>> good morning. i am heather nauert. >> i am heather childers. thank you for joining us. it is tuesday october 16th. thank you for watching fox and friends first. >> big day today. the fievenl count down for round two. we are hours away from the town hall debate between president obama and mitt romney. we are learning more about who will go first. >> that can be important in a debate. kelly wright is live for us in

washington with a preview tonight. hi there. >> hi. how are you. tonight is round 2 of the presidential debate. both candidates know there's a lot at stake. today's town hall style debate between the president and mitt romney will give each candidate ample time to connect with voters. that is extremely important. the two sides agreed in advance to answer questions from the audience. moderator of cnn may choose to ask follow up questions and insert herself into the discussion contrary to the memorandum of understanding. that is a concern for some of the candidates of course. the president has been off the campaign trail spending the past three-days in williamsburg, virginia going through an intense debate camp there. he has to be more passionate tonight. his first debate was lackluster

he admitted. >> i have seen how important it is to have a president who doesn't just tell us what we want to hear but who tells us the truth even when it is hard, especially when it is hard. >> and republican nominee governor mitt romney has been preparing for the debate near his home in massachusetts. campaign advisors say mr. romney is prepared for anything the president will say tonight. meantime running mate paul ryan has continued to be on the attack against president obama. >> we have a president that came in with so much promise, he came in with so much hope and so much promise of change. unfortunately what we have now is a spring of broken promises. >> when the debate gets underway tonight there will be three weeks left until leblgs delecti.

both men know they can't lose any ground they have to energize it. both hope they will accomplish energizing their debate. >> thank you very much, kelly. that leaves us to our brew on this question of the day. what are you expecting from tonight's town hall debate. >> you can tweet them to us at fox friends first or go to foxfriendsfirst@foxnews.com. those are the top stories making news at this hour. a terror trial without any terrorists showing up? 9-11 pretrial hearings are resuming at guantanamo bay. but the self professed mastermind khalid shaikh mohammed will not be required to attend those hearings at their own request, the judge asking if he understand the implications of not showing up mohammed said yes, but i don't think there is

any justice in this court. some of the families watching the hearings on closed circuit television. >> we are going to persevere. we want justicjustice. >> don't want anything to come up on appeal. >> they are watching at four military bases around the country. >> the actual trial isn't expected to start until next year. if the five suspects are convicted they could face execution. new warnings this morning more people could be at risk in the deadly meningitis outbreak. two more drugs made at the same massachusetts pharmacy may also be contaminated. one drug is used in open-heart surgery the other is another steroid used for final injections. three patients developed fungal infections after being exposed to these drugs. there are 214 cases.

they may have a voter id law but after the election. they will hear an appeal in arizona that voters prove they are american citizens before they register to vote. the ninth circuit court effectively shot down the law ruling that voters can figure out a voter registration card and don't have to submit a proof of citizenship. they won't hear the case until next year. >> former democratic presidential nominee george mcgovern has been moved to hostis. the former south dakota senator is 90 years old had several health problems. his daughter admits he is coming to the end of his life. he lost every state in the 72 election to richard nixon except massachusetts and district of columbia. >> getting behind the push to vote michelle obama already

submitting her ballot. she showed off that completed absentee ballot on twitter monday before she rallied supporters in ohio to do the same thing. >> i have to tell you that i am pretty fired up and ready to go myself especially because this morning i cast my vote early for barack obama. today i voted for my husband. >> the president making history by not voting on election day he will vote early in chicago on october 25th. that is your 5@5:00. >> not having people go to the ballot box. >> as long as you vote that is what counts. >> the september 11th attack on consulate in libya. secretary of state hillary clinton talking to wendell goaler about the incident, the security concerns leading up to the attack and administration's actions following. >> secretary clinton making news

there. she takes full responsibility for the attacks in benghazi and the buck stops with her. >> i am responsible at the state department for the more than 60,000 people around the world. the decisions about security are made by security professionals. we are going to review everything to make sure that we are doing what needs to be done in an increasingly risky environment around the world. there is no doubt that our men and women from the state department usaid, the rest of our government are having to balance all of the time how to do their jobs and not stay behind high walls but to do it as faithfully as possible. that is an ongoing concern around the world. former secretary of defense

donald rumsfeld spoke with sean hannity and he believes the responsibility falls on the shoulders of president obama. >> it does stop with the president which she is not. on the other hand the buck with respect to providing security is certainly within her area of responsibility. it was a failure. on the other hand the responsibility for the way the white house has tried to cover this up and to manage it in a way that suggested at first it was u tube not anything to do with a planned attack with heavy weapons i think the responsibility for that as well as the responsibility for the secretary of state not providing appropriate security does in fact fall to the president. >> the white house facing continuing backlash for what many say was an attempt to cover up what really happened in benghazi. secretary clinton responds to those allegations later in the

show. before that it is now time for your first degree weather update and maria molina has more on your current temperatures. >> good morning gad to see you. we are talking about cool temperatures or cool start to the day out across portions of the great lakes. it is behind our front going through portions of the great lakes and also the northeast. early this morning 41 in chicago. 48 over in cleveland. parts of the center of the country really kicking off on a very warm note. 57 right now minneapolis. 61 kansas city widespread 60s across texas. we have lirnging showers because of the front across portions of main through boston. you need your umbrella early this morning for the system. finally pushes out to canada otherwise upper midwest. swinging on through with ire yaws of light rainy specially off minnesota and wisconsin. we have a third system rolling on through this will produce areas of heavy rain before

tracking eastward over the next several days. warm across the center of the country 70s from minnesota into the dakotas. 59 will be the high temperature in new york city. >> it was a cool start when you went out this morning. breezy. now to stories you can bank on with the election around the corner. bosses of big companies are starting to weigh in on the race and they are telling their workers who they believe will help their business and their employees. joining us near wall street in downtown manhattan from the fox business network is lauren simonetti. good morning lauren. who do these bosses want to win the white house? >> it seems like the overwhelming majority are saying they want a mitt romney presidency. billionaire coke brothers sent an e-mail to the georgia pacific workers saying if obama is re-elected you can see pam pant

inflation higher gas prices. similar tunes at other companies including aic software solutions, lax enterprises and everybody heard from the owner of west gate last week warning of possible job cuts if president obama is elected. microsoft is unveiling an i tune competition. explain. >> xbox music essentially is a streaming music service in time for the holidays. the caveat is it will work on xbox and windows 8 phones and tablets not windows 7. this is a slap in the face for pandora as they are trying to up the game with the holiday dollars just in time for christmas and hanukkah. >> usually you are in studio with us but today you are downtown. what are you doing down there? >> it's national boss day.

everybody say something nice to your boss. or maybe you want to dump them. hi, chris. chris is our lovely boss today. we are going to dunk him. two out of three workers according to a new survey said that they not only do not like their boss, they would rather get a new boss over a pay raise. there's so much dissatisfaction among american companies these days. it cost american businesses $360 billion a year in lost productivity. i like my boss. just putting it out there. >> if you ever worked for a bad boss you appreciate a good one. they are few and far between. lauren simonetti good to see you. >> good to see you. >> they may be small but they pack a big punch. we are breaking down some of the swing states that you probably didn't know could end up making or breaking this election. we will tell you which ones. >> why adding one new job won't

make ap dent in bringing down the jobless numbers.

>> 15 minutes after the top of the hour. here's what you missed while you were sleeping. two republican lawmakers demanding answers as we rapidly approach the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling. senator thorn hatch and jeff sessions urging geithner to reveal when we will reach it and how to prolong the deadline. he expects the nearest by the end of 2012. the lack of transparency is unacceptable. since the president took office in january 2, 0009, by the way only 827,000 people have been added to the labor force.

.82 million have been added not to the neighbor force. >> we are a few weeks from election day. a >> are those states the only ones that matter? dick poor says if he wants to win the election he needs to look beyond the states of ohio and florida. >> my case here remember how i was on your show in 2010 about three weeks before the election day said raise your sites go after the seats you didn't think you could win? you have already won the seats you thought you could win the republican party did that and instead of 40 they got over 60 in now it is time to not just focus on florida, ohio, virginia and nevada but instead go to the

next tier of states, pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan, minnesota and maybe even new jersey. >> karl rove advanced that same kind of theory. >> two of the smaller wing states are iowa and new hampshire. while they may not offer as many electoral votes they could be just as important when deciding who wins this election. establishing early frontrunners but once the primaries over the limelight tends to fade. start in new hampshire where four electoral votes are at stake. andy smith said those votes are critical and can change the course of an election. the latest poll shows president obama's lead slipping this is a

race voters are following closely. oo i'm voting for barack obama. i am voting for him because i feel he best represents my feelings for economy foreign relations and education. >> i voted for romney because we need a change. he's a successful businessman he knows how to make businesses grow why can't he make the economy grow? they have gone to a democratic nominee in five of the last elections. >> i think mitt romney has good business sense he knows what he is doing and i think he can do it. >> i have a belief that obama is much more concerned about the middle and lower classes. >> the possibility is strong the people who started it all will

have a big say in how it all ends. >> i love the quiltling fair. they make the most beautiful things. oliver north joins us after getting caught in a gun bat tlel. >> green energy, which states are going extreme in the alternative energy debate?

>> the state of michigan is considering changing it's constitution to require that state to use more green energy. the proposed amendment mandates the state get 25 percent of the energy from renewable sources by

the year 2025. michigan will be the first state with this kind of dmant. >> two hieshgs found alive and uninjured after they went missing for three-days in monta montana's glacier national park. they fell down into a ravine and couldn't get back to the trail. crews found them on monday and air lefted them out of the park. >> caught in the middle of a gun battle in afghanistan. for more colonel north joins us from hell men providence. >> he was the commander of the wech up weapons. >> how long have you been here? >> four months. >> he is in a district of helminen pov dense. they have the job of mentoring national security forces and when necessary engaging taliban

insurgents. >> north west. looks like they are trying to maneuver on us. >> pretty much the only area left in the river valley where it is one that remains. it's a terrain that's favorable to them in a population that's favorable to them. what we are seeing is squad 2 platoon size of taliban some level of basic training and understanding of small unit tactics. they have got very advantageous terrain they fight a defensive fight out there and they are pretty good at it. >> fights like this are becoming increasingly rare as they shoulder responsibility for security. >> this isn't your first rodeo. are you going to have to come back out here? >> no, sir. the districts have become very developed since we have been here children getting educated lots of shops open people don't want to go back to the standard

of living they were in. >> hello to my wife my daughters. today is my 7th anniversary. >> great. >> happy anniversary. >> he is excited to get home. you know it. >> the time is 25 after the top of the hour. nabbing one of the world's most wanted terrorists the surprising tactics the cia used to hunt down one of al qaeda's top leaders just revealed. a father with a stern warning with speeders hit my son or i will shoot. an incredible song. welcome aboard!

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>> welcome back. >> it is now half past the hour. >> the big story we are following today just hours from now all eyes on oxford university on long island where they face off for round two of the presidential debate. >> we are live in washington with more. good morning, doug. >> good morning, guys. this one will be different. remember the firs debate two weeks ago. the ex pecpectation going into .

this time around there has been a shift. kierding to this poll president obama 41 percent think he will win, 37 percent think mitt romney will win. a prit see even split there. they are putting it on the debate in new york along with the seating for the town hall participants. president obama and mitt romney has been largely off the campaign trail preparing running through one mock debate after another. and the town hall format tonight could make a difference as well with questions coming from uncommitted voters. >> for challenger romney what's at stake is the strong performance he made last time and keep the momentum he has going now. the momentum is swinging in

romney's way for obama it's a chance to regain the momentum. >> a lot of that will depend on the questions tonight. who is going to ask the questions? a group of undecided voters that are all selected by the gallup organization. this third point moderator may post follow up questions. that may be the sticking point tonight. according to the rules both campaigns agreed upon the moderator is not supposed to ask follow up questions. she reserves the right to do that we may see the moderator playing a pretty role in that should be interesting. >> they have an unemployment rate of 1.9 percent quite abit ahead of the national average. people are going to be asking for r about that. >> now it's time for your 5@5:30. top five stories making news for you at this hour. the justice department urging

house lawmakers to toss their fast and furious lawsuit against eric holder. the gun running program put weapons into the hands of mexican cartels and killed u.s. border patrol agent brian perry. holder refused to comply. it does not allow the courts to resolve a political issue between the executive branch and congress. did you know your tax dollars are paying for men us on mars? the eye opening waste book. that is a list of 100 expenses that are costing us nearly $19 billion. the book shows that nasa spends about 1 million a year on the mars menu even though there are no plans for a manned flight to mars or certainly a restaurant there. taxpayers are subsidizing free

cell phone service for nearly 60 million americans at a cost of 1.5 billion a year. coburn is joining fox and friends later on and will talk about the new waist book. >> the cia tried to huntal can i down by finding him a bride. true according to a danish newspaper. they hired an al qaeda double agent for 250,000 dollars to set the terrorist up with a 32-year-old. both would have been killed in an american drone strike. instead awlaki told her to get rid of her secretly bugged suitcase thus spoiling the plot. however, the marriage did work out. quite a story. parents in california issuing a

violent warning to drivers there. you hit my kid or you will be shot. drivers regularly ignore the 25 mile per hour speed limit. they are worried about their kid's safety. >> we were so tired of all of the speeders and he was just fed up with it one day grabbed the board and started writing on it. >> i am not here to hurt anybody. that's not my intentions. want everyone to slow down we are good. >> can't blame them. the couple feel like the sign is working. they say more drivers are slowing down. >> in 2008 it was obama girl. now it is paul ryan girl singing let's get fiscal. ♪ let's get fiscal fiscal ♪ i wanna get fiscal ♪ let me hear reality ♪ reality ♪ talk about reality

>> wow. meredith walker playing off the 1980s hit let's get physical by olivia newton john. she appeared on "hannity" last night. >> ever since i was a kid my parents let me choose what i wanted to believe, but they also kept me informed. sings i was 12 i told them i wanted to be (inaudible) when i grew up. >> it has 30,000 hits on youtube. that is your 5@5:30. >> more serious news now. another top stories major developments coming in overnight regarding the attacks on the consulate in libya. hillary clinton speaking with fox news saying she takes full responsibility for the attack in benghazi and the buck ultimately stops with her. >> the secretary also discussing the administration's handling of

the attack. what some say was an attempted cover up. as you recall the administration first said this was a spontaneous act in response to an anti muslim film produced here in the united states. here was her explanation. >> i have been around long enough to know it talks time to assess all of the information you have. their assessment changed. everyone was trying to give information to the best of their ability at the time with the caveat more was likely to be learned and there would be most likely changes. the fog of war, the confusion that you get in any kind of combat situation.

this was an attack that went on for hours. our post was over run by armed men our annex was attacked. there had to be a lot of sorting out. they looked backwards. did they miss something, was there something else out there? then had he had to put out feelers to find out what people knew. they have been doing that in a very vigorous way. we are learning more all of the time about what happened. >> certainly learning more. former new york city mayor rudy giuliani talking about this with greta van susteren specifically whether it was a coverup or not. >> if it isn't a cover up they are acting like there was one. everything turns out to be false including information about two prior attacks. i don't think they would have ever known the ambassador's

concern about their own safety if cnn hasn't as the administration says stolen. they got all upset the diary was found. they accused the reporter of stealing the diary. they should have disclosed it when it happened. if it isn't a cover up they are creating the impression there is a coverup. what i said would be on the front page of the new york times. >> coming up on fox and friends two of the lawmakers leading the push for answers about the attack in libya. congress jason chaff faw and lindsay graham. if you pay into a pension fund you want to listen to this. there are studies that suggest the largest pension fund in the country are under reporting their liabilities and over reporting their rates of return.

the rate of return is more like 8 percent. in reality it's nothing like that. >> with this new study they have roughly $1.2 trillion in a gap between what they promised to pay future retirees and what they will have on hand to cover those benefits. that is about 300 million more than the firm itself. it shows pensions are accurate with the short fall estimate. the study also estimated median return to be 8 percent when the returns dropped to 3.2 percent over the last five years. unfunded liabilities are higher than currently estimated leaving taxpayers to cover it and

dealing with the financial bomb when it comes to a head. other studies with the pew center estimated the short fall to be 766 billion while moody investor service said just in july it would be $2.2 trillion. the assumed rate was only off a third of what it should be. they under reported their liabilities because they used rates that are too high. >> before we leave the house let's get your first degree weather update she is tracking a care pair of hurricanes. >> we are actually very late in hurricane season both in the atlantic and in the eastern pacific ocean. we have a hurricane that could be impacting land later today. it has maximum sustained winds of 85 mileings per hour. we could be experiencing

tropical storm force winds out here as we head into late this afternoon into this evening. it is something we have an eye on. it is not expected to impact the u.s. but that is good news it has weakened now to a 2. should be impacting southern baha peninsula as we go later on today as well with category 1 hurricane. a lot going on in the tropics. >> thank you. >> 42 after the hour. tonight's town hall style which candidate will benefit from the format? we will have analysis from brit hume. plus your responses. >> what are you expecting from tonight's debate? we will read your responses coming up.

>> it is 45 after the top of the hour. let's span the globe to see what stories are going on overseas. the pakistani girl shot by the taliban could make a full recovery. good news. 14-year-old was flown to a hospital in birmingham to receive treatment for the critical head wound and protection. the team was -- teen was gunned down when leaving school last week as punishment for fighting for education for girls. >> to china take a look at this deadly building explosion caught on surveillance camera. at least one person was killed four remain missing. 10 people were hurt. a gas leak is suspected to have caused the blast. 46 minutes after the hour. it's time for a look at who is talking. we are getting back to tonight's town hall debate. will president obama or mitt romney benefit from that format?

>> here is brit hume's analysis on "the o'reilly factor. ">>the president will do a good job of understanding about or worried about or troubled about to share that worry or concern. >> i suspect there will be a lot of empathy. that is something that governor romney is not thought to be as good at as president obama is. the setting or at least the format may tend to add vantage mr. obama. >> that leads us to our brew on this question of the day. earlier we asked you what are you expecting from tonight's town hall debate. here are some of your responses. jim tweeted us, i want to see the candidates make points on what they will do to change the nation not the faults of the opponent. >> they come out swinging. they know the ropes a little too well. they will have another victory. >> michael e-mailed us. i want to hear real solutions

for america's real problems. >> thanks everybody who responded keep them coming. >> 47 after the top of the hour and a close call. a girl getting the shock of her life. >> first who. let's check in with brian kilmeade to see what's coming up on "fox & friends". >> well, i will show you just because you would like for me to do that. first up we are going to be doing what you are doing talking about debates which will attract 70 million people. we will tell you what will happen to the best of our ability like with laura ingram, senator lindsay graham. mark bowden also wrote ""black hawk down"" he will be talking the take down of bin laden from the bush administration to the obama administration. along with kevin james and fonzi from happy days. wonder if they will be in character. all coming up on "fox & friends". don't go away.

>> it is time to take advantage of it. autumn is the perfect time to do that. a perfect time for any one to travel. here with five fall get aways is orbitz senior editor, janeane. thank you for being here. >> my pleasure. >> the first spot is santa fe, new mexico. >> it's the city unexpected you don't expect to go to this little mountain town have spas, art galleries, five star restaurants, it's a beautiful escape to relax and rejuvenate. my hotel pick is the inn spa at

lower raid d lower raid doe. >> you can stay in the hotel that's all you need but there are so many things to explore and do. >> walking tours museums and a lot of art. >> the virginia wine country we heard a lot about california wines in the sonoma valley. virginia is the place to go. >> absolutely. california may be the obvious choice. virginia wine country has over 200 wineries. it has a deep history in wine making. they were actually named wine enthusiasts as one of the ten best travel wine destinations in 2012. it's a really great option. it's a lot of beautiful small properties to stay at. my pick is the boars head inn. a beautiful property. you can venture out in all of these different wine trails. rates from 160 a night in the fall. the proximity to washington, d.c. makes it such an easy

option for people to fly into dc and head out to the wineries. >> crossing the border into canada quebec city. >> this is one of my favorite. it is french speaking. you feel like you are walking around a parisian neighborhood. like you stepped back in name with the small boutiques. it has a european feel. you can get that european experience without the price tag of going across the pond. the hotel looks like a big castle set on a huge hill. it is a beautiful luxurious property rates from 200 a night in the fall. now is really the time to go enjoy the fall colors before they are gone. >> headed the opposite direction down south savannah, georgia. >> savannah again is one of those historic beautiful towns. romantic for people who want that type of get away in the fall. you can sip sweet tea on

sidewalk cafes or go on tours and enjoy the southern hospitality. here the hotel to stay at is the westin. all of the westin properties are so nice and well done. this one is on the harbor at the gulf resort and spa. $174 a night in the fall. >> the last one aspen colorado is another good pick and value this time of year. >> the sky hotel is the property where to stay at. >> thanks so much for joining us. get out and hit some good spots. >> heather, let's pack our bags and go. 5 minutes before the hour. he has the need for speed, but this sportscar is not going anywhere any time soon. we will tell you why. can you figure out what our word of the day is? stick around for the answer that's coming up next.

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>> one minute before the hour with the good, bad and ugly. first the good. a korean war veteran is honored for his actions six decades later. he rescued a fallen soldier while under attack and that made him eligible for the bronze star but never received one. in a surprise ceremony his award was given to him in front of an entire family. max the bad. the driver of the porsche drove in a construction zone and ended up getting stuck in wet cement. and ugly, close call here. a girl sticks her head out of a train and show got hit. her friend told her to do it the person with the camera