tv Happening Now FOX News July 25, 2012 8:00am-10:00am PDT
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wonder how many push ups it can do? bill: but the grunting for good measure to make sure you know what it is working. see you on the radio with kilmeade today. i don't know what is on his mind, do you? martha: it is always fun. see you tomorrow. "happening now" starts right now. jon: hey, speaking of push ups. governor romney beefs up his foreign policy chops with an overseas trip but before he left he unleashed his most scathing attack on policies. did you hear that? how will it play with volters? it new report is coming up. jenna: al qaeda active in syria and now infiltrating rebel forces. there are new concerns about the country's stash of chemical weapons. we will dig deeper on that. jon: also a dramatic high-speed, really high-speed chase. it unfolded live right here on "happening now." it could have ended very badly but
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for one brave officer. new details on what went down. plus breaking news all "happening now." jenna: we'll take you out to colorado though first. new searches in the movie massacre investigation. we're glad you're with us, everybody, i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. investigators in colorado are still combing through the apartment of the suspect looking for more evidence. one former fbi agent describing as something you would see in a war zone. the explosive-packed homes was essentially a building bomb. a team of attorneys spent more than an hour inside a movie multiplex, the scene of that shooting rampage that left 12 people dead and dozens more injured as prosecutors begin to build their case against james holmes. the accused 24-year-old gunman remains in solitary confinement awaiting his hearing on monday. the judge is now preventing cameras from going into that courtroom. alicia acuna is live in
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aurora, colorado. i guess there is a little bit of good news out of the tragedy this weekend, alicia? >> reporter: there is some good news, jon. a new life, hugo jackson medley, was born yesterday morning to a mother who was inside the theater at the time of the shooting. the mother, katie, was not injured. hugo born at university of colorado hospital is one floor above where his father, caleb medley, lies in critical condition and in a medically induced coma. caleb's brother seth, says the mother katie is exhausted but doing well. >> she has been a rock through this whole situation. she really has. just steadfast, unwaivering. focused on her husband but also focused on the baby. i don't even know how a person could focus like that but she found a way. >> reporter: another bright note, the survivors of friday's shooting got a surprise visit tore.
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actor christian bale who plays "batman" in the movies, went to the hospital to spend some time with the victims. he also stopped by this area, jon, to the makeshift memorial to leave flowers in the area. he was very quiet about his visit. just wanted to talk it some of the police officers, folks at hospital as well as victims. back to you. jon: he didn't want any media coverage but word got out through twitter and so forth. good for him. there has been some conflicting reports about the behavior of this suspect in jail. what do you know about that? >> reporter: there's a lot of different information coming out about james holmes and the time that he is spending in solitary confinement at the arapaho detention center. a couple of reports revolve around some belligerent behavior. reports are that he is spitting at the guards as they walk by. he has been forced to wear a face mask of some sort, something to block his face at certain times. there are other reports as well, that when shortly after his arrest police put
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some plastic bags over his hands because they wanted to preserve any sort of gun out powder that would have been there, any residue and started using his hands in the bags as if they were puppets. that is sort of odd behavior. there are varying reports. some are conflicting on his behavior. of course there is a gag order on the case now so police can't officially discuss the kise and neither can attorney. jon: alicia acuna in aurora, colorado. thank you. jenna: we're going to turn to the economy right now. there is growing concerns around the world and right at home as well. you see the dow is trading up after it has been down several days. apparently there is bargain hunters out there. there is selloff overseas especially when it comes to technology stocks after a weaker than expected report from apple and that's a big deal. after all the quarters apple has reported earnings only two has ever missed. this is one of them. the computer giant had a
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rare miss, it blames in part the slowing economy in europe. ford, another big company here in the united states, also blaming europe for a weaker than expected quarter. the carmaker joining other american companies including ups, xerox and slashing its profit forecasts for the year. not a good sign. we also have a disturbing report out of the u.k. directly where a reading on the economy came in much weaker than expected. it is a little bit of a theme these days. apparently this reading confirmed a double-dip recession there. the news from spain and germany and china also bad. here at home we're awaiting a report on friday. it is going to be our gdp report. that is the main barometer of the u.s. economy and how healthy we really are. there are some new concerns it will be lower than we first thought. this is coming in as the central bank is reportedly considering another move to intervene and maybe even expand the stimulus program of some sort to try to jump start everything including the job market.
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unemployment remains at 8.2% and this morning the treasury secretary, tim geithner, is testifying before house lawmakers. he is talking about the economy, looming on the horizon for all of us, a big topic of debate on capitol hill, this so-called fiscal cliff. massive tax hikes and spending cuts that could go into effect at the start of next year unless congress can reach a deal. so a lot in front of us immediately and on the horizon. we're 104 days away from the election. how will this economy impact the election? or vice versa? joe trippi served as howard dean's presidential campaign manager. he is also a fox news contributor. nice to see you, joe. >> good to be with you, jenna. jenna: today the president is doing several fund-raising events of the mitt romney in is europe talking about foreign policy. have we heard snuff from either man when it comes to the economy? >> i don't think so. but look, the next 100 days or, in a lot of ways not in
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either campaign's hands. i've been saying this for quite a while. the states that could have more to do with the outcome of our election could well be greece, spain, italy, nations in europe. if those places continue this sort of downturn that we're seeing and in the reports coming out of the u.k. that they are now three quarters into a recession it looks like, that is going to slow us up. we're growing but you have to be able to, those things are sort of out of either romney or obama's control. of course obama is the incumbent. so he will pay a price for that. jenna: one could take a contrarian point of view. there is moving target what is happening overseas. everyone is like, what is happening over there. how will weigh react. doesn't that give an opportunity to both candidates to stand up and say, listen the entire world can burn down around us. we'll be fine and this is my plan to be that way? doesn't it provide
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opportunity to have bold leadership? >> that is essentially what the president has been stay saying for, but, it gets caught up in the politics again of, you're blaming europe and these other places for the slow recovery. and romney can pounce on that. so it gets caught up in the polarized nature of our debate right now. in fact a new poll came out today showing that 57% blame some of the slowness, leadership out of washington on the republicans in the house. everybody is catching blame for not moving out. if the economy starts to turn in more positive way, that's going to help obama. if it doesn't, if it turns down, if something bad happens in europe, that's going, that's going to help romney and that is just, both of those things are going on and both campaigns now and politics in both parties are trying to set up for that fight these last 100 days. jenna: joe, how would you
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describe the president's plan for his next term? has he been clear when it comes to the economy what another term from the obama administration will look like and how that will contrast to the term that we're in right now? >> well, i think what's going on now frankly is both, how did we get here and, are we going to do the same -- i mean his message has been, are we going to do the same things that we did that got us into the mess? are we going to keep trying my programs, my policy, new energy, to move forward. that is the message of the campaign. that is what he is trying to do. the romney campaign keeps pushing, what are you talking about? things haven't gotten better. we've been trying your way for nearly four years. now it is not working. that, at this point it doesn't matter what the policies are. it matters, in a lot of ways what happens. does this economy get better? do people feel better about it going into november or do we keep getting this kind of news that flattens out the president, president's image
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and right now, he is holding up. right at the level where it could go either way but if it gets worse he is in trouble, big trouble. jenna: joe, nice to have you as always. thank you for your insights. looking forward to talk with you over the next 104 days. we have quite a path ahead of us. thank you very much. >> thanks, jenna, now this fox news alert. a fierce assault by government forces in syria's largest city. attack helicopters firing on neighborhoods in a help poe where there are fighter -- aleppo and fighter jets where they say the assad regime moved stockpiled chemical weapons near airports so the country's borders as turkey closes its borders. dominic di-natale is live at the syrian border. >> reporter: behind me to the east that is where syria is. a fierce battle is raging in
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the north of the country as the government goes for a resounding counterstrike against the rebels which stormed the city in the past five days. as you described jet fighters overhead firing their guns on rebel positions in the center of the city as they try to claim the heart of what is the commercial capital. it is a strong power base for the assad regime they can not afford to lose because the merchant class is funding the regime as he tries to hang on to power. tanks pulled back from the turkish border. you were saying that the turks closed border there. they're worried about their own trucks which have been attacked in the past 24 hours. they're worried about how that could spill over in terms of refugee crisis, another problem the other side of the border there. big fighting going on in damascus as well today, jon as heavy artillery tried to take out key positions of rebels and think try to hang on and regain the capital there. 1200 people apparently
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killed in the past week alone and activists saying 18,000 people have been killed since the uprising began and no signs that those, no signs that those casualty figures will drop anytime soon, just so strong really is the violence now that we're seeing across the country, jon. jon: we talked about chemical weapons. syria admits it has them. it is warning against foreign intervention. what can you tell us about a report that israel is passing out gas masks to its people? >> reporter: what has actually happened here in israel, there certainly been a degree of scaremongering among the politicians how it would act against syria if the chemical weapons fell into the hands of the likes of hezbollah which is the archenemy of israel. as a result citizens here actually started to panic. we've seen doubling in the demand of gas masks to around 4,000 requests yesterday from the usual 2,000. now is there any cause for that really? the rebels say and indeed the israeli authorities believe that syria is not anytime soon going to
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actually spring a chemical attack here but citizens very, very concerned about that. this coming on the day russia, assad's biggest supporter warned his regime it should not launch chemical weapons under any circumstance, jon. back to you. jon: dominic di-natale in a very tense golan heights. thank you. jenna: governor mitt romney is in london today. he will be in europe for the next several days. this is after he delivered what has been described as a scathing speech criticizing the president, targeting his record on the economy, national security, and foreign policy. is this a sign of a newly aggressive strategy from the romney campaign? will it work? a fair and balanced debate coming up on that. jon: we'll get into that. a controversial agreement getting hammered out right now at the united nations. how it could impact gun laws here at home and the role iran is playing in those talks. jenna: an interesting twist there. plus you saw it here live on "happening now", a wild, high-speed motorcycle chase on a california freeway.
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jenna: we're getting new information today on that wild motorcycle chase we watched together yesterday on "happening now." rick is in the newsroom with more on what this guy was up to. rick? >> reporter: he was stopped for speeding and that's when the chase began and knew we know his name. this is the motorcycle daredevil rather who took police on that chase. daniel majorga, a 24-year-old mechanic. he is in custody now being held on $100,000 bail. the chase began in orange county and ended up in east l.a. this guy was zipping during the rush hour. at times he was driving well over 100 miles per hour. you can see him weaving between the cars, absolutely no consideration for the well-being or safety of anybody else on those roads. at one point, jenna the police actually gave up their ground pursuit, tracking him instead through this, probably this
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helicopter shot we're watching now. finally, it was officer ramon gardia, of the california highway patrol in the midst of slowing down freeway drivers when he got caught up in the traffic jam. the officer ordering him at gunpoint to get off the bike and on the ground. you can see a little bit, he was kicking his legs that he was cuffed. not all happy his attempted getaway had gone away. his court date is tomorrow, jenna. jenna: you always wonder why they run, right? >> reporter: they always get caught. jenna: that is most obvious one but the decision to take off. i don't know. jon: they pulled him over initially for speeding, is that right? >> reporter: that's right. >>. jon: imagine that. jenna: i think it fits. if we learn anything else we'll share it with our viewers. jon: it will be great. negotiations underway on international arms sales happening at the united nations where they're
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hammering out details after arms treaty. it intended to keep weapons out of hands of rogue nations. you know there are a lot of those. there are concerns that it could impact gun seals here in the u.s. david lee miller live for us. david? >> reporter: jon, the first draft of the u.n. arms trade treaty says it's goal is to stop the illicit sale of conventional weapons. article ii of the treaty gives a laundry list of the specific weapons that the treaty would control. it includes, tanks, artillery and missiles but it also mentions what critics see as the sticking point, small arms and light weapons. although the preamble to the treaty says it recognizes the right of private gun ownership and right of countries to regulate weapons within their own borders, gun rights advocates say the treaty opens the door to eroding the second amendment, the right to bear arms. >> we believe the preamble means nothing in this. has no force of law. the question on what are the
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specifics and the specifics are really broad. these bureaucrats in the u.n. have been doing that for decades of course and every fashion and every issue. now they're doing it in u.s. firearms policy. >> reporter: a number of groups who advocated for a arms treaty say the first draft has loopholes that are large enough to drive a tank through. they say the treaty in this current form is very watered down and feeble and it will actually do little to halt illicit arms sales. furthermore they say u.s. gun owners have nothing to fear. >> the arms trade treaty has nothing to do with the second amendment. we all know that is a right protected well in the united states. the arms trade treaty is about stopping weapons, getting into the wrong hands internationally. >> reporter: it is very possible we could see revisions in this draft before the conference here concludes at the end of the week. the obama administration has signaled that its going to sign, the president is going
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to sign this treaty but it still requires ratification in the senate. the nra has said, jon, that 58 senators have now said they are going to block ratification and, a few moments ago you mentioned iran's role in the treaty. well before the actual conference began iran was actually elected to the position of effectively vice president, one of 15 vice presidents. many critics say iran, a supplier of weapons to hezbollah, should not be in that role and shows the hypocrisy and ineffectiveness of the u.n. jon. jon: with 58 senators voting to block sounds like they will not get ratification, david? >> reporter: that's right. that is significant obstacle. that is what the nra is saying. remember this is not the final draft. it could still change, perhaps if they remove gun ownership, small arms, it might pass muster. jon: david lee miller at the u.n., thank you. jenna: one of the best fighter jets ever built, really, critical in any air war campaign but some pilots
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say a problem with the f-22 is making them sick while flying. now the pentagon says it has solved that mystery. is that enough for the pilots? that is one of our stories coming up in just a moment on "happening now." in florida we had more suntans... in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better... and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great. so pick your favorite spotn the gulf... and come on down. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home.
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jon: brand new developments in the year-long mystery now surrounding the f-22 fighter jet. dozens of pilots flying the u.s. warplane say they became dizzy and disoriented in the air. the pentagon says it zeroed in on the source. it says an oxygen supply valve is behind the breathing problem. they are replacing that valve in the pressure suits worn by pilots in the higher altitudes. is that enough to satisfy everyone's concerns?
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lieutenant tom mcinerney former assistant vice chief at the us air force and fox news military analyst. he spent a lot of time in cockpits himself. what do you think, general, is replacing the valve going to take care of the problem? >> jon, i'm very or let me say i'm cautiously optimistic, i think the involve they're talking about for increasing the oxygen flow is going to help as well as there is another valve on the upper part of the g-suit. they have a full pressure suit type thing, that we didn't have in most fighters. ours was mainly below the belly button down into the legs. because the f twopt two can -- if 22 can pull so many gs, they had at that was sticking because in combination with not getting enough oxygen flow. i'm now cautiously optimistic they have specifics and they're working in the right direction but only time is going to tell us.
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jon: there have been concerns, this is one of those stealth jets. it has stealth covering coating on the skin of the plane. there were concerns that some say pores or offshoot from that stealth covering might have been causing the problem. that's not it? >> i don't think that's it. that may have some impact with the crew chiefs and that, but i don't believe, believe and talking to people that the stealth covering was causing the high poxsy yaw. jon: right. >> i think the oxygen flow is causing the hypoxia. jon: it was crews on the ground were getting dizzy and light-headed from working around the jets. how do you explain that? >> that is a very difficult to explain and that is a superb question, jon. nobody answered that particular part of the equation and this dilemma that is going on. i think that must be followed up to see what is happening with with the crew chiefs. there is the also the potential of oil contamination which is a
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very complex issue but that even goes back to before stealth jets. so i think the jury is still out on the impact on the ground crews. jon: i mean for a while the air force restricted them, you know, they let them go back into the air, this very expensive $143 million a copy plane. but they put limit tastes how high it could fly. it had to stay within a certain distance of base. i suppose if they were planning on using it in combat they would lift those restrictions but at the same time it is not very useful to have a fighter plane that is height limited. >> they will live the restrictions. key thing the f-22 can get up to 60000 feet. it can be supersonic what we call military power which means very efficient on the fuel consumption. at 50 miles for enemy radar it is smaller than a sparrow. like if you were looking at a bird, a little sparrow. so that is the real stealth significance and it will
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absolutely dominate. so it is very, very important, jon, that we resolve this. for the first time in two or three years i'm cautiously optimistic. we haven't solved it completely. as i say, time will tell but we're really making some giant strides finally. jon: i hope they got to the bottom of it. lt. general tom mcinerney retired. thank you, sir. >> thanks, jon. jenna: new developments in a controversy at a cross on a veteran's memorial on government land there is word that secret negotiations that took place that left a key group out of the discussion, the veterans themselves. now some people are demanding answers. we'll dig deeper into that coming up. plus the campaign trail taking governor mitt romney overseas and putting u.s. foreign policy right in the spotlight. mary katharine ham and juan williams are here. that can only mean one thing. that is kind of a loaded question. hi, guys. jon: they're both smiling. jenna: a fiery, fair and balanced debate coming up next. ♪
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in london for the olympics and a meeting with the british prime minister. but before leaving u.s. soil mr. romney unleashed a scathing attack on president obama's record on the economy, national security, and foreign policy. >> the president's policies made it harder to recover from the deepest recession in 70 years. exposed the military to cuts that no one can justify. compromised our national security secrets. [applause] and in dealings with other nations he has given trust where it is not earned, insult where it was not deserved, and apology whereot d. jon: let's get a fair and balanced debate underway about those remarks. mary katharine ham is editor-at-large of hotair.com and a fox news contributor. juan williams, a fox news political analyst. good morning to both of you. mary katherine, a lot of republican pundits and so forth have been urging mitt romney to take a tougher tone in this
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campaign. is this the start of it? >> i think it is a pretty good start. it points out i think on foreign policy in particular he needs to stake a claim. that is why he is going to the vfw event and going overseas. what is the approach he is taking? going to israel, ending lan and poland and he can provide a contrast with obama and feel safe. olympics highlights his experience. israel where he can say look, the president hasn't been here and traveled all over the middle east without even dropping by israel. he can have a nice conversation with netanyahu with obama does not have nice conversations and poland where he can heighten missile defense fence. it is a strategic trip and hard to look undignified when you're meeting with foreign leaders. jon: juan, israel is the strongest ally in the middle east and the sitting president hasn't been there yet. >> no. i think that is clearly a soft spot for president obama especially with jewish
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voters, a lot of people, in fact there was a story this morning i think in the "new york times" about sheldon adelson, the big donor, now launching a campaign to try to draw jewish voters away from president obama. but, jon, i think the larger pointer here is that on foreign policy, despite the strong words that came from candidate romney yesterday, the american people are very comfortable with president obama. they clearly prefer him over romney when it comes to foreign policy and national security by wide margins. and i think that candidate romney even as he goes overseas risks inviting lots of reminders about what president bush's foreign policy was before we got president obama. jon: the, the president, mitt romney says, has, issued apology where it is not due. let me play a sample of some of what he seems to be talking about and then we'll discuss it on the other side. >> i do not view america as just one more place on the
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map, one more power to be balanced. i believe our country is the greatest force for good the world has ever known and that our influence is needed today as ever before. sadly the president has diminished american leadership. and we're reaping the consequences. the world is dangerous, destructive, chaotic. jon: juan, you know, the president pulled those missiles out of poland and the czech republic. that may be part of the reason mitt romney is going there. there have been damaged relations we talked about with israel but yes, usama bin laden is dead. on balance you said that voters are comfortable with the president and his foreign policies. obviously a guy like mitt romney hasn't been a president. hasn't had the opportunity to make decisions involving foreign policy. isn't that part of a difference here? >> well, i think it's, part of the difference, as you said, the death of bin laden
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but also pulling the troops out of iraq, setting a timetable in afghanistan. handling the libyan situation without getting u.s. troops involved. these are all positives for the obama team. when it comes to romney's foreign policy experience, you can compare him to recent gop nominees for the presidency, john mccain, bob dole, others, you know, he has sparse experience, even president bush, president bush as governor of texas said he had to deal with mexico. mitt romney as governor of massachusetts has only dealt with domestic policy. this is an effort to burnish his credentials. the problem is invites people like joe biden to say what does you have to say? what are the specifics in the vfw speech about what we would do on foreign policy different than president obama. jon: then again, mary katherine, it invites the comparison to what kind of foreign policy credentials did barack obama have four years ago? >> that is true. certainly i think americans do give him credit for the successes he had especially
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of bin laden. that is totally fair. i think mitt romney has spoken about that in the past but there is a serious conversation to be had about the idea of american exceptionalism. that appeals to a lot of voters. there is a conversation to be had about allies like poland and israel many feel are being sold out to benefit other folks not as friendly to us. i think that is conversation mitt romney can have. what he did smart in the speech, connected it to budget issues, defense cuts and economy. that is where he is strong and can go at obama quite easily. i think that is good tactical move. jon: it will be an interesting few days as mitt romney continues that trip. we'll keep watching. mary katharine ham, juan williams. good to have you on. >> thanks. >> thanks, jon. jenna: new developments out of a story in california. controversy over a memorial to our nation's veterans. that memorial includes a cross and sits on government land in san diego. there has been a long-running legal battle whether it should be taken down. now we're getting word of secret negotiations on its
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fate and several lawmakers are demanding answers about this. shannon bream live in washington on this story. shannon? >> reporter: in the battle over the mount sew la dad memorial erected to honor korean veterans. the aclu has been suing to take it down that unlawfully entangles government with religion. last year the ninth circuit ruled it was unconstitutional. the parties are beginning negotiations what to do with that huge cross. here is what aclu attorney david lloyd said then. >> there are a lot of different ways to slice the pie. we're going to go back and talk to the district court and talk to the government and we will work at arriving an appropriate remedy and solution. >> reporter: just days ago attorneys for the mount soledad memorial foundation that the justice department was negotiating with the
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aclu but not them the group that maintains the cross. that prompted fiery letter from duncan hunter and brian bill prayer to attorney general holder. we want to express our frustration we were unaware about these negotiations but we insist the mount soledad association be included and provide a full account of negotiations to date. they asked for a meeting and immediate response. now the doj tells fox this. quote, we are reviewing that letter and will be responding to it. a federal judge by the way is holding a hearing tomorrow in california to address these concerns. both the aclu and doj will have to answer his questions about what's been going on. jenna? jenna: more on this as we get it, shannon. thank you. jon: she is hitting banks all across california and not to make deposits. the feds have dubbed her the "the plain jane bandit". the latest on the search for this woman and all the breaking details just ahead.
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plus violence growing in syria. the new reports al qaeda is infiltrating rebel forces. what this cris means for the middle east and our security here at home. next [ manager 1 ] out here in the winds, i have to know the weather patterns. i upgraded to the new sprint direct connect. so i can get three times the coverage. [ chirp ] [ manager 2 ] it's like working in a giant sandbox with all these huge toys. and with the fastest push-to-talk... i can keep track of them all. [ chirp ] [ chirp ] [ male announcer ] upgrade to the new "done." with access to the fastest push-to-talk and three times the coverage. now when you buy one kyocera duracore rugged phone, for $49.99, you'll get four free. visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. [ chirp ]
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jenna: some alarming new reports out of syria today as the fighting continues to intensify in one of the country's largest cities of aleppo. we're getting new reports al qaeda may be taking a new deadly role in this whole conflict fighting alongside rebel forces. what does this mean for us and for our potential involvement in this situation? michael singh, washington institute for near ooest policy and served on the national security council and peter brookes from the heritage foundation. peter, to you first, what is the precedence for this? how active has al qaeda been in the past in a place like syria? >> well they're increasingly active, jenna, and that's the problem. in fact some people say a quarter of the potentially
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300 different rebel groups may have folks that have al qaeda affiliation in them so this is growing problem. as you know terrorists like places where chaos rein. we're seeing that in syria. we've seen it right next door in iraq. we had this terrible violence in the last couple days attributed to al qaeda and al qaeda associated groups. we have jordan, ally of the united states, israel. so big, big problems for us not only because what is going on in syria but because al qaeda may be involved there. jenna: michael, let's take a step back here though. we're 16 months into this conflict, 16 months, and we're still discussing who the bad guys are. why is that not clear? >> well, it is very surprising, jenna, that 16 months into this we wouldn't know who is in the opposition but, part of it, jenna, there is a vacuum here. the opposition forces have been making good progress, surprising progress in many ways but it is clear they need outside assistance and international community and especially the united states has not step understood that
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vacuum. so we see it is being filled by these groups, for example. it is not a static situation. we say we don't know who the opposition is it is different now than it was than 16 months ago. i think the risk is this gets more radicalized every day we're not involved. jenna: when it comes to the arab spring, certainly had it when it came to libya, that was one of arguments not to get involved in libya. nato went in there and things changed. is the libya mod dell something that should be applied to syria? >> certainly i think, jenna, the opposition here needs help. that's true. that doesn't mean we should help them. we have to look at the point much view of our interests. we have a strategic interest in overthrowing assad. there is humanitarian interest here as well. remember this country, the assad regime is iran's major ally in the region. we should view this in a sense in terms of iran and the bigger picture of the
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middle east right now. jenna: interesting you bring up iran. peter, you also mentioned iran. a commentator on our air a few days ago raised a interesting point. she said while syria is certainly important, it is a huge distraction away from iran and that's where the focus still continues to need to because they're at the center of most of the mischief that is happening in this area of the world. peter, what do you think about that? >> sure, absolutely. iran is very important. and we're not seeing any progress on hindering their nuclear program. these centrifuges continue to turn. iran continues to move towards the ability to develop a nuclear weapon. and nothing is really happening. sure, it's a major distraction as the arab spring was but this is the reason we have a government. this is the reason we have a national security establishment to deal with these problems. unfortunately they have been dealt a very difficult hand here but they have to deal with it because u.s. interests in the middle east are on the line, no doubt about that. jenna: so real quick here, i have only a short time, but from both of you.
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jon: michael, what is the one thing you would do today to change the situation and change our policy when it comes to syria? >> jenna, i think we have to help the opposition more than we have. assad is on the ropes now but he is clearly regrouping, he is regathering his strength. i think the most important here that the opposition maintain its momentum and assad is ousted so we can move to the next phase. jenna: peter, quick thought? >> covert operations, organize the resistance and bring down the assad regime in a direction that helps and benefits american interests. jenna: be curious how much longer we have these same conversations, 16 months. you've both been good sports as we watch this big story. great to have both you of you. >> thank you, jenna, have you thought about this? you might have health insurance at your work but for how long? a new survey shows a lot of american businesses could be cutting back on the coverage they offer because of the new health care law. we'll get into that. plus changes at skype have internet watchdogs on
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jon: a new study shows the new health care law actually might hurt your chances of getting insurance at least through the company you work for. according to the national consulting firm nearly one in 10 employers say they will drop insurance coverage for their workers since everyone is going to be forced to carry insurance or pay a fine soon. the extra costs might hit individuals as well as the government. we have the executive director of the deloitte center for health solutions. so, paul, in looking at this
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issue you find that already 10% of the companies out there have dropped health insurance coverage over the last decade, is that true? >> that's correct. and it is because of cost. really the employer is facing kind of a double many whammy. they have to take care of rising health care costs and the underpayments for those without insurance, for medicare and medicaid. those underpayments are passed through to employers. so it's a double-whammy. jon: i imagine we're talking mostly about small businesses and when they look at their competitors who may have dropped health insurance, you find that about 10% or so are thinking of dropping health care over the next few years? >> that's exactly right. the larger the company the less likely they are to think they would drop coverage and the irony is, all these companies wish not to drop coverage. it's just a matter of cost. so i don't think this is really a matter of the
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affordable care act per se as much as it is a fear that costs are going to continue to drive employers away from coverage all together. jon: president obama famously said before this thing got passed, he said if you like your health care plan you can keep it. i guess you can only keep it if the plan is still offered, right? >> that's correct but there are a lot of things in the law that could conceivably bend the cost curve. accountable care, bumped delled payments. basically paying for results instead of volume. but those things play out over several years and employers face premium increases in the next 60 days. so it's, really, a challenge for an employer to figure out how they're going to navigate through this and smaller employers face that harshest. jon: wes passed this thing, the congress did, 2 1/2 years ago. does anybody really understand what this law is going to do? >> well, you know, our survey found that a lot of employers know what they're required to do around benefits but the rest of the law they don't really understand. our consumer surveys say the
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same thing. most people don't understand the law now, you know, 2 1/2 years later. so we've got an education process to do on all sides of this debate to make sure we're talking about the affordable care act in total, rather than the pieces that get picked apart. jon: paul keckley from the deloitte center. paul, thank you. >> my pleasure. jenna: interesting conversation on health care there. we're going it be talking about what could be a huge breakthrough on one front, scientists could be close to a cure for a common form of blindness. dr. manny is here to explain more about that. also some new video surfacing of two missing cousins on the day they disappeared. what it tells investigators hoping to bring these little girls home. ♪
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you want to save money on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance. by what's getting done. measure commitment the twenty billion doars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment.
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and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. >> reporter: in the happening now control room. brand-new stories breaking ght now. news out of colorado that is breaking on foxnews.com.
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did the shooter in the movie theater shooting send a notebook to a doctor right beforehand? we'll have more on that coming up. also, have you ever used skype? that let's users have a video chat. they are making changes to their product and some say it will be easier for eavesdroppers to listen in. a possible medical break through, scientists trying to cure certain types of blindness. we have an update on the search for the two little girls, cousins missing for the last week and a half or so before going on a bike ride. the new video clue that could, perhaps, hold the key to finding out where they are. all of that and breaking news the second hour of "happening now" starts right now. jenna: governor mitt romney kickoff his first trip overseas as the presumptive republican nominee for president.
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glad you're with us everybody, i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. he plans meetings with several leaders over the next few days, including israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. jenna: it is a trip to try to boost his foreign policy credentials. carl cameron is on for the ride. nice to see you over in london, carl. >> reporter: mitt romney arrived here this morning. he's got a day of preparation for what will be a world wind swing through the, k. he'll meet with british liters and attend the olympics. in many ways the highlight of this trip will be his visit to israel. before coming here yesterday mr. romney spoke to the vfw yesterday, very critical of president obama on foreign policy. it was meant to frame this speech. mr. romney won't give speeches critical of the commander-in-chief while he's overseas will you he will be
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implicit be saying that obama foreign policy is weak and even appeasing. listen to this. >> i am not ashamed of american power. i take pride that throughout history our power has brought justice where there was tyranny, peace where there was conflict, hope where there was aeu flick affliction and despair. >> reporter: he hopes to strengthen u.s. alliancess with england, israel and poland. where israel is concerned it's particularly important, mitt romney has a long-standing relationship with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, they've known each other since the mid 70s when both recruited for a job at a boston consultant work. the israeli prime minister has had atrocity relationship with president obama, so much so that both the white house administration and benjamin netanyahu's government has had to downplay how chilly it's appeared when mr. benjamin
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netanyahu appeared on fox news sunday this weekend he tried to play it neutral, watch. >> i will receive mitt romney with the same openess that i received another presidential candidate, then senator barack obama when he came almost four years ago, almost the same time in the campaign to israel. israel has -- enjoys bi-partisan support, both democrats and republicans and we extend bi-partisan hospitality to both democrats and republicans. >> reporter: and so there is a lot of domestic policy on this foreign policy trip. in fact when mr. romney goes to poland, a very catholic nation he'll have his eye on states like michigan and pennsylvania, and ohio where there are lots of polish-american voters and catholics. of course by going to israel and trying to strengthen ties with benjamin netanyahu, and the jewish state mr. romney will have an eye on states like florida an elsewhere where the jewish vote is very, very
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prominent and often decisive. with this foreign policy trip implicit criticism of president obama's international relations approach and a very explicit overture to american voters based on the countries he goes to. jenna: an interesting strategy behind all of that. jon told me he's willing to take any of your frequent flier miles. in case you want to share. >> reporter: we got a few this time around. it's a lot longer than driving from cleveland to pennsylvania. jenna: different scenery for sure but an important story. thank you as always. jon: carl prefers our quick response vehicles. jenna: a little more comfortable, i see. jon: president obama now doubling down on his campaign claim about small business owners, the one where he said you didn't build that. republicans pouncing on the statement and their attacks seem to be gaining to traction among
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voters. the president is running a new campaign ad arguing his words were taken out of context. >> of course americans built their own businesses. every day hard-working people sacrifice to meet a payroll, create jobs and make our economy run. what i said was that we need to stand behind them as america always has, by investing in education and training, roads and bridges. jon: let's talk about it with charlie hurt a columnist for the washington times. clearly what the president said shu must have stung him. the campaign is now out with a scripted ad to answer sort of an unscripted moment. >> this is a really, really bad situation for the obama campaign for two reasons. one is i think it's a very -- this very well could wind up being a defining comment in the larger campaign for mitt romney's campaign, anyway. but also because, you know, the first effort to try to diffuse the flub blew up in their
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faces. at first the obama campaign tried to say that mitt romney was making things up, or was misquoting obama or something like that. even the ad in which they said that, they restated what obama said, which was exactly what mitt romney had quoted him as saying. i think this is a very, very troubling situation for the obama campaign and any time you have a campaign out with two separate ads in two weeks defending themselves you're in a bad situation, because think time you're explaining or defending, you know, in politics you're losing. jon: well, the romney supporters say what it points to is the president's overall mindset that government sort of bestows blessings upon business and everything flows from government down. a lot of conservatives see it the opposite way. >> precisely. i think the reason this could wind up being a defining statement in the campaign is that it does, it highlights the
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different men talts of th mentalities of the two governments. where president obama says it's the government is the secret sauce in the economy, and most american and certainly mitt romney would argue that, no it's american ingenuity, hard work, it's individuals who are wanting to better their lives, that is what -- that is the secret sauce in the american economy. even if you put it into context, you know, his argument that roads and infrastructure helps small businesses, of course they do, nobody would argue that they don't. who does obama think paid for the roads and the struck? jon: the fact that the president is still responding to what he himself said leaves some option for the mitt romney campaign, take a quick listen to this. >> i know that there are some people who think what the president said was just a gaffe,
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it wasn't a gaffe, it was instead his ideology. the president does in fact believe that people who build enterprises like this really aren't responsible for it. jon: so, as long as the back and forth continues its advantage romney, isn't it, charlie? >> absolutely. there is nothing that romney can say about this that isn't sort of to his advantage, because it does highlight the difference and, you know, going to the heart of it, of what president obama said, and what i think he believes, you know, it's that belief that we see that has led to these huge investments in things like solyndra. i does believe that it's the government that has to sort of step in and fill all these gaps that are left by free event per price. but you're exactly right, as long as we are talking about all of this. and as long as president obama's campaign is putting out campaign ads, spending money on ads trying to explain all of this. it is a win for romney. jon: the toothpaste is out of the tube as some might say. charlie hurt from the washington
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times. charlie, thank you. >> thanks, jon. jenna: new information and new convictions as well in some shocking voter fraud trials n. one case a big time drug dealer describes how easy it is to buy votes. senior correspondent eric shawn is here with more. eric. >> reporter: drug dealers buying votes to steal elections. that's what's happened in one case in eastern kentucky where prosecutors say drug money funded voter fraud. in a separate vote buying case in another county one public official pled guilty yesterday and two others will be sentenced tomorrow. one candidate there told us that vote buying is as common as jaywalking. >> when it comes to vote buying, that's just an every day thing. >> reporter: michael swau year says he didn't start out to buy votes until he ran for city registrar. >> i didn't do anything like
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that until this time now i'm suffering the consequence. >> reporter: he bought votes for 25 bucks each. one was from richard moore. he met with voters here in the back room of this store in jackson, kentucky. he would send them over to the courthouse to cash their ballots. when they returned he would hand over the cash. >> i had one gentleman come to me and tell me, he said, mike, i've got four votes, and he said, so he went vote and come back and i gave him a hundred dollars, $25 a vote. >> reporter: more than 20 public officials and others have been convicted in eastern kentucky in the last two years for vote buying. those here say it's part of the culture. >> if they didn't get involved in something like this there was no chance he would win this election. >> reporter: he lost and is now serving jail time, but his voter fraud has exacted a much higher price. >> i lay in bed sometimes and think what i've done to them, to the community, and so forth.
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the only thing i can say to the community and to the cit sorry. >> reporter: he is now reforce full. authorities say they are making progress on vote buying. richard moore who sold his vote, he believes vote buying will never change, because east put itas he put it, that's where the money is. jenna: what a perspective for us today. eric, thank you. >> the slow down in u.s. growth could be exacerbated by concerns of the approaching tax increases and spending cuts and the uncertainty about the shape of reforms to tax policy and spending that will ultimately be necessary to restore fiscal sustainability. jon: that was your treasury secretary timothy geithner on capitol hill discussing the economy and the likely impact of possible tax hikes. meanwhile the federal reserve might take new actions to boost the recovery. adam shapiro reporting from fox
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business network. >> reporter: this is really a story about unemployment. the federal reserve is concerned about the unemployment rate being stuck at 8.2%. they don't expect it to come down any time soon, as a result they are planning to keep interest rates very low for as late as 2014. now just recently we saw the unemployment numbers and we're going to get the new unemployment numbers in august, but the federal reserve will be meeting on july 31st and 1st and they will be addressing what is one of their mandates, unemployment. we heard from ben bernanke when he testified before the senate banking committee last week in which he talked about the slowing economy, the threats to the united states and unemployment. and he said at that time that the federal reserve, we are very committed to insuring or at least doing all we can to insure that we continue to make progress on unemployment. the one thing the federal reserve can do, because it really can't cut interest rates any lower than they already are, it could start buying mortgage-backed securities one more time. they did this in 2008, in 2010.
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it makes the dollars cheap, it puts dollars into the system and people start investing and lending money. that's the theory. we haven't seen that happen the way the fed wants. a lot of people are worried that the federal reserve may not be able to do or take the steps to put people back to work. jon: federal reserve out of bullets potentially. >> reporter: right. jon: adam shapiro, thank you. jenna: now this fox news alert breaking news on the colorado massacre. we have a fox news.com exclusive report, you can read the entire thing on our website. this report suggests that the movie massacre suspect, james holmes sent a chilling notebook to a university of colorado psychiatrist well before the attack. apparently inside this notebook had details and sketches of the crime. rick folbaum is working on the details. we have more breaking news after this quick commercial break. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating?
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jenna: back to that exclusive report from foxnews.com that the shooting suspect sent some kind after notebook to a psychiatrist at the university of colorado. rick is taking a closer look at this and has more. >> reporter: our colleagues at fo fox news.com, reporting that holmes mailed a notebook with details about how he was going to kill people to a psychiatrist at the university of colorado, but that the package sat unopened in a mailroom nor up to a week before finally being discovered on monday. quoting a law enforcement source the report saying the notebook was filled withdraw inks of wh withdrawing inks of what he was going to do. gun wielding stick figures shooting other stick figures. the notebook is in the hands of the f.b.i. sources telling foxnews.com that the psychiatrist holmes sent the package too is a professor that
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also treats patients at the psychiatric outpatient facility on campus. not clear, jenna, whether the doctor has ever had any contact with holmes who had recently dropped out of the school's neuroscience doctoral program. we are continuing to go through this report on foxnews.com, it's an exclusive there. we'll bring you more when we get it. back to you. jenna: thank you very much for that. our legal panel is coming up in a moment here. we're going to talk a little bit more about this case and how this new information might change things, not only for the suspect but also for the victims. that is coming up. we had news of a medical breakthrough to treat a very common form of blindness. more on that just ahead. [ male announcer ] research suggests the health of our cells plays a key role
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the movie massacre suspect james holmes sent a chilling notebook to a university of colorado psychiatrist before this attack, quite a bit apparently before the attack. alicia acuna is live with more on this. >> reporter: this notebook goes into quite a bit of detail of exactly how the massacre that occurred on may night at the theater behind me was going to happen. according to the law enforcement sources that foxnews.com is talking to exclusively this notebook actually contains drawings, illustrations, stick people holding beginnings blasting away other stick people. and how the suspect apparently laid out according to these law enforcement sources and according to foxnews.com how he was planning to kill people. according to foxnews.com this notebook was mailed to a psychiatrist at the university of colorado prior to the shootings that occurred on friday. now this notebook sat in the mailroom on the campus and it
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could have been there as long as a week, since july 12th. the shooting happened on july 20th. it could have been there since july 12th according to one law enforcement source. a second law enforcement source cannot con teurpl how long it sat there before or even if it was there prior to the shooting. this notebook actually never did make it into the psychtrysts hands. it was sent to the psychiatrist, it was found in the mailroom during a search of the campus mailroom, jenna. jenna: interesting. real quick here, the medical campus for the university of colorado, does that look like it shuts down during the summer? is it an active campus right now? are there people around it or is it quiet? >> no, this is not a quiet facility. the university of colorado is an ongoing facility, a research facility, medical facility. this isn't something that would be quiet and shut down. it might have fewer people on it than normally you would see during a normal school year, but this is an active facility. and there was a search of this facility on monday.
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police and f.b.i. were called there because this same professor, this psychiatrist and professor did say that he had received a package that he thought was from james holmes, it turned out it was not from him but it did lead to the search that led to the find -fg this package. before i send it back to you, just one note. today is the first of 12 funerals that will happen. gordon cowdan the first and oldest of the 12 victims will be laid to rest today. this is a father of two teenagers who they had come to a theater to watch a movie with. jenna: thank you for reminding us. it brings us back to the victims. joey jackson is with us and pea lar prinz is a defense attorney. your reaction to this. >> this is stunning. i know the defense will spin this to show this evidence is lack of confidence. this is clear evidence of preplanning and premeditation and a determined effort to get
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the job done which was to massacre people in cold blood. have you to have your wits about you, be logical and thorough, you have to know platting and planning to do something like he did. not only is it the letter itself which is stunning and chilling but you add that to what he actually did, which was to carry out the objectives of the letter and his promises in getting ammunition, in getting the weaponry that he need. in booby trapping his apartment. all this demonstrates this is premeditated murder in the first-degree. under collaw it certainly warrants the death penalty. jenna: pilar do you agree? >> i don't, actually. certainly it's going to bolster the prosecution's claim of premeditation and i think they'll have a relatively easy time with that, but it doesn't necessarily take away the defense of insanity. we've got to back up they are going to do a full psychiatric evaluation of him. but the other point to remember is that part of colorado's insanity defense is something called irresistible impulse.
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and what that in layman's terms means is that he had an impulse that he couldn't control to kill. and so while this may show premeditation the irresistible impulse could be something that could have been going on for days, weeks or months. they'll have potentially that claim. it makes it hard for premeditation but they still could have a valid insanity defense. jenna: i want to share more from this report. going back to this notebook sitting in a mailroom at this facility. so many of our vires are probably asking the question, how could this notebook sit there a full week ahead of this event, and if anyone had opened it up, what could have changed? joey, we don't know at this time whether or not the psychiatrist had any contact with the man on our screen. we do know that the psychiatrist taught at the school and also treated patients. so how potentially could the story change if we find out there was any established relationship between this doctor and james holmes? >> ultimately, jenna what will happen is is that that relationship, if any will be
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evaluated thoroughly, and certainly whatever past dealings this doctor had or didn't have with him, the nature of those type of visits, whether or not he was evidencing any type of lack of competence or any lack of sanity. ultimately what will happen is there will be a number of experts that will evaluate him. when the experts do i would fully suspect that there will be differing opinions as to his mental straight and status. if he was being treated by someone, that someone would be the best person to discuss and talk about in general how he was mentally and how he was -- whether he was getting worse, better, or be what the nature of these treatments were, jenna. jenna: pilar i know you work as a defense attorney. if you were representing one of the families of the victims, if you were working with them in any capacity, how would you share this news with them today, and what would you say to them? >> oh, it's just -- it makes it so much worse, because of course they are thinking already, what could have been done to stop it
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and here they are going to look eight. the sad part is they are going to look to the university to say, could the university have done anything, and i agree with joey there is going to be a thorough evaluation of his relationship with this psychiatrist, was this a treating psychiatrist, is this somebody he knew in a patient-therapist type of way or somebody he simply knew as a professor. certain medical health professionals have reporting requirements, but we don't know whether that relationship was established and whether that psychiatrist had any reason to know prior to getting this package after the fact that there was any risk of danger here. very hard to break this to the families. it just adds another layer to an already tragic situation. jenna: such a good point to end on. we always want to make sure that we consider them when we talk about the legal ramification of this. pilar and joey, thank you. more on this developing story on foxnews.com. jon: most americans speak english, obviously.
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not everyone does. there is a move on capitol hill to make english the nation's official language. what would that accomplish? we'll talk with the sponsor of that bill. got into some fireworks on it yesterday. plus, a new way to reform failing schools, it's called the parent-trigger law a allows parents to take over a school. ne better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. [ yawning sound ]
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yesterday. a bill that would make english the official language of the united states. the house will be holding a hearing next week. english already is the official language of 31 states in this country. the critics claim it's a violation though of their civil rights. proponents say a common language unites the country. joining us the sponsor of hr 997, the english language unity act, iowa congressman, steve king. congressman, overall, what would this accomplish? what would be the practical effect of designating english as the official language of the u.s.? >> well the most important component of it, jon, is that it requires the federal government to promote english as the official language rather than to, as now, as practice out there clinton's executive order 1366 to undermine it. it is provides for continuity and consistency between our constitution, laws, regulations and our
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public proceedings so there is a common communications form of currency that we know is the standard in law, that being english and that is of course a unifying language that helped build this country. jon: you've been at this a while. you got it passed in the iowa legislature and now iowa state law when you were a state legislator. you brought it to congress in 2003. you got 107 cosponsors. the thing didn't go anywhere. you brought it back in 2005, introduced it again, it didn't go anywhere. you brought it back in 2007, 2009 and now you have brought it back in 2011. some would say, you're tilting at windmills. >> that's what they said on my sixth year in the iowa senate when i brought it back for the third time, the third general assembly and then governor tom vilsack signed that bill into law and so it is a bit of a long march to get here but i would look at decisions made of the chairs of wore force. they haven't been favorable towards it. it is hard to get back that.
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we have it assigned to the judiciary committee where he sit. it is more favorable climate. many people on the hardcore left in this country are about dividing america and pushing us into language enclaves, ethnic enclaves and class warfare. we need a unified united states of america and there is no more powerful unifying tool without history and humanity and common langage. i'm if it was for something i would be in favor of that. jon: they have a list of eight bullet points required for citizenship in the united states and number 7 on that list, we've got a readout for it i think you have to be able to read, write and speak english and have knowledge and an understanding of u.s. history and government, or civics. if that's the case why do we even need an amendment like yours, a bill like yours? >> and those, that language
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not very well-enforced and interpreted loosely. i have seen and many in this country have seen citizenship oaths taken in foreign languages. i've given speeches at naturalization ceremonies. i like to go there. i like to welcome new americans but i notice if i tell a joke who laughs, and who doesn't. those that don't understand the english don't laugh those jokes. they're, sworn in as american citizens. this bill requires they understand the declaration and constitution, laws written from it in english. it is a tighter standard than we have today. i think it will be conducive to the requirement of new citizens, not past naturalized, but new citizens to understand our history and our historical documents like the declaration and constitution. jon: congressman, you're a republican. republicans generally want government to get out of people's lives. what is with the requirement of a government making people speak english or making designating english as the nation's language? >> well, i would like to have government get out of
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our lives and promote multilink alism and spending unnecessary money printing documents in multiple languages. it diffuses our society. this is a fiscally responsible thing to do. it will save billions over the long run. and government costs in printing and hiring interpreters. our ancestors came here to this country without all those assists and they were able to assimilate into america. for example, my grandmother came from germany. she sent my dad to kindergarten speaking only german. when he came home from the first day in school he said hello to his mother in german and said turned to him, speaking german in this household is verboten. i came here to become an american. i will learn it and you learn english and bring it home and teach it to me. that is the kind of reference that we had back in that generation. it doesn't mean that there aren't other ways families deal with this. we want to promote english as the unifying force in america for all people,
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wherever they come from, whatever their native language happens to be. jon: in l.a. for instance, they print ballots in seven different languages. congressman steve king, we'll keep an eye on this bill and see if it actually comes to the floor in this session. >> thank you, jon. jenna: if you're unhappy with your child's education this next story could be very important to you. a major legal victory with nationwide implications from parents simply fed up with failing schools. in california, a group of parents are becoming the nation's first to exercise the parent trigger. it is a law which allows parents to fire teachers or ad membership straightores or, turn schools over to private management if they go through the proper process. texas, louisiana, and mississippi have similar laws on the books. more than a dozen states are considering them but this parent union in california led by doreen diaz is to first to make it reality in san bernardino at desert trails, elementary school.
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doreen, you have a child at this school? >> yes i do. jenna: how did this even start? just take us back to the beginning when you decided to explore this parent trigger. >> well, i've been an active parent at the school. i volunteer as pta i was on school council. i addressed the board many times with the issues that were happening at the school, the low performance, low academic qualities of the school and i never got a solution. the only solution that they ever offered me was if i didn't like the school or the staff there, i should just change my child from that school. i thought about it, and i'm like, well, that might help my daughter but what about all the other kids that go to this school? everybody, every child that goes to this school has the right to have a quality education. i can fix it for my child. jenna: talk a little bit about the school. this is very important. you're making some key points here. in this school one in four students, one in four, can
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pass basic proficiency tests in reading and writing. that means three out of four that graduate can't read, can't write, can't do basic math that is where the school is right now. that is where the parent trigger law applies. it only applies to the schools lowest in the state. people said, hey, why dormt you just move? why not take the easy way out? you say you didn't want to. so what's next now? now that you have some control through this parent union you formed, what are you going to do to try to improve the school? >> well, we're going to be announcing our next steps later on this week and everybody will get that information but we want to transform our school into one that puts our kids first andcation above all else. jenna: do you have a background in education? you worked for the pta you were active at the school board. have you ever taught in a classroom? >> no, ma'am, i have not. jenna: let's talk a little bit about that because that might be a question would
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have. why do you think parents can make better decisions about a school than some of the trained professionals who have made their career out of it? >> it's not that i think i would be a better person making those decisions. what i'm saying i have an equal right and equal say in what is happening in that school. i'm a parent of a child that attends that school. and if i can't say or concern or voice my concerns about what's happening on the school, and what direction i believe the school should take for my child and every other child that goes to that school, that's an issue. you can't, i know that they have their professionals but in one voice they say, well, parents are the primary educators. in the second voice they're saying what do parents know, they're not educators. which one is it? are we the primary educators or do we not know what we're doing? if so, if we're primary educators why do we need to send them to the school first place? which send them to school to be educated. we expect them to be.
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far too long the status quo will do whatever they will do and our children are losing. we're filling jails faster than we're filling colleges. this is not acceptable. we have to stand up an speak for children. parents are the only people in the nation that care only about their children and their education. and that's why we need to have a voice at that table because we need to know what will happen and what will be done in the best interests of our children. jenna: doreen, you make some very, very good points as a parent and a taxpayer. we have to bring that into it as well. we'll leave it there and continue to follow your story. we reached out to the school district. they're having a meeting what they're going to do about this and parents having more power what happens inside the school. we appreciate the time today. thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. jon: here's a surprising number. more than four million americans are either blind or visually impaired and vision loss among older people expected to increase crease as our population ages. next a potential breakthrough in curing
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your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. jon: a potential breakthrough for curing some types of blindness. researchers are exploring a number of treatments that could help millions of people improve their vision. let's talk about it with dr. manny alvarez, managing editor of fox news health and a member of the fox news medical a-team. macular degeneration is sort of catch-all phrase. >> one of the leading causes of blindness for age related is macular degeneration. it affects over four million people in the u.s. but there are certain types of macular degeneration that affects younger folks. for the last 10 years the treatments for these
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diseases have been very limited but now new research is showing there are three potential pathways for a cure. one will be gene therapy. scientists have already mapped out over 200 genes associated with blindness. now they can see where the gene defect is. gene therapy is something given where you are injected alternative genes into the eye and that is reversing some of the sigh technology and some sell abnormalties and improving they're doing reimplantation. they're taking stem cells, reengineer them and replanting those cells in the eye. that is also showing promising. remember, vitamin a is one of the leading ingredients that is necessary for the eye to function and some of the degeneraltive diseases, what they do, they clump in vitamin a. now they can remodify the vitamin a and with a pill
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they're seeing better results in improving vision. very exciting things for people with this type of problem. jon: obviously a lot of people who have had macular degeneration, now their vision is cloudy or they can't see a thing. is there a prospect of actually bringing sight back to people who have lost it? >> i think optimism is, if you look at staggeredded disease which is single gene defect, and affects teenagers for instance, now they're able to reinject that, gene therapy into the eye. right now preliminary results but they're small but very promising you see reversal on blindness and improvement you would see obscure object. now you see specific things in that object. so, you know, potential is that it may be in 10 or 15 years, once we begin to perfect more of these therapies this problem may be eliminated. jon: so it's not the kind of thing where you can run to the eye clinic the hospital and say i want this gene therapy right now? it is all experimental?
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>> it is experimental, but there are many universities including here in new york, columbia university where you can call up the department of ophthalmology and say can i will enroll in some of the trials. this is being done throughout the u.s. you should check with the local doctor or hospital to see if any trials are being undertaken. jon: like mom said you have only one pair of eyes. >> that's right. jon: take care of them. dr. manny, thank you. jenna. jenna: jon, catching up with your friends and family from the safety of your own home sounds nice, right? but are you really safe on skype? some new information raising serious eyebrows in the law enforcement community. we'll talk a little bit more about that next [ male announcer ] this is sheldo whose long day setting up the news
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many users are concerned a change in the way that skype handles calls may make it easier for other people to spy on them or eavesdrop on them. morgan wright is a cybersecurity analyst. we'll talk a little more about that. morgan, you say we have to consider something when it comes to skype. sometimes criminals are using skype for a very specific reason. why is that? >> absolutely. the times square bomber used a similar type service. the terrorists in the mumbai massacre, designated foreign terrorist organization, also used voice over ip to defeat the ability for law enforcement and the intelligence community to lawfully intercept these conversations and you know, the original legislation called communications assistance to law enforcement act was never kind to keep up with the jones like the technology and the problem is this is out of date and needs to be readdressed. jenna: all right. interesting. so we can't say for sure they were using skype, some
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of these people but using a technology like skype that would allow them to have conversations without surveillance. what has potentially changed here with skype and the skype that you and i might use to talk? >> well, we have come a long way talking about flame and stuts next. i'm already to get off the internet. not really. skype had the money to do it to begin with they would have done it this way because it is truly a performance issue. they were relying on too many other computers assets not owned by skype for communication. when microsoft bought it they centralized architecture and better performance under their control. by centralizing that you have now centralized the ability to intercept conversations both data and video. jenna: ah. >> once you today that i can put software and now i have a central point just like we do with phone companies, a central office to monitor the communications because what happened before it was very risky. you actually had to break in
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legally, plant software and monitor the conversation from the actual computer. and that's a very risky operation. jenna: this may make it less likely screen freezes when we talk but also mean someone could be listening? so there are some privatesy earns kennedy space center privacy concerns obviously. if we're using skype at home is this something we should be worried about? >> well, it does not expand the powers of law enforcement. it is called the going dark initiative. fbi has been working with this a couple of years and working with the international association of police chiefs. it is not expanding their powers but we need to keep up with technology. it is still about lawful intercept. you have to go to court and get a title 3 for oral communications. you have to jump all the legal hoops you did before to listen in on a phone conversation. they're saying now we want to apply the same process but apply it to internet voice over ip conversation.
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therif they don't act,hike hanging over us. americans will see their taxes on dividend income spike, almost tripling in some cases. whether it's on him, or her, or them, it's a ripple effect on america's economy, slowing job creation, squeezing seniors and families, and hindering economic recovery. tell congress to stop a dividend tax hike now. go to defendmydividend.org to learn more. between taking insulin and testing mylood sugar...e, is this part of your life? freestyle lite test strips? why, are they any... beep! wow, that hardly needs any blood! yeah... and the unique zipwik tab targets the blood and pulls it in. so easy. freestyle lite needs just a third the blood
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of onetouch ultra. really? yep, which is great for people who use insulin and test a lot. max and i are gonna run out and get them right now. or you can call or click today and get strips and a meter free. test easy. jon: let me take you back to the good old days of 2009, remember the balloon boy hoax? the 6-year-old son of a couple in colorado, they claimed their little boy was in the basket of this weather balloon floating away. well, of course, it turned out to be a hoax. the balloon boy was in the attic that whole time. apparently the couple was trying to get publicity for their stunt. they had to pay more than $30,000 in restitution. well, someone now might actually make money off the whole thing. the guy who bought that mylar balloon has done a deal with the company. you can get trading cards now that have a piece of the balloon boy balloon.
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