>> eric: for continuing coverage of the colorado shooting massacre, here's john scott. >> a horror planned for months with calculation and deliberation, as the investigation into the massacre of a colorado movie theater unfolds, police say james holmes spent four months ordering ammunition and supplies for the attack and rigged nearly 30 explosive devices in his apartment. later today, president obammal take on the role of consoler in chief, traveling to colorado to comfort victims and their families n. aurora, a city trying to fathom the tragedy, residents will come together for a prayer vigil. i'm shannon bream. we go to the movie theater in aurora and talk to the police chief, one of only two interviews the chief is giving. hello, john.

>> reporter: shannon, the police department insists that holmes acted alone. joining us now for one of his first interviews sips the shootings, aurora police chief dan oats. jon scott from outside the theater. there was word overnight, some confusion overnight that there might be a second person involved, a second suspect. you can clear that up for us? >> sure. i would like to correct something. rather than insist he acted alone, we have no information that he acted with anyone else at this time. there was a report overnight about a person who was an acquaintance of mr. holmes. we have since contacted that person. we are trying to contact every person who was an acquaintance of mr. holmes to find out as much as we can. that's all that was. i think, based to what i know, i would describe their relationship as incons quential. but we did speak to that person last night, as part of a massive investigation. in the days and weeks ahead, we

hope to speak to everybody who knew mr. holmes. >> reporter: i know there is much investigating to do. can you tell us why do you think this happend? >> oh, i can't begin to explain this. i can't explain any of these shootings. they are unfathomable. >> reporter: is the suspect being cooperative? >> let's put it this way. whatever he might be telling us is not for public discussion. but he is represented by an attorney and he is not speaking to us at this time. >> reporter: there are reports that his gun, the ar 15 he was firing in the theater, that it jammed and in some ways, other people are alive because of that. can you confirm that? >> i can't. i have not been briefed any of the forensics yet. i don't know if the forensics have been done. i know that the hundred-round

magazine was lying on the floor at the scene. i do know that. but whether it was empty or want -- i don't know right now. >> reporter: there was one report, i have also not seen confirmed and i wanted to clear it up with you, there was a report that he told your officers that he had taken ambienn or some kind of prescription drug before the shooting. you can comment? >> no. vimade it clear to the media -- i hate to disappoint you, but any admissions he has made to us, that will be presented in the court process. that's not for discussion at this time. our highest priority is that he be convicted of these horrible crimes and that's our agenda. we will prepare the material and prepare it in criminal discovery. >> reporter: working toward a conviction, you must have an awful lot of new evidence, given the fact that you were able to get into that apartment and the evidence was not destroyed by the fire that was apparently intended? >> right. that was -- that was an extremely high priority over the

last two days. we wanted the evidence in that -- inside that apartment. we have taken cust dev a computer. the potential that we might get out of that computer is very important to us. but every ounce of evidence will help us hold this person accountable. so it was a very, very high priority that we uncover the evidence. i am so grateful that we had the bomb professionals from professs and local agencies to help us do that. it was a great relief, both from the hazard standpoint of mitigating the hazard. i suspect we will be cysting through the evidence for months. do you know anything about the timeline? was it possible that there was an intent that the apartment explode first isn't loud music would draw in the neighbors? the apartment would explode? the officers would go there and then the theater would erupt? >> there is all kinds of speculation, but i don't know

enough about the details and timelines of anything right now. i really don't know. that's part what have we will try to figure out in the days ahead. >> reporter: what's the biggest challenge for your department now? >> i think fatigue, really. we are pretty taxed. we have a lot to do today. this prayer vigil is tentialy important to the community. we have challenges and logistics around that. we are honored to have the president here. we need him here but that also presents challenges for us. so today's a real important day. i sent an email to the organization this morning saying, hang in there, you are doing a great job. we are all so proud of all the employees in this department. we are so thankful and proud of our colleagues in law enforcement in the area because we couldn't have done what we have done and what we need to do without their help.

>> reporter: we have heard high praise fur your department and the job that has been done to this point. do you feel that you can assure the citizens of aurora that there isn't some second suspect out there? >> yes. i am very confident of that. i don't think there is any second suspect out there. i moon, obviously, we will continue to investigate this entire matter. we will work very hard to understand all of mr. holmes' contacts and acquaintances, but that's largely to learn more about his thinking and his behavior, not that we think there is any suspect in particular that helped him in this. it's a perverse enough crime for one person to formulate it. i don't think it's really conceivable that there is a second person who was in on this -- on this -- on this thing. >> reporter: the timeline that you have laid out suggests that there was roughly four months of planning, at least four months of planning that went into this. do you think that it goes back farther than that?

is there any indication from new evidence that it goes back farther? >> well, i will go back to what i know and what i have revealed. he started to receive shipments of all of this stuff around four months ago. obviously, we don't know now -- if we knew, we wouldn't share it with the media, what he was doing prior to that. but i think, as i said yesterday, i think that four months of this kind of activity, accumulating this material in the manner in which he did amounts to some pretty serious calculation and deliberation on his part. the investigation continues. this is an area where the feds can really help us. the fbi's been great. to the extent that he is reaching out across the nation to gather the material, the feds are really good at this stuff. >> reporter: there are reports that he may have spent $8,000 or $15,000 assembling the weaponry

and the potential explosives. what do you know about where that money came from? >> i don't personally know anything about that right now. our investigators are working on that and hopefully, we will get some answers. this is so big, it is so complex, tell take time. i am sure we will get to the bottom of those kinds of questions, eventually. >> reporter: let me give you one last opportunity to say some words to thees citizens of your community and to your officers? >> well, you know, this is a great community. it's really rallying. i think this prayer vigil, this memorial service will be a really important moment. i drove by the theater yesterday to say hi to my cop who is were guarding it, the spontaneous outpouring around the theater, i am sure have you images of it. the big poster everyone's signing, it's really powerful stuff. this community's grieving.

i listened to 30 voicemails on my phone this morning tmany from citizens. the community's grieving. i think the community's proud of the way it's responding to this. obviously, my cops and my civil ian employees have done an incrediblion. we train and we train and we train for active shooter situations, it's a legacy of columbine and other incidents, as a police chief, i never thought that i would really be cope being -- coping with that and they did the other night and they did an incredible job. [voice breaking up] >> reporter: chief dan oates, aurora police chief. it's been a tough couple of days, thank you for joining us today. >> thank you. thank you for this opportunity. >> reporter: as the chief just told us, there is an awful lot of investigating yet to be done. some of the best indications of what this suspect may have been

planning might come from a man named glen rotkovich, the majority partner in a gun range east of aurora. he got an application from a james holmes about the first of july. holmes wanted to come and join his range and start shooting. glen rotkovich is here by phone. we are looking now at the application that james holmes submitted to your range. you tried to call him back to talk to him about that application. what did you hear? >> well, it's standard procedure to talk to them to set them up for an orientation and the answering machine was very bizarre at best. it was a very deep sounding voice, dragging... noticeably not drunk, but intended to be

weird and bizarre. i could pick out a few words that he said, like it was james, you know? and so on and a couple of other thing, you know? but it was just one of those really bizarre messages that people sometimes put on. and i thought, well, okay, whatever. and then after i called it three times, he never called back. i decided that -- i wasn't going to call him anymore because it was kind of a bizarre message. and we flagged him to be able to talk to him before he could join the range. >> reporter: interesting. i want to thank our friends at foxnews.com for bringing to light this information and your story. but it's so interesting naa gun owner, a gun range had concerns about this guy and was ready to flag him as somebody who, you know, maybe shouldn't be coming to the range. >> we have to protect our business and everything else.

we all -- gun owners and range owners -- all have families and businesses and understand that there are probably -- probably better than most -- that there are strange and evil people out there. yeah, we pay attention to who joins and who is allowed to be around. i run a orientated range so i don't want people who have those kinds of attitudes and things. >> yeah. so this phone message, when you tried to reach him, you heard cackling noises like laughter? that kind of thing? >> no! it was just a very deep, gutterral, you know... [mimicking inaudibly] you couldn't understand it. it was a very gutterral. somebody asked me, well, gee, does it sound like he was trying to play the joker or something? and i don't have a clue. i never saw those movies. so i don't know that he -- i didn't see the movies, so i have no idea, so i couldn't say that

it was. but it was deliberate. let's put it that way. whatever was on, whatever he was trying to do. it wasn't like he was drunk or something that happened. it was made to sound the way he wanted it to sound, for whatever reason. >> reporter: nothing unusual about his application, other than what you later heard on the phone message, though, is that correct? >> right, yeah. his application -- standard questions, you know, are you over 21, are you a citizen, do you have the right to own firearms, are you a substance abuser? all of the standard questions that come with firearms ownership. he answered all of those appropriately and went from there and said that he found us online, is where he found us from and that his emergency contact was his mother arlene in san diego. >> reporter: glen rotkovich of the lead valley range who had

concerns about james holmes. thanks for sharing your story with us. >> you're welcome. appreciate your time. >> reporter: shannon, back to you. >> shannon: jon scott, live in colorado. when holmes opened fire in that aurora movie theater, 12 people lost their lives. here are some of their stories. 6 years old, veronica just learned to swim. her family calls her a great little girl, excited about life. her mother ashley was shot and is in the hospital. alex was there to celebrate his first wedding anniversary and 27th birthday. before the shooting, he quoted that this would be the best birthday ever. his family called him a real-life super hero who tried to position himself to save his friends. jessica was a 24-year-old aspiring sports journalist. just last month, she escaped a shooting in a toronto mall. we will have more on 3 stories later on in the show.

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>> i think this is a reminder this, wave of terror attacks, that the world's most dangerous regime must not be allowed to have the world's noaft dangerous weapons. >> shannon: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says he has proof that iran is behind the bombing in bulgaria. chris, there is so much developing in the middle-east. you have an exclusive interview with benjamin netanyahu today whoarks in reference to the bombing in bulgaria sounded 100% certain that this was the work of hezbollah and he seemed intent on holding them

accountable. >> they came to us and said the prime minister wanted to come on, particularly this week, he is an important guest to have. we are not in the business of turning down the israeli prime minister, that's when i knew what he wanted to talk. he leaned into the camera and said, we know absolutely and have hard evidence that iran and hezbollah were behind the suicide bombing. i said, can you tell us the evidence? he said, we have shared it with friendly intelligence agencies around the world. he sure sounded like he knew what he was talking about and he sounded like, 1, that the iranians were behind this, 2. that they are a terror regime. and 3, we cannot allow them to get nuclear weapons. they don't have to go to us to talk about what they are going to do to earthquakes are avenge their own citizens. he. ed to put pressure on the u.s. and the west to stop this terror nation from getting their hands

on weapons of mass destruction. >> shannon: he has maintained the opinion that iserate will not apologize if it sees a need to defend themselves. >> they see this as an existr existential 38. there threat: one can argue, it right? but israel has long maintained that they are going to protect their people, all the way backs to the olympics in 1972, that they are going to protect them their people, wherever they are. that could be quiet. they don't need permission and that sometimes, they them in their sleep and we never hear about it. but that's not all he wants. he wants a united, international effort to stop iran's nuclear program. >> shannon: he is very skillful. when you asked him to talk about the current administration and mitt romney's trip to israel, very masterful in his answers. >> i have known ben mink

netanyahu since the 80s. he was the upled n. ambassador here. he has been on every talk show in the world and been asked every question and he has flattered me and said, you are too experienced to think i am going fotoget into a campaign. he has known romney for a long time and they worked in business in the 70s. having said that, he is not going to get in the middle of obama/romney. >> shannon: and much more on the colorado eventeds as well. thank you for the preview. >> you bet. >> shannon: netanyahu pressed concerns about nuclear weapons stockpiled. catch the whole interview, at 2:00 p.m. eastern. after america's news headquarters. fierce fighting in syria's two biggest cities. refugees are pouring into lebanon. a rebel commander says his forces have launched an operation to liberate the main commercial and industrial hub n.

damascus, government troops, backed by helicopter gunships gained control of rebel-held areas. 19,000 people have been killed since the uprisingy began. we have new video of assad on state television, showing the new army chief of staff, appointed in the wake of a rebel bombing that killed several members of his inner circle. that has some predicting he will soon be toppled. what will that mean for syria and the entire middle-east isn't former vice chief of staff of the army is here, live. thanks for coming in. >> good to see you. >> shannon: i want to ask about the chemical weapons. israel seems very concerned that they could end up in the hands of hezbollah or other groupings. how concerned should we be? >> i think we have to be very concerned. one, that assad has the capacity to use them.

his father used them in 1982 and he may use them as an act of desperation. he has them to begin with to preserve the regime. that's number 1. and two, this is not homogenius. we have al qaeda there. there is concern they could get their hands on these weapons and so could hezbollah in lebanon. that's the israeli and our concern, as well. and the regional stakeholders have the same concern. >> shannon: at this point, what should the u.s. role be? >> i think we have had a major turning point. what the rebels did this week is very significant. they have changed the offense 45 the home ground to the regime's home ground. you noted that in the iraq border. politically, we have had a major turnaround because i think the manager has recognized for a fact that they are not going to get help in terms of public diplomacy, by use of economic

sanctions and they are moving the regional stakeholder to work with the coalition to try to determine a stable political outcome, post assad. that has to be done now. the rebels need assistance, in terms of weapons. we made a policy decision not to do that overtly. we may be doing it through a third country -- i don't know. but they need better weapons to deal with the counter offensive that is ongoing. when assad's army uses combined arms of tanks, infantry, rockets and ortillery and attack helicopters, he can be wight effective. his best units are still intact. how this turns out is still in question from a military perspective. >> shannon: jay carney, the white house spokesman said it looks like assad is losing control. he has lost members of the inner circle. it seems that the country's the most unstable it has been in six months. if the regime does fall, the

rebels are made of different groups, we not exactly sure who it is. what is the future of syria? what should we watch for if assad goes. >> reporter: assad's tenure is tied to his general and army, if they stay loyal, it will drag out. there are probably wholesale units that will defect and the collapse will come relatively quickly. i believe what we are doing right now in reaching out to the rebels to establish a political structure that is inclusive because you want all the various factions in a future government post assad. if we don't do that, there is clear division and potential for civil war. f there is a revenge because of the oppressive regime that they have done for 35 years, similar to what we saw in iraq, then there is going to be real challenges. it is all in for the diplomats to work with the stakeholders

inside of syria to make certain that the post assad regime is incluesive and there is something there in terms of political structure. >> shannon: thank you for your insights. >> good seeing you. >> shannon: the violence escalates, is it possible that the u.s. could be involved? we want to know what you are thinking. here's our twitter question. what action should the u.s. take -- or should we take a hands-off approach? in jon scott's one on one with the police chief, they insisted that they believe that james holmes acted alone. police are learning more by the hour and hope that something will lead them to happened why holmes went on the shooting rampage. we will go live to the scene with the very latest. ♪

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>> shannon: the suspect in colorado has been assigned a lawyer and will be in court tomorrow. peter doocy has our latest stories. >> right now, james holmes is being held in solitary confinement. he will be arraigned tomorrow. investigators believe holmes acted alone and he had been planning this premeditated attack for months. syrian rebels are fighting to liberate the country's largest city, alepo, a stronghold for supporters of the country's president assad. human rights activists say july is shaping up to be the deadliest month since the uprising began. a penn state landmark has been taken down. the famous statue of joe paterno has been removed from campus. he is accused of hiding the child sex abuse allegations from former assistant coach jerry sandusky. renewed hope for two missing iowa girls.

police believe the two girls are still alive. in the next hour of america's news headquarters, a fox exclusive interview with the grandmother, the last person to see them before they disappeared. those are the top stories right now. back to you. >> shannon: thanks. authorities have removed nearly 30 explosive devices from the colorado shooting suspect's apartment. mike tobin has more on what they took from the home. hello, mike. >> reporter: hi, there. now that the apartment is clear and the investigators can get inside, we are learning more about the preparations that went into the attack and could have turned this apartment into a death trap. you talked about the 30 explosives, retrofitted out of fireworks, to be deadly. gasoline bombs and bombs bombs m chemicals that would explode. a trip wire at the door. the living room is described as

being criss crossed with trip wire, all going into a central control panel that was defused by the bomb squad. once the bomb squad got inside, they were able to take a lots of explosives out. they were loaded into the back of a dump truck, filled with sand to minimize the amount of bump on the way to a remote location, where the explosives were taken and destroyed, with controlled explosions, controlled fire. that being said, the university of colreado is now investigating whether james holmes used his position as a graduate student there to obtain a lot of the materials, the chemicals or the ammunition, thing hes had delivered in this -- to be used in that attack, that informs just coming in. the university of colorado is investigating. >> shannon: thank you very much. opposition leaders in syria say rebels are fighting to liberate one of the largest cities in

syria, alepo. violence has surged this week. so how should the u.s. leaders be addressing this volatile foreign issue? joining us now, congressman connie mack from flor day. thank you very much for having me. >> shannon: i want to start by talk about this rebels, something we discussed earlier, with the general. what do we know about them? how concerned are you at this point about the groups that are involved? >> you know, i think we are obviously very concerned. this is a hot spot in -- in the world. and clearly, syria is a threat to world peace. and a threat to israel. i believe that we have -- an obligation to make sure that the rebels have the support that they need in this -- in this fight. we have the president or, you know, assad, willing to kill and massacre his own people. we need to make sure that those who are fighting have the resources they need, the weapons they need to be able to defend

themselves. >> shannon: of course, a great deal of the international community has wanted to go through unite unite for -- united nations for help with this. russia and china blocking new sanctions. what do you make of their role in syria? >> you know, i see the u.n -- this idea that we have to continue to go to the u.n. to get permission or to try to bring people together that just do not want to support the values and the principles of the united states is very troublesome to me. i think what we need to to do is make sure that the rebels have what they need to defend themselves and to stop the massacre of the people in syria. at the same time, like netanyahu mentioned today, we need to make sure that the weapons of mass destruction that are in syria do not get in the hands of those who want to destroy israel, that want to disrupt peace in the middle east and want to see harm come to the united states. we need to be much more aggressive. this comes down to an administration that has failed

in foreign policy. it is weak in foreign policy. people don't know where the united states stands on these issues. and it creates opportunities for -- governments like syria and others to kind of -- you know, flex their muscle and massacre their own people. this is an outrage. >> shannon: supporters of the president, you mentioned the obama administration and the record, supporters say it's one of his best selling points, you obviously disagree? >> of course, i disagree. every time there is a choice to be made, the president turns to the u.n. we drag our frens and allies through the mud, look what happened in latin america with columbia and panama, allies of ours in the free trade agreements. there is no strong foreign policy coming out of the administration. i don't think at the end of the day they want to campaign on foreign policy either, because it's one of weakness. it is why we have so much instability around the world because people don't know where

the united states stands. we need to stand up for those who are fighting for their freedom. we need to do what is right by the people of the united states and around the world. >> shannon: you are running for senate. you have a primary august 14 and then hope to go head to head -- moving beyond that. the senate very much in play to a lot of folks. but do you think it's realistic for the g.o.p. to pick up a significant number of seats this is fall? >> i do, for a number of reasons. one, the economy is in such bad shape. it has to do with the policies that have come out from president obama and lock-step liberals that think that government is the answer to all of our problems. when you have a weak foreign policy that creates instability around the world. in america, they are looking for people to stand up and do what is right, not run to the u.n. to look to someone else to make tough decisions for us. come election day, you are going to see republicans will gain the

majority in the senate. the presidency and we will work to make sure that we get americans back to work. >> shannon: we here at fox will be watching the races all the way down the ticket. thanks for coming in. >> thank you. >> shannon: i six-year-old girl, a man celebrating his 27th birthday and a boyfriend who gave his life to save the woman he loved. some of the stories of those killed in auror a. a look at all of those who lost their lives, coming up next. 968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. brave knights! as you can clearly see from this attractive graph

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>> we train and we train and we train for active shooter situations. it's a legacy of columbine and other incidents. as a police chief, i never thought that i would really be coping with that, or my cops would. and they did the other night... and they did an incredible job. >> shannon: an emotional interview with the aurora police chief, dan oates, a father himself, whose own daughter was

at another showing of "the dark knight" when the shooting happened. 12 people were kill and the mayor says some of the people wounded are still undergoing treatment and may not live. we go to new york with a look at the victims. >> reporter: families continue to fwreef and wait at hospitals where at least seven are in critical condition, we are remembering those whose lives have been lost. the youngest victim, six-year-old veronica, was excited about learning how it swim. his mother is in krill cat condition. 18-year-old alexander boik, a ball of joy. his girlfriend, who was at the theater with him, survived. everyone expected the couple to get married. 23-year-old mikayla medic attended aurora community college. heshe was a huge green bay packs fan.

a spiring sports reporter, jessica, narrowly missed a shooting in canada, just last month. in a blog, she wrote, i saw the victims of a senseless crime. i saw lives change. at 26, jonathan had served three tours with the navy and planned to become a navy seal. comic book geek, alex sullivan would have been celebrating his first wedding anniversary and his birthday. the attack unfolded the target employee matt mcquin. she survived. 27-year-old john larimmer was the youngest of five siblings. jesse childress was a cyber-s systems operator. a mother of two with a bubbly

personality. and the oldest victim was seen with his two teenaged children and gordon's family said he was a true texas gentleman. a vigil will take place at aurora city hall at aches o'clock 30. >> thank you very much. later on, my colleague, jon scott, will talk to a friend of a victim, a woman who was saved by her friend who, dove in front of a bullet for her. that's not the only amazing story. others are telling about their chilling brushes with death, like the neighbor who nearly went into the booby-trapped apartment. >> at that point, i knocked on the door, hard, trying to get someone's attention. i noticed there wasn't any voices, as if there were a party going on, which struck me as odd joyou put your hand on the door and tried to knock. >> i d. i tried the knob. it seemed like it was unlocked. but something told me that it

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>> shannon: 12 people killed, dozens more injured. their stories and their heroic last acts, stories like air force member jesse childress who die from a bullet he took when

he dove in front of his friend. we will talk to that friend in the next hour. missing more than a week, hope for an iowa family desperately searching for two little girls. word now that police think these cousins are alive. we will talk to the grandmother of both children. more government waste at its worst. another gsa scandal. this time, almost $300,000 tax dollars spent on an awards ceremony. we will talk to the congressman leading the charge for the truth , john mica. new polls show voters are feeling conflicted about the economy and the presidential election. the majority of voters are not satisfied with the state of the country, but more voters say they would vote for president obama over mitt romney if the election were held today. ed rollins is live to take a look at the numbers. ed, good to have you with us

today. >> good morning, how are you? >> shannon: very good. i want to started with the numbers, the fox news polling this week. better off now than you were four years ago? let's look at the numbers. 37% say, yes, they are, 47% say, no, they are not. 13% say they are about the same. but when you look at the bottom line whoof they would vote for, the majority still go with president obama, 45-41%. do the numbers make sense to you? >> well, listen, it's a very close election. obviously, if 3 or 4 points, that's the margin of error. i think that romney is lucky to be where he is after a tough rimarry. my sense is that this will close up. any time an incumbent is below 50s%, he's in trouble. this president can't make the economy any better before the election, unfortunately for the country. i think it will be a very, very close election. >> shannon: knowing the numbers that we have, do you think that the cause of the close, tight race is the president is doing a

good job with his ad and his message? or that mitt romney is not doing a good enough job with his ads and his message? >> first of all, the president is still liked. likeability is important to any politician. the american public likes this man. they don't think he has done a very effective job, he has had very tough times to be president. but they don't think his solutions have benefitted the count reach so romney has to make the case that not only is he an acceptable alternative, but he has answers. the place that he has failed is he has not laid out economic plans and changing what -- if he gets elected president. he doll that in the months ahead. as he does that, once again, as i said, it will be a very, very close election. >> shannon: we than in the primary season, he put out a 59-point plan for dealing with economic issues here in the country. how would you advise him, if you were giving him some advice to boil that down in a way that the

average american voter could digest it and understand it and could somehow be persuaded by that? >> well, that lengthy a plan that very few people end up reading, the only left from the primaries is 9-9-9. so have you to have something that makes sense to ordinary people. have you to talk in terms of how you will restructure the tax code, if that's part of your program and how you will get the people back working again. >> shannon: do you think the president's camp is encouraged by the fact that he seeps to continue to poll ahead. but you mentioned that below 50%, that's never good news for them. >>? i was in chicago, running this campaign, i would be very, very concerned. i know they are. they are targeting very carefully, trying to energize their political base and trying to organize and obviously, the romney camp pain, basically, has to keep reminding people of why this president has been unacceptable. the one thing the president can't do, he can't put up a tag line, like ronald reagan,

leadership is working. his leadership has not worked and i think that will be to his detriment. >> reporter: thank you for your expertese. >> my pleasure. >> shannon: among the victims, a 29-year-old airman. his actions in the theater called heroic, jon scott's live in aurora with more. >> reporter: staff sarge apt jesse childress was his name. he will speak to the woman in the seat next to him. he had gone to the theatwer seven air force co-workers and he died saving their lives, coming up. [ kimi ] atti and i had always called oregon home. until i got a job in the big apple. adjusting to city life was hard for me. and becoming a fulltime indoor cat wasn't easy for atti. but we had each other and he had purina cat chow indoor. he absolutely loved it. and i knew he was getting everything he needed to stay healthy indoors.

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>> shannon: months in the making with calculation and deliberation, aurora's police chief says there is no indication that james holmes was acting with anyone else. as americans struggle with the latest mass shooting, the president travels to colrad tow comfort victims is and their families. i'm shannon bream. we begin hour 2 of america's news headquarters with jon scott at the movie theater in auror a. hello, jon. >> reporter: hi, shannon. the police chief says there is no doubt that thftion deliberate and months in the planning. they i are amassing evidence to try to prove that. they found nearly 30 bombs inside his apartment.

they say it took him months to construct, to order and to assemble. adam housley is live outside that apartment with the latest there. >> reporter: yeah, jon, investigators were here well into the night, with a chance to get through that apartment. the explosives were all removed. right now, they have not yet come back. but i will give you a live look, they have this one building of the apartment complex, total ed cordoned off. they are expected to come back and complete their investigation. there is ray chance that people who live in the other apartments here could be allowed back, potentially as early as tonight. you can see the damage on the ground from the explosions inside. there is glass down there, parts of the blinds that were blown out as authorities methodically went through the apartment yesterday and took out all the threats. we do know that all the threats were intertwined with wires throughout the apartment. we were told that the setup was intricate but the bombs themselves were very amateur. the one area they really felt

they had to take out was the circuit board in the kitchen that sfwied everything. the way they did that was with a water bomb. we will replay that for you again. this water boom took out the board. take a listen. so once that was taken out, they went through with their investigative teams and the acesment team and took out pieces of every single different setup that this man had. every one of those hand-made grenades, made with fireworks, every one of those bottles filled with liquid. they took a sample of every one, which went to the national laboratory and then they took every single one of the items out and put it into a dump truck and the east part of denver to an open dump area where they destroyed it. they basically blew up every single part of this stuff that was in the apartment to absolutely eliminate any threat. they took the powders that were

meant to mix together, all the stuff that the suspect had left to kill or maim or potential burn the building down was destroyed at the dump. if we come back here live, here's a look inside the parm complex, last night when the fbi and the teams from the aurora police and atf, they put up black plastic bags over the windows. they have been removed, which means they are close to the end of the investigation at the apartment. i was told by a number of investigators that they found a ton of evidence and they had a chance to preserve everything they wanted to preserve, which was the main thing they were trying to do yesterday, besides, of course, staying safe. they brought out all kinds of things, that they believe show that the suspect continued to plan this event for months. the one thing we saw that was carried out into a truck, the computer tower of james holmes. that was something they were hoping to preserve. they believe they will have a lot of evidence in the tower, including the emails we have

been hearing about that went to the gun range nearby. of course, we know about that report from foxnews.com and we will be talking more about that throughout the hour. but they believe was the computer that the suspect used to send the email, application and stayed in touch and potential three order the weapons and the bullets that he ordered over the last month and-a-half, two months. >> reporter: and that goes to the premeditation that the authorities think was involved here because, if they can go back months and track these purchases, apparently some strange and powerful chemicals involved, if they can construct that kind of premeditation, it goes a long way to helping prove a prosecution case. >> reporter: absolutely. that's one thing they were very concerned b. when they began yesterday morning, about 10:00 a.m. local time, they were saying the first priority is to keep everybody safe, including the bomb technicians and the firefighters nearby, all of that stuff. and the second real priority was to try to secure as much of the

evidence they could inside. the water bomb took out that circuit board and that worked perfectly and allowed them to get the information that they believe does show premeditation. jon? >> reporter: adam housley, outside the suspect apartment. thank you. earlier, i spoke with aurora police chief dan oates. he has not given anymany interviews since this tential event began. he has been involved in some of the press briefings. but he has not given many interviews until this morning. here's part what have he had to tell us. >> the community's grieving. i think the community's proud of the way it's responding to this. obviously, my cops and my civilian employees have done an incredible job. we couldn't be more proud of them. you know, we train and we train and we train for active shooter situations, it's a legacy of columbine and other incidents, as a police chief, i never thought that i would really be coping with that or my cops

would. and they did the other night. and they did an incredible job. rather than insist that he acted alone, we have no informs that he acted with anyone else at this time. now, there was a report overnight about i person who had -- was an acquaintance of mr. holmes. we have since contacted that person. we are trying to contact every person who was an acquaintance of in holmes to find out as much about mr. holmes as we can. that's really all that was. i would describe their relationship as incons quential. but we did speak to that person as part of a massive investigation. in the days and weeks ahead, we hope to speak to everybody who ever knew mr. holmes to learn as much as we can as possible. >> reporter: that's dan oates, chief of police here in aurora, colorado. tech sergeant graveli was in the theater. her friend and co-worker, jesse childress was killed in the

attack. in fact, he died saving her life. sergeant graveli is joining us live to tell us her story of what happened that night. it is my understanding, you hadn't known him that long, but sergeants childress was a fast friend in just a month or so. >> eric. >> yes, he did. >> reporter: tell me about him as a person? >> he was -- as a sergeant, he was a very hard worker. there was never a job he left undifferent he was very patient. he showed me everything, answered every question i had when i got here, since i was the new person and i needed to be shown around, he did that all while getting his job done. so, outside of t just a the niceest guy.

>> reporter: on that night, eight of you, i understand, eight colleagues from the air force decided to see "the dark knight rises" premiere. he was seated next to you in the fifth row? tell us what happened? what do you remember? >> yeah. there were only four of us. it was myself, sergeant childress, our supervisor and his wife. really, when we saw the canister flying from that exit door, we just hit the floor. we didn't know that sergeant childress was hit until it was over and the lights came on. >> reporter: that canister -- there has been a question about what that was. was it tear gas? defense smoke? i know that you go through a lot of training in the air force. do you have any idea what it was

? >> i was -- we have been told it was tear gas. but the only thing i was breathing in was the gun powder, i recognized that because the canister, i guess, went off further from me. and there was only -- it didn't make it that far, all of those fumes. >> reporter: you yourself were hit and he went down. when did you find out what happened to him? >> when the lights came on, we tried to revive him. he was very still. but it wasn't confirmed, his status until... very late that evening. almost about... 22 hours later because they had to notify his family first. so, you know, we had hoped that he was okay, but... >> reporter: well tsounds like

he was just a great guy, staff sergeant jesse childress, serving his country. just so sad that all of this has taken place. but we thank you for sharing his story with us. tech sergeant moni gravely. >> shannon: i know you spend a lot of time in colorado. can you give us a sense of how the community's feeling? are folks in shock? are they beginning to recover. >> reporter: there is still so much shock and sadness, you know, you read the biographies of these people whose lives were taken. they were so full of life. such good, good people, people who made other people's lives better. and the fact that they died at the hands of this crazed gunman. and some of the stories, you know, someone who turned their head left instead of right, they lived and the person behind them

dies. it's so random and so unspeakable, this violence. it is going to take aurora and the state of colorado a long time to deal with the aftermath in this. >> shannon: thank you for your around-the-clock coverage for our fox viewers from colorado. thamp, jon. >> reporter: you're welcome. >> shannon: the president is called upon to take up the role of consolener chief. he will be flying into aurora to partially comfort the distraught families and loved ones. peters doocy has more. >> in a little more than an hour, president obama will leave the white house and head to auror a. his staff tells us, they expect him to be on the ground 2 1/2 hours hours and vit families and meet with local leaders. at this point, we don't know any of planned remarks, so the point of this visit is really to quietly show solidarity with the folks most affected by the tragedy. but in his weekly address yesterday, he gave us a good idea of how he is processing

what happened in theater number 9. >> michelle and i will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tight ther weekend. as i am sure you doll with your children. but for those parent who is may not publisho be so fortunate, we need to embrace them and let them know, we will be there for them as a nation. >> in the last two decades, presidents have responded similarly, with president bush speaking at virginia tech and president clinton speaking at columbine high school, shortly after each institution turned guns on classmates. psychologists say it does help the community heal. >> it kind of puts, you know, the arms. leader around the country. and one of the things that happens in a moment of tragedy is everybody is -- is in the trauma. what a president does is the office transcends the trauma. >> this is a rare weekend where

politics have been set aside and that doctor, what he just said, demonstrates that there can be a tangible benefit to the presidential benefits. we will wait and see if it helps out as president obama heads to aurora. >> shannon: we have seen that in many administrations in crucial moments. ank thanks. joining us, steve hayes from the weekly standard and debbie dingell. steve, how important is it for the nation, at a moment like this that the president be there to comfort the families? >> look, i think it's a good reason -- good thing he's going for the reasons that peter suggests. it is important to let the country know that the country's thinking about him. i like the fact that he's going to slip in as quietly as a president can, meet privately with the victims and community leaders and then slip back out. i think that's the right thing to do at this point. >> shannon: debbie, i read

accounts that the president reached out to local officials and said, if me coming is going to be a disruption, i am not going to do that, but they were persuaded and wanted him to come and felt like it would be encouraging and be of benefit to folks there. >> we heard the mayor of aurora welcome the president coming, said he wasn't going to speak publicly at the services because that would make the service about him. but he was going to be there for the families to help them know that we as a country are coming together, that we are there for them. it is time -- it's a horrific time as all of us are trying to make sense out of something that you can't make sense of. but we come together and remember that we are a community and i think it's very important. >> shannon: we want to talk about other things, both the candidates took a break from the tougher campaigning this weekend, giving the country a break from politics. and one of the ongoing games of speculation that continues here,

of course, and around the country, who will be on the short list and who will be the number 2 for mitt romney when he finalizes his v.p. pick? i want to look at the latest fox news poll. republican who is were surveyed on who they would prefer, at the top of the list, former secretary of state condoleezza rice with 30%. steve, she says she is not interested, wants no part of this. what do you make of that and why the republicans are so drawn to her? >> i think one thing is she has tremendous name i.d. and people respect her. there is a reason that republicans would cite her first. i think it's highly, highly unlikely, not just because what have condoleezza rice has said, but mitt romney has said on more than one occasion he will not consider a pro-choice runningmate. and she has declared herself a moderately pro-choice person. i think it would have mitt romney flip-flopping on one of the biggest decisions of his candidacy, i think it's not going to happen. >> shannon: debbie, second on the list is marco rubio, a

young, freshman senator from florida, hispanic, he has a lot of qualities that folks would be a benefit on the g.o.p. ticket. but others point to this is flaws. how likely do you thinks that the this young gun would end up on the ticket with romney? >> my guess is that governor romney will go with a very safe choice. we saw what happened when john mccain picked sarah palin who, got everybody excited about and the campaign was a draw for democrats from the time of the announcement to november. i think we are far likely to see a far safer choice. i am one of those who thinks that condoleezza rice would be very interesting. i think people say, well, it will upset the base. mitt romney has the base. they are not voting for him because they like mitt romney. that's more of an anti-obama choice. if i were mitt romney and i am glad he is not going in this direction, he would look for somebody to dreakt the independents to vote for him. >> shannon: okay, quickly because we are almost out of time. what is the characteristic that

you would most like to see out of the pick, number 1 is true conservative with 32% of folks weighing in there. so quickly, i would want to ask you for a name, steve, if that's the criteria, who do you think the pick should be? >> either paul ryan or marco rubio would excite the base like no other candidate. >> reporter: debbie. >> i would say rob portman would be the safest. >> shannon: all right. thank you for weighing in on mull pel issues with us today. >> thank you. >> shannon: fierce pieting -- fierce fighting in syria and president assad makes an appearance on state tv on questions of whether he is still even in the country. $20,000 for drum sticks -- so the conferencegoers could play along with the band? we will talk to congressman mica about the latest gsa expense -- that's your money paying for those drumsticks, coming up. ♪

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♪ >> shannon: right now syria's two largest cities are rocked by gunfire an explosions as rebel forces and troops fight for dominance in the country's civil

war, world affairs contributor dominic denatale is live from jerusalem with the latest. >> reporter: shannon, indeed, the past 24 hours so many people were killed and activists say the death toll since the entire up rising began has now exceeded 19,000 people. in damascus, as you say, well, they are running three battles as the government tries to regain ground lost to the rebels, who took hold of key neighborhoods and we understand the neighborhood is basre and mesre, and they fell into their hands and they are critical neighborhoods and align themselves with critical arteries, which would have helped the rebels gain a direct line into the city and, basically the power base. and, if the government were to lose it, it would be perhaps the fatal blow and the rebels, however, turning very much their focus today, on syria's second

city of aleppo and are trying to attack the intelligence bureau and were trying to make a run for the air force and overtake that and witnesses say there are intense street battles taking place. and, rebels also gaining ground elsewhere and have taken over another border post on the frontier with turkey and we understand they have taken over a series of towns in the northeast of the country and, kurdish syria is what it is called and, they have no control there any more and, i think very much the focus for the government, the regime, is going to be damascus and aleppo, and, the merchant and those in charge of the commercial world up there made a lot of money, by supporting assad for so very long, however there is much concern now across the region as we see tens of thousands of

refugees flooding the borders and the stabilizing situation that will stem from there and, not felt more so than israel and the prime minister and both of the defense ministers say if necessary, israel will take military action to prevent sy a syria's massive stockpile of chemical weapons falling into the the hands of extremists as the chaos and violence continues to ensue in syria, shannon, back to you. >> shannon: dominic denatale, thank you. a panel of judges will decide whether or not the texas voter i.d. law can move forward in time for the fall's presidential election and the justice department argues texas lawmakers intended to crimin discriminate against minorities when they cast the law. pete sessions joins us, now, republican from texas and the justices heard the case, the three-judge panel is pending and we expect in august we'll get a

decision and, the justice made strong allegations, and first of all, the one we mentioned, they intended to discriminate against minorities and individuals who may not have proper i.d. >> the state of texas looked at the issue a long time, the last 4 or 5 election cycles there were accusations, people were voting who were not legal citizens and were showing up and really taking advantage of, perhaps, not just the law, but taking advantage of being able to vote in a way that moved the elections and changed them, the state of texas looked at this for a long time and studied it and came up with a fair process and looked at other laws around the country where it is legal and i believe they took strong steps including giving free i.d.s to anyone who could not afford it themselves. >> we have had the debate many times and they say, there were no allegation and they cannot point to cases getting away with it or trying to do this illegal

voting. how do you respond to those who say there is not a problem that needed a solution? >> well, first of all, i would say the public needs have integrity and need to understand the integrity of the it is very confidence in what they do. and many times, there would be thousands of people who would show up at the last minute to vote and many times not knowing who they are and having problems doing that and we want to make sure that that counts, but every single person needs to make sure they follow the legal process, and i believe the state of texas has the authority and responsibility to protect its citizens and the process involved. >> now, here in this case, it was argued in d.c., texas has the burden of showing this law will not discriminate and has the burden of proof. how do you think it went? do you expect to see the judges side with texas or the justice department. >> i think if you look at the way texas has gone about not just structuring the law but also making sure they publicize it, that this is what we believe will be expected. for the next election. giving people lots of time,

drivers license bureaus have millions of people in the state of texas, people have i.d.s, and, the small number of people who could not produce them, at a given time, i think, will be de minimus and, they'll rule in texas' favor. >> you chair the national republican congressional committee and a lot of big houses, all of them in the house coming up this fall and larry sabato who has a crystal ball and, says at most, democrats will pick up 5 to 10 seats in the house and not regaining a majority by his estimate. what is your best estimate as you try to make sure the g.o.p. picks up more seats in the house. >> there are prognosticators who indicate wild swings, from losing 12 to 15 to an even match and i believe the way i look at it, the republican party will not only hold the house, and pick up seats, we'll net pick up seats across the country because the across understands nancy pelosi wants the gavel back. and, i believe that the tax increases, obamacare, and, big

government would be right back and we need a balanced budget and do away with obamacare and need to make sure we get america back to work. i think the g.o.p. will win. >> shannon: all right, we'll watch and see the numbers and love to have you back when they come in. congressman, thanks for coming in. >> thank you. >> shannon: the story has captured america's house, two little girls mission ang in iow. and police think they could still be alive. a little later in the show we'll talk live to their grandmother about the news and how the family is holding up and another outrageous expense from the gsa, we'll talk to congressman john mica heading up the committee investigating the agency, your money spent on those drum sticks. ♪ rbing the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum.

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redeem the points you've earned to travel with no restrictions. 7,000 students drop out every school day. that's one ever 26 seconds. it's time that student know that we believe in them. announcer: inspire a student and share your message of support at boostup.org. ♪ >> shannon: the university of colorado says it is investigating whether mass shooting suspect james holmes used his position as a graduate

student to order materials in the potentially deadly booby trapped placement all around his apartment. the massacre was obviously the main topic on the sunday news shows, this morning and steve centanni has been following them and, is in washington. hi, steve. >> reporter: the governor of colorado was among those appearing on the sunday talk shows today, expressing admiration for the first responders, who helped the victims of that shooting and predicting much more will soon be known about the suspect who he called a twisted and delusional individual. >> if we got rid of all the guns and even if you don't have access to guns, the guy was diabolical and he would have found explosives, a poisonous gas, something to create the horror. >> reporter: and on fox news sunday, two members of the senate squared off against gun control regular relation and

whether it could have prevented the tragedy in colorado. >> i have no problem with people being licensed to buy a fire amp but these are weapons that you are only going to be using to kill people in close compact. that is the pups of that weapon. >> it is not an issue, about guns it is an issue about sick deminted individuals and it is a tragedy and i don't think there is a solution here in washington this solve the problem. >> reporter: senator johnson saying the answer might lie in our families, our communities and our educational system to try to instill the proper values. shannon? >> shannon: thank you very much for the update. $20,000 for drum sticks? that is how the dsa decided to spend your tax money, as part of a lavish one day awards ceremony in 2010. and that wasn't the only questionable expense uncovered. joining us now, congressman john mica, head of the transportation committee. which is investigating the gsa and congressman, thanks for joining us today. >>. >> thank you, thank you for also calling attention to some of

this government waste. >> shannon: well, everybody -- what comes to mind is the big, lavish convention that was held in las vegas and that actually happened after that. not only involved $20,000 for those drum sticks but, some $8500 for an appearance by someone named agent-x and the list goes on and on and what more do you know about this and what are you most concerned about, now, at the gsa? >> well, of course, everyone saw the guy in the hot tub, that brought to national attention the abuse of taxpayer dollars for a conference in las vegas that they wasted 3/4 of a million dollars on. we have been trying since we took over the committee, a year-and-a-half ago, to uncover some of the waste and abuses and, now, the inspector general -- and this occurred, again, right after the last abuse, the inspector general brought us information of another conference not in las vegas but

a few miles from the capital, over a quarter of a million dollars, buying drum sticks, that was $20,000 expenditure and picture frames, $35,000 worth of picture frames and hiring a guitarist and a violinist and a lavish reception on the taxpayer dollar. so, we are not going to let up on our investigation or getting this agency that has spun out of control under control. >> shannon: i think it is important to note that the acting administrator of the gsa, he actually saw this and took it to the inspector general and said, hey, in the interest of full disclosure and something that raised my concern i think this is something you need to investigate and as done things like cut bonuses and cancelled 36 different conferences. are you encouraged by the fact the acting administrator seems to be, you know, taking it very

seriously and trying to, at least, change policies there? >> well, we have fired or gotten rid of some of the offenders. but, i think this agency cries out for reform. what the public is seeing is only the tip of the iceberg. this agency has 14,000 buildings or properties that have been sitting idle and are wasting billions of taxpayer dollars and we have done hearings, i did a hearing in the empty building soon after we took over the committee, two blocks from the white house. costing taxpayers $8 million a year. vacant building. we did another one a few weeks ago, 11 years, vacant. just behind the ritz-carlton in georgetown. some of the most expensive property on the east coast. vacant. until we did a hearing and we'll do one in miami, a vacant courthouse, but there are thousands of properties wasting billions of dollars, so, this is hopefully calling attention to a much more serious problem we can get control of.

>> and there will be a hearing, i understand on the new allegation, regarding the awards ceremony, is that accurate. >> that's right and i have called the hearing -- and we tried to hold the hearing before, but, gsa is so intimidated, by the property management we think we need to get gsa out of property management and there are professionals that can do it and it is unfortunate, even in the washington area, they are so intimidated, people who are professionals they were not willing to come forward, but we're going forward with the full investigation. we are going forward with trying to take an agency that has spun out of control and get it under control and get the private sector to do what it does best, things like professional property management. how many of you would give your property over to the federal government to manage? i would say very few, we will change the way washington is doing some of these things, that wastes money. >> shannon: congressman john mica, republican of florida, thank you, sir. >> good to be with you.

thank you. >> shannon: new information in the case of two missing iowa girls, we will talk to the girls' grandmother, live, that is next. [ birds chirping ] [ engine revving ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ [ tirescreech ] [ male announcer ] with fuel economy that's best in class and better acceleration than camry and accord, you'll wish you had the road to yourself. [ tires screech ] it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪

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>> this is my city, this is my mall... i want to explain to my little kids about the compassion, and pray for all of our neighbors. >> shannon: the nation and especially the city of aurora, trying to deal with the grief after one of the largest mass shootings in recent u.s. history. a memorial was growing outside the movie theatre, where a gunman opened fire, killing 12 people, and wounding 58 others. residents are leaving flowers and messages and lighting candles. many community leaders are struggling to find a reason why. >> i can't begin to explain.

i explain any of these shootings. they are unfathomable. >> shannon: aurora police chief dan oates spoke to us in a live interview just a short time ago. ♪ >> shannon: lawmakers have yet to come up with a plan to top sequestration from happening in january when automatic budget cuts kick in if they haven't reached a deal on cuttingfedera republicans and democrats are blaming each other and is there time for a compromise? joining us now, republican congressman max thornbury who is joining us live to discuss it and thank you for your time and i want to start by asking, you voted in favor of the budget control ac act and, democrats say, republicans voted it through and have to deal with the consequences. >> if you remember the purpose of sequestration was it would be so horrible that it would require some sort of agreement on reducing the deficit and those people who say the deficit is a threat to our national

security are absolutely right. what we have to do is find a way to save the same amount of money without the mindless cuts that sequestration would do. >> shannon: the president and white house threatened to veto it if it got that far, senator harry reid, the majority leader said will not go to a vote in the senate, what are your hopes there is any kind of bipartisan agreement that could come together before january? >> two things. one is, i think the awareness of the effects of sequestration are growing. a lot of people hadn't focused on it, but what we know now is that not only would it decimate defense, it would really hurt a lot of important domestic programs, such as medical research, air traffic controllers, border patrol. so, there is enough in there that everybody ought to be very concerned. but, secondly, we have several proposals, you mentioned the house passed one and we have another one with about 70 co-sponsors in the house, just substitutes the savings with

attrition of federal workers and so there are lots of ideas out there about how to substitute the savings in a more responsible way, and we just need some partner to work with us. >> shannon: defense spending, it is my understanding, will bear 42.6% of all the sequestration cuts. the joint chiefs of staff, the chairman, says, that is an unacceptable ripping and the secretary of defense, leon panetta said it would be a disaster. do you think that those words from those leaders will get through to folks on both sides of the aisle in time to make a difference? >> well, it should, because, remember, these are our people serving in the obama administration, who say it would be devastating. and, i think there is no doubt that it would. defense is only 15 to 19% of the budget and yet, as you say, about half of the cuts come from defense. and, the other part that i think a lot of people haven't focused on, is defense operates through millions of contracts. what is going to happen with those contracts, when the

government doesn't keep its end of the bargain by cutting unilaterally 15, 20% off of every program, project or activity? we had testimony this week, in the house, that says basically that that will cost more to clean up than the money that will be saved. so, i hope these facts that are coming out about the effect of sequestration will get their attention. >> shannon: and we have one of your colleagues from california with us and we planned to have him on camera and we had technical troubles and he was kind enough to call in, to at least have you on the phone and, congressman you voted yes, for the budget control act as well. what is your feeling about knowing what is coming to the defense department and, the domestic problems as well if the two sides cannot come to agreement. >> we knew last summer it would be a major problem and is specifically designed to put a lot of pressure on congress to do what we need to do which is to make the appropriate steps and, raise revenues to deal with the deficit. we have yet to do that.

certainly, the defense cuts are going to be very difficult. and, in some cases damaging. but, on the domestic side, the same kind of things will happen. we're looking at very substantial cuts in all kinds of medical research, as well as energy and other kinds of purchase we need. and, we know that children's programs, and dozens and dozens of programs are going to get slashed, and it is very harmful and what we need to do is get our act together, come together, as we say, and we need to put on paper a solution, a blended solution. which has not been done. >> shannon: congressman thornberry and gong man garamendi, we hope you will bring solutions, from working together. up next we'll talk to the grandmother of who cousins missing more than a week now in iowa. ♪ a party?

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>> shannon: investigators in iowa say they have evidence which leads them to believe that the two missing cousins 8-year-old elizabeth collins and lyric morrissey are alive and that is welcome news to the

families, and, the grandmother is joining us, willma cook and her aunt and, mother. do you know what the fbi may be basing this on, it must be happy news to believe the girls may still be alive? >> she's talking to me. >> no, she is saying 9, 8, 7, 6. >> shannon: can you hear me, ms. cook, can you hear me? >> yes, i can. >> shannon: okay... >> repeat the question. >> shannon: i know you are the girls' grandmother and the last to have seen them before they disappeared and now word from the fbi and believe the girls may be alive and that has to be excellent news for you, but do you know what they are basing it upon? what do you know today? >> we really don't know nothing. they are telling us that they are alive, they feel and they have suspects. that is all they are telling us. >> shannon: you are an aunt to the girls...

>> shannon: ms. cook, continues. >> last night, there was great big rumors that the kids were this place and that place and were found alive and they've got them and it was horrible, because i called the sheriffs department, the waterloo police and the fbi, and make all of these calls to try to confirm something, and, it was all false rumors and it was a horrifying hour-and-a-half. >> shannon: i can't imagine how tough it is for you and especially to get information that is not correct and to leave you on the emotional rollercoaster. tammy, you are the girl's aunt and i see you have the t-shirt and the buttons. how is this community helping? is the search continuing? and what are the efforts underway. >> what we know, as far... that are going on, the efforts that are going on now, they've collected all the evidence. the bloodhounds positively, last monday night, identified the girls to be in a wooded area, east of where their bikes were

found on the bike track. positively identified there being, where the bikes were dropped on the bike trails positively to be in the wooded area that continues east from the bike tracks and the bloodhound stop at that point and there is no further evidence of, you know, that we have been told. the investigator said they'd get back to us, once they analyze what the dogs came up with, but, the evidence has all been sent to the crime lab in iowa. and, we will hear nothing further, from that point. the fbi is saying that they do believe the girls are alive. but, of course, we all want to believe that they are alive. >> shannon: and, you are lyric's mother and i know you talk to the police a number of times, you and your husband and i understand you have undergone a polygraph test and can you tell us more about your conversations with the police and any suspects

they may have? >> they haven't told us any new information. they said some evidence -- like tammy said, they would not make us aware of what that evidence is. everybody has done their polygraphs and everybody has given up their phones and vehicles and there is full cooperation and so, nobody in the family has been told what the particular evidence is that has been sent or why they believe the girls are alive and safe and that is the information we have not been given yet as well. >> shannon: we certainly hope and pray that that is accurate information. our prayer and thoughts are with all of you as you continue to search for the girls and we wish you all the best. thank you for joining us today. >> thank you very much. >> can i say one more thing? >> shannon: very quickly, yes. >> i want to say, lyric elizabeth, if you can see it, if you can hear us, we love you. whoever has them, we forgive you, please let our children

come home, please, we are begging you at this point. and they miss their mommy and dade, let them come back home. >> shannon: thank you very much. more news, right after this. mys in a stroller when i had my heart event. and i've been on a bayer aspirin regimen ever since. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i know if i take my bayer aspirin i have a better chance of living a healthy life. you get a 50% annual bonus. and everyone likes 50% more cash -- well, except her.

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>> shannon: we have been asking you what action should the u.s. take with regard to syria's situation, if any or should we take a hands off approach and many tweeted back and jane said yes, we have to get involved, and, if assad is desperate he'll deploy w