♪ >> good morning to you. i am heather childers>> i am heather nauert. >> it is thursday may 3rd. >> the top five news stories at this hour. the four alleged accomplices one step closer to being brought to justice. khaled shake muhammad will be arraigned. p murder and terrorism. if convicted all five men could be put to death. football fans mourning the loss

of junior sayo. his girlfriend found him shot dead inside his home in san diego. police are treating the death as a possible suicide. his mother very emotional after learning of her son's death. >> junior! (indiscernible). take me. take me. >> that brief certainly understandable. seau leaves behind three children. he was 43 years old. >> the blind chinese dissident saying the u.s. had let him down. he is claiming the u.s. delivered a threat from china his wife would be killed if he said at the u.s. embassy. he does not know what he will do after he leaves the hospital. quote, if i can get out of china, i will. u.s. ambassador to china on the

left telling us he was never pressured to leave the embassy and insisted he wanted to remain in china. we will have a live report for you later on the show. what an emotional day in the courtroom with the corruption trial of john edwards as his daughter left the courtroom in tears after a former aid testified. he talked about the fight between edwards and his now deceased wife. telling jurors how a distraught elizabeth confronted her husband about the affair with rielle hunter the same day tabloid published a story about it. his daughter eventually returned to the courtroom after a recess. today a former staffer takes the stand. take a look at this. you are looking at the world's most expensive piece of art ever to sell at auction. the famed work is called the screen. you recognize it. it sold for nearly $120 million. the bidding went on for 12 minutes between 7 people. the winning bid went to someone

over the phone. the buyer's name not being released. >> they always like to be quiet about those things. just a billionaire or someone who bought that thing. let's head down to washington where there are two big developments on the campaign trail. one of mitt romney's rivals official licksitying the race. a former rival said to give him a major endorsement today. peter doocy has more from washington. >> heather yesterday just outside washington, d.c. in arlington, virginia speaker gingrich said this election won't be a choice between ronald reagan and mitt romney. it will be between the most radical leftist president in american history. with that he bowed out. >> today i am suspending the campaign. suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship. we are committed to be active citizens. >> the news gingrich won't be

taking his campaign all of the way to the convention is met with an ad from the obama campaign full of gingrich speaking about mitt romney during the campaign. it's called newt gingrich frankly not mitt romney's biggest supporter. it gives a feeling republicans don't like romney when they back him they do so bee grudgingly. broken promises, jobs and the economy is another ad. it is on the long-term unemployed. it features a clip of obama campaigning saying success is measured how many americans can find a job that pays the port. gingrich is out romney and obama are fighting with each other and michelle bachmann is back in the fray. she is ready to endorse romney in ports smo portsmouth, virgin.

he may be on the short list of a running mate. >> peter doocy, thank you so much. the 2012 election, the big topic this morning. >> patsy cannon we are talking about. he was on hannity giving predictions on what may happen if the congress is re-elected this fall. listen to pat buchanan. >> we may lose a few seats in the senate may pick up a republican pick up a couple seats. what we will have is the same deadlock for four years we have had for almost the last year, sean. if that happens it's going to happen. if that happens we are staying, we are in italy, we are greased. i think you will have a real international economic crisis, because these two folks can't get together. the one hope you got, i think, is republican president, republican senate saying you fellas got two years to make the

cuts you promised to make, now do it or we will throw you out. >> two years. buchanan thinks he thinks mitt romney has a far better chance to unseat the president than people believe. the states where he thinks the election will be decided. >> it's unsettling to me in america. four or five states, four or five states that are really going to call the presidential election in six months. we are looking at the board here. you have got florida which everybody says if romney doesn't win florida lights out, go home. north carolina, virginia and ohio. all of those four states, i mean they are going to tell the tale of the whole country. kind of a little frighteninfrig. the war between romney and obama is going to be waged in those states. >> he disagrees slightly he believes it will come down to

iowa, michigan, wisconsin and pennsylvania. >> isn't it nice to have a roundup for those of us who can't stay up late at night to get the highlights from the night before. in time for your first degree weather update from janice dean. we have had rain in a huge part of this country here. >> absolutely. the midwest, great lakes, down towards the mid atlantic region we have this total boundary which won't rule. along that frontal boundary that's where we will see storms spiraling. we are looking at other storms moving in from the northwest. let's zoom on in. severe thunderstorm watch in effect for the next hour or so for parts of nebraska, iowa and missouri. we don't have any severe thunderstorm warnings just yet but severe thunderstorm watch meaning conditions are favorable for perhaps strong hail as well as damaging winds and even the potential for tornadoes. we have a severe thunderstorm warning just southwest in michigan.

so we will keep an eye on that for you. otherwise your severe threat extends from pasrts of texas up towards the great lakes and the midwest including chicago just outside minneapolis and kansas city. with that the potential for large hail, perhaps damaging winds. isolated tornadoes. we are not talking about a tornado outbreak here but certainly pay close attention to your local forecast. highs today very warm across the south. we could set some daytime records. 80 degrees we have the cooler air north of the boundary p and warmer sultry air south of the boundary. along that boundary is where we are seeing storms starting to fire. 64 new york, 93 in raleigh. back to you. heather and heather. >> thank you very much. we appreciate it. now to stories you can bank on this morning including a fox exclusive on embattled brokerage

firm ms global. lauren simonetti joins us with more. >> good morning heather and heather. ms global has been so slow and frustrating michael grim a first term house republican from new york is looking not only to pick up the pace but to get some answers. he is pushing for the justice department to turn over the investigation to an independent council. john corps zine the former ceo former senator governor and major major fundraiser for the obama administration. they have no direct evidence that the department of justice is surviving special treatment. perception matters and matters a great deal. so much so the letter says independent investigation is urgently needed. it is the result of independent prosecution that calls for

president clinton's impeachment after the affair with lewinsky. money is still missing from mf global funds. >> former fbi agent himself. see what happens with this. he is from my home town. thank you very much, lauren. good job with that fox exclusive. 10 minutes after the top of the hour. the service stinks, so does the food. should you be forced to tip your waiter if gratuity is already added to the bill. wait until you hear what happened when one family refused. >> chris christie getting an unusual request. an 11-year-old boy asking him for a note excusing him from school. wait until you hear how the governor responded. wait until you hear what's next on jay leno. >> he has come up with a slogan, forward. if unemployment doesn't conclude by november it will forward my

mail.

>> 15 minutes after the hour. major curve ball for the baseball. he admitted to using human growth hormone but now says he may have misunderstood the

conversation. a college student filing a $20 milli $20 million lawsuit against the dea. he was mistakenly locked up for five days with no food or water after a federal drug raid. he was interviewed and told he would be sent home but then they forgot about him. they issued an apology and launched an investigation. today marks the 5th year anniversary of the disappearance of madelein mccann. they say more than 200 new leads could help them find their daughter. joining us outside scotland yard is martin. >> good morning martin. >> good morning. the anniversaries since her disappearance are very fraught for her parents. i have interviewed them a number of times over the past five years since madelyn disappeared. they told me in an interview they have never been more

hopeful. the parents are encouraged still that they will find their daughter alive after all this time because of what investigators in scotland yard have told them recently. a team of detectives in scotland yard are reviewing all of the evidence gathered by the portuguese, all authorities in the u.k. and private investigators. they are looking at everything, a mountain of evidence that has been gathered over the past five-years. those investigations at scotland yard identified 195 new leads that they say are worth exploring. the scotland yard detectives are putting pressure on the portuguese to reopen the investigation that was abandoned years after she dispiered. there is the age progression that shows madeleine as they would look today at age 9.

i have spoken to kate mccann and she talked about why the couple are so hopeful of a happy conclusion in the search for their daughter? >> we hear about things in broad terms more than specific to be honest. but obviously it's given us a lot of hope. i am not surprised going through the files. i have seen things that i think gosh that needs to be looked up. >> as the investigators continue the work they will keep the family informed. there's no word yet of a reopening of the investigation in portugal, but the british government we understand is talking to the portuguese in the hopes that the reinvestigation will begin. >> okay. thank you very much martin reporting for us outside scotland yard and certainly hopeful for that family. >> it is amazing according to

one report the investigators never interviewed the people who were staying at the resort at that time to see if any one saw anything. >> the mom and dad became the immediate suspects so it was miss handled to begin with. it is 18 minutes after the hour. coming up don't let the dispinting job status get you down. we have 3 companies hiring right now. >> the airlines, spirit refuse to go refund the veteran who is too sick to fly. what we found out about him. pretty ironic. quick check of the prices at the pump. 3.80 a gallon.

>> the mother of a drum major his name is robert champion disappointed with the charges brought in the hazing death of her son saying they should have been more severe. 11 band members now charged with hazing that resulted in his death. two others face misdemeanor charges. and the world will soon get a look at some of the last thoughts and words of osama bin laden. as some of the documents ceased in the raid of his compound will be posted on-line by west point today. the army combatting terror center at west point. 22 minutes after the hour. some disappointing jobs numbers this week. 119,000 private sector jobs were added. that is 50,000 less than

thought. we have a look at 3 companies that are hiring right now. start out with a look at jobs numbers. jobless claims coming out today a big number expected tomorrow. >> the jobs report for april is the big report. a lot of concern what the number will get us. the expectation we will stay at 8.2 percent. the expectation is 102,000 jobs. not even the overall number that we are concerned about it is the types of jobs we are seeing in this country. you see it in the segment every week on fox and friends. these are lower paying jobs. they are the services sector. there are plenty of jobs at restaurants but those are lower paying jobs. we need higher paying jobs. >> are companies just nervous about the future so they are not hiring those higher paid people? >> it is actually an overall bigger problem in the types of -- because u.s. corporations

it's the tax code. it is regulation. look at the banking industry. financial services. i don't have time to go through it but it's not good. >> got it. >> let's talk about some of the companies that are hiring. you say marriott international. we all know that company. >> the ceo come on. this is the biggest hotel chain in north america. they are hiring in north carolina already on the show. we will hire about 20 to 25,000 people in north america this year. i suspect 5-10,000 of those jobs are brand new and the rest will be replaced we are hiring because we are adding new units to wi to the system. we have 7100 jobs. they are in all 50 states. 600 hotels will be building in the next couple three years. diversity calling them one of the top companies to work for.

this company is known for promoting from within. start out small and get big, big, big. >> assurance looking for a bunch of agents. >> assurance e-mailed fox and friends. they reached out to us. yes, we have positions. they are based in archville, north carolina. they are in georgia, texas, south carolina. you can make anywhere from 40-60 grand a year being a sales agent. most of that is a decent salary. they are hiring. you can start out at one company and transfer those skills to another. cheryl casone knfrom the fox business network. you can watch her show monday through friday. for more job advice check out casone exchange.com. heather over to you. >> the time now is 25 after the top of the hour. coming up a developing story

overnight. the chinese dissident who escaped from house arrest says the united states has left him high and dry. the service stinks, so does the food so should you be forced to tip the weighter if gratuity is added to the bill. wait until you hear what happens when one family refused. on this day in history back in 1936 jo dimaggio makes his major league debut with the new york yankees. but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company by continuing to help you do more and focus on the things that matter to you. j.d. power and associates has ranked quicken loans "highest in customer satisfaction

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>> good morning everyone. welcome back to "fox & friends first". i am heather nauert. hope you are off to a great day. >> glad you are joining us. i am heather childers approximat it is 30 minutes after the top of the hour. top five stories making news at this hour. talk about a close call a. few more inches and it would have gone through the roof. cattrell working nearby says he and two other men dragged the pilot and a passenger out of that wreckage. listen to this.

>> couldn't get to them. had to use a pry bar. >> it could have been a lot worse indeed. >> the pilot and passenger are now recovering in the hospital. >> parents brace yourself. a preschool under investigation after the staff closed up shop with a 3-year-old girl inside. sammy joe's dad absolutely horrified understandably when he showed up to get her and realized the doors were locked and the lights were turned off that's when he heard sammy joe crying inside. >> she was screaming my name. at that point i smashed the door. >> the preschool tells sammy joe's parents they thought her grandmother picked her up. they didn't realize she was hideling. they decided to send sammy joe to another school. >> newt gingrich went out with a laugh at his own expense. listen here. >> on that topic new

technologies i want to just say i am cheerfully going to take back up the issue of space. my wife has pointed out to me approximately 219 times give or take three, that moon colony was not my most clever comment in this campaign. i thought frankly my role was hopeful. >> you have to have a sense of humor about yourself. comedy aside gingrich says the u.s. cannot afford to not be the leader in space. point pleasant new jersey student skipped school to attend one of the town hall meetings. he got a chuckle from the crowd for his unusual request. >> kind of need a note for school. >> you need a note for school. >> he was with me. >> not only did governor crist tee right the 11-year-old boy a

note for missing school he gave him important advice about being bullied. he told him to go straight to his parents. >> you may want to look at tipping rules before you sit down for a family dinner in a restaurant. one family says they were held hostage for refusing to pay the full gratuity. this happened at a restaurant called law fisherman. the service stunk the entire night and when it came time for the bill there was an automatic gratuity of 17 percent that was added because they had more than five people at the table. they confronted the manager and one worker apparently locked the door and then callled police. well la fisherman says the gratuity policy is clearly marked on the restaurant's menu. houston's better business bureau is looking into the entire incident. >> if you have a tipping policy you ought to have a service policy as well. 5:34 is the time now. >> other stories a diplomatic storm still brewing between the

u.s. and china ore the blind dissident who fled china. we have more on this. this couldn't come at worse time for the white house just as hillary clinton is resuming talks. he wants out of china after the blind chinese human rights activist escaped frommous arrest and sought refuge from the u.s. embassy only to be turned over to the hospital at fist what seemed to be a voluntary move. now he and his family are said to fear for their safety. what will secretary of state hillary clinton do? she is already in china for a security conference. she would only speak generally about human rights. >> we believe all governments have to answer to citizen's aspirations for dignity and the rule of law and no nation can or

should deny those rights. >> some u.s. lawmakers are taking up his case saying the white house needs to do more to support him even if it creates discomfort for china. >> we have to make it a serious issue that drives u.s. policy rather than enabling a dictatorship. it has consequences for every american and especially for every chinese. the situation is they are a growing col loss city. >> he says he felt pressure to do leave the embassy and return to china. that is something u.s. officials deny. china wants an apology from the u.s. for in their minds interfering in the case. thank you very much. doug luzader, fascinating report. you have heard about this one right nby now.

spirit airlines is becoming one of the most hated companies in america after denying a terminally ill war veteran a refund. >> turns out it isn't the first major blemish. ainsley earhardt has more shocking details. >> good morning to you. it might not come as a surprise. spirit airlines leading all u.s. carriers in the number of passenger complaints. what might surprise you is how the airline's president and ceo, here's his picture. this is vin valdanza. this is how he feels about his company. he is a princeton graduate nearly 3 decades of experience in the airline biz. the customer is always right mentality is not sinking in. an example an e-mail he sent in response to a complaint from a passenger. he says:

>> unfortunately for this guy baldanza after he accidentally hit reply all button. the response was even sent to the customer he was talking about. spirit is in the midst of another pr nightmare as you know after refusing to give jerry meacon a refund for a ticket. he told them he was too sick to fly and spirit would not give him his money back. as a result many across the country, many of you watching this morning boycotting spirit air now. fox and friends report tells us what your support means to him. >> the publicity i am receiving and the people who are personally telephoning me and e-mailed et cetera has restored my faith in america.

a lot of good people out there. >> in the hours after he was on our show yesterday the official boycott spirit airlines facebook page received more than 10,000 likes. the call for a boycott is still growing at this point. it appears they don't seem to care about the company's reputation because he has just announced a new $100 fee if you carry-on baggage on to the plane. that brings us to our brew on this question of the day. do you plan on boycotting spirit. >> wow, 100 bucks. >> good grief. >> that leads us to our question of the day. are you planning, or perhaps you are already, boycotting spirit airlines. >> tweet them to us at fox friends first or e-mail us at friendsfirst@foxnews.com. you can vote on this on our facebook page. that address has changed just a little bit.

it's facebook.com/foxfriendsfirst. we will read them for you a little bit later in the show. >> just about 5:40 now. >> your first degree weather with janice dean. >> hi lovely heathers. that's what i am going to call you this morning. let's start off in the northwest as the new storm system moves in. we have potential for sever weather across the midwest again today. large hail damaging winds even isolated tornadoes also seeing unsettled weather across the gulf coast. the good news is we need the rain that is looking nice with the flowers coming out. we are looking fore regard to the threat of severe weather up toward the midwest and the great lakes. this kind of doesn't budge as we head into tomorrow. the threat for large hail, damaging winds even isolated tornadoes again across texas,

the midwest and even across the northeast including dc. >> back to you lovely heathers. >> we need the rain for our gardens. >> holly cavanaugh cementing her place in "american idol" last night. ♪ >> sounded pretty good. the 18-year-old getting some of the highest praises from the judges last night. joshua ledet impressed with the version of the song "love somebody." see if they love him enough during the results show tonight. >> actress rose sar yo dawson is weighing in on mitt romney's prospect and his appeal with the latino voters. >> it will be exciting for

people to talk about him. what that meant for him as an immigrant part of an immigrant family story. obviously obama has a lot of deportation in his administration. that will be another thing people are going to have to pay attention to. i think the republican party as well has done a lot kind of really shut down the latino vote and talking about immigration in such a negative way during the campaign process, not necessarily himself. i think they have to do a lot to bring people on back not necessarily for him. i think he will draw a lot of people in, but i think the republican party has pushed away the latino vote. >> she has a lot to say indeed. she is the co founder of vote latino. she won't campaign for president obama or romney because her organization she says is nonpartisan. >> looks like puppy love for miley cyrus. she reportedly found this dog inside a box in a wal-mart parking lot.

miley naming the dog happy. she is pampering the pooch like royalty. here she is with him at the beauty salon of course. got to take the dog with you. >> it is 41 after the top of the hour. coming up the american dream becoming a nightmare. the list is out of the worst cities for doing business. >> then part 3 of our running with romney series. this is such a fascinating look. this morning we will take a look at wisconsin congressman and budget committee paul ryan, this is something bret baier is doing all week long. take a look. with the spark miles card from capital one,

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>> running with romney. we take a close look at the republicans who may be rom niece running mate. congressman and house committee chairman paul ryan. >> the next president of the united states, ladies and gentlemen, mitt romney. >> hearing top democrats talk about paul ryan's budget that has already passed the republican house, you might think mitt romney has already chosen him to be on the ticket. >> the romney ryan budget. >> the romney ryan budget. >> governor romney hasn't exactly shied away from the romney ryan budget plan. it's an excellent piece of work and very much needed. >> this is a person who led a clear path for our party and our nation. >> romney is not just handing out compliments. many analysts say he is making a decision by openly talking the ryan plan that is clearly seen giem kratz as a fruitful line of attack for them in the fall.

>> you campaigned with mitt romney in wisconsin, spent a number of days on the trail with him. he embraced your budget. is that a full embrace? >> i don't expect people to embrace every decimal point or spread sheet item but clearly he embraced the kind of reforms that are necessary. >> when you hear you are on a short list for mitt romney, what goes through your mind? >> i am pretty busy doing my job. i hear that okay. if they ask me to consider it then i will consider it. that's month away from that kind of decision being made as far as i know. i like my job. i think i can make a big difference doing what i am doing. we have a fiscal crisis on our horizon. i feel i have played a constructive role in trying to prevent that from happening. >> from marketing consultant to poll cad aid to speech writer for vice presidential nominee jack kemp. he was congressman of

wisconsin's first district when he was 28 years old. then house republican leaders realized ryan was a budget whiz. they moved him up the seniority line quickly vaulting him over 12 more senior republicans on the budget committee. >> the committee will come to order. at the age of 41 he became the youngest chairman of the house budget committee. >> he gets back to wisconsin and family as much as he can often rushing straight to the airport to get home to his wife janna and three children. >> if there's something that people don't know about you, what is it? >> probably a lot of things they don't know about me. i am a dad, i am a husband. i like to hunt and fish. i am a big outdoors man. most of all i just like playing with my kids. >> it's not all about budgets? >> no. not when i am home on the weekend. i have to budget on the weekend, too. >> you get home. >> this is my office. i don't have a place out here in dc. i am here 4 days a week i walk

in keep my truck in drive home just like a dad. >> just like a dad playing with his kids on the weekend. >> you can see the complete interview at foxnews.com/special report. >> it will be interesting to see who he chooses. the time is now 48 after the hour. oh, now 49. go west young man. >> we are going to give you a last chance to answer the question of the day. do you plan to boycott spirit airlines? we will read your e-mails and tweets coming up next. first let's check in with brian kilmeade to see what's coming up on fox and friends. >> we have a lot going on today. i am not ready yet. i am working out a couple of things. you will meet the woman who is trying to get her home back after she was con -- evicted. bob mackey will be here. we have grills and alicia's testimony.

she will be live on the balance beam outside. maybe i will hop on that, too. all next on fox and friends. there you go. [ male announcer ] the inspiring story of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're left with more electric trucks. more recycled shipping materials... and a growing number of lower emissions planes... which still makes for a pretty enchanted tale. ♪ la la la [ man ] whoops, forgot one... [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter.

>> the list is in the best and worst states to do business in. where does your state raip rank? >> hi heathers. chief executive magazine released the annual ranking for business friendly states. looks like not much has changed for the 8th straight year now texas is still the best state for business and california is still the worst. each year the magazine asks hundreds of ceo's the best states in which they do businesses with taxes, regulations quality of work force and the business

environment. texas ngot high marks for the business friendly tax and regulatory environment while the chief executive web site says california appears to quote slip into the deeper ninth circle of business hell due to increasingly excessive state taxes and stringent regulations. sadly new york didn't rank much better coming in 5th in front of california. it has a high unemployment and leave new york to work in other states. rounding out the top 5, florida, north carolina, tennessee and indiana. >> north carolina my home state. >> not a bad idea. 54 minutes after the hour. earlier in the show we asked you to brew on this. there is a big call to boycott spirit airlines. it has really taken off after the airline refused to refund the ticket of a terminally ill u.s. veteran. will you boycott spirit airlines? >> robin e-mailed us from

oklahoma. she said this: >> we have a new facebook poll out and whopping 80 percent of you said yes you would boy scco the airlines. thank you to everyone who responded. it is five minutes before the hour. her job is to set a good example for students. apparently this teacher missed the memo. coming up next a principal accused of ordering t-shirts to help their students cheat? we will tell you about that. >> no cheating on this your word of the day all scrambled up. can you figure out what it is? stick around we will have the answer for you.

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>> 2 minutes before the hour.

time for a look at the good, the bad and the ugly. first the good this morning. grandma getting the best 76th birthday present ever. a surprise return from her sailor grandson. he decided to sneak? the family photo after he was away for eight months on the u.s.s. john c. senna. a u.s. principal accused of forcing teachers to help students cheat on state exams. they are investigating a teacher after several teachers at her junior high school saying they made her give answers beforehand. the ugly. the passenger who filmed the bird strike at j.f.k. airport saying he's being targeted at the f.a.a. because he made the feds look bad. the f.a.a. slapping him with an official letter saying he took the video illegally because his ipad should have been turned off during takeoff. interesting. it is time to get you all scrambled up.