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tv   America Live  FOX News  March 29, 2012 10:00am-12:00pm PDT

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jon: he also did the theme to "the beverly hillbillies". he'll be missed. thank you for joining us today. jenna: "america live" starts right now. >> we begin with a fox news alert, stunning new reports on what could be a game changer in israel's efforts to prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon. welcome to "america live," everyone, i'm allison camarota. this new report quotes a couple of officials in the intelligence community suggesting that azerbaijan and israel may have entered into a key military partnership giving israel the go ahead to use its air bases along the border with iran because that is significant because access to those bases would mean that israel could launch an attack on iran's nuclear facilities without concerns of having to refuel mid flight. fox's leland vittert is live in jerusalem for us. hi, leland. >> reporter: hi, aly, as we've
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talked about an israeli attack on iran, the key issue is how far away iran is. it's the very edge of israel's tactical ability for its air force to project any kind of force. this new deal would put iran right in the crosshairs of israel's air force. take a look at the map. tel aviv, tehran about 1,000 miles, and israel's planes and pilots would have to perform very tricky midair refueling over some rather unfriendly skies, either iraq or saudi arabia. from azerbaijan's capital just about 300 miles, and the air force bases are actually south of baku, even closer to iranian air space. now, the israelis have been courting azerbaijan as an ally over the past couple of years. just recently they signed a $1.6 billion arms deal. israel has 24 american-made f-15i striker eagles, and that's most likely the plane that would be used in the initial wave of attacks on iran here.
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conventional wisdom says israel has to attack before fall in order to be effective. but if these new bases could be used in azerbaijan, it could allow a lot more repetitive attacks by israeli jets. that certainly could push the time frame back of when israel would be able to attack iran. but there's a bit of international intrigue going on with this story. this was initially leaked through a group called foreign policy which put it on their web site, and they quoted two american intelligence sources as having given them this information about israel being able to base planes in azerbaijan. that bolsters an israeli argument that is going to be made tomorrow in a newspaper article published here which is accusing u.s. intelligence sources and the united states government of actively leaking information, often times classified information, to the press to try and turn israel's public opinion against attack. in other words, in trying to make the israel prime minister less likely to order an attack.
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however, this tidbit of information cuts both ways in the sense that, obviously, it exposes an israeli asset if true. on the other hand, it would make the israeli public think that the chance of success of a mission is higher. that's key because iran is entering into nuclear talks in just two weeks. this bit of information puts a little bit more pressure on them. aly, back to you. alisyn: okay, leland vittert, thanks so much for that update. in just ten minutes, former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., john bolton, is going to respond to all of these new developments that leland just laid out so well including what an israeli ally along iran's border would mean for the u.s. all right, meanwhile, there are new details on the pilot who caused that frightening scene at 30,000 feet. the feds have now officially charged jetblue captain clayton osbon. he's accused of interfering with a flight crew. witnesses say he entered the main cabin acting e erratically,
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then started ranting about terrorism. fox's lawr laura ingle is live in new york city. what more have we learned today? >> the federal criminal complaint outlines the details of what led up to the captain's bizarre outburst with the first officer's account of osbon's worrisome, incoherent actions inside the cockpit. we have a new picture to show you of the troubled cap train seen -- captain in 2009 looking comfortable, relaxed and with a smile on his face, the exact opposite of what his first officer says he looked like tuesday when he started yelling over the radio to air traffic controllers and told them to be quiet while he turned off the radios and dimmed his monitors while saying, quote, we aren't going to vegas. all of this prompted the first officer to lock him out of the cockpit which led up to his angry rant in front of passengers who restrained him. captain osbon has been taken off active duty while the investigation continues.
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if convicted of the interference charge, he could face 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. while osbon continues to receive medical treatment, his family and friends are trying to figure out what could have gone so horribly wrong. >> there was nothing at all to indicate that he was upset about anything. >> he was just an all around good fella, i thought. i still just can't believe it. i believe they're going to find a cause, that he didn't go crazy or nothing like that. >> reporter: the federal aviation administration tells fox that captain osbon's last medical checkup was december of 2011 but couldn't reveal any medical information due to privacy laws. the faa could tell us there have been no accidents, incidents or enforcement actions against osbon. we continue to follow this, we'll bring you the latest when we get it. alisyn: such a strange case. we look forward to getting more answers. laura, thank you. a man is under arrest in philadelphia today accused of trying to board a commercial flight with homemade explosives.
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this was the scene today at the airport in philadelphia. police say the 29-year-old suspect had two m-80 fireworks in his carry-on when he arrived at airport security. say it does not appear to be an act of terror exism that the man simply forgot he had the items in his bag. he's now facing federal charges of possession of a destructive device. and we go to washington now where the house overwhelmingly rejected the president's budget for next year. overwhelmingly, hardly even describes it. the president's $3.6 trillion budget going down by a 414-0 -- meaning zero -- vote. democrats who voted no accusing the gop of forcing the vote to embarrass them, and the vote came as a house debates a republican budget containing far more deficit reduction than the president wants. we're also getting new numbers from the tax man on how the overhaul of the health care will impact the irs. the internal revenue service
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wants to add about 4,000 new agents to hunt down potential tax cheats. the agency also plans to spend about $303 million building a system to oversee the new insurance law. and with three days of historic arguments over, the health care law is in the books. well, now we need to wait for about eight weeks for a ruling from the supreme court. will they uphold it, or will they strike it down entirely? or will they leave some parts of it intact? the answer to those questions will probably have to wait until this summer, right in the middle, of course, of the presidential race. despite the high stakes, the high court did display some humor courtesy of the justice who may have the sharpest tongue, justice antonin scalia. >> what happened to the eighth amendment? you really want us to go through these 2,700 pages? [laughter] and do you really expect a court to do that? or do you expect us to give this function to our law clerks?
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[laughter] is this not totally unrealistic, that we're going to go through this enormous bill item by item and decide even -- each one? >> well -- alisyn: justice scalia, that is, of course, referring to the cruel and unusual punishment that would be reading all of it. i want to bring in former florida attorney general, bill mccollum, he was the first to sue the government over the health care law just minutes after president obama signed it into law before being joined by more than two dozen states mr. mccollum, thank you so much for joining us. >> happy to be with you this afternoon. alisyn: okay. so what you heard of the proceedings, do you think that the justices are inclined to strike town this law? >> well, i think that we had a very favorable hearing. i think the arguments and questions tended to go our way many terms of the position of the states to have this individual mandate stricken. but i will say nobody knows for sure what justice kennedy, for example's, going to do. he left a couple of doubts with
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some of the comments he made during that portion of the argument. but on the other hand, if they do strike it down, it seemed pretty darn clear yesterday they were going to take a lot more out than just the individual mandate. and i think there'll be a bipartisan group that takes out other provisions as well if that's the case. alisyn: do you think that there's a way that if they do strike down the individual mandate or even more as you've suggested, that they could leave some portions of it intact? >> well, they could leave some portions, but the question that justice scalia raise inside that humorous clip you just played is real. judge vincent in the district court when he decided to strike the whole law down said, look, i don't know how you expect me, and i don't think congress would want me to go through here and pick out this one, that one, say this one goes, and yesterday's arguments presented several times the fact that if individual mandate goes, the funding mechanism's gone for pre-existing conditions, the heart of this law, the reason they passed it in the first place. so the justices then have to face the fact with those two
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gone what effect that has on the exchains and a whole myriad of other provisions in the bill that really couldn't stand. and the ultimate question they have to answer is would congress have passed this law without it? they might have passed a few of these individual provisions that were riders, but as the justices themselves pointed out, those riders were probably part of the deal to get the votes to be able to pass the main portion of it which they might be striking down. so most of us came away who heard this argument yesterday believing the court, if -- and that's a big if -- if they strike the individual mandate, declare it unconstitutional, will take down most of or at least a big hunk of this law if not all of it. alisyn: and do you think this decision will fall along strictly conservative and liberal lines with justice kennedy being the wildcard? >> i think on the individual mandate it will. it seemed clear again to me sitting in on the hearing on the individual mandate that the four more liberal justices had already made up their mind that this wasn't an issue that they were really listening and asking questions about, they're making
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more statements about it. but among the other justices where we need the five, there was still some legitimate questions they were asking, and i think they're pondering it, and we really don't know how they're going to rule though we'd like to believe that based on their questioning they would lean in favor of striking it doesn't because they found real questions with the whole idea of requiring somebody under the interstate commerce clause to buy a product or service for the first time in history and what that would mean going forward for other things, what precedent that would mean if genie's out of the bottle. chief jus roberts was -- justice roberts was concerned about that, and so was justice kennedy. but it remains to be seen, were we to prevail, it would be a 5-4 decision. if we're not to prevail, it may also be a 5-4 decision. alisyn: it'll be interesting to see what happens in june. bill mccollum, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. alisyn: israel now has a very
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important ally in iran's backyard. in three minutes, former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., john bolton, on what this could mean for the u.s. and for iran's nuclear program. and director spike lee doing some serious damage control after tweeting an address to his thousands of followers. believing that he was sending them to the home of the man accused of killing florida teenager trayvon martin, but it turned out to be the home of this elderly couple who now fear for their lives. lee's apologized, but is that enough? and one of the nation's highest-ranking catholics is accusing the president of trying to split the faithful in an attack on religious freedom, in fact, he is the highest-ranking catholic. is that just the start of this big debate? we will debate it straight ahead. >> the church, basically, is in a position now of promoting an unpopular concept. the ban of contraception. >> uh-huh. you're right on target.
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it's a tough battle because of that, and our opponents are very shrewd because they've chosen an issue that they know we don't, we're not very popular on. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.
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alisyn: fox news alert with a strange story for you. we're awaiting a news conference on an alleged teen prostitution ring that has been busted. five accused gang members have been arrested in the wealthy fairfax county, virginia, accused of recruiting attractive high school girls for a prostitution business. if girls refused, they were apparently threatened, and we understand that at least two girls were beaten up or cut with a knife. the girls were apparently recruited through facebook. we expect to learn a lot more on this story at a news conference later today, and we will bring that to you. all all right, back to our p story on that new report coming in saying that the u.s. thinks that asker azerbaijan has receny granted israel access to air
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bases along its border with iran. if true, the israelis could strike iran's nuclear facilities without having to refuel, and that is a big change in israel's military situation. john bolton is the former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and a fox news contributor. hello, mr. ambassador. >> hi, allison, glad to be here. alisyn: so if these new reports are correct that israel is now being granted access to azerbaijan, what does this mean? >> well, i think two things. one, substantively, obviously, israel can do the math and the geography, and if it can get positions closer to iran's nuclear targets to be able to attack them, that's so much the better from israel's point of view. israel knows how difficult, cramped a military attack would be, and it's not surprising if these reports are true -- and i'm not commenting one way or the other whether they are -- but i think there's another point here beneath the substantive point, and that is that these reports come from american intelligence officials. now, if you think back a month
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or so ago, defense secretary panetta said publicly he thought if israel attacked iran, it would be in the april, may, june period. and i think the reason he did that was that the obama administration's private effort to pressure israel not to attack iran were failing, and they had decided to go public. i think this leak today is part of the administration's campaign against an israeli attack. alisyn: in fact, you're not alone. there are reports today in israel news that, in fact, the u.s. is leaking this classified information in order to dissuade israel. so why is the u.s. doing that? >> i think the obama administration has long believed that an israeli attack was worse than an iranian nuclear weapon. the president says that containment and deterrence of iran is not his policy, and i think today that's true. but it's his plan b, it's his back-up plan when his current efforts at sanctions fail and diplomacy fails and iran gets
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nuclear weapons. and i think that the pressure that the administration has put on israel has been just merciless behind the scenes, but nonetheless, as i say, every evidence is that the pressure's failing, that the israeli government will do what they think is necessary. so the obama administration is has torqued it up a notch, and now they're going to reveal very sensitive, very important information that will allow iran to defeat an israeli attack. i think that's what's going on. alisyn: so if israel does take advantage of these azerbaijani airstrips or places they can launch from, what does that mean for the u.s.? >> well, i'm not saying i have any knowledge about anything in azerbaijan, but what it means is that the likelihood of an israeli attack would be more successful. because the distances are shorter, they can have their planes over the target for longer periods of time, they have to worry less about aerial refueling. there are a whole host of
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reasons why being able to attack from closer positions make sense. so releasing this information so that the iranians now know about it takes away a potentially very powerful mode of attack that hitherto the israelis had been able to keep secret and. alisyn: former ambassador john bolton, thanks so much for your expertise. >> thank you. alisyn: police like to say they're here to protect and serve, but a group of atheists say that one police department went a step further than that, and now the atheists are threatening to sue. we have details on the fight over faith in tennessee. plus, their son killed in cold blood in mexico, now the family of i.c.e. agent jorge zapata speaks to fox news as they demand answers from the government about his murder. truth. who, in the first place, thought of this program, how come they let those weapons go when they knew who had bought 'em, who had
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alisyn: we have some new details on that grisly murder of a schoolteacher. melissa jenkins' 2-year-old son was found alone in the back of jenkins' car on sunday. police now saying they believe she was lured away from her home by a man and his wife who used to plow her driveway. they're accused of strangling jenkins, pouring bleach on her naked body, then weighing her down with concrete blocks before tossing her corpse into the connecticut rhode island. jenkins was a 33-year-old science teacher at a prestigious school in vermont. police say her son likely
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witnessed part of that brutal attack. well, an atheist group is demanding a town ditch a police uniform town that has the word "religion" on it, but the mayor is pushing back. trace gal gallagher has more. what do can we know, trace? >> reporter: the story is fascinating because this group, freedom from religion, has been very successful in getting religious symbols and words taken out of public places and off of government entities, but now -- in fact, a lot of places say they just can't fight because they can't afford to fight, so they take them down. apparently, the group has met its match when it comes to lenore, tennessee, just outside of knoxville. this police officer's patch, you see it right there, says "industry, religion and education." the officers have been wearing it now since the 1970s. well, freedom from religion wants it changed, and they want it changed now. listen. >> if you have a police patch that's got religion on it, it sends a message of theocracy, it
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sends a message that this is a theocratic police force, and if you aren't their religion, you better watch out. >> reporter: well, the mayor of lenore says it's freedom from religion that better watch out because the patch stays. and the city council has backed him up unanimously. the attorney for the city has said, and i'm quoting here, these patches are a nondenominational statement representing that the department will protect all religious faiths and ideological beliefs. they are worn voluntarily by the officers, many residents are backing up their city. listen. >> either way it doesn't matter whether they're wearing a patch or not. i think they're just there to do their duty, protect and serve. so the patch doesn't bother me either way, whether it was anything on it or not. >> they got their rights and their beliefs, but i believe in prayer. >> reporter: but if history is any indication, aly, it looks like the city may be in for a
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legal fight from freedom for religion, but the city says, that's fine. they've got a lawyer, and they've got 2-$300,000 set aside to fight this battle. all right, let's decide what to
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alisyn: fox news alert for you because actress lindsay lohan is likely breathing a sigh of relief right now. a judge has just ended lohan's probation on that 2007 drunken driving case. that means she no longer has to appear in court or report to a probation officer. lohan is still under informal probation for taking a $2500 necklace without permission, but the immediate threat of jail or further punishment is over for lilo at this moment. we have a fox news weather alert for you right now because
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there is new outrage in the rockies over a manmade catastrophe. residents of west of denver, colorado, are furious as a wildfire kills two people and destroys dozens of homes. the governor has now suspended the practice of setting small fires to clear dry brush now that a so-called controlled burn caused this utter devastation. >> this is heartbreaking, and we're sorry. >> telling me i'm sorry doesn't make a difference right now. >> all of a sudden it's, oh, hey, oops, oops. you know? i don't know if that covers it. >> the destruction to people's homes, their personal belongings completely devastation. >> it's frustrating. i understand they do have to do controlled burns to prevent stuff like this, but it did happen, it got out of control. >> i'm not happy. i want more answers. alisyn: fox's dan springer is live in colorado. he's just north of the wildfire so, dan, how did this controlled burn get out of control? >> reporter: well, 70 mile-an-hour winds on monday
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will do that, but, you know, they really say they took the precautions necessary. obviously, they didn't look at the weather report far enough out. four days after that controlled burn is when this thing skipped their containment and just exploded. governor john hickenlooper is getting a firsthand look at the devastation. he arrived a short time ago and is now able to see for himself the progress crews are making and the destruction caused by a fire that was actually started by his forest service as a controlled burn last thursday. we now have new home video of the chaos monday as people were fleeing their homes. two people did not make it out alive, an elderly couple found dead in their home, had been in contact with members of their church. they were, apparently, ready to leave and asking for prayers. >> they were ready to go. they had their truck backed up, it was loaded. i think they were just getting whatever the last minute items that they needed to take. we were in contact with them,
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they had actually called and let us know what was going on. >> reporter: the fire has destroyed 27 homes, one belonging to a woman who is still listed as missing. several dozen people are searching for her and combing through the rubble of her house looking for her remains. 4100 acres have burned, the fire is now 15% contained, and the hope is the evacuation order for some of the 900 homeowners can be lifted today. the weather has been more cooperative. we've had lighter winds yesterday, today and even tomorrow, but they're expecting the winds to kick back up on saturday, so it's really a race to get this thing knocked down completely before the winds start up again on saturday. alisyn: yeah, absolutely understood. dan springer, thank you. stunning new comments from the man who some say could be pope p one day. new york archbishop and brand new cardinal timothy dolan saying the obama administration and its supporters are trying to divide the catholic church.
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he argues that the issue of contraception is being used as a political tool and that the real issue here is freedom of religion. here's more from his appearance on "the o'reilly factor." >> i don't want to act like i'm judging the president. i don't know. there are those who tell me that i was misled. there are those who tell me that you simply misunderstood. >> they haven't backed off, and you have a number of options that you can challenge. however, the church basically is in a position now of promoting an unpopular concept. the ban of contraception. >> uh-huh. you're right on target. it's a tough battle because of that, and our opponents are very shrewd because they've chosen an issue that they know we don't, we're not very popular on. and that's why, bill, we have to be, we have to be very vigorous in insisting that this is not about contraception, it's about religious freedom. alisyn: kirsten powers is a columnist at "the daily beast"
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and a fox news contributor, and marc thiessen is a fellow at the american enterprise institute and a former speech writer for president george w. bush. welcome to both of you. >> good to be here. >> thanks. alisyn: kirsten, is the president using this issue of contraception as a political tool as the cardinal charges? >> well, you know, i can't speak to what the motivation of the white house is. i can certainly say that democrats overall are using the issue of contraception as a political issue. that doesn't mean that that's why the white house did what they did in terms of contraception and the mandate because that is part of the broader issue of the obamacare and, you know, the health care plan, and that's how that came up. so i think that they are two separate issues. i do agree that it is a religious liberty issue, i just think that the administration has, you know, found a compromise that does honor religious liberty, um, while meeting the goals that they have set out for the health care plan. alisyn: marc, what do you think?
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>> el, i think, actually, first, thank god for cardinal dolan for speaking out and, two, he's absolutely right. if anything, he understates how. shrewd the president's policy is. what he's trying to do by focusing on contraception and catholics is not only divide catholics from their pastors who might disagree on contraception, but also religious conservatives. and so he wants this to be a catholic issue and particularly an issue with the bishops. what we on the other side of this need to do is broaden the debate. cardinal dolan and his forces need to make clear this is not about contraception, it's about life. the mandate that obama has done doesn't just require contraception, it requires abortion-inducing drugs. evangelicals who may disagree on contraception certainly agree that the federal government has no right to force religious institutions to cooperate in the destruction of human life. and second, it's about obamacare. i think kirsten is exactly right. we just had a big debate in the supreme court this week about
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the individual mandate, whether the federal government has the right to tell people they have to buy a product. this compromise, supposedly, that obama has forces insurers to provide abortion-inducing drugs and contraception for free. where in the constitution does the president of the united states have the power to force private businesses, so this is just the latest on the obamacare mandate, and it's about the relationship between religion and the government. alisyn: kirsten, i understand you don't want to speak to the president or the administration's motive, but why bring up contraception at this time during an election year when as mitt romney famously said, contraception was working just fine, thank you? >> well, you know, i find it interesting when people like marc just so firmly stated the motivation of the president when i just haven't seen any evidence of that. and, um, the way that this all came up in the context of the health care law. there was a rule that was put out in terms of preventive
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medicine, and they had decides, you know, through the nih, i guess, that this was going to be, you know, contraception was a preventive medicine. i don't necessarily agree with that. i'm just saying this is how it went down. i don't know that it was like this plot to put contraception in the middle of the election. i think that it's fair to say, like i said, that democrats and certainly women's rights groups have tried to shift it away from abortion to contraception, that's true, but i don't think that this was done necessarily for that reason. alisyn: marc, let me play for you one second another thing that cardinal dolan said which is that he believes that the church should be more involved in being a player in politics. listen. >> sure. >> does the catholic church want to be a player in american politics? >> yeah. well, the catholic church wants its people to be a player in american politics, all right? 28% of the population of the united states are catholics, okay? and the catholic church through them, you bet, wants to have, wants to have a say in the direction of our beloved
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country. alisyn: so, marc, do you think that this whole contraception issue galvanizes the church or liberals? who does this work for? >> it probably galvanizes both, and i think wisconsin -- kirsten's probably right, i think obama believes these services should be provided, but he doesn't have the right to tell catholics and evangelicals and other religious people that they have to cooperate with what they believe is morally objectionable which is the destruction of human life. and so i think as he's trying to isolate catholics and make this about contraception and catholics, i think he has galvanized a lot of people. the bishops are not backing down. you saw the cardinal of new york, the highest-ranking catholic prelate, come out and pretty much put it to the president yesterday on national television, and there's a lot of catholics like me who are willing to get behind him and fight for this. alisyn: and, kirsten, how do you think this plays out in november? >> i think it's hard to tell. a lot of the polling that's been
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done, they can't find a clear correlation in either direction. now, democrats will tell you this helps them because it energizes women, single women in particular who they thought were going to today home. so it's not so much of that poller thes aren't necessarily seeing -- pollsters aren't necessarily seeing someone say i'm going to switch my vote, it's more about energizing the base. can the catholic question do the same thing with their voters, is it something that's going to energize them, and i don't know the answer to that. alisyn: kirsten and marc, thanks so much for coming in for the debate. >> thank you. alisyn: we have a story from afghanistan for you today that you won't see anywhere else. an american soldier who brings new meaning to the word "hero" as he puts his life on the line to rescue an afghan girl. this is a story that you don't want to miss. plus, new questions about the media and the scott walker recall effort. after dozens of media figures are outed as having signed recall petitions. the man who helped break some of these stories joins us live.
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and after singing thousands of his rabid fans on an elderly couple, spike lee is in mea culpa mode. the film maker thought the address he gave out belong today the man at the center of the trayvon martin controversy, but, boy, was he wrong. will the controversy end now with his apology? we have answers from the lawyers have extremistsfter the break. all over, and we're afraid that someone might see the address and decide, well, we'll take care of them ourselves.
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alisyn: movie director spike lee is today saying he's sorry. the famous film maker posted to twitter the address of an elderly couple that he thought was the address of george zimmerman, the florida neighborhood watchman accused of shooting a black teenager to
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death. as you can imagine, the couple -- elaine and david mclean, are living in fear. death threats have been pour anything be since the teenager, trayvon martin, was killed last month. fox's trace gallagher is here with more on this story. what else, trace? is. >> reporter: you know, the original tweet, aly, was sent by a man here in los angeles, and then spike lee retweeted the wrong address. of course, spike lee has 250,000 followers, so it had a big impact. that wrong address is several miles away from where trayvon martin was actually shot. and the mistake happened because elaine mclean has a son whose name is william george zimmerman who lived with her back in the 1990s. and now as you might imagine the mcleans have been harassed nonstop. listen to them. >> we know we have extremists all over, and we're afraid that someone might see the address and decide, well, we'll take care of them ourselves. >> and then the black panthers
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have a bounty on mr. zimmerman's head, and you tonight know what their followers might decide to do. >> reporter: spike lee says he's sorry issuing this tweet saying, and i'm quoting here: >> reporter: ends by saying: justice in court. but much of the damage is already done. the elderly couple has moved out of their house and into a hotel, and they have hired a very well known orlando law firm. there's no word if they plan legal action, but here's the deal, spike lee actually violated twitter's policy by retweeting that address, so there's a chance that his twitter account might be taken down as well, though twitter also has not responded to this. alisyn: all right, trace. let's see what else is in store for spike lee. let's bring in attorney grege yang to car row to talk about this. how much trouble is spike lee in? >> legally, he's in quite a bit of trouble.
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and, frankly, i think, losing his twitter account is going to be the least of his problems. alisyn: and so what sorts of charges can he face for e roan usually tweeting this address? >> i don't think he really faces criminal charges, but under the circumstances civil liability is absolute here. i think this is the kind of case that lawyers dream about. imagine if mcleans were your parents. imagine how emotionally damaging it's going -- i mean, you're talking about a situation where this is a group, and this is not to weigh in against george zimmerman or for george zimmerman. this is a situation where, i mean, on friday you've got demonstrators on behalf of trayvon martin who the north miami-dade, the north miami beach students actually charged into a walgreens. this is the kind of situation, and extremists that the mcleans have to be worried about.
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alisyn: let's say that spike lee hadn't tweeted the wrong address, that he'd gotten it right, okay? that he'd actually tweeted out george zimmerman's accurate address. is that a crime? >> i don't think necessarily it's a crime per se, but i would even argue given what may end up or reasonably expect to happen to george zimmerman under those circumstances he might even be legally responsible to george zimmerman. look, i understand he wants to take a stand and have a position and be involved in this situation. obviously. but i think under the circumstances even he would admit that he made a mistake. alisyn: now, is there a larger lesson here for all of us, basically, in social media, and that is can we all just go around tweeting whatever we want, or are there laws here? >> well, the fact is that spike lee is a celebrity, and he's really, he really is held to a higher standard or at least should be held to a higher standard under these circumstances. so i think, and frankly, as far
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as lawyers go he's considered a deep pocket. so that's a situation that exists here x it's going to be -- and it's going to be, at least a minimum he's going to have to buy these people a new home as far as i can see. alisyn: oh, my gosh. obviously, in hot water, and it's a cautionary tale for the rest of us to be responsible on twitter and social media. greg, thanks so much for coming on. >> my pleasure. alisyn: a dollar and a dream and a dynamite accountant. that's all you need to be the next megamultimillionaire. we're eyeing one of the largest lottery jackpots in history next. how much time do i have to go out and buy a ticket? >> plus, the day the music died for the world of bluegrass. the amazing legacy of the late earl scruggs just ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] you've never tried miracle whip,
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alisyn: there's new fallout today stemming from a strict nondiscrimination policy at one of america's most prestigious universities. one of the largest student groups at vanderbilt, vandy catholic s withdrawing from campus after 50 years. senior national correspondent john roberts is live from atlanta with more. hi, john. >> reporter: hey, good afternoon to you. this whole thing is being called an attack on religion by religious student groups at vanderbilt university. they are being told that they cannot require prospective leaders to share their faith or belief system, that would run afoul of the school's nondiscrimination policy. so now the largest of those groups, vanderbilt campus s
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taking its 500 members and leaving campus. the president told us that the school left them no other choice. >> we are, first and foremost, a catholic organization. we require our leaders to be practicing catholics who know the faith, and we're striving to live it out. ,and the university has made it clear in their nondiscrimination policy there's simply not a place for an organization that has these qualifications for leadership. >> reporter: now, for its part vanderbilt university is saying don't blame us. in a statement to fox news, they said, quote: >> reporter: far john simms baker is a chaplain at vanderbilt catholic, here's how the nondiscrimination policy leaves him feeling. >> request i really felt kind of kicked in the gut, actually, that's what i felt.
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i thought, you know, i was sort of afraid i could see where this was going. >> reporter: keep in mind that vanderbilt is a private university, it can pretty much make up its own rules, but some lawmakers in tennessee are working on legislation that would prohibit public universitieses in the state of tennessee from doing the same thing. alisyn: yeah. this issue is not going away. john roberts, thank you. all right, well, the president versus big oil. mr. obama making a bold call to end oil industry tax breaks. why that could be bad news for the job market and the prices at the pump. and one family's heartbreak, this i.c.e. agent gunned down in mexico, how his mom is speaking out to fox news as new questions are raised about whether the u.s. government could have done more to prevent his death. >> sometimes when i can't sleep, i come to this couch, and i lay there, and i feel that he's there. 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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alisyn: a fox news alert.
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frustration echos around the country over rising gas prices. president obama calling on congress to strip the oil industry of all tax breaks. welcome to a brand-new hour of "america live." president obama saying americans are the ones paying the price. >> think about that. it's like hitting the american people twice. you are already paying a premium at the pump right now. on top of that, congress up until this point thought it was a good idea to send billions of dollars more in tax dollars to the oil industry. alisyn: but congressional republicans warn this move could have epic implications. they say cutting tax breaks would only lead to more pain at the pump. ed henry is live at the white house with more. >> reporter: just weeks after the president told me at a news conference that he would never
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support policy in an election year that would raise taxes. he did that today in the rose garden. the research center says if you end these oil and gas industry tax breaks it will increase in tax increases that will result in higher oil and gas prices for american consumers. nevertheless the president says this is the right thing to do. >> one analysis shows every time gas goes up by a penny, these companies pocket another $200 million in quarterly profits. and they pay a lower tax rate on their investment because because we are giving them billions in tax giveaways every year. >> reporter: jay carney says it would be non-sensical to continue these tax breaks. joining with senate republicans
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led about it republican leader mitch mcconnell who said this is wrong-headed policy. >> somehow they thought doing this would set up some kind of political win for them which frankly i don't understand. i can't imagine anybody giving them any high fives for not lowering gas prices. but that was obviously the plan. >> reporter: as the bickering continues, they didn't move forward on that legislation and gas prices continue to go up. triple aaa says the national average has gone up 20 consecutive days, now inches towards an average of $4 a gallon nationwide. alisyn: maybe they will be listening to your report and stop the bickering. our next guest is worried the removal of these tax incentives will decrease tax production and cost america jobs. the president made the argument that he want to transfer the
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$11.7 billion that go to these oil companies to other things such as deficit reduction and clean energy development. what's wrong with that argument? >> first of all you are taking await subsidies from the oil and gas companies. once that's taken away gas prices will go higher. it's like taking a tax and adding a it onto the company. if i'm getting charged more to produce. >> good or service and now i am going to pass that along to my customers. alisyn: senator menendez who was the sponsor of this bill said last year the big five oil companies made $137 billion in profits. why do they need a government subsidy? >> what will happen is production, domestic production in the united states will fall. a lot of the subjects does go toward exploration and production near the states.
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if that money is coming out of the way, we have more oiling coming out of other places like the middle east. you take this away -- it's tough to sell it. everybody watching right now saying i'm paying 4 per gallon and this company is getting $130 million in subsidies. but if you take away those subsidies that $4 could be $5. alisyn: some members of the administration and democrats will argue the price of the pump will go down. they argue if you develop clean energy it will spur more competition in the marketplace. >> when said i'm going to take it money away from fossil fuels and put it toward clean energy. he has had such an impeccable record on clean energy. look at solyndra, the
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clean-burning car companies. there would be private companies going into that industry if it were such a good idea. he actually wins. if he does this and goes through with this and gas prices go up it may force clean energy at the end. alisyn: he also says some of these $11 billion could be used to reduce the deficit. isn't that what americans say they want to be done? >> that i can agree with. if i believed in my heart that the government was going to take this money and pay count deficit i may be on board with this a little bit. but when both know he's not going to pay down the deficit. it will be shifted somewhere else. in my mind, even if you do take that $few billion to pay count deficit the economy can get stuck in a vut because gas prices go higher. it's a lose-lose for me.
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alisyn: i hear you saying there is always the law of unintended consequences. matt mccall, thank you so as much for coming in with your expertise on this. we have a fox extreme weather alert. we have new video out of colorado where firefighters are racing to contain that raging wildfire. this video was shot by a man who watched the house he built burn to the ground. dozens of homes have been burned since the fire started and investigators are looking into whether a controlled burn may have sparked this deadly fire. it claimed the lives of this elderly couple. right now authorities are searching for a woman who is still missing. >> yesterday we searched over 60 acres in a grid pattern. many of those areas were searched literally three times by the team itself. today the team will expand their
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search into a wider area. but we'll definitely continue to search for our missing citizen. alisyn: residents of 900 homes were evacuated. they are only aloud back for 30 minute with an escort to look at the damage. there is a new push for answers in operation fast and furious. the top two republican lawmakers are demanding the white house make a former aid avail and for questioning. they want to know if the scandal reached the upper echelons of the administration. the two lawmakers giving white house staffers the deadline of april 4 to respond. also reaction to the deadly fallout linked to what may be a botched gun running sting. the family of federal agent jamie today -- zapata speak out on his murder. , there are questions whether the u.s. government could have
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done more to prevent his death and his family is trying to cope with their tremendous loss. >> sometimes when i can't sleep i come to this couch and i lay there and i feel that he's there. alisyn: william lajeunesse is live in texas. what have you heard there, william? >> reporter: because of fast and furious atf's credibility has been damaged. they filed a freedom of information request. his appeal denied. the family wants to know, did the atf walk guns knowingly allow guns into the hands of criminals to further an investigation. the agency says no. why zapata after just nine days in mexico was sent on a delivery end on mexico's most dangerous road. he was there without evade and escape driver's training and without embassy backup and without a mexican police escort
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and allegedly against a written directive that they be on that highway. >> we want to find out who thought of this program. how come they let those weapons go when they knew who had bought them. who had them. how come they let them go through the border without even trying to stop them. >> i don't know anything now that i didn't know the first day really. i expected for them to sit with us and give as you report, you know, this what is we have so far. this what is happened. and this is why it happened. we do not know. >> reporter: unlike the brian terry case where some officials gave the family initial information that was later contradicted. the zapata family says they have been told nothing other and condolences. the atf says the guns were bought in fox.
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one from houston. the atf says they were not aware of the ring leader. secondly, another gun in dallas, the atf does admit they could have acted sooner against the buyer, but the atf asked they not do that to save their investigation. >> reporter: do you think the government is hiding something? >> they are not answering. they are just not answering the questions. report report atf said they did not walk guns. they say there wasn't sufficient evidence or information available to arrest those responsible earlier. but they are now on the record, hopefully when the record come out they will not contradict that. because they are saying they did not walk guns. allison, back to you.
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alisyn: it sounds like we need more answers there. we have new reports that some liberal groups and the white house are laying the ground work for a new attack on the supreme court in the event it strikes down the president's healthcare law. while coming up we'll debate whether there is truth to these reports and whether that strategy could work. plus, the story of the ultimate sacrifice in afghanistan. the u.s. national guardman giving his life to save an afghan child. five minutes to a story you will only see here. plus new questions about the media and the recall of governor scott walker after dozens of journalists are outed for having signed recall petitions. that story after this quick break. i'm freaking out man. why? i thought jill was your soul mate. no, no it's her dad. the general's your soul mate? dude what? no, no, no. he's, he's on my back about providing for his little girl. hey don't worry.
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alisyn: there are questions about the media and the coverage of the effort to recall governor scott walker. you remember the protests and petition that went around wisconsin in mid-november. the governor now facing a recall election all over the law he was behind that cut public employees collective bargaining rights. now dozens of reporters are be out as having signed those recall petitions. brian, 25 journalists sign these recall petitions? what's going on there? >> i think that's a question a lot of folks have in wisconsin. we have a newspaper holding company reporting they have 25 journalists signing recall petitions to recall the republican governor of wisconsin. they have not identified by
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newspapers have done that. but they say a number of individual signed the petition. in madison their morning news anchor as well as a colleague signed the petition in violation of station policy and what good journalism standard should be. alisyn: we have that morning anchor, we have i think a judge who signed one of the recall petitions. doesn't it question whether scott walker can get a fair shake in the court of puck opinion? >> you have a judiciary, over 30 judges have been found to sign recall petitions. in reality when you look at the judiciary, they are supposed to be an element of impartiality to that. suppose to be the ones to allow the public to con soup the information and do so in a way that's free from political bias.
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i think in wisconsin, freedom has been thrown out the window as people submit themselves to the political process. we are able as our organization media tractors find these individuals to make sure the public is aware of their partisan bias and make sure our -- alisyn: this was one of the cardinal rules of journalism school that you are not supposed to insert your own bias into the public discourse and you are supposed to observe some objectivity. were there not rules at these newspapers or tv stations? >> when i contacted the newspapers and television stations, they told me there were rules in effect. there were statement that had to be signed. they signed these statement but they were not considered when it came time to stein these recall petitions. i think perhaps a lot of these folks didn't realize these
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petitions are a matter of public record. it's not registering to vote. a recall petition is a public document in the state of wisconsin. anyone can find out who signed it. there is a local tea party group that works in wisconsin to create a searchable database. so there was a level of transparency that i think a lot of people were not counting on. it's very good for the people in wisconsin to have this information in front of them so they can know biases and perceptions than were hidden in the past are coming to light. it's unfortunate any of these judges, and reporters decided to sign these petitions. but at least the public has an understanding of where the biases might be, buy as that would not have come out if it hadn't been for the work of those who went through them and searched them. alisyn: a story of courage and sacrifice out of afghanistan. an american soldier bringing new
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meaning to the word hero as puts his life on the line to rescue an afghan girl. you don't want to miss this story after the break. california police arresting a man for reading his bible in public. what about freedom of speech. >> you are under arrest. >> what have i done? >> you are not allowed -- >> this is what the united states is coming to. >> you can't talk about the bible. digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] new glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes.
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alisyn: for weeks we have heard the awful reports of a soldier's
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senseless shooting rampage in afghanistan and how some groups are screaming for retribution. but we are learning about a member of the rhode island national guard who gave his life last week to save an afghan child from being run down in the road. >> reporter: it's a heard break story but it's a story that need to be told again and again. this illustrates the sacrifice our men and women in the military make every single day. he was in northeastern afghanistan where some local kid were on the road collecting brass shell casings. an armored vehicle got put into gear and began rolling forward. most kid got out of the way within one little girl didn't, and he dragged her to safety, but he was hit about it armored vehicle and killed.
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the story gets even harder to tell because it was just this past christmas he surprised his children at their school after spending months in afghanistan. the cameras were rolling. watch this. >> daddy! that's my daddy! daddy, daddy. >> the most important thing to me is my kids. i was glad to see them in the hallway. >> reporter: the most important thing to the world to him, his kid. he has three children. now he will never see his kids again, never spend another christmas with him because he saved the life of a child that he had never met. now, he of course will be up in rank posthumously by the military. an american hero.
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33 years old. alisyn: it's so heartbreaking yet inspiring. the military is flying home the body of the sergeant this saturday. we'll be back in a moment. [ kate ] most women may not be properly absorbing the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.
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the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine top safety picks like the passat and jetta. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 jetta for $159 a month. alisyn: a guilty plea in connection with the deadly mine blast in west virginia.
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the former superintendent of the upper big branch mine has admitted to being part of a conspiracy to falsify record and fool mine inspectors. 29 people were killed in that 2010 explosion. mortgage rates now below 4 per. three governors and two lieutenant governors plan to tour a plant that makes the ground beef filler known as pink slime. the lawmakers looking to support the producers and the thousands of jobs they provide in their states. police in california arrest a pastor for reading the bible aloud outside a state dmv office. the man was charged with i am peegd an open business even though the dmv office was closed at the time an was 50 feet away.
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>> reporter: the pastor says he was on public property. but police say he was too close to the public. in february of last year pastor mark mackie was arrested after reading the bible in front of this dmv office in hem -- in hemet, california. his lawyer calls it another example of christian persecution in modern-day america. >> reporter: you were cited for i am peegd -- for impeding an open business but the dmv office was closed. mackie says he thought his speech was protected because he was on public property and standing 50 feet from the dmv.
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>> dan conway says preaching in public is okay. but not when your audience has no choice but to listen. he does not have the right to intimidate others and force them to listen and impede their ability to go to the dmv. >> reporter: police say by preaching in front of the dmv mackie is forcing people to listen to him. >> no one is going to be able to go to a public park where people are having picnics, playing football and read from the bible. >> reporter: he says reading the bible out loud is protected speech, especially if you are doing it outside. that's it from here, allison. alisyn: interesting case. >> last week the supreme court
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reversed a century of law that i believe will open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations to spend without limit in our elections. [applause] alisyn: remember that awkward exchange in 2010 during the state of the union? one of the most open political confrontations we have seen in a while between a president and the supreme court. samuel alito seems to be saying not true as president obama criticized the decision on campaign finance. but could history repeat itself? we are hearing of liberal groups preparing to use the supreme court as a political pinata if it rules against the law. gentlemen, thanks so much for
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being here. so here is what some liberal blogs are claiming. if the supreme court does not rule in favor of the president's healthcare law, that the administration would put the supreme court itself on trial during this upcoming presidential election. do you see that happening? >> no, and i disagree with a lot of lib rald on two grounds. i don't think the law is in as much trouble as a lot of the conventional wisdom suggests. kennedy has previously asked questions in an oral argument when he come out on the other side of the issue. if the case is to go down, the idea that some democrats are saying that could help the president by rallying the base against the supreme court, i think that just wrong. we haven't been able to rally the progressive base as we were leading up to the legislation. i don't think we are able to rally the base leading up to the supreme court decision.
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i don't think we want to make the election about what the supreme court says. mitt romney believes in a national mandate. the court struck it down. now let's move onto the economic debate. alisyn: jay, do you think it could be a rallying cry? >> i don't think so. number one. and i think the oral arguments went great from my perspective having the law declared unconstitutional. we won't know until end of june. one thing that will be clear. it's going to be very close. so to predict how it many going to go is very difficult. having said that, i think there are some that are on the left that might try to make this an issue. but i think the vast majority -- and i'm not usually one defending a position of the democratic party here. i think they know that won't be the issue that will carry the
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day. this election is going to be about the economy and where we are as a country and the economic realm. and i think if the supreme court in a 5-4 decision uphold the law or decides the law is unconstitutional. to try the supreme court, that kuds against what the founders meant when they talk about separation of powers. soy don't -- there may be some groups trying to do it, but i think it's premature and i think that is a huge mistake for the democrats to put the supreme court on trial. that will backfire if they do it. alisyn: if it does fall along partisan lines, the conservatives vote liberally, can't liberals or the white house make the argument that the supreme court is acting in a partisan or political way rather than judiciously? >> i think if that happens it will -- i think the court has had according to public opinion
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polls a crisis of confidence. and i think if it does come down along ideological or philosophical lines it will continue that. i think that's a problem for the court. but that's been a problem for the last decade. the idea that democrats take this into the fall election. i think that's wrong. i don't think it helps the president to have a signature achievement declared unconstitutional by the high court. given the democrats never got mobilized on the law. i don't think it's likely they will get mobilized after the decision. as jay point out, i don't think democrats are going to look to make healthcare the issue in the fall election. it will be a debate about whether the obama economic program has worked. but that's where the debate will in the fall. alisyn: i think we all can agreet economy trumps any other issue. but let me read for you
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something the center for american progress, a left-leaning policy group -- they say if this is voted down by the supreme court that people will sight for what it is, an activist court rendering a partisan decision. does that term activist court get some people off the sofa to vote. >> they are predicting a supreme court opinion that's going to be close and they are predicting the national reaction to it. you know what i think the american people are going to say? that's why we have the supreme court. they determine constitution at of tough cases. sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. i will say this. they make this an issue and try to make the supreme court basically on trial, that's such a non-starter that as a republican i would love to see that happen. i can't believe they are going to be that naive to try the supreme court clearly on an issue that will be closely
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divided. you have to say something for the american people here. the american people real write do get it. they understand we have an independent judiciary. some of the decisions you agree with, some you don't. that's the price of living in a republic. that's a good price to pay. i hope they don't put the supreme court on trial. that would be tragic. alisyn: what if the healthcare law fails, does that rule the base? >> well, again. i hate to be agreeing with jay so much on this program today, generally we are not so much in agreement. but i think first of all the predictions that will it fail will have as much predictive value as my ncaa brackets right now. secondly i think it will motivate some of the far left kind of democratic base. there is no question about that. but i don't think a campaign that seeks to motivate the left even if it could be successful is going to do very much for independent.
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that's why i think you may see democrats and the white house talking a little bit about the case if it does go the wrong way. but you won't hear much about it once we get into september. >> i think supreme court justices will matter and that will be a presidential discussion. the type of nominees to the supreme court. but an individual case is difficult. i think the supreme court justice, that's the lasting legacy of a president. alisyn: thanks so much for coming in. there is a new push to save an important part of american history. some of the oldest barns are either rotting or collapsing after years of decay or they will being bulldozed to make way for new construction. now a new effort is underway in part of the country to put some of those barns back to work. molly line is live in woodbridge, connecticut. tell us what you are seeing.
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>> reporter: we are talking about a movement in a dozen states to preserve these old barnes. many of them 50, 100 years old. this is a community farm, this big red barn behind me had been falling down, covered with vines and moss until the comment got together to restore it. there was a $50,000 grant involved. the community raised another $50,000. what got things rolling was the historic preservation society, the connecticut trust. they have a barn grant program. they got the ball going. date' the thriving center of local community, of local food production. here is the farm manager. >> here, for example, the barn had been falling over and it was covered in vines and nothing was going on here. now that we have it restored, everyone knows that this barn has been brought back to life. >> reporter: there are many other barns on the waiting list
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and need a lot of work. one is in guilford, connecticut. they shall working to raise the fund to preserve that property. this beautiful old historic barn that has been working for more than 100 years. they believe this is worth preserving. it's not just history that's at stake it many the craftsmanship an era gone by. >> when you look at the roof beams and ceiling beemeds and things, they just are wonderfully unique and that's what we really feel is very hw saving. >> reporter: there are a lot of people all over the country that care about these barnes. there are over 660,000 barnes all across the country that are more than 50 years old. and it will be interesting to see how many of them are still
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around 100 years from now. alisyn: they are beautiful. that's a great backdrop. molly, thank you. listen to this. there are staggering new numbers from the government on children with autism. in three minutes we have a panel of doctors who will go in-depth on the troubling record rate of cases. a small wisconsin town shaking again after experts found that small earthquakes were rocking the city. residents now reporting even louder mysterious bombs. what are those? >> one at 5:00 in the morning was a bad one. the whole building shook. it almost knocked the computer off the computer. why couldn't they register that one? [ male announcer ] what's the beat that moves your heart?
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alisyn: there are troubling new numbers out on autism.
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the numbers in the u.s. are at the highest rate ever record. one in 88 children has autism or some type of related disorder. also with us is fox news medical a teamer dr. manny alvarez. this is a stung report. the rate has gone. it jumped from one in every 110 children to one in every 88 children. what do you think is going on here? >> that's a 25 per increase in the last two years. that doubled over the past 10 years. part of the increase seems to be that we are better diagnosing it and are more familiar with it but that can't explain it all. we are seeing these almost epidemic increases, we have to look at environmental factors. you can't explain it just through genetics.
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alisyn: dr. manny, you have a child with autism. what do you think is at the root of this jump? >> i think the number reflects probably more diagnosing and identification from parents. i think the number really doesn't mean anything. i think it shows you have a gross epidemic and nobody is paying attention. our children are not being taken care of -- especially by the federal government at any level because i'll tell you something. i deliver babies for a living. if you say what do you think the cause of autism is? i'll tell you it's multi factual. gwinnett is, inflammation. we are poisoning our pregnant women out there. i know we are poisoning pregnant women. so the cost will be multi factorial. there are no resources in america for autistic children
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period because the schools are not really educated, ready -- teachers don't know what to do. this is going to be the biggest epidemic in child development in america for the next 20 years. put it in the bank. alisyn: with this huge rise of 25%, will that change? will it get attention you are calling for? >> no. people are focusing on so many things in education today, and teachers will tell you, listen, our school budgets have been cut down. half of the states are in bankruptcy protection. what i want to see is if you are going to provide services for, let's say, children, you know, give parents tax incentives so they can hire some private tutors. focus more attention in really developing skills in teachers.
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provide services on the state so we can get better recognition of symptoms and how well things are doing. for a lot of children. autism is reversible. alisyn: it costs $72,000 a year to raise a child with severe autism. dr. manny said pregnant women are being poisoned. i assume you are talking about the toxicity levels of household things and the environment. >> i think we are also poisoning ourselves. our lifestyle in general is hurting us. a statistic came out showing if a woman has obesity, high blood pressure, or diabetes it races her risks of having a child with autism. there are things like taking prenatal vitamins that a woman can do to lower her risk.
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>> there will be more children diagnosed with autism than childhood diabetes, cancer and aids put together. but autism gets less fundingn for research. we need to understand what's happening and with more research we'll find that we can correct and reverse these problems. alisyn: your family is directly impacted by it. every american family knows somebody with autism. >> as the statistics worsen more critics will come on the table. they will say autism is not real. these are neurotic parents. that's what's going to happen. that's why we don't make a difference. it's not on the radar. it's not tangible. you can't touch it. only the families who live through it really know. this will get worse before it gets better. alisyn: thank you for coming in
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alisyn: blue grass legend early crucial has died at age of 88. trace gallagher has more from our west coast newsroom. >> reporter: when you think of blue grass music. you think of the greatest banjo player of all time. early crucial was the originator of the three-finger picking style.
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he turned the banjo into a lead instruments. if i had 10 minutes i could go over all the hits he had. today vine on the hill, wildwood flower, mountain dew. but this hit became the soundtrack for a generation. [♪] that was the jed clampett theme to "the beverly hillbillies." he ran into the producer of "the beverly hillbillies" in l.a. and signs him up. this fingers never failed him well into his 80s.
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he died at the age of 88 of natural causes. alisyn: steve martin himself a banjo player remembering crucial r -- remembering scruggs today. alisyn: a prostitution ring targeting high school students busted wide open. : [ kyle ] my bad.
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>>alisyn: summer vacation starts early for some students because of left over snow days, forcing schools to switch their schedule with hardly any snow on the ground. some principals are waiting until mid-april for a final decision. in complaints for kids. thank you for watching, er

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