>> brian: the friday concert summer series continues tomorrow. >> juliet: lady antebellum. good working with you. after the show show. good work with you. >> peter: more cars. >> brian: see you. martha: thanks very much, you guys. a fox news alert to kick things off. brand new jobs report number that came in 30 minutes ago. it was a little bit better than expected. first time unemployment claims dropped to 74,000 last week. that is the best level since mid-may. good moing everybody. i'm martha maccallum. welcome to "america's newsroom.". >> nice to be with you, martha. i'm rick folbaum in for bill hemmer today a lot of economists say that

unemployment will be above 6% for the next four years. martha: joining me is charles payne. >> food morning. martha: what is your take on the number. >> the initial jobless claims number is disheartening after this point in post-recession recovery. we would love to see the numbers at the lower end of00,000. the -- 300,000. tomorrow is the big number. it is another major disappointment. martha: tell me about the predictions of economist that is the number will be in the 6% or above range for quite some time. >> reporter: i don't disagree it could be in that range, martha if we continue with policies we have in place right now. corporations are sitting on $2 trillion. banks have a trillion. households have pared down their debt. the economy is like a powder keg. it needs to be set off. instead it is hiding in a bunker. it is conceivable it could

be at 6:00 percent which would be very disappointing. already this is the worst post-recession recovery in the history of this country. the president will go to re-election with the highest unemployment number of any post-war president but i disagree with economists who say it has to be this way or will be this way no matter who is the president because i think there is a tremendous amount of built-in opportunity in this country that is pent up that could be released. >> there is just about four more chances i guess for the monthly unemployment number to weigh in in this presidential election cycle. we have got one of those coming up tomorrow morning. what do you expect then? >> reporter: it is interesting, not too long ago this morning adp, which is the largest company that does payroll, they did a survey. came in 175, 176,000. wall street was like whoa, that is amazing. we were looking for 95,000. a lot of people will sharpen their pencil. you will get a number, 110, 120,000.

extraordinarily disappointing. we should be 350,000 a month to whittle down the unemployment number so we can get it to the woeful 6% number. martha: to put it in context what charles was talking about look at this chart. here is where we are today. 374,000 in the weekly jobless claims number. that is the first time we've seen it dip below 375 in the last six weeks. the peak is 659,000. let's bring on the yellow line. this shows you where you need to be if you're in a healthy economy. keep in number these numbers are often revised. habit or routine i should say the last several months they get revised higher this week. the number sitting at 374,000. that is what we've got in the mix. we'll see where the big number comes in tomorrow morning. rick? rick: we continue to keep an eye on unemployment situation. right now 23.2 million americans are either unemployed or underemployed.

that means working part time or at a job well below their skill level. 5.8 million people currently collecting unemployment benefits. the average number of weeks of unemployment? 40 weeks. that is almost an entire year. so for that reason and others the economy expected to be the focus of the president's very first campaign bus tour of the 2012 election season. the president meeting with voters in two key battleground states today and tomorrow, stops first in ohio, then in pennsylvania. wendell goler is live at the white house. so these are two big states when it comes to winning the presidency in november. do we know exactly why the president has chosen these two specifically, wendell? >> reporter: rick, no republican won the white house without taking ohio. so the obama campaign considers that state a firewall for the president's re-election. polls put him ahead both in ohio and pennsylvania. both states are also prime

territory for his push to rebuild u.s. manufacturing. the campaign is calling this betting on america bus tour. it is a safe bet the president will showcase the auto industry bailout which mitt romney opposed. the industry ad ad quarter of a million jobs since the bailout in 2009. he celebrated fourth with servicemen and women with a picnic on the south lawn and naturalization ceremony for 25 members of the armed services for 17 different countries who sacrificed for the country even before becoming americans. it is a brief respite from campaigning but today he is at it at full-speed. the president is expected to announce an unfair trade complaint against china because of illegal american duties against suv. china coincidentally, is china's third largest export market. rick: wendell, is governor mitt romney responding to the president's bus tour the next couple days?

>> reporter: romney is continuing a week long vacation in new hampshire. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty and governor bobby jindal of louisiana will make a bus tour ahead of the governor romney in parma, ohio. both are talked about as vie presidential candidates. pawlenty said you shouldn't bet against america but america shouldn't double down on barack obama. romney and family led a parade through worms borrow, new hampshire yesterday. both he and the president will look to tomorrow's monthly jobs report. mr. obama a bit more anxiously since last month's job creation was half of what economists expected. rick? rick: wendell goler at the white house. thanks. the president is expected to hammer governor romney saying he outsourced americans jobs when he was working in the private sector. coming up next steve forbes will weigh in on this.

martha: we'll hear what he has to say about that this morning. back to governor mitt romney right now who is speaking out on president obama's health care law for the first time in an interview. he called the requirement that all americans buy health insurance and be fined if they don't, a tax. and contradicted a position that was staked out by his campaign just days earlier. >> the supreme court has spoken and while i agreed with the dissent, that is taken over by the fact that the majority of the court said it's a tax and therefore it is a tax. they have spoken. there is no way around that. you can try say you wish they decided a different way but they didn't. they concluded it was a tax. that is what it is. the american people know that president obama has broken the pledge he made. he said he wouldn't raise taxes on middle income americans. martha: all right. molly henneberg reporting on this development in the political sphere this morning from washington. hi, molly. >> reporter: hi, martha. martha: talk to me a little bit the reaction to all

this. >> reporter: well, does this put romney in a difficult position because the of the massachusetts health care mandate? that massachusetts mandate requires people who don't have health insurance to pay some money. is it a tax? is it a penalty? governor romney referred to the supreme court majority decision on a state level it is not a tax. the chief justice in his opinion made it clear state level, states have to put in mandates. don't need to be required them to be taxes in order for them to be constitutional. as a result the massachusetts mandate was a penalty was described that way by the state legislature and by me. but on the federal level in the president's health care law, romney says the justices decided that the mandate is a tax and that's where he leaves it. martha? martha: very interesting, especially given the fact that some from his campaign referred to it as a penalty earlier in the week. >> reporter: well the romney

campaign said the governor's comments are in line with what the campaign was saying earlier this week. for example, senior advisor and spokesman eric finnstrom said romney quote, dig agrees with the court ruling that the campaign was a tax. finnstrom was making the point romney was disagreeing with the ruling but must go alongwith the court's ruling it is a tax. the obama team was quick to pounce. first he threw his top aide under the bus by changing his campaign's position. second he contradicted himself saying his own massachusetts mandate wasn't a tax. romney called the individual mandate he implemented in massachusetts a tax many times before. glad we cleared all that up. the romney campaign responds pointing to a "washington examiner" editorial, the obama plan contains $813 billion in taxes. martha: penalty, tax, you

can picture people's heads spinning around as we go through all this. molly, thank you very much. >> reporter: thanks, martha. rick: there are still an awful lot of people, tens of thousands still suffering through the brutal northeast heat wave without any power. in the washington, d.c. area almost 90,000 people waited forge relief. tomorrow makes one week since the storm swept through the region. add to the suffering people are dealing with another dangerous problem, theft. >> thieves are targeting the area because they know alarm civils are down. a neighbor had a car stolen out of their driveway. pepco said the tree was over these lines. we can't do anything about this because we need certifications these lines are not live. well they could have, at sent in an electrical crew with them to coordinate the effort. rick: still a lot of safety

issues and concerns on the ground there. a number of public schools where summer school session is in place remain closed in that area. no word on when kids will be allowed to go back to class. martha: so an investigation is underway right now after a metro train broke down near the college park, maryland, station. the train lost power tuesday night in that hot weather. some passengers climbed out. they jumped onto the tracks and walked to the station. that could be a very dangerous move. and metro is warning passengers that no matter what is going on, they should never walk back on the tracks. but you can see what they were going through and trying to figure out a desperate sort of situation how to deal with it. rick: be safe everybody. those are just a few of the stories we're following for you on "america's newsroom." coming up president obama and governor mitt romney fighting for support in four do-or-die swing states. so which states are now in the spotlight? martha: a deadly 4th of july

when a yacht capsizes with nearly 30 people on board. we have a live update on that situation. that is coming up straight ahead. rick: a story everybody is talking about. a lifeguard saving a drowning man's life and getting fired for it. then a couple of his coworkers who supported him suffered the same fate. we'll talk to some of them all about it. >> it was like, see someone and i have the ability to help them i'm going to go help them. i'm not going to worry about jurisdiction or any other nonsense.

rick: new developments in the case of a jetblue pilot who forced an emergency landing. >> oh, my god. [shouting] >> we've got israel. rick: you remember that story back in march. the pilot running through the cabin screaming about religion and al qaeda. the judge has ordered a the man to a mental health facility. he will be evaluated and will be determined if he should be released or still committed. jetblue said he is still employed but his status is still inactive. martha: all right. back to presidential politics right now. president obama kicking off his first 2012 campaign bus tour today. he is heading to ohio's battleground this morning. the buckeye state of course is one of four key swing states. a lot of people have different, there are 12 on list. there are four on this particular list we're talking about this morning. they will be crucial no

doubt, these four states for president obama and for governor mitt romney as they head into november. ohio has 18 electoral votes. florida is the big ticket. it has 29. virginia has 13. nevada has six. that brings us to a grand total of 66 electoral votes decided in these states. president obama took all four of these states back in 2008. steve hayes joins me now, senior writer at "the weekly standard" and a fox news contributor. good morning, steve. good to see you. >> good morning, martha. martha: it is interesting, all four of these states as i said elected president obama last time around but all four now have republican positives ha have been elected to them in the interim. that lays out the conflict going on in these states. >> you're seeing it has been an interesting thing to watch over the past several months as unemployment rates in some of these states have come down. you have governors out there wanting to tout their accomplishments, at least in terms of unemployment and jobs numbers.

on the other hand you have mitt romney talking about overall the negative trend of the u.s. economy there's beef tension between these republican governors in some respects and governor romney as he runs his campaign. martha: you look at nevada which has the highest unemployment rate in the country, over 11%. as you point out in these states it has been sort of coming down. so that opens the door for president obama and karen tumulty who wrote the piece, she had quotes from interviews with people in all the states. they were on the fence, the people she spoke to, whose plan would be better for them. that it what is comes down to articulating a vision for a second term for president obama or what a president romney would actually do that would be different? >> yeah. i think that's exactly right. and one of the most interesting things in this karen tumulty piece in "washington post" having to do with running on big issues and big ideas. her interview suggested

people are looking at the economy and looking more broadly at the direction of country. what kind of america will we live in after the 2012 elections. this is one where the things we've heard republicans increasingly vocal about with the way mitt romney is running his campaign. governor romney said this morning as long as i'm talking about the economy i'm going to win. i think there is a growing sense among republicans in congress who i talked to and conservative observers that may not be enough. that this needs to be a bigger election about bigger issues that the economy is certainly at the center of that issue set but it can't be the only issue and you can't fold all of the other issues underneath the economy just because that is the issue that voters cite when they answer pollsters. martha: of course for the economy everybody views it through their own prism and their situation in the world. that also kind of jumps out at you if you read the piece this morning. if you're a hispanic voter, which there are large numbers in nevada and

increasingly out in the west, a couple people brought up the president's stance on immigration. and they, you know, that seems to be working well for him in some of these areas. it is something that perhaps there is some pressure on governor romney to sort of articulate his feelings on more clearly. >> i think you're hearing from some voters they want to see what governor romney stands for. it is not enough to just, oppose what president obama has done but they want to see him offer some policies on immigration, on some of these other issues that have a bit more detail. to be fair to governor romney, a lot of that comes in the fall months when people are frankly paying more close attention to these races. they happen after labor day and candidates, issue policy papers as they head into debates and things of that nature. i think you're starting to hear again, more people not just inside the beltway, but outside wanting to learn more what governor romney is actually going to do if he wins in november. martha: all right.

steve, thank you very much. steve hayes from d.c. >> anytime. martha: we'll see you soon. rick: as you've been hearing the 2012 race is shaping up to be a real nail-biter yet both candidates appear to play it pretty cautious at this point. is it time for the president and governor romney to go bold or go home? we'll ask a former presidential candidate who has a lot of his own big ideas. martha: plus a big disappointment at the fireworks show. this is an incredible story. i'm still wondering how this managed to happen. we'll tell you what it was, the shortest fireworks show in history, folks, when we come back.

martha: let's get to the some of what is developing now in "america's newsroom." we have new information on

the deadly air france plane that disappeared and crashed into the atlantic in 2009. the investigation reportedly determined that human error and technical malfunctions caused that plane to go down killing 228 people. more details on that later. tens of thousands of us may lose our internet service monday unless you check your computer's malware. if you do lose service you need to contact your internet service provider for help deleting the malware. the judge in the george zimmerman and trayvon martin story is expected to rule today on whether to release zimmerman from jail as he awaits that trial. you may remember he was put back in jail over discrepancies concerning his finances. keep an eye on that one. rick: hard to believe it was a year ago today when a jury in florida handed down a bombshell verdict, acquitting casey anthony in the death of her 2-year-old daughter

kaley. -- caylee. since then she has kept a low profile. circumstances surrounding her death remain a mystery. phil keating live in the miami bureau. much like during the trial last summer, the lead attorney for casey anthony jose baez, continues to point his pen at casey's father george, right? >> reporter: absolutely does. in his new book, presumed guilty, the inside story he provides more weight of the incest accusations of george anthony by casey anthony. he also divulges what casey anthony told him about her theory how her daughter caylee may have actually died. suggesting that her father george may have intentionally drowned her to cover up his belief he may be her grandfather as well as her father. here is baez's stunning opening statement last year. >> casey was raised to lie. this child, at 8 years old learned to lie immediately.

she could be 13 years old, have her father's [bleep] in her mouth and go to school and play with the other kids as if nothing ever happened. >> reporter: in the book baez writes leading up to the trial he and co-counsel, cheney mason, finally questioned george anthony directly. quote, casey shade she has been sexually abused by you, george, i said. george 40 seconds with his head bowed. he didn't say a word. we certainly noted he didn't deny it. cheney and i looked in wonderment. oh, my god is what george slapped said. what else did she say? after he left did you hear him deny the sexual abuse? no, he said. i didn't. george anthony has always insisted that he never molested his daughter, even testifying to that on the stand last summer through his attorney, they are providing no comment, the anthony family, regarding jose baez's new book.

rick: pretty explosive stuff. what about casey anthony? what does baez say about her? she remains pretty much in hiding? >> reporter: baez doesn't communicate with her regularly anymore. he only writes about his involvement in the trial. she does remain in hiding reportedly living in the west palm beach area serving her check fraud probation which ends in five weeks. she remains one of the most hated women in america according to polling and that still disturbs jose baez. >> i'm concerned when a person is found not guilty in a court of law and justice is serve and and not respected. i'm powerless to sit back and how all this happened. if injustice can happen to casey anthony it can happen to anyone. >> reporter: essentially she remains in hiding unemployed and her other attorney, cheney mason doesn't think she will ever get a job because in his words, who will hire her now?

rick: phil keating in miami. phil, thanks. martha: there are new developments this morning just into "america's newsroom" on this deadly 4th of july boat crash. this is a heart-breaking, heart-breaking story. police just released details who died in this horrible capsized incident. we are live from the scene. that's coming up. rick: we'll go back and talk more about politics. the president launching his very first bus tour of the campaign but what is expected to be his strongest attack yet on governor mitt romney. steve forbes joins us live next to weigh in. a party? [ music plays, record skips ] hi, i'm new ensure clear. clear, huh? my nutritional standards are high. i'm not juice or fancy water, i'm different.

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martha: absolutely tragic story now. a police news conference has just ended on the

investigation following a deadly tragic boat accident. 27 people were out watching fireworks off of the long island sound on this boat and police have just revealed that the three who died in this accident were young children who were on that boat. robert moses with our new york fox affiliate, wnyw, is live on this story in oyster bay, new york. what a tragedy this is, robert. >> reporter: martha, it sure is. good moing to you and good morning everyone. we her reports all throughout the morning there were children on board this vessel and unfortunately our worst fears have been confirmed by police this morning. they tell us a 12-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl all died aboard the vessel when it capsized. we're talking about a 34 foot boat that capsized shortly after 10:00 last night with 27 people on board. 24 people managed to survive. these three victims

unfortunately were uncovered in the cabin of this boat. this was a very difficult recovery effort. this boat was shifting constantly. so that made things very tough for divers as they moved through this recovery effort. as we speak right now, the boat is now sitting in 60 to 70 feet of water. police are hoping at some point to bring it to the surface. unclear exactly when that is going to happen. the boat had been on the water watching a fireworks show last night. police are investigating what exactly caused it to capsize. >> we are currently researching the cause to this boat to sink. we're looking at several avenues. one of which would be overcrowding on the boat. there was 27 people on this boat. that was a combination of adults and children. three of those 27 he have people, the dirn, are desees. they are 12, 11 and 8 years

old. >> reporter: that is the most tragic part of this story. three children confirmed dead in the capsized boat. we learned from police this morning, at this stage drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor but the investigation into what caused this boat to capsize is just beginning. that is the latest live from oyster bay, this morning. robert moses, fox news. martha, back to you. martha: robert, what a horribly sad story on this 4th of july. you can imagine what those families are going through today. our hearts go out to them. thank you, robert. rick: let's switch gears now and go back to politics. and the president as we've been telling you this morning on the road kicking off a two-day bus tour in the battleground states of pennsylvania and ohio. the president is expected to go after governor mitt romney on this tour, saying he is a ruthless ceo who as president would outsource american jobs. joining us steve forbes,

chairman and editor-in-chief of forbes media. thank you for being here, steve. the president's campaign is calling this betting on america bus tour. i guess the implication is mitt romney would bet against america? >> that is nice thing to try to do when you have a record the president has on the economy which is one ofrst in a. but the bottom line if romney responds with a reaganesque program which i think he will in terms of getting the economy again like simplifying the tax code i don't think those charges will have much resonance. unemployment has not done well under president obama. if this is betting on america, what he has done in the last 3 1/2 years, i think the romney camp will have good fun with it. it will not work at the end of the day. rick: couple articles in the mainstream press and "washington post" on the governor's days at bain and now that this week, "vanity fair" talking about his offshore accounts. fair or not, how effective do you think a lot of attacks along these lines might be for the president

to keep mentioning these things to voters? >> well that's the only thing they have. they see them harry truman 1948 or franklin roosevelt in 1936 talking about plutocrats and uncaring people and the like. what the american people are looking for from romney, governor romney, does he have principles and programs to get this country moving again? and he has got some interesting proposals on taxes, on positive reforms of things like social security, medicare. at the end of the day that is what people will be looking at. who has got the better stuff on the table. attacking romney's past where he has created more jobs than he destroyed. saved companies. sometimes you have to downsize companies to save them, he can defend capitalism. he can defend free markets. if he does he will win. rick: this is something that resonates i think with a lot of americans who are out of work, perhaps to hear these kinds of reports about, about the former

massachusetts's governor's personal wealth and "vanity fair" piece talks about offshore accounts. the tax returns for the governor and his family, he has produced the last couple of years but he certainly got hammered pretty hard by newt gingrich and rick perry during the primary season to release more. now the obama campaign is saying the same thing, that if he doesn't release tax returns dating back further, a number of years back, that this is going to continue to be a problem. what do you think? should he release more of this information? >> well i think he has got to probably have to end up releasing more but the bottom line is, he will have to go on offense and talk about the positive things he is putting out there to get the economy back on its feet again. and so you don't respond directly to what obama is saying. he can defend his record and he has got to learn, started to do it in the primary he is in wisconsin. what is essence of free markets freedom and free

enterprise and this is what we need to get america moving. this kind of thing trying to appeal to envy. trying to say the man is successful therefore he is suspect. no, he understands what make this is economy work. he has to demonstrate, romney has to demonstrate that he understands how he can get the typical american back to work. and, i think he will be able to do it. right now we're sort of in a pause in the campaign but in the next few weeks, this thing obviously will heat up. and envy does not work in american politics. rick: as someone with an admirable degree of personal wealth yourself who has run for president, you have given some advice to governor mitt romney here but, more specifics, what do you think the governor has to come out and how specific do you think he needs to get in talking about his own plans for the economy? >> oh, he has to get more specific. he has got tax proposals such as reducing tax rates across the board. he has to dust off some reaganesque rhetoric from the past on how this is a way enabling people to get back on their feet. because, after all, when you

remove burdens on the american people they move ahead. this president piled on new taxes, new regulations, massive binge spending. where do resources come from that spending? comes from people borrowing taxes or printing money which is another form of taxation. he has to hit hard on that. he has the beginnings of good tax proposal. he has good ideas from paul ryan, congressman of wisconsin on things like medicare and social security. he has to flesh those out. if he does so in the way that reagan did 32 years ago, romney will win and win convincingly. rick: steve forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of forbes media. we've been told, steve, to expect the nastiest presidential campaign in history. it might begin on this two-day bus tour the president is embarking on. steve, thanks so much. >> thank you. martha: after talking to steve forbes let's take a look at the markets shall we and see how they are trading after this day after the 4th of july. investors reacting to this morning's jobs report.

market reacting to today's jobs report. we'll keep an eye on them throughout the show. very light trading during the course of this week. not a whole lot of action on wall street. rick: we'll keep watching for you, have you noticed, perhaps you have, it is pretty hot out there. martha: hard to avoid. rick: hard to avoid is right. some places, look at the map there, could reach almost 120 degrees. we'll tell you where the heat is forcing some summer schools to close. martha: and some saying that it has been a fairly cautious campaign on both sides so far. so is it time for the president and or governor romney to go bold? former presidential candidate herman cain weighs in on that. he has got some advice. we'll be right back. my new hearing aids

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in noisy restaurants are easy. not an aarp member? join today. and then take advantage of the aarp hearing care program provided by hearusa. call hearusa ... and reconnect with your world today. rick: a crucial lifeline for our troops in afghanistan has just reopened. pakistan allowing nato supply trucks to travel through the country and on to afghanistan. it is the first time they have been able to do that in seven months. pakistan had shut down the supply routes in retail retaliation for a airstrike that killed 24 pakistani troops. they decided to let the trucks through after secretary of state hillary clinton said she was sorry for the deaths. martha: we are getting so much closer to the election. we're now four months away until americans go to the polls. the race for the white house

is shaping up to be a very close one. it continues to be very neck-and-neck. hear is the "real clear politics" average of several of the most prominent polls out there. you can see what it looks like. president obama leads governor mitt romney by about three percentage points there. very close to the margin of error. now political analysts are saying both candidates are being very cautious, sort of in the way they're treading through this campaign, not taking any big chances, really bold stances on controversial issues. kind of playing it safe according to some. herman cain is the man is does not play it safe. a former republican candidate and former ceo of godfather's pizza. good to have you here this morning. >> thanks, martha. as you know i was accused being too bold too often. martha: when you look back at the course of the campaign some might say it wasn't a great move in the end but now that is exactly what some people are calling for, a little bit more of that spirit that perhaps you

had out there, for mitt romney. what do you think? >> well the people are still saying that they like my boldness but it was also clear and i think one of the things that's happening now between president obama and governor romney is that not enough things are clear because of all of the noise from all of the different topics that are talked about in the narrative every day. i happen to believe that governor romney's big play is one word, replace. replace the tax code. that is a word that, those words will not come out of president obama's mouth. he is going to raise taxes and if governor romney starts talking about the narrative of replace the tax code, that would be huge. and a game-changer. martha: you know, that is one of the big questions that people will be sort of looking towards in terms of the specifics, what would he do. how exactly would he change the tax code. >> yes. martha: and a lot of folks

are looking at the debates as sort of a pivotal moment in this campaign and, in this, you know as we go through this, monthly jobs numbers. we have a big number out tomorrow. as you look at the next four months, what do you sort of see as the turning points, the pivots, the moments that will make-or-break this campaign for either side? >> i think the debates will be important because, i believe that governor romney is going to have a decided advantage. and i think the debates will be big advantage for governor romney. martha: why do you think so? >> because, president obama does not have any depth of understanding of any of the issues. that is where governor romney has a big advantage. all you have to do is look at some of the rhetoric that the president has been saying, much of it has been incorrect or wrong but yet he didn't ask the right questions and push back in order to make sure he was saying things that were actually true. i also happen to believe the

continued jobs report will be one of the biggest issues that is going to impact people's decisions. a lot of people, particularly independents, aren't going to start to make their minds up until we get closer to the election. martha: looks like a lot of americans, i was sitting around at a barbecue last evening talking to some friend and it invariably comes up who will the vice-presidential choice be. >> yes. martha: will governor romney, excuse me, will he pick somebody southern of soon as more safe or kind of logical or will he pick somebody who is bolder? you know, say a rubio or christie type candidate? what do you think he will do and what do you think he should do? >> well, i would pick, i wouldn't pick the typical political vice-presidential candidate. i think that he should pick someone that is going to inject a certain level of excitement. i don't mean somebody off the wall or someone that is so far out there that it turns people off. but i think he should add someone that is not afraid

to be bold, to compliment, maybe his cautiousness at times. in terms of the process he has a very deliberate process he is going through which i do respect because as you know, the vice president is only one heartbeat away from the presidency. i do respect the process governor romney is going through. martha: would you like to put names out there of people he should consider? maybe you're on that list yourself? >> i don't think i'm on that list. the last time i met with governor romney i said, i'm not asking for anything. i'm not looking for anything, except for you to win. and that's why i have been focusing on the fall tour that i'm going to be doing in september and object with bernie marcus to try to get out the youth vote. to try to impact people of faith, as well as a lot of independents that really want to hear the truth. that is why we're calling it the truth tour. this is how i'm trying to help governor romney. i'm not looking forward to be on the list.

the last time i threw out some names i got in all kind of trouble. martha: you want to get in trouble again this morning? >> no. the only trouble i want this morning for caintv.com to have so many people looking at it, we have change our server. caintv.com which i launched yesterday. i invite people to look at that. martha: your twitter handle i looked up at the herman cain. there is only one herman cain out there. thank you very much. >> thank you, martha. it's been my pleasure. martha: take care. rick: being a true diplomat. not wanting to give himself in trouble. coming up a fireworks fiasco in a major city. talk about a letdown? this spectacular display lasted only seconds. martha: strong new words from iran what it is capable of with regard to american bases in the middle east. this is a frightening development. we'll be right back with more on that.

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martha: how about this one last night? there was a big fireworks failure that in san diego. look at this. gosh. whoa.

you could hear people go whoa. wow, is the whole thing going to be like that? that is unbelievable. but that was the whole thing. a technical glitch caused all the pyrotechnics to happen simultaneously. it turned an 18-minute show, can you imagine the people who worked so hard on the show to find it was over in 15 seconds. it was supposed to be the largest show in the country. and it might have been but it was also the quickest show in the country. event organizers say all the preshow testing went off without a hitch. now they're investigating what the heck went wrong. i love the people were like, wow! whoa. was that it? rick: what about those parents with young kids who kept their kids up late for the fireworks. martha: okay, kids. it's over. let's go home. we're all done. rick: speaking of kids, school may be out for the summer but there is a controversy over lunches being served this summer. claudia cowan live in

san francisco. hi, claudia. >> reporter: hi, rick, that's right. every summer across the country more than three million children eat for free at more than 30,000 sites from schools to rec centers to libraries. it is a valuable resource for families who are struggling and critics say a night's freebie for those who are not. >> you want a burger or sandwich? >> reporter: this cafe is funded by the u.s. department of agriculture. in areas where at least half the children qualify for free lunches during the school year. come summer, anyone 18 and younger can pull up a chair to uncle sam's table. >> there is no income requirements. no enrollment. all people in that community in age range can eat for free. >> reporter: alongwith fruit, milk and crackers, these summer lunches come with a side of controversy. taxpayer watchdogs groups say most americans are fine helping children truly in need. >> however someone coming from a family that makes a quarter million of dollars a

year and they're not checking eligibility coming through the day, most people wonder if i'm paying for this. >> can i help you open your milk? >> reporter: organizers wonder that if a summer full of good meals will do better in the fall. they make sure the adults don't mooch. those rules don't go far enough if the critics think one come one all will have taxpayers feeding every child whether they need it or not. rick? rick: claudia cowan in san francisco. martha: it is an unrelenting heat wave affecting much of our country. are we getting relief? look at triple digit numbers. relief may be on the way. we'll tell you when. rick: 105. several lifeguards in florida reportedly out of a job because they supported one of their coworkers decision to go save someone's life. two of them will join us live. >> it was like, see someone and i have the ability to

help them i'm going to help them. i'm not going to worry about jurisdiction or any other nonsense

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of iran this morning. glad to have you with us i am martha maccallum it. rick: and i am rick folbaum. we continue to watch iran's military test firing missiles that are capable of hitting american bases and targets in israel. iran is also threatening to block a vital waterway that is used to ship about one fifth of the earls content world water supply. martha: the u.s. is already deploying more forces to the region to prepare for a potential military conflict. leland vittert is live in jerusalem. what can you tell us about today's test, and what is new new here? >> what is interesting about this is the iranians are beginning to not only threaten israel, but also the united states and the world economically. that is where this latest video is designed to show.

they are hitting targets in the gulf, which then say very clearly that the threat is that those could be oil tankers, which we will see oil going sky high. it also could be u.s. warships that they could be targeting. there are also minesweepers inside the persian gulf to try to clear out any iranian mines that might be placed in a straight were one fifth of the world's oil goes through. there is precedence within the united states that they have provided armed military escort to oil tankers in the past when they were they were threatened. august we don't take things a whole new level here. we are still unclear are they simply trying to raise the price -- what are they trying to get out of this? or are these men actually real threats? are they continuing their nuclear program and trying to

show the world what the retaliation will look like. martha: certainly trying to push things to a different level. with all of these threats, what do we know about iran's actual ability to retaliate? >> according to the iranian revolutionary guard senior general, they can attack u.s. bases within minutes and are willing to do it. in fact they called it a good target. this is a map that shows iran's ability. that puts into range and a target in the middle east, including israel, also 100,000 u.s. troops in kuwait and afghanistan. the other thing that iran is being very quiet about that certainly people in the united states and israel and other western intelligence services are worried about is the iranians ability to use sleeper cells from the revolutionary guard to send them out to conduct attacks are beyond their ability to retaliate in terms of missile range, attacks in europe

or even the united states. martha: very important to pay attention to. leland vittert reporting from jerusalem. rick: we wanted to look into exactly how many u.s. forces are in the middle east. here is what we found. there are more than 120,000 u.s. troops and civilians within range of iran's missiles. navy fifth fleet is responsible for all nato operations in the persian gulf region. martha: a new report says that an estimated 65 iranian tankers are currently floating in the persian gulf. they are loaded with oil but nobody is willing to buy, due to all of these embargoes. the tankers are said to be stopped with 40 million barrels of crude, and floating together their in the persian gulf. iran running out of space to store this oil after being stopped for economic sanctions. there is worry that the country refuses to reduce its oil production because that they fear that it will damage the

wells. rick: live pictures now of a press briefing that is going on at the waldo fire. so many deadly and destructive wildfires hitting colorado red or than 300 homes have been destroyed. at least two people killed. light rain overnight helping to calm the flames today, bringing cooler temperatures to the area. also good. the estimated value of homes lost in the wildfires are now more than $110 million. that number will most likely go up. it is also a dark picture for prior firefighters. listen to this. >> the flames are starting to come down the job. i don't know. we might be evacuated. >> looks like they have it under control.

now we have black smoke and flames again. >> if you would've would have been here watching how it went that way, it was just amazing. i came home and she was panicked. martha: also new reports that smoke from these wildfires have now gone as far as the east coast and up to the southern part in turn portion of greenland. this map shows all the way from alaska to florida. another animation shows the large plumes of smoke drifting across much of the united states. it is easier to see on this one. protesters insist that while this may look dire, those who live in the smokeout are not likely, they say, to feel ill effects. rick: a blistering heat wave expected to bake much of the country into this weekend. today, the heat index showing triple digits.

the mid-atlantic and midwest, where the mercury is expected to rise above the 100-degree mark. >> it is so hot. we've been out here for a couple of hours. you see me right here, we need ice. >> we are having fun in the water. rick: you have to be near water in temperatures like this. steve brown is live in sunny chicago where it is already 90 degrees at 9:00 o'clock in the morning? >> it is 90 degrees, and it is probably a little cooler here than in other places here in northern illinois area but we get a lake breeze off of lake michigan. there is a possibility today that they might eclipse the all-time record, highest recorded temperature ever in chicago, 105 degrees july 24, 1934. it is possible to eclipse that mark. on roads, we see portions of roads in different sections of

the midwest buckling, just like you did with frost. that is causing problems for road crews as well. rick: we just had a map of showing the heat index of 105. this is going to stick around for a while? >> unfortunately it will do so for for the next several days. at least through saturday. here's the problem for a lot of farmers that are out there. already much of the midwest has had a brain deficit. a drought in some areas in northern indiana and missouri. if you head west to kansas through wyoming through nevada, utah -- they are seeing rainfall totals so far this year 3 inches below what the normal is right now. you can find the heat combined with lack of rainfall, you have a real problem for the agricultural industry in the midwest. the bread basket of the world. rick: something to keep an eye on and remind everyone to be safe in hot temperatures. steve brown in chicago, thank you so much.

martha: today is a big day in the disputed democratic primary of a 42 year congressional veteran in new york. no winner between congressman charles rangel and his opponent this could change last week's outcome and figure out who the winner is. laura ingle is live with the story. >> it is really just beginning. the new york city board of election will count 2000 provisional and absentee ballots this morning. we don't know how how long this will take, it could take a week or more. in supreme court on tuesday, they are asking them to weigh on

this. >> there is a period of time that the board of understanding on turn election has to report the results. but you have to give them time to do it. at the end of the results, we all should have an opportunity to analyze that. and also to determine what we have to say about anything. but you can't knock what you don't know. martha: what is this controversy all about? reporter: even though congressman rangel appeared to have one last month, and even after his opponent delivered his concession speech, he changed his tune after voter frustration started to ring in. he claims the democratic process may have failed. >> our countries have to rely on an election process and the

election system that is verifiable and transpiring and it rings in turn raises confidence of everybody. we cannot have a tight situation in your state. >> although adriano espaillat has not called for a new election, the latest filing shows the new election could be granted to justify their claims of improper voting conditions. we are keeping a close eye on us today. martha: some people saying they had been turned away from certain polling stations in that election. that raised a lot of eyebrows. thank you so much. rick: a new bombshell reported. a failed mortgage company, a company that contributed so much to the nation's foreclosure crisis, they may discount loans to some top members of congress and their staff. covers and jason jacobs will join us live.

martha: a lifeguard was fired because he left his post and went to another post to save a man's life, which he did. and now some of his fellow lifeguards are also out of a job in this whole controversy. two of them join us live next. >> it was a cost saving measure years ago to privatize our lifeguard system. we should go back to the old way. he should be one of the first guys are rehire ♪ how are things on the west coast? ♪

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martha: we are getting new details on a casino bus that went out of control and slammed into a guard rail just outside of new york city. it looks like a familiar sight from the horrific accident that we saw last year. investigators say it appears the driver had been going too fast for the wet conditions out there. the bus company has received four citations for unsafe driving over the last couple of years. this crash happened just 2 miles from the site of a tour bus collision that happened last year, and that one killed 15 people. rick: developing this morning, a lifeguard was fired for leaving his post to save a drowning man. now the company that employed him is reviewing his termination. thomas lopez, left his own on

the beach in florida after a swimmer was spotted drowning in waters nearby. his dismissal enraged his coworkers, several reportedly fired for defending his actions and saying they would do the same thing. at least two are said to have quit. here is thomas explaining what happened on fox and friends this morning. >> there was a guy yelling at me saying that the guy was drowning. i started running and i kept running until i found the person. i jumped in the water and grabbed him. i just went. i'm not going to obey such a ridiculous rule. rick: we are joined now by his two coworkers who were fired. thank you so much for joining us. were you there when this incident took place, when you're calling went and saved this guy? two know, that is the reason we went into work the next day, because everyone quit that day. rick: just so i understand and the folks understand, thomas was

at his post, the person that needed help was not swimming in front of his post, rather off to the side. how do you understand the story, travis? >> we have a zone that we watched the are supposed to watch. we are not designated to go outside of our zone. there is a sign on the beach -- a side of the beach that is unprotected. that is where the victim was at the time. rick: georgia, when you are trained to be a lifeguard, and you work not by hallandale beach, but you work for a private beach, but a private company in florida -- do they ever talk to about what would happen or what should happen if you see somebody who needs some help outside of your zone? >> yes, they put the policy into effect, and when they do that, they explained why we are not allowed to. they did say if we did not

follow the rules, we would be fired. >> you understood this going in, they really are at their own risk, the swimmers are. is there anyone on your staff or anyone that you know her work with who would not go and try to help someone who needed help? >> i honestly don't know. rick: what happened, travis? he found out about thomas and how did you get yourselves fired? travis, you first two we went to work the next day. we were both scheduled. it was like a normal day. we got asked by one of our supervisors the question that determined whether we would keep her job or not. if we would do what thomas did, leave our zone and, when he asked me to question, i said of course i would go in, and i would not let anyone drown if i had anything to do with it. if i could do anything in my power, i would do it.

he then said i was a liability to the company, and i was no longer working. rick: times are tough. people are unemployed. you knew it by saying this you were threatening your own job, too. did you have any hesitation? >> no, i did not want to work for them if this is how they viewed things. rick: i understand that the company is reviewing the situation. have they contacted either of you or want to sit down and talk and give your jobs back to you? >> we were contacted and they told us they wanted to speak to us, but we have not done so yet. rick: travis, do you plan on doing so? >> they have not tried to contact me. i'm not interested in getting my job back. i don't know, i'm just not interested. rick: well, we hope you find some work as lifeguard some place else in south florida and we appreciate you coming on and talking to us about this rate.

georgian travis, thank you and the best to you both. >> thank you. >> thank you. martha: coming up, a little bit of a shakeup from the white house. why the president's team are raising their eyebrows a bit when they heard this song. rick: plus, the failed mortgage firm countrywide. facing serious accusations of offering vip discounts. wait until you hear who is on their list. congressman jason chaffetz is spearheading the investigation and he will join us live. i'm only in my 60's...

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see one you have probably heard that song. it is by rodney atkins. causing an awkward moment while the president was visiting with service members gathered on the white house lawn. the subset of the marine corps van stuck up his song. it is one of mitt romney's walkout songs on the campaign trail take a listen. [music playing] rick: i guess both candidates like the song. it is no surprise why. it is a great song. the president and the first lady hosting the families for the fourth of july holiday.

martha: afghanistan now with the drawdown of u.s. forces is well underway at this point. here is how it is breaking down right now. nearly 100,000 troops are currently in afghanistan. roughly 30,000 are scheduled to return home by september. by next year, the forces remaining will shiffrom a combat roll into an advisory role. dominic dinatale is live from kandahar, afghanistan. how is it going, and how is it going to progress? >> a landmark moment for seven hours ago, the pakistanis open the border of afghanistan to allow nato supply convoys to come into the country. that is going to be crucial to part of the effort of the drawdown. about a handful of trucks came in with what are considered future foreign military sales. this is equipment of the afghan national forces.

everything from radios to humvees. they want to do this over seven months. after that, a crucial supply of fuel will be sent. an extraordinary response ability of the united states by keeping things going in the network. that is the priority, and that is what we are going to see come along with any nato trucks rolling through as the nato drawdown of her. martha: that is an excellent question. when will we actually see these convoys heading out? and what is the mood on the ground in terms of what kind of situation they will be leaving? >> it seems like we have a communication problem with our reporter there. it is understandable. we will get more from him a little bit later in the show.

rick: coming up, mitt romney clarifying comments he made on the supreme court psalter ruling. >> obamacare was bad policy yesterday. it is bad policy today. let me tell you why i say that. obamacare raises taxes on the american people by approximately $500 billion. rick: the governor's new response and how it could help him on the campaign trail. martha: shocking new report out that mortgage company countrywide gave some top members of congress a nice, sweet business deal. congressman jason chaffetz is investigating those reports and he is with us live. ♪

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rick: brand-new reports on countrywide this morning, making hundreds of loans to lawmakers and staff. countrpromoter of those subprims

that helped to trigger the nation's foreclosure crisis. lawmakers allegedly on their vip list, coming from both sides of the aisle. including senate budget committee chair kent conrad, house armed service committee chair but mckie on, and jason chaffetz joining us member of the oversight and government reform committee that issued that report this morning. congressman, so good to talk to you. what was countrywide but to? >> they were trying to peddle influence and using a product that members of congress and congressional staff wanted and needed. they were offering loans and what is called the friends of angelo program. that was the internal working name of this, where they would offer loans and do so without points, without these in a discounted manner. it was offered to members and the members and unfortunately some of them took that bait, and they were trying to influence congress in many ways, and it

worked. rick: did they break the law in doing this? >> that is why we issued the report. we have to continue to look at this. there was a concerted effort to peddle influence. also did it at fannie mae. remember, this ended terribly, where they dump so many loans on the american taxpayers. that is what makes this egregious. rick: the names of some of these current and former lawmakers on this vip list, it has been out for a little while, it is new in your report this morning, it has to deal with some of the top-level staffers who were also a part of this alleged influence peddling. >> this is basically a company that was trying to prevent lawmakers from putting in performs? >> there is a reason they were doing this. they were not being nice guys. they did not offer this to the republic. they went after people that were celebrities and in congress. it was a concerted effort to influence the process, a process

by which they would personally profit. at the surface, that is not allowed. the ethics committee has referred to this, as you go to look at this hundred plus page report, it was a very concerted effort to do something nefarious that should've never happened. the people that are involved in this should be terribly embarrassed, and i think it should be more action on it. rick: how about more hearings? your committee has been very busy, chairman are also looking into "fast and furious." are we going to see these lawmakers and staff members on the vip list taking the oath and swearing and testifying in front of the house oversight committee? >> well, we have referred it to the ethics committee. this has been going on for some three years. darrell issa has been tenacious honest. it took a long time to get this information. the ethics committee will have to deal with the ethics committee portion of it. we issued this report today and we want to make sure it is not a

piece of paper that goes on a bookshelf. we want to make sure that they actually do something to make sure that it doesn't happen again. rick: i mention "fast and furious." i would like to ask you about that. senator charles grassley putting in another request for more documents from the department of justice. what have you heard about.com has there been an official response to the quest of the documents? are you going to get them? >> we have not been very good about getting the documents this far. attorney general holder has made it crystal clear he has no desire to communicate with congress, let alone to give us the documents we insist upon. there will be additional subpoenas and additional people that are called to testify on capitol hill. if the white house thinks that "fast and furious" is suddenly going to go away with the admonition that hey, we should trust us -- that isn't what happened. we have dead porter border patrol agents and we have an obligation to pursue this matter what you think of the attorney

general statements earlier this week, that he is simply a proxy for the president. are you guys going after him to damage president obama? >> we are trying to get to the end of something where you have a dead border patrol agent. think about this, 2000 weapons, ak-47's. the white house thinks that we should just not asking questions and don't worry about it -- we have it under control. that is not going to happen. that is not the proper role of government in this case. look, we want the truth. this could end tomorrow if they would just provide the documents. president obama and his staff, they say that the documents prove that there is no wrongdoing. then provide the documents and we can put an end to this. they should have done so a year ago. they are creating this problem. it could end tomorrow if they just have the political will to do it. rick: jason chaffetz, republican congressman from the great state of utah. so nice to talk to you. >> thank you, thank you.

martha: right now governor mitt romney is clarifying his campaigns view on health care logrolling heard saying that he is firmly standing behind the supreme court's decision. listen to what he says. >> the supreme court has spoken, and while i agree with the dissent, that is taken over by the fact that the majority of the court said it is a tax come and therefore it is a tax. there is no way around it. you can say that you wish they decided a different way, but they did not. they concluded it with a tax. the american people know the president obama has broken that pledge he made. martha: he says the supreme court has made their decision. as he points out, he would've been with the defense that would've overturned the law in whole. i am joined by christopher hahn, former aide to chuck schumer. and monica crowley, both are fox news contributors. welcome to you both.

a question of a ping-pong match, it seems -- there is another palm that has happened. how do you make of the romney campaign and the response? >> this is a historic opportunity for the romney campaign. most americans despise obamacare, which thanks to chief justice john roberts, should be called the obama tax. include in the first couple of days after this decision because they should've been emphasizing the fact that the high court did, in fact, call the mandate a tax. what they did is you had a rather weak statement from governor romney, talking about how he will repeal obamacare or the obama tax, and that is fine and what most americans want. you should've been pounding from the beginning when the moment this decision was announced. he should have been pounding the fact that this is going to be the largest tax increase, especially in the middle class, and the history of the united states. instead, one of his tedious though out and tries to call it a penalty, trying to muddy the

truth. i think the campaign is just starting to get back on track. martha: it is ironic. you hear from ben lovell-- he was asked if they disagreed with the supreme court's declaration that this is a tax. they said yes, we disagree. it is not a tax. they are disagreeing with the outcome, which calls it a tax. >> when it comes to romney, americans have to ask themselves, are they looking for consistency? he flips all over the place. whether it is a tax, it will make health care more affordable for millions of americans. the only people that will have to pay anything additional are people who have been free riders on the system i'm asking you and i and our neighbors to pay for their health care costs. right now they won't have to do this under this plan.

romney has been the worst problem that republicans could have nominated to deal with this issue. monica was right on. they had an opportunity to jump on this, and they basically passed on on that opportunity. health care will not be an issue in the presidential race. it may be an issue down the ticket, but it won't be an issue in the presidential race because romney can't talk about it. [talking over each other] martha: they will have to clarify both sides, really, what their take is on this. this morning or yesterday morning, rather, governor chris christie, who has been a surrogate and supporter of mitt romney said about how he sees things. listen to him. >> i thought all along that it was a tax. i don't think it is exclusively a tax or penalty or both. there is no question in my mind. it is both. they are meaning to penalize people and you argued in the

campaign and forward that it wasn't. but he is now in a bind. he is in a bind as what this is all about. there is no question that it is both. martha: what about what chris hahn just said? the only people that will have to pay this tax, are those who opt not to have health insurance? >> actually, that is not true. "the wall street journal" did a study about this and found that the bulk of people who would be bearing the obama tax are making $120,000 and below. nevermind the mandate, but look at the 21 new additional taxes and obamacare to pay for this monstrosity. the president, this is not about mitt romney, governor christie is right. the president is in a box because he is forced to defend a highly unpopular bill and lock him his signature legislation. he is forced to defend the largest tax increase possibly in the history of the republic. most americans hate this thing. they understand obamacare was

never about health care. it was always about government control. >> monica, you are not giving the whole wall street journal story here. the majority of the 4 million people who do not buy health insurance and will have to pay the penalty make under $120,000 per year. those are people who could afford health insurance but do not take it. when they break their legs, you and i have to pay. [talking over each other] [talking over each other] it is a penalty enforced by the tax code. [talking over each other] [talking over each other] >> 21 new taxes this year in addition -- [talking over each other] [talking over each other] martha: this is extremely important, and that is what is being fought over here. monica crowley and chris hahn, thank you so much. rick: coming up, ron and north korea getting a secret shipment of computer and high-tech equipment. and allegations on how they got this equipment. martha: city officials

considering an unprecedented move to key people struggling with mortgages in their homes. could it do more harm than good? we will be right back in "america's newsroom". 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. the

martha: in his 43 minutes past the hour and americans are spending less at the retail stores. new numbers this morning showed disappointing sales for the month of june, and that has raised fears among retailers about the back-to-school shopping season. london police now say that the evacuation of a tourist bus in central england is not terror related. they had shut down part of a major highway, someone accuse one of the passengers of allegedly planting a substance in a box and creating a suspicious fume earlier today. how about this. the duke and duchess of kent ridge enjoying a royal outing at wimbledon. wherever they go, they are enjoying a stir. rick: i wonder maybe they know somebody like the queen.

a dramatic new move to key people struggling with their mortgages to keep their homes. in san bernardino county want to use eminent domain to take over properties than restructure the mortgages to help borrowers keep their houses. cheryl casone he is with the fox business network. how does this work? >> this is unprecedented. is it going to work is a big question. this is the brainchild of the san francisco group of investors. what they want to do is a city would use eminent domain, sees the loans and home, if you will, if that borrower is underwater, and then the guys in san francisco pundit, and then in the city they reduce the property value and the guys turn around and saw that loan to somebody else, keeping the borrower in their home. people don't have jobs. the only way this would work is if the borrower was current on

their payment. the truth is, most distressed properties in the country, people are behind on their payments. will target the problem? maybe not. and will this work in time to get the housing situation in california on track? i don't think it will. they're trying to float this bird they want to take this national. rick: some people think it might be a model solution out there. this is with private money? the county is in bulk commodities or private investors who are forking over the money in order to buy up these mortgages, right? >> they are thinking like great capitalists but usually eminent domain, it is usually unprecedented. there have been some examples in connecticut and hawaii. you have to go back decades to find this example. this is going to end up in court. the original loan owners, the things that gave, you know, joe and jill that loan, they are going to be out of money.

the eminent domain -- these other private guys come in on the other side to fund it. the original bank is going to sue to kingdom come. by then the economy will be back on track be one what about the use of eminent domain. usually you hear about municipalities taking over private property and claiming eminent domain because they want to build a highway or something like that. that is not what they're doing here. >> that's not what they're doing at all. they say because homes are hurting the value -- hurting the city -- if you think about it, cities are so stressed out and so broke -- especially in the state of california. they are not getting property taxes that they need. if it is a distressed property, nobody is paying taxes on the property. they need revenue and this is the way to get it. the city and the private investors would actually make an actual profit at the end of the day. but the original bank would have a bad deal.

it is going to be very controversial if this works. if cities across the nation go after this, it will be wild. rick: we will watch that. you can watch cheryl casone he on markets 11:00 o'clock eastern on the fox business network. martha: what is coming up on happening now? >> we are going to tell you about some of the details surrounding this incident in just a moment. plus some new information about vitamin d that directly contradicts information from a different study. when we supposed to do about that? take our vitamin d are not? we are going to talk to doctor marc siegel. and drilling down on some key states. we will talk about that in a few minutes. martha: make you so much. most 9-year-olds play their days

playing games and sports. but this little guy is working on something different from the playground to the big boy class, his remarkable story is next. he is pushing us. start with soup, salad ancheddar bay biscuits then choose one of 7 entrees plus dessert! four perfect courses, just $14.99. come into red lobster and sea food differently.

rick: we continue to watch what is going on in syria. there are new concerns about al qaeda and the deadly violence there. the iraqi government saying members of the terror network have been crossing into syria. this comes as some brand-new amateur video services from the city of homs.

conspiracy being directed from abroad. martha: disturbing allegations today against the u.n. agency. it is accused of allowing iran and north korea to get their hands on some sophisticated computer equipment. catherine herridge is live with the details. good morning. >> good morning. thank you. these jobs were first obtained by fox news.com. they are now at the center of an international investigation into whether a u.n. agency violated sanctions by shipping computers and other sophisticated technology to north korea and iran. in a statement to fox news, the state department confirmed that they are investigating the actions of the geneva-based property organization, also known as [inaudible] the state department first became aware of this in early may 2012. we have made several inquiries to the secretariat and requested any related documentation. reported by fox news.com with a

catalyst of the investigation, this took place in late 2011 in early 2012, and we are financed through the program. wipo computer shipments included 22 compaq computers, and this appears to be a violation by the u.n. of hewlett-packard's own corporate restriction which prohibits transfers to these regimes. while the u.s. is a member of wipo, they were in the dark of the products and shipments. word was raised last week at a house judiciary committee hearing. >> needless to say we find this disconcerting. not only of our country's policies of internet freedom, but also because of these transfers, the technology transfers were carried out by an organization largely funded by u.s. inventors.

>> as for the head of wipo from the state department spokesman said they had several conversations with the director general. so far the response has been characterized in limited. martha: thank you very much. rick: a new report showing a decline in union membership for the first time. we will tell you what that means for the 2012 election coming up. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses.

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routes critical for our troops who are fighting overseas in afghanistan. these routs were shut down by the pakistanis after back in november a nato bombing led to the deaths of a bunch of pakistani servicemembers. there was no apology at first but just this week we heard from secretary of state hillary clinton who issued a paper apology to the pakistanis. that led to the reopening of these supply lines. the u.s. government, the pentagon, paying an additional $100 million a day to get supplies to and from our troops there because these routes had been shut down. now we're hearing from a pentagon spokesperson, captain john kirby, telling reporters that the defense department expresses regrets and condolences for the deaths after that incident in november. we found we made mistakes and we are sorry for those mistakes. martha: a fascinating story. he is a prodigy at only nine years old.

he has ditched the games and the toys and well on his way to completing his college degree. he is from natomas, california. he takes classes at american river college. listen. >> i didn't mind interacting with other college students. i like it too. >> people are say we are pushing. it is not the case. that is his passion. that is what he loves. martha: that is what he loves. you have to follow your passion, right? he expects to be in college full-time very soon. his parents say the younger daughter, only 6 is on track to be just like her brother. is like my kids. >> i hope my kids are paying close attention. good models. that does it for us. i'll see you tomorrow. martha: great. we'll see you back here tomorrow. i will see you on greta's show, "on the record." i will be there this evening. "happening now" starts right now. see you tomorrow, everybody. jon: three years later t