>> gretchen: take it away. another surprise; okay. yesterday was mary's 40th birth birthday. happy birthday. >> we were so pleased to work with you. a pleasure. >> thank you so much. >> $20,000 to help with the taxes. congratulations, back to you. >> steve: very nice. good job. >> gretchen: more in the after the show show. fox news alert on the road to the fiscal cliff as your don't races toward the $16 trillion mark. the nonpartisan congressional budget office, the cbo about to release a report on the u.s. government deficit and government spending. will there be any good news? i'm bill hemmer. welcome to "america's newsroom". martha: hi, bill. >> you look lovely. we got the cobwebs out yesterday. martha: hello, everybody at home. i'm martha maccallum. we'll get the report. we'll provide the most up-to-date prediction we have how close we are to the

fiscal cliff. bill: and how close to a double-dip recession. the percentage has gone higher. stuart varney from "varney & company" on the fox business network. good morning to you. this out in an hour. what will it forecast? >> there are +++2

you have some negatives out there. i'm not sure what this 10:00 report will show us but the fundamental background is still negative on the u.s. economy. bill: last quarter we grew what, 1.5%? >> that's correct. bill: that is measely. >> that is very weak indeed. bill: fiscal cliff concerns in europe and china. whether we're headed for the fiscal cliff or not, what is happening overseas could have a major factor on us. >> yes it already is.

europe is the largest trading bloc in the word taken together. if they go into recession and they are in recession and they're headed further south, there is no way that is good news for the united states. so is china, one of the biggest trading countries in the world clearly slowinging down. that is not good news for our exports to them and the whole global situation. there are negatives out there. i'm not predicting a negative report at 10:00 but belief me it would be a huge reworking of the numbers to show something really fundamentally positive. bill: thank you, stuart. it is a measure where we're headed to when with you consider we're 76 days away from this election as well. stuart varney, check you out at 9:20 on fbn. thank you, sir. martha: just a little more context for the government's current financial state. over the past four fiscal years, think about this, the government has spent about $14 trillion. the 2012, in 2012 the u.s. will see the fourth consecutive trillion dollar deficit. so those are relatively new

in our history, trillion dollar deaf sets over the past few years. the government has spent more than it has taken in for 70 of the past 81 years. that is a tough record. imagine if you were doing that at home. out of control government spending is a big issue for 2012. republican vice-presidential candidate and house budget committee chairman paul ryan addressing our deficit. he told our sean hannity that he believes the president has delivered broken promises on deficits and jobs. he said that team romney would control the deficit and get the budget under control. here is what he said. >> get the size of government back down to historically where it has been so we don't have the biggest government we've had since world war ii which is a world war posture. we're showing it is not too late to get the american idea revived, to get people back to work. get people back on the ladder of life. what president obama is doing, he is dividing people in this country. he speaking to people as they are stuck in current

situation in life and the government is only way to cope with it. that is very dour and cynical. that is not the american ideal. martha: he went on to reject that notion. he is going to give the american people a clear choice of two different futures. bill: president obama with a different tone while on the stump in columbus, ohio. the president saying he is the one with, he is the one working hard for america's future. >> he does not think investing in your future is worth it. he doesn't think that is a good investment. i do. that's what is at stake in this election. that is the choice in november. bill: the president saying that is why he fought to make sure the interest rate on federal student loans will not to up. 18 electoral votes up in the buckeye state. the candidate needs 270. ohio has a history of choosing a president. though went eight for eight in the last elections. beat that, america. no republican has won the presidency without winning in ohio. last time around president

obama beat john mccain by 300,000 votes there. the president in nevada today, he will hold a roundtable with teachers before heading to new york later tonight for a fund-raiser. martha: movement in some of the new nevada poles. we'll keep an eye on that state as well. we have only 76 days until the election and a new poll could spell some problems for president obama. this is a "wall street journal/nbc" poll and it finds 61% of the americans think the country is on the wrong track. these right track, wrong track polls, folks have been very telling in recent elections. you have 32% who think the country is head in the right direction. in 10 minutes from now we're joined by +++.rúf

seriously consider what course should be in the best interest of our country. his fellow missourians urged him to step aside. i think he should accept counsel and exit the race. former alaska governor sarah palin telling akin it is

time to quit. >> this is not going in his favor. you have to step aside from self, from yourself desire to get in there and serve and do what you believe is right. and you have to, in a sense, take one for the team. and you have to step aside. we'll do whatever we can to not quash this opportunity that we have to take missouri for the good of the country. martha: very fired up sarah palin on greta's show last night. peter doocy joins me live from washington. so, pete, what is akin's rationale for hanging in there? >> reporter: congressman akin says the people of missouri chose him as their candidate and he doesn't think it is right for party bosses to override the voters. he is not staying in to make a point. he says he still has a good shot of beating senator claire mccaskill in november. >> i made the decision to stay in because i believe we can win this race. there is such a strong

contrast between me and my opponent. we're about opposite all things. she is in favor of obamacare. i voted 30 times against obamacare. and she is also strongly pro-abortion and i'm pro-life. i think that contrast gives us a basis to win this and i'm planning to win it. >> reporter: congressman akin also said this morning he will not apologize for the fact that he has been consistently pro-life and he doesn't know what is in the future. while he is firmly in the race for now, he left the possibility open vaguely he might not end up being in the race at the finish line, martha. martha: one to watch. thanks so much, peter. bill: competitive race in that state. john mccain won by 3,000 votes just four years ago. all right, we are just getting started. stunning new claims what is happening inside the white house including who the president listens to the most on the toughest issues. martha: some new concerns that a tropical storm is gaining strength and it could cause some major

headaches for the upcoming republican national convention. how the gop is preparing. how we're preparing. we're packing galoshes for the trip. we have the latest on the storm track for you. bill: both of them. paul ryan is out swinging on the trail. his latest line of attack, have you heard this one? >> remember this other time where he was caught on video saying, people like to cling to their guns and their religion. hey, i'm a catholic deer hunter. am happy to be clinging to my guns and my religion. it's the little things in life that make me smile.

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martha: what a story this is. endurance swimmer diana nyad is now recovering we're told following her daring attempt to swim all the way from cuba to the florida keys this time around. she has done so many of these really challenging swims in her lifetime. she was pulled out of the water yesterday after enduring four days of storms, thunderstorms, during the middle of the night that she

swam through, jellyfish stings and shark threats out there. she turned 6 today. happy birthday, diana nyad. she completed more than half of the 103 mile journey. then she decided she had to call it quits. >> when you have history in the palm of your hands, because i was ready to do this. i'm standing in from the time of you after a pretty grueling set of hours out there. nothing was easy. i feel fine. my muscles aren't sore. i did all the training. martha: boy, she is incredible. she already holds the world record for the longest ocean swim. that was a swrurn any of 102 miles, can you imagine, from the bahamas to jupiter, florida. maybe she will go again. bill: i think she is. all right, a race for the white house that could be anybody's to win at the moment. a new "wall street journal" poll shows governor mitt romney closing president obama's lead. mr. obama leads in that polling 48 to 44% across the

country but that spread is just right at the margin of error. peggy noonan, "wall street journal" columnist with me here in studio. good morning to you. >> good morning. bill: we have a lot to go through in four minutes. we'll get through all of it. good morning. the same number about a month ago. >> yeah. bill: what does it say why the race is so static? >> it is interesting. i have a got a feeling when i look at it, this thing is neck-and-neck. it is all within the margin of error, yet in some funny way it is wide open.

bill: that's what conventions are about, are they not? >> yes, conventions and debates. i think a lot of people, first of all, the convention, it is next week. it is

>> his numbers on economic issues are not i'm sure a let of people think this poor guy walked into the middle of a mess. however, americans are very bottom line at the end. if they think it didn't work. his decision making and his leadership. they will be tough on him. bill: from your column this past weekend.

so it is so rich, too, with points about where you

as a catholic deer hunter. guilty as charged. that is what freedom is. bill: to you, you write mitt romney just threw a long ball. the gop will have to play a ought dash schuss long ball game. quote, they don't care what

you know unless they know that you care. >> absolutely. what, paul ryan was just doing, was speaking the +++hír it doesn't get any better than endless shrimp at red lobster.

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work on the legal process. how do we get our candidate to be nominated for vice president and president of the united states. martha: maria, tell us what we need to prepare for down there? >> tough timing, martha. good morning everyone w we have our eyes on tropical storm isaac. yesterday was tropical depression number 9. now it is a tropical storm.

maximum sustained winds at 45 miles per hour. we're expecting landfall as early as todays across parts of the leeward islands. because the water is so warm we are expecting the storm to continue to intensify. it could be a category 1 hurricane late early, friday morning. by friday 2:00 a.m. it could have maximum sustained winds at 85 miles an hour. we are expecting landfall across haiti and the dominican republican and into parts of cuba. that is the forecast cone. there is still some uncertainty. right now the official track for the hurricane center is calling for landfall early monday morning across south florida as a category 1 hurricane. a lot of mountains across parts of cuba, haiti.

and dominican republican. this is something we're keeping a close eye on, martha. martha: that is what you typically expect. as it goes over the land mass it is starts to shave off some of that power, right? >> we'll hope for that. we're looking at strong impact across parts of the caribbean with heavy rain of 8 inches as we head onto the parts of leeward islands. storm surge as high as one to three feet above normal levels. martha: give as new meaning to right track and wrong track. maria, thank you very much. back in 2008, hurricane gustav struck louisiana as the gop convention was getting underway in minnesota. that led the republicans to cancel the opening day events four years ago. they epwent back with a scaled back events. george w. bush and dick cheney to cael their addresses that day. this was the second most destructive storm of the '08

++p martha: president obama listens to one person above all others. who is it and does that cause some problems. you do this every morning?

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bill: live look in virginia. where the republican vice-presidential can diet paul ryan now speaking today. his first stop of the day, in roanoke, virginia. president famously said to small business owners you did not build that. he is also being introduced by the owner of crumb and get it. that the bakery is the guy

who turned down a chance with a photo-op of vice president joe biden because he disapproved of the president's remarks on business in america. >> this is the opportunity of a lifetime, you know. and, essentially i said no offense to you, or the campaign, but i decline you guys coming in here. at that time, she said, well, you know there will be a lot of press. there will be a lot of activity. very simply, you didn't build that, speaking of small businesses and entrepreneurs all across the country. and, actually last night my wife was up all night long. did not sleep. she worked a full 24 hours. bill: we are monitoring ryans remarks. he is on stage now as you see him. we'll bring you any major developments. if+++f4íx

martha: bombshell new book is claiming president obama's senior advisor, valerie jarrett, wield as huge amount of influence over the president. according to this report jarrett was able to convince the president to delay the osama bin laden mission three times. the book, describes their relationship. >> valerie jarrett is an unusual figure in american history, for, since, 1991 she has been the advisor, the mentor of both the president and the first lady. she has shaped their careers and guided them. never in american history who have we seen someone simultaneously the mentor to the first lady and the president of the united states, president obama has said that he never makes a

decision without consulting her. member of obama's staff refer to her as the other half of barack's brain. she panicked. she did not want the bin laden raid to go forward. martha: he is the author of the book, leading from behind. reluctant president and advisors who decide for him. he is here now. good to have you, richard. >> thanks, martha. martha: you make strong suggestions about valerie jarrett's role and you document how that relationship began. what do you think is so different? all presidents have very close advisors. when i think back about the biographies of some presidents you heard about others you felt wield too much power over him. that is not unusual. >> it is would be unusual for them not to. there+++p0vó

there is debt there, a feeling of indebt between the president and valerie jarrett. martha: interestinging the way you document that part. valerie jarrett is high esteemed person in chicago. they respected her. they didn't have those kind of connections. they had dinner together, she really saw in them a couple who could be very powerful and who she could help quite a bit. an interesting look back. take a look at what the white house is saying on your book. it comes as no big surprise they're not too pleased the way this is being portrayed. i don't know if we have

that. can we pull that up on the screen now? there we go. it was completely made up and wrong. the decision to take out usama bin laden was made, there we go, by the president. as many of those involved here have said on record. when you look back, bob gates, vice president biden, hillary clinton, who you claim in the book, sort of pushed him to make this decision, said, absolutely. it was the president's decision. >> this is very typical of the white house. attacking an argument i'm not making rather than looking at reporting in the book. irnever said the president didn't make the decisions. certainly nobody pushed the president away from the desk in the oval office and signing orders. the president did this himself. the question is really about the argument and internal struggle inside the white house and in some of the executive branch offices about the mission to take out bin laden and planning was stopped three times in 2011 according to various sources i talked to both career and political. martha: you can understand, reading scenario as you lay

out in the book which i did, you can understand in this circle of advisors there would be people who would look at him and say, look if this doesn't go your way this will never go away, right? you have valerie jarrett, who appears to be saying that according to reporting and hillary clinton who says, i was there once when we didn't take this chance and that ended up really hurting. that seems like normal course of events. >> absolutely. they can't have it it both ways. they can't say it was gutsy call and pretent there was no one in the white house opposed to it. some people in the white house were far more concerned about political ramifications. other people like hillary clinton and cia director leon panetta, concerned about the missing an opportunity to take out bin laden who 3,000 americans. they can't have it both ways. the white house has to stick to a story. martha: first chapter is called the women and sort of analyzes his mother and

valerie jarrett and hillary clinton and all these women. nancy pelosi who you say had a lot of influence over him. in terms of leadership qualities what do you think, what did you take away from your reporting and gathering on all this? >> some of the left-wing coverage of my book said this is a criticism. what, it is not a criticism. it is observation. what is interesting about president obama and history of effort presidents he relies unusually on strong idealogical women. maybe it is a sign of generational change and a welcome one but it is unusual how much he relies on his achievements on valerie jarrett, on nancy pelosi, and increasingly on hillary clinton. without hillary's role i don't know if the united states would have had the same involvement in libya against qaddafi or bin laden raid would have been very different. would health care have passed without the role of nancy pelosi. president tends to get blame or credit for everything that happens on his watch. if you look at mechanics usually in the obama years you see a strong determined woman behind the throne. martha: there is also a man you talk about who he is

very close to. that is eric holder. you're making the case, that given all of the difficulties that eric holder has come under, other presidents might have eventually said look, you know what? you're a great guy. i love watching espn with you. we go way back. but you're not serving this presidency well. why do you believe he hasn't done that? >> can the first black president, fire the first black attorney general of the united states? in america, --. martha: why would it have to be about that? >> well, it is not about that for 98% of america but

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senior economics writer "wall street journal" has been looking at this. steve, good morning to you. >> good morning, bill. bill: what happened here? parody any good? i mean, 52 grand? they must have gotten something out of it? >> they better have gotten something for it. the old saying in government, not hard at work but hardly working. this is pattern we've seen. you covered this story on fox news last couple years. it is not just one incident. we saw this obviously at the gsa. last year, year before that. we saw the parties at the social security administration. this is a federal government by the way, bill, that is $1.2 trillion in debt. that is throwing these $5 million parties at these agencies. bill:. >> just for the sake of relativety, that bash at

vegas with the guy in the hot tub, that was $830,000. this conference in orlando was $5 million. >> they're getting more expensive all the time, aren't they? you really have to wonder, shouldn't this money be going to vote rans who fought for our country not these kind of parties. bill: great point. >> i was infuriated when i read the story. when we have a government so much in debt. i think the reason it makes taxpayers so angry, we have, a financial crisis on our hands in washington. and, most americans have come to believe, i think, directly, that there is a kind of culture of waste and overspending in washington, and nobody is minding the store. bill: just, just another specific here. $84,000 on pens. highlighters. hand sanitizers. usb drives for the computers. these+++/hqqw

these expenditures are out of control. president raining around, we need to raise taxes. when you need to root out this waste. doesn't make sense. bill: we have homeless veterans. your point is taken. department of veterans affairs looking into this. >> bill, hold on. think about how many homeless people, homeless veterans we could house with this $5 million? bill: fair point. another story out here. stimulus funds were spent advertising, on msnbc.

for what? >> well, you know, it is, green jobs, issue, that, that the obama administration keeps touting and they're spending, we spent over a million dollars per green job we've created in this economy. and it is not a success story whatsoever. but the obama administration is spending a lot of money trying to tout its success when in fact green jobs, we only get 2% of our electricity from wind and solar power even after billions of dollars of subsidies. there haven't been many jobs creating ged all the jobs have been in the oil and gas industry. bill: 100 come americals touting obama administration green training jobs efforts. how many jobs did that create, do you think, steve? >> we don't know exactly how many jobs the white house says over 50,000. but, many independent agencies including the darrell issa, who runs the house oversight committee, says again, a million dollars per job created? there must abetter way to do

this. bill: wonder if they asked is? stephen moore, "wall street journal". >> why aren't they advertising on fox? bill: that is a fair question. we don't know if they inquired. maybe they did. hemmer@foxnews.com is the e-mail, steve moore. if you like to know where the government is spending your money. fire away. lines are open right now. martha. martha: $84,000 on pens? bill: can you believe that? hand sanitizers. $52,000 to produce a video. that is some high-priced stuff. orlando, five million. >> need to take me with them when we go shopping. get a much better deal than that. vice president joe biden planning to crash the gop's party showing up in tampa, just in time for the republican national convention. how that news cot got out, maybe one of the most interesting he willments of all of this. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

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to. >> here is a twist for you. a student running against his teacher. >> right now, we are doing people a key people in connecticut and making connecticut affordable place to live. >> how good of a teacher could you be if he has opposing views remain. >> that is the best because i to dictate what he needed to think. >> fun to watch that debate though. crawford and his former student represent the 33rd senate district and they will face off in the general election coming in november.

>> it is a staggering number. more than 212,000 veterans are estimated to be homeless. the number has more than doubled in the past five years. but emetic that was active in the vietnam war is trying to do something about this situation. rick leventhal joins us now in massachusetts this morning. tell us about this that you are investigating and what is happening now? >> it is a facility that is trying to fill gaps in the veterans support system. we are at a place called veteran homestead. twenty-two bath one bedrooms homes it was built by medic work on transactions with a somatic stress disorder and can get care from their friends and family and earn a college degree.

they can get the care and support that they need to adapt to the like. >> i have worked with posttraumatic stress disorder for 30 some years. almost 40 years now. so i know that you can't see and do certain things and come back and expect to just pick up where you left off. bill: leslie runs a total of new hampshire, massachusetts, and florida. marth: that is an incredible woman. how do the veterans find this facility reed. bill: a lot of them are served by the va or by other organizations or local colleges where they are enrolled in classes. some of these guys are on the verge of homelessness. among them in deep struggles

with emotional or psychological wounds of war. they couldn't say enough about how this environment has turned their lives around. one of them said he has now been sober almost a year. >> yesterday was 11 months for me. and i couldn't get clean before. it was bad. so this place has saved my life. and saved my family. bill: 90% of the money goes directly to the veterans. you can learn more at veteran homestead.org. marth: rick, thank you so much. bill: joe biden and his comments as a lot of people talking. bill: marth: and we have a lot more coming on how close we are coming to the fiscal cliff. how our debt is impacting your

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martha: we are moments away from a fee crucial report from the congressional budget office, the cbo, it comes on the heels of a possible double dip recession for the united states. our national debt closing in at a huge number. $16 trillion. the rest of the data coming out moments away. i am martha maccallum. bill: and i am bill hemmer. hopefully we will get some silver lining to this. this version will include predictions of what happens if the country reaches the fiscal cliff. the odds that the country will fall back into the recession is now rising at 25%, according to

the ratings agency standard. martha: right now we have charles payne. what are you looking for in it and what indications about wearable go? >> the last couple of months, we have seen some very smart people from the head of the federal reserve saying listen, in washington dc, don't play this thing too close to the cut. let's not reenact the same thing that we had with the debt ceiling debate where you wait till the last second to make a critical decision. the fiscal cliff is a hand over this compromise. this does a lot of draconian things. taxes on all things. major, major cuts. our country is already extraordinarily vulnerable and this probably could not take that kind of head. martha: as we start to dgest this, i will give you some o o the numbers and you can tell me what your initial reaction is. $1.1 trillion federal deficit for 20.

the fourth straight year exceeding one trillion dollars. your thoughts on that? >> that is a problem. we have to bring that down. we can not have 16 trillion and spend 17 trillion and $18 trillion in debt because the interest alone sucks up a lot of money we would need to sustain ourselves. this is what people talk about when we say we're mortgaging our children's future and grandchildren's future. i think they're being optimistic. if you're under 50 years old you're probably mortgaging your own future as well. how do we handle this? how do we address this? seems like we get same old tired type of, listen, raise taxes as a solution. but we, one thing we do know. it is not about the revenue side. at least i don't think it is. because the more money that pours into washington, d.c. coffers. the more they spend. obviously about somehow getting to a point where we don't spend the money that we do not have. and that is, that is what november will be all about. how do we approach this and, i don't on that there is enough time after november election and january 1st of

next year, for the grown-ups to sort of settle things down in washington and get some sort of smart for the grown-ups to settle things down in washington and get a smart compromise together double-dip. charles, thanks so much. >> thanks a lot. martha: charles payne, see i am every morning on "varney & company", gets started at 9:20 a.m. eastern time on the fox business network. bill: these are big issues. here is where the country's time. bill: these are big issues. national debt is $1.3 trillion in. just the last 12 months alone it increased more than 5 trillion. since president obama took office in january of 2009. national debt projected to reach 18 trillion dollars in the next four years. dreadful. martha: all right. so all this is the backdrop for the big election. we've got new poll numbers just coming out on the race for the white house. they show president obama and governor romney are in a neck-and-neck race. this is coming from ap. president obama has just a one point lead according to

this. 47-46. that is within the margin of error. in terms of odds, this is interesting. 59%, a clear majority believe that the president in the end will win. we'll see how that goes in the coming weeks. bill: meantime obama team breaking unofficial tradition, confirming they bill: in the meantime, the obama team is breaking a tradition. they are saying that they will send it joe biden to florida on the same day of the republican national committee city. our reporter explains that it sounds like the vice president is crashing a bit of a party. reporter: he is. in this current news media environment, you can't do what you did like you used to in the old days, so you are right, joe biden will be in tampa for the kickoff of the republican convention. but he will stick around for

another day. several cities throughout florida. they are also trying to send a message that they are not going to give up on florida. even though the republicans make a strong play. when you talk to obama officials, they say when the president is in charlotte for his convention, they expect the republican ticket will be doing some campaigning as well. bill: the president is on the trail today. i'm raising tonight. what is up today? reporter: that is right, a campaign event here this high school in las vegas. then they will have the obama classics -- michael jordan, patrick ewing, playing some basketball behind closed doors and raise some money for the president's campaign. he is combining two big passes right now. fundraising and fuchs. we will see the president laces up some speakers as well.

bill: the president is good, but not that good. ed henry in vegas. martha: governor romney back in iowa today. campaigning in the campaign easily won by president obama in 2008. this year, iowa's six electoral votes are in play. it will be critical as we head towards the 272 clinched the 2012 election. karl cameron is live in bettendorf, iowa. governor romney campaigning during the democratic national convention. this vice president's plan take all? reporter: as with paul ryan, they will take the same approach and not sit still while the democrats have their convention in charlotte. a lot of it has to do with the media cycle. it also has to do with labor day. the traditional sprint starts

once the kids go back to school and summer vacation ends. it happens to be bracketed by the two national conventions. it is a natural acceleration of the campaign. as for today, bettendorf, iowa, where he will have another manufacturing event. they rebuild it event when it actually gets underway in an hour or two. this is meant to tweak the president for his comment, that if you have your own business, you didn't build that. ongoing economic criticisms and saying that the president has broke his promise to bring down the debt. in trillion dollar hole that the nation faces. while mr. romney is campaigning here, paul ryan will be in virginia today in roanoke, virginia, the very city where the president made the comment a month ago. if you had a business, you did not build it, you have held. he will make the point that with

a baker from virginia. they are going to focus a little bit on the presidential gaffs. martha: the baker has become the plumber of 2008. the romney camp will be talking about the president on taxes and health care law as well, right? >> that is right. essentially, they will bash obamacare and the affordable care act, making the argument that it does raise taxes on people making $200,000 a year. violating the president's promises. also, medical devices are going to be impacted. walkers and pacemakers -- that tax will hit others. it will drive up costs for patients around the country. in the romney campaign's view, the affordable care act,

obamacare -- as the president calls it in his own ads, it doesn't make of the promises that they made when passing it. martha: karl cameron, continuing to crisscross the country. we will see you in tampa, florida. bill: it is truly in the underside of the column right now. so, too, is iowa. here are your six days in yellow based on the polling that has been done in the past three to six months. this is the best guess that karl rove can give us. they are just so critical. iowa is one, virginia is another in florida is 29, ohio at 18. some of the similar states of the up time and time again over every presidential cycle. that shows you how important these states are right now. that is why they are popping up every day. a lot of light blue, pink colors, those are the places that are undecided. labor day is really the

government starts the race in so many ways. we will see how some of these colors ended up. bill: the vice president at it again this week. he said that republican policies would put jobs back to change. this week, new comparison. >> all of the objections of romney and all his allies -- we passed some of the toughest wall street regulations in history. bill: the vp unplugged. you will hear more of that. martha: and another child for a 9/11 suspect. an incident that happened in maryland has stopped being schooled in cuba. bill: also the top military official reacting to a political ad created by a group of former navy seals. martin dempsey is telling fox news exclusively.

>> if someone uses the uniform, whatever uniform it is -- the partisan politics -- i am disappointed by that. because i think it erodes the trust that we have with the american people. hi. i'm henry winkler.

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bill: two deaths related to the outbreak of the west nile virus. one of them dallas county, texas. hundreds of thousands of acres have been sprayed with pesticides. the other deaths reported 2000 miles away in fresno county, california. there are 26 deaths this year related to the virus so far this year. martha: back to the campaign trail. it is exactly one week after the controversial remarks by joe biden about regulating wall street. this time he is using some new imagery to describe republicans.

>> all of the objections of romney and all his allies, we passed some of the toughest wall street regulations in history. turning wall street back into the allocator of capital it always has been and no longer a casino. they want to repeal it. martha: catching everybody's attention. alan colmes has the rest of the story for us. he is also the executive director of public notice and grew up in a farm and knows a lot about pigs. [laughter] >> do think they are the biggest and smartest animal on the front? >> that is exactly what my mom always told me in oklahoma. they are smart and they are always the first to alert you to danger. on a serious note, that is exactly what is wrong with this campaign. remarks like that uncommon swap and mud.

we are basically throwing mud at each other instead of talking about the real issues. speak to both of these comments have been leveled at wall street. this time around, the wall street money has not been good to the obama campaign. that money has dried up and moved to the romney camp. all bets are off when it comes to pointing the finger at this group. >> that is because barack obama regulated wall street and went after them early on. gretchen is saying that pigs are wonderful animals come as a joe biden was complementing the other side and saying something positive about the other side. brian is refusing obama and biden of stoking fear and envy and misrepresenting them on position after position. they have a bigger position. ryan has a problem with the forcible tax rate, which is a much more serious issue than squealing pigs.

he has a lot more explaining to do the joe biden. martha: one of the things we will say is it is interesting. you get transcripts from most speeches. the transcripts are never released, at least they haven't been recently, that i can find. you never know if he's going off script or if this is just baked in the cake for him to say at these events. i wonder what both of you think about that. his joe biden going off script? or is this calculated. is he sent out to level these things that are picked up by the press and everyone else? >> i think this is him being off script. having said that, everything he says carries a lot of weight and a lot of weight in the minds of voters. they are sending joe biden to the republican national convention. you can tell this is going to be a great opportunity for them. they are welcoming him with open arms. martha: off the cuff or

calculated? >> he speaks from the hard and passionately. he is a much smarter guy than he gets credit for. he was well steeped in policy, brought up on the ticket and the millionaire familiarity with policy. we are running a soundbite campaign on both sides. there is a lot more to joe biden essentially what we are seeing. martha: let's play a little a little bit more what you a little bit more of what you said a must hear that. >> folks, the middle-class is middle classes coming back. they have been ravaged. they have been ravaged. but they are starting to come back. martha: is the middle class coming back and is it due to the obama administration's policies? >> i don't think it is bringing the middle-class back. every middle-class american will tell you. there was a poll earlier this week were six in 10 americans said that they are not better off than they were four years ago. that is the first time since president carter that they said

that. this needs to be about the policies. not about these little snippets here and there. we need to be talking about the larger issues and real solutions. martha: 61% say that the country is on the wrong track. >> but the 61% are not saying that they favor mitt romney. obama is doing well in swing states, or point out. twenty-two months in a row of job creation after losing four quarters of a million dollars a month. [talking over each other] [talking over each other] >> no matter what, they are better than from where they started. >> no matter what, they will favor romney when it comes to obama. we have 60% more debt than we did when he started. we have had unemployment over 8%. policies really are working. [talking over each other]

>> ryan and romney are not talking about it. they are talking about these akin thing. if what you are saying is true, you'd think that mitt romney would be doing a lot better in all the national polls. he is not. >> i think he is doing better. martha: we know a lot more in than we did when we started this discussion. thank you very much. gretchen and allen. bill: a legal battle with money and planned parenthood with the ruling. where dollars are allowed to go legally. we will have that for you next be 270 fires are burning across 13 states. thousands are being forced out of their homes. >> they are really working hard at it. you know, nature is sometimes very evil. >> we saw fire trucks from down our street and we knew it was time to leave.

martha: a powerful eruption of a volcano in ecuador, forcing families to leave their homes. the plume of ash and smoke is 2.5 miles high. and new reports accuse james holmes, charged with killing a dozen people in a movie theater rampage last month, saw at least three mental health professionals at the university of colorado. the new study suggests that rather than good grades, maybe the key to being a good doctor. it helps people to create a career in medicine.

bill: that is a great thing and it makes a lot of sense we do good doctors we want thousands on the run from the fires in the west. a massive blaze in northern california racing towards three different towns. dozens of buildings have been reduced to ashes already. we have a heck of you view it now, but it's not very pretty enough we lost everything. oh, my gosh, nobody should have to listen to that. bill: red bluff, california. he witnessed the fight to save these homes. reporter: the numbers of acres burned and the number of personal fighting the fires and homes burned. sometimes, this is really just about small battles that try to

protect certain numbers of homes. we have witnessed that yesterday. we know that 50 structures have burned on this area of burning east of us. we do know that there is a massive effort to try to protect people's property and put this fire out. they pack up the animals and the other things that couldn't be replaced, and they evacuate to houses in sacramento. >> we have been discussing that this really isn't where we want to retire. reporter: we don't know if that home survive. randy has a text message from a neighbor who stayed through the fight last night and he was told by the neighbor that it will be

an uphill battle. bill: there are fires and the situation is causing people so much. reporter: that's right, the governor got a first look at the fires. in idaho, each have consumed over 140 square miles. these two fighters. one of the fires has his vacation home, a cabin that he owns with his wife, he was out there himself before the fires got closer. trying to create a more defensible space around his property. he knows what it's like to be one of these homeowners trying to protect the property. bill: dam, good luck out there. dan springer in california.

martha: a bizarre turn of events. families who waited years to face the suspected attackers of 9/11 in court are waiting again. bill: we have new reaction to a gnat swimming president. and what america's top military officials say about ex- military men behind the ad. >> we have a first amendment right to be able to speak out and we are doing the right thing, and this is what doing. i understand that there may be folks who may take issue with it it's something you're born with. and inspires the things you choose to do. you do what you do... because it matters. at hp we don't just believe in the power of technology.

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martha: a train wreck in maryland wiped out service for hours. they force them to delay the pretrial hearings of 9/11. families have waited more than a decade to face the 9/11 suspect in court. catherine herridge is live from guantánamo bay. reporter: we are expecting a meeting at guantánamo bay where they will make some decisions on whether they are going to get people off the island is a tropical storm terms and you're hurting. they are to talk to reporters about the possibility of a boxer waiting because of where we are house.

>> is you're going to see, the living is very basic. it is the six reporters to every tense. everyone gets a bump, to get a dresser, and there is a refrigerator for goldwater. we were told that cities can handle tropical storm, but probably not a hurricane. we are told that the maximum-security camps can handle a category four. we have already had one to delayed because of his in baltimore. it knocked out some of the optical fiber lines that provide internet service here. the military commissions lost 80%. everything was down. >> what is the appropriate punishment for these men if they were to be found guilty? >> it is our position that the government has not acted with

clean hands. it doesn't have a right to seek these men's debt. reporter: my apologies, that was the gentleman who has access to the plant. there are 9/11 families that are here this week and they are now looking at the two delays. one in the pretrial hearings in the they may ultimately be evacuated of at the tropical storm turns into a hurricane. martha: our hearts go out to the our hearts go out to the families. we will be watching that situation. thank you very much. bill: we have new reaction for ex- military members behind a political ad blasting president obama for leaks on national intelligence.

martin dempsey condemning a video mixing military with politics. >> if somebody uses military uniforms for partisan politics, i am offended by that. is the criticism valid? i won't comment on that. as to the latter, no, it is not useful to me. bill: general jack keane, former vice chief of staff of the army, and a fox news military analyst. sir, good morning to you. >> the morning, bill. bill: i know you had a little bit of reluctant attitude on this. but i appreciate your help with thamount of experience that you have had. is it smart or acceptable if you are former military coming out of making a political statement? >> well, my difficulty was because i have such affinity and closeness to the foreground and

four kentucky on multiple assignments. i have visited them to me times in iraq and afghanistan. i have worked with general petraeus and general allen. so many agree with what general dempsey is saying. we have to be politically neutral to the issue. we are serving both republican and democratic administrations. it makes their job difficult when former military are out there endorsing political candidates, becoming part of political candidates or having advocacy for political issues on the half of those candidates. the issue here, is this part of the advocacy. i have been on television with special ops former members who have tried to explain to the american people, as i did, what the impact of these intelligent leaves are and why they are so egregious. i think that is appropriate.

it becomes a political advocacy at that point. you have crossed the line and made a choice in this campaign, one that is very heated to be sure to. bill: i have seen the ad at one point. mr. ben smith says mr. president, the work of the american military killed osama bin laden, not you. the biggest point goes to the national security issues. certainly, you can understand the amounts of pushback that you would get when you are putting your life online. on the line. in another country to save more american lives. >> oh, yeah. bill: the work is shared with the public on the front page of a newspaper or on a website that they had anguish about that because they know the people who are serving currently, they are

at risk of intelligence leaks. particularly if you are revealing tactics and procedures. one gentleman has been publicly critical about it. he has said that these leaks will endanger people's lives. eventually, if they continue, we will lose someone's life unnecessarily. that is a strong statement that captures everyone's view. bill: i know you make the point that this is a fine line here. there was a gentleman last night it was on, scott taylor, and he said that we are not going to stop speaking out. we fought for our rights to speak out and we will continue to do. how do you ride that fine line? >> he has a right to do that. look, this is america. we all have our opportunities and rights to speak her mind. i don't think anybody is going to begrudge him his rights to speak out.

the question that general dempsey was being asked about the appropriateness of it -- given the political campaign and given that this has the appearance of a political advocacy against the administration. i think that is the fine line that is probably crossed by this film and by those who are participating and not. and it doesn't detract from my view of heroic and selfless view that they rendered. bill: dempsey says that the criticism is valid, it is not useful. it is not useful to me. general, thank you for your time. speak to a federal court ruling gives states the freedom to deep unplanned parenthood. will that ruling hold up? judge napolitano is here on that. bill: and a big boom on that new york city street sending folks running for cover. what caused this? >> i just heard a regular blasts

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bill: we have new video of the explosion that rocked a new york city street in daylight. a blast sending up a plume of dust and smoke. breaking concrete, shattering windows in the area. transit authorities say something went wrong as contractors blasted in the subway. all the construction has been stopped pending investigation. concrete was flying. martha: a wise. interesting story here. federal appeals court ruling that texas can cut off funding for planned parenthood clinics. the ruling comes as the trial was about to start over whether state money can go to organizations that are tied to abortion providers. judge napolitano is helping us.

judge, honestly there has been a lot of debate in this country over whether or not the federal government should fund planned parenthood because they do refer people to and give them counseling with regard to abortion. they don't perform abortions at planned parenthood. what is the ruling say about where this argument is. >> the texas law for prohibits the federal government from giving away state funds or federal funds for any institution that performs abortion or to gives you to an abortion provider and pays for it. so that would include planned parenthood. it also permits the authorities in texas to deny planned parenthood all assistance, even from non-abortion related services, because it advocates abortion ban gets gives the women to providers of abortions. planned parenthood was challenged in federal court.

the judge said this is so complicated, i'm going to enforce a law until i hold a hearing on it. that decision was appealed to the federal appeals court, which said it's not that complicated at all. texas legislature can do what they want. you can still hold a trial on the claims against texas, and texas can enforce the law while the trial is going on. as of yesterday, no advocacy of abortion by any group that receives state funds and no performing abortions directly or indirectly. >> texas is right to make that decision. >> they did so is that people have the right to decide what services they want to pay for. the supreme court has said that. but the state doesn't have to pay for abortion. martha: where does this go from here? does this decision took you off in terms of -- you know, how old

scenario is changing for other states. a lot of controversy. >> states are different. our wonderful home state of new jersey -- abortion is permitted up into the moment of worth and the state will pay for them. they have the most liberal abortion laws in the land. abortion is regulated by each of the 50 states. new jersey is the most liberal. this does indicate that if the supreme court upholds this to gives state legislatures the option on how they want to spend their money rather than having to does have it's been that come in the case still goes to trial. it could have a different outcome after the trial. during the trial and the appellateprocess, texas can enforce its own laws and not pay for abortions and not give money to groups that advocate. martha: at the best we can do is

advocate women and cancer screenings and over gyn and health care -- we do not provide abortions, we do care for people and help them. if they say that's what they want to do, we help them get it. >> that is why governor perry supported and defended it in court. he said i'm going to help fund planned parenthood. some of what they do they agree with. what they don't pay for, the state will have to pay for it is in our benefit to get the federal government to fund the non-abortion services. it is a little complicated. bill: that it is, but we know it's an important issue. always good to see you. bill: jon scott is standing by how are you, john? i am doing well and i hope you are doing well also. we will take you to missouri and talk to local reporters. you have heard the confidential

controversial kenneth senate who has been pressured to get out of the race. does he stand a chance? we will get the update from missouri. also, the selection of the vice president. new polling of the men who could occupy the office and does it really matter? bill: a stunning new development in one of hollywood's biggest mysteries. the death of natalie wood, nine months after investigators reopened that case. martha: a new line takes on the killing of student athletes. all parents need to hear this report. doctor siegel joins us next.

the two new developments in the series that of actress natalie wood. her death certificate has been officially changed to include undetermined factors in her death. she died more than 30 years ago when she drowned near her yacht off of catalina island in southern california. at the time, her death was ruled as a drowning. nine months ago, they reopened her death certificate and there are questions about how she died. it also states that how she ended up in the water is not clearly established. bill: the first in the nation's state to take on the number one killer of student athletes is

pennsylvania. for good reason, too. 7000 young people die every year from sudden cardiac arrest. member of our foxes medical team, what is the new state law, doctor? >> this is out and open. they could be having blacking out and rapid heart rate, they could think it is from fatigue. pennsylvania is starting to create a conversation about this. online is information for coaches and parents and kids. if you have symptoms, they make you get checked and you have to be cleared by doctor. >> every participant in youth sports, club and school sports are going to have to go online

once a year. that will be mandated to the coaches and participants and their parents. >> the main thing is you can get treatment for it. surgeries and medication, different ways that cardiologist can approach this, but you have to know that you have it. bill: how does a student no if they are at risk for this? sudden heart attack, etc. we met the kids don't know. all the noise they make it get short of breath and dizzy. let's watch what this kid has to say about it. he was caught in time by one of these screenings to they took me to a clinic, a free clinic in high school. they hooked me up to the ekg and they found out the irregular heartbeat and took me back and told me all about it. >> he was saying that he thought it was coca-cola, just having too much caffeine.

he didn't know what allies. but when he got screen, a simple ekg found his heart rhythm. for every 7000 die every year, there are probably seven or 10,000 more that are at risk. this is a big problem. bill: it is good to know and i am glad you are reporting on it. pennsylvania leading the way. are there states considering this? >> several states are considering it. they are also considering getting a defibrillator and are involved. if you get it on there within a minute, you can have your chances of saving somebody up to 90%. that is a big deal. bill: life-saving information. doctor marc siegel. martha: we have the latest on the path of tropical storm isaac. the chances that it hits florida, look at this, as the republican party revs up in tampa. that is on the way. are you okay, babe?

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much money your government is spending. in a matter of moments the cbo will brief a report we've been talking about the past two hours or so. the nonpartisan congressional budget office, the cbo, projecting $1.1 trillion federal deficit for the year 2012. that will be the fourth straight year, four years in a rethat the government short fall will exceed one trillion dollars. stay tuned for that. if you can bear it. ♪ . martha: you know who is having a good economy? "vogue" magazine sold a ton of ads. "vogue" magazine celebrates its 125th year, amazing, smashing record for size. it is 916 pages of celebrity and fashion. i'm guessing a whole lot of advertising. lady gaga is on the cover. newsstands can only stack four at a time. the width is an