they sold out. we're not exactly sure how many journalists got one. they were popular. >>. >> gregg: i'm gregg jarrett. welcome to a brand-new hour. >> heather: i'm heather childers. topping news. congress goes back in session tomorrow after a five-week break but will they manage to get anything done before election day? we'll take a look at what is on their plate. >> gregg: a brutal day in violence in iraq, 80 people killed in attacks over the last 24 hours alone. we'll get the latest. >> heather: pink slips are about to be given out to hundreds of u.s. sailors. now uncle sam wants to give them the boot. all the details straight ahead.

>> gregg: we began with the presidential candidates making the final big push to november and with the race so very close, governor mitt romney and president obama are picking up the pace now and taking no votes for granted. take a look at latest daily tracking poll from real clear politics. it shows president obama leading romney 47.8 to 46.2% well within the margin of error. governor romney taking to the airwaves and he was talking about the tax cuts and week job numbers. >> my tax policy is designed to find a way to encourage more hiring in this country. i'm very concerned that we have 23 million people that are out of work or stopped looking for work and underemployed. everything i want to do follows simple principles, bring our rates down and keep revenue up by limiting deductions and

exemptions and don't make a bigger burden on middle income people. >> romney is getting set to take the stage in florida, in a state that he actually won back in 2008, one of the biggest electoral prizes of all. ed henry is traveling with the president in west palm beach. president sharpened his attacks on the romney-ryan medicare plan. tell us about that. >> reporter: you are right. this is all about medicare here. it's 29 electoral votes and the president having breakfast with couple elderly couples this morning to show his commitment to senior voters. but he bumped into another voter he was a romney supporter. president shook his hand and said we can still shake hands. then he got to his stump speech he hit romney hard.

seniors would end up paying a lot more money over the lifetime of the their retirement if the romney-ryan plan is employment. the republican ticket it's the president who has cut medicare over $700 million to pay for his health plan but president pushed ahead with his attack. >> here is the bottom line. they are plan for medicare would bankrupt medicare. our plan strengthens medicare. no american should have to spent their golden years at mercy of insurance company, they should be able to retire with the dignity and respect and care they have earned. >> reporter: after that rally. take a look. the president went for some pizza, he was a bodybuilder. if i had a pizza will i look like you. suddenly he lifted him, never seen that happen to the president before. i think the secret service would jump in. they don't want the president thrown around.

it led to a light moment. he didn't seem to mind but that is not something you see everyday. >> gregg: secret service agents probably eating pizza and happened to miss that one. and another big gun on the campaign trail? >> bill clinton, you saw him looming large last wednesday night at the democratic national convention in charlotte. we are told he will be on the trail sunshine state, wednesday in orlando. it's significant because the president has seven saying, i should appoint him secretary of explaining stuff because he made such a good case. the flip side of that, bill clinton makes a better case for the obama plan than mr. obama does. >> gregg: some people say the president begins to sort of pale in comparison to the former president whose personality and presence is so large. ed, thanks very much.

>> heather: g.o.p. presidential nominee mitt romney taking the day off from the campaign trail. both he and running mate paul ryan did make appearances on the sunday talk showing to talk about health care and foreign affairs. steve centanni has more from d.c.. mitt romney at his campaign headquarters in boston today. later on today he plans to do some preparations for upcoming debates that are all important. earlier today, let's take a look at these pictures. he did take one trip out to his campaign headquarters and attended church followed by secret service agents. yesterday he was campaigning in swing state of florida. he has promised to try to repeal obamacare if he is elected but today in a pre-taped interview for meet the press on nbc, he explained there are some parts of healthcare program that he

would keep. >> i'm not getting rid of all healthcare reform. there are a number of things that i like that i'm going put in place. one is to make sure that the preexisting conditions can get coverage. two, is to assure that the marketplace allows for individuals to have policies to cover their family to whatever age they might like. >> reporter: paul ryan was appearing on the talk shows also by tape. he was confronted by democratic claims as the romney-ryan is light on foreign affairs experience and avoided mentioning afghanistan. >> those kinds of comments have said when you don't have a good record to run on. to your afghanistan question, we have always said we agree with 2014 deadline. we have agreed where we're head order afghanistan on 2014, where we take an issue is making sure that the generals on the ground get the resources they need throughout the entire fighting

season. >> neither had any campaign events today. >> heather: thanks very much. >> gregg: as most of you know the kids are back in school, sort of good. and tomorrow congress will be back on capitol hill after the august break.ee action on some pretty big bills during this short pre-election session. agenda includes a six month temporary spending bill which would fund congress through the election. also a five-year farm bill to replace the one that expires at the end of the month. also lawmakers could vote just to extend it. farm bill covers food stamp funding which would remain as is if congress extends that bill, but there could be a big battle over a new version because republicans want greater cuts than the democrats. house republicans promising to vote on the no more solyndras act. it would phase out energy department loan guarantees for solar and wind energy companies,

but even if the house votes on it, doesn't look like the u.s. senate will ever attempt to tackle it. >> heather: fox news alert. a wave of deadly attacks rocking iraq today. at least 82 people are dead and dozens injured. insurgents targeting security forces in 11 cities. gunning down soldiers at an army post and bombing police recruits waiting for jobs. so far there has been no claim of responsibility for the attacks but al-qaeda has promised to take back areas that was forced from before u.s. troops withdrew last year. >> in the meantime, a baghdad court sentencing sunni vice president to death today. they found him guilty of organizing the murders of a lawyer and government security official. he is currently in turkey has denied all of the charges. the case has sparked a crisis

and fueled resentment against the prime minister nouri al-maliki, a she'ite who is critics claim is monopolizing power. >> heather: to syria, a car bomb killed at least 17 people and wounding dozens more. syria's official news agency saying the dead are all civilians. warplanes also reportedly pounding a residential district a day after rebels overran about a racks in the city. dozens of people were killed and wounded in that attack. meanwhile, secretary of state hillary clinton says she is pessimistic about closing the gap with russia on how to diffuse the crisis. clinton says if russia refuses to go along with the u.n. sanctions, then the u.s. and allies will increase their support for the syrian opposition. >> a christian pastor is getting

his taste of freedom after spending three long agonizing years inside an iranian prison. he was awaiting execution for refusing to renounces his christian faith and then the charges were tossed out. lauren green has more. >> reporter: within 24 hours, the iranian pastor went from facing death to being a free man. for the first time in three years, a prison he smiled. it was the international pressure that gained his releases, millions of prayers and tweets and governments of brazil and u.s. and u.n. playing a role. >> you had an international out cry. they made the correct decision by letting this pastor go. they found him guilty of evangelizing muslims and time served was sufficient. >> reporter: he was released saturday after six hour hearing,

converting from islam was reduced. he said he never embraced the faith and as teenager became a christian. iranian authorities promised to free him if he renounced christianity. a big decision is whether to stay in iran or flee for the safety of his family. >> we have a very delicate period of time here. you have to be careful after the release of these cases. it was about five years ago that similar case was released and later killed a few days later. that happens. here you have to watch it. it's been such a high profile cases. i'm optimistic this could represent a change of tone if we continue. >> reporter: advocacy groups say there are a number of christians in the religious minorities in iranian prisons but it's a good sign that their tactics work. >> gregg: lauren, thanks very

much. >> heather: a fox extreme weather alert, a terrifying scene in northern virginia when an outdoor stage came crashing down. luckily organizers had just cancelled the concert and ordered everyone out as severe weather moved in. crews started taking down the stage, part of it collapsed striking one person. >> the police told us 25 minutes in advance as the front coming through. we were successful in clearing away of all the attendees and one of sound technicians was hit by the bars that held the sound speakers. he is in good condition. >> heather: meteorologist maria molina is in the weather center with the latest details. >> good to see you. we saw a lot of severe weather and also on friday. associated with a front that is

pushing eastward and made 200 reports of severe weather and 200 reports of weather further off to the east, parts of new england down to the mid-atlantic. two of the reports were confirmed, tornadoes in the new york city area, one in queens area and you extremely unusual. fortunately the storm system is out to sea. we have a few sprinkles on the backside across parts of pennsylvania and up stated new york but much quieter day across the northeast, beautiful day with a lot of sunshine and lower humidity. that is the story as well in parts of southeast and portions of the florida panhandle. we do have tail end lingering showers and even heavier downpours around the tampa area. throughout parts of northern and central florida but a much quieter day. we are not anticipating any severe weather anymore today. now take a look at the current temperatures. did it leave behind low humidity and very beautiful temperatures.

74 right now in new york city. 67 in cleveland. as far as south as raleigh, north carolina we are looking at 78. 73 over in minneapolis, as well. westward, on the hot side in interior northwest and dry humidity in place here. we do have an elevated fire danger. a number of red flag warnings are in effect across parts of central plains in portions of montana, idaho and washington and oregon. >> heather: thank you very much. >> gregg: what a bhuif day outside. did you notice that. 74 degrees according to the clock outside our building. >> heather: looks like football weather. >> gregg: we're going to lose some leaves pretty well. good paying jobs, even the companies that are hiring aren't offering middle-class wages these days. >> heather: the inspiring story of a blinded u.s. navy

lieutenant. why she hearing the cheers and showing a ton of heart. >> gregg: and a major airline refusing to allow this young man a boy, to fly. wait until you say this guy is a security risk. hard to believe. >> my son doesn't jump people or attack people. he is not a terrorist. he is not going crash through the security door into the cockpit. [ male announcer ] this is rudy. his morninstarts with arthritis pain.

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>>. >> gregg: last week's disappointing jobs report showing employers adding 96,000 jobs in the month of august, well below what the economy needs to grow. another report revealing even more troubling news. take a look at this. 60% of the jobs that disappeared during the downturn paid mid wage, $21 an hour, 58% of jobs are low wage, a little under $8 an hour meaning if people can even find a new job, they are making a lot less money. brenda buttner is fox senior correspondent anchor of "bulls and bears". this is the lowest participation rate in 31 years which is really

an amazing stat. what does this mean to the worker? >> it's part of the reason why you see that we added some jobs that our employment rate declined down to 8.1%. they are dropping out. so many of the unemployed were so long, that is really an important part of this whole recovery. that people have been unemployed for months and months. the other thing is, the reason why this has happened the housing bubble burst. people can't move to where jobs are because they can't sell their homes. it really is tough. >> gregg: you listen to president obama and he said this during the convention, look, we have added 4.5 million jobs since the recession ended which sounds like a lot except if you average all the recovery since world war ii, we should have averaged 4.3 million jobs more,

right? >> yes. part of it was a very bad recession so the recovery is going to be difficult. it is gone -- if we went down like this, we're kind of like basically only going a little bit like this. we have had 43 consecutive months of unemployment above 8%. it's very stubborn. some of it is structural. some of the jobs are moving overseas. some industries are declining and should be growing, but the problem is stimulus money was given to the industries that are in decline which doesn't quite make sense. >> gregg: so the election is being framed by republicans, are you better off than you were four years ago? unemployment, 7.8% to 8.1%. gas prices doubled. national debt, it's gone from 10.6 to $16 trillion and more people now than ever before on

food stamps and disability. so what does it take to turn things around? >> that is the question. there are two different visions of what we do. one of them is give more money to the government and let them decide how to allocate it. the other one is let people use their own money, keep it and create jobs. one of the things about this recovery, usually we see -- this high of unemployment we see many more businesses created. there is a reason to go out, there are so many store fronts that are closed, go out and try a new idea and that is not happening. >> gregg: would lowering the tax rates, reforming the tax code, increasing domestic oil production and reducing regulations have an economic stimulus? >> yes, absolutely. you just look at it. if we increased domestic oil production, that is more jobs.

regulation is one of the biggest unknown factors in this whole recovery. there is more regulations so businesses are not hiring because they are dealing with this. they are dealing with healthcare issues. they are dealing with all of this. they can't hire because they are uncertain what is coming down the pike to get hit with another regulation. >> gregg: i was talking to art laffer and he said look, it's the old theme. if you continue to increase taxes on those that work and pay money to people that don't work, it's a recipe for more people not working. >> ronald reagan in four years took the unemployment rate way down. bill clinton said nobody could do it in four years. >> gregg: reagan. 10.8% down to 7%, down to 35%. up to 8% was huge. >> gregg: brenda, good to see you. catch brenda on "bulls and bears" every saturday morning

right here on the fox news channel. >> heather: the wounded warrior showing the world what he is made of. bradley snyder, he was blinded in a bomb blast in afghanistan last year. now, he is inspiring millions as a gold medal-i as the london games. anna has more on the story. >> reporter: exactly one year ago brad snyder's last combated tour ended when an ide blasted shrapnel in his face. he won the 100 and 400 free style turning strategy into triumph in the category. he reaches out with a soft pole to give them a tap as they near the wall for a turn. >> i'm glad to set it up and i hope it will carry through the week.

>> reporter: lieutenant snyder's job was to diffuse bombs for a navy seal team. he remained conscious as he waited for medic. he received 30 stitches and begin recovering at walter reed in washington. the blind lieutenant says his disability brings new meaning to the words he repeated so often, honor, courage and commitment in the navy. >> do you think those words don't mean anything until you really have to sit down and they are. when you go through something like this you start to appreciate learning those things early on and find it out on the way. >> he says one of the hardest part of his disability was not just dealing with being associate associated being blind bu being sidelined. he is now being fulfilled to his participation in the para olympics. big congratulations to him.

>> gregg: what a great story. congratulations. tropical storm leslie is churning over the atlantic ocean pounding bermuda with heavy rains and high winds. where is it headed next and could the united states be in the storm's path? we'll have the latest. >> heather: straight ahead, both campaigns going all out to win swing states that could decide the presidential election but our voters there? our political panel will weigh in next. hey. hey eddie. i brought your stuff. you don't have to do this. yes i do. i want you to keep this. it'd be weird. take care. you too. [ sighs ] so how did it go? he's upset. [ male announcer ] spend less time at gas stations. with best in class fuel economy. it's our most innovative altima ever. ♪

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>>. >> gregg: welcome back. bottom of the hour, time for top of the news. parts of mid-atlantic and northeast cleaning up after a day of strong storms. system spawning at least two tornadoes in new york city and flooding some new england towns leaving thousands of folks without power near washington, d.c.

no serious injuries reported. tropical storm leslie is pelting ber mood did a with heavy rain. 60 mile-an-hour winds, though not expected to make a direct hit on the island. they say leslie could regain hurricane strength sometime tomorrow. >> doctors trying lavon walker, they wanted to determine the extent of his injuries, he fractured his spine during a helmet to helmet collision in tulsa yesterday zblooth. >> heather: both presidential campaigns pouring millions of dollars into a handful of key states. they find the barrage of television ads may be turning voters off in three swing states specifically, virginia, ohio an nevada. so if the hard sell doesn't work what can either of the two camps

to sway undecided voters? matt is former white house political director under george. with bush and christy is director of a new heights communications and spokesperson for howard dean. so all the states are not created equal when it comes down to the election and the final days, study after study shows that there are about dozen battleground states not safely claimed by either side. in this report, in the l.a. times, it did surprise me that two months out people are undecided. matt, what will push them to decide? >> here is the tricky parted for governor romney. this race is essentially, what he has to do tried to do at the convention i think very effectively is explain to obama voters in the middle who voted for obama last time that he has failed on the most important issue of the day and that is reviving this economy. so these are folks that have a

positive view of obama but maybe they don't think he deserves a second term. that is why when you see what happened at the democratic convention, when they made little mistakes, not mentioning god on the god on the platform. those types of things, little issues are important and big issues to parts of the electorate at stake like florida or l.a. times talked about. everything matters. governor romney,, l i think he is doing what he needs to do. >> heather: i threw this out on facebook and twitter, overwhelmingly they talked about the economy. bobby downey says, it would be telling less what you are going to do and more how you are going to do it. christy, what do you think will push the candidate into the win column in terms of the undecided? >> you saw the undecided voters last week through bill clinton's

speech which he talked a lot about compromise and cooperation between the parties. republicans are not effective in pursuing compromise. another thing that independent voters wanted to see, obama campaign has been savvy in putting people out the former president because he can speak to people across the board. he speaks to democrats, republicans, independents and they do want to hear things about, they don't care which party gets credit. they want to see the government is working. those are the two ways in which i think the obama campaign has been really effective. they talked about cooperation and compromise and have used very popular surrogates to do it. >> heather: virginia, ohio, they have better average than job numbers but nevada has 12% unemployment rate. economic concerns have led the

list of concerns throughout obama's ten your, which candidate has the proposals and skills to actually deliver on their promises to create more jobs. which candidate is that? >> obviously i think governor romney has a real plan, five-pointed plan to get america working again. if i put my democratic hat on, obama would use his speech to recast what he would do in a second term in terms of jobs. i don't think he did. that i didn't hear that at all. the best speech was bill clinton's but i think obama failed to show what he would do the second term. the convention talked more about the need for abortion than it did why we need to have a plan to create jobs. >> heather: what about women voters specifically. in terms of the undecideds, middle of the road white women, many of them married with children. they are the number one group that swing voters that are

sought after by both campaigns? >> i agree with democratic convention reached out to women but that is more because democrats traditionally have a big advantage among women voters. what is important to remember, there were very few actual swing voters. 6-8% of the electorate. ultimately this is going to be a base election. that is what the democratic convention did so masterfully well. it fired up democrats and made them enthusiastic. >> i think the key is what christy is saying, what president obama all he can do is try to get liberal supporters to try to be excited to turn out again. he is not reaching out to new voters. it's governor romney who is reaching out to independents. he is taking his message beyond the party. he has to win. >> heather: another study that

brought the number down to 3% in terms of undecided. we'll see what happens. thank you both for joining us. >> gregg: how about this legal story. a boy with down syndrome kicked off an american airlines flight. his parents are furious calling it discrimination and now they are suing. airline claims he was a flight risk. did they have a case? there are many more details to tell you about in this story. we'll inform but that as our legal panel joins us. >> heather: thousands of brave americans are about to get pink slis, layoffs happening in the united states navy. is it fair for those that volunteered to put their lives on the line? i'm so glad you called. thank you.

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>>. >> gregg: the paints of a

teenager with down's syndrome is suing american airlines after they were prevented from boarding a cross-country flight. the airline claimed the boy was a security risk and could have been a distraction to the pilot but the family says, wait a minute we are being discriminated against. here the boy's father. >> the pilot was concerned that my son was going to be in first class. i think the pilot felt that my type of son shouldn't be in first class. my son doesn't jump people. he is not a terrorist. he is not going to crash the security door. >> my type of son? does the family have a case? kesha is former prosecute. lis is acceptable but not first class? >> according to the parents they had rode in coach class and

upgraded to first class. i guess what they are saying. he is closer to the pilot. come on. it makes no sense. >> gregg: little boy's name. a teenager now. beady is his name. he is sitting they te gate. he is quietly playing with his hat. isn't that evidence he really is not a risk to either the plane or passengers. >> what we fail to realize, what his behavior is prior to. we don't know what happened. what they reported he was running around. he was extra excited. i understand that what is wrong with first class if he can ride. first class is closer to the pilot. >> gregg: pilot says she excitable. i'm reading this literally. he is not acclimated to the environment. here the statement from the

airlines. asking the family to take a different flight was decision made with careful consideration based on the young man's behavior. we attempted to make him comfortable but the crew determined he was still agitated. at that point he was asked to take a different flight. doesn't the airline have for safety concerns really unfettered discretion because this is high risk? >> where is the high risk. >> gregg: any time you fly a plane is high risk? >> are you saying that any children, forget if they are disabled with down's syndrome. they are running around. you have seen the kids and they are agitated and excited to get on the flight. it doesn't necessarily risk the flight. >> you have to look at his size compared to a five or four-year-old. he has mentality or four or five-year-old. he may be a big teenager. we don't know what he is going

to do. >> gregg: these cockpit doors or fortified, bulletproof. you can't get through it with a bulldozer. >> i don't know whether they are in coach or first class is going to be able to get through the door. it doesn't meat. if you have been on plane, it's not that far to go from coach to first class. >> maybe a distraction to flight attendants. >> the thing is, the airline says, we look at this kid. he has down's syndrome. we don't want him in first class. >> gregg: that is going to be the testimony from the parents. your type of child. >> was there behavior prior to the video taken place. >> gregg: this is him, come on. seriously? >> we don't know.

>> if i were the plaintiffs lawyer, in this case, tell us the other kid, 14-year-old that you have kicked off and whether they had down's syndrome. >> gregg: did the pilot overreact. there is going to be testimony that the pilot said he is going distraction. every time i've ridden first class which is rare, the cockpit doors close. there is no distraction. it's bolted and fortified. >> distraction to the flight attendants but even more so if you are in first class you are paying for that. you are paying for that extra attention. >> there are different levels of down's syndrome. we don't know. i'm not skiag that. we don't know what his behavior were. they said based on his behavior. >> gregg: ee was booked on united flight later and no problem whatsoever. many many, times never a

problem. circumstantial evidence the pilot overreacted? >> yes. >> could be but i still think the airlines wanted to err on the side of caution. >> the pilots are great i fly on american. downstairs with the dogs and cats. >> thanks very much. >> heather: and extra bag of peanuts. >> gregg: i never get those. >> heather: u.s. navy preparing to send 3,000 sailors home for good. why men and women that are willing to serve are sent packing. we'll tell you why up next. [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking.

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>>. >> heather: by the end of this month, the navy will have sent 3,000 men and women from their ranks. not due to poor performance but plain and simple downsizing. some fields are overcrowded because a record number of sailors are opting to reenlist.

they do have budgets and bottom lines just like other organizations but is it fair for these men and women who risk their lives for our freedom to have this happen? alan colmes host of alan colmes show and lisa. thanks for joining us. lisa, i'll begin with you. you brought this topic to my attention. you have the opportunity to speak to several military wives. >> when i was doing into from my broadcast to rnc. i was really outrage and upset. this is unprecedented. these are people that enlisted in our military. when you enlist you can't quit. you go to jail if you go awol. how could uncle sam quit on these people. i did an investigation and there is navy times reporter who has been covering this since november and in fact it is true.

they have been fired in the middle of their enlisted duty. i think it's i am movl and illegal. >> heather: they have been enlisted for 7-15 years. many aviation fields and specialties that the navy has determined had too many people. >> the chairman of chief joints of staff it is performance based. secondly he said, this would not be compromised by this. and this is part of sequestration which was agreed upon by republicans and democrats. they are cutting $487 billion. this is what happened and come to an agreement about budgets which they have not been able to do because republicans refuse to compromise. >> i beg to differ. it's not been performance based. >> that is what the navy says. >> they are giving you the incorrect information. they were not told why they were

cut. they should be called termination boards. >> heather: they had the retention forms but prior to they did have something perform to serve. >> correct. that is not what it is. >> maybe it should not be jobs program. if we're going to cut because republicans say they love to cut you can't only cut things that are non-military. military has to be cut, too. you have to reorient yourself for the needs of 21th century and old thinking about wars that we no longer fight. that is how we decide how we are going to cut. >> how can you argue that the u.s. government and uncle sam should not keep it's contract? do you know with thegs people -- they have to actually have to sign up in terms of surveillance for three years active duty. if they go on disability they have to give back surveillance payments. it's bad more morale and bad in the navy and bad in example for the rest of our military. >> heather: what do you think in

terms of severance packages? >> if they are cut they should get a surveillance package. cuts are made all the time in the private sector. conservatives who say we have to watch budgets and wanted to compare it to the private sector you can't then say, this is an exception this is jobs program. people sign contracts with companies all the time. >> but they don't go to jail. if you quit walmart you don't go to jail. they are not allowed to quit. >> first amendment rights of the military. there are lot of things in the military that are not exactly as civilian. >> whoever heard of breaking your contract. >> if you want to have contracts and keep the budgets in line you need what you need to do without sacrificing military readiness. if you saying the chairman of joint chief of staff lying. >> this is not performance

based. >> are you saying they are lying about it? >> heather: we are putting these men and women, these veterans that have put their lives on the line for our freedom back into a work force with an 8.1% unemployment rate and then for veterans the unemployment rate is 12% unemployment rate for veterans. >> by the way, romney and ryan would cut something like $11 billion from veteran affairs. >> that is something else besides this conversation. according to congress itself, these cuts were only supposed to be made if there were two criteria, one, they were supposed to reach capacity and they were supposed to take voluntary before involuntary and they never did. >> it's definitely a topic worth discussing. >> gregg: coming up a brand-new hour of america's election headquarters.

our campaign insiders will be joining us. they are going examine the fallout from the convention, what it means for the candidates in november.

s . another plane into the second tower. >> another explosion at the pentagon. >> united 93, do you hear, cleaveland? >> there it goes, there it goes. >> the world trade center collapsed. >> we will be looking at enormous death toll. america, offer a prayer. a war of words erupting on the campaign trail after republican presidential nominee mitt romney and his running mate, paul ryan hit the sunday talk show circuits. welcome to a new hour inside

america's election headquarters. >> glad you are with us. president obama hitting the gop ticket very hard in campaign appearances. we will take you to florida for that in a moment. first, let's go to steve who is live in washington with what set off the firestorm. how did mitt romney spend his day? >> mitt romney had the day off from campaigning, but he did make news by specifying what parts of obama care he would keep if he is elected president. he attended a mormon church along with his family, and he planned to practice for the october debates at his boston headquarters. during a tv appearance romney said he wants to keep some parts of the new health care law. >> i am not getting rid of all of health carrie form, of course. there are a number of things i will put in place. one is to make sure is those conditions can get coverage. the other is to assure the

market place has policies that cover their family to whatever age they might like. >> romney said he would repeal obama care and replace it with his plan. his plan includes the provisions for young people and preexisting con dieciouses. >> romney's running mate making a bit of news today. what did paul ryan have to say? >> yes, paul ryan had a taped appearance for another talk show. he and mitt romney have been criticized by the president and their supporters for a plan about medicare. that is a worthy goal saying medicare just isn't working. listen. >> it is a system that needs reforming. we don't want to force more people on a program that is not working, we want to reform medicaid. don't expand this as dramatically as obama care does. keep it like it is. increase its funding and send it to the state so the state can fix this problem.

>> and like romney, ryan had no appearances today. >> thanks. president obama in the bay the tell ground state of florida just one day after an appearance by governor romney. the president is about to speak to a crowd at the palm beach county convention center there. he has been slamming the romney-ryan plan for medicare. ed henry is there live and will be joining us with the latest. after a five-week vacation u.s. lawmakers will be returning to washington, d.c. for a short pre election session. congress will try to focus on energy and preventing the government shutdown, a six-month temporary spending bill. financing the day-to-day operations is set to expire at the end of the month. some of the most pressing

matters will go unattended including whether to allow a tax hike if the bush tax cuts are not renewed by the end of the year. congress has to deal with $100 billion if they are unable to bounce a budget that reduces deficits ssments it threatens to send the u.s. in a fiscal clip. there is drought protection for farmers and funding for the food stamp program. losing $25 million a day. think about that. there is a billion dollar payment program this month. there is something new for troops in afghanistan, facebook. insurgents are targeting

coalition forces by posing as pretty girls and friending them. they are warned about geo tagging. it logs the location of anybody making a post. well, a militant leader linked to the al-qaeda network is warning of new deadly attacks in syria. in an attempt to topple the syrian president he says, quotes, our fighters are coming to get you, end quote. the leader of this group condemns crimes committed by the sunni muslims. in the meantime, fighting continues. there was a reported -- reported bombing killing seven people. the strikes hours after rebels took over a nearby army base. iraq's fugitive vice

president has been sentenced to death. he was convicted and his son-in-law of master minding the death of a lawyer and government official. he denies the charges and has long escaped to nearby turkey. the sentence comes on the same day insurgents killed 82 people across iraq including several soldiers at an army post and recruits waiting in line to apply for job. a fox extreme weather alert. folks cleaning up after the dangerous storms in the eastern u.s. of the central ohio, high winds ripping the roof off a u haul store and dropping it on a nearby car wash. strong storms hitting these residents. here is one description of how it hit. >> first rain, wind and a swirling -- a terrific

swirling and covered both windows like i have never seen anything in my life. >> i thought my roof was coming off ssments by the time i got my cell tone to call my daughter it was gone. >> maria is live in our fox weather center. >> it was in parts of the midwest on friday and eastern seaboard last night. we saw incredible amounts of damage from wind and also even reports of tornadoes including the new york city area where we had a confirmed tornado in king county and queen county. this system has now exited the eastern seaboard. we have some rain in new york and some parts of pennsylvania, but overall much quiet you are.

as we head south, we do have a tail end of the front producing areas central florida and northern florida. a lot of the activity has lightened up and it is across parts of florida and limited to a couple hours here and there. behind the system, much cooler. 67 in cleavland. current temperature, 70 degrees. beautiful behind the system, and this nice weather is here to stay. chicago for your high, 78, 69 in cleavland, but greg as we head westbound we have weather to talk about across parts of the planes with low humidity, very warm temperatures and gusty winds. all of it elevates the fire danger. >> thank you. we will check back with you.

back to the campaign trail now. president obama wrapping up his day in florida with a stop in west palm beach. ed henry is traveling with the president, and he is there now. >> the president just arrived in palm beach after various stops along the way. he will talk about medicare and it means a lot to the seniors here in florida. he started the day at a bakery with a couple of senior citizens having breakfast with them, trying to show he is the candidate who is going to save and protect medicare. the republican ticket is saying it is a photo op and the president took out $700 million to pay for the health care plan. the president's response is he believe the romney-ryan budget plan will decimate medicare and when you add in the tax

cuts for the rich it will explode the deficit. >> governor romney and his allies tell us we can lower our deficit by spending trillions of dollars on tax breaks for the wealthy. >> listen, you have to do the math because when my opponents were asked about it today they haven't. it was like, 2 plus 1 equals 5. >> the president mocking the arithmetic that they talked about when romney and ryan were on the sunday talk shows. a light moment on the trail. he went to a pizza shop and he gave him a lift. normally secret service would ?ot let you lift the president. when he walked in he said, if i have your pizza will i look

like you? the owner lifted him in the air who said he is a republican and he is so excited and will vote for hill again. maybe the president was a good sport about it. >> thank you, ed henry. >> i am thinking i yes. a wounded warrior inspiring the world with his incredible de termination. he was blinded last year and now a swimmer at the london paraolympic games. >> exactly one year ago navy lieutenant brad snyder's last tour ended suddenly when an ied blasted shrappnel into his face.

he is competing in the 400 and 400 meter freestyle. in the blind athlete's race starts they get a tug when it is time to turn. >> it is pretty daunting. i underestimated it a little bit. when i felt the water i was loose. >> his job was to diffuse bombs for a navy seal team. he was conscious as he waited for a medic. he will be recovering at walter reed medical center. the blient lieu tenant says it brings new meaning to honor, courage, commit meant. >> commitment to getting better. commitment to your ship mates. like i said in the hospital, the support they gave to me, i felt like i needed to

reciprocate it it it. i felt a din ship with them and wanted to show them i saw appreciated their support, their commitment. i wanted to get better. >> one of the hardest parts was not just dealing with the disability of being blind, but being sidelined from an active assault team. his competitive nature is being fulfilled by being a part of paralympic. he is also part of cross fit and rock climbing. >> congratulations. thanks very much. wonderful story. coming up, labor troubles in the nation's third largest school district. teachers are threatening to walk off the job tomorrow. >> and are you a deal junky? we will tell you about why

they may be hurting some of the retailers. >> if your child is brown bagging it, we have an inexpensive and healthy lunch. >> i brown bag to work.

welcome back. there appears to be a new addiction that is sweeping across america. it is known as extreme couponing. that's not all. many see never having to pay full price as something that is just short of a constitutional right. the retail industry say all of these deals and discounts are starting to take a big bite out of their bottom line. brenda butner, our senior business correspondent is here to explain this latest consumer obsession and why it mayly -- may be hurting retailers. >> it was part of the recession that they started this. 70% off and sales were everything. they drew people into the stores who weren't coming in

by sales. that's really cutting into their profit growth. between 2006 and today profit gross was cut in half. it is really cutting into margins. it is a constitutional right in my view. i don't buy anything full price. >> they mark it up anyway, right? >> sometimes. but a lot of the places do cut significantly at different times. compare that to somebody like the wal-mart model where it is everyday low prices. you know you will get a low price. you don't need a coupon. you don't have to look for the yellow 70% off. when they tried to go to sales and discounts they had a rough time. they discovered that if you just have predictable pricing it really can work. >> and that's what they are trying to trend more toward, right? >> jc penneys and lowes are

having a hard time with that. jc penney went toward the everyday predictable pricing, and their revenues were really, really -- fell. it is hard to change business models quickly. >> i remember the blue light special from k smart. i think they started it all. >> they did. >> people that take it to the extreme, do you have a funny story in reference to that? >> my kids love this. you can get 800 days of grocery for a dollar. >> the last time i was at the grocery store my kids were like, marshmellows 10 for $10 and i didn't realize they were putting them in my bin. i spent so much for that grocery visit. you look in my pantry and there are 10 bags of marshmellows. you buy things you don't need, and now of course my kids forgot the coupon.

there are some rules to follow. >> the trend as we wrap up, you think more of these big box stores will try to trend back to everyday low pricing? >> it is a much better business model. you can plan your sales and understand your margins. otherwise it is tough. still -- >> did you ever pay full price? >> i think not. >> it is a badge of honor. thank you, brenda. you can catch more words of wisdom every saturday morning 10:00 a.m. eastern. greg, are you a big couponner? >> i am. i recently got a pair of jeans worth $100 for $15. >> that's awesome. >> of course they don't fit, but that's another story. i am losing weight. chicago public schools will be open for half day

tomorrow so students have someplace to go even if their teachers do a no show. teachers are ready to trade their textbooks for picket signs unless the city offers an acceptable new contract pay raises being the main sticking point. lisa has the latest from chicago. >> media is being held outside while the negotiators remain behind closed doors inside. they gave people a look at teamster city. >> we have been doing this for 10 months. we did this for 8 hours yesterday. >> teachers examine parents were among some of those picking up ticket signs and other strike materials. despite the lack of movement the union is hopeful for a last-minute agreements. >> i am always hopeful about that.

as long as there is time there is a possibility for us. that's what we are working for. i have two kids in the chicago public school. i am not looking forward to not having them in school. there is a lot at stake for all of us. >> that was wlf reporting from from -- wlfd reporting from chicago. the president is in the swing state of florida talking to potential voters in west palm beach. did he get a bounce from the democratic convention and will it be enough to overcome the dismal august numbers. and the national september 11th america rail is a pack tack lar site. but wait until you hear who is criticizing it and why

welcome back. it is the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news. president obama in florida armed with a new study that he says shows sky rocketing costs for future medicare recipients under the romney-ryan plan. republicans say the president is trying to further distance himself from the jobs report last friday. a bloody day across iraq. baghdad official report a light night car bomb killed 11 people in a shiite neighborhood with one of several countrywide attacks that left 82 people dead and more than 300 wounded today. across the northeast folks are cleaning up the mess left behind by the powerful storms that barreled across the region. it spawned two tornadoes in new york city flooding towns in new england and leaving thousands without power near dc. the ailing u.s. economy is taking center stage on the

sunday talk shows. governor romney and his supporters focusing on unemployment and the americans giving up trying to find a job. here is that report from washington. >> the unemployment rate was lower than it was in july, but many are over looking that number, 8.1% and focusing on the 368,000 americans who gave up on their job hunts last month and how all of those folks drove the participation rate to 63.5%, the lowest since 1981. >> for every person who got a job, four stopped looking for work. that's not a good direction. >> but the president's supporters say don't read too much into august alone. >> you in every want to take one month's reports. if you look at the last year the unemployment rate is down a percentage poimt. >> some benefit the heart of the president's pitch to

voters in the swing state. >> this country has created of a a -- created half a million. >> if he wins another term and raises taxes on the rich, they believe the economy will stay stalled. >> i can't imagine raising tax rights on high income people is a res pea for economic growth. romney says he will not cut tacks for the wealthy, but bring down their rate of taxations so the taxes the wealthy people will stay the same and middle income taxpayers will get a break. heather? >> thank you peter doosey in washington. we have this year's convention in the history book. did the convention really

accomplish what the candidates set out to do? let's bring in our campaign insiders. former republican congressman for new york and a fox news contributor. gentlemen, good to see you. >> good to see you. let me throw up a couple of polls. 50% approval and 44% disapproval , and here is the head to head match up. president obama 49% and governor romney 44%. rase mu son has pretty much the same sort of thing on the daily presidential tracking poll. >> i think there is a mod dill bounce. -- modest bounce. 3, 4, 5%. he will drop back a point or two next week. the democrats most of what they wanted to do in their convention. they basically played to their

base. the republicans similarly wept to the base. >> ultimately both played to their base. neither party addressed -- the big question, how are we going to create jobs hence there are still a lot of undecidessed. >> what do you think of the job numbers? >> the president's job approval which is 52 in rase mu son, it is 50-44 examine that's plus 6. it is about a 10-point margin shift. that's the key as to whether he gets re-elected. i don't care if it is the horse races if he is 50% he has to come down. it needs to be in the 45% range. look, the republican party needs to pace facts. the democrats did what they wanted to do. the republicans other than

make romney more -- >> can i talk on that. here is what the deem centers for disease control dthey had going into the conventions a passionate differential. it was anti-obama sentiment and stronger to pro obama. he is riding the obama waive. whether it bees lasts for two months, but we will see. they are as juiced for their tabi it as the right is to get rid of him. >> let me tell you, the republicans were flat, the energy was with democrats. >> there used to be a big balance. let's put it up on the screen. there you go. look at the gite on the far right hand side, doug's former boss. 16 points out of the 1992 convention. >> bottom line, it is two

things. the conventions are compressed. they are at the end of the month and there is more information. bottom line, greg, here is the issue, the parties are playing to their extreme ways, and they are not talking to issues the voters care about. we did not get a job description. we got a lot of anti-obama. and the democrats talked about reproductive rights ssments. >> friday was a big day in terms of jobs. 8.1% is the unemployment. 96,000 jobs added. that seems like a big number, but it is knots. you need 150,000 to 200,000 just to keep up with job growth. 368,000 people just through up their hands and gave up. >> this is the up in and the failure of the republicans to make a simple factual case to

people, even as of today with urgency. it is 11.2% -- if you look at the workforce, the number of people, woulding when obama was ingnawing rated, the -- inaugurated it would be 11.2%. >> we are not hearing that from governor romney. >> you are not hearing it. >> that what is underscored with romney. take a listen. >> everything i want to do with regards to taxation follows simple principals which is bring our rich down to encourage growth. keep revenue up by limiting deductions and exceptions and no bigger burden on middle income people. i i want to lower the burden on the middle income people. >> what are the specifics? >> those principals i describedded -- i described are the heart of my policy. >> he will not tell which exemptions, credits and deductions are at risk.

>> i am more board listening to that answer than in the accounting course. the word pat used, urgency. we have 60-days or less until the election. >> a clear plan. that's what he needs. >> he doesn't need he needs to pro dice one. >> when we left what was the last thing we said? there is a crisis coming. >> he does have a 5-point plan. >> who knows what is in it? >> so when the editorial board says he is glossing over the 5 points, they have a point. >> we have showed this since we have been with you on sunday since march. the key what -- the key was which would be spell out specific descriptions -- imrek, who -- who was the best

speaker over anybody? >> bill clinton. >> he didn't give a political speech. it was what was worrying the american people. >> he said nobody could solve the country's problems. regan did it and to some extent bill clinton did. >> that was his poi. i did. it he tried and it was a good speech for obama. >> if it weren't for clinton making a case for him which has a subtext. he gave jimmy carter ease's accentance speech. my mouth hung over. two futures and two paths. >> i am getting a hard wrap here. hang on. we will squeeze in a quick break. >> coming up, the nation prepares to pay homage once again to the victims of 9/11, this tuesday. the stage is being set for the

tribute at the ground zero memorial. wait until you hear the astonishing price tag of the landmark. plap

time now for a quick check of the headlines for you. the fan san -- the foundation that runs the 9/11 memorial reveals a hefty price tag. once the $700 million project is completed, it will cost another 60 million per year to operate. critics say a government subsidee may be needed. and president obama, have you seen this, getting a lift from a constituent. yes, that really happened. they are getting a little exuberant. he says he voted for the president in 2008 and says after this he will probably vote for him again. greg, what do you think about that? >> i think it is never a good

idea to bear hug the pres. it is the only state at the center of deciding the outcome of the presidential race. we are talking about ohio. 18 electoral votes now are campaigned. the romney camp may have a new strategy regarding the buckeye state. congressman, what are you hearing? >> holding out the new york times magazine cover story, way to go ohio which asks on what you just mentioned. why is obama doing so well in a republican state that romney must win probably. >> so unemployment is below -- >> they have a republican whose rates are going up. >> one of the problems is that the romney campaign and pat has been talking about this

has no narrative of the republican governors. there is no message and no argument for their brand. they are in a position where if they don't win ohio they will have to run the table. >> is it possible they will abandon ohio? >> they can't. you start doing that and you drop off michigan and pennsylvania. they have to go back. at the moment i said this is rom intoe's -- this was romney's election to lose. the democrats would be allowed that as a success. what you just said about republican branding. greg, if you look at the success they have had, new york is much bigger. >> let's look at the electoral map. we talked about approval ratings and there is ohio. you you need 270.

president obama has a sig president cay lead here in terms of -- has a significant lead here. that's what matters. >> it is. unless romney can win florida, ohio, north carolina and virginia and a couple other states, wisconsin, michigan. both are unlikely, but he would need new hampshire, nevada, colorado. bottom line -- >> you are shaking your head? >> you have to have a national break on the issues you strike through which moves four or five states. >> a national method. >> it breaks through and moves this. this bottom up will thought work for them. >> what should it be? >> they were counting on an economic collapse to propel them. they have not tried jie. they are looking for an economic collapse when they answer is an economic message how you

promote growth and incenti vies a business. >> there are more and more americans who are unem ployed. unemployed. >> they were unbelievably awful. what did he say four times in his accentance speech? romney talked about children being worse off. they don't know what to do. >> what is the break? in march he had the nomination on hand. from march to july was the time he needed to get the break and change the race. >> are you forgetting something 1234* money. >> let me say i have been in a lot of campaigns with a monetary advantage. message beats money every time. >> especially the presidential bid. >> absolutely.

new think of a message that ties into peach's lives, -- that's a death message. that's where the money could work. make it a positive message. so far the republican consultants came to get a lot of money. >> let's run through the predictions. >> romney's campaign and romney are pushing down the line month after month. what will they do to get the first break? that is thaish opportunity and i don't -- that is his hiewnt. it won't be enough. >> ronald reagan proved himself in the 1980 debate. >> the reason we couldn't debate in 1980. romney can make that case, but i will tell you my prediction. my prediction is right now the

house of representatives is in play. both democrats and republicans think it could be lost. >> the senate is in play and the republican brand is in crisis. it will narrow, but will shake out with obama ahead. >> i can talk with our campaign insiders forever. you are a wealth of information. >> and you can get more every monday at 10:30 a.m. eastern time. check it out live . fox news.com. they will be back as they always are every sunday. you can follow at on twitter. let's go out and het -- hetter is standing by. >> it is back to school and that means sending your kids with a lunch that is nutrition -- nutritious. and packing a perfect brown bag lunch. that's coming up next.

welcome back. it is a beautiful evening. >> 74 degrees. >> and it is back to schooltime and packing the right lunch for your kids. it is more than just eliminating the sugary drinks and the packaged snacks. >> i will eat those. don't give it to your kids. how can you give your children

a nutritious lunch without breaking the budget? >> our health and fitness expert joins us live and good to see you. >> nice to see you guys. >> you have a lovely display and yogurt is one of the items. >> actually for your kids -- kids don't want to eat yogurt. if they have a chance for a yogurt parfait, they are all over that. nothing sugar sweetened because it is too much calories and sugar, and give them fruit, nuts, dried fruit, a low sugar cereal like cheerios. if they don't like the taste of nonfat yogurt you can put in some april -- apple sauce or jam. >> and it is cheap. >> it is cheap. you can get a couple lunches out of that.

>> this is similar to what you would see in a starbucks. >> these are all the rage. kids are hip to that because you can compartment tall lies and put fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. this is chicken from last night's dinner and pasta salad. you can't put sugar repackaged graw noel law bars. >> good portion sizes as well jie. it is of the it is $15 to $20 depending on the size you want. >> whole food sandwiches. >> not whole food the market, but using whole foods in assisted of processed peanut butters or processed deli meat, mayo. it was an economical source of protein. it is fun. >> and it fills you up. >> this is for a younger kid,

sliced pairs with mashed avacado. sounds interesting and kids love it. >> i don't know about that. >> i love avacado. >> i like the fried egg sandwich. >> both have healthy nutrients. this is fun. >> salad in a jar. you don't think of salad as kids food, but if you pack this and you can shake it up at lynch. >> what is in there? >> you start with dressing on the bottom and don't put the lettuce next because that will soak up the dressing. use a grape tomato, onion, blueberries, mango. it is a lot of fun. >> sugar, nonsugar redrinks and dessert. >> what you pack for drinks, stay away from the soda and the juice and the sports

drinks. that is a major contributor to obesity. i like low fat organ physical -- organic milk. if you want flavor, give them vitamin water zero, sobe water zero. >> we have 30 seconds left. dessert? >> don't pack dessert. if you have to have a treat, put popcorn cheerios with candy. >> most of this stuff is pretty cheap. great to see you. >> thank you. >> that's going to do it for us on a beautiful evening here. say hello, everybody.