile shield in europe. we'll dig into that. martha: a big question. police are revealing new details about what happened the night that a teen in florida was shot and killed. why that could paint a different picture of the accused gunman. bill: and this here is a car that plunged from the highway into a ravine, an incredible rescue. you've got to see it to believe it.

bill: we found this scene after a car plunged off a freeway into a ravine trapping a woman, check it out on the helmet cam. the woman was spotted by a police chopper near los angeles. she was ejected out of her car. she is being treated for hypothermia and severe head trauma, but they found her.

martha: critics are calling on president obama to clarify his open mike remarks to russia's current president. earlier this morning the president in south korea covering the mike cone, se microphone, see this. as he chatted with dmitry medvedev. but republicans aren't laughing about this whole thing. they asked him to explain exactly what he meant when he said this about an american missile shield in europe. >> after the election i'll have more flexibility. [inaudible] martha: he says, i understand you and i will send your message to president vladimir putin who is returning to power there. joined my bob beckel, and marry catherine ham, welcome to both of you. good to have you guys with us. bob, how damaging is this for the president? >> reporter: i don't think it's damaging at all. i was involved in the salt 2 treaty ratification process in

the senate, and it is a complex, complicated issue. the russians have been opposed to this missile defense system in europe for three administrations now. it's one of those things you don't want to have a public debate with them on in an election year. i think what the president was saying was, you know how you say when you don't really want to have lunch with someone, and they say, let's have lunch and you say after the holidays. it's really a way to get out of having a discussion with the russians at the longtime. martha: critics say it's more than postponing lunch until after the holidays. they say the president won't have said this unless he didn't want to appear soft on this issue before his election. >> reporter: right, salt 2 may be complicated, but what is not terribly complicated is listening to the conversation here where he predicates his position on missile defense, which is a pretty important issue for america and our allies who are much friendlier but less powerful and big than russia on his own election. the hot mike moments are great

because they are a window into exactly what leaders are thinking right now. it's like wikileaks but you don't have to talk about any classified information. martha: the russians have not been helpful at all when it comes to syria, when it comes to iran. and there is every indication that vladimir putin expects that he will rebuild his power. he's never quite got even over the loss of the satellite nations to the former soviet republic. where are we headed here and do we want to pat each other on the back and say, just give me a little space here before my election? is this the posture we want to be in i guess is my question? >> reporter: president, after president after president have delayed complex and politically dangerous negotiations in an election year going back as many years as i can remember, one, but two, what we need here immediate lies the russians' help as you said on both the iranian situation, first --

probably first and foremost north korea where the russians have influence. the one thing you don't want the russians to do is to use missile defense as a leverage, by saying all right we want missile agreement on defense if we are going to do these things. i think obama was saying to him, give me some time on this. give me some breathing room, i have a lot of other things to do. this is an an election year. and it puts them with one less bargaining chip against iran. martha: let's listen to what romney says. >> when the president of the united states is speaking with the leader of russia saying he can be more flexible after the election, that is an alarming and troubling development. martha: mary catherine you look at moments in campaigns and you never know where they are going to come. is this something we'll hear more about when we ghetto the one and one debates with the president? >> yeah i think the reason he's addressing it is because he wants to clear it off the table before it gets there.

he says i'll have more flexibility after the election. you have to look at that and say, well is the flexibility to be tougher on russia about missile defense? no, the flexibility is that he could be less tough on russia on missile defense after the election. you can read into it exactly what he's talking about. >> he sits there and shots his moutshoots his mouth off about something he knows not. i think the suggests here his the president of the united states want to go easy on the russians and he wants to wait after the election. that is a very tough accusation. martha: right out of the gate in his presidency he backed off on the missile sites in poe land and in czechoslovakia. >> with every one of our european allies behind doing that, you're exacting right. martha: we have to go. great to have you. bill: it's like a warm up for

beckel. now he has to cool his jets for five hours -- six and a half. day two of the pressure cooker on the hill. waiting details from inside the courtroom. as soon as we get them you will hear them first here, only on "america's newsroom" and then there is -- martha: you think you had a bad day. look at this guy. this man needed a serious helping hand. do you believe this? >> we had to get enough people there in enough places to get our footwork so that we could drag him back. we were able to get him out with just brute man power and put him in a basket and get him up. he was breathing, and semikopbgs when w semiconscious when we got him up to the ambulance. ♪

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getting an abortion five months into a pregnancy. and former head of the imf facing new charges now for his connection to an international prostitution ring. he is back in the news, folks. dominique strauss-kahn also going to appear in a new york courtroom this week for a civil case for an alleged assault here, so the story goes on for him. a huge set back for the u.s. men's soccer team. have you ever heard this? they will not be going to the 2012 london olympics. bill: come on. martha: facing salvador in a much needed game to qualify it ended in a 3-3 tie. no u.s. soccer tphaoepl. billteam. bill: if we can't beat el salvador maybe we shouldn't go any way. maybe we'll get them in the world cup. martha: maybe. bill: buried alive in a sea of red clay, you can hardly even see this guy. look at that. it looks like chocolate or something. martha: unbelievable.

bill: david rose is battalion chief for the atlanta fire department. david, good morning to you. >> good morning to you. bill: this is red clay. what in the world its going on here. >> it's a construction site. the rain we had a few days previously it washed a lot of silt down and this gentleman was trying to walk across and became stuck. bill: you're kidding me. he just fell in? >> we are not sure. there were reports he fell off a bridge, but that would have been about a 30-foot fall, so we don't think that happened. from the indications it seems like he had been there long enough for the mud to settle back and erase his footprints. bill: how long is long enough? >> probably a couple of hours. bill: is he okay? >> he is -- the last report we got saturday afternoon was that he was doing good, but we don't have any updates from the hospital. our guys are trying to track them down today to see how he's doing. bill: i bet. give him our best when you do, okay? because when you see him in this

image right here, how does that guy get oxygen? >> well, his airway was obstructed, and one of our ems techs had to get over to him and get his head up out of the mud. we believe that he just struggled long enough e got so weak that he continue even move himself. bill: and despite the heat in atlanta, it's been warm but not as warm as it gets in the summertime, he had hypothermia from this? >> we actually had a cool morning. it was down in the 50s that morning. being wet and struggling, again the length of time he's exposed, he did have hypothermia and dehydration. bill: we'll reach out to eupl and see itim and see if he's doing okay. it looks like you saved his life. >> we did. another good job out of the fire department. bill: have you seen a case like this before? it's a unique image. >> we've had trench rescues where individuals are burr aoefpltd typically they are buried feet first down. most of those are recovers

reese. the only thing i've had close to that is an animal rescue of a horse that was stuck in a very similar situation. bill: david, thank you, okay? >> okay. is that david rhodes at the fire department in atlanta. martha: i want to know how he ended up there. what time did he fall in. it looks like an image from pompeii. bill: we're lucky to see this guy. he's almost camouflaged in that red clay. we will check in with the hospital and get you an update on him. martha: we have new details on what may have happened on the night a teenager was shot and killed in florida. police rear leasing some fresh information on this case. how it could play in this very developing and changing situation of this investigation. bill: plus not one but two plane crash calls coming into the same 911 center. >> ma'am, i'm not able to take your call right now, i believe we have a second plane crash. where did they crash? >> into a yard on the south side of our facility.

>> any injuries? >> yes. there is a lady they pulled her out of the plane, she is conscious. she is awake. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

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martha: remember that huge sat cheating scandal that unfolded in long island, now there has been a new development as a result of all that. students who take the college entrance exams this fall will have to bring photo id with their applications, which is a key security upgrade to the

situation, so when they check in for the test they'll have to show their photo id. there was a guy who was taking a test for 20 people, it could be as many as 50 people in long island. that they hope will not happen once they put this into play. bill: we don' >> we don't know what happened from the time george got out of the car and the time he actually was face-to-face with trayvon martin and that gun went off, and that is the hole that has to be filled and that is the information that the police have, as far as the evidence they have gathered and will present to the grand jury. bill: that is joe oliver, who is a friend of the alleged shooter in this case. he was with us yesterday in "america's newsroom." now we have these new developments in a story that has captured the country. the parents of trayvon martin will be a hearing on capitol hill. the 17-year-old was unarmed when he was shot and killed by george zimmerman. there are police details now that have gone public, with

zimmerman's account of the attack claiming that martin was the aggressor, beating zimmerman shown here before trayvon part tin was shot and killed. mike eyeing lash lives in florida and is an attorney. i want to roll a little clip here, this is from wofl one of our affiliates out of orlando that went back to the neighborhood and talked to what we believe is an eyewitness to this incident. i believe his first name is john, that's all the information we have about him. it could be critical to our discussion right here. let's listen to this. >> the guy on the bottom who i believe had a red sweater on was yelling to me help, help. i told him to stop and i was calling 911. when i got upstairs and looked down the person on top beating up the other guy was the guy laying in the grass and i

believe he was dead at that point. bill: mark i want to begin with you and stew over the latest information that's come out over the past 24 hours. does this change the story? >> i think that it does legally, factually and personally i think that this all should be sorted out in a courtroom in front of a judge, potentially in front of a jury, so i still think an arrest should be made like they would in any case. however, let's talk about this from a legal perspective. no question that zimmerman shouldn't have followed him the way that he did, but the issue for stand your ground law is that the time he fired the weapon whether he reasonably feared death or great bodily harm. if that witness is truthful, if the facts were that trayvon martin was on top of him after punching his nose and according to his attorney breaking it and then banging his head on the sidewalk, both of them under the stand your ground law would have protection. martin for striking zimmerman, and zimmerman fearing great bodily harm. bill: if that's the case there could be no charges then in.

>> the answer is yes. assuming those are the facts. i don't think that will happen in this political kaoeupl at. i think he's going to be arrested and should be arrested. the argument could be made that at that very moment assuming he didn't go and pull out his gun initially, then he'd be committing a forcible felony and won't have that plea text. at the moment assuming he fired the weapon while trayvon was on top of him and allegedly banging his head against the ground, assuming those are the facts? you've got to figure out whether or not that is true. treni what do you think about all this. the way things have developed over the past 24 hours? >> i think that was a lot of if's. if this. if that. the reality is there is another law that we haven't considered. there is a law recording whether or not the right to stand your ground applies to an aggressor. in this instance zimmerman was unquestionably the aggressor. he can't start a fight, provoke a response by trayvon and ten turn, run and shoot him because now he's in fear.

>> she's right under -- bill: hang on one second, mark. now we have the 911 tapes and eyewitnesses. you wonder ultimately if this is one guy's word against another, and the other is dead, and perhaps that's what it all boils down to, mark. i'll get you to respond, trenny after mark. bill: 776.041 supports what she is alleging and that is the aggressor does not get protection under this law if the aggressor didn't fear great bodily harm and didn't use every reasonable means to escape the harm. the new facts change things. if he gets out of his truck, as the aggressor but is standing there and then trayvon martin allegedly punches him and then starts to beat him then at that point -- bill: the scenario you're describing, who saw that? do we know of any eyewitnesses? >> well, let me just say this. all of this is if, and we're hearing -- again, we just saw

that interview from that witness. we should wait and see what all the facts are. if there was a witness who sees this occur, and assuming that is fact then legally -- i mean take these two characters out and put in your own family members, if someone is getting their head slammed on the ground and punched in the face, very few people would be intellectual dishonest if they were to say, look -- bill: i got your point. let me get to trenny here. all that comes down to the credibility of george zimmerman does it not? and at this point we have not heard from him. >> right. >> we haven't heard from him. he's had a friend speaking on hits behalf. there are other witnesses as well that report the exact opposite, that they saw trayvon on the ground. so the reality is witness testimony -- eyewitness testimony is inherently unreliable, that is a fact. the other fact is that you don't get immunity as the aggressor. if you are the aggressor if you provoke the action you don't get immunity under the stand your ground law, period.

bill: there is a grand jury set to convene -- >> that is only part of it. bill: on the 10th of april. they have a challenge in front of them. trenny changs thanks to you and mark thanks to you as well. it is a discussion that will continue to develop in the coming days and weeks. thanks. martha: it is hardly the year 2054, not yet any way. this story sounds like something out of the tom cruise movie minority report. advertisers tapping into facial recognition to taylor ads at malls and different places. adam housley is live. what can this technology do and is anybody sounding alarm bells about it so far. >> reporter: 30 years ahead of minority report you can now see

this technology, as one person said to us it's exciting for a lot of people. at the same time there are concerns. what distinguishes us from each other? the first thing we see is the face. everything from your eyes, your skin color, your age, your ears, chin, awful it is unique to you, and now advertisers can actually tap into that. let's take a look at some of the video we have. you can walk up to a side board, for example. i walked up to it, martha and it might show an advertisement for tennis shoes that fit me or maybe some sports items. you walk up to it it might taylor towards makeup for purses. it tailors to who the person is and their age. as some people say facial recognition, we need to be very extremely careful because it could all be misused. >> there is definitely some privacy concerns, there is the technical side of it. in other words, how we keep private information from getting into the wrong hands, being misused in an illegal or even unethical manner. that is definitely there any time you have something that is picking up information about

somebody there is going to be privacy concerns. >> reporter: privacy concerns, again, martha people are excite bed this technology. martha: very interesting. i don't know if i like it or not. we'll see. adam thank you very much. scanning your face and figuring out what you like. bill: they are debating as we speak right now by the way. inside the u.s. supreme court. members of the tea party talking right now about the healthcare law. what they are saying and a state attorney general who filed the lawsuit against this law joins us live next. martha: this story is unbelievable. 26 days he was lost at sea. this is one of the most amazing survival stories that you have ever heard. wait until you hear how he survived.

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bill: another incredible survival story, a teenager lost at sea for one month. an 18-year-old working in panama recovering from severe dehydration animal nutrition.

his nightmare pea began with his fishing friends. their boat broke down miles from shore. shipmates believed to have died from dehydration. he lived off of the rainwater and fish at sea to stay alive. >> obamacare is a destroyer. it's going to destroy the doctor-patient relationship. it's going to detroy the quality of healthcare in america. it's going to destroy budgets. family budgets, states' budget, and it's going to destroy our freedom. we have to destroy obamacare by repealing and replacing it with something that makes sense. martha: that was a little while ago and it gives you a sense of how tense the environment is outside the supreme court right now. that gentleman was tea party member and georgia congressman george brown. he's also a doctor. he was on the steps of the supreme court talking about what he thinks about obamacare. the justices are hearing a fresh

round of arguments this morning. we are a couple hours away from getting the tapes of the audio read outs from what is going on in there about whether the government can force private citizens to purchase healthcare insurance. 26 states are part of a suit against this law that prompted today's actions. >> if you breathe, congress can regulate you. and that is what we have got to stop the slippery slope from happening. martha: luther strange joins me now, the attorney general in alabama. he will be inside the courtroom tomorrow and he is outside the courtroom right now. mr. sta*eupbg welcome. good to have you here today. >> good morning, thank you for having me. martha: we spoke earlier this congresswoman michelle bachmann about this. and we broke down yesterday's activity. i want to focus on today's activity of what is going on in there. she said this she feared that today would become -- they would try to make it more about healthcare policy than constitutionality, because she feels that, you know, those in favor of the healthcare law will be more comfortable if they are talking about healthcare policy

than constitutionality. >> i couldn't agree more with that. they can deal with a policy across the street in the congress, which is where it should be dealt with. what we're talking about today in this very significant argument going on behind me right now has to do with the constitutionality with this law. and i along with 28 of my colleagues feel very strongly that this is not a constitutional law for the reasons you've already reported on. the massive over reach of power, not only into the commerce of this country, but the individuals freedoms that we enjoy. martha: the other sides' argument is based on that as well. they say because this represents one 6th of the u.s. economy it definitely falls under in their opinion the commerce that can legally be regulated by the government. >> well there might be ways to reform the healthcare system and i'm sure there are proposals out there. when you start mandating that individuals take action when they are inclined not to then you're tossed into new territory. we are seeing ramifications of

that in lots of areas. i'm particularly concerned with the assault on religious organizations that have made particular choices based on their religious beliefs not to insure certain things i that they don't believe in. that's a step beyond that and the natural consequence of this kind of mandate and there is no telling where that will lead if this is held to be constitutional. martha: it's interesting, for a little while it seemed like this sort of was back burnerd. now it is front and center once again. you have the constitutionality issue out there, the religious freedom issue you spoke of and the cbo report that shows that this will cost considerably more, close to 2 trillion over ten years according to the new cbo numbers out there. all of this has put it back into focus for the american people and the polls are showing increasingly that they are against it. does that resonate in any way inside the halls behind you? >> the court is very independent. they have lifetime appointments, they'll call the law the way

they see it. there is no question that you're right. in my state of alabama and the majority of the states in this country people are really waking up to recognize that this is a massive over reach of the power ever the government. even though that power has expanded overt years, i think that's very clear, we've reached a point, and i'm glad people are paying attention to it. we are at the point where our individual activities or not to participate are regulated. that is a new territory that we are in. martha: as you say, to step outside of the enumerated powers as you see it for congress would be a huge change in the way that our country operates. luther strange, always good to speak to you, sir. we'll look forward to speaking with you again. >> thanks for having me on. i look forward to it. bill: as we await the audio srefrgs the arguments back an version of the arguments jenna lee is standing by live. jenna: we will continue to cover the story out of the supreme court. some of the audio we should be getting about noon today, a better idea of what the justices

are thinking. wait until you hear what kids are doing with an every day cooking ingredient doctors say are dangerous. every parent should watch out for this. we'll have that story plus the health benefits of new of my favorite things, chocolate and popcorn. you don't want to miss it. it's next on "happening now."

martha: this crossing the wires moments ago. we are just getting information that there will be a news conference at noon out of sanford, florida. there is a lot of new developments in this trayvon martin case, and now we're going to hear it from the folks doing the investigation. that will happen at noon, when they step in front of that podium. we will bring it to you and get you up to date. bill: the leaks that came out yesterday. okay. what a sight now, nearly 200,000 catholics, flocking to

an outdoor mass held by the pope in santiago, cuba. today the pope continues his journey. look at that. his first papal visit to cuba in 14 years, for a pope that is. steve harrigan is streaming live out of havana, what is on the agenda there, steve? good morning. >> reporter: bill, there have been big crowds every step of the way for pope benedict the xvi upon his arrival yesterday afternoon in santiago he was greeted by cuban president raul castro with a two handed shake. he had two outdoor masses. he visited a 16-inch wooden stat you've the virgin mary. our lady of mercy has become cuba's peyton saint and a powerful icon for believers and nonbelievers alike in cuba. the pope said i will kneel before the mother of god. the second outdoor mass scheduled here for 9:00 tomorrow morning. we could see 500,000 people in attendance. bill: what is his message on this trip? what hats he said so far,

steve? >> reporter: it's been a lot of concern, especially in the cuban government over how much criticism they could get from the pope. so far on the ground that criticism has been veiled. the pope said in his homely last night cubans should strive for a more open society. he has not attacked communism directly, i think the pefrt will be to pw*uld build bridges between the church and the state. the church wants to do more charity work on the island, open schools, get their leaders and mison television, really incremental steps by this pope in the visit hoping to build bridges with 4 communist and once atheist leadership. bill: thank you, steve. live in havana cuba today. martha: president obama covering a microphone after getting caught on a live mike. he had sort of a fun moment with that. there he is covering it up so nobody can hear anything, discussion the very sensitive matters, though, in the real open mike incident with russia's president getting a lot of attention. ambassador john bolton is here

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♪ . bill: name the album? martha: thank you. bill: great song. martha: it is a good song. being tougher than the rest got a young boy a private concert with the boss. i guess i will tell the story. i will continue here. bruce springsteen hung out with a 5-year-old little boy more than an hour before the show in boston. he treated he and his family to a few songs and autographed guitar. he spent two months in the hospital suffering from spina bifida. his only request from make a was meet the boss, bruce springsteen. this is great shot making it happen. a special